Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20180207

With that kind of cha keenry. Finally, the philadelphia refinery could have avoided needing to buy any r. I. N. s at all if it had just invested in blending infrastructure years ago like many of its fellow merchant refineries did. In fact, the philadelphia refinery is partly owned by sunoco which owns blending infrastructure. We also know that that refinery has an arrangement whereby about supplies ethanol with r. I. N. s attached to sunoco for blending with its gasoline. Other independent refiners with smaller arrangements have an agreement to return the r. I. N. s to the refiner once they are detached. The r. F. S. Was created to bring cleaner burning, Renewable Fuels to consumers. The r. I. N. s system was developed as a flexible system that would allow obligated parties to choose between investing in blending infrastructure or buying r. I. N. s for the renewable fuel standard compliance. Philadelphia refinery made the decision to buy r. I. N. s instead. That hasnt worked out very well for that refinery, apparently, but that was the bet that that refinery made. A cheaper option for renewable fuel starred compliance exist standard compliance exists and the philadelphia refinery chose to pursue other investments. None of this has anything to do with President Trumps choice to oversee farm programs at the u. S. Department of agriculture. Bill northey should be confirmed by this body. He has overwhelming bipartisan support. Taking a nominee hostage to try enforce an illconceived policy change is only going to cause more problems for this body in the future. I dont know what the next step is, but i think that bill northey is such a good person for this position. Im going to continue to work at long as he wants me to work for his nomination to proceed. And before i yield the floor, i will ask unanimous consent to put in the record an article that on this issue of the philadelphia refinery. I yield the floor. Mr. Cruz mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cruz a few observations about the colloquy that has occurred. One, we had two friends of ours from the democratic side of the aisle who spoke energetically in support of this nomination, but i found it striking that our democratic friends had nothing to say to the Union Members who are facing the risk of losing their jobs. Senate democrats often portray themselves as friends of organized labor, friends of Union Members. And yet it was striking that when they came to the floor, they had no anxious to Union Members in philadelphia being told theyre at risk of being unemployed because of a broken regulatory system. Instead, it is a conservative republican a conservative republican texan who is fighting for the jobs of those Union Members. I would also note that my efforts in this are not alone. Indeed, in december i brought 12 senators, 12 members of this body to the white house to meet with the president working to find a solution to this problem. Those senator included sator cornyn, senator cassidy, senato kennedy, senator enzi, senat barrasso, senator lee, senator toomey, senator inhofe, and senator lankford. Those are senators from a wide geographic array, all facing significant job losses potentially, and all interested in a positive solution to this problem. In the remarks we just heard on the senate floor, none of the senators proposed any relief to the potentially hundreds of thousands of Blue Collar Workers being driven out of work by a broken regulatory system. No relief whatsoever. Indeed, none of the senators disputed the fact that the r. F. S. Worked and worked just fine when r. I. N. s were selling for a penny. This debate is not about the r. F. S. , should we continue it or not. When i was a candidate for president , i campaigned on ending it. I didnt win. I lost that election. This is not a fight about ending the r. F. S. The Current Administration is committed to continuing the r. F. S. Thats the prerogative of this administration. This is instead a search for a solution that would save tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of jobs. Senior senator from iowa said gosh, its not a free Market Solution to cap the price of r. I. N. s. Well, if r. I. N. s were an actual commodity that existed in the real world, i would agree with that. I wouldnt support capping the price of corn or the price of gasoline or the price o widgets or anything else that people were making, but r. I. N. s are an artificial, made up government fiction. They dont exist. No one manufactures a r. I. N. Its a government i. D. Number, and it worked initially when they were trading at one or two cents a piece, but when it skyrocketed going all the way up to 1. 40 each, it is now threatening thousands upon thousands of bluecollar jobs. The senator from iowa suggested that r. I. N. s are not the cause of the bankruptcy of Philadelphia Energy refrinry. I would refinery. Indeed, this is a quote from their bankruptcy filing. Quote, the effect of the r. F. S. Program on the debtors business is the primary driver behind the debtors decision to seek relief under the bankruptcy code. Not as a factor, not as a problem, as the primary driver. Thats what they wrote in their bankruptcy papers. None of the senators who spoke disputed that for that refinery, the price of r. I. N. s went from 10 million in 2012 to 300 million in 2017. Thats unreasonable. Thats broken. The junior senator from iowa talked about the need to pull back jobkilling regulations. Well, theres a jobkilling regulation that we need to pull back and this is a very important thing for those following this debate to understand. That 300 million, you know how much of it goes to iowa farmers . Zero. Theyre not getting that money. Instead it is going to speculators and large, many foreign integrated oil companies. It is an odd thing to see lobbyists for Ethanol Companies fighting for the profits of giant overseas oil companies. That doesnt make any sense. Unfortunately the position of the ethanol lobbyists has been we are unwilling to speak. We are unwilling to talk. We are unwilling to meet with anyone on the refinery side. Were unwilling to defend our position. We will not attend the meeting. We invitation and they said, no. That is blatantly unreasonable. You know who the ethanol lobbyists are serving the least . Corn farmers. Repeatedly in the course of this negotiation, ive sought to put on the table policy options that would be a win for corn farmers, that would result in more corn being sold, more iowa corn being sold, more ethanol being sold, and the ethanol lobbyists are so unreasonable, they dont want to win. And they dont want to provide any relief for thousands of bluecollar workers being thrown out of work. That is not a reasonable