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

Grieves for the court and they will take a vote at 1 45 eastern. Now, live coverage here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. God of might and mercy, thank you for providing our lawmakers with opportunities for courageous and noble service. Inspire them to labor for your glory in all they say and do. Illuminate their minds with the light of your divine precepts. Equip our senators for their tasks that they may be physically fit, mentally alert, morally straight, and spiritually strong. Create in them the life of purity, honesty, and altruism that contributes solutions to the problems they face. May they work with perseverance and magnanimity for the new and better day toward which your divine intentions guide them. We pray in your faithful name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. 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. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i request to speak in morning business for one minute. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley i would like to recognize what my staff in iowa does because i cant be in iowa all the time, im in washington, d. C. For long periods of time. This is my 40th year holding q. And a. In each of iowas 99 counties. My regional staff has also committed to Holding Meetings across iowa. My iowa staff serves as my eyes and ears when im working in washington, d. C. Thats why they host mobile office hours in every county and attended roughly 1,400 meetings across the state last year. My Regional Directors tour hospitals, businesses and child care centers. They meet with disaster victims, government officials, and senior citizens. They attend ribbon cuttings, Community Forums and legislative discussions. Serving iowans is my top priority. I encourage iowans to contact any of my six offices across the state if i can be of assistance on federal matters. I yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is preserved. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mr. Mcconnell the continued spread of the covid19, coronavirus, has the world on notice. Here in the United States we are fortunate not to be facing an immediate crisis. In response to earlier reports of the outbreak, the administration began monitoring efforts and enacted commonsense travel restrictions to help blunt and delay the spread of the virus here in our country. But cufl, as our Public Health experts remind us, a nation of nearly four million square miles and more than 300 Million People cannot be hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world. There seems to be little question that covid19 will eventually cause some degree of disruption here. The question before us now is how we can help the administration and our professional medical experts continue their efforts to take advantage of this head start. Our task is to make sure these dedicated professionals have what they need to continue preparing in ways that are calm, smart, and effective. Here in congress, first and foremost, that means providing Additional Resources for the comprehensive federal response. Its our job to ensure that funding is not a limiting factor as Public Health leaders and frontline medical professionals continue getting ready. Thats exactly why several days ago the Trump Administration submitted an initial request for supplemental funding to begin the conversation. It was exactly the kind of action that many of our democratic colleagues had been demanding. But as soon as the administration did take action, to the apparent puzzlement of basically everyone including his fellow democrats, the democratic leader began launching partisan political attacks at the white house instead of working together to get this done. Just days ago, the democratic leader signed a letter, quote, strongly urging this kind of funding request but almost the instant it arrived, he began blasting it as, quote, too little, too late. And our colleague continued to move the goalpost. His strong views on the necessary amount of funds varied daily. It has been a strange and clumsy effort to override normal bipartisan appropriation talks before they even happen and replace them with topdown partisan posturing. Everyone from his fellow democrats to President Trump have seemed perplexed by the Democratic Leaders political game playing. Its not clear to anyone why he is prioritizing fighting with the white house over simply letting the appropriators do their work. I feel confident, mr. President , that the coronavirus does not care about partisan bickering or political news cycles. This new disease is not going to press pause so that members can engage in performative outrage that gets us farther from results rather than closer. This is our first step in confronting the challenge. Congress must be prepared to Work Together across the aisle in a collaborative way and actually get results. Fortunately, it appears we will have an opportunity to put this cynicism behind us quickly and move forward in a unified way. Bipartisan discussions are already under way among our colleagues on the appropriations committee. I have full confidence that chairman shelby, senator leahy, and our colleagues are fully capable of handling this quite well. I have faith the committee will carefully consider the right sum to appropriate at this time to ensure our nations needs are fully funded. I hope they can work expeditiously so the full senate would be able to take up the legislation within the next two weeks, and i hope as we move forward through this challenge, this body can put reflective partisanship aside and uphold the spirit of cooperations and collaboration that this will require. Now, on an entirely different matter, earlier this week, i said paying tribute to departing senate staff is one of my favorite and least favorite things to do simultaneously. So im especially unhappy to be back at it again today. There is almost nobody, nobody in this institution with whom i have worked more closely or whose counsel i have sought more frequently over the past six and a half years than laura dove. Few people actually understand how important the secretary to the majority and to the minority are to this institution. These two officers supervise each sides cloakroom and floor staff. Theyre sort of like air Traffic Controllers who help senators sequence the bills, amendments, and nominations that we vote on. They keep every office apprised of what exactly has happened, is happening, and will happen on the floor. They serve as inhouse procedural experts to each side, advising the leader and the chairman, and they build Close Relationships with every member of their side, trying to ensure the floor schedule reflects everything from senators policy priorities to their personal scheduling conflicts. And while the two secretaries are doing all this work in parallel with each other, they are also constantly working together. On many daily questions of process and of timing, their oneonone relationship is the diplomatic front line between the two sides of the aisle. The senate, as you know, is a consentbased institution, almost every practicality is made much easier with bipartisan agreement. From scheduling major votes to packaging nominees to literally turning the lights on every morning, and it is often laura and her counterpart gary who hammer out those details. Consider the limitless scope of this job. Its a wonder laura has made a certain piece of Human Resources phraseology into her personal mantra and her cloakrooms motts assigned. The secretary for the majority is essential to the senate, and so laura has become essential to all of us. There cannot be many fatherdaughter pairs in World History, in World History that have bonded over parliament parliamentariary procedure. But the fact is it doesnt just seem like the senate is lauras natural habitat. She literally grew up in this place. Lauras father bob dove started in the parliamentarians office in the 1960s. He kept rising, and in the 1980s and 1990s, he was the parliamentarian. Bob was known for a wry saying he would repeat after tough days. You may love the senate, but the senate may not love you back. Unfortunately for his family, one of the senates love languages turns out to be keeping people here late at night, which meant that the dove family dinners orchestrated by lauras mom linda sometimes happened in the corners of this very building. The exposure sparked lauras curiosity. Those family dinners turned into days off at school spent wandering the halls and trying to imtaillight the cute imitate the duties of the pages and then she put on a page uniform herself and thats how this decadeslong Senate Career began, delivering notes, filling water glasses, and studying for math tests in the attic dorms of the library of congress. That was the mid1980s. Laura debuted in the cloakroom right around the time i debuted as a freshman senator. Neither one of us knew what awaited us. From the lowest rung to the top of the ladder, laura threw herself into literally everything. At every step no task was too insignificant and no challenge was too great. Laura has had a hand in every accomplishment of this institution for nearly a decade. Shes played a significant role in literally every single victory of this majority. Her Job Performance alone would be stunningly impressive. But whats even more unfathomable is the level of kindness and good cheer shes maintained while doing it. She seems to begin every day with a smile on her face and a show tune on her lips. She treats everybody with the same respect and simple kindness from the pages she invites over for home cooked holiday meals to the senators whose detail she committed to memory. Shes as happy to tutoring junior staff with the baisks as talking strategy with senior members. No matter how late the senate was open, the same laura clocked in the next day full of joy and maybe a new recipe to share with fellow senate foodies. Laura reminds us the senates strength comes from its people. Shes embodied this in her professional conduct, fighting to preserve and protect this institution as she helped us navigate through it and shes embodied this institution in her personal character as well. She treats everybody with such warmth and respect as though the chamber were our shared second home. And in some cases, it literally has been. This staffer is so dedicated that shes rung in major milestone birthdays on these very premises, stolen sleep on a couch during overnight sessions. You get the picture. Few were shocked when lauras previous attempts to lead the senate fizzled out after a year or so. I remember being relieved when i got another year. But i suspect that shed be back. But this time is different. In recent months i know lauras grown more and more excited to relocate to reallocate some time from her second home to her real home to the family shes built with her husband dan and their children abby and jake. Laura loves this body, its rules, its quirks, and its history more than almost anything. I say almost anything. But she loves the family dinner with those these, a glass of wine and a game night by the fire place even more. And as they prepare to send their oldest off to college soon, that time is becoming extra precious. For us senators its hard to imagine what it will feel like to come to work next week without laura here. I imagine she may feel the same