Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240713

Future. And the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has told us that the houses proposal will not generate sustainability of Pension Plans or the sustainability of the pbgc. So we better not spend time on something the Congressional Budget Office just isnt going to bring a solution and definitely not a longterm solution. In contrast, the proposal that senator alexander and i are releasing today addresses the immediate needs of the few multiemployer plans facing immediate crisis in a manner that protects participant benefits and also ensures a sustainable multiemployer Pension System for the long haul. And it does this all in a fiscally responsible way. Our proposal is not a giveaway to corporations or to unions, and its a better deal for the taxpayers at the same time than a future that even with a larger problem and a pbgc funding needs that will almost surely be met with a taxpayer bailout. All participants in the system would make a sacrifice. Let me make that clear. All participants in the system are going to sacrifice. Employers, unions, workers, and retirees. Im sure each one of those groups isnt going to consider this fair and responsible but with a problem like this if everybody doesnt give a little bit, its never going to be fair and responsible anyway. But with some shared pain will come significant shared gain. That will be to the benefit of over 1. 5 million participants in about 125 multiemployer plans that are in serious financial jeopardy, meaning that we cant see for sure that people are going to get the benefits that they sacrifice for a lifetime of work. And it will be to the benefit of the rest of the multiemployer plans and their participants by providing a stoarng system for the stronger system for the long haul and by providing longterm solvency of the pbgc. Senator alexander and i offer this proposal as a path forward for a multiemployer Pension System that we all know is in crisis. Now, as we turn to getting this job done, i look forward to working with my colleagues in the United States senate and in the u. S. House of representatives to advance this proposal. We all know that just because you lay something on the table that its going to pass that way so maybe theres some compromise needed. But whether its this proposal or a little bit of compromise, weve got to get this piece of legislation to the president s desk before more pension holders face losses of the benefits that theyve earned and benefits that were promised. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call a senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Carper i ask to vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Carper thank you. I rise to talk about some of the observers call one of the best historically black colleges and universities in our country, it is Delaware State University. Home of the hornets. I was a u. S. Naval officer and got an m. B. A. At the university of delaware and i went to work at the Delaware Economic office. We were the capital of the delaware State College. Delaware State College and hbcu, not a wellfunded college, not one that had the favor of, frankly, the governor, the legislator, and for the for the most part and a bit of a stepchild and i thought wouldnt it be great to transform delaware State College into something, a stark, memorable outstanding. And later on id be elected governor, about 15 years later, and have a chance to work with a fellow who is the president of Delaware State University at the time and to transform it with the help of the general assembly, delaware State College and Delaware State University. Out of all the hbcu universities in the country, it is i think its ranked number five. I think there are 70 or 75 of them in all, and they have just reported that enrollment for the coming year will reach 5,000 students all undergraduates and graduates, and we are proud of the hornets. Last month on one of my regular visits to delaware state, i took a campus tour and from the cockpit of a single engine aircraft and we flew all over kent county north of dover. Had a chance to do some some approaches and it was a lot of fun and it was a basic reminder that delaware state provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs for all kinds of training and education occasional needs. But one of the key ones right now and one of the most interesting as a former naval flight officer is delaware state is i think the largest producer of pilots and aviational professionals of color in the country. Every one who graduates has a job waiting for them. Some are pilots, others do a variety of work available to aviation. We have 157 Million People going to work and five million have no one show up and we need one in the aviation world and delaware state is providing those. When our plane landed earlier this year at the airport just north of dover, i held a roundtable with Delaware State Universitys executive provost dr. Tony allen. We talked with administrators and students about a bipartisan bill called the future act discussed on the floor. The future act is introduced by senator jones, senator scott from South Carolina and it would provide a little over a quarter billion dollars annually to minority serving institutions including about 85 million to hbcus for an additional two years through fiscal year 2021. Almost 900,000 would go directly to Delaware State University. And you might ask, what does delaware state do with the moaning . They use the money to help support stem and Teacher Education programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels and ensure they have access to the best research schools. It helps to modernize classrooms at Delaware State University and help recruit young men of college to teach in the k12 classrooms so all students have mentors they can look up to. According to the center for National Education statistics, only 2 of teachers in the Public School system are African American, probably in excess 20 or more of the students are African American males. Think about that. Thats, a lot of those African American males havent had some of the best mentors and role models in their life growing up and we have so few teachers that are minority male. I think this is a good step for congress to take to bridge that gap and this is how we can support hbcus across the country. In Early September the house of representatives voted to reauthorize this funding through the bipartisan future act. Unfortunately the senate has not followed the lead of the house in this critical federal funding for our nations hbcus lapsed on september 30, and before i yield to senator coons, i want to say my recollection i might have this wrong. To be sitting here and tell me he had the the right numbers, 2 of the teachers in our Public Schools in america and i think in delaware are men of color, they are African American. Almost 20 , maybe 25 of the students in our Public School system are people of color and about half of those are male. And we need to do a better job. As a governor i started a mentoring program. When i was governor we had 10,000 mentors, a lot of them with people of color, a lot of them didnt have a positive male role model in their life and thats why the mentoring program is so important and thats why we especially need minority male teachers who are African American. And thats not all we need, but thats a big part of what we need. I think over half of the minority male teachers we have in our schools were educated at Delaware State University. More than half. I think senator coons has joined me on the floor. Im enormously proud of Delaware State University and the leadership they have today and in the past. Proud to have been an honorary hornet and proud to introduce senator coons who has been right from the start. The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Coons thank you. I come to the floor to join a number of my colleagues to speak on a critical lapse of funding for unhuns of colleges and universities across our nation. On september 30, 255 million in annual federal funding for historically black colleges an universities an Minority Institutions expired. Since this fund was first created, it has supported 400 hbcus and m. S. I. s, historically black colleges and universities and minorityserving institutions. Including 97 hbcus. This lapse has created harm to these organizations, the students, employ years, and the public. I wanted to join my colleagues in highlighting the importance of this funding. I want to speak specifically of the hbcu that delaware is so proud, Delaware State University. Delaware state is an engine for energy access. Delaware State University is one of the countrys top public hbcus. Its graduates go on to