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UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 3811
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, a few days ago, the Senate heard directly from President Zelenskyy. The bravery and leadership we have seen from President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people is incredible.
And during this call, he was very clear about what the Ukrainian people need to defend themselves against Russia's unjustified invasion. What is unbelievable is that even after seeing horrifying images on the news and hearing from the Ukrainian President himself, the Senate has done nothing to get the aid they so desperately need approved and on its way. Why? Because Senator Chuck Schumer is holding it hostage.
Senator Schumer is keeping this body from voting on and passing the Ukrainian aid package because he is holding it hostage to include it in the $1.5 trillion omnibus. People are dying. Yesterday while the Senate floor was closed at Senator Schumer's direction, Putin's evil forces bombed a children's hospital.
What in the world are we doing here? It is heartless. It is shameful. It is a stain on the integrity of the Senate and the United States that aid for Ukrainians is being used as a political tool.
We could have voted on the weekend. We could have voted on Monday or Tuesday or yesterday.
But Senator Schumer closed the floor and made it impossible to vote. Ukrainians are dying. It is time to end these games. These are stupid games. That is why I am asking that we immediately take a vote to pass the aid to Ukraine.
And I am thankful that many of my colleagues have joined me to make this request. Senators Marsha Blackburn, John Boozman, Tom Cotton, Steve Daines, Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Marshall have all cosponsored my proposal.
What I am asking is to pass the exact text--the exact text--that both the Democrats and Republicans, they have already agreed to this. We can send this to the President's desk today. By holding this hostage in the omnibus, Senator Schumer is forcing even further delays. The omnibus won't go to President Biden's desk until next week.
The people of Ukraine are in the fight for their lives and their freedom. Every day the Senate waits to send American aid, weapons, and resources to help them is another day that their fighting against this Russian invasion is even made more difficult.
There is no reason we can't vote on this aid package now and pass it today. Waiting even 1 more day puts more lives at risk. Let's act now to protect global freedom from Putin's tyranny.
Now, I will turn it over to Senator Roger Marshall.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. MARSHALL. I thank Senator Scott for leading this issue.
Mr. President, every moment of every day is precious, but none more so than when war has engulfed your home. It was just 3 weeks ago today, what now feels like an eternity, that Russian forces first invaded Ukraine's sovereign border and launched a deadly, unprovoked attack on the people of Ukraine. And since that day, the world has watched in horror as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent civilians--including children--have perished from gunfire and explosive weapons. More than 2 million people have now fled their homes.
Among the Russian targets have been a bread factory, a maternity ward, and a nursery. Despite enduring the suffering and being greatly outnumbered by Russian force strength and military might, the Ukrainian people have bravely defended their homeland, an inspiration for the entire world. Here at home, though, President Biden has been doing his best to fool the American people into thinking he is a wartime President, but his track record tells a different story.
To say the President is leading from behind is an understatement. The President's handling of the Ukraine invasion has been littered with missteps and tardiness nearly every step of the way, his words and actions seldom lining up.
In December, the administration slow-walked a shipment of military arms that would have hardened Ukraine's defenses. It took nearly a month for the package to be approved and the armaments to arrive in Ukraine. In January, Senate Republicans moved to stop sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. President Biden dispatched his allies in this Chamber to filibuster the bill and allow the project to be slowed down.
A month later, the President finally came around and moved to impose sanctions on the project. Last week, I introduced with 10 of my Republican colleagues to ban Russian oil imports. Democrats in the Senate joined in calling for an announcement of such an action during his State of the Union speech, but none was made.
Always afraid to lead, it would be a full week later when President Biden would finally impose the import prohibition. This President has repeatedly been late to act. His failure to show strength and take proactive maneuvers empowered a war criminal to move to reclaim one of the most prized former Soviet republics, a land rich with wheat and corn and sunflowers.
I was on a phone call with many of my colleagues last weekend with President Zelenskyy. And my friends across the aisle were so excited, they were so motivated, wanting to move quickly to place ammunitions and MiG-29 jets in the hands of the brave Ukrainians. But no; cowardice is contagious. Democrats in Congress have now taken a page out of our President's playbook by settling on a process that would deliver this most recent round of military aid to Ukrainians more than a week after President Zelenskyy laid out his country's need to Members of Congress.
And the MiG fighter jets that are so desperately needed by the Ukrainians, they remain grounded and out of the hands of the sieged. Instead of a stand-alone bill or attaching this invaluable relief to the short-term CR that will be signed to keep the government open while the massive 3,000-page bill is enrolled and sent to the President, they are insisting that it remain part of the omnibus in order to sweeten a sour bunch of grapes--once again, delaying lifesaving aid by many days.
At a time when our national debt is over $30 trillion and our government spent almost $2 trillion extra on government programs this year already, the bill increases discretionary spending on more than
$45 billion. Indeed, we won't let a crisis go to waste.
It also funds the administration's tragically misguided attempts to electrify our electric fleet and implement the Green New Deal. All the while, we are witnessing a self-imposed Biden energy crisis because they have killed our domestic oil and gas industry by declaring war on American energy.
