Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate Blocks Paul War Authority Amendment 61-36 20170913

A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from indiana. A senator is there a quorum call . I ask it be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. A senator i rise do to prevent americans from losing their jobs and shipped to other countries. I always fought to protect american works and ensure we have federal policies that benefit our workers in indiana and across the country. Mr. Donnelly in my home state of indiana, our workers are being hit particularly hard by jobs being lost and shipped out of america. Recently more than 300 workers at the carrier plant in indianapolis were laid off and hundreds more are slated to lose their jobs just days before christmas. Theyre not alone. Over 2,000 hoosier jobs have been or are scheduled to be eliminated and outsourced at nine different companies. These are more than just statistics. These are moms and dads, sisters and brothers, husbands and wiv wives. Our friends, our neighbors, folks we go to church with, men and women who get up in the dark and go home in the dark, working hard every single day to take care of those their families, to give everything they have to try to make their company a success. These men and women, as i said, work hard every single day. They make quality products. They support their families. They pay their bills. And theyre working hard to save enough to retire with dignity. And now theyre losing their jobs because those already highly profitable companies, theyd rather squeeze out that last dollar in profits by paying less to foreign workers. Ive met and spent time with hoosier workers whose jobs are being outsourced. Theyre not looking for a handout. They just want an equal shot at a level Playing Field and the opportunity to provide for their families. I met them on the sunday after the announcements were initially made at carrier. I spent time with them, talked to them. One of our young men in a military uniform of our country, standing up and serving our nation, had just been laid off with his job being shipped elsewhere. He and fellow workers have fulfilled their part of the american promise, the promise that if you work hard and you help your company succeed, youll be able to keep your job. Youll earn a decent living. Youll be able to put a roof over your familys head. You can send your kids to school and have an even greater shot at the American Dream than you and then retire with dignity. This is the basic promise of america, the promise of shared success of our workers and our companies. Its now in question. American Companies Need to live up to their part of the bargain as well. And many, many already do. As a u. S. Senator, i have a responsibility to working families, to taxpayers, and to our economy. Its critical our laws and policies encourage businesses to invest in american workers, in american communities, and to penalize those that ship jobs to Foreign Countries. Thats why earlier this year i introduced the sourcing act which is based on three principles. First, federal contracts funded by taxpayers should go to companies that employ american workers. This ensures that federal contracting policy takes into consideration whether companies have outsourced domestic jobs. Second, companies that do send jobs to Foreign Countries should forfeit tax breaks and incentives. Its fundamentally unfair that when companies leave for a foreign country, that they can then write off the moving costs involved and hand a bill to american taxpayers for the very costs of heading out the door. This legislation prohibits companies from receiving tax breaks for outsourcing jobs. Third, federal policy should encourage businesses to invest here at home, in our towns, in our cities not only in indiana but across the country. My legislation creates tax incentives for companies that relocate foreign jobs back to rural or struggling communities. We should encourage job growth in these towns, in these places. When Companies Bring jobs back home, we should support them for helping spur Economic Investment and growth. Ive spoken with President Trump about this several times, even as recently as last night, and he has been very supportive. Today im offering a simple amendment, an amendment that requires companies that are bidding for federal defense contracts to disclose in their proposals whether they have outsourced more than 50 jobs to a foreign country in the previous three years. And it allows Contracting Officers to take into consideration a companys outsourcing practices when awarding federal contracts, just like price, just like quality, just like delivery. It would be one more element so that the people of america can get the very best deal. Put simply, our tax dollars should go to companies that invest in and support american workers. If were going to effectively address the jobs going overseas, the jobs leaving our plants, the workers like the ones at carrier that were laid off, and the devastating impact on families across our country, we need to take action here. We can start with the Senate Passing my amendment. Preventing the outsourcing of these jobs and investing in our workers should be a bipartisan priority. Protecting american jobs and encouraging businesses to invest in the United States shouldnt be any controversy at all. In fact, it should be easy. Theres while theres no single solution to prevent companies from shipping jobs to Foreign Countries, Hardworking Taxpayers deserve to know our policies line up to promote American Economy, the american the American Economy and american workers. Investing in our workers, strengthening our middle class. We call that hoosier common sense. And theres a lot more wisdom in indiana and in other states than there is in washington, d. C. And in indiana this makes sense. I urge my colleagues to support the end outsourcing act when it comes up for a vote. Mr. President , i yield back. I note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call ms. Baldwin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from wisconsin. Ms. Baldwin mr. President , i i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Baldwin thank you, mr. President. I rise to speak about an amendment that ive introduced to restore buy america standards that support our workers and our National Defense. My amendment presents an opportunity to work across party lines, to strengthen our National Security and to support the hardworking men and women in wisconsin and across the country. In fact, President Trump supports exactly what my amendment seeks to achieve. In addition, the parliamentarians have confirmed that my amendment is germane postcloture. Given that the president agrees with me and the amendment is germane, i am calling on the Republican Leadership to schedule an upordown vote on my amendment so that senators have a chance to show their support for the workers who help keep america secure. Let me explain what my amendment would d the National Defense authorization act would eliminate a number of important buy america laws for certain critical Defense Components for navy ships and other defense programs. My amendment, entitled the supporting americas defense workers act, would