successful careers in all sorts of industries. Graduates from del state have become some of our states best nurses, teachers, business leaders, social workers, and senate staff. Their Research Programs are important drivers for innovation in a state with a proud history of innovation. It is home for neuroscience research, a partnership of institutions across our state working to advance our study of how brains form tawts, feelings and how they change as we age. It is home to oscar where research that is in that is in part federally funded helped to speed detection of disease and better deterring and detecting threats and equipping nasa missions. To put it simply, madam president , we are very proud of del state. D. U. S. Prowdz are so pro grads are progressive. Their commitment to equity and excellence are why we cant allow them to lose out on vitally needed federal funding. Last year this program provided 887,000 to delaware state, 20 of the title 3 funding. These funds have a direct impact on students and funds math, science and educator programs. Theres no good reason for the senate to ignore the hbcus and m. S. I. s and deny them the funding they deserve. In september the house passed a twoyear extension of this critical funding that is known as the future act. While i share, senator share senator alexanders commitment to permanently extend this fund, we must not act the institutions to put budgeting on hold while we in the senate negotiate over other pressing issues. Madam president , i urge my colleagues to pass the future act immediately. With that i would like to make a motion. Madam president , as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 212, h. R. 2486, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Alexander madam president , reserving the right to object. And i will object. Im disappointed that my colleagues are offering such a shortterm piece meal piecemeal approach toward resolving the problems of our historically black colleges and minorityserving institutions when i have repeatedly offered a much better idea, and they have blocked it. And i will offer it again in just a moment. I know the senator from North Carolina is here to speak on the same subject. But what i have offered, theyre offering a shortterm twoyear budget gimmicksupported idea that will have a difficult time passing the senate. What ive offered that they have blocked is permanent funding of historically black colleges and minorityserving institutions permanent funding at the level of 255 million a year, properly funded. Thats number one. An assurance from the u. S. Department of education that every single historically black institution, there are 97 of them, have enough funding to go until next october. Eep the United States senate even the United States senate ought to be able to do its job in that period of time. And at the same time, i have offered the alexanderjones bill offered by the distinguished senator from alabama which would simplify the federal aid Application Form called the fafsa for 8 million minority student 8 million minority students. So why would anybody want to take a shortterm piecemeal approach thats based on a budget gimmick that couldnt pass the senate when compared with permanent funding for historically black colleges and a bipartisan proposal to change the hated, dreaded fafsa by reducing from 108 questions to between 18 and 30, the number of questions you have to ask. This document is the single biggest impediment to minority students going to college in America Today and the democrats are blocking its passage of a bipartisan bill. Madam president , i object. The presiding officer the objection is heard. The senator from North Carolina. A senator madam president , i want to thank the chairman of the committee for objecting. Mr. Burr i want to tell my colleagues on the other side of the aisle i appreciate them being here given the passionate speeches they have because theyve made the case for senator alexanders bipartisan bill. You see incorporated in this legislation is an initiative by senator jones, senator baldwin, anybody that makes this out to be a partisan piece of legislation is just flat wrong. I have more historically black colleges in North Carolina than any state can claim. When those chancellors and president s have been presented with do you want two years or permanent, they all said permanent. They didnt know there was a permanent option. I say this to my three colleagues because none of them are on the committee. There is a permanent option for the funding for historically black colleges. Its its in the chairmans bill. Weve been told that the future act needs to be passed. The future act is two years long. Not much of a future there. We ought to match its title with the chairmans bill because this really does address the future. Number one concern of historically black institutions, predictability of funding. The chairmans bill is permanent. Were not going to come in here in two years and seek another reauthorization. But the benefit is that were passing other good legislation. Now let me point out to my colleagues because its important to read legislation, the future act is funded by whacking the funding for the state guarantee agencies. By taking away the account maintenance fees that these statebased organizations received with minister loans, were robbing peter to pay paul. These same students that are probably going to go to historically black universities are also seeking statebased loans to do it and were providing the institutions two years of predictability on one side and were taking away the fees that are needed to administrationster the loans to a administer the loans to allow them to be able to afford it. This is when its important to look at the details. The way the future act is funded actually hurts all institutions in North Carolina. Just today i heard from the North Carolina state Education Assistance authority about how important this funding is for their daily functions in administering student loans. So i believe theres a better way to extend h. B. C. Funding but also not to hurt students. At the end of the day, our focus, the human face we see is the student that benefits from the Educational Opportunity theyve been given. And i would tell you that the future act flunks on all counts. Its not permanent. It takes away from some because of how its funded. And weve got an opportunity with chairman alexanders bill, the student aid improvement act which would extend this title 3 funding permanently, but it would also include other bipartisan support changes in Higher Education. Expanding pell grants. Every member of the United States senate has sat a this floor and said oh, weve got to do something on pell grants. Here is your opportunity. It doesnt fit in the time frame of passing a bill that passed the house that provides two years of funding, but weve got bipartisan weve got a bipartisan piece of legislation. It simplifies the financial Student Financial aid process. You saw the chairman held up the form. There is nobody that can defend the continuation of that form. It should be one page. The chairman of the Education Committee has tried for now for five years to transition that to one page. So you might look at us and say, well, you know, we can do this very quickly, but we need time to talk about this. We have taken five years to do this. And the people on the committee know this. This is the sixth time youve go to the floor and asked unanimous consent to do the exact same thing. Pass this. Dont look at anything else. No. Its wrong. Its not wrong because were in the majority. Its wrong because its not serving the students who were supposed to be here setting policy for. It simplifies aid award letters to students. They actually its actually easy to tell them theyve got their student aid. Its cumbersome. If youve been on the committee, you know it. You understand the agony theyre going through. We wipe all of that away. I think chairman alexander has a better path. Id also like to remind my colleagues while this funding should be extended, theres been no lapse. Let me state that again. It should be extended and there has been no lapse. And, madam president , i would ask unanimous consent to enter into the record at this time a letter that i received from secretary devos stating that the title 3 funding in question is available through september 2021. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Burr i thank the president. On that basis alone, theres not the sense of urgency that some have come to the floor six times and suggested. I dont disagree with any of my colleagues that this is something we need to do now but a twoyear temporary bill that doesnt accomplish any of the other reforms, when weve got five years of bipartisan work, why would we not take this option . Why would we not sit down and find a way for chairman alexanders bill that has many democrat initiatives in it to pass and provide historic black colleges and universities with permanent funding, provide students with a onepage form to fill out for student aid, provide an expedited way for the notification when their loans have been approved. Were there. But for some reason some want us to do a twoyear temporary fix. Its wrong. I thank the chairman for objecting and i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mr. Alexander i see the senator from ohio. I intend to offer my alternative to which i gather someone plans to object. Ill go ahead and do that unless he wants to speak at this point. What i will do is ill make my offer quickly and then ill make my speech following the objection. But let me just summarize it to begin with. What has just happened is i have objected to a shortterm piecemeal extension of funding for historically black colleges and Minority Institutions because it is a bill that i think will have great difficulty passing the senate because of the way that its not properly funded. And what im about to offer and which i will speak on after the objection is made is a permanent funding for historically black colleges at the level of 255 million a year, permanent funding as opposed to shortterm piecemeal funding as part of a package of Higher Education legislation that has been prepared by 20 and cosponsored by 29 senators, more democrats than republicans, with the principle other provision being reducing the questions in the fafsa, the federal aid Application Form from 108 to it 18 and 30, a bill introduced by the senator from alabama, senator jones and i, and which our Senate Committee has been working on for five years and which is the single most important impediment to keeping minority students from going to college in our state and i think most states, according to our former governor, and which has and which would help eight million minority students who fill out this complicated form every year. So that i will speak more to that in just a minute. But that is what im about to ask my friends on the other side to permit me to pass. So as in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on health, education, labor, and pensions be discharged from further consideration of s. 2557, thats the bill i just described, the permanent funding of historically black colleges and the simplification of the fafsa and other measures, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Brown madam president . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Brown im reserving the right to object. I and my colleagues here, senator carper, senator coons, and prominent democrats in the education debate have deep concerns about senator alexanders proposed micropackage. To be sure, its a micropackage of Higher Education bills. Its not a complete reauthorization. Our caucus has been clear what a comprehensive bill should look like. It a it addresses, access, affordability and accountability and campus safety. This falls well this alexander proposal falls well short. My friend from tennessee says this package is bipartisan. Thats sort of true but not entirely. Hes made a number of changes to the underlying bipartisan bills that do not have the support of lead democrats on this and in some cases the lead republicans of the original bills. For example, this package includes a limited repeal of the ban on pell grants for incarcerated adults instead of the full repeal of the ban included in the bipartisan bill. Our bill adds to pell grants. His version of the shortterm pell Program Makes significant changes to the bipartisan jobs act of 2019, a bill of which im an original cosponsor. The jobs act excludes forprofit colleges from eligibility for the program. We know the Trump Administration is all about forprofit institutions with the secretary of education leading the charge. This version allows for positive faith colleges, the forprofit colleges, the sorts of colleges we know scam students to sneak their way into eligibility. One of the things i admire about the chairman of the help committee and admire since i met him 20 years ago is his work, not just as secretary of education, but his work at the university of tennessee. And he knows what forprofit colleges do for do to far too many students. It removes a number of protections meant to ensure programs eligible for this funding are actually high quality ones that education students. These are just a couple of the ways that this micropackage is different from the original bipartisan bills. We know the micropackage cannot pass the house. Chairman scott, Speaker Pelosi have been clear they wont comprehensive reform, a comprehensive reauthorization can pass. Thats not what this is. I hope we can come to a bipartisan agreement but as we Work Together, we cant hold hostage historically black colleges, universities, most of them in the south, most of them in states of my colleagues from the south, most of them in republican states with republican senators. My state has historically black colleges and delaware state as senators carper an coons mentioned and we sprom nent institutions prominent institutions that matter to our state. For two years since the Trump Administration came into office, these schools have been in fiscal limbo. I know senator alexander cares about these schools. Theres no evidence the president of the United States does. They need their funded extended now. Mandatory funding vital for these schools ran out on september 30 because this senate refused to act and because the president didnt seem to care. The house did its job, it passed the future act. Now hbcus are facing impossible decisions in the face of dwindling funding. The senate needs to take up and vote on the bill the house already passed to provide full mandatory funding for hbcus and m. S. I. s. Hbcus, we all agree on this, senator burr, senator alexander and senator cardin, they have fos eared generations of black leaders and part of the Higher Education system and they have a proven track record of educating students of color and other underrepresented students. Wilberforce founded as the nations first private institution of private education, founded in 1856, central state in the same town across the road in wilbur forest has a rich legacy of educating students with a 1980 land institution. Its further task was furthering research extension. We know without our hbcus millions of black students would have been denied that opportunity to pursue Higher Education. Hbcus account for approximately a quarter of all the black students earning bachelors degrees, nearly onethird of all African American students had earn stem degrees. We owe enormous debt to these schools which we dont seem to be paying back. Ive heard from schools about how their budgets have been thrown into chaos. They tell meac deema is academia is about planning, hbcus have received letters from the department of education telling them they are not getting future funding and they cant use any federal funding for longterm projects. It can mean program cuts and layoffs, it means no longterm construction projects, it means no hiring permanent faculty, no purchasing major equipment. Imagine operating a school like that. Its shameful in 2019 we still ignore schools that serve students of color in treating this as anything than a musspass bill. Mustpass bill. Very few African Americans voted for President Trump. He seems only to care for those who voted for him. Senator alexander wants to fulfill it. Hes operating in a straitjacket with this president. The future act is budget neutral. Its fully paid for. We use the same offset the administration has used. Its a bipartisan pay for, not a gimmick. I should add that this senate and President Trump less than two years ago had no problem passing a trillion dollar tax cut for corporations and the wealthy that wasnt paid for. We have seen under Republican Leadership in the white house, we have seen what happened to budget debt. We know that corporations have had huge tax cuts, we know that 70 of the tax cut went to the wealthiest 1 yet this body cant take care of historically black colleges. They hold schools that serve students of color to a different standard. Im hopeful that senator alexander whom i trust, and senator murray, whom i trust, can continue to negotiate a truly bipartisan, truly comprehensive higher ed reauthorization that supports hbcus. I support those efforts. I look forward thats why the way forward for the priorities that senator alexander has outlined and again micropackaged and for the updates on the reauthorizations all our students and families need. But hbcus and m. S. I. s cant wait