way. But i know this i know this those of us who remain will frequently ask ourselves, what would laura do . And whether the issue at hand is institutional or strategic or culinary, well know asking that question will point us in the right direction. And i also know that laura will be departing with some new wisdom of her own. She will know that in a rare occurrence her brilliant father actually got one thing wrong. That funny old saying, you may love the senate but the senate wont love you back, well his daughter will leave knowing that is only half true. So, laura, this institution cannot thank you enough nor can this majority nor can i. But i feel certain you will never quite be a stranger to the senate. I dont think you could manage it even if you tried. So we wont say goodbye, well just conclude with one more piece of laura lingo you made famous for now. I understand there is a bill due for second reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill. The clerk s. 3339, a bill to restore military priorities and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Thune mr. President. The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Thune i too want to join with the leader and my colleagues in thanking and recognizing laura dove who is leaving us here in the senate at the end of the week. I dont think there is anybody more identified with the United States senate by senators or their staffs than laura. Whn the leader was arriving when the leader was arriving here as a freshman senator, i was arriving here as a young 24yearold staffer, and happened to, i think, overlap as well when laura was with a page here. Shes been here, this has been her life, and many of us had the opportunity through the years to observe her in action and realize not only how talented and gifted she is but a person of incredible integrity as well. She spent more than two decades serving in the senate and three weeks serving as my seat mate during the impeachment trial, which im hoping wasnt the last straw in convincing her to retire. For the last seven years, shes been the secretary of the majority and minority, she helped to develop the floor schedule, providing members with legislative and parliamentary counsel. Lauras done all of that and more. Over the past seven years and done it with distinction. All of us on this side of the aisle rely on her counsel and theres no way wed be able to accomplish all that weve accomplished in the past few years without her wisdom and expertise. She has the rare ability to tell senators no, always with a smile and actually have them listen. I sought lauras advice many times, especially since becoming whip last year and i will greatly miss her counsel, although im hopeful she will leave a forwarding address for future questions. As the leader pointed out, mr. President , you might say laura was raised on the senate. Her father, robert, bob dove twice served as the Senate Parliamentarian and had a Senate Career that spanned nearly 40 years. So laura grew up steeped in the Senate Procedure and tradition. But her own career began as a senate page and i think her proudest accomplishment in the senate has been mentoring literally the scores of pages who passed through the republican cloakroom on her watch. I know she has made their experience a richer and more meaningful one. And so, laura, we thank you for your tireless work, the long days and nights that youve put in. Your wisdom, patience, and unfailing good humor will be sorely missed by senators and staff of both parties. We wish you all the very best in your future endeavors and hope that your next job will involve fewer late nights and more time for leisure, including loading up the r. V. And making another trip to the black hills of south dakota. Mr. President , most of us think that todays internet is pretty fast. We receive traffic updates basically in real time, get emails within a second or two and stream our favorite shows whenever and wherever we want. But as advanced todays internet is, the next internet 5g will make the current internet look like dialup. It will be vastly more responsive than 4g technology and be able to connect 100 times the number of devices that can be connected with 4g. While that will make it even easier to do the things that we do today like check our email or stream our favorite shows, the biggest benefits of 5g lie in the other technologies it will enable, precision agriculture, medical innovation, safer vehicles, and much more. The technology for 5g is already here. But theres more work to be done to get to nationwide 5g employment, and a key part of getting to that point is developing the workforce that will be required to install and maintain the 5g network. Current Internet Technology relies on cellphone towers. But 5g technology will require not just traditional cellphone towers but small antennas called small cells that can be attached to infrastructure like utility polls. Wireless devices will need to have 8,000. Of course after installation every one of those small cells will have to be monitored and maintained. That will require a substantial increase in the Telecommunications Workforce. Its estimated that deploying the necessary infrastructure for 5g will create approximately 50,000 new construction jobs each year over the buildout period. And thats just for construction. Right now there simply arent enough workers with the necessary training to meet the needs of nationwide 5g. Industry and Community Colleges have stepped forward to provide training opportunities but more work needs to be done if the United States wants to step forward in the 5g future. Ing as past chairman of the Commerce Committee and chairman of the technology and innovation and internet, 5g has been a priority of mine. I spent a lot of time focused on advancing 5g deployment, especially to rural states like my home state of south dakota. I was very powd to be in sioux prowpped to be in sioux falls. The senate signed into law increasing access to critical spectrum and helped to facilitate this to rural areas. Today i will introduce legislation to address the other part of the 5g equation, creating a large enough workforce to maintain all the small cells. As i said, industry and Community Colleges have stepped forward to provide programs to train workers, places like vike work are already helping to train the 5g workforce of the future. But more work needs to be done. My telecommunication Skilled Workforce acted would help increase the number of workers enrolled in 5g Training Programs and identify ways to grow the Telecommunications Workforce to meet the demands of 5g. My bill would require the department of labor to bring together our federal partners and individuals on the ground deploying telecommunications services. The resulting working group would be required to identify any current laws or regulations that are making it difficult for occasional institutions and businesses to establish programs to help meet the Workforce Needs of the telecommunication industry. Madam president , it would also be required to identify existing federal programs to address workforce shortages as well as the way the federal government could incentivize growth in the telecommunication workforce, including the deployment of fixed broadband in our rural areas. My bill would direct the department of labor and federal Communications Commission to issue guidance for states to help leverage existing federal resources for growing the telecommunication workforces and help them improve recruitment for the programs like the Wireless Infrastructure associations Telecommunications Industry registered apprenticeship program. I appreciate my colleagues, senators tester, moran and peters for partnering with me on this bim. Madam president , on this bill. Madam president , getting to 5g in the near future is important for our country, both economically and for the advances it will bring in medicine and auto safety which is why it has been a major priority of mine over the past few years and i am particularly motivated by the benefits 5g could bring to my home state of south dakota. The ability to deploy precision agriculture on a wide scale would have huge benefits for south Dakota Farmers and better access to telemedicine could bring Better Health care to thousands of residents in my home state and other rural areas. But to get for these benefits, we have to ensure that Telecommunications Companies are able to find the workers that they need. Madam president , i hope that we can quickly advance this legislation so that the United States can continue her march into the 5g future. Madam president , i yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask that the call of the quorum be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley i come to the floor for two reasons. Im first going to recognize the good work that the secretary for the majority laura dove has done for the entire United States senate but particularly for the majority but mostly for the smooth running of the senate. So before i speak on another issue, i want to associate myself with the great comments that leader mcconnell made this morning about the work of the secretary for the majority, laura dove. Lauras work in the United States senate has been tremendous with over 20 years of service. Few know Senate Procedures as well as laura dove. She keeps the Senate Firing on all cylinders working for the american people. Im a senator who hasnt missed a vote in almost 27 years. Laura dove and the republican cloakroom partnering with her and with me in my commitment to not miss a vote and they ensure that im here when im needed for those votes. I want to thank laura for helping me serve the people of iowa effectively. I wish laura all the best in her next chapter. Theres no doubt that we will miss her sharp intellect and warm smile here in the senate chamber. Next, madam president , as iowa farmers count down the days to get into the fields, baseball fans are counting down the days for that first pitch to cross the plate. As a farmer and also as a baseball fan, hope springs eternal. However, weve gotten wind that Major League Baseball is throwing local clubs a curveba curveball, a curve that would hurt baseball, hurt local economies, and the fields of dream in my home state. Thats three strikes right there. But ive got news. Dont count us baseball fans out. These local communities and this United States senator arent going to sit on the sidelines. Now heres the news. Major League Baseball said that it may cut ties with as many as 42 minor league clubs, including three historic affiliates in iowa, the burlington bees, the clinton lumber kings, and the quad cities river bandits. Ive been in communication with the Deputy Commissioner of Major League Baseball dan hallom both in letters and on the phones about the importance of these teams to iowa and im sure a lot of my colleagues have made the same contacts. I have also joined with a Bipartisan Group of my colleagues in introducing a resolution today supporting all minor League Baseball teams across the country. For generations of iowans, these ball clubs are a vibrant source of civic pride, a vibrant source of entertainment, and would you believe it also a vibrant source of economic development. While i have been to just a handful of Major League Baseball games, i have fond memories of going to minor League Baseball games in waterloo, iowa. We call them the waterloo white hawks, a club team for the Chicago White sox and i had an opportunity as a young person to see louie aberricrichyo before e made it big as a shortstop for the Chicago White sox. So you can see i want iowans to continue to be able to have that same experience. For the record, i am and will always go to bat for iowa. As iowas senior senator, i will do what i can to root, root, root for the home team. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Barrasso mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i come to the floor the presiding officer were in a quorum call. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. The 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. Under the previous order the clerk nomination, United States tax court, Travis Greaves of the District Of Columbia to be a judge of the United States tax court. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. I come to the floor today as the democrats continue to scare the American Public when it comes to their health care. This weeks democrat president ial debate the other night in South Carolina was a free for all. Their front runner, a man i believe to be a dangerous democrat socialist, Bernie Sanders is in the spotlight. And he seems to be in the lead. Socialist tamandspend policies remain in full display. The top priority of the democrats would destroy Health Care Freedom in america. Theyre proposing a complete government takeover of our Nations Health care system complete government takeover. They call it medicare for all, but lets take a look at what that actually means. It means for 180 million americans who get their health care through work, they would lose that work. They would lose that Health Insurance. And washington bureaucrats washington bureaucrats would be in charge of health care decisions. The sanders proposal has a price tag of over 34 trillion 34 trillion with a t. It would bankrupt the country and everyone in it. The only way to try to pay for it is with massive acrosstheboard tax hikes. And Bernie Sanders says hes willing to do it. Do not be deceived when they first talk about targeting the rich, because the tax increases would hit working families, even people making 29,000 a year. Thats according to Bernie Sanders own math and taxes are likely to double. Medicare for all would deliver a crushing blow, not only to family budgets, but i believe to the entire economy. It would end americas success story. You know, thanks to republican tax and regulatory relief, we have a recordsetting economy. Recordlow unemployment, record job growth, seven million new jobs, wages are rising, middleclass wages, bluecollar wages going up. It is a worker windfall, a bluecollar boom. A record 60 of americans say they are better off financially than when President Trump took office. The president s job approval is at an alltime high. But still the 2020 democrats dont seem to get t you dont hear a positive word about the economy. Instead, democrats seem to attack one another and try to move further and further to the left. During the debate last week the crowd actually booed in defense of free markets. Some democrat candidates are proposing a scaledback proposal of medicare for all. But this would create a Government Health plan to compete with worksponsored Health Insurance. Again, dont be fooled that. Public option would hurt patients across the country. Especially People Living in rural areas. It would disrupt insurance coverage, slash funding for doctors and hospitals, and would force local hospitals and clinics to close. Simply put, a public option is a pitstop on the road to 100 governmentrun health care in america. Clearly democrats are ignoring their own voters. Union workers across the country are telling democrats, dont touch our hardearned health care benefits. People dont want radical health care schemes, which is what the democrats are proposing. People care more about their pocketbooks. They want their own health care, but they want it at a lower cost. And thats what i hear every weekend at home in wyoming. Americans are struggling to pay for insurance premiums for doctors, for hospitals, and for prescription drugs. According to a new politicoharvard poll, eight in ten americans eight in ten 89 of democrats, 79 of republicans want us to lower their health care costs. 75 say we mustily or the cost of prescription drugs we must lower the cost of prescription drugs. I agree with. The Kaiser Family foundation u. S. News World Reports that nearly one in four people are having trouble paying for their prescription drugs. But socialist solutions are will only double. We have Commonsense Solutions to lower outofpocket costs without lowering standard. Aim doctor, the husband of a Breast Cancer survivors the son of a 97yearold mother. Let me assure you, republicans will always protect vulnerable americans, especially people with preexisting conditions. The Republican Health care agenda is about giving patients more choices and Better Health care. Its about improving Health Care Access and affordability. Workingwith President Trump, we are already providing muchneeded relief from costly taxes. These unfair taxes hurt working families. They hurt Small Businesses. They hurt seniors, and we have ended them. Now were working to drive down drug costs. As part of this effort, in december i joined six republican senators to introduce the lower costs more cures act. This legislation would limit outofpocket drug costs for people with Medicare Part d plans. We also ended the drug price gag rule to help patients find more affordable drugs. Were working to end surprise medical billings. These unexpected, unreasonable, and unaffordable bills undermine families finances. Its an intolerable practice, and it must stop. Republicans are delivering Better Health care. Still, to make more progress, we need democrats to work with us. Its time to come together. Its time to corporate. Its time to its time to cooperate. Its time to find Common Ground. Taking away Health Insurance from americans who get it at work is no Common Ground. Ness no Common Ground there. That is the direction of the democrat party. We need to find Common Ground, and taking insurance away from 180 million americans who get it from work and then giving free Health Insurance to Illegal Immigrants and raising taxes from americans to pay for it is not Common Ground. Lets Work Together to give patients the highquality indicator that they need from a doctor they choose at lower costs. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. 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 alaska. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i also ask unanimous consent that michael roberts, a coast guard fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , as expected, its time for our alaskan of the week speech, one of the most fulfilling things i get to do as alaskas u. S. Senator to come down to the floor of the senate, talk about people in my state who are making a difference in their communities, in the state, in the country. Its a great opportunity to do that. I always encourage people watching and listening to come to the great alaska for a visit. Youll love it. It will be the best trip youll ever take, guarantee it. I know the pages enjoy this speech each week because its a story of what real people are doing, humble heroes in many cases. Usually these are happy stories that i get i talk about. Sometimes they arent happy. The story im going to tell today is in fact a very, very tragic one, but it contains the kind of heroism and selflessness that can spring from a tragedy and literally inspire a state or a nation. And if youre listening, i think youre going to be inspired. Mr. President , i said this on the floor before, we are a state of enormous state, the biggest state in the country by far. But were also a family, and when something happens to member of our family we all grieve. This is particularly true of the town of kodiak, alaska, and in the Fishing Community, both of which suffered a tremendous loss on new years eve in the gulf of alaska when a crabbing boat sank into the freezing waters, taking with it five fishermen. The five fishermen, so you know, rock rainy, arthur garniasias and the captain gary kobon and son david perish with the crew. There were two survivors, john lawler from anchorage and dean river from washington state. And i mention that almost as a miracle that they were saved because of the bravery and the heroism of our coast guard rescuers who went through winds and snow to rescue these survivors. Credit goes to all the coast guard members throughout the country but particularly those in kodiak and specifically those who were on the flight the pilot, lieutenant christopher clark;copilot Jonathan Arden and mechanic jacob dylan. They are all the heroes in the story but i want to specifically highlight the role of the rescue swimmer that evening, new years eve, 25yearold petty officer evan grills. Now, evan is a relatively newcomer to the great state of alaska, but his heroism which saved two lives more than qualifies him to be our alaskan of the week. Before i get into the story of this perilous mission, let me tell you a little bit about the Fishing Community in alaska and why our coast guard is so very valuable. Alaskas seas are the most productive in the world. By the way, the most sustainably managed in the world. More than 60 of all seafood harvested in the United States of america comes from alaskas waters. Sixzero. I like to refer to our state as the super power of seafood, which we clearly are. And our fishermen are probably the hardestworking Small Business men and women around the world. They work hard. They take huge risks, and they produce a product that is second to none anywhere on the planet. They face brutal conditions at sea, and sometimes very tough conditions in the market. But they love their work. They love the vital role they play in supplying the besttasting, most sustainable wild fish products to america and the globe. Literally the best. The industry used to be incredibly dangerous, and it is still the nations secondmost dangerous profession. Im sure a lot of viewers have seen the show deadliest catch. But unlike in previous decades, the culture has trended more towards safety. Most alaskan fishermen youll meet have a harrowing story of a time at sea, and of course they have harrowing stories of rescues. Kodiak, alaska, where the skandi shall rose is home skandish rose is ported, it is one of the largest in terms of quantity fishing ports in the United States. For those that have never been there, youve got to go to kodiak, alaska. It is a magical, beautiful place. Its an island, one of the biggest islands in america, about the size of new jersey. Beautiful, wonderful people, tough people. By the way, the biggest brown bears on the planet all reside in kodiak. The heart of kodiak beats fish and when one of their own are lost at sea, the whole Community Mourns as it is still doing for gary jr. And david koban, two hardworking fine fishermen from a great family. Code kodiak is also home to the largest Coast Guard Base in the United States, the 17th district. By the way, were making that base bigger where more aircraft, more assets coming to america because we need it. As the chairman of the subcommittee of the coast guard im going to continue to make that happen for sure. In an average month in alaska get this in an