Transcripts For CSPAN2 LIVE U.S. Senate 20171003

And in the senate today, started debate on the nominee to head the u. S. Citizenship and immigration services. Part of the Homeland Security department, President Trump is visiting puerto rico today to see the damage from the hurricane spared and visit las vegas to mark todays after the mass shooting. We may your senators talk about both of those events. We take you live now to the senate floor. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain will deliver the opening prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Hear our prayers, eternal god, as you bend your ears toward us. Provide for the needs of the high and low, for the rich and poor, the just and the unjust. Empower our senators to love even their enemies, to bless those who curse them, and to pray for those who seek to misuse them. Lord, give our lawmakers lips that speak wisdom, hearts that love purity, and minds that embrace understanding. Deliver them from fear even in calamitous times. May they not trust in wealth or might but put their faith in you, the author and finisher of destinies. We pray in your marvelous name, amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , october 3, 2017. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable ben sasse, a senator from the state of nebraska, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch, president pro tempore. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell this morning our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those in las vegas who suffered the horrendous massacre. We will all be praying for them and hoping they can recover from these grievous wounds. On an entirely different matter, last week the chairman of the Budget Committee unveiled a comprehensive budget for fiscal year 2018 that the committee will consider this week. This comprehensive budget resolution provides a path to balance by restraining washington spending, by reducing the tax burden, and by putting our country on a trajectory for better economic growth. I look forward to considering it here on the floor, after the committee finishes its work. Not only will this budget put our country on a better fiscal track with reduced spending, it will also provide congress with legislative authority to enact muchneeded tax reform or hardworking american families. The tax framework released by the administration and congress taxwriting committees is a template that will guide these committees as they work toward producing proamerican tax reform. The framework envisions a 21st century tax code thats built for growth, that supports middleclass families, and that promotes American Workers and american jobs. Its the framework our committees will look to as they work through a transparent and inclusive process in pursuit of its important goals; things like more jobs, fair taxes, and bigger paychecks. Basically, heres what our framework envisions we want to take more money out of washingtons pocket and put more in yours. Simply put. I know the chairman of the finance committee is committed to goals like those. I know i am. I hope our friends across the aisle will work with us in a serious way to achieve them as well. Because after decades of lost economic opportunity, its time to get our economy on the right track again so it can finally grow at its full potential. Lets shift our economy into high gear with projobs tax reform. Lets put our finances 0en better on a better path with chairman enzis budget. Lets watch each Initiative Work within each of the committees this week, including the finance Committee Hearing on tax reform this morning. Now, on another matter, last Week Congress passed legislation to reauthorize the f. A. A. , including its authority to collect and spend money for repairs and Replacement Parts for our air Traffic Control system. Im proud that we worked together to get this bill over the finish line. Now f. A. A. Can continue to play a Critical Role in the federal governments response to the powerful hurricanes that have hit our country. The president is on his way to puerto rico to survey the hurricane damage personally and see how the federal government can continue to assist in the recovery efforts. Our thoughts remain with the hurricane victims as they continue to piece their lives and communities back together. During his visit, the president will have the opportunity to see the resilience of the puerto rican people. He can also witness the overwhelming support of their fellow americans who have volunteered to help deliver relief. Much of that support has come from the military, including the men and women of kentucky own queen kens own air and a national kentuckys own air and National Guard who helped bring relief to the Virgin Islands and puerto rico. Just last week the brigade deployed from Fort Campbell in my home state to help support relief efforts in puerto rico. President trump will also have the chance to see the groun groundswell of generosity from our communities. Many donated money, food, and other essentials. Other brave americans left their homes behind to go to the disaster sites to offer aid. Im especially proud to recognize some of kentuckys kentuckians who volunteered in the relief efforts in the wake of these storms. The kentucky board of Emergency Medical Services selected eight Fire Departments from around my state to send to florida to assist local operations after hurricane irma. Working 12hour shifts, these firefighters responded to 911 calls in tampa as residents began to move back into their homes. Throughout my state, churches and nonprofits sent volunteers to help however they could. One religious organization arranged more than 200 volunteers to help flood victims in texas and florida. In all, served over 78 in all, they served over 78,000 meals, helped with laundry and deliberated many bottles of water. The Kentucky Humane Society stepped in to care for pets and chapters of the red cross have mobilized to help where needed. The Kentucky Association of electric cooperatives sent doz dozens of linemen to help. It represents one of the largest mutual deployments in history. These kentuckians have general rossly given their time and labor to help their fellow americans during this time of suffering and they arent alone. Compassionate men and women from around the country have joined the cause to help ease the pain of the victims. Along with my colleagues in the senate, im committed to continuing to do our part to support relief efforts with fema, the department of defense, and the rest of the administration. We will soon receive a supplemental funding request from the administration and when we do i expect congress will act quickly to ensure that the men and women are provided critical support in puerto rico and the Virgin Islands have the resources they need. The senate will continue to stand with those suffering from these devastating storms. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. The senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the cissna nomination. The Clerk Department of Homeland Security, Lee Francis Cissna of maryland to be director of United States denyingship and immigration services. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, first, about las vegas, mr. President , the nation continues to reel from the awful, awful events of sunday night in las vegas. The deadly mass shooting the most deadly mass shooting in modern american history. Its gooden Even Deadlier in the last 24 hours. 59 dead, 527 injured. Some wounded by gunfire, some injured because they were trampled in the chaos. 22,000 concertgoers fleeing for their lives from the scene. The police found 23 guns in the hotel room of the monster who committed this atrocity, and 19 more at his home. Some of them modified to cause even more carnage. Of course, as always, the just beauty of the American People pulled through. The First Responders. I saw on tv today a man who had been shot. Two young women came, risking their lives while those shots were going, took off his belt and tied a tourniquet around his upper thigh because he was bleeding profusely. They saved his life. He says he will never know who they are, but they saved his life. That story im sure will be repeated over and over again. The valor, the bravery of the average american, the greatness of our First Responders is the only counterpoint to the evil, the carnage, the horror that we have all witnessed. We cant banish evil or madness from the earth, but we sure can do what we can in our power to make our country a safer place. We need commonsense reforms, and these reforms have broad public support. In the face of tens of thousands of gun deaths every year, too many republicans in congress have tried to enact the dream agenda of the n. R. A. And the gun lobby. They have pursued a National Concealed Carry law. Can you imagine . If that law passed, this horrible, horrible man could conceal, carry under the laws of nevada and come to times square in new york city or disneyland in florida and just shoot away. Most of our Police Organizations are against this concealed carry bill. How in the light of the carnage, knowing the evil that exists, magnified the power of evil magnified by guns and automatic weapons, how can we try to pursue it . And what about gun silencers . There is a move actually in this congress its in the house right now. Im sure it has support here on the other side of the aisle in the senate to make it easier for citizens to acquire silencers. Why . Let me tell you something. One of the few ways the police had to go after this shooter is look for the sound, try to hear the sound of where the guns came from. Thank god our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have pulled back on this bill. Its not the first time. They had to postpone a hearing on the bill when the Congressional Baseball Team was attacked at an Early Morning practice. When two Mass Shootings force you to delay a bill that would make those Mass Shootings harder to detect and stop, maybe its a sign you ought to let go of the bill once and for all. And of course, we have this absurd n. R. A. Nostrum that if everyone had a gun, we would all be safe, because people who were in a in an arena, a place where someone was shooting could shoot them back. Well, they sure couldnt have shot back at someone 32 stories up in a hotel. This idea that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun is absurd in this situation. Its absurd in many situations. So where do we go from here . Well, this place has been gridlocked on the issue of gun control for a while, but President Trump, before he ran for office, was for certain sane, rational, limited aspects of gun control. After sandy, he called for the gun laws to be tightened. And so i know when he ran, the power of the n. R. A. , the money of the n. R. A. , the narrow special interest n. R. A. Lobbyists here are just the swamp he decried, small groups going against the Public Interest in persuading congress to do that. But maybe he can have a bit of a reawakening because of the horror of what happened as he goes to las vegas tomorrow. So President Trump today i am calling on the president to come out against the absurd law about silencers. Threaten a veto if he must, and put an end to that bill. I am also calling on President Trump to bring together the leaders of congress and let both sides know he is ready and willing to address this issue of gun safety head on. He should tell members of his party that its time to work addressing the epidemic that costs the lives of more than 30,000 americans a year. Im glad the president is going to las vegas. Thats a good idea. But he should take it a step further. Call us together, and lead this nation in some rational laws about gun safety that the overwhelming majority of americans, democrat, republican, and independent support. If we truly want to honor our First Responders and protect our fellow americans as we say we do, President Trump should stand up and tell the n. R. A. Theyre not always right. Abandon some of their more extreme policies i would abandon most of them and come to the table to do the work that so Many Americans are desperate for congress to do. Now, mr. President , on another matter, the crisis in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. Today President Trump will be visiting puerto rico nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria made landfall in puerto rico. In my view, the lateness of his visit is indicative of his leadership and the federal response to this humanitarian crisis. Its been slow. It hasnt been well coordinated or surefooted and its been too late in coming. President obama visited sandy two days after the storms hit. President trump himself was much quicker to visit texas when harvey hit. Two weeks is too long. Better than nothing, thats for sure. But too long. And it sends a signal that maybe he believes puerto rico is less important than what happened in texas or in florida. And in the lead up to hurricanes harvey and irma, President Trump was tweeting on almost a daily basis prevailing on texans and floridians to stay safe from the storm. That was the right thing to do. When it came to puerto rico there was no tweets in the lead up to the storm and it took several days after maria hit. And even then he had mostly blame for the people of puerto rico and pats on the back for his own administration. He kept decrying fake news. But he couldnt fool the American People. They saw on tv what was happening. The devastation that stayed for so long. And let me give you just a comparison because the president said, well, its an island. Its harder to get to. It is. But when haiti was struck by a massive earthquake in 2010, the United States didnt wait for things to get worse. We ramped military and Disaster Assistance quickly and responded with an overwhelming amount of support. Within two days of the earthquake in haiti, 8,000 troops were en route. Within two weeks, 22,000 troops were en route and 300 helicopters assisting relief efforts. The number even to this moment for puerto rico is much smaller. That shows that the response has not been good enough. Why it was the response for puerto rico so much less than the response for haiti . So we need a much better response on the ground in puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. So id say to President Trump, im glad youre going. Glad youre going. But this is your chance to make up for what has been a plodding start. When you visit puerto rico today, mr. President , dont get into any political fights or blame puerto rico for its problems. Figure out whats wrong, figure out what else has to be done, and marshal the resources of our government and our military to fix it. The 3. 