[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10082-10084]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask the Chair to lay before the body the message to 
accompany S. 764.
  Mr. SANDERS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Reserving the right to object, I have a parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Is one of the acts in this overall bill entitled the Defund Planned 
Parenthood Act of 2015?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I know that was a parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. SANDERS. Excuse me, I would like an answer to my question, 
please.
  Regular order. I asked the question.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Defund Planned Parenthood Act is part of 
the House message to the Senate.
  Mr. SANDERS. In other words, sir, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act 
of 2015 is part of the legislation we are voting on; is that correct? 
Yes? No? Maybe?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Would the Senator please restate his inquiry?
  Mr. SANDERS. Yes. Is it possible that, as part of the legislation 
that the Senator from Kentucky has introduced, that there is a title in 
there called the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015?
  Is that title in the legislation we are voting on?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The language in question is part of the House 
amendment.
  Mr. SANDERS. Thank you very much.
  I ask that that language be withdrawn right now.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, would the Senator yield? I think I can 
clear up his concern.
  Mr. SANDERS. No, I really won't yield. My request is that that 
language be withdrawn now with unanimous consent.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, a parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader has the floor.
  Mr. SANDERS. I believe I have the floor.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, if I may, I think we have explained 
this to everybody over and over again. Let me try again.
  The Roberts amendment that I will offer is a complete--a complete--
substitute for the underlying language that concerns some of our 
colleagues on the other side.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, a parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will state his inquiry.
  Mr. LEAHY. Parliamentary inquiry: Notwithstanding what the majority 
leader has said, the legislation he brought up would defund Planned 
Parenthood; is that correct, if it was accepted?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is not a judgment for the 
Parliamentarian.
  Mr. LEAHY. Parliamentary inquiry: Would that be a position for the 
United States Senate if we were allowed to vote on it?
  Ms. STABENOW. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President.
  Mr. LEAHY. Could I get an answer to my parliamentary inquiry?
  Ms. STABENOW. Excuse me. I am sorry.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. If I were to offer the Roberts amendment that will be 
a complete substitute for the underlying language, would it not 
alleviate the

[[Page 10083]]

concern that our colleagues on the other side have?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question before the Senate would be the 
amendment offered by the majority leader.
  Mr. LEAHY. Further Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The House can respond in whatever manner it 
chooses.
  Mrs. BOXER. What does that mean?
  Mr. LEAHY. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President: If the majority 
leader were to withdraw the House bill to defund Planned Parenthood and 
replace it with the Roberts GMO bill, would the acceptance of that be a 
debatable motion before the Senate? Not asking how we should vote, but 
would that be a debatable motion?
  Mr. McCONNELL addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Who has the floor?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader has the floor.
  Mr. McCONNELL. All right. It is my understanding that I don't have 
the authority to withdraw a House amendment. What I am doing here, if 
our friends and colleagues on the other side will let me, is to offer a 
complete substitute for that, which is the Roberts amendment, which I 
think everybody understands the content of.
  Mr. SCHUMER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Roberts amendment would be the question 
before the Senate. The House would have to respond to the Senate 
substitute.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, further Parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. If the majority leader were to withdraw the Planned 
Parenthood amendment and put in the Roberts amendment, which has not 
been previously debated, would a vote on acceptance of that be a 
debatable issue?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader may not withdraw House 
language. He can only propose an amendment to the substitute or concur 
in that amendment. Those are debatable questions.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, further parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. President, if my friend the majority leader were to be able to do 
what he has proposed, would the resolution of that matter, then, be a 
matter of debate before the body under the normal Senate of rules?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, the motion to concur is debatable.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Presiding Officer.
  Mrs. BOXER. Parliamentary inquiry. Mr. President, Parliamentary 
inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. I just want to understand where we are, because there is 
a lot of angst and discomfort, and I want to say to Senator Hirono, who 
happened to read what we are voting on, which I really appreciate, and 
called it to our attention----is it the Presiding Officer's view, in 
answer to Senator Leahy and Senator Sanders, that the Senate has no 
ability to strike the title called the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 
2015 at this time; that we do not have the ability to do this? Could we 
not do it by unanimous consent or would that not be allowed as well?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate does not strike language; it 
proposes amendments.
  Mrs. BOXER. So if I were to make a unanimous consent request--further 
parliamentary----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Which amendment could be a complete substitute 
replacing that language.
  Mrs. BOXER. Even the title?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The title amendment is a separate question.
  Mrs. BOXER. So the title will remain; is that correct? Even after the 
majority leader does what he says he is going to do, the title called 
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 would remain; is that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The short title is part of the amendment.
  Mrs. BOXER. I am sorry. I am trying to get an answer. I didn't hear 
it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair is trying to answer.
  The short title is part of the amendment to the House which the 
majority leader's proposed amendment would replace.
  Mrs. BOXER. So the title would no longer be in the bill; is that 
correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That depends on the action of the House in 
response to the Senate amendment on the bill.
  Mrs. BOXER. So the House is going to determine whether or not to 
remove this title: ``This Act may be cited as the `Defund Planned 
Parenthood Act of 2015.'''
  I just say to my friends, I don't know why the majority leader chose 
to bring up this shell. He could have brought up any other shell. We 
should vote no on this.
  Mr. McCONNELL addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Regular order has been called for.
  Is there objection to laying down----
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry.
  What is the title of the bill?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       S. 764, entitled ``An Act to reauthorize and amend the 
     National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other 
     purposes.''

