[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 177 (Monday, December 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6747-S6749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, the Senate is obviously back from the 
Thanksgiving recess, and I know we all enjoyed a little bit of time at 
home with our friends and families, but here we are, back with 18 days 
until the funding for the Federal Government runs out, and we certainly 
have our work cut out for us.
  Of course, I expect this sort of drama to end next year when we have 
new management, both in a new President as well as in the Senate and 
House majorities, because, frankly, the way that the majority leader 
here in the Senate has managed to cram all of this unfinished business 
into the last 18 days is by design, and it does not serve the best 
interests either of the Senate or of the American people. This cannot 
be and will not be the new normal.
  Before we recess for Christmas, we must extend the farm bill, and you 
have just heard from the ranking member and soon-to-be chairman of the 
Agriculture Committee on that issue; we need to pass a National Defense 
Authorization Act bill--something we have done 63 years in a row; and, 
as I mentioned a moment ago, we need to keep the lights on, as the U.S. 
Government runs out of money in 18 days. All of these are entirely 
preventable, and we find ourselves in this uncomfortable and 
embarrassing situation purely by design.
  Starting with the farm bill, unfortunately, the partisan proposal 
released last month by the chair of the Agriculture Committee last 
month is not what we need in a new farm bill. I guess, rather than 
actually do the hard work of sitting down and trying to negotiate a 
bipartisan farm bill, the soon-to-be-departing chairman of the 
Agriculture Committee, the Senator from Michigan, just decided to lay 
down a partisan farm bill and blame Republicans for not capitulating, 
even when she refused to negotiate a bipartisan outcome.
  I am grateful to the ranking member and, again, soon-to-be chairman, 
Senator Boozman from Arkansas, for continuing to press for a fair, 
effective farm bill that is actually focused on the American people and 
farmers and not enshrining a liberal wish list on their way out the 
door, as our Democratic colleagues seem determined to try to do.
  As Senator Boozman likes to say, ``We need to put the farm back in 
the farm bill,'' which are true words. Only about 20 percent of the 
farm bill actually benefits farmers. The rest of it is nutrition 
programs and other mandatory spending that is part of this alliance 
between urban and rural interests, and that has produced, frankly, an 
unworkable process where farmers and our agriculture producers are 
harmed by the fact that so little of the attention and so little of the 
policies are actually directed at them and their ability to put food on 
our tables.
  Texas is home to more than 230,000 farms and ranches--more than any 
other State in the country. One out of every 7 Texans is in an ag-
related job--that is, 1 out of every 7 of 30 million people is in an 
ag-related job in Texas.
  Of course, the farm bill is important for all of the reasons you just 
heard but primarily because it provides safety net programs and funding 
for things like crop insurance. Farming is hard work. You are also 
dependent on Mother Nature, and sometimes Mother Nature can be pretty 
cruel through droughts, hurricanes, and all sorts of weather conditions 
that make it impossible to produce a crop. Of course, these are 
essential lifelines to countless producers. Our ag producers have

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to borrow the money, by and large, to plant their seed, to plant their 
crops, to harvest it, and then to sell it in order to pay the bank back 
for the money they just borrowed. So if they don't have a crop because 
they have bad weather or a hurricane or a drought, they don't have the 
capability to keep going. And fewer and fewer of our younger farmers in 
particular are able to sustain this very, very difficult and 
challenging life given the exigencies that exist.
  This farm bill is critical to managing the considerable risks 
associated with this critical industry. A strong and on-time farm bill 
is essential to the health and well-being of the agriculture industry 
and to the American people and to our economy, and, as I indicated 
earlier, it is absolutely imperative for Texas.
  Now, how did we find ourselves without passing a farm bill on a 
timely basis with basically 3 weeks left to go? We know the farm bill 
comes up every 5 years, so there is no surprise. It is our duty to get 
it done on a timely basis, as soon as possible, but the 2018 farm bill 
has already been extended once, and it hasn't been updated to current 
conditions--frankly, because it hasn't been a priority for the majority 
leader. Partisan proposals and a complete lack of interest from the 
majority leader have made this process to pass a new farm bill an 
insult to the hard-working farmers and ranchers in my State and around 
the country.
