quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: mr. president, the senate will proceed to vote in about five or six minutes. a scheduled vote in about five or six minutes on the cotton amendment on the energy and water appropriations bill. actually the cloture on the cotton amendment. i ask consent that before that vote, senator feinstein, that i be first be allowed to speak for a few minutes and following me senator feinstein and then we vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. i'll save most of my remarks for after the vote, but i'd like to make two kinds of remarks. one is to give an update on the bill, where we are. and second, to restate my reasons why i will not vote for

cloture on the cotton amendment. first, in terms of where we are, we've had -- here's where we are. we have the cotton amendment at 10:30. the senator from california and i at least have agreed, and i think our staffs and the republican and democratic leaders have discussed it, i think we have agreed that there could be a vote for senator cardin and senator fischer at 60 votes, a voice vote on senator flake, and that's it. then we would have another cloture vote if we need it and a vote on final passage. and in my view, and i believe in terms of senator feinstein's view, we ought to be easily able to finish the bill today. i think we should finish it today, and i want to thank the republican leader, senator mcconnell, for starting the

appropriations process earlier this year than it ever has been before. i want to thank the democratic leader, senator reid, for working with us through some difficult issues we had on this first bill that we didn't really expect to make it possible for us to come to what looks like a prompt conclusion. this is an important bill. senators know that. we've had nearly 80 senators contribute parts of this bill. some are very important to their states and this country, whether it deepens the mobile port or the west court ports or rebuilds locks in kentucky and ohio and tennessee or whether it properly funds the national laboratories across the country or moves ahead with our nuclear weapons program, this is one of the most important appropriations bills that we have. today we will have spent two weeks on it, not counting the week that we had for recess. we will have processed 21

amendments, figure through the amendments -- if i go through the amendments i just described. and if we succeed today in finishing the bill, it will be the first time since 2009 that the energy and water appropriations bill has gone across the floor in regular order. and senator feinstein and i have worked pretty hard together, and both of us, as she likes to say, have engaged in some give and some take in order to create a result that the senate could be proud of and set a good example for the next 11 appropriations bills. we have a lot waiting to be done. we have -- the majority leader has already announced he'd like to move ahead with the military construction bill. there's concern about moving ahead on zika, which could be done on that. the defense authorization bill needs to be dealt with before we

get to the next recess. we have nine more aeption pros bills to deal -- appropriations bills to deal w and there's a very important biomedical research bill called the 21st century cures that i hope we can get to sometime before we get 0 july. one other thing i would like to say, i have worked hard with senator feinstein to give all senators who have germane and relative amendments a vote on their amendment. we've succeeded pretty we will -- pretty well with that. we've either accepted them or we have 231 amendments we've processed. that includes the amendment by senator cotton which prohibits the united states in the year 2017 from using tax dollars to buy heavy water from iran. i've defended his right to have a vote on that amendment, which we're about to have. but i will vote "no" on that amendment, because i don't believe it belong on the bill. number wurntion i think it ought to be considered first by the foreign relations committee. armed services and intelligence committees because it's filled

with national security implications. number two, i think it has dangerous consequences were it to be adopted, because it could increase the possibility that heavy water from iran, which in the united states would be used for peaceful purposes, could be sold by iran to another country such as north korea and used to help make nuclear weapons. i don't want us to approve an amendment that creates the possibility of that. and, third, the president has said he will veto it. we not only would get the amendment, we would not get the bill. so the discussion of where iran's heavy water goes is an important discussion. the senator has a right to bring it up. iran has it. we don't want them to have it because they can use it to make nuclear weapons. we don't produce it, we need it for medical research. scientific research. makes sensor u sense -- makes sr us to buy it. the idea of letting it go on the

international market and perhaps find it's way to countries building nuclear weapons is something i can't support so i will be voting "no." i want to thank the senator from california for working through all of these issues with us, and i'm glad that following her remarks we can vote on the cotton amendment and i hope, with the cooperation of the majority leader and the democratic leader, we'll be able to finish the bill today. mrs. feinstein: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator california. mrs. feinstein: mr. president, i want to thank the distinguished chairman of the energy and water subcommittee for his leadership and for his willingness to settle issues to get this bill to the point where it really is ready to be voted on by this body. i think he's made eloquently and correctly the argument against the cotton amendment. i'm very grateful for the fact that he did what i think is a noble thing in changing his vote and voting against the cotton

