Graham #763 withdrawn; Blumenthal #825 agreed to by voice; Roll Call Vote on Flake amendment #665
Not Agreed To: 46-54.
Senator McConnell and Reid encouraged senators to work to complete the budget tonight. Their remarks are included below:
(MR. McCONNELL) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT }
- McCONNELL: YEAH, IF I COULD HAVE THE ATTENTION OF ALL
COULD BE HERE UNTIL 5:00 IN THE MORNING. SO IT'S I THINK A GOOD
TIME TO SEEK SOME COOPERATION. WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF AMENDMENTS
LINED UP HERE WHERE SPONSORS WILL TAKE A VOICE VOTE IN THE
TRANCHE THAT WE'RE -- THAT WE ARE WORKING ON NOW. IF YOU'RE NOT
IN THE CURRENT TRANCHE AND WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED, WHAT
I'D RECOMMEND YOU DO IS COME OVER HERE AND TALK TO THE BUDGET
STAFF, SEE IF WE CAN'T TAKE SOME OF THEM BY VOICE VOTE AND SEE
IF WE CAN MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND GET US OUT OF HERE AT A
REASONABLE HOUR. SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE, I WOULD SAY TO MY
FRIEND, THE DEMOCRATIC LEADER, ON THIS SIDE. GIVE US YOUR VIEW
OF THE STATUS ON YOUR SIDE. MR. REID: MR. PRESIDENT?
THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE DEMOCRATIC LEADER.
- REID: THE SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA SET A GOOD EXAMPLE BY
SHOULD BE. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE]
- REID: SENATOR BLUMENTHAL WAS SECOND BEST WHEN HE SAID,
WITH MY FRIEND, THE REPUBLICAN LEADER, IS THAT IF WE GO THROUGH
ALL THESE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE PENDING, IT WILL TAKE 33 MORE
HOURS. THAT'S THE MATH. THAT'S THE TRUTH. WE NEED TO MOVE ON.
REMEMBER, THIS BUDGET RESOLUTION IS A STATEMENT OF POLICY. IT'S
NOT THE LAW. AND WE CAN SAY "I GOTCHA YOU" ON THIS ONE, "WE
GOTCHA YOU ON THAT ONE." WE'VE DONE THAT NOW FOR EIGHT HOURS,
WHATEVER IT IS. AND I REALLY DO AGREE WITH THE REPUBLICAN
LEADER. WE -- WE -- THE STAFF HAS WORKED SO HARD. THEY HAVEN'T
WORKED JUST TODAY AND YESTERDAY AND THIS WEEK. THEY'VE BEEN
WORKING FOR WEEKS TO GET US IN A POSITION TO WHERE WE ARE
TONIGHT. AND I KNOW THAT THE REPUBLICAN LEADER BOUGHT DINNER
TONIGHT AND I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH, BUT I -- IF WE CAN
FINISH HERE BY
11:30, I'LL BUY DINNER WHEN WE GET BACK. IT WILL BE BETTER THAN
THAT. [LAUGHTER] SO I -- WE'VE HAD AN AMPLE VOTE-A-RAMA. FOR
ALL YOU NEW MEMBERS, YOU SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE. THE TIME HAS COME
FOR SENATORS TO SHOW SOME RESTRAINT. NO ONE'S ELECTIONS CAN BE
DETERMINED, I SAY THAT TO THE WORLD, NO ONE'S ELECTION IS GOING
TO BE DETERMINED BY WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE HERE TONIGHT. NOTHING.
NO ELECTION. I DEFY ANYONE TO SHOW ME IN ANY OF THESE
VOTE-A-RAMAS WHERE A VOTE HAS MADE ANY DIFFERENCE. AND WE ARE
-- WE ARE -- WE ARE WITNESSES TO THAT, AND I CAN TESTIFY TO
THAT. ONE TIME, TO SHOW YOU HOW
HAVE VIAGRA IN PRISON. WE ACTUALLY VOTED ON THAT. NO ONE LOST
AN ELECTION. BY THE WAY, IT WAS DEFEATED. SO LET -- LET'S --
YOU KNOW, WE CAN GO THROUGH ALL THE VIAGRA AMENDMENTS AND DO
ALL THESE THINGS TO EMBARRASS EACH OTHER BUT THAT ISN'T WHAT WE
SHOULD BE DOING. THE TIME HAS COME TO FOREGO PRESSING
AMENDMENTS TO VOTES ALTOGETHER. THIS IS -- THIS -- WE -- IT'S
BEEN VERY DIGNIFIED. I EARLIER TODAY TOLD HOW PROUD I WAS OF
THE TWO MANAGERS OF THIS LEGISLATION. THEY ARE TOTALLY -- THEY
HAVE TOTALLY DIFFERENT POLITICAL OUTLOOKS BUT THEY'VE BEEN
GENTLEMEN TO EACH OTHER AND GENTLEMEN TO EACH OF US. SO I WOULD
HOPE THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND THE
AGREEMENT FOR THE DINNER WAS NOT A LAS VEGAS BET, IT'S
SOMETHING I'LL DO. MR. McCONNELL: MR. PRESIDENT?
THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE MAJORITY LEADER. McMcMR. PRESIDENT,
I'D JUST --
- McCONNELL: MR. PRESIDENT, I'D JUST ADD. WE WILL FINISH
HAVING VOICE VOTES ON A LOT OF AMENDMENTS, FOR US TO SIT AT OUR
OWN DESK AND SEE IF WE CAN JUST GET THROUGH THIS AS RAPIDLY AS
POSSIBLE WITHOUT DENYING ANYONE THEIR RIGHTS. SO I RECOMMEND WE
GO AHEAD WITH WHATEVER THE NEXT AMENDMENT IS.
At 9:32pm, the Senate began a 10 minute roll call vote on Flake amendment #665.
Next:
- Sanders # 475
- Hatch # 1029
- Schatz # 1063
- Kirk # 1038
- Nelson # 944
- McCain # 360
- Wyden # 968
- Lee # 750 as modified
- Reed # 919
- Cotton # 659
- Menendez # 993
- Cotton # 664
- Brown # 994
