Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I now move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum required under rule XXII be waived with respect to the cloture motions filed during today's discussion on the nominations.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, during which time Senators be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the intent of division N, section 101 is to establish separate limits for funds raised into separate, segregated accounts established by national political party committees for certain specified purposes. All of these funds are ``hard money'' subject to all of the source limitations, prohibitions, and disclosure provisions of the act. The first account, described in section 315(a)(9)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, ``FECA'', as amended, is intended to allow a national committee of a political party--other than a national congressional campaign committee--to defray expenses related to a Presidential nominating convention using funds raised under separate, increased limits. Section 315(a)(9)(A) also caps the aggregate amount of expenditures a national political party committee may make from such account with respect to any convention at $20,000,000. This section is intended to provide national political party committees with a means of acquiring additional resources to be used specifically in connection with the funding of Presidential nominating conventions because such conventions may no longer be paid for with public funds. It is the intent to allow these funds to be used in the same manner as the former public funds could have been used, as well as to pay for the costs of fundraising for this segregated account. The second account, described in section 315(a)(9)(B) of FECA, as amended, is intended to permit a national committee of a political party--including a national congressional campaign committee of a political party--to defray expenses incurred with respect to the construction, purchase, renovation, operation and furnishing of party headquarters buildings located throughout the United States, including the cost of fundraising for this segregated account, using funds raised under separate, increased limits. Funds in these accounts also may be used to repay loans and other obligations incurred for the purpose of defraying such building expenses, including loans and obligations incurred 2 years before the date of the enactment of this act. The third account, described in section 315(a)(9)(C) of FECA, as amended, is intended to permit a national committee of a political party--including a national congressional campaign committee of a political party--to defray expenses incurred with respect to the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings, including the costs of fundraising for this segregated account, using funds raised under a separate limit. Section 101 of division N is not intended to modify Federal Election Commission precedent permitting the raising and spending of funds by campaign or State or national party committees. See FEC Advisory Opinions 2006-24, 2009-4. Section 101 is also intended to permit the national parties to use such funds for costs, fees, and disbursements associated with other legal proceedings. Finally, under current law coordinated limits do not apply even absent these provisions to the existing accounts as described in section 315 of FECA and therefore it is the intent of the amendments contained herein that expenditures made from the accounts described in section 315(a)(9) of FECA, many of which, such as recount and legal proceeding expenses, are not for the purpose of influencing Federal elections, do not count against the coordinated party expenditure limits described in section 315(d) of FECA.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this will be the last vote tonight. We hope to be able to start at 9:30 Monday morning with the next vote. We will let everyone know for sure.

Mr. REID. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

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

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the junior Senator from Texas raises a point of order attacking the pending legislation on the grounds that the President has acted unconstitutionally. The junior Senator from Texas is wrong, wrong, wrong on several counts. But most importantly for us this evening, it is an attack on this bill because this is not an appropriate place to debate the constitutionality of any executive branch action. Under the precedents of the Senate, the Senate determines whether it is constitutional to consider the legislation before it. The House of Representatives passed this legislation before us in an exercise of its powers under article I of the United States Constitution. This bill has, thus, originated in the House within the meaning of the origination clause of the Constitution. Voting on this measure is no different from thousands of other measures on which the Senate has voted. The Constitution objection is completely--completely--without merit and should be rejected.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I yield back all time.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, regular order.

Mr. REID

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

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to Executive Calendar No. 1058 be withdrawn.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I won't use a lot of time here this morning because we have a lot to do. We worked for a long time yesterday, into the late hours of the night, trying to secure an agreement to vote on a long-term government funding bill. I was last talking to the chairman of the Appropriations Committee at 11 o'clock last night. Regrettably, a small group of Senate Republicans has determined it is in their political interests to hold this legislation hostage. They objected to an agreement that would allow us to vote on Monday night. We are now relegated to watching time tick away on our clocks just so we can keep the government open and funded. I remind everyone that at 12 o'clock midnight--12 a.m.--the U.S. Government, tonight, runs out of money. We even tried to get an agreement last night to extend government funding for a few extra days while we worked to pass the long-term funding bill, but the Republicans wouldn't let us do that. So now we wait. But while we wait, we shouldn't waste time. Republicans and their leader have known for weeks, if not months, that we intend to vote on the President's nominations. So it is clear that this impasse we are having here today is not about nominees, it is about preventing us from funding the government. So now, on the eve of our government running out of funding, Senate Republicans are forcing completely unnecessary procedural votes just to waste time and slow us down from funding the government. It doesn't have to be this way. We can still come to an agreement to take care of funding for our great country right now.

Mr. REID. I will yield for a question.

Mr. REID. Absolutely true.

Mr. REID. Yes, we had yesterday evening a piece of legislation from the House doing just that--extending the time for a few days.

Mr. REID. We were told it wouldn't be necessary to do that because we couldn't get agreement to do it. So the answer is yes.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1041, the nomination of Stephen Bough of Missouri.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 122, correcting the enrollment of H.R. 83, providing a new title; that the concurrent resolution be agreed to; and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, on Monday, December 15, 2014, following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session for consideration of Executive Calendar Nos. 681, Murthy; 979, Santos; 635, Rose; 1084, Saldana; 1150, Blinken; that at 4:30 p.m., there be 1 hour equally divided in the usual form on the Murthy nomination and at 5:30 p.m. the Senate proceed to vote on cloture on Calendar No. 681, Murthy; that if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time be expired and the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination; that following disposition of the nomination, the Senate proceed to vote on Calendar Nos. 979, Santos, and 635, Rose; that if cloture is invoked, on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and all postcloture time be expired and the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed. Further, that at 2:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to vote on cloture on Calendar No. 1084, Saldana; that if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time on the nomination be expired and the Senate proceed to vote on the nomination. Further, that at 5 p.m., the time until 6 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form, and at 6 p.m. the Senate proceed to vote on cloture on Calendar No. 1150, Blinken; that if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time be expired and the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination. Further, that if any nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I am unable to do that.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back all time on all of these nominations.