Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, in just a short time we are going to have some votes--five--and we have been very lackadaisical. We have waited for people to come here to vote for up to 25, sometimes 30 minutes. We are not going to do it. We have first a 15-minute vote, and then we have four 10-minute votes, and we are going to cut off the time. We will have the 5-minute period we always have at the end of these votes, but, everyone, there is no excuse. It is not fair to everybody to wait around here while you are doing whatever you are doing. It is impolite, and it is not courteous, and we need to move things along. People have things to do tonight. So when we finish the speeches, we are going to move to the voting, and we are going to stick to the times. So, everybody, there are no excuses. Everybody should understand that.

Mr. REID

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

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

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to S. Res. 526.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this resolution is sponsored by me, the Republican leader, Senator Menendez, Senator Corker, and others. I want the record to reflect that Senator McConnell and I have talked about this personally and we have agreed, without any hesitation, about this legislation. I have always been a supporter of the United Nations my whole career. What I saw last week disgusted me. As the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva voted to adopt a resolution accusing Israel of human rights violations in the ongoing Gaza conflict, the resolution was so incredibly one-sided and anti-Israel biased that it makes zero--none-- mention of Hamas and the atrocities Hamas has committed by indiscriminately barraging Israel and using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas perpetrated this conflict. They wantonly fire rockets, and they don't care where the rockets go. Hamas has fired almost 3,000 missiles during a 3-week conflict. In fact, the very day the U.N. Human Rights Council exonerated Hamas, it fired dozens of rockets into Israel the same day. These aren't firecrackers. These are very violent, powerful weapons. They have a number of rockets. It is estimated they have 10,000 of them. They have something called WS-1E. It is a Chinese rocket, but they got the blueprints--Iran did from the Chinese--and, of course, they shipped these surreptitiously into Gaza. They will travel some 30 miles and they carry about 40 pounds of explosives. They have another one called the Fajr-5. This is an Iranian rocket. It is the most prestigious weapon of Hamas. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard gave Hamas the technology to manufacture those. They carry a warhead of 400 pounds. They will travel about 55 miles. I repeat, these aren't firecrackers. They have another missile in their arsenal. It is called a Khaibar M- 302. It is a Syrian-made missile with a range of some 12 miles. They carry a 300-pound warhead and, of course, it goes far enough that they believe that with the Fajr and this one, Tel Aviv is within their sights. The one they have the most of is called the Qassam-1 manufactured in Gaza, with no guidance system, a 3-mile distance, and a 10-pound warhead; the Qassam-2 has 9-mile distance and a 20-pound warhead. They have something called a Grads. They have lots of weapons--lots of them--and they indiscriminately fire into Israel. These aren't grenade launchers; these are missiles, huge weapons. These rockets are professionally engineered from Iran, Syria, and other countries. They are smuggled into Gaza. They manufacture a few of their own, as I have indicated. These are serious weapons of war. Hamas also continues to try to construct and use its sophisticated tunnels into Israel, which as one Member of Hamas recently bragged, allow Hamas fighters to invade Israel and kill Israelis. Hamas's responsibility in the Gaza clash is a fact, but the U.N. Human Rights Council didn't make a single mention of this terrorist organization. How many of these nations, such as Venezuela, China, Vietnam, and other nations--I wonder how this organization feels about their human rights. How many of these nations which condemned Israel would allow their own citizens to suffer through endless rocket fire--endless rocket fire. I talked to one American doctor who goes to Israel, as he does often, and all night long there was one air raid siren after another. It has been going on there for weeks. This U.N. resolution that was passed does not mention a single word, nothing. What is Israel supposed to do? We all lament the loss of life. It is heartrending. But what else is Israel to do after rocket after rocket after rocket plunges into its territory. I met with a man today who owns an oil company, oil exploration. They do oil exploration in Nevada. It is called Noble Energy. They are the ones who helped develop gas and oil fields in Israel. This is relatively new, but they say there are rockets dropping all over. As I mentioned earlier this morning, Iron Dome doesn't protect all of Israel. They need more Iron Domes. Everyone, no matter what they are doing, they can be out in Gaza working in the oil fields and missiles are flying all over from Hamas. I condemn Hamas's terrorism. We should. Their terrorism is not only against Israel; it is against their own people. As I heard the Republican conservative columnist in the New York Times David Brooks say in the NewsHour--I am paraphrasing, but this is what he said: This is the first conflict I have known where the enemy says: Kill more of us. I join my friend the Republican leader in doing what other nations refuse to do: condemning the United Nations Human Rights Council's biased resolution. We in this resolution condemn Hamas. The countries that have voted for this are Venezuela, Cuba, China. I repeat, how would they like to look at their human rights violations? In this resolution, we as a country support in this conflict a lasting peace which can only be realized through the demilitarization of Gaza. They talked about tunnels. These are not tunnels; these are major operations costing millions of dollars to dig a hole in the ground. Why? To go into Israeli settlements and kill innocent people. In offering the resolution before the Senate we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself, its security, and most importantly its people. I said earlier I am disgusted--as someone who has been a supporter of the United Nations ever since I have been in government--and the United Nations better take a look at this organization. This is ``disgusting''--I use it for the third time, as I mean it.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the distinguished senior Senator from Delaware and I came to Washington together, and I am so proud of the work he is doing and what he has done. He has been a Member of Congress, Governor, and now Senator and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. He has done a remarkably good job, and I am very proud of the work he does.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a Senate staffer who is retiring after 36 years of service. Nancy Pittore Olkewicz began her Senate career in February 1978 working for Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, who was her home State Senator. She remained on his staff for 23 years, which included the birth of her three children. She values her time with Senator Sarbanes and is especially grateful for the opportunity to work part-time while her three children, Jenny, Brian and Eric, were small. After leaving Senator Sarbanes' office in 2001, Nancy joined the staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where she worked for me on the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. She later joined the Legislative Branch subcommittee and served as clerk under Senators Durbin, Landrieu and Ben Nelson. During that time she represented Appropriations Committee chairman Robert C. Byrd on the Capitol Preservation Commission and was instrumental in many high-level decisions regarding the construction and operation of the Capitol Visitor Center. Nancy joined the staff of the Senate Sergeant at Arms in 2011 as the legislative liaison to then-Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer. I wish Nancy the best of luck in all of her future endeavors. She will be greatly missed by many in the Senate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 488, S. 2648, the emergency supplemental appropriations act dealing with the border crisis.

