Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 461.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, December 14; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Kirsch nomination; finally, that cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I know of further debate on the bill.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. McCONNELL. I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now, on one final matter, it is my honor today to pay tribute to a truly exceptional U.S. Senator, someone who arrived in this body with a full head of steam and a determination to cram as much service as possible into every day he got to wake up and serve his neighbors who sent him here. Our good friend, Cory Gardner, the junior Senator from Colorado, has been a man on a mission from the day he arrived. He already knew the institution. He was already one of the highest energy high-achievers that anybody who knew him had ever met. So he got to work, and he spent 6 years delivering a dizzying list of accomplishments. If you have heard about Cory Gardner's early days, you know that his high-speed, can-do attitude is nothing new. Case in point, one evening, when Cory was a boy, he and his friends got tired of their hoop sessions ending at sundown because the public basketball court lacked sufficient lighting. The group of friends considered how to remedy this. Cory's dad happened to be a town councilman. So a little government relations took place right around the dinner table. Well, no Senator who Cory ever pressed for a vote will be surprised to hear that the lighting infrastructure was soon adjusted, and the kids could take their pickup games into prime time. So young Cory was no stranger to persistence or public service, but it was in high school that he scored an opportunity to taste a level beyond Yuma's local government. He won admission to the U.S. Senate Youth Program. It is a scholarship that brings promising students from around the country to these halls for a quick immersion experience. Teenaged Cory Gardner liked the looks of this place. He made a mental note. By the way, to this day, Cory, along with his fellow alumna, Senator Collins, continue to make sure that special experience is paid forward. It didn't take Cory long to come back and begin strolling these hallways for real. After earning honors at Colorado State and a law degree from CU Boulder, he wound up working for our former colleague Senator Wayne Allard--and rising quickly through the ranks. In short order, he developed a reputation as a highly effective advocate for Coloradans. In fact, he was so well liked, so effective, and so thoroughly the proud son of Yuma that folks started to wonder if it wasn't time for Cory to put his own name on a door somewhere. So it wasn't long before the men and women of Colorado's State House District 63 found out firsthand what happens when you hire Cory Gardner to fight on your behalf. You get results big time. Not much later, his neighbors then gave Cory a new assignment here in Congress. Again, Congressman Gardner didn't just meet the bar as one out of 435. He excelled as a powerful, energetic voice on the most consequential issues. He brought home one win after another when it really mattered. It didn't take long before another promotion came calling, and so, appropriately enough, the Senate's freshman class of 2014 included a new member from the land of ``14ers''--what Coloradans call their peaks higher than 14,000 feet. Cory was already accustomed to altitude. So here in this upper Chamber, Senator Gardner hit the ground sprinting. I believe he has authored 11 standalone bills that have been signed into law in just 6 years. Without Cory's tireless work and his travels to the four corners of Colorado and beyond, the biggest conservation bill in a generation--the Great American Outdoors Act-- would not have become law. There has been his key role in the Supreme Court confirmation of fellow Coloradan Neil Gorsuch, his mission to move the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction, and, of course, the nuts-and-bolts constituent work that Cory and his staff are famous for mastering. This not-so-junior Senator has used Colorado values to improve Washington and Washington influence to advance his home State. He dived head first into his leadership role on the East Asia Subcommittee on Foreign Relations. His work with regional allies helped drive the Senate to approve meaningful sanctions against North Korea, and the impact of the Asia Reassurance Initiative should echo long after all of us here today have left this scene. The litany of Cory's work just simply does not end. There is the new, nationwide three-digit suicide prevention hotline. There is the fact that this freshman not only scrapped over a national defense issue with our late colleague Chairman John McCain--talk about fearlessness--but that he somehow emerged mostly unscathed and with a win on space launch vehicles to show for it. But, like I said, one of the best aspects of Cory's operation is his almost