Vote vote vote the presiding officer is there anyone wishing to change their vote . Is there anyone remaining to vote . On this motion the yeas are 87. The nays are 9. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of transportation, derek kan of california to be under secretary fo secretary of transportation for policy. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Thune madam president , i rise to voice my strong support for the nomination of derek kan. The Commerce Committee held a hearing on his nomination on june 8 in 2017 and reported his nomination favorably out of the committee on june 29 of 2017 by voice vote. Its now november 9. Over four months since the nomination was reported out of committee. This noncontroversial well qualified nominee has been languishing in the senate for far too long. Its truly unfortunate, madam president , when we have to go through the cloture process on this particular nominee who is well known to many of us here in the senate do to his previous work as a senate staffer. To illustrate how noncontroversial and well qualified this nominee is, less than two years ago, mr. Kan was confirmed by voice vote in the senate to be a director on the amtrak board of directors. The only thing that has changed in the two years since mr. Kan was previously confirmed is that some on the democrat side have decided to hold this nomination hostage as well as the nomination of Ronald Batory to be administrator of the federal railroad administration, a very important position, i might add, and the nomination of Adam Sullivan to be stability secretary of transportation for legislative affairs pending assurances that the Trump Administration will approve and fund the multibillion dollar gateway project in new york and new jersey. No one questions the importance of this corridor, there are many other important projects that are also awaiting approval and funding at the department. No project should get to cut the line based on the machinations of a handful of our democrat colleagues. As i mentioned, mr. Kan previously served as a direct oosh on the amtrak board of directors and before that he served as a general manager for lyft, the Transportation Network company. Earlier in his career, he served as a staffer to the republican leader and achieve economist for the Senate Republican policy committee. Before becoming a hill staffer, mr. Kan served as a president ial management fellow at the White House Office of management and budget. Once confirmed, mr. Kan will be transportation secretary elaine chous chief policy across all modes of transportation at the department. With the ambitious agenda, thats been laid out before the department under the Trump Administration, i believe mr. Kan will be well positioned to address the many challenges before the agency, including approving and funding important projects. So, madam president , i urge my colleagues now that we have had to go through this multimonth process to have a cloture vote which again the vote was just reported. It was 8713. 8713. I urge my colleagues to support his nomination to be under secretary for transportation policy at the department of transportation. Getting these important positions staffed and filled out, madam president , is long overdue and its high time the games and the politics that are being played with these nominations come to an end. Madam president , i yield the floor. I subject the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer the senate in a quorum call. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, all postcloture time on the kan nomination be yielded back and that the confirmation vote on the kan nomination occur at 5 30 p. M. Monday, november 13. The presiding officer is there an objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i move proceed to to legislative session. The presiding officer question is on the motion to proceed. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, say no. The ayes do have it. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 254, steven bradbury. The presiding officer question is on the motion to proceed. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The Clerk Department of transportation, deceiven Gill Bradbury of virginia to be general counsel. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of steven Gill Bradbury of virginia to be yen counsel of the department of transportation. Signed by 17 senators as follows mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. Officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer question is on the motion to proceed. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 383, david zatezalo. The presiding officer question is on the motion to proceed. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The Clerk Department of labor, david g. Zatezalo of West Virginia to be assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will read the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of david g. Zatezalo of West Virginia to be assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell moi to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive sessionto. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The Clerk Department of the treasure, goasen ottigg of nevada to be comptroller of the currency. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of goas of otting of nevada to be comptroller of the currency. Signed bid 17 senators mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 313. Donald coggins. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk the judiciary, donald c. Coggins to be United States district judge for the district of South Carolina. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of donald c. Coggins South Carolina to be United States district judge for the district of South Carolina, signed by 17 senators as follows. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i i move to legislative session. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i i move to executive session to consider calendar number 314, dabney friedrich. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of dabney languag languagehorn friedrick of california to be United States district judge for the District Of Columbia signed by 17 senators as follow mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the cloture motions be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn madam president . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Cornyn only four days have passed since the terrible tragedy at Sutherland Springs occurred. And of course the grieving and pain of the families whove lost loved ones and who had loved ones injured during the course of that terrible shooting incident, our thoughts and prayers are still with them. Im going to be traveling to Sutherland Springs this weekend and offer my condolences and wrongdoing going support in person. Its important we give the community the time and space they need to grieve. By now we all know that 26 people lost their lives during a Church Service at the First Baptist church. This included an unborn child. 20 more were injured and some of them still remain in Critical Condition. Whats amazing to me is that First Baptist will host a Church Service this sunday, just seven days after a gunman stormed the building and committed the deadliest mass shooting in texas history. What resilience, what incredible resolve to come together seven days after this terrible shooting and have the congregation that lost 26 of its members come together for a Church Service. One little guy many of us will be praying for is 5yearold ryland ward. Ryland was shot four times and was partially shielded by his mother joann who tragically did not survive. Ryland is fighting for his life at University Hospital in san antonio and remains in Critical Condition and i know well all continue to be thinking of him and pray for his recovery. We continue to hear more about what led us to this atrocity, a gunman with a history of domestic violence, animal cruelty, and mental illness. Because of his troubled history, which included convictions for Domestic Abuse in the military, he was legally prohibited from purchasing a firearm, but he lied about it and, unfortunately, the background check system which is supposed to alert the dealer not to sell a firearm to a person with disqualifiers like this, it simply did not come back at all, demonstrating that he was in fact disqualified from purchasing a firearm. He was legally disqualified because he beat up his buy, he trapped the consul of his stepson and he was dealey disqualified because a military court in new mexico handed down a felony sentence for attacking his own family. But as we know now and as ive said, that information was not uploaded by the United States air force or the department of defense into the federal background check database. Under the law it was supposed to be uploaded, but it wang. But it wasnt. So he got away with lying. Lying about his record. Now, that, madam president , is what we have to fix. After terrible incidents like this the most common question i hear people ask or the most common statement i hear them say, we have to do something. But here that something we have to do is crystal clear. Troubled individuals like this monster should have never gained access to a gun. When he tried to purchase them, the person who checked the federal data base should have seen his name in criminal convictions and said no way, no how. Ive had a conversation with many of our colleagues across the aisle in the chamber about this problem and what we need to do to fix it. So next week i plan to introduce legislation to fix these flaws in the National Instant criminal background check system and ensure all federal agencies upload required conviction records like these in the nics system as fast as possible because clearly that is not being done now, and we must do it and must do it quickly to make sure that other potential killers will not be sold a firearm because of the defects in our National Instant criminal background system. It is imperative that this information be shared, that violent felons convictions are uploaded and that dangerous and deranged individuals do not gain illegal access to firearms. Because unlike lawabiding citizens, these individuals cant be trusted to do what is right. Because we know that in the wrong hands, guns can do tremendous harm. Now, madam president , i must add that in the right hands, lives can be saved too. All we need to do is regard the actions of Steven Willeford when he heard the gunshots going off in the church, he grabbed his ar15, what some people call an assault rife, a semiautomatic legal weapon. And he is an n. R. A. National Rifle Association certified instructor, took that gun, and he shot at this killer to try to stop him from killing more people. And he was successful. He wounded the killer and put himself in harms way. To me, this demonstrates not only the heroism of mr. Willeford but it demonstrates another reason why lawabiding citizens should be able to keep and bear arms in the terminology of the Second Amendment to the United States constitution. Lawabiding gun owners are not a threat to the public safety. Its only when they get in the hands of felons, mentally ill, and Domestic Abusers like the killer in Sutherland Springs. So in the right hands, guns can save lives too. And as somebody who is a sportsman and believes in the Second Amendment and believes that lawabiding citizens ought to be able to keep and bear arms to defend their family and communities, im proud of the work that Stephen Willeford did on that terrible day. And i know there are those who believe that the n. R. A. Is somehow complicit in some of these terrible events, but i will tell you that the n. R. A. Did us all a favor by training somebody like Stephen Willeford so he was prepared on that horrible day to stop the shooter before he killed more innocent people. And i applaud him for it. And i applaud them for teaching people gun safety and selfdefense so that they can protect their families and their property and their communities as well. Madam president , i yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from nebraska. Mrs. Fischer madam president , i rise today to share my strong support for steve gratz, nominated by President Trump to fill a vacancy on the u. S. Court of appeals on the eighth circuit. The junior senator from nebraska and i asked nebraskans to express their interest in this position and weve conducted a thorough process with the applicants. And i must say, madam president , with more than 5,700 lawyers, nebraska proved itself to have a talented Legal Community who have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the rule of law. However, in our search, one candidate stood out above the rest. And that was steve gratz. He is an outstanding nebraskan and he is a talented legal mind. The president agreed. Thats why he accepted our recommendation in august and he nominated steve for the eighth circuit. Like so many other nebraskans, ive heard from during this process, the president recognized steves temperament, intellect and skill as worthy of a seat on the federal bench. Steve excelled in his education at the university of nebraska lincoln and the university of Nebraska College of law. He then built a distinguished legal career practicing appellate litigation over the past three decades for 12 years steve served nebraska as the chief Deputy Attorney general. He did so with dedication to justice, passionately defending our citizens and upholding the laws of our state. Steve has handled numerous constitutional litigation matters in the nebraska supreme court, the eighth Circuit Court of appeals, and the United States supreme court. In doing so, hes earned the respect of the nebraska Legal Community. For many years, steve has earned the Martin Hubbell a. V. Preeminent review rating, the very highest available. This peerviewferred reviewed rating is a nonpartisan litmus