this is worth our attention. we produced this bipartisan measure. a lot of hard work went into it. we have simply asked the senate take up the measure which we produced, or produce a better one. and the leadership has refused. that is part of the reason we find ourselves at this moment but i want to assure you, it is and and your gent matter. their matter too. >> 13 hours before another possible government shutdown the u.s. senate gaveling in next after the house last night passing the continuing resolution by a vote of 230-197. still unclear as to what's next for the senate. you saw some of the debate there from last night trying to move forward on the legislation. we'll hear more in a moment from the majority leader and likely from the democratic leader as well. live coverage of the u.s. senate is here on c-span2.

the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. spirit of the living god, fall afresh on us. as the clock ticks toward another deadline inspire our lawmakers to be instruments of your purposes. may they humbly seek to do what is best for our nation and world,

achieving together what cannot be done without allies. lord, give them the wisdom to see that there is a practical morality based on absolutes that they should follow. remind them that they are accountable to you for their thought words, and deeds. y they speak truth as you give them the ability to comprehend it, finding workable solutions to challenging problems. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore:

please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. mr. mcconnell: madam president, the deadline to fund the government is nearly upon us. the senate is now just hours away from an entirely avoidable

government shutdown. at midnight tonight, funding for programs thaillions of americans relyn, veteran sees, opioid treatment centers, death benefits for the families of the fallen soldiers, and health insurance for nine million vulnerable children would be thrown into chaos, thrown into chaos. last night the senate began consideration of a bill passed by the house which would erase all of these threats. the bill keeps the federal government open. it extends the state children's health insurance program which provides coverage for nine million children and low-income families for six years. this vote should be a no brainer. and it would be except the democratic leader has convinced his members to filibuster any funding bill that doesn't

include legislation they are demanding for people who came into the united states illegal illegally. what has been shoe horned into this discussion is an insistence that we deal with an illegal immigration issue. he's insist tentsz we won't sur -- that he won't support any legislation at all for the american people, no matter how noncontroversial or how bipartisan unless we pass a bill on illegal immigration first. if that means shutting down the funding for veterans, military families, opioid treatment centers, and even federal grants to his home state of new york, so be it. if it means throwing a wrench into the gea of the u.s. economy justs americans are starting to feel theenefits of historic tax reform, so be it. if it means failing to renew the

children's health program which the house-passed bill funded for a full six years, apparently that's just fine with those on the other side. nearly every democrat in the house made the same demand. that's been their stated position, nothing for hundreds of millions of americans and no health care for nine million vulnerable children until we solve a nonimminent issue related to illegal immigration. madam president, to even repeat this position out loud is to see how completely ridiculous it is. now that we're 13 hours away from a government shutdown that democrats would initiate and democrats would own, the craziness of this seems to be dawning on my friend, the

democratic leader. perhaps, perhaps he's remembering his own words from 2013. here's what he said back then about threatening a government shutdown. no matter how strongly one feels about an issue, you shouldn't hold millions of people hostage. that's wrong. a few days later, the democratic leader added, it's sort of like this. someone goes into your house, takes your wife and children hostage, and then says, let's negotiate over the price of your house. he went on to say, we're shutting down the government. we're not going to raise the debt ceiling til you pass immigration reform, it would be governmental chaos. end quote. now maybe, maybe he's remembering those words today because now he is saying never

mind. i really didn't mean it. and i'm calling for an even shorter short-term funding bill. of course, last ditch proposals would do nothing for the children's health program or the nine million children that are waiting on us to renew it. and what is more the incredible short-term continuing resolutions he's now proposing do not meet any of the demand, none of them, that he and his own conference and democrats in the house have been making for weeks. none of that would be solved in a short-term -- a few day c.r., the stuff they've been calling for. so apparently now he wants his members to default on their own demands. it's been days apparently persuading all of his colleagues to insist we cannot pass another continuing resolution. now he wants them to pass one.

he spent weeks getting his members to proclaim that we should not do anything to fund the government unless we address the daca iss, and now apparently calling on them to do just that. these incredibly short-term extensions would not even give us enough time to actually write the legislation the democratic leader is demanding. one extremely short-term c.r. would lead to another and another, exactly the outcome democrats have declared they cannot accept. now, madam president, i wish for all of our sakes that the democratic leader would figure out what he actually wants. i feel bad for his own members. he's painted them into a corner. but i especially feel bad for the american people whose

government, the democrat -- government the democrats are threatening to shut down and the nine million children whose health insurance could be thrown into jeopardy because senate democrats cannot get their story straight. now, my friend the democratic leader now wants his members to pass a bill that allows schip to expire. apparently he now wants every democrat in the house of representatives to break their word and pass a separate funding bill of his own that does not address the illegal immigration issue they said they must have. so let's think about this for a minute. first he leads his own troops into a boxed canyon, then tells them it was really all for nothing. maybe it's time to come back to reality. we already have a bill that we know can pass the house because

it already did. we have a bill that we know the president will sign into law because he's already committed to do just that. we know that with one noncontroversial and bipartisan vote, we can keep the government up and running. we can fund the children's health care program for six years, and we can give ourselves the time we need to finish ongoing negotiations on daca, border security, and the long-term needs of our military and, madam president, we could do all of that today. all of it. or -- or our democratic friends could continue to take the democratic leader's advice and vote to shut down the governme government, destabilize funding for our troops, shut down the

children's health care program, and still not get what they're demanding on illegal immigrati immigration. it's really up to them. i look forward to voting soon on cloture on the house bill. the american people, the citizens who actually elected us, will be wating. they will see which senators make the patriotic decision to stand up for the american people and vote to continue government funding and extend children's health care while we continue our bipartisan talks. and they will see which senators vote to shove aside veterans, military families, and vulnerable children to hold the entire country hostage, hold the

entire country hostage until we pass an immigration bill they haven't even written yet. this is completely unfair and uncompassionate for my democratic colleagues to filibuster government funding, harm our troops, and jeopardize health coverage for nine million children because extreme elements of their base want illegal immigration to crowd out every other priority. apparently they believe that the issue of illegal immigration is more important than everything else, all the government services the american people depend on. i would recommend stop the wild goose chase. don't go to a destination that cannote explained.

