Congressional Record—Senate S6795
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December 7, 2016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6795 Mr. ALEXANDER. I ask for the yeas report accompanying S. 2943, an origi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- and nays. nal bill to authorize appropriations for ator from Delaware. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a fiscal year 2017 for military activities Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I suggest sufficient second? of the Department of Defense, for mili- the absence of a quorum. There appears to be a sufficient sec- tary construction, and for defense ac- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ond. tivities of the Department of Energy, TOOMEY). The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk called the roll. to prescribe military personnel The senior assistant legislative clerk Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator strengths for such fiscal year, and for proceeded to call the roll. is necessarily absent: the Senator from other purposes, shall be brought to a Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask Arkansas (Mr. COTTON). close? unanimous consent that the order for The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there The yeas and nays are mandatory the quorum call be rescinded. any other Senators in the Chamber de- under the rule. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without ob- siring to vote? The clerk will call the roll. jection, it is so ordered. The result was announced—yeas 94, The senior assistant legislative clerk Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask nays 5, as follows: called the roll. unanimous consent that the following [Rollcall Vote No. 157 Leg.] Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator Senators who wish to speak in honor of the Presiding Officer be recognized in YEAS—94 is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. COTTON). the following order for up to 4 minutes Alexander Fischer Murray each: me, the majority leader Senator Ayotte Flake Nelson The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Baldwin Franken Paul CRUZ). Are there any other Senators in MCCONNELL, the minority leader Sen- Barrasso Gardner Perdue the Chamber desiring to vote? ator REID, Senator SCHUMER, Senator Bennet Gillibrand Peters HATCH, Senator LEAHY, Senator Blumenthal Graham The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 92, Portman MCCAIN, Senator DURBIN, Senator ISAK- Blunt Grassley Reed nays 7, as follows: SON URRAY EIN Booker Hatch Reid [Rollcall Vote No. 158 Leg.] , Senator M , Senator F - Boozman Heinrich Risch STEIN, Senator COLLINS, Senator MI- Boxer Heitkamp YEAS—92 Roberts KULSKI, and Senator CARPER. Brown Heller Rounds Alexander Feinstein Murray Burr Hirono Ayotte Fischer The VICE PRESIDENT. The Demo- Rubio Nelson Cantwell Hoeven Baldwin Flake cratic leader. Sasse Perdue Capito Inhofe Barrasso Franken Peters Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- Schatz Cardin Isakson Bennet Gardner Portman Schumer imous consent that the Senator from Carper Johnson Blumenthal Graham Reed Casey Kaine Scott Delaware amend his request so that Blunt Grassley Reid Cassidy King Sessions Booker Hatch Risch Senator MCCONNELL and I will use our Coats Kirk Shaheen Boozman Heinrich Roberts leader time. That will not count Cochran Klobuchar Shelby Boxer Heitkamp Rounds against his hour. Collins Lankford Stabenow Brown Heller Rubio Coons Leahy Sullivan Burr Hirono The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there ob- Sasse Corker Manchin Tester Cantwell Hoeven jection? Schatz Cornyn Markey Thune Capito Inhofe Schumer Without objection, it is so ordered. Crapo McCain Tillis Cardin Isakson Scott The Senator from Delaware. Cruz McCaskill Toomey Carper Johnson Daines Sessions McConnell Udall Casey Kaine TRIBUTES TO VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN Donnelly Menendez Shaheen Vitter Cassidy King Mr. COONS. Mr. President—and it Durbin Mikulski Shelby Warner Coats Kirk Enzi Moran Cochran Stabenow does bring me some joy to call you Mr. Whitehouse Klobuchar Ernst Murkowski Collins Lankford Sullivan President. I am honored to be here Wicker Feinstein Murphy Coons Leahy Tester today with so many of our colleagues, Thune NAYS—5 Corker Manchin and I am grateful to Majority Leader Cornyn McCain Tillis Lee Sanders Wyden Crapo McCaskill Toomey MCCONNELL and Leader REID for their Merkley Warren Cruz McConnell Udall enthusiasm in pulling together this bi- Daines Menendez Vitter NOT VOTING—1 partisan tribute. I am honored to be Donnelly Mikulski Warner joined by my senior Senator from Dela- Cotton Durbin Moran Warren Enzi Murkowski Whitehouse ware, TOM CARPER, who will make clos- The motion was agreed to. Ernst Murphy Wicker ing remarks this afternoon. f NAYS—7 Before I begin, I would like to remind my colleagues that there will be a re- CLOTURE MOTION Gillibrand Merkley Wyden Lee Paul ception for the Vice President in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant Markey Sanders