prevent the elimination of these critical buy america protections which give preference to American Companies for government contracts funded with taxpayer dollars. It is a commonsense buy america, hire america policy that supports our domestic Industrial Base and our workers and our national and economic security. Current law requires that certain critical components like valves, air circuit breakers, machine tools, april correspondent chains, propellers, passenger buses, chemical weapons antidotes and photovoltaic devices being supplied by American Companies or certain qualified companies located in closely allied countries like canada. Section 863 of the defense bill would enact harmful sunset provisions on these current requirements, eliminating them entirely at the end of fiscal year 2018 and consequently opening up taxpayerfunded defense contracts to unfairly subsidized foreign competition and placing american jobs at risk. Opening these procurements up to foreign sources would have the additional effect of undercutting American Steel and iron producers because foreign manufacturers of these components do not use u. S. Sourced raw materials. Section 863 would weaken these sectors of the u. S. Defense Industrial Base and jeopardize the stability of companies located in states across this country and manufacturers of those components. This would in turn harm our militarys ability to rely on secure and stable sources of critical Defense Components in an increasingly dynamic Global Security environment. If domestic sources for critical Defense Components exit the market, our military could be forced into relying on countries that dont share our interests, including strategic adversaries like china or russia for parts or supplies. I want to emphasize that my amendment does not add any new requirements or preferences to defense acquisitions. Rather, it maintains the existing requirements that have worked for years to create a secure supply of critical parts for our nations defense. Again, to be clear, my amendment does not force the department of defense or individual services to do anything that they are not already doing. Indeed, d. O. D. And the services have complied with these requirements for years without complaining and without injury, and its important to note that these domestic content requirements can be waived. They can be waived for cost, they can be waived for schedule, or noncompetitive reasons. In other words, government retains the flexibility under these laws. Strengthening our defense Industrial Base should be a bipartisan issue. In fact, as i mentioned earlier, President Trump says he agrees with me. He registered his opposition to section 863 in his statement of Administration Policy which states, and i quote, the administration strongly objects to section 863. The Trump Administration goes on to say that, quote, the existing procurement requirements act as a key guarantor of a strategic supply chain security. They protect d. O. D. s ability to reliably source goods such as chemical weapons antidotes and components for naval vessels, among others, end quote. Eroding buy america requirements also runs counter to two president ial initiatives President Trumps executive order directing the pentagon to strengthen domestic Manufacturing Capabilities and his buy america, hire America Executive order to better enforce current domestic content laws. I believe that we must take steps to ensure that American Products are prioritized when american tax dollars are being spent. Domestic preferences help our Manufacturing Sector and ensure that critical products meet our high standards. This is particularly important when we are talking about Defense Products used to ensure our Service Members are safe and effective. In sum, voting for my amendment means voting not only for a creation of wellpaying american jobs but also for ensuring that the items used by our men and women in the military are of the highest quality and will continue to be available. This amendment is supported by the American Shipbuilding suppliers association, the alliance for american manufacturing. A Strong Defense Industrial Base means a strong and secure america. My amendment has the bipartisan support of President Trump, and i believe that it deserves a vote and the support of all of my colleagues in the senate. I yield back. I observe that a quorum is not present. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call yoark quorum call mr. Blumenthal mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. I ask that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. I ask that by unanimous consent my defense fellow, margaret reed, be granted floor privileges for the length of the current debate on the National Defense authorization the. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Blumenthal thank you. Mr. President , we have seen the chaos and confusion created by the president s decision on daca that has created a humanitarian crisis in our country. That statement may seem like an exaggeration, but for me its very clearly a statement of fact. I know it because ive seen it. I held an emergency field hearing on monday morning and listened to the stories of dreamers, young people brought to this country, many of them before they could even say their own names let alone know where they were going. And this country has given them education, a place to live, a sense of freedom, and a sense of future and future now is cut short. Theyve been threatened with deportation in just six months. Their employers, their universities, their communities have no idea whether they can stay and continue their lives productively, and importantly to them and to their communities, those work places and schools where they currently give back. They not only live and work here but they give back. Maybe most importantly theres the promise thats been made, the promise that was made to them when they came forward and they provided the United States of america with information some of the most personal information that exists about their Social Security numbers, their birth dates, their addresses, and their family. And the promise to them was that information would never be used against them and that they had a place here for the time that daca guaranteed it. That promise is now about to be broken. Great countries do not break promises. The United States is the greatest country in the history of the world. It should not be breaking promises to innocent young men and women who know only this country, speak only this language, have friends here alone and actually families here. This decision of daca threatens to tear apart families, decimate lives, and create disarray and derail futures. Were a country who is better than this decision. We are and remain a country that keeps its promises. I heard at our hearing from young men and women like carolina portilelo from brazil, brought to the United States when she was 9 and lives in connecticut for nine years. She knew didnt know that applying for a drivers license and applying to school would be out of bounds. Seven years ago she graduated from college with a degree in biology, but she was stuck. She had a diploma but couldnt use it. To fight for others like her she cofounded connecticut