until that process is over. They need action now. Theyve all had to overcome enough hurdles every day to educate their students. The United States senate should not be one of those hurdles. We need to pass the future act now. Accordingly, madam president. I object. The presiding officer objection is heard. The senator in tennessee. Mr. Alexander id like to take a few minutes to describe the proposal to which senator brown just objected, but if but the senator from maryland needs to i appreciate the senator from ohio saying he hopes senator murray and i can do what we usually do which is to take issues within our Education Committee and work them out and present them to the senate as a whole. But thats not the way this came up. This came up suddenly. No one talked to me about it. Here we are, weve been in the midst for five years of working on reauthorizing education, funding historically black colleges and universities has always been a part of that discussion and suddenly here comes a comes this bill as if there were an emergency. What i heard my friend from ohio say he objects to my proposal as a microproposal. It was a small proposal, but hes suggesting an even smaller proposal. Hes suggesting a twoyear fix that cant pass the senate, in my opinion, because of the way its funded. Plus, why would you want a twoyear fix when you have the chairman of the Education Committee working to have permanent funding of of historically black colleges and Minority Institutions which ive offered on the floor and which now has just been objected to by the democrats, and at the same time . He mentioned a number of bills that he thought there needed to be some changes to the request that i made that was objected to also includes simplifying the fafsa, the free application for federal student aid that 20 Million Students fill out every year. Lets put a human face on that. The president of southwest Community College in memphis i see my colleague from tennessee presiding today. She knows this institution well. Largely a Minority Institution in terms of its students. He tells me they they lose 1,500 students every semester because of the complexity of this form. 108 questions, which a bipartisan working group, including senator bennet of colorado, democrat, senator jones of alabama, democrat, senator king, of maine, independent, and many others on our side, weve been working and we reduced these 108 questions to between 18 and 30. It has the support of the student aide administrators across the country. It has the support of College President s who see their students turned away because their parents and grandparents and they see this as too complex. The former governor of tennessee led our legislator to create Free College Tuition for two years of college in tennessee, but first you have to fill this out. The governor tells me the single biggest impediment to lowincome tennesseans of getting that Free Education is the complexity of this form. Why object to doing it when weve been working on it for five years and we have a bipartisan bill to get it done . Why dont we pass it . Why dont we make it the law. What do you say to the 1,500 students who dont get to go to college because of it. The president of the State University said that 70 of his student body is subject to verification because of the way this system works you have to give some information to the i. R. S. And some information to the department of education, and if you make one little mistake, they jerk your pell grant for a while while they figure out the problem. 70 of the students were subjected to that verification and some lost their scholarship while that happened. That is totally unnecessary. People say to me in tennessee, if thats true, why dont you pass it . Thats what im asking my friends. I just asked the senate to pass it and you objected. Why dont we pass it . Why dont we make it the law. Its not like i just showed up with one day with this. We have been through the process of hearings, it has been through the committees of democrats and senators and it ought to be done. Its no use coming to the floor to say that we need to have a shortterm fix for historically black colleges when you could have permanent funding for historically black colleges and you could fix the federal aid Application Form that eight million minority students fill out every year. Eight Million Students, what are you going to say to them about why youre not going to make it easier for them to go to college when were arguing about a shortterm piecemeal fix for historically black colleges. Im disappointed. In a way im glad were having this discussion because ive been trying to bring to the attention of my colleagues, if you will go home and talk to the families theyll tell you 20 million fill this out every year. In tennessee its 400,000 and college aide administrators willle tell you that. Ill give you another example. I was in west tennessee a couple of weeks ago at an event honorsorred by the heirs family for 20 years theyve given money to help rural kids succeed in college. What they discovered is instead of spending money on scholarships, they are spending it on counselors because counselors help the students more than the money. Theres lots of scholarships they found so the counselors make the difference. What do the counselors spend their time doing . Helping students fill out these unnecessary questions. So were blocking and impeding the very students you claim you want to help when you object to this bill that ill offer today. So, madam president , i want to make it clear that ill come to the floor every day if i need to and offer legislation for permanent funding of historic cal black historical black colleges and institutions fully paid for and a bipartisan proposal to simplify the fafsa from 108 questions to 18 to 30 questions ha is estimated by that is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to create 250,000 American Students who will receive pell grants as a result of the simplicities of what we have done. So im disappointed that we havent come to a bipartisan result on that. My friends who are here today know very well thats the way i like to work. I believe the United States senate that its hard to get here, its hard to stay here, and while youre here, you might as well try to accomplish something. Thats what i want to do. I hope we can do it on Higher Education. And when weve accomplished it, i hope we can agree on permanent funding for hbcu and that historically black colleges and universities and that weve risen this complicated fafsa to the attention of both sides of the aisle and lets get it done. I dont want to go home any longer and people say to me, why dont you pass that. Why do i have to give the same information to two different parts of the federal government . Why are you discouraging the very lowincome students who ought to be going to college . So im disappointed in this result today and i intend to continue to work for permanent funding of historically black colleges. My last sentence will be this. I want all of the president s of the 92 institution to know that the department of education said interest is there is full funding for historically black colleges and Minority Institutions for another year. Now another year ought to be plenty of time for us to reject this shortterm fix and adopt a permanent solution as well as simplify the fafsa, do shortterm pell grants, and a variety of other proposals that ought to be a part of the Higher Education act. I thank the president. I yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin madam president , on november 16, it was the tenth anniversary of the tragic death of Sergei Magnitsky. He was a moscowbased lawyer who represented an Investment Company known as health and human health and Human Services taj capital, and in the course of his representation of his client, he discovered a major tax fraud issue. 