test. Steve also serves on the executive committee of the appellate practice section of the Nebraska Bar Association and was selected as a fellow by the nebraska state bar foundation, an honor reserved for only the top lawyers in my state. Nebraskans grieve steve has the agree steve has the experience needed to serve on the eighth circuit. Yet the american Bar Association has rated steve as not qualified for this position on the federal bench. As someone who spent months reviewing steves extraordinary qualifications for this judgeship, i was shocked when i heard their assessment. Something didnt add up. But after a review of how the evaluation was conducted, the things became more clear. The a. B. A. Rating of steve gratz appears to be based on his work defending nebraskas prolife laws as well as his personal views which he shares with a majority of nebraskans. Both evaluators discounted his remarkable legal career, choosing instead to focus on innuendo in their report because he associates with political organizations that they disagree with. There is nothing wrong with participating in the democratic process. Indeed, steves own evaluators have done just that. Steves first evaluator, Cynthia Nantz has received several awards from affiliates of the Democratic Party of arkansas and the second evaluator nancy pilgrim works as a liberal activist and donated thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party. Again, the fact that these americans have decided to engage in the political process is not shameful. They have every right to do so, just like everyone else. But heres the problem. They claim to be leading an impartial evaluation of steve when in fact they are really trying to take down his nomination and further their own political agenda. A deeper review of the a. B. A. Evaluation shows a report that is long on Anonymous Sources, and it is short on substantiated evidence. This is not the first time that the a. B. A. Has been criticized for using Anonymous Sources either. In 2006, while discussing vanessa bryans a. B. A. Rating, the senior senator from connecticut stated, quote, i have even greater concern with the credibility of Anonymous Sources when those sources are used as evidence for subjective characteristic such as judicial temperament, and i urge the Senate Judiciary committee to only consider anonymous criticisms when such criticisms can be verified from other sources. Close quote. Even worse, madam president , the source evidence the a. B. A. Produced for their report doesnt hold up to scrutiny either. One of the nations top leading experts on judicial appointments also agrees with the facts that theyre few when it comes to steves a. B. A. Rating. In his examination, ed waylen, president of the ethics and Public Policy center called the a. B. A. Evaluation, quote, feeble beyond the point of incompetence, close quote, because it quote selectively quotes sections of aen an article written by grasz to misrepresent his views. He continues it would thus seem the a. B. A. Is unable to distinguish between its role as advocate and its role as adjudicator of the merits of judicial nominees. Close quote. As we learn more about this evaluation process, it is clear that the a. B. A. Uses its power as a reviewer of judicial nominees to support its partisan agenda instead of making a determination based on the merits of judicial temperament. During steves confirmation hearing last week, my colleagues on judiciary asked good questions that brought even more details to light. And thats how we discovered steve was asked a number of inappropriate leading questions during his a. B. A. Evaluation. These questions had no relevancy toward his ability to serve our nation as a judge. He was asked for his personal opinion on social issues, including abortion, and he was later questioned about where his children went to school. And in response to a line of questions from the junior senator from arizona, steve explained that his a. B. A. Evaluator continued to use the term you people during the interview. When steve finally asked what he meant by you people the evaluator told him he meant conservatives and republicans. Steve also told the committee, quote, at least a halfhour of that time was devoted to discussing a white paper that i had written on the judicial Selection Process for state judges in nebraska. There was one paragraph in that rather lengthy article where i had criticized the oversized involvement of the american Bar Association in that process and i had mentioned some of their political activity, including their role in the debate over abortion rights as well as Second Amendment rights of individuals. Close quote. He continued, quote, it seemed to be a topic of great concern to the interviewer. These tactics used by the a. B. A. Are not right. They show contempt for ideas that do not fit the interviewers personal beliefs and in no way portray an attempt to carefully consider whether or not steve grasz is capable of being a fair judge. This wasnt an evaluation. It was a partisan, shameful attack. It was intended to further the political agenda of the two evaluators and damage steves sterling legal reputation. In the days since the biased a. B. A. Rating was released, nebraskans have spoken out, and i couldnt be more proud of them. In letters, online, on facebook, and in the pages of our states newspapers, our citizens have come to steves defense. Richard kauff, a senior u. S. District judge for nebraska, says he was stunned reading the a. B. A. Assessment of steve. The a. B. A. Interviewed judge kauff about steve, and although he did not know steve personally, on two occasions he told the evaluator he believed steve was well qualified. Judge kauff wrote in the omaha world herald one can only speculate, and my speculation was that mr. Grasz, who is by all accounts a brilliant and honorable person, would do his best. I certainly have and had no evidence to the contrary. I respectfully suggest that the committee got it wrong when it gave mr. Grasz a not qualified rating. Close quote. Additionally, president of the nebraska state Bar Association Timothy Engler quickly responded to the evaluation by noting that his organization did not participate in the report or the a. B. A. s grade. Mr. Engler also noted his own personal view was that he always found steve to be professional, civil, and ethical in all respects and that grasz would have no questions regarding his judicial temperament as a member of the judiciary. Madam president , we received numerous letters of recommendation on steves beha behalf. Nebraskans from across the political spectrum have pointed to steves thoughtfulness, fairmindedness, high ethical standards, and brilliant abilities as a jurist. The respect and admiration for steve is also bipartisan. This includes former democratic governor and United States senator ben nelson, who wrote that steve was, quote, an asset to our state and nebraskans benefited from having such a capable and thoughtful, professional in public service. Today he is unquestionably one of the four appellate officers in the state. Close quote. Deborah gill, the former u. S. Attorney for nebraska and a democrat appointed by president obama, also wrote that, quote, steve has always enjoyed a reputation for honesty, impeccable integrity, and dedication to the rule of law. He possesses an even temperament, wellsuited for the bench and u always act with respect to all that interact with him, close quote. Those who have known steve his entire life can vouch for him as well. For example, bill lidiat of bellview, nebraska, wrote a letter to the omaha world herald stating, requests a classmate of grasz from kindergarten through high school and as a lifelong friend, i can personally vouch that steve holds all of the attributes to be a successful judge. Furthermore, pointing to his integrity and fairness, i dont share all his views but i can say without any hesitation that steve grasz is exactly the kind of person we need as a judge and is perfectly suited to the high honor of joining the eighth Circuit Court of appeals. In nebraska, the truth holds more value than partisanship. Madam president , everyone serving in this chamber swears an oath to support and defend the constitution. One of the ways we do that is by confirming judges who we know will faithfully honor that pledge while serving our federal court system. The constitution states that we are in the senate, not the american Bar Association, and we here in the senate are to advise and consent when it comes to judges. We have a duty to do so thoroughly, without bias, and through the use of all the Information Available to us. Both the junior senator from nebraska and i trust steve grasz to support and defend the constitution. So do those who know him best, the people of nebraska who have worked with him for nearly three decades. The senate should as well. I urge the Senate Judiciary committee to advance his nomination. The American People deserve to have talented and fair lawyers like steve grasz on the federal bench. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator utah. Mr. Hatch i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hatch thank you. I would like to ask unanimous consent that martin pippens, the detailee on the Senate Committee on finance, be granted floor privileges for the duration of the congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hatch thank you, mr. President. Today as chairman of the Senate Finance committee, im releasing a chairmans mark for the Senate Version of the tax cuts and jobs act, legislation that is the combination of years of effort to reform or nations tax code. Weve been at this a long time and todays markaz e taibas a significant step todays marc mark marks a significant step forward. It has been a group effort with significant input from all members of the finance committee and great work from all of our staff. I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work as well as their feedback, perspectives advice and ideas. The last Time Congress enacted a comprehensive overhaul of the ttach code back in 1986, president reagan famously noted that the American People would finally have a tax code they could be proud of. In 1986 that was likely true. At that time updates to the ttach code were necessary to keep pace with the technological and geopolitical changes our nation had been facing. That sounds pretty familiar, madam president. It is. After all it is after all what weve been saying for the last several years. The world of 1966 was vastly different from the world weigh live in today. Advances in the past three decades have been monumental. Yet our tax code has not advanced and it is failing us. The American People have dealt with years of stagnating wages, sluggishness in labor markets, and weak growth in the commitment of in the economy. Businesses are fleeing our country to find more favorable conditions in other countries. Weve been working for years to address these issues and to meet the needs of the 21st Century Global economy. Fortunately we now find ourselves in a position to make good on all of these years of hard work. A big part of that is the fact that our current president is fully engaged on tax reform, unlike his most recent predecessor. So we have been focused this year on providing middleclass tax relief reforming the business tax system and fixing our obscenely Outdated International tax regime. The mark were releasing today will accomplish all of these goals and more. It will reduce individual rates across the board and direct substantial relief to low and middleincome families and workers. It will bring down Corporate Tax rates, a goal long shared by republicans and democrats, and provide businesses with new opportunities for goagget growth and expansion. It will modernize our International Tax system bringing to an end our worldwide tax regime, a relic that should have been retired many years ago. But we have been laser focused, mr. President , on reducing taxes for the middle class, and that is exactly what this will do. Combined, these changes to our broken tax code and the chairmans mark will give Hardworking Taxpayers across the country bigger paychecks and more opportunities. They will grow our economy, raising wages and improving the standard of living for all americans. They will once again make america the best place in the world to create, grow and keep business where we create more jobs and sustain a vibrant, growing economy. I have more to say on the specifics of the mark in the coming days, mr. President. For now i just want to give my colleagues on the finance committee an opportunity to share their thoughts on the step that were taking today. Before we get to that i want to acknowledge the elephants in the room. Only republicans will be standing up today to speak in favor of the mark, and i expect well hear some negative comments from our friends on the other side of the aisle soon enough. On that point, ill just reiterate what ive said many times in the past. Our desire from the outset of this endeavor has been to have Democrats Join us in this effort. I have personally invited my colleagues to come to the table to share their views and to work with us in good faith. Yet i expect that well hear a lot about supposed process fouls in the coming days. But let me make it clear to anyone listening, as chairman of the senate tax writing committee, i havent turned anyone away from the process. I havent refused to listen to anyones ideas or suggestions. And i continue to say with conviction that im still willing to have them on board and hope that theyll be willing to get on board and join us in this effort. A critical objective in the effort is to provide relief and support to the large swath of americans in the middle class who have been left behind without economic gain or opportunities for growth. Our tax Reform Efforts represented in the chairmans mark put forward today show that were listening to those calling out