Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, is the veto message with respect to S.J. Res. 54 at the desk?

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the veto message on S.J. Res. 54 be considered as having been read, that it be printed in the Record, and spread in full upon the Journal.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow, the Senate vote on passage of S.J. Res. 54, notwithstanding the objections of the President to the contrary.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading en bloc.

Mr. McCONNELL. I now ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request, all en bloc.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 358, submitted earlier today.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 356.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks on Thursday, October 17, the Committee on Environment and Public Works be discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 53. I further ask unanimous consent that if a motion to proceed is made and agreed to, the time until noon be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, on the joint resolution, and that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the bill be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of S.J. Res. 53.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 359 submitted earlier today.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 17; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Markey.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 324.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Congress is returning to Washington for a work period that will be filled with important to-do items, but we already know what will top the agenda in the House of Representatives: House Democrats are finally indulging in their 3-year old impeachment obsession, full steam ahead. Many of us remember the Washington Post headline that was literally published on Inauguration Day in 2017. Here is what it said: ``The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.'' And, sure enough, House Democrats have been at it ever since. One prominent House Democrat called this Presidency illegitimate before it had even begun. One of Speaker Pelosi's committee chairs whom she has tasked with leading this process promised years ago that she would find a way to impeach the President. Now that Speaker Pelosi has finally crumbled and allowed her leftwing impeachment caucus to dictate the House's actions, I don't think many of us were expecting to witness a clinic in terms of fairness or due process. But even by their own partisan standards, House Democrats have already found new ways to lower the bar. This is about the most consequential process the House of Representatives could possibly engage in: overruling American voters and nullifying an election. Surely, any such process must be conducted with the utmost fairness and transparency. It must be held to the most exact of standards. Yet House Democrats have wasted no time throwing fairness and precedent to the wind. Already, they have denied their Republican counterparts certain minority rights, like equal subpoena power, which Republicans provided Democrats in the Clinton impeachment. Already, they have made clear that President Trump's counsel will not be allowed to participate in hearings, present evidence, and cross- examine witnesses--all-important rights that Republicans provided to President Clinton. Already, one House chairman has been caught publicly mischaracterizing his committee's handling of the whistleblower inquiry on which this whole investigation hinges. For all the public hyperventilating over institutional norms that we have heard from House Democrats in recent years, it appears they have no intention of letting norms, precedents, or basic due process stand in their way as they seek to cancel out a Presidency. In the meantime, in the Senate we will keep our focus squarely on the substantive work we need to complete for the American people. In the coming days, we will confirm another slate of President Trump's well- qualified nominees. For starters, later this afternoon, we will advance the nomination of Barbara Barrett, the President's choice to be Secretary of the Air Force. Speaking of our Armed Forces, Congress can waste no more time in getting our appropriations process back on track and delivering a funding that our servicemembers need. Just 2 months ago, the President and the Speaker of the House produced an agreement to guide the appropriations process. The White House and congressional leaders set top-line funding targets for defense and nondefense and agreed to forego poison pills. Last month, unfortunately, our Democratic colleagues went back on the deal. Routine funding negotiations were again subject to poison pill threats, and urgent resources for the operations of the Pentagon were withheld for the sake of politics. We need to put these political games aside. Democrats need to stop filibustering a pay raise for our troops and the funding our commanders need. We need to get our funding process back on track for the entire Federal Government. House Democrats need to stop slow-walking the USMCA, the landmark trade agreement that stands to create 176,000 new American jobs. Mexico is ready, Canada is ready, and a majority in the Senate is ready. The entire continent is just waiting on Speaker Pelosi to stop blocking this win for the United States and to stop blocking these new jobs. I don't care how much my Democratic colleagues in the House may dislike the President. They shouldn't throw 176,000 new American jobs on the scrap heap. On all these fronts, I hope sincerely that our Democratic colleagues will be able to separate this vital business from their animus toward the administration and join Republicans in moving forward with the work of the American people.

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, I understand there is a bill at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. McCONNELL. In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provision of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings.

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on one final matter, I know I speak for many of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle in expressing my grave concern at the events that have unfolded in Syria in recent days. Turkey is our NATO ally. Yes, it hosts millions of Syrian refugees and has a legitimate security concern about the situation in Syria. But Turkey's escalation of hostilities with the Syrian Kurdish partners who have helped the United States fight terrorism is completely and totally unacceptable. This violence needs to end. Syrian Kurdish forces have stood proudly alongside U.S. forces in the fight against ISIS. Over years of joint effort, their shared sacrifices have put ISIS on its heels and rendered its physical caliphate essentially nonexistent. But leaving the field now would mean leaving the door wide open for a resurgence of this dangerous force and a new iteration of the Islamic State; creating a power vacuum begging for the meddling influence of Russia; leaving northeastern Syria wide open for Iran to extend its reach, unimpeded, all the way from Tehran to the doorstep of our friends in Israel; and destroying the leverage we currently have to compel Bashar Assad to stop his slaughter of the Syrian people and negotiate an end to this terrible conflict and humanitarian catastrophe. I want to make something clear: The United States has taken the fight to Syria and Afghanistan because that is where our enemies are. That is why we are there. Fighting terrorists, exercising leadership in troubled regions, and advancing U.S. interests around the world does not make us an evil empire or the world's policeman. It makes us a prudent and responsible world power that stands up for our own security and the freedom of others. Alongside the 80 coalition partners that U.S. forces have led in the counter-ISIS coalition, that is what we must continue to do. We must continue to provide support to the local forces that carry the lion's share of the responsibility to defend their homelands. This effort must continue to include our allies and partners, even the imperfect ones that sometimes behave rashly and dangerously, as both Saudi Arabia and Turkey have recently. When it looked like President Trump would withdraw from Syria at the beginning of the year, 70--70--Senators joined in warning of the risks of precipitously withdrawing from Syria or Afghanistan. The veto-proof majority vote for my amendment to S. 1, the Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act, demonstrated strong and bipartisan appreciation of our enduring security interests in that region. The Senate spoke clearly and said that we must ensure that we have set the conditions for an enduring defeat of the terrorists before any withdrawal. Regrettably, many of the Democratic Senators running for President, along with my friend the Democratic leader, parted with this bipartisan consensus and voted against this amendment. So I hope those aspiring Commanders in Chief are asked to explain how they reconcile their criticism of the administration today with their votes just a few months ago. Maybe they will even be asked on the debate stage this very evening. I am heartened to hear that Vice President Pence will soon lead a delegation to begin immediate talks with Turkey to end this violence. I expect Turkish allies listen carefully to the anger from Washington, welcome our Vice President, and take steps to repair our important relationship. It would be a tragedy for both of our nations if Turkey's escalation in Syria imperils our common fight against ISIS and emboldens traditional adversaries like Iran and Russia. This would be bad for U.S. interests, but it would be terrible for Turkey. I also look forward to discussing with Members on both sides and with the administration how the United States can stand with our partners and provide strong, principled, and consistent global leadership.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture motions for the Volk, Eskridge, Novak, and Kovner nominations ripen at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 16; I further ask that notwithstanding rule XXII, that at 4:15 p.m. tomorrow, all postcloture time on the Barrett, Volk, Eskridge, Novak, and Kovner nominations be considered expired; finally, I ask that if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 322.