Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20180109

Online at cspan. Org. We will take eli back to u. S. Senate with a couple of judicial nomination both coming up and live coverage here on cspan2. P stepped down, creating two vacancies. These has resulted in increased caseloads for the two judges. Things are almost as bad in tennessees Western District. Fortunately help is on the way. In july of last year chip campbell was elected to serve and tommy parker to serve. Im pleased to see that the president nominated such qualified individuals. I thank tom mccain for working with us. Senator corker recommend both positions. Ee lie richardson and mark norris is also nominated. Todays votes are a good start. Chip campbell and tommy parker will be assets to the federal bench. Tennessee is fortunate to have such wellqualified nominees. They are men of good character, good temperament, and today i encourage my colleagues to support their nominations. I thank the president. The presiding officer under the previous order, all postcloture time is considered expired. The question occurs on the campbell nomination. Mr. Alexander i ask for the yeas and nays. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote . Hearing none, the yeas are 97. The nays are zero. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. The president will be immediately notified of the senates action. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Thomas Lee Robinson Parker of tennessee to be United States district judge for the Western District of tennessee signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Thomas Lee Robinson Parker of tennessee to be United States district judge for the Western District of tennessee shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under this rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote . If not, the yeas are 96, the nays are one, and the motion is agreed to. The senator from utah. Mr. Hatch mr. President , i rise today the presiding officer will be will the senator suspend . The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk the judiciary, Thomas Lee Robinson Parker to be United States district judge for the Western District of tennessee. The presiding officer the senator from utah. Mr. Hatch mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from utah, you may proceed. Mr. Hatch is it okay to proceed now . The presiding officer yes. Mr. Hatch i rise to pay tribute to three staffers who recently left the committee to pursue other ventures. First id like to say a few words about Chris Campbell, a longtime friend and trusted advisor, who until recently as republican staff director on the committee, served as the republican staff director on the committee. Last summer he was nominated and confirmed to serve as assistant secretary of the treasury for financial institutions. Now, ive known chris for more than 17 years. Mr. President , i cannot overstate his importance and contributions to my years of work here in the senate. Chris joined my campaign for president back in 2000 where i immediately recognized his talent and leadership abilities and appointed him to be my field director, though he was relatively young and inexperienced at the time. I dont blame chris for how that campaign turned out. I asked him to serve as director of my Senate Reelection campaign with much better results. After that he served on my staff on the Senate Judiciary committee. I urge my staffers to get as much education as possible to enhance their understanding and gain new perspectives. I nagged chris about this during my president ial campaign. Eventually after working on my staff for a few years, he wanted to upgrade his bachelors degree in Political Science at the university of california with an m. B. A. From Global School of business management. A short time after receiving his m. B. A. And a brief stint in the private sector, chris desired to return to Public Service, and when he returned to washington, i hired him back without hesitation and asked him to serve as my legislative direct osh, a post he held director, a post he held until 2011 when i took over the finance committee and appointed him to be director. During his time on the committee staff, chris quarterbacked every major effort we undertook. Including the approving of approval of the free trade agreements, bipartisan renewal of the trade promotion authority, the repeal and replacement of the medicare Sustainable Growth rate, and the longterm funding of the federal highway trust fund, just to name a few. Of course, his work on the longterm tax reform effort was invaluable. We began our work on tax reform right out of the gate in 2011. Chris was a key part of all the work we did over the years to advance tax reform. Well, his move to treasury came before the final stages of that effort. I was fortunately able to benefit from his continued advice and counsel as we moved closer to and eventually crossed the finish line. Chris is a shrewd, but effective negotiator and a brilliant legislative stratiageist. He was named one of the most influential nonelected people not elected to congress and roll call put him as one of the top 50 im not the only one who recognized his abilities. I know the other members of the finance committee on both sides of the aisle have also acknowledged and benefited from his years of work. Still, even with all of his accomplishments, what stands out most to me about Chris Campbell is his life story. He is a great example of how hard work and education can help a person become much more than what some stat is decision would pro desk. He grew up in hermit, california, as one of six children who struggled, and thats putting it lightly, to make ends meet. He didnt grow up with powerful benefactors. Thanks to his determination and no shortage of natural ability, he became one of the most influential staffers on capitol hill and serves in a key leadership role in the administration. Well, it pained me to see him head off to treasury, i am confident that the president knows how to pick the best people and the department of treasury is well served. I personally want to thank chris for the year working with me, for his candid and thoughtful advice and for his commitment to Public Service. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors, which im quite sure, will be just as successful as his time here. Now, mr. President , id like to say a few words about another former staffer, beckyship, who left becky shipp. I have known becky for more years than either she or i would like to count. I can tell you she served tirelessly on the Senate Finance committee for more than ten years. She saw chairmen come and good and was an institution here in her own right. In my time on the hill, ive come to know many different staffers, all of whom get involved in the government for all types of wellmeaning an patriotic reasons. They each have some expertise and some interest, and some get through the hard times that staff encounter with the stressful caned belowmarket pay. I often said that senators and staff take on sacred obligations when we come to work here and i cant think of many who have taken that to heart more than becky schiff. She spent her time working on welfare cases. She serves as an example to all of us. While issues surrounding Child Welfare and foster care programs are often overlooked, anyone in washington who knows anything about these issues knows that becky has played a singular role in the creation and preservation of the safety net we now have in place. Too often welfare issues become bitterly partisan, but during beckys time here, becky always stroaf to find Common Ground strove to find Common Ground. Her time on the hill was extremely productive and impacted far more children and families than most of us could ever count, still it was not at moments when looking back seemed lighthearted. One came a few years ago when many in congress had became aware of the fact that welfare funds distributed through Electronic Bank transfers had been used by some to buy alcohol. Becky began a proposal to prevent this type of abuse. Eventually her idea gain more traction than she thought it would initially. Once member of the finance committee and in the house began to realize the nature of that problem, her proposal caught on like wildlife wildfire. The Social Security act did not have a definition for these establishments. After quite a bit of wrangling and putting her selves in the shoes of the more seedy clientele, she developed a definition from scratch. The bill now, a federal statute, prohibited the distribution of federal welfare funds at any Retail Establishment which provides adultoriented entertainment where performers disclothes. Many chuckle at the specificity of that definition and the fact that someone somewhere had to come up with and write down that type of legal terminology, but becky wasnt playing a joke, she was addressing a legitimate concern. And that story, to me, epitomizes the type of person becky is and the type of Congressional Staffer she was when she worked in the senate. Im quite certain that even in her new endeavors becky will remain committed, promoting the same type of no nonsense proper governance with an equal eye toward helping those in need find meaningful work, care, and assistance. While beckys work ethic, persistence and friendliness have already been missed on the finance committee, i am quite certain that she will continue to do many great things and help many more people. I want to thank personally thank becky for her years of service and for all that shes donor me, others in the senate, and for those in our country who have been in the need of a helping hand. Finally, mr. President , i want to say a few words about preston rutled ge who was nominated and confirmed to serve as assistant secretary of labor for the Employee Benefits and security administration. Preston began his service his career in Public Service as a teenager when he worked in the national forest. Later he served honorably as an officer in the u. S. Navy. After graduating from law school he was a law clerk on the fifts circuit of fifth circuit of the u. S. Court of appeals and spent more than a decade working at the i. R. S. , focused on Employee Benefits. He he came to the finance committee about seven years ago. During that time, he worked on a number of issues that many people, quite frankly, consider to be tedious or mundane, but preston is expert in these issues, and he has always taken great pleasure in the issues and work before him. As a staffer, preston was more than anything committed to advancing reforms to our nations pension and savings programs in order to ensure a stable and reliable Retirement Savings system. Toward that end, he was a lead staffer in the drafting and passage of key pieces of pension and savings legislation, including the Retirement Enhancement of savings act which provided a number of key reforms to our nations retirement saving system. And the able act which provided savings enhancements for children with disabilities and their families. Prestons knowledge of tax policy and erisa issues is unsurpassed. I wasnt the only one who came to relyoned rely on and benefit from his expertise. Indeed, the entire finance committee relied on him when these issues came up because once again there just arent many people in washington with that particular focus and expertise. I want to wish preston good luck in his new position at the Labor Department and thank him for the work he performed on the committee. I am confident that his expertise as well as his openminded and inclusive approach will help improve the situations of workers and families across the country. I can think of no one more capable to serve in this important capacity. As you can see, mr. President , i have been fortunate to have worked with some excellent staffers in recent years, well, really throughout my whole service in the senate. Thats been true of my entire time here in the senate. Of course i have many great staffers still working in the senate, both on the finance committee and in my personal office. Im grateful for all of them as well and for each of them as well, and im very fortunate to have them with me as we have some important work ahead of us. The finance committees current workload is quite honestly mindboggling. There is much to do over the next several months. I will have more to say on that in the coming days. For now, i will simply say that i look forward to working with my colleagues and staff on the vitally important tasks that lie ahead. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Sanders mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Sanders i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sanders thank you. Mr. President , i rise today to speak on behalf of nearly 800,000 dreamers, young people who were brought to this country as children who today are living in fear and uncertainty. As a result of the Trump Administrations decision to end the daca program, these young people are at risk of losing their legal status and in fact face deportation from the only home that most of them have ever known. And that home is the United States of america. This is one of the great moral issues of our time and it is an issue that must be dealt with now as part of the budget negotiations. It cannot be kicked down the road any longer. We must pass the dream act now as part of the current budget negotiations. Mr. President , in the last six years since the daca program was established, these young people, again people who were brought to this country as infants in many cases, were finally able to breathe al sigh of relief breathe a sigh of relief. For the first time in their lives, they could walk the streets of this country without fear, without worrying about being arrested, without worrying about being deported. Think about what it means to live in this country every single day knowing that at any moment you could be arrested or deported. And what daca finally did is give these 800,000 young people a legal status and a protection that they could go out and work, they could go to school, and they can serve in the United States military without fear. Mr. President , as we all know tragically, on september 5, 2017, President Trump announced the end of the daca program through an executive order. President obama had established it through an executive order. Trump ended it through an executive order. And in his announcement, President Trump noted, and i quote, i look forward to working with republicans and democrats in congress to finally address all of these issues. As ive said before, we will resolve the daca issue with heart and compassion, but through the lawful democratic process. It is now time for congress to act. End of quote. Donald trump. The president was right. It is time for congress to act. It is time for congress not to kick the can down the road. Our republican president , mr. Trump, told the Republicanled Congress to get to work on a daca fix, and i say today to the republican leadership, lets do it. Let us do it now. That is what President Trump asked you to do. Listen to him and let us do it. Not next month, not in march but right now as part of the budget agreement. People are working on this issue now. We can come to a consensus. We can pass the dream act if there is a political will to do it. And let us also be very clear, despite what some have said, this is an urgent matter which must be addressed now. Since President Trump rescinded the daca program in september, more than 15,000 dreamers have already lost their daca status and are now subject to deportation. Each day the congress does not act, 122 people lose their daca protections. 851 people each and every week. This is a matter of urgency, and we have got to act accordingly. But i want to assure my republican colleagues that not only is this the right thing to do from a moral perspective, from an economic perspective, it is also exactly what the American People want. Nobody here is asking anybody in the United States senate to rise up and to be extraordinarily brave and courageous. Why dont you just do what the American People want us to do. No profiles in courage are needed now. Poll after poll have shown that the overwhelming majority of the American People want toll want to provide legal status to the dreamers and to protect them from deportation, from a political perspective, this is not a difficult decision. A washington postabc poll from september 2017, a few months ago, found that 86 of american support allowing dreamers to stay in the United States, 86 of the American People support providing legal status to dreamers. This is not a tough political decision. Another recent poll conducted by quinnipiac found that 77 of voters and 65 of republicans support legislation to protect dreamers and provide them an opportunity to work, to go to school, and to pursue a pathway to citizenship. Another poll conducted by cnn last month found that by a margin americans support efforts to allow dreamers to remain in the United States instead of facing potential deportation. Only 15 believe that dreamers should be deported. Passing the dream act is also in our National Security interest. Former secretary of defense robert gates recently noted, and i quote, the United States faces Extraordinary Security challenges that are placing growing pressure on our armed forces. That is why we need legislation that will provide a pathway to citizenship for those immigrants who among other attributes are serving or have served in the military, whether they are in america legally, were brought here illegally as children, end of quote, former secretary of defense robert gates. In addition, just last week three former secretaries of Homeland Security wrote to house and Senate Leadership expressing both their strong support no a daca fix and for the urgency of acting now. Secretary chertoff, napolitano and johnson warned of the need for congress to act immediately and emphasized how the agency needs time to implement a new program. Without it, they caution that the delay will sew uncertainty in the business community, drive undocumented individuals further into the shadows with immediate deportation looming for tens of thousands every single month. Let us be very clear that when we talk about the daca program, when we talk about these young people receiving legal status, these young people are vetted, they pay a fee, and the vast majority of them are now at jobs important to our economy. They are in school or they are in the military. In order to get daca status, they could not be convicted of a felony or a significant misdemeanor or pose a threat to National Security or public safety. As almost everybody recognizes, these are fine young people who we should be very proud of and not talking about deporting th them. Daca gave these young people a shot at the American Dream and having been given that opportunity, they seized it and they are excelling and contributing to our country, to their country in so many ways. With 91 of Daca Recipients in the workforce, they play an Important Role in our economy. Many hundreds of dreamers have taken up the call to serve in our armed forces. Can you imagine a Young Dreamer now serving in the armed forces putting his or her life on the line to defend this country and then reading about members of congress who think we should deport them. How outrageous is that. Furthermore, there are some 20,000 Daca Recipients who are currently teaching in our schools. We desperately need good teachers. And 20,000 Daca Recipients are doing just that. Yet because of President Trumps cruel decision to rescind the daca program as well as the Republicancontrolled Congress failure to act, these young peoples lives and livelihoods have been thrown into chaos and uncertainty. Mr. President , it is our job to enact a legislative fix now. The president has called for a fix. The vast majority of the people of this country want to see a fix. A fix is important to our National Security. It is the right thing to do. Let us do it. Mr. President , i am, however, very concerned that President Trump is doing the 800,000 dreamers as a bargaining chip to force the taxpayers of this country to pay for an 18 billion wall, an 18 billion wall. Now, some may remember that during his campaign for president , donald trump told the American People that it was the Mexican Government that would be paying for the wall. Well, turns out that it didnt quite work out that way. And now it is the taxpayers of this country who are supposed to pay for a wall. Mr. President , let me be as clear as i can be. We cannot and we must not hold the lives of 800,000 Young Dreamers hostage in order to fund a wall that the vast majority of the American People oppose. We cannot and we must not allow donald trump to shut down the government to fund this wall. But that, it appears, may very well be for whatever reason what donald trump wants. Let me remind my colleagues what donald trump said last august at a rally in arizona, your home state, mr. President. And this is what he said at a rally. Quote, believe me, if we have to close down our government, were building that wall. August 22, 2017. Donald j. Trump. Now, mr. President , i do not know why donald trump may be pushing for a Government Shutdown. Maybe he thinks its, it will work well for him or work well for the Republican Party politically. I have no idea. But i do know that the idea of a Government Shutdown is a very bad idea. Maybe republicans will gain from it. Maybe democrats will politically gain from it. I have not a clue. But what i do know is that the American People will lose on a Government Shutdown, and in a bipartisan manner we must do everything we can to prevent that shutdown. A shutdown would harm tens of millions of americans who will be unable to access vital government services. It would disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands or more federal employees who depend upon a check to provide for their families. And in fact it would endanger members of the United States military who are putting their lives on the line to defend our country. The United States congress has a responsibility to the American People to prevent a Government Shutdown and to work in a bipartisan manner to