Your peace guards our hearts. Lord, today keep the eyes of our lawmakers focused on you. May they look to you in their going out and coming in and in their rising up and lying down. May they see you in their labor and leisure and in their pleasure and sorrow. Guide them in lifes morning and evening, for the kingdom, power and the glory belong to you. Give them the wisdom to seize this day, working creatively to keep america strong. We pray in your majestic 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 mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i understand there is a bill at the desk that is due a second reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. The clerk s. 3100, a bill to ensure that state and local Law Enforcement may cooperate with federal officials to protect our communities from violent criminals and suspected terrorists who are illegally present in the United States. Mr. Mcconnell on the calendar under the provisions of rule 15, i would object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection is heard. The bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , we have all heard democrats warn that quote we cannot delay any longer on zika control funding. Weve heard them warn that quote every day we wait is increasing the risks that we will have problems with zika. We even heard them warn that, and i quote, the mosquitoes are not going to be on recess. But now as we are about to vote on a bicameral compromise which reflects the 1. 1 billion funding level that democrats already unanimously supported here in the senate, they are threatening to block the zikacontrolled money. The democratic leader yesterday went so far as to say his members quote have no choice but to oppose it. He and our friends across the aisle can try to come up with a line of excuses as to why they are blocking funding to address the zika crisis and blocking support for our nations veterans, but heres what it all boils down to. This is partisan politics. They might like to pretend this zika control measure is woefully inadequate, but Senate Democrats are all on record supporting this level of funding and the c. D. C. Director has testified that his 1. 1 billion funding level is sufficient this is the head of the c. D. C. Is sufficient to do the things we need to do in the immediate term. Thats the head of the c. D. C. They might like to pretend this zika control measure walks back clean water protections, but thats false, too. It actually contains a temporary targeted compromise to promote Mosquito Control as longterm Solutions Like a vaccine are being developed. They might like to dust off the war on women playbook, too, but this zika control measure actually provides more, i repeat, more resources for Womens Health services through Community Health centers, Public Health departments and hospitals. Its really puzzling to hear democrats claim to be advocates for women Health Measures when they are the ones trying to block the zika legislation and its Critical Resources to protect Womens Health. The zika virus infection during pregnancy, the c. D. C. Has said can cause a serious defect called microen cephaly as well as other severe fetal brain defects, so today democrats have a choice. Continue pushing thinly veiled partisan arguments and block the zika control funding or join with us to advance a serious solution and send critical funding to the president s desk right now. Remember, this legislation is the last chance we have to get a zikacontrol funding to the president s desk for weeks. We should pass it to protect those especially at risk like pregnant women and babies. We should pass it to help prevent the spread of zika and other mosquitoborne illnesses. We should pass it to help keep americans safer from public from this Public Health concern in the midst of the mosquito season. We know that blocking this bill would mean preventing critical antizika funds from moving one step closer to becoming law. But heres what else it would mean. Blocking critical funding for our veterans, our Service Members and their families. These men and women voluntarily serve in our armed forces in order to protect our country and our freedom. They dont ask for much, but we ask so much of them. Thats why we must meet our commitment to them by passing this veterans and military Construction Funding measure as soon as possible. This bill will increase Critical Resources to help ensure veterans receive health care and the Health Benefits they rely on. It will improve quality of life on military bases for soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and their families. And it will support Critical National security projects like missile defense. Its a bipartisan measure that earns the support of both democrats blainsd when it passed the democrats and republicans when it passed the senate. So lets Work Together today and pass it again. Mr. Reid mr. President . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Reid i dont know what planet my friend, the republican leader, is living on. This conference report is the most irresponsible legislation i have ever seen in my 34 years in congress. That says a lot. I cant think of anything thats close. This zika threat is real. Its serious. Every day more and more americans are being infected. According to the centers for Disease Control, right now today 2,900 americans have already contracted zika. 700 just last week alone added to that. It was 2,200. Now its 2,900 in one week. 481 pregnant women have been tested positive for the virus in the United States. Eight pregnancies in the u. S. Have resulted in severe birth defects because of zika. When we talk about severe birth defects, we mean it. Little shrunken heads. Their skulls caved in. Mosquitoes have caused problems forever, but never welcome birth defects. But in spite of all the evidence, the zika is harming the American People, republicans pushing of a conference report is nothing more than a goody bag for the fringes of the republican party. In april, very recently, the republican leader told reporters, and i quote what he told them were all very much aware that this is a serious crisis. Well be working with the administration, with the democrats. Close quote. That simply hasnt proven to be true. On the conference committee, the democrats were locked out of negotiations. Then they jammed through this bill when i say in the middle of the night, it was in the middle of the night. It was during the time when they had the sitin on the house floor. Chaos was there. There was no debate, no discussion. It was just ruled there by the presiding officer. It shortchanged the republicans request by 800 million. It took another 100 million from the ebola funds which are badly needed. All you have to talk to anyone at n. I. H. , the centers for Disease Control, theyll tell you. Ebola is not gone. Then they proceeded to i dont know if they sat in a room and said lets do everything we can just to hit every Constituency Group the american people like and lets just do that, and thats what they did. How about Womens Health . How antiWomens Health can they make it . I tell you what, were dealing here with pregnant women, women who want some type of Birth Control. The republican conference report restricts funding for Birth Control provided by planned parenthood. My friend says they can go someplace else for it. In america today, a huge segment of the American People, this is the only place they can go for help. Women need planned parenthood, and what do republicans do . Because of their fixation on doing everything they can to hurt planned parenthood, they do these phony television interviews. They have fake cameras. The courts have decided it was wrong what they did. They have been sued. But thats okay. Anything we can do to whack planned parenthood, were going to do it, and they tried it here. How about antiobamacare . Trying to revoke it almost 70 times. Didnt work. So what they did, they just rescind 543 million, stick it in this conference report. I guess that was just to get the president s attention. Of course hes going to veto this, but maybe they wanted to make sure that he would have something really substantive to do it with. How about antienvironment . Remember, what were trying to do, in addition to all the things we have talked about, we want to make sure there is a way of getting rid of these pests, these mosquitoes. How do we do that . The only way we found that was really, really effective was with spraying. Kill these little varmints, these insects. Well, so what they do, the republicans, they exempt pesticide spraying from the clean water act. Why . Just because they dont like the e. P. A. , they dont like the clean water act thats been around for 60 years. They just dont like it. How about we know democrats have a big constituency with veterans. Why not whack them . Okay. Lets do that. What well do is well take 500 million from Veterans Health. That should get the democrats attention. They couldnt stop themselves from coming up with every idea. I guess they were waiting around while that chaos was going on on the senate floor, can we think of anything else that would just be really good to do . Oh, i got it. Why dont we rescind the order thats in effect saying you cant fly the Confederate Flag on military cemeteries. Great idea. Okay. Im glad you came up with that. Were going to stick that in there, too. Under this legislation, the republicans stuck in this to prohibit the legislation that says you cant fly a Confederate Flag on a military cemetery. Under their legislation, you can go ahead and do it. This conference report is disgraceful, its shameful to use a reallife Public Health crisis to push the radical republican agenda. Now, its radical. I have told you what theyre doing. There is a point of order against the bill also. We could raise that. Republicans were eager to inject politics in this legislation. They even rescinded funds for the Affordable Care act, making the bill rescindable. For these and other reasons, were going to vote against cloture. But its not just democrats saying this bill is a disaster. No, dont leave it to us. I ask consent to be able to put in the record a letter from 40 health care groups, Public Health groups. Some of these radical organizations like the march of dimes, American Academy of pediatrics, American College of obstetricians and gynecologists. How about easter seals, the american Public Health association, and 35 more. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Reid these organizations are blasting this republican conference. Theyre doing it because they want real legislation to fund zika. They call on congress to pass a bill that i quote, provides appropriate funding levels for all aspects of d. C. Response, including contraception for women who wish to avoid pregnancy and prevent the sexual transmission of zika. They want to build does not draw funds from other important Public Health problems like ebola. They want to build a foundation for 2016 funding that could be built upon responsibly in subsequent years since zika will be a longterm challenge and is capable of garnering bipartisan support. The letter goes on to say and i continue the quote, the fact that it is almost july and congress has failed to act would seem to reflect on an appalling indifference to the lives of infants and their lives. This is not democrats saying these. These are these Public Health organizations. Theyre aghast at what the republicans are doing. But instead of accepting the bill, its a failure thats going nowhere. Republicans are making these threats. Yesterday the assistant republican leader came here and said republicans are going to ban the zika funding negotiations after this vote. That republicans are on pace to work fewest days that the senate has worked in more than 60 years. 60 years ago the country was much, much smaller, a lot less people here, a lot less business, but even with that, were working less than they did 60 years ago. In two weeks the senate plans to leave washington for seven weeks which is the longest summer recess since we can remember. Is it too much to ask republicans to work until we have done our job and giving states and territories the resources they need to fight zika and protect women . Public Health Organizations dont think so and we dont either. Republicans need to get serious about sending president obama the full 1. 9 billion that doctors, researchers, nurses, Public Health experts say is needed to fight zika. Every moment republicans delay, there are other cases of zika on innocent women which affects their children more than one can imagine. Mr. President , i would ask that you announce what were going to do the rest of the morning. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the conference report to accompany h. R. 2577 which the clerk will report. The clerk conference report to accompany h. R. 2577 an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation, housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer under the previous order, the time until the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the conference report will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. The senator from new york. Mr. Schumer thank you, mr. President. I rise today because i want to share a few words on the zika component of the conference report on the milcon v. A. Appropriations bill which will be on the floor shortly. Unfortunately but maybe not surprisingly, my friends on the other side of the aisle have bowed down to their friends on the hard right and whittled this bill on zika with poison pill provisions. Mr. President , if there was ever a bill designed to fail, its what the republicans have put together on zika today. This bill is not only going to fail, it was designed to fail from the very beginning. Democrats have pushed for over four months for legislation on zika. Ever since the c. D. C. And the administration requested 1. 9 billion in emergency funding to deal with the threat, we tried to work with our friends on the other side of the aisle. But after we compromised at 1. 1 billion, after we reached the supposed agreement and passed it in this body 89 with 89 votes, the overwhelming majority from both parties, republicans turned around without any consultation of democrats in the house and senate and rammed through a wish list of poison pill riders that defeat the very purpose of the effort. Rather than working with democrats to produce something both parties can support, republicans abandoned compromise in favor of an extreme right wing bill. These changes reflected in the conference report have poisoned the bill. It now cuts ebola funding by 107 billion. It cuts funding for the Affordable Care act by 543 million. It sets a precedent that emergencies have to be funded when in the past they have not been. And worst of all, it restricts funding for Family PlanningServices Provided by Health Centers and providers like planned parenthood. We know zika can be sexually transmitted. We know that it poses the biggest danger to pregnant women and their unborn children, many of whom rely on Health Centers and planned parenthood as their primary health care provider, but republicans cant miss a chance to whack planned parenthood, even if their services are exactly what can help prevent the spread of this debilitating virus. I look never passed his lips as he talked about the bill. Planned parenthood. Why . Because he knows that not saying dont Fund Planned Parenthood is a poison pill if there ever was one. He knows that it was a poison pill last year when we were negotiating a shortterm budget agreement and there would be no budget if it was in there. Our Republican Leaders are engaged in a cynical game. They have to assure the hard right that theyre not funding anything, even something as important as zika, but they know the American People demand funding. And so they put in these poison pills. Cynical, cynical game and it shall not stand. My prediction, republicans will come back after this amendment as they knew, as this proposal as they know will be defeated. They knew it. And theyll come back after a few weeks with their tail between their legs saying lets pass something. We know we have to do something on zika. Why they dont avoid that embarrassment is beyond me. It say that the zika legislation is a daylight and a dollar short would be a drastic understatement. Its four months late and 800 billion short. And now to boot, it cannibalizes fun