Employees. We work very hard on a variety of issues. One of which, of course, has been has been the way we wanted to serve our veterans one of our greatest accomplishments in this bill is what we do for them. Veterans Services Organizations came to me and many of the members right here this evening and said, we not only need funding to implement the reforms that were passed by the congress, but we also want you to do this year and a year in advance. We said, we dont do that. They said, you have got to do that. We are concerned with the dysfunction and delay as a strategy in washington that creates chaos for veterans and their survivors. Guess what . We were able to do it. For the First Time Ever we provided funding for this year and one year in advance veterans veterans can count on the disability check, their pension check, a check to help fund the g. I. Bill and that their health care we will be paid for. We also deal with the incredible problem of veterans backlog and put in the money to be able to do that. We have over 2. 5 billion, adding another 40 million to do that. I have been horrified in my own home state of maryland that the claims backlog took more than 125 days. We are doing our reform. The United States senate, senator tom harkin, is retiring. But during these years that he has served, hes never let up in championing the little guy and the little gal to make sure we had access to health care, access to education, and really looking out for our constituen constituents. I am so proud that working with i am so proud that working with i am so proud that we were able to find this plan which passed the senate overwhelmingly. By adding over 75 million more, that means that they will be able to ensure that thousands of children will be able to qualify for daycare and it will be safe and it will be affordable. And i will talk about College Affordability as well. This includes senator harkin and myself and many members of the senate. We will increase this by 100, reforming this to get a chance to go to college and get their ged and for many single mothers this has been a tremendous problem. They now know they have to learn and in order to go to the Community College they have to have their ged and they were not eligible. It also restores the Community College efforts to be able to Fund Scholarships from their own endowments. And i would like to take a moment to speak about jobs. We need to create jobs in the United States of america. And what we did focusing on jobs is that we funded infrastructure. And we are putting money in the federal checkbook with the Highway Trust Fund it with the harvard Maintenance Fund and bed and my own home state we funded the metro and made a big down payment with the purple line and in the red lines. This includes the job structure that is absolutely crucial. I know there are others that want to speak, mr. President , and we have to show that we want to fund it jobs and infrastructure and i will talk about what we did in the commerce committee. We came up with a way to end the backlog and there were over 400,000 patents pending and we wanted to make sure that if you invent something that you get to protect your ideas so you can move into the marketplace. We also funded these Regional Innovation centers and promoted 3d manufacturing making it local and many of the states where we lost it, we have major advances and i will talk more about it. But i know that my colleagues, senator udall is on the floor and i will yield the time to him. Mr. President , i yield the order. The senator from new mexico. Thank you, mr. President. And thank you chairwoman mikulski. Let me just say a few things about the chairwoman. First of all, i am completely honored to serve on the Appropriations Committee. For the last couple of years i have served as the chairman of the subcommittee on Financial Services and general government and with her guidance and work it has been a fulfilling task and i just want to thank her for the last two years and she is taking over putting us on track in terms of having a good and solid appropriations process where we make every effort and attempt to get the appropriations bill through the senate and also in place. At the beginning of the budget year that can make a real difference for veterans and jobs and all of the agencies and in particular in my state, the national laboratory, the premier national laboratory, lost almost and others. The three air force bases and the National Parks and monuments and there is so much that is a part of this appropriations bill that is just so very important to my state. We have a lot of work to do today and i would like to speak for just a few minutes on some of the issues important to my state and also to my country. I would like to start off on a positive note that the senate recently passed a Defense Authorization bill in which it is critical to the nations security and troops at home and abroad who deserve our support and also our respect. In addition this year it also includes landmark conservation measures to protect some of the most beloved landscapes. These are measures that we have worked on for many years since the senator was in the office. And they are the result of many years of dogged hard work by a Diverse Group of sportsmen and conservationists and local Business People and others. And with this bill we are designating the wilderness and giving permanent congressional production to this special area and increasing Public Access to devise by transferring management to the National Park service. This includes showing financials stability for one of the best places in new mexico for hiking