Delaware. According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, he shot an acquaintance in the head at a car dealership. The victim was in stable condition and later identified his attacker to police. the suspect was arrested after a brief foot choice. Foot chase. This terrible shooting in maryland came a few weeks after the worst mass shooting in modern u. S. History which occurred in las vegas, nevada. This mass shooting targeting concert goers at an outdoor Music Festival left 58 dead and victims who are in Critical Condition in the hospital. I want to put a human face on this for my colleagues and talk about one marylander who was injured in the las vegas attack. The Baltimore Sun shared the story of tina frost. She is a 2008 graduate of arundal high school, a star Soccer Player in school, and she now lives in california and works at the Accounting Firm of ernst and young. The story begins before a bullet from a 32story above cut through her face, crofton native tina cross drove from san diego to see one of her favorite country artists in las vegas. Becky said her 21yearold sister lost her right eye and was in two hours of surgery. She said her sister was in a coma, that the family expected to last about a week. Another sister wrote on facebook that the family was waiting to see the sent of the brain damage. Were sticking together and praying, becky frost said. Tina woke up from the coma and transferred back to maryland and had additional surgery at Johns Hopkins hospital in battle more. She baltimore. She is a true fighter an warrior. Today i want tina and the entire frost family to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. I understand i understand that their community has already been receiving funds to help defray tinas medical expenses for her recovery. This is just one example of hundreds that were victimized in las vegas. I am just as heart broken by the terror in las vegas, with the entire country im grieving for the senseless loss of life and praying for the victims, their families and all those injured like tina frost, whether by gunshots off the chaos that ensued. Much thanks go to the first responders, including the police, firefighters, and emergency medical workers who ran toward danger instead of running away from it. Thoughts and prayers console victims and families, but actions speak louder. We must be outraged and we must act. Congress must act, states must act. Weapons of war should not be in the hands of civilians. We have seen the deadly results in las vegas just as in blacksburg, aurora, sandy hook and elsewhere across this great country. We need to do everything in our power to stop the carnage of these shootings. How high does the death toll have to get to enact bipartisan reforms to make the American Public safer and reduce the risk of such easy access of dangerous weapons primarily designed for the battlefield. Assault weapons are only meant to kill people and they do far too often in this country. I urge my colleagues to be bold and break the cycle of what can only be described as a callous disregard of victims of gun violence. Only action and real change in federal and state laws can change. This tears us at the heart an leaves us frustrated and confused. We must resolve to stop those who wish to do harm to americans from committing acts of terror. We as a nation and community and American Family we must take actions to change minds and hearts and finally change policies. We can help others by taking immediate action. I was disappointed that congress missed another opportunity to enact gun Safety Measures after the shooting at the pulse nightclub in orlando, florida. The mass shooting in las vegas has now surpassed these numbers. In the las vegas massacre, Steven Maddock had a semiautomatic weapon fired at a rate of nine bullets a second. This is unlegal under current law. Paddock had an arsenal in his hotel p room. Police found a large quantity of ammunition including numerous highcapacity magazines capable of holding up to 100 rounds appease. The preliminary assessment, with the understanding that the investigation is gone going ongoing, is that the shooter legally purchased all of these guns and ammunition legally. A mass shooter was able to purchase a gun and design it into a military weapon with no legitimate civilian use. The mass shooter was able to purchase high capacity magazine use with no legitimate civilian use. These are weapons of war. You dont need them for hunting. You dont need them for selfdefense. I convened a roundtable meeting with Law Enforcement. The group included officials from local, state, and federal levels, including the sheriff, the police chief, the states attorney general of maryland, and representatives of the u. S. Attorneys office. Merrill has progressive laws on gun safety and taken steps to ban weapons of war and highcapacity magazines. The group echoed the concern to me that if maryland has strict laws relating to gun safety that protect the police officers, what is to stop someone from driving over the border to procure guns. Thats why we need a strong law to protect all americans and congress should act on commonsense gun Safety Measures. What can we do in congress . I have cosponsored the automatic gun Fire Prevention act with which senator feinstein introduced. The gunman was able to unleash thousands of bullets on a crowd. Machine guns are banned from civilian use, but a loophole exists to allow for the bum stock devices and to convert semiautomatic weapons to automatic weapons. This bill would allow conversation bans the sale, transfer, manufacturing of bum stocks trigger cranks or anything that accelerates a semiautomatic rifle rate of fire. Semiautomatics have a fire of 45 to 60 round a minute. The bum stock can increase that to 700 rounds per minute or nine per second. Ive also cosponsored the large ammunition feeding device act, also called, keeping america safe act. It prohibits the transfer of large capacity magazines with limited exceptions for Law Enforcement personnel. Senator menendezs bill authorizes a buy back program for high capacity magazines using burn jag grants. These two bills represent a practical commonsense approach to promoting gun safety and reducing the threat of gun violence without impinging on the rights of legitimate owners. Mr. President , as nbc news recently reported, more americans have died from gunshots in the last 50 years than all the wars in americas history. Since 1968 more than 1. 