obsessive focus on looking out for his people--one family and one story at a time. That is why it is impossible to give a speech on Senator Gardner without working your way to another name, Don Stratton. When Don was first met with our colleague, the 95-year-old Navy veteran was living with his wife in Colorado Springs. But the story began 76 years earlier, when he was among the fortunate few sailors to survive the bombing of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. At 19, Don had survived severe burns but insisted on returning to combat with the fleet. After the war, he raised a family and wrote a book about his experiences. But Don's request to Senator Gardner wasn't anything for himself. It concerned a comrade who had saved his life that day 79 years ago this very week. At risk to himself, a sailor named Joe George had literally thrown the lifeline that brought Don and five shipmates to safety. But Joe's lifesaving efforts had gone unrecognized before his death. For years, Don didn't even know who had saved him. So once he found out, Don Stratton made it his mission to ensure our Nation formalized our gratitude for his guardian angel. Let's just say that the Strattons picked the right State to retire in. Colorado's junior Senator was on the case. Cory and his staff waded through tangles of bureaucracy. They appealed decisions all the way to the Secretary of Defense. And you better believe they secured that Bronze Star for PO1 Joe George, with the ``V'' device for valor to boot. Don passed away earlier this year. By all accounts, he and his family had come to regard Senator Gardner not just as an incredible advocate but as a true friend. Now, in fairness, this same eagerness and almost maniacal problem- solving can also get Cory in the occasional pickle. I remember recently that just months after the Senator was sworn in, he and I were on a codel together in the Middle East. I think the itinerary was something like eight countries in 6 days. At one point, we were waiting to meet with a foreign leader. As everyone else was just waiting patiently in this grand palace, Cory spots what looks like a stray piece of paper lying on the floor. Earnestly thinking he should leave the place better than he found it, Cory bends over and picks up the trash--except, it wasn't trash. Just then, the Monarch rolls in with a color guard--a color guard that is looking anxiously for the floor marker that was supposed to indicate where to stop marching. Luckily, the only diplomatic fallout was a good laugh by all. Actually, good laughs tend to follow Cory in his wake. Our colleague finds humor in the ``everyday'' like few can and shares it freely. I understand one of his favorite stories concerns a chat in the well with yours truly and former Senator Orrin Hatch. Cory was filling me in on his efforts to legalize marijuana in States like his. Orrin comes by, and sensing an ally, I pulled him in. I said: Orrin, is this true? What the heck is going on out West? Without missing a beat, our friend from Utah, a member of the LDS Church, shook his head sadly and said: ``First, it was tea. Then, coffee. And now this!'' Cory's version of this story comes complete with his finest Hatch and McConnell impersonations. Believe me, he has the voices down pat. For 6 years, Coloradans have been represented by this remarkable person who lives and works with relentless focus and infectious joy: globe-trotting diplomacy, a thick stack of signature bills signed into law, and generational accomplishments that were only possible because he was here. Cory likes to say himself: ``Not bad for a boy from Yuma, CO!'' We know what he means, but I have to observe that Cory's roots and his accomplishments are not in conflict--quite the contrary. It is only because Cory Gardner is exactly who he is that he is able to do what he does. Cory, everyone knows darn well your transition is no ``retirement.'' This is a brief pause between great chapters. I bet Jaime will call it a victory if she, Alyson, Thatcher, and Caitlyn can just get you to sit still--just sit still--and stay home through the holidays. But we all know it will take about 5 minutes before you have found a dozen new ways to keep doing big things, winning victories on behalf of others, and paying forward the ways in which you have been blessed. Colorado and your country aren't finished with you yet, not by a long shot. So thank you for everything. We will miss you badly around here, but we can't wait to see what course you chart next.