Mr. REID. Following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 12 noon, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. At 12 noon, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider Robert Alan McDonald to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Senate will recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to allow for weekly caucus meetings. At 2:45 p.m. there will be a rollcall vote for confirmation of the McDonald nomination, followed by several voice votes to confirm the Andre, Hoza, and Polaschik nominations. Upon disposition of the Polaschik nomination, the Senate will consider the Highway and Transportation Funding Act. Senators should expect five rollcall votes this evening in relation to Wyden-Hatch, Carper-Corker-Boxer, Lee, and Toomey amendments and on passage of H.R. 5021, as amended, if amended. Senators will be notified when those votes are scheduled. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. REID. There are two bills at the desk due for second readings.

Mr. REID. I would object to any further proceedings of these two matters.

Mr. REID. Almost 2 years ago, within a few days 2 years ago, we were in Las Vegas to dedicate this beautiful new veterans facility. Taxpayers' money spent on it was about $700 million. It is beautiful. It is the second one we have been able to do in southern Nevada. We built a nice little hospital with a joint venture between the Veterans Administration and the Air Force. But with the wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan, we ran out of room to accommodate the influx of veterans. It became very difficult for veterans. We have a huge veterans population in southern Nevada. We have all kinds of military bases there that they are stationed in. They come, and they decide they want to live in southern Nevada. So the veterans in southern Nevada found themselves in a difficult situation. When this new hospital was dedicated--it took 7 years of work to get this done. I worked hard, as did others, to obtain this money. It was a state-of-the-art facility, 100 inpatient beds, a nursing home unit, and an ambulatory care center. It was a state-of- the-art facility. It was unquestionably, probably without exaggerating, the finest veterans hospital in the country. It was brandnew. But, more importantly, it was a precious resource to veterans throughout the State of Nevada. We have a facility in northern Nevada. It has been there for many decades. To the credit of Senator Mikulski from Maryland, she came and visited it a number of years ago and said: This is wrong. In that facility we couldn't get the modern equipment down the halls and into the bedrooms. We had to renovate, so it is in good shape. So the veterans in northern Nevada had a facility long before southern Nevada. But in spite of all this happy talk about what a wonderful facility this is, veterans depending on VA care have been stunned. Why? Because they are waiting 50 days. If you are a new patient, you call and they say: Well, we will see you in a couple of months. Come on in. About 2,000 patients have been waiting 90 days in order to even get an appointment. This is unacceptable. It is not a problem only in Las Vegas, it is all over the country: a nationwide, systemic problem where these combat veterans and other veterans have been languishing on some nonexistent waiting list. When I learned that Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Congressman Miller had worked out something, I was stunned. I was so happy. I got a call from Senator Sanders on Saturday telling me: I think we have got it done. That is wonderful. That is truly remarkable, what they have done. I don't need to go through the bill, what it does, but it provides billions of dollars for emergency funding to hire new doctors and nurses. It will authorize 27 new medical facilities around the country, allowing the VA to grow as it needs to grow. That is wonderful news. That is the way we should be legislating. We couldn't find two more politically different people than Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Chairman Miller. They are very different people; they have very different views. But they know we have sent hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people to Iraq and Afghanistan, when these veterans come home, they need help. We took care of the war efforts, and rightfully so. The military needed every penny they have to fight these wars, but we haven't been as generous in taking care of these people when they come home from these wars. The main point I want to make is that Chairman Miller and Senator Sanders understand we owe America's veterans. It is good we are talking about this, rather than an impeachment of the President or suing the President. Look in the papers today. The American people are totally opposed. We shouldn't be off on these tracks of impeachment, suing the President. We should be legislating. An exemplary standard of that is what I hope will be completed this week when the conference report comes to us from the House to complete this legislation. It is truly a good day for the American veterans and the American people. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to S. 2577.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to H. Con. Res. 103, which is at the desk.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to H. Con. Res. 106, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 527, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.