5 million americans have died from gunrelated instances according to the center of Disease Control and prevention. I cosponsored the background check expansion act introduced by senator murphy. This would expand federal background checks of the sale of guns of all private sellers. Under current law unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. This is outrageous and congress should act right now to close this dangerous loophole. It should not matter whether you buy a gun at a local gun store or gun show or on the internet. You should have to pass a basic background check. Congress has an obligation to act. As ive indicated before, we need to act. Inaction is not an option. Many of our states have acted as well include pg my own state of including my own state of maryland. We need a national law. Ban bum stocks, prohibit the transfer of highmagazine clips, require universal background checks for all gun purchasers. The time for action is now. We cannot wait. Congress should come together and address the real problem which lacks begun safety laws and pass commonsense gun Safety Measures to are protect all americans. Lets not wait for the next mass shooting when we send our thoughts and prayers to victims and stand by and pretend we are powerless to prevent another tragedy. Lets take action now. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from north dakota. Mr. Hoeven thank you, mr. President. I rise to talk about how we need to reform our tax code and provide tax relief to americas Small Businesses, hardworking families, families, and ranchers and to not only provide Hardworking Taxpayers with tax relief, but also to strengthen our economy, to stimulate job creation, and, along with the regulatory relief that weve already provided and are working to continue to provide, this tax relief is all about a growing economy, more jobs, and higher wages for hardworking americans, and then making had sure that they not only keep more of their earnings after tax, but that they see growing wages due to a stronger economy. And thats so important after the last decade of really stagnant wages and income. Its important top understand that this tax relief is both. Its absolutely about lowering the tax burden, but its will its also about moving wages and intersection high incomes higher. Thats the rising tide that lifts all boats in our country. Today the house of representatives passed a budget resolution that the senate sent them last week and so now weve completed the first step in terms of enacting progrowth tax reform that will provide tax relief to millions of middleclass families that have been struggling to get ahead over the past decade. Today i want to focus on how our tax proposal will reduce the tax burden on Small Businesses. Small businesses make up 96 of all employers in my state and over 90 of the businesses in our country. Over 90 of the businesses in this country are Small Businesses. Earlier this week we had a very productive meeting with the president to talk about our priorities about tax relief. I specifically highlighted to him the importance of ensuring that tax reform works for our Small Businesses. When you talk about a Small Business, you are talking about farmers, ranchers. Like i say, you are talking 90 of all businesses in this country are Small Business. So were working with the administration and with the house to enact tax reforms that will enable American Families to keep more of their hardearned money and empower our Small Businesses to invest and to grow. Our effort is about growing our economy and regaining our economic competitiveness in a global economy. Our tax code needs to ensure that our Small Business owners and entrepreneurs can compete in that global economy. Small businesses, as i said, are the engine that drive our economy. They are the backbone of our economy. Small businesses create more jobs and employ more people than major corporations. They are the heart and soul of main street across america. These businesses are in the majority of all business income in the United States and employ over half the private sector workforce in 49 out of 50 states. So they employ over half of the private sector workforce in 49 of our 50 states. Over the past month ive hosted tax reform roundtables across north dakota to hear directly from our job creators from our states Small Businesses, from our agriculture leader and farmers and ranchers. What are their priorities when we talk about tax relief and tax reform. It will promote job creation, Economic Growth, and as i said earlier, global competitivenesso this in a number of ways but the most impactful thing is that we lower the tax burden. It needs to be tax relief. Right now for our Small Businesses, the marginal tax rate can reach as high as 44. 