Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20180208

Through the karl rove front group. What does the chamber do with all this money . It lobbies, it litigates, and it runs political attack ads on television, radio, and the internet. Lets start with the lobbying. The chamber exendz far more than anyone else lobbying the federal government. It spent more than 80 million last year aloan, far more than any individual company. Over the last 20 years, the chamber has spent more than 1. 4 billion, 1. 4 billion. Thats billion with a b, and the nine zeros after it, lobbying the federal government. That is three times more than the next largest lobbying spender. A swamp monster indeed. Much of this lobbying is against environmental policies, with the chamber lobbying congress, the white house, e. P. A. , the department of energy, and the department of the interior on behalf of yes, you guessed i. The Chamber Champions the fossil fuel agenda, opposing limits on Carbon Emissions and supporting drilling and mining on public lands and in offshore waters. The Chamber Champions only the fossil fuel energy agenda, attacking Renewable Energy. Despite that industry, the renewable industry being responsible for more jobs than the fossil fuel industry. In 2016, for instance, the chamber lobbied the federal government on at least 14 separate issues in favor of the oil and gas industry and on at least seven issues in favor of the coal industry. On Renewable Energy, zero, not one. It was the chamber that paid for the debunked study claiming the Paris Agreement would kill jobs and weaken economic growth, which trump cited as justification for withdrawing from that agreement. The chamber also spends a lot of effort importuning the courts. In a recent threeyear period, the chamber was involved in roughly 500, 500 cases as either a plaintiff or an amicus curiae, an Interested Party deemed a friend of the court. Once again, the chamber fronted for the fossil fuel industry. In just three years, it sued e. P. A. 15 times and filed amicus briefs against e. P. A. In another 11 cases, making e. P. A. The chambers most frequent target in court. The chamber sued against the Clean Power Plan and it consistently opposed e. P. A. s authority to regulate Carbon Emissions under the clean air act. The chamber also wrote an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down limits on election spending. It got its wish in the Citizens United decision. Citizens united allowed dark money groups, outside groups to spend unlimited sums corrupting our elections. The chamber and the fossil fuel industry have been the biggest beneficiaries, the biggest users of this horrible decision. Over the last ten years, the chamber has spent more than 150 million in dark money on federal elections, and we dont know how much it spent on state elections other than we know its contributed millions to other outside spending groups that are active at the state level. In 2016, the chamber was the largest dark money spender in congressional races, often running vicious attack ads in races across the country. Many of these ads supported the fossil fuel agenda. Here is one from the 2016 senate race in pennsylvania. The chamber was again the largest dark money spender on this race, spending over 6 million. It ran a series of attack ads against katie mcginty, slamming her for supporting legislation to reduce Carbon Emissions. Heres the ad. A couple of moms are watching their kids, the kids are playing in the playground, one is explaining that mcginty supports taxing energy from the fossil fuels, and the other mom remarks how much energy their kids have, to which the first replies that, whoa, if mcn ginty finds out about that, she will tax the kids. Right on cue, mcginty, an actor supposed to represent the candidate, arrives of course in a chauffeured black setaside sedan ready to tax the energetic kids. One mother yells at her son jimmy to run away. Thats what we get. The chamber as the enforcer for the fossil fuel industry. Support Climate Action or oppose fossil interests, and the chamber will come after you with everything it has. But its actually worse than that because there is one thing more insidious than spending millions of dollars on attack ads, and that is the threat of spending millions of dollars on attack ads. You see, once Citizens United allowed the chamber and other outside election spending groups to spend unlimited funds, the corollary was that they have threatened to spend those unlimited funds. All the chamber and other outside spending groups now have to do is threaten to fund a challenger in order to bring many candidates and elected officials to heel. This Citizens United sanction intimidation explains why we cant make good Climate Policy in washington, and the chamber is its leading proponent. Several Big American Companies have stopped funding the chamber over its anticlimate agenda. Apple, pg e, costco, hewlett packard, starbucks, mars and others have all left. Yet, plenty of other corporate climate champions still fund the chamber. Unbelievable but true. Heres an ad run last spring by several Big Companies urging trump to stay in the Paris Agreement. These companies, facebook, gap, incorporated, google, intel corporation, microsoft, Morgan Stanley and sales force, signed this fullpage ad supporting the Paris Agreement. At the same time, they were donors to the chamber which was out attacking the Paris Agreement. How do you publicly support the Paris Agreement while funding the swamp monster attacking the Paris Agreement . The Trump Administration is also seeking to cut funding for Renewable Energy research by 72 . Americas Business Leaders should want to maintain u. S. Technological leadership and create millions of highpaying Clean Energy Jobs in the future, but the Chambers Global energy institute, socalled, website is promoting keystone x. L. , the Dakota Access pipeline, and off shore drilling. I kid you not, offshore drilling. Facebook, gap, google, intel, microsoft, Morgan Stanley, sales force, offshore drilling . What do you bet those companies dont take out fullpage ads supporting offshore drilling . They do come to washington to lobby, but when facebook, google, intel, microsoft, and sales force came to Lobby Congress through their trade association technet, they didnt even mention climate change. They didnt even make clean energy a priority. Instead, they fund the biggest, baddest opponent of Climate Action and clean energy. Why do companies so committed to increasing their own use of Renewable Energy not Lobby Congress in favor of Renewable Energy . Its a battle here, folks. Where is the corporate calvary . As long as proclimate companies do nothing in congress and allow fossil fuel front groups like the chamber to be their voice here in washington, how do they expect to make progress . The chamber of commerce they fund throws around hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying and elections to ensure that Congress Wont take the Climate Action they seek. What are facebook, gap, google, intel, microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and sales force waiting for . Do they expect some kind of immaculate political conception of a climate bill, Climate Action that suddenly bloats magically down from the floats magically down from the clouds . Its not like they dont lobby themselves. For petes sake, they know how the game is played. They just dont lobby for this. They just dont lobby for Climate Action. Look, good corporate policies on climate are important. Theyre very important. I get that, and i appreciate that. But we know well that good corporate policies wont reach those paris climate goals. To reach those goals, you have to pass a bill. Youve got to do something on climate here in congress. And when the fossil fuel industrys blockade stopping such a bill is right here in congress, this is the battlefield youve got to show up on. Its great to take out ads. It helps. But it would really help to be present here in congress and accounted for. Fighting for Climate Action in washington is indispensable to finally break the stranglehold of the chamber and its dark money allies, so please, corporate america, show up. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my colleagues, senator casey and senator wicker. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , today i rise with my colleagues, senator wicker from mississippi, senator casey from the great state of pennsylvania, to talk about legislation thats of vital importance, i believe, to every state in the country. Certainly mine, the great state of alaska. But most importantly, mr. President , it is vitally important legislation to the men and women who serve in the United States coast guard. And im going to talk about them for a minute, but in addition to the legislation were talking about here, its also vitally important to our maritime and fishing communities as well. So very important legislation. Which legislation am i talking about . Senate bill 1129, the coast guard authorization act of 2017. It is legislation that has broad bipartisan support, including chairman thune of the commerce committee, the Ranking Member of the commerce committee, senator nelson of florida, my colleague from alaska, senator lisa murkowski, and many, many others, republicans and democrats. The Senate Commerce committee, which has jurisdiction over the coast guard, in our fishing fleets, in our fisheries, marked up this important legislation back in may of 2017. But, mr. President , unfortunately due to a lack of an agreement on one particular provision, although we have very strong support even for this particular provision, over 60 senators, the coast guard bill overall remains stuck. So we always talk about the army, air force, navy, marines. I love them to death. Sometimes we forget about our fifth branch of service. These men and women do incredible work every single day for our country. This bipartisan bill, the coast guard authorization act, will give the coast guard the resources it needs to protect our waterways and coastlines, block illegal drug traffickers and smugglers more efficiently procure future coast guard cutters. It will authorize the coast guard in terms of policy and funding through fiscal years 2018 and 2019. And most importantly, mr. President , it takes care of the men and women serving in our coast guard. Who come from every state, hail from every state in our great nation. They do so much. So were going to be debating here the continuing resolution that will have very, very significant funding for our military, but also for natural disasters. Well, think about the natural disasters that have occurred in the United States, in florida, in texas, in other places, louisiana, in the last several months. The coast guard undertook thousands, thousands of rescue operations. Men and women risking their lives, literally risking their lives to save their fellow americans. This bill focuses on them. And in constructing this legislation, we worked in a bipartisan manner for months, and however, mr. President , it appears that the coast guard authorization bill unfortunately remains stuck. Now, i serve as the committee or as the chairman of the subcommittee responsible for the coast guard. And in alaska, we know all about the men and women of the coast guard. Id like to say prior to 9 11, prior to 9 11, the coast guard was probably the only military service among all five branches that had men and women out there risking their lives every single day for americans. Now, unfortunately since 9 11, and the big challenges weve had from a National Security perspective, weve have men and women from all branches of services out there every single day risking their lives. But the coast guard does it at home and abroad. So whats happening with this bill . Well, this bill which is again very bipartisan, not only contains critical needs and authorizations and policies for our coast guard and the men and women who serve in it, it also contains provisions of vital importance to our maritime industry and fishing communiti communities, including in this legislation are important elements of another act, the vessel incident discharge act or what we call vida, to address an issue thats been around for years which pertains to the incidental discharges for those in our fishing fleets and maritime fleets. So what does it try to address . Well, mr. President , currently vessel owners and operators fishing in the maritime industry are forced to comply with a patchwork of burdensome federal and state regulations and laws for vessel ballast water and incidental discharges. Literally discharges of water that come off the deck of your fishing vessel, for example. And think about it. When you think about the constitution and the commerce clause, this is an issue where a fishing vessel, say, moves from different waters in the United States, state waters from one state to another or a maritime ship one state to another, and it has to comply with the watch work of different state laws and regulations as it moves through different waters controlled by different states. This creates inefficiencies, adds business costs, and particularly in the fishing fleet, inhibits Economic Prosperity for states and people in the industry, whether its in alaska or other places throughout the country. So it provides a provision which we all worked on and has very bipartisan support would provide the maritime fishing industry with a consistent, uniform, regulatory structure across the country restoring efficient and Cost Effective commerce while ensuring that Environmental Protection remains at the highest levels for our ports and our waterways and our harbors. So. Plx, we have mr. President , we have been trying weve been working for months and i really want to commend my friend from pennsylvania, senator casey as we try to accommodate the concerns of many, many other senators. So weve changed this part of the coast guard bill numerous times to try to address these. I think weve gotten almost every senator on board with the exception of just a few. But notably, notably, one of the things that again, we have strong bipartisan support for in this bill and would help a number of my constituents, thousands in the fishing industry, is that this provision that weve agreed on provides a permanent exemption on incidental vessel discharges for all Fishing Vessels and small commercial vessels. Right now, believe it or not, if you have a small commercial vessel and youre gutting fish that you ea caught on the ves youve caught on the vessel and you want to hose down the guts of those fish back into the water, you need a permit from the e. P. A. Think about that. Think about a regulation thats going to hurt small businesses. What were trying to do, mr. President , is encourage all of our colleagues to help us move forward, a, with the coast guard bill. We move the National Defense authorization act that covers the army, navy, air force, marines every year. We should be moving the coast guard bill every year as well. To make sure that we are taking care of the men and women in the coast guard, that were not forgetting the fifth branch of service in the military that does so much for our men and women, but we also need solutions to this issue of the vessel incidental discharge challenges and we need to get this provision of the coast guard bill unstuck. Again i want to thank my colleagues for being on the floor with me and, again, this is a very bipartisan issue, but we wanted to call out the importance of this issue to the to our colleagues in the senate to say its time to act. Its time to move on the coast guard bill. Its time to conclude this very important vida provision, and im hopeful that we can do that soon. Mr. President , im not going to yield my time to my friend to im now going to yield my time to my friend from pennsylvania, senator casey. Mr. Casey mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Casey thank you, mr. President. I want to start by commending the work of senator sullivan from alaska and for his words today to move this legislation forward and for his work and the work of his staff over many, many months now. I want to thank our staff as well and the staff senator wicker and so many other offices that i wont have an opportunity to name. Were especially grateful for that bipartisan effort which