Mansfield Room, after we conclude to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the NOT VOTING—1 here, beginning sometime after 4. We Senate the pending cloture motion, have many Senators who wish to speak Cotton which the clerk will state. so we will move quickly through the The senior assistant legislative clerk The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this order. I encourage my colleagues to read as follows: vote, the yeas are 92, the nays are 7. submit their remarks for the RECORD, CLOTURE MOTION Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- those who are not able to speak in the sen and sworn having voted in the af- We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- next hour. Their remarks will be com- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the firmative, the motion is agreed to. bined with all the other remarks given Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby f on the floor, and the resulting speeches move to bring to a close debate on the con- NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- printed, bound, and presented to the ference report to accompany S. 2943, Na- Presiding Officer. tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017—CONFERENCE REPORT Mr. President, in a place known these Year 2017. days for some disagreements, my col- Mitch McConnell, Deb Fischer, Thom The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Tillis, Daniel Coats, James M. Inhofe, leagues—our colleagues, Republicans, clerk will report the conference report. Democrats, and Independents—are all John Hoeven, Cory Gardner, Orrin G. The senior assistant legislative clerk Hatch, Mark Kirk, Tom Cotton, John here today because we agree on one Cornyn, Lindsey Graham, Mike read as follows: powerful and simple thing: our deep Rounds, Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sul- Conference report to accompany S. 2943, a gratitude for the difference you have livan, John McCain. bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal made in your decades in public service. The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- year 2017 for military activities of the De- The greatest honor of my life is to partment of Defense, for military construc- imous consent, the mandatory quorum tion, and for defense activities of the Depart- serve in the seat that you held for 36 call has been waived. ment of Energy, to prescribe military per- years—and not just literally this seat The question is, Is it the sense of the sonnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for in the Senate but also a seat on the 7:15 Senate that debate on the conference other purposes. Amtrak train down from Wilmington VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.041 S07DEPT1 SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S6796 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 7, 2016 every morning. You logged over 2 mil- which we passed finally just an hour like Burma—and regarding the vote we lion miles on Amtrak and millions ago, would not have happened without just took a few moments ago—21st Cen- more traveling around the world fight- your leadership. tury Cures, and the Cancer Moonshot. ing for our country, and as long as I Now, let me close with a line you We have also negotiated in good faith have the privilege of representing our know all too well, a line you shared when the country needed bipartisan State in the Senate, I will be humbled countless times in this Chamber, some- leadership. We got results that would by the challenge of living up to your times from this very desk. As the Irish not have been possible without a nego- legacy of fighting for and making a poet Seamus Heaney once wrote, ‘‘His- tiating partner like JOE BIDEN. Obvi- real difference for the people of our tory says, don’t hope on this side of the ously, I don’t always agree with him, shared home. grave. But then, once in a lifetime, the but I do trust him implicitly. He Like so many Americans, I have long longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise doesn’t break his word. He doesn’t been inspired by your loyalty to your up, and hope and history rhyme.’’ waste time telling me why I am wrong. family, and I am so glad to see so many No one, sir, no one has done more to He gets down to brass tacks, and he familiar faces in the Gallery today. make hope and history rhyme than keeps in sight the stakes. There is a This job requires a strong partner and you. Thank you, Mr. President, for reason ‘‘Get JOE on the phone’’ is teammate, and to Dr. Biden, Jill, your your service, your counsel, your ad- shorthand for ‘‘time to get serious’’ in unwavering support for your family, vice, your friendship, and your leader- my office. for Delaware, and your country is ship. The Vice President is a likeable guy something for which we are all deeply It is now my pleasure to yield to the too. He has a well-developed sense of grateful. majority leader, Senator MCCONNELL of humor. He doesn’t take himself too se- As a son of Delaware, and of Cath- Kentucky, who has been so generous riously either.