Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Let me thank the Senator from Idaho, who has been very involved in a lot of discussions over time in trying to manage us toward a better place with our Federal debt and deficit. I understand his dedication, but I oppose this amendment. Over the last several years we have enacted $1.8 trillion in spending cuts on a bipartisan basis. We do not have any trouble cutting spending in this body right now. We do seem to have trouble locking in the revenue necessary to achieve a balanced revenue reduction. I recommend our colleagues oppose this amendment. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that the following package of amendments, 17 Democratic and 13 Republican amendments, be considered and agreed to en bloc: Shaheen No. 149, Blumenthal-Moran No. 577, Johnson No. 593, Manchin No. 316, Wyden No. 394, Baucus No. 267, Hagan No. 269, Franken No. 353, Cardin No. 453, Udall of New Mexico No. 192, Franken No. 479, Baucus No. 581, Casey No. 265, Sanders No. 594, Wyden- Portman No. 618, Levin No. 430, as modified, Manchin No. 499, Toomey No. 434, Coats No. 195, Hoeven No. 319, Ayotte No. 161, Kirk No. 671, Murkowski No. 672, Rubio No. 623, Alexander No. 348, Boozman No. 389, Heller No. 477, Hoeven No. 217, Enzi No. 489, and Hoeven No. 655. This is a package that has been agreed to by both managers, and I urge the Senate to accept them.

Mrs. MURRAY. That is different.

Mrs. MURRAY. I am now going to ask for unanimous consent for a number of amendments to get to final passage. I would say to all Senators that we are going to have a number of votes. We would like to tell everyone to sit in your seat. We will get through these faster if we can have the rollcalls and be done quickly. So I encourage everyone to be in this room.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that the next amendments in order to be called up be the following: Barrasso No. 184, Paul No. 382, Vitter No. 526, Vitter No. 338, Cruz No. 471, Cruz No. 702, Lee No. 673, Lee No. 521, Coburn No. 414, Coburn No. 416, Coburn No. 709, Portman No. 154, Leahy No. 710, a side-by-side to Senator Inhofe's No. 139, and Inhofe No. 139; that there be no second-degree amendments prior to votes in relation to any of those amendments; that none of the amendments be divisible; that notwithstanding all time having expired under the resolution, there be 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote, and that all votes be 10-minute votes; that upon disposition of the Inhofe amendment No. 139, the Senate proceed immediately to vote on adoption of S. Con. Res. 8, as amended.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I would hope that we would defeat these amendments. If there is no objection----

Mrs. MURRAY. We will then move to these amendments. Again, all Senators sit in your seats and vote. We will get through these as quickly as possible.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, before we go to the yeas and nays, can I just say, in setting an example for the evening, I will be less than 1 minute. We believe this is current law. We will accept a voice vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senate budget resolution that is in front of us, that we are hoping to get passed tonight, provides strong investments in transportation infrastructure. It fully funds MAP-21, the recent highway bill. It provides $50 billion for urgent transportation needs and another $10 billion for an infrastructure bank. We could put more funding toward transportation projects and fund some good projects but not without making cuts to other vital programs. The amendment before us will make unnecessary and deep cuts to foreign aid and energy programs. I oppose this amendment. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. Voter photo identification laws are overly burdensome and have the ability to disenfranchise voters. We should not attempt to implement these policies nationwide, especially at 3:15 in the morning on a budget resolution. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I would just note there is nothing in a unanimous consent which precludes a Senator from withdrawing an amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. Access to a telephone is beneficial for anyone trying to get a job or attempting to communicate with their family or receiving help in an emergency. Since 1985, the Lifeline Program has made it easier for low-income Americans to have a phone by providing a small monthly subsidy toward basic service. The program has seen an influx in new users over the past several years after the eligibility expanded to include mobile phones. The FCC issued an order in January 2012 to attack waste, fraud, and abuse in the program, and that order has been successful. I recommend my colleagues oppose this amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I yield my time to the Senator from New Jersey, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I yield my time to the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, the Senator from New Jersey.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 673

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is not germane. The underlying resolution therefore violates section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, it is important to reduce wasteful spending and ensure all Federal funding is spent efficiently and effectively. The budget resolution is not the appropriate place for funding decisions at a subprogrammatic level. I recommend we oppose the amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, before we go to the next vote, I would like to thank all the pages. They have been here all night working, and I would like to thank them: Austin Hall, Patrick Irby-Bailey, Emma Duhnke, Andrew Brennen, Stewart Maxfield, Brittany Robertson, and Katie Robinson.