for relief. We have an historic opportunity to help, and that opportunity should not be squandered by anyone on either side of the aisle for cheap political points. And with that, mr. President , im grateful to be a member of this body and grateful grateful to be chairman of the Senate Finance committee, which is very powerful and hardworking committee, both republicans and democrats. And im grateful to make these remarks today. With that, i yield the floor. Mr. Grassley mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley the last time that Congress Really did the big job thats before us right now was 1986. Did quite a bit to modernize the tax code. So thats 30 years ago. In the generation since, the tax code has grown out of control. Everybody knows that. Its been a dream come true for accountants and lobbyists that make their living from certain provisions of that tax code. But for the american taxpayer, the gigantic tax code is not a dream but a nightmare for most americans. This has helped the powerful and the well connected. It has hurt the American Workers. Its hurt american industry. And it hurts americans ability to compete with the rest of the world. So the bill unveiled today takes a real giant step forward to make our tax code simpler, fairer, and more competitive. It catches us up with our Major Trading partners who have been lowering business tax rates while weve stood still and keeps us uncompetitive. It gives us an opportunity to export more when were competitive in the global economy. This bill will also help bring back jobs and create new ones. It will boost american wages by promoting Economic Growth and incentivizing investment. The centerpiece of the legislation is where it ought to be, in the center of our population, middleclass america, so it has middleclass tax cuts. The average middleclass family of four would see a tax cut of more than 1,400. An increase in the Child Tax Credit of 650 above the 1,000 thats already there per child would mean real help for working parents. Nearly doubling the standard deduction means that many lowerincome americans will be removed from the tax rolls completely. And the tax Filing Season will be much simpler for millions more. Small businesses will also see significant tax relief from the rate reduction on the individual side, but also from an Innovative New Small Business income Tax Deduction because twothirds of the jobs in this country are created by those very same Small Businesses, and we ought to give them some better equity with big c corporations. It will provide muchneeded tax relief to nearly all Small Businesses down to the smallest familyowned corner store and family farmer. Our bill recognizes the importance of Small Businesses in our economy. After all, as i just said, theyre responsible for a majority of those new jobs. The tax savings they receive could be spent on a new hire. It could be spent on giving raises to employees in those same Small Businesses. It could be invested in a growing company. All this adds up to americans seeing more now hiring signs throughout our country. Landmark tax relief during the kennedy and reagan administrations grew wages, created jobs, and made the United States more competitive. So theres enough history behind what were trying to do to know that well accomplish the goals that we accomplish or that were trying to accomplish. Today congress has a golden opportunity to do again what was done in kennedy and the reagan years, and it has not been done for 30 years. Tax cuts, tax simplification and tax reform. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from South Carolina. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. President. Today is a good day. We have both the house and the Senate Working on tax reform that will have a positive impact for your everyday, hardworking americans. This is truly a good day. So often when you hear us talk about tax reform, it sounds like a lot of numbers. Im not sure how excited or enamored people get with numbers, but im the kind of guy that believes that tax reform is not about numbers. Tax reform is about Everyday Americans being able to keep more of their hardearned money. Tax reform is about families like the one i grew up in. Singleparent households working paycheck to paycheck year in and year out, praying and hoping for something good to happen. Today is good news for those single moms and single dads out there. Its also good news for the working class families, dual dualincome, making around 75,000 a year, working every day, trying to make sure they have a little left over for dinner out. We want to say to those folks who havent really had a raise in a decade, we hear you. We feel your pain. We want to deliver to our American Family the opportunity to see more money in each paycheck. This is good. And for folks who are looking to start businesses, we have a christmas surprise for you too. Weve lowered taxes on the average family about 1,500 a year, 100 or so a month. Heres what that means. For a family where youre in a singleparent household, you bring home about h 50 450 a paycheck. That could easily become an extra 10 of paycheck. Thats a lot of money to a singleparent household. Weve also expanded the Child Tax Credit to make sure that those folks in the middleincome brackets are able to keep more of their hardearned money because if there is a focus on our tax reform package, is to make sure that middle america, hardworking income earners have a chance to see more money materialize in their paychecks. Weve also simplified the tax code. People say, well, how did you do that . There are seven brackets. I understand. Its simple. Simplification means you do not have to itemize. Said differently, nine out of ten taxpayers will be able to use the expanded standard deduction to figure out their tax burden as opposed to going item by item by item and understanding whether or not you can withdraw it or subtract it from your income. I had the great pleasure to be a Small Business owner before entering congress. And for many of those Small Business owners, they represent the backbone of our economy. Most jobs created in the future will be created by a Small Business owner. We are going to lower your taxes so you can hire more people and make longterm investments into building the greatest economy this country has known in more than a generation. This is a good day, and we have good news. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , i agree with the senator from South Carolina. This is indeed a good day for the families who will benefit from this additional money in their paycheck, from the increased standard of living that they will enjoy, and for those of us who want to see businesses come back home from abroad, they fled this country because of our we had the highest Corporate Tax rate in the world. And when we say we want to reform that broken Corporate Tax rate and bring those businesses and that money home, we join our colleagues ranging from the democratic leader, senator schumer, to barack obama, in 2011 in a joint session to the United States congress, advocating for bringing that business rate down so that businesses will stay in america, theyll hire americans, and theyll improve wages for all working families. So im proud to join my fellow finance Committee Colleagues on the floor today to support our version of the tax cuts and job act which was just released a few moments ago. I want to congratulate chairman hatch for his leadership. But i really am extraordinarily impressed with all the members of the finance committee that worked so hard together to try to get us to where we are today. We plan for lower rates, as youve heard, we increase the standard deduction. We expand the Child Tax Credit. And we reform the tax code so we give americans access to more job and higher wages. Our democratic colleagues have said they want tax reform too. I mentioned barack obama and Chuck Schumer, our colleague from new york, who have repeatedly said that we should lower the corporate rate so businesses will come home, hire americans, and help our economy grow here. Were all in agreement on that on a bipartisan bases. I a basis. I agree with the chairman of the finance committee, senator hatch. We invite our colleagues to come down and join us starting in the finance committee on monday. If what we want is more better paying jobs, and we do, we have to look at lowering rates on all job creators, including Small Businesses. This is designed to cut taxes for middleclass families, not millionaires. Its to help and create more jobs. Its to provide relief for hardworking families by increasing the standard deduction. One out of ten taxpayers will have to itemize deductions to take advantage of the law to reduce their tax burden. It will be simpler, easier to comply with and lower their tax rate while enhancing the Child Tax Credit. These reforms will make the 1,000 page tax code easier to understand and comply with. It will simplify what pages upon pages of tax law that only lobbists understand. I look forward to the finance committee marking up this proposal on monday. Thank you. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Thune mr. President , it is a good day here in the United States senate because today we released our tax reform legislation and soon we hope to have a bill on the president s desk. Mr. President , when you first think about coming to washington to serve, you dream about fixing big problems and making a real difference in peoples lives. Well, mr. President , today we get to make a big difference. And i harken back, when i look in the chamber here, 1986, the last time that tax reform was actually passed in the senate and signed into law by the president. Senator hatch was a member of the committee, senator grassley was here. I was here as a young staffer. At that time i didnt have kids of my own, and today im a grandfather. So a lot of time has passed and tax reform is long overdue, but the whole point of this exercise, mr. President , is to give hope to future generations of americans, to give them a better opportunity and a better life, to improve their standard of living and their quality of life. In order for that to happen, we need to take the steps here putting policies in place to create conditions that are favorable to Economic Growth to the creation of better paying jobs and higher wages. Today, mr. President , we get to bring relief to the parents who are wondering if they can afford a new car to fit their growing family. We are bringing relief to the single mom who is wondering how to pay the rent next month as our colleague from South Carolina who talked about those parents and families who are literally living paycheck to paycheck. Today we get to bring relief to the middleaged couple worrying about retirement, to the Small Business owner who doesnt know how he will meet his tax bill and still make his mortgage payment. To the family farmer who worries he wont be able to pass down his farm to his daughter. Mr. President , the tax relief we have today will provide immediate, direct relief to hardworking americans. It will immediately increase their takehome pay, and it will immediately simplify the tax code so its easier americans to to figure out what benefits they qualify for so they dont have to spend a lot of time and money filing their taxes. But, mr. President , thats really just the beginning. Our bill will reform the business side of the tax code to give americans access to the jobs, to the wages, and to the opportunities that will set them up for a secure future. Were going to make it easier for Small Businesses to raise wages and to hire new workers. Were going to end the outdated tax framework that is driving American Companies to keep jobs and profits overseas. Were going to make it easier for companies to invest in american jobs and American Workers. Mr. President , its been a rough few years for our economy and for the American People. A lot of americans havent had a pay raise literally in almost a decade, but with this tax reform legislation, we can ensure that it doesnt stay that way. The American People deserve a tax code that works for them and not against them, that grows their paychecks instead of shringing them shrinking them, that expands their opportunities instead of limiting them. Thats what we will give them starting today. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. We all know what the definition of luck is. It is when opportunity meets preparation. We are very lucky as a country and senate that our Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell is where he is at the time he is. Mr. Isakson it was his vision that the tax issue would emerge as a central issue in the growth and development. Of our country. Unless we opened up opportunity for our public, expanded opportunities for our businesses, america could succumb to a high tax system without pro pro productivity. Were also lucky because the majority leader picked orrin hatch. Orrin hatch is it was always complex. It is simpler and fairer, profamily an projobs. Let me tell you something, there are a lot of disappointed people overseas right now because those who have been picking our pockets by inverting american corporations to foreign systems because their taxes were lower than ours are out of luck. Now those people are going to be incentivized to come to america and make investments in our country and expand their companies in our country. No longer will companies invert to leave america but invest to be more american. This is a projobs tax bill. It will create a lot0 of opportunity. And opportunity is what americans wanted need. The average American Family let me talk about my family for a second. I think im pretty average. My wife and i are fortunate to have three children two children, three grandchildren. I had a mom and bop brokerage company. My wife taught in Public Schools. Our children went to the university of georgia and the Public Schools of our community. We saved for their education. We did everything we could to invest hope for them in future and today they are all gainfully employed and happy but they are struggling like everybody else with a burdensome tax system. By the sim by simplifying the tax system and making it fairer, we are giving more opportunity to my grandchildren and children and more opportunity to america. Lastly, i want to make this point. There are only two ways to raise taxes or raise revenue, one is to charge more, that means you raise somebodys taxes. The other way to do it is to create opportunity so people create companies and jobs because the opportunity is there. When you create opportunity and when jobs are created, revenues increased when people do better in their jobs, incomes go up, when people do better in companies, they expand, and they produce more revenue. We raise the revenue, but not by lowering ex peck titions, but expectations but by raising opportunity for our people and children. We are very lucky to be americans. We are lucky to have had leaders at a time to address our countrys biggest challenges. When i was in georgia legislature, i sat next to someone who led the ways an Means Committee. I remember listening to a gentleman make a speech in the well. He tried make a point and said, let me tax your memory. And my friend said, damn, i wish i thought of that. Thats the way we looked at things, try to tax peoples memories. Right now we are raising revenue through prosperity. Americans will raise the revenue for their pocket first before the country gets the revenue second. Its our lucky day to have good leaders, lucky to live on the greatest country on earth. And if we do our job and pass this bill before the end of the year and change the tax code of the United States of america to a fairer projobs, profamily tax code, we will have made our contribution to history at a time it was our opportunity. I hope we will it will never be said that we left our country down when that opportunity was available to us. I yield the floor. Mr. Toomey mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Toomey mr. President , i want to echo the message of the senator from georgia. This is a terrific opportunity. This is a very bill day. Its a big step forward on our path to restoring the Economic Growth that weve been waiting for all this time. I am really excited about this step forward and the remainder of the process to get this done, to get this bill signed into law. Why do we need this . Mr. President , weve just lived through the weakest recovery in america history, feeble growth, stagnant wages and a widening gap between the wealthy and poor. Thats what happens been happening for years. Some people say, thats the way it is, you have to get used to it, thats the new normal, thats what america is about now. Mr. President , thats complete nonsense. There is nothing in evidentable about the American Economy being weak and denying opportunity for the people we represent. Its a direct result of bad policy, failed policy that prevented us from having the recovery that we would normally have after a recession. What was that policy . Well, we saw it. It was very clear. Its not a matter of opinion, its a matter of fact that productivity growth in america collapsed. Its a matter of fact that investment in new plants and equipment collapsed. Its a fact that new business startups just dried up. People werent able and willing to do it. Theres no mystery about why our economy was weak for so many years. We imposed conditions that made it impossible to have the kind of growth thats normal. Meanwhile, what was happening in the rest of the world . The rest of the world was systematically making their scoadz more competitive. Tax codes more competitive. Our competitors were lowering their rates to what they applied to business income, simplifying their codes and moving to International Codes that made it more conducive for them to generate investment into their country while we did nothing except let our tax code os fie. Thats whats been happening these past many years. What im excited about is this bill fixes what is broken. This bill goes exactly to what the problem is. How do we do that. One of the things that we do, a hallmark of this bill is were going to lower the cost of investing in this the new in the new plants and equipment that will allow American Workers become more productive. Thats whats going to happen as a result of this bill. Another thing that we do in this bill is we get away from the terrible policy we have that is thats resulting in Foreign Companies buying up American Companies. The way we treat income earned overseas is a disaster and were the only country in the world that does it. I think you could make a case that today the United States has what might very well be the least attractive tax regime in the modern world, in the industrialized world. And whats exciting whats really exciting about this, mr. President , is were going to move from this system to just what might be the best tax system in the industrialized world. Think about what that result will have. I think it will be breathtaking. New investment. Take Foreign Direct Investment alone. If you think about it, we have a global economy. Capital can move around the world with literally the click of a mouse and people make Investment Decisions based on the climate of the place they are thinking about investing in. When you have the worst tax regime in the world, who really wants to invest here . When weve got the best, how are we not going to attract investment from all around the world including very much in the United States . So the changes were making are exactly the right changes for this moment, but thats true in another respect, mr. President , and that is if you think about where we are in this cycle. Its taking way, way too long to get here, but the Unemployment Rate is quite low now. We are getting close to full employment. What happens when we create the incentives for businesses to grow, invest, new businesses to launch, people to invest in america, what happens when that occurs in an environment where the Unemployment Rate is very low . It sets up a bidding war for workers. Theres no other choice. These businesses, as they grow, they need new employees to get this job done, they have to pay ever more because they are competing with another business down the road that wants to grow and invest in new plants and equipment. We are going to create a bidding war. That means wages will go up and that means families will have more takehome pay and they will have a higher standard of living. This is exactly how people have a chance to live the American Dream. When the economy is striving an growing at a rate that america used to take for granted. Im here to say those days are coming back. Im confident were going to get this done. And when we do, our constituents are going to live a better life as a result. I yield the floor. Port mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman mr. President , i really enjoyed listening to my colleague from pennsylvania talk about this new tax reform plan thats just been unveiled by the finance committee here. Hes right. This is really exciting because its an opportunity after a lot of talk over a lot of years to finally fix our tax code. And it is broken. And its broken in a lot of different respects, but one that he pointed out so well is the fact that we actually have jobs and investment going overseas because of our tax code. Its a responsibility of the people who are in this body and in the house and the presidency to actually fix that. No one else can do it. Workers in america, including my home state of ohio are competing with one hand tied behind their back because we have a tax code that encourages other companies from Foreign Countries to come in and buy our companies, to take our business, to take our market share, to make it sharder for u. S. Workers to be able to compete and win. So i think its way past time, frankly, for us to fix that. People say, well, we havent reformed the tax code in 31 years and its about time. I agree with that. But if you go back to the International Part of our tax code that creates a lot of these problems, youve got to go back to john f. Kennedy who last reformed it. That means that part of our tax code should qualify for aarp benefits. Thats how old it is. Its time for us to fix this. Its really exciting that we have that opportunity. There are three parts of this tax form proposal all three of which are ale important really important. The first is a tax cut for the middle class. Why is that important . Because right now even with the economy thats starting to grow a little bit, whats happening . Well, wages are flat. So expenses are up across the board. The biggest expense, by the way, mr. President , when youve been one youve been involved with is health care. People are seeing their Health Care Costs go up, their premiums, copays, and yet their wages arent going up. That creates a middleclass squeeze. Its more than health care. It is food. It is everyday purchases. It is tuition if youre trying to send your kid to school. Those have skyrocketed. Lets do something to give the Family Budget a little help. Thats the middleclass tax cuts that are in this proposal. You probably saw today that the middleclass tax cut alone provides on average 1,458 for every family. Thats a median family, income family. Someone in the hall asked me, gosh, one of the reporters here, 1500 bucks a family, why does that matter in i said it matters a lot if youre living paycheck to paycheck. Maybe youre not but a lot of people are who i represent. That 1500 bucks is something that will help them to be able to make ends meetd and maybe meet and maybe begin to save a little bit for vacation, for retirement or the ability to make that car payment. I think this is really important. I would say, though, beyond just that important middleclass tax cut, theres Something Else that ought to be considered, which is if we do this right, the way this has been laid out by the finance committee, whats going to happen is were going to help to create more jobs and higher wages. My colleague from pennsylvania talked about this. With a relatively tight labor market as you have more investment into these businesses, whats going to happen . Everyone says youre going to see wages go up. So the congressional budget office, which is a Nonpartisan Group here, and the joint committee on taxation, a Nonpartisan Group here, have looked at all this and said, yeah, theres going to be a benefit to workers if we do these business tax cuts to be able to get the business rate down below the average of the other industrialized country. Rather than being the highest business rate in the entire industrialized world which it is now because thats going to attract more jobs and investment here and well stop losing jobs and investment. Theres some economists who have looked at this, too. They agree. This is going to benefit workers. In fact, theres a up come of economic studies out there that show that families will get an additional 4,000 on average per family. Again, were talking about middleclass families here from the benefits that are going to come from more investment, more jobs and higher earnings that are going to help in the business world. Its not just about the middleclass tax cuts as important as they are. Thats tax relief going right to the bottom line. Youll be able to figure it out. Go online. Use the tax calculator. Figure out what it means now. Also, remember, these other reforms in an outdated tax code that is just crying out for improvement and reform is going to result in additional benefits flowing to you and your family as well if we do this right. And we have to do it right. Theres a study that came out recently. It was from a firm called ernst and young. It looked at whats happened in america over the past decade or so they said in the last 13 years, there are 4,700 American Companies that have become Foreign Companies because of our tax code that would still be American Companies today if we put in place the kind of tax reform were talking about. 20 rate, below that afternoon of the other industrialized country and the International System take allows you to be more competitive. 4,700 companies. Think about that. Theres other data out there that says ties as many foreigners are twice as many foreigners are buying u. S. Companies. Why . Because of our tax code. Its just true. I mean, this is something thats been happening in this country not just the last couple of years but really the last couple of decades. Its time for us to catch up. America needs to get back into a leadership position. If we do that, were going to see more jobs and more investment coming here to this country rather than going overseas. Finally, the third thing this does that is so important is it levels the Playing Field internationally. Right now we have between 2. 