Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240712

The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will open the senate with prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, give our lawmakers the wisdom to remember and be grateful for all the things you have already done. Lord, you have sustained our nation during seasons of war and peace. You have helped us to find creative ways to strive for a more perfect union. You have provided us with solutions to difficult problems, just when we needed you most. Let this day be a time when senators find time to thank you for your bountiful blessings and faithfulness. As our lawmakers strive to live one day at a time, may they keep their focus on your power and love. We pray in your merciful name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley 30 seconds for morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley as the Senate Considers the Defense Authorization bill called the ndaa this week, i hope that my amendments to improve the pentagons Financial Management systems and crack down on wasteful spending will be supported. 30 years after Congress Passed the chief Financial Officers act, the department of defense remains the only executive agency in our federal government that cannot get a clean audit opinion. Every dollar of defense spending should be used to ensure our nations security and support for our men and women in uniform. Which is why the department of defense needs to be held accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse, and a clean audit has something to do to prove that they can do that. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell madam president in. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday i discussed how the senates serious factbased approach to the Coronavirus Crisis has cut a sharp contrast with House Democrats political theater. Back in march, as the economic fallout from this crisis was just beginning, it fell to the senate to write, negotiate, and pass the cares act. With the house absent from washington, Senate Republicans turned a blank sheet of paper into an outline for the largest rescue package in american history. We negotiated negotiated with or democratic colleagues and we made a law. House democrats tried to insert unrelated wish list items at the 11th hour, things like tax credits for solar panels. But the Republican Senate stood strong. And because we did, for three months now, the unanimous bipartisan cares act has been the cornerstone of the federal governments response to this crisis. Doctors, nurses, and hospitals have received historic federal funding to supplement their efforts. Households received direct checks. Tens of millions of americans have kept getting paychecks and not pink slips because of our small businesssaving Paycheck Protection Program. These are the historic programs the senate has spent weeks overseeing and adjusting where necessary. Three weeks ago, the House Democrats jetted into town for a day or to just to make another unserious contribution, to again use this crisis for partisan wish listing. You dont have to take my word for it. The media completely canned it. Npr called it a long wish list for democrats. Another journalist wrote, neither this bill nor anything resembling will even become law. Privately, several House Democrats concede their latest bill feels like little more than an effort to appease the most liberal members of their caucus. This is the proposal that our Senate Democratic colleagues keep thundering that we should take up and pass here, something so unserious it had unserious that it had House Democrats themselves rolling their eyes. Among other things, this bill would give taxpayerfunded checks to illegal immigrants. Ment it would change tax law to provide massively expensive gifts to wealthy people in hightax blue states. These are their coronavirus priorities . This political theater is the opposite of the serious senator approach that built the cares act. Any further Recovery Efforts should focus intently on three things kids, jobs, and health care. Kids, jobs, and health care. To step back towards normal i will, our country will need k12 and Climate Change students to resume their schooling. Well need to reenergize hiring and well need to get ready for the fall and winter and speed the search for a vaccine. One helpful policy would be strong Legal Protection for schools, colleges, nonprofits and employers that are putting their necks on the line to reopen. As long as so long as the institutions follow the best available guidelines, they should not have to live in fear of a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits. Believe me, the virus is worry enough. These are the kinds of Smart Solutions washington must continue discussing as we evaluate what further steps may be necessary. Partisan theater and politicized wish lists are not what the country needs. Now on another matter, as ive said for weeks, our domestic challenges cannot take congress eye off the ball of world affairs. The Senate Republicans tried to advance Police Reform until democrats blocked us. Our colleagues on the Armed Services committee have worked hard to assemble the next national Defense Authorization act. Every year the ndaa allows us to speak clearly about the senates priorities on matters of National Defense. As china continues to treat maritime arteries like its own backyard sandbox, the men and women of the u. S. Seth fleet and the u. S. 7th fleet and the entire command remain on call. As russia doubles down on its support of brutal dictators and attacks democratic regimes in the dark corners. Web, the u. S. Cyber command remains strong and our nato relationships remain vital. As china paves over their citizens in pursuit of power, we need our sharpest minds and i best tools watching their every move. Our