Vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote . If not, on this vote the yeas are 79. The nays are 18. Threefifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. Cloture having been invoked under the previous order amendment number 809 is withdrawn and the motion to concur on the house amendment to the Senate Amendment to h. R. 601 with a further amendment. Is there a sufficient second . The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change their vote . If not, the yeas are 80, the nays are 17. The motion to concur in the house to the senate, the amendment is agreed to. The majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to calendar number 175. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk motion to proceed to 2810, act to authorize appropriations for 2018 for military activities for the department of defense and for Defense Activities in the department of energy for such fiscal year and for other purposes. The presiding officer i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on calendar number 175, h. R. 2810, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities for the department of defense and for Defense Activities for the dough d. O. E. And for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , i have a request for one committee to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Wyden mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President , in a few minutes im going to start sprinting to the airport to get home to listen to oregonians who have been clobbered by several mega fires unlike anything we have seen in my home state of oregon. On top of that, in addition to the mega fires, there are numerous other fires. Just up the road from my hometown of portland, eagle creek fire has merged with the indian creek fire and has spread over an area of 31,000 acres. And what we have seen again just staggering in its implications, the fire jumped the Columbia River into washington state. Its ravaging our iconic Columbia River george. Is this gorge. This is a treasure and beloved by people who visit it every year and people in my home state. Next to me is a shot of the fire that has been burning in the Columbia River gorge now for days. Although it appears the first sparks of the eagle creek fire were ignited by a young man, it is clear that the inferno was accelerated by the unusual heat in early september. Now the lives and the homes of gorge residents are under threat and a worldrenowned treasure in my home state has been devastated. Sadly, this wildfire devastation this month has rippled across oregon. A fire in southwest oregon has consumed more than 167,000 acres an area bigger than all of portland. The umqua fire and the mill fire in Central Oregon have torn through tens of thousands of acres each. I could go on. Mr. President , the point is my home state is getting pounded by these fires and the west is getting pounded by these fires. The sky glows orange at night as the flames burn on. Families wake up to ash on their windshields. Schools are closed and people have been warned to stay indoors because its not safe to breathe the hazardous air. On the air quality index map from the Environmental Protection agency, which i have here, you can see the effects of the nightmare that has settled in over most of oregon, idaho, washington, and large parts of montana. As i speak here, there are a million and a half acres of blaze across oregon, california, idaho, wyoming, nevada, and utah. Onethird of these burning acres are in my home state alone. This year is virtually guaranteed to be the worst fire season in history in terms of the total area burned. Mr. President , i served as chairman of the energy and Natural Resources committee for a time, chaired the forestry subcommittee. I sat in so Many Committee hearings and heard again and again about the dangers these fires pose to our states. The fact is the fires are getting hotter, theyve gotten bigger, theyve gotten tougher to fight and this is a yearslong pattern in the west. It gets hot. It gets dry. Theres been inadequate efforts to go in there and thin out the dead and dying material. Then we have a Lightning Strike in our part of the world. Then all of a sudden you have an inferno on your hands. This time, as i indicated, it seems some of the problem was due to that set of firecrackers. But this is a years long pattern in the west. And frankly, the same Warming Trends that have worsened the fires seems to have added fuel to storms that developed in the gulf of mexico and over the atlantic. My seat mate here, senator nelson, has been telling us about what his region is faced with. The victims of all these disasters and the communities that will continuing to face these growing threats need government to come up with smarter policies to try to prevent as much of this as possible. And thats why i wanted to wrap up my way my remarks by way of talking about the bizarre way in which the federal government budgets for fighting fire. And in the energy and Natural Resources committee, ive led a bipartisan effort for years now. Senator mike crapo, the senior senator from idaho, and i, we had 260 groups, forestry groups, scientists, environmentalists all join us in the effort because what has happened over the years is the federal government has shorted prevention and then because of the conditions being hot and dry and Lightning Strikes or what have you, you have a big fire. And then the federal government can put the fire out, borrows from the prevention fund, and the problem gets worse. And this is what we call fire borrowing. And the reason i call it bizarre is the idea of ripping off prevention which you need most just defies common sense. You have a dangerous