Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. If I can interrupt my friend from California----

Mr. REID. I don't object. Let's go ahead with the bill.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I, too, am glad to be back. I appreciate all the people here whom we spend so much time with and all their good work. We have been gone for 7 weeks. Baseball season is about over. I wish it went year-round, but it doesn't. So all good things come to an end, and we will have that over with in about a month. Today, the Republicans return from the longest summer recess in more than 60 years. I am still stunned that the Republican leader decided to have a 7-week vacation, and it was more important to them than funding our Nation's Zika response or giving Merrick Garland a hearing or even meeting with him or keeping terrorists and criminals from buying guns, and as the New York Times reported in some detail on Sunday, climate change is here. Military installations--like those in Virginia as an example, but they are not the only ones--are in peril of surviving. Whole neighborhoods are under water. Highways and bridges to islands are unpassable for weeks at a time--but 7 weeks of vacation and not a word of debate on the rising seas, and they are here. Just ask anyone in Florida trying to pass a bond issue now for billions of dollars to raise the highways and the roads and the foundations of buildings. Now, because of the Republican leader's decision to recess for the summer, Congress is floundering because of Republican inaction. The Senate has a mountain of work to do and no time to do it. First and foremost, the Senate needs to fund efforts to combat Zika. It is a dreaded problem sweeping this country. Earlier this year, Democrats tried in vain to bring Republicans to the realization that Zika was imperiling the health of all but especially women of child- bearing age. We accepted the Senate Zika compromise. Last May, 89 Senators voted to pass that legislation. Republicans in the House said no, and then surprisingly, when we tried to pass it as a stand-lone here, the Republican Senate said we will not agree to what we agreed to a few weeks ago--stunning, to say the least. President Obama proposed a meeting with Senator McConnell, Speaker Ryan, Secretary Burwell, and Director Donovan to work on the Zika crisis. They said no to the meeting. Democrats offered to negotiate a compromise, but Republicans rejected our efforts to compromise. Republicans were more interested in attacking Planned Parenthood and flying the Confederate flag than protecting women and babies from this awful virus. As Republicans stalled, Zika spread quickly. Puerto Rico has been ravaged by the virus. Two thousand Puerto Ricans are infected each week--different Puerto Ricans. Remember, Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that by the end of the year, 25 percent of Puerto Rico's population will be infected by Zika. That is 900,000 people. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a health emergency in Puerto Rico due to the Zika virus. Democrats pleaded for Republicans to cut short their 7-week break and return to the Capitol in order to pass emergency Zika funding. Republicans said: No, we are going to stay home some more. While the Republican Senate insisted on vacation, Zika spread to the mainland in the United States. Local transmission of Zika was confirmed in Florida and elsewhere. Last week, public health officials in Florida even trapped some mosquitoes carrying this virus. To date, nearly 17,000 men, women, and children in the United States and its territories have been infected with Zika, claiming 1,600 pregnant women, and 16 babies have been born with the deforming birth defects caused by Zika. We still don't understand all the devastating effects of this virus. That is why we need more study. We know, though, about microcephaly-- the birth defect that inhibits brain development and prevents the skull from growing. We have all seen the heart-wrenching pictures of babies with tiny heads, but in recent weeks we have also learned newborns with Zika face other problems, such as hearing loss, vision impairment, and joint deformities. Because of Republican inaction, our entire Nation is exposed to this scourge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not have the resources to fight Zika. CDC Director Thomas Frieden told reporters: The cupboard is bare. . . . Basically, we are out of money and we need Congress to act. We must stop the spread of this disease. We need to learn more. We need to pass a bipartisan funding bill that gives doctors, researchers, and public health officials the resources they require to understand and fight the spread of this deadly virus. We passed something here with 89 votes. As I said, it went to the House. They sent it back with all this strange, weird stuff in it. They cut funding for the Veterans' Administration by one-half billion dollars. They tried to disguise the fact that what they were trying to do was to eliminate Planned Parenthood. Remember, last year 2 million American women went to Planned Parenthood for help. Now, with this Zika virus frightening women all over America, they want to cut this off. As I said, they did other things. When I talk about flying the Confederate flag, I am not kidding. Part of the legislation sent back to us said they could continue flying the Confederate flag over military installations. Is that something we could vote for? Of course not. The continuing resolution, that has become the kind of thing we do around here since Republicans have perfected filibusters. Continuing resolutions are a way of saying we can't do our regular appropriations work, so let's do something that gets us through the year. We must focus on our efforts to keep the government open. Press reports indicate that Republicans want to pass a continuing resolution that extends into next year. That seems odd--strange. We just completed 7 weeks of doing nothing--none of our country's essential business--and now Republicans are suggesting another 10 weeks of vacation. Speaker Ryan and Senator McConnell should understand that Democrats will not support 10 more weeks away from Washington. We have a lot of work to do. We cannot ignore the Nation's work any longer. President Obama will reject any continuing resolution that extends into 2017. Notably, Members of Congress received their pay during the 7 weeks we were out of Washington and would receive their salaries during the Republicans' proposed 10-week recess. Let's be clear. A funding resolution that stretches into next year is a permission slip for Congress to refuse to do its job for the rest of the year. The next Senate should not begin months behind because of this Republican Senate's failure to do its job. Once we have ensured that the government is properly funded, we must turn our attention to the important issues that the Republican Senate has failed to adequately address, and these are only some of them. How about the Supreme Court and judicial nominations? The Senate needs to give the U.S. Supreme Court a full complement of nine Justices. The Republicans still refuse to give Chief Judge Merrick Garland a hearing or a vote. Orrin Hatch, who opened the Senate a few minutes ago, has said Merrick Garland is a consensus nomination. I don't know if he forgot what he said or didn't mean it at the time. I think he did mean it at the time. Republicans want to hold the seat open for Donald Trump to fill. If that doesn't startle you, I don't know what would. What more do you need to see from Trump to realize that he is dangerous and unfit for the Presidency? How can you hold a Supreme Court vacancy open for this man and his weird ideas? It is not just the Supreme Court. Republicans have deadlocked our entire system of justice because of the Republican Senate's dysfunction. This Republican Senate has confirmed the fewest circuit and district court judges in many decades. Republicans want Trump to remake the justice system in his image. What an image that would be--a Trump judiciary. To show the American people's disgust with how Republicans have treated Merrick Garland's nomination, starting today I am objecting to committees meeting for other purposes until the Judiciary Committee schedules a meeting to consider Judge Garland's nomination. If the Republican leader thinks there is a committee that needs to meet because of extraordinary circumstances, I would be pleased to consider his request. But in the meantime, as of today, we are objecting to committees meeting, in line with the rules of the Senate. In addition to ending the disgusting and repugnant opposition to Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court, we must also pass legislation to keep guns and explosives out of the hands of suspected terrorists and other dangerous individuals. How many more acts of gun violence must we witness before we need to do something about it? How many more slaughters must we witness? The American people agree with