5 trillion and 3 trillion of earnings, money from American Companies that are trapped overseas. Those companies arent bringing it back. Why . Because of our tax code. So this tax reform proposal actually says to those companies, we want that money back here. We want you to invest in america. We want you to create jobs here, expand plant and equipment. Bring your intellectual property, your patents back here. And then send that export out from america. That will create jobs here, including good jobs in research and development. Thats what this proposal does as well. It levels that Playing Field internationally to tell the Foreign Companies and the foreign nations that are taking advantage of our current tax code, you know what . Thats not going to happen anymore. Thats done. We now are going to have a competitive tax code where were encouraging money to come here to this country and that money comes back here invested in this country will also raise the economic condition for the entire country, Economic Growth will go up. Again, that filters down to all of us, including every family that i represent. So thats why im excited about this. I think its overdue. I wish we could have done this earlier. You know, not just last year but ten years ago or 20 years ago. Orrin hatch is in the hall tonight. Senator hatch has been talking about this for a few decades. And hes been saying weve got to fix this thing. Hes chairman of the finance committee. He can do it. Senator mcconnell will speak about this in a minute. Hes been talking about this for a long time. Weve had commissions on it, working groups on it. Weve had bipartisan working groups, five of them. Those five working groups looked at this issue. I cochaired one of those working groups. It was on the International Side. Guess what . On a bipartisan basis, we said weve got to have this lower tax rate. Weve got to go to this more competitive International System. You know who the cochair of that working group was . One republican, one democrat in all those working groups . It was senator Chuck Schumer of new york who is now the democratic leader. So this has not been a partisan issue in the past. On the International Side at least, lets figure out how we can come together and get republican and democratic support to be able to tell the workers of america youre no longer going to have to compete with one hand tiedhand your back. Were going to give you the tools to be successful for you and your families so you can achieve your American Dream. Mr. President , im excited about this. Lets move forward. Look forward to the finance committee next week and bring it to the floor and i hope we can have support on both sides of the aisle to get this dufnlt i yield back done. I yield back my time. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , the distinguished chairman of our finance committee is on the cusp of the accomplishment of his career. This comprehensive tax reform will make a huge difference for america and i just want to commend him for the efforts that have gotten this far. Youve heard members of the finance committee speaking to the bill thats been presented to our conference. This is going to be an extraordinary accomplishment, not only for the American People but for the distinguished chairman of the finance committee. The presiding officer the senator from louisiana. Mr. Cassidy i just want to add my words to those that have been said. It is not let me begin by saying the achievement of this tax proposal is not about anyone in this chamber. It is about the working families who for the last eight years have not done so well. Theyve either lost their jobs or their wages have been flat. Their benefits have not improved or indeed the cost of those benefits have risen dramatically. I can say with the tax cut and jobs act that is being introduced today, they will increase their takehome pay. Theyll have higher wages. They will have a better life. Now, lets talk about how that would be. How will these working families improve . Mr. President , you mentioned in your remarks, businesses will have money to invest. There will be competition for workers. As theres competition for workers, workers are paid more. Theyre given Better Benefits. What are those Better Benefits and better wages mean . It means they can invest more in their family, in chair childrens in their childrens future and that will change their familys life for generations to come. On behalf of those working families, i echo chairman hatch that if there is a suggestion by anyone that can make this better, i ask them to bring that suggestion forward. Because this is not about republicans. Its not about democrats. Its not about anybody in this chamber. Its about those working families who for the last eight years have not done as well as the American Dream would say they should. So, mr. President , on behalf of those working families, i congratulate chairman hatch for this job and i look forward to its passage. And i look forward for all the benefits of this bill coming to help those families across our country and in my state of louisiana. Thank you. I yield back. Mr. President , i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President are. The presiding officer the senator from north dakota. Ms. Heitkamp i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Heitkamp i rise to discuss a couple of pressing issues regarding our Health Care System and im sure that americans are aware of some critical deadlines for the Health Options in the marketplace. It is that time of year, Health Care Open enrollment has started and americans across the country can sign up or change their Health Care Plans to make sure they are getting a plan that works best for them and their families. Ive long said that the Health Care Reform law, otherwise known as obamacare, is not perfect, and ive been pushing since ive been here to make it work better for north dakota and Small Businesses, but there are many pieces in that Health Care Law that are helpful, and i want to make sure that americans and North Dakotans take advantage during this open Enrollment Period. Every individual and family should be able to get access to afford, Quality Health care, and no one should have to go bankrupt to pay for health care for a child with a disability, a sick Family Member, or just an emergency that you never thought could happen. Thats why im encouraging everyone to, please, make sure you explore your options and sign up for Health Care Coverage. Its more important than ever that folks take advantage of this open Enrollment Period early because there are many changes this year that unfortunately make it more difficult for individuals and their families to sign up for Health Insurance. Even if you already have a plan, its worth checking out Health Care Plans, again, as these prices change from year to year. First, open enrollment today is a month and a half shorter this year than it has been in the past. Open enrollment is from september 7, right now, until december 15. Thats just 45 days. Do not wait to check this out. It is best if you go today to find out if there is a better plan for you or if you need to secure Health Insurance on the marketplace. Second, the administration has significantly reduced funding for inperson assistance, called navigators, who help individuals and families sign up for Health Care Coverage. This action is leaving millions of americans and thousands of North Dakotans without the critical help that they need to understand their options and enroll in Meaningful Health care coverage. I want to make a point here. Those of us who in the past have always had the option of Getting Health Care coverage through an employer, theres always someone in that Employment Office in the Payroll Office or in Human Resources who helps you through. This is not unique in needing this assistance, its not unique to the marketplace. Its access and information that you have through your employer if youre getting your insurance through your employer, and the idea was that same opportunity for information should be made available in person on the marketplace. But its not be so we have to try and fill in those gaps, and because we have these gaps were seeing many, in many ways, a number cutbacks, a number of folks not getting access to the information that they need. In fact, great plains travel chairmans health board does not have enough funds to operate as a navigator and they will not be able to help North Dakotans sign up for coverage as they have done in previous years. Another navigator in my state has federal has had its federal funds cut by over 96 . So since 2013, itself uninsured the uninsured rate in north dakota is reduced from 11 to 9 in large part because of the work of these navigators. These navigators guarantee in my state or perform in my state an Invaluable Service biff guiding families by guiding families through the process of determining the best private Health Insurance for them. As well as judicial medicaid and medicare expansion medicaid and medicare expansion. As many North Dakotans who sign up for coverage qualify for federal assistance to help afford that coverage, so it is so vitally important that they understand medicaid, this they understand medicaid expansion, and that they understand the Tax Implications of the plans that they are selecting. But even those numbers that show the decrease in uninsured in north dakota dont tell the full story. Not only have navigators responded to daily inquiries during and outside of the open Enrollment Period, they have identified and responded to the challenges of increasing enrollment, particularly in rural and hard to reach areas of the state that are less likely to have access to coverage through an employer. Slashing funding for navigators has implications also for indian country. Indian Health Service has had challenges delivering quality care to native americans in my state and certainly in our region. But those issues have lessened as more native americans have enrolled in traditional medicaid, medicaid expansion, and private Health Insurance enabling these families to access quality, Affordable Health care to stay healthy. Thanks to the increase of thirdparty payments, we are no longer limited to life or limb care at tribal i. H. S. Facilities in the Great Plains Service area. Adding to the turmoil of the enrollment process, the administration also announced its cutting off federal funding that helps make Health Care Affordable for families known as costsharing reduction payments. As a result, many individuals and families will see their premiums skyrocket by double digits. Due directly to this decision and the uncertainty it has injected into our Health Care System, one insurer has exited the Health Care Marketplace in north dakota, and another has reduced its Health Insurance plan offerings leaving many in my counties with only one insurer for consumers to choose from. Ironically north dakota was one of the best covered states in terms of options and choices. That option and that source of pride has been diminished as a result of the lack of consistency with costsharing reduction payments. A recent report from the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that if the Administration Stopped paying the costsharing reduction payments as it has now done, there would be serious consequences for individuals and families across the country. The report said families premiums would jump about 20 . Many families would be left without Health Insurance options as a lack of payment would force many insurers to leave the market. It would also add 184 billion to the deficit over a decade. Despite these efforts to sabotage the marketplace and jeopardize access to coverage for families, we have fortunately seen the surge of encouraging encoolment numbers enrollment numbers in the first week of enrollment but the American Public deserves better, and i will do everything i can to ensure consumers know their options, that consumers are connected with opportunities for meaningful coverage, and that they are provide certainty in the nut about Health Care Costs on november 1 i launched a new page on my website to help provide resources and enrollment information to North Dakotans. I sincerely hope folks who are looking to buy Health Insurance on the marketplace in north dakota take advantage of that website. Access to affordable, Quality Health care is a must, and im proud to have worked with a group of republican and Democratic Senators led by senators alexander and murray to reach a deal to offer some immediate fixes to make health care more affordable and accessible in north dakota and across the country. Our bill would specifically address many of the new challenges that face folks during open enrollment. The deal we unveiled last month would provide certainty for insurers and customers by restoring the costsharing reduction payments for two years and restoring federal funding for outreach and enrollment efforts in states, including the Navigator Services that i talked about earlier. It incorporates an idea that ive been championing for many years, which is to create a lower cost copper plan with lower premiums, higher deductibles to increase Coverage Options for young, Healthy Families where they arent so much worried about the daytoday cost of health care but that catastrophic event that could throw them into a lifetime of poverty. The agreement would also provide flexibility for states to continue to explore their options to deliver the best Health Care Options to their citizens. This recognizes that one size does not fit all and that we need to have more flexibility for states to experiment and to provide the kind of quality of care and the kind of care options that work best for their state. On top of having significant bipartisan support, theres a bonus. And the bonus is that c. B. O. And the joint committee on taxation estimate that enacting the legislation would reduce the deficit by 3. 