armed forces stand watch over our homeland and they stand watch over on entire International Order that shares our peaceful values and benefits our nation. And now our military has also risen to the unique task of helping to respond to the pandemic. Military medical facilities have added critical capacity during the first surge of covid19, from Navy Hospital ships to soldiers from the 531th hospital century at fort campbell. National guard personnel have manned Testing Facilities across the country, d. O. D. Research facilities have joined the race to develop treatments. So, madam president , as our Service Members confront challenges new and familiar, our job is to advance an ndaa that supports them and their families. Chairman inhofe and senator reed led a productive bipartisan process in committee. I hope we will see a bipartisan amendment process out here on the floor as well. But already the bill will make major steps forward. It not only supports Service Members while theyre at their duty stations but also on the home front. This years bill encourages expanded tellly medicine capabilities in the military Health Care System and will help retain highly trained providers. It implements new equality standards for acquisitions of military Family Housing and increases impact aid to School Districts that support large numbers of military children. It revises Sexual Assault prevention policies to destroy barriers to victims seeking justice. And it includes further steps to ensure all these efforts are supported by a more efficient and transparent administrative structure over at the pentagon. That means changes to compensation to attract top talent, expanded access to cuttingedge software, and new checks on the departments Budget Planning process to increase accountability. So, madam president , the u. S. Military is the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. Our work in the coming days is hents to ensure that this is meant to enshould you are that this remains the case. Supporting Service Members and their families are critical pieces of this years ndaa. Our men and women in uniform are simply the best, and they deserve the best. Now, madam president , i understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. The clerk h. R. 7259, aen act to allow acceleration certificates awarded under the patents for Humanity Program to be transferable. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceeding. The presiding officer objection, having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of s. 4049, which the clerk will report. The clerk s. 4049, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the minority leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer madam president , today there are thousands, thousands of american Service Members in afghanistan defending us from terrorist organizations and their sponsors. They are joined by Service Members and support personnel from allied nations and security partners. Each one of these lives is precious to a nation and to a family somewhere. Each one of us here in this chamber recognizes the solemn duty we have to our Service Members. So were all concerned about media reports that the russian government or its proxies has been offering bounties on the lives of american soldiers to talibanlinked fighters in afghanistan. The Associated Press has reported that the u. S. Is investigating whether any americans died as a result of russian bounties and is particularly focused on a 2019 attack that killed three u. S. Marines, including one young man from locust valley, long island, new york, and another who worked as a firefighter in the fdny, the great fdny for 15 years. On behalf of my constituents and the American People, i demand answers. If, in fact, putin and his cronies have been sponsoring the murder of american and Coalition Forces in afghanistan, there is no question there should be swift and severe consequences. But unlike every Previous Administration i have ever worked with, the Trump Administration has been shockingly weakkneed when it comes to authoritarian leaders like putin. This administration appears unwilling to even acknowledge the gravity of the situation, unwilling to even express concern about these rumors and commit to investigating them. Shifting explanations from the white house about when and how the president learned about these reports has only added to the confusion and concern here on capitol hill. First, the president tweeted nobody briefed me or told me about the reports. Thats what he said, nobody briefed him or told him. Then the president hinted he was aware of these reports but that it didnt rise to the level of an official briefing. The White House Press secretary repeatedly denied that the president had been briefed and then last night the Associated Press reported that President Trump received intelligence about these potential bounties as early as spring of last year. The spring of last year. Out of all those different explanations, the best case, the best case for the president is that he doesnt read insensitive intelligence reports. You know, thats his job. It has been five days since the media world informed the world about putins bounty program. What has the president done . He hasnt condemned it. He hasnt told Service Members and their families he will make sure this program is exposed and ended. He hasnt directed any action against punitive and his cronies whatsoever. Against putin and his cronies whatsoever. He has done absolutely nothing, nothing. As the commander in chief, the president has no more serious and solemn duty than to do right by the americans in uniform who protect our country. Hes directly responsible and must be held accountable for the wellbeing of american Service Members who have volunteered to put themselves in harms way to protect our country. The least President