every once in a while works around here. And im grateful that he and his team, senator sullivan and his team have put in the kind of time they have. This legislation is part of the broader coast guard legislation, the commercial vessel incidental discharge act, socalled vida act, is critically important to get done this year. As senator sullivan mentioned, theres bipartisan support and we should pass it immediately. When i introduced this legislation back in january of last year with working with senator wicker, senator sullivan, and others, it was included in the larger coast guard authorization act. That was passed by the Senate Commerce, science, Transportation Committee on in may of 2017. Since that time, weve conducted extensive negotiations with our colleagues, and that might be an understatement, to address important concerns, Environmental Concerns as well as enforcement concerns. This legislation fulfills at least two priorities for pennsylvania. First, it allows us to be in the position to enact strong Environmental Protection standards for our waterways in pennsylvania. And, second, supporting our maritime industry. Currently, vessels vessel owners and operators are forced to comply with a patchwork of overly burdensome and confusing federal and state regulations for vessel ballast water and incidental discharges. This act, the cvida act would establish uniform National Standards and requirements governing ballast water discharges and other discharges that occur during normal operation of vessels. Cvida would provide the maritime industry with a consistent, uniform regulatory structure while ensuring there are Environmental Protections in place to protect our nations ports and waterways. The National Standard in cvida ensures that vessels with the best onboard environmental equipment are calling at our ports. Thats critical for pennsylvania which has coastal, inland, and great lakes vessel traffic. There have been concerns raised about Environmental Protections in the act and the lack of involvement of the e. P. A. And the states in developing and enforcing these protections. Once again, i want to commend the work of the staff, staff from several Senate Offices have worked very hard to address these concerns and to ensure that the e. P. A. Is involved and that cvida has strong and Environmental Standards that we update and revisit these Environmental Standards as science evolves. Ballast water and incidental discharge rules will be developed with the coast guard in concurrence with the e. P. A. And in consultation with the states. States specific incidental discharge standards would remain in place until new federal regulations are enforced. The original bill eliminated state standards upon the enactment of legislation. Additionally, states would have coenforcement of these standards with the coast guard. If a state believes that there should be a more stringent National Standard than the state can standard, then the state can submit a petition to the coast guard. If that standard is found technologically and economically viable, the state standards will become the new National Standard. Senators in both parties have been working in good faith. And as you can see, have made substantial changes to the original legislation. Mr. President , we have an opportunity to pass an important bill that vessel owners, operators and maritime labor all agree o. The maritime industry is exactly at the point where we would want other Industry Sectors to be developing Good Business in a clean environment. They have asked the senate to enact a long term regulatory framework, and we shouldnt let this opportunity slip by. So, mr. President , i want to turn the microphone over to senator wicker. As i said earlier, im grateful to be working with senator wicker all these many months and our staffs as well as, of course, senator sullivan and all those involved. So i yield the floor. Mr. Wicker i thank my friend from pennsylvania and would observe, mr. President , that he has exercised excellent leadership in this issue. Its a very important issue. Its not at the top of the news medias treatment of what we need to do, but it is an important issue, and its one that we are close to being able to resolve in a bipartisan way. And i also want to thank my colleague from alaska who has been a champion for this issue. And just to make a couple of points that would underscore what my friends have just said, were talking about ballast water in the waters of the United States. Some of it gets out. You let some ballast water in and you have to let some out and its incidental to operating a boat in the waters of the United States of america. We want this water to be clean. We want it to be as environmentally pure as possible. And thats what this bill attempts to do. But it tends to do it on a uniform basis rather than having a patchwork of regulations from state to state and area to area. It would give us one strict National Standard as far as the incidental discharge of this ballast water. The water that gets out into our lakes and rivers needs to be safe for the environment. It needs to be safe for fish in our american waters. It needs to be safe for marine plant life. And so what this would do is put the e. P. A. Involved in writing the regulations and determining what is safe for american waters. So e. P. A. Would sort of be the scientific guide there. Then the coast guard would be part of the enforcement. E. P. A. Has readily said were not able to be in the enforcement business in the waters of the United States. So theyre going to help with the science according to this new proposal. And the coast guard is going to help with the enforcement. Whos for this . 300 businesses, labor unions, ports, terminal operators. Theyre all in it together and they all say this would work. This is not an example of one side getting up some numbers on a partisan basis and deciding to try to run over the others. As a matter of fact, this is such a bipartisan idea, mr. President , that we have over 60 senators in favor of this proposal. I just want to assure anyone who has doubts about this that the e. P. A. Is going to sign off on these standards. Theyre going to sign off on standards that are safe but we are really doing this for jobs and commerce in the United States of america. Imagine if youre in the business, if youre in the barge business or if youre in the commercial maritime business anywhere in the United States and you have to worry about compliance from state to state. It might just be a reporting requirement. Clearly this is a burden on people that want to do the right thing, but simply would like to have one standard nationwide to comply with. And thats what were trying to do. Were close. I would simply say to my friend from alaska whos done more work on this really than anybody in my memory, i would observe, to the senator, i think were close to being able to do this on a bipartisan basis, perhaps putting this as an attachment to a mustpass piece of legislation. I think we can do it because weve demonstrated through our friend in pennsylvania and other democrats and republicans that we have been careful to include everyone and to be bipartisan about it. Would my friend agree that we really are at a point where this really needs to be signed into law . Mr. Sullivan absolutely. I want to thank senator wicker for his leadership on this issue. I think what youre seeing here in this colloquy is the strength of the bipartisan support for this bill not only in the senate but throughout the country. And i appreciate my colleagues words about whos supporting, but it is, mr. President , a very, very broadbased coalition. Fishing vessels, passenger vessels, labor unions, the navy league of the United States, marine terminals, port authorities. And i think both senator wicker and senator casey made a really strong point. This is going to keep the highest standards on the environment for our waters. This isnt about cutting corners. But its going to make these standards uniform, which is what our nation needs and what we also need to do is make sure that we are passing the coast guard bill as well as this important component of it. The men and women of the