8 billion without substantially changing the number of people with Health Insurance coverage. Now, Congress Needs to pass our bill. Ive long said there are good parts of the Health Reform act and parts that need to be fixed. Our bipartisan deal is an important step to help families afford Health Care Coverage so health so the Health Reform law works better for North Dakotans. How rare is it in this body to have this many people come together to propose one piece of legislation . I know that if you put this bill on to the floor tomorrow, it would easily pass with over 60 of the United States senate. We need to get this done. We need to get it done to ensure the American Public that we are serious about responding to their concerns about health care, but that we are also serious legislators who can in fact fix the problems that we have in this country. I recently introduced a bill to delay. This isnt everything that weve been working on. But it certainly is the most important and highest priority, to pass the murrayalexander bill. But there are other proposals to improve health care that im working on. I recently introduced a bill to delay the Health Insurers tax for two years and make coverage more affordable for the 156 Million Consumers across the country impacted by that fee. It would also make tax deductibility it would also make the tax deductibility moving forward providing more certainty for families to plan into the future. Reducing the impact of the Health Insurance tax, a fee that directly impacts the Health Care Affordability for families and Small Businesses has broad bipartisan support. In 2015 Congress Passed a oneyear delay of the fee. This delay benefited consumers, seniors, employers, state employees, and tribes. And the average premium reduction from that delay of the fee was 3 . I think if we think about the Health Insurance tax and we think about sales taxes that many states enact, many states will tell you, we dont enact sales tax on the necessities of life, whether its food, whether its electricity. This clearly is a necessity of life, having this Health Insurance. This Health Insurance tax is nothing more than a regressive sales tax on premium costs, and i believe that we need to find a better and more commonsense alternative. Another commonsense bill that ive introduced to help make health care more affordable for middleincome families is a bill that would address what i call the current cliff problem on premium assistance that many middleclass families and seniors face when they earn above 400 of the federal Poverty Level putting Affordable Care out of reach. Right now those earnings, just a nominal sum over, one dollar over, the 400 of federal Poverty Level, which is 47,550 for an individual, 92,200 for a family of four, are not the minute you hit this amount, over that amount, dollar over, youre no longer eligible for any premium support to make Health Insurance more affordable. This, perhaps, is one of those issues that i have heard more about than almost any other issue in the Affordable Care act. So what my bill would do is get rid of the cliff and instead insert a slope. The bill would enable more young, Healthy Families to be able to obtain affordable Health Care Coverage while diversifying the insurance pools. And it would make sure seniors with high medical costs arent forced to lose those hardearned Retirement Savings or go without care. And so smoothing out that cliff will make Health Insurance more affordable, will make this bill more responsive to our middle middleclass taxpayers, middleclass families and will provide some certainty for these families as they look at the high cost of health care and insurance premiums into the future. I also cosponsored a bill to provide stability in the insurance marketplace by making the current Reinsurance Program for individual Health Insurance market permanent. It would be similar to the successful programs used to lower premiums and spur competition in the Medicare Part b or d program. This Reinsurance Program would provide funding to offset larger than expected insurance claims for Health Insurance Companies Participating in state and federal insurance marketplaces. And it would encourage them to offer more plans in greater number in a greater number of markets improving competition and driving down costs for patients and families. It is that catastrophic cost that is unpredictable for the actuaries that drives up high costs. If they know that that catastrophic cost above a certain amount is subject to a reinsurance plan and those costs are shared more broadly than just within that system, the health care that they can provide and that the Insurance Commissioners can secure with a reasonable rate would be greatly reduced. Lastly, another Critical Program that ensures access to coverage throughout the country and in north dakota is the childrens Health Insurance program or chip. I have to tell you i know many, many families who without chip and without their ability to find that temporary opportunity to use chip to insure their children, they would be bankrupt today. They would have incurred Health Care Bills just from a simple fall off a swing set, that they would be spending a lifetime trying to figure out either how theyre going to pay or they would be finding their way into the bankruptcy court. Chip is a program that has been used since the late 1990s, and more than 2,000 north dakota children currently rely on it for Affordable Health care. It provides a critical bridge between medicaid and private Insurance Coverage for children. We have to act fast to reauthorize chip and let thousands of children across the country who are on chip and their families know that we care about them, that were standing up for them, and were not going to leave them behind. Unfortunately, the re the authorization for this critical and lifesaving program expired the end of september. Without action from congress, some states will already run out of federal funding before the end of the year. Some already have and require emergency funding from the centers for medicare and Medicaid Services to shore up their programs so that they can still provide that continuous coverage while we nail to act here in the we fail to act here in the United States congress. While my state of north dakota is not scheduled to run out of funding til april of next year, this is not a way to administer an ongoing and Critical Health care program. We need to get this program reauthorized now before its too late and we have unnecessarily hurt American Children and have created unnecessary unpredictability for families who need and have found some incredible benefit in covering their children with this program. The Senate Finance committee has marked up a Bipartisan Legislation. Keep kids insurance dependable and secure act, to extend authorization for the program for five years. Congress needs to act now to make sure that these families know their children have dependable and secure coverage. No parent, no Family Member should have to wonder if their children will get critical care. Put yourself in their shoes. Since i came to the senate in 2013, i have said there are parts of the Health Care Law and the Health Care System that need improvement to make sure its working for hardworking North Dakotans and hardworking americans. These, as ive outlined, are just some tangible commonsense policy proposals that have strong bipartisan support. And we can in fact make this system better. We can in fact tackle this challenge of health care. And then we can roll up our sleeves and reduce costs and make health care more affordable and less costly in this country. We can do all of that. We have a country and a group of american citizens are counting on us, counting on us to do our job to make sure that into the future they have the certainty that they need, the predictability that they need to get their Health Care Coverage and to make sure that their families will never have to worry about having to file bankruptcy because a child fell off a swing p set. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. I note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Peters mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from michigan. Mr. Peters i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection, so ordered. Mr. Peters mr. President , ill also ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be grantinged to the following member of my staff Sara Anderson for todays session. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Peters mr. President , next to our people, the great lakes are unquestionably michigans greatest resource. They are more than an economic engine. They are more than a source of Drinking Water for 40 million people. They are more than a destination for tourists, boaters, and anglers from across the globe. While the great lakes are certainly all of those things, in michigan theyre also a way of life. They are, quite simply, home. You cant sit on the edge of one of our massive inland seas without feeling a sense of awe and gratitude. Mr. President , next to me is a photo of the straits of mackinac, a fivemile stretch of water where Lake Michigan meets lake huron and where michigans upper and lower peninsulas are connected by the mackinac bridge. Unfortunately, today i cant look out at these straits out feeling a grave concern. The straits of mackinac are home to powerful currents and water that at times flows through at a volume greater than ten times that of niagara falls. The currents are also unpredictable. They can flow in any direction and can change not only by the season or even by the day, but they can actually change by the hour. The straits are also home to twin underwater Oil Pipelines operated by enbridge, none as line 5, that are now 64 years old and getting older by the day. A recent study by the university of michigan found that the straits of mackinac are the absolute worst possible place for an oil spill anywhere in the entire great lakes basin. Without question, there is no way that this pipeline would have been built today. But its there, and we need the toughest protections and strictest accountability possible. To put these in place, i worked to pass Bipartisan Legislation to designate the great lakes as an unusually sensitive area which requires the highest possible operating standards under federal law. Rigorous federal oversight is critical, but pipeline owners and operators must do their part as well by being transparent and forthcoming. While embridge assured us repeatedly that line 5 is, quote, as good as new, we found out in august that there are bandaidsized gaps that expose the bare metal under neath the harsh area in the straits. Leveraging areas as big as onefoot square of exposed bare metal at each location. Then on october 27 of 2017, just two weeks ago, embridge disclosed that their Pipeline Integrity department knew of the damage that they had cussed to the pipelines while conducting maintenance in 2014, three years ago. I share the concerns expressed by thousands of michiganders who dread the worstcase oil spill scenario and i share their frustration and anger at being misled. It is unacceptable that damage to a pape line run through the great lakes could go unreported for three weeks, let alone three years. Simply put, embridge does not deserve our trust and we deserve some answers. This is why earlier this he week i called on the Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration to exercise their oversight role and conduct a thorough investigation, examine any potential safety or reporting violations, and assure all michiganders of the safety and integrity of line 5, if at all possible. I also joined senator stabenow in demanding answers from embridge c. E. O. To three very critical questions. One, what are you doing to fix your broken reporting procedures . Two, is there any other unreported damage to line 5 . Three, how can we be certain that regulators are being fully informed by your company . We need these answers, and we must get them. I will never stop fighting to hold pipeline operators accountable to keep our great lakes safe and clean. The great lakes are home, and i will do everything i can to protect them for generations to come. Mr. President , i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer and the clerk should call the roll. Quorum call ms. Klobuchar mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from minnesota. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i want to turn to two topics today and first the good news that the senate rules committee, all the members, have come together on a mandatory sex harassment training bill that has been introduced with broad support, including from the two leaders, and every member of the rules committee. I want to thank senator grassley for his leadership, as well as senator shelby for his leadership as well, and senator capito and cortez masto who were a big help here. Were all too aware that Sexual Assault harassment continues in our workplaces. A recent study found that one in four women have been sexually harassed in the workplace and threequarters of individuals who experience Sexual Harassment at work did not report the incident. Civil service is actually among the Top Five Industries with the highest Sexual Assault harassment incidences. We know it wont stop on its own. We will not be complacent bystanders and expect workplace cultures to change on their e thats why today, with a Bipartisan Group of 19 of our colleagues, we took a major step forward with this bill. Once its passed by the full senate, which we hope will be shortly, this resolution will simply require that all senators and staff receive Sexual Assault harassment training as well as other forms of harassment at least once every two years. In addition to that, 60 days after it passed. What happens if senators dont receive this training . Work the American People will know one of the parts of this bill and i appreciate the broad support for senator mcconnell who has long been someone whos taken leadership in this area for many years and senator schumer, whos also taken leadership in this area, that both all offices will have to certify to the secretary of the senate that they and their employees here in washington but also those working in our home states have in fact taken the training and complied with the resolution. These certifications will be posted online. I want to thank senator grassley again as well as senator shelby. Senator grassley, by the way, the chairman of the judiciary committee, was the author of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, and as i mentioned as well, senators cortez masto and capito. I urge my colleagues to support the senate harassment resolution antiharassment resolution of 2091. There is more work to be done with regard to the reporting process. Thats something well be working on in the next few weeks through the rules committee. I want to thank them. I know senator gillibrand has been working in this