[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4589-4639]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET, FISCAL YEAR 2016

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will resume consideration of S. 
Con. Res. 11, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 11) setting forth the 
     congressional budget for the United States Government for 
     fiscal year 2016 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary 
     levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025.

  Pending:

       Enzi (for Kirk) amendment No. 545, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to reimposing waived sanctions 
     and imposing new sanctions against Iran for violations of the 
     Joint Plan of Action or a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
       Rounds/Inhofe amendment No. 412, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund to prevent the Environmental Protection 
     Agency and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 
     engaging in closed-door settlement agreements that ignore 
     impacted States and counties.
       Rubio modified amendment No. 423, to increase new budget 
     authority fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and modify outlays for 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2022 for National Defense (budget 
     function 050).
       Daines amendment No. 388, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to the designation of national 
     monuments.
       Daines amendment No. 389, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to holding Members of the Senate and 
     the House of Representatives accountable for failing to pass 
     a balanced budget.
       Moran amendment No. 356, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to providing health care to veterans 
     who reside more than 40 miles driving distance from the 
     closest medical facility of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs that provides the care sought by the veteran.
       Roberts/Flake amendment No. 352, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to Federal employee performance 
     awards.
       Roberts amendment No. 462, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to over-the-counter medications.
       Vitter amendment No. 515, to establish a spending-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to requiring the Federal Government to 
     allow states to opt out of Common Core without penalty.
       Vitter amendment No. 811, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to ending Washington's illegal 
     exemption from Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
       Gardner amendment No. 443, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to protecting privately held water 
     rights and permits.
       Coats/Warner amendment No. 595, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund to improve cybersecurity.
       Coats amendment No. 368, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to providing States the Medicaid 
     flexibility they need to implement innovative reforms to 
     improve care and enhance access for our Nation's most 
     vulnerable.
       Daines amendment No. 465, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to Second Amendment rights.
       Daines amendment No. 387, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to postal reform.
       Wyden/Crapo amendment No. 434, to provide for an adjustment 
     to committee allocations for wildfire suppression funding.
       Paul amendment No. 940, to increase new budget authority 
     for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and modify outlays for fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2022 for National Defense (budget function 
     050) with offsets.
       Sanders (for Murray/Alexander) amendment No. 697, to 
     establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation that 
     reforms and strengthens elementary and secondary education.
       Sanders (for Murray) amendment No. 798, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation to allow 
     Americans to earn paid sick time.
       Sanders (for Cantwell) amendment No. 800, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to a comprehensive 
     approach to crude-by-rail safety.
       Sanders (for Murray) amendment No. 812, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide women with affordable 
     access to comprehensive health care, including preventive 
     services (such as contraception and breast cancer 
     screenings), improve maternal health, and ensure that a woman 
     has the same benefits and services no matter what part of the 
     United States she lives in, all of which is critical to 
     improving the health and well-being of women, children, their 
     families, and society as a whole, and is an essential part of 
     a woman's economic security and opportunity.
       Sanders (for Murray) amendment No. 951, to establish and 
     fund a new Federal-State partnership to expand access to 
     high-quality preschool programs for children from low- and 
     moderate-income families, offset with revenue from closing 
     loopholes.
       Sanders (for Durbin/Coons) amendment No. 345, to establish 
     a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to increasing funding 
     for Federal investments in biomedical and basic scientific 
     research.
       Sanders (for Durbin) amendment No. 817, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide tax benefits to 
     patriot employers that invest in American jobs and provide 
     fair pay and benefits to workers and to eliminate tax 
     benefits for corporations that ship jobs or profits overseas.
       McCain/Flake amendment No. 360, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to deterring the migration of 
     unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and 
     Honduras.
       Wyden/Bennet amendment No. 708, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to simplifying and expanding 
     tax incentives for higher education to boost student 
     attendance and completion.
       Wyden amendment No. 791, to strike reconciliation 
     instructions to the Committees on Health, Education, Labor, 
     and Pensions and Finance and require regular order.
       Wyden amendment No. 870, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to extending tax provisions expiring in 
     2013 or 2014 for 2 years, such as those contained in the 
     EXPIRE Act of 2014.
       Heller amendment No. 453, to establish a spending-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to ensuring that the Secretary of 
     Transportation

[[Page 4590]]

     prioritizes the construction of projects that are of national 
     and regional significance and projects in high priority 
     corridors on the National Highway System, which will improve 
     the safe, secure, and efficient movement of people and goods 
     through the United States and facilitate economic development 
     and create jobs in the United States.
       Heller amendment No. 452, to establish a spending-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to ensuring that the Secretary of the 
     Interior enters into candidate conservation agreements with 
     each of the relevant 11 Western States before the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service makes a listing 
     determination on the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered 
     Species Act of 1973.
       Heller amendment No. 457, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to prohibition of Veterans Benefits 
     Administration executive bonuses until the backlog of 
     disability claims for veterans is eliminated.
       Heller amendment No. 456, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to ensuring that medical facilities of 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs meet the privacy, dignity, 
     and safety needs of women veterans.
       Coons/Bennet amendment No. 343, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to preserving mandatory 
     appropriations for agricultural conservation programs.
       Coons amendment No. 391, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to the expansion of access to the 
     income tax credit for employee health insurance expenses of 
     small employers.
       Coons/Rubio amendment No. 392, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to promoting the use of college 
     savings accounts while students are in elementary school and 
     secondary school.
       Coons amendment No. 394, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to special treatment of the income tax 
     credit for research expenditures for startup companies.
       Coons amendment No. 802, to offset the costs of the war 
     against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
       Baldwin amendment No. 432, to provide additional resources 
     to create the opportunity for more Americans to obtain a 
     higher education and advanced job skills by supporting two 
     free years of community college paid for by raising revenue 
     through requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their 
     fair share.
       Baldwin amendment No. 436, to preserve the point of order 
     against reconciliation legislation that would increase the 
     deficit or reduce a surplus.
       Manchin amendment No. 694, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to investing in advanced fossil energy 
     technology research and development.
       Manchin amendment No. 578, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to addressing methamphetamine abuse in 
     the United States.
       Whitehouse amendment No. 700, to ensure high-income earners 
     pay a fair share in taxes and to use the revenue to invest in 
     repairing our Nation's bridges, coastal infrastructure, and 
     damage from wildfires.
       Whitehouse/Udall amendment No. 867, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to making it more difficult for 
     corporations and billionaires to secretly influence elections 
     by making unlimited undisclosed campaign expenditures, and to 
     prevent such entities from evading campaign finance law, 
     including through making false statements to government 
     agencies.
       Whitehouse amendment No. 895, to prohibit budget 
     resolutions that support cutting over $1,000,000,000,000 in 
     spending without identifying specific programmatic effects.
       Casey amendment No. 632, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to providing reasonable accommodations 
     for pregnant workers.
       Casey amendment No. 633, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to enhancing the child and dependent 
     care tax credit.
       Merkley/Coons amendment No. 842, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to consumer financial 
     protection.
       Merkley amendment No. 843, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to restoring reductions in the 
     Republican budget to the Stafford loan program that would 
     mandate that students currently in college pay interest on 
     their loans before they have received their education 
     benefits, to make college more affordable, to reduce the debt 
     burden of students, and to help graduates afford to pay back 
     student loans.
       Merkley/Brown amendment No. 952, to establish a deficit-
     neutral reserve fund relating to establishing a more level 
     playing field in trade agreements.
       Merkley amendment No. 953, to save student financial aid 
     and reduce the student loan debt levels in the Republican 
     budget by 15 percent by eliminating new mandated interest 
     charged while students are still in school.
       Blumenthal amendment No. 825, to expand the deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund for veterans and servicemembers.
       Cassidy amendment No. 341, to establish a spending-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to the promotion of United States 
     offshore energy production.
       Cassidy amendment No. 539, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to improving Medicaid based on 
     successful and bipartisan State demonstration projects.
       Cassidy amendment No. 795, to establish a spending-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to authorizing Federal permitting for 
     manufacturing and energy construction projects relating to 
     national primary or secondary ambient air quality standard 
     for ozone lower than a certain existing standard.
       Coons (for Bennet) amendment No. 715, to create clean 
     energy jobs through predictable and fair incentives for 
     renewable energy.
       Murkowski (for Thune) amendment No. 607, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow for the permanent 
     elimination of the Federal estate tax.
       Murkowski (for Thune) amendment No. 743, to reduce funding 
     for the General Services Administration by $1,000,000 until 
     50 percent of counties in nonattainment for the 1997 National 
     Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone 
     as of January 30, 2015, achieve the air quality standard set 
     forth in the 1997 NAAQS, and direct those funds to the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the 
     purpose of helping municipalities reach attainment with the 
     2008 NAAQS for ground-level ozone, acknowledging that (1) 
     given limited State and Federal resources and the delay of 
     the Administrator in issuing to States implementation 
     guidance for the 2008 ground-level ozone NAAQS, priority 
     should be given to achieving the 2008 standard, (2) the 
     Administrator has not sufficiently implemented that standard, 
     (3) focusing by the Administrator on the most polluted areas 
     that are in nonattainment with that standard would benefit 
     public health, and (4) promulgating a lower standard at this 
     time would impose undue costs on the economy and workforce of 
     the United States.
       Murkowski/Sullivan amendment No. 838, to establish a 
     spending-neutral reserve fund relating to the disposal of 
     certain Federal land.
       Murkowski amendment No. 770, to establish a deficit-neutral 
     reserve fund relating to the construction of Arctic polar 
     icebreakers.
       Gardner (for Ayotte) amendment No. 485, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide equity in the tax 
     treatment of public safety officer death benefits.
       Gardner (for Ayotte) amendment No. 490, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund to address the disproportionate 
     regulatory burdens on community banks.
       Gardner (for Ayotte) amendment No. 852, to establish a 
     deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to providing small 
     business regulatory relief and preventing duplicative 
     regulations for investment advisors.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, this has been an important week for the 
Senate as we work to set spending goals for our Nation. Before this 
year, the Senate has only been able to pass two budgets in the past 6 
years. Now that Congress is under new management, we are on track to 
pass a budget after only 3 months.
  The reason we are working so hard is to restore the trust of the 
American people, who want and deserve more effective and efficient 
government. This week, as part of the Senate's regular order, we have 
been debating and offering amendments and have actually voted more than 
a dozen times on how best to set spending limits and make government 
live within its means, including votes to protect property rights of 
all Americans and to save Medicare.
  The spending goals and limits we have set are why passing a budget is 
so important to our Nation. They let congressional policymakers who 
actually allocate the dollars get to work by following our spending 
limits. Without that, they are delayed.
  We have had that situation for a number of years, in which the fiscal 
year actually ends and we don't have the spending bills done. That is 
what happens with government shutdowns. That is what happens with 
extending its ability to operate without having a budget. That 
shouldn't happen.
  So we want to get a budget passed by April 15 so that the spending 
committees can get busy looking at their areas of jurisdiction, their 
specific areas of interest, to come up with the best policies possible 
that have a total spending package that will keep government operating 
and meeting its objectives as the people expect.
  But today is the day for which we all have been waiting. Today the 
Senate will begin voting on many amendments offered this week by way of 
what is affectionately known as a vote-arama. We will start voting 
early this afternoon, and we will continue until we are exhausted, 
until we are done, until people think their amendments have been

[[Page 4591]]

covered sufficiently. That is the way we do it in the Senate.
  The Senate debate on this balanced budget demonstrates that Congress 
is doing its part to deliver a healthy economy for each and every 
American. The important first steps we have taken this week will help 
deliver a government that is more accountable, which is absolutely 
essential for strong job growth and job creation. This budget will help 
every American who wants to find a good-paying job and a fulfilling 
career.
  I am incredibly proud of my colleagues who are working together to 
deliver real solutions, real results, and real progress for hard-
working taxpayers.
  I find this a little bit stressful. I am an accountant. I have found 
a way to escape some of that tension. I have been reading the Tax Code, 
and it is time for us to reform the Tax Code. There are hundreds of 
pages on minor decisions, on different ways of calculating it, and I am 
excited that we are going to do that. One of the things both sides of 
the aisle have talked about is speculation on tax reform. Tax reform 
needs to be done in a bipartisan way. I know the chairman of the 
Finance Committee and the ranking member on the Finance Committee have 
already been working on it. We have subgroups set up to solve different 
parts of the Tax Code, and I am confident we can do that. There are 
general instructions in the budget bill that allow some latitude to the 
Finance Committee in a number of different ways, and I am hoping we can 
wind up with a simpler Tax Code, one that will not take care of my 
frustrations in future years, but will ease the frustrations of the 
American people as to taxes.
  There has been a lot of speculation on where budget cuts are being 
made. I know there is a lot of frustration on the other side. Our 
budget sets limits for the different spending groups. It doesn't get 
into the details. The people who know the details in those areas are on 
the committees, and they can make better decisions than we as the 
Budget Committee can make. I do point out frequently that part of my 
discovery during this process was that there are 260 programs whose 
authorizations have expired. That means the specific committees that 
came up with the idea for these programs haven't looked at them for 
some time, and that didn't stop us from going ahead and funding them 
anyway. They have expired, but in some cases we are spending four times 
as much as what was originally envisioned for that particular program. 
Does it amount to much money? It amounts to $293 billion a year--$293 
billion a year. If the committees do their work, there is a lot of 
money available for the areas outside of defense.
  Defense has its authorization done every year, so they are in a 
different category from all of the rest of the Federal Government 
programs. So if you are thinking there are a lot of hands tied on what 
can be done, there is $293 billion out there that is being spent that 
has expired and ought to be looked at. In businesses, they have to look 
at their expenses every single year and see where they can cut in order 
to continue the business. Around here one of those programs hasn't been 
looked at since 1983.
  So there is a lot of work for us to do. It is all included in the 
budget. I hope we can finish the budget tonight and put everybody to 
work on these extra tasks.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I heard my friend from Wyoming say he is 
relieving his stress over the budget by reading the Tax Code. In my 
religion, when you go to confession, you are given a penance for your 
sins. I cannot think of a more awesome penance than reading the Tax 
Code. I certainly hope it gives my friend from Wyoming a good frame of 
mind as he attacks this vote-arama.
  I am going to be brief because our ranking member on the budget has 
arrived on the floor, but I do want to say this: Budgets make choices, 
and there are one or two choices--certainly more than one or two but 
one or two that I would like to highlight that I think are worrisome.
  The Republican budget eliminates health insurance for 27 million 
Americans. That is 9 percent of people in America who would lose their 
health insurance protection because of the Republican budget. Part of 
it is the passionate refusal of the Republicans to accept the 
Affordable Care Act, which now in itself protects 15 to 16 million 
Americans. We have said to them, if you don't like the Affordable Care 
Act, give us an alternative, and they have yet to do so--and, frankly, 
because it is fairly difficult, as it was passing this bill. But to 
take health insurance away from 27 million Americans and say that is 
going to make a better life for working families? No, it will not. It 
will make a bigger challenge for these families which will be extremely 
difficult.
  Secondly, I am worried and I think other Members from both sides of 
the aisle share concerns about sequestration cuts when it comes to 
areas such as biomedical research. How in the world can we justify 
cutting research from the National Institutes of Health to find cures 
for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes--the list goes on. 
If we believe we are making a better America by cutting back research 
and innovation, particularly biomedical research, it is extremely 
shortsighted. When I take a look at the 200 or so pending amendments on 
budget resolution, it looks like there are 10 of them--including one I 
am going to offer--relative to medical research, Democrats and 
Republicans are saying spare this area of Federal spending. I would 
like to propose that all of us who share this goal on both sides of the 
aisle join in an effort to make sure this is treated differently in our 
budget. It shouldn't be subject to mindless and deep cuts in biomedical 
research, which will deny to a lot of suffering people the hope they 
need and deny cures that will not only save lives but save dramatic 
amounts of money.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, when we look at budgets, we look 
essentially at two things. First off, we look at what the budget 
actually does, because it is a set of priorities, and we look at what 
the budget does not do.
  Any sensible group of people, whether it is a family, whether it is 
local government, State government, whether it is a business--people 
sit around the table and say, OK, these are our needs, this is what we 
have to address or this is no longer relevant or this is wasteful and 
we have to get rid of it. That is what a budget process is about.
  When you examine the Republican budget, it almost seems they turn 
that equation upside down and they do everything we should not be doing 
and they don't do what we should be doing. The overall reality of 
America that most people understand is the middle class of this country 
for the last 40 years has been shrinking. Yes, we are in a lot better 
shape today than we were when President Bush left office, but real 
unemployment is 11 percent. We have the highest rate of childhood 
poverty in the industrialized world. Despite the modest gains to the 
Affordable Care Act, 35 million Americans still have no health 
insurance. Millions of families--whether it is in Nevada or Vermont--
are wondering how in God's name they are going to be able to send their 
kids to college when school is so expensive. What happens to those 
young people when they leave school deeply in debt?
  People are working in Vermont, in Nevada, in Wyoming for horrendously 
low wages because we have a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, and people 
are wondering why it is that they work 40 hours a week and still have 
to go to the emergency food shelf to put food on the table. Those are 
some of the issues the American people are talking about and they are 
thinking about, and they wonder, How does it happen that while they are 
working longer hours for low wages, the people on top and the large 
profitable corporations are doing phenomenally well? How does it happen 
that in the last 2 years, 14 of the wealthiest people in this country 
have seen a $157 billion increase in their wealth? How does it happen 
that one

[[Page 4592]]

family, the Walton family, owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent 
of the American people? How does it happen that 99 percent of all new 
income generated in America since the Wall Street crash goes to the top 
1 percent?
  Those are the issues the American people are wondering about. Why, 
with an increase in productivity, am I working longer hours for lower 
wages? Why, if I am a woman worker, do I make 78 cents on the dollar 
compared to a male worker? Those are the questions.
  Then you look at the Republican budget. The Republican budget does 
nothing to address the real problems except to make them worse. One of 
the problems, to be very frank, and works to the Republicans' 
advantage--and I have to say this, frankly--the Republican budget is so 
outrageous that when we explain it, people don't believe what we are 
saying. Senator Durbin made the point--no debate here--if I am wrong, 
somebody jump up and correct me. The Republican budget eliminates the 
Affordable Care Act, right? It does that, and 16 million Americans lose 
their health insurance--16 million people have no health insurance. But 
that is not enough. The Republican budget cuts over $400 billion in 
Medicaid. That is another 11 million people losing their health 
insurance--16 plus 11 is 27 million people losing health insurance.
  Does anybody in America think that makes any sense at all? These are 
men, women, children. You cut Medicaid and you throw people off. These 
are pregnant women who need to go to the doctor to make sure the baby 
they are carrying is healthy or little babies who are born. That is 
what they do.
  But meanwhile, here is something they do not do. When they get up 
there and say this budget does not include any tax increases, they are 
right. I can see that. They are right. But what they are really saying 
is: We will not--we will never ask the billionaires in this country to 
pay a nickel more in taxes. We will not ask the one out of four major 
corporations that pay nothing in taxes to start paying their fair share 
of taxes. We will make it harder for kids to go to college, we will 
throw people off of health insurance, but we will not ask the rich and 
the powerful to pay more in taxes.
  That is what this budget debate is about, and I hope the American 
people pay attention to that.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.


                           Amendment No. 689

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 689.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Ohio [Mr. Portman] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 689.

  Mr. PORTMAN. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

          (Purpose: To improve the dynamic scoring provision)

       On page 104, line 16, after ``shall provide'' insert ``, in 
     addition to the estimate of budgetary effects without 
     macroeconomic effects, an estimate of the budgetary effects 
     from changes in economic output, employment, capital stock, 
     interest rates, and other macroeconomic variables resulting 
     from the major legislation and''

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, we had an energetic discussion this 
morning about the budget that is before us. The amendment I am going to 
offer will help us have a better process to get to pro-growth tax 
reform to actually get this economy growing.
  My colleague, Senator Sanders, talked about the fact that real 
unemployment is far higher than the numbers that are officially 
reported. I agree with him on that. I agree with him that the economy 
is not out of the woods, and I agree with him that a lot of people are 
left behind and will continue to be until we get this economy growing 
the way you normally see an economy grow during a recovery. It is the 
weakest economic recovery, economists tell us, since the Great 
Depression; that is, measured in terms of economic growth, GDP, and in 
terms of job growth.
  So what this budget does is it puts in place the process for us to 
actually get pro-growth on policies: yes, on health care; yes, on 
taxes, on regulations, and so on to be able to move the economy 
forward. It was President John F. Kennedy who said that ``a rising tide 
lifts all boats.'' Now, some people get stuck on the shoals and we need 
to take care of them too. That is why this budget also has a strong 
safety net necessary to get economic growth--not sufficient but 
necessary. That is what this budget does.
  By the way, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office--not the 
Republicans, not I--the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office looks 
at this budget and says, you know what. By balancing the budget in 10 
years--balancing the budget--therefore, reducing the amount of deficits 
and the huge debt overhang--a record level of debt we have in our 
country right now--that will result in more economic growth and more 
jobs. That is what the Congressional Budget Office said. So this notion 
that somehow by actually dealing with the debt and deficit and by 
actually having a balanced budget is bad for the economy--it is just 
the opposite. This is a first but incredibly important step to getting 
this economy back on track and to bringing back these jobs.
  By the way, this is about not just economic growth but about better 
jobs, about rising wages, and it is about getting to a situation where 
instead of having wages going down--which is what has been happening 
over the last 6 years--we can actually see wages go up. On average, 
wages have gone down about 8 percent. So for working families in Ohio 
and around this country, we have seen wages go down 8 percent. By the 
way, half of that reduction in wages came during the so-called 
recovery. So something is not working. Part of what is not working is 
running these hundreds of billions of dollars of deficit every year and 
spending more than this place takes in every year and building up these 
levels of debt that are unprecedented--over $18 trillion.
  We did vote on the President's budget yesterday. It is the only 
alternative we have to be able to compare what this side of the aisle 
wants to do and what the other side of the aisle wants to do. In the 
budget the President put out, there was an $8 trillion increase--
increase--in the debt over the next 10 years. That is adding to the 
over $7 trillion of debt that has been added over the last 6 years 
under the Obama administration. That may be why not a lot of people 
voted for the budget that the President presented. In fact, only one 
person did--1 out of 100. The reason is, it adds so much more debt and 
so much more in annual deficits that it actually puts that wet blanket 
over the economy and doesn't enable us to see the economic growth we 
want.
  So one element of growth, as the chairman of the Budget Committee 
talked about this morning, is tax reform. I think everybody 
acknowledges that our Tax Code is antiquated. It is out of date. It is 
inefficient. It does not let us compete around the world. So workers in 
Ohio are competing with one hand tied behind their backs because our 
Tax Code is so inefficient that it does not let them compete 
effectively around the world.
  So let's reform the Tax Code. Everybody who looks at it--economists 
right, left, or center--agrees the Tax Code does not work. They have 
different ideas on how to fix it, but they all say: if you could fix 
this Tax Code, you would see more growth.
  By the way, you would see not just more jobs but better jobs. If you 
look at the issue of business tax reform--there is actually a lot of 
similarity between what the administration is talking about and what 
Members of Congress on my side of the aisle are talking about. The 
economic analysis there is that the No. 1 impact of having the highest 
business tax rate in all the developed world is on wages and benefits. 
The No. 1 beneficiary will be workers because they are going to see 
their wages go up and they are going to see

[[Page 4593]]

their benefits go up. These are the middle-class jobs we want to create 
in this country.
  So let's have this tax reform. Let's make sure it is pro-growth.
  Now back to this amendment and why it is so important to that. This 
is an amendment that says: Let's require the Joint Committee on 
Taxation--that is the group who handles scoring those tax reform 
proposals--to give us the right analysis so we can come up with pro-
job, pro-growth tax reform that will actually enable us to bring back 
these good middle-class jobs. That is what this amendment says. It 
requires them to provide us what is called macroeconomic scoring.
  Right now, unbelievably, when you provide a tax reform proposal on 
the floor of the Senate, what you get back is just a static score that 
has no relationship to what the impact will be on the economy. It 
assumes there will be zero impact on the economy. Now, nobody believes 
that. Everyone knows tax changes will have some impact on the economy--
good, bad, indifferent--yet we do not have that information to be able 
to ensure that we are writing the right tax reform to get to the result 
we all want. It seems absurd, I know, but that is the current 
situation.
  What this amendment says is, let's have a requirement that the Joint 
Committee on Taxation provide to the Senate a dynamic score, a 
macroeconomic score. By the way, they already do it. They already have 
a model to do it. They just do not provide it to us. Would there be a 
so-called static score, too, that shows no economic changes? Yes, you 
would have that too. I cannot imagine that any Member of this body, 
Republican or Democrat, would not want to have that information, would 
not want to know what the actual impact is on the economy.
  Think about this: If McDonald's raises the price of its Big Mac to 
$10 or $12, what is going to happen? Under a static score, it would 
say: McDonald's will get more revenue. We know what will happen. We 
will not go to McDonald's and our kids will not go to McDonald's 
because it is too expensive. The revenue will go down.
  We need to have that kind of commonsense analysis here on the floor 
of the Senate so we can, indeed, put forward tax reform that makes 
sense for the economy and makes sense to the American people and helps 
to do precisely what Senator Sanders talks about, which is to get that 
unemployment number down and provide better jobs, higher paying jobs. 
If we do not do that, we are letting down the people we are elected to 
represent.
  I hope this amendment No. 689 is supported by Democrats and 
Republicans alike as a commonsense approach to this. Let's apply 
macroeconomic analysis to anything that is a tax reform proposal over 
$15 billion. That is the right level. The House has similar analysis in 
their legislation, so this could actually end up being something on 
which the House and Senate can agree.
  Let's ensure that we have the information we need to write the right 
kind of legislation to get this economy moving and to deal with both 
sides of the coin. One, spending restraint--and we all know that has to 
happen--and two, growth, get this economy moving. If we do that, we 
will see more gross revenues and be able to make this objective we have 
set out in this budget, which is to actually, for the American people, 
who cannot understand why we cannot do it, balance this budget. They 
have to balance their budgets. We have to in our families. We have to 
in our businesses. We have to in our States. We ought to do it here in 
the Congress as well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Rounds). The Senator from West Virginia.