let's fulfill the core responsibilities of congress. let's fund the government. provide for the american people, and then resume serious negotiations on the issues that matter most. let's fund the government for a full month so we can actually get something done. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment h.r. 195 which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany h.r. 195, an act to amend title 44 united states code and so forth and for other

purposes. mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: democratic whip. mr. durbin: madam president, let's look at the reality of what we face at this moment in this country, in this chamber. the republicans are in majority control of the united states senate. the republicans are in majority control of the united states house of representatives. the republicans are in control of the white house. the republicans through their appointees have a pretty decisive edge when it comes to the united states supremeou. in oer words when you look across the spectrum, the three branches of government, the republicans are in control. what are they offering us? the fourth c.r. now, a c.r. is washington talk. it's a continuing resolution. what does it mean? it means that the republican majority has failed, failed in 119 days to produce a budget for

the united states of america. the republican majority in the house and senate with their president have failed to come up with a blueprint for spending for this great nation that we serve and are proud to be part of. their fourth failure to produce a budget in this fiscal year which began october 1 is before us now. was it negotiated between the republicans and democrats? no. it was produced in the house of representatives and with the senate. it was passed there by the republicans and a handful of democrats who supported it, and it was sent over here on a take it or leave it basis. well, you say, at least we're going to keep the lights on, and that's all a continuing resolution does, keep the lights on. it doesn't allow agencies to make important decisions to invest taxpayers' dollars wisely and to save taxpayers' dollars,

and last night the department of defense reported to us, they're sick and tired of the continuing resolutions which they have faced for three yrs. note i said three years. because we have failed even on the democratic side to come up with appropriations in the past and budgets in the past. and so i'm being very honest about it. but if we are going to change this mentality of never producing a budget, never producing appropriation bills, kind of stumbling into the fiscal year for month after weary month, if that is the new norm around here, shame on us and shame on the majority party, the republicans, for saying that's the best they can do. we can do better. we need to get beyond this world of continuing resolutions, and we need to get into a world where we actually make a decision which is good for the taxpayers as well as the security of the united states of america.

the best that the republican leader in the senate can offer us is another band-aid, another four weeks of temporary funding, a wasteful gesture, a wasteful exercise, and he knows it. there is more to this issue. he brings it up, senator mcconnell brings it up regularly. last night he did and again today. he glories in saying that this is all about illegal immigrants, illegal immigrants. let's be honest what we're talking about here. we are talking about those who were protected and allowed to live in the united states legally under an executive order of president obama until september 5 of last year when president donald trump announced he was eliminating this program, and as that protection is eliminated, as their two-year protection eires, yes, they move into illegal categories.

so are they illegal technically after they have lost daca? yes. what caused it? president donald trump caused it by his announcement on septembes finished by march 5. that's the reality. and you know what he also told us? i'm going to end this program. now i challenge you in congress to pass a law to replace it. so what has the republican majority in the house and senate done in the four and a half months since we received that challenge from president trump? nothing. nothing. and then i hear senator mcconnell say we haven't even seen a written proposal from the democrats on this. the senator knows better. a group of us, six of us, three democrats and three republicans accepted president trump's challenge and produced a

bipartisan solution. we have described it to everyone, democrat, republican alike. it was a good-faith effort. real compromise. pain on both sides. it's ready. it's ready to be brought to the floor of the united states senate. it's ready to be passed into law. for senator mcconnell to say he doesn't know anything about it, i'm sorry, but we have been very openbout what's included in there. he knows it's a product of long and hard bipartisan work. i'd like to address another aspect of what he has said about these so-called illegal immigrants. last night, late last night, after using that term, i noticed the gallery was filled over here with young people who appeared to be at first glance here to watch the debate on the dream act, the debate on daca. after the meeting of the senate,

i invited them into my office. there were about 40 of them. they were from all across the united states but primarily from the state of oregon who came all the way out here to try to see if this senate was going to meet president trump's challenge and produce an alternative. it turns out most of them were protected by daca, the executive order that is being abolished by president trump. one of them said to me i am skipping my first week of class at the university of texas. i said what's your major? she said neuroscience. i said don't skip too many classes. that's got to be a tough thing to do. but you came here because what's at stake in this chamber, what's at stake in this debate will decide whether or not she can continue to live in the united states of america. for senator mcconnell to dismiss this issue and say we'lo

ignore the oious. for many of these young people, this debate, this moment may decide their future. it may decide the future of their family. are they worried? to say the least, half of them were crying as they came into my office. at a point when i was talking to them, i said we will do everything we can to help your parents, they all broke down crying. that's what this is about. this is about a heart-wrenching issue that is before us because president trump made a decision september 5 to end a program which allowed these young people to go to school, to work in the united states of america. it was president trump that challenged us to do something about it, and we have done nothing, nothing. and that's the challenge we face. to say we're in no hurry. well, we may not be as senators and congressmen, but these young people are in a hurry to find out whether or not they have a life. that's what it comes down to.

there was an announcement just a few minutes ago from the house side from the republican leadership that the house of representatives, despite the fact that we do not have an agreement moving forward, is going to leave. they're going to leave washington. i don't know for how long and i don't know what they're going to do when they leave, but i would beg them don't turn your back on your responsibility right here in washington to work with us, to find a way to move forward. we have come up with a proposal. it is a short-term last-step continuing resolution of just a few days. i have been around here for a while. you give this senate and house a couple of weeks, it turns into a couple of months. if we do this in a matter of three or four days to reach an agreement on these key issues, everything included in the c.r. that we have before us and everything that should be, i think we'll roll up our sleeves, get down to work and do it. we don't want to shut down this

government. we want to solve the problems facing this government and this nation, and that means working together, something which senator mcconnell has not engaged in when it comes to this c.r. it's time for us as democrats and republicans to sit down in a room together, think about this great nation and the frustration they have with our political system and those of us in political life. nine out of ten, maybe even more would say to us for goodness sakes, will you stop your fighting, will you stop your bickering, will you stop your debating, would you get into a room, act like grown-ups and do something together for the good of this nation? that's what we're proposing. to sit down together for the good of this nation and move forward. when he was asked just a few days ago, senator mcconnell said his biggest problem was he didn't know what president trump wants. i can understand that. i have been in meetings with the president where he said one thing on a tuesday and a

different thing on a thursday and then tweeted something entirely different the next morning. he is a moving target when it comes to the policies and direction and leadership of this administration, and we need to do our job, and i hope he'll be rt of it. i hope the president will join us. if he will, we can solve this problem. if he stands on the sidelines, we cannot. i think we can find common ground. that's what the american people expect. we should give them nothing less. and of course we should solve the problems involving a children's health insurance program and community clinics and helping our veterans and the opioid crisis and defense spending and a sane approach, a reasonable approach when it comes to these young people who have become illegal because of the decision by president trump on september 5 of last year. together we can get this done, but not if the house republicans

leave town. we need to continue to be here in washington doing our job and making sure that we spend every waking moment serving the people who have elected us. madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: madam president, i have listened to the distinguished senator from illinois. the democrats never do anything wrong, do they? they're always right. i have to tell you, they do a lot of things that are wrong and they are not always right. this is a sittion wherehey have literally pushed everybody in this country into the corner. republicans want to do daca. they want to take care of these young people. they have even interfered with

that. i could go on and on. all i can say is that i get a little sick of hearing some of these arguments that are made. like they are holier than thou. they are not holier than thou. they are more political than thou. and i think it's time that we work together and get some things done here that make a difference in people's lives and especially in these young daca kids' lives. we can do that, but we can't do it by just democrats saying well, we're just going to give them everything they want. we're not going to worry about u.s. laws or immigration laws or anything else, for that matter. it's incredible to me. i have put up with it for all these years in the united states senate, and they get away with it because the media in this country is primarily focused on them, and basically supports them. and they admit it.

