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Senator secures unanimous consent to advance Hershel Woody Williams monument bill and related measures
Summary
On the Senate floor a senator recognized Medal of Honor recipients and won unanimous consent to discharge the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and consider Senate Bill 858 (Hershel Woody Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act) and Senate Bill 1142 in block; the request was granted "without objection."
A senator on the Senate floor asked for — and received — unanimous consent to discharge the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and immediately consider a block of bills that included Senate Bill 858, the Hershel Woody Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act, and Senate Bill 1142, which was read on the floor as the Scaper Ridge Golden Gate National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Act.
The senator opened by recognizing Medal of Honor recipients in the chamber and asking several to stand by name, saying, "we should honor them beyond belief" and calling their actions "unfathomable." The senator named U.S. Army Major General Patrick Brady; U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel William Swenson; U.S. Navy Command Master Chief Brett Kelly Slabinski; and U.S. Army Sergeant Major Thomas Payne and thanked them for their service.
The senator framed the unanimous-consent request as the product of bipartisan discussions, saying they had "an amazing conversation" with ranking member Martin Heinrich and that members "built some level of trust and communication." Reading the motion, the senator said: "I ask for unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills in block. That the substitute amendment at the desk to Senate Bill 858 be considered and agreed to. And that the bills as amended, if amended, where applicable, be considered read a third time and passed in block. And that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all in block."
When the senator concluded the request, a senator on the floor responded, "Without objection, so ordered," clearing the procedural hurdle; the transcript shows no recorded roll-call vote on the request. The senator closed by reiterating gratitude for the Medal of Honor recipients and saying the day illustrated that, when members talk and build trust, the Senate can move measures many had considered unlikely.
Because the transcript records the floor reading but does not include a recorded roll-call or further debate on the listed bills, the specific amendments, vote tallies, or next formal steps for each bill are not specified in the record provided.
