September 20, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6501 

Nelson (NE) 

Nelson (FL) 

Portman 

Pryor 

Reed 

Reid 

Rockefeller 

Sanders 

Schumer 

Shaheen 

Stabenow 

Tester 

Udall (CO) 

Udall (NM) 

Warner 

Webb 

Whitehouse 

Wicker 

Wyden 

NAYS—31 

Ayotte 

Barrasso 

Boozman 

Burr 

Chambliss 

Coburn 

Collins 

Corker 

Cornyn 

Crapo 

DeMint 

Enzi 

Graham 

Grassley 

Hatch 

Isakson 

Johnson (WI) 

Lee 

Manchin 

McCain 

Moran 

Paul 

Risch 

Roberts 

Rubio 

Sessions 

Shelby 

Snowe 

Thune 

Toomey 

Vitter 

NOT VOTING—2 

Inhofe Kirk 

The motion was agreed to. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. 

CARDIN). The majority leader. 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, for the last 

several days I have been telling everyone that we needed to do a couple of 

things before we leave. We have to do 

the CR, and we have to do the sportsmen’s package. 

Mr. President, just a second on the 

sportsmen’s package. If we flip through 

the dictionary and find the word ‘‘bipartisan,’’ part of that definition would 

be TESTER’s sportsmen’s package because it is a Republican and Democratic bill. It involves hunters, fishermen, and other sportsmen, including 

offroad vehicles. It is a very good piece 

of legislation for a group of people who 

are totally unrecognized most of the 

time. We are going to do those two 

things before we leave. 

In order to bring us to that result, I 

will fill the tree and file cloture on the 

CR. Unless we get consent, the cloture 

vote on the CR will occur sometime 

after midnight on Saturday, at 1 a.m. 

or thereabouts. Once we invoke cloture 

on the CR, the 30 hours postcloture will 

run until 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, give or 

take an hour. We would vote at that 

time to pass the CR. Immediately 

thereafter we will vote to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the 

sportsmen’s package. 

So here is where that leaves us: We 

file cloture on the CR and the motion 

to proceed to the sportsmen’s package. 

That sets up two votes for very early 

Sunday morning in addition to tomorrow night, Saturday morning at 1 a.m. 

or thereabouts. We can do those votes 

now and finish everything today or we 

can wait. The choice is clear. We end 

up in the same place Sunday morning 

or we can get there today. 

I have had some Senators come to me 

and say, well, we are not going to vote 

on the sportsmen’s package. Well, yes, 

they are. We have that set up. There is 

a clear path. The problem with the rest 

of the stuff is not our problem; it is the 

Republicans’ problem. 

I worked something out in good faith 

with RAND PAUL. He in good faith 

worked something out with me. I am 

not here to be a cheerleader for RAND

PAUL; I am here to tell everyone what 

happened. Now, if the Republicans 

don’t want to vote on that, I think it 

would be too bad because RAND PAUL, 

after all of this time—whether anyone 

agrees with what he wants to do or 

not—he and I in good faith worked 

something out. 

We had a number of Senators come 

here, including the senior Senator from 

Arizona to name one, who said we need 

more time on that. I have no problem 

with that. Yesterday when he said he 

wanted more time, I said just take the 

hour because Senator PAUL has been 

here talking about this for weeks and 

weeks. We have heard a lot from him, 

and he said: I have talked a lot on 

this—and I am paraphrasing—and 15 

minutes would be enough for me. I 

thought I was being generous by setting up an hour rather than 15 minutes. 

If the senior Senator from Arizona 

wants more time, I don’t care. I really 

don’t care. 

Also, I had some conversations with 

LINDSEY GRAHAM. He and Senator LIEBERMAN have been pushing very hard 

on a containment resolution that deals 

with Iran. It is another bipartisan 

piece of legislation. Eighty Senators 

are cosponsors of it. The other 20, I bet, 

like it also. If not, the majority of the 

20 do. It is something we overwhelmingly need to do. I think it would be 

good in that we are trying to work 

things out in Iraq, which is not stable 

at this time—at least not the way we 

want it to be. It would be nice if America had an ambassador to go to Iraq. 

That has been held up. 

With all the problems we see with 

Pakistan, I think it would be a good 

idea if we had an American ambassador 

to Pakistan. That has been held up for 

a long time. 

Again, to his credit, Senator PAUL

said have a vote on the containment 

resolution and have a vote on the two 

ambassadors. He is not standing in the 

way of that. 

