[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14592-14593]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WORK BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, over the next few weeks, Senators 
will work to conclude the business of the 114th Congress as we begin 
looking forward to the 115th. We have a lot to do, including approving 
several conference reports and funding the government. It is good to 
see the respective committees making important progress on conference 
reports for the National Defense Authorization Act and the Water 
Resources Development Act.
  We will work with our counterparts in the House to consider each of 
those in the coming days and to send final bills to the President's 
desk for signature. We will also take up the 21st-century cures bill, 
which contains resources to promote medical research, including 
advancing regenerative medicine, among many other important provisions. 
Sometime soon we will also take up the Iran Sanctions Extension Act, 
which provides underlying authorities necessary to reimpose sanctions 
if those sanctions are called for on the country that has continued to 
exhibit disturbing and very aggressive behavior. And of course we will 
work to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government.
  I would also like to note that my friend from Alaska, Senator 
Murkowski, is continuing her efforts to advance the Energy Policy 
Modernization Act, which passed the Senate with large bipartisan 
support earlier this year. As the chair of the Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee, she has been a champion of this critical bill and 
has never stopped working to move it forward. I appreciate her work in 
that capacity, as well as the many other Members who have been leaders 
on each of the issues I just named.
  I would encourage colleagues on both sides to continue working 
together so that we can complete our work very soon.
  Madam 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. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page 14593]]



                          ____________________