Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 147 (Thursday, September 17, 2026)

[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 147 (Thursday, September 17, 2026)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D913-D916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Thursday, September 17, 2026

[[Page D913]]

Daily Digest

Senate

Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S4765-S4836
Measures Introduced: Twenty-five bills and eight resolutions were
introduced, as follows: S. 5420-5444, and S. Res. 862-869.
Pages S4797-98
Measures Reported:
S. 5441, to improve services provided to taxpayers by the Internal
Revenue Service. (S. Rept. No. 119-145)
H.R. 837, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the
Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County,
Arizona.
H.R. 3857, to amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program
Authorization Act, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
H.R. 3872, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to
make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals.
H.R. 5254, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into
an agreement with the Gateway Arch Park Foundation to host private
events in Gateway Arch National Park buildings, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute.
H.R. 5631, to promote responsible geothermal energy development on
public lands.
H.R. 6365, to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-
of-way for an emergency exit on certain National Park Service land in
the State of Virginia, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
H.R. 7831, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to extend the period of
time during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect
a fee for each new application for a permit to drill.
S. 91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal
contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation
Program.
S. 1257, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to
authorize the use of funds for certain additional Carey Act projects.
S. 1288, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management,
and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage
Area System the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area in the State of New
York.
S. 1321, to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide for the transfer of the Moab site
to Grand County, Utah, with an amendment.
S. 1413, to authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River
Restoration Settlement Act.
S. 2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land
managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with
an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and
southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-
standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous
practitioners, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska
Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 2437, to amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program
Authorization Act to reauthorize the Snow Water Supply Forecasting
Program, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 2498, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend certain
leases within units of the National Park System without opening the
lease to bidding, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 2554, to provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native
communities and the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act, with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute.
S. 2753, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to
authorize certain extraordinary operation and maintenance work for
urban canals of concern, with amendments.
S. 2754, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the City
of Ouray, Colorado, certain land

[[Page D914]]

managed by the Forest Service, together with a reservoir, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 2767, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an
agreement with the Gateway Arch Park Foundation to host private events
in Gateway Arch National Park buildings, with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute.
S. 2801, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a
study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the
Canterbury Shaker Village National Heritage Area, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute.
S. 2887, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the
Route 66 National Historic Trail.
S. 2933, to redesignate a playground in the New River Gorge National
Park and Preserve in the State of West Virginia as the ``Hearts of Gold
Playground: In Honor of West Virginia Children and Families Impacted by
Childhood Cancer''.
S. 3194, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a
study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain
land in California as the Monterey Bay National Heritage Area, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 3693, to extend the authorization for a large-scale water
recycling and reuse grant program, with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute.
S. 3715, to establish the Chiricahua National Park in the State of
Arizona as a unit of the National Park System, with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute.
S. 3720, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of
designating the Bay Area Ridge as a national scenic trail, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 3723, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study
to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply
municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the
Western Dakota Regional Water System, with an amendment in the nature
of a substitute.
S. 3725, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study
to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply
municipal, rural, and industrial water to expand the capacity and reach
of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc. (doing business as
``Lewis & Clark Regional Water System''), in the States of Iowa,
Minnesota, and South Dakota, with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute.
S. 3732, to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the
Nation Act to authorize assistance under the storage program, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 3736, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study
to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply
municipal, rural, and industrial water to the Dakota Mainstem Regional
Water System service area in the States of South Dakota, Iowa,
Nebraska, and Minnesota, with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute.
S. 3738, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to
reauthorize the large-scale water recycling and reuse program, to
establish a Water Conveyance Improvement Program, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute.
S. 3743, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a
feasibility study on a selective water withdrawal system at Glen Canyon
Dam, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 3792, to provide for the establishment of a Water Project
Navigators Program, with amendments.
S. 4040, to amend Public Law 89-108 to modify the authorization of
appropriations for State and Tribal, municipal, rural, and industrial
water supplies.
S. 4041, to reauthorize the Cooperative Watershed Management Program,
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 4238, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management,
and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage
Area System the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area in the State
of Pennsylvania.
S. 4538, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of
designating Washington's Trail-1753 as a national historic trail.
S. 5039, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to extend the period of
time during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect
a fee for each new application for a permit to drill.
Pages S4796-97
Measures Passed:
Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act:
Committee on Finance was discharged from further consideration of H.R.
5345, to amend title VII of the Social Security Act to provide for a
single point of contact at the Social Security Administration for
individuals who are victims of identity theft, and the bill was then
passed.
Page S4790
Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dolly Parton: Senate agreed to S.
Res. 862, honoring the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, a daughter of
Tennessee whose extraordinary contributions to music, philanthropy,
literacy, education, health, conservation, and culture enriched the
lives of countless Americans.
Page S4790

