[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5797-5798]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           WORK OF THE SENATE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the American people have been 
frustrated in recent years with the dysfunction they see in Washington. 
Their assessment of us has been correct. The biggest symbol of 
dysfunction has been the inability, as the chairman of our Energy and 
Water Development Subcommittee just pointed out, to do the basic work 
of government.
  There are 12 bills that fund the government, the basic work of 
government. We haven't passed each of those 12 bills since 1994. So 
under majorities of both parties, we have had at least some degree of 
dysfunction, and in recent years they all get balled up into one great 
big bill. It looks awful, and that is no way to conduct the affairs of 
the government.
  I said that we were going to devote the floor time, which is always 
at a premium in the Senate, to give us a chance to do the work of what 
we were sent to do, regardless of party. Fortunately, we had Chairman 
Alexander, who is arguably the best--or maybe the second best only to 
the Senator from Maine--bill manager on our side, take up the first 
bill, and there were some snags along the way. It took a little bit 
longer than we had hoped, but we have completed it. We have completed 
it at a record early time. We are going to keep on doing this right up 
until we break on July 15 to go to the conventions.
  We are going to give the Senate every opportunity to do the basic 
work of government this year. Some have said that because it is an 
election year, we can't do much. I would like to remind everyone that 
we have had a regularly scheduled election in this country every 2 
years since 1788 right on time. I heard some people say we can't do it 
because we have an election next year, and others have said we can't do 
whatever it is because we have an election this year. We have elections 
in this country right on time, and that is not an excuse not to do our 
work.
  We will turn to transportation, which is chaired by the Senator from 
Maine, Ms. Collins, and military construction, chaired by Senator Kirk. 
We are going to bind those two together and move them across the floor, 
and then

[[Page 5798]]

we are going to turn to the National Defense Authorization Act and pass 
that before the Memorial Day break, and then we are going to turn to 
the Defense appropriations bill right after authorization, and 
hopefully we can do that in a record short period of time because all 
of the amendments should have been offered on the authorization bill 
which will come right before it.
  I thank Senator Alexander for his good work and look forward to 
having Senator Collins pick up the baton and continuing the great 
progress we are making.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, before the Senator from Tennessee leaves 
the floor, I, too, wish to commend him for his excellent stewardship of 
this highly complex appropriations bill and for the cooperative way in 
which he worked with the ranking member, Senator Feinstein, and indeed 
all of the Members, not only those on the Appropriations Committee but 
the entire Senate. Senator Alexander deserves a great deal of credit.
  I also commend our leader for making it a priority for us to get the 
appropriations work done. Never before in recent years have we started 
the process so early. The Appropriations Committee has completed its 
hearings, we have marked up several bills, and we are proceeding with 
floor consideration. This will avoid a situation that I believe all of 
us really abhor, and that is being faced with voting for repeated 
continuing resolutions at the end of the fiscal year which lock in last 
year's priorities and do not reflect this year's priorities, or the 
bills are bundled together into an omnibus bill that is many thousands 
of pages long and does not receive the kind of in-depth debate and 
amendments it deserves. I commend the leader of the Senate for making 
this a priority and for ensuring that we are all doing our job.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator 
from Arizona be permitted to speak in morning business for up to 5 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Arizona.

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