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, we learned a few minutes ago that new unemployment claims just hit their highest weekly total since mid- September. It is the largest 1-week jump since back in March, and the number of continuing claims--people struggling with joblessness on an ongoing basis--which had plateaued for months but at least not increased, just ticked back up as well. Our economic recovery thus far has been faster than expected. Americans are tough and resilient, but our people need another dose of support as we hope to close out our battle with this virus. We should be doing everything we can to prevent layoffs, create jobs where possible, and race toward the vaccines that will end this nightmare. While Democrats hold the Paycheck Protection Program hostage over controversial State government bailouts, family businesses are closing their doors. While Democrats resist the kinds of commonsense legal protections that we put in place during past emergencies, our reopening and recovery is threatened by, according to one estimate--now, listen to this: So far, 6,500 lawsuits have been filed and counting--6,500 lawsuits filed and counting. Here is what one litigator told one reporter a couple of days ago. These lawsuits are ``pretty common these days. I have seen 10 like this over the last 30 days.'' The American Council on Education told Congress in May--in May--that colleges and universities need temporary but strong legal protections. Now, our Democratic colleagues want to pretend they are bravely fighting big corporations, but they are really bullying small business owners and college presidents who have been pleading for these protections for months. Our Democratic colleagues have not even let us pass noncontroversial money to invest in vaccine distribution--not unless the two parties settle a whole list of issues that are controversial the way that they want to settle. So I hope our colleagues let Congress deliver more help soon. A lot of Americans simply cannot afford to wait

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now, in the meantime, yesterday, we began moving the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act toward the floor. For the information of all Senators, we should expect the potential for a late night tonight and the possibility of votes tomorrow. Back in July, the Senate passed our version of this crucial annual bill. Now our colleagues on the conference committee have done their tough job and reconciled two different approaches so we do not leave our military in the lurch. On Tuesday, the House passed the conference report with overwhelming bipartisan support. Now it is the Senate's turn to make it an unbroken 60-year streak of passing this legislation to keep our military strong and our homeland safe. This NDAA will unlock more than $740 billion for the training, tools, and cutting-edge equipment that our servicemembers and civilian employees need to defend American lives and American interests. It will give our troops the 3 percent pay raise they richly deserve. It will keep our forces ready to deter China and stand strong in the Indo- Pacific, and it will secure President Trump's major progress at modernizing our capabilities, our technologies, and our strategic nuclear deterrent. This legislation will secure wins on priorities that all of us share. It does not contain every policy that either side would like to pass, but a huge number of crucial policies are included, and a lot of bad ideas were kept out. So I would encourage all our colleagues to vote to advance this must-pass bill.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the American people are hurting. We are in the thick of one of the worst national crises in modern memory, and people's eyes are fixed on Congress. They need the House and the Senate to stop chasing our tails and make a law. There are small business employees who have held onto their jobs all this time because of the Paycheck Protection Program but are facing the prospect they might be laid off now, with vaccines just around the corner, because Washington fumbles the ball in the red zone. There are medically vulnerable Americans who have watched Operation Warp Speed appear to succeed at a historic pace, but Congress can't even agree to fully fund the distribution efforts that will get the vaccines to people. There are Americans who have been thrown out of work, through no fault of their own, who are watching Federal aid programs tick toward expiration in a few weeks, even though neither side in Congress opposes extending them. Senate Republicans have made one offer after another after another to try and make law on all the significant areas where nobody even disagrees. We spent July, August, September, October, and November trying different ways to create common ground, but the Speaker of the House and the Senate Democratic leader have been just as consistent. At every turn, they have delayed, deflected, moved the goalposts, and made the huge number of places where Congress agrees into a hostage--into a hostage--of the few places where we do not agree. Back in the summertime, I pointed out the obvious. I said leading Democrats simply just didn't want any more help to reach American families before the election occurred. The other side claimed great offense; how insulting to even suggest that such cynicism might be at play. And now they are admitting it out loud. Yesterday, on CNN, the Democratic whip was asked point-blank why the Speaker and the Democratic leader were so unwilling to play ball back in the autumn. The No. 2 Democrat responded: ``[Well], there