6 . Think about that. Almost half, almost half of their income going to federal tax. Federal income tax. Thats nearly twice the average rate of the rest of the industrialized world. So here we are trying to compete with that high of tax rate almost double compared to the average rate of the rest of the industrialized world. By reducing the maximum tax rate for sole proprietorship, partnerships and S Corporations to 25 , were creating greater Economic Growth and tunltses as Small Businesses reinvest in their businesses, in their employees, in their communities, and generate job growth. Additionally, many Small Business, including farmers and ranchers, do not have access to the equity that they need to operate instead relying heavily on Debt Financing to fund their businesses. They go to the bank and borrow, right. And this is particularly true for new and beginning enterprises, including new startups and technology, not just farming and ranching and traditional businesses but businesses across the board. And so our tax code needs to incentivize our nations entrepreneurs to start their business and we need to make sure that they can get access to capital. They need to be able to get access to that capital. But when they do, by and large theyre going to the bank and borrowing. And that means that they have to pay interest on that debt. So it is very important that for Small Businesses, the interest on that debt be dibl. Thats a be deductible. Thats a huge cost, particularly for our farmers and ranchers. They dont have the opportunity to float equity issues. They dont raise equity for their farming operation when they need to buy a tractor or combine or you name it. Thehave to go to the bank they have to go to the bank and borrow. So th the deductibility is vita. When you look at Small Businesses in your community, you know thats true. They go to the bank and borrow and that interest cost is a big part of their business expense, and they need to be able to continue to deduct it. In the framework weve proposed, another very important issue is being able to expense investment. And if you really want to trigger growth, you encourage that investment. So the tax reform framework or proposal that weve put forward allows in the first five years full expensing of new investment. And thats very stimulative to our economy, very progrowth. The other piece that i think is very important here is that we keep this section 179 expensing longer term. So i think as we proposed it now, wed have expensing in the first five years, full expensing. Thats great. Thats, as i say, stimulative to the economy, but beyond that, then, we need to make sure that that section 179 was there so that Small Businesses, farmers, ranchers, others know they will continue to be able to expense their investment in new plant and new equipment. Thats what keeps them growing those Small Businesses. Thats what keeps them hiring more people. Thats what creates more jobs, and thats what pushes wages and income higher. Also, we need to simplify and streamline the tax code. Right now the tax code is nearly 70,000 pages long, 70,000 pages. I mean, talk about difficult and complex. I mean, americans right now currently spend 6 billion hours a year complying with that tax code. Thats ridiculous. Thats ridiculous. Can you imagine six billion hours a year just to figure out how to pay your taxes . So heres somebody who wants to pay their taxes. They have to spend all that time and all that effort just to figure out how much they have to pay. Obviously, we can do a lot better than that. So our goal through tax reform is to allow the vast majority of americans to file their tax return on a single, simple page. Ill mention that again. I think its important. We are our goal is for the vast majority of americans, in essence, just file their tax return on one page and make it easy to pay your taxes, to figure out what you owe and take away all that stress and all that difficulty in just trying to pay your taxes. Many economists agree that high business taxes reduce wages to workers, raise costs for consumers, and reduce returns on retirement savings. Maintaining these high rates do nothing to improve the fairness of our system. They only punish everyday hardworking taxpaying citizens and reduce Economic Opportunity in america. So, again, i would just conclude on the same point that i started with. And that is, theres two objects here. Its not just to simplify and reduce the tax burden so that people have more of their earnings in their pocket after paying taxes. The other is to make sure they earn more, that you move wages and income higher. If you look at the growth rate in our economy over the last decade, its struggled, in essence, to get for 2 . But to compare that from the period from world war ii to the present, we over that longer period averaged 3. 3 . We want to get that growth rate back up. Now, we started to get that growth rate back up by doing what . Reducing the regulatory burden. Over the course of this year, the administration, this congress has done a lot to reduce the regulatory burden. And our growth rate is ticked up in the most recent month to 3. 1 . Highest its been in a long time. So what we want to do is combine that regulatory relief and tax relief and get that higher growth rate. We also want to add an infrastructure package. And when you put those things together, what do you get . More jobs, higher wages, a higher standard of living for hardworking american citizens across this great nation. Thats the objective. Thats what were trying to do. And we all need to Work Together and our goal is to get that done before the end of the year. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin mr. President , earlier this week the Senate ForeignRelations Committee held a hearing on an issue i consider one of the greatest moral tests of our time in the conduct of u. S. Foreign policy. The situation in burma where the Burmese Military are committing ethnic cleansing and are perpetrating atrocities. We have a humanitarian crisis. We have perpetrators who expect impunity and a situation under the watch of the International Community and the Trump Administration that is allowing the perp traition of perp traition of a perp traitioning of atrocities. Rendering an area ethnically hom news by using force or intimidation to remove persons from a given area. Mr. President , half of the population of the rohingyas in burma have left. 600,000 people out of 1. 2 million. And i might add, those who remain, many are dislocated. Theres been a systematic burning of their villages. This didnt just start. Its been a campaign thats gone on for a long period of time. Since 1982 law that denies the rohingya citizenship, even though theyve been residents for generations. The rohingya are denied freedom of movement. They are denied freedom of education. They are denied health care. This has been a systematic effort to destroy an ethnic community. We have seen this happen far too often in too many places around the world. Once again, we see this happening today in burma. And once again the expectation is, well, its far away. Well just let it go along. The senate should be outraged about what is happening. We need to see the International Community come together and say no, we will not let this continue, that we will hold those accountable that are responsible for these actions, that we will provide humanitarian need immediately, that we will stop this kind of conduct in a civilized society. This just cannot occur. I think in fact, i think what is transpiring in the ra cane state today Rakhine State today is genocide. I know there will be some discussion whether its genocide or not based upon technical definitions. Yet, when we see in burma today clearly meets the definition of deliberately inflicting on a Group Conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Thats whats happening in burma, and thats genocide. The Burmese Military is clearly trying to destroy the rohingya population. For decades the burmese government has systematically repressed the rohingya people. This is the fact. They deliberately failed to integrate the population into the general population. At the u. N. High commissioner for human rights zeid correctly stated. The decades of persistent and systematic Human Rights Violations have almost certainly contributed to the nurturing of violent extremism with everyone ultimately losing. They complain about extremism. Theyre creating it. In my opinion were witnessing a military sponsored Ethnic Cleansing Campaign on the rohingyas. And it will take significant engagement in the International Community at the highest levels in partnership with the burmese civilian government to address and to hold the perpetrators accountable for these horrific acts. 75 years ago the world and the United States could have claimed ignorance or lack of information as an excuse for inaction in the face of crimes against humanity, genocide and barbarism. We have no excuse. It is not the only vexing challenge burma faces. The Burmese Military continues to hold significant influence in politics and in the economy. The Peace Process which sought to end the longstanding civil war in the country has stalled. Theres significant reports of human rights issues, such as human trafficking, free speech infringement and political repression. The militarycontrolled burma today, thats unacceptable and thats why we impose sanctions because of military control. Sanction relief us a given for was given for what . So the people can be ethnically cleansed . I was pleased to hear state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi committed to implementing all of kofi annans Rakhine State recommendations and ensure that the rohingya who fled in the face of brutal military repression have a right to return to their homes. However, she must continue to make this a pop priority and work with the International Community to provide both the safety of the rohingya left in burma and those who want to come home. Its going to be difficult, mr. President , since their villages have been destroyed. Are they going to live in camps . Will they have the protection . Will they be safe . If the past is any indication, we have real challenges ahead of us. Although i would not count myself among those who have been disappointed that although i would count myself let me correct that although i would count myself among those who have been disappointed with the civilian authorities that they should have been more vocal, im keenly ware of the real limits of its power and the ability to govern under the current constitution and the military control of a large portion of burmas economy. We have a challenge on our hands in burma, and we need to be engaged, but the civilian leadership must take responsibility and must speak out. Too often the International Community has done too little, waited too long, or been caught unprepared by events that should not have surprised us. We continue to forget the lessons of the past and fail to live up to the postholocaust pledge of never again. Ignoring the genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity that continue to rage around the world sends a message to the Global Community that atrocity crimes are tolerable. We must respond robustly to the crisis unfolding in burma because its the right thing to do and because its in our National Interest to do so. United nations is calling the military campaign a textbook example of ethnic cleansing against rohingya muslims. From credible human rights organizations and newspapers, there are consistent