and hunting and fishing. Dedicating a Manhattan Project and a National Park that will include los alamos and mexico where americans can learn about the complicated cold war history. This bill protects the special and important places and increases tourism and creates jobs. We also renewed a Pilot Program to improve upon the permitting process for the oil and gas industry which is critical to Energy Development in new mexico and other west and straight graded and ensures that we have the resources to do all parts of its job including managing land water conservation, and raising and permitting for oil and Gas Development and i want to thank my colleague, senator heinrich who serves on the Energy Committee and National Resources committee for being a Strong Partner in getting these measures passed. Now the senate has another important duty pending before the forest. Passing an appropriations bill to fund the federal government including many vital programs in my home state of new mexico. We have not had regular spending bills in recent years. Here we are at the 11th hour with a bill at of a last minute. The fact that we have a bill is due in great part to leadership of chairwoman barbara mikulski. I am glad to be part of her team on the Appropriations Committee. The alternative to this bill as a shortterm cr or one that a couple of them for the whole year. And i think that that is an unacceptable way to do business. It would cost jobs and it would hurt our economy in the the new mexico area. They need certainty to keep our nation safe and communities in my homestay rely upon funding in lieu of taxes Payment Program to provide basic Services Like schools and Public Safety and i know that the chairwoman understands this program and has worked hard to make sure that the program is funded in the bill and its greatly appreciated in the rural parts of the west. So let me just say again that continuing resolutions are disruptive or if they are inefficient and they lock in place for programs that prevent us from evaluating what is working and what is not. They keep us rooting out wasteful spending. Trying to move a huge ominous bill at the end of the year is like trying to move this its far from ideal. And there was a time when having to pass this was a sign that work had broken down and today it is the best possible option and i am extremely happy to have them and i credit the chairwoman to get us to this point. It hasnt been easy. But the American People deserve better than this broken process and they deserve a congress that works and that is open. Not the lastminute deals and gimmicks for special interests. The duty is to the American People and not wall street billionaires and bankers and i will continue to do all that i can as a member of the Appropriations Committee to get back to the regular order and we cannot keep getting this just under the wire. In that respect the colleagues in the house have to start have to stop sending all of these writers. We had more than 100 writers sent from the house as the chairman knows that this is not a way to legislate on an appropriations bill. You are not supposed to be putting writers like this in there. They sent more than 100 of these over from the house of representatives. And she took them on and was able to work through them and get a decent and good final project. I am going to continue to do all that i can to make sure that we get back to the regular order. And now i would like to talk to you about why this does important and why it is important to pass this bill. First of all, it is critical for my state of new mexico. New mexico has to find National Laboratories and three air force bases end and number of National Parks and other areas. When they are funded on a regular basis at the beginning of the fiscal year its a much better to had the situation for everyone. This includes schools and Law Enforcement and anything that they feel is important in their county. They can rely upon those funds. At this point my state is in severe drought and we have water projects that cannot keep waiting. There is money in the bill to keep that project going. Communities cannot just put their knees down, they cannot stop the fact that we need clean water. Every day we delay situations that get worse. That is true of so many products are funded by the federal government including community and businesses who have to plan and the needs do not go away. So lets get this done. Finally today i would like to talk a little bit about the authorization of force which is produced under the Foreign Relations committee and i would urge the congress to address another important issue of the authorization of force because we need to update this for the military in light of changing involvement in a variety of middle eastern conflicts most notably isis. We are failing the American People if we do this. Shirking our constitutional duties and our troops. Manu ginobli a brutal group, we must stop them, we must continue to work for the allies to use Strategic Force and to stop them. I am proud that the senate Foreign Relations committee recognizes our central duty into finding the parameters. This is the first step. But the constitution requires the full congress to authorize war. This is a matter that deserves debate and it should not be taken lightly. The last 13 years illustrate this including why it is so important to be thoughtful and delivered it about war and i urge my colleagues to stay until the work is done and we give them consideration by the full senate. This is not easy but this is not a normal situation. Manu ginobli a rapidly growing terrorist group recruiting