Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations: Executive Calendar Nos. 590, 591, 643, 644, 682, and 683.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 438, Karen Scholer.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 536, Terry Doughty.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 661.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 472.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 406, submitted earlier today.

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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 2246 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. McCONNELL. I further ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion 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 when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Thursday, February 15; 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; finally, I ask that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 2579.

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.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it is now Wednesday morning of the week the Senate set aside to debate DACA, border security, interior enforcement, and other immigration issues. I promised I would clear the way to debate these matters this week, and I have. I promised I would ensure a fair amendment process in which both sides could offer legislation for discussion and votes, and I have. Just yesterday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus released a letter thanking me for keeping my commitment and urged the Senate to resolve this issue quickly. But we haven't even been able to get started yet. We haven't even been able to get started. Yesterday, I tried twice to open the debate and start the voting. Both times, my Democratic colleagues objected. I am a little perplexed, frankly, by the holdup. My Democratic colleagues have spent months--months, as we all know-- demanding that the Senate take up this issue. They even shut down the government--shut down the government unnecessarily, I might add--in order to secure this very week for this discussion. But now that the time has come to make law instead of just making points, they are stalling. Why? Why, after months and months spent demanding that the Senate take up this issue, do they now object to even starting the debate? Because they know, no matter how long they spend in closed-door negotiations, they can't change the fact that the President has spelled out a fair and generous framework that will be necessary to earn his signature. These guys can't take yes for an answer. So instead of moving to fulfill our promises and address the DACA issue, they haven't even allowed the debate to begin. There is a widespread desire in this Chamber to find a resolution for the illegal immigrants who were brought to this country as children-- widespread agreement on that--but common sense dictates that we cannot simply treat one symptom of our broken immigration policy in complete isolation. We must address the underlying problems as well. That means fixing broken parts of our legal immigration system. We must also ensure the safety of the American people. That is why a DACA resolution should be paired with new security measures at our borders and commonsense steps to improve security inside our borders, steps like fixing the loophole that forces us to release thousands of criminal aliens whose home countries won't take them back, steps like enacting Kate's Law to put criminal offenders who repeatedly and illegally cross our borders behind bars, cracking down with stiffer penalties for human trafficking, and updating the removability grounds for drug traffickers, repeat drunk drivers, gang members, sex offenders, and other violent and dangerous criminals. Why in the world would those ideas be controversial? Keeping Americans safe does not need to be a partisan issue, and addressing these important safety issues along with DACA, border security, and other parts of our broken immigration system is our best chance to produce legislation that can pass the House, pass the Senate, and earn the President's signature. This is why the proposal put forward by Senator Grassley and others, which draws on the President's generous framework and which the President has officially endorsed, has my support, because presumably we will actually make a law here. I have made no effort--none--to tell Democrats what amendments they should offer. Of course, they shouldn't try to dictate Republican amendments either. The longer my colleagues across the aisle refuse to come to the table, the longer they are unable to produce any legislation they actually support, the lower the odds that we can arrive at a legislative solution this week. Yesterday alone, the Senate was open for 9 hours--yesterday alone, 9 hours. Nine hours we could have spent processing amendments and proceeding to votes. Nine hours down the drain because Democrats won't let us start the debate they have spent months demanding. Now that we can finally proceed to consider the underlying bill this morning, I hope my colleagues across the aisle will come to the table. The President has made clear what principles must be addressed if we are going to make a law instead of merely making political points. While our Democratic colleagues can no longer prevent the Senate from starting the debate, they can continue to delay votes on amendments. I hope that won't happen.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on one final matter, for 8 years under President Obama, our economy didn't perform as well as it should have. America's wages and salaries hardly grew. Many job creators sat on the sidelines, wary of new tax increases or heavy-handed regulations. Washington had its foot on the brake. Last year, all that changed. President Trump and this Republican Congress set out to make life easier for workers and for job creators. We cut regulations and passed tax reform to give middle-class families immediate relief and set the stage for more hiring and more wage growth in the years ahead. I recently heard from a small family-owned inland river shipyard in Ashland, KY, along the Ohio River. They build and repair commercial barges. Here is what their president wrote. He said: ``Thanks to the tax change and optimism of our customers, we are at long last able to replace equipment which has been used way past [its] life expectancy and possibly add two more production workers.'' Last week a Louisville employer dropped by to tell me how he is using his tax reform savings: $1,000 bonuses for more than 100 Kentucky employees. Small companies and big business alike are thrilled that they finally have a 21st-century tax code. It makes them more competitive with overseas rivals and frees up more money to invest right here at home, and middle-class workers are reaping the rewards. Major national companies like Pfizer and Home Depot, which together employ more than half a million Americans, have announced hundreds of millions of dollars in employee bonuses--again, thanks to tax reform. Just this week, MetLife announced a major new investment in 50,000- plus employees. The company is raising its minimum wage, enhancing benefits, boosting retirement contributions, and creating a skills development fund. In short, MetLife is betting big on U.S. workers, and so are the more than 300 other companies that have already announced major investments in their employees and in their facilities--right here in America, right here, thanks to historic tax reform. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I call up the Toomey amendment No. 1948 to the Grassley amendment No. 1959.