Today, I would ask the Democrats partying in Philadelphia with drag queens and sampling Pennsylvania beers that they should jump on the next Amtrak train and come back and help us pass this Ukrainian aid immediately. Let's not force it into an omnibus that makes the Ukrainian people wait 5 more days before it would be officially signed into law. I support the much needed Ukrainian aid. We would pass it as a stand-alone piece of legislation today.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I do want to thank my colleague from Florida for doing the right thing for our partners in Ukraine by bringing up this supplemental appropriation for its own vote--its own vote.
But this isn't something that he should have had to do. It is something that should have been demanded by every Member of this Chamber. Vladimir Putin is waging a war, an all-out war on Ukraine. He has reduced maternity hospitals, orphanages, schools, and private homes to piles of rubble. He has boobytrapped humanitarian corridors. He is using weapons so horrific that to possess them constitutes a war crime. And he is preparing to terrorize civilians with the same proxy fighters that have brutalized innocents in Mali and in Syria.
And here we stand as our Democrat colleagues try to use an aid bill for Ukraine to link onto its back a $1.5 trillion spending spree.
At last count, there are more than 4,000 earmarks in this omnibus spending bill.
You and I have been through the issue of earmarks when we each were Members in the House. Earmarks, 4,000 of them, this bill is divisive, controversial, and requires actual deliberation and debate. It should not be used as a vehicle to hold this emergency funding for Ukraine hostage.
The fact that we even have to have this discussion is just disrespectful of the process. And it does not help the Ukrainian people. It slows down the aid to them. It is time to stop this manipulation in its tracks.
We need to give the people of Ukraine airpower. We need to give them humanitarian aid. And it needs to be done now. We need to give them the funding and the support that they need to survive, and it should be done now. And we need to separate this supplemental from this $1.5 trillion spending spree, and it ought to be done now.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
Ms. LUMMIS. Mr. President, I also rise to protest the manner in which funding for the people of Ukraine has been strapped to this spending bill, thereby delaying aid to Ukraine and strapping it to a bill that is going to need days to get to the President's desk so it is in good shape.
I have been following--just as you have--the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and I am incredibly concerned for the people there: the women and children who have been murdered in the streets by Vladimir Putin's bombs, the housing complexes that have been destroyed, the maternity hospital that was bombed just yesterday, all from unprovoked Russian aggression.
We want to help these people. The people of Wyoming whom I represent want to help these people.
Because of this, I was particularly appalled at the decision by congressional Democrats to include Ukraine aid funding in the massive government funding omnibus bill that we are starting to consider.
We could get this Ukraine money on its way today. We could get it to the President's desk today. Most of us agree. I think it would be unanimous to send the money to Ukraine.
As a former House Member and a longtime legislator, I know that any big piece of legislation has good pieces and bad or, as former U.S. Senator Al Simpson used to say, ``some spinach.'' But this is a cynical approach to legislating.
It forces Members of Congress to make an unnecessary choice: choose between helping the Ukrainian people and further indebting our own constituents. It is a cynical ploy, and it is cynical because of what is in the rest of bill, the omnibus spending bill. At a time when the United States is over $30 trillion in debt, instead of taking a serious look at our budget, we are piling on.
We are increasing nondefense discretionary spending by 7 percent, even though inflation this year is more than 7 percent. Worse still, the omnibus continues to fund President Biden's vaccine mandates, even after the President himself called for a return to normal. This bill also contains anti-Second Amendment provisions that threaten the rights of law-abiding citizens in Wyoming. Finally, after banning the practice for years, this omnibus contains around $10 billion in earmarks for pet projects around the country.
Here is the book of earmarks. Look how thick this is. It is printed on both sides in about 4-point font. You almost have to have a looking glass to see what is in here--4,000 earmarks after we had gotten away from this.
I am sympathetic to the argument that earmarks are a more direct way of addressing problems around the country, but historically they have been abused as a way for leadership to whip votes on bad legislation and a way to fund unnecessary pet projects to curry favor back home.
But instead of having a debate about these and other concerns of the massive spending bill, Ukraine funding was dropped in here in an effort to get Members to vote for a bad bill so we can get funding to Ukraine.
We should have a stand-alone vote on the aid for the people of Ukraine. This issue is entirely separate from the omnibus spending bill that Congress is considering and should be recognized as such on the Senate floor. Anything less does a disservice to the people we are trying to help and to the American people we serve.
I am proud of Senator Rick Scott for calling for a separate vote to help the people of Ukraine.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Wyoming. I want to thank my colleagues from Kansas and from Tennessee for their interest in making sure that we get Ukraine aid to the citizens of Ukraine today.
I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, following consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 3811, which is at the desk; that there be 2 hours for debate, equally divided in the usual form; and that upon the use or yielding back of time, the bill be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill without intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from Montana.
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I want to reserve the right to object.
I have been listening to the arguments that are made here. Let's get to the facts.
The fact is, if we split this Ukrainian funding now, it is not going to get there quicker; it is going to get there slower.