that's the thing that's really mind-boggling to me. the media admits it. the reason they do it is because they know they would be laughed out of town if they didn't admit it. all i can say is that we have a desire to solve these problems in a reasonable and good manner. the majority leader has indicated that time after time. politics always takes preference with our friends on the other side. they are good at it. they are really good at it even though if you look at the facts and you look behind what they're saying, it's a lot of bunk. not all. i have worked with really top-notch democrats in this body to do some of the most important legislation in this country's history. when they were really willing to sit down and really work with

you. politics rears its ugly head almost every time in such a way that it's almost impossible to get anything done around here. i think we have some on our side who fit that mode as well. i just wish we could do a better job. there are some of us who would do a better job if we knew that there was a way of bringing both sides together. having said that, madam president, we're not just a few hours away from a government shutdown unless, of course, enough senators can find a way to come together in order to avert it. unfortunately, it appears that our democratic colleagues would prefer a shutdown to compromise. the democrats have activists and pundits cheering for that result. they have their members in line to vote against the alternatives. they have set the stage for a grand demonstration of their

commitment. but for the life of me, madam president, i can't see at they're committed to with the latest gture to their political base. first of all, most of them don't object to the substance of the house-passed continuing resolution. that bill would keep the government open and address a number of bipartisan health care priorities. i don't know any democrats who are against those, but i'm sure there may be some, but the rest of them i think are pretty much for it. the bill before us includes what would be the longest extension of the insurance program in history. chip has given children and their families access to quality health care. now, maybe i have a right to speak on chip since i'm the author of the chip bill, and i believe that. i believe it's done so much good for our young people in this society. i really resent it being played

politics with all the time, which our friends on the other side just can't resist. chip has given children their family -- children and their families access to quality health care. quality health care coverage for over two decades.. it was founded on the belief that the health of our future is too important to be dragged down by the political bickering of the present. approximately nine million children depend on this critical program. it's important to me. and after several months of uncertainty, those nine million children deserve the peace of mind that comes with a long-te chip extension. as i noted here on the floorhe other day, as chairman of the finance committee, i've been working with my democratic counterparts on a bipartisan chip extension bill for months now. the committee's ranking member, senator wyden, and i introduced our initial bill earlier last

fall. that bill would have reauthorized chip for five, five years. it was promptly reported out of the finance committee with near unanimous support. then the democrats decided to pretend that bill never existed. as we worked through a crowded legislative calendar at the end of last year, my colleagues were well aware that efforts to reauthorize chip were ongoing. yet, many of our colleagues accused republicans of neglecting vulnerable children. i was leading the fight, as one of the leading republicans, as chairman of the finance committee, the author of the original bill, the one who's always voted for it. i just want a bill that works and not a political brouhaha that it always becomes whenever some of the democrats think they can score some political points. the attacks on this front were

fierce and usually at high volume. i was personally attacked by colleagues in committee, here on the floor, and in the media. all kinds of vitriol was thrown in my direction both here in the senate and out in the political intelligence i -- intelligencia. don't worry about me. i can take it and throw it right back if necessary, but for months colleagues have been coming to the floor or going on tv, pretty much wherever there is a camera accusing republicans for wanting to take away health insurance for vulnerable children. total b.s., but yet they do it all the time because they with their friends in the media know that they can get away with it, in spite of the -- what they're

doing. through all of this time they conveniently forgot to mention that bipartisan efforts with regard to chip were moving forward, even though they clearly knew that such was the case. in fact, one of the harshest critics was an original is cosponsor of our billed and a senator who voted in support of our bill in committee. this new bill before us would reauthorize chip for six years, something that's never been done before. a six-year extension would be the largest and longest in the history of the program. we already had done that in the finance committee. in all other respects the bill is identical to the one the finance committee reported with broad bipartisan support. so where are our colleagues today? is senator wyden, who coauthored the chip bill prepared to vote for an even longer extension of the program?

apparently not. are other democrats on the finance committee, including those who publicly touted their support for the committee bill, prepared to vote for this extension? apparently not. what about the those senate democrats both on and off the finance committee who have been on their own righteous crusades with regard to chip? are they prepared to vote for it today? apparently not. what has changed? do they oppose something in the broader bill? no. most democrats have supported the other health care elements in the package, including delays on the medical device tax. the health insurance tax, and the so-called cadillac tax from obamacare. the bill would accomplish those goals as well. think about that. what about the democrats? have they championed those causes? are they prepared to vote in favor of this bill?

apparently not. the question is why. why are democrats willing to filibuster this continuing resolution and shut down the government? which a crazy, right-wing fantasy have we inserted into the bill? of course i'm being sarcastic. there's really nothing wrong with the substance of the bill, madam president. or at least very few of our democratic colleagues are complaining about what's actually in the bill. instead they're complaining about what's not in it. democrats think they have struck political gold with immigration this week, so they're holding everything hostage so that they can stage another, quote, righteous, unquote, crusade here on the floor and in tv interviews. it should go without saying that i personally would like to see a legislative fix for the so-called dreamers, undocumented

immigrants brought to the u.s. as children. this is an important matter that needs to be addressed. and not only there are things in our immigration system in dire need of reform, immigration isn't something that can be solved with a few round tables with the president and some quick negotiations behind the scenes. it certainly isn't something we can or should try to solve under the threat of an imminent government shutdown. unless you've pw-pbl hiding in a cave or -- unless you've been hiding in a cave or trapped under something very heavy for the past 15 years, you know that immigration reform, even piecemeal reform, is an extremely difficult lift. there are members of both parties willing to work on this. the president has indicated his willingness as well.

