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

A vote to limit debate scheduled for 5 30 p. M. Eastern time. Hes been acting administrator since last march. Later this week senate is expected to take up articles of impeachment against President Trump wants the house some the articles and names of the child managers to the senate. You can watch full coverage of the trial here on cspan2. The senate. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Everlasting god, keep our lawmakers in your holy hands. Empower them to heed your instructions, as they remember that your admonition provides light for their journey. Let your gentleness motivate our senators to respect one another and to guard their lips. Lord, give them the gift of your peace that provides joy even during lifes storms. Use them as instruments for righteousness in a sinful world. We pray in your great name. Amen. Please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 6 the presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington d. C, january 13 , 2020. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable josh hawley, a senator from the state of missouri, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination department of Homeland Security rs peter gaynor of rhode island to be administrator of the federal Emergency Management agency. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell its been ten days since the United States removed irans chief terrorist, qasam soleimani, from the battlefield. Its been five days since the brutal violence, recklessness, and failed governance that defines the Iranian Regime was put on full display with their shootdown of a ukrainian civilian airliner and the deaths of all 176 souls on board. After a brief stab at a failed coverup, the iranian government had to come clean and explain that its own recklessness had killed more than 80 iranians, 63 canadians, and the other victims, and despite the claims of supposed experts on iran that iranians would rally behind their oppressive regime, the truth is quite different. Instead, thousands of iranians have taken to the streets to celebrate soleimanis death, condemn the regimes domestic oppression and call for regime change in iran and denounce their governments feeble efforts to lay its own violence at the feet of the United States. According to journalists, here is one chant thats been ringing out on the streets of iran soleimani is a murderer, his leader a traitor. Heres another theyre lying, theyre our enemy is america. Our enemy is right here. The reality is rich, mr. President. As iranians terrorist soleimani boasted to iraqi leaders, quote, we in iran know how to deal with protests. Well, that violent approach is exactly why iraqis and iranians are celebrating his death. Im sure the mullahs regret soleimani is no longer around to intimidate and murder their own citizens into silence. These protests arent limited to iran either. Protesters are back in iraq as well. Not phony, iranstaged demonstrations but real citizenled protests across iraq. Iraqis are demanding a government with a top priority with iraq as its own interests. Now given the death and terror iran has wrought in the middle east for decades, this kind of reaction shouldnt be a surprise. But strangely, strangely, it seems it has surprised many of our fellow americans. Here at home many on the left and in the media have rushed to reflexively blame President Trump and not the Iranian Regime for the recent violence. After only the earliest initial reports, the speaker of the house riewshed to blame our rushed to blame our administration for, quote, needless provocations, she said. And following irans shoot down of the airliner, one prominent House Democrat characterized the regimes violence as Collateral Damage resulting from americas actions, exactly how the iranians themselves were trying to spin it. One democrat running for president tried a similar embarrassing equivocation. He said the civilians that iran had blown up were, quote, caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwarranted military tit for tat. For several days you could not open a newspaper or turn on the Television Without prominent democrats and socalled Foreign Policy experts setting aside decades of iranian aggression to imply or even say outright that america, not iran, was responsible for the cycle of violence. That President Donald Trump was the real villain. So we are faced with a remarkable spectacle, mr. President. Even under threat of tear gas or even gunfire, the brave people of iran are themselves displaying more willingness to criticize their own brutal rulers than we saw in the initial responses from some democrats and socalled experts right here at home. A remarkable spectacle, but a pretty sad one. I hope this can be a lesson to anyone who has let their domestic political grievances pollute their judgment of world affairs. It shouldnt take the brave iranian people themselves to remind american leaders that tehran has long been the force for bad in this situation, and the United States is a force for good. So as ive said, the president s bold action has attracted significant political criticism from those in congress. Now it is the senates responsibility to weigh in on Foreign Policy and i expect well hear from our foreign colleagues very soon. I look forward to discussing the last administrations failed strategy that got us here. The Obama Administration responded to irans violence and aggression with appeasement and retrenchment rather than pushback. I look forward to discussing the fact that senior military commanders did not just recommend the president take immediate action to disrupt iranian plots against our personnel, they believe the u. S. Would be cull paably negligent if it didnt act to stop the plotting. Now i expect some of the democrats who have rhetorically embraced the Intelligence Community when it suited their political interests may now rush to criticize the career professionals. I look forward to hearing our colleagues who want to quibble over the word imminent explain just how close we should let the terrorists come to killing more americans before we defend ourselves. Just how close should we let terrorists come to killing more americans before we defend ourselves . I assure you the president had not acted to disrupt a deadly attack, im confident these same critics would have blasted him for failing, failing to protect american lives. Just a few days before the strike, the junior senator from connecticut was blasting, blasting the administration for rendering america impotent in the middle east. He complained that no one fears us, no one listens to us, he said. But naturally after President Trump did take bold action, the same colleague has become a fierce critic for supposedly being of President Trump for supposedly being too harsh, too harsh. Not exactly a model of consistency. Our democratic colleagues were very happy to give president obama wide latitude to engage in strikes where american lives and american interests were far less directly at stake than with mr. Soleimani. But now, the same democrats who embraced the obama intervention say libya in, for example, libya say its a bridge too far for President Trump to respond with limited force to iraniandirected strikes against american interests and personnel that have been escalating for months. Okay on libya. Not okay here. The double standards are literal ly headspinning. I expect the senate will soon debate senator mccains war powers senator kaines war powers resolution. For years now, i have wanted the senateing to on the record about military presence in syria and iraq. Im glad my democratic colleagues will finally be interested in having that discussion rather than ducking it. I dont believe the blunt instrument of the war powers resolution is an acceptable substitute for the studied oversight the senate can exercise through hearings, resolutions, and more tailored legislation. So i will strongly oppose the resolution, and i would