was some exuberance involved because an election was coming.'' Well, he gets points for candor: ``because an election was coming.'' A few days ago, Speaker Pelosi told reporters why she reversed months of statements and suddenly began discussing comparatively more reasonable sums of money. Her answer was simple. She thinks the Presidential election went the way she wanted. The Speaker of the House views it as a success that she denied struggling people relief they badly needed for months because she thinks she got the political result she was after. I count no fewer than 10 separate times that top Democrats rejected or blocked various Republican efforts to jump-start the process, so here is just a partial sampling. In July, Republicans sketched a comprehensive plan for safe schools, jobs, and healthcare. We could have made law in July, but the Democratic leader wouldn't even engage with it. Just before August, Republicans tried to at least extend unemployment aid before it expired. Democrats blocked that as well. In September, we tried something else: a targeted effort to spend hundreds of billions of dollars for PPP, vaccine development, and other priorities. Every Democrat who voted blocked us from even debating it, and they did it a second time a month later in October. Last week, after speaking with the administration, I made yet another overture. The Democratic leader said: No thanks. And just yesterday, the Speaker and the Democratic leader brushed off two different overtures in the space of about 2 hours. I suggested that both sides drop what seemed to be the most controversial demand in the eyes of our counterparts. Democrats continued to oppose commonsense legal protections that university presidents have been begging for, and Republicans see no need to send huge sums of money to State and local governments whose tax revenues have actually gone up--gone up. Negotiating 101 suggests we set those two controversial pieces aside and plow ahead with a huge pile of things that we agree on, but that would require both sides to truly want to get an outcome. Just hours after Democrats poured cold water on that, Secretary Mnuchin tried another new tack and sent over an offer, and in a bizarre and schizophrenic press release, the Speaker and the leader said the administration was obstructing negotiations by negotiating. Two more brush-offs in about 2 hours. More deflection, more delay, and more suffering for innocent Americans. Can anyone point to a single sign--a single sign--from April through now, that Democratic leaders have seriously wanted another bipartisan deal to become law? Can anybody name one way--just one--the Democratic leaders would have behaved differently if their singular goal was to kill any compromise? That hypothetical world looks suspiciously like the world we have been living in. Think of it. We have a Speaker of the House from San Francisco who has spent months ensuring that unemployed Californians can't have jobless aid extended and California restaurants can't get another round of PPP unless the Governor of California gets a Federal slush fund out of proportion to any proven need. Do working families agree they should not get any more help themselves unless the Governors and State legislators get a controversial bailout? Are struggling Americans saying: Thank goodness the Democrats are bravely--bravely--blocking help for me and my family unless my State politicians get some more cash? I would say not. Our people need more help. There is a huge list of helpful policies that both sides agree on. This need not be rocket science. But we can't do a thing unless the Democrats decide they actually want to make a law.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the conference report to accompany H.R. 6395.

Mr. McCONNELL. I send a cloture motion to the desk for the conference report.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on one final matter, last week, students and families in Kentucky were met with tragic news. On Friday, Manny Caulk, the superintendent of Fayette County Schools, passed away unexpectedly. Manny was the first member of his family to graduate from college. In 2015, he assumed responsibility for the second largest school district in Kentucky. An education had changed his life, literally, and he wanted to share that gift with others. And by all accounts, he did just that. Manny encouraged his students to aim high and helped them exceed expectations, starting with his first students in a county detention center, and, in 2018, his colleagues chose him as Kentucky's ``Superintendent of the Year.'' I was glad to have Manny's partnership as we worked to protect Kentucky families from COVID-19. At every step, he kept focused on the well-being of Lexington students. Over the weekend, condolences poured in as we reflected on Manny's lasting contributions. I would like to add the Senate's gratitude for this top-tier educator. Our prayers are with Manny's wife Christol and their children at this very difficult time. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Now, Mr. President, on another matter entirely. Last week, the struggle to preserve freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong was dealt another disturbing blow. On Thursday, Jimmy Lai, a prominent media figure and pro-democracy activist, was denied bail. The Chinese Communist Party continues cracking down on dissent and free speech. Not long ago, the international community hoped China's modernization would create more respect for basic freedoms. Unfortunately, the CCP has just marshaled new tools for making its oppression even more stifling. Internationally, we have seen the Chinese Communist Party find more success exporting its warped vision into the global public square than the free world has had getting Beijing to respect the rules of the road. For the last 4 years, thanks to this administration's leadership and this Senate, we have begun exchanging the old naivete about China for a smarter and tougher approach. Through new national security and national defense strategies, the United States has committed to deterring a new wave of threats from near-peer competitors like China and Russia. Reforms to our budgets and policies are underway. We have used NDAAs and appropriations to invest in a military that is prepared to meet and defeat these threats. Maintaining our edge will mean sustaining these reforms, along with strong diplomacy, to counter China's influence. In coordination with the executive branch, our Intelligence Committee has highlighted the need for everyone to strengthen their defenses against the CCP's espionage, intellectual property theft, and political influence campaigns. Senators Cornyn and Feinstein, in particular, have led bipartisan efforts to reform CFIUS and protect against predatory foreign investments aimed at threatening or stealing high-tech and critical infrastructure. Allied countries are following our lead, and public and private sector cooperation has improved to defend the institutions, alliances, and international order the CCP wants to disrupt. The administration has worked with international partners to ensure the security of 5G, reassert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and blunt harmful elements of China's exploitive Belt and Road Initiative. Of course, more needs to be done, particularly on human rights. The treatment of Hongkongers in the spotlight reminds the world of the ways we know Beijing is treating Uighurs and Tibetans in the shadows. And if China treats its own citizens with brutal violence, just think how it plans to treat its neighbors. So I welcome the latest sanctions imposed by the administration and the latest authorities granted by Congress. We are raising the stakes for China's repression, but our work isn't over. Our partners will continue to look to us to lead with a tone of zero tolerance for this behavior. The United States must continue to work alongside China's peaceful neighbors and our democratic allies, like Japan and Australia. We must give voice to those in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet who have been repressed and jailed. We must stand against the worst instincts and actions of the Communist Party.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this week, some Senators indicate they may attempt to move a privileged resolution to disapprove of the administration's proposed sale of advanced armaments to the United Arab Emirates, a critical partner in our fight against terrorists. It is a little baffling to suggest that now, of all times, a protest gesture with no chance of obtaining a veto-proof majority is of valuable use of the Senate's time. But above and beyond that, the strategic realities dictate that Congress should not stand in the way of this sale. In August, the UAE reached the first of the Abraham Accords, the landmark peace deal with Israel, brokered by the Trump administration, which Bahrain soon went on to reprise. That step, the first normalization of relations between the Arab nation and the State of Israel in nearly 30 years, cemented an important new chapter in the UAE's international relations and its close relationship with the United States. Of course, it is a key American objective to preserve and protect Israel's quantitative military edge. Fortunately, Israel's Ambassador, Defense Minister, and Prime Minister have all made sure they are comfortable with this deal. Senators considering this sale need to consider a reality we cannot escape. A significant competition for influence in the Middle East is underway, and China and Russia will be more than happy to meet the demand for advanced capabilities if the United States simply takes our ball and goes home. If our colleagues make the Senate vote on this measure, I urge all my colleagues to vote against it.