average month in alaska the coast guard saves 22 lives, performs 53 assists, and conducts 13 security boardings and 22 security patrols. One month. Think about that. That is daily heroism for alaska, for america. They do this all in the largest Geographic Area of any coast guard district in the country, nearly four million square miles with some of the most challenging weather environments on the planet in alaska. Thats what the men and women of the coast guard do in my great state every single day. Now being a rescue swimmer in the coast guard is an elite assignment. Being a rescuer in the coast guard station in alaska is, according to our alaskan of the week, petty officer evan grills, the tip of the spear of this elite assignment. So let me tell you a little bit about everyone. Raised in stuart, florida, the home of our presiding officer florida. The military had always appealed to evan. His grandparents and uncles were marines. Im a marine colonel myself. I say semper fi to them. And some of his older friends and mentors went on to the academies. But going overseas didnt really appeal to evan. Serving in the United States and saving american citizens at home did. So did the tough training required to be a coast guard rescue swimmer. It is the most elite assignment, he said, and thats what appealed to me. So i joined. Evan had been in alaska for less than a year when on new years eve, just two months ago, the call came in that a boat about 170 miles southwest of kodiak was in trouble. Having trained mostly in swimming pools, this rescue, the one that he was being called upon, was going to be his first. Now think about that. Your first rescue, and im going to describe the conditions here that would terrify anyone. Nothing prepared him for what he would soon be undertaking. Mr. President , let me transport you now to this crabbing pot, the sandies rose. The winds are 40 knots. The cease are 30 the seas are 30 family the boat is lifting to the starboard side. Everything is freezing an it is nighttime. It is very dark. It was clear the boat was going down, but the captain heroically, with minutes to spare, was able to get off a mayday equal. A maysomeday call. In doing so, letting the coast guard know exactly where to find them, and the result of the captains heroic actions saved two lives. The two survivors, dean gribble and john lawler, waited to be rescued in these rough seas. It was a fourhour wait. It was very, very cold. They were covered in ice. The seas were pitching their raft. They were hypothermic hypothermic, and it was pitch black and they had no idea if anyone was coming gribble told a reporter that during the wait, he talked to john. Quote, were not going die today, john, this isnt our time. We are not dying today. Even know in his head he knew that they were dying if a rescue wasnt coming soon. And then they saw the lights from the helicopter, with evan grills aboard, hoveringabove. But it wasnt give than in those conditions you could even conduct a rescue, that it would be safe for the rescuer to jump in. 30foot swells to save them. To even try in these huge waves and 40knot winds and icing conditions was danger to the crew and the pilots. The flight from kodiak in those conditions had taken two hours and the helicopter was short on fuel. They only had minutes left to make the decision whether to rescue them, try to rescue them or turn around and go back to kodiak. That, combined with the extreme winds and seas and freezing temperatures, made any attempt at deploying a rescue swimmer very, very risky. The pilots confirmed with our alaskan of the week evan, they were nervous for his safety. They were hovering. They had to hover high because they didnt want to be hit by waves. Are you good with the plan, they asked . I guess so, evan said. First rescue of his career. I dont think theres much of an option not to do it. A thousand different thoughts went through evans head when he leapt into the frigid waters in a galeforce storm in pitch stark darkness risks his life to save others. But when he reached the first survivor, he said, quote, i knew exactly what to do and how to do it. It was almost second nature. His training kicked in. His great coast guard training kicked in. He explained the hoist that he had come down with, that came down from the helicopter to the first survivor and how it worked, to be hoisted up into the helicopter. And then the second survivor, he said, were going to go up in this hoist together. Relax. Ive got you covered. Calm, courage, heroic, and he did he had them covered. Mr. President , these are the actions of a hero, a true American Hero, a true alaskan hero, actions that i think need to be celebrated and known in our country. How Many Americans or alaskans even read about what this young man did to save lives on new years eve when the rest of america was celebrating and having fun . Well now they know. But there are five, as i mentioned, who tragically couldnt be saveds. We know that their memories live on and in kodiak the community and family and the loved ones of the cobbans are beginning the long, slow process of healing. As for evan, our alaskan of the week, he thinks a lot about those who were lost. Wishing that he could have done more. But hes grateful that he was able to save two lives. And hes also grateful for his training and what the coast guard does and how what he had trained for as a rescue swimmer worked. So he knows and now has the confidence that he could save others when theyre in trouble. Thats the core of it, evan said. Obviously, we dont ever want anybody to get in trouble on the seas, particularly the rough seas of alaska, but they do. And i am happy i have the skills and training to save them. Spoken like a true humble hero, which this young man is. So we are also glad you have the skills and training to save others, evan. And we want to thank you. Petty officer grills, thanks for all youre doing, thanks for your inspiration and thank you for being our alaskan of the week. I yield the floor. Mr. Portman mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman mr. President , id like to start this morning by talking about a friend of ours who has chosen to move on, leave the senate, spend more time with her wonderful family. I certainly understand that because the job she has, which is secretary to the majority, is more than a fulltime job. Its living, breathing, sleeping this place, and she does a great job at it. Her name is laura dove. Shes been doing this particular job for seven years. Prior it that, she was here on three different occasions, as i understand it, working for the senate. And she grew up with it. Her dad actually was the parliamentarian here for 36 years. And laura is a consummate professional. I work with mehr a lot on legislation i work with her a lot on legislation. She helped me get stuff through the process here, which is not only easy. She worked very closely with her counterpart on the democratic side of the aisle and figures out thousand get things done how to get things done. So the worlds most deliberative body, as they call the u. S. Senate, can meet its potential and deliberations. So to laura dove, were going to miss you. As much as we understand why you need some time with your family right now and your great, great kids and yet were going to miss you a lot. Mr. President , im here on the floor today to talk about how this strong American Economy has led to historic Workforce Needs and how if we do the right thing to respond to that problem it can become an opportunity, an opportunity to bring americans off the sidelines who have for too long not been in the workforce or have been underemployed, to bring them back in to work. I think it gives us the potential to do two things. One is to strengthen the economy. It is already strong but it would be Even Stronger if we could fill this gap. And, by the way, if we dont fill this gap, the economy will weaken. But second is to help millions of americans again who are not working, on the sidelines, who are on underemployed to be able to find meaningful employment with good pay and good benefits. Progrowth federal tax policy and regulatory policy and other policies over the past few years have worked. Some of us have talked about the need to reform the tax code and make it work better. Weve seen unemployment at low levels, 3. 6 unemployment today, which is just about a 50year low in terms of unemployment. The Congressional Budget Office has told us through recent data that we have grown at a steady 2. 3 rate in the past year. Thats good. This unemployment, by the way, number is important but also important were seeing wage growth. In fact weve now had 18 straight months of wage growth of over 3 . First time weve had this in at least a decade. Thats really important because you think about it. Really, for the past decade weve had declining wages relative to inflation. Its been about a decade and a half in ohio. Now we have this steady wage growth. Being in, among bluecollar in fact, among bluecollar workers, whove seen the highest percentage increase in wage growth. For bluecollar workers, 6. 6 wage growth over the past two years. Thats about 1. 50 an hour on average. It is a big deal. And its really important because that was one of the great objectives we had in tax reform and tax cuts was to ensure that we get the economy moving and give people the chaens to earn more the chance to earn more, have the feeling that if they worked hard, played by the rules, they could get ahead. Thats great news for the people i represent finally benefiting from higher wages. At the same time, im hearing from Small Business owners all over the state of ohio, in fact, businesses at every level, that although theyre able to move forward and add jobs, that theyre looking for workers and workforce is their single biggest challenge. Weve now had 22 straight months of more jobs being offered than there are workers looking for work. 22 months, almost two years of that. So there are a lot of openings out there. And one thing thats interesting is that even though the economy is strong and we have this unemployment at 50year lows about, that still there are people on the sidelines who arent coming in to work, as they would normally. Economists call this a low workforce Participation Rate. What means is even though we have lots of jobs out there, there are still millions of americans who are on the sidelines. Its estimated that there are about eight million workingage men. This would be between the ages of 25 and 55, who are not looking for work today. Now, this is something that means the unemployment number, which i mentioned earlier at 3. 6 , which is a very low number, almost a 50year low, is not the real number. The real number is actually higher than that if you assume a normal Labor Force Participation rate. If you had some of these people who are out of work, mentioned the eight million men, coming into the workforce, the unemployment ras would be higher. If you just go back to what the normal Participation Rate would be before the last recession, the employment rate today would be about 7. 6 , about double what it actually is. Thats an opportunity. Thats an opportunity. Now why arent these folks working . Well, theres a number of reasons for that. Lets be honest, we dont really know. Weve done a lot of analysis of it in our own office trying to figure it out. Part of it is the Opioid Crisis. Im convinced and come to the floor 60 times to talk about it. Were making progress on that now, thats good, but when surveys are done by the department of labor, by the brookings institute, they show that a substantial number, as many as 45 to 50 of the people they survey say theyre taking pain medication on a daily basis who are out of work altogether. Those roughly eight million men, in one study 47 say theyre taking pain medication on a daily basis, two thirds acknowledge it is prescription. This goes to opioid prescription drugs, heroin, fentanyl and so on. When people are addicted, often its impossible for them to get their act together and to be engaged in work on a regular basis. The Opioid Crisis definitely affected this. Another one of course is a lot of people are being let out of our jail system, our prisons. We had a Record Number of people in prison, now a lot of people are getting out. And the idea of the first step back and the Second Chance act, which is legislation that is actually helping to get people back to work, it is important. But, frankly, if youve got a felony record its tough to get a job. I think thats one reason we see so many of these people who are off on the sidelines. But another issue that i think needs to be looked at is the skills gap. And this is a big part of whats going on right now. There are jobs out there, but they are require a certain level skill. So its great that we have low unemployment. Its great we have all these openings right now. But we just dont have enough skilled workers to fill those jobs that keep growing. I visited dozens of factories and businesses over the past year, and i keep hearing that. Weve got this job, its for a welder. We cant find any welders. There are plenty of people out there looking for work or people on the sidelines not looking for work, but there are no welders. Theres one company m in ohio that told me they can higherup to 100 welders. A big Manufacturing Company in ohio. In ohio and across the country there are lots of these openings, machinists, medical technicians in hospitals. Computer programmers, people who know how to code because coding is really important now particularly as we go through the medical, electronic records. If you look at ohiomeans ohiomeansjobs. Com, a website up there saying what jobs are available in ohio, youll see there are 187,000 jobs being offered this morning in ohio. But then you look at what those jobs are, youll see a lot of them require these skills were talking about. And they dont require necessarily a college degree, by the way. Im talking about Technical Skills. I mentioned text. I mentioned techs. I didnt mention Truck Drivers, were desperate for those in ohio, people who have the skills to be able to drive a truck. Thats getting a commercial Truck Drivers license, a c. D. L. These jobs are there, but they do require some level of skills training after high school. So i think that skills gap, if it could be closed, would make a huge difference right now, again both for our economy obviously we need those jobs. If the workforce isnt there, these businesses are going to move and theyre going to move from ohio not just to indiana, but to india because thats where the jobs are going to be if we dont provide this level of skills training. But second, just a great opportunity for these individuals. Some are young people coming up. Some are people in midcareer. But getting that skills training is so critical. Posthigh School Certificates is what we really need. Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute have highlighted this with a survey that they do regularly. They say there are roughly 360,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs across the United States right now. And they say its going to get worse. They say the skills gap may leave an additional 2. 4 Million Manufacturing jobs unfilled over the next ten years, negative Economic Impact of 2. 5 trillion. So this is a big deal for our economy. The basic training for the kind of jobs im talking about is called career and Technical Education, c. T. E. For those who are a little older, you might think about vocational school. C. T. E. , by the way, is so impressive today. Its not your old vocational school. Its hightech, using much better equipment. The schools that are taking it seriously are bringing in excellent teachers from the outside from industry who understand whats needed in the real world. C. T. E. Is a great opportunity for so many young people. A few months ago i toured the Vantage Career Center in ohio. I go to a lot of Career Centers because i love to go. Im very inspired when i go. In van worth, they have juniors and seniors from more than a dozen School District coming into one c. T. E. Center. Theyre studying things like automotive technology, welding, nursing assistant training, truck driving. Theyre finding when these students get out, they can typically get a job. Some are going on to further skills training. Some are going on to Community College, some are going on to fouryear institutions. For young people in high school, look at c. T. E. It makes so much sense. I cochaired the senate c. T. E. Caucus when i first got here in 2011. I started this with senator tim kaine of virginia. We started off having three of us in the caucus. Nowp there are 29 now there are 29 senators in that caucus . Why . Because my colleagues are hearing the same thing im hearing which is we need to close the skills gap, companies are looking for people, and its a great opportunity for people who are on the outside to get into the inside, to get a job, and to get good pay and good benefits. So our job is to increase awareness of these skills programs as an education option. Our job is to get students who are more interested in skills training into these jobs. This month of february is careed Technical Education month. Were putting together a resolution. We have 57 senators who signed on to the resolution so far. If you havent signed on, legality us know. Its an if you havent signed on let us know. It is a great way to raise visibility of whats happening in our states. We passed good legislation to help. In 2018, we passed the educating tomorrows workforce act, which is working to improve the quality of c. T. E. Education programs, making sure were using, again, this equipment and standards of todays industry to make these programs even more effective. But skills training goes well beyond just these Great High School programs. Industry recognized certificate granting, technical workforce Training Programs, Post High School are another key to close the skills gap. Think of some of the skills force training offered in your Community College, maybe offered by a local technical school. They give people a certificate they can then take and get a job, industry recognized. For these kind of Post High School Training Programs, i think the big opportunity comes in improving access because programs are expensive. A lot of young people cant afford them. A lot of midcareer people cant afford them. And one thing we could do immediately is we could say lets expand pell grants to include these programs. Right now you can get a pell grant if you want to go to a Community College or Fouryear College or university or get a masters degree or ph. D. For some people thats the right track, but frankly for a lot of people what theyre looking for is get the certificate, get the skills, get a job. There is no reason they shouldnt be able to get the same help that the government who is providing someone who wants to go to a four year college or university to provide the skills that are so desperately needed. I would sail we ought to be i would say we ought to be focusing on that more. Lets change our mind set and say lets not just focus on four year colleges. Lets also put equal emphasis on skills training. We have a resolution, very simple, it says lowincome families where students are eligible for pell, lets make them eligible for one of these Training Programs, less than 15 weeks, provide the industryrecognized certificate. Our legislation is called the jobs act. It just makes so much sense. Its bipartisan. Its bicameral. We should get it done. And, by the way, for those students who go through a Technical Training program, get that certificate, end up getting a job, a lot of them do go to college, but guess who pays for it . Typically its the company that pays for it, so they dont end up having this big debt, this big burden that so many of our students have. Student debt average in ohio, by the way, is about 27,000 per student. Whereas if you go there one of these programs and end up getting an associates degree, bachelors degree or masters degree typically youre not paying anything because your employer is going to pay for you to get that additional training. My hope is that we can move this legislation forward quickly. Its something i hear from everyone back in ohio. Over the past few weeks weve held roundtables at workforce at manufacturing businesses like stanley interest in madison county, and weve talked about this issue with Business Owners, with Community Colleges, with workers whorl actually on the job. You know what . All these groups agree the jobs act is needed and needed badly. Whats more, we know that a lot of Business Owners who are getting engaged in this are willing to be helpful in terms of helping these skills Training Programs be more effective to provide the skills training that actually works for them. The jobs act has now been endorsed by the National Skills coalition, association for career and 0 technical association, business roundtable, other groups, the association of Community Colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, when i met with them earlier this month. Im also very pleased that the jobs act is included in the president s budget this year as it was last year. And i applaud President Trump and his administration for promoting this and the work theyre doing on training, internships, apprenticeships and the jobs act to provide this funding to be able to encourage more americans to get this skills training thats needed for them to have a better future. Its the best proposal out there, i believe, to help fill the skills gap right away. Theres alternative proposals out there that limit the kind of programs that would be eligible for this by requiring them to be a certain number of hours. Our Community Colleges in ohio tell me none of their shortterm Training Programs would qualify for some of these alternatives that people are talking about. For programs like welding, precision machining, electrical trades, we need to get the funding in to the shortterm Training Programs now. As i said earlier, this is c. T. E. Month, career and Technical Education month, so its a good time to talk about all forms of Technical Education. If we make expanding these Technical Skills programs a priority, if we enact the jobs act ive been talking about today, were going to address the numberone issue we hear from our employers and were going to help millions of americans have a better opportunity. Theres momentum in ohio right now. Businesses are expanding, seeking skilled workers. But again, the skills gap is still an impediment. We need to seize this opportunity, keep the economy moving in the positive direction and help ohioans to grow in the skills for the career of their choice and fulfill their potential in life. Thank you, mr. President. I yield back. Mr. Inhofe mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Inhofe first let me comment. The senator from ohio is right on target. I know when we did the authorization bills, we actually have language now that we put in to try to encourage people while theyre still in high school to find what they want to do with their lives. One of the problems you have right now is weve got great we have a great economy, the best economy than weve had in my lifetime. The bad side of that is theres a lot of competition out there, and we want to make sure that people are directed into areas where they really can enjoy life and where the market will work in their favor. And so we were very much concerned about that. There are two bills weve done so far that we have the new language in there to encourage people to use pilot programs in high school to know what direction they want to go with their lives. Mr. President , this week we voted on two very important bills. The paincapable unborn Child Protection act and the bornalive abortion survivors protection act. Unfortunately my colleagues on the democratic side voted to block these bills. But id like to thank my colleagues senator graham and senator sasse for their leadership on these bills, and id like to thank senator mcconnell for his efforts to bring these bills to the floor. Now this short Comment Period ive got here, it does have a happy ending, and im happy to share some things with these people. If you look at these two bills, first senator sasses bill, born alive abortion protection act, a bill ive cosponsored in the past would ensure a baby who survives an abortion would receive the same treatment as any other child that was naturally born and at the same age. Thats interesting, how many people out there realize that if someone goes to get an abortion and they were not successful in killing the unborn baby that when they survive and theyre out and theyre breathing, that they dont get the same treatment that any other baby would get . People are not aware of that. So thats what this bill is all about. Thats just morally right. I dont see why there would be a disagreement about it. Its not about abortion, its about infanticide. 28 years ago i came down here to this very chamber to tell a story of anna Rosa Rodriguez. This is what i said. Keep in mind, mr. President , this was 28 years ago. I said, quote, mr. Chairman, theres a big misconception regarding abortion and the issue of women and their rights to protect their bodies. Its not that right that i object to but its the right that is given to them to kill an unborn fetus, an unborn child. I want to share with you a story that my colleague, chris smith, told me some time ago on this very floor. Anna Rosa Rodriguez is an abortion survivor. At birth she was a healthy three pound baby girl except her for for her injury, she is missing one arm. She survived a botched abortion. Her mother attempted to get an abortion in her 32nd week of pregnancy when she was perfectly healthy, eight weeks past what new york state at that time said would legally allow, and in the unsuccessful abortion attempt the babys right arm was ripped off, however they failed to kill anna rosa. She lived. Now prolife supporters agree that nightmare situations like rodriguezs case are probably not common, but abortionrelated deaths and serious injuries occur more frequently than most people are aware. Its amazing im still quoting from 28 years ago. Its amazing that we can pay so much attention to issues such as human rights abroad and can allow the violent destruction of over 26 million children here at home. We are fortunate that anna was not one of those children. She survived. Well, that was 1992, and today we still dont have explicit federal protections for babies who survive the brutal abortion process. As i said, this issue is not about abortion but about caring for a baby outside the womb. This baby is alive. Its a baby thats living in the real world. The need for these protections has become even clearer as we see states like new york and illinois allowing abortion for virt any virtually any reason for up to the date of birth and support for infanticide for an infant born alive after a failed abortion. After that speech, than would have been in 1997, i was on the floor with my good friend Rick Santorum to pass a to end the partial birth abortion ban and we won the battle against partial birth abortion and ended that practice in 2003. That ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007. But we have yet to pass legislation banning lateterm abortion. Only seven countries allow abortion after 20 weeks, including the United States and north korea. You know, thats horrific. The United States is supposed to be an example in regards to Global Human Rights and yet were on par with north korea when it comes to protecting the unborn. Senator grahams paincapable unborn Child Protection act would help roll back the practice by prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks post fertilization. And the reason hes using this 20 weeks, theres one agreement that no one is in takes issue with, and that is babies feel pain after that time. Most people say that babies feel pain greater than adults do. And so thats why that 20 weeks was used in the legislation. This is another commonsense bill that should not divide us along partisan lines. A babys a baby whether its in or outside the womb and each baby deserves a chance to live as an individual created in the image of god. There is still much more we need to do to end the abortion on demand culture, but thankfully we have the most prolife president weve had in history. This january President Trump became the first sitting president to attend the annual march for life. Its a rally in washington. Hundreds of prolife oklahomans joined the president and tens of thousands of americans to end the march. I had a chance to meet many of these oklahomans, many of them young, many as young as in high school. They were here marching. They asked me how to respond when a radical left defends their views. I tell them to be kind and to voice their opinion. Under President Trumps leadership, we protected the Hyde Amendment and we stripped abortion providers like planned parenthood from using the title 10 funding for abortions. And not just that, under this president we have also confirmed 183 new judges. Thats the largest number of judges in this particular time frame of a new president. 193 new judges. The second highest in the history for the presidency. These judges understand enough to uphold the constitution. I would suspect many all of them are very sensitive to the sanctity of human life. The need to stand up for our babies is as important today as when i made the speech in 1992 and 1997. Im looking forward to building on the successes under this president. We have something that is unusual now. We have a president that is prolife and we have a lot of new judges that we expect to be conservative constitutional judges. We will overcome evil with good by upholding and affirming the dignity and inherent worth of every human life and seize the opportunity that we have today. With that, i i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Blunt madam president. The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Blunt if theres a quorum call, i move that we suspend the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Blunt madam president , i want to talk today about black History Month and specifically about black History Month and baseball. This month marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the First Successful organized league for African American baseball players, february 13, 1920, a group of eight midwestern team owners got together at the ymca in Kansas City Missouri to form the National Negro league. Before then, these African American teams had a lot of great players, they barnstormed the country and played whoever they could and whenever they could. But in 1920 these eight owners got together and decidedded everyone would benefit from my structure in the league. In the first ten years of the league, the kansas city monarchs won the pen pennant pennant four times. Other leagues were formed for African American players. Over the years some of the greatest played in the negro league, buck oneil, among others, who we would recognize who then became part of the major League Following jackie robinson, but loth of players you will learn a lot about at the Negro Leagues Museum in kansas city. The negro League Baseball league in kansas city tells this story well. And, madam president , they dont just tell the story of African American american organized baseball, but they really tell the story of a Thriving Community beyond that thats an important part of our legacy. Obviously a more important part of our legacy is to bring everybody together, but in those years around the time the negro leagues were formed, African American communities in arts and entertainment were a significant part of that story is told there as well. The 100th anniversary of the funding of the negro leagues is an opportunity for us to talk about that. These leagues had great talent. In fact, the pittsburgh grays would play here in washington half of the time. Half of their games their socalled home games, theyd play in washington at giveon stayed grifon stadium where the washington senators played. I dont think theres any argument when the grays played here, the African American team, the negro league team played here there was a greater crowd than when the senators played and it was better baseball. These were great, exciting times in baseball. This is well told at the museum. Kansas city which represents virginia, tim kaine and i are working together to commemorate the centennial of the negro leagues with the minting of a new coin by the treasury. Were joined over in the house by congressman Emmanuel Cleaver from kansas city of my constituent of missouri and congressman Steve Stivers from ohio. The way the coin works, of course, there is no cost to the taxpayers. You mint a print a coin. The congress recognizes its worth print mint is more accurate. Once all of the cost of minting those coins has been met and theres no taxpayer cost, then the money goes to the recipient organization from that point on. There will be a gold coin and a silver coin and a bronze coin at Different Levels available for people to buy. 75 of our senate colleagues, including you, madam president , and i have cosponsored this legislation. I think well get it passed very soon and with any luck, we might even pass it right here in the next day or so during African American black History Month. I want to recognize bob kendrick who is the president of the National Negro Leagues Museum for his support, for encouraging us to see if we could make this coin a reality. And all he and his board have done to preserve the history of negro League Baseball. Certainly ive been glad to take my son charlie to the museum. I go there with some frequency. A few years ago i encouraged Major League Baseball to have an event there when they were having the allstar game at kansas city. And i dont think there was a player who went to that event at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum that wasnt both impressed and touched by what they saw there. Its an important part of our history. Another part of our history thats very closely relates to this, madam president , is going to be something that ill be part of this afternoon later. We over on the house side where congressman david trone of maryland and aalong with senator durbin and congressman clay from st. Louis and congressman wagner from st. Louis, were sending a letter to the Baseball Hall of fame telling the Baseball Hall of fame that they need to include kurt flood in the Baseball Hall of fame. Now, kurt was a great player. And just on his playing skills alone should be part of the Baseball Hall of fame. He played almost his entire career with the cardinals, seven consecutive years. That included two world series pennants in 1964 and 1967. He won seven gold gloves in that ten years designated in that in that seven years rather. The best Center Fielder in the National League. I remember that team well. We were cardinal fans at my house. In the late 1950s, early 1960s, you didnt have very many sports on tv but we listened to every cart natural game that we could hear on cardinal game that we could hear on the radio. My mom and dad were dairy farmers. I remember hauling hay at night and whoever was driving the truck should have been almost deaf because the radio if there was a cardinals game going on would be as loud as it could possibly be so those of us out tossing the bails on the hay truck could hear the cardinals game. I also remember and i checked myself yesterday to be sure i was accurate but on that kurt flood team, that 1964 team, it was bill white at first base, harvey at second base, dick at short stop. Ken at third base. Tim mccarver catching most of the time and if bob gibson was pitching and in the outfield it was lou brock, the great lou brock, kurt flood in center field and mike shannon in right field. Mike shannon, by the way, still announces on radio and occasionally on television the cardinals games. But it was a great team and kurt flood was an important part of that team and frankly he should be in the hall of fame just because of that. Two world series, most valuable. The best centerfielder in baseball, the National League seven years straight. But in 19 late 1969, the cardinals decided they were going to trade kurt flood to the phillys. I dont think kurt flood had anything necessarily against the phillys but we didnt want to be traded against his will. So he wrote a letter to the commissioner of baseball and in that letter he said, after 12 years in the major leagues, i do not feel that i am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. That began the challenge to the reserve clause in baseball and maybe particularly significant here in black History Month that an African American player was the one that challenged the reserve clause. But the reserve clause in baseball, you would play for your teams owner as long as you wanted to play unless your teams owner decided you would play for someone else. And then youd play for that person as long as they wanted you to play unless you decided you didnt want to play baseball anymore. So it was kurt flood who challenged that. Hed lost the Supreme Court case, 54 loss in the Supreme Court. But it didnt take too many years before not only was the reserve clause reversed but kurt flood was recognized in federal legislation. The singlepage letter filed as part of the 1970 case, theres a copy of that letter at the hall of fame in coopers town. If theres a copy of kurt floods letter in the hall of fame, kurt flood should be in the hall of fame and i hope those looking back at whats called the golden years of baseball, that look at players who didnt get into the hall of fame will take our advice, look at kurt flood, look at the difference he has made for players playing the game today, and put him in the hall of fame. I yield back. This week from our southern border. Were making progress on the wall that President Trump has fought so hard for, and that progress will be further supported by billions of dollars in new appropriations funding to reach the president s goal of 450 miles by 2021. Think about it. 450 miles that have been secured. What we do know is as a result of all of these rampedup security efforts, Border Apprehensions are down 78 from last mays high of over 130,000. We have had falling, falling numbers every single month for the last eight months. This is a very good thing. It shows the word is getting out that we are serious about our sovereignty, about securing our border, about ending the access that traffickers, human traffickers, drug traffickers have had on that border. So thats the good thing. This good news is clouded a little bit by the reality that all is still not well. Border patrol officials estimate that nearly one million migrantk about that number. Nearly one million migrants crossed our border illegally and evaded apprehension in fiscal 2019. Thats the severity of this problem. Think about it, a Million People, additional people. Think aboutthink about the sizea population of a Million People. Thats the number that moved into our country. We do not know who they are. We do not know where they have come from. We do not know if they are traffickers. We do not know if they wish us well, or their intent for coming into our country. So while things are trending in the right direction, i think it is fair to say we are not out of the woods yet on this issue of illegal immigration. And until we get this influx of illegal aliens under control and manage the fallout of allowing so many people to come into this country and live illegally, heres what weve got. Every town is a border town, and every state will remain a border state because of the problems that they have to face every single day. Let me give you an example. On december 29, 2018, knoxville, tennessee fire chief d. J. Cork ran and his wife wendy, their lives were changed forever, and their happy, Healthy Family was brutally transformed into a grieving angel family. On that day an illegal alien in tennessee struck and killed their 22yearold son pierce corcoran. It was a headon car crash. Pierce died that day, and a few months later that illegal alien was deported to mexico. I have to tell you, for me, as i have worked with the corcorans since this time and shared their grief, this is an unsatisfying end to a tragic series of events that never should have happened, because the man responsible for pierces death never should have been in tennessee in the first place. That story is heartbreaking. Unfortunately it is not unique. In 2019 another tennesseean named Debbie Burgess was killed in a hitandrun accident caused by an illegal alien with a lengthy criminal record. Just last week sever county, tennessee and this is something that has shaken the entire community. Sever county, two Elementary School children walking to school, they are hit by an illegal alien who fled the scene. Tragic. Now, every member of this body is well aware that our countrys permissive attitude toward illegal immigration has reallife consequences. Our constant debate over policy and funding does not exist solely in the abstraction of politics. Starting right now we must look internally and ask ourselves what changes can we make to deincentivize illegal entry into the United States . What can we do . You know, it seems so easy to people. Come cross the border illegally. You might be able to get benefits. You can have access to education. You can work. Theres a way to do this and live in the shadows. So how do we deincentivize this . While tennessee, along with a majority of states, prohibits drivers licenses for gleam for illegal aliens, a growing number of states are moving in the opposite direction and allowing dangerous openborder style policies. This month i introduced the stop green lighting driver licenses for Illegal Immigrants act, and its purpose is precisely what the title of this bill says it will do. And you can see from the poster, there are some states in red, if you live in one of those states, your state, your state has agreed to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens. Let me tell you a little bit more about this, because once it is signed into law, the bill will halt Certain Department of justice Grant Funding to states that defy federal immigration law. Noncomplying states that means those states that say were not going to comply with federal law. Oh, no, not us. Were going to be a sanctuary for those that are illegally in the country that are choosing to break the law. So theyve decided theyre going to be a sanctuary for illegal aliens. That is what you call a noncomplying state. Those states will no longer enjoy access to the edward byrne memorial justice Assistance Grant program. This is a program that was created to fund local Law Enforcement and criminal justice initiatives. In 2019, states that issued driver licenses to Illegal Immigrants received over 50 million from this program. So their choice to defy the law will result in no small sacrifice. Madam president , it is their choice. They can choose, if they want to, say we refuse to comply with federal law. They can make that choice, but they are not going to get taxpayer money through Law Enforcement grants. This is common sense. I want to encourage my colleagues to think back to the fear and confusion that we all experienced in the weeks after 9 11. Madam president , im sure you remember that time. I remember that time. I remember that feeling of what can we do. Not only had we known tremendous loss, we had discovered that we were not nearly as secure as we thought we were here in this country. And one of the loopholes that we discovered came about because people said how in the world could these terrorists hijackers have so easily obtained a stateissued driver license that allowed them to board those planes and carry out those deadly attacks. People said how could this have happened . How could they have done this . We found a loophole, so what did we do . We closed that loophole. We passed the real i. D. Act. This isnt done as a form of repression. It is a practical way of managing a vulnerability that was found in state agency paperwork. The real i. D. Act is something we are all complying with now. You have to take a Social Security number. You have to take a proof of residence. You have to take other documentation that shows that you are who you claim to be. But less than 20 years later, look at where we are. 13 states and the District Of Columbia have regressed into more lax policies, pre9 11 policies. Often they only require a passport or a consular card as proof of identity. And here is the kicker if you do not have the right documents, meaning you dont have a passport, you dont have a birth certificate, you dont have a Social Security number, you dont have proof of residency, you dont have proof of employment, these states are saying never mind, doesnt matter. Were going to let you sign an affidavit. An affidavit to say youre not able to secure a Social Security number. Madam president , what are these states doing . Theyre creating again a vulnerability in the system. There are people that will go sign an affidavit, and guess what . All of a sudden theyve got a real i. D. These states say were going to stamp it for state use only. I think they say that with a wink, wink, nod, nod because they know that they are putting a vulnerability in that system. They are letting people that we do not know who they are, we do not know their intent for being in this country, but they are going to allow this reckless policy to