I know it is a holiday. God knows I know that. This year Hanukkah and Christmas come at the same time, and my grandkids celebrate both. I want to go home, but the people who depend on the water to support the salmon fishing industry may…

Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Cochran for his courtesy in getting the time for me. Coal Miner Health Care Benefits and WRDA Mr. President, some people may wonder why on a Friday we are still here and we are still arguing and we…

So we could ask for that by unanimous consent--to have such an amendment, and I want to make sure that after I make that, I would not lose the right to the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.

Absolutely not, my friend. As you know, it is in the jurisdiction of your committee. It has absolutely nothing to do with mine. I would say there are two pieces added that we have a little jurisdiction on, funding for desal, but that is…

Well, we have no choice, because, as the Senator from Washington knows, my State gets a lot of water out of the Colorado River. It is under a lot of stress. We have a lot of problems. My heart goes out to every single stakeholder in my…

Absolutely. What is such a joke is that my Republican friends, who were just objecting to our having an amendment to take this earmark off, always give big speeches about how Congress is putting all of these earmarks in. Well, this is a…

Madam President, I yield to Senator Murray for 7 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.

Well, not only is it this whole notion of moving water from one interest. I would call the salmon fishery a critical interest--not only in my State. That is why I hate that it is called the California drought. It impacts not only…

I wish to say to my friend that I was aware of the provision, but I did not know the details of what you just said. My staff confirms that you are absolutely right. Are you saying to me that water contractors will be relieved of certain…

OK, I will just hold the floor forever. That is fine. I say to my friend, you have been through these kinds of wars before when you were standing alone trying to stop drilling in the Arctic. I remember all of our colleagues saying: Oh, my…

Then I would ask through the Chair, what would the appropriate language be to get unanimous consent? Is it to allow an amendment to do that? Would that be the right way to go? The PRESIDING OFFICER. A motion to concur with an amendment.

Without a doubt. My friend is right. It is not like we are dealing with a subject matter that has no solutions, and science has shown us the various ways to do it. Certainly underground storage is fantastic, recharging. There are all these…