without objection, the amendment is withdrawn. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the question occurs on the motion to concur with amendment number 2689 in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 719. the yeas and nays have previously been ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 78. the nays are 20. the motion to concur is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to calendar number 98, h.r. 2029. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of h.r. 2029, an act making appropriations for military construction, the department o f veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion:

we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 98, h.r. 2029, an act making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 20 1-6rbgs and for other purse, signed by 16 senators as follows: mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call for this cloture motion. the presiding officer: is there objection i? without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, this morning i said the american people are ready to see democrats start supporting, not blocking, the very bipartisan funding legislation they previously voted for and actually bragged about. i also said we'd give our colleagues a chance to do so this week. so i've just set up a vote that will give them that opportunity. the military construction and veterans affairs bill is one of

the 12 pieces of appropriations legislation we must pass to properly fund our government. it is a bipartisan bill that does a lot of important things for our country. but here's the headline: it supports our veterans. it supports our veterans. this bipartisan bill passed committee with support from both democrats and republicans. democrats have said nice things about it in press releases out to their various states. now it's time to cooperate across the aisle to finally pass it and support our veterans.

mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from sabling dakota. -- from south dakota. thiewng on that i rise omr. thun important subject, the looming deadline for a rail technology

known as positive train control, or p.t.c., could seen wreak havoc on our nation's transportation system. this would not just affect the millions of americans who board commuter trains every day but also americans who depend on critical freight rail deliveries. these services could be interrupted because, despite years of warning, implementation of p.t.c. has not kept pace with an overly ambitious schedule set by congress. let me explain how we got here. seven years ago following a deadly metrolink passenger train collision in california caused by an engineer who was texting and failed to react to track signals, this body passed legislation mandating the installation of p.t.c., an innovative safety technology on over 60,000 miles of rail lines. though a meaningful, important safety upgrade, p.t.c. is not a panacea. it will not make a difference when rail tracks are damaged, in

situations where -- when people trespass on tracks, or at highway-rail grade crossings where the most accidents occur. but p.t.c. can and will have an impact in preventing three specific accident scenarios. first, the technology will prevent train-on-train collisions when both trains and the tracks they're traveling on have fully functioning p.t.c. systems installed. second, the system will prevent accidents or derailments caused by excessive train speeds like the deadly amtrak derailment in philadelphia earlier this year. and, third, the technology will help protect individuals working on railroad tracks from being hit by a train accidentally routed onto the wrong track. p.t.c. systems operate by relying on ground-based computer systems, equipment installed on train locomotives, satellites, and wireless spectrum-based networks coming from towers

being built along rail tracks. the p.t.c. system can help trains communicate with one another and sense if speed is appropriate for where the train is operating. because it isn't effective unless all trains are linked together on a network, p.t.c. will be required on all passenger and freight trains that travel on rail tracks that carry passengers or certain hazardous materials, regardless of what an individual train mighting hauling. our colleagues, the senior colleague from california, senator feinstein, championed the provision that put this in place back in 2008. the legislative mandate w's forward-looking and set an aggressive schedule for implementing the technology. seven years later, both freight and commuter railroads have made substantial progress in implementing positive train control. but there have been some unexpected delays in implementing the technology. thfederal communication commissn

halted the towers for over a year over concerns about historic preservation. there have also been delays in regulatory approvals, problems in obtaining necessary communication spectrum and difficulties that come with building a new technology. the complexity of a positive train control system falls swrsh in between a new version of computer operating software and driverless cars. any of us who have had a just-released version of software installed on our computer know about bugs that have to be worked out. and like driverless cars, when lives are at stake, you have to get the technology right before relying on a system as advanced as p.t.c. o$5.5 billion in private funding has already been spent in implementing p.t.c. the debate on the need, cost, and benefits is long over. when this body voted in 2008 to mandate full and certified

implementation of p.t.c. by december 31, 2015, there were concerns that the time line was too aggressive. those concerns have steadily grown. both the independent government accountability office and the federal railroad administration, which regulates railroad safety, have warned for years that the deadline set by congress was unrealistic. now some saw great value in keeping this overly aggressive deadline in place. it was way of maintaining pressure on freight and commuter railroads to move aggressively. at the end of the day, the thinking went, if railroads did not meet the deadline, they would be subject to financial fines and these deadlines would motivate them to finish work on p.t.c. and if it didn't work, individuals assumed that things would go on much as if the law-been put in place at all. freight railroads could continue to haul products like chlorine