us. Eighty-five percent want to do something about this worsening gun situation. It is gun violence. Eighty-five percent of Americans support legislation to keep guns away from suspected terrorists. This is the case all over America. Sensible background checks--that is all it is. The Senate Republicans should listen to the American people and stop listening to the National Rifle Association. We must take a stand against violence. There are many, many other pressing ideas. We need to address the criminal justice system, which is in deep need of repair and renovation. The United States needs to help make college more affordable for American families. The United States needs to address campaign finance reform. We must keep dark money out of politics. It is here and getting bigger every day, principally because of two people-- the Koch brothers. The Kochs today are in hog heaven because they now can secretly funnel money to all their clandestine committees and groups. They are spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, funneling money to the Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association, and many other front groups that no one has ever heard of--none of us have--but they are out running those ads with this secret money. The U.S. Senate has much to do; I have mentioned only a few of the things. We have to use our time wisely. Sadly, for the last 7 weeks, we have not been using our time in a productive manner, and that is an understatement. That is why I was baffled to learn that the Republicans want to move to the Water Resources Development Act next week. I understand WRDA legislation. I have been chairman of that committee on two separate occasions. I know there is money in this bill for beleaguered Flint, MI. The people of Flint have waited months and months for this overdue relief. Also in this bill is the Tahoe Restoration Act, which I support. Last Wednesday I had my 20th and last summit on Lake Tahoe. It is a much better place because of what we have done over the last 20 years. Two billion dollars has been spent on that beautiful lake. There is only one other lake like it in the whole world, and that is in Siberia. I know how important this Tahoe Restoration Act is. The fact remains that the Republican House is not going to pass it anyway, but I am willing to do what I can to act responsibly by not blocking this bill, as the Republicans would do, but we will legislate very carefully. Staffs are working to find out if we can have a path forward. I hope we can. I appreciate the good work of Senators Boxer and Inhofe. I am hopeful that we can find a path forward on WRDA, as well as Zika, funding the government, and other matters about which I have spoken. In the meantime, the Senate has to prioritize. I know the Republican leader sets the Senate schedule, but he should acknowledge the situation for what it is. Now we have a logjam of important legislation that he created by recessing for 7 weeks--7 weeks, everybody. We have a mess, but the mess is of the Republican leader's own making. Now that the Republicans have finally decided to come back to the Nation's Capital, it is time we move forward on these important issues that have been ignored for 7 weeks. In short, it is time for the Republicans to do their job. Mr. President, I see no one on the floor. I ask that the Chair announce the business of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the 60th birthday of James Baird, who is a hard-working businessman, ecclesiastical leader, and friend. James was born in Las Vegas, NV, and raised in Provo, UT. His father, Joseph Hugh Baird, worked at Brigham Young University, and his mother, Florence Richards, was a piano teacher. As a child, James enjoyed spending time with his nine siblings and nurturing his horse, Julie. James grew up with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. He began his career in grade school by mowing lawns and eventually starting his own landscaping company. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a business degree and went on to own and operate multiple start-up companies, each of which made a positive impact on their local communities. James currently serves as the director of operations for Madison Fields, a farm and riding facility for children and adults with autism, where he is regarded as a patient and caring colleague. In addition to being a successful businessman, James is also devoted to his wife of 38 years, Dr. Melinda Lambert Baird. Dr. Baird is a phenomenal concert pianist and serves as the director of piano programs at Levine Music and the director of education and community outreach at Steinway & Sons. James and Melinda have four children and eleven grandchildren, whom they love dearly. James's family values come from his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--LDS. At a young age, James served a mission for the LDS church in Baton Rouge, LA. During that time, James's brother, Mark, was killed in a jeep accident. James decided to remain in Louisiana and continued to serve the people there. Since then, James has remained an involved member of his church and served as a bishop in Rockville, MD. Currently, James is acting as the president of the Washington, DC, Stake. In this position, President Baird lends his service to more than 2,000 church members in the Washington DC, and southern Maryland areas without pay or reimbursement. James's arms are open for anyone in need, and he is devoted to improving the lives of people in Washington, DC. I have had the pleasure of knowing James as one of my church leaders and friends, and I admire and appreciate his service. James is a man who has inspired countless lives in his local, work, and religious communities. I congratulate him on his many successes, and I wish him the best as he continues to serve the people of Washington, DC.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I wish to honor Terri Robertson, Helen Mortenson, and Marge Sill, three lifelong conservation activists from Nevada. Terri Robertson has been a longtime advocate for the protection of southern Nevada's unique outdoor spaces. This fourth-generation Nevadan embarked on her mission to protect Nevada lands over 40 years ago, beginning with her work to protect Red Rock Canyon from encroachment from nearby Las Vegas. Terri was also instrumental in the designation of Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. I know of her outsized influence because I led the effort in the Senate to establish Red Rock Canyon and Sloan Canyon National Conservation Areas. Even today, Terri continues to push for additional protections and amenities for Sloan, where she visited ancient petroglyph galleries on family trips as a child. It is because of the work of people like Terri that the Bureau of Land Management recently unveiled a plan to add a visitor center, information kiosks, and paved roads to provide access to the canyon. In May 2016, the BLM and city of Henderson celebrated the opening of the first paved access road to Sloan. Terri has also used her passion and knowledge of Nevada's natural resources to protect other special places in Clark County, including Tule Springs and Gold Butte. Marge Sill has been a wilderness advocate in Nevada and California for 50 years. After she moved to Reno, she began working to protect wilderness land in northern and central Nevada as urban development began to encroach upon those wild spaces. Marge has been working to protect the stark and stunning vistas of the West for so long that she has earned the nickname ``Mother of Wilderness.'' Marge got her start in the Sierra Club a half century ago. To describe that time, she once remarked that the women of the club did the work, while the men just talked about change. Marge put in the work to create the Lake Tahoe State Park in 1963, and she fought to establish the Great Basin National Park, Nevada's only national park. However, Marge considers her greatest accomplishment to be the passage of the Nevada Wilderness Protection Act of 1989, which designated over 700,000 acres of wilderness in the Silver State. I was pleased to author this legislation, which created several wilderness areas that Nevadans now treasure, including the Mount Charleston, Mount Rose, and the Ruby Mountains Wilderness Areas, among others, and expanded Nevada's first wilderness area, Jarbidge. Marge has always been my most avid supporter, for which I will always be grateful. Finally, I would like to recognize Helen Mortenson. Together with her late husband, Harry, Helen advocated for the preservation and protection of Nevada's outdoors for decades. A consultant specializing in nuclear, radiological, and environmental issues, Helen fought for years with her husband, Harry, a conservation champion in the Nevada State Assembly, to keep Nevada's environment safe and clean by opposing the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. But Helen's greatest work has no doubt been her advocacy for the protection of Tule Springs in northern Las Vegas. Thanks to Helen and Harry's activism, I was able to work with my colleagues in Congress to pass legislation in 2014 that designated the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. As president of the Las Vegas Ice Age Park Foundation and an archaeologist herself, Helen used her knowledge to educate her community and local lawmakers about the significance of the Tule Springs site. Because of her, fossil sites of prehistoric mammoths and giant sloths will always remain only a short drive away for residents of the Las Vegas Valley. These three champions of conservation taught us all about the need to protect and treasure Nevada's wild places. Their passion, advocacy, and community-building facilitated the passage of legislation that will keep the wild Nevada I love intact and accessible for generations. Their work is appreciated, and I wish them continued success for years to come.