accounts of widespread extrajudicial killings, arson, rape, and other atrocities. At least 2 88 villages have been decimated according to Human Rights Watch, which has used satellite imagery as evidence of the devastation caused by these socalled clearance operations. These current attacks on the rohingya follow decades of stateled deimmunityation dehumanization. This restricts redom of movement and deny their basic human rights identified as precursors to genocide. The office of the u. S. High commissioner for human rights found that the attacks were executed in a well organized and systemic manner by the mir miramar buddhists. They transfer large numbers of people without possibility of return. There are also acts of Sexual Violence or acts of genocide that must not be forgot ern. Women and forgotten. U. S. And other help workers said after the most recent august 2017 military crackdown, they treated dozens of Rohingya Women and girls who escaped to beng la desh bangladesh. One woman told Human Rights Watch that she and four other womens were slashed with knives and sexually assaulted. They then set the hut on fire and she was the only one to escape alive. Another one who was raped still has injuries from the machete attack and said she could barely manage to escape from a burning house. I want to draw attention to the needs of the survivors and their families. There is an acute lack of help, including reproductive help and other critical services. Mr. President , 75 years ago the world of the United States could have said that they did not know what is happening, today we do. Today we have no excuse. Instead the International Community must hold their perpetrators accountable. In addition to date no Real Progress has been made in addressing the root causes underlining the situation in burma. Therefore, there is an urgent need to act. A strong statement by Ambassador Haley and last month by the Vice President must be followed up with action. The administration should lead efforts for action in the Security Council, the Security Council should insist that persons responsible for these grave abuses should be held accountable for their crimes and they should established by the United NationsHuman Rights Council and grant unfettered access to its staff to burma including the rocon state. We need to get the evidence necessary to hold the perpetrators accountable. The council should send a clear message that it stands yesterday toy to take additional steps through justice including the International Criminal court and look at other mechanisms to provide justice. Bangladesh deserves credit for keeping its borders open. 600,000 refugees have gone to beng la desh. Bangladesh should honor the medical services. I also believe that the United States needs to reevaluate our policy and approach to burma. We need a policy with regard to burma that addresses the Human Rights Violations, reevaluates our approach with the relationship with the Burmese Military and relooks at the bestused sanctions as a way to seek additional leverage with the Burmese Military and government. Im working with a number mf my colleagues a number mf my colleagues of my colleague to address some of these issues. As the president perhaps for his Upcoming Trip to the region, congress will watch closely to see if he makes burma and human rights a top priority during the trip, and what he and his administration chooses to undertake to address the tragedies occurring in burma. I yield the floor. And note 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 minnesota. Mr. Franken mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Franken thank you, mr. President. I rise today to talk about the recent terrorist attack in somalia. On october 14 a truck filled with explosives detonated in a crowded district in mogadishu, the somalia, somalias capital. The blast was especially devastating because the truck blew up next to a fuel tanker causing a massive fireball and leveling structures, including the nearby safari hotel, which collapsed and trapped many people under its rubble. According to somali authorities, the target of the attack may have been the citys International Airport which also houses many embassies. Mr. President , this is the worst terrorist attack in somalias history. 358 people were killed. Hundreds have been injured. Dozens are still missing. As a minnesota senator, i represent the largest somali American Population in the nation. For minnesota, this wasnt just a massive attack overseas, it affected every one of my estimated 74,000 somali american constituents. Among those killed is ahmad eio. He was from bloomington, minnesota. He had attended Normandale Community college. He left behind his wife and three children. Another somali american who was killed in the blast was mohammed elmi. He lived in hoe owe and had moved back to somalia just two years ago. Avenues young man with a Bright Future working at the ministry of humanitarian affairs and Disaster Management in somalia. There was abuker mohammed. He lived in virginia before moving back to somalia where he worked in the ministry of commerce and industry. He was killed along with his wife chadia hasan. They left behind seven children who are between the ages of 3 and 20. Hundreds of others perished in the heinous attack. They all have their own stories. They left behind their wives, their husbands, their children, their friends, their parents. Mr. President , somalia is one of, if not the most, fragile nations on earth. It has been an incredibly difficult country to govern. Ever since the civil war tore the country apart in 1991. It suffers from the massive displacement of people, hundreds of thousands of refugees, lack of sufficient