reach a budget agreement that is fair and which addresses the very Serious Problems facing not only Daca Recipients but the working people of our country. So i say to my republican colleagues, you control the white house, you control the u. S. House, you control the United States senate. You have a responsibility to govern. For President Trump and the republican leadership, to allow daca to expire without a new program in place is not only a failure to govern, it is an act of extraordinary cruelty. We know that President Trump wants to build a wall. I guess somewhat like the great wall of china. The problem is that building walls may have made sense in the 14th century, but i would inform the president that technology has somewhat changed since then. And our job is to provide Strong Border security in the most costeffective way that we can, and that way is not building a wall. And ironically, while the president wants to spend 18 billion to build a wall, he is taking money away from other far more important and effective Border Security measures. Let me quote from an article that appeared in todays New York Times. Quote, the Trump Administration would cut or delay funding for border surveillance, radar technology, patrol boats and customs agents in its upcoming spending plan to curb illegal immigration, all proven security measures that officials and experts have said are more effective than building a wall along the mexican border. The wall also has become a bargaining chip in negotiations with congress as lawmakers seek to prevent nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants from being deported. But Security Experts said the president s focus on a border wall ignores the constantly evolving nature of terrorism, immigration, and drug trafficking. End of quote. In other words, if we want Strong Border security, if we want to keep people out of this country who should not be coming into this country, if we want to keep drugs out of this country, building a wall is not the most costeffective way. It may have been a great idea in the 14th century in china when they built their great wall, but it is not a great idea in 2018 in the United States of america. So let me just conclude by saying that we are at a very important moment in history. And if we do not do the right thing here, if we do not do the moral thing, if we allow some 800,000 young people, people who have he spent virtually their entire lives in this country, who know no other country, who see the United States of america as their home, if we betray them, if we take away their legal status, if we allow them to be deported, this will be a moral stain on this country that will never, ever be wiped out. Mr. President , thank you, and i would yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from indiana. Mr. Donnelly mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer were not in a quorum. The senator is recognized. Mr. Donnelly thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , for the past decade health policy, unfortunately, has proven to be one of the most bitterly partisan issues.  it doesnt have to be this way. I want to take a few minutes to discuss some healthrelated issues that Congress Left unfinished before the holidays. Providing relief from the medical device tax, reauthorizing the Childrens Health Insurance Program, and funding for Community Health centers, and doing more to address the Opioid Crisis. Each has strong bipartisan support and could provide help to our constituents now. First, many of us on both sides of the aisle agree on the need to provide relief from the medical device tax which went back into effect on january 1. The medical device tax is one of those issues that leaves most hoosiers scratching their heads. First adopted as part of the Affordable Care act, the device tax was one of the few issues that republicans and democrats agreed needed to be fixed. And in 2015, with bipartisan support, president obama enacted a twoyear suspension of the tax. The argument was really pretty simple. The medical device tax was making it harder for Innovative Companies to invest in the research and development of new technologies and in the process we were stifling job creation. If there was a question as to whether this was the case, the last two years provided evidence. When we agreed to suspend the tax in 2016 and 2017, manufacturers used that additional money to hire new workers, invest in research and technologies, and continue producing innovative lifesaving products here in the United States. For example, zimmer bio matt headquartered in indiana used the money to invest in new innovation to improve Musculoskeletal Health across the world. They were able to upgrade their manufacturing equipment and facilities. Perhaps more importantly these investments not only helped existing jobs but they helped create new jobs, new goodpaying jobs. Yet despite this evidence, despite the strong bipartisan support for repeal and despite a wideranging package of changes to the tax code becoming law in recent days, congress has failed to address the medical device tax which went back into place on january 1. As we again discussed the policy priorities that were left unaddressed in 2017, i strongly urge my colleagues to work with me to quickly and meaningfully address the medical device tax. This would allow these Innovative Companies to make the longterm investments that not only lead to lifechanging technologies but support thousands of highpaying jobs across the country including in my home state of indiana. Another issue that has garnered bipartisan support is the Health Care Program that covers millions of our children. We must reauthorize the Childrens Health Insurance Program, also known as chip, that expired in september. I have long supported the chip program. It provides Health Coverage for millions of kids, including nearly 115,000 children from indiana. Im not alone in my support for this program. The fact is chip has had strong bipartisan support for the past 20 years. In democrats and republicans, in both the senate and the house have shown the support of fiveyear reauthorization of the program. That gives states the certainty they need to plan their budgets and provide highquality care to these children. Despite this shared commitment for the program, an agreement on the need for a longterm reauthorization, we were only able to fund the program through march before congress departed for the holidays. This shortterm extension bought some time, but according to the centers for medicare and Medicaid Services, c. M. S. , some states will start running out of money after january 19. This means families in states will very, very soon face the harmful consequences of congressional inaction. Last week the Congressional Budget Office said that funding the chip program for the next five years will cost significantly less than previous estimates. This program is vital to our families, vital to our children. We should reauthorize the chip program right away. Like the chip program, Community Health centers have enjoyed long bipartisan support for the highquality care that they provide to our families. Also like chip, the funding for the Community Health center expired on september 30, leaving many Health Centers across indiana worried if they will have the resources they need to continue to serve hoosiers. We have the ability to Work Together now to ensure our Community Health centers can continue to provide costeffective, highquality health care to people all across the country. Finally, weve demonstrated a common desire to address the needs of the opioid and drug abuse crisis. It is a scourge. It took the lives of 63,000 people just in 2016. 63,000 of our brothers and sisters, our husbands and wives, our sons and daughters. It is a heartbreak that is crushing the entire country. I welcome President Trumps declaration of a Public Health emergency, and both republican and Democratic Senators have highlighted the need for congress to do even more to help those struggling with addiction. Like many other states, the Opioid Epidemic has been particularly devastating in underserved areas in indiana that lack adequate treatment providers. Senator murkowski and i have partnered on a bipartisan bill that would encourage Addiction Treatment professionals to serve in underserved areas by making Addiction Treatment facilities eligible for National Health service core Student Loan Repayment and forgiveness. We can show our commitment to increasing access to treatment by reauthorizing the National Health service core program. That expired in september. We also must recognize that a meaningful response to the Opioid Crisis will require robust and meaningful funding to help our communities as soon as possible. Ive often said that most people think that congress can do something to help make life better, to provide working parents with the piece of mind that their peace of mind that their children can grow up healthy and to install confidence in our communities that theyll have the tools they need to respond to this heartbreaking crisis. At the very least, congress should not make this situation worse. By failing to take action in 2017, medical Device Companies are once again paying a counterproductive tax that inhibits growth in indiana. Together on all of these issues, on medical device taxes, on our families, on our children with this Opioid Crisis, with Community Health centers, on all of these fronts, we can Work Together as democrats, as republicans, but more than either of those, as americans to make sure our families can get Decent Health care, to make sure that no one else dies because of this terrible opioid scourge that were dealing with. These are critically important issues. These are issues that know no political party, that know no special agenda. What they do know is they need this congress, this senate to deal with them now. Mr. President , i yield back. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from north dakota. Mr. Hoeven are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer the senate is not in a quorum call. Mr. Hoeven mr. President , i am today introducing a resolution to the United States senate honoring the north Dakota State University Bison Football Team who just won their sixth National Championship in seven years. Mr. President , i know that youre a football fan so you can truly appreciate what a fantastic achievement that is. What they have accomplished over the last seven seasons is absolutely extraordinaire. With their victory on saturday, the bison as i say have won six National Championship, football championship series, Division One National titles in seven years. That ties them for the most of all time. Also in each of the past years, theyve won the or shared the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship. I also want to congratulate the James Madison university dukes on a really outstanding year. We had five championships in a row, the dukes managed to beat us last year in the semi final game and we came back and avenged that loss in a thrilling championship game in frisco, texas. It was went down to the final play. Just a very, very exciting game. Winning a National Championship, of course, is not easy, and this success reflected both on and off the field is earned through hard work and dedication. We recognize and we congratulate all of these incredible players, also coach climon and a tremendous Coaching Staff that has put in countless hours of practice and preparation. We also recognize the importance of good leadership from Athletic Director matt larson, the president and dean bershani and others. Everyone, all the coaches and the staff, team members, and really everybody thats part of bison nation, north dakotans travel with our team. They show up in bison nation and theyre cheering and supporting our great team as a huge part of our incredible victories. I want to congratulate the quarterback for achieving mv m. V. P. Honors and leading a tremendous effort by the bison and nick deluca, the middle linebacker for leading just an incredible defensive effort. And as i say, these were two really tremendous defenses, James Madison and of course north dakota state bison, fast, strong, and was really a thrilling game and fun to watch. I want to compliment James Madison, not only their program but all their fans and supporters, a real class act. Im very, very impressed with James Madison university, their students, their team, and all of their alumni who also turned out in force for what i would say was just a tremendous game in frisco, texas. So with that i introduce this resolution to the United States senate honoring the north dakota state bison. Mr. President , i have just one other thing to say. Go bison. With that i yield the floor. Mr. Moran mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Moran i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Moran i was fortunate to attend the federal farm bureaus convention in nashville where i had the opportunity to headline a discussion of the farm bill that my colleague from kansas in the Senate Ag Committee and the congressman from texas, congressman connoway is leading in the house ag committee. I spoke during a president s commodity meeting, meaning that the American Farm bureau hosted other farm groups and commodity organizations from across the country to talk about the next farm bill and to try to bring consensus to what agriculture is looking for in farm policy. In my opportunity to visit with people at the farm Bureau Annual meeting, we paid particular attention in my remarks to the farm bill. Its a farm safety net. When we talk about a farm bill, i suppose we ought to highlight that only a small portion of the farm bill is actually related to farm programs. Much of the there are a number of titles to the farm bill and most of the money in the farm bill is spent on nutrition programs and mostly snap. But theres other important components of a farm bill. Rural development, conservation. In addition to that topic thats ive been on the senate floor speaking about before, food aid and support for those who are experiencing famine around the globe. But my opportunity to be with farmers and ranchers from across the country gave me an opportunity not only to speak about my views about what a farm bill should contain, but more importantly, to me, to hear what they had to say that was important to them. Farm Bureau Members from across the country made clear to me, first of all, that theyd like to see congress, republicans and democrats, house and senate, the administration Work Together in a bipartisan fashion to get a farm bill done. Prior to that, to get a Disaster Relief bill completed, which i hope we do yet this month here on the senate floor. Both the disaster bill needs to get to the president s desk as soon as possible. The farm bill needs to be completed in a timely fashion. The current farm bill under which were operating expires here in 2018. Things that i wanted to highlight that i heard from farm Bureau Members while i was there, certainly the importance of crop insurance. The value that it provides particularly for those of us who live and farm and work in places where the weather is not often our friend. As well as just the challenges the current farm bill are creating in kansas particularly, the safety net programs, p. L. C. And arc dont work as well as they should or could. Part of that has to do with timeliness, part of it is the difficulty of farmers having to choose between two programs for a long period the life of the program which makes the most sense to them economically, whether they have high prices, low prices, good weather, bad weather is a hard thing to know over the life of a farm bill. Timeliness, because of the issues we have with the current farm bill, timeliness is important because those provisions that are less than satisfactory today will be extended if we arent successful in completing a farm bill this year. While the topic of conversation was generally revolved around the farm bill, i wanted to indicate to my colleagues that so much of what i heard was about trade, and particularly about nafta. And the reality is that 98 , 99 of the mouths to feed are outside the United States. Farmers and rafrpblers earn their and ranchers earn their living by feeding a hungry world. Exports matter to us and there was lots of concern expressed to me and among the farmers and ranchers gathered there about the potential withdrawal by the United States from nafta. And it is important for us to understand, and kansas is a good example, our largest importer, the place we export the most agriculture commodities to is mexico. But its not just about commodities. There are, in addition to the commodities, theres manufacturing jobs related to food and food products. 36,000 jobs generating more than 5. 7 billion in economic activity. Approximately 14 of all jobs and 10 of all manufacturing jobs are tied to the food and agricultural sector. So when we talk about trade and exports, were not just talking about shipping a ton of wheat, a carload of wheat to another country. Were also talking about all the jobs here in the United States not just in growing commodities, not just in raising cattle, but all the jobs that come from taking those commodities, turning them into food and exporting the food to other countries as well. Ive had this conversation with people within the administration and my colleagues here in the United States senate. I do believe that the tax bill that we passed will improve the economy and farmers and lots of other business men and women, manufacturers and others will experience greater Economic Opportunity as a result of the passage of the tax bill. But i would highlight that the tax rates are a lot less important if we dont have income. So if something would happen in which were not exporting, for example, if there would be a withdrawal from nafta, the outcome could be the tax rates become semiirrelevant because the income levels of farmers and ranchers and those who have jobs in the food sector are significantly diminished. Less income means tax rates dont matter as much as they otherwise would. Things are really difficult in agriculture today. Commodity prices are at low, low prices historically. The challenges are great. The weather, as i said earlier, when speaking about crop insurance, is not always our friend. And across kansas, the plea is for rain or snowfall, moisture. It is dry statewide. And so the challenges that our producers in my state, but really across the country face, low Commodity Prices and weather challenges are significant. And what that means is we need every market. We need every additional market. We cant afford to lose any market where we sell those commodities. More markets mean higher prices. More demand mean higher prices. And today we need every penny we can gain on a bushel of corn or wheat or soybeans or grain sorghum. We need to make certain that we dont lose markets, that we gain markets. I want to commend the president for traveling to nashville and speaking, meeting with the American Farm bureau. I believe its been 30plus years since a president attended a farm Bureau Annual conference convention. And i know in my own experience, both in the house and senate, reporters often ask me to analyze what i heard or didnt hear in a president s state of the Union Address, and its always been my practice to listen to the state of Union Address and hear whether or not a president speaks about agriculture, about farmers, about ranchers, about Rural America. And here we had a president who traveled to nashville and spent time with those farmers and ranchers of america, and im pleased that the president did so. I would continue to encourage the administration to remain mindful of the role that agricultural trade plays in our economy. I would indicate that withdrawal from nafta is a highrisk strategy. A negotiating tactic perhaps, but it is true that we have the highest quality of agriculture products available in the world. But other countries are very interested in taking our markets. And any indication that our markets are not going to be, not going to continue gives countries like argentina, brazil, and others the opportunity to make the case that they will be a stable supplier of the things that we raise here in the United States, they can sell and provide in those countries as well. And so this we dont have a corner on the market is my point. And any suggestion that were not a stable supplier or that the trading relationship is going to diminish or disappear between two countries means that others are eagerly seeking to take those markets away from us. Given the impact on our nations economy, i urge those conference attendees, those people i visited with at nashville to continue to convey to all those policymakers the importance of trade and the importance of trade agreements. I would encourage the administration has a desire to develop bilateral as compared to multilateral trade agreements, i would encourage that those negotiations be ongoing today. We dont have any time to waste when it comes to finding new markets and trading relationships with other countries. Again, i appreciate the president traveling to nashville and spending time with farmers and ranchers. I appreciate the agenda that he outlined in regard to regulatory relief as well as the issue of broadband, which the president spent a significant amount of time on, providing technology to a part of the country that has in many instances is lacking or woefully inadequate the. But the bottom line is Rural America needs income. We can do lots of things to improve the quality of life in Rural America, but in the absence of farmer success, in the absence of a farmer and rancher earning a living, the ability to attract our children or others to come back to the farm, the ability to retain our young people in our community to work on a farm diminishes greatly. One of the questions i received was from a young lady from texas, and she asked what are you doing to be certain that young people have a chance to be farmers . My answer was less than perfect. Its a hard one to answer. The reality is the chances of young people of having a chance in agriculture, to earn a living, is dependent on the success of those in