urge all our colleagues to consider what message the senate should send to iran and the world at the very moment that americas actions are challenging the calculus in tehran for the better. We appear to have restored a measure of deterrence in the middle east, so lets not screw it up. Now, on another matter, on friday, Speaker Pelosi signaled she may finally wind down her onewoman blockade of a fair and timely impeachment trial. It has certainly been revealing to see how democrats first claim that impeachment was so urgent, so urgent that they could not even wait to fill out the factual record and then subsequently delay it for weeks. Well, im glad the speaker finally realized she never had any leverage in the first place to dictate Senate Procedure to senators and is giving in to bipartisan pressure to move forward. In terms of influencing Senate Proceedings, this strange gambit has achieved absolutely nothing. But it has produced one unintended side effect. The speakers efforts to precommit the senate to carry on an investigation with which her own house lost patience concedes that the house case is rushed, weak, and incomplete. Let me say that again. By trying and failing to get the senate to precommit to redoing the houses investigation, House Democrats admitted that even they do not believe their own case is persuasive. Think about the message it sends when the prosecutors are this desperate to get the judge and jury to redo their homework for them. And think about the separation of powers. The house knowingly, knowingly declined to spend time on legal battles and due process that it would have needed to pursue certain avenues, but now after declining to fight their own fight, they want the senate to precommit ourselves to wage the potentially protracted legal battles on their behalf. They wanted senators to precommit ourselves to not only judge the case that House Democrats are actually going to send over, but also to reopen the investigatory stage and maybe supplement chairman schiffs slapdash work. In other words, the president s opponents are afraid of having the senate judge the case they actually are going to send us. They are afraid of having the senate judge the case they themselves voted on. That alone speaks volumes. A few weeks ago, in real time, many senators and legal experts tried to warn House Democrats that they were nowhere near a finished product. Nowhere near. That the articles of impeachment they had drafted were more like a censure resolution based on partisan anger than an actual impeachment based on careful investigation. The house ignored us at the time. They rushed ahead to meet a political timetable, but now they have spent almost a month conceding that their own case does not stand on its own and searching for ways to supplement it from the outside. This is exactly the kind of toxic new precedent that many of us warned about back in december , that Speaker Pelosis house was not sending the senate a thorough investigation. They were just tossing up a jump ball and hoping that the political winds might blow things their way. So here we are. The senate was never going to precommit ourselves to redoing the prosecutors homework for them, and we were never going to allow the speaker of the house to dictate Senate Proceedings to senators. House democrats have already done enough damage to the precedent, to national unity, and to our institutions of government. The senate will not be sucked into this precedentbreaking path. We will fulfill our we will fulfill our constitutional duty. We will honor the reason for which the founders created this body, to ensure our institutions and our republic can rise above shortterm factional fever. The house has done enough damage. The senate is ready to fulfill our duty. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , its now been 26 days since House Democrats voted to impeach the president of the United States. This is a predictable ending to an increasingly embarrassing impeachment inquiry. Apparently Speaker Pelosi, chairman schiff, chairman nadler, and others were in such a big hurry to get this done before the end of the year, theyve obviously gotten cold feet because they have refused to introduce the articles of impeachment so we can start the trial. As the presiding officer knows, ordinarily when you are presented with a situation where the prosecution refuses to proceed to put on evidence of a case, they are dismissed in a routine matter, dismissal for want of prosecution or if they do intend to present the articles of impeachment, there is a fundamental notion of basic fairness included in the guarantee of a speedy trial that is obviously being neglected, avoided, and abused by the speaker and her leaders in the house. Our democratic colleagues in the house rushed through their investigation in only 12 weeks and it ended up passing articles of impeachment on a partisan basis. After repeatedly saying this is a grave and urgent matter, it seems like Speaker Pelosi has experienced some buyers remorses and questioned just how grave and urgent it really is. So here we are, as i said, 26 days later, and she still has not sent the articles of impeachment to the senate. As we know, even though some have suggested the senate could somehow proceed to trial absent the delivery of those articles here, we cant try the case until the charges are delivered. Well, finally last friday the speaker indicated that she will transmit the articles this week. Theyll also have to name impeachment managers, representatives from the house that will come over and actually present the charges to the senate and attempt to produce evidence in support of those charges. But it remains to be seen whether the speaker will deliver the articles this week. Shes been withholding them, as i said, nearly four weeks now, claiming its part of her strategy to get leverage over the senate, a strategy that has yielded no positive results. In fact, what weve seen is the speaker has zero leverage in the senate. She runs the house, theres no doubt about that, but the senate is a separate body and we dont take our instructions from the house just like the house does not take their direction from the senate. Before the house even voted on the articles, leader mcconnell said the senate should follow the same bipartisan framework used to guide the clinton impeachment trial. I say bipartisan because at that time 100 senators agreed to this path forward, and the logic goes this way, if it was good enough for president clinton, then it should be good enough for President Trump. Suffice it to say the speaker disagrees. Instead of sending the articles of impeachment over and letting 100 members of the senate decide how best to proceed, she has chosen to take matters in her own hands. Apparently the articles of impeachment that describes the houses role is not good enough for Speaker Pelosi. He is trying to assume what the constitution says is the senates sole power to try all peoples. But we shouldnt be fooled. This is despite her claims, it is not a fair effort to a fair process. A fair process would be like the clinton impeachment trial which was agreed to by 100 senators. Our democratic colleagues in the house threw fairness out the window be months ago. This is Speaker Pelosi singlehandedly the republicans are not the only ones who think the speaker has gone too far. The theres bipartisan agreement that Speaker Pelosi should senate the articles of impeachment over here forthwith. A number of Senate Democrats have expressed their desire to get started with the impeachment trial. I think the senior senator from california, our friend senator feinstein, same state as the speaker of the house. She summed it up best when she said, the longer it goes on, the less urgent is becomes. So if its serious and urgent, send them over. If it isnt, dont send them over. Irrefutable logic. Now were hearing from a growing number of House Democrats who have split from Speaker Pelosi and say its time to send the articles. For example, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Said we control the house, Mitch Mcconnell controls it in the senate, senator mcconnell might disagree with that, but thats what mr. Thats what the chairman of the Armed Services Committee Said. He conceded, i think its time to send the peesm to the Senate Impeachment to the senate. Well, Speaker Pelosi facing increased backlash from members of her own party, including rank and file democrats, you cant help but wonder who is winning the game shes playing . It is clearly a game. Its laughable to say she is doing this for the sake of the American People or the constitution. A new poll released by the hill showed that 58 of voters nationwide think it is high time for the house to send the articles of impeachment to the senate 58 . This delay isnt putting President Trump in a bad position. In fact, its further providing or proving the partisan motivations that have been driving the house impeachment inquiry from the very beginning. Speaker pelosi obviously isnt doing this for the good of House Democrats. Their role in the impeachment inquiry is finished, and as i mentioned, a number of her own members think she is making a big mistake by holding up the articles. And this clearly isnt giving our Senate Democrat colleagues a leg up. Several of our colleagues here in the senate have voiced their desire to get this thing going, as one has said. In fact, i think its actually harming our Senate Democratic colleagues who are on the president ial campaign trail. Can you think what senator warren, senator sanders, senator klobuchar, senator bennet, and senator booker, until this morning, who are all vying to be president until this morning, what they will be thinking being in the chamber six days aweek when the iowa caucus is coming up on february 3, the primaries in nevada, among other. New hampshires primary is the week after. These senators who are running for the democratic nomination, this their campaigns are in high gear. And i imagine the last place they want to be is in washington, d. C. , sitting in this chamber during an impeachment trial. During the trial every member of the senate will be sitting in our at your desks six days aweek until were finished. A week until we are finished. We will not have our electronic devices. I saw a piece of cabinet triwhere we will have to turn over our ipads and i phones. This will be us listening we dont have a speaking role, we will be sitting here six days a week until we finish this process. It doesnt leave a lot of time for the Senate Colleagues who are running for the democratic nomination to go to iowa or new hampshire. The longer Speaker Pelosi holds on to the articles of impeachment, the closer a trial gets to overlapping with those key dates. Now, you have to imagine our friends on the ear side on the other side who are running for president are getting a little nervous many cory booker, who left the campaign trail this morning said this trial could be a big blow to his campaign. Even a short twoweek trial will mean dozens of events that we he wont be able to go to. While it is not true for senator booker, it is for the remaining candidates. Senator warren shared the same sentiment and she thinks that being in washington will prevent her from being able to build personal connections on the campaign trail. Had Speaker Pelosi immediately transferred the articles of impeachment at the end of last year, it would have been the first item on the senates agenda when we reconvened. We could have used the clinton model to guide the process, the process that the leader promised since the articles passed. I cant help but imagine the senate and the American People would be close to putting this entire saga behind us, but instead the speaker sat on the articles. She stood in the way of the senates duty to try the impeachment trial and she stood in the way of President Trump due process rights. And the only people who seem to gain anything from this are the democrats who are running for president but who are not United States senators, and thus arent going to be tied up during the impeachment trial. Oddly enough one of these candidates and his son are looming figures in the impeachment inquiry. If youre joe biden or any other candidate who isnt a member of senate, youve got to be glad the speaker sat on these articles for nearly four weeks. Having your competitors stuck in washington, literally in their seat, while youre hitting the campaign trail, well, that seems like a pretty good advantage to me. The timeline that the speaker created is all but sure to interfere with the iowa caucuses. Its remarkable that democrats effort to impeach a president of the opposing party could have a negative impact on the president ial candidates and their own. All of this is it to say, mr. President , it is time to bring this embarrassing chapter to an end. Republicans and democrats and the American People all agree that its time to get the articles of impeachment to the senate so we can try the case according to our duties under the constitution and the American People and the congress could move on. Mr. President , i yield the floor, and i would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call  quorum call quorum call the presiding officer madam pre sident. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer are we in a quorum, madam president . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer the president of the United States is charged with committing a grave injury to our democracy, trying to shake down a foreign leader to get him to interfere in our elections, using the powers of his Public Office to benefit himself and jaundice our elections. These are the kinds of actions that the framers of our constitution most feared when they forged the impeachment powers of the congress. The house of representatives decided the president s conduct warranted his impeachment. The senates constitutional duty now is to try that case to the best of our ability, with honesty, with integrity, with impartiality and with fairness. A fair trial is one that considers all the facts and gives the senators all the information they need to make an informed decision. That means relevant witnesses. That means relevant documents. That means the truth. Without these things, a senate trial would become a farce, a nationally televised meeting of the mock trial club. Theres a reason that with one exception every impeachment trial of any official in the history of the United States has featured witnesses. That one exception was the trial of a fellow senator in the 18th century, and the question of his is impeachment was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds before the issue of witnesses could ever come up. Every other trial had witnesses. So when leader mcconnell talks about precedent, hes talking about witnesses, plain and simple. So the democratic request for four fact witnesses and three specific sets of relevant documents is very much in line with our history. We dont know what those witnesses will say. We dont know what those documents will reveal. They could help the president s case or they could hurt it. Regardless of the consequences for the president , democrats are on a quest for the truth. At the moment leader mcconnell and Senate Republicans are opposing witnesses and documents, but they cant seem to muster a real reason why. Instead leader mcconnell and the Republican Leadership have labeled the democratic request for witnesses and documents as, quote, political. If seeking the truth is political, if doing our constitutional duty is political in the minds of our republican colleagues, then the Republican Party is in trouble. History is not kind to Political Parties that fight to hide the truth. History is not kind to parties that participate in coverups. If anything, these absurd accusations by republicans demonstrate just how unable republicans have been to make an affirmative case about why the senate shouldnt ask for evidence. The republican argument