Trump could do is promise to get to the bottom of these allegations and told putin and his cronies accountable for their actions. Even that, even that seems beyond the administrations capabilities. In the short term, we need an agreement from the administration to conduct an immediate allmembers briefing on the reports that russia placed bounties on u. S. Troops in afghanistan. Senators need to hear directly from c. I. Director haspell on these reports as soon as possible. Now, on another matter, the number of new covid19 cases is accelerating at an alarming rate through several states, and the economic effects of the pandemic continues to hound American Families and businesses across the country. Over onefifth, onefifth of the workforce has requested unemployment assistance. Onefifth. In one month, he expanded Unemployment Benefits the expanded Employment Benefits we passed in the cares act will expire. For millions of americans, another rent payment is due tomorrow. And eviction protection will run out for these tenants in a few weeks. School districts are preparing for the fall without resources or the guidance they need to reopen safely. Localities are preparing for the 2020 general election and need federal resources to hold safe elections. Even the popular and bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program runs out of Lending Authority today, with over 130 billion remaining funds while so many Small Businesses continue to struggle. They have 130 billion sitting there. The program runs out today. Our republican colleagues are doing nothing. There are so many urgent priorities that require our attention here, but the Senate Republican majority has been ignoring them. Instead of working the bipartisan way to Reform Police departments across the country, Senate Republicans dropped an inadequate partisan bill on the floor. After it failed, the republicans didnt seem eager to start the bipartisan negotiations we need to get progress back on track. Instead of spending the last 45 days working with democrats on legislation to address the Public Health and Economic Crises americans are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, republicans have just sat on their hands. In fact, leader mcconnell seems dead set on delaying any covid relief until after the july 4 holiday, and even then he says he wants to assess the conditions in the country before taking action. We just cant wait for our republican colleagues to wake up to the reality in this country. People are losing their homes. People are not being fed. People are losing their jobs. Small businesses are closing. Covid is spreading. The republican majority does nothing. It sits on its hands. The best it says, in the voice of the leader, lets assess the situation. What more do they need to assess . The American People dont need an assessment. They want action, action. Its amazing. So we cannot wait, the country cannot wait for our republican colleagues to wake up to the reality. So Senate Democrats are forcing action on the floor this week on a number of crucial issues. Last night, democrats asked our colleagues for to pass emergency funding for state, local, and tribal governments who are finalizing their budgets today and may be forced to cut Vital Services and lay off teachers, firefighters, other public employees. Senate republicans, however, have blocked our bill. Hopefully, our republican colleagues wont be so hasty to reject our attempts to start work on several other urgent priorities this week. Today, democrats will come to the floor to ask this body to take up legislation on safe elections led by my colleague senator klobuchar. Education funding led by my colleague, senator murray, and funding for our Nursing Homes, championed by senator casey. All three will ask for unanimous consent requests. Will our republican friends block them, block action once again as the country suffers, as the economy continues to decline . As more people get sick, more people die . These are not abstract issues, not at all. This is about parents making sure their kids safely continue their education. This is about making sure elderly relatives are healthy and safe appeared properly cared for. This is about smeag sure making sure when it comes time to vote, every american can exercise the franchise without worrying about getting sick. The need for these pieces of legislation is beyond dispute. Most republicans back home when asked if she should do these things want to do them. We have only a few days to go before the Senate Adjourns for the next state work period. If the Senate Continues to block reasonable attempts to block covid legislation, they will have to explain why to their constituents. Americans are tired of waiting for the Republican Senate to, quote, not acting immediately. We have a chance to accomplish what should have been done months ago and passed three important bills to ensure our schools, elections and Nursing Homes get the support they so desperately need. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Durbin mr. President. Madam president. The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin madam president , in the course of americas immigration the presiding officer were in a quorum call, senator. Mr. Durbin i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin thank you. There have emerged leaders whose names are synonymous with the struggle and triumph of these immigrants, standly bolzikus was that person in the city of chicago. Stanley was my friend. His devotion to lithuania and to the cause of human freedom and dignity triwas dignity was he was as gracious and comfortable with a chicago hot dog salesman as he was with the head of state. He died last week passing peacefully at his home at the age of 95. As his family said in his obituary, his failing heart could not keep up with his zest for life. What a heart he had. He was a decorated war hero in world war ii, one of the thinning ranks of the greatest generation. He joined the u. S. Army in 1943 and served in the infantry. He fought in key battles including the battle of the bulge and the battle of hircon forest. He landed in normandy and marched with the other soldiers to celebrate the liberation of paris from nazi occupation. He was captured by a unit in france in february of 1945 and spent four months as a p. O. W. At a camp in germany. There he was brutally treated and lost half of his body weight. After he returned, he returned to chicago and earned a masters degree from Depaul University and ran balzikus motor sales with his father. Stanley fathers immigrated to the u. S. In 1912. He grew up in market park in beverly, the heart of the lithuania community. His father made the leap from a butcher shop to start an auto dealership in 1919. They sold many cars. Their name becamecy nonmust with becamecy nonmuss next to a successful business, his most lasting gift to chicago is the Balzekas Museum of lithuania culture which was next to the family car dealership. When stanley opened the museum where some of the were some of the darkest days of cold war. Lithuania a massive empire that stretched from to the baltic sea was a state within the soviet unit stanley and his wife founded the miewsm to help preserve that culture, equally important to expand the cause of lithuania independence. Chicago was the perfect city for their cultural jewel. It is the most lithuanian city outside of lithuania. Nearly one in eight lithuanian americans, including this senator, call illinois home. In fact the third person to serve as president of a free and democratic lithuania after it won its independence from the ussr lived for many years in the city of chicago. The museums collection started with jewelry and east European Military antiques. Over the years it became a trove of Eastern European books and maps and artifacts and one of the most respected ethnic museums in chicago. One of the most prized possessions was a map from 1430. Stanley spent hours and hours reading letters and examining every artifact anyone would send him at the museum. When someone else might view something as an old hankerchef, he would see it as a treasure worth saving. But stanley and the museum did not just catalog and preserve history, it they helped to make history. On march 11, 1990, lithuania declared its independence. Nine months later in january 1991, soviet troops and tanks rolled in to crush the uprising. People from all over lithuania rushed to defend their parliament hoping to keep the defenders of the lithuania democracy, soviet tv blocked all tv transmissions from and within lithuania. Nearly 4,700 miles away there was a fax machine in the museum humming a lifeline for the lithuanian resistance, allowing the freedom defenders to tell their story to the world and in return to learn that the world stood by their side in defense of their cause. That fight val connection to the outside that vital connection may have influenceed the soviets decision to retreat. In january of 2011, i addressed the Lithuanian Parliament as a free and independent republic. I turned to stanley and his daughterinlaw to help translate my speech in lithuanian. He wasnt just my friend. He was my teacher. In the mid1980s it expanded its vision to become a place where chicagos many ethnic communities are celebrated. Stanley never stopped thinking about how to create goodwill and understanding. One of his last projects was to turn a small vacant lot near the park which he christened love and respect park. At the center of it is a young tree grown from a cutting taken from a 1,500yearold oak tree, the oweddest in oldest in lithuania. He hope it would provide shade for all those who come from lithuania. He received the highest honors by the state of illinois and the republic of lithuania. His passing was mourned by the president of lithuania and by friends too numerous to count. Irene, the love of his life died many years ago, but loretta and i extend our deep condolences to stands children, stanley, iii, and to his six grandchildren and to friends in chicago and around the globe. I will close with one last story. Over the years stanley must have been photographed thousands of times with famous leaders or famous friends. He said the key to taking a good photo was to, quote, always stand in the center, that way an editor cant crop you out. Stanley, from your days as a jung g. I. To your final days on earth, you were never afraid to stand in the center of life itself. Your place in history will not be erased. And thanks in part to your efforts, lithuanias proud thinks triand culture remain an inspiring part of the worlds story. May you rest in piece. Madam president , i ask that another statement here remembering Illinois State senator art burman be placed in a separate part of the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin i listened to the statements made this morning by the republican and Democratic Senate leaders about the job ahead. I think it goes without saying were in the midst of a Health Crisis an economic crisis in this country. We did respond. We responded on march 26 in the senate with the cares act. It was a bipartisan measure, a measure that engaged the leaders of the house and the senate, democrats, republicans, mr. Mnuchin, and the white house. In eight days we crafted a measure which may be one of the costliest individual costliest measures ever passed by the senate. Some 3 trillion. It was an enormous investment in america, but it was desperately needed. It was, of course, crafted in a way to provide help for research and medical care but also to invest in the people of america. We understood then, and i hope we still do, that Small Businesses struggling to reopen, struggling