[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6345]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           THE SENATE AT WORK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I took a trip up to Boston this weekend 
to address the Kennedy Institute. It was really a unique experience.
  I was there in a full-scale representation of the Senate Chamber to 
discuss how the real Senate is beginning to get back to work. I 
explained how committees are working again so Senators can have more of 
a stake in the legislative process. I explained how we are allowing 
more open floor debate and more amendment opportunities so Senators can 
better represent the voices of their constituents. And I explained how 
we are getting the fundamentals back on track, such as passing a 
budget.
  This doesn't mean we have ironed out all the Senate's challenges. It 
doesn't mean a new era of good feelings beckons just around the corner. 
And it doesn't mean an exertion of will won't be necessary every now 
and then. But it does mean that we are beginning to open the Senate 
back up, and in a way that will make shared achievement more likely.
  Recall just last week, when we overwhelmingly passed a bill to give 
the American people more of a say in President Obama's negotiations 
with Iran. Although we weren't able to consider nearly the number of 
amendments I would have liked to have seen considered to strengthen the 
bill, the legislation did provide for congressional oversight of any 
comprehensive agreement.
  The White House had been threatening to veto that bill, but it passed 
with the bipartisan support of 98 percent of Senators anyway.
  Later this afternoon, we will take up another Iran-related measure 
that I hope we will pass with similar bipartisan enthusiasm.
  The resolution of the junior Senator from Idaho is simple. It calls 
on the administration to use the tools it has in pursuit of what should 
be a bipartisan goal: securing the release of American citizens being 
held as hostages by the regime in Iran.
  One of those Americans, Saeed Abedini, has reportedly been held 
prisoner for what would appear to be the supposed crime of attempting 
to build and operate an orphanage--the supposed crime of building and 
operating an orphanage.
  Beaten, denied access to medical care, and locked away in solitary 
confinement--that is apparently how the Iranian regime deals with those 
who dare to show love and compassion to others. No American should find 
this acceptable, just as no American should find it acceptable to 
imprison unjustly a reporter or a grandson coming to see his 
grandmother.
  I think we can all agree that, at the very least, the American people 
should not be rewarding Iran for its disgraceful human rights abuses 
and that we should not be granting Iran access to the funding it 
desires to further its nuclear weapons program and terrorist proxies 
while this exploitation continues.
  So I call on every Senator to join us in standing up for human 
rights. Let's pass Senator Risch's legislation later this afternoon.
  I mentioned earlier that committees are beginning to get back to work 
in the new Senate. We have seen a lot of bipartisan committee action in 
recent weeks. One standout achievement was the Finance Committee's 
overwhelming passage of bipartisan trade legislation, 20 to 6. It is 
incredibly important for American workers that we pass this bill. 
Without it, foreign countries will continue to be able to discriminate 
against American products and American produce, while we have some of 
the lowest duties in the world.
  We need strong and fair trade legislation that expands Congress's 
oversight over the administration and sets clear rules and standards 
for its trade negotiators. That is the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 
Priorities and Accountability Act in a nutshell.
  Yet some talk about preventing the Senate from even debating the 
bill. I would tell you, I think this would be a big mistake. The 
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act 
reported by the Finance Committee is already a strong bill, and we will 
have an amendment process on the floor that will allow Members the 
opportunity to advance their priorities. Voting to proceed to a bill is 
a vote that says this is worthy of debate--worthy of debate. Well, 
certainly this bill is indeed worthy of debate, supported by the 
President of the United States.
  So I commend Senator Hatch, Senator Wyden, and their colleagues on 
the Finance Committee for getting us this far. My hope is that we can 
continue this debate tomorrow.

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