amendment. and let me say something about this process. both the chairman and i have been here for a long time, and we were here when appropriations bills were passed. and the key to doing that is keeping poison pills off of appropriations bills. so that they can be passed quickly. in addition to the arguments made by the chairntion the white house -- by the chairman, the white house had very strong feelings and indicated they would veto this bill if it passed with this amendment. how do we start an appropriations process with the presidential vea tow in the -- veto in the wings? i don't think we do. so the appropriate thing, hopefully, will happen in this vote; cloture will be devoted, i hope. and i -- defeated, i hope. and i hope is end end -- and i e it sends a strong signal if we want to show that we can run this place and get business

done, poison pills have no place on aeption pro -- appropriations bulls. that's my very deem belief. that's where it once wases. once again i want to thank the chair for his help, cooperation, and leadership. it's quite wonderful to be able to work with you, senator alexander, and i, too, urge a "no" vote on cloture. 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 national amendment 3878 to amendment 3801 to calendar number 96, h.r. 2028, an act making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes, signed by 1 senators. -- by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the manned twi quorum -- the mandatory

quorum call has been waived. question is, it the sentence of the senate that debate on amendment number 3878 offered by the senator kentucky, mr. mcconnell for the senator from arkansas, mr. cotton, to amendment number 3801, as amended, to h.r. 2028, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, on this vote the yeas are 57, the nays are 42. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to. cloture not having been invoked on amendment number 3878, under the previous order, there will be one hour of debate equally divided in the usual form. mr. cotton: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i regret that the senate has failed to invoke cloture on my amendment, but i am gratified that a large bipartisan majority of the senate agrees that we should not use u.s. taxpayer dollars to subsidize iran's nuclear program

over and above the obligations of the joint comprehensive plan of action. now that cloture has not been invoked, my amendment is still pending, and i understand the democrats denied cloture on the bill three times because my amendment is able to be called up after cloture on the bill. i want this bill to move forward. i want it to pass in an expeditious fashion. therefore, i intend later today to withdraw my amendment so it cannot be called up postcloture on the bill, leaving the democrats no reason not to agree to cloture on the bill and agree to final passage on the bill. finally, i want to thank the senator from tennessee as well as the senator from kentucky, the majority leader, for working with me to make sure that we have the senate on record on this very important issue. i regret that it took multiple days to get to a point we could have reached very early on since i had agreed to a 60-vote threshold two weeks ago, but i do think it's important the senate has spoken on this most critical issue. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, i thank the senator from arkansas

for withdrawing his amendment. that clears -- i defended his right to have the amendment, and i opposed the amendment, and i explained before the vote why i did that, so it's not necessary for me to say more about it. i think what i would like to say is what senator feinstein and i said before the vote. we're ready to finish the bill we have had terrific cooperation from senators on both sides of the aisle. we have included 21 amendments -- will have by the time we're finished. more than 80 senators have made a contribution to the bill. it has importance to every part of our country. it's the first bill in a series of 12 that we need to deal with. it's within the budget levels. it is not a part of the federal debt problem because the discretionary spending that we're talking about is fairly flat. it's a well-designed bill and we're ready to finish the bill. when it's finished, of course, is up to the majority leader and

the democratic leader as they -- as they schedule. all that remains to be done is if senator feinstein and -- remains to be done is senator feinstein and i have recommended that we have votes on the cardin and fischer amendments at 60, that we adopt a flake modified amendment by voice vote, and then all that remains would be a cloture vote, if necessary, and final passage. in our view, that could be done today, but there may be larger issues that have to do with the senate's schedule that would cause that to be put off until tomorrow, and we'll wait for an announcement from the majority leader and the democratic leader about what that schedule is. i thank the president. i yield the floor. and unless -- and i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: for the information of senators and staff, there will be a vote at noon. we expect a vote at noon. cloture vote on the bill. there may be other things to discuss at that time. several senators had asked me about votes, and i had indicated to a couple that there might not be votes until after lunch. but the plan now is to have a vote at noon on cloture on the bill. and perhaps by then we'll be able to lock in some other votes, which would occur after lunch. i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i would ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: i would ask to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: i rise today to address the zika virus and the our jens of congress to provide the 1.9 billion president obama has requested to combat this health crisis. the zika virus was first

identified in uganda there 1947. it's transmitted by the same mosquito species that transmits dengue, yellow fever and chuck begun ya. it had no known outbreaks and only 14 documented human cases. in the spring of 2007, however, scientists documented 185 suspected cases of zika on island followed by 30,000 suspected cases in french polynesia and other specific islands between 2013 and 2014. in may 2015, the first case of zika was reported in brazil. in february 1, the world health organization declared the ongoing zika vowt break to be a public health emergency of international concern. according to the world health organization, international health regulations, a public health emergency of

international concern is a situation where the disease outbreak constitute as public health risk to other states through the international spread of a disease and a potentially requires a coordinated international response. mr. cardin: the world health organization predicts that three to four million people, three to four million people in the americas will contract zika within a year. there's a common refrain among scientists and experts studying zika. there's much they still do not know about the zika and what they do know is worrisome. until recently the zika virus has been viewed as a relatively minor virus. the majority of the individuals infected with the virus are asymptomatic and those who do experience symptoms often complain of fever, rash, joint pain or conjuct viets. newer research, however, has shown the zika virus can cause a number of previously undetected medical conditions, especially in regards to pregnant women.