                  Amendments Nos. 415 and 416 En Bloc

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up amendments Nos. 415 and 416 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 415

 (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to a 
 requirement that any new environmental agreement signed by the United 
States with any foreign country or countries not result in serious harm 
                  to the economy of the United States)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO A 
                   REQUIREMENT THAT ANY NEW ENVIRONMENTAL 
                   AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH ANY FOREIGN COUNTRY NOT 
                   RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM TO THE ECONOMY OF THE 
                   UNITED STATES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to a requirement that any new environmental 
     agreement signed by the United States with any foreign 
     country or countries not result in serious harm to the 
     economy of the United States by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not raise new revenue and would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 416

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
          protecting the reliability of the electricity grid)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   PROTECTING THE RELIABILITY OF THE ELECTRICITY 
                   GRID.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to prohibiting the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, finalizing, 
     or issuing any regulation that would reduce the reliability 
     of the electricity grid by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not raise new revenue and would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I wish to briefly address these two 
amendments. The first amendment simply says that the United States 
should not sign an international environmental agreement that would do 
serious harm to our own economy. That commonsense principle passed the 
Senate by a vote of 95 to 0 in 1997.
  Last year, the administration announced the climate agreement with 
China. That agreement requires significant short-term carbon emission 
reductions here in the United States, but China is allowed to continue 
increasing its carbon emissions until 2030. That disparity could place 
the United States at a significant economic disadvantage. In November, 
global talks began in Paris on a broader international agreement.
  My amendment simply states what every Senator who voted in 1997 said: 
No agreement should cause serious harm to the American economy.
  My second amendment protects the reliability of our electricity grid. 
North American Electric Reliability Corporation released a report that 
found that the targets set forward in the President's Clean Power Plan 
will be difficult if not impossible to achieve without degrading the 
reliability of the grid.
  We all want to have our lights turn on and our heat and air-
conditioning work. This is in peril. My amendment simply makes sure 
families and businesses have the reliable electricity they expect by 
blocking the EPA from finalizing, proposing, or issuing any regulation 
that would reduce the reliability of the electricity grid.
  I ask my colleagues to support these amendments.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.


                           Amendment No. 437

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and call up Peters amendment No. 437.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page 4594]]

  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Michigan [Mr. Peters] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 437.

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 enhancing and improving the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
           in order to reduce the patent application backlog)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ENHANCING 
                   AND IMPROVING THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND 
                   TRADEMARK OFFICE IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE 
                   APPLICATION BACKLOG.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to enhancing and improving the United States Patent 
     and Trademark Office in order to reduce the patent 
     application backlog by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for that purpose, provided that such legislation 
     would not increase the deficit over either the period of the 
     total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the 
     total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, the amendment that I have just called up 
that is pending before the Senate deals with what I think is a critical 
issue for this country; that is, making sure we can continue to move 
forward with innovation to grow the economy.
  There certainly are many debates that are going to be held as to how 
we get the productivity in this country to increase, how we create more 
middle-class jobs and grow the economy from the top to the bottom. But 
I think there is broad consensus that what has really driven our 
economy--really through the centuries but certainly most recently in 
the United States--has been innovation. It is about innovation, 
creating the next big thing, the big products that transform people's 
lives. In order to do that, companies that come up with these ideas 
need to have patent protection so that the effort they put into that 
product, the money they put into that product, they are able to protect 
as they market that product and get a return on their investments. 
Unfortunately, however, the backlog of patent applications at the U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Office has become completely unacceptable.
  The America Invents Act made a number of very important changes to 
our patent system that targeted the reducing of the backlog and driving 
innovation. At the time that act was passed, there were more than 
700,000 patent applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 
Those applications had an average review time of 3 years or longer 
before the applications were granted patent protection. Three years is 
simply an unacceptable amount of time to wait as these inventors who 
are trying to get their patent protections--they have to wait several 
years before they can bring those products to the market and have the 
protections of patents.
  What makes it even more unacceptable is that these folks who are 
applying for these patents pay a user fee. They pay a fee in order to 
have this work done. Yet, with sequestration and other types of budget 
maneuvering, the patent office actually cannot fully utilize the fees 
that are generated by the people who are paying these fees. So, in a 
sense, this is an innovation tax. People who are innovating pay a tax 
while they are innovating, when what we should be doing is accelerating 
their ability to bring these products to market, create jobs, and 
advance the economy.
  The backlog now, after the passage of the act, still stands at 
600,000, with an average review time of 2.3 years. So we have made some 
progress, but we still have a long way to go.
  So in order to reduce the patent application backlog, the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office needs the ability to access all of the fees it 
receives in order to hire additional examiners and administrative 
patent judges. That is what this amendment before us does--it gives the 
patent office the resources it needs in order to do its job 
effectively. The end result is a stronger American economy. I urge my 
colleagues to adopt this amendment.


                           Amendment No. 521

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be 
set aside and call up Peters amendment No. 521.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Michigan [Mr. Peters] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 521.

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  investing in science, technology, and basic research in the United 
                                States)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INVESTING 
                   IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND BASIC RESEARCH IN 
                   THE UNITED STATES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to investment in science, technology, and basic 
     research in the United States, which may include educational 
     or research and development initiatives, public-private 
     partnerships, or other programs, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, this amendment is similar to the previous 
amendment in that it focuses on innovation. It focuses on what this 
country does best, which is create new products and advance the 
knowledge with scientific discoveries and new inventions.
  This amendment, however, deals specifically with scientific discovery 
and technological breakthroughs that drive our economy. We have known 
throughout human history that the drivers of that have been the big 
breakthroughs, whether it is the cotton gin or the internal combustion 
engine or the railroads. These have been inventions that have 
transformed the entire planet.
  We need to continue to have those innovations, but in order to do 
that, we need to invest in basic scientific research. Investments in 
basic research have resulted in countless innovations that improve our 
day-to-day lives and support the Nation's overall productivity and 
competitiveness.
  The Federal Government has long played a crucial role. This has 
always been, in the past, a very bipartisan issue, that the Federal 
Government invest in this basic, cutting-edge research and development. 
However, we have seen a very I think disturbing trend over the last few 
decades as R&D spending has fallen. The amount of money which the 
Federal Government puts into basic scientific research now is less than 
1 percent of GDP. This is simply unacceptable. We have to look at basic 
scientific research as the seed corn for our economy. We need to invest 
in seed corn so we can harvest the rewards of that investment.
  This amendment would strengthen Congress's ongoing commitment to 
responsibly increasing investments in science, technology, and basic 
research and help ensure U.S. science and technology leadership in an 
increasingly competitive world.
  I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this amendment to show our 
commitment to investing in basic scientific research so we can continue 
to make the U.S. economy the strongest in the world.


                           Amendment No. 639

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be 
set aside and call up Peters amendment No. 639.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.

[[Page 4595]]

  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Michigan [Mr. Peters] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 639.

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
             supporting trade and travel at ports of entry)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUPPORTING 
                   TRADE AND TRAVEL AT PORTS OF ENTRY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to supporting trade and travel at ports of entry, 
     which may include construction at ports of entry or increased 
     staffing at ports of entry, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 and the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, this amendment deals with another critical 
aspect of growing our economy. Certainly innovation and basic 
scientific research are the real drivers of long-term economic growth, 
but another very important aspect of that is international trade. The 
United States has the best workers in the world. We have the best 
entrepreneurs. We have the best innovators. We need to be in a position 
that we can continue to promote trade across the world.
  So I rise to offer an amendment that will support trade and travel 
through our U.S. ports of entry. As we all know, trade and travel drive 
economic development. In fact, they generate over $2 trillion in 
economic impact and support nearly 15 million jobs nationwide. However, 
it is unfortunate to say that many our busiest ports of entry are in 
need of modernization in order to safely and efficiently process 
travelers and goods.
  I speak about this with firsthand experience. In Michigan, our 
manufacturers and agricultural producers rely on efficient trade with 
Canada, which is our Nation's largest export market, our top customer, 
as well as our closest ally. However, existing infrastructure at our 
ports of entry often does not allow for the most efficient processing 
of trucks and cargo. We have two major crossings in Detroit--in 
Windsor, Canada, as well as Port Huron in Sarnia. Both of those trade 
areas need additional investment in their customs plazas to efficiently 
handle the trade between our two countries.
  Those investments are important investments in the future of this 
country and important in order to make sure we continue to expand trade 
and economic activity. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support 
this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. First, Mr. President, I thank Senator Peters for the 
amendments he just offered. We had a hearing in the Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Committee in regard to the patent issues. It is 
clearly a huge concern by the innovators, the small business, biotech, 
and high-tech firms. I thank the Senator very much for giving us an 
opportunity to act on that matter.
  Secondly, let me compliment the Senator on the research issues. I 
took to the floor yesterday and talked about the budgets of the 
National Institutes of Health and how critical that is, not only for 
their direct mission, which is to find answers to diseases, but also to 
provide the answers to building blocks for companies that do incredible 
work.
  I was at AstraZeneca in Frederick on Monday, where they do the 
biologics manufacturing, and they depend very much on the NIH budget.
  I thank the Senator for the amendments he offered. I know we will 
have a chance to act on them a bit later.


        Amendments Nos. 364, 367, 439, 440, 899, and 900 en bloc

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc: Cardin 
amendments Nos. 364, 367, 439, 440, 899, and 900.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Maryland [Mr. Cardin] proposes amendments 
     numbered 364, 367, 439, 440, 899, and 900 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 364

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   improving oral health care for children and pregnant women under 
                               Medicaid)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO IMPROVING 
                   ORAL HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN AND PREGNANT 
                   WOMEN UNDER MEDICAID.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to initiatives that would improve oral health care 
     for children and pregnant women under the Medicaid program by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for such purpose, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 367

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  providing a funding stream for a voter reinfranchisement initiative)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING PROVIDING A 
                   FUNDING STREAM FOR A VOTER REINFRANCHISEMENT 
                   INITIATIVE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing a funding stream for a voter 
     reinfranchisement initiative, which may include Bureau of 
     Prisons notifications for released inmates of voting rights, 
     notifications by United States attorneys of voting rights 
     restrictions during plea agreements, and a Department of 
     Justice report on the disproportionate impact of criminal 
     disenfranchisement laws on minority populations, including 
     data on disfranchisement rates by race and ethnicity, by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 439

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
mandating a higher threshold that the Small Business Administration may 
guarantee, through the Surety Bond Guarantee Program, of the bonds that 
  small businesses are required to obtain so that they may be able to 
     better compete successfully for Federal Government contracts)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INCREASING 
                   THE GUARANTEE THRESHOLD FOR THE SURETY BOND 
                   GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the Surety Bond Guarantee Program of the Small 
     Business Administration, which may include exploring or 
     raising the range for surety bonds, by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 440

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  increasing the Family Funds limit of the Small Business Investment 
  Company Program from $225,000,000 to $350,000,000, as passed by the 
 Committee in 2013, which is zero subsidy and funded entirely through 
                 fees paid by investors and businesses)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page 4596]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO RAISING 
                   THE FAMILY OF FUNDS LIMIT OF THE SMALL BUSINESS 
                   INVESTMENT COMPANY PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the Small Business Investment Company Program of 
     the Small Business Administration, which may include raising 
     the Family of Funds limit of the Small Business Investment 
     Company Program, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 899

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the 
importance of financial literacy education to allow individuals to make 
    informed and effective decisions with their financial resources)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION TO 
                   ALLOW INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE INFORMED AND 
                   EFFECTIVE DECISIONS WITH THEIR FINANCIAL 
                   RESOURCES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to financial literacy education, which may include 
     improvements to financial literacy education curricula in 
     schools or which may improve the capacity of teachers to 
     provide effective financial literacy education, by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 900

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the 
             importance of civics and government education)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   IMPORTANCE OF CIVICS AND GOVERNMENT EDUCATION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to civics and government education, which may 
     include improving instruction in civics and government 
     education or which may improve the capacity of teachers to 
     provide effective civics and government education, by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to take a few minutes to talk a 
little bit about the amendments.
  I see Senator Portman on the floor, and I want to talk about 
amendment No. 899, which provides a deficit-neutral reserve fund for 
financial literacy.
  The two of us have been working for over a decade to increase the 
amount of savings for Americans, particularly retirement savings. We 
know that at early ages people need to understand the importance of 
saving.
  I offer this amendment, and Senator Portman has been very helpful to 
me in developing this amendment. I hope we will be able to act on this 
a little bit later.
  Amendment No. 364 deals with oral health, which establishes a 
deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to improving oral health care for 
pregnant women and children under Medicaid. Let me point out to my 
colleagues something they may not be aware of; that is, the oral health 
of a pregnant woman very much impacts the baby. Therefore, it is 
important pregnant women have attention to their oral health care 
needs. It is transmitted to their babies.
  I urge my colleagues to help us in supporting this effort. We have 
taken major steps to improve pediatric dental care. This is another 
step we can take by dealing with pregnant women.
  With regard to amendment No. 367, which sets up the deficit-neutral 
reserve fund to provide for voter reenfranchisement initiatives, once 
again I think my colleagues would be surprised to learn there is an 
estimated 5.85 million citizens who cannot vote as a result of criminal 
convictions and nearly 4.4 million of those have already been released 
from prison.
  We have 4.4 million people living in our community whom we expect to 
be productive citizens, and yet they have been disenfranchised from 
voting.
  Nationwide 1 in 13 African Americans of voting age have lost their 
right to vote, a rate four times the national average. I think that 
should give us all concern.
  Latino citizens are also impacted because they are disproportionately 
overrepresented in the criminal justice system.
  States have vastly different approaches to people voting with 
criminal convictions. This patchwork of State laws has caused confusion 
among the election officials and the public, sometimes resulting in the 
disenfranchisement of even eligible voters. So this amendment would 
provide much needed information into the hands of citizens returning 
from incarceration.
  I thank my colleague Senator Paul for his work with regard to this 
issue. The two of us are trying to find a way we can bring forward 
together a workable way that can help many who have been released from 
our prisons to have the right to vote and participate in our community.
  With regard to two amendments I am offering, amendments Nos. 439 and 
440, both are related to my work as the ranking Democrat on the Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.
  One would set up a deficit reserve fund to deal with surety bonds. We 
have increased the limit of the surety bond by the SBA for small 
companies, which is very important. This would help make that a more 
permanent increase.
  The small companies, if they try to get a surety bond, have to pledge 
just about every one of their assets in order to get it. The SBA 
program helps with that credit so they can get affordable surety bonds 
without jeopardizing their ability to raise capital. This amendment 
calls attention to that need where we can help small businesses in this 
country.
  I also set up the deficit-neutral reserve fund for family funds 
within the small business investment company.
  I thank Senator Risch. He has been working on this issue, and I have 
been working with him on this issue. I think we will hopefully be able 
to come together on legislation that will increase the opportunities 
under the small business investment companies, which is, again, an 
avenue for capital for small companies, the driving force for job 
innovation in our community.
  This amendment would allow us again to focus on that legislation, 
which we hope to move through the Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
Committee.
  Lastly, I have offered a deficit-neutral reserve fund, amendment No. 
900, concerning civic education.
  I have taken the floor to point out that, yes, we need to stress 
areas of excellence in the sciences, et cetera, in education, but let's 
not forget civic education. The bedrock of our country's values are 
based upon our civic system, and it is important that young people have 
a full understanding of civic education.
  This amendment would give us an opportunity, in this Congress, to 
move forward in promoting civic education for our school system.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, first, I applaud my colleague from 
Maryland for these constructive amendments. I am happy to be a 
cosponsor of the financial literacy amendment, which enables all of our 
constituents to be able to save and invest more, particularly with 
regard to retirement savings for retirees.
  The savings rate is low. Baby boomers are retiring without having 
lifetime savings, and financial literacy is critical for them. It is 
also critical for our young people to give them the opportunity to 
start saving early with the power of compound interest and to

[[Page 4597]]

be able to make wise decisions for their future--whether it is for 
retirement, whether it is for health care or whether it is for other 
purposes.
  I have enjoyed working with my colleague Senator Cardin on this issue 
over the years, and I am proud to cosponsor his amendment.


                           Amendment No. 681

  I wish to call up another amendment this morning because it is very 
important for all of us in this Chamber because all of us are affected 
by it.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending 
amendment to call up my amendment No. 681.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Ohio [Mr. Portman] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 681.

  Mr. PORTMAN. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                demolishing vacant and abandoned homes)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   DEMOLISHING VACANT AND ABANDONED HOMES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing funding to improve the safety of 
     neighborhoods in the United States, which may include 
     demolishing blighted and abandoned homes, by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, this is a commonsense amendment that 
calls for prioritizing the investments to tackle a very important issue 
for our cities and towns across our country, especially those hardest 
hit by the housing crisis.
  Main Streets, unfortunately, across our country have become littered 
with abandoned and blighted properties.
  In Ohio, there are about 80,000 of these abandoned home; hundreds of 
thousands, of course, across the country. I have had the opportunity to 
walk the streets in some of our cities in Ohio with some of our 
farsighted mayors who are tackling this issue. They are looking for a 
little bit of help. I have been in Warren, OH, Toledo, OH, and Lima, 
OH.
  When you walk these streets and talk to the people in the 
neighborhoods, they let you know how they are feeling about this. They 
don't like these blighted properties, in part, because it reduces the 
home values for the whole neighborhood. In fact, there is some evidence 
out there that these blighted properties can cost neighbors up to 80 
percent of their home value. So one of the best things you can do for 
tumbling home values in America right now in struggling neighborhoods 
is demolish these abandoned properties.
  Second, and this is very important, they become magnets for crime, 
for arson, and for other dangerous activities that put neighbors at 
risk. It puts first responders at risk. There are stories around the 
country. Unfortunately, in my home State of Ohio, some first 
responders, firefighters, have gone to a fire in an abandoned 
structure, actually been injured, and in one case lost their life. This 
is something neighbors feel strongly about.
  When I was in Toledo, with the mayor of Toledo, observing one of the 
demolitions--it was a house that was about 10 feet away from a 
neighboring home. The mother was there with some of her young children, 
and she said: Thank goodness this is happening, because every night I 
go to sleep I put my head on my pillow praying that the house next door 
is not going to be subject to the arson attacks that have happened in 
the city of Toledo in these abandoned structures and praying that my 
children are not going to be injured by an arson next door to me.
  It is critical that we provide this help. Land banks in these areas 
have done a terrific job. Cleveland, in particular, I will hold up as 
doing a great job. But in States like mine and in other manufacturing 
States--Florida, Michigan, and other States around the country--these 
land banks are doing the best they can, but they need additional 
resources to demolish many of these properties in order to help 
struggling neighborhoods recover.
  This has been a bipartisan issue. We have been able to direct some 
funding there, including from the hardest hit funds. I want to continue 
to make progress because it is so important, again, for our 
neighborhoods and for the safety of those people who live in these 
neighborhoods that are affected most directly by abandoned homes.
  I hope we can get some votes from both sides of the aisle for this 
amendment today and make it clear to those local officials across our 
country, and to those neighbors in these communities, that we are going 
to do what we can to help provide the resources to be able to deal with 
these blighted and abandoned structures.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.


                           Amendment No. 944

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up my amendment No. 944.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Florida [Mr. Nelson], for himself and Mr. 
     Schatz, proposes an amendment numbered 944.

  Mr. NELSON. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To create a point of order against legislation that would use 
         tax dollars to censor publicly-funded climate science)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ____. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST USING TAX DOLLARS TO CENSOR 
                   PUBLICLY-FUNDED CLIMATE SCIENCE.

       It shall not be in order in the Senate to consider any 
     bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment between 
     the Houses, or conference report that would censor or 
     otherwise limit the ability of any Federal employee or 
     Federal agency to use in official documents or presentations 
     terms common in scientific literature describing atmospheric, 
     climate, weather, or oceanic processes, including terms 
     relevant to changes in the global climate system or other 
     risks to human health, the environment, and the economy 
     related to air pollution.

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, what this amendment does is it supports 
the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: freedom of speech, to 
prohibit censorship of Federal agencies and Federal employees from 
speaking in scientific terms about the oceans, the weather, the 
atmospheres, and the climate.
  You would think this is so common sense and so understood under our 
freedom of speech in our U.S. Constitution, but we have all read news 
reports at the State level, at the local level, and maybe even at the 
Federal level that, indeed, some folks are trying to muzzle scientists 
from speaking about the science involving the oceans, the atmosphere, 
climate, and the weather.
  I have the privilege of knowing something about the space program. 
When I hear people saying they don't want NASA to get involved in 
climate, well, NASA builds the satellites, NASA launches the 
satellites--but then NOAA, in the Department of Commerce, operates 
these weather satellites--other satellites that are taking measurements 
of the Earth to understand what is happening to our atmosphere, what is 
happening to our climate.
  When I start talking about the atmosphere, I can't help but flash 
back 29\1/2\ half years ago, looking at our planet out the window of a 
spacecraft and looking at the rim of the Earth and seeing the thin 
little film that is the

[[Page 4598]]

atmosphere that sustains all of our life.
  There is a lot about it that we don't know. There is a lot about it 
that we, in fact, can measure scientifically. Yet for some reason, 
there is some commentary going on in America today that we want to 
muzzle our scientists.
  So this amendment is a simple, little, commonsense amendment that 
says you can't muzzle a Federal agency or a Federal employee, telling 
them they can't use their First Amendment right of freedom of speech to 
speak in scientific terms about the oceans, the weather, the 
atmosphere, and the climate.
  Imagine if we were going to muzzle researchers at the National 
Institutes of Health and censor them, saying they couldn't use medical 
terms such as asthma or cancer. What if that was off limits? There is 
not even a question that we would consider that.
  Last week, when we got into the matter of climate, a study suggested 
the massive Antarctic glacier is melting. The water from that melting 
glacier will impact global sea levels, potentially raising them by 10 
feet. This week, researchers tell us the melting of Greenland's ice 
sheet is slowing the cyclical ocean current that drives the warm gulf 
stream, which comes right along the southeastern coast of my State and 
goes out through the middle of the Atlantic and warms parts of Western 
Europe. To understand all of that, it is critical we have this 
information, which has the potential to impact all of us, no matter 
where we live.
  At times of seasonal high tide, the streets of Miami Beach are 
flooded. The mayor of Miami Beach campaigned paddling in a kayak on 
Alton Road, which is on the west side of the city of Miami Beach. He 
campaigned in a kayak at the time of seasonal high flood talking about 
what the city needed to do because of what NASA's scientists tell us.
  This is what NASA has testified to before the Committee on Commerce, 
Science and Transportation. This was not a forecast, they were not 
projections, but measurements of the rise of the sea level in south 
Florida over the course of the last 45 years--6 to 8 inches. Again, 
this was not a forecast but measurements. Do we want to muzzle that 
NASA scientist who testified before our committee and who, by the way, 
in this case is also a NASA astronaut? Do we want to muzzle him?
  Scientists simply must have the tools and the ability to tell us what 
they observe without limitation on the terms they can speak. So let us 
make clear that public science cannot be muzzled, that we won't support 
censorship, and that the taxpayers deserve an honest return on their 
investment.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.


        Amendments Nos. 346, 425, 426, 427, 442, and 810 En Bloc

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up my amendments Nos. 346, 425, 426, 427, 
442, and 810 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Maine [Ms. Collins] proposes amendments 
     numbered 346, 425, 426, 427, 442, and 810 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 346

   (Purpose: To modify the deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  promoting jobs in the United States through international trade to 
include the reauthorization or extension of trade adjustment assistance 
                               programs)

       On page 58, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:
       (4) reauthorizing or extending trade adjustment assistance 
     programs;


                           amendment no. 425

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                     improving retirement security)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO IMPROVING 
                   RETIREMENT SECURITY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to improving retirement security by making it easier 
     for small businesses to provide retirement plans for their 
     employees by easing the administrative burden and by 
     encouraging individuals to increase their savings by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           amendment no. 426

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
    promoting economic growth and job creation for small businesses)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROMOTING 
                   ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOB CREATION FOR SMALL 
                   BUSINESSES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to promoting economic growth and job creation by 
     making it easier for small businesses to plan their capital 
     investments and reducing the uncertainty of taxation by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           amendment no. 427

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
              investment in Alzheimer's disease research)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INVESTMENT 
                   IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing sufficient investment in Alzheimer's 
     disease research, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 442

  (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to restore a 
 sensible definition of full-time employee for purposes of the Patient 
                  Protection and Affordable Care Act)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   DEFINITION OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     related to the employer penalties under the Patient 
     Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), 
     which may include changes to the definition of ``full time 
     employee'' under that Act, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 810

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
increasing access to higher education for low-income Americans through 
                    the Federal Pell Grant program)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INCREASING 
                   ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR LOW-INCOME 
                   AMERICANS THROUGH THE FEDERAL PELL GRANT 
                   PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing access to higher education for low-
     income Americans through the Federal Pell Grant program, 
     which may

[[Page 4599]]

     include allowing for 1 or more additional payment periods 
     during the same award year, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, there will be very little time later 
today when we start voting for there to be full explanations of any of 
these amendments, which I think is very unfortunate. I do want to let 
my colleagues know about some of these amendments, and I am proud to 
say that, for the most part, the amendments I have filed and have now 
called up are bipartisan amendments that enjoy support on both sides of 
the aisle.
  For example, my amendment No. 427 would create a deficit-neutral 
reserve fund to support sufficient investment in Alzheimer's disease 
research to achieve the goal set by the national plan to address 
Alzheimer's disease--of having the means to prevent and effectively 
treat that disease by the year 2025.
  This amendment is cosponsored by Senator Moran, Senator Warner, 
Senator McCaskill, Senator Toomey, and Senator Donnelly. It is modeled 
very much on a bill that Senator Klobuchar and I have introduced to 
increase funding for Alzheimer's research.
  Just yesterday the Special Committee on Aging, which I lead along 
with Senator McCaskill, held an extensive hearing on Alzheimer's 
disease. We listened to preeminent researchers and individuals such as 
B. Smith, who unfortunately has been afflicted with early onset 
Alzheimer's. We listened to a caregiver and to a geriatric physician 
from Portland, ME. We had testimony from the Mayo Clinic and testimony 
from the individual who heads the Institutes on Aging at the National 
Institutes of Health. To a person they pointed out that we are spending 
$226 billion a year caring for people with Alzheimer's, yet we are 
investing less than $600 million in this disease.
  The experts tell us that if our investment were at the level of $2 
billion a year, we could explore the promising breakthroughs, the 
therapeutic targets that are needed to develop a means of prevention or 
better treatments or, ultimately, even a cure for Alzheimer's. Think of 
that. That $2 billion figure that is recommended by the expert advisory 
council, headed by Dr. Ron Peterson from the Mayo Clinic, is less than 
1 percent of what we are spending caring for people with Alzheimer's.
  This disease is going to bankrupt the Medicare and the Medicaid 
Programs. We are currently spending $154 billion from those two 
programs for care of patients with Alzheimer's.
  That is one of the amendments I will be proposing.
  I see the Senator from Illinois is on the floor, and he has been 
another real leader in this area.
  Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator from Maine yield for a question?
  Ms. COLLINS. Yes, I will be happy to yield.
  Mr. DURBIN. First, I want to thank her. I took a look at the 200 
pending amendments on this budget resolution, and I think at least 10 
relate to biomedical research from both sides of the aisle. This is 
clearly a bipartisan issue, and I thank my colleague for speaking out 
on this Alzheimer's issue, because these victims and advocates for 
research came this week to visit.
  It is stunning, just stunning, to think for a moment that we diagnose 
a person with Alzheimer's in America once every 68 seconds. When staff 
told me that, I couldn't believe it. I said, that has to be wrong, but 
it is right. It is an indication of the rapid development and growth of 
this terrible disease.
  So I thank my colleague for putting in perspective the fact we spend 
over $200 billion a year already on it, and that doesn't calculate all 
of the sacrifices of the caregivers in helping members of the family.
  It would seem to me that amidst all this budget debate there should 
be certain areas that are sacred, and I think biomedical research 
should be one of them. I thank my colleague for speaking up on 
Alzheimer's and I hope we can continue this dialog on behalf of NIH and 
the other agencies doing the research.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague and friend 
from Illinois for his comments. I happened to catch his speech 
yesterday. There was a sea of purple at our hearing--purple 
representing the Alzheimer's cause. I hope one day purple will 
represent Alzheimer's survivors. Wouldn't that be wonderful.
  This is a high priority for me. And I agree with the Senator from 
Illinois, I believe we should be increasing our investment in 
biomedical research, particularly for Alzheimer's, but in many other 
areas as well. The irony is that, ultimately, it will reduce not only 
human suffering but the cost of health care.
  The trajectory of Alzheimer's is such that if we do not develop 
better treatments, a means of prevention, or a cure, by the year 2050 
the estimate is we are going to be spending more than $1 trillion 
taking care of people with Alzheimer's.
  For all of us in the baby boomer generation, the estimates are that 
by age 85, nearly 1 out of 2 of us will be afflicted with Alzheimer's, 
if the current trajectory is unchanged. Frankly, we are going to be 
spending our golden years either with Alzheimer's or taking care of 
someone with Alzheimer's. So this is a crisis, and it deserves our 
attention.
  I know Senator Moran also has a broader amendment on biomedical 
research, which I am proud to be a sponsor of, and this is an area 
where I hope we can come together in a bipartisan way, as my colleague 
has suggested.
  Mr. President, there are other amendments I would like to briefly 
discuss, seeing no one seeking the floor immediately, I don't believe. 
I will have my staff check on that.
  I am also going to offer an amendment to create a deficit-neutral 
reserve fund to increase access to higher education for low-income 
Americans through the Federal Pell grant program, including an 
innovative idea that I am very interested in, and that the chairman of 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Senator Lamar 
Alexander, is very interested in, which would allow for year-round Pell 
grants so that individuals could complete their education more quickly.
  Before I was elected to the Senate, I worked at a college in Maine--
Hudson University in Bangor, ME--and I saw firsthand the difference 
that Pell grants made in the lives of these students. Indeed, on my 
staff today there are highly talented individuals who were able to go 
to college solely because of the existence of Pell grants. Their 
families did not have experience with higher education and could not 
afford higher education. Pell grants made possible a bright future for 
these two women on my staff.
  This is the kind of opportunity that should unite us and that all of 
us should rally behind. Allowing year-round Pell grants would allow 
students to complete their education more quickly and join the 
workforce more quickly, which would help them financially as well. So I 
hope this is something we can pursue and that will be adopted as well.
  Another of my bipartisan amendments, No. 442, would establish a 
deficit-neutral reserve fund to change the definition of full-time 
employee under ObamaCare so a worker could work for more than 30 hours 
per week before the employer mandate penalty would be triggered. This, 
too, is bipartisan. Senator Donnelly, Senator Murkowski, Senator 
Manchin, and I have all been working on this.
  I hear from workers who are telling me their hours have been cut to 
29 hours a week because of these penalties their employers simply 
cannot afford. It is not just in the for-profit hospitality industry, 
it is also in school systems, community colleges. So that is yet 
another of my amendments that I hope will enjoy support later today.
  Mr. President, I see a number of my colleagues on the floor, so I 
yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator withhold her request?