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now, on an entirely different matter, my colleagues here in the U.S. Senate are, to put it mildly, an impressive bunch. It always makes it a challenge to pay adequate tribute when one leaves our ranks. But even by the high standards of this place, the course charted by the Senator, whom I have to send off this morning, stands out. The senior Senator from Wyoming, Senator Mike Enzi, has accomplished enough in one career to fill two. He seemingly glided from business success to military service, to local government, to State politics, to the U.S. Senate, where he has built a remarkably productive legislative record. Mike's prolific career began in a small town. In fact, Gillette, WY, was so small when Mike and his wife Diana arrived and stood up the family business, the town still carried the less-than-flattering nickname of ``Dirt.'' But new discoveries in the American energy business were in the course of changing everything. A major oil and gas boom meant more people. More people meant more sales at Mike's NZ Shoes store--that is the letter ``N'' and the letter ``Z.'' Mike could have just sat back and cruised, but Mike saw Gillette struggling to keep up with the growth, and basic services were lagging. Nearly everyone who encountered him in town or in the junior chamber of commerce meetings concluded this up-and-comer had real leadership talent. I understand the final prod into public service came from no less a Wyoming statesman, our own former colleague, Al Simpson. They had crossed paths. Alan had heard Mike speak. He took the promising young man aside to tell him rather pointedly that his town sure did need a good mayor. To be precise, Mike tells us the phrasing was typically blunt Al Simpson: ``Put your money where your mouth is.'' Our future colleague took it under advisement. But Mike almost didn't survive long enough to announce his campaign. The way he told it on the floor last week, when he worked up the courage to relay that suggestion to Diana on their long drive home, she almost swerved right off the road. Fortunately, they were unharmed, and the more they talked, the more they liked the idea of making a difference. So, at the ripe old age of 30, this up-and-coming businessman ran for mayor, and he won. On his watch, what could have been a municipal disaster became an economic golden age for Gillette. It didn't take long for the town's fortunes to become the talk of political minds around Wyoming. After a few years off, the former Mayor Enzi was representing his neighbors as State representative and then as State senator. And just like water seeks its own level, talent tends to seek its best outlet. So, after squeaking out a close primary victory over his now-fellow Senator from Wyoming, John Barrasso, Mike packed his bags for Washington in late 1996, and this body gained, at that time, its only trained accountant. Now, Mike knew that if he was going to properly serve his beloved State, he would need fellow Wyomingites working alongside him--people who shared his no-nonsense affection for careful planning and thrift in government. One of his best decisions was persuading his longtime collaborator, the onetime town manager of Gillette, Flip McConnaughey, to move to Washington and be his chief of staff. Mike says he initially had 500 applications for that job, but none of them was the one he wanted. The experienced salesman had to pitch his longtime friend on the opening, and it worked. From Gillette to the Senate, Flip was Mike's secret weapon--not just a staffer, but as Mike tells it, a true partner in service for many years. When Flip passed away much too soon in 2016, this entire institution felt the loss. Mike's staff likes to say he has a whole collection of useful hats he can wear to approach Senate business: the perspective of a mayor or of a small business owner or a State legislator or an accountant or a Wyomingite. Well, that hasn't just been a winning combination for the people of Wyoming. It has benefited our entire country. Mike's trade secret has been what he calls the 80-20 rule. Across all the issues he tackled, he insists about four-fifths of the subject matter is potential common ground ripe for progress. He said: You just can't let the controversial 20 percent blow everything up. Well, that approach made our colleague from Wyoming downright prolific. Mike has been directly responsible for the passage of more than 100 bills. He has become a go-to leader on everything from budget, tax reform, and the deficit to AIDS relief and workplace safety. His sober, prudent approach--not to mention his practical experience keeping the books and making payroll--made Mike exactly the sort of person taxpayers hope are managing their dollars. He used budget resolutions to steer the Federal Government toward more sustainable fiscal help. He helped shepherd the first major overhaul of the Federal Tax Code in a generation. He has keep a watchful eye on the unintended consequences of legislation, such as the recent work to help relieve Main Street lenders from the one-size-fits- all burden of Dodd-Frank. Back when Chairman Enzi was steering the HELP Committee, his Democratic counterpart was Ted Kennedy--a fastidious small-government guy from Wyoming and the ``liberal lion'' from Massachusetts. Call it the 80-20 rule's final