[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4273-4274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                        2016--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 96, 
H.R. 2028.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 96, H.R. 2028, a bill 
     making appropriations for energy and water development and 
     related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2016, and for other purposes.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 96, H.R. 2028, an act making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and 
     for other purposes.
         Thad Cochran, Bill Cassidy, Roy Blunt, Mark Kirk, Thom 
           Tillis, James Lankford, Cory Gardner, Orrin G. Hatch, 
           John Thune, Johnny Isakson, Lisa Murkowski, James M. 
           Inhofe, Susan M. Collins, Lamar Alexander, Shelley 
           Moore Capito, Mitch McConnell.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
mandatory quorum call be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                        FAA Reauthorization Bill

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today the Senate is closer to passing 
the most comprehensive aviation security reforms in years, and I hope 
we will do so today. This important legislation will bolster security 
for travelers and look out for consumers' interests.
  Here is how it will help improve security: by improving vetting and 
inspections of airport employees to deter terrorist attacks; by 
expanding security measures and prescreening zones, which are often 
vulnerable; by shoring up security for international flights coming 
into our airports; and by improving preparation for everything from 
cyber security attacks to active shooter scenarios to outbreaks of 
communicable diseases.
  This legislation will also benefit consumers by requiring airlines to 
offer refunds for lost or delayed bags, by providing more information 
on things like seat availability, and by improving travel for 
passengers with disabilities. It accomplishes this without increasing 
taxes or fees on passengers and without imposing heavyhanded 
regulations that diminish choice for travelers.
  This important FAA reauthorization and airport security legislation 
is the result of strong leadership by Senator Thune, the chair of the 
Commerce Committee, and Senator Ayotte, the chair of the Aviation 
Subcommittee, as well as their Democratic counterparts, Senators Nelson 
and Cantwell. They worked diligently across party lines, listened to 
their colleagues' ideas, and never stopped working for legislation both 
sides could support.
  In the Commerce Committee, nearly 60 amendments were accepted from 
both sides, and the bill passed by voice vote. On the floor, more than 
a dozen amendments were accepted from both sides, and I am optimistic 
that we will soon pass it here on a bipartisan basis. I appreciate the 
efforts of the bill managers to work through amendments and move the 
bill forward.
  This important FAA reauthorization and airport security legislation 
was bipartisan from the start. It shows why returning to regular order 
is so important. It is another example of what can be achieved in this 
Republican-led Senate--a Senate we put back to work for the American 
people.


                    Energy Policy Modernization Bill

  Mr. President, thanks to an agreement reached last night, the Senate 
is now poised to pass broad, bipartisan energy legislation too. We have 
an agreement to take the Energy Policy Modernization Act back up, 
consider even more amendments, and then take a final vote on it.
  I was encouraged to see the Democratic leader yesterday agreeing that 
this is important legislation. It will support more American jobs, more 
American growth, and more American energy independence, and we will 
finish our work soon.
  Passage of this bill will represent the culmination of more than a 
year's worth of hard work, countless listening sessions and oversight 
hearings, numerous amendment votes and debate hours, and impressive 
reserves of determination from both the chair, Senator Murkowski, and 
the ranking member, Senator Cantwell.
  Senator Murkowski and Senator Cantwell never gave up. Even when 
passage of this bill seemed impossible, they never stopped pushing for 
it. I have been impressed by their efforts just as I have been 
impressed with what this broad bipartisan energy bill can achieve for 
our country.


                   Recognition of The Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.


                          Energy and FAA Bills

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I agree with the Republican leader that the 
energy bill is a good bill. As I said yesterday, it is just 3 years 
behind time. We have tried many times to move forward on it, but 
filibusters took place by the Republicans, and we were unable to get it 
done.
  He is right that Senator Cantwell and Senator Murkowski never gave up 
and they worked through lots of problems. I wish we could have taken 
care of Flint in the process. That held things up for a little while 
but not long, and we are still looking at ways to take care of the 
people of Flint who have been really damaged by bad government.

