Floor Statements

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 14.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the nomination of PN 191, Ronald D. Vitiello, of Illinois, to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, referred to the Homeland Security Committee, upon reporting out be referred to the Judiciary Committee for a period not to exceed 60 calendar days, after which the nomination, if still in committee, be discharged and placed on the Executive Calendar.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, February 11; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of S. 47; finally, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture motion filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m., Monday, and the filing deadline for first-degree amendments be at 4 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Cornyn.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the resolution of the Senate of January 24, 1901, the traditional reading of Washington's Farewell Address take place on Monday, February 25, 2019, at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be discharged from further consideration of, and the Senate now proceed to, S. Res. 33.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 53, submitted earlier today.

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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon, Thursday, February 7; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; finally, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 47, with all postcloture time on the motion to proceed expired.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk due for a second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceedings.

Last night, the President shared a hopeful vision of a bright future for our country. In part, he reminded us that the future is bright because of the big steps we have taken together in the past 2 years to move the Nation forward--steps such as historic tax reform that has helped middle-class families across America keep more of what they earn; the regulatory reforms that have amped up our economy and fueled job creation; the landmark legislation we passed to combat the opioid epidemic; the long-needed investment in our Armed Forces that gives our servicemembers the tools and training they need to keep us safe.

As I mentioned yesterday, some of these accomplishments were delivered by Republicans alone, but the lion's share of them were bicameral and bipartisan. They combined the ideas and priorities of both sides of the aisle and both Chambers of Congress. So even though I know our Democratic colleagues' first instinct these days is to reflexively criticize anything President Trump says or does, I hope they took some pride in the strong state of our Union which the President described.

This great country belongs to all of us, and it is going to take all of us to keep moving forward. As the President put it, ``cooperation, compromise, and the common good.''

Last night, the President highlighted, in particular, the national challenges he sees as most urgent and as top priorities for his administration this year. Tackling them will require that same bipartisan spirit in Congress. He restated the administration's commitment to addressing the humanitarian and security crisis at our Nation's southern border, to fighting on behalf of American workers and job creators, to rebuilding America's infrastructure, and to helping simplify families' budgets by lowering the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs. On these and other challenges, the American people deserve the full attention of a fully functioning Congress. They deserve a Democratic Party that puts the public interest ahead of political spite and comes to the table to negotiate necessary compromises.

Well, it will not be long before we will see if this institution can rise to the occasion. The next deadline for appropriations will arrive in a little over a week, and Members in both Chambers will need to prove we can move past making points and start actually making a difference.

Throughout the coming year, if we are serious about advancing meaningful policy, this basic requirement will remain the same--good- faith efforts between a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican- controlled Senate and President Trump's administration.

Another challenge the President mentioned is the ongoing obstruction of his nominations to the executive branch and the Federal courts. He was absolutely right about that. To a historic degree, Senate Democrats have slow-walked well-qualified nominees, gumming up committee consideration and burning weeks of valuable time on the floor. As I have said time and

again, this mindless obstruction is unacceptable.

So I was encouraged the President took an opportunity last night to highlight for the Nation exactly what we are up against in this regard. We are into the third year of his Presidency--the third year--and the American people deserve a fully functioning and fully staffed Federal Government after 3 years. It is time for their elected representatives to be part of the solution.

I know several of our colleagues are discussing ways to help the Senate better fulfill its duty in this area. I hope there will be cooperation from the other side of the aisle to identify and advance a durable and fair solution.

President Trump offered a clear picture of the ways in which our policies are delivering significant results to families across America and the urgent challenges we still need to confront together. He offered us a powerful reminder that America's strength and goodness are inextricably linked with our commitment to individual liberty and free enterprise and that we can never allow the United States of America to dim our light by sliding into the failures of socialism. Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried, and we are not going to try it in this country. We need to do right now what we need to in order to move forward together.

The brief Democratic response showed us one potential way forward. Our colleagues across the aisle could simply deny the facts in front of us about the progress that has taken place--progress which middle-class families all across America can tangibly feel--and use the same, tired, forgettable cliches to divide our Nation along political lines, but the President offered a chance to walk together, unified, along a higher road. Both the tone and the substance of his speech would strike any fair observer as reasonable and thoroughly bipartisan.

Once again, the only way this divided Congress will be able to choose greatness and deliver significant legislation to the American people is by focusing on, as President Trump put it, ``cooperation, compromise, and the common good.''

That will need to be our motto moving forward. The Nation we love deserves no less. The American people will be watching us.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.