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the 75th anniversary of the Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada. Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada was established in 1921 by Bishop Thomas K. Gorman to provide social services for Nevadans in need. Bishop Gorman assigned Father Thomas F. Collins as the first director of Catholic Charities, and Father Collins diligently organized programs to combat homelessness and connect families with foster children throughout the Silver State. Bishop Gorman and Father Collins inspired hope through service to southern Nevadans, and we continue to see the same dedication in the organization's current leadership. With the incredible growth in Nevada, Catholic Charities has expanded to provide aid to senior citizens, refugees, immigrants, girls in crisis, and the homeless population throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Catholic Charities is now one of the largest private nonprofit social service providers in Nevada, offering comprehensive assistance through 20 programs to support the community. I have worked closely with Catholic Charities to forge public-private partnerships to address human trafficking, homelessness, immigration services, and poor nutrition. Today the organization serves as a sanctuary for people in southern Nevada. Catholic Charities has always made significant and positive contributions to our community. The services provided by Catholic Charities ensure Nevadans have the support they need to live a better life in Nevada. Catholic Charities' work is appreciated and admired, and I wish their continued success.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the 25th anniversary of the Lambda Business Association. The Lambda Business Association was established in Las Vegas in 1991 as a networking club for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer--LGBTQ--businessowners and professionals. Since then, Lambda has grown into a strong nonprofit organization known as the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce for Southern Nevada and has become a resilient voice for the LGBTQ business community. For the past 25 years, Lambda has brought together LGBTQ business owners and their allies to build a strong network of public leaders. Lambda's members proudly display the attributes of inclusion, equality, integrity, fairness, and responsibility outlined in Lambda's code of ethics. Lambda also provides important volunteer opportunities to its members to bring positive change to southern Nevada. Through its dedicated work, Lambda has fought for a more inclusive economic environment that promotes the entrepreneurial spirit that helps businesses grow and succeed. Lambda's work is appreciated and admired. I look forward to the continued work of Lambda to ensure equal rights for LGBTQ businessowners and professionals, and I wish this important organization success for many years to come. (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I wish to honor the 50th anniversary of the First African Methodist Episcopal--FAME--Church. In September 2016, FAME will formally celebrate over 50 years of commitment to worship and community outreach in the great State of Nevada. Since 1996, FAME has played an integral role in the success of both north Las Vegas and the State of Nevada. The church works to provide Nevadans with a place to worship and connect with the community. FAME takes pride in ensuring that its members are positive contributors to the communities in which they reside, all while promoting their spiritual development. Since its inception, the church has also been a strong supporter of outreach ministries that promote and bring awareness to the importance of community service. FAME has helped much-needed resources to the homeless, elderly, and disabled, and it has created educational and career opportunities for young students and high school graduates. These programs not only encourage people to remain civically engaged, but also foster connections between members of the church and communities throughout the State of Nevada. I applaud Reverend Ralph E. Williamson and his team for their strong leadership of this important organization. It is through their selfless efforts that numerous Nevadans have been positively impacted by FAME. This institution is an invaluable part of the Silver State, and I extend my best wishes for continued success as the church enters its next chapter.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the 50th anniversary of Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Since it opened its doors on August 5, 1966, Caesars Palace has been a Las Vegas icon. Conceived by builder, designer, and hotel operator Jay Sarno, Caesars opened as an opulent 680-room Roman-themed fantasyland. Today Caesars Palace remains one of the world's most prestigious resorts. It is home to 14 restaurants, 3,980 rooms, 6 towers, a convention facility, and 630 suites and villas. Filled with statues, columns, and iconography typical of Hollywood Roman period productions, Caesars Palace pioneered a new era of lavish casinos and resorts. It opened with a 3-day gala that included a stage production of ``Rome Swings,'' starring Andy Williams and 1,400 guests. On December 31, 1967, the hotel and casino gained worldwide recognition when it served as the backdrop for Daredevil Evel Knievel's infamous attempt to jump over the iconic Caesars fountains. His son, Robbie Knievel, would later successfully clear the fountains on April 14, 1989. Throughout the last five decades, Caesars Palace has remained a leader in the entertainment industry, bringing the biggest names in music, celebrity chefs, luxury accommodations, premier shopping and gaming, and top sporting events to the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. I love the sport of boxing, and I am proud that, in the late 1970s, Caesars Palace emerged as the premier venue for world championship boxing matches. It was the host for legendary matches between Hall of Famers: Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, and ``the Greatest of All Time,'' Muhammad Ali. Caesars Palace was instrumental in turning Las Vegas into the ``Boxing Capital of the World.'' In fact, one of my most prized possessions is a signed photograph of the great Joe Louis, who was hired by Caesars later in his life as a casino host and greeter and whose marble statue still sits inside the casino. Throughout the past 50 years, many of our world's top performers have graced the stages of Caesars Palace, including Tony Bennett, Jerry Lewis, Liberace, and Diana Ross. Headliners such as Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Rod Stewart, Bette, Midler, Cher, Mariah Carey, and Sir Elton John have held residency performances at the 4,300-seat colosseum. The hotel and casino also provided the backdrop to blockbuster movies. I commend Caesars Palace for 50 years of exceptional service to the Las Vegas Strip. Caesars Palace has continuously evolved throughout the past five decades to remain a leader on the world famous Las Vegas Strip, and I wish them continued success for years to come.