solution. Mr. Northey i hope will be confirmed. Indeed, i hope he is confirmed soon. He could be confirmed as soon as next week. In november i laid out a very clear path to mr. Northey being confirmed. In december i laid out a very clear path to mr. Northey being confirmed. The people blocking mr. Northeys confirmation are the ethanol lobbyists who have said were unwilling to have a winwin solution. The answer is let thousands of people lose their jobs, even though doing so doesnt benefit iowa corn farmers at all. That doesnt make any sense. But, mr. President , heres a ray of sunshine, a ray of hope. I believe the administration is going to do the right thing. I believe the president wants to see a winwin solution, a solution that is good for iowa corn farmers. I want to see iowa corn farmers sell more corn, a solution that results in mr. Northey being confirmed and a solution that doesnt bankrupt refineries and cost a bunch of bluecollar Union Members their jobs. Thats a win for everybody. And i believe thats where the president and the Administration Want to go. I think thats where we will end up. I am hopeful we will arrive on that solution which is consistent with the responsibilities of all of us. With that i yield the floor. Mr. Grassley mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley just one minute because all my colleagues are waiting to speak now. And for the benefit of the senator from texas, i want to just say one thing, and i dont question that he accurately quoted the union leader at the philadelphia refinery. But i also maybe within the last two weeks read a statement by the socalled president. And i believe its the same person that were talking about, that r. I. N. s were not an issue. Then the other thing that i would add just for clarification of what the senator said, that nobody has offered any relief. Ive made two offers. One of them would be the revapor pressure thing, the issue connected with e15. That could be done by a regulation out of e. P. A. And transparency to make sure the markets working. I thank my senator for his consideration of my effort to get senator northey through. Im just sorry that he has octobered but thats the way the senate can work and will work and well have to keep working to get senator or secretary northey approved. Thank you, everybody, for your patience. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Carper i dont want to get in the way of disagreement here between two of my colleagues on the other side of the a, but i wld just say to senator grassley that there was a hearing today before the Environmental Public Works Committee where i serve as a senior democrat. And the subject of the renewable fuel standard actually came up in a discussion. We had a number of folks from the Agriculture Community from across the country. One, the current secretary of agriculture from the state of delaware. And we talked about the renewable fuel standards and its effect on the economy. One of the reasons why we encourage farms through our policies federal government policies, one of the reasons why we encourage farmers to raise well say corn, is that we can use it and we frankly use a lot of other substances that they raise to create energy to fuel us. Not only can our farmers feed us, they can also fuel us. I think at a time we really got under way with george w. Bush administration trying to use do a better job of getting farmers involved in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And by creating biofuels, advanced biofuels, ethanol, corn ethanol. One of the things we talked about today ill mention it and then talk about what im really supposed to be talking about here and that is dreamers and Economic Security in this country. But in the state of delaware, we have only three counties, the Third Largest county in america. We have thousands of counties, sussex counties. We raise more counties than anywhere in america. We raise soybeans, more lima beans there. Agriculture is a big deal for us. Theres also we have great beaches in delaware. Ra hoe bob rehoboth beach, Bethany Beach and others. Theres a lot of interested people close to the beach and not so close to the beach. So theres pressure from development. Sometimes you have the interest of farmers, the ag Community Coming up against the interests of developers. One of the best places we decided to ensure that we have we still have farmland, dont overdevelop our county and our state is to make sure that farmers can make money and support themselves or businesses. One of the ways they can do that, frankly, is through the ability to not only feed us with the commodities they raise but also fuel us. And there is a gre way we can do that we are involved in. There is something called r. I. N. s, renewable identification numbers. There is a commodity thats actually traded on a market. The value of the r. I. N. s should be literally measured in pennies. The last year or so it has been measured in more than a dollar per r. I. N. The rate has been discussed here in philadelphia spent a lot of money purchasing r. I. N. s in the last years. That shouldnt be the case. We have been reaching out on our committee, we have been reaching out to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission in order to get them to get involved, to say how do we make this r. I. N. s market less volatile, how do we bring down the price of the r. I. N. s, in doing so, how do we enable us to do both . For our farmers to feed us as a nation, as a world, and also fuel us. Thats on the side of im really here to applaud the work of a number of our colleagues. I will start off with senator durbin, he is on the floor, and senator graham for the great relationship that they have provided, to make sure at the end of the day we do not only the morally right thing and that is to make sure that we note 700,000, 800,000 or more people who were born in other countries, came here by their parents, very young ages, grew up here, educated here, working here, making a contribution he. Why it doesnt make a lot of nse t send them home. E of the companies, i think they are actually headquartered in illinois where senator durbin , where he would say he has represented forever, actually as long as i have been privileged to represent delaware. One of his companies, discover bank, they have operations in my state as well. They said to me sent to me a letter from a lot of their leaders and employees. It basically says i will just read this. It says one of the basic tenets of our culture i think discover bank is to do the right thing, and we urge congress to do the same. Without delay. We are proud to count dreamers as part of the discover community and believe they should have the ability to continue pursuing their American Dreams. Thank you. Every now and then