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Honoring 35 Years of Independence for the Countries of Central Asia:
Committee on Foreign Relations was discharged from further
consideration of S. Res. 816, honoring 35 years of independence for the
countries of Central Asia and recognizing the importance of the United
States growing relationship with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and the resolution was then agreed to.
Page S4790
Measures Considered:
Protect College Sports Act--Agreement: Senate began consideration of S.
4668, to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide
protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among
intercollegiate athletics, after agreeing to the motion to proceed, and
taking action on the following motions and amendments proposed thereto:
Pages S4765-74, S4777-88
Pending:
Thune (for Cruz) Amendment No. 6776, in the nature of a substitute.
Page S4789
Thune Amendment No. 6777 (to Amendment No. 6776), to change the
enactment date.
Page S4789
Thune Amendment No. 6778 (to Amendment No. 6777), of a perfecting
nature.
Page S4789
Thune Amendment No. 6779 (to the language proposed to be stricken by
Amendment No. 6776), to change the enactment date.
Page S4789
Thune Amendment No. 6780 (to Amendment No. 6779), of a perfecting
nature.
Page S4789
Thune motion to recommit the bill to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, with instructions, Thune Amendment No.
6781, to change the enactment date.
Page S4789
Thune Amendment No. 6782 (to the instructions (Amendment No. 6781) of
the motion to recommit), of a perfecting nature.
Page S4789
Thune Amendment No. 6783 (to Amendment No. 6782), of a perfecting
nature.
Page S4789
A motion was entered to close further debate on Thune (for Cruz)
Amendment No. 6776 (listed above), and, in accordance with the
provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a vote on
cloture will occur upon disposition of the nomination of Angela
Veronica Colmenero, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for
the Southern District of Texas.
Pages S4789-90
A motion was entered to close further debate on the bill, and, in
accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of
the Senate, a vote on cloture will occur upon disposition of Thune (for
Cruz) Amendment No. 6776.
Page S4790
During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the
following action:
By 77 yeas to 22 nays (Vote No. 236), Senate agreed to the motion to
proceed to consideration of the bill.
Pages S4773-74
A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that the filing
deadline with respect to first degree amendments to Thune (for Cruz)
Amendment No. 6776 to the bill, and first degree amendments to the
underlying bill, be at 3:30 p.m., on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
Page S4790
Colmenero Nomination--Cloture: Senate began consideration of the
nomination of Angela Veronica Colmenero, of Texas, to be United States
District Judge for the Southern District of Texas.
Pages S4788-89
A motion was entered to close further debate on the nomination and,
in accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of
the Senate, and pursuant to the unanimous-consent agreement of
Thursday, September 17, 2026, a vote on cloture will occur at 5:30 p.m.
on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
Page S4789
Prior to the consideration of this nomination, Senate took the
following action:
Senate agreed to the motion to proceed to Executive Session to
consider the nomination.
Page S4788
A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that at
approximately 3 p.m., on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Senate resume
consideration of the nomination.
Page S4836
Nomination Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nomination:
By 49 yeas to 45 nays (Vote No. EX. 238), Kasdin Miller Mitchell, of
Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of
Texas.
Pages S4774-77, S4836
During consideration of this nomination today, Senate also took the
following action:
By 49 yeas to 47 nays (Vote No. EX. 237), Senate agreed to the motion
to close further debate on the nomination.
Pages S4774-77
Nominations Withdrawn: Senate received notification of withdrawal of
the following nominations:
Jeffrey Anderson, of Georgia, to be Representative of the United
States of America on the Council of the International Civil Aviation
Organization, with the rank of Ambassador, which was sent to the Senate
on January 13, 2026.
Heidi Semann, of Missouri, to be Inspector General, Department of
Education, which was sent to the Senate on May 11, 2026.
John Grunewald II, of Oklahoma, to be a Member of the Farm Credit
Administration Board, Farm Credit Administration, for a term expiring
October 13, 2030, which was sent to the Senate on June 23, 2026.

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Richard Schroyer, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security, which was sent to the Senate on July 20, 2026.
Robert Stebbins, of New York, to be Deputy Chief Executive Officer of
the United States International Development Finance Corporation, which
was sent to the Senate on August 7, 2026.
Page S4836
Messages from the House:
Pages S4794-95
Measures Referred:
Page S4795
Measures Discharged:
Page S4795
Measures Read the First Time:
Pages S4790, S4795
Executive Communications:
Pages S4795-96
Executive Reports of Committees:
Page S4797
Additional Cosponsors:
Pages S4798-99
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
Pages S4799-S4804
Additional Statements:
Pages S4792-94
Amendments Submitted:
Pages S4804-36
Authorities for Committees to Meet:
Page S4836
Record Votes: Three record votes were taken today. (Total--238)
Pages S4773-74, S4776-77
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 3:42 p.m.,
until 9 a.m. on Friday, September 18, 2026. (For Senate's program, see
the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page
S4836.)