Momentarily, I am going to file cloture and procedurally block any other 

amendments on the continuing resolution. We will vote on that whenever the 

Republicans want, but no later than 

Saturday morning at a time we will decide. When I say ‘‘we decide,’’ it is a 

statutory clock, and that is when it 

runs out. Following that, we will have 

a vote on final passage of the CR and a 

motion to proceed to TESTER’s sportsmen’s package. That is what we have 

to complete. For people to try to get 

out their stuff is just unfair. 

I have seen newspaper accounts of 

Republican Senators who love the 

TESTER legislation. I didn’t ask them; I 

read it in the paper. They think it is 

good because it is good. It is bipartisan. It does something we have been 

trying to do for a long time; that is, a 

lot of these little bills have been held 

up—hundreds of them. TESTER and the 

people who support this legislation 

have joined together 20 of these little 

bills into this one piece of legislation. 

It really is the right thing to do. I hope 

we can get this done. 

Remember the choice—I repeat for 

the third time—is very clear. We can 

quickly complete everything tonight 

or we can come back here Saturday 

morning in the middle of the night 

sometime and early Sunday morning. 

We will be at the same place. Those 

votes are going to take place. It is up 

to the Republicans and what they want 

to do with Senator PAUL and the unanimous consent request they objected to 

yesterday. 

f 

MAKING CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have an 

amendment at the desk as it relates to 

H.J. Res. 117. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report the bill by title. 

The assistant bill clerk read as follows: 

A resolution (H.J. Res. 117) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2013, 

and for other purposes. 

AMENDMENT NO. 2844

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. REID] proposes an amendment numbered 2844. 

The amendment is as follows: 

At the end, add the following new section: 

SEC. lll. 

This joint resolution shall become effective 5 days after enactment. 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for 

the yeas and nays. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a 

sufficient second? 

There appears to be a sufficient second. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

AMENDMENT NO. 2845 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2844

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a 

second-degree amendment at the desk. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. REID] proposes an amendment numbered 2845 to 

amendment No. 2844. 

The amendment is as follows: 

In the amendment, strike ‘‘5 days’’ and insert ‘‘4 days’’. 

CLOTURE MOTION

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a 

cloture motion which I ask the clerk to 

report with the permission of the 

Chair. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented 

under rule XXII, the Chair directs the 

clerk to read the motion. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

CLOTURE MOTION

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the 

Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move 

to bring to a close the debate on H.J. Res. 

117, a joint resolution making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2013, and for 

other purposes. 

Harry Reid, Daniel K. Inouye, Patty 

Murray, Bernard Sanders, Jeanne Shaheen, Richard J. Durbin, Sheldon 

Whitehouse, Debbie Stabenow, Max 

Baucus, Mark L. Pryor, Christopher A. 

Coons, Jon Tester, Michael F. Bennet, 


tjames on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with SENATE
S6502 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 20, 2012 

Kay R. Hagan, Robert P. Casey, Jr., 

Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden, Barbara Boxer. 

MOTION TO COMMIT WITH AMENDMENT NO. 2846

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a 

motion to commit the joint resolution 

with instructions, which is at the desk. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report the motion. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. REID] moves 

to commit the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 117, 

to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions to report back forthwith with the 

instructions, amendment numbered 2846. 

The amendment is as follows: 

At the end, add the following new section: 

SEC. lll. 

This joint resolution shall become effective 3 days after enactment. 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for 

the yeas and nays. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a 

sufficient second? 

There appears to be a sufficient second. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

AMENDMENT NO. 2847

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have an 

amendment to the instructions. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. REID] proposes an amendment numbered 2847 to the 

Instructions on the Motion to Commit. 

The amendment is as follows: 

In the amendment, strike ‘‘3 days’’ and insert ‘‘2 days’’. 

Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and 

nays. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a 

sufficient second? 

There appears to be a sufficient second. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

AMENDMENT NO. 2848 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2847

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now have 

a second-degree amendment at the 

desk. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. REID] proposes an amendment numbered 2848 to 

amendment No. 2847. 

The amendment is as follows: 

In the amendment, strike ‘‘2 days’’ and insert ‘‘1 day’’. 

f 

SPORTSMEN’S ACT OF 2012— 

MOTION TO PROCEED 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to 

proceed to Calendar No. 504, S. 3525. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report the bill by title. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. REID] moves 

to proceed to the consideration of Calendar 

No. 504, S. 3525, a bill to protect and enhance 

opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting, and for other purposes. 

CLOTURE MOTION

Mr. REID. I have a cloture motion at 

the desk. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented 

under rule XXII, the Chair directs the 

clerk to read the motion. 

The bill clerk read as follows: 

CLOTURE MOTION

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the 

Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move 

to bring to a close debate on the motion to 

proceed to calendar No. 504, S. 3525, a bill to 

protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting, and 

for other purposes. 

