[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5317-5318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me quote from a letter I recently 
received from our colleagues across the aisle. Here is what they said:

       We are writing to reiterate our interest in working 
     cooperatively to facilitate the fiscal year 2017 
     appropriations process. As we see it--

  Our Democratic friends said--

     restoring the regular order promises not only a more open and 
     transparent process, but a chance for Senators on both sides 
     of the aisle to participate meaningfully in funding 
     decisions. This is a win-win opportunity and we should seize 
     it together.

  That was a letter I received from all of our friends on the other 
side of the aisle. That is exactly what we have been doing--exactly. 
The appropriations process is off to a strong start, an ``excellent 
kickoff,'' in the words of the top Appropriations Committee Democrat, 
Senator Mikulski, with bills passing through the committee by unanimous 
bipartisan votes.
  ``If this is the way it is going to be to move appropriations,'' she 
said just a few days ago, ``then I think it is a good day.'' Senator 
Mikulski said: ``I think it is a good day.'' Democrats lauded the first 
bill on the floor and in press releases for helping promote American 
jobs and for addressing the cleanup of radioactive and hazardous 
contamination across our country.
  They praised its key investments in research and water 
infrastructure. Then, what did they do? They filibustered--the very 
same people who wrote the letter, the very same people who praised the 
bill in press releases, the very same people who took credit for 
amendments in the bill, those same people.
  It seems Democrats are more concerned with funding the acquisition of 
heavy water from Iran than funding water infrastructure in America. Let 
me say that again. It seems Democrats are more concerned with funding 
the acquisition of heavy water from Iran than funding water 
infrastructure right here in our own country.
  As we all know, President Obama concluded a nuclear deal with Iran 
last year. Tehran is expected to reap approximately $100 billion, 
thanks to the deal, and the Obama administration itself has admitted 
the regime is likely to use that windfall to invest in its war economy, 
to defend its regime, and to strengthen the hand of the Revolutionary 
Guard, a group that has been accused of helping Shiite militias attack 
and kill American soldiers in Iraq.
  Many of us, including myself, warned that this deal made little sense 
in terms of our regional strategy. We warned it would enhance Iran's 
capability and its power. Indeed, since signing President Obama's deal, 
Iran has tested ballistic missiles. It has deployed forces to Syria in 
support of the Assad regime. It has harassed American ships and those 
of our allies within the Persian Gulf.
  So when the administration made an announcement over this past 
weekend that it would be purchasing so-called heavy water from Iran, a 
lot of us were concerned. That is right. Make sure everybody 
understands. U.S. funds would be sent to Iran. Nothing in the 
President's deal with Iran required the United States to make that 
purchase. It is likely it will effectively amount to even more money 
for Iran to invest in military modernization.
  So Senator Cotton filed an amendment to prevent the money we are 
appropriating from being used for more of these purchases in the 
future--in the future. His amendment does not put the Secretary of 
Energy's current heavy water purchase agreement at risk. It simply 
tries to keep our Treasury from subsidizing the modernization of Iran's 
military or the procurement of ballistic missiles or air defenses that 
may be used against America or her allies.
  I support his policy objective. I don't know why it would not be 
supported by every Member of the Senate, regardless of party, but 
apparently Democrats do not. They have filibustered the overall bill, a 
bill that passed committee with unanimous bipartisan support, remember, 
to prevent even the possibility--this amendment is not even pending--to 
prevent even the possibility of voting on this amendment. They could 
not wait a single week before throwing an obstructionist wrench into 
the appropriations process they claim to want.
  Some of us remember that the Democrats did not want to vote when they 
were in the majority. They also don't seem to want to vote when they 
are in the minority. I hope they are not dusting off the old filibuster 
summer playbook, especially in light of the letter they just sent to me 
about win-win opportunities and restoring regular order. Perhaps the 
most galling thing about Democrats again trying to blow up the 
appropriations process is this: They filibustered this appropriations 
bill and then walked into a press conference about Zika funding. They 
filibustered this bill and then walked into a press conference about 
Zika funding.
  The appropriations process is the path for that funding. That is the 
way you do it. Preventing the spread of Zika is something both parties 
agree is a priority. The administration currently has funds to address 
the issue but has requested additional funds by the end of next month. 
Both Republicans and Democrats have been looking at different 
approaches to properly address the situation.
  The senior Senator from Washington, Mrs. Murray, recently 
characterized that bipartisanship collaborative process as moving 
forward ``in good faith.'' That is especially notable when you consider 
how difficult it is for the committee to move forward when the 
administration keeps it waiting month after month after month for 
information it needs, as has been the case with Zika, but progress is 
being made anyway. Then Democrats filibustered and upended the process. 
So how do we move forward now? I remember the second-ranking Democrat, 
Senator Durbin, once shared some wisdom that seems particularly 
relevant. Here is what he said:


[[Page 5318]]

       If you don't want to fight fires, don't be a firefighter. 
     If you don't want to come to Congress and vote on tough 
     issues, get another job somewhere else.

  So here is the message to our Democratic colleagues: Do your job. Do 
your job. There are other areas where both sides have been able to find 
common ground. We have seen the truth of that in many important 
solutions passed by this Republican-led Senate already: permanent tax 
relief for families and small businesses, groundbreaking education 
reform that empowers parents and prevents Washington from imposing 
Common Core, the first long-term transportation solution in years--a 
solution that will finally allow us to address crumbling roads and 
infrastructure.
  Whether it is pay raises for our troops, help for our veterans, or 
hope for the victims of human trafficking, we got a lot done last year 
with hard work and with cooperation. We have gotten more done this year 
with hard work and cooperation too. In the past 3 months, we passed a 
comprehensive North Korea sanctions bill, a bill to permanently ban 
Internet access taxes, a measure to give the public more access to 
government records, a bill to help safeguard American intellectual 
property from theft, and critical legislation to help address our 
Nation's prescription opioid and heroin epidemic.
  Just last week, we passed both the most pro-passenger, pro-security 
FAA reauthorization in years and the first major energy legislation 
since the Bush administration. So where are we? We now have a 
bipartisan opportunity to responsibly work through the individual 
funding bills. We now have a bipartisan opportunity to responsibly 
continue addressing funding issues like Zika.
  What will it take? What it will take is for our Democratic colleagues 
to end this obstruction and work cooperatively across the aisle 
instead. That is not too much to ask. So let's take a step back and 
look at the bigger picture. I believe that when you give Senators and 
the people they represent more of a say in the legislative process, 
they are bound to take more of a stake in the legislative outcome, 
regardless of party.
  That is why we have empowered committees and Members to take the lead 
in more areas. That is how we have gotten the Senate back to work in so 
many ways. I think Members in both parties have seen the benefits of 
it. So, yes, some may see a short-term political benefit in blowing up 
the appropriations process now, but I would also ask my friends to 
remember this: Restoring the appropriations process is something we all 
should want. Democrats have said it is what they want. Republicans have 
said it is what we want. It is what I have set out to do. I think it is 
the best way to give individual Senators in both parties more of a 
voice for their constituents in the funding process, to empower them to 
make smarter decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent.
  So we are going to give our colleagues an opportunity today to 
reconsider this filibuster. They don't have to block the appropriations 
process, which is the path for funding priorities such as Zika. I hope 
they will make the right choice. We have gotten so much done already 
with hard work and cooperation. I know there is much more we can 
accomplish for our country with a little more of each.
  So let's keep striving to get more done for our country. The only way 
to do that is together.

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