5 million american citizens in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands are counting on you because youre their president. These are american citizens. Finally, mr. President , returning to the republican tax plan, over the weekend weve heard some pretty absurd claims from republican legislators and cabinet officials about the g. O. P. Tax plan. The president and his top advisors are selling this as a middleclass miracle, but every independent analyst is saying the republican plan focuses on the rich to the exclusion of the middle class. The g. O. P. Tax plan lowers the top rate from 39. 6 to 35 and repeals the estate tax which affects only the top. 2 of the estates in this country, any estate over 11 million. That is not, mr. President , the middle class. And it lowers the rate on passthrough entities creating a huge loophole that would allow wealthy hedge fund managers, law firms, lobbyists to pay a lot lower rate. According to the tax policy center, the top 1 would reap 80 of the benefits of the g. O. P. Plan. The top. 1 , folks who make more than 5 million a year, would get a break of 1 million a year. How Many Americans believe that people who make over 5 million a year should get a 1 million tax break . Thats whats in the bill right now. Now theyre saying maybe it will change. But why did they put out such a shoddy product to begin with . Why didnt they wait, put in more details . Thats whats there now. And its sure not a middleclass tax cut by any stretch of the imagination. Those who put together this bill, the hard right wing of the republican party, really arent interested in a middleclass tax cut. They are interested in tax cuts for the rich and scraps for everyone else. Nothing makes this clearer than their budget resolution, and every day this plan comes with a surprise. Heres the surprise today, and its amazing. The republican budget resolution calls for a 450 billion cut in medicare. Folks, this tax bill cuts your medicare, the budget bill that outlines the tax bill that were doing this week, the plan calls for a 473 billion cut in medicare. And more than 1 trillion in cuts to medicaid. Youre an older american, you say maybe this tax bill wont affect me, it sure will. It sure will. Because amazingly, to pay for these tax cuts for the wealthiest of americans, the most powerful of americans, they cut your medicare by over 450 billion and cut medicaid by 1 trillion. Havent our republican colleagues learned . When they tried to do a similar thing in health care cut taxes on the very wealthy so they could cut health care, rather cut health care so they could save money and cut taxes on the very wealthy, they had to abandon it. This is going to meet a similar problem. Its going it to meet aprobium of the American People. 1 moi 5 trillion in tax cuts for 1. 5 million in tax cuts for the wealthiest of americans and the budget tees up even more cuts to medicare. If the g. O. P. Were to pass another provision known as statutory paygo would offset the provision automatically with respect to health care and many other programs to support our nations economy. So not only does this bill favor the rich, the very wealthy, but to help finance those tax cuts for the wealthy, theyre cutting medicare by 500 billion, close to 5 hundred lun billion. And theyre cutting medicaid by 1 trillion. So this is just like the republicans First Health Care bill, but in reverse. In the first Trumpcare Bill the republicans proposed cutting back on health care to sneak through tax breaks on the rich. Now theyre proposing massive tax cuts on the rich to sneak through cuts to health care. Wait till america finds out about this bill. Its going it to get the same cold, horrified reception that the Health Care Bill did, and it will not pass. The American People wont be fooled. Theyve seen this movie before. The top 1 of corporations would win, and millions of seniors, the disabled, workingclass americans would lose, and lose a lot. Not fair. The rich are doing great. They dont need a tax break. But to compound the injury, say were going to pay for their big tax break by cutting medicare and medicaid, that aint going to fly. Dont even try it. I yield the floor. I note the absence of a quorum, mr. President. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Cornyn mr. President , id ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , yesterday i mentioned how our colleagues across the aisle and of course some groups outside of capitol hill have predictablably started attacking tax reform and actually a plan that doesnt yet exist in legislative language. With the fall season now above us, theyve said toed to shoot arrows at a straw man. Youd think given their support for tax reform in the past, our democratic friends would at least wait to review the legislation before they pounce on it. And i would hope that they would work with us to come up with a bipartisan plan. But i guess im not entirely surprised. Thats never stopped them from pilloring smart policy before when it came to a political end. Yes, they are already piling on, spreading misinformation and assuming the worst because thats the easiest and most politically expedient thing to do. The problem is that many of the criticisms of our framework have been misleading and counterproductive. Worse, some members seem more content to misconstrue a plan than they do to understanding it and giving it a fair hearing. So allow me to clarify the record for just a moment. Whats most striking is that the new framework unveiled by the socalled big six shares many of the core features of previous plans that were widely embraced by democrats, and not only that ny folks and not only that, many of the folks that are now critical of the new plan came out in support of these provisions as recently as this year. So our colleague, the senior senator from oregon, is typical in this regard. In response to our framework, he said this is a farright republican scheme to endow future generations of the megawealthy and leave what amounts to crumbs for the middle class behind. Kind of a breathtaking allegation. Those are indeed strong statements, but the American People are smart, the American People realize that the plan that our colleague from oregon is criticizing is similar to the one he sponsored and promoted in 2011. So lets get the facts