worsening cycle known as fire borrowing, shoddy budgeting today leads to bigger fires tomorrow. And it needs to stop. And i remember not long ago, mr. President , because this does so much damage to Natural Resources policy, the distinguished minority leader of the senate, senator. Mr. Schumer er sign senator schumer signed on to our bill and we all wondered, well, whats the situation in new york . Turned out they had a problem with a bug and a baseball bat. And the Natural Resource agencies had trouble dealing with that challenge because so much of the funds had been frittered away with this broken system of fighting fire. Mr. Wyden thats why ive called on the president now to include a funding fix in any request for an upcoming disaster aid project a disaster aid package. Several of my western colleagues and i, senators from both sides of the aisle, are calling on leaders mcconnell and schumer today to include a fix in any disaster aid package that comes before this body. As ive said, mr. President , this battle has gone on for years. I think i mentioned to my friend from new mexico that this issue with respect to fire borrowing, this has been the longest running battle since the trojan war. It has gone on and on and each year wastes more and more money on a broken system of funding the fight against wildfires. Senator crapo has been an instrumental partner in this effort. He also has a proposal a proposal that in effect builds on what we have been working on for years in the banking committee. I support that proposal as well. So i want it understood that theres a lot that has to be dealt with here in the senate and some horrible disasters, houston and now the south with senator where senator nelson is going to wrestle with this weekend. Weve got a lot to do but when were take uking about western when were talking about western communities getting hit by a wrecking ball which is exactly what these mega fires do, i want it understood that we western senators, democrats and republicans, are going to be teaming up to make sure as we said in ourer today in our letter today to leaders mcconnell and schumer, that a fire fix thats based on common sense, sensible practices that try to prevent fires to the greatest extent possible have to be a focus of priority business here in the senate. Too many western communities, the kind im going to see this weekend are faced with destroyed homes, businesses, lost recreation dollars, lost timber revenue, cleanup costs and forest and range Land Restoration efforts. And the west cannot wait any longer for congress to break this dangerous cycle that defies common sense, short changes wildfire prevention, and does it year after year after year. What western senators are going to do is Work Together in a bipartisan way, which is what you have to do when your constituents are faced with these kinds of problems. I can tell you in oregon or montana or idaho, when you have one of these mega fires, nobody is sitting around waiting to hear about just the democratic approach or the republican approach. They want to have a response to what the federal government is going to do to help these hardhit western communities. Its absolutely essential that the senate act soon. Ive urged the president of the United States who campaigned as a champion for these communities and the workers who live in them, ive said, mr. President , do not ignore the west. And democratic and republican senators, given all the promises that have been made over the years, we are going to insist that with fires of this magnitude weve seen plenty of fires in the past. We havent seen the kind of thing ive just described that isnt very far from my hometown and across the state, given the urgency of this situation, western senators of both Political Parties are making it clear to leaders mcconnell and schumer and the president of the United States we need the federal government to act and we need it now. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Leahy mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from vermont leag mr. President , we had properly mr. Leahy mr. President , we had promises from the white house that they would treat Daca Recipients with great heart. I dont believe its great heart but protections for our nations dreamers. Its an unfortunate pattern. I hope it changes, but we see at the white house as the president faces historical low approval ratings, he rallies dwindling supporters by instilling fear and resentment. Now, that kind of conduct is shameful. Its unbecoming of the presidency. Its an office intended to represent our proudest ideals, not play to our basic instincts. Ive been here with every president since president ford, both republicans and democrats. We agreed on some things. Disagreed on some things. But the president s have always seemed to want to present and represent americas proudest ideals. I think its an unprecedented time when the president prefers to divide us rather than unite us. Instead of honoring the sacrifice, sometimes the sacrifice of lives made by transgender individuals serving in our armed forces, President Trump didnt ask are they helping our country. He decided to just ban them all from serving us. When White Supremacists violently rallied around hate in charlottesville, virginia, resulting in the murder of heather heyer, the president equated those who promote bigotry with those who oppose it. Theres no equation. Theres no equation. The bigotry shown there, the hate shown there was wrong. Now, this week the president targets another vulnerable population, dreamers. And dreamers are american by almost any definition. They came to the United States as children through no fault, by no choice of their own, children. Those