230 million of taxpayer moneys was funneled through Shell Companies with business ties to president putin. So mr. Magnitsky did what any good lawyer would do in discovering corruption. He reported it to the local authorities. As a result, he was arrested, he was tortured, he was ultimately died in prison, and he was in prison for over a year nearly a year without a trial. Now, unfortunately thats not a unique circumstance in russia. But we in the Global Community decided that we could not let this injustice go without action. That those responsible needed to be held accountable. But in russia those responsible for this tragedy were promoted and received awards. So their needs to be accountability for those who violate basic human rights and their government will not take action. I first learned of the magnitsky program di as a member of as a tragedy as a mechanic of as a member of the Helsinki Commission. I was the chair and Ranking Member of the Helsinki Commission. The Helsinki Commission is how we enforced the final helsinki act that was passed in 1975. And it adheres to bake principles of to basic principles of human rights and gives every member signatore of the helsinki time accords to challenge what is happening in other states. Russia is a signatore to the helsinki final act. The United States is a signatore. And we raised the magnitsky issue. And then working with the late senator john mccain, i authored legislation known as the sergei makin magnitsky accoe act. It was enacted into law in 2012. What it does is it says those that are participating in gross Human Rights Violations in russia related to what happened to Sergei Magnitsky, that those that were responsible, we would not let them visit the United States with granting visas or use our banking system. Now, why was that so important . Because these corrupt officials like to have their assets in dollars, not rubles, and they like to visit the United States and like their families to visit the United States. What was unique about the magnitsky rule of law accoun accountability act is congress can initiate for the executive branch to take up particular names. Its interesting, madam president , ive heard from Many Russians who fully support what were doing. Were giving them an opportunity for their voices to be heard. Now, mr. Putin lobbied against the passage but it passed congress by an overwhelming vote. To date 54 individuals have been sanctioned under the Sergei Magnitsky rule of law accountability act of 2012. And it has been very effective. Weve been told through press accounts that in the summit meeting between mr. Putin and President Trump it was one of the first subjects that mr. Putin raised in regards to the magnitsky sanctions. And i must tell you it provided u. S. Leadership to stand up and Holding Human rights abusers and corrupt individuals accountable for their crimes. As a result of our action, other countries acted. Canada cant ad. The European Countries acted. And we were able to get a much more effective use of this sanction defense human rights violators. But the magnitsky legacy is not limited to russia. Unfortunately theyre powerful, corrupt, dangerous violators globally where countries do not hold these violators accountable for their actions. So once again partnering with the late senator john mccain, i authored the global magnitsky human rights accountability act that was enacted in 2016. And weve used that act. Weve used it in saudi arabia to deal with the tragic death of jamal khashoggi. Over a hundred individuals have been sanctioned under global makinmagnitsky occurring those e d. R. C. , the rohingya tragedies. Once again u. S. Leadership was there. As a result of our action, we saw action in canada. We saw action in the European Union. So as we commemorate the tenth anniversary of Sergei Magnitskys tragic death, let us recognize that his life and legacy had led to two of the most significant human rights accountability laws that accountability laws exist today. They now have the tools available to hold human rights abusers accountable and deter wouldbe perpetrators from committing such crimes in the first place. I urge my colleagues to continue to honor Sergei Magnitsky through our actions. Let us stand by our values and continue to ensure the protection of defense of human rights around the world. With that, madam president , i yield the floor. Mr. Leahy madam president . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy are we under a time agreement . The presiding officer we are not. Mr. Leahy madam president , i then would suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Leahy madam president . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy madam president , i ask consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy madam president , i know people are waiting to see what might happen around here. We do have before us and will have before us a continuing resolution to fully fund the federal government through december 20. I wish the step was not necessary. I wish we could have just passed all our bills. But while i wish the step was not necessary, i would urge all members to vote aye. Im disappointed we have to pass a second continuing resolution. I wish we were further along in our work. Its not for lack of trying. It is no secret what is holding up negotiations. The president s demand for 8. 6 billion more for his vanity wall along the southern border. A wall incidentally where he gave his word over and over again, his promise, his word to the American People that mexico would pay for it. And now hes telling the American People no, i want the taxpayers to pay for it. Its he already has 10 billion on hand. Couldnt possibly build this much wall anyway during that time with the Eminent Domain that would have to be done in texas and elsewhere. And of course a wall they have built at millions of dollars a mile, turns out somebody can buy for a hundred dollars at a local hardware show. I saw they can cut in a matter of a few seconds, cut a hole big enough to take a whole pile of people through it. They talked about well make it so high, it will be hard to get over. You just kneel down and cut a hole and go through. But he has 10 billion on hand for his wall. Could not be spent in the next year no matter how over much the government is charged for the wall. And 6. 3 billion of that he stole from our troops and their families. The vast majority of the money hasnt been spent and yet he wants more. So we have our the dwellings for our military people, our mold thats sickening their children, but the money has been taken to clean it up and put aside to pay for a wall that cant be cut through by a power saw. If we hadnt had this issue, we would have had our work done by now. And to quote one of the most famous of baseball players, its deja vu all over again. The president is once again putting his own personal interests ahead of the interests of our country. Id like to remind the chamber whats at stake in the annual Appropriations Bills. These are the things these are the things that are being held up because the president wants us to forget his promise that mexico would pay for this wall. And he wants to take the money from us. Whats being held up . Well, education for our childr children, cutting edge medical research. But he a family, somebody with diabetes or cancer or any other disease, they want their tax dollars being spent on medical research. And support for our nations farmers. Medical care for our veterans, addressing the opioid crisis, environmental programs, keep our air safe to breathe and our water safe to drink, all are being held up, all are being put on because the president cares about his wall, the symbolic wall far more than he does medical research or support for medical care for our veterans or all the other things i said. So we have ourselves at a critical jun juncture. We could pass another continuing resolution to allow us to negotiate in good faith which im committed to do or shut down the government. Well, thats really not a choice. The continuing resolution before us is a good bill, would allow us to continue our bipartisan and bicameral negotiating on the fiscal year 2020 appropriations process. I hope all senators will support it. And i would note for senators how the republican chairman of the Appropriations Committee, senator shelby, and myself as vice chairman, we have kept it in a bipartisan fashion. Almost all our Appropriations Bills that have come out of committee unanimously are virtually or virtually unanimously, when theyve come to the floor and theyve gotten an overwhelming vote. Lets rely on those senators in both parties who are willing to set aside political posturing who are willing to set aside symbolism instead of have substance. In addition to continuing to fund our government for four more week, our bill tackles some issues that have to be addressed right away. It provides the Commerce Department with the necessary funds to carry out the dis seen yal decennial census which is required by our constitution. It provides to ensure the census reaches those in the hardest to reach areas. It fulfills our constitutional obligation to make sure every american is counted. And the bill would include a provision that would block a looming 7. 