students for a dream. That has grown and become a formidable advocate for dreamers. When daca was adopted in 2012, it changed the lives of young people like carolina. It opened a new vista. You could get a new drivers lis and drivers license and a job. She testified she felt independent and free. She was the person she wanted to be and the person that the United States wanted her to be because she was contributing to our great nation. What we know of the dreamers is that there are many, many like carolina and like alaj andra. Alajandra was brought to the United States from mexico at age 1. Her and her family first settled in a small town in colorado and she has recounted in her testimony, difficult memories growing up undocumented. Her younger sister coming home from first grade crying because she had been bullied by other students. She was bullied because she couldnt speak english and her teachers the couldnt understand or help and she remembers her mothers anguish and pain when she heard about this bullying and her sister had encountered the same problems as she did later. When she was 11, her father was deported to mexico, her mother ran into financial problems, the threat of deportation always lingered, and she told us at this hearing about this life story, powerful and moving, but with a seemingly happy ending because she was table to go to wesleyan, one of the best colleges in the country, and major in film studies with a certificate in international relations. President trump has put a target on the backs of these young people and alajandras happy ending will be dashed. It will be a nightmare and tragedy if this order truly goes into effect. President trump has thrown this ticking time bomb into the laps of congress. It has potential real effect on real lives like alajandra and carolina and a thousand like them in connecticut 800,000 around the country people that the president has described as incredible and terrific, people whom he said he loved. So it would be the height of hypocrisy and inhumanity to deport them. It would be unprecedented to have this kind of massive rejection by this country, by plane, by boat, by car, by walking. It would be painful and shocking for america to force this massive deportation, but it would also be an absolutely reprehensible and unforgivable violation of our promise, breaking our word. And violating certainly morality if not law and there would be legal claims based on due brothers and other rights that could be violated. In these stories and, if there is no objection, i will submit them for the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Blumenthal along with the testimony. I am convinced is evidence that will be persuasive and convincing to my colleagues that we cannot shirk our responsibility. We have a public trust to make america worthy of the American Dream and to make that dream a reality for these young people to make sure that the dreamers are protected against this cruel and irrational action that that has threatened them. We are the greatest country in the world and we do keep our promises and we must allow dreamers to stay and to pass the dream act to pass the dream act without a poison pill or extraneous amendment, to pass the dream act now. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Mccain i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mccain mr. President , i modify my amendment with the changes that are at the desk. The presiding officer the senator has that right. The amendment is so modified. Mr. Mccain mr. President , again i want to thank my friend and colleague senator jack reed for the continued cooperation in which has characterized our work together. First, id like to say this modification to the substitution amendment that im offering and with the agreement and support of senator reed includes 48 amendments if both republicans and democrats that will help improve this legislation. The modifications submitted this morning included 56 amendments also evenly divided between republicans and democrats. I want to emphasize that these amendments that were just adopted are a result of bipartisan, an agreement on both sides. They would not have been proposed if they hadnt already been agreed to. This means we now have incorporated 104 bipartisan amendments to this legislation. The amendments have the support of both republicans and democrats in strengthening this legislation making the ndaa the voices and opinions of all members of the senate. So, mr. President , i want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for allowing us and helping us come up with these amendments which tremendously improve the underlying legislation. But i must say that were at an impasse on about four amendments, which all four of which are very important amendments and we simply cant get agreement, which well probably call for the majority leader to file cloture. I really wish we werent filing cloture. I wish we were treating the amendment the way we treated the chairs amendment earlier today. Every senator should have the right to speak and to vote on any issue that comes before this body and that includes amendments. And unfortunately, the majority leader will have to file cloture and well go through a period of time and then we will then move forward with the bill, which in my view could be finished tomorrow. The bad news is that not every senator is able to be heard and to be able to file amendments, second degree, whatever it is. They are going to be shut out by the cloture procedure. Thats not right. Its not right. Every one of the 100 senators should be able to vote, to amend, and to debate. Thats what the senate is supposed to be all about. So overnight i would theres four basic amendments, and i wont describe them, but i hope overnight my colleagues on both sides would sit down and figure out, as we have a number of amendments, a way that we can reach a point where we can have upordown votes on these amendments which are important to the nation, particularly when were talking about the Defense Authorization act. So id like to again thank the senator from rhode island, my partner, and thank him for all the work hes doing. I ask him if he has any suggestions or ideas. Mr. Reed mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Reed thank you, mr. President. First i want to once again commend the chairman in working collaboratively, cooperatively to include in this legislation over 100 amendments which have improved a very good piece of legislation. And it also represents the input of the vast majority of our colleagues in the United States senate. But i think, too, that we should have opportunities to debate and vote. That was typical in previous considerations of the National Defense act. Were still considering the possibility of such of such votes. And i would hope that we could reach an appropriate conclusion to have votes and debates. But to this point, again, let me thank the chairman for his leadership and take his wise advice to think seriously about how we proceed forward with this legislation. With that i would yield back. Mr. Mccain mr. President . The presiding officer the no te senator from arizona. Mr. Mccain i thank my friend from rhode island and i thank him for the relationship that we have developed over