straight. So the senator from oregon had previously sponsored a plan in 2011 with our former colleague, senator coats of indiana, called the wydencoats plan. And here on the left, of course, is the big six framework that he described let me read that again. He said this is a farright republican scheme to endow future generations of the megawealthy and leave what amounts to crumbs for the middle class behind. Well, heres the framework he was criticizing by the language i just provided, and here is his plan in 2011. Each thieves plans, the wydencoats plan from 2011 and the one were considering now, is based on three individual tax rates. Both the plan the senator from oregon once supported and the one we are now discussing, the framework, will collapse seven tax brackets in the Current System down to three, vastly simplifying the tax code and the burden of complying with that tax code by ordinary americans. Each plan also eliminates the alternative minimum tax on this line. It triples it vastly increases the standard deduction. The wydencoats plan would have tripled it. The big six framework that he criticized doubles the standard deduction, making it so that a married couple who earn 24,000 or less would be essentially in a sear tax bracket. So my question is what has changed . Other than the Political Party of the president in office . These changes to our tax code used to be noncontroversial, certainly not partisan, so the big six plan isnt just similar to the wyden one, though. It also shares key features with the socalled simpsonbowles plan from 2010 that not long ago was embraced by a member of democrats, including the current minority whip. , the senator from indiana. Heres a comparison of the of the socalled big six framework and the simpsonbowles plan. As you can see, there is a lot of similarities here. Seven brackets collapsed into three, eliminating the alternative minimum tax, eliminating a number of itemized deductions or socalled base broadenners. Iten ranses the Child Tax Credit, and it lowers the corporate rate. These proposals were once a nobrainer for republicans and democrats alike, so why the change in tune . Our democratic colleagues used to think these reforms were long overdue. They were right then, and they are wrong now. None other than the Senate Minority leader, our colleague from new york, has said that to preserve our international competitiveness, it is imperative that we seek to reduce the Corporate Tax rate from 35 . That was the senator from new york in 2012. He said this will boost growth and encourage more companies to reinvest in the United States. He was absolutely correct in 2012, and hes entirely wrong now to change his view and suggest that this is somehow a wrong way to approach, getting the economy growing again and encouraging businesses that earned money overseas to bring that money back home and invest it in businesses and jobs and pay for American Workers here at home. We do need to change incentives, and we do need to spur growth. Thats why the new framework were considering will create a new tax structure for Small Businesses, allowing them to better compete. Once upon a time, none of this was particularly partisan, and many of our colleagues across the aisle got the picture. Our colleagues from ohio, minnesota, and missouri have all said in recent years that we should lower the Corporate Tax rate, not because we love corporations but because we recognize that that provides incentives for them to stay here and invest in jobs and businesses in america rather than overseas, but it also makes it more likely that hardworking americans will be able to find a job and that the jobs they hold will actually pay better wages. And thanks to our reduction in individual tax rates, they will actually be able to take have more takehome pay. And as some have pointed out, this literally would raise their standard of living, make it possible for them to provide for their childrens education, maybe buy a reliable car so that they can go back and forth to their job every day, maybe buy a home. Or perhaps save for their retirement. Well, there is nothing partisan about wanting an updated and more competitive tax code that will incentivize businesses to keep jobs on american soil. Thats what the socalled reduction in the corporate rate will do. Right now, we have the highest corporate rate in the world. So many businesses have simply picked up their roots here in america and they have moved overseas to companies to countries that have lower tax rates, because they simply cant rationalize to their shareholders for whom they have a fiduciary duty, paying higher taxes and remaining in the United States, so they take it overseas. And even for those who stay behind because of our extraordinarily high tax rate and the fact they literally would have to pay double taxes for income earned abroad and bring it back to the United States, pay the tax rate in the country where the money is earned and bring it back to the United States, they would have to pay twice. So 35 on top of whatever they have to pay in the country is earned. So is it any wonder, for example, that i. B. M. I read today or excuse me, this last weekend actually has more jobs in india than it does in the United States. Let me say that again. I. B. M. , the global computer company, has more jobs in india today than it does in the United States. Now, i have no doubt that that has to do with certain incentives that the country will pay to companies to invest and to build their business in their country, and no doubt it has to do with the access to skilled labor. That certainly has to be a part of it, but there can be no doubt that our tax code is simply Encouraging Companies like i. B. M. To shift more and more of their work overseas. And even if they wanted to bring the money that they earned overseas back to the United States, they would have to pay twice. And so what do they do . They simply invest in their workforce, they simply invest in their business in another country, much to our detriment. So if somethings broken, which our tax code is, it needs to be fixed, not avoided. Our democratic colleagues need to once again acknowledge this, as so many of them did when it came to our outdated tax code, as i pointed out. There is no reason why tax reform cant be bipartisan, and if our colleagues just return to some of their statements which i have highlighted here, if they return to those policies in a bipartisan fashion and work with us, we could change our tax code for the better so that we could make it simpler, we could make sure that individuals had lower tax rates so they could have more takehome pay from the wages they earn, and in the process improve their standard of living for themselves and their families, and then finally we could become more competitive in a Global Economy where the highest tax rate in the world does not serve american interests well. It doesnt serve American Businesses interests well, and it doesnt serve American Workers or taxpayers interests either. So we