[[Page 4274]]

  So we are glad that Flint will come up in the near future, and we 
think we have ways of getting that done. Maybe we will see it in the 
appropriations bills that we are doing.
  Energy is good, and I am glad we got it done. Now, we have allowed 
this to move forward. We have not been blocking the bill. We agreed, 
even though the bill is long overdue, and we are not going to treat 
people the way we were treated. So we are glad that is done.
  On the FAA bill, I am glad we are going to get something done. As we 
know, we missed an opportunity to take care of a lot of people who are 
desperate for help. People in the State of Nevada--geothermal--they 
need help. Fuel cells, biomass, and other energy initiatives were left 
out. By inadvertence in the drafting of the bill, they were left out. 
The Republican leader said he will take care of that, and I am 
confident that he will. It is a longer wait for people, and it makes it 
difficult for people to hang on to their businesses. I know that his 
job is hard. He has told me and he has told Leader Pelosi that he will 
get this done this year. So we are looking forward to that.


   Passing a Budget Resolution and Filling the Supreme Court Vacancy

  Mr. President, tomorrow is April 15. Under the Congressional Budget 
Act, that is the day by which Congress is supposed to have completed a 
budget resolution.
  This Republican Congress will not meet tomorrow's deadline. We have 
known that for some time. By all indications, they have no intention of 
doing anything to pass a budget resolution any time soon.
  As the Republican leader told reporters earlier this week, in the 
absence of a budget resolution, Republicans will simply use the top-
line spending numbers that we agreed upon last year. Here is what he 
said:

       We're waiting to see if the House is able to do a budget. 
     In the meantime I've already announced, and I'll announce 
     again today that we're going to move to appropriations next 
     week, probably starting with energy and water, and we'll mark 
     these bills to the top line that we agreed to in the 
     agreement last year.

  As we know, just a minute ago, he filed cloture on the energy and 
water bill.
  If this statement he made sounds familiar, it should, because that is 
what we did when we were in the majority. We used the top line numbers 
in the Murray-Ryan budget agreement as a basis for spending bills. 
Republicans will begin that same process today as the appropriations 
process gets under way with the first full committee markup of the 
year.
  But how did Republicans react when we did the same thing? They were 
falling all over themselves--speech after speech--to criticize us. They 
had charts and graphs and anything to focus on there being no budget. 
They came out endlessly to taunt us with over-the-top rhetoric. They 
shed crocodile tears by the bucket. They even threatened to withhold 
Members' pay as punishment. There was legislation produced to that 
effect, but it was all for show.
  Republicans promised voters that, once in power, they would pass a 
budget each and every year. That is what the Republican leader promised 
in 2012, saying:

       I don't think the law says, ``Pass a budget unless it's 
     hard,'' so I think there's no question that we would take up 
     our responsibility. . . . We will be passing a budget. . . . 
     Every year.

  That was the Republican pledge: Give us the majority, and we will 
pass a budget every year.
  Well, it is pretty clear that they are going to break that promise.
  This is just the latest example of the Republicans refusing to meet 
their commitments--refusing to do their jobs--even according to their 
own terms.
  It is just like the refusal to consider Supreme Court nominee Merrick 
Garland. We have years and years' worth of statements from the 
Republican leader and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee in which 
they said unequivocally that it is the Senate's duty to consider the 
President's Supreme Court nominees. I have read their quotes on this 
floor endlessly.
  These statements go back decades. The Republican leader wrote papers 
in law school demanding the Senate give Supreme Court nominees all due 
consideration. Well, all due consideration is not refusing to meet with 
a man, not holding hearings, and not allowing a vote.
  But now that he, the Republican leader, is in a position to do 
something about that article he wrote in law school and the other 
statements that have been made by the chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee, he won't give Merrick Garland a hearing or a vote. He won't 
even meet with him, even though the chairman of the Judiciary Committee 
met with him in secret, not in his office but in the private dining 
room downstairs, and then went out the back door, described as 
stumbling over chairs to vacate the premises.
  So, basically, what I ask is this: Where are all the Republican 
Senators who came to the floor to bash Democrats for the lack of a 
budget resolution? They have gone silent. I am just asking: When are 
the Republicans going to do their job?
  Mr. President, I see no one on the floor wishing to speak, so I ask 
the Chair to announce the business of the day.


                       Reservation Of Leader Time

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the leadership time 
is reserved.

                          ____________________