6 billion recision of highway funding set to hit the states next july 1. States that virtually everybody in when chamber, republican and democrat alike. Without this provision each of our states would have seen significant cuts to their highway funding. Thats the last thing we need given the dire state of infrastructure in America Today. It also includes a pay raise for the military which is set to go into effect in january. It includes legislation to ensure that victims of statesponsored terrorism get the compensation theyre entitled to. And more importantly, it ensures the government remains funded and open while we continue to work on fullyear Appropriations Bills. Now, even if we pass this bill tonight or tomorrow, we have only four short weeks to complete our work and it can be done. Im committed to stay here as we did in the past when we had Appropriations Bills to finish. Ill work at nights, weekends. And i must say the tremendous Appropriations Committee staff works even more hours. But it cant be a oneside negotiation. And we cant be expected to divert even billions more in taxpayer dollars to fulfill President Trumps cynical Campaign Promise as part of the final deal. It doesnt have the support in this chamber or among the American People to carry that day. If we had up or down vote in this body, will you take this money away from housing for our troops, for medical research, and all these other things, to pay for an infec ineffective wao the president wont be embarrassed by having it come out that he did not keep his word that mexico is going to pay for it, of course that would fail. Tf course that would fail. Nobody wants to go back home and say they did that. We have billions of dollars in here to keep our borders secure, and we want to. Everybody wants to, republicans and democrats alike. Lets not waste the money on symbolism, especially if it means we dont do our medical research, we dont take care of housing for our troops and all of the other things ive listed. Dont do it a bill with the hopes that someday mexico will pay us back just because the president promised us they would. We all know theyre not going to. So i say this but, you know, we have made some progress. Dont go and call press conferences like some of my colleagues do at each move along the way. Ive been working closely with a bipartisan group. And i look forward to continuing to work with chairman shelby and chairwomanlloy and Ranking Member granger to get these bills across the finish line. We owe it to the American People, and weve demonstrated, i think senator shelby as chair, myself as vice chair weve demonstrated that we can get the bills through an overwhelming bipartisan vote. Just let us do it. Lets go forward and pass it. Lets do substance over symbolism. With that, i see my distinguished colleague on the floor, so i will yield the floor and put my full statement in the record. Mrs. Blackburn mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, mr. President. It is so interesting to be here on the floor and to listen to a variety of ideas and to know that across the country, people are logging on and they are tuning in and theyre watching how we go about our business. And one of the things that is so interesting is we pull the internet and Online Activity into our lives and stay connected. We sometimes enjoy the idea of just unking unplugging for a unplugging for a weekend, going superin the country that going somewhere in the country that hold a really special pull. Especially this time of year, people will talk about going away for thanksgiving, or maybe they went to look at pretty leaves. They see is it as an escape and maybe even an opportunity to get just a little by the of smugness in their tone when they talk about they have chosen a destination that has politely informed them not to expect wifi and not to expect that internet connection. But heres a question for you. How many would make that trip but still knowing theres not that connection they take the smartphone, the ipad or the lab top any way . Of course we all know people that do that. Weve been trained to the buzzing and ringing and beeping of our devices. Eventually, what happens is we give up and we start wandering around, searching senator a signal searching for a signal and then declaring to all of the unimpressed locals, well, i dont see how yall do it without being able to have access to highspeed internet. How can you survive without broadband . Well, let me say this. They do it because they do not have a choice. You know, these days encountering so much as a spotty cell signal causes certain for those of us who are accustomed to that highspeed internet and broadband connectivity. But i will tell you, there are millions of americans out there for whom a broadband connection or even the pop and hiss of a dialup connection is completely out of reach. In a world where even simple Online Interactions require lightningfast connections, economies in Rural America are falling behind. We read every day about entire industries setting up shop in budding metropolises like nashville, tennessee, but to many corporate americas glowing new hubs sound like remote outposts compared to the rush here on the eastern seaboard. Our perspective is skewed. Even so, businesses move inward because they see potential for growth with a minimal risk. But theres only so far that they can push it. Rural communities dont have much to offer in terms of Operational Support or a reliable customer base, and most of them lack a crucial resource the funding and infrastructure to back reliable Broadband Services. Its true. The cloud needs a physical connection to planet earth, and Broadband Networks rely on physical Internet Exchange points. Without these hubs, subscribers of different internet providers cant communicate with one another. While many businesses are certainly capable of fronting the costs associated with building the Actual Exchange points and running connections to other hubs, theres no incentive for them to gamble on a stagnant economy. So they go elsewhere. And local businesses go nowhere, unable to expand into the Global Online marketplace. And just to think, a decade ago we wasted an opportunity to bridge the digital divide, to even close the digital divide. Back in 2009 during the stimulus days, president barack obama signed and economic recovery package that included 7. 2 billion 7. 2 billion to expand Broadband Services in underserved areas. Well, predictably, those dollars began to flow into urban and suburban areas, leaving Rural Communities stranded on the far side of a gulf that washington had ended up widening. Mistakes were made, but it would be an even bigger mistake to make rural residents suffer through it. This year i introduced the bipartisan Internet Exchange act in an effort to get the senate talking about broadband accessibility. When passed, the bill will offset the startup costs of establishing broadband connections via a series of ramps reserved exclusively for unserved unserved rural areas. That is unserved rural areas, those that have been left out, those that did not benefit from the 7. 2 billion that president obama put in the stimulus for broadband expansion. They didnt get any of that money. They got left further behind and pushed further out of the economic mainstream for the 21st century. As with any program, structure alone is no guarantee of success, but the presence of new and expanded Internet Exchange facilities will create a stronger and more competitive web. More hubs will enable faster data transmissions, allowing local businesses to expand and in Rural Communities ecommerce to flourish, farmers, manufacturers, miners will gain access to stateoftheart technologies that support safer and more productive operations. Medical practitioners will be able to care for neglected populations via telehealth and telemedicine. Schools and libraries will have advanced educational tools to their fingerprints. And to open the world to their students. The local Law Enforcement will add an important tool in their Public Safety toolbox. Businesses looking to lay down roots will notice that Rural Communities are investing in themselves and hopefully make the decision to bring jobs and Business Opportunities to local workers and to Rural America. But perhaps, most importantly, rural residents and their guests will be able to decide for themselves whether they want to connect or unplug, and theyll be able to do it on their own terms. 