agriculture today and what the future holds. We can find a few programs that might encourage young people to enter agriculture as a profession, as a career, but the reality is it will only work when they are earning a good living and that comes from the safety net, colluding including crop insurance, but also in the opportunity to see that every market around the globe is available to the United States farmer and rancher so he or she will earn a living and will increase the chances that their sons and daughters can work side by side with them. I want to thank a few people from the American Farm bureau for allowing me to attend, president zippy duval from georgia, dale moore, and mary kay thatcher, the longtime Governmental Affairs person. All of those individuals do their job so well, but i especially wanted to acknowledge the friendship and support of those three individuals. Im reminded that no matter where you go farmers and ranchers have a lot in common. In addition to their economic importance to communities across kansas and around Rural America, it is farmers and ranchers that still today provide a sense of whats right in america, an understanding of right and wrong, an understanding about the right integrity. It is important to everyone. Thank you to the farmers who visited me and thank you to the farmers who allowed me to speak. I am happy and will continue to roll up my sleeves and continue to work with my colleagues. The chairman of the Agriculture Committee and the Ranking Member, senator stabenow, lets get a good farm bill done and on time and make sure that Economic Opportunity is alive and well and trade flourishes between the United States and the rest of the world. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Moran i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President , may i ask unanimous consent that any pending quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President , i believe that my distinguished colleague and friend, senator blumenthal, will be joining me on the floor, and i would ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to speak as if in morning business for such time as i may require, and at the conclusion of my remarks, that senator blumenthal be recognized to make his remarks on the same subject. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse thank you. Mr. President , 2018 is going to be an election year. In just ten months, americans will go to the polls to exercise our franchise, believing in the integrity of our democratic process. I am here today to discuss a threat to the integrity of that process, which is getting little attention here in congress, nothing near what it deserves. We really ought to be acting with some expedition to safeguard our elections this november, yesterday instead the effort is one of chasing down partisan investigative rabbit holes. What ought to be our job . Well, National Security, intelligence, election, and Law Enforcement officials, many of them testifying before us here in congress, have made what our job is very clear. We must count on russias wellestablished election interference playbook. Russia will bully. Russia will propagandize. Perhaps most insidiously, russia will seek to corrupt, particularly by exploiting cracks in our incorporation and Campaign Finance laws. We are warned russia will seek to interfere in 2018s election. And if i may ask unanimous consent that an article entitled c. I. A. s pompeo says russia and others trying to undermine u. S. Elections be added as an exhibit at the end of these remarks. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse to quote the center for strategic and International Studies, heather connally, testifying before Congress Last spring, corruption is the lubricant, the lubricant for moscows election interference. So, she said, the battle of western democracies to defeat corruption must be seen as what she called a matter of National Security. Testifying before our crime and terrorism subcommittee, former director of National Intelligence James Clapper agreed, saying of russias 2016 election meddling i quote here i believe the russians are now emboldened to continue such activities in the future, both here and around the world, and to do so even more intensely. If there has ever been a clarion call for vigilance and action against a threat to the very foundation of our Democratic Political system, this episode is it. I hope, he continued, the American People recognize the severity of this threat and that we collectively counter it before it further erodes the fabric of our democracy. How to counter it . Well, there are two Important Solutions that witnesses have identified in recent testimony before the judiciary and other committees here in the senate. First, guard against the use of phony shell corporations as facilitators of corruption. Miss connally, as i said, wrote the corruption is the lubricant with which the russians operate their interference schemes. She and her colleagues warn that to fight the corruption that gives russia this channel of influence and i quote her here enhancing transparency and the effectiveness of the western democratic tools, instruments, and institutions is critical, end quote. One central way to cut off this channel of improper influence would be to require companies to disclose who their real owner is so that russian influence can no longer hide behind anonymous american shell companies. Another would be to crack down on the dark money that is flooding into american elections. It is illegal for foreign nationals to spend money or participate at all in american elections. Yet postcitizens united, the same dark money avenues that allow domestic election interference for instance, that the Koch Brothers used to manipulate american elections are right out there to be used by vladimir putin. If they can hide their identity behind 501c4s and other dark money channels, so can operatives for the russians. Instead of taking up these important measures or even ensuring a thorough investigation into the 2016 election meddling, we are, to quote the legendary senator sam earvin of watergate fame, chasing rabbits when we should be on a bear hunt. Lets look at a few rabbits that have distracted us from the task at hand. Remember when michael flynn, the president s former National Security advisor, illicitly communicated with the Russian Ambassador about sanctions during the transition, then in the white house lied to the f. B. I. About it, which concerned the Justice Department so badly that the acting attorney general warned the white House Counsel personally, after which she was fired, but the president then waited 18 days, and until all of this had become public in the media to ask for Michael Flynns resignation. Out of all of that, the topic for many republicans was the alleged leaks of classified information that had allowed the story to come to light. Not the story itself of problems at the highest level of our National Security establishment. Off people went after the leaks rabbit. Republicans then pivoted to talking about the unmasking remember that word . We heard a lot of it around herf identities and intelligence reporting and the purported misconduct of Obama Administration officials. Trump even publicly suggested that former National Security advisor susan rice may have committed a crime. So off people went after the unmasking rabbit. Next the president accused president obama of wiretapping trump tower, an allegation so outrageous even Congressional Republicans have refused to stand by it, but my, what a bright and shiny rabbit it was for the weeks that it was still a distraction. By the spring and summer, republicans were railing against purported conflicts of interest by f. B. I. Deppary director andrew mccabe, a distinguished career public servant. Let me ask unanimous consent that this article, f. B. I. Ruled mccabe had no conflict of interest in Clinton Probe as an exhibit at the end of my remarks. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse so off everybody went after the mccabes wife rabbit. After President Trump fired f. B. I. Director james comey to impede the russia investigation and then told the Russian Foreign minister and nbc that was why he had done it, the president launched another leak rabbit. A coordinated effort with his lawyers, Congressional Republicans, and the rightwing media to suggest that comey had leaked classified information by sharing with a friend his own contemporaneous notes of conversations with trump. Just last week the president suggested that comey should be charged with a crime, another bite at the leaks rabbit. In early july we learned of the june 2016 meeting at the trump tower with the russian operative and Senior Trump Campaign leaders seeking dirt on hillary clinton. Republicans tried to distract attention from that mess by suggesting that the russian lawyer was here on a visa with some rightwing media aided by some Congressional Republicans even whipping on the visa rabbit by suggesting a setup orchestrated by the Obama Administration against the Trump Campaign. Then came the fusion rabbit. Because fusion g. P. S. Had worked on separate projects, one with Christopher Steele, and a separate one with the russian operative, some began to suggest that russia had been fusions client or that steele was the victim of the campaign. Then there was the uranium one rabbit which began when a rightwing author suggested that hillary could be responsible for a company acquiring uranium in the United States. This rabbit remains a topic of investigation in congress and in rightwing media. And then there are the attacks on bob mueller, which, like rabbits, multiply by the hour. As the special counsels investigation started heating up over the late summer and fall, the right wing began investigating the investigation, alleged conflicts of interest, histories of campaign donations, inappropriate text messages, questions about spouses employment. But the big one was that the f. B. I. Was corruptly involved in the procurement of the steel dc sia and this launched the witchhunt. However, a week ago reporting by the New York Times confirmed that the f. B. I. Did not begin its investigation into Donald Trumps investigation, we had already been told that u. S. Allies warned National Security officials about russian interference in our 2016 elections. In response to a question from Ranking Member feinstein at our crime and terrorism subcommittee on may 8, former National Intelligence director James Clapper said, and i quote, british intelligence, britains Intelligence Service first became aware in late 2015 of suspicious interactions between trump advisors and russian intelligence agents. End quote. And the brits passed that information on to u. S. Intelligence agencies. Clapper confirmed that in, and i quote him again, the spring of 2016, multiple european allies passed on Additional Information to the United States about contacts between the Trump Campaign and russias. Clapper said that these reports were accurate and that, quote, the specifics are quite sensitive. End quote. Now we learned that the Trump Campaign Foreign Policy advisor, George