exam, and they passed that exam. They worked together to create bipartisan outcomes on things like worker safety, pension reform, and mental health parity. So, to be clear, there has been no lack of conservative conviction in Mike's career. Just ask our Democratic colleagues about the times their debates with Mike landed in the 20 percent, and that is when the gloves came off. This is the Senator one broadcaster in 2013 called ``the Paul Revere of ObamaCare.'' But Mike never lost sight of the mission. He kept up the hunt for common ground, autism research, vocational training, and carried the torch for PEPFAR, the historic fight against AIDS in Africa. Mike's insatiable appetite for making a difference brought some interesting characters into his life. It turned out that quite a few high-profile celebrities were happy to meet with one of this body's chief champions on the AIDS issue. But let the record reflect that east coast, Washington, DC, life never spoiled Mike. I heard from a reliable source that after wrapping up one meeting with Bono, the world-famous front man of U2 and a leader in the fight against AIDS, Mike cheerfully offered the following parting remark to the well-established superstar: ``Well . . . good luck with the band!'' If you have seen Mike in action around the Senate--devouring details, mastering issue after issue--it is hard to imagine him making time for much of anything outside his work. But you would be badly mistaken, because one of the worst kept secrets around the Capitol is that Mike is one of the very warmest Members of the Senate family. As we prepare to bid him farewell, Mike's colleagues may miss his wise leadership on legislation, but I suspect the loss will be greater for future classes of Senate pages, who will be denied the pizza and ice creams parties Mike threw to celebrate their successes. The staff at a favorite nearby Mexican restaurant will miss a couple who, along with the Barrassos and the Grassleys, spent years ranked among their most devoted weekly visitors. More than anything, I know the dedicated staff of the Senate, who don't get thanked enough--from the Parliamentarian's office to food services, to the Capitol Police--will miss the massive holiday cookie parties orchestrated by Field Marshal Diana Enzi. Diana has organized the production of hundreds of dozens of baked treats every year. Mike is more like her assistant in that endeavor. Their unstoppable tradition of giving back to our colleagues, even this year, encapsulates just what kind of hearts this couple shares. As we know, these labors of love come on top of Diana's own important work, like her longtime focus on clearing land mines in Eastern Europe. I don't mean any of this to guilt Mike into staying, because Mike always has his head on straight, his plans laid, and his priorities lined up. So he knows that even on our best days, the Senate can't hold a candle to the joys of the next chapter he and Diana have planned. It turns out that the man whose Senate website includes a page of ``Grandfatherly advice'' is looking forward to more free time for delivering that advice to his own grandkids in person. And I understand there are still several States in which Mike has yet to cast a line. One of the Senate's most intrepid anglers will no longer have to plan around this body's schedule as he seeks to correct this oversight. So, Mike, while all of us here are sorry to see you go, I know our colleagues join me in wishing you ``tight lines.'' We are so glad you brought your mind and your heart here to this body. Thank you for sharing your gifts with the country you love.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, we have reached the time of year when the Senate has more important outstanding business than we have days to complete it. Delivering for the American people will take focus, dexterity, and genuine bipartisanship. On government funding, as I have said for weeks, it is my hope that our committees' work will bear fruit and a full-year funding package will come to the floor in both Chambers. I anticipate that the Senate will take up a 1-week extension this week so the government does not close on December 11 and work can continue through the end of next week. The Nation needs our Democratic colleagues to resist the temptation to play brinksmanship with long-settled policy issues or push poison- pill riders that they know would tank the process. We also expect to receive and pass a conference report on the annual Defense authorization. And we need to continue confirming nominees to vacancies in the judiciary and the executive branch. We Senators are no strangers to the end-of-year drama, but this time the stakes are far higher. We are up against another, even steeper surge in COVID-19 than we saw back in the spring. Workers and small businesses are once again struggling to make ends meet as States and localities step up precautions. And while the latest news on the vaccine trials suggest that victory over the virus may soon be within reach, our work in that area is far from complete. As