[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4586

  Madam President, there are lots of arguments the Senator from 
Connecticut could have made. He chose to make none of them.
  If he does not like how the money in this bill is specifically spent, 
I am now going to propound a second unanimous consent bill.
  There is right now $135 billion in unspent COVID relief funds to 
schools. Under the rules the Democrats have put in place, those funds 
cannot be spent on school security.
  The second bill that I am going to ask this body to pass is a bill 
that is very simple. It is one page. It says schools can spend some of 
that $135 billion on school security. They can decide what to spend it 
on, but if they decide they want to hire an additional police officer, 
they can spend the money on that. If they decide they want to enhance 
the physical security of their campus to make their students safer, 
they can spend it on that. They can invest in school security. Right 
now, the Democrats have blocked them from doing this.
  These are funds Congress has already appropriated that haven't been 
spent. And this bill is unbelievably simple. It says the schools can 
choose to invest in school security.
  Therefore, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged 
from further consideration of S. 4586 and that the Senate proceed to 
its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read 
a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, the Senator is right--I am not going to 
engage in a colloquy on the merits of this request or the previous 
request. This isn't real. This is a TV show. This is click bait. This 
is theater. This isn't an actual attempt to pass legislation.
  Senator Lankford approached me about this particular bill on the 
floor a week ago and asked to engage in a dialogue with me about it. I 
thought it was a legitimate request, and I set my team to the task of 
trying to work something out with Senator Lankford. And now there is a 
unanimous consent request to pass a bill that is under negotiation and 
discussions between serious legislators who actually want to find a 
result.
  So, no, I am not going to debate the merits of these UCs. This isn't 
real.
  I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, the Senator from Connecticut just gave us 
the sum total of his wisdom as he walks off the floor again, which is, 
he says this isn't real.
  The Presiding Officer is well aware of how the Senate operates. When 
a Senator arises for a unanimous consent request, one of two things 
happens: A Senator objects, or the bill passes.
  I have stood on this floor and passed unanimous consent requests 
because our colleagues chose not to object.
  One of the more notable instances was following multiple instances in 
the House of House Democrats making anti-Semitic comments. The House 
tried to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Sadly, the radical 
left in the Democratic caucus objected, and the House Democrats 
couldn't pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
  I joined with our colleague Senator Kaine from Virginia, a Democrat. 
We authored a resolution, the Cruz-Kaine resolution--a bipartisan 
resolution that was a clear and unequivocal condemnation of anti-
Semitism. It condemned BDS as anti-Semitism. It condemned explicitly 
the anti-Semitic comments made by those House Democrats at the outset 
of the dispute.
  When Senator Kaine and I came to the Senate floor, we did not know if 
a Senator would object. There were numerous Senators in this body who 
did not join the resolution and could easily have walked out on the 
floor and objected. We stood up and asked unanimous consent, and much 
to our very pleasant surprise, the opposing party chose not to object, 
and the resolution passed. It passed 100 to nothing.
  When the Senator from Connecticut says this isn't real, the only 
reason this bill has not passed the U.S. Senate is because the Senator 
from Connecticut stood up and uttered two magic words: I object. Had he 
done something really simple--just shut up, just shut his mouth, just 
sat there--we would be standing in a position where both of these bills 
would have passed into law.
  What does it say about the Democrats' view of the American people 
that they don't engage in debate, they don't engage in discussion, they 
don't defend their positions? They, instead, arrogantly say no and have 
full confidence that their compliant cheerleaders in the media will 
never even tell anyone about it.
  I don't know how you defend the position he just took. I was 
genuinely looking forward to hearing some form of an argument.
  I can tell you, when I forced a vote on the Cruz-Barrasso bill on 
this floor and the Democrats voted, party line, no, we don't want more 
police officers in school; no, we don't want more mental health 
counselors in school; no, we don't want additional funding for school 
safety, to the best of my knowledge, no reporter asked a single 
Democrat: Why are you leaving our kids vulnerable? Why aren't you 
acting to protect children in school? Because, you know what, there is 
no money on the left for actually stopping these crimes. The money is 
for disarming law-abiding citizens. It is a narrow-minded, political 
focus.
  We could have just passed the most significant school safety 
legislation ever passed by the Federal Government. Why didn't we? 
Because the Democrats objected. That objection is wrong, it is 
irresponsible, and it shows a willingness to play political games while 
demonstrating contempt for our constituents.
  Today, the U.S. Senate failed the American people. Today, the U.S. 
Senate failed the schoolchildren of America. And I pray that the 
consequences are not truly horrific. I pray that this body will show up 
and do its damn job: Debate real issues and pass real legislation that 
will actually stop crime rather than the empty political gestures of 
the left.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.