Harry Reid, Jon Tester, Joe Manchin III, 

Jeanne Shaheen, Sheldon Whitehouse, 

Debbie Stabenow, Ron Wyden, Max 

Baucus, Daniel K. Inouye, Kent Conrad, 

Mark Pryor, Christopher A. Coons, Michael F. Bennet, Kay R. Hagan, Robert 

P. Casey, Jr., Richard Blumenthal, Ben 

Nelson. 

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent 

that the mandatory quorum required 

under rule XXII be waived with respect 

to both cloture motions. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the President pro tempore of the Senate is on 

the floor and seeks recognition. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

President pro tempore. 

H.J. RES. 117

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, today, 

as we near the end of the current fiscal 

year, the Senate is considering H.J. 

Res. 117, a continuing resolution to ensure that the Federal Government will 

remain functioning through March of 

next year in the absence of regular appropriations. Last Thursday, the House 

passed this measure by a vote of 329 to 

91. 

This bill provides total discretionary 

spending of $1.047 trillion. This is the 

funding level the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended on an 

overwhelming bipartisan vote of 27 to 2 

and the level agreed to last year in the 

Budget Control Act, but this bill is $19 

billion more than what was approved 

by the House in the PAUL RYAN budget. 

I am encouraged the House has finally 

repudiated its own budget. I am only 

sorry it has taken them this long to 

come to their senses. One of the primary reasons Congress now faces this 

CR is that the House broke this agreement on spending. 

I want my colleagues to know I support this measure even though it is far 

from perfect. In fact, I would say it is 

not a good bill, but passing it is much 

better than allowing the government 

to shut down over a lack of funding. 

Continuing resolutions are not new. 

As some of my colleagues are aware, I 

have served in this Senate for 49 years 

and 9 months. During my tenure, this 

Congress has completed its work and 

enacted all of its spending bills without 

needing a continuing resolution on 

only three occasions. In 49 years, three 

times. This is not a record we should be 

proud of, but it demonstrates how difficult it is to agree on funding for each 

of the thousands of Federal programs 

that the Appropriations Committee reviews annually. However, never before 

in history has the Congress passed a 

stopgap resolution in September to 

fund the entire government for half the 

coming fiscal year. It is unfortunate 

that it has come to this. 

Seven months ago, as we began this 

legislative session, the mood was quite 

different. There was broad support for 

acting on appropriations bills. Several 

Members on both sides of the aisle 

came to the floor to speak about restoring regular order and passing all 12 

appropriations bills. Both the Republican and Democratic leaders spoke in 

favor of considering all of these bills. 

The Appropriations Committee was 

urged to conduct a budget review as 

quickly as possible and report bills to 

the Senate for consideration, and our 

subcommittees embraced this challenge. We shortened our hearing schedule, conducted thousands of meetings 

with executive branch officials and the 

public, and began to mark up bills 

shortly after receiving our allocation 

from the Budget Committee. 

In most years the Senate Appropriations Committee begins its markups in 

June. This year the committee reported its first two bills in April and 

had nine bills ready for floor consideration by the end of June. 

By July the committee had reported 

out 11 bills, 9 of which were recommended with strong bipartisan 

votes, and by that I mean 30 to 0 or 29 

to 1. Despite the work of the committee, none of those bills have been 

considered by the Senate. The decision 

by the House to break faith with the 

Senate and the administration on funding levels and the inclusion of outrageous legislative policy riders in 

their bills drained the enthusiasm for 

acting on those measures. But the real 

culprit thwarting the efforts of the 

committee was a handful of my colleagues who insisted on delaying the 

business of the Senate. 

We have heard our distinguished majority leader cite the statistics. In 382 

instances in the past 6 years he has 

been forced to file cloture to break filibusters. It is becoming very clear filibusters are crippling the Senate. This 

year, this Senate has been in session 

for 105 days. By my count, on 31 of 

those days the Senate has done nothing 

but consider motions to proceed, as we 

are doing with this motion, or to invoke cloture. That means nearly 30 

percent of the Senate’s time this year 

has been completely wasted. 

Moreover, the Senate has only voted 

on amendments and legislation on 21 of 

those days that we were in session. On 

21 out of 105 days, we actually legislated and worked. The rest of the time 

was spent on a backlog of nominations 

or breaking filibusters. 

I have never experienced anything 

like this in my many years in the Senate. It is true that for some time the 

use of filibusters has been increasing, 

but this year it has truly exploded. I do 

not oppose filibusters. I believe the filibuster is one of the most critical tools 

Senators have to protect the rights of 

our constituents. This is especially 


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