and fertilizer. there was even a naive belief that commuter railroads run by state and local governments could get exempted from fines mandated under the law. some believed commuter railroads could continue to move passengers instead of adding to the congestion and safety risks on our nation's roads. but over the past month, these myths have been put to rest as the real consequences of failing to meet the legal deadline for positive train control implementation have come into focus. both freight and commuter railroads have informed congress, regulators, and even stockholders that an inability to comply with the p.t.c. mandate could halt some freight and passenger services by january 1 of 2016. in fact, the effects will be felt weeks earlier when it comes to the shipment of hazardous materials like anhydrous pneumonia because it takes time to move tank car traffic off of

the rail network. the obama administration in testimony before the commerce committee this month noted that the law leaves no possibility of exempting publicly owned commuter railroads that do not meet the p.t.c. deadline from fines. but the threat of federal fines is only one worry for railroads among other much larger consequences of missing the p.t.c. ted line. -- deadline. the vast majority of passenger rail service relies on track owned by freight railroads. to run commuter rail service on freight lines in compliance with the p.t.c. mandate, not only must commuter rail trains and tracks be fully equipped but all freight tracks and freight trains that run on them must also be properly equipped. there are approximately 40 railroads, mostly commuter railroads, in the united states that will be affected by the december 31, 2015, deadline for

certified complementation of positive train -- implementation of positive train control. i ask them to tell us about their situations in dealing with the upcoming maund. me-- with the upcoming mandate. not one railroad said that they have met the legal obligation for implementing p.t.c. mr. president, let me repeat that. not one railroad, commuter or freight, told us that after seven years of work with three months to go before the legal deadline for full implementation of positive train control, that they have been certified by the federal railroad administration has compliant with the requirement. we had one railroad -- metrolink in california -- that would go so far as to express that they were -- quote -- "cautiously optimistic" that they could meet the end-of-the-year deadline for meeting p.t.c. but neither metrolink or any other railroad advised us

against extending the deadline. some told us that they saw no option for continuing passenger service after december 31 without action by congress to extend the deadline. ÷ last week the board of directors of metro in chicago voted in favor of a resolution to shut down on january 1 of 2016 if the deadline is not extended. our nation does not have the transit bus capacity to move these displaced riders. this will dramatically increase the number of people who are stuck in traffic each day and decrease the safety of our transportation system. sarah feinberg, the acting administrator for the federal railroad administration testified last week she had not recently spoke to a railroad that planned to continue operating on january 1 of 2016. so why are railroads so concerned about running over the legal deadline for p.t.c.?

railroads point out that regardless of fines, their insurance would not cover an incident if the railroad knowingly violated the safety law regulation like operating in noncompliance with the p.t.c. mandate. the law provides individual workers with the right to refuse instructions that are counter to federal safety laws or regulations. in effect, railroad workers across the country would have an individual right and protection from consequence to refuse from participating in the operation of trains and noncompliance with the p.t.c. mandate. different railroads have different concerns. freight railroads expressed varying ideas about how they interpret the law. but remember, railroads are interconnected. let me explain a common view we've heard and how it will affect the nation's interconnected rail system and economy more broadly. the p.t.c. mandate only applies

to routes where there is passenger travel or shipment of certain hazardous material like chlorine used for water reservoir purification. under normal circumstances, freight railroads are bound by something called the common carrier requirement. this means that freight railroads can't reit fuse to haul a specific cargo like chlorine simply because it is unprofitable or inconvenient. railroads argue this common carrier requirement cannot be reasonably interpreted as requiring them to haul cargo on tracks if doing so would violate federal law. dan elliot, the chairman of the federal surface transportation board which regulates railroad businesses practices, added weights in these concerns in a letter to me this month about the situation. mr. elliot stated -- and i quote -- "the common carrier obligation is not absolute." end quote. he informed us that he cannot predict how regulators would rule on specific railroad decisions to exclude cargo or

passenger traffic in order to comply with the p.t.c. mandate. how do we avert this safety and economic disaster? independent experts at the government accountability office who studied this issue and released a report told us the railroads will need an additional one to five years to meet the legal requirements of i implementation. they documented the complex technological aspects soarkted with the -- associated with the p.t.c. components. this report about the train control deadline are posted on the commerce committee web site, commerce.senate.gov/ptc. the senate acted in july by passing a provision on the multiyear highway reauthorization bill that would extend the deadline on a case-by-case basis. the senate's bill which passed here by a vote of 65-34 took the best parts of legislation to extend the deadline that had