to survive need a helping hand and we provide it with the Paycheck Protection Program. Hundreds of billions of dollars loaned to these businesses, which could be forgiven if, in fact, they veftd in their employ invested in their employees and coming back to life after the end of this crisis. An equally important, if not more important investment was Unemployment Benefits. It there are now some 47 million unemployed americans, one of the highest numbers in modern history. And we know that unemployment brings with it hardship, sacrifice and challenge, and thats why we included in the original bill the cares act, a federal supplement to Unemployment Benefits of 600 a week. Some came to the floor and argued it was too much money. We would be giving people so much money that they would never want to return to work. I disagreed with that conclusion. I believe most people in america are proud and determined to get back on their feet and dont want to find themselves dependent on others. They want to be independent. And i believe that ultimately they will be, but for the time being we need to stand with these families to make sure they can pay their mortgages and keep their homes and not lose their lifetime investment, to make certain that they can pay the baisks in life basics in life, food and utility bills, the need for clothing and education for their children. On july 31, in just a few days, that Unemployment Program will expire. Speaker nancy pelosi passed a bill about four weeks ago called the heroes act, a 3 trillion bill and it has languished here in the United States senate. Senator mcconnell, when asked if he would call this bill, said that he didnt feel there was any urgent need to do so. I hope that senator mcconnell now feels a sense of urgency. He came to the floor this morning and characterized the effort the heroes act as unserious, a political wish list that people were laughing at how unrealistic it was. Many people may have laughed at our original effort at 3 trillion, but it was desperately needed, as is a second effort as soon as possible. Senator mcconnell said that his priorities when we return in two weeks will be to focus on kids, jobs, and health care. Well, i couldnt agree with him more, and many of the aspects of the heroes bill that passed the house of representatives addressed those very subjects. If you want to take care of the kids of america, take care of their parents who are unemployed, make certain that they have unemployment assistance. Make certain that there are cobra benefits paid for by the government so they can maintain their Health Insurance at this time of Health Crisis. If you want to make sure that kids in america have a fighting chance and that we create jobs, provide money to state and local governments im reminded this morning how many people we Call Health Care heroes are actually employees of state and local governments who are risking their lives to fight this pandemic every single day. When the bill that passed the house of representatives dedicated money for that purpose, it was money to invest in kids, in jobs, and in health care, the tria priorities the three priorities announced by senator mcconnell. His notion that we owe nothing to these state and local governments is anonymous, they will lay off teachers, nurses, health care professionals, people that are desperately needed for us to resume the normal activities of this american economy. I less i also hope that senator mcconnell will be open to the suggestion that we provide additional funds for our hospitals across america. I know whats going on in illinois, and ive read whats going on in his state of kentucky. Hospitals, the major employers in many small communities, are laying off dozens, if not hundreds, of employees because of the state of the economy and because of the health care challenge. Hospitals in downstate illinois have ads on the radio and tv constantly saying its safe to go back to your hospital for elective surgery and outpatient care. And because people are still reluctant to do so in my part of the world, theyre withholding the funds that can be paid to those hospitals for the care that people needed. Weve got to see that change. Weve got to restore confidence not only in our economy but, first, in the state of health care in america. We need to move on this. Senator mcconnell has said the house of representatives doesnt meet as frequently as the United States senate, and that may be true. True over the last several months. But let me remind him, were in a period of time when were all discouraged from travel that is unnecessary and were all told to be careful where were going, when were going, and not to gather in groups that mate be a danger with the pandemic that we face. The house of representatives has produced dramatically more legislation than the United States senate over the last year and few months in so many different areas, which we will highlight during the remainder of this week. The house of representatives has sent legislation to the republican leader, senator mcconnell, which he ignores. For him to come to the floor and then criticize the house for not being in session enough, whats the point, senator mcconnell . They passed legislation that you put in the legislative graveyard of the United States senate. You wont even take it up to debate it. Were on this inexorable path to fill judicial vacancies with people who are thinly qualified for Lifetime Appointments so lopping as they meet the republican ideology test. Thats what we spend sour days and weeks doing here in the United States senate instead of addressing the issues of substance like this pandemic and the economic crisis which our nation faces. I want to address the issue of liability, too, because senator mcconnell brought it up again this morning. Hes basically said that he wants to protect those who