when we have the opportunity to do something that is right and beneficial. Would you take that, please . Lets put up the second poster, please. Some of you heard the saying, its possible to do good and do well. I think with respect to the dreamers, its possible to do good and do well. These are the logos of about 100 companies, large and small, from coast to coast, north and southeast to west who believe that, frankly, itsn tir best interests as employers to have a strong workforce, a capable workforce, an able workforce, an educated workforce, where people come to work and work for a days pay. They make a contribution to enable their company to be successful. They are not Just Companies in the east coast or west coast, north or south. They are all over the place. Some are big, some are small. But these companies have shared with me and they share with a lot of others in our on both sides of the aisle here, they think the right thing to do with respect to the dreamers, the morally right thing to do is to say you come here not on your own volition. You were brought up here, raised here by your parents. Now you are making a contribution, again there are over 100 companies that are listed here. These Companies Want their employees to be able to stay and to contribute and make a contribution. Here we have a comment from the the u. S. Chamber of commerce. I think this is are these the words of tom donahue . They are tom donahue, president of the u. S. Chamber of commerce. He was very vocal on this subject. Heres what tom donahue, president of the u. S. Chamber has to say. A great place to reform our immigration system to meet the needs of our economy is by retaining the over one million individuals who are currently allowed to work here legally but are at risk of losing that status. This includes the dreamers, some 690,000 young people brought here illegally as children through no fault of their own. These hardworking individuals contribute their talents to our economy in integral ways, and we will lose them if congress doesnt act early this year. Can we see the next chart, please . A lot of times, we talk to you about what is the morally right thing to do. Sometimes we talk here about what is economically smart for our economy. I would just say at a day and age when we just got the jobs report, mr. President , for our country for the month of january. We got it about a week ago, late last week. And the jobs reports encouraging. The longest running economic expansion in our country began in i think in the first year of the obama by the administration. Were now into our eighth, maybe into our ninth year now. The longest running economic expansion in the history of our country. One of the keys to maintaining an ongoing economic expansion is to make sure we have a workforce that is trained, educated to do, with the skills that are needed to fill the jobs we have in this country. When the jobs report came out last friday from the department of labor for the month of january, they reported Unemployment Rate for the country about 4. 1 . We are essentially at full employment. Essentially at full employment. There were about two million to three million jobs last month that went unfilled. Nobody showed up to do those jobs. In some cases, because folks were applying for those jobs and didnt have the education, the skills, the work ethic, the willingness to do those jobs. Maybe the inability to pass a drug test. And what, what those people can do is enable all other companies in our country to be successful. There is something i call economic insanity. They talk about the morally right thing to do with respect to the dreamers. In our naked selfinterest in our country, we have an eye on our economy. We cant always have an economic expansion. We want to keep it going for as long as we can, have smart policies. One of the smart policies is to make sure we have the right workers to show up and do the work that needs to be done in the workplace. As it turns out, there is an impact that im told that the dreamers have collectively. Let me see if i have this right. The annual g. D. P. Loss here we go. Annual g. D. P. Losses for the u. S. , if congress, if we dont pass the dream act authored by senators durbin and graham, sponsored by a number of democrats and republicans, but annual g. D. P. Loss for the u. S. If we dont pass the dream act by march 5. This i think is this over ten years . I think it is or ten years. 460 billion. 460 billion. Just in delaware alone, we have 1,400 dreamers via the impact on g. D. P. , the loss for delaware if congress doesnt pass the dream act, again by march 5, 88 million, in a tiny little state, 88 million. Thats an eyeopening, eyepopping, especially this one right here, eyepopping numbers. Its in our naked selfinterests to find a way forward, a path forward to make sure these folks dont head back to the countries where they were born years and years ago and maybe start their own businesses and compete with us rather than be productive citizens here. Let me see if we have one more here. This is commentary from the center for american entrepreneurship from earlier this year, i believe, and a message that we received from the senate. The reduction in immigration mandated by the raise act i think thats essentially the administrations broad policy on immigration reform, the administrations proposed. Anyway, the reduction in immigration mandated by the administrations proposal would reduce Economic Growth by. 2 to. 3 . That doesnt say a whole lot. This doesnt sound like a lot, does it . Every year. Reduce it by. 2 to. 3 every year for the next decade. So that would be a reduction of 2 to 3 . In Economic Growth in our country over the next ten years. Right now, were doing pretty well. As i said, were in the eighth or ninth year of the longest running economic expansion in the history of our country. Right now, were doing pretty well. The stock market is up and down, kind of crazy and haywire. But we cant afford to do that. We would be foolish to throw away two or three Percentage Points of Economic Growth over the next decade. That would be crazy. It means slower growth. It means fewer jobs, less opportunity, stagnant wages. None of those benefit our people or our country. We dont have to make a foolish decision like the administrations proposal would have us make. We dont have to do that. Its economic im tempted to call it enomic insanity. Its i think morally wrong. This is one of those place where doing the right thing actually lines up with enables us to do good and do well at the same time. And thats what we should do. I do want to again thank senators durbin, senator Lindsey Graham and a bunch of other colleagues, democrat and republican, from one end of the spectrum to the other who have been working very hard