go into effect. And it is reckless. It goes hand in hand with other broad sanctuary rules that increase crime, that frustrates the efforts of our local Law Enforcement officials. Now heres another bit of good news. The courts are coming down on the side of security. And yesterday a federal appeals court, the Second Circuit court in new york, upheld President Trumps authority to enact antiillegal immigration, antisanctuary policies similar to what would be codified in my legislation. It would allow for those funds to be restricted to those entities that are making a choice, taking a vote, and deciding they dont want to comply with federal law. I will tell you, madam president , i should not have to stand on the floor of the u. S. Senate and beg our colleagues to support policies that stand with the rule of law and prevent tragedies like the deaths of pierce corcoran and Debbie Burgess. So i would ask my colleagues, join me in this effort. Join me in standing with rule of law. Join me in standing with these angel families who know grief that i wish no one had to know and experience. Join me in supporting the stop green lighting driver licenses for Illegal Immigrants act. I yield the floor. And i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Gardner mr. President. The presiding officer the senator for colorado. Mr. Gardner thank you, mr. President. I ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i come to the floor today with somber news for colorado and our country about a gentleman that ive talked about many times on this floor and across colorado, donald stratin who was on the u. S. S. Arizona 1941. Our country has suffered a great loss this past week with the passing of mr. Stratiin. He served his country, his family, and our great state with honor, pride, and courage. He was the type of person who only comes around once in a generation and someone who i was lucky to have gotten to know and certainly proud to have worked with. And it is with great emotion that i come to the floor today to share his story once again im sure it wont be the last time but it is certainly the most personal time that i have ever shared his story. Donald was born in a tiny town in nebraska, red cloud, nebraska, 1922. Today its a population of 900 or so people. I didnt have a chance to look and see how big it was when he was born in 1922. I imagine it may have been a little bigger. It has certainly faced the fate that many Rural Communities in america have, seen times of growth, times of loss. But certainly the people of red cloud know that they have lost a great hero as well. Donald stratton wrote in his memoirs on december 6, 1941, he wrote down as a young nebraska sailor that he felt like the luckiest boy from red cloud. The luckiest boy from red cloud december 6, 1941, because he was in an incredibly beautiful part of the world. He wrote in his memoir, he was in the navy, seeing the world, stationed in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. He was 19 and his entire life stretched before him. That next morning, december 7, 1941, would change forever Donald Stratton and his country. In his book, he talked about that day, december 7, 1941, a little after 5 00 a. M. That he had awoken on his cot about an hour and a half before sunrise, and i quote, i stretched, rubbed the sleep from my eyes and folded up my cot. I stored it in the incinerator room, then went below to shower. After i dressed for the day in the typical casual clothes that sailors wore on sundays, a clean pair of pressed white shorts and a white tshirt, along with my sailors hat. A few minutes later at 5 30, reveille sounded over the intercom. Below decks, men tumbled out of their hammocks and headed to the showers. A few hours later at 7 55 that morning, after a sunday morning breakfast, he heard airplanes and bombs in the distance and the attacks on pearl harbor began. By 8 06, 11 minutes later, twothirds of his body would be engulfed in flames. He was at his station directing antiaircraft guns, trying his best to fight off the japanese surprise attack, and at that moment, a 1,700pound armorpiercing bomb was dropped from 10,000 feet above the u. S. S. Arizona. That bomb came crashing down through four steel decks where it reached the ammunition magazine, causing a series of explosions and shot a fireball 500 to 600 feet in the air. Engulfing Donald Stratton and his shipmates in even more flames. That sunday morning, december 7, aboard the u. S. S. Arizona, over 1,512 officers, sailors, and marines, the attack that day, that 1,700pound bomb and so many others killed 1,177 of them. Only 335 brave people survived that morning, and Donald Stratton was one of those 335 sailors. The story of survival happened because of a sailor that was stationed next to the u. S. S. Arizona on a ship called the vestal, a sailor by the name of joe george. What happened that morning was as they were trying to fight back, they had been trapped in their tower. Donald stratton and five of his other shipmates were burning and trapped on that tower as the ship was going down, and joe george, a sailor aboard the vessel, saw them, saw what was happening, and tried many times to throw a rope over to the u. S. S. Arizona to provide help, and finally he succeeded, and out of the smoke and out of the flames, a lifeline from joe george to that tower was seen, and they were able to affix it to the tower and miraculously Donald Stratton and these other sailors were able to shimmy across the rope to safety on the vestal. Over the burning oil and the water, despite their terrible wounds, they made it to the vestal. But that story led to an incredible fight again from Donald Stratton, because he spent a year recovering from the burns that were over almost all of his body, but he told his parents that he couldnt just abandon the fight, he couldnt abandon his country. He needed to go back into duty. So with that, he went back into service to his country, but the fight Donald Stratton gave to this country and for his fellow sailors didnt stop there because after after he served in the navy, after he left, then he knew he had to spend the rest of his life fighting for the man who saved his life and his fellowship mates. But it wasnt like people left the ship at the end of the day on december 7 to go back to the office and fill out reports and say well, it was a busy day at the office, these things happen. America was at war. Thousands of lives had been lost. And in the fire and the smoke and the fight, what joe george had done for Donald Stratton and those other brave sailors was lost for that time. Donald stratton came back into service, he came back into the fight, and he spent the rest of his life trying to find the man who saved his life. He spent decadesplus looking for joe george to find out who it was, and after he found out who it was, he spent 16 years fighting the navy so that joe george could be recognized for his heroic actions. Donald stratton went to the arizona legislature, he went to the colorado leg tour. They legislature. They passed resolutions asking that joe george be recognized for his acts of bravery and courage. He came to this congress, lauren bruiner, Donald Stratton, the other members who survived the arizona, the remaining few of the arizona came to the senate and said please help us make sure, as fewer and fewer of us are able to celebrate and to commemorate december 7 each and every year, could you please celebrate one more life, joe george. And on december 7, 2017, the navy recognized joe george with the bronze star and the v. For valor device. I have a picture of Donald Stratton saying goodbye one more time to his fellowship mates on december 7, 2017. Fellow shipmates on december 7, 2017, thanking joe george for saving his life and probably never fully understanding why his mission didnt end that day and so many others did, but thanking god that he was able to continue the fight for this country. So while Donald Stratton was on the brink of death, he knew he had to get back into the fight, and he did. He went back into the pacific theater. He wrote in his book that although i may have left pearl harbor on a stretcher, i had returned on a destroyer. I had recovered my strength, as had my country. I was ready to meet what was coming and i had a boat load of reinforcements with me. And Donald Stratton came back fighting for our country and fighting for the man who saved his life. He wrote in his memoir that in life, the only question that matters is, quote, have i lived a good life. He says you wonder if you will be remembered when you are gone, wonder who will remember you and why, and please know that we will remember you eternally and your family for what you have done for this country. Mr. President , im introducing and have introduced a resolution to recognize and remember Donald Strattons life because there are only a few, a few remaining brave men and women who survived that day, who survived that war, who fought for us so many years ago, and i hope that all my colleagues will support it so this American Hero and his incredible life can be remembered by our nation forever. The first time i met Donald Stratton, he told me his story. He told me what he had done. He told me how he and his wife had met. How he went back into the fight after receiving such severe burns that his wife used to take a bristle brush to help his skin feel better. I asked how he did it and said mr. Stratton, im pretty sure i never could have done what you did. This kind of aw shucks misdemeanor from red cloud, nebraska, was well, cory, everybody has to be somewhere. Thats not the response i thought i was going to get. Thank god Donald Stratton was on that boat december 7, 1941. Thank god joe george was on that boat. Thank god the rope was thrown over the tower to save his life. Thank god that Donald Stratton returned into the fight to stand up for this country, to continue his fight for joe george, and to have an incredible family that continues to share in his legacy today. Thank god for all of them, and thank god for all the men and women who were there that day and what they have been able to do to fight for this country, to stand for this country, to pay back the blessings of this country as we must fight each and every day to pay back the blessings that they have so generously bestowed upon this nation when they stood up because they were there. We know that Donald Stratton has joined his fellowship mates and that reveille at the his fellowshipmates and that reveille at the pearly gates must be quite splarl. He passed away at his home next to his beloved wife in Colorado Springs. He joins lorne bruiner, another survivor that morning of the arizona who came with him to my office, a shipmate who passed away on september 10 of this year and was interred in the u. S. S. Arizona on december 7, on the 78th anniversary of the pearl harbor attack. I pray that they all rest in peace as they join their family in arms. And this saturday, the community of Colorado Springs and our state will hold a Memorial Service for Donald Stratton where he is laid to his final resting place next to his daughters in nebraska. As we say goodbye to this hero, let us all do it with thanks for Donald Stratton and for the two remaining survivors of the u. S. S. Arizona today, lou conter and ken potts, and for every brave man and woman who serves our country. We are eternally grateful. Im going to miss him. I yield the floor