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have many disputes around here over 
major issues, but I am perplexed by where we are.
  What I am trying to do is to offer a complete substitute, the Roberts 
amendment--and I think everybody understands what that is. I must say I 
don't think there is a single person in America who would think any of 
our colleagues over here would vote to defund Planned Parenthood.
  We are not trying to trick anybody. We are trying to get to the 
Roberts amendment, and I am offering a complete substitute for a bill 
with a title that I don't think sounds particularly offensive from a 
Democratic point of view. I am perplexed as to what the problem is 
here.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Would the majority leader yield for a question?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader has made a motion.
  The Senator from New York.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Would the majority leader yield for a question?
  Mr. McCONNELL. I will be happy to yield to the Senator from New York.
  Mr. SCHUMER. So once the majority leader strikes everything but the 
title about whatever it was, the words ``Planned Parenthood'' will not 
appear in the bill before us at all; is that correct?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Yes. My understanding is it will not be in there at 
all.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you, Majority Leader.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, may I make a further----
  Mr. McCONNELL. Regular order, Mr. President.
  Mr. LEAHY. Parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the laying down of the 
message to accompany S. 764.
  Mr. LEAHY. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader has the floor.
  Will the majority leader yield for a parliamentary inquiry?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Regular order, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Regular order has been called for.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, would the majority leader yield for a 
question?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  Mrs. ERNST. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), the 
Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), and the Senator from Virginia 
(Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

[[Page 10084]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 68, nays 29, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 117 Leg.]

                                YEAS--68

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Brown
     Burr
     Capito
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Nelson
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--29

     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Leahy
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Paul
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Udall
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Durbin
     Manchin
     Warner
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair lays before the Senate a message 
from the House of Representatives.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 764) entitled 
     ``An Act to reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant 
     College Program Act, and for other purposes,'' do pass with 
     an amendment.

  Pending:

       McConnell motion to concur in the House amendment to the 
     bill with McConnell (for Roberts) amendment No. 3450 (to the 
     House amendment to the bill), in the nature of a substitute.
       McConnell motion to refer the bill to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.


                       Motion to Refer Withdrawn

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I withdraw the motion to refer to the 
Committee on Commerce.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is withdrawn.


           Motion to Concur with Amendment No. 3450 Withdrawn

  Mr. McCONNELL. I withdraw the motion to concur in the House amendment 
to S. 764 with a further amendment, No. 3450.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is withdrawn.


                Motion to Concur with Amendment No. 4935

  Mr. McCONNELL. I move to concur in the House amendment to S. 764 with 
the Roberts substitute amendment that strikes and replaces the House 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] moves to concur 
     in the House amendment to S. 764 with an amendment numbered 
     4935.

  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. I send a cloture motion to the desk on the motion to 
concur with amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     concur in the House amendment with an amendment to S. 764, a 
     bill to reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College 
     Program Act, and for other purposes.
         Mitch McConnell, Mike Crapo, John Thune, Richard Burr, 
           James M. Inhofe, Pat Roberts, Lamar Alexander, John 
           Barrasso, Thad Cochran, Deb Fischer, Shelley Moore 
           Capito, John Boozman, Thom Tillis, David Perdue, Jerry 
           Moran, John Hoeven, Roger F. Wicker.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to concur 
with amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                Amendment No. 4936 to Amendment No. 4935

  Mr. McCONNELL. I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4936 to amendment No. 4935.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the end, add the following:
       This Act shall take effect 1 day after the date of 
     enactment.


                Motion to Refer with Amendment No. 4937

  Mr. McCONNELL. I move to refer the House message on S. 764 to the 
Committee on Agriculture with instructions to report back forthwith 
with an amendment numbered 4937.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] moves to refer 
     the House message on S. 764 to the Committee on Agriculture, 
     Nutrition and Forestry with instructions to report back 
     forthwith with an amendment numbered 4937.

  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                           Amendment No. 4938

  Mr. McCONNELL. I have an amendment to the instructions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4938 to the instructions of the motion to 
     refer S. 764.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the end, add the following:
       This Act shall take effect 3 days after the date of 
     enactment.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                Amendment No. 4939 to Amendment No. 4938

  Mr. McCONNELL. I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4939 to amendment No. 4938.

  The amendment is as follows:

       Strike ``3 days'' and insert ``4 days''.

                          ____________________