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 New Hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen mr. President , i ask the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Shaheen thank you. I come to the floor today to raise awareness for the about the open Enrollment Period for Health Insurance marketplace coverage. Between now and december 15, granite staters and americans across the country can enroll in Health Care Plans for 2020 through the Affordable Care acts Health Insurance marketplace. Tens of thousands of granite staters and millions of americans will be eligible for federal premium tax credits to help pay the cost of monthly premiums, as well as Financial Assistance to reduce the cost of annual deductibles. But im sad to say that the Trump Administration refuses to be a reliable partner in helping to spread the word about open enrollment. For the third year in a row, we have an administration that is focused on sabotaging the Affordable Care act instead of raising awareness for open enrollment. This administration is even focusing resources on promoting enrollment in junk health plans that dont provide coverage for preexisting conditions and that dont meet the Affordable Care acts comprehensive coverage requirement. Now, after failing to repeal the Affordable Care act in the senate, the Trump Administration is making an end run around congress, trying to dismantle the a. C. A. Through regulation, administrative action, and lawsuits in the federal courts, and as we can see in this chart, two years ago, the administration cut funding for advertising and outreach efforts to promote open enrollment by 90 . So the administration went from 100 million you can see on that bar down to 10 million in 2017, 10 million in 2018, and 10 million in 2019. These advertising cuts are really pennywise and poundfoolish. They are part of the administrations concerted attempt to keep americans in the dark about what their Insurance Options are. Federal advertising on television and through digital platforms and other media is critical to drawing a healthy and balanced mix of consumers into the marketplace. In fact, Research Shows that californias statelevel investments in marketing and advertising for open enrollment generated a three to one return on investments from lower premiums to more balanced risk pool. So by refusing to adequately promote open enrollment, the administration is forcing our Insurance Markets to miss out on an opportunity to improve the markets, to lower premiums for consumers, and to ensure a healthy Health Insurance market, no pun intended, throughout this country. So thats why i introduced the more Health Education act, to restore those Health Insurance marketplace advertising dollars, and to increase outreach funding back to the 100 million a year. My bill would also prohibit the administration from using any of these funds to promote shortterm plans or junk plans, plans that dont comply with the Affordable Care acts requirements for preexisting condition protections among many other provisions that provide real Insurance Coverage for people who need it. The Congressional Budget Office projects that approximately 500,000 more people would enroll in the Health Insurance marketplace or medicaid coverage each year as the result of my legislation. Thats half a Million People who would be insured and be able to better take dare of themselves and their families and they would have access to Preventative Care and services and to a wide variety of other services that they would need and they would be afforded under the essential Health Benefits of the Affordable Care act. The bill my bill would also result in a reduction in marketplace premiums, thanks to the increased enrollment from a more balanced risk pool. So it would be a winwin all around. So at this time, mr. President , as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the help committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 455 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from indiana. Mr. Braun reserving the right to object, obamacare has failed because it is a classic example of Big Government getting in cahoots with a Health Care Industry thats broken. It was doomed to fail because when has Big Government and big business ever resulted in something thats going to cost less and be more effective . Under obamacare, decisions are made by the Health Care Industry executives and the federal government bureaucrats, not patients, not consumers. This program is authorizing millions of dollars we dont have to prop up a system thats not working. If obamacare was working, it would sell itself, but it doesnt work, costs continue to rise, and americans continue to be stuck with the bill. I believe there are things that obamacare does that we should keep, actually incorporated it into my own Business Plan back before the law required to you do it. I covered preexisting conditions and no cap on coverage. The pillars of obamacare, we should all accept that. When they added keeping kids on there until they are 26, thats fine, too. Those ships have sailed. But the Affordable Care act is not remotely affordable, and its only going to get worse. I applaud the Trump Administration for doing their Due Diligence on how Health Care Policy changes are going to affect average americans. And they are taking the approach to not go deeper in the hole with Something Like obamacare, but to reform the industry by making it competitive, transparent, eliminate the barriers to entry, and, yes, encourage the Health Care Consumer to get involved in his or her own wellbeing. And i do believe President Trump is right. The republicans can be the party of Health Care Without involving more government, but we need to do that by putting more power back into the hands of the American People, not ceding total power to government bureaucrats and Big Health Care executives. Ive got a better idea. Truth in pricing act. My bill im countering with encapsulates some of the ideas behind the proposed and final rules announced by the white house last week which i fully support. The complex opaque nature of Health Care Pricing makes it difficult for consumers to anticipate, measure, compare Health Care Costs and coverage options. Hospitals have a charge master that nobody can understand which actually inflates Retail Prices billable to a patient or an insurance provider, but insurers usually negotiate steep discounts to these inflated prices that consumers and the employers who pay all the bills never see any of that. Its done behind closed doors. More pricing transparency would address this market failure. Increased competition, give more decisionmaking to the people that are supposed to use it. This is why i introduced the truth in pricing act which requires Health Insurers to disclose negotiated rates, including any costsharing obligations for consumers for health Care Services covered under their health plans. It is difficult for insured consumers to shop for health Care Services in our current opaque and broken market within which obamacare works, especially if they dont know actual prices, and insurers have the unique ability to provide this information to consumers. Why subsidize Insurance Companies to pay for navigators and Insurance Agents when we can instead make the market work better and be more consumer driven and transparent . This is the way we break the stranglehold that government and Big Health Care has on health care delivery. I ask unanimous consent that the senator modify her request and instead as if in legislative session the committee on help be discharged from further consideration of senate bill 913, the true price act, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is the senator so modifying her request . Mrs. Shaheen reserving the right to object, mr. President. Let me just say that i agree with my colleague that we need more transparency in Health Care Pricing. I would argue that one of the places that we most need that transparency is when it comes to the price of prescription drugs. As im sure my colleague knows, the costs of prescription drugs are probably the biggest cost driver right now in increases in health care, and yet we in congress and the centers for medicare and medicaid are stymied because they cant negotiate with the Big Drug Companies to lower the price of prescription drugs and to make that more transparent to consumers. The Veterans Administration can negotiate for the cost of prescription drugs, and if you talk to any veterans about the cost of their prescription drugs and compare them to what people are paying in the marketplace, there is a huge difference because they have that ability to negotiate. So im sure that at some point we could probably find some agreement on transparency that would make sense. I think what my colleague is proposing is not something thats had a chance to go through the help committee and so needs further look. I would want to know what the hospitals in New Hampshire and the doctors in my state and consumers, my Insurance Department would have to say about that. And until i find that out, i would have to object to what my colleague is proposing. But i would hope that we could Work Together to address the challenges that my constituents and im sure your constituents are facing because of the costs of health care. You know, you talked about the failure of the Affordable Care act. Actually in New Hampshire, we have over 