[[Page 4600]]


  Ms. COLLINS. I am happy to withhold the request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.


                  Amendments Nos. 877 and 878 En Bloc

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment in order to call up two of my amendments en bloc: 
Hirono amendments Nos. 877 and 878.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Hawaii [Ms. Hirono] proposes amendments 
     numbered 877 and 878 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           AMENDMENT NO. 877

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
increasing college completion, which may include expanding Federal Pell 
  Grant eligibility by allowing college students to use Federal Pell 
         Grants for more than 2 semesters in an academic year)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INCREASING 
                   COLLEGE COMPLETION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing college completion, which may include 
     expanding Federal Pell Grant eligibility by allowing college 
     students to use Federal Pell Grants for more than 2 semesters 
     in an academic year by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 878

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
       investing in clean energy and preserving the environment)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INVESTING 
                   IN CLEAN ENERGY AND PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the reduction of the dependence of the United 
     States on imported energy and the investment of receipts from 
     domestic energy production, or energy efficiency and 
     renewable energy development, or new or existing approaches 
     to clean energy financing, or reducing greenhouse gas 
     emissions levels, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, before I briefly outline my amendments, I 
need to say a few words about the budget before us.
  The vision outlined in the budget before us is truly a disaster for 
the middle class and our economy. This budget lays out priorities that 
would undermine the gains that millions have made in getting affordable 
health insurance. It would undermine the ability of millions of 
students to get a college education. It puts tax cuts for the wealthy 
ahead of giving even a modest wage boost to those who are working hard 
to get ahead. This budget would give big corporations the opportunity 
to write their own rules while reducing the opportunity for the 
disabled veterans and children to live a decent life.
  Democrats have tried to improve this budget. We tried to eliminate 
the sequester in a fair way. Republicans said no. We tried to make sure 
our commitments to those on Social Security and Medicare remain 
ironclad. The Republicans said no. We tried to close a few loopholes to 
invest in our communities and create jobs. The Republicans said no. We 
tried to give students the opportunity to get an affordable college 
education. The Republicans said no.
  Given all these problems, I cannot support this budget. This budget 
favors the wealthy and special interests on the backs of middle-class 
families, seniors, and students in Hawaii and across the Nation, but I 
want to offer two ideas that I hope can improve this budget just a 
little bit.
  Amendment No. 877 would restore year-round Pell grants without 
increasing the deficit. Many college students juggle work and family 
schedules. To balance these commitments they need to attend college 
year-round. But Pell grants can only be used in two semesters, 
currently.
  My amendment would allow students to access Pell grants year-round, 
as they could from 2008 to 2011. This has been a bipartisan idea in the 
past. In fact, Senator Collins just now offered her similar amendment, 
amendment No. 810, that I also support. We should adopt this 
commonsense, bipartisan policy.
  I thank Senator Collins for her work in enabling students to complete 
their college education in a way that would allow them to do so without 
disruptions and additional costs. I look forward to working with her as 
we move forward on this bipartisan-supported idea.
  The second amendment I am offering, amendment No. 878, is very simple 
as well. The budget resolution allows for energy legislation, provided 
it is paid for only with cuts. It also lays out what I think is a very 
limited view of our Nation's energy priorities, particularly the heavy 
focus on fossil fuel development. My amendment would provide a broader, 
more forward-looking view of our Nation's energy priorities. My 
amendment allows for energy legislation that reduces our dependence on 
foreign oil, increases energy efficiency and renewable energy 
deployment and innovation, and addresses carbon pollution.
  Hawaii relies on imported oil for energy. The U.S. military 
recognizes that overreliance on fossil fuel is a national security 
risk. We have to recognize our future can't be based on fossil fuels.
  Hawaii and other States are leading the way in transitioning to a 
clean energy economy. My amendment would ensure that Congress's 
priorities are more in line with where Hawaii and our Nation are 
heading in the future. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting 
these two amendments.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.


               Amendments Nos. 445, 448, and 449 En Bloc

  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc: Gardner 
amendments Nos. 445, 448, and 449.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Colorado [Mr. Gardner] proposes amendments 
     numbered 445, 448, and 449 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 445

 (Purpose: To prevent labor disputes at seaports in the United States 
  from causing national economic disruptions and crippling businesses 
                       across the United States)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO PREVENT ECONOMIC 
                   DISRUPTIONS AT SEAPORTS IN THE UNITED STATES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to preventing economic disruptions at ports in the 
     United States by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 448

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
    encouraging expedited approval of liquefied natural gas export 
               applications at the Department of Energy)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page 4601]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   ENCOURAGING EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF LIQUEFIED 
                   NATURAL GAS EXPORT APPLICATIONS BY DEPARTMENT 
                   OF ENERGY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to encouraging approval of liquefied natural gas 
     export applications, without raising new revenue, by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 449

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
     supporting efficient resourcing for the Asia rebalance policy)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUPPORTING 
                   EFFICIENT RESOURCING FOR THE ASIA REBALANCE 
                   POLICY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing funding related to supporting efficient 
     resourcing for the Asia rebalance policy by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.


                           Amendment No. 523

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendment: Stabenow 
amendment No. 523.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Michigan [Ms. Stabenow], for herself, Mr. 
     Whitehouse, and Mr. Merkley, proposes an amendment numbered 
     523.

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To prevent United States companies from getting tax benefits 
   for moving jobs overseas, to end offshore tax loopholes including 
 inversions, and to provide incentives for United States companies to 
              relocate overseas jobs to the United States)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO BRINGING 
                   JOBS BACK TO AMERICA.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to tax provisions to encourage United States 
     enterprises to relocate operations from overseas to within 
     the United States, closing offshore tax loopholes (including 
     those relating to inversions), or discouraging United States 
     enterprises from relocating United States operations to other 
     countries, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I believe every worker, every business 
deserves a fair shot to get ahead. A basic American principle is 
creating opportunity. We all know our workers are the best in the 
world, and when we have a fair fight we can work hard and we can win, 
but part of that fair fight is making sure we can do something about 
the broken Tax Code and the system we have. My amendment would address 
that, the Bring Jobs Home amendment.
  We all know there are companies that, unfortunately, are able to game 
the system to avoid paying their taxes. They move on paper in order to 
be able to register in another country while still having the benefits 
of our country or they move overseas and, through the Tax Code, we as 
communities and their workers pay the cost of the move.
  It is important to recognize the revenue that is being given up helps 
pay for our American way of life--our roads, airports, clean water, 
clean air, opportunities for education, innovation, medical research, 
science--all of the things that create the wonderful quality of life we 
have in our country that everyone contributes toward, those things that 
we need to do together.
  Unfortunately, the Tax Code is rewarding too many companies to be 
able to take advantage of not doing their fair share. That is what my 
amendment addresses.
  As I indicated, moving their business on paper around to different 
countries to avoid contributing to our American way of life, our 
American quality of life, they invert, costing Americans tens of 
billions of dollars in revenue that could go to support our veterans, 
our national defense, rebuilding America's roads and bridges, and water 
and sewer systems.
  I believe it is particularly offensive to Americans when people find 
out that, in fact, a company can decide to pick up and move, and the 
cost of the move--the cost of packing up and leaving our country--is a 
cost they can write off on their taxes, which means we all pay the 
price; the workers who are packing people up, the communities that are 
losing the jobs, our country, in terms of the lost revenue, and we pay 
for it.
  Over the last 10 years, 2.4 million jobs were shipped overseas, and 
American taxpayers were asked to foot the bill. It makes no sense. 
Surely, we can come together on a bipartisan basis and agree to stop 
that--to stop that right off. That is what this amendment does.
  Over 20 million more jobs are at risk of being shipped overseas 
today. In fact, in Michigan we have lost more than 700,000 jobs to 
offshoring. Now, I understand we are in a global economy. I understand 
there are a lot of decisions being made around the globe as to where 
companies will locate, but our Tax Code should not have loopholes in it 
that incentivize companies to actually continue to either get the 
benefits of America while pretending to be someplace else or moving and 
having us help pay for it.
  This is a very serious part of tax reform. As we debate a budget 
resolution that has over $400 billion in cuts to Medicare for seniors 
in it, that has over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid--80 percent of the 
dollars in Medicaid going for low-income seniors and people in nursing 
homes--when we look at the fact that we have been trying to pass a bill 
to create millions of good-paying American jobs by rebuilding America, 
by rebuilding our roads, by rebuilding our infrastructure, we can't get 
support to do that. People say we can't afford to pay for it.
  This is the opportunity to create the revenue to pay for it, to 
create the revenue to lower the cost of student loans so more people 
have a fair shot to go to college, have an opportunity for the American 
dream, so they are not coming out of college being riddled with all 
kinds of debt, mounds of debt. It means they can't buy a house, they 
can't buy a car, they can't get started in life with a family because 
they are buried in debt. When we raise these issues on the floor, we 
hear we cannot afford, as a country, to fix those things that affect 
every family--people struggling to get into the middle class and stay 
in the middle class.
  I think this budget ought to be about the middle class. I think we 
ought to be saying this is a middle-class budget, and I think if we are 
going to do that, we have to come together on fair ways to be able to 
fund those things that benefit everyone, that grow the economy by 
creating and expanding the middle class. We will not have an economy 
unless we expand the middle class. That means good-paying jobs here--
here. I am all about export. I just want to export our products, not 
our jobs, and we have a Tax Code that is encouraging the export of our 
jobs.
  So I hope we come together around the Bring Jobs Home amendment, 
agree there is one area of the Tax Code that everybody ought to support 
fixing; that is, where folks are using loopholes and games and 
gimmicks, frankly, to

[[Page 4602]]

avoid contributing to the quality of life in our country.
  We can create opportunities without adding one more dollar to the 
costs of middle-class families or small businesses or those who stay in 
our country and decide they want to continue to be a part of our great 
American economy. This is about closing for the tax cheaters who are 
avoiding stepping up and being a part of solving America's problems.
  My amendment No. 523 will bring jobs home and invest in the middle 
class of our country. I hope this is an area we can come together on, 
and I urge support for my colleagues.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.


          Amendments Nos. 781, 565, 562, 552, and 590 En Bloc

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up my amendments en bloc: amendments Nos. 
781, 565, 562, 552, and 590.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Florida [Mr. Rubio] proposes amendments 
     numbered 781, 565, 562, 552 and 590 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 781

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 reducing foreign assistance to the Palestinian Authority and certain 
 United Nations agencies and increasing foreign assistance for Israel)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REDUCING 
                   FOREIGN ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY 
                   AND CERTAIN UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES AND 
                   INCREASING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to reducing assistance for the United Nations Human 
     Rights Council, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency 
     for Palestine Refugees, and the Palestinian Authority because 
     of these entities' anti-Israel behavior, and increasing 
     foreign assistance for missile defense programs in Israel, by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not raise new revenue 
     and would not increase the deficit over either the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 565

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  ensuring that Medicare is not raided to bailout insurance companies 
              under the President's health care overhaul)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ENSURING 
                   THAT MEDICARE IS NOT RAIDED TO BAILOUT 
                   INSURANCE COMPANIES UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S 
                   HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to ensuring that Medicare funds are not used to 
     bailout insurance companies, which may include through the 
     risk corridor program or other programs established in the 
     President's health care law, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 562

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 establishing a new outcomes-based process for authorizing innovative 
                      higher education providers)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   ESTABLISHING A NEW OUTCOMES-BASED PROCESS FOR 
                   AUTHORIZING INNOVATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION 
                   PROVIDERS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to establishing a new outcomes-based process for 
     authorizing innovative higher education providers to 
     participate in programs under title IV of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would 
     not increase the deficit over either the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 552

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 increasing funding for the relocation of the United States Embassy in 
                   Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   INCREASING FUNDING FOR THE RELOCATION OF THE 
                   UNITED STATES EMBASSY IN ISRAEL FROM TEL AVIV 
                   TO JERUSALEM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing funding for United States embassies, 
     which may include the relocation of the United States Embassy 
     in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not raise new revenue and would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 590

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
               protecting the Medicare Advantage program)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROTECTING 
                   THE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to protecting the Medicare Advantage program, which 
     may include reversing the cuts to the Medicare Advantage 
     program that were enacted under the President's health care 
     law, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those 
     purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase 
     the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. RUBIO. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.


               Amendments Nos. 991, 636, and 638 En Bloc

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up three Warner amendments en bloc: 
amendments Nos. 991, 636, and 638.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Warner] proposes amendments 
     numbered 991, 636, and 638 en bloc.

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, was my amendment No. 991 reported in that 
bloc as well?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 991

(Purpose: To restore program integrity funding to combat waste, fraud, 
                               and abuse)

  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')


                           amendment no. 636

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  protecting the personal information of consumers from data breaches)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page 4603]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROTECTING 
                   THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF CONSUMERS FROM DATA 
                   BREACHES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating protecting the personal information of consumers 
     from data breaches, which may include providing notification 
     to affected consumers or enhancing data security programs, by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           amendment no. 638

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-reduction reserve fund reserve fund 
                 for Government reform and efficiency)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-REDUCTION RESERVE FUND FOR GOVERNMENT 
                   REFORM AND EFFICIENCY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to achieving savings through the use of performance 
     data or scientifically rigorous evaluation methodologies for 
     the elimination, consolidation, or reform of Federal 
     programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives, or the sale of 
     Federal property, and reduce the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025. The 
     Chairman may also make adjustments to the Senate's pay-as-
     you-go ledger over 6 and 11 years to ensure that the deficit 
     reduction achieved is used for deficit reduction only. The 
     adjustments authorized under this section shall be of the 
     amount of deficit reduction achieved.

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I would like to speak to these amendments 
for a couple of moments.
  The first amendment, No. 991, targets improper payments and fraud in 
our largest entitlement programs. It is remarkable--every elected 
official I have ever met at any level of government often rallies 
against waste and fraud in government, and that means it so unusual 
that this budget we have before us leaves out critical funding to fight 
fraud and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and disability 
programs.
  The amendment I am offering today would restore all program integrity 
funding to the Republican budget to the levels allowed in the Budget 
Control Act. Program integrity activities have a proven track record of 
saving money. When we invest in programs that track and eliminate 
overpayments and fraudulent claims, we end up reducing costs and 
lowering budget deficits.
  For example, according to the Social Security actuaries, program 
integrity efforts to conduct ``continuing disability reviews''--
specifically to weed out beneficiaries who have recovered and are no 
longer defined as ``disabled''--saves taxpayers $10 for every $1 spent 
on program integrity efforts.
  I am introducing this amendment because this is a good use of 
taxpayer dollars and a critical way to ensure that the money we invest 
in important programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security 
disability goes directly to the beneficiaries who rely on them. Any 
elected official who has ever said that we ought to root out waste and 
fraud in entitlement programs should obviously be supporting restoring 
these critical funds.
  The second amendment I wish to raise is a bipartisan measure, No. 
636, filed along with Senators Crapo and King, dealing with consumer 
data security.
  Recently, we have seen major data breaches that have affected 
hundreds of millions of American consumers, those who have shopped at 
Target and Home Depot, have accounts at JPMorgan Chase, or have 
received health care from Anthem. In the aftermath of the Target 
breach, working with Senator Kirk, we recommended that various industry 
groups in the private sector cooperate on information sharing to ward 
off data thieves.
  With continuous advances in technology, it is vitally important that 
we continue to strengthen our efforts to protect consumers from cyber 
crime by enacting smart, targeted protections. Our bipartisan amendment 
simply recognizes that we need to provide reasonable notification to 
consumers when their personal information is compromised and encourage 
greater cooperation and enhanced data security programs in the private 
sector to safeguard that data. I urge my colleagues to support this 
bipartisan amendment.
  Finally, I would like to introduce a third amendment, No. 638, along 
with my colleague Senator Ayotte, that mirrors language included in the 
chairman's mark of our last budget resolution. This amendment 
encourages Congress to act on the recommendations from GAO to improve 
Federal Government efficiency by reducing fragmentation, overlap, and 
duplication. The Senate has a bipartisan history of working on these 
issues, and I think it is important that our budget resolution this 
year include our continuing commitment to this work.
  In 2010, Congress passed the bipartisan Government Performance and 
Results Modernization Act, or GPRA, which required Federal agencies to 
report how their money was being spent, as well as top priorities and 
possible avenues of consolidation within the agency. Last year, we 
passed the DATA Act, which works in concert with GPRA to further track 
how agencies are spending money.
  It is important that the savings from these actions go toward 
reducing our deficit. That is why the Warner-Ayotte amendment is 
actually a deficit-reduction reserve fund.
  Again, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment.
  I yield to my good friend, the Senator from Kansas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Rubio). The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Virginia for 
yielding to me.
  First of all, I would like to talk for a moment about the budget. I 
am pleased that the Senate is debating a budget. We are required by law 
to pass one by April 15. It has been a while since we have been able to 
accomplish that. I am hopeful that the budget will be reconciled with 
the House-passed budget, giving us the opportunity to develop 12 
appropriations bills within this budgetary outline.
  It is unfortunate that by the nature of a budget, it is a partisan 
endeavor. The expectation is that no Democrat will vote for the budget 
that ultimately will pass the Senate today. I hope that doesn't 
continue to be true in another issue that I am encouraging and am 
encouraged to know will be considered by the Senate, and that is the 
sustainable growth rate fix, the so-called SGR fix.
  Back in 1997, a budget act was passed that created a formula by which 
physicians are reimbursed under Medicare. That formula has been very 
damaging to the practice of medicine--the ability to sustain a practice 
of medicine--particularly in areas of the country in which the 
population is elderly and patients are generally on Medicare and most 
of the physicians' income is then derived from reimbursement from the 
Medicare system.
  The SGR has created a series of problems. At least annually, there 
has been a problem we have had to fix. Over a decade, we have spent 
millions of dollars--in fact, $150 billion in short-term so-called doc 
fixes.
  What I hope happens after consideration of the budget today, tonight, 
in the morning, is that there will be unanimous consent and agreement 
that we take a vote on finally permanently fixing the problems created 
by this SGR, the formula.
  In my State of Kansas, there are 127 community hospitals across our 
State that care for patients every day, every hour. Most of those 
hospitals have a significant volume of Medicare patients. The 
physicians who admit patients to those hospitals and see patients on an 
ongoing basis in those communities see a significant portion of their 
patients, and their bills are paid by Medicare.
  In the last several years, the reduction in payment for a physician, 
that Medicare reimbursement, has been in

[[Page 4604]]

the neighborhood of 20 percent to 30 percent. The reality, I think all 
of us know--in fact, it is evidenced by the fact that every year we do 
a patch, we fix this issue--what we know is that in the absence of 
fixing that formula either on a periodic basis or today potentially 
permanently, physicians will no longer be able to see Medicare 
patients. In many of the communities I represent, the physicians are 
employed by the hospital. So this becomes not just a physician issue, 
not just a hospital issue--the reality is, it is a patient issue. Will 
you have a doctor in your community who is willing to see, who is able 
to see a patient who is of the age at which Medicare is providing 
Medicare health care benefits?
  The opportunity we have today is important. We can do so many things 
by permanently fixing the SGR. The outcome is that communities across 
our country and communities across my State of Kansas have a much 
brighter hope that their hospital doors remain open and physicians 
continue to practice medicine in their communities.
  Our health care providers face tremendous challenges today related to 
the Affordable Care Act, related to the ever-increasing amount of 
regulatory burden placed upon hospitals and doctors, upon the costs 
associated with moving toward computerized medical records. Our health 
care providers in many instances are hanging on by a thread, and 
whether or not a community has a doctor, has a hospital determines 
whether that community has a future.
  I know that in my own hometown of Plainville, the ability of my 
parents--who lived into their nineties--to remain in their hometown was 
determined by whether there was an active, quality medical community, 
quality physicians who cared about their patients and hospitals, who 
were there to admit their patients when that care was needed. Only 
because that existed in our hometown were my parents, into their 
nineties, able to continue to live in a community they called home.
  The SGR fix is a significant component to make certain that no people 
have to move, no senior citizens have to move someplace closer to a 
doctor or a hospital because their hospital no longer is in existence 
or their physician no longer cares for folks who have Medicare.
  The SGR, which I did not support when it was created, has caused a 
volatile and unsustainable system for both patients and health care 
providers. The uncertainty of knowing when and if Congress is going to 
fix by a patch creates problems in and of itself, in addition to the 
ultimate reimbursement rate that physician receives.
  The time to act is now. We are as close to a permanent SGR fix as we 
have been in my time in Congress. It would be a very sad occurrence if 
we let this opportunity slip by, and one more time, in a few months, we 
will be back trying to figure out how to patch the SGR once again. We 
will spend more money. We will create greater uncertainty. We will 
hasten the day in which citizens of our country--Medicare recipients--
are no longer able to see a physician of their choice or be admitted to 
the hospital in their community.
  I am of the view that we ought not move on to other business. We 
ought not recess for this April period of time until we make sure that 
tonight or in the morning the SGR fix is permanently put in place.


                    Amendments Nos. 467, 468 En Bloc

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending 
amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc on behalf of 
Senator Blunt: amendments Nos. 467 and 468.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follow:

       The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Moran], for Mr. Blunt, 
     proposes amendments numbered 467 and 468 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 467

(Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to the 
  direct provision of defense articles, defense services, and related 
             training to the Kurdistan Regional Government)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   DIRECT PROVISION OF DEFENSE ARTICLES, DEFENSE 
                   SERVICES, AND RELATED TRAINING TO THE KURDISTAN 
                   REGIONAL GOVERNMENT.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the direct provision of defense articles, defense 
     services, and related training to the Kurdistan Regional 
     Government by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     raise new revenue and would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           amendment no. 468

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                        military aid to Israel)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO MILITARY 
                   AID TO ISRAEL.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing grants only in Israel for the 
     procurement in Israel of defense articles and defense 
     services, including research and development to assist Israel 
     in maintaining its qualitative military edge, by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would 
     not increase the deficit over either the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.


