[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 232-233]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




TO CONSTITUTE THE MINORITY PARTY'S MEMBERSHIP ON CERTAIN COMMITTEES FOR 
                   THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 8, submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 8) to constitute the minority party's 
     membership on certain committees for the One Hundred 
     Fifteenth Congress, or until their successors are chosen.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 8) was agreed to.
  (The resolution is printed in today's Record under ``Submitted 
Resolutions.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, these committee resolutions reflect the 
fact that Senator Blunt will remain chair and Senator Schumer will 
remain

[[Page 233]]

ranking member of the Rules Committee until the inaugural ceremonies 
have been completed.
  It is my understanding that following the inauguration, Senator 
Shelby will become chair and Senator Klobuchar will become ranking 
member of the Rules Committee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you, Mr. President.
  We have just agreed to the committee resolution numbers on each 
committee. I would make just a couple of points, if I might.
  Our caucus has some serious concerns about letting the Intelligence 
Committee and Armed Services Committee exclusively handle the issue of 
Russia's interference in the election.
  While much of the information relating to Russia's interference in 
our election can be pulled together by the Intelligence and Armed 
Services Committees, the legislative actions that will be required to 
respond fully to Russia's interference need to be a wide-ranging 
endeavor that can only be done by a select committee.
  I have spoken with Leader McConnell. I have told him that we will let 
the committee organizing resolution go forward, but I did put the 
majority leader on notice that if the work of the Intelligence and 
Armed Services Committees is deemed insufficient or incomplete or 
taking too long, this matter may well need to be revisited before the 
committee funding resolution comes up in February.
  Also, I understand additional information with respect to Russia's 
interference in our election will be released in the coming days, and 
that could also change our view as to the way we ought to proceed.
  I have spoken to the majority leader about these concerns. He 
carefully listened, and we will keep a careful eye on how things are 
going in the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees with regard to 
Russia's interference in the election.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a 
colloquy with the Democratic leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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