coast guard are serving our nation just like the other members of the military. And somehow by delaying this bill, were undermining their longerterm interests. I think the senate can do a much better job, but i tkpwra he with my colleague but i agree with my colleague from mississippi that were close. Theres clearly bipartisan support across the board for the cvida act and the coast guard bill, and were hopeful that within the next few weeks or few months were going tpo get this done going to get this done and its going to benefit literally every state in this great nation of ours. Mr. Wicker i thank my friend from alaska for once again segues to the larger issue there. Vessel incidental discharge is a very important part but only a part of the coast guard authorization. The gentleman, the senator from alaska, makes the very valid point that we really need to get to a situation where were taking up the coast guard reauthorization on a regular basis because its a very vital part of our National Security. The coast guard is actually one of those domestic discretionary programs that provides us with a great deal of National Security. The coast guard currently operates ships and its high endurance cutter fleet that are more than 45 years old. We need some reforms in the coast guard. The senate and the house need to Pay Attention to the reauthorization on a very regular basis. And so the larger issue is absolutely well taken. I just would once again say that my friend, the senator from alaska, has exercised excellent leadership. Hes been relentless on the coast guard reauthorization, and particularly the vessel incidental discharge. He and others who fought so hard really deserve some results, because there are no, there are no substantive objections that can be raised. Mr. Sullivan i want to thank my colleague from mississippi for his strong leadership on this issue as well, and i think youre seeing here, mr. President , with democrats and republicans pretty much all united on this issue, were hopefulful to move not only the vida act but the broader coast guard bill here out of the senate, get it passed, get it to the president s desk. Thats going to be good for the men and women on the coast guard. Its going to be good for our maritime and fishing interests. And its going to be good for the country. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from arizona. A senator i rise in opposition to the nasa spending increases included in the proposed budget measure. To propose increasing federal spending by nearly 300 billion over the next two years on top of the spending increases already established is simply beyond comprehension. Mr. Flake this is all with a National Debt of 20 trillion a year, current deficits running 600 billion to 700 billion. Yet were about to vote on a bill to abandon selfimposed limits on federal spending. Anybody who spent time in washington will know that once youve raised spending limits, you just dont get them back down. Now i love bipartisanship, but not when its bought and paid for with billions of taxpayer dollars. Thats precisely what this measure does. You sprinkle enough money around, you can get bipartisan support. While i was in the house for 12 years i kept a journal of events. And in december of 2007 when we passed a massive omnibus bill at that time, i noted, and ill quote from my journal, the democrats singled out the funding for the iraq war which required a separate vote. The tally board on the House Chamber wall explaining the vote said the following agreeing to the house amendment to the Senate Amendment to the house amendment. I said at that time, well, that clears it up. But thats the point. Liberal democrats could vote against the war funding and for more domestic funding. Conservative republicans could do the opposite. Enough moderates in the middle would vote for both pieces of legislation to ensure that each passed separately. I continued. Then we could, all of us, republicans and democrats, beat our collective chests and go home for christmas. Bipartisanship at its best. I wrote further in my journal at that time, all these shenanigans led one republican colleague to lean over to me on the house floor and muse, you know, jeff, sometimes the toughest thing about being a member of congress is remembering everything youre supposed to be outraged about. And i agreed. But here we are today, and it is clear what we should be outraged about.  a 300 billion spending hike, a return to trilliondollar deficits and an apparent end to any attempt to rein in federal spending. Our fiscal responsibility is more than a political talking point to trot out when the other guys are in charge. The rules and principles do not change with the legislative session. It should not take hundreds of billions of dollars in Government Spending to prompt bipartisanship or to secure a budget agreement. If we republicans support precisely the kind of reckless spending that weve for so long criticized, it will mean an end of genuine fiscal conservatism in washington, and it will establish a government without any meaningful spending restraints. I urge my colleagues to consider their commitment to conservatism. And whether or not the past protests over Government Spending were anything more than convenient political props, lets be conservative no matter whos in charge, no matter whos in the white house or who controls each chamber in congress. With that, i yield the floor. Mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the assistant democratic leader. Mr. Durbin mr. President , i come to the floor today, as i have over the past few months, urging the United States senate to come together in a bipartisan fashion to address important issues facing our nation. The American People expect it. They understand how closely divided we are, 49 democrats, 51 republicans in the senate, and for the most controversial issues, 60 votes are required. Unless we work in a bipartisan fashion, we achieve little or nothing. After many months of difficult negotiation, i stand here today in support of a bipartisan twoyear budget agreement announced by leaders mcconnell and schumer that will finally produce results for the American People. For too long, this Gridlocked Congress has lurched from one continuing resolution thats a temporary spending bill to another. Thats prevented us from working together to craft Appropriations Bills that save taxpayers money, that invest in things that are important at every level for our future. While this budget deal doesnt include everything that id like to see, it certainly includes some highlights of things that i think are critically important for the state of illinois and our nation. Im particularly disappointed that it does not include a solution to the daca dreamer across thaifs created by President Trump on september 5 when he announced that he would eliminate the program that provides protection for deportation for almost 800,000 people in the United States. Thats over five months ago. President trump challenged this senate to come up with a legislative solution. As i stand here today, we have not produced it. I will acknowledge that senator mcconnell, the republican leader, together with senator schumer, the democratic leader, have chartered a course. You will seeing is that you havent seen in a long time. We will come to the floor and act like senators. For some of my colleagues it will be the first time of this kind of experience, a bill on the floor, open to amendment, actual debate . Yes, its going to happen right here. Stay tuned on cspan. It could be historic. It has been over a year and a half since we had a meaningful debate on the floor but next week we will. It will be about daca. This program will end by President Trumps prohibition. At that point 1,000 young people each day, on average, will lose their protection for deportation and their legal right to work in america. They will walk off the job because we failed to act unless we get it together. Im sorry that this bill that includes so many good things doesnt include that solution, but we are poised to do it anyway, and i look forward to that debate next week. I hope that this agreement will provide a spirit of