[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15659-15661]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                        2016--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 96, 
H.R. 2028.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 96, H.R. 2028, a bill 
     making appropriations for energy and water development and 
     related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2016, and for other purposes.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. I send a cloture motion to the desk.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion having been presented 
under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 96, H.R. 2028, a bill making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and 
     for other purposes.
         Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Mike Crapo, Richard C. 
           Shelby, Richard Burr, Daniel Coats, Ben Sasse, Thom 
           Tillis, Roger F. Wicker, Steve Daines, Chuck Grassley, 
           Susan M. Collins, Thad Cochran, James Lankford, Lamar 
           Alexander, John Hoeven, Roy Blunt.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call 
be waived.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                  National Defense Authorization Bill

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Henry Kissinger recently said our 
country faces the most ``diverse and complex array of crises'' since 
World War II. It is really hard to disagree with that.
  Consider the daily situation reports received by the Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs: Taliban forces overrunning Kunduz in Afghanistan, 
retaking their first provincial capital in 14 years; Beijing exerting 
greater will in its aggressive military expansion, even deploying ships 
to patrol off the coast of Alaska; Russia deepening its aggression in 
Ukraine and in Syria deploying the largest number of troops outside the 
former Soviet Union since the U.S.S.R.'s collapse; Tehran showing its 
determination to expand the Iranian sphere of influence as it deploys 
additional forces to the Syrian battlefield; and in the tribal areas of 
Pakistan, Al Qaeda terrorists reminding us of their continued resolve 
to attack the homeland.
  There is all this, Mr. President, to say nothing of the resilient, 
versatile threat posed by ISIL, to say nothing of ISIL's consolidation 
of gains inside Iraq and Syria.
  We stand here 1 year after the President described a strategy for 
degrading and destroying ISIL. So far, this strategy has resulted in a 
seeming stalemate. We know from nearly daily news stories the 
administration is reconsidering that plan and crafting a new strategy 
to combat ISIL. We also know the war against the terrorist group will 
be protracted. That is one reason the President sought $585 billion in 
defense funding in his budget request.
  So today the Senate has the capability to provide the level of 
funding authority the President actually asked for. Today the Senate 
has the power to help America navigate a treacherous world. Today the 
Senate has the opportunity to help the Defense Department begin the 
hard work of rebuilding America's combat capability as we seek to 
protect America's interests across the globe.
  That is why I am calling on every colleague to join me in voting to 
advance the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act. The last 
time the Senate considered this legislation 84 Senators--84 Senators--
including a large majority of Democrats, voted to advance this bill. 
That was just this summer--a couple of months ago.
  I would urge Democrats to vote the same way now, because we have 
heard some worrying rhetoric from across the aisle. We have even heard 
a suggestion that this bipartisan reform bill is just ``a waste of 
time.'' I strongly disagree.
  Is it a waste of time to transform bureaucratic waste into crucial 
investments for our troops and their families, such as the raises they 
have earned and the quality of life programs they deserve? Is it a 
waste of time to provide hope for wounded warriors and extend a hand of 
compassion to heroes who struggle with mental health challenges?
  The bipartisan bill before us is hardly--hardly--a waste of time. 
That is why it passed the Senate once already with overwhelming 
bipartisan support. Our troops should be able to count on that 
overwhelming bipartisan support again today. This is not the time to 
flip-flop on the men and women who protect us. This is not the time to 
flip-flop on America's defense, certainly not in this age of daunting 
global threats.
  Secretary Kerry called the situation in the Middle East ``a 
catastrophe, a human catastrophe really unparalleled in modern times.'' 
He is right. It is tragic. It is dangerous. And it only underlines the 
duty each of us has now to meet our responsibilities--meet our 
responsibilities--not filibuster the bipartisan legislation that 
ensures our troops have the tools and equipment they need in this time 
of global crisis.
  This bipartisan bill will support our troops, help our military to 
rebuild and face the challenges of both the present and the future, and 
provide President Obama the level of funding authorization he actually 
asked for in his budget request. We passed this bipartisan defense bill 
once already. We need to pass it again now.