the years. Heres the deal. We have basically four amendments that are important amendments, and i dont mean in any way to denigrate their importance, that are then forcing us to go to a mode where there will be no other amendments voted on. So by failing to reach an agreement, then were shutting out our colleagues on both sides of the aisle and preventing them from having their amendments considered. Thats why the cloture is not a good thing. Cloture should be an act of desperation, and we should not be shutting out debate or amendments by any member of the United States senate. So ive talked a lot about the need for the work in a bipartisan basis. I talked a lot like lets do the regular order, committee markups, debate, legislation to the floor, debate amendments, and then sent to the president of the United States. I believe we can still do that. I believe that the progress weve made on this bill indicates that, but i hope that my colleagues would think about the fact that we ought to be able to decide as we have on numerous aspects of this bill in a bipartisan basis, either to agree or to have those amendments debated and voted. What we have done when we invoke cloture is we silence senators. Thats not the way our Founding Fathers envisioned that the senate would function. But i also would like to say theres 104 amendments that we did agree to in a bipartisan fashion. I think we can very happy about that. But there are still three or four issues that i wish we could just go ahead, debate, and vote, as we already have on a couple of very tough issues. So i want to thank all my colleagues for their cooperation. I want to thank them for our ability to get all of these amendments in. I am grateful for the votes that we have taken. And i hope overnight, even though the majority leader will invoke cloture and i support that, that we should think overnight if theres ways of resolving the existing differences, not in agreement but to move forward with debate and votes. So, mr. President , i thank my colleagues. I thank my friend from rhode island. And i hope we keep uppermost in mind that what were doing here affects the lives and the welfare and the benefit and capabilities of the finest in our society, the finest in america, the men and women in uniform. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Reed mr. President , i would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Whitehouse mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse i ask unanimous consent that the pending quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse thank you very much, mr. President. As the Senate Considers the annual authorization of our military and National Defense programs, im here for my 178th tim 178th time to wake up speech to discuss the Security Risks that Climate Change presents to our nation. I urge my colleagues to heed the warnings from our National Security experts, not just the selfserving propaganda of the fossil fuel that blankets us. What are these National Security risks . Well, the first order of Security Risk is the physical damage. Climate change is causing in our at most fear atmosphere, oceans and environment. Science and our senses are already perceiving this damage. Indeed, already measuring this damage. This order of Security Risk, risk to the earths natural order, will hurt farming communities, coastal communities, fishing communities, and anyone vulnerable to wildfires and extreme weather. All around the world. And of course, the poorer you are, the more vulnerable you are to this risk. The second order of Security Risk from Climate Change is the consequences in Human Society from those physical, biological, and chemical changes in our earths environment. As farms or fisheries fail, people are impoverished and dislocated. Scarcity of resources leads to conflicts and confrontations. Forms and fires and floods and make the suffering acute. And people who are hungry or dislocated or torn from their roots can become desperate, can become radicalized and become violent. That is why the department of defense has for many years called Climate Change a catalyst of conflict. Researchers from nasa and the university of arizona determined that drought in syria was very likely the worst in 1,000 years. Massive crop failures and livestock losses moved farmers into stressed cities where popular protests met brutal violence from the assad regime. The tide of refugees from that chaos swamped europe. To the extent the droughts in syria were a root caught of the discontent that led to the conflict and ultimately to the flight of refugees, european governments had seen this second order of Security Risk up close. Theres a third order of Security Risk damage to the keystone institutions of our present world order. Market capitalism and democratic government. We depend for the quality of life we enjoy on market capitalism and democratic governance. And those institutions, capitalism and democracy, in turn, depend on popular approval and confidence. But if you are a person whose livelihood has been harmed by the first order environmental effects of Climate Change or if you are a person swept up in the second order of societal effects of Climate Change, or even if youre just a person who is dismayed as you witness the suffering and harm caused by Climate Change around you, you will want answers. It is human nature to want answers. When people are hurt, they want a reckoning. And when that reckoning comes, the discredit to institutions like capitalism and democracy could be profound. For having failed to act in face of a known risk. Add to that failure to act a moral failure, why failure to act. Fossil fuel companies, corporate entities are knowingly causing this harm. And at least in the United States, they are aggressively fighting Political Solutions to the problem. They are fighting with professionally administered misinformation. Climate denial is the original fake news news. Fake news. And with an absurd arsenal of political money. Companies not in the fossil fuel industry often have excellent Climate Policies within their corporate fence lines, and sometimes even out there supply chains. But as we know in this building, these Good Companies collectively take essentially no action, particularly here in congress, to offset the Political Force of the fossil fuel industry. Indeed, Many Companies with good Climate Policies nevertheless support industry organizations that are the instruments of the fossil fuel companies in preventing solutions. This all stands to be a lasting and dangerous discredit to the corporate sector, and to market capitalism generally, and the discredit will worsen as the danger worsens. In congress, we have nothing to brag about. We have shown ourselves unable to resist the fossil fuel industry, despite knowing it to be deeply burdened with obvious and enormous conflicts of interest. And we have failed to resist the fossil fuel industry, despite clear and repeated warnings from our National Security experts. They could not have made it plainer. The pentagons 2014 quadrennial defense review described Climate Change as a, quote, global threat multiplier. Warning that, quote, the pressures caused by Climate Change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and governance