but some don't want to go the reasonable route, so here we are. madam president, i get that there's an adage in this town that no one should let a good crisis go to waste, and i certainly understand the desire to strike when a political iron is hot and in the eyes of most democrats, that time is now. however, if they filibuster this legislation, they will be filibustering authorized funding for the child health insurance program. they will be voting to prevent this bipartisan effort, the one we've been talking about for years now, from moving forward. the one they have been harping about for years now from moving forward. there's another political adage that goes around this town, madam president. one that horribly misquotes

napoleon. that axiom does something like this, never interrupt your opponent when they're making a mistake. truthfully i don't consider my democratic colleagues to be my opponents, but a number of people unfortunately view congress that way. setting those semantics aside by urging my democratic colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, i may very well be ignoring napoleon's advice. still my colleagues have to know that if they vote to block this legislation, they will unequivocally be voting against a historically long-term child health insurance program extension, the longest its ever been. and i've had a lot do with that. they will be voting to prolong the very crisis -- that's their word, not mine -- that they have

been lamenting for the past several months. if they don't know that the chip advocates and stakeholders throughout the country know it, and the families and children who depend on chip will know it as well. there's no reason for my colleagues to pit their righteous crusade on immigration against their righteous crusade for chip. this is simply a matter of priorities. today the priority should be to keep the government open and to ensure funding for chip well into the future. like i said, madam president, offering my colleagues the advice may amount to stepping in the way of an opponent's mistake, but the politics on these issues should stop. the right answers in this case, the right answer in this case is pretty obvious. the right vote is one in favor

of the house-passed continuing resolution. i urge all my colleagues to join me in voting for this bill. look, i get so tired of the cheap politics that are played. when they are played on a bill like chip, virtually everybody is going to vote for it and everybody agrees with or wants to agree with or has claimed credit for, that makes you wonder what's going on. i think i have a right to speak on this because i'm the original author of chip. i wrote the original language. i was the one that got the committee to go for it. i was the one who went to ted kennedy representing the democrats to come on board, and he did. and it brought both sides together. and i'm sure he's up there wondering what's the matter with my side down there.

and he ought to be. it hasn't been easy to do all that, but we did it, it works, it's helped millions of children. it will help nine million children now. it's something everybody in this senate ought to be for and ought to quit playing games with. unfortunately some people think they can score points by playing games with something like chip. it's not only wrong, it's abysmal. i love my colleagues. there are some i love more than others, but i love all of them. and i have to say the ones i love more than others are those who really are honest and deliberative, who really want to do what's right while they're here and who are willing to work with others to get there, who are willing to work in a bipartisan manner to be able to bring these things to pass.

i understand differences between the two parties. i understand the politics that are constantly being played around here. but if we're going to play politics, play it on something other than chip. play it on something that deserves the political rafications. chip does not. ip is something that we all know works and works in the best interest of our children. and it's something we as federal employees can all work on and do, that we can walk home, or go home and feel really good about it and know that we've done something really worthwhile. i can say that because i'm the original author of the chip bill, and i've been for it ever since. i was the one who got senator kennedy to come on board and to help with it, and that brought a lot of democrats on board as

well. because if kennedy was on board, they could be on board. i was the one who got a lot of republicans on board like he was getting democrats. in other words, the two of us made this system work. not just the two of us. people in the house, other senators here in the senate. a lot of people deserve a lot of credit for the chip bill. and now we're sitting here arguing about something that we shouldn't have to argue about. it's disappointing to me and i'm disappointed in the politics that are being played around chip. there are better arguments on other bills than there are on the chip bill. but everybody knows that chip is going to pass one way or the other. so naturally our friends on the other side, maybe even some on our side, want to hang whatever they can on the chip bill, knowing that the american people want it, that senators want it,

that the house of representatives has proven that it wanted it, and they might be able to score a few political points. well, i want the two leaders to get together and let's get this matter resolved and let's quit playing these silly games that are so often played around here. i don't mind them maybe on bills that are lesser in import in nature. but to do it on the chip bill, my gosh, it's incredible to me. madam president, this is the greatest country in the world, but we do have some really stupid people representing it fromime to time. and with that, i probably have gone too far saying that, but it's true. and it's disappointing to me. with that, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the

senator from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, madam president. let me start by agreeing with the senator from utah that we should extend the children's health insurance program. we should do it for six years. and i want to commend the senator from utah for his work in creating the chip program along with senator kennedy. goo÷ good work and we need to extend it. we also have an obligation on a bipartisan basis to get together and put together a budget for the united states of america. we're now four months into the current fiscal year. and we do not have a budget that provides the resources necessary for the department of defense. we do not have a budget that provides resources to fight the opioid epidemic. a lot of talk here in the united states senate about fighting the opioid epidemic, but no resources to do that.

we need a budget to get that done. so, yes, we should extend the children's health insurance program. we need to do that. but we also need to do our job which we should have done back in october 1, the first day of this fiscal year, and actually adopt a bipartisan budget for the united states of america. and the tragedy here right now is that at midnight tonight, the government will shut down unl e senate republican leadehip comes to itsens and supports a bipartisan budget agreement. a bipartisan agreement which is really in plain sight right here in the united states senate. look, the american people understand very clearly that republicans control the white

house. republicans control both houses of congress. and with that comes a responsibility to govern for the good of the entire country and not focus on narrow partisan interests. but instead what we have here as the clock ticks is dysfunction and chaos. yesterday i heard the republican leader, senator mcconnell, say here on the floor that he would not support a bipartisan agreement reached by senators right here unless he knew where president trump stood on those issues. and then in the same breath he indicated he did not know where president trump stood on those key issues. madam president, we are a separate and equal branch of the

united states vernment wit our own constitutional responsibilities. and we have a bipartisan agreement here on so many of these issues. and we should not be now outsourcing our constitutional duties to a white house that doesn't know where it stands on these issues according to senator mcconnell. senator lindsey graham had it right when he said we don't have a reliable negotiating partner at the white house. and in the last week, we heard president trump's own chief of staff general kelly acknowledge that the president was, quote, uninformed on some of the issues being debated here. so let's do our job as the

united states senate with our own responsibilities under the constitution and not say we've got to wait somehow on a dysfunctional white house, and not say we have a wait on a president who once tweeted out that we need, quote, a good government shutdown. there are no good government shutdowshutdowns, and we shoulde doing everything we can to avoid one at midnight tonight. so let's actually do our job here and let's come up with a budget for the united states for this fiscal year. you know, a small business could not survive without putting together its budget, and it does great harm to our country and to our government when this congress cannot get its act together and put together a budget in time. we have now been kicking the can

down the road month by month since october 1. that's why senator graham said this morning, and i quote, i'm not going to support continuing this fiasco for 30 more days. it's time congress stopped the cycle of dysfunction, grow up, and act consistent with the values of a great nation. unquote. amen to that. that is our constitutional duty. that's what we need to do in order to protect our military and other vital investments important to our country and our economy. here's what the pentagon's chief spokesperson said about this about continuing resolutions. quote, they are wasteful, they are destructive, and the longer they go on, the worse it is. and she went on to say that

these continuing resolions erode our defense capabilities have negative consequences for them. so why in the world do we want to kick the can down the road another 30 days when we can get it done right now and avert a government shutdown? we need that budget to support our military. we also need it to support the critical investment in our kids' education. we need a budget plan that's going to provide veterans. the health care they deserve. we need a budget that's going to fight the opioid epidemic, one that keeps community health centers open. the social security administration has faced hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts. they're not going to be able to do their job in making sure folks get their social security

benefits on time if we continue to strangle their budget. and the sad thing is, we've known about all of these issues since last september. i'm glad we've come to some resolution on the issue of the children's health insurance program. we've known about that since last september. but we've also known about the need to fight the opioid epidemic. we've known about the need to fund community health centers. we've known about the need to make sure our veterans have the health care they deserve. and we've known about the need to address the daca issue, the dreamers, because it's last september when president trump revoked the daca program effective a very short time from now.