against calling witnesses is basically nonexistent. The most commonly repeated talking point from the other side is that we should follow the example of the 1999 clinton trial by deciding on witnesses after both sides complete their presentations. Republicans are so unwilling to argue against witnesses, they can only support delaying the decision, like a broken magic eight ball that keeps saying, ask again later. Leader mcconnell has represented his position as being fair and openminded. He has said hes not foreclosing the possibility of witnesses. The senate should just discuss them later. As ive made clear, this makes no sense from a trial perspective. Why should both sides make their entire presentations before even consider requesting evidence . Leader mcconnells proposal is completely backward and through the looking glass. Lets consider what practically speaking leader mcconnell is suggesting when he claims to be open to witnesses at a later date. What does he really mean when he says that . In the 1999 clinton trial, the senate waited three weeks into the trial to confront the issue of witnesses. Once they decided on three witnesses with the support of several Senate Republicans here today, including leader mcconnell, it took time for the witnesses to be deposed and for the senate to consider what they had submitted. Ultimately the clinton trial ran for two more weeks. I want my fellow republican senators to ask themselves, after the senate concludes the part of the trial that leader mcconnell wants to get through, do you think he really wants to extend the trial by several weeks . Leader mcconnell has gone on record and said that he wants the trial to span two weeks total. Leader mcconnell has gone on record and said that, quote, after weve heard the arguments, we ought to vote and move on, unquote. Are we to believe that leader mcconnell after two weeks are up has an open mind about extending the trial several more weeks . What if he wants to delay the question of witnesses and documents until later and then when the time comes exert enormous pressure on republicans to reject them to avoid prolonging the trial. Hell say we cant go on any further. Lets just end it. Every republican, every republican should ask themselves that question. Democrats are not advocating a lengthy and drawnout trial. Thats why we proposed handling this issue up front, so evidence can be part of the presentation and so we dont have to extend the trial unnecessarily. Weve proposed a schedule that would save the senate a whole lot of time. So before voting on a resolution that would punt the question of witnesses until after all the presentations are complete, Senate Republicans must ask themselves what are leader mcconnells true intentions . On iran, over the past three years the president s impulsive and era particular approach to Foreign Policy has made america less safe, less respected, whether its syria or north korea or russia, the president s actions have failed to advance our national security, in some cases failed miserably. Now after the aftermath of the u. S. Strike on iranian soil, on iranian general soleimani, the president and his Foreign Policy team have insisted that the world is a much safer place today. Thats what secretary pompeo said. In recent weeks, however, the president s actions have increased the risk of iran, pushed russia to develop a nuclear weapon, weakened our ability to fight isis, and strengthened the hands of russia and china in the middle east at americas expense. How in the world is the world of a much safer place today than when President Trump took action . Its not. Every american should ask themselves this question. Are we safer today . After these actions, with russia and china on the assent, with our ability to fight isis weakened, with iran rushing to make a nuclear weapon, every american should ask this question. And as we consider the grapple with the fallout from the president s actions, there are several points for my colleagues to consider. The Trump Administration has not been transparent with congress or the American People. The Trump Administration did not consult with Congress Prior to the strike on soleimani, and it classified the war powers act notification sent to Congress Without any justification. Theres no reason much of it should be classified. It took over a week for the administration to conduct a briefing for the senate about the strike, and then the briefers, top members of the administration, practically ran out of the room after only a few questions, putting the brief in briefing. Today secretary pompeo refused to testify in the house about the administrations decisions. On something as serious as the Current Situation in iran, the administrations lack of transparency has been completely unacceptable. While the president has promised to keep us out of endless wars in the middle east, his actions have moved us closer to exactly such a war, making the American People and American Forces less safe. While im thankful that nobody was hurt by irans retaliatory missile strikes last week, there are several reasons to be concerned. Iran can strike us in other ways in the months ahead, through cyber warfare, proxies, or established Terror Networks that have destabilized the middle east for decades. The Supreme Leader himself has said the recent strikes on u. S. Installations in iraq were just, quote, one slap and, quote, not enough. Iran has also announced it will no longer abide by any restraints on its nuclear program. The president tweeted all is well with iran now. You would have to be delusional to believe that. Its sort of like saying north korea is no longer a nuclear threat. In many ways, the president has made americans less safe. Unfortunately, whats happening with iran is typical of how the president has conducted Foreign Policy over the last three years. Erratic, impulsive, and without regard for longterm consequences. As a result, the president s Foreign Policy is dangerously incompetent. We cannot say that any major problem area around the globe is better off than it was three years ago. Because of all this, because of this erratic, impulsive Foreign Policy, the senate must not allow the president to proceed unchecked. Senator kaines war powers resolution is needed now more than ever, and im glad the senate will consider the resolution this week. Senator sanders also has a bill that would deny funding for a war with iran. We should consider that legislation which i cosponsored as well. And as the situation with iran continues to evolve, the Administration Must come back and finish what they barely started last week, keeping congress briefed and up to speed on all major developments, troop deployments, strategy. On matters of war and peace, when the safety of our troops, the security of our nation is at stake, congressional oversight and the congressional prerogatives are not optional. They are mandatory. And finally, on china, later this week, china and the United States will participate in the signing ceremony or socalled phase one of the trade agreement in which President Trump has agreed to cut some tariffs on chinese goods in return for temporary assurances from china to buy more Agricultural Products from the u. S. After 18 months, the president s phase one deal with china is stunning in how little of substance it achieves at such a high cost. It fails to address deep structural disparities in our trade relationship with china, disparities that will harm American Workers and businesses for years. It also seems like this deal could send a signal to chinese negotiators that the u. S. Can be steam rolled, that President Trump can be played every time. Now, i publicly praised President Trump when he has taken a tough stance in negotiations with china at some political risk. I have said that President Trumps inbeing stingts on china were even better than either president bush or obamas. So i come to this as someone who is truly rooting for the president to succeed. For these reasons, i am more