Papadopoulos apparently told a senior official that russia had dirt on hillary clinton, something he said he had been told by an intermediary for the russians. When hacked emails started showing up that summer, australias government became sufficiently concerned to let u. S. Officials know what they had learned from pop dop lus. Pop dop louse. So you have the european Intelligence Community warnings, the australian warnings, and you have carter pages travel to russia, you have the hack into the emails, you have the leaking of the stolen emails, and you had abundant evidence out of all of that for the f. B. I. That the Trump Campaigns links to russia required further investigation. It would have been a complete failure of their duty not to have looked further based on all of that evidence. That is not to say that Christopher Steele and his work were not taken seriously by u. S. Law enforcement. They have relied on steeles analysis. Steele is a leading russia expert. Beginning in 1990 as an undercover officer in moscow, he washed the soviet union unravel. He watched the leaders ascend during the 1990s and 2000. He rose to a senior position on mi6s russia desk in london. Since leaving mi6, his reports on russia and the ukraine were shared widely within the u. S. Government as credible reporting. A u. S. Official told the guardian that steeles reports were, and i report, consistently reliable, meticulous, and well informed. End quote. But you would never know this from listening to Congressional Republicans. They have been repeating in chorus with the white house and conservative media the disproven claim that the russians somehow commissioned the steele d docia or that some deep state f. B. I. Set up the whole thing to pressure trump. They brushed to discredit steele, they pushed to discredit fusion. Rewind to the Judiciary Committees on the foreign registration act, or fara. On the morning of the second day of that hearings the president tweeted, one of the things that has been lost in the publics of this politics is that the russians spread misinformation about thencandidate trump. This is trump tweeting about himself. This came shortly after a segment on fox news centered on the same question. Other rightwing information came out. There was more information that it was to be the genesis of the f. B. I. s inquiry. I hope weve made it clear that was not the genesis. While the fara hearing was going on, the g. O. P. Website published this. I quote. We know a russianbacked Research Firm with a history of smearing information was hired by opponents of President Trump to supply the docia, the information exiled was compiled was taken with the highest levels of our Community Despite the it was tied to russia. This helped to spark the investigation now led by special counsel mueller. End quote. Thats the rabbit were chasing now. The uniformity of the rightwing message that day with the white house was telling. But the message, the content is not true. At that hearing the witness denied any knowledge of any link between russians and the clients of the steele dossier. In the months that followed, fusion g. P. A. s founder spent over 20 hours speaking with congressional investigators, including investigators from the Senate Judiciary committee. During the investigation i ask that his oped be included as the final exhibit at the conclusion of these remarks. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse he told Congressional Staff that the dossier had been taken by the f. B. I. Remember the british, the european, the australian we talked about . And a source inside the trump camp. From the times recent reporting, we can conclude that source was george pop p pap dop lus. This grinds on unhinged from facts. The revelation about George Papadopalous should serve as a clarifying moment by the right wing to undermine the investigation. The f. B. I. Investigation did not begin because of opposition research. It did not begin because researchers or journalists or american National Security officials fell victim to russian disinformation. It did not begin because of fake news or because democrats needed an explanation for losing an election. It began when multiple allies, friends of the United States, warned us the russian government was interfering in our democratic process. Something many of the them knew about from russias interference in their own democratic process. We still do not know to what extent this inexperience had been facilitated to other members of the campaign. We still have done nothing to prevent further interference in our elections in 2018. The special counsels investigation and the investigations going on in Congress Must be allowed to continue until all the facts are known. Here in the senate, we should stop looking it for new distractions, stop chasing rabbits, and start thinking about how were going to protect our future elections, our 2018 election against a repeat performance that weve been warned about by the russians or another foreign adversary. As the center for strategic and International Studies warns in its report, we must fight the avenues for corruption that give russia influence. We must enhance transparency in government and build resilience against russian influence in our elections and elsewhere in american society. Mr. President , ill conclude by saying the best measure of our success in congress will be an america defended against foreign election interference in time to protect our 2018 elections. If we have not achieved that, we have failed at our duty. I do not see us presently on a path to meet that goal. We are less than a year out from election day. We have work to do. Enough, mr. President , with the rabbits. I now yield for the pending agreement to my distinguished friend from connecticut. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. And thank you to my colleague, senator whitehouse, for his very insightful summary of the bright, shiny toys and rabbits and rabbit holes that a number of our colleagues have used to distract the Judiciary Committee and this body from what should be its quest for the truth, that is the truth about russian attacks on our democracy during the last election and potential collusion by americans with that attack, specifically collusion by the Trump Campaign, and obstruction of justice. Indeed obstruction of justice is within the direct purview of the virm. I want to thank my Judiciary Committee. I want to thank my colleague, senator whitehouse, for joining me in a letter we wrote to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, senator grassley, asking that he, very simply, make public the transcript of the interview with glen simpson conducted by our staff. Senator grassley declined but earlier today senator feinstein released the interview. Advancing the American Peoples right and need to know the full truth. I want to applaud senator feinsteins leadership in using her Proper Authority as the Ranking Member to serve this vital public interest. I am grateful to her for her courage and strength in moving forward and disclosing the transcript to prevent its use as a dangerous distraction from the critical work of our committee, and i want to thank at least one of our colleagues across the aisle, senator cornyn, for apparently supporting that step. The toys and rabbits and rabbit holes are hardly new to efforts by defenders of an administration against the investigation, and perhaps for some amusement as well as enlightenment, i want to cite a satiric column done by art buchenwald in 1973 art buchwald in 1973 and that it be made a part of this record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Blumenthal he wrote a satirical list of tab particulars republicans were using to keep americans from focusing on the watergate scandal, and the list is early familiar. The tactics being employed by the Trump Supporters today ring of those same tactics used in watergate. Buchwald suggests focusing on accusations made against prominent democrats or individuals who have accused Richard Nixon of wrongdoing. He suggests attacking the it media. He suggests saying the democrats, quote, are sore because they lost, indiana end quote. He suggests deflecting blame to a, quote, bunch of kids, perhaps sounding like the reference to coffee boys today. And saying this this investigation is, quote, bad for the dollar, end quote, much like bad for america abroad. I am very confident, and i want to emphasize this point very emphatically, that the special counsel will be in no way distracted from his investigation, and his team will be undeterred by these tactics, but the American People should not be distracted or deterred either, and equally important, the Judiciary Committee, the United States senate and congress as a whole has a duty here that is, in fact, vulnerable to that same distraction, and we must persevere. Why the republican colleagues are doing it at this point is indicated by a recent New York Times article. The article describes President Trumps efforts to persuade congressional allies to drop their investigations, and it says, quote, another republican senator said mr. Trump had urged him to help bring the russia inquiry to a halt. Had not urged him to bring the russian inquiry to a halt. I want to be very clear. Let me repeat. Quote another republican senator said mr. Trump had not urged him to bring the russia inquiry to a halt. Instead, the senator said the president nudged him to begin an investigation into Hillary Clintons connection with the intelligencegathering firm fusion g. P. S. Which produced a dossier of allegations about mrd quote. The goal was to stop the investigation of russian meddling. But the implication of the article is that the president knew he could achieve that goal as effectively or at least more practicalically by distracting from those investigations, diverting to resources for other issues and muddying the water for the American People. That is the playbook from 1973 that is referenced by art buchwald in his 1973 column. Heres the danger. Distractions are dangerous, and efforts to discredit Law Enforcement are equally parallel. Those efforts have included not only the urging for investigation of uranium one and fusion g. P. S. But also attacks on the integrity of some members of the f. B. I. And the f. B. I. As a whole, attacks on individual members of the special counsels team and on the team as a whole and on Robert Mueller himself. The effort plainly is to discredit the investigation before it reaches a potentially incriminating conclusion. To stop the investigation but if not stop it at least demean its credibility before charges are brought. It is standard operating procedure. We know as prosecutors the distinguished senator from rhode island and i serve as United States attorneys and then attorneys general for our state. We know going into the courtroom we can expect to be attacked, that our teams can be can expect to be attacked. Thats what defense lawyers do. Thats what they do because they hope to demean and discredit and dismantle the credibility of prosecutors before the jury and the courtroom, and here the courtroom is not a court of law but the