[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time 
to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the 
Democratic leader, the Senate proceed to executive session for the 
consideration of Calendar No. 307; that there be 60 minutes for debate 
only on the nomination, equally divided in the usual form; that upon 
the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the nomination 
without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the 
President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the 
Senate then resume legislative session without any intervening action 
or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I am pleased to report to the Senate, 
on behalf of Senator Feinstein and myself, that basically we are 
finished with our work on the Energy and Water appropriations bill. The 
final vote--all that remains to be done--will be set whenever the 
majority leader and the Democratic leader agree it can be.
  I will have more to say about the bill tomorrow, but I thank Senators 
for their cooperation on this. If we are able to pass it tomorrow, this 
will be the first time we have taken this bill--the Energy and Water 
appropriations bill--across the floor in the regular order since 2009. 
What that means is that every single Senator has had a chance to weigh 
in on it--first in the committee, where we received recommendations for 
policy from 80 or so Senators on both sides of the aisle, and then we 
processed another 21 amendments here on the floor. I hope it is a good 
model for the other 11 appropriations bills that we have.
  When we voted for the fourth time on whether to end debate on the 
bill, I was pleased to see that the vote was 97 to 2. I hope that is an 
indication of what the final vote will be when the leaders set it. I am 
confident that Senators will vote for it in big numbers because we have 
had an open and fair process. We have had a full amendment process.
  Almost every Senator is represented in the bill, and many Senators 
have already been home taking credit for what is in the bill. So I hope 
they will now vote for what they have been taking credit for when they 
have an opportunity--hopefully tomorrow.
  So we will wait to see when the majority leader and the Democratic 
leader decide to set the vote, but other than the final passage of the 
bill, we have completed our work on the Energy and Water appropriations 
bill, and I thank the Senate for the opportunity to do that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am encouraged that the Senate will soon 
complete consideration of the Energy and Water Development 
appropriations bill. This legislation funds important components of our 
national defense, invests in our waterways and flood control 
infrastructure, and supports a safe and affordable domestic energy 
supply. I commend the managers of the bill, the senior Senator from 
Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, and the senior Senator from California, Mrs. 
Feinstein. They make a good team. They have been persistent and they 
have worked diligently to ensure that all Senators' interests have been 
considered in drafting this legislation.
  I look forward to continued progress on appropriations bills in the 
weeks ahead.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. 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. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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