even more disappointed in what President Trump has managed to achieve or, rather, failed to achieve. According to public reports and by the administrations own admission, this deal does little to end chinas greatest trade abuses. It does not secure commitments on statesponsored cyber theft. Chinas massive government subsidies to Domestic Industries preferential treatment of Stateowned Enterprises or dumping chinese goods into the u. S. Market. In signing this agreement, President Trump removes our most effective source of leverage in exchange for mediocre temporary agriculture concessions which may not even come to pass, given chinas past history. Essentially, President Trump is selling china the farm in exchange for a few magic beans, in this case soybeans. The American People need to understand exactly whats in this phase one deal before the United States agrees to continue negotiations with china, so today im sending the president a letter with a series of crucial questions. What commitments, if any, has china made with regard to its harmful government subsidies . What commitments, if any, has china made concerning Stateowned Enterprises . What about its practice of dumping products on our market . Where there are statesanctioned cyber theft . What help will be afforded to our farmers who have lost billions in the last two years when china has already signed many longterm contracts with other soybean producers in places like argentina and brazil . These issues must be resolved before we move forward, but i fear that after months of costly negotiation, President Trump, facing reelection, has sold out american farmers, businesses, and workers in exchange for a photo op. I yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from california. Ms. Harris madam president , just across the street from where i stand today sits the United States supreme court. That building has four words etched into its marble above its entrance equal justice under law. The promise of those four words is that in our country, our system of justice must treat everyone equally, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or socioeconomic status. But too many people in our country grow up knowing and experiencing that in america, we have two systems of justice. One in which certain people are held accountable, and another in which powerful people, like donald trump, escape accountability all together. This has been true from the first days of our nations history when a group of men gathered in philadelphia to debate lofty notions of justice and equality, yet produced a document that literally counted black americans as fractions of a person. In the declaration of independence, we were told that all men are created equal, but we know that in our nations founding, at that time the policy of our nation was to robin dij news people of their land and their livelihood and to exclude women from the right to vote. So to make true the promise of america and move us toward that more perfect union, people have organized and fought and marched for justice. From the suffragettes to dr. Dr. Martin luther king jr. , those fights have won us progress toward a more just and inclusive nation. But clearly, there is still more work to be done to achieve equal justice under law. When the determination of whether you sit in jail before trial is too often based on the size of your bank account rather than the size of your crime, we have not yet achieved equal justice under law. There is more work to be done when young people selling drugs on the corner too often become felons for life while whitecollar criminals face no accountability. There is more work to be done when regarding the Sexual Assault of women, the current president has said, quote, when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. There is work to be done when the American People know that the rules arent equally enforced against powerful people. Unless we acknowledge these truths, too Many Americans will remain distrustful of our institutions and cynical about our government and our leaders, and this is the point, my colleagues. We now face a choice. Will we insist that we have one system of justice that applies equally to all, or will we continue to have two systems of justice in which some are above the law . Later this week, the senate will likely begin the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. This moment in our history will have consequences. The senate is charged with deciding whether the president of the United States, with all of his power and supposed wealth, will be held accountable for his actions and whether we will finally live up to the principle equal justice under law. This is why i speak to you today, fully aware that i stand on the shoulders of those who come before me in our nations ongoing fight for equality. I speak because i was raised by people who spent most of their lives demanding justice in the face of racism, misogyny, bigotry, and inequality. I speak because i have dedicated my entire career to upholding the rule of law and bringing integrity to our system of justice. I speak to ensure that everyone in california and throughout our country can enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed to them by the United States constitution. And as a United States senator, i speak fully prepared to uphold my solemn oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States and to do impartial justice according to the constitution and laws, and to affirm that my first obligation is to serve the people of the United States, all the people. I hope my colleagues can agree that our nations founders had the foresight to create a system of checks and balances that anticipated the need to remove a president who might yield to foreign influence or use the presidency for personal power and benefit. Our founders feared that a day like this might come, and so they empowered the United States congress with the tool of impeachment to hold a lawless president accountable. And so this week, after months of investigation, sworn testimony, public hearings, and debate, the house of representatives will likely send to the United States senate two articles of impeachment. These articles charge President Trump with abusing his power for his personal and political gain and with obstructing Congress Efforts to investigate his misconduct. In this trial, the United States senate must not only consider the charges against the president but also conduct itself in a way that demonstrates to the American People that in our system of justice, no one is above the law. Each senator here must exhibit the kind of moral and Ethical Leadership that this president abandoned when he pressured a foreign nation to interfere in our election. There is no question that President Trumps misconduct has left a vacuum of leadership in our country. And the American People are therefore rightly looking to the United States senate to demonstrate that their leaders are worthy of the public trust. The American People should expect their senators to seek the truth and not cover up facts, so let us honor our oath to defend the constitution by doing the job the American People have entrusted to us. Let us ensure that this trial is a search for truth and that we follow the facts where they lead and come to a verdict based on all of the available evidence. Let us do our jobs and insist that we hear from mick mulvaney, john bolton, and anyone with a first hand knowledge of the president s misconduct. Let us demand that the white house turn over additional emails and documents that shed light on the president s motives for withholding military aid from ukraine, and let us be clear. In order for this president to block evidence or witness testimony will itself be further evidence of his efforts to obstruct the United States congress. The importance of this moment in our history cannot be overstated. What we do in this trial will show the world who we are as a country. Our actions will also send a message to further