Omnibus Legislation

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, this week the Omnibus appropriations bill was released, along with the tax relief bill, that extends and makes permanent many important tax credits and lays the foundation for comprehensive tax reform, hopefully sometime soon. Members of this Chamber and the House have been reviewing the text of both pieces of legislation, and I am happy to report that the House of Representatives has now given a resounding bipartisan vote on the tax relief bill, with 318 Members of the House of Representatives voting to support it. The House, we are told, will move on the Omnibus appropriations bill tomorrow morning, and then we will take up both bills tomorrow morning in the Senate.

I want to just remember and recall for anybody listening that the appropriations process did not have to end up this way. As a matter of fact, after having passed the first budget that Congress has had since 2009, that then authorized the Appropriations Committee to begin the process of considering and passing 12 separate appropriations bills. Once they are voted out of committee, we will bring them to the floor, where they are open for amendment and debate in a completely transparent process, where people can understand the details of the legislation.

It didn't turn out that way because our Democratic colleagues filibustered these individual appropriations bills, thereby leaving us with no alternative but to consider this massive Omnibus appropriations bill.

I am tempted to call this omnibus bill an ominous bill, but I am not sure that is pejorative enough. It is not the right way to do business. I am disappointed. I am disappointed in our colleagues across the aisle who forced us to do business this way with them, but I hope next year we can have a regular and open appropriations process, one that will serve the American people far better.

I am by no means happy with the way this year-end funding bill has come together, after having been hijacked, held up, and effectively shut down, but if this sounds familiar, this looks a lot like the strategy they employed when they were in the majority preceding the election of just a year ago. Do you know what happened? Well, it didn't work very well because they ended up losing their majority.

Needless to say, the American people actually want us to do our jobs, to look out for their interests, and to make sure we pass legislation that is thoroughly considered, transparent, and then we could be held accountable for the votes we have made. Unfortunately, this omnibus appropriation process undercuts those principles, and as I said a moment ago, it is not a good way--it is a terrible way--to have to do business.

But I am happy and proud of the fact that in virtually every other area we have undertaken--following the budget, the multiyear highway bill, the trade promotion authority legislation, the Defense authorization bill that was led by our colleague from Arizona, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act that passed 99 to 0--as I was talking about with the Senator from Tennessee, it is clear we know how to work together on a bipartisan basis, disagreeing on some issues but finding common ground where we can, and the American people end up being the winner.

Dysfunction and shutdowns do not work. That is not why most of us came here. Most of us came here to try to make this institution and the country and conditions for our constituents a little bit better, one step at a time.

In this Omnibus appropriations bill there is an issue I want to highlight, and that is a clear win for progrowth and one that will foster, not hinder, job creation, and that is lifting the decades' old ban on exporting crude oil produced here in America. This month actually marks 40 years since the United States implemented a ban on the export of crude oil, a policy that was put into place as a precaution to protect the United States from disruption in the global oil supply. But as we all know, the world looks a lot different than it did back then. The shale revolution has helped the geopolitical energy landscape turn in favor of the United States, and we have an abundance of oil and natural gas available, not only for our use here domestically but to export to our friends and allies around the world. By doing away with this antiquated policy and allowing our domestic production to reach global markets, we can kick start the U.S. economy and provide a real opportunity for job creation in the country.

Lifting the ban would not just be beneficial to people working in the domestic energy sector because the domestic energy production involves many different sectors--construction, shipping, technology. By allowing more export of our crude, we have the potential to create thousands of more jobs deep into the supply chain in a variety of sectors and across a multitude of States. In fact, one study estimated that for every new production job in the oil field it translates into three additional jobs in the supply chain and another six in the broader economy. So we are talking about a major opportunity for job creation throughout our country.

Doing away with this outdated protectionist policy also gives the United States an opportunity to promote stronger relationships with our allies and partners around the world. Today many of our allies in Europe, including some of our NATO allies, rely on countries such as Iran and Russia for their energy needs. Our allies' dependence on our adversaries for basic needs such as heating, electricity, and fuel creates a real vulnerability that exists for the United States, as their ally and partner. By lifting the ban, the United States can help offer our friends a chance to diversify their energy supplies and enhance their energy security and avoid giving people such as Vladimir Putin the opportunity to use oil and gas and energy as a weapon.

Lifting the crude oil export ban will strengthen our economy. It will actually save Americans on their gasoline prices at the pump by increasing supply, and it will help our friends and allies around the world. So it is a big win for the American people, whether or not you work directly in the industry.

Finally, I would say--and I know the Senator from Arizona is waiting to speak, so I will be brief--that I am happy to see that the omnibus also includes several bipartisan priority items that will benefit my constituents in Texas. For example, for years I have worked alongside of Congressman Filemon Vela, a Democrat from South Texas, to put pressure on Mexico to fulfill its commitment to deliver water to South Texas as outlined and required in a 1944 treaty. Now this is incredibly important for a wide swath of folks whose access to water is not always assured. This bill includes language that reinforces that commitment and includes a measure that requires the State Department to assess the impact of Mexico's water debt on Texas and the rest of the United States.

This bill also renews an innovative port of entry partnership program modeled after the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act. This, too, is bipartisan legislation in this case, which I have introduced along with Congressman Henry Cuellar, another South Texas Democrat, earlier this year. Specifically, it provides new opportunities for border communities and businesses to improve staffing levels and upgrade infrastructure at our international border crossings to help move people and goods across our border more safely and efficiently. Obviously, with 6 million jobs in the United States dependent on cross- border commercial traffic and trade between the United States and Mexico, this is really important.

This omnibus legislation also includes a provision to fully repeal the country-of-origin labeling regulations known as COOL. This has been a real problem for our livestock producers in Texas and in the United States. By repealing these costly food labeling mandates, the United States will avoid a trade war with Canada and Mexico, two of our largest export and trading partners, and will help Texas farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers back home in my State and across the country.

In terms of national priorities, the omnibus bill increases resources for our military, thanks to the leadership of people such as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. This bill will increase resources for our Active-Duty military to make sure that those deployed around the world, as well as those serving stateside, have what they need to get the jobs done that they volunteered to do.

This legislation also blocks overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency by providing no new or expanded funding for its programs--the lowest level of funding since 2008.

Finally, this bill prioritizes our veterans and helps ensure they are better able to receive the care and benefits they deserve in a timely manner.

This legislation also includes the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, which includes the permanent extension of State and local sales tax deductions, something that amounts to more than $1 billion in annual tax relief for Texans. This will ensure that Texans are on a level playing field with those who deduct their State income tax, because we don't have an income tax and never will. That is something that I can say that Texas will never have. As I said, it never will.

This also rolls back several of President Obama's ObamaCare taxes and can provide relief to folks all over the country being crushed by the President's failed, unpopular health care law.

So while no legislation is perfect, and indeed this process is the antithesis of perfect--it is the wrong way to do business--this is the hand we have been dealt by the filibusters of the appropriations bills by our Democratic colleagues. So we are doing the best we can with the hand that we have been dealt. In the end, nothing passes Congress and gets signed into law by the President without some level of bipartisan cooperation in both Chambers of Congress and working together with the executive branch. This legislation does include several significant wins for the American people.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source