to do right and do what is in the economic best interests of our country. I thank my friend from illinois for allowing me to go ahead of him. Thank you. Mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President , i thank my colleague from delaware, tom carper. He and i came to the house of representatives together many years ago. He went off on another assignment, was governor of his state, and then came back and ran for the United States senate. Were lucky to have him. He is a great senator, a great friend, and a great colleague, and he takes on the important issues every day on behalf of his state and nation. I thank him for his support, for this conversation about daca and dreamers. Id like to take a little different approach to this than i usually do on the floor, and i have come to the floor many times to talk about it. Id like for everyone here who is listening to this debate to pause and think for a minute, whats the worst job you ever had . The worst job . Maybe it was the worst job because it was boring, and boring jobs are terrible, but there are some pretty bad jobs out there. I could tell you my worst job. I was working my way through college, and i was working in what we euphemistically called a packing house. In the old days, they called them slaughter houses. What happened was hogs came off the truck in one door, and two days later, pork chops and bacon went out the back door. In between, there were some pretty awful jobs. Hot, dirty, smelly, dangerous jobs. I took it as a College Student because it paid 3. 65 an hour in the 1960s. Pretty darn good. In fact, better than anything else i could find. And i raised enough money working there four different summers to go to college. There was never any doubt at the end of the summer that i was going to stay with my job and not go to college. I couldnt wait to go to college in hopes that i would never have to work in a packing house or slaughter house again in my life. Take a look today at the packing houses, slaughter houses, and poultry processing places across the United States of america, and i will tell you almost without exception what you will find. Take a look at the workers that come out of those places at the end of the workday. Theyre tired and theyre sweaty and theyre dirty, and they are by and large immigrants. People who come to this country from other places. In beardstown, illois, there is a processing place near the central part of my state, and the workers there are largely hispanic and african. They are immigrants who come to this country, and like generations of immigrants before them were prepared to take the worst, dirtiest, hardest Jobs Available just to make it in america. Go to the restaurants in chicago if you want a contrast from what i have just described. Im lucky to represent that city, but we are lucky enough to have some of the greatest restaurants i think in our country. I would put them up against any in our country. I sat down with a person who owned some of those restaurants and talked to him about the immigration issue. He said, senator, if you took the undocumented people and the immigrant people out of the restaurants and hotels of chicago, we would close our doors. We couldnt operate without them. You dont see them in the front of the house, not your waiter and not the maitre d or the person who takes your reservation. But just look who carried your dishes off the table and take a look through that door when it swings open who is working back there in that hot kitchen. Over and over again, they are going to find immigrants and undocumented people. So they are part of america and they are part of our economy, and even more they are part of our history. We have had debates about immigration from the beginning. I say jokingly when the mayflower landed and they got off the boats, a lot of them looked over their shoulders and i said i hope no more of these folks are coming, but they kept coming. They came in thousands, even in millions, from all over the world, aipg shus to be anxious to be part of the future of the United States of america. A ship landed in baltimore in july of 1911, and a woman came down the gang plank with three kids. She was coming from lithuania. She landed in baltimore with those three kids, one of them a 2yearold girl she was holding in her arms, and tried to find her way around baltimore, maryland, because she didnt speak english. Somehow or another she found that train station, got on the baltimore and ohio railroad, and somehow or another made it to east st. Louis, illinois, her idea of a land of opportunity in 1911. There she was united with her husband, and there she made a life, a hard, challenging life, but one that led to good things. The twoyearold girl she was carrying was my mother, and my mother was an immigrant to this country. In my office upstairs behind my desk is my mothers naturalization certificate. I keep it there to remind myself and everyone visiting who i am, my family story and americas story. If you think that we have come to accept immigration as part of america, then you dont understand the history. Weve had our ups and downs when it comes to Immigration Laws. There have been times when in this chamber, in this Senate Chamber there were debateshat led to the decision to exclude people from certain parts of the worlwho were no longer welcome in america. The most notorious and modern times was in 1924. And the object of our environmental pardon me immigration exclusionary law was to keep out undesirable people from the United States of america. Who fell into that category in 1924 . Jewish people, italians, people from eastern europe, people from where my family came from. We made it clear in the law there would be quotas, and we were not going to accept people who were not desirable for the future of america. That was in 1924. Let me read to you this incredible statement that was made when president Calvin Coolidge signed the 1924 law justifying the quotas excluding jews, italians, eastern europeans, and others. Here is what the president of the United States said in 1924 there are racial considerations too grave to be brushed aside. Biological laws tell us that certain people will not mix or blend. The nordics propagate themselves successfully. With other races, the outcome shows deterioration on both sides. End of quote. President Calvin Coolidge, 1924, signing that Immigration Law. That was the law in the land of america for 41 years. Our attitude toward parts of the world and whether people from those parts were welcome was determined in 1924 and defined by this president ial statement. Then in 1965, we passed the immigration and nationality act that establishes our current system. And you know what we said was the bedrock of that system . Reuniting families. Bringing