court of public opinion, and our republican friends have launched that preemptive strike. Methodically and meticulously. Just as the special counsel is engaging in his investigation, methodically and meticulously. You know, i have referred to republican colleagues, and i believe strongly and passionately that many if not most of our republican colleagues share our zeal for the rule of law and for a just outcome to this investigation, and the reason is very simply. The russian attack on our democracy imperils not just this administration, not just one election. It imperils our democracy as a whole. The meddling in our elections was perhaps done to advance the trump candidacy in 2016, but it can be used against the trump candidacy in 2020. It can be used against another republican candidate in that year. It can be used in 2018 against other candidates for congress, for state election. And my republican colleagues have been as eloquent as any of us in defining that threat because there is no doubt in the Intelligence Community that it is a threat, that the russians did interfere, that they sought to advance the trump candidacy, whether and what the impact was may never be known, but the effort is clear through a Massive Campaign of disinformation, propaganda, cyber attack, and other means. And that is what the f. B. I. Learned what was happening, not as a result of Christopher Steele, but from sources within the Trump Campaign, George Papadopoulos, from other intelligence sources, and that is what we must make sure is known to the american public, we must make sure that anybody anyone who aided the russian pays a price, and that the russians themselves pay a price because if there is no price, it will be done with impunity again and so there should be and i believe there is bipartisan apprehension about that threat to our nations security, and that is the reason that the Judiciary Committees investigation, along with the security council, is so important, because our per view includes obstruction of justice, the integrity of the department of justice, and any interference politically with the f. B. I. s investigation into russian meddling. It must be prevented in the future as well. Only the Judiciary Committee can frame and craft legislation that will help to protect the f. B. I. , and senator whitehouse and i and senator feinstein and others on the committee will be proposing such legislation, based on what we know so far. It is legislation that essentially protects the rule of law against such efforts to obstruct justice and politically interfear. The Intelligence Communitys conclusions about russian meddling did not rely on the credibility of Glenn Simpson or Christopher Steele. The two guilty plea convictions that the special counsel has already secured do not rely on the credibility of simpson or steele. Without fear of contradiction, i can predict that the additional conviction and indictments will be based on fact and law, not on the credibility of simpson and steele. And the conclusion reached by simpson, steele, or anybody else are relevant only insofar as they are supported and backed and proved by facts and comply with relevant law. Now, in fact, as we know, Christopher Steele tried to blow the whistle on the russians. He brought to the f. B. I. s attention information that he thought was relevant to protecting the United States of america against that russian interference. As my senator, senator whitehouse, has outlined in detail, the f. B. I. Already knew of it and courteously heard from Christopher Steele and later interviewed him, but the effort to undermine the credibility of the f. B. I. By pointing to Christopher Steele completely misses the mark. And, in fact, i am deeply disappointed that the first major action by our republican colleagues on the Judiciary Committee was aimed at someone who reported wrongdoing, not committed it, and it was done without any cooperation or even consultation with democratic colleagues. Really a betrayal of the spirit that i think should characterize this very Serious Investigation because it should be bipartisan. My hope is that these distractions, dangerous as they are, will, in fact, not divert either our committee or the special counsel. The pace of our committees investigation, again to be very blunt, has been painfully slow. I hope that its pace will quicken and that it will intensify, that there will be hearings in public with witnesses under oath and subpoenas of documents. Ive said it repeatedly. And i hope that we will use those tools because only by relying on our powers to investigate effectively and comprehensively will we protect the goals of upholding the integrity of justice. As for the special counsel and our Law Enforcement community, i think they should know that we support them and that we will protect the special counsel against political interference. And thats why legislation that i have proposed along with my colleague senator whitehouse and others and its bipartisan legislation. I thank senators tillerson and graham as well as our other colleagues, senator coons, no joining in this legislation. It already has had a hearing. It should be voted to the floor and passed by the congress so that there is no question that the special counsel will be protected against interference or firing. As that investigation moves closer to the oval office, as it tightens its grip on members of the administration, there will be increasing threats and efforts to intimidate. The f. B. I. And the department of justice as well as the special counsel have a wellearned reputation for integrity and zeal. It is part of our rule of law that the law is enforced. Enforcement of the law depends on thorough and independent investigations that are pursued without fear or favor, without efforts to distract or demean, and this body, the United States congress, has an obligation to support those kinds of values. They are uniquely american values. They are the underpinning of all of our law, all that we hold dear, all that we celebrate in this body and in this country. My hope is that we will be part of the effort to avoid politicizing pursuit of justice. It diverts energy and attention away from credible criminal investigation. It sends a message to this president and future president s and everybody who occupies any office that there is no recourse to diverting and distracting to the rapid holds that may be used to squander resources or undermine credibility. We should join in that effort. Republican and democrats alike, to preserve the rule of law. My hope is that we will and do so without delay because every day that passes when when these kind of false and unbased and biased innuendos and rumors are raced and raised and given credence is a day that undermines those values that we hold dear. Thank you, mr. President. And i yield the floor. Mr. Brown mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Brown i thank senator whitehouse and senator blumenthal for their remarks. Mr. President , its been a hundred days since this Congress Allowed the Childrens Health Insurance Program to expire. Congress did nothing in september, in october, in november, in december, and now were more than a week into january, a hundred days of anxiety for parent. A hundred days a hundred days of wondering if their kids will be kicked off their coverage, a hundred days of worrying if theyll be able to afford their childs prescriptions or worrying whether they can take them to the doctor if they get the flu. Members of congress, you know this, all of this in this body, new members like senators smith and jones, members like senator hatch who have been here for 40 years, all of us have health care paid for by taxpayers. This senate, this senate found plenty of time in december we remember the discussion of the tax bill written down the hall in the office of senator mcconnell, the majority leader, the senate found plenty of time in december to pass a massive handout for corporations. 81 of the benefits in the Corporate Tax bill, the presiding officer of the senate right now, the senator from florida, has since questioned whether too much of this bill went for corporate interests. More than 80 of the of this bill, of the tax cut bill went to the richest 1 . In addition, mr. President , we know that it was not just that, it was a massive handout for corporations to send jobs overseas. Were going to see more Companies Shut down in mansfield, ohio, in lima, in zanesville, in portsmouth and in big cities like columbus, cleveland, and cincinnati. Were going to see more plants close and move overseas because this senate and the house passed the tax bill that encourages more corporations to ship jobs overseas. All the while the senate was doing that, this body couldnt be bothered to give families more than a shortterm funding band aid for chip which experts have said wont even last the last three months they promised. I applaud the senator from florida whos sitting in the presiding officers chair for his efforts to enlarge at least some of the tax bill to put more money into the pockets of working families and particularly low income for working families. Not enough but at least some effort was made. The senators for medicare and Medicaid Services are reporting that some states will run out of money by january 19. Thats next week. In ohio, in my state, 209,000 Ohio Children rely on chip. Now, who are these kids . These are sons and daughters of ohioans who are working in most cases making making 8, 10, 12 an hour, children the sons and daughters of those parents who dont have insurance, not because they arent working as hard or harder than we do but dont have insurance simply because their parents happen to work at a job where theyre not paid theyre not provided insurance. 