[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 185 (Thursday, December 12, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6988-S6989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Unanimous Consent Requests--H.R. 8413 and H.R. 8219

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise again today to request passage of 
the Swanson and Hugh Butler Reservoirs Land Conveyances Act.
  Over the past 50 years, the residents of the Swanson and Red Willow 
Reservoirs communities have built friendships, started supportive 
businesses, and enjoyed the recreation that Southwest Nebraska has to 
offer.
  Now, starting on February 1, in less than 2 months, these people will 
be forcibly removed from the reservoirs unless this bill passes. This 
is per a contract signed between local parties and the Bureau of 
Reclamation.
  I worked with the Nebraska delegation, the residents, the small 
businesses, the Bureau, as well as both Democrats and Republicans on 
the ENR Committee to draft a bill that would solve this issue.
  Senator Hirono and I are following regular order, but we have to use 
unanimous consent. Our bills passed the House. Our bills have passed 
out of the Senate ENR Committee.
  This is what we all say in here, what we all tell our constituents, 
that this has to happen: We need to follow regular order. We travel our 
States talking about regular order all the time. We say one side or the 
other is not following it. This is the way to do bills.
  This needs to happen. We need one subject bills, another demand of 
our constituents, instead of piling 150 bills that aren't in a package 
yet, trying to get them into a package.
  But I understand we will have an objection. Senator Hirono and I 
paired a Democrat bill with a Republican bill so that we can move 
forward and other Members can then move forward on noncontroversial 
bills for our people at home and for our people who support this.
  So as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate en bloc 
consideration of H.R. 8413 and 8219, which were received from the 
House. I further ask that the bills be considered read a third time and 
passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. PADILLA. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to object to H.R. 8413, the 
Swanson and Hugh Butler Reservoirs Land Conveyances Act. I want to be 
clear. I want to assure my colleague from Nebraska that I don't object 
on the substance of the bill itself.
  As she alluded to just a moment ago, there is a larger effort 
underway to pull together a package of public lands and water bills 
like this one. We have over a hundred pending land and water bills, in 
fact, that are awaiting final consideration. And, yes, there is only 
about a week or so left before the holiday recess. But there are a lot 
of bills awaiting final consideration, and so we need to make sure that 
they can pass altogether as a final package, both out of fairness and 
out of efficiency--the way the process works here.
  I understand that this particular bill is a priority for Senator 
Fischer and the Nebraska delegation and their constituents. I respect 
that. I appreciate that. I, too, have land and water bills before the 
Senate that are universally supported by constituents and 
constituencies in my State that I am working hard to get enacted before 
the end of the Congress.
  And, in fact, as a member of the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, I can report to all of you that, just last month, we held 
one final business meeting in committee, and we reported out nearly 80 
bills, most of them with unanimous, bipartisan support. So the holdup 
here, the objections here, et cetera, continue to not so much be on 
substance but the process being what it is. There is so much good work 
that we are trying to finalize for so many States in the final days of 
this Congress.
  So I think, to help get us there, I want to continue to urge Chair 
Manchin, urge Ranking Member Barrasso and their House counterparts, 
Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva, to continue working and 
negotiating in good faith to assemble a public lands and water package 
that will be of tremendous service

[[Page S6989]]

to the country. And I urge both the Senate and House leadership to 
agree to move all lands and water packages that we can send to 
President Biden as soon as possible.
  So for those reasons, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mrs. FISCHER. I am astounded by this once again. As I have said, the 
situation is dire. My constituents will lose their homes. The 
communities they have built for the last 50 years will be destroyed.
  I don't know of any other bill, in the 100 or 150 bills, that is on 
this kind of time crunch. My bill has to pass now. Yes, it is a 
priority. As the Senator from California, his bills are a priority as 
well for himself, his constituents. I respect that. But we are on a 
time crunch. This has to pass now or next week. Maybe we won't be home 
for Christmas because I plan to keep coming back here and get this 
done.
  We did our work; we did it the right way; and we did it on time. We 
have presented a solution that everyone--and I mean everyone--agrees 
with. It is so uncontroversial, it was voice-voted out of committee. 
Even the Senator from West Virginia who objected last night--he doesn't 
have any concerns with this legislation.
  Nebraskans' very homes and communities are now on the line in this 
final hour. They cannot wait. They should not have to pay the price for 
stalled negotiations. Saying there is going to be an agreement after 
working a year on an agreement, saying there is going to be an 
agreement on this 100- to 150-bill land package--come on. That isn't 
even realistic at this point in time. Going to work through the 
weekend. You know, I hope it comes together, but come on.
  These are noncontroversial bills. And using my constituents as 
political pawns instead of moving bills in normal order, which we all 
tout, is unacceptable. In fact, it is absurd. We better do better.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.

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