been put forward by the obama administration, senator feinstein who championed the p.t.c. requirement and senators roy blunt and claire mccaskill of missouri who saw this program coming some time ago and worked with me to prevent it. under the bipartisan senate plan, the secretary of transportation gets the legal authority to approve or disapprove requests when railroads show how they will meet implementation. if approved this essentially becomes a contract and railroads will face consequences if they do not adhere to it including fines. under no circumstance could the secretary approve a date for full p.t.c. installation that is later than 2015. the scare has the authority to identify and require schedule. the proposal is specifically designed to maintain pressure on railroads to install and implement p.t.c. systems without

undue delay. it also recognizes that review by regulators after installation, which is necessary to achieve legal certification of full p.t.c. implementation may take additional time. of serious concern -- of serious concern to many commuters and shippers who rely on railroad transportation, the deadline for congressional action on the p.t.c. mandate is actually well before december 31 of 2015. without a legal extension, railroads will have to begin preparations weeks in advance to operate under the assumption that no change will be made. this will mean railroads contacting customers like water treatment facilities by thanksgiving to cancel critical shipments. it will mean contacting passenger and commuter rail customers to have tickets refunded because passenger railcars will have to be cleared off the rail system before january 1.

to avoid this calamity, not to mention the other backups that such changes can have on a vast rail network, we need to pass an extension into law before these cancellations begin. working is son -- working on a bipartisan basis we can help our constituents avert a transportation calamity that will have a much more serious impact on our economy than last year's west coast ports slowdown. this is about helping millions of americans who are dependent on railroads for their lively hoods and essential deliveries. mr. president, we have a responsibility to being the a. i ask unanimous consent to submit letters and other information that the committee on commerce, science, and transportation received from railroads and officials that i have with me here today, mr. president, which i think explain very clearly what the consequences are if this body fails to act before these deadlines are upon us.

i ask unanimous consent to submit those for the record, mr. president. and with that, i would yield back. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. # # quorum call:

mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, yelled is south dakotans were sad to learn that former governor walter dale miller passed away yesterday. he served as governor from april of 1993 to january of 1995. but during his brief tenure he steered south dakota through a number of challenges and provided a sense of stability and calm during a period of upheaval. in the wake of governor michelson's tragic death, he secured funding for a memorial to the governor and the other south dakotans who died when their plane crashed as it was returning to our state. when inmates at the state's penitentiary rioted, governor miller succeeded in ending the standoff without loss of life. when the flood of 1993 occurred

he worked tirelessly to help those who were affected. and when a supreme court decision shut down south dakota's video lottery resulting in a sudden revenue loss, governor miller ensured that south dakota's most important needs were met. in all, governor miller spent nearly 30 years serving south dakota in state government. first, in the state legislature, then as lieutenant governor, and finally as governor. and in every office that he held, he served with a commitment and integrity recognized by south dakotans of all political persuasions. i always felt a particular kinship with governor miller since we both hailed from western south dakota where we in our state like to call west river. the government was from meade county. i grew up in a little town called myrto. i think for many south dakotans, governor miller embodied the west river cowboy: independent,

self-reliant, and courageous, with a deep and abiding love of the wide open spaces that still characterize south dakota's landscape. i know that's how i along with many other south dakotans will remember him. and i want to offer my deepest condolences to governor miller's wife pat and the governor's children. you are all in south dakotans' thoughts and prayers. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mccain: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further proarg proceedings undee quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from arizona is recognized. mr. mccain: mr. president, i have 10 unanimous requests for committees to meet during today. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and these requests be prescriptived in the record. -- and these requests be printed in the record. i ask unanimous consent that i speak as if in morning business with as much time as i may consume. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator recognized. mr. mccain: mr. president, we now have information that the russians have now launched airstrikes in syria, ostensibly against isis. in reality it is not clear.