  But, of course, the farm bill isn't the only last-minute task we have 
hanging over our heads. We need to pass the National Defense 
Authorization Act. Again, this is not a surprise. We need to do this 
every year. And now, of all times, is not the time to delay this 
critical legislation, because we are experiencing the most dangerous 
world since World War II. We are living in one of the most dangerous 
eras in the last 70 years. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are 
working in concert to undermine the West and the United States in 
particular. This National Defense Authorization bill, which we need to 
take up and pass each year, is designed to ensure that our military has 
what it needs in order to achieve its missions of today and rise to the 
challenges of tomorrow. Now is not the time to play hooky on our 
national defense obligations.
  Furthermore, this legislation is typically the vehicle we use to 
ensure that our servicemembers and their families and our All-Volunteer 
military are adequately provided for. In Texas alone, there are roughly 
225,000 servicemembers stationed in places like Fort Cavazos, Fort 
Bliss, and Joint Base San Antonio, just to name a few.
  The National Defense Authorization Act was completed by the Armed 
Services Committee in July--more than 4 months ago--so what are we 
doing here, 3 weeks before Christmas, having to jam this through 
somehow, some way, without full debate and amendment and deliberation? 
Well, it is purely by design because it obviously was not a top 
priority for the majority leader or he would have put this on the floor 
months ago rather than leave it as one of the last things we need to 
do.
  Nevertheless, Chairman Reed of the Armed Services Committee, Ranking 
Member Wicker, and all of our colleagues on the committee have done 
yeoman's work to put this bill in a shape to consider on the floor, but 
the majority leader has, by design, made sure that we are unable to do 
that in a way that will allow all 100 Senators to participate in the 
process.
  Again, this is the most important thing we have to do to protect the 
safety and security of the American people, and this bill would go a 
long way to modernize America's defense and establish deterrence, which 
is just another way of saying to keep the peace.
  We have passed the NDAA for 63 years in a row, and it is among the 
most important jobs we have to do. If we don't get it done by the end 
of the year, Senator Schumer's legacy as majority leader will be that 
he broke the 63-year tradition of supporting our military and 
maintaining peace through strength.
  Finally, as I started out by saying, the last thing on our list 
before we head out for Christmas is government funding. The annual 
appropriations process is designed to move through the Appropriations 
Committees, which it has on a bipartisan basis, and then to reconcile 
the differences between the House version and the Senate version and 
get them on the President's desk by the end of September--that was last 
September. But when that doesn't happen, then we end up passing 
continuing resolutions, which means we tread water until we can get 
around to doing something we should have done many months ago.
  Senator Collins, Senator Murray, and everyone on the Appropriations 
Committee did their job by passing all 12 appropriations bills months 
ago. Senator Schumer could have--but didn't--scheduled these for floor 
votes months ago. Instead, he chose to leave it for the last 3 weeks, 
along with everything else we need to do.
  National security seems to not be a priority. We should have finished 
all of this work a long time ago and certainly with plenty of time 
before Christmas. But what did we do instead? Well, when we were 
actually here voting, we had show votes. What I mean by a ``show vote'' 
is a vote that has no real merit, that he knows is not going to pass, 
which is purely designed to try to embarrass other Members of the 
Senate and maybe create a narrative that could be used in the election.
  Senator Schumer held a series of partisan messaging votes leading up 
to the election, which he knew would never pass. They were designed to 
solely force Republican Senators to take votes on bogus bills to gain 
some sort of perceived political messaging advantage. It mattered 
little to the majority leader that the premise of these votes was false 
to begin with.