area. I want to thank her. Overall, this was a good effort that everyone came together and agreed on a plan for mandatory training. Now, mr. President , i will turn to a completely different subject, and that is the subject of veterans day. I rise today to honor and thank our veterans, Service Members, and their families as we celebrate our veterans on veterans day. These brave men and women represent the best among us. Whether you serve 50 years served 50 years ago or still wear the uniform today, we thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice on behalf of this great nation. No matter when you served, all veterans have one thing in common. A deep love of our country and a patriotism that goes beyond simply feeling pride. All veterans were willing to lay down their lives in defense of this nation, and many continue to live the spirit of service in their communities once their time in the military is over. Last week, i attended the change of command ceremony where we honored outgoing Major General richard nash for his decades of service and saw him pass the leadership torch to Major General john jensen who was sworn in as a new adjunct general of minnesotas National Guard. As general nash said earlier this year, our Minnesota National guard and the entire state has contributed greatly in a period of history that will be looked back upon as a remarkably important time. He continued we were always ready, always there. He was right. Our Service Members are always there for us, and in turn, we must honor their service. At a time marked by the volatility of our politics, our commitment to our Service Members and veterans remain steadfast. We stand united, regardless of our politics. Our veterans fought for our freedom, and we need to be there for them. When our Service Members put their lives on the line to serve our country, there wasnt a waiting line, and when they come home to the United States of america and they need health care or they need a job or they need a house, there should never be a waiting line in the United States of america. We still have a great deal of work ahead of us to honor this commitment. Here is an example. Amy mueller of woodbury, minnesota, enlisted in the air force in 1998. After two deployments to iraq where she was stationed next to one of the wars most notorious toxic burn pits, she returned home. Shortly after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 36, half the average age for this form of cancer. When amy passed earlier this year, she left three small children and her loving husband brian behind. Since then, i have gotten to know and work with brian. He has made one thing here to me. We wont let these toxic burn pits become another agent orange. So part of amys legacy is we are working to create a center of excellence within the department of Veterans Affairs to deal with the mounting evidence that thousands of veterans have gotten sick after being exposed to toxic substances burned in the large pits in iraq and afghanistan. This isnt a partisan issue, and i am very pleased as a cosponsor of my bill, as republican colleague senator tom tillis of North Carolina. We have been working together to get this bill passed, and we are very pleased it was in the National Defense authorization act that came out of the senate. While our National Guard and reserve component members often serve with their active duty counterparts on the exact same missions, they are not always ensured the same competition and benefits for their service. When they return home, our National Guard and servists are often denied the education and Health Care Benefits they counted on during their deployments. We need to close that loophole and make sure that members deployed on the same mission, who take the same risks receive the same benefits. And just as we have made a commitment to serving our Service Members, we have made a commitment to looking out for their families. Since september 11, 2001, the Minnesota National guard soldiers and airmen have deployed more than 26,000 times. They were actually the red bulls one of the longest serving units in iraq. That service can take a toll on families, especially kids. Thats why its important for students and teachers to know which students parents are Service Members so they can help make special accommodations like setting up skype during the school day so a young girl can talk to her dad whos serving abroad. Thats what happens for students whose parents are in the active duty military, but not for those whose parents are in the guard or reserve. That makes no sense. Some say it was just an error. Some say maybe not. But whatever it is, we need to fix it, and im leading Bipartisan Legislation to make sure that our guard and reserve forces and their families are treated just like the families of those that are permanently in the military. When our veterans sign up to serve and defend our country signed up to serve and defend our country, there was no waiting line, as i noted, and so thats why on this day, tomorrow, we will be honoring them by telling them that we believe that they deserve the best. I was reminded of that a number of years ago when i greeted one of the honor flights, the world war ii honor flights that was coming backfilled with veterans from minnesota who some for the first and the last time were able to see the world war ii memorial. They had gotten up incredibly early in the morning, gotten on a plane, went there, spent the day, and flew back, and there was hundreds and hundreds of Family Members waiting for them late at night in the airport terminal with balloons and signs with their name on them. They got off of that flight on walkers and in wheelchairs, and they came down to where the families were. People with tears rolling down their faces. It was an amazing thing to see. Well, in a typical minnesota tradition, they had a polka band playing kind of by the luggage carousel, and the one of the older veterans, who i later found out was in his late 80s, asked me to dance. And i said well, id love to dance. And then the band stopped playing because it was at the end. And then he said oh, thats okay. I said well, im sorry. I think well have to take a rain check. I dont know why i said that to someone his age, but thats what i said. And then he said well, thats okay. I have a great voice. And he started singing that Frankie Valli song, youre just too good to be true, cant take my eyes off you, and danced around that luggage carousel. As i danced with that man, i thought this is how our veterans should be treated every day. They should be greeted with balloons and signs at the airport, and they should be dancing with their senators by the luggage carousel. Thats the spirit we have to remember as we go forward into veterans day, the exceptional commitment and Extraordinary Service that our democracy demands of all the brave men and women who have stepped forward to protect it. That same democracy demands that we fight for our Service Members as they fight for us. As general nash said, they were always there for us, and we must be there for them, too. Mr. President , i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer and the clerk shall call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Sullivan mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i have five requests for comoats to meet during committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , as you know, i have been coming to the floor of the senate pretty much every week for months after months after months to highlight somebody we call the alaskan of the week, somebody who does something important feertsdz their community for either the community, the state, or the country and oftentimes they dont get a lot of recognition. And the reason is to come down and say look at what these people are doing for alaska and for their community. My state is known for many things, our physical beauty, adventuresome spirit, size. You dont want me going there. I have a difficult conversation with my colleagues from texas on occasion about the difference sizes of our respective states, but i wont go into details there. These are all things that we have in alaskan space, but the thing that really makes us such a great place to live is our people, strong, resilient, kind people all across our state who look out for each other, often in harsh weather conditions. And, mr. President , were a patriotic state. Now i know everybody here claims that, and thats great. We all are. Nowhere is the spirit of sacrifice and patriotism more apparent than in our veterans across the state, in alaska, in missouri, the presiding officers state. And we are all celebrating that and were going to celebrate this weekend going home for veterans day. Now, in alaska, we like to talk about our veterans, we also like to talk about the fact that we have more veterans per capita than any other state in the country, so a very patriotic place full of service in every city, village, every Community Across alaska you will find proud veterans, many of them working tirelessly together to make sure they get the help and support that our veterans need. A lot of times that happens with the older vets, vietnam era vets coming to make sure that the into your vets get the help they need. To all of them i salute your service, your sacrifice. Thank you so much for all youve done and continue to do for our country. Happy veterans day to all of alaskas veterans. I cant wait to get home and sell brait in fair and celebrate in fairbanks and alaska. It is not just veterans day that is approaching, we are also celebrating alaska heritage month, where there is much to celebrate. In my state almost 20 of the population in my great state are alaska natives. This is a group of people, generation after generation, what i call have a special patriotism a special patriotism. What do i mean by that . Well, alaska natives serve at higher rates in the military, just like lower 48 native americans, higher rates in the military than any other ethnic group in the country. And this has been going on for generations, world war ii, korea, vietnam, the cold war, iraq, afghanistan. And, you know, when you think about it, its special. Because, lets face it, in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and sometimes even today the federal government has not always treated alaska native people well, and yet generation after generation, off to the front to fight for this country. It is truly a special kind of patriotism in a unique tribute to the alaska native heritage that were celebrating this month. So i thought it was fitting today, mr. President , to name as our alaskan of the week to make it a collective for all alaska natives who have served their country in the military, and its thousands, to make them collectively the alaskans of the week as we look to celebrate veterans day. Now, mr. President , a little bit of history, and i know you know this, but a lot of americans dont. During world war ii alaska was the only state in the union to be invaded and occupied by the japanese. Invaded and occupied. So we had big military battles in the alutia island chain of alaska to throw off the invaders of our american territory. Thousands of alaska natives volunteered to protect their homeland and to defend their country overseas, across the state, whether they were in the alaska territorial guard, warriors overseas, code talkers who served with the marines and others many they were as old as 80 and as young as 12. Now, this is a great story. It shows the warrior ethic. Alaska native women, after the outbreak of world war ii, even originally enrolled in the alaska territorial guard before they realized that women werent allowed to enroll, and, in fact, the best sharpshooterrer in alaskas sharpshooterrer was a woman named sarah bellswright. This is how an alaska marine put it in 1968 at the height of the vietnam war when he was testifying in front of the United States congress on a very important piece of legislation called the alaska native claim settlement act. He was the president of the arctic native brother hood, and as i mentioned, a proud marine. In front of a bunch of senators he associated, as follows, we have showed our patriotism as proudly as any americans on earth. We have answered the call of duty with pride in serving our country. We answered the call in world war ii 100 . Every man in every village, old and young, volunteered with the alaska National Guard. Remember, this was in 1968 he was testifying. Then he said i have never heard of an alaska native burning the draft card or burning our nations flag. We are patriots. Now, mr. President , that service, as i mentioned, didnt end after world war ii. Alaska natives have served in every conflict, the korean war and in droves during the vietnam war. I was honored to be in Southeast Alaska this past summer in a native village called huna, beautiful place. There was a documentary that i saw recently that documented the classes in 1968, 1969 in that small native village in a film called hunting in wartime. It was about how almost every single Male High School student in huna, every one went to go fight in vietnam. Incredible. Special patriotism. Mr. President , let me tell you a quick more uptodate story. We had the secretary of interior, ryan zinke, combat vet, navy seal, heroic man himself and i asked him to come meet with a bunch of alaska native veterans who had an issue that the department of interior has been working on for years and i wanted him to hear about it firsthand. It was a very touching meeting. Some in the room talked about how it was like to be in their villages, places they never left when they were 17 and 18 and 19 and then a few days later in ta steamy jungle thousands and thousands of miles away in vietnam. Some talked about what it was like coming back and not feeling like they had the support of their country. Others talked about the difficult the difficulty of readjusting to life back in alaska after