          Amendments Nos. 707, 967, 896, 897, and 573 En Bloc

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be set aside to call up amendments Nos. 707, 967, 896, 897, 
and 573 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Markey] proposes 
     amendments numbered 707, 967, 896, 897, and 573 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 707

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                       reducing overdose deaths)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REDUCING 
                   OVERDOSE DEATHS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to prevention of prescription drug and opioid 
     overdose deaths, which may include support of opioid overdose 
     prevention activities, increased surveillance and monitoring 
     for opioid prescription drugs and overdoses, expanded access 
     to evidence-based treatments for opioid addiction, or 
     enhanced research for alternatives to opioid pain medication, 
     by the amounts provided in such legislation for those 
     purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase 
     the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 967

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                  domestic medical isotope production)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page 4605]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO DOMESTIC 
                   MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to nuclear medical isotope production facilities 
     used to produce molybdenum-99 (other than facilities that use 
     highly-enriched uranium), and associated radioisotope 
     processing, waste management, and support facilities which 
     may include ensuring that such facilities are included on the 
     list of eligible projects for the receipt of incentives for 
     innovative technologies under title XVII of the Energy Policy 
     Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.), by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           amendment no. 896

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  improving the safety of offshore oil drilling in the United States)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO IMPROVING 
                   THE SAFETY OF OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING IN THE 
                   UNITED STATES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to improving the safety of offshore oil drilling in 
     the United States, which may include changes to existing law 
     to increase the liability cap with respect to offshore oil 
     spills, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those 
     purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase 
     the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 897

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 protecting consumers in the United States from price increases due to 
                    large-scale natural gas exports)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROTECTING 
                   CONSUMERS IN THE UNITED STATES FROM PRICE 
                   INCREASES DUE TO LARGE-SCALE NATURAL GAS 
                   EXPORTS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to protecting consumers and businesses in the United 
     States from price increases or other impacts of large-scale 
     natural gas exports, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 573

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   promoting the repair and replacement of natural gas distribution 
        pipelines and infrastructure no longer fit for service)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REPAIR AND 
                   REPLACEMENT OF NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION 
                   PIPELINES AND INFRASTRUCTURE NO LONGER FIT FOR 
                   SERVICE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to promoting the repair and replacement of natural 
     gas distribution pipelines and infrastructure no longer fit 
     for service by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. MARKEY. I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, a lot of things have happened. We are on 
the path, I hope, to being able to pass a budget that balances in 10 
years. It has some problems, but I think it would be a major change 
from the course we have been on, and so I will support it. I hope to be 
able to support it, although things could happen, I guess, between now 
and our final vote.
  One of the things I wish to share with my colleagues is simply that 
the proposal to fix the doctors' payments--the so-called doc fix, the 
SGR--which has been around for a long time is one of my highest 
priorities. It is, indeed, unreasonable and unjustified to require 
doctors to be uncertain every year as to whether they are going to get 
a 21-percent or so reduction in their Medicare payments. They can 
hardly do the work at that fee level. So we do need to fix it.
  However, on the same day that we are now declaring that we want to 
pass a budget that puts us on a financial path to balance in 10 years 
by a meager $3 billion--a balanced budget plan, a responsible plan; an 
idea and goal to achieve--we are also talking about passing an unpaid-
for plan, and in my view it is not responsible, to spend and borrow 
another $141 billion, after the proposed offsets, to pay for the doc 
fix. This is what brings this Congress into disrepute. The same day we 
assert we want to have a balanced budget, and we lay out a plan that 
will get us there in 10 years, we are now considering passing an 
unpaid-for increase in spending that will add $141 billion to the debt. 
Colleagues, we just can't do that.
  To my physician friends, whom I talked to a lot about this and who 
are worried about it, let's all work together to lay out a plan that 
will pay for this expense. We can do that. Maya MacGuineas is at the 
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a well-respected, 
bipartisan group. They have basically been shocked by this proposal. 
They submitted papers that said over 20 years it will add $500 billion 
to the debt. While, some have said that over 20 years, it will pay for 
itself. According to Maya MacGuineas' analysis, it won't, and we don't 
have official data now. So why would we allow this legislation to pass 
through so fast?
  I urge my colleagues, let's do a short-term fix again, but then let's 
do a permanent fix, one that is responsible, one that is grownup, one 
that is paid for, and not just one that adds more debt to the credit 
card of America at a time when we cannot do that anymore.
  I am so disappointed that we may not be able to let this legislation 
clear today because I don't believe it is going to be beneficial to us. 
We can come back and take action to maintain the appropriate payment 
levels. Let's do it the right way so we can be proud of it.
  I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.


             Amendments Nos. 435, 473, 593, and 993 En Bloc

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be set aside and, on behalf of Senator Menendez, call up 
amendments Nos. 435, 473, 593, and 993 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders], for Mr. Menendez, 
     proposes amendments numbered 435, 473, 593, and 993 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 435

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   support for Ukraine, which should include the provision of lethal 
                          defensive articles)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUPPORT 
                   FOR UKRAINE, WHICH SHOULD INCLUDE THE PROVISION 
                   OF LETHAL DEFENSIVE ARTICLES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing funding to support the Government of 
     Ukraine in reestablishing its sovereignty and territorial 
     integrity, which should include the provision of lethal 
     defensive articles, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

[[Page 4606]]




                           amendment no. 473

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
          providing funding to combat anti-Semitism in Europe)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROVIDING 
                   FUNDING TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM IN EUROPE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing funding for programs to counter anti-
     Semitic activity in Europe, which may include efforts to 
     empower civil society, including diverse religious and ethnic 
     groups, civil and human rights organizations, and the 
     business community, to fight anti-Semitism and discrimination 
     and convening regular consultations with Jewish community 
     organizations and non-Jewish civil and human rights 
     organizations to demonstrate visible support, listen to 
     concerns, and solicit recommendations on improving security 
     and supporting victims, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 593

   (Purpose: To require consideration of long-term deficits for any 
 legislation relating to repealing or replacing the Patient Protection 
 and Affordable Care Act and the health care-related provisions of the 
         Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010)

       Beginning on page 87, strike line 23 and all that follows 
     through page 88, line 4.


                           amendment no. 993

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
            strengthening the national do-not-call registry)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO STRENGTHEN THE 
                   NATIONAL DO-NOT-CALL REGISTRY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to compliance with the national do-not-call 
     registry, which may include adjusting or increasing fines, 
     providing flexibility for the relevant regulatory agency, or 
     modifying the conditions of the safe harbor provisions, by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.


        Amendments Nos. 665, 677, 678, 667, 666, and 668 En Bloc

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up my amendments en bloc: Nos. 665, 677, 678, 
667, 666, and 668.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Arizona [Mr. Flake] proposes amendments 
     numbered 665, 677, 678, 667, 666, and 668 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 665

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   prohibiting awarding of construction contracts based on awardees 
   entering or not entering into agreements with labor organizations)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   PROHIBITING AWARDING OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS 
                   BASED ON AWARDEES ENTERING OR NOT ENTERING INTO 
                   AGREEMENTS WITH LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to a prohibition on the awarding of construction 
     contracts on behalf of the Government based upon any 
     solicitations, bid specifications, project agreements, or 
     other controlling documents, that require or prohibit 
     bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors to enter 
     into or adhere to agreements with one or more labor 
     organizations or discriminate against or give preference to 
     such bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors based 
     on their entering or refusing to enter into such agreements 
     by the amounts provided in such legislation for those 
     purposes, provided that such legislation would not raise new 
     revenue and would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 677

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   preventing political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service of 
  individuals and social welfare organizations exercising free-speech 
                                rights)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PREVENTING 
                   POLITICAL TARGETING BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE 
                   SERVICE OF INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIAL WELFARE 
                   ORGANIZATIONS EXERCISING FREE-SPEECH RIGHTS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to preventing political targeting by the Internal 
     Revenue Service of individuals and social welfare 
     organizations exercising free-speech rights, which may 
     include maintaining current standards and definitions in 
     defining political activity for the purpose of determining 
     the tax status of individuals and social welfare 
     organizations, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 678

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
           prosecution of first-time illegal border crossers)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO FIRST-
                   TIME ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSERS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to decreasing the recidivism of illegal border 
     crossers, including removing any prohibition on Federal 
     prosecution of first-time border crossers, by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would 
     not increase the deficit over either the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 667

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 ensuring that individuals do not simultaneously receive unemployment 
            compensation and disability insurance benefits)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO IMPROVING 
                   THE FINANCIAL SOLVENCY OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT 
                   COMPENSATION PROGRAM AND THE SOCIAL SECURITY 
                   DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to improving the financial solvency of the 
     unemployment compensation program and the social security 
     disability insurance program, which may include ensuring that 
     individuals do not simultaneously receive unemployment 
     compensation and social security disability insurance 
     benefits, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 666

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   reducing the level of Federal premium support for crop insurance 
   policies, which may include eliminating premium support for crop 
 insurance for agricultural producers with an adjusted gross income of 
                more than $750,000 in fiscal year 2016)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO FEDERAL 
                   PREMIUM SUPPORT FOR CROP INSURANCE POLICIES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this

[[Page 4607]]

     resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions, 
     amendments, amendments between the Houses, motions, or 
     conference reports relating to reducing the level of Federal 
     premium support for crop insurance policies, which may 
     include limiting premium support for crop insurance for 
     agricultural producers with an adjusted gross income of more 
     than $750,000 in fiscal year 2016, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not raise new revenue and would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 668

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                   government reform and efficiency)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   GOVERNMENT REFORM AND EFFICIENCY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to achieving savings through the use of performance 
     data or scientifically rigorous evaluation methodologies for 
     the elimination, consolidation, or reform of Federal 
     programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives, the sale of 
     Federal property, or the reduction of improper payments by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not raise new revenue 
     and would not increase the deficit over either the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025. The Chairman may 
     also make adjustments to the Senate's pay-as-you-go ledger 
     over 6 and 11 years to ensure that the spending reduction 
     achieved is used for deficit reduction only. The adjustments 
     authorized under this section shall be of the amount of 
     spending reduction achieved.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.


                  Amendments Nos. 504, 505, 506, 1011

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc on behalf 
of Senator Sullivan: Nos. 504, 505, 506 and 1011.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Wyoming [Mr. Enzi], for Mr. Sullivan, 
     proposes amendments numbered 504, 505, 506, and 1011 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 504

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 limiting the ability of Environmental Protection Agency personnel to 
                              carry guns)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO DISARMING 
                   THE EPA.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to limiting the ability of Environmental Protection 
     Agency personnel to carry firearms, by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for that purpose, provided that such 
     legislation would not raise new revenue and would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 505

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 supporting programs related to the ground-based midcourse defense and 
   the long-range discrimination radar programs of the Department of 
                                Defense)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 352. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUPPORTING 
                   PROGRAMS RELATED TO THE GROUND-BASED MIDCOURSE 
                   DEFENSE AND THE LONG-RANGE DISCRIMINATION RADAR 
                   PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to supporting programs related to the ground-based 
     midcourse defense and the long-range discrimination radar 
     programs of the Department of Defense by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 506

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
      protecting vulnerable families from job killing regulations)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   PROTECTING VULNERABLE FAMILIES FROM JOB KILLING 
                   REGULATIONS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to ensuring that Federal agencies consider the full 
     cost of regulations, including indirect job losses, prior to 
     enacting or amending any regulation or rule, by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would 
     not increase the deficit over either the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1011

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
providing an exemption from certain permitting requirements for routine 
   maintenance activities relating to transportation infrastructure)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROVIDING 
                   AN EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN PERMITTING 
                   REQUIREMENTS FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES 
                   RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing, for certain routine maintenance 
     activities relating to transportation infrastructure, an 
     exemption from certain requirements, which may include an 
     exemption from the permitting requirements of section 404 of 
     the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for that purpose by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not raise new revenue 
     and would not increase the deficit over either the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of 
     the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. ENZI. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1012

   (Purpose: To strike more than $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, 
 preserving a critical source of comprehensive, affordable health and 
long-term care coverage for millions of otherwise uninsured low-income 
  adults, parents, and seniors, including millions of nonelderly low-
   income adults in States that expanded Medicaid as part of health 
                                reform)

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be set aside, on behalf of Senator Wyden, to call up 
amendment No. 1012.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders], Mr. Wyden, for 
     himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Brown, Mr. Casey, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. 
     Cantwell, and Mr. Whitehouse, proposes an amendment numbered 
     1012.

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Shaheen and Senator Isakson be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes in 
order to call up our amendments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page 4608]]




               Amendments Nos. 321, 611, and 839 En Bloc

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up amendments Nos. 321, 611, and 839 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Georgia [Mr. Isakson] proposes amendments 
     numbered 321, 611, and 839 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 321

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
       establishing a biennial budget and appropriations process)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   ESTABLISHING A BIENNIAL BUDGET AND 
                   APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to establishing a biennial budget and appropriations 
     process, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 611

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to subject all 
  fees collected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to the 
                     annual appropriations process)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUBJECTING 
                   ALL FEES COLLECTED BY U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND 
                   IMMIGRATION SERVICES TO THE ANNUAL 
                   APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the use of fees collected by U.S. Citizenship and 
     Immigration Services, which may include prohibiting the 
     expenditure of any such fees unless such expenditure has been 
     approved through the annual appropriations process, by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 and the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           amendment no. 839

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  supporting United States citizens held hostage in the United States 
  embassy in Tehran, Iran, between November 3, 1979, and January 20, 
                                 1981)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 352. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUPPORTING 
                   UNITED STATES CITIZENS HELD HOSTAGE IN THE 
                   UNITED STATES EMBASSY IN TEHRAN, IRAN, BETWEEN 
                   NOVEMBER 3, 1979, AND JANUARY 20, 1981.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to supporting United States citizens held hostage in 
     the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, between November 
     3, 1979, and January 20, 1981, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I am glad to join the Senator from New 
Hampshire on a very important piece of legislation that is being 
proposed as an amendment to the budget today. It is called the Biennial 
Budgeting and Appropriations Act which 2 years ago passed this Senate 
with 68 votes. It has bipartisan support this year. It is the right way 
to solve our biggest problem, which is responsible spending in 
Washington.
  The Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act assumes the following: 
What we have been doing has been broken for years. Every President 
since Ronald Reagan has endorsed the biennial budget. Twenty of the 
fifty States in the United States of America have a biennial budget. It 
is time we did budgeting and oversight and allowed time for both.
  What this bill basically says is that in odd-numbered years we will 
do our appropriating and in even-numbered years we will do oversight of 
appropriations.
  Wouldn't it be great to change the paradigm in America to where 
during election years and even years, instead of saying how much bacon 
we are going to bring home, to instead say how much savings we are 
going the find in the appropriations process. We can find new money to 
fund new programs without raising taxes or raising revenues of the 
Federal Government.
  It is a responsible way to run our country, it is a way we ought to 
run our country, and it is a responsible way for America to return to 
fiscal accountability.
  With an $18.1 trillion deficit and with spending going haywire and us 
not being able to do budgeting or appropriating at all, it is time we 
call time out, fix our problem, and move forward.
  I yield to the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire, who as 
Governor of New Hampshire for 6 years did biennial budgeting and has 
great experience in that effort.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague from 
Georgia, Senator Isakson, in supporting the biennial budgeting 
amendment. This is legislation we have been working on--this will be 
the third session of Congress now--and it is a response to what I think 
we would all agree is a broken budget process here in Washington.
  Since 1980, we have only had two budget processes that have been 
finished on time, according to established process. In that timeframe, 
since 1980 when, as Senator Isakson pointed out, every President has 
endorsed biennial budgeting, Congress has resorted to more than 150 
short-term funding bills or continuing resolutions. That is no way to 
govern. While we have made progress in recent years to reduce our 
deficits, we need reform of our budget process.
  Senator Isakson pointed out very eloquently how this proposal would 
work. In New Hampshire, where I served three terms as Governor, I had a 
legislature of members of the other party and yet we were able to pass 
biennial budgets 3 years, on time, that were balanced. It worked in New 
Hampshire. It works in 19 other States. It can work here.
  This is an opportunity for us to begin to reform our budget process. 
It won't fix everything, but it will go a long way in addressing our 
opportunity to provide oversight in the second year of the budget 
process.
  I hope our colleagues will join us, and that we will again, as we did 
in 2013, have a majority to support biennial budgeting in this body.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I wish to thank the Senator from New 
Hampshire for her remarks and thank her for her commitment.
  The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over 
again and expect a different result. It is time we get a different 
result in Washington, which is balanced budgets, fiscal accountability, 
and balanced spending, and a biennial budget will do that.
  In our remaining time, with the permission of the Senator from New 
Hampshire, I wish to address one other amendment we have called up to 
be pending, which is amendment No. 839, which has already been 
reported.
  Amendment No. 839 is very simply an amendment that recognizes the 
fact that 52 Americans were taken captive in 1979 in Iran at our 
Embassy. Forty-four of them are still alive. They remain the only 
American hostages ever taken who were never compensated for their time. 
We have revenue accumulating because of the Iranian sanctions. 
Everybody on the Foreign Relations Committee is supportive, and I think 
the State Department is too, of seeing to it we take a portion of those 
sanctions and compensate the American

[[Page 4609]]

hostages of the Iranian Government from 1979 to 1980.
  As the Presiding Officer will remember, it was the day Ronald Reagan 
was sworn in that Jimmy Carter finally made arrangements to get those 
hostages out of Tehran. They suffered torture, physical abuse, and 
terror for 444 days. They deserve to be compensated. We deserve to take 
the money the Iranians have been paid for sanctions and see to it these 
Americans are compensated for what they suffered in 1979 and 1980.
  I appreciate the time from the Chair and I yield back the remainder 
of our time.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


          Amendments Nos. 750, 855, 749, 856, and 759 En Bloc

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc on behalf 
of Senator Lee: Amendments Nos. 750, 855, 749, 856, and 759.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Wyoming [Mr. Enzi], for Mr. Lee, proposes 
     amendments numbered 750, 855, 749, 856, and 759 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 750

  (Purpose: To modify the spending-neutral reserve fund reauthorizing 
funding for payments to counties and other units of local government to 
 ensure payment at levels roughly equivalent to property tax revenues 
               lost due to the presence of Federal land)

       On page 64, lines 10 and 11, strike ``Payments in Lieu of 
     Taxes (PILT)'' and insert ``funding the payments in lieu of 
     taxes program at levels roughly equivalent to lost tax 
     revenues due to the presence of Federal land''.


                           Amendment No. 855

     (Purpose: To prohibit increasing the public debt limit under 
                            reconciliation)

       At the end of title II, add the following:

     SEC. 202. LIMIT ON SENATE CONSIDERATION OF RECONCILIATION.

       (a) Point of Order.--It shall not be in order in the Senate 
     to consider a bill or joint resolution reported pursuant to 
     section 201, or an amendment to, conference report on, or 
     amendment between the Houses in relation to such a bill or 
     joint resolution, which would increase the public debt limit 
     under section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, during 
     the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
       (b) Waiver.--This section may be waived or suspended in the 
     Senate only by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the 
     Members, duly chosen and sworn.
       (c) Appeals.--An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the 
     Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be 
     required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on 
     the point of order raised under this section.


                           Amendment No. 749

   (Purpose: To ensure that the reserve fund relating to affordable 
 healthcare choices for all is used to repeal and not further empower 
            the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)

       On page 50, line 17, strike ``or reforming''.


                           Amendment No. 856

   (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund to support 
   legislation preventing the Federal Communications Commission from 
reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers under title II of 
   the Communications Act of 1934 and from implementing other ``net 
                        neutrality'' provisions)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO PROHIBIT THE 
                   RECLASSIFICATION OF BROADBAND PROVIDERS AS 
                   COMMON CARRIERS UNDER TITLE II OF THE 
                   COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the openness of the Internet, which may include 
     prohibiting the reclassification of broadband providers as 
     common carriers, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     raise new revenue and would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           Amendment No. 759

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  clarifying Federal jurisdiction with respect to intrastate species)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   CLARIFYING FEDERAL JURISDICTION WITH RESPECT TO 
                   INTRASTATE SPECIES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to limiting the Federal regulation of species found 
     entirely within the borders of a single State by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not raise new revenue and would 
     not increase the deficit over either the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                  Amendments Nos. 925 and 926 En Bloc

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up my amendments Nos. 925 and 926 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Tillis] proposes 
     amendments numbered 925 and 926 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 925

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the 
                   United States civil courts system)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ____. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   UNITED STATES CIVIL COURTS SYSTEM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the United States civil courts system, including 
     improvements to civil discovery rules that will contribute to 
     the speedy and efficient resolution of disputes while 
     protecting the rights of all litigants to a trial by jury, by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for that purpose, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 926

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
ensuring that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
   not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
      account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude)

       At the end of title III, insert the following:

     SEC. __. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO ENSURE THAT VOTING 
                   RIGHTS OF CITIZENS ARE NOT DENIED OR ABRIDGED 
                   ON ACCOUNT OF RACE, COLOR, OR PREVIOUS 
                   CONDITION OF SERVITUDE.

       The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may 
     revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to ensuring that the right of citizens of the United 
     States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 
     States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous 
     condition of servitude, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for that purpose, provided that such legislation 
     would not increase the deficit over either the period of the 
     total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or

[[Page 4610]]

     the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, amendment No. 925 recognizes the work that 
has been done by the Judicial Conference to make discovery in civil 
cases less cumbersome and costly.
  Amendment No. 926 incorporates language from the 15th Amendment--no 
denial or abridgement of the right to vote on account of race--into our 
budget instructions.
  I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


               Amendments Nos. 729, 342, and 588 En Bloc

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc: 
amendment No. 729, amendment No. 342, and amendment No. 588.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] proposes amendments 
     numbered 729, 342, and 588 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 729

  (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to invest in 
                    surface transportation projects)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   INVESTMENTS IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to making changes or providing for the authorization 
     of programs to invest in freight movement, rail, highway, 
     transit, transportation alternatives, and other surface 
     transportation projects, including competitive grant 
     programs, which will drive United States economic 
     competitiveness, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 342

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the 
               National Guard State Partnership Program)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   NATIONAL GUARD STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to achieving theatre security cooperation goals, 
     which may include funding for the National Guard State 
     Partnership Program, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 588

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
increasing the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at 
                          air ports of entry)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 352. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INCREASING 
                   THE NUMBER OF U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER 
                   PROTECTION OFFICERS AT AIR PORTS OF ENTRY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing the number of U.S. Customs and Border 
     Protection officers at air ports of entry to reduce wait 
     times and otherwise facilitate travel, by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.


             Amendments Nos. 402, 596, 597, and 865 En Bloc

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up, on behalf of Senator Johnson, amendments 
Nos. 402, 596, 597, and 865 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Wyoming [Mr. Enzi], for Mr. Johnson, 
     proposes amendments numbered 402, 596, 597, and 865 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 402

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
     improving information sharing by the Inspector General of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs with respect to investigations relating 
  to substandard health care, delayed and denied health care, patient 
deaths, other findings that directly relate to patient care, and other 
                  management issues of the Department)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO IMPROVING 
                   INFORMATION SHARING BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF 
                   THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS WITH RESPECT 
                   TO INVESTIGATIONS RELATING TO SUBSTANDARD 
                   HEALTH CARE, DELAYED AND DENIED HEALTH CARE, 
                   PATIENT DEATHS, OTHER FINDINGS THAT DIRECTLY 
                   RELATE TO PATIENT CARE, AND OTHER MANAGEMENT 
                   ISSUES OF THE DEPARTMENT.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to improving information sharing by the Inspector 
     General of the Department of Veterans Affairs with respect to 
     investigations relating to substandard health care, delayed 
     and denied health care, patient deaths, other findings that 
     directly relate to patient care, and other management issues 
     of the Department by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 596

 (Purpose: To convey clear information in graphic form about projected 
                               deficits)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. TO CONVEY CLEAR INFORMATION TO CONGRESS AND THE 
                   PUBLIC ABOUT PROJECTED DEFICITS.

       As part of the annual update to the Budget and Economic 
     Outlook required by section 202(e) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 602(e)), the Congressional 
     Budget Office shall--
       (1) include a projection of Federal revenues, outlays, and 
     deficits for a 30-year period beginning with the budget year, 
     expressed in terms of dollars and as a percent of gross 
     domestic product; and
       (2) publish a graph depicting the magnitude of projected 
     deficits in the Federal budget on a unified basis under 
     current policy, expressed in terms of billions of dollars, 
     arranged appropriately to show--
       (A) the magnitude of the combined projected deficits of the 
     budget year and the 9 subsequent fiscal years;
       (B) the magnitude of the combined projected deficits of the 
     10th through 19th subsequent fiscal years;
       (C) the magnitude of the combined projected deficits of the 
     20th through 29th fiscal years; and
       (D) the magnitude of the combined projected deficits of the 
     entire period that includes the budget year and the 29 
     subsequent fiscal years.


                           Amendment No. 597

(Purpose: To convey clear information to Congress and the public about 
     projected Federal outlays, revenues, surpluses, and deficits)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. TO CONVEY CLEAR INFORMATION TO CONGRESS AND THE 
                   PUBLIC ABOUT PROJECTED FEDERAL OUTLAYS, 
                   REVENUES, AND DEFICITS.

       As part of the annual update to the Budget and Economic 
     Outlook required by section 202(e) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 602(e)), and at any other time 
     the Congressional Budget Office releases projections of 
     Federal deficits over any term of

[[Page 4611]]

     years, the Congressional Budget Office shall publish with its 
     projection a 1-page statement--
       (1) summarizing and categorizing total outlays, receipts, 
     surpluses, and deficits of the Federal Government on a 
     unified basis for that same prospective time period;
       (2) categorizing and subtotaling separately--
       (A) outlays for mandatory programs and for discretionary 
     programs;
       (B) outlays, payroll tax revenue, and offsetting receipts 
     for Social Security and for Medicare;
       (C) the surplus or deficit of revenues over outlays for 
     Social Security and for Medicare; and
       (D) revenues.


                           Amendment No. 865

 (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund to accommodate 
legislation that would stop the Federal government from forcing States 
       to pay unemployment compensation benefits to millionaires)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO STOP THE FEDERAL 
                   GOVERNMENT FROM FORCING STATES TO PAY 
                   UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS TO 
                   MILLIONAIRES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the payment of unemployment insurance benefits to 
     high-income individuals by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not raise new revenue and would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time until 
12 noon today be equally divided between the managers or their 
designees, and that at 12 noon, the Senate vote in relation to the 
following amendments in the order listed, with no second-degree 
amendments in order prior to the votes but with side-by-side amendments 
allowed to be offered by Senator Sanders, or his designee, on the Scott 
amendment No. 692 and the Vitter amendment No. 515, and that the vote 
occur on the listed amendment second; so that the order then would be 
Sanders No. 881, Kirk No. 545, Stabenow No. 523, Rubio No. 423, Wyden 
No. 1012, Paul No. 940, Murray No. 798, Moran No. 356, Baldwin No. 432, 
Collins No. 810, Franken No. 828, Scott No. 692, Coons No. 966, Blunt 
No. 928, Durbin No. 817, Vitter No. 515, Bennet No. 947, Murkowski No. 
838, and Inhofe No. 649.
  I further ask unanimous consent that there be 2 minutes equally 
divided between the managers or their designees prior to each vote and 
that all votes after the first in this series be 10 minutes in length.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ENZI. For the information of all Senators, this will be the first 
series of votes today.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 932

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 932.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Cochran], for himself and 
     Ms. Mikulski, proposes an amendment numbered 932.