that program had made sure that dreamers could be here legally in the united states and contributing to our country. so when president trump took that action, he manufactured the crisis we are in now. but he also said okay, i'm going to revoke this legal status, this program, but i want congress on a bipartisan basis to come up with a long-term solution. that's what he said back then. he said the same thing just a few weeks ago. i think the nation saw him on tv. he invited a bipartisan group of senators, members of the house, to the white house. he invited everybody to come up with a solution. and a number of our senators on a bipartisan basis took the president up on his request. it's where senator graham and senator durbin and two other

republicans and two other democrats came up with a plan which now has very broad support, including the support of seven republican senators. so they did exactly what president trump asked them to do. and they addressed all the su that president trump had outlined. i think we know what happened after that. senators graham and durbin went down to the white house to present their bipartisan agreement to the president. meanwhile, he invited some other senators over, and they sabota sabotaged the deal. and the president made these repulsive racist remarks at that meeting. so the president who had asked senators to come up with a solution on a bipartisan basis, when they did what he asked, he threw it back in their face. and so why is the republican leader, senator mcconnell, now

saying to the senate we can't do our job here until i know what's going to happen down at the white house. why should we be outsourcing our constitutional responsibilities to the white house when we have an agreement which if it was put on the floor of this senate today, it would pass? a bipartisan solution. so, madam president, i really believe that it's time for us to do our job here, republicans and democrats alike. here's what president trump said at the time of the las governme shutdn. th's when we had a 16-day shutdown because some of the republican senators didn't want

to fund the affordable care act at the time, shut down the government for 16 days. then citizen trump said, and i quote, it always happens to be at the top. i mean, the problems start from the top. and have to get solved from the top. this is what citizen donald trump was saying about president obama at the time of the last shutdown. he went on to say, quote, the president is the leader, and he's got to get everybody in a room and he's got to lead. how times change when citizen trump becomes president trump. you have a white house in chaos, dysfunction. senator graham himself said it, an unreliable negotiating partner. and yet the republican leader wants this senate to outsource our job to the president of the united states and says that

we're going to shut down the government here because we don't know what president trump thinks about all this. that is a dereliction of the duty of the senate, and we need to do our job today and avoid a government shutdown. the answer is in plain sight. let's get to work. let's get it done. i yield the floor. madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: quorum call: quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. a senator: mr. president, we are here today because republicans and president trump have failed in their most basic -- the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. a senator: mr. president, i ask for a vitiation of the qrum call. the presiding officer: without objection. now the able senor from massachusetts. mr. markey: again, i thank you, mr. president, very much. mr. president, we are here today because republicans and president trump have failed in their most basic responsibility as the governing party, bringing us mere hours away from an

unnecessary and consequential government shutdown. letsd -- let's be clear. with republicans in control of the white house, the senate, and the house of representatives, the only person to blame if the government shuts down will be president donald trump. later today, i plan to vote no on the government funding bill that the house of representatives has sent over to the senate because it provides no certainty or resolution for dreamers, pensioners, veterans, the people of puerto rico or vulnerable children and patients across the country. i cannot support legislation that fails to ensure that we are fulfilling our moral and constitutional obligation to the american people. sadly, this budget process is just a continuation of a pattern

from republicans in congress, draft major picy in secret with no debe, no democrats, no real opportunity to negotiate. fit, they did it on health care. then they did it on tax reform. and now they are doing it again on the continuing budget resolution. there's a great song in the musical "hamilton" titled" the room where it happens." well, the democrats aren't even told where the room is. republicans aren't negotiating deals. they are delivering fiats. not just to the democrats but to the american people, and the american people are the ones paying the price. and we cannot let this craven,

half measure of a bill fool us. yes, this legislation does finally reauthorize and fund a program that provides health care for nine million children across this country known as the children's health insurance program, or chip. let's remember, just like they are abdicating their role in governing today and have been throughout the budget negotiations, republicans in congress allowed chip to expire at the end of september, more than 100 days ago. why would republicans do such a thing for a program that they now say is so vital and bipartisan? because 100 days ago, the republican caucus was preoccupied with their unsuccessful attempt at repealing the affordable care act. for weeks on end, they held america in suspense as they secretly wrote and rewrote a bill that would rip health care

coverage away from tens of millions of americans while taking a machete to medicaid. thankfully, this dangerous bill failed to gain support from enough senate republicans to pass, but when that irresponsible bill failed, instead of immediately returning to the important business of providing low and middle-class children health care, the republicans decided to use its energy to jam through a massive tax scam with giveaways for millionaires and billionaires, once again leaving child health and working families in limbo. republicans were more interested in a tax bill of corporate welfare than in children's health care. congress provided a band-aid for chip at the end of last year, enough funding to support some states through today, yet the

absence of a real solution has consequences. the chip families remain worried about paying for their children's medication or getting them a checkup or receiving that unexpected, devtating, and expensive diagnosis for their young child. health care providers remain terrified that they will have to cut services to medically complex children and other pediatric patients that they serve. and states still lack the certainty and assurances needed to fully operate chip for their residents. many are still contemplating contingency plans should the federal government not meet their end of the bargain and provide funds needed for chip to succeed. these last hundred dollars of anxiety and uncertainty represent uncharted territory for this popular program. for two decades, chip has provided affordable,

comprehensive health insurance to children of working families and pregnant women. in 2016, chip covered nearly nine million children throughout the united states. some two million of them are chronically ill with asthma, diabetes, epilepsy or developmental disorders. in massachusetts, chip has been instrumental in getting nearly all of our children covered. without continued federal funding, massachusetts alone could lose approximately $295 million annually in federal chip dollars. that would be devastating for the 172,000 baystate children who rely on chip for their health coverage. and ironically, over three months ago, senate leaders in both parties cam up a bipartisan agreement on whathe next five years of chip like, bs insisted that we had to pay for chip by raiding other important

programs like the prevention and public health fund which is used to help prevent child illness by providing vaccines, among other things. the stop-gap funding measure passed in december cut $750 million from the prevention and public health fund for a short-term spending patch. it was robbing peter to pay paul. so we're hours away from shutting down the government with the superrich still celebrating their $1 trillion tax break and congressional republicans still scheming ways to cut social security, medicare and medicaid, and still punting a solution for dreamers, veterans, pensioners, and for the people of puerto rico. while i remain supportive of the chip program, i do not support the legislative malpractice

republicans performed on the continuing resolution, but that wasn't the first time. republicans tried to pay for one health care need with another, and chip is not the only victim of republicans' political games. i cannot support the house legislation because it provides no funding to address the greatest public health crisis facingur nation today, the opioidrisis. when president trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency in october, he laid out his vision that, quote, we can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic. on that, he is right, but we know the division without funding is an hallucination. we need real funding to implement real solutions. the white house council of

economic advisors estimated the opioid epidemic cost the country $500 billion in 2015. how much has the trump administration devoted to this crisis? zero dollars. not a nickel since donald trump was sworn in as president. and now there is news that the trump administration might slash the budget of the office of national drug control policy by 95%. that isn't a commitment to the crisis. that is an abdication. asking our states, our cities, and towns to continue fighting this scourge of opioid overdoses without additional federal funding is irresponsible, it is cruel, and it will come bac to haunt us as a nation.