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I assume my Republican friend feels that if you say just the opposite of what is valid and true, some people will believe it. You talk about a logic-free zone, as my friend mentioned-- boy, we got one in the last half hour here. We do have a new normal here, and it is not a good new normal. Take, for example, defense. The Republican leader resorts to name-calling, trying to paint Democrats as weak on defense. He cites Democrats voting against proceeding to the Defense appropriations bill before we have a budget deal. Let me remind the American people, let me remind the Republican leader, the result of Democrats blocking the Defense appropriations bill three times last year was we got a better budget, a much better budget. We got a budget agreement that increased spending for national security by $33.5 billion over the sequester. It was their sequester level; that is, they wanted to cut it even more. That is the truth. The further truth is that the defense of our country, the security of our country, depends more on the Pentagon. We have every Democrat who is just as patriotic as any Republican. We believe in the security of this Nation just as much as they do. We look at that differently, though, in this sense: I repeat, the security of this Nation is more than bombs and bullets. It is also making sure we have an FBI that works and is adequately funded. It also means the Drug Enforcement Administration has the personnel to do their job. It also means the Department of Homeland Security, created by a Republican President, is up and running and able to do its job. They have tremendous responsibilities. The border security is their problem. They have to deal with that, and it has to be adequately funded. We have issues that relate to the security of this Nation. For example, the Centers for Disease Control has to be adequately funded. They don't do bombs or bullets, but they do take care of this Nation's security. The National Institutes of Health, one of the premier organizations in the history of the world, helps us become a more secure nation. So we are going to continue--we will block today, if he brings it up again, the Defense appropriations bill. Why? Because he wants to do that. It is so obvious. He wants to do that and walk out of here and leave the other appropriations bills stirring in the breeze and meet the craziness we see out of the House of Representatives as it relates to spending. We want more resources for our troops, but if we get more resources for our troops, we are going to get more resources for those entities that keep us safe and secure that aren't Pentagon-related. Again, I assume my friend believes that if you keep talking about something that is absolutely untrue, people will think it is true. For example, let's take the Zika situation we have in America today. No one disputes the fact that these mosquitoes are ravaging and are horrendous. Mosquitoes have been very difficult and dangerous. They have been terrible since recorded history. They cause death and illness. It is hard to comprehend. For the first time in the history of the world, we have now the mosquito spreading a virus that causes women to have deformed babies--badly deformed babies. What we did, on a bipartisan basis, the senior Senator from Washington and the senior Senator from Missouri got together and they came up with a Zika funding measure. I felt it was inadequate dollarwise. We agreed with the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health that it should be $1.9 billion. We said: OK. We will go along with this because it is an emergency. It is like all emergencies, whether it is flood, fire, or wind, whatever it might be. This is an emergency, and it should be treated as such--$1.1 billion, no offsets. We passed that with 89 votes. Every Democrat voted for it and virtually every Republican voted for it. It went to the House of Representatives. Now, here is where my friend's logic-free zone really pops in hard. Remember what we sent to the House of Representatives, and here is what they sent back to us. There is no disputing this, even though he can say it a million times if he wants. Under the bill we got back--and the Republicans in the Senate approved what happened in the House--Planned Parenthood, an organization where hundreds and hundreds of thousands of women go for their care, do you think they are going to have a little rush of business now? Because women in America today want to make sure they have the ability to not get pregnant. Why? Because the mosquitoes ravage pregnant women. Under the logic of my friend the Republican leader, they don't need to go to Planned Parenthood. They can go to their boutique doctor someplace in Las Vegas or Chicago or Lexington, KY. They can go to an emergency room and say: I am sorry, I didn't get birth control; will you help me? That isn't what emergency rooms are for. That is what Planned Parenthood is for. The vast majority of women who need help, that is where they go, Planned Parenthood. Under the legislation we got back from the House, there is no money to be provided for that. We know the Republicans don't like the people who wear the green eyeshades, the so-called environmentalists. So what did they send to us? They had to do something. The only thing they could get out of the House of Representatives--they have to do something to attack the environment so they said: Well, here is what we will do. With spring, we are going to eliminate the Clean Water Act, which makes it extremely dangerous. That is why the EPA looks at this so closely and all other Federal agencies. The Clean Water Act is the law of the land, and it has been for decades. They eliminate that. The Republican leader gets up here and talks about: I hope they are happy--words to that effect--what they are doing to veterans. The bill we got back as it relates to Zika takes $500 million from veterans-- from the Veterans' Administration. That is what they did. I can't make this stuff up. What was that money to be used for? Processing claims. The Presiding Officer has been out front on finding a way to speed up veterans' claims. They need to be handled more expeditiously. There was a provision in the original legislation to give them $500 million to speed it up, but now that money will be put toward the Zika bill. It is gone. Two years ago a ravaging epidemic swept Africa--Ebola. It was terribly hurtful to the people of Africa. People in America were afraid. We had nurses and doctors coming here to be treated because we had better facilities than they have in Africa. Well, it is still around, and they are still putting out fires as we speak. The bill we got back from the House took $107 million from the Ebola funding. Everyone knows that the $543 million they took from ObamaCare to help fund the Zika matter--I could raise a point of order right now and it would go out. No one disputes that. As Speaker Boehner said--just to demonstrate how crazy they are over there in the House--they couldn't get something passed there unless they did something to take care of the really, really, really rightwing crazies. What did they do? They struck a prohibition on displaying the Confederate flag. They wanted to be able to fly the Confederate flag at military cemeteries. That is the bill we have which also deals with Zika. How can anyone in good conscience vote for that? We can't, and we are not going to. Of course, it sets up the terrible precedent of offsetting emergency spending. It is July 14, and the Senate is going to take a short, 7-week break. As we heard the Republican leader say: It has all been done. We have done great things here. He scheduled the Senate for a 7-week summer break--vacation, time off, call it whatever you want. It is the longest Senate recess in more than 60 years. We would like stay and work. I would like to work for the people of Nevada and the rest of the American people, but the Republicans don't want to hear any of this. They want to go listen to Donald Trump. Some of them may not be there because they are kind of embarrassed to be seen with him, but they will watch it on TV. We will be back in September to tie up loose ends and make sure that the government gets funded, but that is about all we have the ability to do now. As we get ready to adjourn for 7 weeks, let's look at just a few of the things that are being left behind, such as Zika. The Republicans are choosing vacation rather than protecting pregnant women and their babies from these terrible birth defects that can be prevented. Have we done anything about guns? No, even though the Republican leader said we would have a vote on guns, we are not going to have a vote on guns. The legislation sponsored by the Republican Senator from Maine, joined by a significant number of Democrats--the Republican leader said we would have a vote on that. Why? Well, we thought it would be a good idea to make it so that suspected terrorists can't go out now and legally purchase a gun or explosives. No, we will not have a vote on that. What about criminal justice reform? Look at what is going on in the country today. Is there a need for justice reform? Of course there is. We have a bipartisan bill that is drowning in the Judiciary Committee. We understand there is only a handful of Republicans who don't support this. Democrats support it. They have refused to address the failings of our criminal justice system despite ample bipartisan support on and off Capitol Hill. How about the Supreme Court? Republicans still refuse to give Merrick Garland a hearing and vote. Do I need to say more about that? I don't think so. What about Flint, MI? The whole city was ravaged by lead. Thousands of boys and girls will now never be who they could have been because of lead in their water. There is no relief for them--zero relief. There are 100,000 people who live in that city. They were all adversely affected and poisoned. What about the opioid epidemic? We passed a bill, which is the first step, but they refused to fund it. They will make due with money they had from before, and now all these additional duties will be given to all of these agencies. We passed the conference report to address opioid addiction, but we don't have the money to do the things we are asking these agencies to do. These are just a few of the things. I guess they are the immediate issues. What about the other problems the Republicans have ignored for 19 months? How about something for the middle class? How about creating a few jobs? How about building some roads or repairing our very delicate bridges, dams, and our water and sewer systems? Nothing has been done about the minimum wage, pay equity, student loan debt, job creation--nothing, nothing, nothing. We have crumbling roads and bridges. What about basic American rights? What has Senator McConnell done or said about ensuring justice for the American people? Nothing. This is the headline from today's Politico: ``Mitch McConnell's historic judge blockade.'' I didn't write the headline. I will read a couple of paragraphs. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland may be the most prominent casualty of the GOP-controlled Senate's election- year resistance on the Federal judiciary--but the pace of overall judicial confirmations under Mitch McConnell is on track to become the slowest in more than 60 years. Under the McConnell-led Senate, just 20 district and circuit court judges have been confirmed at a time when vacancies are hampering the Federal bench nationwide. This is nothing to be proud of. The Republican leader instituted a blockade of judicial nominations. He did it last year. Last year they made history by confirming the fewest judges since the 1950s, but they will do even less this year. Because of their obstruction, judicial emergencies--those courts with more cases than judges can handle--have more than doubled. That means that Americans seeking justice are being denied their constitutional rights. Here is the issue. I have been there. I spent a lot of time in courts. That is what I did. I was a trial lawyer. I can remember going to both the State and Federal courts, and they said: Sorry, but we are going to do criminal cases for the next few months and not do anything with civil cases. Civil cases are just as important as criminal cases, but because of what the Republicans have done, judges will be forced--because of the law--to take care of the criminal cases and put the civil cases in the back of the bus. What about voting rights? Senate Republicans have done absolutely nothing--zero--to protect Americans' right to vote. Time and again this Republican Senate has proven itself to be a colossal failure. Yet Senator McConnell has had the nerve to pat himself on the back every day for all he and the Republicans have done in this Congress. The bipartisan bills that have passed this Congress were blocked by Republicans in past Congresses. That is a fact. I, as the leader here, had to file cloture more than 500 times because of obstruction and filibusters by the Republicans. Let's be real honest here. Let's do the logic. These bills passed because Democrats have been a constructive minority. We have worked with the Republicans when they were willing to work with us, but there are too many reasons why this Republican Congress has been a flop. First, Republicans made a calculated decision to appease the most radical fringes of their party. Who do they have? They have Donald Trump. Second, there has been a serious erosion of trust since the Republicans assumed the majority. Promise after promise to the American people has been shattered and broken. Senator McConnell promised to pass a budget every year. We have no budget. Senator McConnell promised a full Senate workweek. We have worked one Friday in 19 months. Senator McConnell promised no show votes. Yet today the Republican leader will force unnecessary revotes on Zika, and I am sure he will force a revote on Defense appropriations. This will be the eighth time in this Congress that the Republican leader has resorted to this tactic. It is his signature move. He is the record holder--it is not a good one--on revotes. Senator McConnell promised an open amendment process. I can remember him coming out here and saying: Reid filled the amendment tree. Well, he must have learned from me because he has gotten really good at it. He has filled the amendment tree 16 times. These are all commitments that the Republican leader made to the American people which have not been honored. There have also been a number of promises made within the Senate that have been broken. Both sides of the aisle have been left waiting for the Republican leader to keep his word--his personal word. This troubles me. I have been in this Congress for 34 years. I don't like to talk about this, but I have experienced his not keeping his word firsthand. I had a meeting right here regarding a woman by the name of Jessica Rosenworcel. She wanted to be renominated to the Federal Communications Commission. That was in December of 2014. Senator McConnell, Senator Thune, and I had an agreement that I thought was made in good faith. The agreement was simply this: I would agree to do a Republican. We always did them together. We paired them. They said: No, we have to do this. He worked for the Senator from Arizona. He wanted to make sure that they took good care of the Senator who just left the Senate. The agreement was that we would confirm Michael O'Rielly to the FCC, but in exchange, as soon as the new year came, they would go with Rosenworcel. That was supposed to happen in the next Congress. O'Rielly was a longtime staffer for Senator Kyl and had also worked for Senator Cornyn. Jessica is a very talented lawyer who worked for Jay Rockefeller. It was very unusual to do what I agreed to do, but in good faith I accepted the word of two Republican Senators. We traditionally confirm members on bipartisan boards by pairing nominees--one Democrat and one Republican. I agreed to do this out of the goodness, frankly, of my heart. I have never had the experience where someone simply didn't keep their word, and that is what has happened. I wasn't alone. Somebody who works on the Senate floor--and has for years--was there when that conversation took place. The Republican leader asked me to make an exception, and I did. I agreed with his personal commitment that when the next Congress convened, Republicans would reconfirm Jessica Rosenworcel. I was promised that. I didn't have to agree to this, but I did it because the Republican leader said he would do his part and get Rosenworcel confirmed. Nineteen months have passed, and the Republican leader has yet to keep his word with me. We had a big, important spending bill last year. It did a lot, but-- no one disputes this--the staff of Senator McConnell made a mistake and didn't put language in dealing with section 48 of the renewable tax credits, and everybody acknowledged that it was too bad. He acknowledged the drafting error and that the staff made a mistake. Republicans committed to correct their drafting error in the next revenue bill that the Senate considered. This has been unfulfilled. We could have done it with the FAA bill, but it will not be done there. He told Leader Pelosi: We are going to do that. I promised Reid I would do it. Well, it hasn't been done. It is a sad Senate when people do not keep their word, but maybe they will address those two issues. A new day will come in September. This is what Democrats and the American people have come to expect from Republicans--promises not kept, commitments not honored, and work not done. ``Integrity'' is a simple word, but here in the U.S. Capitol, it is everything. I hope it turns around come this fall. If Republicans will stay and work instead of taking this 2-month break, we can do something to address all these issues, including Zika, Merrick Garland, and guns. But that is as much as we can do if they refuse to do their jobs. Mr. President, I am sorry that Senator McConnell and I have taken so much time, but we do that once in a while. I ask that the Chair announce the business of the day. Reservation of Leader Time

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, reserving the right to object. We, as the Republicans, want to work to improve veterans' benefits. It is so very important. They give a lot, and we don't take good enough care of them. I understand Senator Johnson's legislation. I appreciate that, but there are a number of bipartisan bills to help our veterans that Democrats want to pass as well. We have our bills; he has his bill. So I hope we can work together in the next little bit to come up with a package of bills that would give the Republicans a few of the things they want and give us some of the things we want because the issue before us, as valid as it could be and might be, addresses a very narrow issue the Senator from Wisconsin seeks to address, but a variety of matters are left undone. I hope we will be in a position to pass the legislation by the Senator from Wisconsin, but we are not there yet. So I object.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I haven't watched the last three speeches in detail of my esteemed colleague from South Carolina, but I have watched good parts of them. I am tremendously impressed by his personal experiences, his empathy for what is going on in America today, and his positive attitude, which I admire very much. Condemning the Violent Attack in Dallas and Recognizing the Peaceful Protesters Today, before we adjourn, the Senate will unanimously adopt a resolution condemning last week's violent attack in Dallas. This attack was on the police officers in the Dallas community, and other law enforcement agencies were also targeted. The people killed were Dallas police officers. We were all devastated by this murderous rampage that claimed the lives of five officers and wounded nine other police officers. Every Member of the Senate stands with the Dallas Police Department, and we have been so impressed with the chief of police. We stand with the Dallas Police Department, the victims, their families, and the brave men and women who serve the people of Dallas. I support this resolution because the least we can do in the Senate is honor these heroes. I support this resolution because the least we can do in the Senate is to recognize the sacrifices made, much of it on national television. I think it is important that we also acknowledge the peaceful protesters who were marching that day for justice and an end to violence. They were calling for--and doing it in a peaceful manner--the end to the brutality and hostility that has taken the lives of Americans of all backgrounds but disproportionally people of color. In the days leading up to the rally in Dallas, as we heard from my friend from South Carolina, two men were killed: Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, LA, and Philando Castile of St. Paul, MN. The young man in Louisiana was held down by two police officers and then killed. Just the next day, a man was killed in his car with his fiance and her 4-year-old daughter there, listening and watching. Our friends in the African-American community demand recognition that their lives are valued and respected, as everyone's life should be. It should be done equally. It was my suggestion that we add just a word or two to the resolution to at least recognize the purpose of the peaceful demonstrators in this resolution. There was a decision made that that not be a part of the resolution, and I accept that, but I wanted to make sure we recognize these peaceful protesters and why they were there. There are many victims here, be they law enforcement officers, innocent people, innocent people of color. They all deserve to be acknowledged. As has been said by a number of people here over the last few days, you can't sweep these problems that we have under the rug. I thought it was tremendous that the Senator from South Carolina talked about three things we should all agree on: body cameras, data collection--which is a code word for profiling--and of course something with the criminal justice system that we are so close to having on this floor that we could vote on. It is bipartisan. It should be done. So I appreciate very much the Senator from South Carolina mentioning these three things, and I think they are certainly worth mentioning again. We can support the police officers of America, the men and women, and mourn those who have fallen and honor their bravery while also acknowledging that we must do better in preventing the senseless killings of people of color. I echo President Obama's words from the memorial service in Dallas. He must be recognized for these great words when he said: ``Find the character, as Americans, to open our hearts to each other.'' We need to do that. If we do, we can find empathy for each other, the empathy to understand the challenges law enforcement faces every day, and the empathy to understand the frustration and anger within the communities of color across our Nation. I look forward to the resolution being adopted. It is something the Senate should be proud of. I yield the floor.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we would be happy to pass this bill as soon as the Republicans schedule and pass a bill to close the terror gun loophole. In that I don't see that is going to happen in the next little bit, I object.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I supported the junior Senator from Alaska's motion to instruct the National Defense Authorization Act conferees. The motion is generally consistent with the administration's force structure proposals for Afghanistan, Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East. It also is consistent with last year's bipartisan budget agreement. The motion does not appropriate additional funding above the agreed upon spending caps, nor does it violate the parity principle on which that agreement was based, which ensures that the middle class will be treated at least as fairly as the Pentagon. President Obama and congressional Democrats remain committed to that principle, and we will continue to insist that Republicans keep their promises and honor our agreement.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Republican leader celebrates the opioid legislation and the FAA bill, but both are missed opportunities. There is no funding in the opioid bill. There were editorials all over the country yesterday about that. I read here on the Senate floor, it is in the Record, about The New York Times saying it was really wrong to try to claim credit for doing something on opioids when there is no money to do it. The FAA bill--I will talk about that in a little more detail in a little bit--is another missed opportunity to do what is right to help, to help the Republican leader keep his word. CARA, the opioid legislation, has no real funding to solve the real problem. Over the last week, Democrats have exhausted every avenue to try and work with Republicans on a Zika funding measure. Democrats had the audacity to expect the Republican leader to live up to his promise in April of bipartisan work on Zika. This is what the Republican leader said in April: We all are very much aware that this is a serious crisis. We'll be working with the administration, with Democrats. But his actions, especially over the last couple of weeks, clearly illustrate that he was never really interested in a bipartisan solution. For example, the President offered a meeting with Senator McConnell, Speaker Ryan, Secretary Burwell, and Director of OMB Shaun Donovan, to work on the Zika crisis. The Speaker and the Republican leader refused that meeting. We offered to reintroduce the Senate's bipartisan Zika compromise from what we sent to the House. We would do it again as a freestanding bill. That bill had 89 votes. Eighty-nine Senators voted for it. We have offered Republicans legitimate compromises in the hopes they would join us at the negotiating table, but it is clear that they don't want to stay in DC. They want to rush to Cleveland and wave the flag for Donald Trump. That is why they are imposing imaginary deadlines on Zika legislation. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that ``Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today rejected that offer, saying the time for such negotiations had passed''--talking about our offer, our latest offer. The Republican leader is saying there is no time to work on Zika. Well, I would suggest that I disagree with that. Starting this Friday--right here, July 15--we are going to begin the longest recess in the Senate in 60 years. Sixty years ago, there was not much going on in this country, relatively speaking. We had far fewer people, 100 million fewer people. We had a less complicated government in many ways, so there was an opportunity at that time to take the time off, but 60 years later, there is no time to do that. To say there is no time to work on Zika--give us all a break. There is plenty of time--7 weeks, to be exact. I guess a couple months of paid vacation is more important than protecting pregnant women and their babies from the terrible birth defects caused by Zika. There is no reason we can't stay here and work on protecting women and their babies, but Republicans are in such a hurry to coronate Trump in Cleveland, they are willing to sacrifice helping their constituents. The Republican leader announced yesterday that he will be speaking at the Republican convention next week. I guess the Republican leader is rushing for the exit without funding Zika so he will have time to prepare his speech and polish it because I am sure it will really help Donald Trump a lot in his election efforts. The Republican leader cares more about his time off and cheering Donald Trump than protecting the women of America and their babies from this horrible virus. Let's be clear. It is obvious that Republicans are choosing Trump and some time off over protecting American women from the Zika virus. This is a really bad, revolting set of priorities, and every Republican in this building and the office buildings surrounding this Capitol should be ashamed. They shouldn't fool themselves--every Republican in Congress should know that if they walk away without funding Zika, the repercussions are going to be severe. I can't recall ever, having been around here a long time--even before I came to Congress, I worked here--watching a party so willingly move to its own destruction. That is what Republicans seem to be intent on doing. Maybe they don't like being in the majority. It is hard to be in the majority. We are trying to save the Republicans from themselves, but they won't let us. We have pursued every avenue possible to find a bipartisan Zika bill path forward that can pass both Houses and be signed by the President. It shouldn't be hard. Women and babies across America are counting on Republicans to come to their senses and pass a bill before we leave here on a 2-month vacation, but if Republicans refuse, if they can't see the writing on the wall, we can't make them read the writing on the wall. It is up to them to open their eyes and read the writing on the wall. Look at the time we have to do something on Zika. Look at the time-- July 15, August. See all these big black lines? We are not here. We come back on September 6. July is gone, August is gone, and part of September is gone. We have a lot of time to be here and do some work. I say to my Republican colleagues, sit down with us. We have offered compromise after compromise. To hear my friend talk about, oh, I can't understand why they won't accept preventing Planned Parenthood from taking care of these women--if there were ever a time in the history of America where women wanted to do something about birth control, how about now? My Republican friend says: I don't understand why they are concerned about Planned Parenthood not being able to take care of these women. I don't understand why they are concerned about changing the environmental laws dealing with the Clean Water Act. I don't understand that. Their legislation takes $500 million from veterans that we were going to use to process claims. For him to come and say we are increasing veterans money is just not true. Everyone knows that the $543 million they have here is an offset from ObamaCare. I could raise a point of order right now, and it would fall automatically. Everyone knows that. Taking money from Ebola--there is not much left there. Ebola is still a crisis. We know that. We remember that from 2 years ago. But what is always so interesting is why in the world, if they are so interested in doing something about this, would they stick a provision in their legislation that they reinstate the ability to fly the Confederate flag over military cemeteries? How is that for a compromise? So this calendar is going to stay here. Let's look at it for a while and see what time we have left. The Republican Senate is being defined by its unfinished business. It is not just Zika; we could go on for quite some time. I will mention a couple things. How about giving serious consideration to protecting Americans by funding our military and our national security, addressing gun violence, or providing the necessary resources to attack our Nation's opioid crisis. Through their historic inaction, Republicans are refusing to treat the Federal judiciary with the respect it deserves and the Constitution demands. The senior Senator from Iowa has turned the once proud and independent Judiciary Committee--my friend--we have been together for 34 years in the Congress of the United States--the senior Senator from Illinois is a member of that committee. He loves his work on that committee; he has told me numerous times. But that once proud and independent Judiciary Committee has been turned into a partisan Republican opposition research operation. The Republican Judiciary Committee now has a singular focus: winning the White House for Donald Trump. The Judiciary chairman has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars trying to embarrass Hillary Clinton during her stalwart term as Secretary of State of this great country. They failed, of course. Senator Grassley wrote countless letters demanding State Department documents. He even once went after a woman who worked at the State Department and was having a baby. He wanted the records to make sure he could document that. He scoured sensitive records belonging to Secretary Clinton's aides. He was obsessed with digging up political dirt. He found none. But, like the Benghazi Committee in the House, Senator Grassley has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and produced zero. Now that the FBI has closed the book on Secretary Clinton's emails, Senator Grassley is resorting to questioning the integrity of career FBI officials, calling their investigation ``suspect.'' Senator Grassley's efforts to elect Donald Trump don't end with his partisan attacks regarding Secretary Clinton. The senior Senator from Iowa has obstructed qualified, consensus judicial nominees in the hopes that Trump will win in November and remake the judiciary in his image. Think about that. Unlike past Judiciary Committee chairs, Senator Grassley is content to put partisanship above a functioning judiciary. The number of vacancies under President Obama has skyrocketed. Republicans' obstruction is putting them in the history books--but for the wrong reason. Last year, Senate Republicans made history by confirming the fewest judges in a long time. This year, they seem determined to shortchange the judiciary even further. We have a myriad of judicial emergencies around the country, meaning the judges can't get their work done. These courts have more cases than judges can handle, and that has more than doubled. Justice is being denied for millions of Americans, but under Chairman Grassley, the Judiciary Committee spends its time playing politics, not confirming judges. It seems the only thing deserving the chairman's attention is electing Donald Trump, ensuring he gets as many judicial appointments as possible. Nowhere is that more apparent than with the current vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court and Grassley's obstruction of the highly qualified Chief Judge Merrick Garland. No one can find anything dealing with his education, his qualifications, his judicial temperament, his integrity--he is top of the line, as was indicated some time ago by Orrin Hatch. President Obama nominated Garland 100 days ago. He serves as the chief judge of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. He was unanimously rated as ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association--the highest rating possible. By any measure, he is exactly the type of fairminded, consensus nominee the Senate should be considering for the vacancy. But Judge Garland can't make his case to the American people because Senator Grassley refuses to even hold a hearing on the nomination. Chairman Grassley has come up with a myriad of excuses to block the nomination, none of which hold water. As the Des Moines Register said recently, ``Grassley's excuses are purely political.'' Iowans aren't being fooled. They know that the chairman's real goal is holding the Supreme Court open for Donald Trump to do with what he wants. The Judiciary chairman has already said Trump would ``appoint the right type of people''--boy, I will tell you, that must be a real stretch--``the right type of people'' to the Supreme Court. The senior Senator from Iowa obviously places a high value on Trump's judgment, which has proven to be so good the last year. Senator Grassley is holding a Supreme Court vacancy for a man who accused an Indiana-born judge of being unable to do his job because of his racial heritage. His parents came from Mexico. Apparently he would like to see that brand of thinking brought to the Nation's courts. It is time for Senator Grassley to stop playing politics with his committee and give Judge Garland a fair hearing. It is time for his committee to address the numerous lower court vacancies and damaging judicial emergencies throughout the country. The American people deserve a functioning judicial system led by the Judiciary Committee in the Senate. They have had enough with Republican excuses. Iowans and the Nation are waiting. It is time for Senator Grassley and Senate Republicans to do their job. Mr. President, I would ask the Chair to announce what the Senate is going to do the rest of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I reserve the right to object, and I am going to say a few words. I say to my friend, the junior Senator from North Carolina, this is the first time I have ever heard anyone say the problem with the judges is it is just one of those things, let's not worry about it, it happens all the time--but that is not true. Around America today, we have a number of extremely important judicial