one recent article put it, ``State [and] local officials plead for vaccine distribution funds.'' Our Nation's historic sprint to victory through vaccines seems poised to succeed in record time, but the critical last step--hundreds of millions of doses out to the American people--is still in front of us. Congress cannot stay on the sidelines. Yesterday, our colleague from Illinois, the Democratic whip, gave an interview in which he named three examples of highly urgent matters that need to be addressed for our Nation right now. This is the Democratic whip of the U.S. Senate. Here are the three things Senator Durbin mentioned as flashing red, urgent priorities: ``The millions of people who are going to . . . lose their unemployment insurance the day after Christmas''; ``the businesses that are trying to decide . . . whether or not they can continue''; and ``the [vaccine] logistics . . . to make sure that this vaccine is on the road and vaccinating people across America as quickly as possible.'' Those are the three things he mentioned. Those are the three urgent issues he named as examples: extending unemployment insurance, helping small businesses, and funding vaccine distribution. Well, I do not question the sincerity of our colleague, who I believe is engaged in these discussions in good faith. But these comments illustrate perfectly a point that Republicans have been making for weeks. These three urgent issues are issues where there is almost total bipartisan consensus, no real disagreement whatsoever. In fact, the framework for a small, targeted relief package that I put forward last week--something Democrats quickly attacked--would have resolved all three of those subjects. The targeted Republican framework extends unemployment insurance programs that will otherwise expire; it creates an entire second round of the Paycheck Protection Program for the hardest hit small businesses; and it lays groundwork to distribute the vaccines that appear to be on the horizon. Check, check, and check. The Democratic whip is right to recognize these three subjects as especially urgent because they are especially urgent. That is why Republicans have been trying over and over to get them passed. That is why Republicans have been saying for months that Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leader should let Congress get outcomes in all of the places where we already agree rather than holding everything hostage over their most controversial, partisan demands. But month after month after month, it has been the Democratic leaders who have said that no relief whatsoever can pass, no consensus items can become law unless multiple controversial areas where we don't agree are resolved to the Democrats' liking. That is why the Democratic leader had every single Senate Democratic vote to filibuster a targeted COVID-19 relief package back in September and again in October. That bill would have taken care of small businesses, unemployment insurance, and vaccine distribution months ago. Senate Democrats blocked it. I think, if the Senate Democratic leader would allow it, the three things that the Democratic whip mentioned just yesterday--small business aid, reupping unemployment aid, and setting up vaccine distribution--would pass the Senate in a landslide. A targeted compromise on the most urgent items would pass by a massive bipartisan margin. We could easily put together a whole slew of commonsense policies--including those three and other things, like legal protections that universities and the American Council on Education have been pleading for--bring it to the floor, and pass it. Everyone knows why this hasn't happened. There is one reason the Speaker of the House and the Democratic leader have spent months tying the most bipartisan, most commonsense policies to their most controversial requests and saying that the country can't get the former unless they get the latter. Their strategy has been all or nothing, so struggling Americans have, of course, gotten nothing. Well, we are down to the wire. The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Operation Warp Speed seems poised to deliver vaccines on a historic, almost miraculous timetable. We have seen some hopeful signs of engagement from our Democratic colleagues, but we have no reason to think the underlying disagreements about policy are going to evaporate overnight. Republicans and Democrats do not need to resolve every one of our differences to get badly needed relief out the door. We just need both sides to finally do what Members of Congress do when they are serious about wanting an outcome: Drop the all-or-nothing tactics; drop the hostage-taking; and make law in the many places where we have common ground. That is what the country is counting on. That is how we can do right by the American people before Christmas. Let's get it done.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume consideration of the Schwartz nomination.

Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 912.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.