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
           establishing a biennial budget resolution process)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   ESTABLISHING A BIENNIAL BUDGET RESOLUTION 
                   PROCESS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to establishing a biennial budget resolution 
     process, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I urge the Senate to support this 
amendment. The amendment I am offering along with the Senator from 
Maryland, the vice chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, Ms. 
Mikulski, proposes the creation of a biennial budget resolution 
process.
  Having a two-year budget could enable the annual appropriations 
process to run more smoothly, and it might also benefit other 
committees. The appropriations process often bogs down due to the 
failure of the budget resolution process. If there is no budget 
resolution in place, there is no framework to facilitate consideration 
of appropriations bills.
  Establishing a biennial budget process does merit serious 
consideration, but biennial appropriations are another matter.
  Proponents of biennial appropriations argue that having an ``off 
year'' in which there are no appropriations bills will mean more 
oversight during the off year. Well, this ignores the close 
relationship between oversight and the appropriations process itself. 
Within each year's appropriations process, in the hearings before the 
committee, informal meetings, committee reports, and the bills 
themselves, Congress provides guidance--admonitions sometimes--and 
funding adjustments based on program performance and changing 
priorities. The appropriations process is one of the best tools 
Congress has to reform, improve, eliminate, and modernize programs 
under its jurisdiction.
  Having an off year would not translate into more oversight. It might 
well have the opposite effect, as Congress would not possess any hammer 
or useful tool of the year's appropriations bill to modify agency 
actions. So you're yielding more power to the executive branch to spend 
money, borrow money, and try new programs without having proper 
oversight of the appropriations and the authorizations process.
  Writing and debating annual appropriations is an essential part of 
the Congressional oversight responsibility that was contemplated by the 
Framers of the Constitution. It does not detract from the power of, or 
minimize or infringe on, authorizing committees' ability to perform 
additional oversight. There is no limitation under this process of a 
legislative committee's prerogatives. It provides the money, though, as 
the Constitution contemplates, through an appropriation of funds 
approved by the people's representatives--not the Executive's, not the 
people who run the Departments, and not the President himself.
  We changed things with the King of England during the colonial era. 
The people recognized they wanted the people in charge. ``Here, sir, 
the people govern'' became a watchword of the Revolution and the 
establishment of the United States of America.
  So under this suggestion, which we are criticizing at this moment, 
Congress would be compelled to do one of two things: either adjust 
appropriations in the off year through supplemental appropriations, or 
give agencies themselves greater flexibility to move money around among 
different programs and activities that are part of the government 
spending process.
  The first defeats the purpose of the biennial appropriations 
proposal. The second is a further expansion of Executive power. You're 
building up the Executive with more tools to do its will without 
respect to what the people's representatives in the Congress might 
prefer. The second is the further expansion of Executive power, 
generally, that we should be wary of granting.

[[Page 4612]]

The Executive has an enormous amount of power, but under our system, we 
should seek an equally powerful role for the people's representatives, 
and for the direct election of Members of the U.S. Senate whose 
responsibility includes the power to help ensure that the States have 
the funds they need to carry out their responsibilities.
  Congress can improve its performance in budgeting, but it does not 
have to abandon the annual review of the Federal appropriations 
process. It doesn't have to be part of the answer to the question.
  So I hope Senators will carefully review what is at stake and what is 
being suggested and consider that before you vote. I hope the Senate 
will support my amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, while waiting for the Senator from New 
Jersey to arrive in his seat, I want to associate myself with the 
remarks of the Senator from Mississippi, the chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee, Mr. Cochran.
  I want to be sure we understand that this idea of biennial budgeting 
is really a bad idea--well intentioned but a bad idea.
  The Isakson amendment goes beyond a 2-year budget resolution and 
calls for establishing 2-year appropriations of bills. The power of the 
purse is one of Congress's most powerful holds. We shouldn't give it 
up. What would happen, if we go with the Isakson and Shaheen amendment 
and not follow Cochran-Mikulski, we need to know we would be putting 
too much power in the hands of the executive branch, unelected 
bureaucrats, and OMB. So proponents of biennial appropriating will not 
approve congressional oversight--just the opposite.
  Without annual appropriations bills, agencies will have little 
incentive to be candid in their testimony and responsive to 
congressional will and congressional directives. We sacrifice our most 
important tool.
  The other consideration is the practicality. Under biennial 
appropriations, the timeline between the initial forecast and the 
actual budget could be 30 months; then, we can't also respond to 
emergencies. Threats change every day--ISIS, security, the crisis that 
just happened to our allies in Germany. We have to be able to respond.
  Congress should not tie its own hands and limit its ability. Support 
Cochran-Mikulski, defeat Isakson-Shaheen.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.


                           Amendment No. 881

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and call up amendment No. 881, which is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders], for himself and 
     Mrs. Murray, proposes an amendment numbered 881.

  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
         promoting a substantial increase in the minimum wage)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROMOTING 
                   A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to labor reform, which may include a substantial 
     increase in the minimum wage by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.


               Amendments Nos. 720, 721, and 722 En Bloc

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up my amendments Nos. 720, 721, and 722 en 
bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Jersey [Mr. Booker], proposes 
     amendments numbered 720, 721, and 722 en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 720

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   supporting workforce development through apprenticeship programs)

       At the end of title III, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUPPORTING 
                   WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH APPRENTICESHIP 
                   PROGRAMS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing funds for programs that support 
     workforce development through apprenticeships, and providing 
     additional funds to the Office of Apprenticeship of the 
     Department of Labor to expand apprenticeship programs 
     nationally, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 721

  (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to encourage 
    freight planning and investment that incorporates all modes of 
   transportation, including rail, waterways, ports, and highways to 
                     promote national connectivity)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   ENCOURAGING FREIGHT PLANNING AND INVESTMENT 
                   THAT INCORPORATES ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, 
                   INCLUDING RAIL, WATERWAYS, PORTS, AND HIGHWAYS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     to encourage freight planning and investment that 
     incorporates all modes of transportation including rail, 
     waterways, ports and highways, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           amendment no. 722

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
prohibiting payments for conversion therapy or treatments that purport 
 to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of an individual 
               under the Medicare and Medicaid programs)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   PROHIBITING PAYMENTS FOR HARMFUL AND FRAUDULENT 
                   TREATMENTS UNDER MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to prohibiting payments for harmful and fraudulent 
     treatments under the Medicare or Medicaid programs, by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I hope to have the opportunity to speak 
about amendments Nos. 720 and 722 later, but I would like to speak now 
about No. 721, which is a freight rail amendment.
  I am very happy to see the Presiding Officer, Senator Rubio, whom I 
have worked with on other legislation. Having bipartisan work on 
important critical issues is essential. I am happy to join with Senator 
Fischer on this important amendment.
  It focuses on the urgency to improve the movement of freight and 
strengthen our competitiveness by investing in a comprehensive 
multimodal national network that includes not just our major highways 
but our rails, seaports, local roads, and intermodal facilities.

[[Page 4613]]

  I am happy to see Senator Sanders, who has the courage to stand and 
speak about the infrastructure deficit in our country and calls for 
bold, fiscally sound investment. I want to make sure, as we move 
forward, that freight planning and investment as seen by this amendment 
is prioritized. Along with Senator Fischer, I support broadening our 
approach to freight policy that would promote greater national 
productivity. Why is this important? Hundreds of millions of tons of 
freight are annually shipped through our ports, rails, and highway 
networks.
  The Great Corridor runs from my State of New Jersey to New York, to 
Philadelphia, moving over $55 billion in goods each year, and is one of 
the most significant chokepoints in the U.S. transportation network 
that moves $17 trillion of goods between metropolitan areas each year.
  The incredible freight network drives our economy, boosts economic 
competitiveness, and creates jobs in America, thousands and thousands 
of jobs. With a slight adjustment of our priorities and a strong 
national commitment to investing in our infrastructure, we can 
dramatically reduce congestion, improve the health of our American 
communities and make sure goods get where they need to go faster, 
cheaper, all while strengthening our economy and creating jobs.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
amendment and look forward to continuing to work on critical 
transportation and infrastructure priorities.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time for debate has expired.
  The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and ask for consideration of amendment No. 1024.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I object. The vote is set aside for 12 noon. 
We could have 50 more people coming down and offering additional 
amendments. They will have an opportunity to offer those amendments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.


                           Amendment No. 881

  There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote on the Sanders amendment 
No. 881.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, this is a very simple, straightforward 
amendment. It calls for a substantial increase in the minimum wage. The 
simple truth is that in America, people working full time should not be 
living in poverty. Since 1968, the real value of the Federal minimum 
wage has fallen by close to 30 percent. People all over this country 
and in State after State on their own have voted to raise the minimum 
wage.
  By the way, in State after State where the minimum wage has gone up, 
more jobs have been created. Let us stand today with the tens of 
millions of workers who are struggling to put food on the table, to 
take care of their families. Let us raise the minimum wage.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I would urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' 
This is not the proper place for this. It can be handled as regular 
legislation at any time. This budget resolution is focused on balancing 
the budget in 10 years. That is important in and of itself, because 
balancing the budget renews job growth and expands opportunity for 
hard-working families.
  CBO analyzed our budget for its economic growth impact. That report 
makes it clear that the economy grows as the government slows its 
spending rate. With that growth comes new jobs. Building on CBO's 
analysis, it is clear that over 1 million new jobs could be created if 
our budget took full effect. That will create competition for 
employees. That will increase wages.
  The minimum wage was designed to be a training wage that teaches 
people how to show up for work on time and how to learn a job before 
transitioning to new jobs, and those that do get advanced really 
quickly.
  I would ask there be a ``no'' vote on this amendment. It does not 
belong in this budget.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Portman). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1024

  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and call up amendment No. 1024.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Mexico [Mr. Heinrich], for himself, 
     Mr. Udall, and Mr. Bennet proposes an amendment numbered 
     1024.

  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To create a point of order against legislation that would 
  provide for the sale of Federal land to reduce the Federal deficit)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST THE SALE OF FEDERAL LAND TO 
                   REDUCE THE FEDERAL DEFICIT.

       (a) Point of Order.--It shall not be in order in the Senate 
     to consider any bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, 
     amendment between the Houses, or conference report that would 
     provide for the sale of any Federal land (other than as part 
     of a program that acquires land that is of comparable value 
     or contains exceptional resources or that is conducted under 
     the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2301 
     et seq.)) that uses the proceeds of the sale to reduce the 
     Federal deficit.
       (b) Waiver and Appeal.--Subsection (a) may be waived or 
     suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative vote of three-
     fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. An affirmative 
     vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly 
     chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of 
     the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under 
     subsection (a).


                       Vote On Amendment No. 881

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Sanders 
amendment No. 881.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 52, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 93 Leg.]

                                YEAS--48

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--52

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 881) was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I understand there is a bipartisan agreement 
in the works to modify the Kirk amendment No. 545 and, therefore, I ask 
unanimous consent that the vote on amendment No. 545 occur after the 
vote on Inhofe amendment No. 649.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page 4614]]




                           Amendment No. 523

  There are now 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote on Stabenow 
amendment No. 523.
  The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I would hope we could all come together 
and agree that we want to bring jobs back to America. This is about 
saying if you are a business in America and you want to pretend to move 
offshore on paper but have the benefits of clean air and clean water 
and roads and all of the benefits of our American way of life, you 
ought to be contributing to that way of life. So this closes tax 
loopholes being used by companies right now to avoid paying their fair 
share.
  Small businesses are here paying their fair share; individuals are, 
workers are. Yet we have a code where you can pack up and move overseas 
and American taxpayers have to foot the bill for the move. The workers 
losing their jobs have to foot the bill for the move. It makes no 
sense.
  We want to bring jobs back to America. This simply closes egregious 
loopholes to make sure everybody is a part of America and that 
everybody is contributing to our quality of life and our way of life in 
America. I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
amendment. Some of Senator Stabenow's tax reform ideas might have 
merit, but they should be dealt with in the context of comprehensive 
tax reform rather than as a stand-alone proposal. Otherwise, we would 
have a whole bunch of these stand-alone proposals that would become 
part of the budget, instead of empowering committees of jurisdiction to 
handle them as regular legislation, which they still would have to do.
  The U.S. Tax Code is overly complicated. It is inefficient, and it is 
archaic. The current structure hurts economic growth, frustrates 
working Americans, and pushes American businesses overseas. Any 
discussion of international or corporate tax reform should take place 
in the context of comprehensive tax reform to simplify the whole 
system.
  The budget resolution assumes the tax-writing committees will adopt a 
tax reform proposal that reduces marginal rates but broadens the tax 
base to create a fair, efficient, competitive, pro-growth tax regime, 
and that the revenue is neutral. We look forward to working on that in 
the Committee on Finance.
  I oppose the amendment, and I ask for a ``no'' vote. I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Ms. STABENOW. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 94 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 523) was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on 
Wyden amendment No. 1012 occur after the vote on the Stabenow amendment 
No. 523, and that amendment No. 940 be modified with the changes that 
are at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 940), as modified, is as follows:

       On page 14, line 2, increase the amount by $76,513,000,000.
       On page 14, line 3, increase the amount by $48,578,000,000.
       On page 14, line 6, increase the amount by 
     $112,990,000,000.
       On page 14, line 7, increase the amount by $87,604,000,000.
       On page 14, line 11, increase the amount by 
     $29,603,000,000.
       On page 14, line 15, increase the amount by 
     $11,863,000,000.
       On page 14, line 19, increase the amount by $6,396,000,000.
       On page 14, line 23, increase the amount by $3,274,000,000.
       On page 15, line 19, decrease the amount by 
     $21,000,000,000.
       On page 15, line 20, decrease the amount by $6,300,000,000.
       On page 15, line 23, decrease the amount by 
     $21,000,000,000.
       On page 15, line 24, decrease the amount by 
     $16,800,000,000.
       On page 16, line 3, decrease the amount by $13,020,000,000.
       On page 16, line 7, decrease the amount by $3,570,000,000.
       On page 16, line 11, decrease the amount by $1,050,000,000.
       On page 17, line 12, decrease the amount by 
     $14,000,000,000.
       On page 17, line 13, decrease the amount by $9,100,000,000.
       On page 17, line 16, decrease the amount by 
     $14,000,000,000.
       On page 17, line 17, decrease the amount by 
     $11,900,000,000.
       On page 17, line 21, decrease the amount by $4,200,000,000.
       On page 17, line 25, decrease the amount by $2,100,000,000.
       On page 18, line 4, decrease the amount by $700,000,000.
       On page 20, line 13, decrease the amount by 
     $10,000,000,000.
       On page 20, line 14, decrease the amount by $6,500,000,000.
       On page 20, line 17, decrease the amount by 
     $10,000,000,000.
       On page 20, line 18, decrease the amount by $8,500,000,000.
       On page 20, line 22, decrease the amount by $3,000,000,000.
       On page 21, line 1, decrease the amount by $1,500,000,000.
       On page 21, line 5, decrease the amount by $500,000,000.
       On page 28, line 20, decrease the amount by 
     $20,000,000,000.
       On page 28, line 21, decrease the amount by 
     $16,000,000,000.
       On page 28, line 24, decrease the amount by 
     $20,000,000,000.
       On page 28, line 25, decrease the amount by 
     $19,600,000,000.
       On page 29, line 4, decrease the amount by $4,000,000,000.
       On page 29, line 8, decrease the amount by $400,000,000.
       On page 33, line 19, decrease the amount by 
     $41,000,000,000.
       On page 33, line 20, decrease the amount by 
     $29,520,000,000.
       On page 33, line 23, decrease the amount by 
     $41,000,000,000.
       On page 33, line 24, decrease the amount by 
     $41,000,000,000.
       On page 34, line 3, decrease the amount by $11,480,000,000.


                           Amendment No. 1012

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Wyden amendment No. 1012.
  The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, earlier in this week I was encouraged when 
Republicans voted with Democrats to approve an amendment I introduced 
with Senator Sanders that would protect Medicaid beneficiaries from 
benefit cuts under the budget. But when we actually look at the 
Republican budget on Medicaid, it is impossible to square that budget, 
which has $1.2 trillion in cuts, with the vote that was held earlier 
this week to protect Medicaid. And we can't get those savings without 
cutting reimbursements for nursing homes and long-term care services. 
Medicaid pays 40 percent of all nursing home care.
  Colleagues, let us be consistent with our Medicaid vote that was cast 
earlier this week, and support my amendment.

[[Page 4615]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' The 
budget before us suggests we modernize the Medicaid program based on 
the successful and bipartisan model of the Children's Health Insurance 
Program.
  The Senate budget strengthens and improves Medicaid and protects the 
most vulnerable among us who rely on the program. The budget does not 
cut Medicaid. It slows its rate of growth. The Senate Finance Committee 
will of course determine the details of any Medicaid reform should 
legislation on that matter come before this body. And it would require 
legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, this budget makes massive cuts in 
Medicaid and will throw women, men, and children off of that vitally 
important program.
  I strongly support the Wyden amendment. Let's protect Medicaid.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no time remaining before the vote.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. WYDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 53, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 95 Leg.]

                                YEAS--47

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--53

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 1012) was rejected.


                           Amendment No. 423

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Rubio amendment No. 423.
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, this is a pretty straightforward amendment. 
It funds defense fully based on the Gates budget, which was the last 
defense budget that was put together based solely on the assessment of 
threats we face and the requisite military needs to deal with those 
threats. The national security of our country is the predominant 
obligation of the Federal branch of government. It is the one thing 
that only the Federal Government can do, and it is the first thing it 
is tasked with doing. If it cannot protect us from foreign threats and 
protect our national security, all the other issues we are 
contemplating become elementary. This is a critical component, given 
the fact that around the world today there is an increase in threats 
from radical jihadists and nonstate actors to rogue states such as Iran 
and North Korea, to massive military buildup on behalf of the Chinese 
and the Asia-Pacific region, to the challenges faced by NATO and our 
allies in Europe as Vladimir Putin tries to redraw the post-Soviet 
order in Europe.
  Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this. It does, once again, 
put us at the Gates' budget number which was the last number we arrived 
at, that was presented to us, and that fully funds the needs of our 
military based truly on the threats of the modern era.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). The Senator's time has expired.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. This is truly a remarkable amendment because it runs 
directly in opposition to everything the Republicans have been talking 
about. They say we have to cut Medicare and Medicaid and education 
because of the terrible deficit. Do you know why we have a deficit and 
large debt? Because we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan and we 
forgot to pay for it.
  Now Senator Rubio says, hey, let's continue spending more money on 
war but just put it on the credit card. We don't have to pay for it. 
Enough is enough. If you want to go to war, start paying for that war. 
Let the American people know what the cost of war is.
  Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment 
violates section 312(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. RUBIO. Pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 and the waiver provisions of applicable budget resolutions, I move 
to waive all applicable sections of that act and applicable budget 
resolutions for purposes of my amendment, and I ask for the yeas and 
nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 32, nays 68, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 96 Leg.]

                                YEAS--32

     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Collins
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Gardner
     Graham
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Wicker

                                NAYS--68

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cochran
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Rounds
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Vitter
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 32, the nays are 
68.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.
  The point of order is sustained and the amendment falls.
  The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. I wish to remind everyone that these are supposed to be 10-
minute votes. I am asking for a little bit closer timing on this. We 
have hundreds of them to go yet today, so we need to be more responsive 
in voting. It is a 10-minute vote.
  I yield the floor.


                     Amendment No. 940, as Modified

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate prior to a 
vote on the Paul amendment No. 940, as modified.
  The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, national defense is the No. 1 priority of 
the Federal Government. My amendment increases defense spending, but 
pays for it with spending cuts. It is irresponsible and dangerous to 
continue to put America further into debt, even for something we need. 
We need national defense, but we should pay for it.

[[Page 4616]]

  America does not project power from bankruptcy court. We need a 
strong national defense, but we should be honest with the American 
people and pay for it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, the Republican budget throws 27 million 
people off of health care. It denies nutrition programs for hungry kids 
and pregnant women. It cuts $90 billion from the Pell program, making 
it harder for young people to get a college education, and it raises 
the price of prescription drugs for the elderly. For Senator Paul, that 
is apparently not enough. He wants, over a 2-year period, $189 billion 
in cuts to discretionary programs, which will be devastating to the 
working families of this country.
  Stop the war against working families. Vote no on the Paul amendment.
  I make a point of order that the pending amendment violates section 
312(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. PAUL. Pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 and the waiver provisions of applicable budget resolutions, I move 
to waive all applicable sections of that act and applicable budget 
resolutions for purposes of my amendment, and I ask for the yeas and 
nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 4, nays 96, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 97 Leg.]

                                YEAS--4

     Enzi
     McConnell
     Paul
     Vitter

                                NAYS--96

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 4, the nays are 96.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is 
sustained and the amendment, as modified, falls.
  The Senator from Washington.


                           Amendment No. 798

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the amendment I am offering today would 
simply expand access to paid sick days and give our families some much 
needed economic stability.
  Working families should not have to sacrifice a day's pay or 
sacrifice their job altogether just to take care of themselves or a 
sick child, but today in this country, 43 million of our Nation's 
workers do not have access to paid sick days. This amendment would 
allow workers to earn up to 7 paid sick days over the course of a year.
  It will not only help our families, it will be good for business. 
Paid sick days boost productivity, and in cities and States that 
already have paid sick leave laws, many employers state that this 
policy has not affected their revenue.
  Allowing workers to earn paid sick days would take us a step closer 
to having an economy that works for all of our families, and I urge its 
support.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
amendment. Under the current law, the Family Medical Leave Act provides 
12 work weeks of job-protected unpaid leave for employees following the 
birth of a child, to care for a seriously ill family member, or for 
their own serious health issues.
  Voluntary paid leave programs work precisely because they are 
voluntary, thereby offering flexibility to both employees and 
employers. The one-size-fits-all approach does not permit the 
flexibility needed to help all kinds of businesses and all kinds of 
workers. Employers, not the Federal Government, are best situated to 
know the benefits compensation that should be provided.
  This, again, is a bill that should go through committee. It might be 
very successful if it goes through the committee process, but 
regardless it ought to, and so I ask for a ``no'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Murray 
amendment No. 798.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 61, nays 39, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 98 Leg.]

                                YEAS--61

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--39

     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Capito
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Inhofe
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     Moran
     Paul
     Perdue
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Tillis
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 798) was agreed to.


                             Change of Vote

  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, on rollcall vote No. 98, I voted nay. I 
intended to vote yea. Therefore, since it will not affect the outcome 
of the vote, I ask unanimous consent that I be recorded as voting yea.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The foregoing tally has been changed to reflect the above order.)
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, on rollcall vote No. 98, I voted nay. I 
intended to vote yea. Since it will not affect the outcome of the vote, 
I ask unanimous consent that I be recorded as voting yea.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The foregoing tally has been changed to reflect the above order.)


                           Amendment No. 356

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). There is 2 minutes of debate 
prior to a vote on the Moran amendment No. 356.
  The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, the Moran amendment is an attempt to 
address the issue--in fact it is addressing the issue--of the 40-mile 
requirement contained in the choice act that Congress passed in August. 
Senators may recall that in August we were successful in coming 
together and passing legislation to give veterans greater options if 
they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility or if they cannot get 
the services within 30 days, the VA

[[Page 4617]]

should provide those services, if they choose, at home.
  This amendment makes clear that the VA should provide those services 
in the circumstance where there is a VA facility within 40 miles, but 
it does not provide--if it does not provide the service the veteran 
needs, it does not count against the 40 miles. This is a commonsense, 
very bipartisan amendment. I ask that it be adopted.
  I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Moran raising this 
issue. Last year we wrote the Veterans Access, Choice, and 
Accountability Act. We included language to allow veterans living at 
least 40 miles from a VA facility to access care in the community.
  Like Senator Moran, I represent a rural State. I am the first to 
understand the unique needs of rural veterans. I have spoken with 
Senator Moran and understand his intention is to ensure that veterans 
living at least 40 miles from a facility that provides the care they 
need can seek care in the community through the Choice Program on a 
case-by-case basis.
  If that is his intention, I think it is a good amendment. I think we 
should all support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 100, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 99 Leg.]

                               YEAS--100

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Vitter
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 356) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 432

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Baldwin amendment No. 432.
  The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, my amendment would create a free 
community college program, making a bold investment in our Nation's 
students, its workforce, and the future of our economy.
  It pays for this investment in a balanced way, and my amendment would 
actually reduce the deficit by enacting the Buffett rule, asking 
millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share of taxes while 
giving our students a fair shot at the opportunities a higher education 
brings.
  Inspired by programs in Tennessee and Chicago, this spring President 
Obama proposed a program that would allow students to attend community 
college for 2 years at no cost. This was a bold step.
  Passing my amendment will show that Congress is ready to act to give 
every student a fair shot at an affordable education. Voting for this 
amendment means you believe a college education should be a path to the 
middle class and not a path into debt.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on the Baldwin-Schumer-
Sanders-Stabenow amendment to support free community college and invest 
in our students and our workforce.
  I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, for the 1 minute in opposition, I urge my 
colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment. It spends more than $50 
billion and pays for it by raising taxes.
  This amendment is again telling the Finance Committee exactly how to 
do its work. But worse yet, the President's budget proposal for 
community college tuition free for all is not free for the States.
  The Federal Government would pay 75 percent, but the States have to 
pay 25 percent. That is a 25-percent unfunded mandate. There is no 
provision for the States to be covered under this thing.
  So we are telling them they are going to provide free college, 
although a lot of them already do. For the poor, the Pell grant is 
$5,775, and the average college tuition is $3,347. But it is not clear 
exactly what strings the administration would attach to States and 
community colleges in exchange for a 75-percent match.
  Some of Senator Baldwin's tax reform ideas may have merit, but they 
should be dealt with in the context of comprehensive tax reform rather 
than as a stand-alone proposal.
  I ask my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). The question is on agreeing to 
the Baldwin amendment.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 45, nays 55, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 100 Leg.]

                                YEAS--45

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--55

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 432) was rejected.


                           Amendment No. 810

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Collins amendment No. 810.
  The Senator from Maine.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I offer this amendment on behalf of 
myself and Senator Hirono. Our amendment would create a deficit-neutral 
reserve fund to expand access to higher education for some of our 
neediest students through the Pell grant program.
  The amendment would allow for year-round Pell grants so students who 
want to accelerate their degrees by taking additional courses, 
including during the summer, can receive an additional Pell grant when 
they need it and complete their education more quickly without having 
to wait for the next academic year to begin.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I want to thank the Senator from Maine. We should be 
working to make college more affordable, reducing the crushing burden 
of

[[Page 4618]]

student debt, and giving Americans a chance to further their education 
and training skills.
  The underlying budget makes drastic cuts to Pell grants and would 
increase the average student's debt by thousands of dollars. The 
amendment of the Senator from Maine would help make college more 
affordable and accessible by reinstating the year-round Pell grant, 
which is a much needed investment to improve students' success.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I urge our colleagues to support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I think we have an agreement to take this on 
a voice vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 810) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 828

(Purpose: To provide additional resources to save student financial aid 
  and keep college affordable for more than 8,000,000 low- and middle-
  income students by restoring the $89,000,000,000 in cuts to Federal 
                 Pell Grants in the Republican budget)

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Franken amendment No. 828.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, we just voice-voted an amendment to let 
students use summer Pell grants, but the fact is this budget cuts Pell 
grants. In Minnesota alone, more than 160,000 students were able to go 
to college thanks in part to Pell grants, and the same holds for 
millions around the country.
  When my wife Franni and I were in college, a full Pell grant paid for 
about 80 percent of a public college education. Today it pays for less 
than 35 percent. Yet this budget would cut this program and make it 
harder for students to pay for college. My colleagues want to cut it 
further. We should not be doing that.
  That is why I offer this amendment to restore funding for Pell 
grants.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. FRANKEN. I urge my colleagues to vote yes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator wish to call up his 
amendment?
  Mr. FRANKEN. I would say yes.
  I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call 
up my amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Franken], for himself, Mr. 
     Brown, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Reed, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 828.

