[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 20149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 OMNIBUS AND TAX EXTENDERS NEGOTIATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as my friend, the Republican leader, stated, 
we are continuing to work toward a bipartisan compromise on the omnibus 
and tax extenders legislation. I have worked hard--we have all worked 
hard--to get to yes on this massive undertaking, this huge 
appropriations bill and this big tax bill. I have been involved on a 
personal basis in every twist and turn of the way.
  I want to say a word about the status. We all know that this 
agreement is not completed, but I have been so impressed with the 
endurance and the massive amount of experience that these men and women 
have--both Democrats and Republicans. Senator McConnell and I had an 
event last week. We sat next to one another. I sent him a note about 
how impressed I was with one of his staff people who is working 
intimately with one of mine.
  So I want to tell all the staff in all these buildings here on 
Capitol Hill who have been working on this night and day how much I 
appreciate their hard work and how the American people are so fortunate 
to have these good men and women working on their behalf. We find that 
most everyone engaged and working here on Capitol Hill are not involved 
for the money. They are involved because they want to do something to 
help change policy and to try to do what they can to be involved in 
what goes on in this great country. So I appreciate all they have done 
to this point.
  I think we have done a good job as responsible legislators, working 
to find common ground and strike a balance that can pass Congress and 
be signed into law by the President. But it is time for a reality check 
on where we stand on things.
  An agreement could be filed right now that covers most everything 
that we have discussed and would keep the government funded fully for a 
year. At this point, the only major outstanding issue is Republicans' 
insistence on raising the export ban on crude oil.
  We have made very clear to Republicans that if they insist on 
including the oil export ban, there must be included in this robust 
policies to reduce our carbon emissions and encourage the use of 
renewable energy. So for the past many days I have worked hard--as a 
number of others have--to strike the right balance. We have made 
multiple offers to Republicans that were certainly doable, reasonable, 
and all Republicans had to do was say yes. Saying yes to any of the 
offers we put on the table dealing with renewables over the past few 
days--especially the last 3 days--the ink would be dry, the entire 
package would be filed, and we would be moving ahead on the floor. I 
made it very clear to my Republican colleagues that there are offers 
out there that have been unanswered, and I hope they are answered very 
quickly.
  I have appreciated getting to know the Speaker better than I did 
before. I found him to be available and someone who understands the 
policy, and I am encouraged that last night he said when he had his 
teleconference with all of his Members that he thought we were going to 
have a deal completed. I hope that in fact is the case.
  Republicans can take yes for an answer. That is all they have to do. 
But Congress is now faced with two clear paths forward. The first is 
very simple: Pair the oil export ban with much needed policies to 
reduce our carbon emissions and build more renewable energy. The second 
path is that we move ahead on the government funding bill and tax 
package without the package of oil and renewable policies. That would 
not be my first preference, but we would have to live with it.
  We don't have the legislative language yet on the tax package. This 
isn't pointing fingers at anyone adversely. It is simply the fact that 
we need to get this done. We don't have the legislative language done 
yet. At this pace, we are going to be here through Christmas. We need 
to get that done now.
  So these are the two choices. Either path forward will keep the 
government open and funded. I certainly hope so. Republicans must 
decide which they prefer.
  If Republicans think reducing our carbon emissions and encouraging 
the use of renewable energy is an unacceptable price to pay, we can 
move the rest of the package without the oil export ban, but we need 
not delay anymore. There is no reason to delay any further.
  So I say to everyone who is listening here this morning: It is 
decision time.
  Mr. President, would the Chair announce the business of the day.

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