Mitch McConnell

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to table the motion to concur with further amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 195, with a further amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk on the motion to concur with amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to refer the House message on H.R. 195 to the Committee on Appropriations to report back forthwith with instructions.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the mandatory quorum call be waived and the Senate immediately vote on the motion to invoke cloture without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, we passed similar legislation during the government shutdown back in 2013. My hope is that we can restore funding for the entire government before this becomes necessary. I am going to object for tonight, but we will discuss it again tomorrow. Therefore, I object.

Mr. McCONNELL. I object.

Mr. McCONNELL. I object.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for the information of all our colleagues, the Senate will convene at 12 noon tomorrow. My hope is that an agreement can be reached. We will be here in session tomorrow working to finally resolve the way forward. Senators should expect votes tomorrow. 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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon, Saturday, January 20; 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, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the House message to accompany H.R. 195.

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I move to refer the House message on H.R. 195 to the Committee on Appropriations to report back forthwith with instructions.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I have an amendment to the instructions.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

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, in just a short while, the Senate will vote to reauthorize important provisions of the FISA Amendments Act. As we all know, section 702 remains one of the most important tools that our national security professionals use to combat terrorism and to keep Americans safe. Let's be very clear about what section 702 does. It enables our intelligence community to collect communications from foreign terrorists on foreign soil who threaten America and our allies. That is what it does. Make no mistake--section 702 does not allow the targeting of American citizens, nor does it permit the targeting of anyone, no matter their nationality, who is known to be located here in the United States. The men and women we trust to protect this country say that this capability is essential to their missions. They tell us that it has saved American lives. That is why we cannot let this capability lapse. The world remains dangerous. We need our Armed Forces and intelligence community to protect us, and they need us to give them the tools to do it. I look forward to renewing this important provision on a bipartisan basis in a short while.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, Saturday will mark 1 year since President Trump's inauguration--a year spent working with Republicans to roll back runaway regulations, stand up for veterans, fund our troops, strengthen national security, and pass once-in-a- generation tax reform. Today, unemployment is at its lowest level in over a decade. According to Gallup, the American people are more optimistic about their job prospects than they have been in 17 years. And just yesterday, the Dow Jones closed above 26,000 for the first time in history. The engine of American free enterprise is the American people, and when government gets out of the way and helps provide the conditions for growth, good things happen. Just yesterday, Apple--the highest valued public company in the world--announced a plan to create more than 20,000 new jobs and invest $30 billion in new capital right here in our country. As a direct result of tax reform, Apple will pay special bonuses worth $2,500 to employees and begin to repatriate the $250 billion in cash it has been holding overseas. Let me repeat that. Billions and billions of dollars are coming back to America because Republicans passed historic tax reform and gave us a 21st-century tax code. This will have an impact not just in Silicon Valley but all across the country. In Harrodsburg, KY, Corning employs hundreds of people in a high-tech facility. It partners with Apple to manufacture the special glass used in iPhones and iPads. This glass is made in Kentucky. Republicans in the House and Senate passed tax reform without a single Democratic vote, although I certainly hope our folks across the aisle will celebrate the new jobs in their States and the new opportunities that are already being created for their constituents. We know that when Washington gets out of the way, American workers and job creators can do what they do best. The results are speaking for themselves.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Now, Mr. President, on an urgent matter, Congress is fast approaching our Friday deadline to fund the government. The choice before us is quite simple: We can pass a noncontroversial, bipartisan bill to keep the government open, or Democrats in Congress can manufacture a crisis and force a government shutdown over the entirely unrelated issue of illegal immigration, which we have until March, at the very least, to resolve. Leaders in both parties have engaged in constructive talks on the best solution for those who fall under the Obama administration's illegally established DACA Program, along with other important immigration issues. The President has made it clear that any immigration bill must not only treat the symptoms of illegal immigration but also address the conditions that cause it. His four pillars for reform are increasing border security, reforming chain migration, resolving the DACA issue, and addressing the visa lottery. Those are the four pillars. My position is straightforward. When negotiators produce a compromise that the President supports, it will receive a vote here in the Senate. No such solution yet exists, so the negotiations continue. The DACA issue does not face urgent deadlines until March at the very earliest. Our deadline to fund the government is tomorrow. One is an emergency, and one is not. Later today, we anticipate the House will pass a bill that continues government funding and also attends to another urgent bipartisan concern. It will reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program for a full 6 years, giving needed security to the families of the 9 million American children who depend on the program for coverage. A continuing resolution plus a 6-year SCHIP extension is a commonsense package that every Member of this body should support. Just consider my Democratic colleagues' own words on this very subject of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Just last month, the senior Senator from Pennsylvania said: ``Any uncertainty about the Children's Health Insurance Program is . . . an insult to the country.'' That is the senior Senator from Pennsylvania. He represents 342,000 children enrolled in SCHIP. Now he will have a chance to end that uncertainty. Our newest colleague, the junior Senator from Alabama, made SCHIP a central issue in his campaign. He presented himself as a champion of vulnerable kids. He said the Senate had to ``stop playing political football with the health care of our children.'' Now he represents 150,000 of those children. Will he help us put a stop to the political games? The senior Senator from Ohio said: ``Healthcare for our kids shouldn't be controversial . . . it shouldn't be partisan. It should be easy.'' The junior Senator from Maine called a potential lapse in SCHIP ``an abdication of our responsibility.'' The junior Senator from Oregon said: ``Struggling families would like to have some stability, not have their children be a bargaining chip in some broader vision.'' All of these Democratic Senators represent tens of thousands of children who depend on SCHIP. I am more than puzzled why they would threaten to turn their backs on those children--and shut down the government while they are at it--over the entirely unrelated issue of illegal immigration. Why would anyone suggest it is a good idea to not fund SCHIP for 6 years and to not fund the government because they are upset over illegal immigration, which is an issue we have until March to address? Last year, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously agreed on a proposal to extend SCHIP by 5 years. The continuing resolution we expect to take up will extend it for 6, with no partisan attachments. It shouldn't be a difficult vote. There is nothing--nothing--in such a continuing resolution that my Democratic friends actually oppose. Surely they do not oppose continuing to fund programs for opioid treatment and prevention, even as negotiations continue on additional funding. Surely they do not oppose continuing to fund our military and our national security, even as negotiations continue on additional funding. They couldn't possibly want to cut off existing funding for veterans, the VA system, and America's seniors simply because we are still negotiating additional funding. My friends on the other side of the aisle do not oppose a single thing in this bill--nothing. They know they can't possibly explain to our warfighters and veterans, to our seniors, to our opioid treatment centers, to the millions of vulnerable children and their families who depend on SCHIP for coverage--how do you explain this?--or to all Americans who rely on the Federal Government for critical services like food inspections and Social Security checks. Why would they filibuster government funding and shut down vital programs for Americans because we have not yet agreed on the best way to settle an unrelated issue that we have at least until March to resolve? So let's fund the government, extend SCHIP, and do right by the millions of Americans who elected us to serve them. That is how we can continue serious discussions on issues facing our Nation. I suggest the absence of a quorum.