can do this, mr. President. All it takes is political will. All it takes is approaching this in a fashion that benefits all americans on a nonpartisan basis. And i hope our colleagues will listen. Mr. President , i yield the floor. I would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Nelson mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Nelson in the aftermath the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mr. Nelson mr. President , i ask, please, for the lifting of the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Nelson mr. President , in the aftermath of las vegas, it is a time for this senator to reflect whether a shooting is like mateen, in the nightclub in orlando, he was motivated as a terrorist, or whether it has been this remarkable recovery of congressman scalise and the attempted killing of scalise by a shooter that was motivated by politics. Or whether it is this massive massacre in las vegas apparently by a shooter who is mentally deranged in some form. The fact is that massive amounts of ammunition with highcaliber rapidfire assault weapons is making this easier for whatever the motivation of the shooter is. And as a result, you get to the point of how many of these more do we have before you say enough is enough . And that leads to the subject of politics. Where does humanity be able to overtake the divisiveness of our politics so that we can come together and have a commonsense discussion about what should be done, because if we dont and humanity does not overtake our politics, we will continue and it will be more of the same. And so i ask, i yearn for that public but also private discussion with our colleagues, because going down this road over and over again is not going to be the answer. And we really ought to say enough is enough. Now, mr. President , im the senator from florida allege with my colleague, march along with my colleague marco rubio. We of course have been at the forefront of this terrible tragedy thats going on in puerto rico, and i want to comment on that. By the way, speaking of bipartisanship, theres a good example. Senator rubio and i, when our state was hit by i irma, we spet three days together, going around together showing that we were shoulder to shoulder to try to help floridians overcome the tragedy that they had just had befall them. And so we dished out food together. We went and surveyed the floods. We went into the poor little cities. We went and thanked University Students who had rescued elderly frail when they were abandoned. We went all across the state. We were first into the day after the storm, into the keys seeing the destruction there. And senator rubio and i have been joined at the hip when it came to looking at what was happening in puerto rico. It was pretty obvious. Last week a week had passed since the storm. In fact the supplies were stacking up, but they were stacking up in the ports. They were not able to get out into the interior of the island, and the two of us were pretty strong in our words that youve got to get the most Capable Organization in to do that when in fact its almost like combat conditions. And that is the u. S. Military. And so finally wednesday night of last week they sent a threestar general who started to get it organized and is now were seeing it distribute out. But its going to take more because its an island that is just absolutely devastated. And its going to take a long time recovering, and its going to take a lot more money. And remember these are our fellow american citizens. So we saw the devastation in florida. Its now the continuing hardship is being told in puerto rico. Its a population that half are without drinking water, and only 5 and this is two weeks after the storm only 5 of the electricity grid is restored, and cash is in short supply. So whereas in florida we saw the flooded streets, the downed trees, the crushed cars, the flipped over mobile homes, limited access to critical supplies like gasoline and Property Damage was everywhere, and it was the entire state, what were seeing is multiply that many fold, and thats what were seeing in puerto rico. So now were working on a supplemental funding bill. Remember back right after the first storm in texas, we passed a 15 billion emergency supplemental appropriations. Thats going to run out within the next few days. So we have to have another supplemental funding bill, and you can imagine how now its not just texas and florida, but its the voildz its the Virgin Islands, its puerto rico and its some other states as well. So were going to need to help the people cover the cost of recovery, and we are going to need to jumpstart the local economy in those areas hardest hit by the storms. So, mr. President , today im going to introduce a piece of legislation, i call it the National Disaster tax relief act, which would give people affected by these storms some muchneeded tax relief. And this is in the shadow of the conversations taking place as we speak with a hearing which ive just come from from the finance committee about future reform of the federal tax code. And so the bill that i am introducing today would do four things. One, it would let businesses and farmers immediately write off their cleanup cost, not just their replacement cost. So, for example, florida Citrus Growers, in the central part of the state, half of the crop and it was going to be finally a goodnews story on our citrus crop. Half of the citrus buffetted by the wind is on the ground. You go farther south into southwest florida, 75 of the citrus is on the ground. And so, what this would do would allow the sit tress the Citrus Growers to be able to write off the cost, expense, in other words, in the first year, the cost of removing the downed trees, not just the cost of a new tree. And that is especially important to Citrus Growers all over the United States because theyre already hurting from a plant disease of bacteria known as greening which kills the citrus tree in five years. And, therefore, there are a number of these groves that have been abandoned. But its valuable land. We need to give the incentive to the citrus grower to be able to go in and plow under that citrus grove and replant. The immediate expensing of that plowing under plus the replanting of what we think are hardier varieties of citrus to this, more resistant to this disease, this bacteria called greening. We think that would be a huge incentive to try to save the Citrus Industry not only in my state, but in texas, arizona, california, theres citrus also in louisiana, some in other southern states. Now the second thing that the bill does, it gives taxpayers the ability to exempt state and local Disaster Mitigation payments from federal taxes. And it lets them save for the next big storm tax free. And that would be in a catastrophe savings account. So it would allow people to save tax free 150,000 to cover things not covered by insurance insurance, such as southwest florida, there are a lot of sea walls that caved in. Sea walls that are extremely expensive to