209,000 Ohio Children rely on chip. This is a program, mr. President , thats been bipartisan for 20 years. It was without controversy in the past. Families in some states already have gotten letters last year and early this year warning them their children could lose their health care. Parents are panicked and confused. Mr. President , think about these families. The parents of some of these millions of children around the country, they get they go out to their mailbox. They come home from work. Theyre working at a 10 an hour a job, not making much money, working as hard as we do. They go to the mailbox. They see a letter from their state government, whether its richmond, whether its denver, other states. And this letter and ill just read you one of these letters. It says because congress has not acted yet this is a real letter, a copy of which went to tens of thousands of parents because congress has not acted yet, we need to let you know theres a chance that the chip program may have to be shut down. In other words, theres a chance that your Childrens Health insurance will be cut off. Now, remember, mr. President , this is this is because of the inaction in this body. This is because senators who have insurance paid for by taxpayers would rather vote for tax cuts, would rather do whatever we do all day instead of instead of renewing the Childrens Health Insurance Program. This letter goes on. If congress does not renew federal funds for chip in time, youll get another letter in january telling you your benefits will end. So first its a warning. Some parents got this warning right around christmas time. So theyre already struggling financially. Theyre not giving their children nearly as much as they want for christmas because theyre making 8 or 10 or 12 an hour. Theyre just trying to stay above water. Theyre trying to raise their kids. They get a letter like this at christmas time saying if congress doesnt act, theres really bad news. Your kids are going to lose their churns. In the same letter insurance. In the same letter, it says if congress doesnt act, youll get another letter saying your insurance will be cut off. Theres record cold in ohio. We saw when our grandchildren were in cleveland several of them live in columbus, one of them in st. Croix, two of them in providence, rhode island, when a number of our grandchildren were around, it was too cold to go outside. It was that kind of winter in ohio. The day after christmas temperatures dropped to Single Digits for five or six days running. Families are paying more for their heating bill. Families at christmas time, of course its more expensive. Now their government adds to this list of worries. How do they plan their budgets for this year if they dont know whether or not theyll have to shell out thousands of dollars more for care for their kids . Remember, mr. President , nine million children at risk because of republican inaction, nine million. Mr. President , senator portman, my republican colleague from ohio, he and i and almost every other member of members almost every other senator on the finance committee voted to move forward on chip, to renew it for these nine million children, to renew it for five years. That was a good thing, passed out of committee. But senator mcconnell down the hall, we know he works down the hall, the majority leaders office. For whatever reason he didnt think this was important enough to actually put it on the floor and move on it and get it to the president. I have no idea if the president will sign it. I dont think he knows much about the Childrens Health Insurance Program. But i assume his advisors will say its probably a good idea to sign it but he didnt have a chance to sign it because the majority leader doesnt think this bill is important enough, that these nine million nine million children are important enough that congress should take action. Their families let me tell you a little bit about those families. Theyre often families with two working parents, might make 8 or 10 or 12 an hour. They work for companies for whatever reason, many Small Businesses that cant afford it, whatever the reasons, theyre working for companies that offer Health Insurance, that dont offer Health Insurance coverage for their families. Or their families with children who have special needs. Ive introduced to my colleagues before, crystal lette. This is crystals son noble in dub lifn, ohio dublin, ohio, a little suburb, prosperous suburb, north, northwest of columbus. I met crystal last year. They made the trip from ohio to washington to talk to members of congress about chip. Now, crystal crystals life is not easy because shes taking care of a child with a disability whom she so clearly dearly loves. And i could see watching noble how much he loves his mother and how important they are to each other. But noble was born with a rare genetic disorder. He needs three therapy sessions every week. He gets daily hormone injections. His medications cost 1,500 a month. I talked to crystal when she chris ted. Visited. I talked to her again, about how she and her family are scared to death about what will happen to them if congress doesnt save chip. This is not difficult. Congress has passed chip, renewed it every few years for 20 years. Its bipartisan. Its never had much of any opposition. And there are a lot of people like nobles mother that said she said crystal said chip is the difference between living a middleclass lifestyle or being part of the poverty line. Congress had time, as i said, to hand out massive permanent tax cuts to the richest americans, the biggest corporations that send jobs overseas but they could only manage to scrape together just a little shortterm three months of funding for these families. Mr. President , it really whats wrong with this city. Folks here listen too much to the lobbyists who i remember in the the presiding officer remembers, too, seeing the stream of lobbyists from drug companies, from insurance companies, from the big banks, from the oil industry in and out of senator mcconnells Office Writing a tax bill. We remember that just from a couple of months ago. But for some reason crystal and noble couldnt get in that line. The line of lobbyists asking for huge tax breaks saving billions of dollars for their employers while these lobbyists are paid very well. But, you know, nobody representing frankly, nobody having the political wherewithal to convince the majority leader that we ought to move on the chip bill. Health care for our kids shouldnt be controversial. It never was til this recent senate, until this recent president was sworn in. It shouldnt be partisan. It should simply it should be easy. Its a program created 20 years ago. It was bipartisan. Its always been bipartisan. It still has bipartisan support today except the speaker of the house down the hall, the majority leader a little closer to us, just simply dont want to pass it. We passed the chip extension, as i said, out of the finance committee. Its ready to go. Republican leaders could put it on the floor today. It would pass. Im guessing it would pass with no more than five or ten no votes. My colleagues i want my colleagues to do this. I want all of you to explain to crystal and explain to nobles mother crystal, to explain to other mothers and fathers like her why Corporate Tax cuts are more important than their Childrens Health. This is about whos whose side are you on . Do we work for corporations who send jobs overseas, do we work for those companies that line up hungly for tax breaks or work for families who just want the peace of mind, just the peace of mind so they could take their kids to the doctor. Mr. President , its past time for folks in congress with Taxpayer Funded Health Care to do their jobs and extend chip. Mr. President , i dont want more families to get a letter like this from their capital city, from the department of welfare or the department of jobs and family services, whatever it is in each community, in each state. I dont want parents to get this letter, to go to the mailbox, to open this letter, to have that fear and anxiety hit them in their, hit them in their gut thinking oh my god, my Childrens Health insurance may be canceled. Mr. President , we can do better than that. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of the following resolutions en bloc s. Res. 369 and 370. The presiding officer without objection, the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 369 to constitute the majority partys membership on certain committees for the 115th congress or until their successors are chosen. S. Res. 370 to constitute minority partys membership on the 115th congress. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its Business Today it adjourn until 9 30 a. M. Wednesday, january 10. Further, that following the prayer and pledge the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. Further following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the parker nomination. Further, that all time during adjournment, recess, morning business and leader remarks count postcloture on the parker nomination. Further, that all postcloture time on the parker nomination be considered expired at 2 30 tomorrow and the senate vote on the confirmation of the parker nomination with no intervening action or debate. Finally, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell so if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer without objection, the Senate Stands adjourned until 9 30 a. M. , adjourned until 9 30 a. M. , back the senate today confirmed William Campbell to the Middleton District Court and will be considering three more District Court nominations this week. When the Senate Returns life coverage is here on cspan2. The cspan bus continues its 50 capitals for this month with stops in raleigh, columbia, atlanta, montgomery. On each visit we will speak with state officials during our live washington journal program. Follow the tour and join us on tuesday, january 16 at 9 30 a. M. Eastern for stop in Raleigh North Carolina wenner washington journal guest is North Carolina attorney general, jeff stein. During a meeting at the white house with congressional leaders Pressure Drop suggested that immigration deal could be reached in two phases. First, by addressing young immigrants and Border Security with what he called a bill of love and then by making company and changes that have long eluded congress. Heres a few minutes of the nearly hourlong meeting. I think there needs to be a willingness on both sides and i think and i dont know how you would feel about this but i would like to ask the question what about a clean daca bill now with the commitment that we go into a comprehensive Immigration Reform procedure like they did back when kennedy was here and it was a major, major effort and it was a great disappointment that went nowhere. I think that is basically what you said. We will come out with daca and then we can start immediately on the phase two which would be comprehensive. [inaudible conversations] yeah, i would like that. Go ahead. But i think we have to do daca mr. President , you need to be clear what senator feinstein is asking when we talk about daca were not going to be back your two years later but you have to add securities as a secretary would tell you. I think that is what she said. [inaudible conversations] are you talking security as well . Well, i think if you have a meaningful, comprehensive Immigration Reform that is where the security goes and if we can get the daca bill because march is coming and people are losing their status every day a few years ago and no disrespect their people in the room on the other side of the aisle voted for it and senator clinton voted for it so i dont think that is comprehensive but thats dealing with daca and that the president is thinking. Its three pillars. Daca, for all of the room and we want to do it, Border Security still not back out here in chain migration. Its pre item and Everything Else that is compulsive has moved to the side so i believe. [inaudible conversations] i dont know who will argue with can argue with diane, go ahead. Do you really think there can be agreements on all of that quickly to get daca past and time . I wanted to ask mr. Mccarthy a question. Do you really think there can be an agreement on those three difficult subjects you raise in time to get daca past an effective. You have heard from leader mcconnell and speaker ryan who said they will put the bill onto the floor. Out of the negotiation and it thank its going to be in the government