  (The amendment is printed in the Record of March 25, 2015, under 
``Text of Amendments.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote no.
  First, this amendment would increase deficits relative to the budget 
resolution. It increases spending in Function 500, with no offset.
  Second, the budget resolution doesn't cut Pell grants, the primary 
program helping these millions of people.
  The budget does encourage restoring the Pell Grant Program to its 
original status as a discretionary program, subject to annual review by 
colleagues. The tuition purchasing power of Pell grants is at an all-
time low even though Pell grant spending has tripled in the past 
decade. Since 2008, there has been an effort to maintain and increase 
the maximum Pell grant, but college tuition increases faster than that.
  This is a program that needs to be reviewed by the applicable 
committee to see what needs to be done. We think there are parameters 
in the budget to take care of the issue. It provides sufficient funding 
on the discretionary side to maintain the maximum Pell grant level, 
which is set to rise to $5,775 for the upcoming academic year.
  I ask my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 101 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 828) was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on amendment No. 692.
  The Senator from Oregon.


                           Amendment No. 1026

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be set aside in order to call up my amendment No. 1026.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Oregon [Mr. Wyden], for Mrs. Murray, for 
     herself and Mr. Wyden, proposes an amendment numbered 1026.

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                  transparency health premium billing)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO CONSUMER PRICE 
                   TRANSPARENCY.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increased disclosure of any Patient Protection 
     and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) taxes or other 
     provisions in health insurance monthly premium statements, 
     including advance premium tax credits, cost sharing 
     reductions, medical loss ratio rebates and savings, free 
     preventive care, coverage of preexisting conditions and 
     prohibitions on premium rating because of gender, the cost of 
     insurance company administrative expenses, and taxes and 
     fees, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those 
     purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase 
     the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal 
     years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, more than 5 years after being signed into 
law, the Affordable Care Act is improving the health and well-being of 
millions of Americans. Many of the Affordable Care Act's greatest 
successes are getting lost in the noise of political attack ads. The 
Affordable Care Act has expanded health care coverage to millions of 
Americans. These people no longer have to go to bed at night worried 
about the possibility of bankruptcy if they get sick.
  Americans who had coverage already are benefiting from new 
protections. Women now pay the same premiums as men. Preexisting 
conditions can no

[[Page 4619]]

longer be used as an excuse to deny coverage, and health plans no 
longer put lifetime caps on benefits. This amendment would require 
insurers to disclose all of the benefits afforded to consumers through 
the Affordable Care Act.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time in opposition?
  The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, we don't have any problem with this being 
taken by voice vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the question is 
on agreeing to amendment No. 1026.
  The amendment (No. 1026) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 692

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Scott amendment No. 692.
  The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment in order to call up the Scott amendment No. 692 in 
regard to transparency in health insurance costs.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Scott] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 692.

  Mr. SCOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:


                           amendment no. 692

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                transparency in health premium billing)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   TRANSPARENCY IN HEALTH PREMIUM BILLING.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increased disclosure of any Patient Protection 
     and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) tax in health 
     insurance monthly premium statements, by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, my amendment is a very simple amendment. It 
simply seeks to make sure insurance companies increase the transparency 
on the actual cost of the health insurance tax on monthly premiums.
  The bottom line is this: When a single mom goes to the grocery store 
and she gets her receipt, at the bottom of the receipt it reflects the 
taxes she has paid. When a father of three buys clothes, at the end of 
his receipt it reflects the taxes that are being paid.
  By the year 2018, this invisible tax not seen by the average 
insurance purchaser will have raised about $14.3 billion in costs 
because of this health insurance tax. My amendment makes it easier to 
understand and appreciate the actual cost of the health insurance tax.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the Affordable Care Act is a critical 
step forward in our efforts to build on our progress to put patients 
first and allows every family to get affordable, quality health care. 
But the work didn't end when the law passed--far from it. Families 
across the country are expecting us to keep working to build on that 
progress and continue to make health care more affordable, accessible, 
and of higher quality. That is what we are focused on, on this side, 
and the amendment that just passed did that, but we should not be 
playing political games in joining to move our health care system 
backward. It is bad enough that the underlying budget repeals the 
health care law and cuts patients and families off without proposing an 
alternative law, but this amendment makes it worse. It means patients 
and families get skewed, incomplete information about their health care 
costs. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 56, nays 44, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 102 Leg.]

                                YEAS--56

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--44

     Baldwin
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 692) was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the 
Coons amendment be moved to occur after Kirk amendment No. 545.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 928

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate prior to 
a vote on Blunt amendment No. 928.
  The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I rise in support of this amendment, 
amendment No. 928. It will create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to 
prohibit a fee or tax on carbon emissions. This vote is important to 
send a clear message to the administration that Americans cannot afford 
to pay higher utility bills because of bad energy policies.
  I thank Senator Thune for cosponsoring this amendment, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator wish to call up his 
amendment?
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 928.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Missouri, [Mr. Blunt], for himself and Mr. 
     Thune, proposes an amendment numbered 928.

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect the 
                   United States from an energy tax)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page 4620]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO CARBON 
                   EMISSIONS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     related to carbon emissions, which may include prohibitions 
     on Federal taxes or fees imposed on carbon emissions from any 
     product or entity that is a direct or indirect source of 
     emissions, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I yield 20 seconds to the Senator from 
California.
  Mrs. BOXER. I say to my colleagues that when you put a price on 
carbon, it works. If you look at my State, we are creating jobs in 
clean energy. We are balancing our budget better than we ever have 
before. We have strong support from the people of California. I don't 
know why on Earth we would say no to something that leads to 
prosperity, jobs, and a clean and healthy environment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I yield 20 seconds to the Senator from 
Rhode Island.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, the premise of this is that climate 
change is not real and not urgent, which puts that side of the aisle at 
odds with NASA, the Department of Defense, every major American 
scientific society, corporate leaders in their home States, and 
probably every single State university in their home States.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, climate change----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, 20 plus 20 equals 40 seconds.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. They spoke for more than 20 seconds.
  All time has expired.
  The question is on agreeing to Blunt amendment No. 928.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 58, nays 42, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 103 Leg.]

                                YEAS--58

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--42

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 928) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 817

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate prior to 
a vote on Durbin amendment No. 817.
  The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we have a Tax Code in America which 
creates incentives and rewards to companies all across the United 
States.
  I am proposing what I call the patriot employers' tax credit. It is a 
tax credit for those American companies that hire Americans and keep 
their jobs in the United States, for companies that pay at least half 
of their employees $15 an hour--and we picked that number because at 
that wage, one doesn't qualify for the basic safety net programs--
companies that provide good health insurance for their employees, good 
pension programs for their employees, and companies that give a 
preference to veterans and to those in the Reserve and National Guard 
who are serving overseas. I think those companies deserve our 
encouragement, a reward of a tax credit for patriotic employers.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in standing up for the companies 
that stand up for America.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, here we go again. I will be asking the 
Senate to vote ``no'' on this amendment.
  Again, Senator Durbin has some good tax reform ideas. They probably 
have merit, but we should deal with these ideas through comprehensive 
tax reform rather than a stand-alone proposal that tells the Finance 
Committee how to do its work.
  So far, we have resisted every one of these amendments. I assume we 
will resist the rest of them today. But we can't tell the Finance 
Committee how to handle comprehensive tax reform if we expect to 
simplify the whole system.
  So I ask for a ``no'' vote, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, is there any time remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no time remaining.
  The question is on agreeing to the Durbin amendment.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 104 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 817) was rejected.


                           Amendment No. 515

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate prior to a 
vote on Vitter amendment No. 515.
  The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, this amendment, No. 515, the Vitter 
amendment, is very simple and straightforward but important. It says 
that the U.S. Department of Education should not be able to bribe or 
coerce States into any particular set of standards or curriculum or 
testing, whether it is common core or anything else. That decision 
should be up to the States. That decision should be up to local 
education communities, not the Federal Government. The Federal 
Government, through our Department of Education, should not bribe or 
coerce States in any direction. That is what the amendment is all 
about.

[[Page 4621]]

  I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I think we all believe that in our 
country all students should have access to a quality public education 
regardless of where they live or how they learn or how much money they 
make. Education is one of the smartest investments we can make.
  Chairman Alexander and I are working together on a bipartisan process 
to fix the broken No Child Left Behind law. I believe we are going to 
make progress in the coming weeks. I appreciate his working with me.
  The fact is that this amendment is not needed. The common core was 
not mandated by the Federal Government. Race to the Top did not mandate 
adoption of common core. ESEA waivers have not mandated the common 
core. Federal law already prohibits the Federal Government from 
requiring States to adopt certain standards or curriculum.
  By the way, this is a ``spending neutral'' reserve fund that I think 
we all should be aware of for the first time in this Republican budget.
  For all of those reasons, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 54, nays 46, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 105 Leg.]

                                YEAS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 515) was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Kirk 
amendment No. 545 and the Inhofe amendment No. 649 be modified with the 
changes at the desk.
  I further ask unanimous consent that a vote on Whitehouse amendment 
No. 867 occur after the vote on the Murkowski amendment No. 838.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 545), as modified, is as follows:

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REIMPOSING 
                   WAIVED SANCTIONS AND IMPOSING NEW SANCTIONS 
                   AGAINST IRAN FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE JOINT PLAN 
                   OF ACTION OR A COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR AGREEMENT.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to Iran, which may include efforts to immediately 
     reimpose waived sanctions and impose new sanctions against 
     the Government of Iran if the President cannot make a 
     determination and certify that Iran is complying with the 
     Joint Plan of Action or a comprehensive agreement on Iran's 
     nuclear program, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 947

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Bennet Amendment No. 947.
  The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up amendment No. 947.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Colorado [Mr. Bennet] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 947.

  Mr. BENNET. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To ensure that small businesses are provided relief as part 
   of tax reform by permanently increasing the maximum amount of the 
 section 179 small business expensing allowance to $1,000,000 and the 
    investment limitation to $2,500,000 and indexing them both for 
                               inflation)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SMALL 
                   BUSINESS TAX RELIEF.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to small business tax relief, which may include a 
     permanent increase of the section 179 small business 
     expensing allowance to $1,000,000 or an increase in the 
     investment limitation to $2,500,000, by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, this is a simple amendment. It increases 
the amount of money that small businesses can expense in a given year. 
That makes it easier for them to purchase new equipment and grow the 
economy.
  It is especially important to places such as the State of Colorado, 
where small businesses make up 97 percent of the employers in our 
State. Specifically, the amendment increases the section 179 expensing 
allowance to $1 million. Right now, it is at $25,000.
  If we ever manage to pass another extenders bill, it will increase to 
$500,000. As we all know, many small businesses are pass-through 
entities. So they pay the individual tax rate even though they may use 
business tax credits and deductions. So in tax reform they may lose 
some of their credits but may not see a corresponding drop in their tax 
rates.
  As we begin the process of reforming our Tax Code, we need to ensure 
that these types of small businesses can continue to grow, invest, and 
innovate. This amendment takes an important step in achieving this 
goal.
  I am told that there is an agreement--there may be an agreement--to 
have a voice vote on this amendment. That would certainly be fine with 
me.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. I don't think there is any objection on our side to a voice 
vote. I ask for a voice vote.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  Hearing no further debate, the question is on agreeing to Bennet 
amendment No. 947.
  The amendment (No. 947) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 838

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Murkowski amendment No. 838.
  The Senator from Alaska.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 838.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is already pending.

[[Page 4622]]


  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, Senator Sullivan and I have come 
together to move forward on this amendment. It provides a spending-
neutral reserve fund for the sale, transfer or exchange of Federal 
lands to State and local governments.
  I want to make sure that folks understand. This is not selling any 
land by itself. Only subsequent legislation can do that. It would 
require us to come back, just as we do now, with exchanges, 
conveyances, and sales, to move the legislation through.
  What we have done is we have made sure that all lands that are 
included within national parks, national preserves, and national 
monuments are excluded so there can be no effort to purchase or 
exchange there.
  Our amendment will allow us to craft balanced, bipartisan legislation 
to empower States, improve conservation systems, and promote economic 
growth.
  That is exactly what we did last year, when we moved through the NDAA 
with support from 80 Senators for that package.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, Americans have always had a deep 
connection to the outdoors. In New Mexico, families go back year after 
year to fish in the Santa Barbara River, to the Santa Fe National 
Forest to hunt, and to the Gila National Forest.
  Our public lands are part of our American heritage. We cherish 
passing that tradition on to our children and to our grandchildren. Yet 
this amendment would make it easier to turn our public lands over to 
State land commissioners and eventually to sell them outright.
  Make no mistake. This amendment will mean more locked gates and more 
``no trespassing'' signs in places that families have used for 
generation.
  Colleagues, this land is your land. I urge Senators to vote no on 
this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Murkowski 
amendment.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will state his inquiry.
  Mr. SANDERS. Has the 10-minute limit expired?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair is advised that it has.
  Mr. SANDERS. Thank you.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, please, a parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There shall be no further inquiries during a 
rollcall vote.
  Mrs. BOXER. And what rule is that that governs that?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is advised that we are in a 
rollcall vote.
  Mrs. BOXER. Well, you allowed another parliamentary inquiry. Why 
wouldn't you allow my parliamentary inquiry? All I want to know is how 
many minutes we have gone over the vote. I hear it is 11 minutes, Mr. 
President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The parliamentary inquiries are at the 
sufferance of the Chair.
  Mrs. BOXER. The sufferance of the Chair?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sufferance of the Senate.
  Mrs. BOXER. Well, the Senate is definitely suffering. But, in any 
event, we are 11 minutes over. Let's bang the gavel.
  The result was announced--yeas 51, nays 49, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 106 Leg.]

                                YEAS--51

     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--49

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 838) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 867

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Whitehouse amendment No. 867.
  The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, this amendment would establish a 
deficit-neutral reserve fund that would make it more difficult for 
corporations and billionaires to secretly influence our elections 
through secret contributions and also to prevent such entities from 
evading campaign finance law, including by making false statements to 
Federal authorities and agencies.
  I can tell my colleagues, if you are not sick of the secret money 
floating into our elections, your constituents are. So listen to your 
constituents. Give this a vote, and let's get started on fixing this 
grave American disgrace.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' 
Respectfully, I think we have some skepticism about this proposal, and 
I want to remind my colleagues this issue was decided by the Supreme 
Court over 5 years ago. The Citizens United case has nothing to do with 
corporate-union contributions to campaigns. Those prohibitions remain 
in place, and the Supreme Court decision reversed what for-profit and 
not-for-profit corporations can say in elections. The Bipartisan 
Campaign Reform Act bans election-related expenditures and 
communications by American corporations. Proposals like this amendment 
are not designed to ensure transparency and civility of elections. They 
are, as Justice Thomas's concurring opinion in Citizens United 
correctly described, ``specifically calculated to curtail campaign-
related activities and prevent the lawful, peaceful exercise of First 
Amendment rights.''
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, how much time is remaining on our 
side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 13 seconds.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. The Supreme Court specifically left the disclosure of 
these sources of these secret contributions to Congress. So the Supreme 
Court actually has given us this job. I urge that we take it up.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, how much time does our side have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no time remaining.
  Mr. ENZI. I ask for a ``no'' vote.
  Mrs. BOXER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to Whitehouse amendment No. 867.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Donnelly) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 52, as follows:

[[Page 4623]]



                      [Rollcall Vote No. 107 Leg.]

                                YEAS--47

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--52

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Donnelly
       
  The amendment (No. 867) was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.


                     Amendment No. 649, as Modified

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 
649 be brought up, as modified.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Inhofe], for himself and Mr. 
     Moran, proposes an amendment numbered 649, as modified.

  Mr. INHOFE. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment, as modified, is as follows:

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
     prohibiting funding of international organizations during the 
implementation of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty prior to Senate 
         ratification and adoption of implementing legislation)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   PROHIBITING FUNDING OF INTERNATIONAL 
                   ORGANIZATIONS DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
                   UNITED NATIONS ARMS TRADE TREATY PRIOR TO 
                   SENATE RATIFICATION AND ADOPTION OF 
                   IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to funding, which may include prohibiting funding 
     for the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty Secretariat or any 
     international organizations created to support the 
     implementation of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty prior 
     to Senate ratification and adoption of implementing 
     legislation by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     raise new revenue and would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on amendment No. 649, as modified.
  The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, everyone in here knows what the United 
Nations Arms Trade Treaty does. It doesn't infringe upon our Second 
Amendment rights. We all know that. It also limits our ability to help 
our allies like Israel in building their weapons system.
  President Obama has signed the treaty but has not submitted it for 
ratification; for one reason, he knows the votes are not there. Two 
years ago, at 5 a.m. in the morning, 53 Senators, from both parties, 
voted for my amendment very similar to this. My amendment would prevent 
funds from going to the treaty Secretariat or any other organization 
that is working to implement this treaty.
  I ask for your support and retain the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, the United States is not a party to the 
Arms Trade Treaty. It has not even been submitted to the Senate for 
consideration. Regardless of your position on the treaty itself, 
prohibiting funding for any international organization anywhere while 
other countries are implementing a treaty is simply absurd. By the way, 
the treaty for which we are not a party to ultimately makes the rest of 
the world live up to the arms export standards of the United States, 
which is good to prevent proliferation for destabilizing arms that 
could be used against American soldiers and to help level the playing 
field for U.S. defense manufacturers. So the amendment actually harms 
U.S. national security by placing U.S. soldiers at greater risk from 
armed soldier transfers to our enemies, illegitimately and illegally, 
without proper oversight by other countries.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, how much time do I have?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 15 seconds.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, it is very simple. If you are for extreme 
gun control and against the Second Amendment rights, you ought to vote 
no on this.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Inhofe 
amendment No. 649, as modified.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 59, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 108 Leg.]

                                YEAS--59

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--41

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 649), as modified, was agreed to.


                     Amendment No. 545, as Modified

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate prior to a 
vote on Kirk amendment No. 545, as modified.
  Who yields time?
  The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, the coming amendment is the Kirk-Brown 
amendment which is the key Iran vote of this session of Congress.
  If my colleagues are upset about the intel-sharing arrangement with 
the State of Israel, if my colleagues feel we should rebalance our 
policy with regard to the United States potentially voting against 
Israel in the U.N., this is the time to rebalance our policy with 
regard to our allies in the State of Israel.
  I urge the body to support this Brown-Kirk bipartisan amendment which 
has been worked out with the

[[Page 4624]]

other side. I just talked to the senior Senator from California, Mrs. 
Boxer, who assured me she supports this amendment. So does the senior 
Senator from New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, with whom I have built such a 
long, bipartisan partnership on the Iran issue.
  I urge adoption of this amendment.
  I yield back my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I will just take 20 seconds and yield the 
rest.
  I hope we all vote for this because it doesn't do anything to cause 
disarray in negotiations. What it says is if there is a deal and there 
is a breakout and it is certified that there is a breakout with Iran, 
we would have a very quick way to restore sanctions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. I thank the Senator from Illinois as well as the Senator 
from New Jersey and the Senator from California.
  We are united in our goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear 
weapon; we all know that here. I commend the President for trying to 
resolve the nuclear dispute diplomatically.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Kirk-Brown-Boxer-Menendez 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  All in favor say aye, all opposed, no.
  The ayes appear to have it.
  Mr. KIRK. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we voted. Regular order.
  Mr. KIRK. I would like to get the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have a point of order. Was the vote 
called?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The vote was not called.
  The yeas and nays have been asked for.
  Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 100, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 109 Leg.]

                               YEAS--100

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Vitter
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 545), as modified, was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.


                     Amendment No. 966, as Modified

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask that my amendment be modified with 
the changes that are at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator wish to call up the 
amendment?
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I wish to call up amendment No. 966, as 
modified.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Delaware [Mr. Coons], for himself and Mr. 
     Sanders, proposes an amendment numbered 966, as modified.

  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
     offsetting the costs of operations against the Islamic State)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO OFFSETTING 
                   THE COSTS OF OPERATIONS AGAINST THE ISLAMIC 
                   STATE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to providing revenue to offset the costs of the war 
     against the Islamic State, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, we need to make sure we pay for our war 
against ISIS. ISIS is a national security threat. We are just now 
coming to the end of two long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have 
cost trillions of dollars, and we didn't pay for them. It is 
unacceptable. Our country has a long history of paying for our wars, 
and we need to return to that tradition. As a democracy, we should go 
to war as a nation and not put the burden on just the troops and their 
families.
  I am pleased to have the cosponsorship of Senator Sanders, and I urge 
my colleagues to support our amendment to raise the revenue necessary 
to pay for our war.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. CORKER. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I certainly appreciate the statement of my good friend, and we have 
talked a good deal about this. I believe we ought to pay for everything 
we do around here. There are all kinds of ways for paying for things, 
including reducing spending on things we shouldn't be spending money 
on. So I would like to work with him in the future. I agree with him 
100 percent that the amount of money that goes out the door should be 
equal to the amount of money that comes in the door, but I oppose this 
amendment just because of the way it was crafted. I wish he had said it 
needed to be paid for, and I would agree with that, but the way it is 
crafted leads me to want to oppose this, and I hope on our side we will 
do so.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, how much time is remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Thirty seconds.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I would simply say that I appreciate the 
sentiment expressed by the Senator from Tennessee. I agree that all 
wars need to be paid for. I think we need to recognize that revenue is 
required to do so.
  I yield the floor to Senator Sanders.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, how much time is remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 20 seconds remaining.
  Mr. ENZI. I ask my colleagues to vote ``no.'' The Coons amendment is 
short and simple, but it claims it will offset the cost of the war 
against ISIS with the President's budget. We didn't pass the 
President's budget. This $8.8 billion is divided between the Department 
of Defense, which executes Operation Inherent Resolve, and the State 
Department, which provides----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. ENZI. I ask for a ``no'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will come to order.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, what this amendment says is that if 
Senators vote for another war, this time they will have to raise taxes 
to pay for it. No more wars on the credit card. Vote yes.
  Mr. COONS. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.

[[Page 4625]]

  The question is on agreeing to the amendment, as modified.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 110 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 966), as modified, was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Wicker). The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, for the information of all my colleagues, it 
only took us 6 hours 15 minutes to do 17 votes.
  The next tranche has 26 votes in it. I need to let you know that you 
don't have to wait all 10 minutes to turn in your vote. If you vote in 
5 minutes, we can finish in 5 minutes.
  Otherwise, a 5-minute vote takes us 10 minutes, just like a 10-minute 
vote takes us 20 minutes, and a 15-minute vote takes us 30 minutes.
  We are going to have to cut down the time, or I am sure people are 
going to give up before they get to some of their amendments.
  I do need to announce that there is dinner in the Mansfield Room. It 
is courtesy of Senator McConnell, and it is for both parties.
  You also need to know that Senator Reid has agreed to provide dinner 
tomorrow night in the Mansfield Room. So unless we can speed this up, 
what we are looking for is a volunteer for breakfast and for lunch 
tomorrow.
  Looking at the list of amendments, I am pretty serious about all of 
that. We need to speed it up.
  To do that, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
vote on the following amendments in the order listed, with no second-
degree amendments in order prior to the votes, with an exception of a 
side-by-side to the Nelson amendment No. 944 and the McCain amendment 
No. 360, and that the listed amendments be voted on second.
  The first one is Isakson, No. 839; then Stabenow, 1072; Portman, 689; 
Casey, 632; Thune, 607; Bennet, 1014; McConnell, 836; Merkley, 842; 
Gardner, 443; Murray, 951; Graham, 763; Blumenthal, 825; Flake, 665; 
Sanders, 475; Hatch, 1029; Schatz, 1063; Kirk, 1038; Nelson, 944; 
McCain, 360; Wyden, 968; Lee, 750, as modified; Reed, 919; Cotton, 659; 
Menendez, 993; Cotton, 664; Brown, 994.
  The amendment (No. 750), as modified is as follows:


                           Amendment No. 750

       On page 64, line 11, insert ``, which may include funding 
     the payments in lieu of taxes program at levels roughly 
     equivalent to lost tax revenues due to the presence of 
     Federal land'' after ``Taxes (PILT)''.

  Mr. ENZI. I ask unanimous consent that all the amendments on this 
list not currently pending be made pending en bloc at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the nonpending amendments by number.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk as follows:

       Stabenow, 1072; Bennet, 1014; McConnell, 836; Graham, 763; 
     Sanders, 475; Hatch, 1029; Schatz, 1063, Kirk, 1038; Wyden, 
     968; Reed, 919; Cotton, 659; Cotton, 664; Brown, 994.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 1072

    (Purpose: To provide additional resources to reject the Senate 
        Republicans' proposed $435 billion in cuts to Medicare)

       On page 32, line 2, increase the amount by $1,813,000,000.
       On page 32, line 3, increase the amount by $1,813,000,000.
       On page 32, line 6, increase the amount by $11,996,000,000.
       On page 32, line 7, increase the amount by $11,996,000,000.
       On page 32, line 10, increase the amount by 
     $22,539,000,000.
       On page 32, line 11, increase the amount by 
     $22,539,000,000.
       On page 32, line 14, increase the amount by 
     $30,065,000,000.
       On page 32, line 15, increase the amount by 
     $30,065,000,000.
       On page 32, line 18, increase the amount by 
     $38,117,000,000.
       On page 32, line 19, increase the amount by 
     $38,117,000,000.
       On page 32, line 22, increase the amount by 
     $47,460,000,000.
       On page 32, line 23, increase the amount by 
     $47,460,000,000.
       On page 33, line 2, increase the amount by $56,270,000,000.
       On page 33, line 3, increase the amount by $56,270,000,000.
       On page 33, line 6, increase the amount by $65,098,000,000.
       On page 33, line 7, increase the amount by $65,098,000,000.
       On page 33, line 10, increase the amount by 
     $76,773,000,000.
       On page 33, line 11, increase the amount by 
     $76,773,000,000.
       On page 33, line 14, increase the amount by 
     $84,543,000,000.
       On page 33, line 15, increase the amount by 
     $85,543,000,000.