bipartisanship that will be felt next week when we come together and discuss the fates of hundreds of thousands of dreamers across the United States. Let me tell you what this budget agreement does which i think is well worth our bipartisan support. A Huge Investment for americas military. We will prepare our men and women in uniform to be not only ready for battle but to continue to be the strongest and best military in the world. That is something that we have seen go by the boards and frankly be ignored in the past, but now were going to focus on it. I have the greatest confidence in general mattis in terms of his commitment to our military, both in her personal life in his personal life and as his role of secretary of defense. I believe he will be able to prepare our men and women for battle and prepare the nation against any threat and if necessary to use our force for good around the world. But we also make a dramatic investment in nondefense spending. In the past eight or ten years we have seen a dramatic downturn in nondefense spending in our budget. Many people have said nobody will notice. Well, america noticed as we cut back our investment in education, in health care, and so many fundamentals. There is one particular area i want to highlight. When i had to make a decision as to whether to run for another term in the senate, i sat down and made a very short list of things i wanted to accomplish or work on if i were given another sixyear term. At the top of the list, of course, were the dreamers, but second was medical research. I came back here and sat down with my colleagues, two republicans, senators alexander and blunt and my wonderful friend and colleague in leadership, senator patty murray. I said that we need to do something. Dr. Collins at the National Institutes National Institutes of health said that the problem with medical research is that if its not certain you will get a grant for medical research, you get discouraged and look for another job. We cant let that happen. We cant lose the best and brightest researching diseases that haunted plague many families across america. Dr. Collins suggested 5 real growth in the budget of the National Institutes of health. I want to congratulate, senator blunt, a republican, senator murray, a democrat, they worked together. This will be the Third Straight year weve had more than a 5 in medical research. If there is ever around issue that is bipartisan, it should be this one. The good news this budget agreement will go beyond 5 . Were talking an area of 7 or 8 real increases for spending in medical research. Dr. Collins told me years ago when he talked about this goal that if we could provide this kind of reliable increase in medical research, dramatic breakthroughs would occur. We are starting to see them. Some of the cancer theories were unthinkable years ago. Think about all the news reports now about flu and what its doing to children, some of whom tragically have lost their lives, many of whom stayed home from school, and others around our nation and the world plagued by influenza each year. N. I. H. Is working on a universal flu vaccine. If it is successful, it will change the basic life pattern that many of us faced our entire lives. It can happen. I am old enough to remember when a doctor came up with a polio vaccine. I also want to say that theyve done a great job in finding resources to fight the opioid crisis, the worst drug epidemic in the history of our nation. Funding our Community Health centers, a critical part of Public Health and making certain that basic primary care is available. Health care for our children through the chip program, improving our Veterans Health facilities. Billions of dollars in new veteran health facilities, some of it long overdue. And we will fix the aging and broken infrastructure. It provides resources in funding for florida, texas, california, the u. S. Virgin islands, and puerto rico. There are many people from puerto rico who live in the city of chicago. Some of them are extremely close friends. I am happy to report that this bill makes the investment we need to make to get that island back on its feet. 2 billion for the electrical infrastructure can bring puerto rico back and restore Electrical Service for families that have been waiting for months for what we take for granted. How did we achieve this amazing outcome where democrats and republicans would come to the floor and praise it . Well, we sat down and made a compromise. We gave on both sides and we realized that it was time to roll up our sleeves, stop squabbling, stop fighting for head lines, stop putting out press releases, and get down to work. I hope that spirit continues when we enter the debate on immigration an daca. It is my sincere hope that we will have a breakthrough on a bipartisan agreement for daca. If is not just for the dreamers, it is for the future of america. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Rounds thank you, mr. President. To begin with, i have six requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval and the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer diewrly noted. Duly noted. Mr. Rounds thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i come to the floor to offer my support for the bipartisan budget act. This bipartisan agreement includes priorities that will benefit a number of americans, including 2 billion for infrastructure, 6 billion to combat the opioid epidemic, Disaster Relief assistance for those impacted by recent hurricanes, funding if for Community Health centers, a permanent repeal of obamacares independent payment advisory borard, and the creation of two select committeeses to address pension reform and congresss broken budget process. Most importantly, mr. President , is that this bipartisan agreement removes the arbitrary spending caps that have hampered our armed forces. For the first time in years we prioritize our National Security by adequately funding the military. Of all the positive aspects of this agreement that will benefit the people of my home state of south dakota and American Families across the country, the addition of 165 billion of defense funding over the next two years is crucial. As a member of the Senate Armed Services committee, i have been deeply concerned about the underfunding of our military. If we are going to adequately recover readiness levels lost over the last eight years and modernize our military forces in this increasingly dangerous world, this is vital. This is the reason i support the bipartisan budget act. I have previously expressed my strong displeasure for shortterm funding measures, or c. R. s, but this agreement makes significant progress toward rebuilding our military, and finally, after years of underfunding, provide the department of defense with a muchneeded spending boost. This will allow the military to increase their armed forces in ta time of increasing global threats. But dont just take my word for it. Let me quote the defense secretary james mattis who testified before the Armed Services Committee Earlier this week. He said, and i quote, let me be clear, as hard as the last 16 years of war have been on our military, no enemy in the field has done as much to harm the readiness of the United States military than the combined impact of the budget control acts defense spending caps, worsened by operating for the last 10 of 11 years of unpredictable duration. Secretary mattis went on to say, the consequences are clear. Should we stumble into a yearlong continuing resolution, your military will not be able to provide pay for our troops by the end of the fiscal year, will not recruit the 15,000 Army Soldiers and 4,000 airmen. We will not maintain our ships at sea with the proper balance between operations and time and port for maintenance. We will ground aircraft due to lack of maintenance and spare parts. We will deplete the ammunition, training and manpower to deter war and delay contracts for vital acquisition programs necessary to modernize the force. End of quote. Mr. President , sadly, we are hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee Many of the secretarys predictions are already proving true. Earlier this