[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I would like to reiterate something I 
am sure Senator Feinstein would agree with. First, I thank the majority 
leader for scheduling our bill early. He scheduled it earlier than any 
appropriations bill has been scheduled in the last 40 years. The reason 
I am sure she agrees with that is because she told me that and because 
not only did the majority leader make this a priority but so did the 
Democratic leader, Senator Reid, and all of the Democratic Senators.
  We worked hard to try to set an example for the Senate for the next 
11 appropriations bills. According to the Congressional Research 
Service, this is the earliest the Senate has passed an appropriations 
bill in the last 40 years. More than that, the vote was 90 to 8, which 
is an unusually large bipartisan vote for such a large and complex 
bill. I think that reflects on the fact that more than 80 Senators made 
contributions to this bill. We processed more than 21 amendments. Our 
experience is, when Senators have a lot of input into a bill, they are 
more comfortable with it and more likely to support it.
  I especially thank not just the leaders but the Republican and the 
Democratic floor staffs for helping us with this. Passing a bill like 
this is more of an exercise in human nature sometimes than it is an 
exercise in policy, and they are the essential grease in making that 
happen. I thank them very much for it.
  This is the basic constitutional work of the U.S. Senate. Both the 
Republican and Democratic leaders have gotten us back on track in doing 
this. I appreciate having the chance to be a part of it. I thank the 
Senators for their cooperation with Senator Feinstein and me as we set 
out to get what I believe is an excellent result for the people of this 
country.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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