rebuild and repair. This taxfree account would allow them to put away savings for that and other kind of costs of remediation that they go out, they try to save their home by getting tarps on the roof, making certain repairs until you can get the replacement and the insurance can pay for it. Expensing of those items in the tax code would certainly give that incentive. And the bill also includes extra infrastructure financing for areas damaged by the storms. For example, help to lowincome Housing Needs and other infrastructure needs that are so important to economic recovery. And then the fourth thing that the bill does is it includes tax incentives for puerto rico and the Virgin Islands and extends tax benefits that are available on the mainland but not in the territories, like the full Child Tax Credit. Why should we treat our american citizens in a territory any different taxwise on a Child Tax Credit that we treat our citizens on the mainland, the main 50 states . It shouldnt be. It doesnt make sense. Whats happening in puerto rico should concern every american. Governors row rosseo has warned of a humanitarian crisis if we do not quickly move to alleviate this situation. The coast guard is working with fema and others to bring in drinking water, other critical supplies as well. Additional work is being done to restore power. Generators are being shipped in to help manage the load at the airport. And there are 30 flights per day now, which is projected to grow to 60 flights in the coming days. And meanwhile, as the evacuations continue, we dont want to leave puerto rico in tatters. We have to rebuild. Vac and thats going to be an expensive cost to pay. And so as we are going into a supplemental package for all of these stormaffected areas, what about since the utilities in puerto rico were so out of date and so arcane, lets think creatively like in remote villages. Lets fly photovotaic cells to generate electricity as a backup. Because another storm is going to come and the power lines will go down, lets think creatively as we help these areas rebuild p. We are working on supplemental packages to get aid to those suffering. Im hopeful that a tax incentive will be part of that. Mr. President , our country is hurting. We should be doing everything that we can to help it heal. And now, not only healing from coming out of some ferocious storms, but now another grim reminder that in america we are not treating each other as we would want to be treated and something is wrong in the psyche that whatever the motivation is there would be mast, mass mass, mass execution. I hope we will turn and have a very serious conversation about the direction of this country. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call . I quorum call a senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from delaware. A senator mr. President , are we currently in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. A senator i ask unanimous consent to vitiate proceedings under the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Coons mr. President , i rise today to honor lou amabilia, a trudel warian, a fantastic and dedicated and tireless volunteer, a gentleman who dedicated his life in service to others. Mr. Lewis j. Amabilia, the son of italian immigrants rose from volunteering at his local volunteer fire company to become one of the most important and trusted voices, the american fire service. Lew passed away just last thursday, september 28. He was a giant in the Fire Service Community and his decades of defd indicated service are dedicated service are a testament to how much he cared about his calling and his neighbors. Lou was a legend in the delaware firefighting community and especially my small hometown. Lou proudly served the fire company for 70 Years Holding every position one could possibly hold. Chief engineer, first and second assistant chief along with Vice President , president , president emeritus and director. Lou was a humble, down to earth, passionate, and caring gentleman. He rarely sought the limelight, even as he was often thrust into it. He could walk into any event, whether a National Convention or just a local meeting and know individuals names and make them feel like they were the most important person in the room. Lou embodied the term Public Servant that so many of us aspire to yet he quietly and with dignity achieved for decades. He heard his calling to serve his community and he embraced it with dedication and a quiet passion. There was no greater ally of firefighters in delaware or across the country than lou. His continued service of sevenplus decades set the highest standard of dedication to the volunteer fire service. I first had the honor of meeting lou back about 2000 when i was county Council President and over my decade of service in the government, lou was a frequent source of powerful advice, encouragement, insight and occasional correction. I always looked forward to seeing him, whether at a county meeting, a state meeting, or at a National Organization meeting. I was always certain id get honest, direct, and constructive feedback from lou about how things were going at home and how things were going nationally for americas firefighters. Lous nationally recognized service is long and impressive. He first gained National Recognition in the fire service when president Richard Nixon appointed him to serve on the National Commission for Fire Prevention and control in 1970. The commission which produced the landmark report america burning. A graduate of Conrad High School and of the university of delaware with a degree in chemistry, lou was appointed the first director of the Delaware State Fire School in 1964 and served in that capacity for more than three decades through 1996. Upon his retirement then governor tom carper, my senior senator, signed a resolution naming the Delaware State Fire School the louis j. Amabili Fire Training center. From 1973 to 1980, lou served as president of the International Association of fire service instructors. From 1978 to 1986, he served as a charter member of the National Fire Academy Board of visitors. Lou also served on the nfpa board of directors for six years in the 1980s and was chairman of the Fire Department instructors conference in 1979 and 1980. Widely respected by his colleagues, the Congressional Fire Services Institute President william f. Generalaway jenaway said and i quote, throughout his entire career, lou was fully committed to the health and safety of the men and women who have served in the fire service. He was always eager and willing to share his knowledge with both aspiring and veteran firefighters and cared deeply about preserving the Fire Services rich heritage. It was an honor to serve with him for many years on the cfsi board of directors. I valued his friendship as did my fellow board members, his contributions to our organization and the nations fire service will preserve his legacy and a legendary leader for many years to come. End quote. While the fire service and the safety of