these budget negotiations were an ideal opportunity to fund what my colleagues in both parties have said publicly is important -- combating the opioid crisis. instead, we are leaving families without hope or help. we owe it to them and the millions like them across the country to fight as hard as possible for the funding which they need. we should also remember, as we look at this house legislation that so many of the patients seeking treatment and recovery services for opioid addiction rely on their community health centers, but if this funding measure passes, republicans will have irresponsibly and unfairly left many funding for community health centers in limbo. that funding also expired more than 100 days ago. for more than 50 years,

community health centers have been an integral component of our social safety net. this movement which started in massachusetts has transformed how we treat some of our most medically vulnerable citizens, while also improving the health and wellness of our communities. in fact, for many americans, community health centers are the only access point for affordable health care. in massachusetts, it treatments more than 750,000 patients, and 16% of these patients are uninsured and nearly half are on medicaid. in addition to the quality comprehensive care they provide, community health centers play a key economic role in many regions across the country. community health centers in massachusetts have created more than 12,000 jobs, including more than $8,500 direct full-time employees. much like chip, unfortunately,

republicans have denied community health centers the certainty of funding they need, forcing them to make tough decisions that ultimately impact their ability to fulfill their mission and care for the people of their communities. i have heard from community health centers across the commonwealth that congress' inability to reauthorize funding has made new physicians reluctant to practice at their facilities, further straining an already depleting workforce. new staff to address burgeoning infectious disease outbreaks like the flu cannot be hired, hampering the health centers' ability to respond to the needs of the community. these facilities are often the backbones of their communities, and for more than 100 dates whaoefb hamstring -- we have been hstringir ability to do their jobs. it is shameful and it is

unacceptable. throughout the 100 days war of some of our most health care programs, democrats have been calling on republicans to invite us into the room to sit down on a bipartisan basis and work through our differences to come to a solution on chip, on community health centers, on opioid funding, and of course on our dreamers. but instead, we are in a governmental paralysis, fixing only a fraction of the problems republicans created while the president continues to focus on the campaign trail and fails in funding a solution for our country. for republicans, this newest c.r. yet again means nothing more than can't resolve. the american people deserve so much more than that. the american people are tired of waiting on their government to do the right thing.

lives are depending on it. it's been five months since the fiscal year started, and we still don't have a budget. that is just unacceptable. now republicans are shedding crocodile tears about our military and national security being at risk during a government shutdown. do you know what is harmful to our national defense? month-to-month budgets and operating by way of continuing resolutions. that's no way to run the defense department but that's exactly what the republicans have done wi these short-term budget fixes. so spare me. spare america your crocodile tears because it is, again, time to sit down on a bipartisan basis and get a budget done, a budget that would take care of the defense department, the opioid crisis, pensions, veterans, chip, community health

centers, and it would give some certitude to the american people that this body knows how to govern. instead i'm engaging in budget brinksmanship. we need republicans and president trump to engage in budget bipartisanship. it is time we end this waiting game now and provide the certainty and funding necessary so all of these critical priorities are addressed, not just the ones that republicans care about. the republican paradox is that they don't believe in government but they have to run for office in order to make sure that the government doesn't work. and now that they control the house and the senate and the presidency, we have reached their perfect state where the government cannot work because it's being paralyzed by the party that controls all of these branches. they refuse to talk to democrats. they refuse to ensure that the constitution is implemented where democrats and republicans

working together in both ses of this building, plus the president, sit down in the room in order to cut the deals. until president trump is willing to sit down with chuck schumer and nancy pelosi and mitch mcconnell and paul ryan in the room, we will not get a resolution of these issues. so, mr. president, come up here to the hill. mr. president, sit down with all of the people who want to resolve these issues for the american people. mr. president, do your job. bill bellachick says to the new england patriots, if you want to win, do your job. the same thing is true for you, mr. president. do your job. come together with democrats and republicans. stop carping critically from the

outside at any move democrats or republicans make. instead, get in the room. we can resolve these issues for the american people. the time is now, mr. president. do your job. mr. president, i yield back the balance of my time. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the able senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, today hundredsf thousands of americans from all walksf life will participa in the 45th annual march for life. this begs the question, why do all these citizens march year after year? it certainly isn't for their health or the media coverage. no. these americans march on behalf of those who cannot. they march for uniquely vulnerable members of the human

family. they march for the unborn. for those threatened by abortion and for the countless millions of innocent lives already lost. these americans march to protest the legal regime that sustains abortion. the cornerstone of that crumbling edifice is roe v. wade, the 1973 supreme court case that invented a right to abortion in the constitution. and in so doing, stripped the unborn of their right to life. the principal effect of roe v. wade on our culture has been to cheapen the value of humanity itself. roe has insinuated into the law a poisonous notion, a notion that some human beings may be treated as things, as objects to be discarded when they're

inconvenient. we've seen this before in human history. but an unintended effect of roe has been to kick start a movement that has lasted four and a half decades. roe did not resolve the abortion debate, although it tried to. rather it intensified that very debate. the nation's conscience was not deadened by roe's euphemisms and evasions. rather it was brought to life like a fire bell in the night, roe awakened a generation of americans to the injustice of abortion. countless thousands of them are marching in washington, d.c. and salt lake city and in cities all across the country today. but the institution of abortion still has its stalwart defenders, vociferous defenders even. now one may ask, why does this

issue arouse such anger and such passion as it so often does? i argue that it's because the pro-life and proabortion movements offer competing and mutually inconsistent visions, moral visions for our society. indeed competing arguments about human dignity and even about what it means to be human in the first place. both moral visions are in one sense as old as the nation. they have appeared in various guises throughout american history. there is consit trend in how the clash o visions has played out in every era. the vision advanced by the pro-life movement has inspired righteous protests. the other vision has been used to rationalize hideous injustices. the pro-life vision embraces our country's noblest -l truths.

the pro-abortion vision twists it. let me explain what it means. our declaration of independence contains some of the most succinct and profound and revolutionary statements in human history. we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. we know that the united states is not always active on this high principle. it's not always based in a manner consistent with it. we have at times denied life, liberty, and opportunity to our fellow beings and countless cruel and unfortunate ways. even in the darkest times, mr. president, patriots and reformers have looked to this passage as a guiding light because it is in many respects the conscience of our nation.