[[Page 15660]]




Measures Placed on the Calendar--S. 2129, S. 2130, S. 2131, and S. 2132

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand there are four bills at 
the desk due a second reading.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz). The clerk will read the bills by 
title for the second time.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2129) making appropriations for Agriculture, 
     Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Energy and 
     Water Development, and Departments of Transportation, and 
     Housing and Urban Development, and related programs for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other 
     purposes.
       A bill (S. 2130) making appropriations for Department of 
     Defense, energy and water development, Department of Homeland 
     Security, military construction, Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, and Department of State, foreign operations, and 
     related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2016, and for other purposes.
       A bill (S. 2131) making appropriations for Departments of 
     Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies and 
     Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2016, and for other purposes.
       A bill (S. 2132) making appropriations for financial 
     services and general government, Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
     Services, and Education, and related programs for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes.

  Mr. McCONNELL. In order to place the bills on the calendar under the 
provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The bills will be placed on the calendar en bloc.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.


                           The Koch Brothers

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, Charles and David Koch are trying to buy 
America. They have the money to try and do just that. Because of the 
Supreme Court's wrong and disastrous Citizens United ruling, the Koch 
brothers' dark political money has infected our democracy.
  One need only look at our national politics to see how the Kochs are 
influencing our government. Even now, these two billionaires are 
committed to spending $900 million to advance a radical agenda during 
this election cycle. It is no surprise, then, that virtually every 
Republican Presidential candidate kowtows to these two oil, tar sands, 
and coal barons from Kansas. Republican Presidential hopefuls all kiss 
the rings of the Kochs, hoping that some of their filthy money finds 
its way into their campaign coffers. It is disgusting, and it is wrong.
  But the Koch brothers aren't just trying to buy the highest office in 
the land. They are not just trying to help themselves at the Federal 
level. They are also trying to buy our democracy from the bottom up. In 
statehouses and city halls all across our great country, the Koch 
brothers and their vast spending network are turning local governments 
into agencies of the Koch empire. They are trying to turn America into 
a Koch-financed oligarchy.
  It seems there is no issue too local nor policy matter too small to 
escape the Koch brothers' wrath. They want to impose their radical 
agenda on the American people on every issue, no matter the cost to 
families and communities.
  Just look at what they are doing in Colorado Springs, CO. ``The 
Potholes of Colorado Springs draw the attention of Koch brothers' 
group.'' This is a headline from last weekend's Washington Post. The 
Koch brothers are fighting the city's efforts to fix its crumbling 
roads. Reading from the article:

       This much everyone can agree on: The streets of this large 
     city on the Rocky Mountain Front Range are a wreck. Sixty 
     percent are in disrepair, cracked and rutted; driving on them 
     is often a game of vehicular Minesweeper. One local TV news 
     channel runs a segment called ``Pothole Patrol.''

  I continue to quote:

       But when this city's newly elected conservative mayor urged 
     voters to approve an increase in the sales tax to pay to 
     improve the roads, he drew fire from an unexpected source: a 
     branch of Americans for Prosperity, a powerful conservative 
     advocacy group backed by the billionaire industrialists 
     Charles and David Koch.

  The Koch brothers aren't interested in advancing solutions. They are 
interested in sending a message. They are willing to attack everyone, 
even conservative Republicans who cross their extreme agenda.
  This is the basic work of government the Koch brothers want to 
destroy. All Colorado Springs and its Republican mayor want to do is to 
determine their own fate, fund their own roads, and make their own 
laws. But in March, Americans for Prosperity, beholden to Charles and 
David Koch's pocketbook, simply shut down the entire process of local, 
community-based government. It is unbelievable they would do this.
  The Koch brothers don't want the people of Colorado Springs to find 
their own solutions to fix potholes in Colorado Springs, and they are 
willing to pay to make sure that doesn't happen.
  That is only one city, and I don't have time to mention all. The 
Kochs are doing this all over America. Here is another headline from 
the Nashville Tennessean. ``Koch brothers group works to stop Nashville 
Amp.'' Here is the quote:

       The movement to stop a Nashville mass transit plan has 
     gotten an extra boost of horsepower from an unexpected 
     source: the Koch brothers, out-of-state billionaires.

  But there are many more examples. ``Americans for Prosperity spent 
$62,795 to defeat zoo levy.'' Think about that. They are so focused on 
doing everything they can to run this great Nation not from the top 
down but the bottom up. This was the headline from the Columbus 
Dispatch last year.
  The Koch brothers' main political arm in Ohio fought against the 
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium tax levy. Why? Because the Kochs have a 
Georgia-Pacific plant nearby and they did not want to pay their fair 
share of taxes. Think about that. These are multibillionaires. It is 
estimated to be worth $150 to $200 billion. They are afraid their 
company, Georgia-Pacific, may have to pay a few extra dollars in taxes 
in Ohio.
  The Los Angeles Times: ``Koch brothers, big utilities attack solar, 
green energy policies.''
  This is a headline from the L.A. Times, as we can see, and it reads:

       The Koch brothers, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and 
     some of the nation's largest power companies have backed 
     efforts in recent months to roll back state policies that 
     favor green energy. The conservative luminaries have pushed 
     campaigns in Kansas, North Carolina and Arizona, with the 
     battle rapidly spreading to other states. . . . Both sides 
     say the fight is growing more intense as new states, 
     including Ohio, South Carolina and Washington, enter the 
     fray.

  Potholes in Colorado--they want to stop anything to do with renewable 
energy in Tennessee. They are going to stop a zoo and aquarium in 
Columbus, OH, or nearby. They want to stop any type of renewable energy 
because it slows down their tar sands business, their oil business, and 
their coal business.
  In Nevada, the Koch brothers and their foot soldiers are meddling in 
many issues--really, too many to count. They have been trying to upend 
Nevada's open primary process. They have encouraged young Nevadans to 
stay out of the State's health exchanges. They fought attempts to raise 
Nevada's cigarette tax. They have used the State legislature to 
undermine labor unions. These are only a few examples of the Kochs' 
``Buy America'' plan.
  What the Koch brothers are doing in Nevada and all of the States that 
we talked about this morning is shameful. They are using their deep 
pockets and their shadowy organizations to try and buy a government 
that serves them, not the American people. They aren't even trying to 
hide it anymore. As one radical activist happily noted to the 
Washington Post, ``the Koch brothers, they may write a check'' to 
promote their ultraconservative ideology. They are writing more than a 
check or two. Charles and David and their allies are writing $900 
million worth of checks--$900 million spent against rebuilding our 
Nation's roads and bridges, against a fair shot for all Americans, 
against raising the minimum wage, and against the hundreds of thousands 
of American jobs supported by the Export-Import Bank.

[[Page 15661]]

  The Kochs have a lot of money to spend. They are using a tiny bit of 
it, which is huge amounts of money--about $1 billion this election 
cycle--to do other kinds of things. They want to promote criminal 
justice reform. That is nice. I am glad they are on the right side of 
something--finally. That could be one reason they are interested in 
this--because they have been in the past prosecuted for doing things 
that have been illegal and criminal in the nature of prosecutors. They 
have fought back against these things.
  We have been talking about the criminal justice system long before 
the Kochs got involved. That is well and nice that they are embracing 
reform now, but it does not negate the many bad things they are doing 
to hurt American families.
  The Koch brothers' priorities are wrong for the middle class and they 
are wrong for all America. It is time that we let the Koch brothers 
know that our country isn't for sale. It is time that we let every 
power-hungry billionaire know they can't buy our government. Whether it 
is the city hall of Colorado Springs or the halls of Congress, you 
should not be able to buy America's democracy. The question is this: 
Are the Kochs going to buy America, because they are certainly trying 
to? It is up to every American to say no.
  Mr. President, I note that there is no one else on the floor. So 
would the Chair announce the business of the day.

                          ____________________