last month the centers for disease control and prevention confirmed the length -- link between zika infection during pregnancy and severe fetal brain defects like microencephaly. the world health organization recently concluded that zika can cause guillain-barre, a rare condition that attacks the body's nervous system causing muscle weakness and even paralysis. scientists who also recently confirmed that the virus can be transmitted sexually, a first for this type of virus. as of april 2016, the world health organization documented zika virus transmission in 62 countries and territories around the world, including 33 in the americas. brazil hassen the hardest hit by the virus recording more -- has been hardest hit by the virus recording 91,000 cases of the virus and nearly a,000 suspected case -- 5,000 suspected cases. across territories nearly 6 when

u.n. people have contracted zika, including more than 400 in puerto rico. here in the continental united states, there have been over 420 related zika case, including 12 in my home state of maryland. as we continue moving towards the summer months and the height of the mosquito season, the number of locally acquired and traveled -- travel associated zika infections in the united states and its territories will undoubtedly climb. just last month th director tom frieden indicated clusters ever locally acquired zika were possible in the southern united states by the summer. last month the administration officially announced that they would transfer 52 -- $52 million from the remaining ebola funds to jump start the zika response while waiting for congressional action. while $002 -- 502 million is a good start, it's just a traction of what is needed to mount a full response to zika. congress does need to act because the $502 million ebola

funds isn't just found money. those dollars were sustaining efforts to detect and prevent another ebola outbreak in west africa while also helping developing countries to better respond to outbreaks on their own. it's unacceptable we would be forcing our public health professionals to choose between addressing a he bola or addressing zika. there's no question that the united states must take the threat of zika seriously and mount an urgent, aggressive and suts stained response to the -- sustained response to the virus. as we speak a federal international task force led by the department of health and human services is working around the clock to mitigate the impact of zika. with the task force the cdc is working closely with lap toars in effect -- lap toars in -- laboratories with affected countries and improve diagnostic. the cdc is also providing guidance to help professionals and educating the general public about the prevention. the agency is also working with local authorities here in the

united states to improve mosquito control efforts. the national institute of health, national institute of infectious disease in maryland is supporting a preclinical and clinical development of vaccines for the zika virus. the institute is also collaborating with stakeholders to conduct vital research which will allow us to enter understand the origins and pathology of zika and bring us closer to developing a vaccine. the food and drug administration is working to improve and refine diagnostics for zika virus. most notably the f.d.a. recently issued two emergency use authorizations for two newly dealed -- developed disiek came diagnostic tests. to date more than 235 states -- 25 states and the district of columbia have verified tear ability to test for zika using these methods which will enhance our ability to monitor this growing epidemic. the f.d.a. is also working closely with the biomedical advance research and development authority to advance vaccine

research and development. i'm also pleased that the united states agency for international development, usaid is working with unicef to develop and implement communication campaigns and community mobilization for behavioral change related to personal protection against mosquitoes as well as community-based mosquito mitigation elimination efforts currently referred to as investigator -- vector controls. they're also partnering with the world health organization, the panama health organization to monitor vector control programs. in addition to providing personal protection commodities, usaid is also working closely with the international health partners to develop and adopt guidelines for addressing zika in at risk populations, particularly pregnant women. this is just a fraction of what our zika response looks like. i would be here much longer if i were to go through every day

tail of what our agencies are doing to respond to the threat. suffice it to say that this is an all hands on deck emergency. and we cannot implement and sustain an adequate response without fully funding the president's request. more than two months have passed since the president sent his request to congress. the zika virus is not some nebulous foreign threat. it's already on our shores. congress needs to act. i call on my fellow senators to come to an agreement on a robust and comprehensive zika supplemental that enables us to better prevent, treat, and respond to the virus both at home and abroad while also punishing the critical ebola funds. when it comes to global health epidemics, we myat noe borders. the congress and the united states can and must act to protect american citizens and the people around the world. with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor.

i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: i ask consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: mr. president, i have eight unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the