[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 200 (Thursday, December 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S10065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAKING EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR DISASTER RELIEF FOR
THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2023
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to the consideration of S. 5355, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 5355) making emergency supplemental
appropriations for disaster relief for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2023, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate, equally
divided.
The Senator from Florida.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, immediately after Hurricane Ian
passed, I made clear that I would fight for and support a standalone
disaster aid package to get Floridians the assistance they need to
recover.
On September 30, just 2 days after Ian made its catastrophic landfall
near Fort Myers, FL, I wrote to my colleagues urging them to work with
me on getting much needed aid to Florida families as quickly as
possible.
Immediately after, the aid Floridians desperately needed was delayed
so that it could be stuffed into this massive and reckless $1.7
trillion omnibus bill. While that is disappointing enough, I have now
heard from Floridians, especially our growers in agriculture, that
without changes, this disaster aid will not be delivered in the most
efficient and effective way possible to ensure their recovery.
We should take this opportunity to act on their concerns today and
make needed changes that ensure this Federal disaster aid does as much
good as possible. There is no reason to delay this further. I urge my
colleagues to stand with those recovering from these terrible storms
and the folks who put the food on our tables. Please support this bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I spoke on this matter earlier this week,
and I still agree with the Senator from Florida that we have a
responsibility to help Americans in the wake of disasters. It does not
matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat, or if you are from a blue
State or a red State. As Americans, we have to stand together to help
our communities recover and rebuild.
I have done that on this floor for 48 years--voting for disaster
bills for all States. But I believe in reality, not rhetoric. We don't
have time to play politics or for sound bites. We have to enact the
omnibus bill now, and that will get the aid to people in Florida and
other communities that need it most.
So I would urge all Senators to vote for the omnibus, and let us get
these things done. It is time to go forward. We don't have time for
further delay.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. ROSEN). Under the previous order, the bill
is considered read a third time.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I ask for the yeas and nays.
Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Kaine) is
necessarily absent.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr.
Burr), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), and the Senator from
Nebraska (Mr. Sasse).
The result was announced--yeas 22, nays 73, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 407 Leg.]
YEAS--22
Blackburn
Blunt
Braun
Cassidy
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Hagerty
Hawley
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Kennedy
Lummis
Risch
Rubio
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sullivan
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
NAYS--73
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Boozman
Brown
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Duckworth
Durbin
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Lujan
Manchin
Markey
Marshall
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Peters
Portman
Reed
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--5
Barrasso
Burr
Cramer
Kaine
Sasse
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 22, the nays are
73.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the bill is not passed.
The bill (S. 5355) was rejected.
____________________