[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5318-5319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, when I first came to the Senate, I was so 
fortunate I was put on the Appropriations Committee that very first day 
I was here. I loved my assignment. For many years, I had the good 
fortune of either chairing or being the ranking member of that Energy 
and Water Subcommittee. So I know a lot about that subcommittee--many 
successful bills, never an unsuccessful bill did we bring to the floor. 
We did them quickly. I worked mostly with the Senator from New Mexico 
by the name of Domenici. We worked together and got a lot done for the 
country. So I know this Water and Energy bill. The Republican leader 
complains about what happened yesterday on the Energy and Water 
appropriations bill.
  On the Democratic side, there is no one who is more liked, 
appreciated, and who is more imbued as a historic figure than Dianne 
Feinstein of California. She became involved in politics at an early 
age and was thrown into a maelstrom of violence when the mayor was 
murdered. She had to step in and take over that very difficult job.
  As a Senator, she has been valiant, and she wants to get things done. 
No one can call her rank partisan, because she isn't. But like all of 
us over here, she was terribly disappointed yesterday and the day 
before when all of a sudden, the bill is finished--the bill is 
finished; the Energy and Water bill is finished--and out of nowhere at 
12:15 p.m. on Tuesday we get an amendment that really is something that 
is a poison pill if there ever were one.
  The only thing holding up the bill is this poison pill amendment. We 
agreed to pass it yesterday. Dianne Feinstein agrees; pass it. She 
likes it the way it is. We like it the way it is.
  So if they are as serious about doing their job as the Republican 
leader said, we are happy to vote on this bill now. But if Republicans 
continue to insist on these poison pill amendments--and there is no 
question that is what this is--we are going to have to continue as we 
have.
  It takes a lot of gall for my friend the Republican leader to talk 
about filibusters. I repeat what I have said here before, but it is 
worth repeating. As soon as Obama was elected, the Republicans met in 
Washington, and they reported in a 2-day-long meeting--which had been 
reported on numerous times--that they came to two conclusions.
  No. 1, Obama will not be re-elected. They failed at that miserably. 
He got more than 5 million votes than his opponent. But on the other 
thing they have succeeded in most instances, and that is to oppose 
everything President Obama wants. That continues to today.
  As far as poison pill amendments, we are on record numerous times 
talking about why it is wrong to have these poison pill riders. For 
example, I said on the floor:

       True bipartisanship also requires both parties to resist 
     the temptation to pursue poison pill riders that appeal to 
     their own supporters, but that are so strongly opposed by the 
     other party that their inclusion in appropriations bills 
     would grind the process to a halt. No doubt there will be 
     many opportunities next year for both sides to score 
     political points. But the appropriations process is not the 
     place for that. And I hope members in both parties will agree 
     that it's more important to fund the government than to play 
     politics.

  That is what I said when we started this Congress, and that is what 
the Senators who wrote this letter, which my friend the Republican 
leader talked about, want to do. We want to do appropriations bills, 
and we were on a rush to get the first one done. We were headed to 
victory, and then out of nowhere comes a poison pill rider. Everyone 
acknowledges that is what it is. There are many definitions of a poison 
pill rider but, of course, as the President has said, one is when you 
can't sign the bill.
  So it would be to everyone's interest if we would simply step back, 
pass the bill that exists, and figure out some other way to try to 
embarrass the President. This is not the way to do it.
  Finally, my friend the Republican leader comes to the floor and talks 
about what a great amount of work we have done in the Senate. We have 
done as much as we can. We have tried to support everything.
  We are a responsible minority. We have not done to them what they 
have done to us. They opposed everything we tried to do--everything. We 
had to move to hundreds of motions to proceed.
  We are pleased we got the energy legislation done. We tried for 5 
years to get it done. We were filibustered every step of the way. We 
couldn't get it

[[Page 5319]]

done. So it was brought up again. We cooperated, and we got it done. So 
virtually everything the Republican leader talked about were things 
that we tried to do before and they wouldn't let us.
  Let's talk about what we haven't done. They talked about having 
passed opioid legislation. Oops, there is one problem. They didn't fund 
it. Flint, MI--oops, they did nothing. They ignored it for months and 
months and months.
  There was a mistake. No one disagrees there was a mistake made--not 
by us but by the Republicans--in drafting a deal with renewable energy 
credits--not done.
  There is the Zika virus. My friend says: Well, we are trying to get 
information. That is ridiculous. We will hear more about that in a few 
minutes.
  There are no district court nominations, no hearings on the Supreme 
Court.
  There is no need to go over what hasn't been done.

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