in fact, there is information that some of these strikes were at homes, and the latest information is that these syrian observatory -- the syrian observatory for human rights reports that at least 27 people were killed and that six children were among the dead. these strikes near the city of homs is not under control of isis of the islamic state. so already we are seeing the true intentions of vladimir putin, which is to maintain a strong position in syria, his foothold in the middle east, and his propping up of bashar assad. bashar assad, who has killed at least 250,000 of his own citizens through the horrible

process of barrel bombing, has driven millions into refugee status, with the full and complete support of iran and vladimir putin. i say to my colleagues, over the past six and a half years, president obama has sounded retreat across the middle east. in fact, it was one year ago at this time when the president of the united states said, our strategy is to degrade and destroy isis. a report yesterday, some 28,000 european and some americans have come into the fight on the side of isis. mosul and ramadi remain in the hands of isis and, of course, the continued advances of isis in syria are well known. in short, a year ago after the president made that statement,

there is no strategy, there is no success, in fact we now see the result of this failure, which is a flood of refugees out of syria and iraq because they have given up hope of ever returning to their homeland. our hearts go out to those who are victims and have had to flee their homeland, and we see these refugees, and it breaks our heart when we see a little baby's body washed up on the beach. it didn't have to happen. it didn't have to happen. everybody knows that when the president of the united states said that we've drawn a red line with syria and didn't do it, it had a profound effect on the middle east, including sunni-arab states as well as shia. everyone knows when the president turned down the recommendations of his secretary of defense, secretary of state, which happened to be secretary

of clinton at the time and his secretary of defense, to arm the free cernin syrian army, and hed it down was another seminal moment. this is a series of decisions or nondecisions which has led to the situation we see today where vladimir putin may have inserted russia into the middle east in a way that russia has not enjoyed since 1973 when anwar i sadat, - anwar sadat threw the russians out of egypt. we're still on course to continue this nightmare by withdrawing all forces from afghanistan as well as, as we see in the last couple of days, the taliban capturing the strategic city of kunduz. kunduz is in the northern part

of afghanistan, where it was believed was fairly stable, showing the ability of the taliban and the effects of our withdrawal. but i come back to syria and the russian activities today. after four years in syria, the united states has stood by as bashar assad, his war on the syrian people goes on and on and on. and as it slaughter -- it's been the single-greatest contributor to the rise and continued success of isil. have no doubt, it was bashar assad that gave birth to isil. the president has said for years -- for years -- that assad must go, but he has done nothing that has brought us any closer to achieving that outcome. my friends, i.t it's not that we have done nothing. but what it is, we have not done anything that would reverse the trend and in any way further the goal that the president

articulated a year ago that we would destroy the great -- de-groidegradeand destroy isil. this administration has encouraged our enemies, mistaken an excess of caution for prudence and replaced the risk of action with the perils of inaction. into the wreckage -- into the wreckage of this administration's middle east policy has now stepped vladimir putin. as in ukraine, as elsewhere, he perceives the administration's inaction and caution as weakness, and he is taking full advantage. over the past few weeks, vladimir putin has been engaged in a significant military buildup in western syria, deploying strike aircraft. and by the way, he's also deploying aircraft that are air-to-air, not air-to-ground. nigmy friends, isis has no air

force. the buildup of russian tanks and military personnel. meameanwhile, our secretary of state calls va and asks what's going on? it was obvious when vladimir putin was doing and these airstrikes are a logical follow-on to his ambition, which he is realizing to, one, play a rage role in syria, re-serve the port of vladikia, prop of bashar assad, and play a major role in the middle east. all of this is not lost on countries in the region. last time i -- today vladimir putin escalated his involvement as russian pilots carried out their first airstrikes in syria. initial reports, as i mentioned, that they are hitting targets which are not controlled by isil. that should control -- that should fool no one because

vladimir putin's primary authority and responsibility and ambition is to prop up bashar a sad against all -- assad against all of his enemies. the white house has said -- quote -- "it's unclear exactly what russia's intentions are." my friends, i am not making that up. the white house has said, it's unclear exactly what russia's intentions are. if the white house is confused about putin's intentions and plans in syria, then the united states is in even worse trouble than many fear because it is not hard -- it is not hard to discern what vladimir putin wants. in fact, from russia's military buildup in syria and i military coalition with syria, iran, and iraq -- remember, iraq is the country where we lost thousands of american lives and now the

iraqi government announces sharing intelligence with syria and iran. amazing. amazing. putin's ambitions are obvious, my friends. he wants to prop up assad, play kingmaker and any trans-auction undermine the u.s., to a degree unseen since 1973. this week at the united nations president obama said -- quote -- "the united states is prepared to work with any nation including russia and iran to resolve the syrian conflict." it requires self-delusion of tremendous scale to believe that russia and iran have any interest in resolving the syrian conflict. they seek only to keep the murderous assad regime in power.