public services, and warring factions and clans. To make matters worse, a severe drought has ravaged somalia leaving 6 million people, half of the nations population, facing food shortages. The combination of instability, lack of security, and shortage of goods and services has enabled terrorist groups like el shabaab, widely believed to be the culprit in this attack, to gain a foothold in somalia. Mr. President , we have we have to have a comprehensive strategy to help the people of somalia. One component of that strategy is to help somalis root out terrorism. The government of somalia has announced its intent to step up the fight against el shabaab. The United States has and will continue to aid those efforts, as will the African Union mission in somalia, a Multinational Peacekeeping force that is supported by the United States. At the same time we have to erode and eliminate the conditions that enable terrorist groups to thrive. That means redoubling our efforts to help stabilize fragile nations. That means supporting good governance, reducing extreme inequality and help marginalize disenfranchised individuals who are preyed upon time and again by terrorist recruiters. Mr. President , its more important than ever that we fully fund our International Programs that support these efforts, both for humanitarian and for security reasons. Unfortunately, the administrations 2018 Budget Proposal does the opposite. It includes a 30 cut to programs that seek to bring stability, rule of law, and humanitarian assistance to places that need it the most. The administrations budget is making the world and us less safe. And i want to urge the president to rethink his approach to foreign aid. My colleagues, senators john mccain and tim kaine, put it this way in a recent oped that they coauthored, saying, today 80 of our assistance provides relief and promotes stability in conflict zones and states on the verge of collapse. There are u. S. Agency for International Development programs in many of the countries, most plagued by terrorism, including afghanistan, pakistan, nigeria, malley, yemen and somalia. Were saving lives and creating partners to help address the instability that produces the threats our military risks life and limb to fight. Mr. President , in conclusion, i want to urge my colleagues and the American People to not forget about the terrible tragedy in somalia. I want to urge everyone to keep somali victims and other victims of terror acts throughout the world in your thoughts and in your prayers. The world needs to know that the United States will continue to support somalia and other nations that are fighting those who are wreaking havoc on their nations. We have to remember that we will all be more successful when we combine military efforts with diplomatic and humanitarian ones. And while we cannot bring back those who perish, if we focus on rooting out the conditions that give rise to terrorism, we can have a shot at averting the next one. Thank you, mr. President. I would suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from nevada. Ms. Hassan i ask unanimous consent in a a quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Hassan thank you. Madam president , i rise today to ask my colleagues to reauthorize federal funding for the Childrens HealthInsurance Program. Childrens Health Insurance has never been a partisan issue. In the past the Childrens HealthInsurance Program passed with bipartisan support. It was passed with senator kennedy and senator hatch. Tens of millions of kids from all over the country have received access to preventive care, doctors visits, prescriptions and dental and prescription coverage as a result of this act of congress. It is not a partisan issue in the great state of nevada either. More than 60,000 nevada kids have benefited from nevada checkup. Thanks to the medicaid expansion, our rate of uninsured children has fallen by half. Making our program one of the biggest successes in the country. Today nine million children from lowincome families nationwide, including 27,000 from nevada get their Health Insurance through chip. If Congress Continues to do nothing, those nine million children wont be able to go to a doctor for their annual checkup. Nine million children wont able to afford their prescriptions. The parents of those nine million children will have to wait until their childs headache or infection or sore throat becomes an emergency before taking them to the hospital. In 2008, the last time funding for chip was on the chopping block, senator ted kennedy said, and i quote, the test of a great nation is the way it treats its children. We are a great nation. We know how to take care of our kids. Americans understand that Childrens Health care is the kind of thing that should be beyond the reach of partisan politics. Governors from both parties, medical professionals, care providers, and advocates from across this nation have already called on congress to do its job and move as quickly as possible to reauthorize this funding. Nevadas republican governor is one of those voices. Republicans and democrats alike know that kids cant go to school, they cant go to scocker prac scocker practice, they cant learn their times table or fractions, they cant do things that happy, healthy kids like to do if they do not feel well. But dont ask me why funding for chip is important. Listen to the voices of parents who lie awake at night worried that cough that they are hearing down the hall in their childs room will not go away on its own. Its scary enough to have a sick child. No parent should have to live with the additional fear that they wont be able to afford the care their child needs. No parent should have to choose