The bottom line is, if you want to help the Ukrainian people out--and I believe the speakers want to help the Ukrainian people out--then pass the omnibus bill that is in front of us.
The Senator from Florida is proposing just to pass one portion of this omnibus appropriations bill, and that is the $13.5 billion in aid to Ukraine.
I want to be very, very clear on what this move would mean. If we don't pass the rest of the omnibus, the Pentagon is going to shut down at midnight on Friday. OK?
Now, all our eyes are on Ukraine, and they well should be, but don't forget for a second that China is a pacing threat to this world. We are going to shut the Pentagon down on Friday? I don't think that is a smart move.
Eleven days ago, all the Senators in this body had the opportunity to go to a classified briefing led by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. I asked him what he needed from Congress to respond to the Russian aggression. Do you know what he said? He said: We need a full-year appropriations bill. That is what we have in front of us today.
And yet, the Senator from Florida is effectively proposing to give the military less than 1 percent of what the Secretary of Defense says he needs to respond to threats around the world. That is $6.5 billion out of $744 billion.
And for the folks who say this $1.5 trillion package is a boondoggle, well, let me tell you, then you should stand up and say half of this bill is a boondoggle because half of it goes into defense to protect this country, to make the world a safer place.
I really don't understand what the Senator from Florida is trying to accomplish, but I want no part of it.
Congress should have passed this budget to cover the military needs and cover this country's needs over 6 months ago.
Passing a bill to cover 1 percent of our troops' funding needs is, once again, kicking the can down the road. It is 110 percent unacceptable to me and to every American who expects their government to keep them safe at home and around the world.
This is really, really, really a bad idea, and we should quit wasting time on these kinds of ideas and get to the point of voting on this omnibus bill, getting it out so that we can deal with the Ukraine situation.
And by the way, in the Defense bill, over and above the $13.5 billion, there is another $300 million for Ukraine. So it is time to get this ball rolling. It is time to get this bill passed in the U.S. Senate.
Quit dilly-dallying around. Let's get `er done. There is too much on the line today to keep fooling around.
I object.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
The Senator from Florida.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, it is hard to express my anger and frustration.
What in the hell are we doing here?
I asked for the Senate to do a very simple thing: vote today on desperately needed aid for Ukraine, and Senate Democrats have blocked it.
This is the exact text--the exact text--that both Democrats and Republicans have already agreed to.
People need to know exactly why Democrats have blocked this commonsense bill. I know. It is because they are following orders from Senator Schumer to block passage of aid to Ukraine so we can continue to hold it hostage in the omnibus.
That is what we are dealing with here.
We could send this to the President's desk today, but Senate Democrats have said no because they are insisting that it be passed with the omnibus.
The omnibus is $1.5 trillion, 2,700 pages; as my colleague from Wyoming said, 4,000 earmarks. Senator Schumer alone has 150 earmarks,
$600,000 for a greenhouse in New York, $3 million for museum galleries in Brooklyn.
I mean, to him, the omnibus is just a joke. It is a way to send some money home.
Today, inflation just hit 7.9 percent--another 40-year high. And contrary to what President Biden just said this morning, that is just for February. That massive spike in inflation doesn't reflect the big price hikes we have seen in March. The truth is, we have no idea how the omnibus will impact inflation, and we haven't anywhere near the time we need to actually read it.
This whole process is broken, and it reminds me of a truth here in Washington: In Washington, compromise means that both sides get everything they want, and no one has to make a tough choice. Put simply, when Washington settles, taxpayers all across this country lose.
Americans should be furious with Congress. Ukrainians should be absolutely furious with us. While Russian bombs are being dropped on their homes, cities, and hospitals, Democrats in the Senate are blocking the approval of American aid so that they can play politics. Every day that Senator Schumer refuses to allow a vote is a big gift from Senate Democrats to Putin.
I am actually disgusted by what happened here today. To see aid for Ukraine used as a political tool is heartless. It is a stain on the integrity of the Senate and the United States. A fight for freedom and democracy rages in Europe, and Senate Democrats should be ashamed by what Senator Schumer has forced each of you to do today.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, the House is not in session. To say that we are going to pass this and presto chango it goes right to the President's desk--that is not how the process works, Senator Scott. That is not how the process works.
So you can stand up and say, you know, we are blocking this aid. No, no, no, no, no.
The fact is, the person who came up and asked for unanimous consent--
the good Senator from Florida--is blocking this bill or we would be voting on it right now.
You want to talk politics? That is what this is about--politics.
You can be unhappy with the omnibus bill, but the fact of the matter is, it has been negotiated over the last year by Democrats and Republicans, and that is where we are at today.
We need to pass this bill. If you are concerned about Ukraine, we need to pass this bill. If you are concerned about feeding hungry people in this country, we need to pass this bill. If you are concerned about childcare, we need to pass this bill. If you are concerned about housing, we need to pass this bill. If you are concerned about the high cost of gasoline, we need to pass this bill. And if you are concerned about the threat that China is to this country, we need to the pass this bill.
Enough excuses. Let's get the job done.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 43
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