his fellow firefighters was his passion, his family was his love. Lous wife of nearly 60 years carmella, was his Constant Companion as he traveled extent ifg to National Convention extensively to National Conventions or local meetings or speaspeaking engagements. His daughter, son, his grandson lewis amabili iii and his great grandchildren will be forever proud of his legacy of service. To hockessin, to delaware, and to our nation. Mr. President , lou was indeed an inspiration to generations of volunteers, of First Responders, of firefighters, not just in his home company in our smalltown of hockessin but to all the firefighters of delaware and indeed our country. Lou amabili was exactly the sort of man on whom the safety of our nation has been built and Whose Service and dedication to his community and his neighbors will never be forgotten. Thank you, mr. President. With that, i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from louisiana. Mr. Kennedy thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i have 12 requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of both the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Kennedy thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i want to talk a little bit today about Social Security and specifically the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset. Now, i know that sounds real technical, but basically heres the problem we have a lot of americans who have paid into Social Security and they are now getting screwed by Social Security. They are not getting their money back. Now, all of us, mr. President , want to do everything we can to maintain the stability and sanctity of the Social Security system. And i think all of us believe that we all ought to get the Social Security payments that were entitled to, and that is all this issue is about. Let me explain, mr. President. For many middleclass americans, receiving Social Security at retirement is sort of a like a welcoming light at the end of ale tunnel. Theyve worked hard, they are retired, and now they are entitled to some of the money back that they paid into the Social Security system. Im talking, of course, mr. President , about the hardworking women and the hardworking men who have seen a chunk of their monthly earnings go into the Social Security system throughout their entire careers, 10, 15, 20, sometimes 30 and 40 years. These same americans havent seen a pay raise or an increase in their Median Household Income for a long time. A Median Household Income in america today, as you know, mr. President , is prit much the same pretty much the same as it was in 1999. I guess what im talking about, mr. President , is ordinary people. You can call it the middle class if you like or working families. They were the ones hit the hardest by the Great Recession of 2008. They have been struggling throughout their lives to participate in the great wealth of this nation and they are entitled to participate in the great wealth of this nation and they shouldnt have to keep on struggling to get money for retirement from the Social Security system when they already paid into the Social Security system. The principle behind Social Security is pretty simple. Throughout your working life you pay some money and your employer pays some money and when you retire, according to a formula, you get some of our money back through a Social Security check. So its simple in theory. You put money in and when you hit retirement age you get some of it back. Except for 1. 7 million americans, mr. President , thats not the case. Thats not how the system works for them. That includes 38,000 hardworking folks in my state of louisiana, but there are a lot more in other states as well. Im talking about millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and a lot of other folks who earn modest pensions in service to their communities and they face little or no access to Social Security. Heres what im talking about. Im talking about a teacher who paid into the Social Security system. Im talking about a teacher or firefighter or policeman who paid into their own retirement system. So they are rocking along, they are paying into basically two retirement systems, Social Security and the provides retirement system. They are doing the right thing, getting up every day, going to work, obeying the law, saving money for retirement, deferred gratification. They are ready to retire and because they were prudent enough to invest in a retirement system, they dont get their Social Security check even though they already paid into it. Additionally, a worker can pass away before reaching retirement age not even knowing that their spouse and children wont have full access to their Social Security survivor benefits. And thats just not right, mr. President. Its just not right. Until 2005 there wasnt even a legal requirement for Human Resources to notify workers that switching careers would affect their Social Security or Social Security survivors benefits. Many of these 1. 7 million americans getting screwed tried to do the right thing. They paid into a private retirement system and paid into Social Security only to find out later they can get their money from the private retirement system but they cant get their money from Social Security. They are being punished for being prudent. Many of them retired with no idea that thats the law, and by then, of course, its too late. In june of this year, mr. President , one in six americans collected Social Security benefits and im happy for every one of them because to collect they had to pay in. Thats about 61 million americans. By 2031 when the last of the baby boomers hit retirement age that number is going to increase, mr. President , to about 75 million americans. Now, these are going to be our seniorsed and they seniors and they are our seniors to be. They battling against the rising cost of housing, health care, automobiles, taxes, fees. Many of them have had their private retirement account or home values wrecked by the Great Recession, but yet these Americans Press on. When we talk about tax reform, mr. President , were going to be talking a lot about tax reform here over the next few weeks, we need to make clear that were talking about reforms that will help these middleclass americans. The people who get up every day, go to work, obey the law, try to do the right thing by their kids, teach their kids morales morals and save money for retirement. I would like to eliminate the windfall provision and the government offset provision in the Social Security office. I think it would be a vital step in ensuring that our middleclass seniors can enjoy continued Economic Security after their retirement. And not only would it help the economy, mr. President , it is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do. Mr. President , i want to sum up. We can provide Economic Relief immediately to some of those middleclass retirees that ive been talking about by eliminating the windfall provision of the Social Security system. It wont cost much money. It will have a small effect on the cost of Social Security, about. 