between treating a cough thats been getting worse an worse for weeks and worse for weeks and paying next months rent. People across the country are working every single day to make ends meet. Chip is their lifeline. Just ask lisa, a selfemployed mom. Her children are able to see the white board in math class because chip allowed her family to afford glasses. Ask glenna whose daughter broke her arm on the monkey bars when she was four. Without chip glenna would have had to take out loans to pay off the medical bill. Hear from vanessa, her daughter had to through chip. Vanessa says that chip is the reason her daughter is alive today. These are just three of the countless stories that i have heard from people who just dont know what he they would do if private Health Insurance were the only option available to their family. Illness, injury, these things happen. All of us get sick sometimes, but going bankrupt trying to pay for your son or daughters medical treatment, thats not normal. That should not be something we except as part of our every day life. Every day i go home to nevada i hear the same thing from people i meet. They say my medical bills are out of control. Please do something to we should day around the clock to fix our Health Care System and relieve the burden of Health Care Costs on working people. Allowing funding for chip to expire, allowing state governments to go bankrupt, allowing rural hospitals and our Community Medical centers to shut their doors and go out of business. This is not what the American People sent us here to do. We are the representatives of this great nation, and its time to act like it and stop playing politics with Childrens Health. Thank you, madam president , for listening. I yield the floor and i notice an absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the Senate Majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for consideration of the following nomination executive calendar 386. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will report the action nomination. The clerk nomination, department of agriculture. Gregory ibach of nebraska to be under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs. Mr. Mcconnell i consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate and that if confirmed the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the president be immediately notified of the senates action, that no further motions be in order and that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the record. The presiding officer without objection. If there is no further debate, the question occurs on the nomination. All those in favor say aye. All opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, executive calendar 4013. The presiding officer the clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of state, daniel j. Krittenbrink to be is ambassador of the social republic of vietnam. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that the president be modified of the senates action and the nomination be printed in the record. The presiding officer without objection. If there is no further debate, the question is on the nomination. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes appear. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i consent that at a time to be confirmed by the majority leader the senate proceed to the nomination of calendar number 247, the nomination of john gibson to be deputy chief management officer at the department of defense. I further ask that there be 60 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 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 had. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that the chair lay before the senate the message to company s. 782. The presiding officer the chair lays before the senate a message from the house. The clerk a bill to enact the reauthorize the internet crimes against Children Task force program and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. Mr. Mcconnell i move to concur on the house amendment and i ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. Con. Res. 28. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Concurrent Resolution 28, providing for a correction in the enrollment of s. 782. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the help committee be discharged from further consideration of s. Res. 297 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 297, supporting lights on after school, a National Celebration of afterschool programs hemmed on november 26, 2017. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged the soant will proceed to the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell so madam president i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 4 00 p. M. Monday october 30. Further, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. Finally, following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the mcfadden nomination under the previous order. The presiding officer mr. Mcconnell madam president , i modify the consent i just asked to reflect 3 00 p. M. Instead of 4 00 p. M. On monday, october 30. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if in is no further business to come before the senate i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the the presiding officer the during the session, senators spoke about budget resolution and tax reform. Thank you, mr. President. They came out with a score for the bipartisan Alexander Murray bill. They confirmed that the Murray Alexander bill is a great model for the American People. It says precisely what it intends to do, stabilize the market, prevent premiums from skyrocketing. By cbos estimate it will save nearly 4 million credit will benefit