people to this country and allowing them to not only make it in america, but to make a family in america. How many times have those of us in politics stood up and talked about faith and family and flag . I believe those words. I think my colleagues do too. And when it came to immigration, that was the bedrock of what we were going to do, to make sure that families could be reunited in america. That 1965 law replaced the Strict National origin quotas of the 1924 Immigration Law that favored northern europeans and excluded asians. Thats one of the other groups excluded under the 1924 law. When president Lyndon Johnson signed that 1965 law he said, and i quote, it corrects a cruel and enduring wrong. For over four decades the immigration policy of the United States has been twisted and distorted by a harsh injustice of the National Origins quota system. The Cato Institute is a research group. I dont usually quote them because theyre on the other side of the political spectrum. Im on that left side. Theyre on the right side. But im going to quote them tonight because what they had to say about the proposal coming from the white house about immigration is worth hearing. Is the white house as part of changing Immigration Laws in america wants to dramatically reduce Legal Immigration by prohibiting people from sponsoring their parents and adults as immigrants. Were talking about millions of american citizens who have done the right thing by following our Immigration Laws, and some have waited in line 20 years to be reunited with their families in america. 20 years waiting for the day when their families could be together again. Listen to what the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, says about the proposal from the white house which has been introduced in the senate by two of my colleagues. This is what cato says. In the most likely scenario, the new plan would cut the number of legal immigrants by up to 44 or half a Million Immigrants annually. The largest policydriven Legal Immigration cut since the 1920s. Compared to current law, it would exclude nearly 22 Million People from opportunity to emigrate legally to the United States over the next five decades. You have to go back to 1924 to find that kind of reduction in Legal Immigration in america. What is it about . Is it about security . No. Every Single Person were talking about has to go through a serious criminal National Security background check before they will ever be allowed into the United States. It isnt automatic. You have to be thoroughly investigated, and some of them wait 20 years with all these investigations for the chance. Is it about jobs . Think back to those jobs these immigrants take in the United States. How many of us would say my son, im so proud. He didnt know what to do with his life and i told him well, why dont you consider washing dishes at a restaurant in chicago. Why dont you consider working in a packinghouse in beardstown, illinois. Why dont you consider landscaping. Those are not the jobs that we want to see for our children, andheyre jobs that go vacant unless immigrants and people like them are willing to pick our fruit and our vegetables, milk the cows and do the hard work that is required in so many different parts of america. We have at this point an important decision to make not just as a senate but as a nation. On september 5, President Donald Trump announced the end of the daca program. March 5 is the deadline. As of march 5, 1,000 young people every single day will lose the protection of daca and be subject to deportation and unable to work legally in america. Who are they . 20,000 of them are teachers, teachers in grade schools and high schools around america who will lose their jobs on march 5 as their daca protection expires. 900 of them undocumented 900 of them will lose their opportunity to serve in the United States military. Thats right. Undocumented, they took the oath that they would risk and give their lives for america to serve in our military. On march 5 as their daca protection expires, they will be asked to leave the military of the United States of america. I cant tell you how many thousands of students will find it impossible to continue school because they can no longer legally work in america. I can telling you about 30 med students, premed students at Loyola University in chicago. Theyve told me the reality. At the end of medical school, you finish your education with a Clinical Experience or residency. Not 40 hours a week. Sometimes 80 hours a week and more, but its a job and you better take it and you better learn the clinical side of medicine if youre going to be a good doctor. When they lose their daca protection, they lose their legal right to work in america, and they cannot apply for a residency. Its an end of their medical education, because President Trump put a deadline and said march 5 its over. So here are. What have we done in the five months since the president challenged us to fix the problem he created . We have done absolutely nothing. Nothing. Not one bill has passed in the house or Senate Despite the president s challenge and despite the disastrous impact this is going to have on hundreds of thousands of people across the United States of america. I shouldnt say weve done nothing. Some people in this debate have sent out a lot of tweets. Boy, that sure helps. Ive read a lot of press releases and press conferences, but not a single bill has come to the floor. Thats going to change. Thats going to change very quickly. Senator mcconnell, the republican leader and i take him at his word because he said it publicly, he said it privately. And i told him personally, you said it and i believe you. Hes going to call this measure for a vote in the senate next week. For those of you who tune in to cspan or come to visit in the chambers here, please show up next week because somethings going to happen on the senate floor that hasnt happened in a year and a half. Maybe longer. Were actually going to have a debate. This empty chamber will have people in it. Well be considering a bill. People will be offering amendments. Well be debating on the floor. For some of my Senate Colleagues its the first time theyll see this happen. We dont do that anymore. Were gointoo it on this important issue, and we should. The reason we should is not just because the president issued the challenge and not just because so many lives are hanging in the balance. Its because when you get down to this issue, it becomes extremely personal. Mr. President , today for the 108th time, im going to tell the story of a dreamer. I use the word dreamer because im proud of it. The president said to the republican retreat dont ever use that word dreamer. I use it because i introduced the dream act in 2001. And before i introduced