                           Amendment No. 1014

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   responding to the economic and national security threats posed by 
   human-induced climate change, as highlighted by the Secretary of 
 Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Administrator of 
      the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the 
   Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ADDRESSING 
                   CLIMATE CHANGE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to promoting national security, economic growth, and 
     public health by addressing human-induced climate change 
     through increased use of clean energy, energy efficiency, and 
     reductions in carbon pollution by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 836

 (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the 
  regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of greenhouse gas 
emissions, which may include a prohibition on withholding highway funds 
 from States that refuse to submit State Implementation Plans required 
               under the Clean Power Plan of the Agency)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REGULATION 
                   BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OF 
                   GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the regulation by the Environmental Protection 
     Agency of greenhouse gas emissions, which may include a 
     prohibition on withholding highway funds from States that 
     refuse to submit State Implementation Plans required under 
     the Clean Power Plan of the Agency, by the amounts provided 
     in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 763

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
           subjecting all Federal spending to sequestration)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

[[Page 4626]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO SUBJECTING 
                   ALL FEDERAL SPENDING TO SEQUESTRATION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to subjecting all Federal spending, except spending 
     relating to Social Security, to sequestration by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           Amendment No. 475

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
   strengthening the United States Postal Service by establishing a 
  moratorium to protect mail processing plants, reinstating overnight 
           delivery standards, and protecting rural service)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   STRENGTHENING THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to strengthening the United States Postal Service, 
     which may include imposing a moratorium to prevent mail 
     processing plants from closing, reestablishing overnight 
     delivery standards, recognizing the importance of rural 
     delivery, allowing the Postal Service to innovate and adapt 
     to compete in a digital age, or improving the financial 
     condition of the Postal Service by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1029

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to prevent 
   American jobs from being moved overseas by reducing the corporate 
                            income tax rate)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO PREVENT AMERICAN 
                   JOBS FROM BEING MOVED OVERSEAS BY REDUCING THE 
                   CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATE.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to preventing American jobs from being moved 
     overseas, which may include a reduction in the corporate 
     income tax rate, by the amounts provided in such legislation 
     for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1063

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
ensuring all legally married same-sex spouses have equal access to the 
 Social Security benefits they have earned and receive equal treatment 
    under the law pursuant to the Constitution of the United States)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ENSURING 
                   EQUAL TREATMENT OF MARRIED COUPLES UNDER THE 
                   SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to ensuring equal treatment of married couples, 
     which may include ensuring that all legally married spouses 
     have access to Social Security benefits after the death of 
     their spouse, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1038

(Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to increase wages 
                         for American workers)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO INCREASE WAGES FOR 
                   AMERICAN WORKERS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to reaffirming the ability of States to adopt 
     minimum wages higher than the Federal minimum wage level 
     commensurate with the cost of living in the State, which may 
     include the adoption of pro-employment and wage-increasing 
     policies by providing pro-growth tax relief and eliminating 
     excessive government mandates, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 968

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  enacting middle class tax relief, including extending and expanding 
refundable tax credits, such as tax provisions and policies included in 
    legislation like the Working Families Tax Relief Act, American 
   Opportunity Tax Credit Permanence and Consolidation Act, Helping 
Working Families Afford Child Care Act, or the 21st Century Worker Tax 
                   Cut Act, among other legislation)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO MIDDLE 
                   CLASS TAX RELIEF.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to extending and expanding refundable tax provisions 
     that benefit working families, childless workers, and the 
     middle class, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 919

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
    eliminating deductions for corporate compensation in excess of 
                              $1,000,000)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   ELIMINATING DEDUCTIONS FOR CORPORATE 
                   COMPENSATION IN EXCESS OF $1,000,000.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to excessive subsidization in the tax code of 
     corporate compensation, which may include eliminating 
     deductions for corporate compensation in excess of 
     $1,000,000, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 659

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
            prohibiting the designation of critical habitat)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ENSURING 
                   PROPER ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION IN DESIGNATION OF 
                   CRITICAL HABITAT.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to critical habitat designations, which may include 
     requirements that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
     examine the cumulative economic effects of the designation, 
     such as on land or property uses or values, regional 
     employment, or revenue impacts on States and units of local 
     government, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     raise new revenue and would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           Amendment No. 664

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
construction of new facilities and improvements to existing facilities 
at the detention facilities at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 
                               Bay, Cuba)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page 4627]]



     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   CONSTRUCTION OF NEW FACILITIES AND IMPROVEMENTS 
                   TO EXISTING FACILITIES AT THE DETENTION 
                   FACILITIES AT UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION, 
                   GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA.

       (a) Finding.--The Senate finds that the detention 
     facilities at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 
     Cuba, are an important tool in the counterterrorism efforts 
     of the United States.
       (b) Deficit-neutral Reserve Fund.--The Chairman of the 
     Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise the 
     allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and 
     other appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more 
     bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between the 
     Houses, motions, or conference reports relating to 
     construction of new facilities and improvements to existing 
     facilities at the detention facilities at United States Naval 
     Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 994

(Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to end ``too big 
  to fail'' bailouts for Wall Street mega-banks (over $500 billion in 
                             total assets)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO END ``TOO BIG TO 
                   FAIL'' BAILOUTS FOR WALL STREET MEGA-BANKS 
                   (OVER $500 BILLION IN TOTAL ASSETS).

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to any bank holding companies with over 
     $500,000,000,000 in total assets to better protect taxpayers, 
     including such measures as capital or leverage requirements, 
     restrictions on the growth, activities, or operations of a 
     company, or divestiture of assets or operations of any 
     company that is unable to present a credible plan to 
     facilitate an orderly bankruptcy or resolution, without 
     raising new revenue, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that there 
be 2 minutes equally divided between the managers or their designees 
prior to each vote and that all votes after the first in this series be 
10 minutes in length.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.


          Amendments Nos. 827, 1025, 533, 984, and 535 En Bloc

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments en bloc: Hatch 
No. 827, Hatch No. 1025, Hatch No. 533, Hatch No. 984, and Hatch No. 
535.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Wyoming [Mr. Enzi], for Mr. Hatch, 
     proposes amendments numbered 827, 1025, 533, 984, and 535 en 
     bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:

                           Amendment No. 827

  (Purpose: To establish a spending-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  reforming the Federal regulatory process by enabling retrospective 
  review of existing regulations, improving the process by which new 
 regulations are created, ensuring fair and effective judicial review, 
 and securing an effective role for Congress in the Federal regulatory 
               process through legislation and oversight)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. SPENDING-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REFORMING 
                   THE FEDERAL REGULATORY PROCESS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to--
       (1) creating an effective mechanism for the review of the 
     existing Federal regulatory burden to identify rules for 
     repeal or modification that--
       (A) impose paperwork burdens that could be reduced 
     substantially without significantly diminishing regulatory 
     effectiveness;
       (B) impose disproportionately high costs on small 
     businesses;
       (C) could be strengthened in their effectiveness while 
     reducing regulatory costs;
       (D) have been rendered obsolete by technological or market 
     changes;
       (E) have achieved their goals and can be repealed without 
     target problems recurring;
       (F) impose the greatest opportunity costs in terms of 
     economic growth;
       (G) are ineffective;
       (H) overlap, duplicate, or conflict with other Federal 
     regulations or with State or local regulations; or
       (I) impose costs that are not justified by benefits 
     produced for society within the United States;
       (2) reforming the process by which new regulations are made 
     by Federal agencies, including independent agencies, for the 
     purposes of--
       (A) prioritizing early public outreach in the rulemaking 
     process;
       (B) ensuring the use of the best available scientific, 
     economic, and technical data;
       (C) preventing the misuse of guidance documents to skirt 
     public input;
       (D) ensuring the use of best practices for regulatory 
     analysis, including cost-benefit analysis, into each step of 
     the rulemaking process;
       (E) facilitating the adoption by Federal agencies of the 
     least costly regulatory alternative that would achieve the 
     goals of the statutory authorization;
       (F) ensuring more careful consideration of proposed high-
     cost rules;
       (G) ensuring effective oversight of the Federal regulatory 
     program, including independent regulatory commissions, by the 
     Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs;
       (H) improving the consideration of adverse impacts on small 
     businesses;
       (I) providing greater transparency in the rulemaking 
     process; and
       (J) improving compliance with section 515 of the Treasury 
     and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 
     2001 (Public Law 106-554; 114 Stat. 2736A-153) (commonly 
     known as the ``Information Quality Act''), the Unfunded 
     Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), and 
     chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
     the ``Regulatory Flexibility Act'');
       (3) enhancing accountability by facilitating fair and 
     effective judicial review of agency actions; and
       (4) ensuring that Congress can effectively exercise its 
     appropriate role in the regulatory process through 
     legislation and oversight;

     by the amounts provided in such legislation for those 
     purposes, provided that such legislation would not raise new 
     revenue and would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1025

(Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to H-1B 
                                 visas)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO H-1B 
                   VISAS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to H-1B visas, which may include increasing the 
     annual cap or exempting advanced STEM degree holders from the 
     H-1B cap or recapturing unused green cards or allowing 
     spouses of H-1B visa holders to work or increasing STEM 
     funding in the United States by raising the H-1B fee paid by 
     employers, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 533

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 ensuring that Department of Justice attorneys comply with disclosure 
                 obligations in criminal prosecutions)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ENSURING 
                   THAT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ATTORNEYS COMPLY 
                   WITH DISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS IN CRIMINAL 
                   PROSECUTIONS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to ensuring that all Department of Justice attorneys 
     comply with all legal and ethical obligations in criminal 
     prosecutions, which may include legislation that ensures the 
     disclosure to the defendant in a timely manner of all 
     information known to the Government that tends to negate the 
     guilt of the defendant, mitigate the offense charged or the 
     sentence imposed, or impeach the Government's witnesses or 
     evidence, by the

[[Page 4628]]

     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 984

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 ensuring that patients, including military members and veterans, have 
     access to new antibacterial drugs that treat serious or life-
   threatening infections through the creation by the Food and Drug 
      Administration of a limited population approval pathway for 
                          antibacterial drugs)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO THE 
                   ESTABLISHMENT OF A LIMITED POPULATION APPROVAL 
                   FOR ANTIBACTERIAL DRUGS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to the treatment of serious or life-threatening 
     infections for which there is an unmet medical need, and 
     which may include the establishment by the Food and Drug 
     Administration of a limited population approval pathway to 
     bring to market new antibacterial drugs, by the amounts 
     provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided 
     that such legislation would not increase the deficit over 
     either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025.


                           Amendment No. 535

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                     balancing the Federal budget)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO BALANCING 
                   THE FEDERAL BUDGET.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to balancing the Federal budget, which may include 
     legislation to ensure that total outlays for any fiscal year 
     do not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year and 
     legislation to ensure that total outlays for any fiscal year 
     do not exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the 
     United States for the calendar year ending before the 
     beginning of such fiscal year, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.


             Amendments Nos. 1044, 1047, 724, 713, and 1005

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up amendment No. 1044 on behalf of Senators 
Cardin and McCain; and amendments Nos. 1047 and 724 on behalf of 
Senator Kaine; amendment No. 713 on behalf of Senators Murphy and 
Cassidy; and amendment No. 1005 on behalf of Senators Murphy and 
Graham.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are called up en bloc.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number en bloc.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders], for other Members, 
     proposes amendments numbered 1044, 1047, 724, 713, and 1005 
     en bloc.

  The amendments are as follows:

                           Amendment No. 1044

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  imposing sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for 
    gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or 
                    significant acts of corruption)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO IMPOSING 
                   SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS 
                   RESPONSIBLE FOR GROSS VIOLATIONS OF 
                   INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS OR 
                   SIGNIFICANT ACTS OF CORRUPTION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to imposing sanctions with respect to foreign 
     persons responsible for gross violations of internationally 
     recognized human rights or significant acts of corruption by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1047

          (Purpose: To provide for sequestration replacement)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO REVISE OR 
                   REPEAL SEQUESTRATION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels and limits in this 
     resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions, 
     amendments, amendments between the Houses, motions, or 
     conference reports that amend section 251(c) of the Balanced 
     Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or the 
     enforcement procedures under section 251A of that Act to 
     revise or repeal the discretionary spending limits and 
     enforcement procedures established under those sections, 
     relating to providing relief from sequestration and the 
     reduction in discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 
     2016 and 2017, split evenly between both the revised security 
     category and the revised nonsecurity category, and offsetting 
     such relief through targeted changes in mandatory or 
     discretionary spending programs and tax expenditures by the 
     amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 
     2025. For purposes of determining deficit-neutrality under 
     this section, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of 
     the Senate may include the estimated effects of any amendment 
     or amendments to the discretionary spending limits.
       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. ADJUSTMENTS FOR SEQUESTRATION REPLACEMENT.

       (a) Mechanism for Implementing Increase in Discretionary 
     Limits.--If a measure becomes law that amends the 
     discretionary spending limits established under section 
     251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
     Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(c)), the adjustments to 
     discretionary spending limits under section 251(b) of that 
     Act (2 U.S.C. 901(b)), or the enforcement procedures 
     established under section 251A of that Act (2 U.S.C. 901a), 
     the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall adjust the allocation called for in section 302(a) of 
     the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633(a)) to the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and may adjust all 
     other budgetary aggregates, allocations, levels, and limits 
     contained in this resolution, as necessary, consistent with 
     such measure, up to the amounts specified and reserved in 
     subparagraph (b).
       (b) Amounts Specified and Reserved.--The amounts specified 
     (and to be reserved from the allocation called for in section 
     302(a) allocation of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 
     U.S.C. 633(a)) to the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     Senate until such time as the conditions specified in 
     subsection (a) are met are--
       (1) for fiscal year 2016--
       (A) for the revised security category, $37,000,000,000 in 
     budget authority (and the outlays flowing therefrom); and
       (B) for the revised nonsecurity category, $37,000,000,000 
     in budget authority (and the outlays flowing therefrom); and
       (2) for fiscal year 2017--
       (A) for the revised security category, $37,000,000,000 in 
     budget authority (and the outlays flowing therefrom); and
       (B) for the revised nonsecurity category, $37,000,000,000 
     in budget authority (and the outlays flowing therefrom).


                           Amendment No. 724

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
 increasing United States exports and improving the competitiveness of 
                       United States businesses)

       At the end of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO INCREASING 
                   UNITED STATES EXPORTS AND IMPROVING THE 
                   COMPETITIVENESS OF UNITED STATES BUSINESSES.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to increasing United States exports and improving 
     the competitiveness of United States businesses, including 
     through a long-term reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank 
     of the United States, by the amounts provided in such 
     legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

[[Page 4629]]




                           Amendment No. 713

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
                  comprehensive mental health reform)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO 
                   COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH REFORM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to comprehensive mental health reform, which may 
     include legislation that provides increased access to 
     individuals suffering from mental illness and greater 
     workforce opportunities for mental health professionals, by 
     the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, 
     provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit 
     over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2020 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2016 
     through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 1005

   (Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to 
  expanding United States counter-propaganda communications to combat 
  misinformation from the Russian Federation or terrorist groups like 
                           ISIS and al Qaeda)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO PROVIDE 
                   ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC 
                   COMMUNICATIONS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to funding for international counter-propaganda 
     communications in order to combat misinformation, undermine 
     ideologies of violence and hatred, and ensure moderate voices 
     are heard, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.


                           Amendment No. 839

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Isakson amendment No. 839
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, amendment No. 839 recognizes that on 
November 4, 1979, 52 brave Americans were taken hostage in Tehran, 
Iran. They were beaten, they were held in captivity, they were 
tortured.
  Finally, the Algerian accords were negotiated, and they were released 
in January of 1981. But in the Algerian accords, they were prohibited 
from ever being compensated by litigation against the nation of Iran.
  Now, with the sanction money flowing into the U.S. Treasury and into 
the State Department, the money is there to compensate these brave 
individuals, of which there are 44 still remaining alive.
  This amendment acknowledges that Congress has the responsibility that 
the Supreme Court dedicated to make sure these people get compensated 
for the bravery they exhibited for the United States of America in 
captivity.
  I urge that this amendment be adopted.
  I recognize the Senator from New Jersey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I strongly support Senator Isakson's 
efforts here, which passed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
last year, working with the State Department, and moved unanimously to 
approve this bill.
  This is to give 52 Americans, who were held hostage in Iran and 
denied the opportunity to seek redress for their terrible ordeal, that 
opportunity. The only way we are going to give them that opportunity 
for the 444 days that their families were held hostage in Iran, is to 
have this type of action.
  I look forward to working with them, not just today but beyond, to 
get it passed so we can get these American families their justice.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Georgia for 
his leadership on this issue. He and I have cosponsored a bill that 
achieved this goal.
  This amendment is vitally important to advance public awareness and 
make our colleagues more aware of the importance of this very 
significant issue. I thank him for his leadership.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Isakson 
amendment.
  The amendment (No. 839) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 1072

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate prior to a 
vote on the Stabenow amendment, No. 1072.
  The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise to ask support for the Stabenow-
Cantwell amendment.
  This addresses the cuts to the budget in Medicare. Medicare is a 
universal health care program, as we know. It is a great American 
success story. Everybody believes that.
  It protects Americans from having their life savings wiped out by a 
single illness. It guarantees important medical care and quality of 
life for literally tens of millions of people across our country.
  I was very disappointed yesterday that our Republican colleagues 
voted against providing a point of order that would allow us to object 
to efforts to privatize Medicare or cut benefits or raise out-of-pocket 
costs for prescription drugs or preventive services. But as a result of 
that, we now have in front of us a budget that calls for $435 billion 
in cuts to Medicare.
  We all know there are ways to work together to create savings through 
efficiencies and quality measures and other things, but we should not 
be telling a generation of seniors, and those coming beyond them--who 
worked hard their whole lives and paid into the programs--that they 
will not have the health care they need and deserve.
  So I ask colleagues to join with us in rejecting the $435 billion in 
Medicare cuts that are in this budget resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote no.
  In the committee, Senator Stabenow heard several different versions 
of this amendment. None of them passed muster with the Parliamentarian.
  I credit the Senator's instincts to approach the question of Medicare 
seriously. I am sure she knows we all take Medicare seriously. Why does 
the budget resolution have the numbers that it has? Because the 
Republicans and the President agree that we have to act on policies 
which extend the life of the Medicare trust fund.
  The budget does this by adopting the President's goal of extending 
the life of Medicare's hospital insurance, HI trust fund, by at least 5 
years.
  While Republicans and the President share the goals of a financially 
stronger Medicare Program, the Republican budget empowers the Senate 
Finance Committee, the committee of jurisdiction, to determine how best 
to extend the life of the trust fund and solve the program's grave 
financial challenges. Many people have concerns about what the 
administration has proposed with this new Medicare policy. I do, too, 
and expect that the Finance Committee, working on a bipartisan basis 
and in cooperation with the House, can craft a solid, successful 
legislation to save Medicare from insolvency.
  I ask for a ``no'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Stabenow 
amendment.
  Ms. STABENOW. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 111 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy

[[Page 4630]]


     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 1072) was rejected.


                           Amendment No. 689

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Portman amendment No. 689.
  The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, this amendment is a commonsense reform 
that allows the Joint Committee on Taxation to provide an accurate 
score to those of us in the Senate.
  Right now we get a static score only, and everybody knows it is not 
wise to just have a static score, because it doesn't take into account 
the effect of tax changes on the economy.
  I think everyone in the Chamber would agree there is some impact on 
the economy. We have to know what it is. This is informational. We will 
still get the static score, but also get a macroeconomic score.
  The Joint Committee on Taxation already does the analysis. So they 
have the information, they are just not allowed to share it with you. I 
would think everybody in this Chamber should support this.
  In the underlying bill, there is already also a macroeconomic 
analysis on the spending side, which is something new. So spending and 
taxes will both be analyzed. We will have the macroeconomic score.
  The last time we talked about this a couple years ago on the floor, 
we got a majority vote--some Democrats, all the Republicans. I hope we 
will get a bipartisan vote today. I think it only makes sense for us to 
have the best information possible to be able to do the best tax reform 
possible, for instance, to be sure it does focus on economic growth, 
jobs, and rising wages.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, dynamic scoring is nothing more than an 
accounting gimmick that makes tax cuts appear at least partly pay for 
themselves. It is an attempt to make it seem like the failed policies 
of trickledown economics work, but we know better.
  According to the CBO, the Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 are 
responsible for more than 13 percent of the increase in our national 
debt from 2001 to 2011.
  Tax cuts did not grow the economy; they just grew our debt. The fuzzy 
math of dynamic scoring may get to a different answer, but the reality 
is that tax cuts for large profitable corporations and the wealthiest 
Americans do not pay for themselves. They just make the rich richer.
  Once again, Republicans are opting for accounting gimmicks to cover 
up their real intentions. Dynamic scoring will rig the scoring process 
in favor of legislation that benefits those who are already doing very 
well.
  I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, how much time is remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no time remaining.
  The question is on agreeing to the Portman amendment.
  Mr. SANDERS. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 59, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 112 Leg.]

                                YEAS--59

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--41

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 689) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 632

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Rubio). There is now 2 minutes of debate 
prior to a vote on Amendment No. 632.
  The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I am honored to be working on this 
amendment with Senator Shaheen and Senator Murray. This amendment will 
create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to support efforts to prevent 
employment discrimination against pregnant workers.
  In the United States today, for so many years, we have had a standard 
set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable 
accommodations for those with disabilities. The same should apply to 
pregnant workers.
  We had a Supreme Court case decision just yesterday. Peggy Young was 
victorious, but the result is that there is no predictable standard for 
pregnant workers in the workplace. We need a standard so employees know 
what their rights are and so employers can follow the law.
  I yield for my colleague Senator Shaheen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, this is about ensuring that women are 
not discriminated against because they want to have children. This is 
making sure that women don't have to choose between their jobs and 
their families. It is about ensuring that all women can be reassured 
that if they are pregnant, their employer has to provide reasonable 
accommodations.
  I hope my colleagues will vote for this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I want to declare that Republicans are 
committed to fair and equal treatment of pregnant women as well. 
Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978 and passed the 
Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. Congress may need to enact this 
specific legislation through committee in order to address this issue. 
This amendment does confirm the ability of the committee of 
jurisdiction to draft legislation. We would be happy to accept this on 
a voice vote.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I request a rollcall vote and ask for the 
yeas and nays.
  Mr. ENZI. A rollcall vote has been requested.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the Casey amendment No. 632.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge the Republicans to vote aye.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 100, nays 0, as follows:

[[Page 4631]]



                      [Rollcall Vote No. 113 Leg.]

                               YEAS--100

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Vitter
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 632) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 607

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate prior to a 
vote on Thune amendment No. 607.
  The Senator from South Dakota.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I rise in support of my amendment No. 607, 
to create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to repeal the Federal estate 
tax, better known as the death tax.
  My amendment will put the Senate on record in support of eliminating 
this destructive and ill-conceived tax on American families in their 
time of grief. It has often been said but it is worth repeating: A 
death in the family should not be a taxable event.
  I agree wholeheartedly with a piece in the newspaper earlier this 
week by Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of 
Commerce, who writes that the death tax ``disproportionately hampers 
minority and women-owned businesses across the country'' and ``creates 
an unfair situation for minority businesses which have finally started 
to accumulate wealth within the last 60 years.''
  The death tax also hits farmers particularly hard.
  According to USDA statistics on cropland values, a significant 
percentage of farms in my State of South Dakota and States such as 
North Dakota, Montana, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, Florida, 
and Missouri remain subject to this double tax even at the higher 
estate tax exception limit.
  Incremental relief from this unfair tax is not enough. The time has 
come for full repeal. I urge support for my amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, this amendment is not about family farms 
or small business. This amendment benefits exclusively the wealthiest 
three-tenths of 1 percent of the families in this country--the very, 
very wealthiest people--and 99.7 percent of the families in America 
will not benefit by 1 nickel. By the way, for those concerned about the 
deficit, this will cost us $250 billion over a 10-year period.
  Ironically, the Republican budget raises taxes for lower income 
families who are on the earned-income tax credit program and the 
children's tax credit program. So what we are doing now is giving tax 
breaks to billionaires in the same bill that we are raising taxes for 
low-income working families, and adding significantly to the deficit.
  I think this should be a ``no'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. THUNE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 54, nays 46, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 114 Leg.]

                                YEAS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 607) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 1014

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate on the Bennet 
amendment No. 1014.
  Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, this amendment is very straightforward. 
The purpose reads ``. . . responding to the economic and national 
security threats posed by human-induced climate change, as highlighted 
by the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the 
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and 
the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.''
  The amendment establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to promote 
national security, economic growth, and public health by addressing 
climate change through the increased use of clean energy, the 
deployment of energy efficiency, and the reduction of carbon pollution.
  That is it. That is all it is--simply a statement of all the facts 
and the suggestions of three common strategies to address the issue.
  Climate change is a serious threat to the world, to our country, and 
to Colorado. Ask anyone whose farm or ranch depends on water from the 
Colorado River or one of its tributaries.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senators time has expired.
  Mr. BENNET. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, just Wednesday of this week, the new 
annual Gallup poll came out. It said very clearly that among the six 
environmental concerns the Gallup poll included in its survey, global 
warming polled at the very bottom, right after the loss of the tropical 
rainforests, I might add. Gallup also found that a majority believe 
that the seriousness of global warming is overstated.
  The Obama administration and others on this side like to claim 97 
percent of the world's scientists believe in manmade global warming. 
Monday's Wall Street Journal op-ed debunked the 97 percent and the 
survey represents the views of only 79 respondents out of 3,149. 
Lastly, the agencies they are talking about that claim that 2014 was 
the warmest year on record, such as NASA--NASA now has reduced that to 
38 percent. They have retreated from that position. So the people have 
caught on to this hysteria, and I ask colleagues to oppose the 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment 
No. 1014.
  Mr. INHOFE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 47, as follows:

[[Page 4632]]



                      [Rollcall Vote No. 115 Leg.]

                                YEAS--53

     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--47

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Paul
     Perdue
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 1014) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 836

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate on McConnell 
amendment No. 836.
  The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I believe the next amendment is No. 
836.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Let me just say to my colleagues that this is an 
amendment which ought to pass 100 to 0. Let me tell you why. The 
Administrator of EPA just testified within the last couple of weeks 
that she does not have the authority under the Clean Power Plan to cut 
off State roads and bridges funds.
  So today, with my friends from Kentucky and Oklahoma, I have offered 
an amendment that is really quite simple. It says that Washington 
bureaucrats should not be allowed to punish innocent Americans by 
threatening the roads and bridges they use just because a citizen's 
State may take a wait-and-see approach--a wait-and-see approach--as 
courts rule on massive EPA regulations. These are regulations which 
would threaten the middle class without having a meaningful impact on 
the global climate.
  The legal issues here will resolve themselves eventually. But 
whatever our party or ideology, we should be able to agree that the 
Federal Government should not be punishing hard-working families just 
to score political points as States await legal clarification.
  Let me say it again. The Administrator of the EPA does not believe 
she has the authority to do this. We need to make it clear that the 
Senate opposes any step in that direction.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to amendment No. 836, 
which seeks to undercut the President's Clean Power Plan to address 
climate change and reduce dangerous carbon pollution.
  The year 2014 was the single most dangerous year ever recorded in 
terms of temperatures, the warmest in history. NOAA and NASA continue 
to chronicle this ever-worsening warming planet. Not only will the 
President's power plan reduce greenhouse gasses, but it will also 
reduce the amount of pollution that leads to dangerous smog-related 
diseases that are contracted by Americans all across our planet.
  Instead of debating this amendment, we should be debating the way to 
reduce the impacts of dangerous greenhouse gases on our planet.
  I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sullivan). The question is on agreeing to 
the McConnell amendment No. 836.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 57, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 116 Leg.]