of us who have children or grandchildren know they dont make those kind of choices. But they played by our countrys rules. They grew up. They have no criminal record. They seek only to contribute to their communities and make them better. America is their home. Often its the only country theyve ever known. Just as my maternal grandparents came from italy and found a home in vermont or my great grandparents came from ireland and found a home in vermont. They wanted that to be their home. That was the American Dream. But when you threaten the dreamers, you threaten the American Dream itself. And the president s attempt to justify his decision, indifference to congress, respect for our courts disingenuous at betion, the president at best, the president signed 19 executive actions in the first hundred days suddenly cares it a president who doggedly defends a muslim ban found to be unconstitutional by multiple courts is now cautious about the litigation risk of defending daca in court. Dreamers of our friends and neighbors, students at schools and universities in all of our states. They serve our country in the military. They are among the First Responders who come to say your who come to save your life when theres a fire. Consider, for example, contreras. He saved american lives. If wed thrown him out, he wouldnt have been there saving lives. The president s decision on daca is nothing but to rally the antiimmigrant voices while attempting to escape responsibility for deporting some of the most inspiring americans in our country. Mr. President , just on tuesday, i received a letter from dr. Dr. Juan hunday, a daca recipient, a resident of vermont. He was brought to the United States by his mother as a child. In 2007 his mother lost her life battling cancer. So he thought he should try to set a life to help Cancer Patients like her. He couldnt pursue his dream being an oncologist due to his immigration status, so he initial decided to pursue a ph. D. In cancer research. But dr. Conde went to wanted to treat Cancer Patients. He wanted to treat the patients with cancer, not just study the disease. And then when he received daca status, he was able to pursue his dream directly helping patients. He applied to and was accepted into the university of Vermont College of medicine. He is currently pursuing his medical degree. He hopes to spend his career here in the United States, treating cancer patient patient, researching the disease, which has taken the lives of millions of americans, including members of my own family. Dr. Conde is the face of daca. Dreamers have enormous potenti potential, determine nation to contribute to the only country theyve known since childhood. You deny them these opportunities because they were brought here as children by their parents, it would be cruel and inhumane, to be motivated more by the toxicity of this administration. Dr. Cond es story veals why a decision rescind daca is as senseless as it is callus. Now the fate of did a i now e of data can a is in the hands of congress. We can bring up a vote on this if the Republican Leadership will allow that in the house and the senate. And there are republicans who are spoken out against the president s decision. Its easy to speak out, act on it, vote on it. The democrats stand ready to protect our nation for the dreamers. Stand ready to defend the American Dream. I hope were not standing alone. I would invite my republican friends, stand up with us. Stand up for those dreamers. I guarantee you you have some living in your state. I guarantee you. My grandparents and my greatgrandparents, they can make america a better country. Mr. President , i see other senators on the floor. I would yield the floor but ask consent my whole statement be made part of the record. The presiding officer without objection. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from environment. Mr. Kaine i also rise to speak briefly about the news news this week that the president is terminating deferred action for childhood arrivals but also putting the burden on the shoulders of this body to find an appropriate solution. The president often said as a candidate and even in his early days as president that he understood some things about these youngsters. He called them incredible kids and he also said that they would be fine. He did not use that language often in talking about immigrants, and so those were positive phrases that led many to hope that he would continue the daca program. Many in his administration wanted him to, others in this body, the speaker wanted him to continue the program. But he announced he was terminating it in six months and asked congress to step up. I wanted to just tell you, mr. President , about a couple of youngsters that i was with last week. I had a roundtable on daca at Northern Virginia community college, which is one of the largest and most Diverse Community colleges in the United States. And i had this last week, and i had eight students. And there were a fascinating mixture of young men and women. I just wanted to come and share some things about their stories because it demonstrates how these young people, these dreamers are a source of strength for our country that we need to accommodate them. Rinata came to virginia when she was three years old with her parents and her older brother and sister. She graduated high school with an advanced diploma. Now with daca shes study at george mason university, pursuing, getting a degree in clinical psychology. She does Brain Injury Research and wants to do that research to hopefully help people like returning veterans who suffer from brain injuries. Giancarla is a daca recipient from virginia. She came here a decade ago, reunited with her