president s and future president s of the United States about the kind of conduct that is acceptable from the leader of our nation. As the United States senate, we must say that it is unacceptable for a president to shake down a vulnerable foreign nation for personal or political benefit. We must say with one voice that no president can disregard the legitimate Oversight Authority of the United States congress. And we must say, as leaders of the United States of america, that in our system of justice everyone everyone will be held accountable for their actions, including the president of the United States. And my final point. Years from now people are going to judge they are going to judge whether we rose to the solemn occasion that is the impeachment trial that is the president of the United States, and we cannot be passive in this moment. I am mindful of Coretta Scott kings words that freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it with each generation. It is incumbent on this generation to fight for a system of justice in which all are treed equally treated equally. And in that ongoing fight, we, as the United States senate, must agree that we cannot speak about the ideals of equality and justice and then act in ways that violate those very principles. It is our duty, both as senators and as proud americans, to protect the constitution, to earn the peoples trust, and to prove to the American People that it is still within the power of the United States congress to hold the president accountable. History is watching. Our actions here will shape this bodys legacy. So i urge my colleagues to have the courage, the foresight and the patriotism to act in the interest of our nation and its people. I urge my colleagues to fight for one system of justice in the United States of america and to ensure that no one is above the law. I urge my colleagues to reaffirm the most basic of american principles. That ours is not the government of one man but a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. I yield the floor. Ms. Harris madam president , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Johnson mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from wisconsin. Mr. Johnson mr. President , i rise today asking the senate to the confirm the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mr. Johnson i ask the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Johnson mr. President , i rise today asking the Senate Confirm the nomination of mr. Peter gaynor to be the administrator of the federal Emergency Management agency. Fema administrator serves as a principal advisor to the president , the Homeland Security council and the secretary of Homeland Security for all matters related to Emergency Management. The administrators principal duties include the operation of the National Response Coordination Center and the effective support of all Emergency Support functions. More broadly, the administrator coordinate the implementation of a riskbased, allhazards strategy to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade disasters. The agency has over 20,000 employees and a Search Capacity force of over 9,000 volunteers to respond during local and national emergencies, working around the clock when necessary. The president s nominee to head fema, mr. Peter gaynor, has extensive experience at local, state, and federal Emergency Management levels. In 2018, the Senate Confirmed mr. Gaynor as the deputy administrator of fema and for most of last year, he served as the acting administrator. Prior to federal is he was director of Rhode Islands Emergency Management agency. For 26 years prior to his service in Emergency Management positions, mr. Gaynor served as enlisted marine and officer . The United States marine corps. His experience will be valuable as fema worked to implement the Disaster Recovery reform act, a primary goal of that legislation was to help ensure that the model for response to and recovery from natural and manmade as does fers is one that is locally executed, statemanaged and federally supported. I am pleased to say that mr. Gaynors nomination has broad bipartisan support. Our Committee Approved his nomination by voice vote in november. Among others, he has received endorsements from rhode island governor remindo, senator jack reed, big city Emergency Managers and the International Association of fire chiefs. I am grateful to mr. Gaynor for his willing in willingness to continue severing our nation. I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote yes on his nomination. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Without objection. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of peter gaynor of rhode island to be administrator of the federal Emergency Management agency by Homeland Security, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of peter gaynor of rhode island to be administrator of the federal Emergency Management agency shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer has any senator not voted or wishes to change their vote . On this vote then, the yeas are 76, the nays are 8. The motion is agreed to. The presiding officer the senator from alaskas recognized. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask consent to enter into a colloquy with my colleagues from rhode island and new jersey. The presiding officer without objection. The senate will be in order. Mr. Sullivan im sure all of my colleagues are going to want to listen to this speech. The presiding officer the senate will be in order. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , im going to the floor with my colleagues, senator whitehouse and senator menendez, to talk about some very important legislation for our country that passed the senate last week. Its the save our seas 2. 0 legislation, and i want to begin by thanking senator whitehouse and senator menendez for their leadership on this bill. Were going to talk a little bit about the importance of it, why it matters to alaska and new jersey and rhode island, but the whole country. But this is a significant piece of legislation. Really the most comprehensive piece of legislation to pass the congress, pass the senate dealing with ocean debris, ocean pollution ever. That sounds like pretty hyperbolic phrase, but it is true. We checked with c. R. S. , theres been nothing more comprehensive than this piece of legislation to tackle an issue that we all care about, clean oceans. So a Bipartisan Group of senators, as a matter of fact on thursday night, 100 senators passed this after a lot of work, both in the Commerce Committee, environment and public works committee, Foreign Relations committee, and after about a year of work on this, we finally got it passed. A number of senators, democrats and republicans, were cosponsors, but i really want to thank the two senators on the floor right now, in particular senator whitehouse has been a real leader on these issues dealing with oceans. And this is an environmental issue that we can solve. An environmental issue that republicans, democrats in the congress, the Trump Administration in the white house, environmental groups, industry groups, were all pulling on the aim oar. And so on the same oar. And so we had a good start last thursday on what this does. I want to turn it over to my colleague from rhode island, he has been the leader, the driver of the oceans caucus. Bit by bit he and i cosponsored the save our seas act, the president signed it to much fanfare in the oval office. You are seeing people working on this. There is a section in the usmca in save our oceans, we have gone from save our seas one to save our seas two. I think the American People dont always hear about the bipartisan work on big issues that matter to our nation thats actually getting done because theres a lot and cleaning up our oceans is important, especially in my state with more coastline than the 48 lower combined. You dont have to live in a coastal state to care about this issue. Some of our cosponsors in this bill, on both sides of the aisle, are in states that dont have any coastline. Thats how important it is. I want to turn it over to senator whitehouse. I want to thank them for their leadership. Well talk about what we will do next. This is a good day for the environment and america and a good day for our oceans not just for our country, not just alaska or rhode island, but for the world. If were leading on this, which this legislation does, then we will be able to clean up our oceans all over the world and we had ha good start on thursday night when we passed this bill in the senate legislatively unanimously. Again, to my colleague from rhode island, the floor ises yours. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse thank you very much, mr. President. I come to the floor today with a bunch of thank yous after thursday evenings happy news that save our seas 2. 0 passed the United States senate by unanimous consent. I want to thank all of the members in the senate of our bipartisan oceans caucus. The oceans caucus has been a really good forum for getting these bills moving to a point where they can pass by unanimous consent. Senator murkowski, senator sullivans colleague from alaska, set it is up. There are over 40 members. Its very bipartisan. It has had an Important Role in moving bipartisan legislation. So oceans caucus, thank you. This bill had to go through three committees, commerce, Foreign Relations and it had to go through Environmental Protection agency. Senator barrasso, the chairman of the committee on the Environmental Protection agency is here on the senate floor to express my appreciatation to him and senator carper for having shepherded this through the committee with a Unanimous Committee support and that gave it a lot of momentum to go on to Foreign Relations and to commerce. To my friend, senator barrasso, thank you very much. This is a score, a good win, a good deed was done here. Foreign relations was also very important, and senator menendez, our ranking member, is about to speak so i wont steal his thunder. He been very valuable and im extremely grateful to senator menendez, and the Commerce Committee, senators wicker and cantwell were helpful in making sure this got through congress and helping once it was on the floor. Most of all, though, my thanks go to senator sullivan of alaska. We started down this road some time ago, tentatively getting into the space Plastic Waste, and getting it to hearing which he had an essential role because there was a turf war between our committee and the fishery subcommittee in the Commerce Committee. Now if youre not from the senate you think that is all crazy talk but if youre in the senate thats a really serious problem to have to resolve. We have the very good fortune that the chairman of the fishery subcommittee of the Commerce Committee and the chairman of our committee, subcommittee in the Environment Public Works Committee are the same individual, none other than dan sullivan. He went out and had a nice debate with himself and had a happy negotiation with the turf war. And then we got to 1. 0, which was not a very big bill, but was going to test the proposition, was the senate willing to legitimate on Marine Plastic waste . And, yes, we got a big, booming, 100vote support for that in the senate and dan senator sullivan was so happy with that outcome, that we immediately went to work on crafting 2. 0, which as senator sullivan pointed out, is not just a beach head, this is significant Marine Plastic waste legislation, and it will push the administration to do a lot more, more than half of the waste in the ocean comes from five asian countries, more than 80 of the waste in the oceans comes from ten rivers in africa. This is a solvable problem if we direct resources and solutions to that problem. Im really looking forward to following up on that. Im really looking forward to getting right to work on save our seas 3. 0 because were to the done here. Theres a lot of plastic mess out there to clean up and theres a lot of Energy Around getting even more done. So to senator sullivan, my great appreciation, and ill close, if i may, with one unlikely thank you, and that is it, that is, as senator sullivan reminded me, there are senators who supported this who dont even have coasts, they are from those squareedged states in the middle of the country that dont have coasts. One of them, who has been very important to this, has been senator inhofe, of oklahoma. On climate change, senator inhofe and i are at each others throats pretty much all the time. We are always having fights about climate change. I call him a climate denier, he calls me a climate alarmest and we go back and forth fighting about climate change. But on this, he has been an essential ally and having his support has sent, i think a terrific signal into the senate that, hey, if senator whitehouse and senator inhofe can agree on this, theres room for me in there somewhere. And so a final thank you to senator inhofe of alaska, but the biggest thank you is, of course, to senator sullivan who really made this happen. With that, i will yield so that my colleague and friend friend senator menendez can add his thoughts. The presiding officer the senator is recognized. Mr. Menendez mr. President , its a pleasure to join senators whitehouse and sullivan on the floor today to thank our colleagues for passing the legislation that weve call coauthored to combat the Environmental Crisis of Plastic Waste in our oceans. Our partnership represents both the geographic and political urgency behind this growing crisis. Save our seas 2. 0 is a multifaceted effort that will help the United States better prevent plastic pollution, respond to Marine Debris emergencies, and leverage u. S. Foreign policy and International Engagement to prevent and clean up foreign sources of plastic pollution. We have a responsibility to protect the health of the worlds oceans which regulate our climate, produce half of the earths oxygen supply, and provide food to 2. 6 billion people worldwide. The Environmental Health of our world depends on healthy oceans and plastic pollution and Marine Debris are like cholesterol clogging Global Ecosystems in countless ways. The reality that Plastic Waste in our ocean knows no border es. What borders. What may be a plastic wrapper flowing down the china river today may be plastic wrapper in your tuna salad tomorrow. Let me thank senator whitehouse. Hes been so much engaged in our oceans since his coming to the senate or even before that but certainly a leader in the senate. And senator sullivan for their longstanding bipartisan leadership on this issue and cooperation on the bill. I was happy to have supported the original save our seas act in the 115th congress. Last year when several International News stories exposed the tragic environmental impacts of plastic on our marine environment, i began working on legislation to enhance u. S. International engagement on this truly Global Crisis which served as the basis for title 2 of our bill. At the time i was not immediately aware that senators sullivan and whitehouse were planning a second act, so to speak, and i dearly appreciate the of being part of the save our seas team. I also want to thank chairman risch for supporting the International Components of this bill to the Foreign Relations committee as well as all of the chairs and rankings that have already been mentioned. I think that the advancing three cop point parts Component Parts of the bill through all of these respective committees which is no small feat and the 20 bipartisan cosponsors shows the senates broad support for action on Plastic Waste. New jerseyans know all too well the threat by plastic pollution. Our plus teen beaches attract millions of people to the jersey shore each year and our coastal waters support everything from fishing to recreation to the flow of trade to our ports and harbors. No one wants to swim in plastic or eat fish that fed on microplastic. Thats why 25 new jersey townships have passed