  We had votes on issues like in vitro fertilization access, which 
wasn't at risk in the first place. Then, Senator Schumer held votes on 
a tax package that had not gone through the appropriate committee of 
jurisdiction--the Finance Committee that I sit on--as well as a border 
bill that did not go through the Judiciary Committee. It hadn't even 
been considered, neither one, by the Senate committees of jurisdiction, 
which means, in other words, that they were not ready for prime time. 
Not one of these votes had input from the broader Senate, nor were they 
intended to be any sort of good-faith effort to actually solve a 
problem.
  The week before Thanksgiving, after the entire monthlong recess in 
October, Senator Schumer kept us here late at night, burning the 
midnight oil, but none of these votes tackled any of the mountain of 
work that I have just described.
  We were not here voting late--as I know we would be happy to do--to 
advance the farm bill or the Defense Authorization Act, if absolutely 
necessary, or funding to keep the government open. But instead we were 
here to confirm partisan nominees to the judicial branch during a 
lameduck session of the Congress.
  If you look at the details of some of these judges' backgrounds, it 
is an embarrassment that they were ever able to receive a majority of 
votes in the U.S. Senate.
  One of them, a Judge Kasubhai, has a habit of praising Ibram X. Kendi 
as an ``amazing historian and author.'' Ibram X. Kendi, of course, has 
equated capitalism with racism.
  Then there is Judge Sooknanan, who served as a board member for a 
group that vehemently opposed sending police officers to schools in 
order to prevent school shootings and to maintain safety.
  Is this really what the U.S. Senate should be spending its time on 
when Texas farmers and our servicemembers have their livelihoods in 
jeopardy because of an unpassed defense authorization act and a farm 
bill?
  Of course, thanks to several of our colleagues, we were able to 
finally secure an agreement to prevent some of the most egregious of 
these judges from lifetime appointments to the Federal bench. Those 
will be filled by President Trump starting next year.
  But if this abuse of Senate floor time to confirm unqualified 
nominees to the Federal bench was not enough, now we awoke to the news 
that President Biden has shamelessly decided, in the final weeks of his 
Presidency, to do something he said he would not do, which is to pardon 
his son, Hunter, for corrupt business practices and criminal 
activities.
  After months--months--of the President, his Press Secretary, and 
others in the administration telling the public

[[Page S6749]]

that, of course, he wouldn't do this, he simply went back on his word. 
This is blatant corruption and an abuse of the office and a blatant 
example of President Biden continuing to mislead and lie to the 
American people.
  Justice means nothing if it is not applied evenhandedly. The notion 
that someone could be above the law simply because his father happens 
to be President is an affront to law-abiding citizens. It is a terrible 
example because without any accountability for people breaking the 
law--getting a pass, in other words--there is no deterrent effect or no 
accountability that teaches our young people and others that, yes, you 
need to follow the law and, yes, there are consequences if you don't.
  It is, frankly, absurd and contrary to all available facts for 
President Biden to claim that his son was ``selectively and unfairly 
prosecuted,'' especially after a sweetheart deal that was almost struck 
in his favor. But for the timely and pointed questions of the judge who 
was asked to pass on a plea deal that ultimately blew up, they would 
have gotten away with it. And there wouldn't have been any pardon 
because there wouldn't have been any conviction.
  No, Hunter Biden was rightfully prosecuted for committing crimes and 
breaking the law. It is unfair and selective for this President to 
single out his son for a pardon, and it sets a horrible example for 
future administrations. So any future administration could simply point 
back to this and say: Well, apparently, it is OK for the President to 
do whatever the President wants to do without regard to the law or the 
message it sends to the Nation or nations around the world.
  We need to restore respect for the rule of law within the Department 
of Justice and the FBI and confirm more qualified judges to our courts. 
But I must say that I am disappointed and dismayed that Senator Schumer 
continues to lecture Republicans about the importance of 
bipartisanship, which he does on a regular basis, while he, himself, is 
engaged in a partisan show of procrastination.
  The people of Texas and of America, for that matter, deserve better.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Butler). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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