institutions around the world. Similar were the 2010 q. D. R. And our National Intelligence reviews. During his Senate Confirmation process, secretary of Defense James Mattis told this body and i quote him here Climate Change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today. It is appropriate, he continued, for the competent commands to incorporate drivers of instability that impact the security environment in their areas into their planning. I. E. , Climate Change needs to be a part of command planning. In response to a question from the Armed Services committee, he testified i agree that the effects of a changing climate such as increased maritime access to the arctic, rising sea levels, desert if i occasion, among others desertification, among others, impact our purification. I will assure, he said, that the department continues to be prepared to conduct operations today and in the future and that we are prepared to address the effects of a changing climate on our threat assessments, resources, and readiness. End quote. Former admiral samuel locklear, as head of u. S. Pacific command, warned in 2013 that Climate Change was the biggest longterm Security Threat in his area of operation. Noting the need for the military to organize for and i quote him here for when the effects of Climate Change start to enact these massive populations. If it goes bad, he said, you could have hundreds of thousands or millions of people displaced, and then security will start to crumble pretty quickly, end quote. The Government Accountability office is our federal governments watchdog. G. A. O. Has warned that Climate Change could affect military testing, training, and operating activities, hampering readiness and mission continuity. Theyve also warned of d. O. D. s fix exposure to Climate Change. G. A. O. Says Climate Change is already affecting our defense infrastructure around the globe. 555,000 facilities and 28 million acres of land with a replacement value of close to 850 billion. For instance, the armys fort irwin, california, is susceptible to heavy rain and flooding. Air force radar installations in alaska stand on unstable, thawing permafrost. The diego garcia installation in the indian ocean, naval station norfolk in virginia each face rising seas. In his new book, the water will come, author jeff goodell quotes former Norfolk Naval station commander joe bouchard. The commander said, and i quote here, it was not a nuisance problem, it was not a minor operational issue. Sea level rise was interfering with the combat readiness of the atlantic fleet. I repeat. Sea level rise was interfering with the combat readiness of our atlantic fleet. The navy is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to bring its piers and other infrastructure above the rising waters. But goodell writes, a base like norfolk is the hub of an entire ecosystem that has grown up around it. Fuel suppliers and electrical lines and Railroad Tracks and repair shops and housing and schools. You cant just move all this to some random spot, end quote. So its happening in norfolk. Its pretty damn serious. In twist, our expect of state john kerry went to norfolk and he asked officers there how long they thought the base could hold out. 20 to 50 years, captain j. Pat rios replied. Goodedd describes this as what he calls ill quote him here an extraordinary moment in the annals of American Military history. A u. S. Naval captain had just told the secretary of state that this strategically important base, home to six aircraft carriers and key to operations in europe and the middle east, would be essentially inoperable in as little as 20 years. Mr. President , the bill approved by the Armed Services committee recognizes this and requires the pentagon to submit a comprehensive threat assessment describing the Climate Risks to military missions, and the climaterelated vulnerabilities of that massive d. O. D. Infrastructure. The department is further directed to submit an implementation master plan detailing the steps that d. O. D. Will take to mitigate climaterelated mission risks, incorporate climaterelated events and Combatant Commanders Theater Campaign plans, address military infrastructure vulnerabilities, update military construction standards or predicted flooding and extreme weather, and evaluate d. O. D. s progress adapting to Climate Change. I commend chairman john mccain and Ranking Member jack reed, my senior senator, for seeing to it that this language was included in this bill. I also commend my house colleague jim langevin for getting similar language into the house version. The house version states, and i quote by the way, this was a big bipartisan provision when it was voted on in the house. It states, and i quote, Climate Change is a direct threat to the National Security of the United States, end quote. And it further requires that the department of defense and im quoting again here be prepared to address the effects of a changing climate on threat assessments, resources, and readiness, end quote. In the shadow of harvey and irma, storms that were amped up by warmed seas and were flooded inland due to risen seas and that held and dumped more rain because of warmed air, and watching the unprecedented fires blazing across the american west, and with these bipartisan provisions agreed to in the ndaa bills, i hope we may be on the drink of finally freeing ourselves from the relentless, remorseless political pressures of the fossil fuel industry. They have had their way around here long enough, mr. President. We need to have a long overdue discussion of the effects of Climate Change on our National Security, on our health, on our economy, and ultimately on our national reputation. Pope francis has reminded us we have, quote, a moral responsibility, we have to take it seriously, end quote. He said i will quote him again you can see the effects of Climate Change and scientists have clearly said what path we have to follow. He went on, if someone is dowfl that this is true, they should ask scientists. They are very clear. They are not opinions on the fly. They are very clear, end quote. Now, pope francis is a scientist himself and having heard plenty of confessions, he is also a man of the world and he understands the weakness of humankind, he understands political pressures. When you dont want to see, you dont see, he said. But he reminds us history will judge the decisions. America is an exemplary nation. As an exemplary nation, one that rejects power by example and not just by force, america will be stronger and more respected if we pull together and craft american climate solutions. We are a country that needs to stand as an example in this world, a city on a hill, we often say, and a country which benefits from the power of that example. This shaming display of outofcontrol special interest influence will have consequences. The world is watching. We have a role to play in this world, we americans, and its time we got about it. Before the consequences of Climate Change become, to quote donald trump, in 2009, catastrophic and irreversible. End quote. 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 mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk for the mccain substitute amendment numbered 1003 as modified. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on Senate Amendment numbered 1003 as modified to calendar number 175, h. R. 2810, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes signed by 17 senators. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk for the underlying bill h. R. 2810. 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 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on calendar number 175, h. R. 2810, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018, for military activities of the department of defense, and so forth and for other purposes signed by 17 senators. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the cloture motions be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the democratic leader, the senate proceed to executive session for consideration of calendar number 109, the nomination of Pamela Patenaude to be deputy secretary of the department of housing and urban development. I further ask there be 40 minutes of debate on the nomination equally divided in the usual form and that following the use or yielding back of time, the senate vote on the confirmation with no intervening action or debate and that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate proceed to executive session for consideration of calendar number 293. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of the interior, douglas w. Domenech of virginia to be assistant secretary. Mr. Mcconnell i ask the senate vote on confirmation with no intervening action or debate and if confirmed the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action and the Senate Return to legislative session. The presiding officer there being no further debate, the question occurs on the nomination. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with shores permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. The senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President , im going to make remarks on two subjects, and i believe ill go a bit longer than ten minutes. I would ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 20 minutes as if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Wyden thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, im going to talk first about the devastating fires that are pounding my state and then im going to talk about the new legislation introduced earlier today by our colleague, senator graham, senator cassidy, and senator heller. With respect to the fires, i spent much of last weekend essentially going from one base camp to another visiting six counties to get updates at fire camps and Emergency Operation centers. In these travels i saw major fires burning in oregon from our northern border with Washington State to our southern border with california. Two of these fires were so large, they cover more than one county, so i believe it was important to visit both their eastern and their western fronts. Doing so in each case took almost two hours of driving from just one side of the fire to the other. Of the 1. 5 million acres burning in the west last weekend, almost 500,000 were burning in my home state alone. Now there are 17 fires burning in oregon. Thousands of oregonians have been evacuated this summer and thousands more are facing the prospect of evacuation. Thousands of firefighters from oregon and all over this country have been putting themselves in harms way to help oregon battle these infernos. From the Columbia River gorge on the washington border to oregons Southwest Corner hundreds of miles away on the california border, i just felt it was an enormous honor just to be able to say thank you to the thousands of hardworking men and women who are battling these lifethreatening blazes. I met with Emergency Service responders on the eagle creek fire in the gorge. The chi chetco bar fire in southwestern oregon that stretches across jackson and josephine county, the jones fire in lane county and the miller complexifier in Jackson County complex fire in Jackson County. In each of these settings, i met men and women who exemplify what i call the oregon way. The oregon way isnt written down anywhere. It isnt a law or rule. Itsen ethic its an ethic where oregonians step up and make sure that friends and neighbors arent in jeopardy. And the oregon way is all about oregonians staying on the job until its finished. I was also very moved by the presence of those from all over the country who came to our state, sometimes thousands from thousands of miles away to help save oregon stretches. People from california, arizona, all the way to the east coast and many points in between came to oregon to help out. And it was just stunning, mr. Chairman, to meet folks from florida who while worrying about their friends and loved ones in the path of Hurricane Irma were up and working on our natural disaster, which is wildfire. To get this job done right for generations to come, you have to recognize the inescapable proposition take these fires are getting hotter, theyre getting bigger, and theyre getting much more dangerous to fight. In one example i heard how the eagle creek fire raced 13 miles in 15 hours, and it burned with such ferociousness and at high winds that it jumped the Columbia River, jumped the river to start a fire on the washington side of the gorge. For those who may not be familiar with normal fire behavior, ill just take a minute and say how serious that is. Usually a river and certainly a river as large as the columbia acts as a natural fire break. But, mr. President , these fires were seeing today are not normal fires. These are not your grandfathers fires. These are gar gantian gar gantian dangerous fires. I havent seen anything like it and along with my friend, been on the Natural Resources committees for a long time, this year is on track to be the worst fire season in in history in terms of total acres burned. The Washington Post newspaper on friday reported that with the dozens of fires that have spread across the west, an area larger than the size of maryland has been burned straight through. But, mr. President , the way the federal government has historically paid for fighting fires is just plain wrong, and it leads to a cycle that adds fuel to these exceptionally dangerous fires. Now, ive been on this floor raising this issue. I served as the chairman of the energy and Natural Resources committee not too long ago. Our committee has heard in hearings again and again about the dangers fires pose to our communities, but the system for funding Fire Prevention in a timely way before our country has to spend too much more money for putting the fires out hasnt been fixed. That system is still broken as we discuss it here today. Last week i came to the senate floor and talked about this subject. The same day Congress Passed legislation to keep the government open for three more months and provide aid for the Recovery Efforts after hurricane harvey. Thankfully that legislation also included funding to ensure the Forest Service can refill the funds the agency is being forced to borrow from Fire Prevention accounts to fight the fires now. But that funding certainly necessary now doesnt fix the longterm problem. The Congress Must make sure the Forest Service has the resources it needs to treat the forests before