90,000 people who have now gotten coverage for Health Insurance because of the Affordable Care act through the expansion of medicaid. We have reduced the number of uninsured in New Hampshire to half of the number that we had before we passed the Affordable Care act. And what my legislation would do is to help people understand what the filing period is, how to sign up for the Affordable Care act and Health Insurance. And in fact, under the Affordable Care act as it exists now, according to estimates from the administration, approximately 54 of granite staters who are shopping for coverage on healthcare. Gov are eligible for a plan of net monthly premiums of less than 75. And nearly 40 of granite staters could find a plan with net monthly premiums under 10. But now the cautionary note is that when constituents of mine or in indiana or anywhere else in the country are shopping for plans, they need to watch out for those shortterm limited Duration Insurance plans, what are commonly called junk plans, because they are not required to cover preexisting conditions. And i was pleased to hear my colleague from indiana say that preexisting condition coverage is important. Those junk plans are not required to provide coverage for essential Health Benefits like maternity care, prescription drugs, Mental Health services. If you dont pay very careful attention when you go on the healthcare. Gov website, you can be redirected to Third Party Insurance broker sites that sell both junk plans and a. C. A. Compliant market complais plans. That creates further confusion for customers and what weve heard is those Insurance Brokers are able to charge multiple times the price for those plans for their fee than they are for plans under the Affordable Care act. The administration has been allowing these links to redirect consumers to sites that sell junk plans even though the a. C. A. Expressly prohibits any Health Insurance exchange from making available any plans that are not qualified health plans under the Affordable Care act. A number of my colleagues and i have been pressing the administration to conduct better oversight of brokers to ensure that healthcare. Gov customers are not being sold junk plans. I would urge consumers when they go on the website to make sure that you stay on the healthcare. Gov website or your states official Exchange Website when youre shopping for coverage. Be careful when you click on links that provide assistance from Third Party Insurance brokers. And i encourage granite staters and people across this country who need Health Insurance coverage, take a look at their options between now and december 15 to during this years open Enrollment Period. There is still time to enroll. Its important to tell your friends and neighbors and your family members who may not know about open enrollment because the amount of money available for outreach has been reduced so dramatically. When the administration was trying to repeal the Affordable Care act and this senate voted, americans across the country made their voices heard. Now we need that same level of engagement to raise awareness of this years open enrollment to overcome this administrations sabotage of the a. C. A. Thank you,that you want. That you want. I object. The presiding officer objection is heard to the modification. Is there objection to the original request . Mr. Braun mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from indiana. Mr. Braun reserving the right to object, we have made progress here this evening in the sense that my colleague has brought up another topic, transparency for prescriptions. Across the board when it comes to hospitals and exposing their charge masters, Drug Companies becoming transparent and competing, Health Insurance Companies Getting rid of the secret agreements behind the scenes, and even practitioners practitioners, publish your prices in print or on the web so we as employers and consumers of health care can try to make the right decisions and bring costs down. And i do object to the original request. The presiding officer objection is heard. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk on the nomination. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion. We, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of brouillette of texas to be secretary of energy signed by 17 senators as follows. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. A senator i ask the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Perdue i ask at 11 00 a. M. The senator paul or his designee be recognized to offer a motion to concur with further amendment the at the text of whs at the desk and following two minutes of debate equally divided senator shelby or his designee be recognized to make a motion to table the paul motion. Further, i ask that following disposition of the paul motion, the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment. Finally, that notwithstanding rule 22, if cloture is filed on the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment, that the vote on the cloture motion concur occur immediately, and that if cloture is invoked, the postcloture time be yielded back and the senate vote on the motion to concur with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Perdue i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Thursday, november 21. Further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the brouillette nomination. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Perdue i suggest the absence of a quorum. Quorum call mr. Perdue mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. Mr. Perdue i would ask the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Perdue i understand there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. Mr. Perdue i now ask for a second reading the presiding officer the senator will suspend. Mr. Perdue as if in legislative session, i understand that there is a bill at the desk that i ask for its first reading. Mr. Perdue mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. Mr. Perdue i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Perdue i understand that there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. The clerk s. 2920, a bill to reauthorize the violence against women act of 1994, and for other purposes. Mr. Perdue i now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. The presiding officer the objection is heard. The bill will be read for the second time on the neck legislative day. On the next legislative day. Mr. Perdue if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous adjourned under the previous earlier today we heard from u. S. Ambassador to the European Union gordon sondland, we take you live in progress to the House Intelligence Committee where they are now questioning cooper the adjustment under Deputy Assistant and david hale for political affairs. This is live coverage on cspan2. All that is not just wrong its illegal. I want you to help us walk through this, since the control act of 1974 the president says because of the skepticism. [screams] yes, sir. It was authorized to ukraine and appropriated by the congress, correct. Yes, sir. Congress is also concerned about corruption and wants toiaa ensure that it did not worsen corruption and when Congress Authorizes money and building concessions by law, ukraine would not get all the money until demonstrated that it hadlt undertaken anticorruption reforms. Under the law, the department of defense works for the state department and other agencies to establish benchmarks as determined whether they have met the benchmarks. Correct . Crymac that is correct that is provision that obtains to ukraine provision. [screams] legally specified process, that is not the president in the oval office of warning . It is a congressionally mandated process yes, sir. Did the process take place july . P in there was a process prior to the may certification in the u. S. Congress. Not only did it take place before as required by law but months before President Trump froze the money in the department of defense must send a letter to congress certifying and you said this in your opening statement, the government of ukraine has taken substantial action Institutional Reforms for the purposes of decreasing accountability and costaining improvement of congruent enabled by u. S. Assistant. By the time President Trump froze the aide the department of defense has pu spent weeks if nt months determining that the Ukrainian Government that every requirement into law we made significant strikes in combating corruption. Is that correct . That is correctly made. The timeline proves and in fact if there was any doubt about what was going on, the chairman referred to the conversation with ambassador volker that ukraine made a statement to the investigation