13 . Not 13 ,. 13 . A little over onetenth of 1 . And after taking care of this little fix which is more than about money, its about fairness. We can then make sure that Social Security remains a reliable source of Retirement Income for measures in the long term. Thank you, mr. President. With that, i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from south dakota thune mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune mr. President , 50 of people in this country consider themselves to be living paycheck to paycheck, and a third of those people, same people, say that they are just 400 away from financial crisis. Thats not acceptable. Unfortunately, after eight years of economic stagnation under the obama administration, living paycheck to paycheck has started to feel like the new normal to Many Americans. But it doesnt have to be. We have the resources to have the strongest economy in the world. American workers and job creators are as dynamic and creative as ever, and they can get our economy thriving again. But in order to let them do that, we need to clear some obstacles from their path. And that starts with reforming our complicated and outdated tax code which has been increasingly strangling our economy. This fall republicans in the house and the senate are making comprehensive tax reform one of our top priorities. After weeks of work, last week leaders from the senate, house, and white house unveiled the framework that will guide our final tax reform legislation. The framework is built around republicans five principles for tax reform. First, providing tax relief for the middle class. Second, increasing wages, jobs, and economic growth. Third, keeping goodpaying jobs here at home in america. Fourth, increasing american competitivenescompetitiveness il economy. Finally, fifth, simplifying the tax code. The framework outlines our plans to provide relief for middleclass families. For starters, we will lower rates for hardworking americans by collapsing the seven income tax brackets to three, we will ensure that working families get to keep more of what that he earn. Our plan will also expand the Child Tax Credit and make it available to more families. And our plan doubles the standard deduction which will provide significant relief to those who need it the most. Under our plan, a family making 24,000 a year will no longer owe any federal income taxes. Mr. President , all of these measures will provide direct relief to working families. Just as important for families, however, is the other half of our tax reform plan which involves creating the kind of economic environment where hardworking americans can thrive. The kind of environment where americans have access to good jobs, higher wages, and more opportunities. Over the past few weeks, ive come down to the floor to talk about republicans tax reform prince bells, and principles, and ive highlighted some of the ways the tax reform plan will improve the Economic Outlook for american families. Last week i talked about our third principle, reforming our tax code to keep those goodpaying jobs here at home. This week id like to spend a few minutes talking about our fourth principle which is keeping american competitive, American Businesses, i should say, competitive in the Global Economy. In order for individual americans to thrive economically, we need our businesses to thrive. Thriving businesses create jobs. They provide opportunities, and they increase wages and invest in workers. Right now, though, our tax code is not helping businesses thrive. And its making it more difficult for American Businesses with an International Footprint to compete in the Global Economy. Our nation has the highest Corporate Tax rate in the industrialized world. At least 10 Percentage Points higher than the majority of our International Competitors. Now, it doesnt take an economist to realize that high tax rates leave businesses with less money to invest. Less money to spend on wages, less money to create new jobs, less money to devote to research and development of new products and services, and less money to put back into new property or equipment for those businesses. And this situation is compounded when youre an American Business with International Competitors who are paying a lot less in taxes than you are. Its no surprise that u. S. Businesses struggling to stay competitive in the Global Economy dont have a lot of resources to devote to creating new jobs and increasing wages. And on top of our high business tax rates, theres another major problem with our tax code that puts American Businesses at a competitive disadvantage globally. Our outdated worldwide tax system. What does it mean to have a worldwide tax system . It means that American Companies pay u. S. Taxes on the profit they make here at home as well as on part of the profit that they make abroad once they bring that money back home to the United States. The problem with this is that most other major world economies have shifted from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system. And a territorial tax system, you pay taxes on the money you earn where you make it and only there. Youre not taxed again when you bring money back to your home country. Most of American Companies foreign competitors have been operating under a territorial tax system for years so theyre paying a lot less in taxes on the money they make abroad than American Companies are. And that leaves American Companies at a disadvantage. These Foreign Companies can underbid American Companies for new business simply because they dont have to add as much in taxes into the price of their products or services. And when Foreign Companies beat out American Companies for new business, its not just hearn Companies Just American Companies who suffer. Its American Workers. Thats why a key part of the tax framework that republicans unveiled last week involves lowering our massive Corporate Tax rate and transitioning our tax system from a worldwide tax system into a territorial tax system. By making American Businesses more competitive in the Global Economy, we can improve the Playing Field for American Workers. Mr. President , there are a lot of other things that were going to do to help hardworking families and American Workers from improving the tax situation for Small Businesses to helping Family Business owners, farmers, and ranchers like those in my home state of south dakota by repealing the death tax. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle complain its not something to worry about since relatively few estates will have to pay the tax. Id like them to come and talk to some of the farmers and ranchers in my state of south dakota. Some of these farmers and ranchers are paying tens of thousands of dollars a year in an effort to avoid having their families hit by the estate tax when they die. Why . Because they know that without careful and costly planning if the federal government comes around after