that, if you said dreamer, people thought you were talking about a British Rock Group with a guy named freddy. We created the dream act and i want to tell you the story of this dreamer. This is saba fafees. Shes the 108th dreamer i told the story of on the floor. When she was 11 years old, they brought her to the United States from pakistan. She grew up in fort worth, texas. In high school she played piano, sang in the choir and played tennis. She studied mathematics at texas tech university. She was ineligible for any government assistance to go to school. She had to work to borrow money, thats how she went to school. A mathematics degree at texas tech. There she was a research scholar, covice president of the Student Service organization, president of the texas chapter of the National Mathematics honor society. She participated in premed and math mentoring programs for younger students. She was awarded the text it can department of mathematics prize for excellence in mathematics by an undergraduate woman. In 2014, sanaa graduated from Texas Tech Honors College with a bachelors in science mathematics with the highest honors. Today saba is a ph. D. Studying mathematical biology is. Please dont ask me on the final what mathematical biology is but shes majoring in it at text it can. She focusing on better understanding biological disease. She teaches undergraduate students as a graduate teaching assistant. What is her dream in america . To use mathematics to advance research to cure diseases like cancer. Let me read you what she wrote to me. She said, qte, im an aspiring scientist d hope to continue my research in mathematical biology. Currently there is an ever increasing need for computational and biological mathematics specifically in the area of bioinfo matics and medicine. I hope to graduate and contribute to this country. Without daca, i would have been force to continue living a life in the shadows, a life with constant upward upper bound and a life that is imprisoned in the very country i call home. Saba is what this debate is all about. There are those who say were too busy to do this. Well get back to it later. There are those who say, sure, shes a very talented person, but she is illegal, you know. There are those who say that were fools to let a talent like this leave america. Were crazy to give up on such amazing young people. We are wrong to call them lazy, for Goodness Sakes. Is there a lazy bone in this young ladys body . I dont think so. What shes achieved is nothing short of a miracle as an undocumented student in america. Some others have argued, well, all right, she can stay, but youve got to punish her parents. Youve got to make them leave the United States of america. Theres got to be a better way, mr. President. Theres got to be a better way. Yes, was it wrong . Maybe even violated a law for them to bring her here .  and what parent wouldnt do it . We can make them pay a price. In the comprehensive immigration bill, pray a fine, all of pay a fine, all of the things that could be included in here. But for Goodness Sake, this young lady and her family could be an important part of americas future if we decide that she is worth our effort. Well have that chance soon. Well start the debate stoon soon. Young people like her will listen to this debate will listen to this for Goodness Sake in the name of justice and the values of what made this country what it is today, we ought to stand up on a bipartisan basis and solve this problem in a humane and sensible way. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from minnesota. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i rise to talk about the dreamers. I know the leader will coming in shortly, and i will yield when he arrives. But i wanted to thank senator durbin for leading the dream act and for negotiating for years and years to get support on the republican side of the aisle and for never giving up and telling the stories like we just heard to bring this home to people so people understand this isnt just a number, this isnt just a statistic, this isnt just someone you call a name. These are people that are part of the United States of america. 97 of them work or are in school. The average age they were brought over, 6 and a half years old. Like senator durbin, senator graham, and many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle i have and always have been committed to passing a legislative solution to problght dreamers. I problght dreamers. I appreciate the presiding officers position. We have tried to come together on a path that would allow for the dreamers to have a path to citizenship, allow them to stay in our country to stop the deportation of what would be Something Like 800,000 people, something the president of the United States has firmly said he does not want to do and that he wants to see a path to citizenship along with increased Border Security. I see that the leader has arrived and i will continue my remarks when he has completed his. Thank you, i yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i asunanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, executive 599 and 602. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk nominations, corporation for National Community service, barbara steward of illinois to be chief executive officer ; department of health and Human Services bret jarrad to be director in the regular corps of the Public Health services and to be assistant secretary. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that the senate vote en bloc, that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made, the president be immediately notified of the senates action, no further motions be in order, and any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the record. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. The question occurs on the nominations en bloc. All in favor say aye. All opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nominations are confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. Res. 385. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 385, supporting the observation of modern trafficking and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate now proceed to the en bloc considerations of the following Senate Resolutions which were submitted earlier today, s. Res. 397, 398, and 399. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preamble 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 i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer will the senator withhold . Ms. Klobuchar mr. President. The presiding officer . The senator from minnesota. Ms. Klobuchar thank you very much. And i will continue my remarks about the importance of passing the dream act and also the work of the commonsense caucus of which the presiding officer has been involved in to try to find a path forward to protect these dreamers while understanding the combination that we could have for increased Border Security at the same time. What you have going on right now in our country, as senator durbin has pointed out, is fear with over 800,000 people who have been here, as i said, through no fault of their own. 97 of them working or in school. Yesterday i met with the catholic conference, people from the Catholic Church in my state and some of the dreamers and heard again the account of someone in school, doing well, wants to work, wants to stay in our state. When i hear these stories, im always reminded of the oldest dreamer i have ever met, Joseph Madina who was born in mexico, came over to this country, didnt know he wasroughtver tohe country. His parents had died and he grew up in sleepy eyed, minnesota, decided to sign up for world war ii to serve our country and found out he was undocumented. When i met him, at age 99, he said all you did the military took you over to canada for a might, you stayed in a hotel and they made you a citizen. He served under general mckartsdzer, came back to the United States, had got married and had a son and that son served in the vietnam war. I stood with his family at the world war ii memorial when he was 99 years old, along with two other dreamers who were in suburban high school who wanted to the join to join the air force but at the time were not able to. He wanted to serve our country just as he served our country. He died at age 103 this last year. So im doing this for him and the 6,000 dreamers that live in minnesota. As we know, we are seeing those lose their daca status since the administrations decision and that not only would this mean deportation if we dont do something about this, this would mean basically people led away from their jobs, people teaching school, people that are working at jobs in our hospitals and in our neighborhoods and sudnly ey wouldnt be able to work. We cannot let that happen in america and i cannot let that happen in our state. That is why we must continue this work and we must get this done and the sooner the better. The dream act is based on a simple principle, dreamers who were brought to the United States as children and only know this country as their home should be given the opportunity to contribute to our nation and become citizens. Passing the dream act isnt just the morally right thing to do, which many, Many Americans, a majority of americans agree with, but it also makes economic sense. One recent study estimates that ending daca could cost the country over 400 billion over the next ten years, it would cost minnesota more than 376 million in annual revenue and have an impact on families who would be ripped apart. In my state it is in the 3 range and this population is working in our state and is an important part of our States Employment force. Just as our legal refugees are. That is why this rhetoric and some of the things were hearing about dreamers isnt good, and i truly appreciate those republicans in the senate, including the presiding officer, who have been willing to work with us on this issue and talk to the people of the state and try to come together on passing some version of the dream act and allowing these dreamers to stay. We will continue this fight. We stand in support of the dream act and we stand in support of those dreamers and we work every single day to find a solution. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. Blumenthal mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. Im honored to rise after my distinguished colleague from minnesota colleagues from minnesota and illinois to issue a simple demand. We must act now to pass legislation protecting the dreamers against mass draconian deportation. We must act n effectively, n cosmetically or superficially. We must act now without unacceptable preconditions and hostage taking amendments that cut immigration and betrayal of our American Values. We cannot dreamers to languish in uncertainty any longer. These young people are americans in all but name. They grew up in this p country, go to our schools, serve in our military, support our economy. They epitomize the American Dream. These young people work hard and they give back. Deporting dreamers would be cruel and irrational, and inhumane and repugnant to the American Values that every member of this chamber holds dear. When daca was adopted in 2012, it changed the lives of these young people. It opened new doors to opportunity. Dreamers could come out of the shadows. They could use drivers licenses, attend college, fully participate in our economy. When daca was adopted, we made a promise to the dreamers. We promised that if you come forward and provide the United States government with your most basic and personal and private information, this information will never be used against you. We assured them they have a place in this country. Now, with the complicity of this body, that promise is about to be broken. I say complicity because the president in september is the one who committed the act of breaking that promise by saying he was going to end the daca program, and he Gave Congress six months to remedy that broken promise. He threw to congress a ticking time bomb that literally would rip apart the lives of 800,000, 1. 8 million, the numbers vary, the principle is the same. Ripping apart their lives would be the consequence. Ive said before, and im going to say it again, great countries do not break their pmise the United States is the greate world. We should not be breaking our promises. We should not even threaten to break our promises to innocent young people, men and women who know only this country whose whole lives are here. The president s decision to rescind daca threatens to tear them away from their families, away their jobs, away from their communities where they make a difference for the better. It threatens their lives with total disarray, forcing them to go back to countries where they barely lived and have no lives. It derails their future. We are a country better than this kind of inhumidity humidity inhumility. Inhumanity. I want to talk about john cruz, a student at southern connecticut state university. He is here and i am behind him because he was attending a rally support of the dreamers but i had the privilege of meeting jonathan well before thrally. Before thrally. And and he shared his story with me. Jonathan was born in mexico. He came to the United States when he was just 4 years old. The United States is his home. Its the only country he has ever known. He is set to graduate this spring with honors in economics and math after receiving a full scholarship to attend southern connecticut state university. And like