they burn. Help deal with this issue before the forests burn because that will make them more Flame Resistant and stronger in terms of the capacity to deal particularly with the heat and lightning strikes. Let me lay out the steps Congress Needs to take in the coming days. First, the Congress Needs to lock in disaster funding to get these communities that have been devastated by wildfires back on their feet. Recreational areas that are the lifeblood of a lot of western communities have been destroyed. Theyve lost timber revenue and the cleanup and restoration effort will be tough and costly. So that is step one on the to do list. Step two is fixing the disastrous budget fuel system known in the west as fire borrowing. As the government spends more on fighting fire, it has stolen in the past funds that are supposed to go to Fire Prevention. So the money isnt there to thin out the dead and dying material from our forests and all it takes is one spark to start an inferno. The problem is only going to get bigger year after year as Climate Change roasts the landscapes across the west and wreaks havoc across havoc across the nation. This has gone on for years. Its leading to bigger, more threatening fires, and it is critical that this congress put a stop to it. Other parts of our nation have faced horrible natural disasters in the last several weeks. Hurricanes battering texas, florida, and much of the south. The way the federal government pays for Fire Fighting right now would be like funding emergency hurricane Response Teams with the money thats supposed to pay for levees and sandbags for the next storm. The practice of fire borrowing that has plagued so many western Communities Just defies common sense. Years ago along with my colleague from idaho, senator crapo, i introduced a fix to this problem with the wildfire disaster funding act. Senator crapo and i feel that weve been at this it feels like weve been at it longer than the trojan war. Weve been at this year after year, and now weve got the support of 261 groups and experts, folks in the forestry industry, environmental folks, scientists. Senator crapo, as chairman of the banking committee, has another bill that, in effect, builds on this work that we have done for years. I support his sensible proposal as well. The bottom line is, the west cannot wait any longer for congress to send them help and repair for the long term, which is fixing this broken system that shortchanges prevention and adds fuel to the raging wildfires. There is bipartisan commitment to solving this crisis, and i know senators across the west, where these fires are burning, have been going on exactly the same kind of tours that i went on last weekend. Im sure they met, as i did, these incredibly dedicated, courageous firefighters who are just working themselves to exhaustion. And im sure theyve heard from many of the same types of operation teams about the fights theyre facing. Those men and women on the front lines fighting fires, they are doing their part. It is time for the congress to do ours. Lets make sure that our communities have the funds they need to fight fires, put the fires out, and then once and for all let us end this bizarre, commonsensedefying budget process called fire borrowing that, in effect, has the federal government consistently shorti g prevention and then having to spend more down the road when you have these enormous fires as a result of the fact that you havent gone in there to clean out that dead material. Mr. Chairman, if i could, i would like to turn to health care, and for me health care has always been the most important issue. It goes back it my days when i was director of the oregon gray panthers. And i have always felt, as a general proposition, that its extraordinarily important for us to pursue bipartisan approaches in this space. And i have focused on that and, frankly, i got a lot of welts on my back to show for t i was very proud last night to be able to work with chairman hatch, and we have, in effect, announced the beginning of an agreement to deal with the Childrens Health program, bipartisan, you know, approach. And do it in a responsible way. And, obviously, there are other steps to go. But i think it reflects again big, important issue, polarized political time. The finance committee trying to find Common Ground. You know, the reality is that the principles around which Health Care Reform has traditionally been based are still pretty valid. I believe, mr. Chairman, as a democrat, the ranking democrat on the Senate Finance committee, i believe health care is a basic human right. I also believe our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have valid points as well about having a role for the private sector in the delivery of health care. So i have long used those kind of bedrock kind of principles to guide me with respect to health care, and thats why i wanted to come to the floor today to talk about what was Just Announced by republican senators republican senators only to make one last attempt to roll back Americans Health care before they lose the opportunity to take advantage of the special rules that would allow partisanonly approaches and expire at the end of the month. And as i said, my focus, as was the case last night with chairman hatch and we are far from done here was to find Common Ground with respect to a Critical Program for children. Earlier today our colleagues, senators graham and cassidy and heller, introduced a partisan bill that, in my view, might be the most harmful version of trumpcare yet. So i wanted to come this evening to take a few minutes to explain why this type of legislation is still a bad deal for american families. What this legislation does, authored by the three republican senators, is give a superblock grant blank check to the states so they can do whatever they want to to Americans Health care. Based on Everything Else ive seen this year, thats going to mean an all of lot of pain for vulnerable people. And an open door to the worst abuses of Insurance Companies that have been relegated to the history books since the Affordable Care act was passed. My view is, this is probably the Largest Health care devolution in history. Pretty much send it to state and saying, have at it. The bill ends medicaid as americans know it today. This years debate over Health Care Made one matter clear medicaid matters. It pays for the health care of americas most vulnerable and serves as a safety net for people who might not think theyll need it. It covers nursing home care for Older Americans who spend down their hardearned savings. It pays for Addiction Treatment services for those struggling with opioids as millions of americans do today. It helps americans with disabilities live healthy, Productive Lives in their communities rather than institutions. And that is just the tip of the iceberg of the good work medicaid does for those from portland, oregon, to portland, maine. But under the legislation im discussing grahamcassidyheller thats gone. The plan ends expanded medicaid coverage that 11 million americans count on today. It puts a cap on medicaid and offers hundreds of billions less in support from the federal government. Its essentially telling states, good luck, and asking them to make all the hard