russia's intervention in syria will prolong and complicate this horrific war, and the main beneficiary will be isil, which has fed off the ethnic divisions fostered by the assad regime. it is tragic, my fellow men's, that -- my fellow americans, that we've reached this point. a syrian conflict that has killed more thank 200,000 people, celt created the worst refugee crisis in europe since world war ii, spawn add terrorist army of tens of thousands ages no and now creata platform for a russian autocrat to join with a syrian theocrat to prop up a syrian dictator, it did not have to be this way. this is the inevitable consequence of hollow words, red lines crossed, tarnished moral influential, leading from

behind, and a total lack of american leadership. my friends, today in the "washington post" is an article by david i ignacious. mr. ignacious quotes ryan crocker, one of the great diplomats that i have ever had the honor and privilege to know. ryan crocker says -- quote -- "russia has played a horrible hand brilliantly. we folded what could have been a pretty good hand, argues ryan crocker, a retired u.s. diplomat who has served in nearly every hot spot in the middle east and is among the nation's wisest analysts of the region. 'the russians were able to turn a defensive position into an offensive one because we were so completely absent." ryan crocker is right. i would also remind my friends that because of american

inaction, the countries in the region are making their own accommodations. syria -- excuse me, saudi arabia , u.a.e. and qatar have all been to russia in arms deals. the saudia arabians have bought $17 billion worth of republicans from russia. the u.a.e., $7 billion. qatar, $5 billion. would that have ever happened 10 years ago? of course not. but they see america leading and they are accommodating. -- but they see america leaving and they are accommodating. and we have -- and we have, of course, refused in many respects to give the kind of weapons particularly that the -- that the kurds need. mr. president, i won't go on too much longer. i will -- i will summarize by saying that this is a very, very, very sad day for america in the world. the world is watching. it's not confined to the middle east.

we see vladimir putin continue to dismember ukraine and now some phony separatist elections are going to be held in the area that he now controls. the chinese leader made some nice comments about how they would stop the hacking that is -- that they have been able to compromise our most important industrial, military and other secrets. we'll see if that happens. but they're also continuing their expansion of the islands in the south china sea. throughout the world, an absence of american leadership is very visible and very understood by nations throughout the world. and today we see vladimir putin attacking with his airplanes not just isis but others who are enemies of bashar assad.

but i would also like to add that these airstrikes are indiscriminate in nature and there has been no attempt whatsoever to stop the horrible barrel bombing, as general david pa tray -- david patreas just recommended before the armed services committee a few days ago. so this is a terrible day. and it's a time for american leadership. and it's time that president obama woke up to the realities in the world and reassert american leadership. and that does not mean that we're going to send thousands of ground troops back into iraq or syria. but it does mean that we develop a policy. in the case of -- i am told that these bombings that the american government has said that american planes should not fly and that we have somehow approved of these airstrikes. i do not know if that's true or

not. i hope that it's not true. what we should be saying to vladimir putin is that you fly but we fly anywhere we want to, when and how we want to and you'd better stay out of the way. that's the message that should be sent to vladimir putin. so i hope that the american people understand how serious this is and that this rogue dictator named vladimir putin, who is a thug and a bully, can only understand a steadfast and strong american policy that brings american strength back to bear. we are still the strongest nation in the world. now it's time for us to act like it. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, the senate has now passed a continuing resolution to keep the lights on, to keep government employees paid, to pay our military, to make sure our veterans get the benefits that they're entitled to. from now until december 11. and i think it's important to reflect on why it is we had to do this this way, with all of the attendant drama and the suggestion that we were going to somehow shut down the government, which was never a likely -- likelihood. but the main reason why we find ourselves in this posture is because even though the united states senate for the first time since 2009 has actually passed a budget -- that's under the new

majority that was elected in last november, this new majority saw it as one of the most important things we could do in terms of basic fundamentals of good governance is to pass a budget, something that hadn't happened since 2009. and one of the benefits -- there are many benefits, of course, of passing a budget, but one of the benefits was to allow the appropriations committee to begin to go to work to begin to take up and pass 12 different appropriations bills that would keep the whole of the federal government funded. there's also tremendous benefit, as the presiding officer knows, there's a lot of policy written in those appropriations committees. you can make a decision not to fund something because it's not working or maybe it's obsolete, outdated. or fund something else or perhaps say, well, we need to reform the way this particular service