Madam President, we are now on S. 47, our lands package bill, and as we have heard, Senator Lankford's amendment has just been called up. I am happy to speak to that, but I understand he is in the process of coming back to the Hill. We…

Madam President, I call up substitute amendment No. 111, as modified, with changes at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Alaska…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment (No. 111), as modified, is as follows: (Purpose: In the nature of a…

Mr. President, it has been a few weeks since I have been able to come to the floor and speak about an Alaskan in my State who is making the State a much better place. It is one of my favorite times of the week. I think it is one of the…

Mr. President, we are at a point we have been hoping to get to for some time, which is debate on S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act. This is a compilation, if you will, of various lands bills, water bills, and sportsmen's bills…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). Without objection, it is so ordered. China

Mr. President, a number of us have been coming to the floor for quite some time now, talking about challenges posed by China--the big geostrategic challenges for the United States posed by China. What has happened over the last couple of…

Madam President, I request permission to speak for up to 1 minute regarding this vote. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Madam President, this next vote is one to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 47. This is the Natural Resources Management Act. This is our long-talked-about bipartisan lands package. We have a measure in front of us that is…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources rules of procedure for the 116th Congress be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record…

Mr. President, I think it is good that we are standing here on the Senate floor and acknowledging the news the President has just announced--that the government will reopen as early as today and that those good, dedicated, and hard-working…

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Maryland and all Senators--on the Republican side and the Democratic side--who came to the floor after these two votes to express this air of optimism that we can figure this out. One of the things…

I thank the Senator from Iowa. I have a question for the Presiding Officer in terms of how much time remains on the Republican side. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Six minutes.

Mr. President, how much time remains on the Republican side? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republicans have 21 minutes remaining.

Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Georgia. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.

Mr. President, that is exactly why we are here--to get this government open, to get people paid, and to get people back to work. Let me turn to the Senator from Louisiana. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.

Mr. President, I appreciate my colleagues being down here again on a bipartisan basis to talk about where we are at this moment. We just had two messaging votes. Both of those votes failed. I voted for both of them because my message was I…

I ask that the Senator from South Carolina be recognized. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.