are engaged in dealing with the public from liability for their actions. He said that if they live up to what he called the best available guidelines, they should be spared any liability for their actions. Well, let me just tell you, i dont know what the best available guidelines might be. But the best available guideline should be a pronouncement by our Health Care Experts as to what makes for a safe workplace and what makes for a safe retail establishment. And if the owner is living up to those standards, yes, i agree with him; that should be a valid defense for anyone who suggests wrongdoing. But at this moment, the republicans cannot have it both ways. They cannot argue that we should give immunity to businesses if they live up to some guidelines and not tell us where those guidelines originate and whether theyre based on science and Public Health standards. If they are, they can be taken seriously. If theyre not, then this is an empty promise, a promise at the expense of customers and employees who still show up for work. We have a lot of work to do. Well finish up this week and be gone for two weeks and then in the three weeks or four weeks that we return before the august recess, we have a responsibility to not only deal with the economic crisis facing america but to take this Health Care Crisis seriously. Dr. Fauci said the other day, were not in a second peak in terms of up fection. He believes were in terms of infection. He believes were still in the first peak, which means there are many challenges ahead. It is time for all of us to get serious. It is time for the president to slaption a mask and to stop with this to slap on a mask and to stop with this colossal ego of his and not put on a mask. It would be a message to his loyalists that defying this basic protection of the people around you is simply not smart and arrogant in its approach. We need to have some humility here. This virus son the attack and doesnt care what this virus is on the attack and doesnt care what Political Party you belong to. So id encourage the president , put on a mask once and for all. Dont be the last american to ignore the obvious. Madam president , i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Scott i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Scott in america we are blessed with the protection of the Strongest Military in the world. One that provides not only for the safety of our country but leads in supporting our allies around the globe. But if we cannot take our but we cannot take our position assed leader of the free world for granted. There are nations like communist china that are actively building their military with a single goal in mind to dominate the world stage. I think want to thank chairman inhofe and my colleagues for helping to keep our military strong. This Years National Defense Authorization act includes my secure u. S. Bases act, which senator ernst and i worked on to reform and improve Foreign Military student Training Programs following the terrorist attack in pensacola last year. New reports show a lack of vetting at multiple levels that led to this attack. This terrorist should never have been allowed in our country, let alone on an american lilt military base with easy access to military men and women. The secure u. S. Bases act eliminates this unnecessary risk by requiring a thorough vetting process before a foreign student enters the u. S. Requiring foreign students to follow rules established by u. S. Base commanders and vastly improving the security of our military installations, Service Members, their families, and the surrounding communities. Ive served in the u. S. Navy, and i could never imagine not feeling safe on base. We must do everything in our power to prevent a tragedy like at pensacola from ever happening again and the secure u. S. Bases act is an important step. Im also working on a number of amendments to the national Defense Authorization act to protect our nation. The first includes my American Security drone act, which prohibits the u. S. Government from purchasing drones manufactured in countries identified as National Security threats, like iran and china. We know communist china steals our technology and intellectual property, yet the u. S. Government continues to buy Critical Technology like drones with american tax dollars from Chinese Companies backed by their government. No one in america should buy products made in communist china, especially not the u. S. Government. We cannot continue this practice, and my American Security drone act is a commonsense solution to end this threat to our National Security. Second, im working to protect floridas gulf coast from offshore drilling. I have an amendment in the national Defense Authorization act that requires the department of defense to report on the importance of the gulf test range, which is used for vital military testing and training and is critical to our National Security. Offshore drilling in the area would pose significant risks to the environment and our military preparedness. Im also proposing an amendment to extend the moratorium on offshore drilling for another ten years. I will keep working to protect our Natural Resources for generations to come. A Strong Defense is key to protecting the freedom that makes america great. I will never lose sight of one of the most important roles i have as United States senator, to protect and serve the families of our nation. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues to make sure we are protecting the National Security and investing in americas greatest asset, the men and women of our armed forces. Thank you, madam president , and i yield the floor. Mrs. Blackburn madam president. The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, madam president. I want to begin by saying thank you to my colleague from florida who is doing so much good work on the Armed Services committee, and i also thank chairman inhofe and other members of the committee who have made it a priority to be certain that our men and women in uniform are well cared for and their families are protected and that were thinking toward the future as we look at this years ndaa. As we have gone through this years ndaa drafting process with a unique frame of reference, the effects of the covid pandemic have made our National Security, our supply chain, our research and development vulnerability national news. I think they have shifted somewhat the focus that the American People have had, and i cant remember a time when i have had so many tennesseans acting my Office Asking questions about our Critical Infrastructure supply chain. How are we protecting ourselves and how do we look at what is transpiring in our nation and globally to consider how we best protect ourselves and defend this nation. The fallout from the pandemic has highlighted the need for our armed forces to reassert themselves globally. The proposed 2021 ndaa that we are gathered on the floor this morning to discuss and to show our support for this legislation and for its funding, and it will do some critical things. The newly created Pacific Deterrence Initiative will enhance u. S. Global leadership and devote needed attention and resources to multinational Fusion Centers in the endographic where we can work with our in the indopacific where we can work to reduce the threat of chinese aggression. That is something, madam president , that through covid, through the way china has stolen our intellectual property, this has come to the forefront. But just having the presence wont be enough if we dont focus on innovation as an essential element of our National Security, we will fall behind. It is imperative that we continue to lead in technology, in research and development, in making certain that the 21st century is going to be a century of freedom. In this years ndaa, we prioritized education. The proposed package includes funding for jrotc, Educational Opportunities in stem field. In tennessee, we have a high school at kingsport, tennessee. They are continuing great work in these jrotc programs. We will also invest in Collaborative Research between academia and military. Programs like pathfinder aerosol will strengthen our armed forces against dangerous adversaries like china, iran, and russia, all part of the new axis of evil. And i am thrilled to see what researchers at the university of tennessee, university of memphis and Vanderbilt University will do with this opportunity. Were also going to take all of the progress we have made in cybersecurity and bring it on home to our states and local governments. National guard cybersecurity assistance programs will improve Homeland Security at every level of government by leveraging department of defense resources against foreign adversaries. And last but not least, i want to highlight the inclusion of language that will secure american supply chains by requiring a percentage of Critical Technologies to be manufactured and assembled in the u. S. Or an ally country. All these items appear right alongside more funding for a better quality of life for our military families. We will also be seeing more chinooks flying home to fort campbell, tennessee, and investing in practical improvements on our military bases. Madam president , ours is the kind of freedom that is always in danger of extinction, but always worth protecting, and with this bill, i believe we have ensured that our best first line of defense has the ability to do so. We thank our military men and women, and i yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Cooperate thank. Mrs. Capito thank you. I would like to thank you for your great support. Mrs. Capito i enjoyed hearing senator blackburn from tennessee talk about tennesseans. I stand before you with my colleagues to talk about the ndaa and how important it is to pass the national Defense Authorization act. My state of West Virginia has some of the highest rate of veteran population. We have about 10 of our population are veterans. Nationally, that averages only 7 . I think service in the military, taking care of our military has always been a source of very much importance to me as their representative here in the congress. I think we can all agree that our armed forces would not be what it is without the Great Service of our patriotic men and women and our allvolunteer force. Thats why it is important that we continue to support them and the work that they do to protect our freedoms every single day. This important legislation does just that by authorizing vital resources for our nations troops, our wounded warriors, and their families. The defense bill also includes programs which will directly impact the West Virginia National Guard. I have had the chance to regularly meet with Service Members in my state and abroad who i have enjoyed personally being able to thank them. Most recently, i traveled to afghanistan where i met a unit from West Virginia. And during my visit with our West Virginia Service Members and others, they shared with me their great pride, not just for our state and our country and why they are proud to defend our freedoms. I have also had the chance to hear many of the challenges that they face on a daytoday basis. The feedback has been so helpful to congress as we better support our military. These brave men and Women Deserve our unified support and i think they will get it and should not be subject to the gridlock that has become so common in this body and certainly in washington, d. C. And thats why congress has come together for the 60th year to pass a bipartisan bill. The ndaa authorizes 740. 