week i spoke on this floor about this very issue and described various readiness issues that our armed forces are currently facing. Some examples that i shared include the fa18 fleet taking twice as many man hours to maintain with less than 50 of the fleet available. Those are the primary aircraft you will see flying off of our carriers in harms way today. The maintenance backlog of our submarines. Because of the backlog, 15 Nuclear Attack submarines have been docked for a total of 177 months or nearly 15 years. That doesnt mean they are being repaired, they are sitting at dock because they are not licensed to dive anymore. What a waste of taupe money teabl money taxpayer money. The human lost as fa18 hornet Training Programs have had dozens of mishaps over the past years. We believe some, if not all, mishaps could have been avoided with the additional training and maintenance with appropriate funding. Mr. President , the American People expect us to adequately fund the defense of america next year and every year to come. Providing for the defense of our nation is the number one responsibility of the federal government and of this congress. Nothing else matters if we cannot protect ourselves from our enemies. I am pleased this agreement finally recognizes the need to eliminate arbitrary budget caps that put out National Security in jeopardy. The bipartisan budget act is truly bipartisan. There are parts of this that i strongly agree with and some areas i would have done differently, but this is a bipartisan agreement and must meet the standards of both republicans and democrats. While i would have preferred to see an increase in defense funding without having to pair it with other spending increases because we need a bipartisan majority of 60 senators to agree to this proposal, we reluctantly agreed to the increased spending on nondefense programs in order to get the necessary increase in our defense appropriations. Perhaps one of the more important aspects of this agreement is that for the First Time Since the budget control act of 2011, we are able to overcome the demands of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to match defense spending and not defense spending on a dollar for dollar basis. Under this agreement, defense spending will receive a larger increase than discretionary funding. 165 billion for defense over the next two years as compared to 131 billion for nondefense discretionary over the next two years. I would have preferred not to raise Discretionary Spending to this level but not having achieved a path in order without higher defense limits was simply not an option. We must still be diligent in addressing our nations debt crisis and we have already begun to take the steps to do so. Just a couple months ago we pa passed historic tax reform which is already helping to unleash the full potential of our economy thereby bringing in much needed additional revenues. Weve also been working with President Trump and the administration to reduce burdensome regulations and streamline federal programs so we can save taxpayer money by making the government more efficient. These are positive things that will help to control our debt. However, the most important thing we must do to rein in spending is control the skyrocketing cost of mandatory payment programs, medicaid, medicare, and Social Security. In fact, prior to our tax relief plan, we were warned that without taking action to properly manage these programs, by the year 2026 when our country turns 250 years old, spending on medicare, medicaid, and Social Security and servicing the National Debt would take up 99 of all the federal revenues generated. Today mandatory payments already account for nearly threequarters of our total federal spending. This is because medicare, medicaid, and Social Security have never been properly managed and congress does not exercise appropriate oversight. These programs run on autopilot given that they are our largest federal expenditures every year, it is vital that Congress Take an active role in managing these necessary ill say that again these necessary mandatory programs in order to get our fiscal house in order. This does not necessarily mean making cuts. It simply means giving congress the authority to periodically and consistently review them to make them as efficient as possible and to make certain they are available for individuals who need them, both now and in the future. Im pleased that this agreement creates a joint select committee to address ways to fix our broken budget process which is desperately needed. At the end of the day, no amounts of cuts to defense and other programs will have a meaningful effect on Debt Reduction without also controlling the cost of these necessary mandatory payment programs. Mr. President , i will wrap up by thanking my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who support this agreement for recognizing our countrys need to adequately fund our troops who sacrifice everything to protect our freedoms. Without a Strong Military which can deter and defend against aggression, nothing else really matters. Maintaining the best, Strongest Military force in the world is vital to keeping americans safe. By increasing funding now, our troops will be better equipped to do just exactly that. We cannot risk a perceived weakness in our force by our enemies who may wish to draw us into a major conflict. A major conflict of war a major conflict or war is not only significantly more costly in terms of dollars, it has the more serious cost of the loss of human life. No one wants to see that, especially if we can avoid it now. This agreement adequately funds our troops. I intend to vote for it and i encourage my colleagues to do so as well. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , ill be brief. Ill speak basically in my capacity as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee. You know, there are things here that could be exciting to talk about. Some things seem kind of draw. But when we talk about the budget, the consequences affect every single one of us, every single state, and multigenerations. The consequences of the budget control act sequestration cuts since 2011 have been devastating. Theyre going to last for generations. The impact of military readiness led defense secretary mattis to say that no enemy in the field has done more harm to our military than what were doing to ourselves through sequestration. And by not investing in our domestic priorities, we allow our infrastructure to crumble, care to our veterans to be delayed, and investments in education to fall behind. I see this as a preface to the fact that the bipartisan budget deal announced yesterday by senator mcconnell and senator schumer, is the first step toward providing much needed relief for the sequestration and stability in the appropriations process. Ive followed very carefully what theyve been doing. My staff, especially, of the Appropriations Committee has been very much involved. What we see our defense caps increase 80 billion in fiscal year 2018, 85 billion in 2019. Nondefense caps are increased by 63 billion above the caps in fiscal year 2018, and 68 billion above the caps in fiscal year 2019. Those are numbers. Lets look at a couple of things it means. This bipartisan deal that weve worked out and i stress that it is bipartisan advance our priorities. It guarantees we can make Real Investments and address the opioid crisis. We can all give speeches about the opioid crisis. Speeches dont solve the problems. Actually putting money in there does. It lets us fund medical research. Keep in mind, mr. President , you cant turn medical research on and off. You cant say oh, youre making great steps in Cancer Research but stop it for a few years and well come back with money. You have to continue it. This is also going to improve college affordability. Everywhere i go in vermont, i hear people saying will i ever be able to buy a house because ive had to put so much money and borrow so much money for college. And im particularly pleased that the bill includes a important provision i worked on with my colleague and the chairman senator cochran thats going to improve assistance to our