abraham lincoln referred to the declaration of independence constantly in his speeches, callg it theet anchor of ameran republicanism and the fatherf our moral principle. he called the declaration of tph-fpdz's statement on -- independence statement an electric cord that connects americans through the ages. now it is a direct line that runs from the founding generation to the very heart of the pro-life movement today. the core conviction of the pro-life movement is that all men are created equal and that all have a right to life. we believe that every human has dignity and merits protection simply by virtue of being human. you'll often hear pro-lifers

emphasize the human tpaoerts -- features of unborn children. we point out the human heart begins to beat as early as 16 days after conception. we point out the unborn child can yawn, react to pain and suck they -- her thumb. we point out that thumb has a unique, one of a kind fingerprint. but we don't mention these characteristics because they are what give children their worth. it is not our fingerprints or even our beating hearts or our ability to yawn that make us human, that make us people. rather we pointo these characteristics because they in turn point to something far more fundamental. they point to the inescapable fact that the unborn child is a human being just like us.

it is that endowment, it is that shared humanity that gives us all moral worth. and so to summarize the pro-life position, we have only to repeat those five words in the declaration of independence: all men are created equal. all, therefore, are entitled to life. but to be sure, not everyone shares the belief that all men are created equal. at various times this very belief that is so much at the core of who we are and what we believe as americans has been called an error of the past generation. it's even been called a self-evident lie. few today would denounce the declaration of independence in such terms. but defenders of abortion repudiate the declaration by their actions and the arguments they advance to protect abortion. defenders of abortion no longer

dispute that unborn children are living human beings. how could they? science testifies unequivocally to our shared humanity. most sophisticated defenders of abortion do not even dispute that abortion is a violent act. if you don't believe me on this point, perhaps you'll believe ronald torkin for the pro-choice position. abortion, he writes, is deliberately killing a developing human embryo. he goes on to describe abortion as a choice for death. so if abortion defenders do not deny the humanity of the fetus and if they do not deny that abortion kills the fetus, how then do they defend abortion? in short, they do it by segregating the human family and affecting the two classes: human beings worthy of life, sometimes called human persons.

and human beings who are unworthy of life, human nonpersons. according to this view, human beings do not deserve protection on the basis of their humanity alone. rather, they acquire the right to life when they attain certain characteristics, usually some level of cognitive ability or bodily development. since the unborn lack these magical personhood qualities, they lack the right to life and may be dismembered in the womb. they are human nonpersons or so the argument goes. there are many problems with this chilling view. it has been rebutted at length by smarter men and women than me, but for the purposes of today it's enough to point out that the track record ofhis argument isubious. because it just so happens that every time mankind has been artificially divided into

classes, into persons and nonpersons based on their race, sex, genetic fitness or any other attribute, the result has been calamity. which leads to a very simple question that has never been satisfactorily answered by abortion defenders. why should we believe that this time is any different? abortion is a very difficult subject matter for so many reasons, but on another level it's really quite simple. our society has to choose between the two visions of human dignity described above. put simply, do we believe that all men are created equal or that some perhaps are somehow more equal than others? this simple question deserves a simple response. we must choose the first of these options and affirm that all human beings are created

with dignity. and we must reject all attempts to separate the human family into higher and lower classes. let us see these attempts for what they are, cruel fictions that cheapen life itself. just as there is no such thing as le unworthy of life. thers no such thing as a human nonpson. there are just people, and we are each fearfully and wonderfully made. yes, dignity was ours before we stirred in the womb. it is stamped on to the very fabric of our genome. it is printed on to our soul. this is the truth so brilliantly proclaimed in our nation's founding documents, even as it is denied by our legal system starting with roe v. wade. but even though the laws of man are against us for now, the

truth is with us. and the truth can erode even the most formidable edifice of lies. and so on this 45th anniversary of roe v. wade, let us respond to roe as frederick douglass responded to a similar indignity in scott v. sanford. happily for the whole human family, their rights have been demind, declared -- defined, declared and decided in a court higher than the supreme court. those words, mr. president, are as true today as they were when they were spoken. they call on us to continue the winding march for justice and for life until the unalienable rights of every human being are respected in our land. thank you, mr. president.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished senator from vermont. mr. sanders: thank you very much, mr. president. today i come before my colleagues here in the senate to urge in the strongest possible terms that the republican leadership here accept its responsibility and not allow the government of the united states of america to shut down. republicans control the u.s. senate. they control the u.s. house. and a republican is in the white house. please do not shut the government down. a government shutdown will be extremely distressing and difficult for millions of people in every state in our country who utilize government services.

a government shutdown will be extremely painful for millions of federal employees who depend upon their paychecks to provide for their families. and a government shutdown will make it muches more difficult -- much more difficult for the united states military, the men and women who are putting their lives on the line to defend us, to do their jobs. the american people do not want a government shutdown. i do not want a government shutdown. and i believe that most of my republican colleagues do not want a government shutdown. and it is imperative that president trump understands despite what he said in may that that statement is wrong. when he said our country needs a good shutdown, that is wrong.

our country does not need a good shutdown. what we need is an annual budget that addresses the many needs of the american people. just last night, mr. president, this is what a spokesperson from the pentagon stated. and i quote. we have been working under a continuing resolution for three years now. our current c.r. expires tomorrow, january 19. this is wasteful and destructive. we need a fully funded fiscal year 2018 budget or face ramifications on our military. end of quote. this afternoon i say to senator mcconnell, the republican leader here in the senate, please do not shut the

government down. you know, senator mcconnell, the political reality as well as anybody inur country. in the senate you need 60 votes to pass this budget agreement. you don't have 60 votes. please, sit down with democrats and start negotiating in good faith. please do not shut the government down. more and more democrats are sick and tired of kicking the can down the road, tired of us not addressing the major crises facing this country, tired of running a $4 trillion operation which is what the united states

government is on a month-to-month basis. but it's not just democrats who are demanding that we finally have an annual budget. it is republicans as well. my understanding is, what i have heard from the news media, is that they are now -- that there are now five republicans prepared to vote against this continuing resolution and even more who have voiced deep concerns aboutheack of an annual bget. they know and i know that just passing another temporary budget is totally irresponsible and is abdicating the job that we were elected to do. what the american people understand, what every business person in this country

understanding, what every family in america understands is that you cannot run a government given the many, many crises that we face on a month-to-month basis. we cannot continue to ak akd indicate our responsibility -- to abdicate our responsibility. finally we must address the problems facing the american people. last night the pentagon told us correctly and i state again. this is what they said. quote, we need a fully funded fiscal 2018 budget or face ramifications on our military, end quote. but it's not just the military that faces a crisis situation because of the lack of an annual budget. and let us not forget we are

three and a half months into the fiscal year. three and a half months have come and gone, and the republican leadership here has still not given us an annual budget. but again it is not just the military that is facing a crisis situation. mr. president, today 27 million americans get their primary health care, dental care, mental health counseling and low-cost prescription drugs through the community health center program. in my state of vermont, one out of four vermonters get their primary health care through community health centers. three and a half months have gone since the beginning of this fiscal year, and the republicans

have not yet reauthorized funding for the community health center program which is now facing a severe crisis in terms of recruiting and retaining the doctors, nurses, and other medical staff they need to maintain the quality of service they must maintain. what doctor, what nurse is going to come to a community health center when he or she doesn't even know if that facility is going to receive funding. 27 million americans depend upon community health centers. i'm glad that a i understand it the republicans nowre prepared to reauthorize the chip program. nine million kids need that program. three and a half months come and gone. finally they're talking about reauthorizing chip. that's good. but you cannot forget community health centers.

mr. president, the community health center program in this country is 50 years old. it was developed in the 1960's. it is supported by virtually every democrat and i think the vast majority of the republicans. and yet it has not been reauthorized. this is a crisis which cannot be kicked down the road. it has to be addressed and addressed now. mr. president, on veterans day everybody here goes running all over the country giving great speeches about how much we love the veterans. buff the veterans administration -- budget the veterans administration cannot continue to provide decent and quality care to those of our veterans who put their lives on the line to defend us when they have over 30,000 vacancies.

in vermont and around the country, v.a. provides good quality care, but you can't provide care in a timely manner when we have 30,000 vacancies at the v.a. this is an issue that cannot be kicked down -- the can cannot be kicked down the road. it must be addressed now, now, not next year. mr. president, as everybody knows, louisiana and vermont, all over this country there is a horrible, horrific opioid and heroin epidemic sweeping this country. it has hit my state of vermont hard. it has hit states all over america. last year 60,000 people in our country died as a result of opioid or heroin overdoses. we need to help state governments, local community, families, police departments address the opioid and heroin

epidemic. this is a crisis which cannot be kicked down the road. it must be addressed now, not through a continuing resolution which absolutely ignores this crisis. must be addressed now. mr. president, last year unbelievably, some 10,000 people with disabilities died while awaiting a decision for the applications they made to the social security administration for disability benefits to be approved. people with disabilities apply for benefits. they wait. they wait. and they wai last year 10,000 people died with disabilities waiting for a decision. and many of them died because the social security

administration is today grossly underfunded, understaffed, and simply not able to deal with the volume of claims that they received. but it is not just people with disabilities. in my state of vermont, i hear this every day. there are older americans who are not getting the quality of service they need from the social security administration. our job is to adequately fund the social security administration so they can protect the needs of senior citizens and people with disabilities in our country. this is a crisis which cannot be kicked down the road. it has to be addressed now. and this continuing resolution that i presume we're going to vote on later today does not deal with it. mr. president, a million and a

half americans are in danger of seeing their pensions cut by up to 60%. these are truck drivers, construction workers, machinists, and others wha who e worked their entire careers with the expectation that they would receive a decent pension when they retired. we have a responsibility to protect the pensions of these hardworking americans and keep the promises that were made to them. this is another crisis that cannot be kicked down the road. it has to be addressed now, and the continuing resolution that's going to come before us has not one word to say about that. and then we have a child care crisis in this country. millions of working families can't find quality, affordable child care. we have a student debt crisis in

this country. 40 million people, many of them deeply in debt, unable to get on with their lives for the crime of having gone to college. that is a crisis that we have to deal with. we have an infrastructure crisis in this country all over america. roads, bridges, wait water plants are collapsing. how do we continue to ignore those crises? mr. president, at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when the rich are getting richer and everybody else is getting poorer, our job here in congress is not just to give tax breaks to billionaires. our job is not just to try to throw 32 million americans off of the health insurance they have or to deny the reality of climate change or to end net neutrality or make racist comments about countries throughout the world. our job is t represehe needs of ordinary americans.

we cannot continue to ignore these problems. we cannot continue to kick the can down the road. so once again, i say to the majority leader let us begin to negotiate in good faith. let us reach decisions which will improve life for the american people, not simply ignore their needs. mr. president, when we talk about the crises facing this country, we are also talking about a crisis precipitated by president trump in september of last year. as a result of president trump's rescinding president obama's executive order on daca, some 800,000 young people in our country are today living in fear, uncertainty, and anxiety.

if we do not act and act now, it is possible that many of these young people will lose their legal status and be subjected to the possibility of deportation. this must not be allowed to happen. this issue, to my mind, mr. president, is one of the great moral issues of our time. these young people who were brought into this country, sometimes at 2 years of age, 3 years, 5 years of age, are people who have lived virtually their entire life in the united states of america. they are working, they are in school, they are in the military. 20,000 of these young daca

people are now teaching in schools throughout the country. it would be one of the cruelest acts in modern american history or history in general, our history in general if we said to these young people who know no other country but the united states of america that they could be deported from our shores. it would be an unspeakable crime, and we must not allow that to happen. but that is not just the opinion of senator bernie sanders. that is the overwhelming point of view of the american people, of democrats, republicans, and independents. a poll just came out last night, mr. president, from cbs, and what the polls showed is that

87% of the american people believe that we should protect the legal status of the dreamers. %. and that pl is consistent with poll after poll after poll, where the people of the united states across the political spectrum are saying we cannot turn our backs on these dreamers , and the vast majority of people believe we must provide a path toward citizenship. there is now bipartisan legislation that has been written by senator durbin, senator graham, and others, and i say to senator mcconnell if 87% of the american people think we should provide legal status to the dreamers, let us do our job. let us pass this legislation.

this is not a profile in courage. this is what the american people want, and let us do what the american people want. mr. president, as you well know, terrible, terrible hurricanes struck texas and florida and puerto rico and the virgin islands months and months ago, and people are -- people there are still suffering. many peoplen erto ric today still do not have elect and then there are devastating wildfires and mudslides that have taken place in california. how long does it take for this congress to respond to the crises facing our fellow americans? mr. president, what i say is we were elected to do our jobs in

representing the american people. that's what we are paid to do. we cannot run a government on a month-to-month basis. senator mcconnell does not have the 60 votes he needs, and now is the time for him to sit down with the democratic leadership and negotiate in serious agreement on the budget situation, on parity between defense and nondefense spending, negotiate a serious agreement on daca providing legal status and a path toward citizenship for our 800,000 young people, negotiate a serious agreement on disaster relief. and the truth of the matter is we can do it, we can do it. the differences of opinion are not that wide, but we cannot do

it and will not do it unless we nally sit down a start negotiating in a serio manner, and that is what i implore senator mcconnell to do. and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

.

quorum call: