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[Pages S6897-S6898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as the end of the year approaches and
the House Democratic majority continues to pour its time and attention
into impeaching the President, a number of key legislative items remain
outstanding.
For weeks, my Republican colleagues have been pleading with our
Democratic friends in Congress to put aside their impeachment obsession
long enough to complete some basic work for the American people.
We have explained that American families cannot afford for Washington
Democrats to obsess over impeachment and obstruct the things we
absolutely have to do.
So I am pleased that the last several days have brought at least some
initial conversations that sanity and progress may be breaking through.
We are still a long way from the finish line, but this week begins on a
cautiously optimistic note. It appears that Democrats' willingness to
block these basic governing items may be finally giving way.
The National Defense Authorization Act is our annual must-pass
vehicle laying out Congress's plan for addressing military funding and
meeting the needs of our servicemembers. It is a responsibility that
this body has discharged in a bipartisan manner every year, without
fail, for 58 years.
That is why it was so disheartening that Democratic leadership in
both the
[[Page S6898]]
House and the Senate broke with tradition and used this year's NDAA
process to insist on all manner of partisan items, including nongermane
domestic policy changes. This partisan approach left the future of the
Pentagon's most urgent missions in the lurch.
So I am encouraged that bicameral negotiations, with participation
from the White House, reached a conclusion last week. Most of the
partisan demands predictably fell away. The result is not either side's
ideal bill, but it is one that should be able to pass both Chambers
under the circumstances. I hope the bipartisan conference report will
be signed and moved quickly through each Chamber so Congress can
finally fulfill our responsibility to America's Armed Forces for
another year.
Then there is the appropriations process--another fundamental
responsibility which, for the good of the Nation, is historically
approached with a bipartisan willingness to find common ground.
It seemed like that might again be the case when a bicameral,
bipartisan deal was struck by the President and the Speaker of the
House back in July, but then, when negotiations resumed in earnest back
in September, some of our Democratic colleagues realized they weren't
really ready to part with partisan poison pills. They ignored their own
agreement and months of stalemate ensued.
Fortunately, our appropriators are working hard to salvage the
process. Last month, Chairman Shelby and Chairwoman Lowey and our other
colleagues reached a deal on subcommittee allocations. I understand
their hard work continued in earnest over this past weekend, with the
goal of producing bills that both Chambers could consider before the
end of this year.
I am grateful to colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their hard
work. I hope this progress continues, and we can consider
appropriations measures this month.
Now, there is still one more major piece of bipartisan legislation
awaiting action by House Democrats. For months, Speaker Pelosi and
House Democrats have been slow-walking President Trump's landmark trade
agreement with Mexico and Canada. Month after month, House Democrats
kept 176,000 new American jobs in limbo, but, finally, after weeks of a
full-court press from Republicans in the House and the Senate, we are
seeing hopeful signals that Speaker Pelosi's months-long stalling
campaign may at long last be coming to an end. Reports suggest the
Speaker may finally allow the House to vote in the near future. For our
country's sake, I certainly hope so.
So what has been true for months is especially true now that time is
short--it is going to take bipartisan collaboration and hard work for
any of these outstanding legislative priorities to become law.
Even if House Democrats do finally relent and allow these key
priorities to move forward, it is now the eleventh hour, and it will
require consent and cooperation for the Senate to consider legislation
in a timely fashion.
I ask for that collaborative spirit from my colleagues on both sides
in the Senate as we move forward. We Republicans have been ready and
eager for weeks to legislate on these key priorities. I hope these
reports are accurate that leading Democrats may finally--finally--be
willing to let Congress govern, and I hope we can move forward at a
brisk pace and in a bipartisan way.
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