decisions about which americans get Adequate Health care and which people will go without. History tells us that the most vulnerable americans without a voice or a powerful lobby are inevitably going to be the ones worse off. Theres one more step that this bill takes that is different from previous versions of trumpcare and similar proposals. Rather than reducing the tax credits to help americans get help, similar to earlier republican aprofesses, this bill just gets approaches, this bill just gets rid of them. Gets rid of them completely. That means asking outofstates to use their federal health block granting to cover medicaid, nursing home care, Addiction Treatment, tax credits and all from the same pot of montana. That to me is a recipe for a health care disaster. This proposal also opens up loopholes for the big Insurance Companies to undermine key Consumer Protections. Those that bar discrimination against those who have preexisting conditions and set essential benefits that all americans are entitled to receive. Mr. President , i thought we were done with those days, the days when, in effect, health care worked for the healthy and the wealthy. L you know, we had discrimination against those with with pprehension, you know, conditions and with preexisting condition, you know, conditions so unless you are healthy or wealthy and you could pay for the cost of your health care costs, you were really in deep trouble. But as far as i can tell, this new proposal undermines those key Consumer Protections that bar discrimination against those who have preexisting conditions and take us back i would ask unanimous consent, mr. President , to proceed for up to ten more minutes. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Wyden thank you for your courtesy, mr. President , and colleagues. It was clear during the trumpcare debate that unraveling the Consumer Protections americans count on today causes the whole system to come apart at the expense of those who need health care the most. Ive heard the authors of this bill argue that the states will be able to keep the Affordable Care act or do it their own way. But this bill asks each state to do a whole lot more with a whole lot less. That doesnt sound like a prescription for state innovation. It sounds like more of the same failed partisan approach the public witnessed earlier this year. Now, i know a bit about state innovation and have enjoyed talking to the distinguished president of the senate about it. I wrote the provision currently in law that says states have a chance to do better, not worse. And what the states have been most interested in up till now is something called reinsurance, and the states that have been making headway in terms of getting the green light from the federal government have used the existing law that i wrote. But the idea of letting states do worse, that is a different story, and it sure looks to me like wed be seeing benefits cut, insurance plans being worth little more than the paper theyre written on. On top of that americans in red states shouldnt be subjected to worse health care than those in blue states simply on the basis of their zip code. So so i come back to the bottom line, mr. President , in terms of bipartisanship in health care. I think the way you make lasting change in the American Health care system is to find Common Ground across the aisle. I talked about some of the key principles behind it. I mentioned the fact that chairman hatch and i came together last night on general framework, the Childrens Health insurance bill. Now, i havent been approached by colleagues about this legislation. I can only assume that that means that its going to be pushed forward through the deeply partisan process known as reconciliation. That didnt end well previously, and im sure going to fight with everything i have to block partisan reconciliation tactics in the days ahead. So i come today to close by saying lets try to pick up on the kind of approach chairman hatch and i tried to pursue last night with a bipartisan effort on chip to try to find Common Ground. I think that health care is a basic human right. I also think republicans have valid points with respect to a significant role for the private sector. Im interested in approaches that give all americans the ability to have affordable, goodquality health care. I think we get it best if we pursue bipartisan approaches. I believe many of my colleagues here in the senate share these views, and i hope that the senate will not have yet another knockdown, dragout battle over a partisan reconciliation bill that will harm the American People and instead will pick up on the kind of bipartisan principles that i have discussed tonight. Mr. President and senator hoeven, i thank my colleagues for the courtesy of the additional time, and i yield back. The presiding officer the senator from north dakota. Mr. Hoeven i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of Senate Resolution 52 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 252, designating september 2017 as National Spinal cord injury awareness month. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Hoeven i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hoeven i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 253 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 253, designating the week beginning september 18, 2017, as National Hispanic surveying institutions week. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Seeing no objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Hoeven i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hoeven i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of Senate Resolution 454 committed earlier today. The clerk Senate Resolution 254, relative to the death of pete domenici, former United States senator, the state of new mexico. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Seeing no objection. Mr. Hoeven i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hoeven i ask unanimous consent that the senate that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Thursday, september 14. Further, that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed. Finally, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of h. R. 2810. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hoeven if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of Senate Resolution 254 as a further mark of respect to the late pete domenici, former senator from new mexico. The presiding officer pursuant to the provisions of s. Res. 254, the Senate Stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. Tomorrow as a further mark of respect to the late pete domenici, former late pete domenici, former a some developments today regarding health care. Vermont independent Bernie Sanders unveils his plan for a singlepayer Health Care System and republican senators briefed reporters on their ideas for health care Health Care Reform. Here are g. O. P. Senators lindsey graham, bill cassidy, dean heller and ron johnson. [inaudible conversations] all right. Behind me is the only thing between you and singlepayer health care, a small band of brothers looking for a sister. [laughter] so, we are going to unveil a bill thats been in the making for about a month now and bill