young people from the west. Spanning two countries with ambitions and they have very expensive ambitions and we must defeat them and we cannot allow we cannot allow another openended war that will yet again strained communities across the country and put us in a situation in which we cannot pay for. Since the month of july have received 1100 letters and hundreds of phone calls from my constituents who are clear and i would also like to be equally as clear that congress should rise to its constitutional oversight of the nations war powers. This is a solemn responsibility and one that i have taken very serious we throughout my time in congress. I voted for the 2001 authorization for the war in afghanistan and i voted again with the 2002 war in iraq. I believe that the newly situation is strong, that we prohibit in limited circumstances in those circumstances such as rescuing Service Members or u. S. Citizens are specified in the text of the resolution. It also talks about the 2002 repeal and sets a threeyear timeline for the 2001, which is currently supporting military engagements around the world that we never intended when we originally passed it. And i would still caution that we must be watchful so that this engagement does not vastly change in scope without the approval of congress or the support from our constituents. I would like to provide congress with a stronger role including a amendment to limit authorization for one year. I also cosponsored a proposal with senator rand paul to rip wire new authorization from congress if u. S. Forces were to be deployed outside of iraq and syria. We need this authorization to pass as the conflict has been ongoing for months. But we also must continue to be very watchful. It should not just the charge to a credit card for costs. Lets make sure that we have a real conversation on how the generation that has decided to go to war will pay for it. Again, i urge congress to honor responsibility and to stay and finish this critical duty. And now i would like to just wrap up once again and say to my chairwoman that you have taken on a very difficult task in terms of looking at what was sent to us by the house of representatives and that includes all sorts of things trying to dismantle the Affordable Care act and trying to tackle and get into the irs and diminish their ability to carry out this responsibility. And on and on. She has worked through these amendments and worked through them diligently and come up with a good product. This is much better than struggling through continuing resolutions two or three months at a time and then coming back again. This gives certainty and the government gives certainty to businesses and shows that we are trying to react responsibly to this situation before us. So i applaud her and it is an honor to work with her on the Appropriations Committee and i yield the floor. The senator from washington. I am delighted to be on the floor this evening to take a minute to thank my good friend and mentor chairman mikulski. Like all of us we want to get something done and in order to get something done in congress you have to be willing to compromise. You have to fight hard for the principles and what you believe in and at the end of the day it is a giveandtake. And it is never easy and you never end up with a bill that you have written on your own. But the chairwoman deserves so much credit for what is in this bill. Putting our country on a better track. This is a principle that she always speaks to and she fought for in this bill. And this includes so much that has been thrown at her. I have talked with her time and time again and she has tried to say what can i draw a line on the sand on and what can i take in here in order to make sure that i am doing what is right for my country. So its not easy to do bad and she fought off many that all of us would have found extremely difficult in this includes what the chairman and i agreed upon last year. It was very hard to do if she is trying to put together bills that fund our government across the board from defense to agriculture to transportation and so many areas that people take for granted every day until our government shuts down and then they remember how much they rely upon research and investment in the protections that are so important in our Homeland Security. She worked hard under strict requirements that we supported and maintained that image as well. Critically her work avoids another Government Shutdown, we know that this hurts our economy and our family and certainly it hurts the stature of the United States senate. So for her to put this together and have this bill before us tonight is truly a remarkable accomplishment and it is proof of the woman that she is and i would really love to commend her for that. Mr. President , i am grateful that she put so much into this legislation it really helps our average middleclass families who are struggling so hard in this country and it really lays down a Strong Foundation for longterm broadbased economic growth. She did not forget that principle at all and that is embedded within legislation. There are provisions for mass but anyone of us can pull out and i certainly have some provisions in your that i do not agree with either. I am truly disheartened that the House Republicans demanded a permission. I am very concerned that some of the republican provisions could increase Health Care Premiums for the families and our businesses and i strongly oppose the policy change that could lead to a reduction in tensions for many of us retirees. And i share the concerns of many on this side in this legislation. But it is such a co