Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 4105 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 619, S. 2708.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of S. 3428 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Manchin amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and the bill, as amended, be read a third time.

Mr. SCHUMER. I know of no further debate on the bill.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment to the title be considered and agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of S. 3873 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 271, S. 2524.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, it was very late last night for those of us who were here and the staff. At 2 a.m. is when we finished, 2:01, to try to reach an agreement on finishing the omnibus bill. We are getting ever closer to reaching an agreement, but we are still not there. I hope that we will lock in an agreement sometime later this morning. In the meantime, we will start today with a vote on the confirmation of Franklin Parker to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. I want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for their cooperation. I thank the clerks for being here late, late last night as we waited and waited and waited for an agreement, which hasn't yet come, and for showing up early this morning. And I hope we can finish the omnibus today. There is no reason why we can't. The bill is so important to get done because it will be good for families, for veterans, our national security, even for the health of our democratic institutions. To go to a CR or, even worse, a government shutdown, would be a huge disservice at any time, but particularly in the holiday season, to the American people. To ensure that we minimize any delays, I ask Members to stay near the floor and be ready to get voting when the time comes. If we can keep this process moving, we can finish in time for Members and staff to get home for Christmas safely, before the blizzard wreaks havoc across much of the country. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following be the only matters remaining in order to the House message with respect to H.R. 2617; that the amendments be called up en bloc, reported by number, and considered in order: Paul, No. 6561, and a motion to waive; Johnson, No. 6555; Johnson, No. 6559; Sinema-Tester, No. 6621; Lee, No. 6563; Lee, No. 6576; Lankford, No. 6577; Braun, No. 6569; Cassidy, No. 6558; Padilla-Cornyn, No. 6588; Graham, No. 6596; Merkley, No. 6595; Klobuchar-Lee, No. 6597; Gillibrand, No. 6607; Menendez-Cotton, No. 6617; that the Senate then proceed to the immediate consideration of the Scott of Florida bill that is at the desk; that the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill; that if the bill is passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that upon disposition of the Scott bill, the Senate resume consideration of the House message; further, that the Senate then vote on the motion to waive, if made, and in relation to the amendments in the order listed; that upon disposition of the amendments, the motion to refer be withdrawn, amendment No. 6571 be withdrawn, and the Senate then vote on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment No. 4 to H.R. 2617 with amendment No. 6552, as amended, if amended, with 2 minutes for debate equally divided between each vote and all votes after the first vote be 10-minute votes, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage of the Scott bill, the motion to concur with amendment, and the adoption of all amendments except No. 6555, No. 6577, No. 6563, and No. 6576; finally, that if the motion to concur with amendment is agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, without intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we have an agreement now. We will vote on all of the amendments in order and then vote on final passage. It has taken a while, but it is worth it. And I appreciate the cooperation of everyone here. The first vote will take a while, until the Members can assemble. But after that, I hope, we intend that everyone will sit in their seat and we vote through the amendments quickly. As we know, the storm is coming. We want to have people vote, get the bill done, but then be able to go home once we have done our work. So please cooperate, and no appointments far away. We are going to vote quickly, 10-minute votes on each, and, hopefully, Members will sit in their chairs. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now, may I have the attention of everybody, please? OK. I urge everybody to stay in their seats. We are having 10-minute votes. We have to get out of here as quickly as possible, so we need cooperation from everybody, OK? Thank you.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, that one was 11. We are making progress. Will Members please sit in their seats when called and speak loudly so the clerk can hear how you vote. That will speed things up a little more. Maybe we can even break the 10-minute mark.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, that was 8\1/2\ minutes. Let's keep it up. Stay in your seats. (Applause.)

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this is a great example--this very important bill--of how this body can work in a bipartisan way and get things done. I want to salute Senators Casey and Cassidy for their diligence and relentlessness. I want to thank Senators Murray and Burr. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act makes a simple assertion: If you are pregnant, if you are working during your pregnancy, you should have the right to basic workplace accommodations. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is one of the most significant improvements to workplace protections in years. Tens of millions will be covered under this legislation, especially millions who work low- income jobs, long hours, and get little support. I urge a ``yes'' vote. Vote on Amendment No. 6558

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 60-vote threshold be vitiated with respect to this amendment.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, I want to thank my friend and colleague Senator Gillibrand for the great work she has done championing the 9/11 responder and survivor health fund. We know how many people sacrificed. We know how they ran to the towers when they were still smoldering, and then they contracted terrible diseases. For a while, this country left them high and dry. It would be like leaving our veterans high and dry. But, no, we stepped up to the plate with a very good and successful health funding program. Unfortunately, it runs out very soon. This amendment will extend it so it now can last another full 5 years. And the worry that firefighters, construction workers, police officers, and others who ran to the towers and are now beginning to contract diseases they never should have gotten--they will be taken care of. I hope we can get everybody to vote for this patriotic, important bill that remembers those who helped us in a great time of need.