their service in vietnam. And some of the discrimination that they received when they came back home. But even though they went through this hardship, even though they went some of these very difficult times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, not one of them said that they had made a mistake in serving their country. They were proud Patriotic Warriors and to this day thats what they were thats what they are. Secretary zinke said after he left that meeting, he began it as their secretary of interior. He left as a brother in arms. So, mr. President , im so honored to be able to serve these great alaskans and to celebrate them as our alaskans of the week, just like i know everybody in america is going to be proud to go home and celebrate with their veterans. So once again to our alas can native alaskan native veterans, thank you what youve din for our country and thank you for being our alaskans of the week. Mr. President , i ask that my following remarks appear at a different place in the congressional record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i just want to come down to the floor and say a few words about a debate thats been going on in the congress right now, and that involves the importance of more energy for the United States. We had a hearing last week on the possibilities of opening a small a very small portion of the Arctic National wildlife refuge called the 1002 area here. You see it in this picture. , which would be a winwinwin for the United States. It would help create jobs. It would grow the economy. It would increase energy security. And, mr. President , it would also help protect the Global Environment and strengthen our Nations National security. Its these two issues i want to just touch on this afternoon. We have the highest Environmental Standards regarding responsible Resource Development than any place in the world. I was actually charged of these standards as alaskas commissioner of the department of National Resources and i can tell you whether it was no impact exploration, what we call that in alaska, or specific requirements relating to our incredible species like polar bear or caribou or mandating the best available technology, we have an over 50year record of responsible Resource Development in our state. Let me just give you one example, mr. President. What we call no impact exploration, on the north slope of alaska, we only allow for exploration activities during the winter months. So what does that mean . Companies actually create ice roads and ice pads. They drive along the tundra with equipment, with drill rigs to go explore all on ice. They do that for about four months during the winter. Then they leave. And when the spring comes, theres literally zero impact on the tundra. Zero impact. And yet, mr. President , some of my colleagues, particularly my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, have been coming down here for weeks talking about issues with regard to alaska and the environment and energy. And with all due respect, they are using talking points that are about 40 years old. When we had the hearing recently, the Ranking Member of the e. N. R. Committee said nothing is changed. Well, mr. President , everything is changed. The technology, the high standards. The only thing that has not changed are some of the talking points that the other side has been using for the last 40 years. Let me just give you one example. On the bill that the energy and Natural Resources committee recently put out with regard to exploration in the 1002 area, this is all of anwr. Its about the size, i believe, of wyoming. This is the wilderness area of anwr. This is the 1002 area of anwr, the coastal area of anwr that was set aside by congress to look at the possibility of exploring, a very Rich Resource area of the country. This red dot, you can barely see it, is a surface area of 2,000 acres. 2,000 acres. Thats what the bill would say. Would limit development of this area to 2,000 acres. Now, mr. President , for a little perspective, Dulles Airport is 12,000 acres. This would be about 10 of Dulles Airport. Thats it. Thats the surface footprint. And yet my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been coming out and talking about millions and millions of acres. So its important that we push back. Heres the big issue, mr. President. For those in congress who want to continually shut down Resource Development in alaska that they never acknowledge. When you disallow investment in alaska, which has the highest standards in the world on the environment, you dont end up protecting the environment. You just drive capital investment, exploration, and Development Activities to jurisdictions in the world with little to no environmental protection. Countries like nigeria, venezuela, iran, russia, many of which are geo political foes. So, mr. President , in conclusion, what were looking to do here on the senate floor with regard to producing more energy for this country, its going to help with regard to jobs. Its going to help with regard to American Energy security. Its going to help with regard to national security. And, yes, its going to help with regard to protecting the Global Environment because we have the highest standards in the world. And we do it right in alaska. And if were not doing it here, there will be activities in other countries, other jurisdictions where they dont care about the environment the way we do. So we need to move forward on this important element of the energy and Natural Resource bill that was introduced today in the committee, and i encourage all my colleagues to support that bill. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. I just say to my friend from alaska, listening carefully to his remarks and im very much supportive of the effort to open up this small footprint in the alaskan wilderness. And it struck me that my friend from alaska is right on point when he said that only talking points that havent changed are the ones on the other side from 40 years ago. The advances in technology are truly impressive and the opportunity not only for alaska but for america to realize these Natural Resources is something very important to the country. And i thank my friend for pointing that out. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, executive calendar 373, 374, 375, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 440, 441, 442, 459, and 460. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. The clerk will report. The clerk nominations, department of justice, robert m. Duncan, jr. , of kentucky to be United States attorney for the Eastern District of kentucky. Charles e. Peeler of georgia to be United States attorney for the middle district of georgia. Bryan d. Schroeder of alaska to be United States attorney for the district of alaska. Scott c. Blader of wisconsin to be United States attorney for the Western District of wisconsin. John r. Lowsh, jr. , of illinois to be United States attorney for the Northern District of illinois. J. Douglas over bee of tennessee to be United States attorney for the Eastern District of tennessee. Mark a. Klaasen of wyoming to be United States attorney for the district of wyoming. William c. Lamar of mississippi to be United States attorney for the Northern District of mississippi. John fch barb of texas. R. Andrew murray of North Carolina to be United States attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Matthew g. T. Martin of North Carolina to be United States attorney for the middle district of North Carolina. Christina e. Nolan of vermont to be United States attorney for the district of vermont. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nomination en bloc with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc. The president be immediately notified of the senates action. That no further motions be in order. That any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the record. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, the question is on the nomination en bloc. All in favor say aye. All opposed say nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it. The nominations are confirmed en bloc. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, executive calendar 412. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The Clerk Department of state, Peter Hoekstra of michigan to be ambassador to the kingdom of the netherlands. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate. That if confirmed the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The president be immediately notified of the senates action and that no further motions be in order and any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the record. The presiding officer without objection. Is there further debate . If not all in favor say aye. Those opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the committee on Veterans Affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 324 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 324, a bill to amend title 38, United States code and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding . Without objection, the committee is discharged. And the senate will proceed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the hatch substitute amendment be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and 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 calendar number 240, s. 886. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 240, s. 886, a bill to amend the Homeland Security act of 2002 and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the daines substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motion 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 calendar number 234, s. 906. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 234, s. 906, a bill to amend the Homeland Security act of 2002 and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer any objection to proceeding . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask the committee reported amendment be withdrawn, the mccaskill substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered paid and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the committee on Veterans Affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 1153 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 1153, a bill to prohibit or suspend Certain Health care providers from providing nondepartment of veteran Affairs Health Care Services to veterans and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding . Without objection. The committee is discharged. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask the bill be considered read a third time and passed, 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 committee on Veterans Affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 1266 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 1266, a bill to authorize the secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with nonprofit organizations and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to the measure . Without objection, the subcommittee disarmed. And the senate will proceed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered a read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. Officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 328 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 328, recognizing november 25, 2017, as Small Business saturday and foe so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble 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 senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. Res. 329 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 329, expressing the support for the designation of october 2017 as National Audiology awareness month. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. Res. 330, submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 330, mandating antiharassment training for senators and officers, employees, and interns of and detailees to the senate. The presiding officer there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask the resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell so, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 4 00 monday, november 13. Further, that following any leadefollowing, thetime tort led for their use later in the caned morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the kan nomination. Finally, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the cloture motions filed during todays session ripe an following the disposition of the kan n. O. M. Nomination. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until Senate Stands adjourned until that wrapped up work for the senate for the day and week. Lawmakers today working on executive domination being the nomination of the administered of his sister under an assistant for the epa. Final vote in that nomination will take us on monday at 5 30 p. M. Eastern. Off for work continues on both the house and Senate Republican tax reform bill. On the house inside the ways and Means Committee worked for the fourth day on the measure. Also prepare earlier today about their personal tax reform. A summary of the Senate Republican tax one bill is now posted on the website. Go to cspan. Org to read the details. You expect more next week and will have more life than it coverage right here on cspan2. The chair of the Senate Finance committee, orrin hatch, outlined the tax form proposal followed by iowas Chuck Grassley another finance republicans including ohios rob portman who is a former director of the office of management and budget. This is t about 40 minutes. Today im releasing the marks for the Senate Version of the tax cuts and jobs back. Legislation that is a combination of years of effort to reform our nations tax code. We have been at this a long time in todays markups or todays marks significant step forward in this effort. We refer to this document as a german smart i
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