parents, she had seen them in seven years. She graduated with a bachelors degree with international economics. She described that she is so appreciative about howe where daca has gotten where but she told me the night before she told me that the night before we met, shed had a conversation with her sister, her sister was in high school and was calling her big sister to describe how scared she was about what would happen if daca was taken away. She talked about her little sister as hardworking and studious kid and is worried she wont be able to go to college anymore and may be separated from family. Quinn is a korean student. She talked about his desire to help with us cyber expertise but how the removal of daca could hurt his studies and ability to get security clearances to offer his talents to the country. And gloria, just the fifth of these examples there were eight students there is an interesting young lady from nigeria, born in england to nigerian parents. Brought her as a youngster. Shell be the first daca recipient in virginia to graduate from law school. She wants to help more americans with immigration issues. We talked about all kinds of concerns they have. Deportation of themselves or family members, the ability to get a drivers license, the ability to lawfully work and pay taxes, and all of these young people work and pay taxes right now. The ability to get instate tuition, which for many is the difference between being able to get a Higher Education and not. And we talked about all of it, but we also talked about their love for this country and the fact that for these Young Students this country is all they know. Deportation back to place that they dont really know is not really an option. I was also happy to have at this roundtable, as we talked about theres no such thing as a daca recipient without a daca ally parents, teachers, family members, attorneys. They have a support group and it is really important to acknowledge them. We had officials from george mason university, Northern Virginia community colleges, one of our community colleges, mar marymount college, a catholic university. And all of these allies. A former publisher from the Washington Post is funding a Scholarship Program to help dreamers cover cost gaps if they have it pay outofstate tuition. And this is working to help hundreds of dreamers across the country. We talked to them and expressed our thanks to them for a when theyre for what theyre doing. I also ready stories this week about other students this week. Juan is a 2017 graduate of virginia tech. He came to virginia n. At age five and said it is really hard for me to think of myself as anything but a virginian and an american. It would be really hard to have that part of my identity detached. Thats how he views the reversal on daca. And guadeloupe from the Shenandoah Valley has a significant number of Daca Recipients, just started her freshman year at bridgewater college, a Small College in the valley. She says, this is the only country ive ever known. Ive pledged my allegiance to the stars and stripes every day. This is the country to which these young people pledge their allegiance, owe their allegiance, want to express and act to demonstrate their allegiance. Theyre doing it already. Theyre making us proud. And we need to step up. It was my great pleasure in june of 2013 to join with my colleague from new mexico, my colleague from vermont and nearly 70 others on the floor to do a comprehensive Immigration Reform that included many things, but included a protection for these dreamers. It was part of the education of a naive young senator that was in my first year to think, great, we did something in the senate. Im sure the house will do something. They didnt pass anything by way of comprehensive Immigration Reform that we could put in a conference together. But now the way to this the weight of this is on our shoulders. In six months, 800,000 students like though, between 12,000 and 13,000 in virginia, have that fear, that anxiety, are we going to be forced back into the shadows or, worse, are we or our family members possibly going to be deported . Ill just close and say these youngsters, again, theyve pledged their allegiance to the United States. Theyre demonstrating every day that we are richer a as a nation because of them. Why would we not have want to have these talented young people pledge allegiance to us rather than be elsewhere . America has always succeeded because weve been a great magnet for talent, growing our own talent and celebrating it, but also being willing to attract talent from around the world. And a society that attracts talent in the 21st century is going to be the society that succeeds. The most Precious Resource in life right now is not oil, not water, its talent. And these dreamers have it, and we should want it and i hope my colleagues will Work Together in a bipartisan way, both houses, to provide protection. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor and notice others of my colleagues here waiting to speak on this same subject. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall mr. President , thank you for your recognition. Im just honored to come here today and follow senator leahy and senator kaine and their speeches on daca. But ive also watched it over the last couple of days, and i think almost every democratic senator thats been down here to the floor to speak with passion about this issue, and so im just so proud of our caucus and our members that have stood up and called the president on this issue. Today i stand with millions of americans protesting the president s heartless decision to end the deferred action for Childhood Arrivals Program known as daca. His inhumane and cruel decision threatens the hopes and aspirations of our countrys young dreamers and there is no doubt that it will harm the economy. I call on all members of congress, especially the Republican Leadership, to act now and to act swiftly to keep Families Together and allow these kids to realize their huge potential. By making daca the law of the land. Thats what we need to do, make daca the law of the land. If the president wont do the right thing, then Congress Must take action and Congress Must do this. Democrats, republicans, and independents across new mexico and throughout our country agree that dreamers deserve to live and work in the United States. According to a Morning Consult politico poll released this week, 76 support allowing them to stay. 76 democrats, republicans, independents what. A big number. Most americans degree that our nation benefits from the contributions they make. They believe that our government should honor its promise to dreamers. Many of these young people came here as small children and have not known any other country. Take roxanna. She came to santa fe, new mexico, when she was one year old. Shes now 22. She completed she registered with daca as soon as she could. She completed the paperwork, paid the fee. She has complied with all of the requirements. She now works as a medical assistant with l. A. Familia Medical Center in santa fe. La familia is a Great Health Care clinic that provides excellent medical care to everyone in santa fe, including many immigrants and lowincome patients. Raxanna loves her work. She loves being able to help her fellow immigrants. Roxanna had plans to go to nurse Nursing School but the president s actions to end daca puts those plans on hold. In her words, i quote her, santa fe, new mexico, is my home. Its where i know people. Its which ive lived. Its which ive lived and grown up and its my lifetime its something that is mine but doesnt truly belong to me. Those are her words. We must give roxanna and the hundreds of thousands of dreamers what should deal belong to them. Dreamers more than pull their economic weight in our country. 97 are employed or are in school or do both. They work in fortune 500 companies and public schools, they labor on farms and dairies, they create businesses, volunteer in our communities, pay taxes, and pay into Social Security and medicare. Why would we choose to kick some of our most talented and most productive workers out of the country . Why kick some of our best and brightest young people out of this country . Ending daca would cause chaos for employers, forcing these motivated young people out of work could cost us 700,000 jobs. And as many as 30,000 a month. That adds up to 460. 3 billion in economic output over the next ten years. Medicare and Social Security contributions could drop by 24. 6 billion over the same period of time. One of those young people who contributes in new mexico is brandon. Brandon came with his mother from mexico to the United States when he was 2 years old. Brandon goes to college and studies every day to be an architect, and he makes straight as. He holds down a job to help support his family with medical bills and volunteers in his community. Brandon is grateful for the daca program that has given him the opportunity to work and pay taxes. Yes, he is grateful to pay taxes. This president continues to divide our country like no other president we have known. Every day it is clear that his values are not in line with ours. I increasingly believe hes not fit to lead this great nation. His Campaign Began with antiimmigrant and racist rhetoric. He accused mexican immigrants of being rapists and criminals. And his bigoted words have never stopped. He called for a wall along the entire border with mexico, a wall that would cost billions of tax dollars and which border communities dont want. He called for a ban on muslim refugees turning our backs on people who are fighting terrorism and who value the freedoms that we have here in the United States. He tacitly accepted the support of the ku klux klan, the neonazis and bigots in charlottesville, and he pardoned a Law Enforcement officer who terrorized the Latino Community in maricopa county, arizona, with unconstitutional raids and enforced detainees into inhumane living situations. Joe arpaio is not a good guy, as President Trump called him. Joe arpaio is the criminal. This president doesnt seem to value let alone embody the principles that america stands for. And now he wants to kick out of the country young people who do value this country, like carlos here. Carlos was brought to new mexico from mexico when he was less than 1yearold. New mexico is the only home he has known. Because of carlos immigration status, his opportunities were limited. He couldnt play sports in school, couldnt go on field trips. Even though he pledged allegiance to the United States with his classmates. Carlos registered with daca two years ago, and in his words, he was given wings. He is a fulltime student at new mexico state university, studying to be a mechanical engineer. He volunteers as a firefighter, he works as a server at a local restaurant, he began a drive to help Hurricane Harvey victims. Carlos says, and i quote him here, we are the dreamers. We as dreamers have proven ourselves to be worthy of being here in the United States. There are 800,000 young people like roxanne a, brandon and carlos, hoping to do their part to make our country strong. By any measure, daca has been a huge success. We also had the outlines of a program that works for america. We in Congress Must roll up our sleeves and make this program the law of the land, and we must mick sure that america truly does belong to roxan na and all of our dreamers. Mr. President , i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from utah. Mr. Lee mr. President , i ask unanimous consent to suspend the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Lee mr. President , i also ask unanimous consent to grant floor privileges to blake seitz, a member of my staff. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Lee mr. President , i have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the fascinating men and women of americas founding generation. I want to share with you one of their stories. Jonas phillips was a penniless jewish immigrant to america. He was an indentured servant, a hardworking businessman and an American Patriot who served in the philadelphia militia during the revolutionary war. During the British Occupation of new york city, he snuck messages pass the sensors by writing notes in yiddish understanding his adversaries wouldnt be able to understand or decipher it. Years later he addressed a letter to George Washington and to the other delegates at the Constitutional Convention assembled in philadelphia. He urged the delegates not to include a religious test in the constitution as any kind of requirement for Service Within the federal government. Because no man, he wrote, should be, quote, deprived or abridged of any civil right as a citizen on account of his religious sentiments, close quote. Jonas phillips wrote this letter for a reason. He wrote this because pennsylvania, the state where he lived, required officials to swear that the new testament was inspired by god. As a faithful jewish person, Jonas Phillips could not do that. By the above law, he wrote, a jew was deprived of holding any Public Office or place of government. Now thankfully Jonas Phillips letter and Jonas Phillips prayer ultimately would be answered. Days earlier the convention had voted unanimously to ban religious tests for federal office. The language the framers inserted into the constitution was unequivocal upon this point, mr. President. It said, no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Now, when the Founding Fathers wrote the word ever they meant it. That word means something in the constitution, and we need to protect it. I feel the need to stress this point because of the conduct of some of my colleagues. Yesterday notre dame law professor Amy Kony Barrett came before the Judiciary Committee on which i serve. She had been nominated as a prominent legal scholar and lawyer in this country to be nominated as a circuit judge. Thats why she was before our committee. Her nomination has been endorsed by prominent legal scholars from across the political spectrum and across the country, including neal katyal, president obamas acting solicitor general in the previous administration. At ms. Barretts confirmation hearing a number of my colleagues insinuated that her catholic faith would somehow prevent her from applying the law freely and fairly. Heres an actual quote from that hearing. Dogma and law are two different things, a remark from one of my colleagues. When you read your speeches, a conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And thats a concern. Close quote. Another one of my colleagues even went so far as to ask professor barrett to confess her faith under oath in the committee. Whats an orthodox catholic, this Committee Member asked. Do you consider yourself an orthodox catholic . If these remarks had been some sort of bizarre, onetime aberration, i probably would have passed them over in silence. But i feel compelled to speak out because i wonder whether a pattern might be emerging, a pattern of a hostility toward people of faith who come before this body. A few months ago another nominee, russell voge appeared before the Budget Committee to be considered for a post for the office of management and budget. Puff my Senate Colleagues used this time to question this nominee not about management, not about management or about budgets, but about the nominees evangelical christian beliefs. Quote, in your judgment asked this senator, do you think people who are not christians are going to be condemned . He explained to the committee that he is an evangelical christian and that he adheres to the beliefs espoused by evangelical christians. That apparently wasnt good enough for the questioner who later stated he would vote against mr. Voughts nomination because he was not, and i quote, what this country is supposed to be about. This is disturbing. This is not what the country is supposed to be about. Some sort of inquiry into ones religious beliefs as a Condition Precedent for Holding Public office in the United States government. These strange questions have nothing to do with the nominees competence or patriotism or ability to serve among and for americans of different faiths equally. In fact, they have little to do with this life at all. Instead, they have to do with the afterlife, what comes after we die in this life. To my knowledge, the o. M. B. And the seventh circuit have no jurisdiction over that. This country is divided enough. Millions of americans feel that washington, d. C. And the dominant culture despise them. And how could they not when they see their leader sitting here grilling patriotic citizens about their faith like inquisitors . How could they not feel like their values are not welcome in this chamber, within this government . Religious freedom is of deep concern to me as a mormon. My church, members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, have weathered extraordinary religious persecution. Much of it, especially initially, was sponsored by government actors. The first latterday saints were exiled from home to home. In 1838 the governor of missouri ordered that mormons be driven from the land were exterminated, and yes, thats an actual quote. Our first leader, joseph smith, once said, quote, the civil magistrate should punish guilt but never suppress the freedom of soul. That of course was before he was martyred by a bigoted, angry mob. Our countrys ban on religious tests is a strong bulwark for religious freedom. As an original provision of the constitution, this ban against religious tests predates even the bill of rights and it applies not to just some religious adherence, but to all of them equally. The religious test raised against mr. Vought and professor barrett do not favor one sect of christianity over another, as was sadly common for much of our nations history. Rather, these particular inquiries tend to favor the secular, progressive creed by many of our nations ruling elites. This creed has its own clerics, own dogmas, own orthodoxy. And as these nominees have discovered, it has its own heresies as well. More and more, the adherence of this creed seek to use the power of government to steamroll favored groups, especially dissenters, from their personal political dogmas. So they force evangelical caterers to bake cakes celebrating samesex marriages as in the case now before the Supreme Court of the United States and they force nuns to purchase con kara accept alternative contraceptive coverage. Yes, the secular progressive creed has proven that it is capable of triumphalism and into rich not because its own adherents are uniquely wicked. To the contrary, because theyre human. There is a way out of this vicious cycle of religious tolerance, mr. President. Of religious intolerance and its a way that we have to find. And that is for all of us to treat one another with civility and respect while jealously defending the rights of conscience for ourselves, our neighbors, and all of our fellow citizens. For christians, for jews, muslims, atheists, agnostics and everyone else. This body can do its part by supporting legislation like the First Amendment defense act and the marriage and religious freedom act which would protect people who have conscience objections to recent cultural changes. Make sure that theyre protected against one of the most brutal forms of discrimination that can be brought to bear. That is the type of discrimination brought about by governments against individuals. But at a minimum, this body can do its part by respecting the Constitutional Rights of citizens who come before it. Lest we forget, we work for them, not the other way around. I trust my colleagues, republicans, democrats, and independents, will take this to heart because religious freedom puts all americans on the same footing. It helps men and women stand upright, honest before the law and before god. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. President , i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from minnesota. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i am here to talk about the daca program, deferred action for Childhood Arrivals Program, something really important in my state. We actually have 6,000 kids that have gone through that program. As we all know 800,000 young people who have lived in the u. S. Since childhood are included and affected by this recent action by the administration, which i strongly oppose. These dreamers were brought to the United States as children through no fault of their own and were working hard to educate, they are working hard to educate themselves and contribute to our nation. In fact, more than 97 of Daca Recipients are now in school or the workforce and all Daca Recipients are required to meet the programs education requirements. One recent study found that 72 of all Daca Recipients currently in school are pursuing a bachelors degree or higher. And according to the American Association of medical colleges, more than 100 students with daca status applied to medical school last year. The young people who have benefited from daca have often been in our country almost their entire lives after being brought here as children. They are valuable members of our community and they have contributed to our economy and to the fabric of our society. In fact, one recent study estimated that ending this policy would cost the country over 400 billion in the next ten years. Ending daca, which has been in place since 2012 which would create uncertainty and deportation for nearly 800,000 dreamers across our nation. When i think of the dreamers, i think of the night the Judiciary Committee, on a bipartisan basis, passed comprehensive Immigration Reform. There were dreamers there late at night with tears streaming down their faces. And then i think of the time that president obama put daca into place and made it so they could come forward, sign up, and legally work. And now were going to turn our backs on those same people, those people who were brought here through no fault of their own, who we basically as a country whether or in the the Current Administration disagrees with the past administration, our country made a commitment to them that they could sign up to this program. And back when we passed comprehensive Immigration Reform, i felt like our committee, the senators who voted for that bill, democrats and republicans, made a commitment to them that day that we were going to work on their behalf. That is why this is so wrong. And i do appreciate that this morning the president said that he wants to work to pass this bill and that he said that the daca young people dont have to worry over the next six months about any actions taken against them. Those are, of course, good things. I just wish it had not happened in this way, but it did. I am also not surprised that so many people have stood up in support of senator durbin and senator grams senator grahams bill. That so many republicans and democrats and other leaders have stood up. As we discuss the fate of young people under daca, im reminded of someone who is not young, Joseph Madina, a decorated army veteran, an immigrant who just celebrated his 103rd birthday this july. He is 103 years old. So when i found him, he was a young 99 years old. The reason i found him is ha we were talking is that we were talking about this very issue, about daca and about kids actually today who want to serve in the military. And, as we know through various ways, some of the daca kids are courageously serving in our military now. Of course they wont be able to if they are deported. Just to think that we are maybe going to deport people who are currently in the military. 