nations dairy and cotton farmers. In vermont and across the country, its going to mean immediate relief for struggling Dairy Farmers who cant wait for the next farm bill for assistance. Well work on these problems in the next farm bill but in the meantime until that farm bill comes, we need some immediate assistance. And this deal finally fulfills our promise to communities recovering from recent natural disasters, the wildfires out west to the shores of puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands and texas and florida by providing 89 billion to help them rebuild. Those states in the west, puerto rico, the virgin islands, texas, and florida are all part of the United States, just as vermont sought help when we were hit just a few years ago by a natural disaster. People i talked to in vermont said of course we help others in our country. But it also provides the agreement provides continued funding for several Health Care Programs that congress has allowed to expire. We include long overdue funding for Community Health centers. Theyve been struggling because of the uncertainty of continued funding for months. Could we expand . Will we have to lay off people . Can we take further steps or not . Now they will have some certainty. And im pleased this deal finally stefnedzs the tax pro extended the tax provisions, many of which lapse in 2016. Theyre going to benefit small business. I see my friend from texas, a member of the leadership, not everything he wanted is in here but thats why you have a compromise. Everybody doesnt get everything they want but were a lot better off than we were. I worry about the fact it does not provide protection for our nations dreamers. The lawabiding who call america as home. Individuals like dr. Juan cony of vermont. He came to the United States as a child. Hes studying to treat Cancer Patients at the university of vermont. Do we tell him to leave . A man who might be part of those who find a cure for cancer . I wrote a letter to the editor recently to newspaper in vermont. They talked about the stone carvers in vermont. I talked about one stone carver, my maternal grandfather immigrated from italy to vermo vermont. He was a master stone carver near Aviano Air Base in northern italy and talked about the business he started. My mother had been born in vermont. My great grandparents who came to central vermont from ireland, paternal grandparents and my grandfather whom im named Patrick Leahy was a stone carver. I didnt know him because like so many he died when my father was a young tablier. Im teenager. Im proud to be named after him. My wifes parents from canada, she was born in vermont, became a medical surgical nurse. Not everybody in these families improved our state of vermont. We must realize its immigrants like this that bring diversity and strength and skills to our country and make us greater. So when we talk about the dreamers, we shouldnt for sakce their cause. Their cause is our cause. Their dreams are the dreams of my grandparents and parentsin law were. Those are part of the American Dream so we have to continue to get legislation passed to protect them. I see the agreement does not contain everything id like, very little that i see in legislation does contain everything that i want, but on balance it contains a lot and is a good bill for the American People. It allows us to complete the 2018 appropriations process. And through what we call regular order, we could have a real debate in the fiscal year 2019 bills. Well start working on those next week. So i thank senator mcconnell and i thank senator schumer for their hard work in coming to this agreement. I work almost daily with both of them. I know how hard it was. Ever come mice is not always compromise is not always easy. Nobody came here thinking everything is going to be easy, and if they do, they dont belong in the United States senate. You should be here to be a legislator. I encourage all senators, help us pass this bipartisan deal. Allow the Senate Appropriations committee to resume its work and we will next week. And i hope the house will do the same before tonights midnight deadline. And ill continue as i have working with my friend, chairman cochran, in the coming weeks as i will with all republicans and all democrats on the Senate Appropriations committee. This agreement will finally let us do the job were supposed to. Mr. President , i will yield the floor, but id ask consent my full statement be part of the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy i see the senator from texas is on his feet. I yield to him. Mr. Cornyn mr. President . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , i want to express my gratitude to my friend from vermont for his service on the Appropriations Committee and working with us specifically on this particular legislation as it relates to the Disaster Relief aspect of it. Obviously my state was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, but i must tell my friend, ive got new empathy and understanding for how bound we are together as the multiple states, what happens in one part of the country should be of concern to those of us in other parts of the country because eventually sooner or later disasters are going to visit all of us. But it is good news that the majority leader was able to announce yesterday that we reached a compromise on government funding through not this year, but next year as well. This agreement ensures that our armed forces will have the resources they need. My colleague and friend, the chairman of the house Armed Services committee and senator mccain said it best. They said this budget agreement is indispensable for our National Security. Without it, our military would not be able to defend our nation. Period. Hard stop. Let me repeat that. This budget agreement is indispensable for our National Security. Without it, our military would not be able to defend our nation. I think of all the demands made on the taxpayer dollar that is sent here to washington, d. C. , and many of them have a lot of merit, some more than others, but i have to say that if you were going to ask me to prioritize how do we appropriate money here in washington, d. C. , National Security would be job number one. In addition, the funding bill will provide support for our veterans, those who have worn the uniform but now left the military service as well as their families, and it will clear a way for new investment in our nations infrastructure. Im grateful to the majority leader for his hard work during this series of long and delicate negotiations. We all know that it could not have been easy, but even more than that, im glad, as i indicated at the outset, that the funding package finally sends Disaster Relief to texas, Disaster Relief that had been long promised but had been delayed time and time again. Today the senate will be considering supplemental appropriation for disaster aid that affects the victims of hurricane maria, Hurricane Harvey, as well as the wildfires and mudslides out west. But last august Hurricane Harvey made its landfall near houston along the gulf coast. When that storm hit, port port arthur, beaumont and victoria were crippled, not to mention houston, which most of the media covered, one of the largest city in the United States. The Hurricane Centers official report confirmed what those who lived through the storm had questioned. It was the most significant rainfall event. The skies opened up and dropped 50 inches of rain. The report called harvey unprecedented and truly overwhelming. As someone who witnessed the devastation firsthand, i can say with certainty that those are not exaggerations. It is an event that happens perhaps once every 1,000 years. At least 88 people lost their lives, many more crashed their vehicles, electrocuted, could not steand school, did not receive medical services and missed work. They spent the fall tearing the sheet rock out of their homes or businesses. Since the time of the storm, congress has appropriated roughly 35 billion in federal aid through two separate emergency bills, working closely with the majority leader, my texas colleagues and i were able to increase the first Disaster Relief bill last fall by adding money to Community Development block grants. This ensured a larger downpayment for texas to rebuild and repair. Thank goodness we were able to get that done then because of the delays that we have seen additional Disaster Relief for Hurricane Harvey. We worked with dr. Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development to accelerate the allocation of these funds, which he graciously did. Congress passed a tax relief bill for small businesses. And then finally we worked with the u. S. Army corps of engineers to identify and prioritize key projects for Coastal Protection and mitigate the and to mitigate the impact of future storms. This is not the hurricane that will hit the coast of texas or florida so we need to prepare for if the future as well. But in spite of that work, tremendous challenges remain. Thats why we kept fighting month after month and today marks the culmination of our efforts. The supplemental appropriations bill we will consider today includes 39 billion in Disaster Relief, 8 billion more than the house passed last september. We will have the pool of Community Block grant dollars and it provides flexibility to ensure that the army corps of engineers are able to carry out necessary projects in the state. It includes funding to help texas address lingering transportation issues result rg from Hurricane Harvey and allow us to move forward on other projects. Finally, it includes a provision, this is important to the Agriculture Community in my state, a provision to make cotton an eligible commodity under the farm bill safety net. Thats really good news for the folks in west texas, the largest cotton growing area and state in the nation. They have been waiting a long time. Some of them lost bails of cotton and even entire begins because of all of the water from the storm. I applaud the texas congressional delegation for taking the first step in passing a supplemental appropriation last year and i appreciate Governor Abbott and senator leahy for working with us to strengthen the bill in the senate over the last month or so. Helping texans recover and rebuild have been my top priority and im now urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both houses to pass this critical relief bill as soon as possible. I want to thank chairman cochran for his leadership, steering the Appropriations Committee which has its work cut out for them and has certainly done yeomans work done. I want to thank the junior senator from florida and senator cruz who have fought with us side by side for relief from the numerous disasters that have affected florida, texas, the virgin islands, puerto rico, and, cough and of course the wildfires out west. On a separate note, i would like to note the passing of retired Lieutenant General daniel james iii. He served as the first African American general for my home state and first African American director of the national air guard. He was the son of a Fighter Pilot who was the first African American general to pin on four stars. A highly decorated command pilot with approximately 4,000 flying hours, many of those in bat. He completed two active duty tours in Southeast Asia and inducted in the Texas Military hall of fame. Since his burial is taking place today in Arlington National cemetery, i would like to let all those in attendance im thinking of them. James was a mentor to my friend, general nichols, but he was a role model for us all. Finally, mr. President , i would ask unanimous consent that ramo na mcgee have privileges of the floor during the consideration of Border Security and immigration, and i ask that patrick hiney to have privileges of the floor for the reminder of this year. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor and 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 michigan. A senator mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Peters mr. President , last Year Congress passed the countering americans adversaries through sanctions act, which imposed tough new sanctions on russia, iran, and north korea. There was broad bipartisan agreement on the need to put these enhanced sanctions into place. The legislation passed the senate by a vote of 982, and the house by a vote of 4193. Combining both chambers, the vote pass 5175 in favor of enacting these sanctions. The legislation passed with a vetoproof broad bipartisan majority. It can be very difficult to get 500 members of congress to agree on anything, but imposing sanctions on Vladimir Putins cronies and those who do business with him should be a nobrainer. But just last week we learned that the Trump Administration is choosing not to enact these sanctions. Yet on the same day that the Trump Administration argued that the sanctions are not necessary, President Trumps own c. I. A. Director said that russia will continue to attack our democracy, saying, and i quote, this threat is not going away. The russians have been at this a long time, and i fully expect theyll continue to be at it. In january 2017, the c. I. A. Assessed that russian president Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the u. S. President ial election. In january 2018, the c. I. A. Director confirmed he believes that russia will continue, that russia will continue to assault the 2018 elections. Yesterday secretary of the Rex Tillerson said that russia already is trying to impact the 2018 u. S. Election and that it will be difficult for the United States to preempt it. It is clear that we have not done enough to deter russia from interfering in our democracy, but the Trump Administration is choosing not to put in place sanctions on putins cronies that over 99 of the members of congress supported. Im a member of the Armed Services committee, and earlier this week we received a briefing from secretary of defense mattis on the recently completed National Defense strategy. That strategy identifies that russia is seeking to discredit and subvert democratic processes all across the world and to shatter the nato alliance. Russia is expanding and pho tkerpbdzing its nuclear arsenal, it has a permanent seat on the u. N. Security council that provides a veto power in Critical International organization. Quoting from the National Defense strategy, russia is attempting to, quote, change european and middle east security and economic structures in its favor. What does that mean . I quote again, to attempt to change security structures in its favor. And one example is russias continued support of the assad regime in syria which continues to use chemical weapons against its own people. Russia uses its role on the Security Council to prevent the International Community from Holding Assad responsible for these obvious crimes against humanity. At the same time that President Trumps ambassador to the u. N. , nikki haley, has called assads use of chemical weapons against the iran people a tragedy, and called on russia to allow the Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning the use of chlorine gas to suffocate children. At the same time President Trump is refusing to enact sanctions to punish russia. Russia presents real challenges to the security and prosperity of the United States. The purpose of economic sanctions is to impose a cost on putin and to demonstrate that the United States will punish those who threaten this country. That is why over 500 members of congress came together to enact new sanctions. If the United States cant take meaningful action by enacting sanctions passed on a bipartisan basis, how can we expect to take on the more vexing challenges . This one should be easy. What kind of signal does it send to Vladimir Putin when the administration puts the kremlin and russian plutocrats ahead of United States capital duly elected members of the u. S. Congress, and the American People . I urge President Trump to take action on behalf of the American People and follow through on the will of congress by enacting these sanctions which are already law. The administration should use the power provided by congress to punish Vladimir Putin, his inner circle, and those who do business with them to enrich the putin regime. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll