[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10465-10466]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WORKING TOGETHER IN THE SENATE

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, as I indicated initially, this 
Congress--and particularly the Senate--has had an unusually productive 
period of time of late. It may be hard for some people to believe, but 
the most common word I heard used to describe Congress last year, and 
in recent years, has been ``dysfunctional.'' But we have actually been 
functioning very well. We have been able to accomplish quite a bit.
  Today the Senate is marked by something that we refer to as regular 
order. What does that mean? It means that we operate according to the 
rules, where not only the majority but also the minority get to 
participate in the process, both at committees and on the floor of the 
Senate. If anybody has a good idea, they can offer that idea, and they 
can actually get a vote on it up or down.
  I was pleased to read in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that two 
former Republican majority leaders wrote that they were encouraged to 
see ``the Senate addressing big problems after years of inaction.'' I 
couldn't agree more.
  Bringing the amendment process back is one obvious way we have done 
so under the new majority after years of inaction. Now that may sound 
like inside baseball or just talking about procedure, but by allowing 
Members of both parties--the minority and the majority--to offer their 
ideas on legislation, we have restored the ability of all Members of 
the Senate, as elected representatives of the people, to cast our votes 
on numerous issues that affect all of our constituents and the country.
  But restoring such a simple process, one that had been largely absent 
during the years the minority leader held the reins, represents a real 
sign of progress.
  At the beginning of this year, it was reported that just 3 weeks into 
the new Senate, we had voted on more amendments than the minority 
leader had allowed during the last year in its entirety. Let me say 
that again, because it is pretty shocking. In the first 3 weeks of this 
year, we had voted on more amendments than the minority leader--when he 
was majority leader--allowed in the entire previous year.
  Well, it would mean nothing if it didn't reflect the core philosophy 
of the new leadership of this Chamber. In other words, our successes on 
amendment votes didn't stop after our first month in the new Congress. 
I am now proud to say that voting is now the norm, instead of the 
exception to the rule.
  What did our constituents send us here to do, if not to vote? During 
the last 6 months, the Senate has voted on 136 amendments in 
legislation, compared to just 15 last year. We are working for the 
American people, and, more importantly, the Congress is now working on 
their behalf and actually beginning to solve real problems that have 
lingered for years.
  But we have done more than just allow amendments and votes on 
amendments. During the last few months, we have passed more than 40 
bipartisan bills. Now, if anybody has been here for very long, one of 
the things they learned, perhaps to their chagrin, is that you can't do 
anything around here on a purely partisan basis. You just don't have 
the numbers to do it--with some notable exceptions. But

[[Page 10466]]

we passed more than 40 bipartisan bills, and we have seen 18 of those 
already signed into law by the President.
  This includes important legislation that I am very proud of called 
the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which passed this Chamber 
99 to 0 and is focused on making sure we help the victims of modern-day 
slavery recover and rebuild their lives and making sure that these 
women, typically teenage girls, are treated as victims and not 
criminals.
  We have also passed other important legislation, such as the Iran 
Nuclear Agreement Review Act. This law will give Congress the time and 
space to closely scrutinize any deal that the President negotiates with 
Iran concerning its pursuit of nuclear weapons. In so doing, we will 
make sure that the American people, through their elected 
representatives, can voice their opinions on what could be a bad deal 
that could jeopardize our national security and that of our allies, 
such as the nation of Israel.
  Then there is the National Defense Authorization Act, which was 
passed this last week and which will provide our men and women in 
uniform the authorities and the resources they need to protect and 
defend our Nation against rising threats around the world.
  And, as I mentioned at the beginning, just yesterday we passed trade 
promotion authority, which will soon be heading to the President's 
desk. It provides Texas farmers, ranchers, and small businesses the 
opportunity to find new markets around the world through pending and 
future trade agreements.
  We also see significant progress in many other bills that the Senate 
may soon consider, bills that our committee chairs have been tirelessly 
moving forward. This includes more than 110 bills that have been 
reported out of committee and legislation such as the PATENT Act, a 
bill I have been very involved in, which helps startups and small 
businesses that are too often wasting their time and money fighting 
costly, frivolous litigation.
  It is good to see that the Senate is back working for the American 
people, and it is my hope that we can, on a bipartisan basis, continue 
to build on our strong record so far this Congress and to continue to 
work productively, where we can, to serve those who elected us.
  The Senate is starting to build some momentum. With several 
appropriations bills looming, we need to keep getting things done and 
to continue providing real solutions to the problems it faces.
  Although my friends across the aisle suggested that they will launch 
a filibuster summer, I would like to stress that would undercut the 
good progress and the productivity we have demonstrated so far, and it 
would also frustrate the American people and only harm those whom we 
are sent here to represent, not the least of which are our troops and 
veterans.
  So let's do away with this irresponsible idea of a filibuster summer, 
and let's work together to try to do the Nation's business.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I wish to say a couple of things 
before I speak to the issue that brought me to the floor today.
  I have been listening to our leader from Texas talk about so many of 
the advances we have seen in the Senate this session. I think it is 
important to acknowledge and note that we are making progress. Often we 
get labeled in the media for being that ``do-nothing Congress,'' that 
entity which is just engaged in loggerheads and deadlock. But I think 
the truth is and the facts on the ground are that we are seeing 
substantive legislation passed, just as the Senator from Texas has 
noted.
  I was pleased to lead off the Senate with the first bill on the floor 
in this Congress--the Keystone XL Pipeline. It was good to be back at 
work in a body that was entertaining amendments from both sides and 
offered by my colleagues without any direction or dictation from the 
majority side--an opportunity for the give-and-take that comes with not 
only good debate but not knowing whether your amendment is going to 
pass or fail. That is how the legislative process works.
  The occupant of the Chair is a former member of a State body, as am 
I. We know that is how you build legislation, the good, constructive 
back-and-forth. We saw that with the Keystone XL debate. We moved that 
through both bodies. The President chose to veto it. I think it is a 
mistake on his part. I would like to see us resolve that eventually. 
But I do think it reflects the way that we as a Chamber can work and 
the way a constructive majority can work. So I applaud the leadership 
of the majority in getting us to this point and through some very 
difficult issues. We are going to have some good things coming up, and 
I look forward to further engaging in debate on those.

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