local ordinances banning or phasing down on Plastic Products and another 26 may soon join them. Theres also legislation pending in the new Jersey Legislature to limit the proliferation of disposable plastics in new jerseys economy. With 40 of americans living in coastal communities, my constituents back home are far from the only ones grappling with the hazards 6 plastic pollution in our harbors. Theres no question we still have work to do as our bill heads to the house. I look forward to continuing these efforts with senator whitehouse and sullivan and our cosponsors as we engage house leaders to act on the bill this year. So again thank you to my colleagues. Its good. I know it doesnt always get the headlines. The essence of a good store seems to be conflict, not cooperation, but im thrilled to be part of cooperation that can make a difference in the lives not just of our oceans but our families. With that i yield back. Mr. Sullivan i want to thank senator menendez and senator whitehouse again on their leadership on this. You know, weve all seen the pictures, the news stories, the issue, though, is a severe one. The World Economic forum has estimated that if we dont do anything about this big crisis, ocean debris but particularly the issue of plastics in the oceans, there are estimates that by 2050 there will be more plastics by weight in the worlds ocean than there is fish. Cant let that happen. So what weve done is weve put together this bill as already mentioned, three different committees. Theres an element on the domestic innovation side that creates a Marine Debris foundation. Thats a congressionally chartered private organization. Think of groups that matter to americans. Theres, you know, dozens of these kind of foundations but theyre important. They send a signal that the congress of the United States cares about these things. Think about the red cross, the american legion, the National Parks foundations. These are all congressionally chartered organizations that the new Marine Debris foundation will be one of them, that the American Government is focused on this. Its an opportunity for the private sector. And weve seen some industry step up. Theres the group called the alliance to end Plastic Waste thats pledged 1. 5 billion to start addressing this problem. Thats not small change. Its going to need that kind of money. Perhaps some of that can go into this foundation. Theres an innovation prize, a lot of focus in our bill on ennea vision innovation because if we can solve some of the big challenges in chemistry, a plastic bottle that could fully biodegrade, we dont have that yet but these are some of the things that the bill looks at doing. Of course senator menendez talked about the very substantial Foreign Relations cop point because component because so much of the Plastic Waste in the oceans comes from countries in asia and africa, ten rivers estimating almost 80 to 90 of all the Plastic Waste in all the oceans. So again its solvable because its definable. And then the third component, mr. President , is improving domestic infrastructure to prevent Marine Debris through new grants, foreign studies for waste management, mitigation. So this covers a lot of different areas. Innovation, our domestic side, the international side. And we have momentum. We had a great group of bipartisan senators, democrats, republicans, from all over the country, from all political persuasions showing that momentum. We have the Trump Administration fully behind this. In many ways some of their federal agencies weighed in significantly to help us design this legislation. And now we need to get over to the house and move it in the house soon. And get it to the president s desk. So this is a good day for the oceans, a good day for bipartisan success in the u. S. Senate on an issue that people care about. People really care about making sure we have clean oceans and were making progress. So i just want to leave it at that. And ill ask my colleague from rhode island whos been the real leader on this issue to wrap it. Mr. Whitehouse im delighted to close this out again thanking senator sullivan. I think theres reason to hope for a really good appropriations subCommittee Hearing on this subject in the coming year. I think theres reason to hope for another e. P. W. Committee hearing, full Committee Hearing on Marine Plastics. I expect those things will happen. That will help us with our progress. And one of the things ive come to admire about senator sullivan is that as a colonel in the United States marines, he sets himself a mission and then he goes about it with real vigor. And one of the missions that he said himself was to make sure that the Trump Administration followed up on what save our seas 1. 0 did. There were a lot of doors that were knocked on but had their hinges rattled by senator sullivan. There are a lot of Administration Officials who probably had to hold the phone an inch or so away from their ears because senator sullivan was trying to get their attention on this subject. Having seen him in action on save our seas 1. 0, i very much look forward, senator sullivan, to watching you in action on save our seas 2. 0 to make sure that its promised its promise, its legislative promise is fully realized and its implementation. With that, i yield the floor. Mr. Sullivan another whitehouse signing of this with all our colleagues. Im sure the administrations interested in it. You and i had a very eventful one over at the white house a couple of years ago. So again the momentum is there. Were just going to keep building on it. Mr. Whitehouse on to save our seas 3. 0. Mr. Sullivan correct. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session. For a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Energy Committee be discharged and the senate proceed to immediate consideration of h. R. 434. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 434, an act to amend the national trail system act to provide for the study of the Emancipation National historic trail, and for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i know of no further debate on the bill. The presiding officer if there is no further debate, the question is on passage of the bill. All in favor say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The bill is passed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of s. Res. 468 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 468, relative to the death of the honorable joycelyn burdick, former United States senator for the state of north dakota. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, january 14. 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, and morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the gaynor nomination, and that notwithstanding rule 22, the postcloture time expire at 11 3. Further, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. Finally, i ask that the Senate Recess from 12 30 until 2 15 to allow for the Weekly Conference meetings. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of s. Res. 468 and do so as a further mark of respect for the late joycelyn burdick, former senator for north dakota. The presiding officer under the previous order, and pursuant to Senate Resolution 468, the Senate Stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, january 14, and does so as a further mark of respect to the late joycelyn respect to the late joycelyn news. This is been working on another President Trump nomination. The federal Emergency Management. Well have live coverage would the Senate Returns on cspan2. Our campaign 2020 coverage continues, to say live at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan2. President donald trump this in milwaukee, wisconsin to keep America Great relic. What are coverage on cspan2. On demand at cspan. Org. Partisan on the go, with the free cspan radio app. The impeachment of President Trump, continue to follow the process on cspan. Leading to on senate trial. Live unfiltered coverage on cspan on demand at cspan. Org imhm