many, due to the president s rescission of daca, and this chambers failure to act, which is complicity, jonathan has been compelled to delay his dream of continuing his education and attending law school. But jonathan hasnt abandoned his steadfast commitment to helping others and giving back to connecticut and his nation. I recently had the honor of writing a letter of recommendation on his behalf in pursuit of his Public Policy fellowship. Despite the uncertainty around his own immigration status, jonathan believes so much in this country and the ideals of this country that he continues to seek opportunity to give back. Thats the purpose of this fellowship. Thats the reason i wrote this letter of recommendation. He first became compelled to tell his story after his father, jonathans father was deported. He was unable en to say goodbye before his father was ripped away from his family. If Congress Fails to act, jonathan could lose his daca protection. He could be one of those 800,000 who have legally told the government where they are, what theyre doing, how to call them, and he could be deported. One of 800,000 who would be swept away in a mass deportation unprecedented in this great country. But in the meantime, he is anguished and anxious, as are many, many other daca young people, afraid to go to school or to a Health Clinic or to courts or Police Station ifs they are victims of crimes like domestic violence, and my office meets with countless of them from connecticut and across the country. Like jonathan, they are at risk of losing those daca protections. They have become moms a dads and leaders in our communities. Congress must do its job. Congress must act, and it must act now to provide permanent status and a path to citizenship for jonathan and 1. 3 million, 1. 8 million dreamers in this nation. Due to a federal court order, the United States citizenship and immigration service, c. I. S. , uscis, has been ordered to accept renewal applications for daca recipients. Once again, the courts have been a bulwark for individual rights and liberty, but this reprieve is no final remedy. We must redouble our determination to assist these young people and protect them, which must be done right away because deportation is a continuing threat. President trumps cruel and unconscionable decision to end this program is intolerable, but so is our complicity if we fail to act. Daca protections are set to expire in less than a month. There is no more kicking the can down the road. The ticking time bomb thrown by President Trump into this am is set to explode. Have the power to defus it. And to end its awful menace. Refusing to do so would be a grave abdication of responsibility. Acting now in service of the American Dream is not only the right thing to do, it is the selfinterested thing to do. It is selfinterested in a basic sense. In reality, these young people are integral to our economy. If Congress Fails to pass a daca bill, we lose 500 billion in the next ten years. We lose 25 billion in medicare and Social Security taxes. In my home state alone, we stand to lose more than 300 million a year. Now is the time to abandon the myth that the dreamers work on the sidelines of american society. They are part of the fabric, the economic fabric as well as social tap industry of tapestry of this nation. They drive our economy. They are Small Business owners. They are physicians. They are scientists, and they are teachers. Continuing waiting would mean instability in the job market as companies are forced to fire daca recipnts and train n people in anticipation of the march deadline. I have said before, forcing these outstanding members of our community to leave would be a logistical and humanitarian nightmare. Time is not on our side. If Congress Passes a daca bill, uscis will need to develop new regulation. It will have to process applications. It will have to set up the bureaucratic structure, rules, procedures. We cannot delay because the dreamers stand to lose their protection simply by the passage of time. Contributing members of our society like jonathan will have done nothing wrong. They have no criminal records. They will be back, dragged back into the shadows. They will be unable to attend our colleges, work in jobs. Once again, they will dread the sound of police sirens. The character of our nation, who we are, is at stake. So Many Americans relate to the styf these dreamers because ey can see themselves through their eye. They can see their own immigrant story in john than. So many of us, my family included, came to this country with hopes for a better life and future. Jonathan had no choice. He was brought here as a child, but the American Dream belongs to him, too. We must pass daca legislation now. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Thune madam president. The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Thune madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the senate stand in recess the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mr. Thune i would ask, madam president , the quorum call be rescinded. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune i ask unanimous consent that the senate stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. The presiding officer without objection. The Senate Stands in recess subject to the call of the chair. Recess e presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell madam president , im pleased to announce that our bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on defense spending and other priorities have yielded a significant agreement. I want to thank my friend, the democratic leader, for joining me this afternoon and for the productive discussions that have generated this proposal. The compromise we have reached will ensure that for the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep america safe. It will help us serve the veterans who bravely served us. And it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure, and building on our work to fight opioid abuse and drug addiction. This bill is the product of extensive negotiations among congressional leaders and the white house. No one would suggest it is perfect, but we worked hard to find Common Ground and stay focused on serving the american people. First and foremost, this bipartisan agreement will unwind the sequestration cuts that have hamstrung our armed forces and jeopardized our National Security. Secretary mattis said, quote, no enemy in the field has done more harm to the readiness of our military than sequestration. For years my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee Led by chairman john mccain have spon out about these damaging cuts. In the face of continuing and emerging threats, these cuts have left us unable to realize the potential