emergencies, meaning we have all these judicial districts where there are not enough judges to do the work. Justice delayed is justice denied. Having practiced law quite a few years, it is very hard to go to a court and be told: We are sorry, but the judge is doing all civil cases today. He has no time for criminal cases--or vice versa. So I appreciate his succinctness saying: Well, this is no big deal. Don't worry about the judges. We are worried about the judges. It is very difficult. Let's move on to the second subject he brought up, the second subject--judges are no big deal. I think that is a tremendously big deal and so do the American people. Once again, the Senator from North Carolina seeks to pass the very partisan VA-Military Construction-Zika bill. Yes, he said--for those not familiar with the conference reports, I am familiar with lots of them. I have been through lots of conference reports. I understand the rules, but I also understand that we as a body can do anything we want to do. That is the way the Senate operates. We have the ability to change the rules in a manner of minutes and move on to change what is before this body. We know the reason the Republican leader cannot move forward on a Zika funding bill that is reasonable is because the House of Representatives is unreasonable. We passed out of this body a very good bill. It wasn't what I wanted. I wanted $1.9 billion that the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health said they need--$1.9 billion. But I said: OK, $1.1 billion will help a tremendous amount. It is emergency spending, no offsets. So we agreed and sent it to the House. Eighty-nine Senators voted for it. The Democrats voted for it and the vast majority of Republicans voted for it. That was good. It wasn't perfect, but it was good. So what did the House of Representatives do? They filled this report, this conference report. They ignored what we had done in the Senate, and they decided they were going to stick some of their favorite poison pills onto this legislation. Why? Because the Speaker, to his credit, is trying--but he is not doing much good over there. He is finding that Speaker Boehner couldn't do much better than he has done. That is why Boehner left. He couldn't handle it because, as Boehner used to call them, the ``crazies'' take over that caucus. They have a rule in the House, Mr. President--and the Presiding Officer used to serve in the House of Representatives. All the time he was there, they had this rule. When I was there, there was no such rule. The rule they have now is called the Hastert rule. Of course, Hastert is in prison, so they should at least change the name of that rule. The Hastert rule says: We are only going to pass a bill if we can get a majority of the majority to vote for it. So to get anything done in the House of Representatives, you have to have a majority of the Republicans support a bill. It doesn't matter how the Democrats feel. Basically, they do not get to vote on anything. So what they did, in an effort to get something back here--the Speaker has told lots of people: I can't pass anything dealing with Zika unless we do something about Planned Parenthood. That is what he has told everybody, and it is obvious from what they sent us. So this $1.1 billion, no offsets, came back to us as a--I don't know what to call it. They are not the same two vehicles. It restricts funding for birth control provided by Planned Parenthood. There is an obsession by the House Republicans--and I am sorry to say the obsession over here is fairly well fixed also--and they want to do everything they can to dramatically negatively affect Planned Parenthood. That is what this is about. If you are a woman in America today and you are worried about Zika, I think you should be concerned about birth control. And women all over America are. Some women can't go to a boutique physician and get a prescription; they need to go to Planned Parenthood, where the health care needs of millions of women are taken care of--but not under Republican guidance, no. So as part of this conference report, funding for Planned Parenthood would be restricted--birth control. Just to make sure they covered all their poison pill areas, they said: We have to do something to whack the environment, so we will change the Clean Water Act. That is what they did. That is what we got back. We hear all these great speeches about ``We want to do something to take care of the veterans.'' Well, $500 million was taken out of veterans to help pay for Zika funding--$500 million. What was that veterans money to be used for? Processing claims. There is a tremendous backlog. But that is in there. Ebola funding. Two years ago, America was up in arms over Ebola. The epidemic has died down, but it is not gone. There are still pockets of real problems in Africa, and on any one day, they could burgeon into something like they were 2 years ago. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control want to keep some money there so they can take care of this epidemic, but, no, they whacked $107 million off of that. Everyone knows the money they took from ObamaCare--I could raise a point of order right now and it would fall. They can't do that. That is wrong. They have had 67 votes in the House to defund ObamaCare. None of them have passed, but they have had fun trying. But in a final effort to kind of stick their finger in our eye, they said: Here is what we are going to put on this great bill. We believe it would be appropriate to fly the Confederate flag in military cemeteries. You can't make up stuff like this. That is what they did. We have repeatedly reached out to the Republicans to try to compromise, to reach a solution to the threat of Zika. Of course, if we work together, we have a chance to prevent babies from being born with these terrible birth defects. The Presiding Officer is a physician. I wasn't able to listen to all of his speech last evening, but I watched part of it. He had a picture of a little baby, and he was explaining about what Zika is all about. We have reached out to Republicans to try to work something out. We can work together. Even now, when we can see just over the horizon the Republican convention starting on Monday, we can still do it before then. We need to work something out. We want to do that. I have tried. I know what is going on in the House. They can't pass anything on their own unless they put this kind of stuff in it. All they would have to do on the bill that passed the Senate with 89 votes--if the Speaker would allow a vote in the House of Representatives, it would pass overwhelmingly. Democrats, with rare exception, would vote for it. It would get 98, 99 percent of the Democratic vote, and a few Republicans would vote for it. It would pass overwhelmingly. That is what should happen, but it can't. I understand the Speaker is constrained by--he hasn't gone this far, at least publicly. Boehner publicly said he had to deal with his crazies. Speaker Ryan is dealing with the same crazies. So I am going to ask unanimous consent to pass the same Zika legislation that passed this body with 89 votes. As I said, if the Speaker allowed a vote on this, it would pass. Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 5243 So I ask whether the Senator from North Carolina would amend his request to this: I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5243; that all after the enacting clause be stricken; that the substitute amendment, which is the text of the Blunt-Murray amendment to provide $1.1 billion in funding for Zika, be agreed to; that there be up to 1 hour of debate, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with no intervening action or debate. Finally, Mr. President, I would ask that everyone be reminded that we have had emergencies all over America. The Presiding Officer--I am sorry to keep referring to him, but this is the subject at hand. When his State had that terrible devastation with that terrible hurricane, we were there. We were there the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year, doing what we could to provide emergency funding for the beleaguered State of Louisiana. We did it because it was the right thing to do. It was an emergency. It was unpaid for. There were no offsets. We have done that with an earthquake in California and with a manmade fire in Texas. That is what we do. That is what emergencies are all about. So I ask that my consent request that I have outlined be approved.

Mr. REID. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I guess the shake of the head takes care of it.

Mr. REID. I have objected to his request.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Is it true that during your lifetime, you have served in various elected offices in the State of Florida. You were, as I recall, the State treasurer, which included insurance commissioner, and you represented the State of Florida in the House of Representatives; is that true?

Mr. REID. And you have been in this body since 2000; is that true?