                                YEAS--57

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--43

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 836) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 842

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Merkley amendment No. 842.
  The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 
has returned $5 million to American citizens victimized by predatory 
scams and unscrupulous practices. If you support ending victimization 
of our citizens, support this bill. If you support creditors, then vote 
against it.
  I yield to my colleague from Delaware.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I am proud to join with Senator Merkley in 
advancing this amendment. It is important we continue to have a strong 
and effective CFPB to protect consumers and ensure transparency and 
fairness in our financial marketplace.
  I urge an ``aye'' vote by my colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
amendment. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is, and always has 
been, an agency with excessive independence. The agency actually steals 
funding from the Federal Reserve before it goes to the Federal 
Government, which takes away from our general fund. There is no control 
over any part of that agency.
  Once it had a Director a year ago, we said there needed to be an 
inspector general taking a look at this problem. But the inspector 
general said he has no access to the records, even though he works 
there.
  So this is an agency that is out of control. It is time for us to 
gain control over the agency, and I urge my colleagues to oppose the 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Merkley 
amendment.
  Mr. MERKLEY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 117 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow

[[Page 4633]]


     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 842) was rejected.


                           Amendment No. 443

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Gardner amendment No. 443.
  The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, this amendment does a very simple thing. 
It protects State water rights. It creates a deficit-neutral reserve 
fund to make sure we are protecting privately held water rights from 
intrusion by the U.S. Forest Service or the ski area water rule, and it 
makes sure we are keeping private water rights held safe from 
groundwater rules by the U.S. Forest Service.
  This is an effort to make sure we are protecting private water 
rights, preventing bypass flows, and making sure we are doing 
everything we can to make sure that State water law is the imminent 
feature of our water in this country.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, the Gardner amendment would radically 
change the way water is handled on public lands. There are real 
concerns about how Federal land management agencies deal with water, 
particularly in the drought-afflicted West. But this amendment is so 
broad that it is trying to address these problems in a way that will 
have numerous unintended consequences. It would make even worse some of 
the water shortages in the areas of the West, particularly in the Lower 
Colorado Basin. It would also create havoc in our national parks in 
both the East and the West.
  The amendment would call into question the status of water contracts 
actually signed by the Bureau of Reclamation throughout the West. 
Uncertainty is the last thing we need. It would have damaging 
implications for settlements such as the Yakima Basin where people have 
come to agreement.
  I agree we need to continue to work on the drought issues in the 
West. But saying that Federal management agencies don't have their 
obligations, such as helping in the national forests with 
firefighters----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Ms. CANTWELL. I urge a ``no'' vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, once again, this is about water rights. 
This is about making sure we protect State-held water rights.
  It is a very clear contrast. If you believe water rights should be 
managed by the Federal Government, then vote against the amendment. But 
if you believe private water rights are under State law, managed by 
State law, decided by State law, then vote for this amendment.
  Let's protect our private water rights. Let's keep our law clear--
that this matter belongs in the hands of the States and not in the 
hands of the Federal Government.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Gardner 
amendment No. 443.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 59, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 118 Leg.]

                                YEAS--59

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--41

     Baldwin
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 443) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 951

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to the vote 
on the Murray amendment No. 951.
  The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as a former preschool teacher, I have 
seen firsthand the kind of transformation that early learning can 
inspire in a child. I believe we should be investing more in our 
children, not less. So today I am offering an amendment to expand 
access to early childhood education so more kids can start kindergarten 
ready to learn. This amendment would expand high-quality early learning 
opportunities for low- and moderate-income 3- and 4-year-olds and build 
on the investments that Governors and legislators across the country, 
regardless of party affiliation, are already making to improve early 
learning opportunities through public-private partnerships. It is fully 
paid for by closing wasteful tax loopholes. I hope our colleagues can 
support this critical amendment.
  I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
amendment. All of us know there is a great value to pre-school, and the 
Federal Government already spends as much as $20 billion per year on 
early childhood programs, including Head Start. This amendment would 
call for $66 billion over 10 years, so it is just $6.6 billion per 
year. But we already spend $20 billion, which is almost as much as we 
spend on kindergarten through 12th grade. How many programs do we need? 
We have 45 at the moment.
  One year ago, when we reauthorized the child development block grant, 
I offered an amendment to reduce the number of programs to five and put 
them all under one agency. That would save enough money to do this. 
Elementary and secondary education will be marked up, I think, when we 
get back. That committee process would be the appropriate place to 
consider this proposal, not in the budget. I would ask for a ``no'' 
vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Murray 
amendment No. 951.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 119 Leg.]

                                YEAS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters

[[Page 4634]]


     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--54

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 951) was rejected.


                           Amendment No. 763

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on Graham amendment No. 763.
  The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I am going to withdraw this amendment, but 
before I do, I will take a couple of minutes to explain what it would 
do and what awaits us.
  Most Members of the body don't understand, I think, that there are 
160 programs which are exempt from sequestration. Our pay is exempt 
from sequestration, as is Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, food stamps, most 
all of Medicare, all of Medicaid, and the Veterans' Administration. The 
military, the intel community, and NIH have had devastating cuts, but 
we don't include our own pay. At the end of the day, how can we justify 
making sure we take care of the veterans, but we are putting those who 
are serving our country in the fight today at risk?
  So I will withdraw this amendment for now because I think we are 
about to get some reason regarding sequestration, but if we don't, I 
will have an amendment for each of the 160 programs, starting with our 
pay. We need to feel the pain we are inflicting on other people.
  I will withdraw this amendment for now, hoping we can fix 
sequestration, but if not, we need to take a look at the entire 
government and let others feel the pain, not just those who wear the 
uniform and are doing the work this country needs to have done.


                      Amendment No. 763 Withdrawn

  With that, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is withdrawn.


                           Amendment No. 825

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Blumenthal amendment No. 825.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, this amendment helps to keep faith 
with our veterans and to make sure we leave no veteran behind by 
reflecting and responding to their voices and the message they have 
given us about the need for more and better health care relating to 
post-traumatic stress, treatment for military sexual trauma, and an 
improvement in the delivery of health care for them around the country.
  It also improves the job training and rehabilitation programs for our 
veterans and makes sure, among other provisions, there is greater 
accountability and more funds and support for the inspector general of 
the VA so we can avoid the kinds of gaps and egregious shortcomings we 
have seen in this past year and also improve the Choice Program this 
Congress passed.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in this bipartisan amendment.
  I thank Senator Moran and Senator Baldwin for their support and 
cosponsorship and urge that we keep faith with our Nation's heroes and 
leave no veteran behind.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, we are willing to take this on a voice vote.
  We yield back all time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  The question is on agreeing to the Blumenthal amendment No. 825.
  The amendment (No. 825) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 665

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Flake amendment No. 665.
  The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, in 2009, the President signed Executive 
Order 13502, which states that it is the policy of the Federal 
Government to encourage executive agencies to consider requiring the 
use of PLAs, or project labor agreements, in connection with large-
scale construction projects.
  This Executive order did not mandate the use of PLAs. However, some 
Federal agencies have interpreted that order to require it, and so all 
this amendment does is take it back to what the law intended--that the 
Federal Government is neutral with regard to the awarding of contracts, 
allowing the free market to work its will, and deliver to taxpayers the 
best possible product at the best possible price.
  I urge adoption of the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Flake amendment--and Senator Flake is 
my friend--strikes the project labor agreement option.
  What is a project labor agreement? It is only awarded to a company 
after they win the competitive bid. So they have to come in with a low 
competitive bill.
  What does a project labor agreement contain? How much it is going to 
cost, what wages will be paid, and how disputes will be settled. The 
net result is that projects cost less and they are done on time.
  Why would we want to eliminate the possibility of saving taxpayers 
money with project labor agreements? I hope my colleagues will vote no 
so we can put the money we are going to save from the Flake amendment 
into some important investments in America.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, if I could have the attention of all 
Senators. At the rate we are going, we could be here until 5 a.m. in 
the morning, so I think it is a good time to seek some cooperation.
  We have a number of amendments lined up here where sponsors will take 
a voice vote in the tranche we are working on now. If there are any 
Senators who are not in the current tranche and would like to be 
considered, I recommend that those Senators come over here and talk to 
the budget staff and see if we can't take some of them and do it by a 
voice vote and see if we can move through this process so we can get 
out of here at a reasonable hour.
  I ask my friend the Democratic leader to give us a view of the status 
on the Democratic side.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senator from South Carolina set a good 
example by withdrawing his amendment. That is really what the standard 
should be. Senator Blumenthal was second best when he said he would 
take a voice vote. The only disagreement I would have with my friend 
the Republican leader is that if we go through all of these amendments 
that are pending, it will take 33 more hours. That is the math. That is 
the truth. We need to move on.
  Remember, this budget resolution is a statement of policy. It is not 
the law. We can say ``I gotcha'' on this one, ``we gotcha'' on that 
one, but that is--we have done that now for 8 hours or whatever it is.
  I really do agree with the Republican leader. The staff has worked so 
hard. They haven't worked just today and yesterday and this week; they 
have been working for weeks to get us to the position where we are 
tonight. I know the Republican leader bought dinner tonight, and I 
appreciate that very much. But if we can get finished here by 11:30, I 
will buy dinner when we get back, and it will be better than that.
  So we have had an ample vote-arama. For all the new Members, they see 
what it is like. The time has come for Senators to show some restraint.

[[Page 4635]]

  No one's election is going to be determined--I say that to the world. 
No one's election is going to be determined by what is taking place 
here tonight--no election. I defy anyone to show me in any of these 
vote-aramas where a vote has made any difference. And we are witnesses 
to that, and I can testify to that. One time, to show my colleagues how 
meaningless these votes are, we voted against prisoners being able to 
have Viagra in prison. We actually voted on that. No one lost an 
election. By the way, it was defeated.
  So let's--we can go through all of the Viagra amendments and do all 
of these things to embarrass each other, but that isn't what we should 
be doing. The time has come to forgo pressing amendments to votes 
altogether.
  It has been very dignified. Earlier today, I said how proud I am of 
the two managers of this legislation. They have totally different 
political outlooks, but they have been gentlemen to each other and 
gentlemen to each of us.
  So I hope we can move forward as quickly as possible. The agreement 
for the dinner was not a Las Vegas bet; it is something I will do.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I will just add, we will finish 
tonight, and it might help us move quicker, in addition to having voice 
votes on a lot of amendments, if we sit at our own desks and see if we 
can just get through this as rapidly as possible without denying anyone 
their rights.
  So I recommend we go ahead, whatever the next amendment is.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Flake 
amendment.
  Mr. FLAKE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 51, nays 49, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 120 Leg.]

                                YEAS--51

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--49

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 665) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 475

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate prior to 
a vote on the Sanders Amendment No. 475.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. This amendment establishes a deficit-neutral fund to 
prevent the U.S. Postal Service from----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will be in order.
  Mr. SANDERS. This deficit-neutral reserve fund would prevent the 
Postal Service from shutting down 82 processing plants in 37 States. It 
would restore delivery standards which have been slowed down and 
protect rural postal services.
  The Postal Service is vital to the well-being of our Nation and 
economy. This is especially true in our rural areas. This is an issue 
that has had bipartisan support for the last number of years.
  Senator Collins is a cosponsor of this amendment. She has been very 
active on this issue, and I would hope we could pass it with a voice 
vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. I want to thank Senator Collins for all of her efforts in 
this area and Senator Sanders for making this a bipartisan amendment, 
and I would ask to accept this on a voice vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Sanders 
amendment No. 475.
  The amendment (No. 475) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 1029

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes of debate prior to a 
vote on the Hatch amendment No. 1029.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1029 and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is pending.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, no one believes in tax policy that has the 
effect of shipping jobs overseas.
  My amendment, which is cosponsored by Senator Wyden--a true 
bipartisan amendment--goes right to the heart of what amendment No. 523 
of my friend from Michigan and amendment No. 817 of my friend from 
Illinois claimed to be doing.
  Tax policy leaders of all ideological stripes agree on a key point. 
The U.S. corporate tax rate is the highest among our trading partners 
and is making American firms less competitive, thereby hurting American 
workers.
  My amendment would put in place a deficit-neutral reserve fund to 
bring the corporate rate down and to prevent the bleeding of U.S. jobs. 
Vote for it to preserve and grow U.S. jobs.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, the purpose of this amendment, as I 
understand it, is to prevent American jobs from being moved overseas. I 
think if we are serious about this, we may want to change our 
disastrous trade policies, which have led to the shutdown of thousands 
of factories in this country and millions of decent-paying jobs. In my 
view, at a time when we have an $18 trillion national debt, the last 
thing we need to do is to cut corporate taxes on profitable 
corporations that in many cases pay little or nothing in Federal taxes.
  We have major corporation after major corporation making billions of 
dollars. They pay zero in Federal income taxes. I don't quite know how 
you can lower their taxes below zero. We need real tax reform in this 
country that ends corporate loopholes that is costing us well over $100 
billion a year.
  So I would urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I think the Senator, through the Chair, 
would yield to me for a moment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no time remaining.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
distinguished Senator from Oregon be given 30 seconds.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I will be very brief. I support this 
amendment.
  President Obama favors lowering this tax rate, and I believe the 
reason he does is because he thinks this will provide another 
opportunity to reduce offshoring. I support the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Since this is bipartisan, I would hope we would take this 
by voice vote. And it is the chairman and ranking member of the 
committees who have to do the work.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment 
No. 1029.

[[Page 4636]]

  The amendment (No. 1029) was agreed to.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, yesterday, I corrected the record on the 
matter of tax expenditures. That statement focused on individual income 
tax expenditures. According to 2014 Congressional Budget Office data, 
the individual income tax accounts for 47.1 percent of federal revenue. 
By contrast, the corporate income tax accounts for 11.9 percent of 
federal revenue. Today I am going to discuss corporate tax 
expenditures.
  The Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress's nonpartisan official tax 
scorekeeper, provides scoring and analysis of corporate tax 
expenditures. What are corporate tax expenditures? In a general sense, 
they are departures from a regular income tax. A regular income tax 
records income and provides deductions for expenses related to 
producing income to arrive at net income. Tax benefits in the form of 
exclusions, deductions, and credits not connected to the generation of 
business income are generally treated as corporate tax expenditures. As 
the tax-writing committee hearings have shown, our business tax system 
is overloaded with subsidies and other complex special provisions. 
Those deviations from basic measures of net income can result in 
economic inefficiencies, slow growth, and an economy that produces 
fewer jobs than it otherwise would. From a revenue-neutral standpoint, 
the flip side of that narrower, less-efficient tax base is a higher 
than optimal tax rate. It is a matter of broad-based consensus of 
senior tax policymakers from the left to the right that there is a 
``two-fer'' in broadening the tax base and lowering the rate. This 
applies to both corporate businesses and noncorporate businesses.
  To the extent Congress delays translating the bipartisan goal of a 
broader business base and lower rates into concrete policy, the dangers 
of further inversion transactions and foreign takeovers looms on the 
economic horizon. My friends on the left side of the political spectrum 
should be the most concerned. Why? The reason is the local economies 
most vulnerable to inversions and foreign takeovers of U.S.-based 
businesses are in business sectors that dominate in the high cost-of-
living, high-tax so-called ``Blue States.'' I am referring to the high-
tech, pharmaceutical, and other cutting-edge intellectual property 
producing business sectors. Those business sectors tend to be based in 
high-cost, high-tax blue States. My friends on the other side should be 
very sensitive to threats to their local economies.
  For that reason, I continue to be stunned to see many of most liberal 
friends on the other side take positions on this budget resolution that 
are at odds with the goal of tax reform. Cherry-picking corporate tax 
expenditures to use for new spending, if it were to become viable 
policy, would starve the resources for tax reform. If my friends on the 
other side were to prevail on this strategy, you could forget about the 
bipartisan goal of broadening the business tax base and lowering tax 
rates. Their policy positions, if enacted, would leave tax policymakers 
with no resources to engage in reform. In fact, a broader U.S. tax base 
with rates that are already too high would make U.S.-based businesses 
less competitive. The tax baggage of being a U.S.-based business would 
grow, further tipping the balance toward foreign control by inversions 
and takeovers.
  The debate on corporate tax expenditures isn't about the merits of 
those policies. That debate on the merits of corporate tax expenditures 
could, should, and will be joined in legislating tax reform. That is a 
bipartisan goal for a bipartisan policy result that is necessary to 
build a stronger American economy.


                           Amendment No. 1063

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes equally divided prior 
to a vote on the Schatz amendment No. 1063.
  The Senator from Hawaii.


                    Amendment No. 1063, as Modified

  Mr. SCHATZ. I ask unanimous consent that my amendment No. 1063 be 
modified with the changes at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment, as modified, is as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO ENSURING 
                   EQUAL TREATMENT OF MARRIED COUPLES UNDER THE 
                   SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM AND BY THE DEPARTMENT 
                   OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to ensuring equal treatment of married couples, 
     which may include ensuring that all legally married spouses 
     have access to Social Security benefits after the death of 
     their spouse and to benefits under laws administered by the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, by the amounts provided in 
     such legislation for those purposes, provided that such 
     legislation would not increase the deficit over either the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the 
     period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  Mr. SCHATZ. All legally married, same-sex couples deserve equal 
treatment under the law, regardless of where they live. But right now, 
eligibility for spousal benefits provided under the Social Security Act 
and by the Department of Veterans Affairs is determined by a place-of-
residence standard. That means that legally married same-sex couples 
who move to a State that doesn't recognize same-sex marriage could be 
denied Social Security and veterans survivor benefits.
  Plain and simple, this is wrong, and this doesn't reflect our 
American values. This amendment will fix this and provide equal 
protection under the law and the Social Security and veterans benefits 
that gay Americans have earned. I would be happy to entertain a voice 
vote in support of this amendment if the majority is amenable.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, it has come to my attention that is not 
going to be possible on this amendment.
  Again, this is a statement that has to be handled by the committee of 
jurisdiction and has no real effect. So I would ask that everybody vote 
``no'' on this one.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Schatz 
amendment No. 1063, as modified.
  Mr. SCHATZ. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 57, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 121 Leg.]

                                YEAS--57

     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Tillis
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--43

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Paul
     Perdue
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 1063), as modified, was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 1038

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). There is 2 minutes of debate prior 
to a vote on Kirk amendment No. 1038.
  Who yields time?
  The Senator from Texas.

[[Page 4637]]


  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, on behalf of the Senator from Illinois, we 
are offering an alternative to the Sanders amendment that failed 
earlier today. The Sanders amendment called for a substantial increase 
in the minimum wage, an action that the Congressional Budget Office has 
told us could kill up to 1 million jobs.
  The Kirk amendment takes a different approach. It reaffirms the 
ability of the individual States to raise the minimum wage above the 
Federal level, but only if they choose to do so at their own volition.
  It also calls for policies that will result in higher wages for all 
Americans, progrowth tax relief and the elimination of burdensome 
mandates such as ObamaCare.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Kirk amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Frankly, I don't quite understand this amendment. This 
is what it says: This amendment would ``establish a deficit-neutral 
reserve fund'' to reaffirm that States can raise minimum wage while 
providing tax relief and eliminating excessive government mandates.
  States do not need permission from the Federal Government to raise 
the minimum wage. In fact, 29 States have already raised the minimum 
wage. And in the last election, when that question was on the ballot in 
four States, all four of those States voted to raise the minimum wage.
  People all over this country want us to raise the Federal minimum 
wage, which is now a starvation wage of $7.25 an hour.
  So this amendment, quite frankly, does not make a whole lot of sense 
to me. I would hope it will be defeated.
  States are looking to the Federal Government to raise the minimum 
wage. We don't have to tell them what to do. They are doing just fine.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, this amendment is a reaffirmation of the 
10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
  I ask for the support of our colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. CORNYN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 57, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 122 Leg.]

                                YEAS--57

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Carper
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     King
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--43

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 1038) was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.


                           Amendment No. 944

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 944.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is pending.
  There is 2 minutes of debate on the amendment.
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, this is an amendment to call a point of 
order on any legislation that would attempt to muzzle Federal employees 
in using any scientific language that calls a change--scientific 
language that would apply to oceans, to weather, to the climate, and to 
atmospheres.
  This is an attempt to make clear that we do not agree with muzzling 
or censoring Federal agencies or Federal employees when it comes to 
employing their scientific knowledge.
  I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, this amendment is not germane to the budget 
resolution. It creates a point of order concerning subject matter that 
is not within the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Budget, 
prohibiting Federal employees or agencies from exercising their freedom 
of speech by prohibiting using terms from atmospheric scientific 
literature.
  While I know many of my colleagues have strong opinions on this 
topic, it is not appropriate for inclusion in a budget resolution. In 
fact, this amendment is corrosive. It damages the privilege of the 
budget. Therefore, when debate time expires I will raise a point of 
order that this amendment is not germane to the budget resolution and I 
encourage my colleagues to sustain it.
  I guess that probably concludes the debate.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida has 7 seconds 
remaining.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, this is an issue of freedom of speech, 
First Amendment rights. This is in fact--
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, amendment No. 944 is not germane to the 
budget resolution now before the Senate. Therefore, I raise a point of 
order against the amendment under section 305(b)(2) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I move to waive, and I ask for the yeas 
and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 51, nays 49, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 123 Leg.]

                                YEAS--51

     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--49

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 
49.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is 
sustained and the amendment fails.

[[Page 4638]]




                           Amendment No. 360

  There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote on the McCain amendment 
No. 360.
  The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this amendment is simple. It says that 
children who show up at our border will not be allowed to stay. They 
will be returned to the country they came from. Right now they are 
being transported up by the lowest form of life that ever existed on 
the Earth. Young women are being raped, people are being killed, people 
are being molested, and the drug cartels are the ones that are bringing 
them up. This has got to stop. They can go to the consulate and the 
embassies in their countries--I am talking about the three Central 
American countries, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. But to have 
the drug cartels and parents paying thousands of dollars to have them 
transported up, many of the young women being raped on the way, is 
unacceptable.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment.


                     Amendment No. 360, as Modified

  Mr. President, I have a modification at the desk and ask unanimous 
consent that my amendment be modified.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is so modified.
  The amendment, as modified, is as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. 3__. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO DETERRING 
                   THE MIGRATION OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN FROM EL 
                   SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, AND HONDURAS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, 
     aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution 
     for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, 
     amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports 
     relating to deterring the attempted migration of 
     unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and 
     Honduras in the United States, which may include the 
     expedited removal of unlawful entrants from noncontiguous 
     countries, by the amounts provided in such legislation for 
     those purposes, provided that such legislation would not 
     increase the deficit over either the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the period of the total of 
     fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I did raise an objection to the change, 
although I appreciate the fact that the Senator made that change.
  I rise to oppose amendment No. 360 which would roll back critical 
antitrafficking and humanitarian protections for children from Central 
America. Last summer I led a congressional delegation to the Rio Grande 
Valley border to view the humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied children 
from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Clearly, concrete cells at 
Border Patrol stations are no place for children, which is where they 
likely would be under the expedited deportation proceedings allowed 
under this amendment. These young children are fleeing danger and 
violence in their own home countries. It is also no answer to require 
these children to seek asylum in their home countries while being 
exposed to the very violence they are trying to escape in the first 
place.
  This is the portion of the amendment the Senator has eliminated. It 
still doesn't leave out the part about expedited deportation. So let's 
keep the current law in place that--
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Ms. HIRONO. We voted for this law unanimously, signed by President 
Bush. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment, 
as modified.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 58, nays 42, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 124 Leg.]

                                YEAS--58

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     King
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--42

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 360), as modified, was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 968

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote 
on the Wyden amendment No. 968.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 968, and I urge 
Senators to support this amendment because it will cut taxes on the 
middle class and give millions of Americans a new ladder of economic 
opportunity. This amendment rewards hard work, makes college more 
affordable, and helps parents who have a tough time making ends meet. 
Let's create a new path upward for the middle class and those who want 
to be middle class. Support this amendment.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, once again I have to ask my colleagues to 
vote ``no.'' This is a tax reform idea that has some merit, but it has 
to be dealt with in the context of comprehensive tax reform rather than 
a stand-alone proposal. I know that he and his Finance Committee 
chairman, Senator Hatch, are working on changing the Tax Code to 
eliminate some of the overcomplicated, inefficient, and archaic 
language, so we should address it in the committee of jurisdiction, not 
in the budget.
  Even though the amendment is deficit neutral, it is, again, telling a 
committee what to do and how to do it, and it is even by the person who 
has the capability to do that. So I would ask for a ``no'' vote.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the Wyden amendment No. 968.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 73, nays 27, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 125 Leg.]

                                YEAS--73

     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coats
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--27

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Burr
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Graham
     Hatch
     Heller
     Inhofe
     Isakson

[[Page 4639]]


     Kirk
     Lankford
     McConnell
     Paul
     Perdue
     Rounds
     Tillis
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The amendment (No. 968) was agreed to.


                     Amendment No. 750, as Modified

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate prior to 
a vote on the Lee amendment No. 750, as modified.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, the Federal Government owns almost two-thirds 
of the land in Utah and almost half of the land in the 11 coterminous 
States in the Western United States. But unlike other property owners, 
the Federal Government does not pay property tax. As a result, areas 
with high concentrations of Federal land, such as most of Utah and most 
of the Western United States, face budget shortfalls that affect the 
ability of those States to fund critical education, transportation 
infrastructure, and emergency services.
  To help compensate local governments for this loss of property tax 
revenue, the Federal Government created the PILT Program--PILT stands 
for Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program--to provide some funding for these 
revenue shortfalls.
  Historically, PILT payments tend to represent just a tiny fraction, 
just pennies on the dollar for what these jurisdictions could otherwise 
collect in property tax revenue.
  Now to correct the damage caused by this unfair system----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. LEE. I ask my colleagues to vote for this amendment which would 
allow us to bring PILT into conformity with what these jurisdictions 
would otherwise receive from taxation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to oppose this 
amendment. While there are many of us who support full funding for 
PILT, this amendment is impractical. In fact, the Congressional 
Research Service reports indicate that attempts to set up tax 
equivalency for PILT would be wrought with errors and gamesmanship. 
That is because counties routinely tax different land uses at different 
rates.
  Second, my colleagues should note that this may increase PILT 
payments more than 350 percent of today's authorized level, and that 
would raise the cost of this program from $4 to $5 billion, to $15 to 
$20 billion.
  Because the amendment creates a spending-neutral reserve fund, only 
cuts to other mandatory spending programs could be used to fund the 350 
percent rise in payments.
  So, Mr. President, I cannot support this amendment. It is 
unsustainable and unworkable, and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment, 
as modified.
  Ms. CANTWELL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. 
Feinstein) is necessarily absent.
  The result was announced--yeas 56, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 126 Leg.]

                                YEAS--56

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--43

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Durbin
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Feinstein
       
  The amendment (No. 750), as modified, was agreed to.

                          ____________________