1803 103 years ago Joseph Madina came to the United States from mexico when he was 5 years old. He didnt know he was brought into our country. He was brought across the border by his aunt and stepfather. Et didnt know he was born he didnt know he was born outside of the u. S. He lived in minnesota until he was in an Army Boot Camp in 1944. At that time Joseph Madina wanted to serve our country but he found out he was actually undocumented. So back then, in his own words to me he said well, back then the army wanted us, the navy wanted us, and so what did we do back then . We would go to canada under the guidance of our military for one night and he said he got to stay in a nice hotel and came back and was actually a legal citizen. I didnt look into how they did that, but thats what they did. What did Joseph Madina do . He served our country under general mckartsdzer in the pacific. After he bravely came back after serving our country, he got married and had a boy. I met that guy now. That guy served in the vietnam war. So you have a dad who served our country in world war ii and you have a son who served our country in vietnam all because at that time there were people who said, you know what, you were not brought over with any knowledge that you were even being brought over. You were only 5 years old. They didnt deport him when he wanted to serve in our military. They made him a citizen. So Joseph Madina came out here to washington, d. C. , for the first time to see the world war ii memorial. I stood with him, along with two dreamers, High School Students who wanted to sign up and serve in the air force, but they were barred from doing that under the way our laws worked at the time. So i am proud of joes service, but i even want more that joes spirit, his devotion to our country can continue on and be passed on to other generations. Thats what this thats what this dream act is all about. Its about allowing other kids who were brought into this country without their knowledge or understanding what was happening and allowing them to be part of that American Dream. America is a country created by immigrants. Immigrants have been part of our nations greatest achievements and we need to fix our broken immigration system. Of course we do. Thats why i supported comprehensive reform so we would have money for order at the border which created a very, very long glide path to citizenship. But that also had a moral come come compass to that bill. As we all know despite the bipartisan support in the senate, the house failed to act. I like to point out to people, 70 fortune 500 companies are headed by immigrants. 25 important of u. S. Noble laureates, 25 were born in other countries. In my own case, my great grandparents on my dads side came over from slovenia to work in the iron other mines in the ironother mines and my dad had to quit school to raise his eight or nine brothers. He saved money in a coffee can to send my dad to college. On the other side, my mothers parents, my grandparents came over from switzerland. My grandpa came over when he was 18. He was detained at ellis island because they had reached their quota of swiss immigrants so he put on his form that he was going to canada. He did go to canada, but he didnt stay in canada and he somehow got through to wisconsin and was there and was an undocumented alien and lived that way for 20 years, married my grandma, had my mom and her brother, and then when world war ii came along, they required those aliens to register. So he had to register and thats when they found out how he had come in and they still said he was okay to register and then he was emboldened and he decided to sign up for citizenship. S that when they really looked into it. He made his case, lived there forever, had two kids, worked his entire time at a pie shop and they gave him his citizenship. I still have the picture of his shinning face with that bow tie. I wonder what would have happened if he came forward today. Im not sure that he would have been made a citizen despite the long time he has spent in our country. Now it has happened on both sides. Well, my dad ended up being a newspaper man. He interviewed ginger rogers, Ronald Reagan and mike ditka. My mom became a teacher and taught second grade until until she was 70 years old and i became a United States senator. That is the story of an immigrant. My grandpa was in an uncertain status when he came into the United States. You ask why i support these dreamers . Because i had dreamers in my own family. I am pleased that so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have spoken out in support of daca. It is essential that we now pass this legislation to protect these dreamers. I stand ready to work with my republican colleagues. I want to thank senators durbin and graham for their leadership. Lets get this done. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call