5 billion in funding for the department of defense and National Security programs to ensure that our military families are modernized and well equipped to handle the constant evolving National Security threats. The ndaa also designates the necessary funds to provide our activeduty Service Members, veterans and their families, with the resources that they have earned with their dedication and support. Another way that the ndaa looks out for our troops and their families is that it authorizes a 3 raise for our soldiers. This comes less than a year after a 3. 1 raise for our Service Members, which was the largest in a decade. Given the fact that our military is an allvolunteer force, its important that we make it known that sacrifices do not go unnoticed. Thats just one small way we can do that. The ndaa makes sure our military is trained and equipped to protect this country. We accomplish this in the bill by continuing to carry out the plans highlighted in the National Defense Strategic Plan which stresses that the United States strives for superiority on land, on the seas, in the air, and in cyberspace. The ndaa advances the d. O. D. s Cybersecurity Strategy and cyber combat capabilities and enhances u. S. Security efforts by countering competition from nearpeer adversaries like russia and china and defeating threats from rogue regimes like iran and north korea. I have had multiple conversations with the West Virginia National Guard on their desire to play a larger role in cyber defense. The ndaa establishes a National Guard cyber pilot which will allow National Guards to do just that. I know that many members of our National Guard West Virginia National Guard who would jump at the opportunity to fend against cyberattacks and be excited to learn about the Pilot Program. With technological advances, we are becoming increasingly reliant on critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements which are predominantly produced in china. If you look at a chart of where they are produced, its eye popping. Im pleased that the base text of the ndaa included a priority of mine which is to require d. O. D. To submit a report to congress concerning the security of the domestic supply chain of rare earth elements. West Virginia University has figured out how to extract these elements from acid mine drainage which would hopefully reduce our need to purchase these from china. Also a leader in looking into ways to advance our countrys rare elements capabilities which is why it is critical for the d. O. D. To begin to assess the security and best storage practices for these elements so they can begin to ramp up the domestic supply chain. Additionally, im hoping that the two additional amendments that i have put forward can be added to this bill because they will directly impact by state. The first is the one that will require the d. O. D. To submit a report to congress on the stockpiling of pfas, the chemical pfas to build on the progress we made last year in hard to this chemical. The Second Amendment i worked on with my colleague senator moran was to ensure that motherstobe who are members of the National Guard are compensated and receive retirement credits for the missing drill weekends that they have missed because of maternity leave. With West Virginias strong history of military service, caring for Americas Service men and women could not be more important. During the covid19 pandemic, the members of the West Virginia National Guard and every other National Guard across this country have stepped up and gone above and beyond their duty. The ndaa will make sure that those who have responded to this pandemic receive the Health Benefits they deserve. While i believe we must put our nation on a sound fiscal path to end our dependence on federal deficit spending, it is equally important to maibt maintain our military readiness and provide necessary resources to those who serve our initial. I want to thank my colleagues and chairman havana for their excellent work on the ndaa chairman inhofe for their excellent work on the ndaa. This is a mustpass bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues on doing just that. I yield back. The presiding officer the senator from mississippi is recognized. Mr. Wicker the senator from West Virginia is absolutely correct. This is a mustpass bill. Im delighted to join her and the senator from tennessee who spoke before her in pointing out some of the very pleasant aspects of this bipartisan bill. Isnt it refreshing, madam president , that this last piece of legislation that this body will consider before the Independence Day break this weekend is a truly bipartisan tradition that we have had in the senate. Its something that we can be proud of and should try to replicate on other legislation. So i want to take my hat off to chairman jim inhofe, the chairman of the senate Armed Services committee and Ranking Member jack reed for their patriotism, for their cooperation in putting together a product that will that garnered almost unanimous support in the Armed Services committee and will undoubtedly pass overwhelmingly, i would say, with 90plus votes here on the floor of the United States senate. The ndaa is a critical part of keeping this nation safe. Its a critical part of giving our service men and women the training, the equipment, and the resources that they need, and its a critical part of building on what has become a threeyear process of restoring some of the confidence and restoring the building from some of the cuts that we have had over time in our military spending. We need to continue expanding our military and make sure we can meet the threats. Particularly as a former chairman of the sea power subcommittee, we need to expand and build on the progress we made in our navy to meet the threat from china, to meet the threat from other adversaries that we had. And i would also point out that the ndaa which is before us for a vote which will undoubtedly pass before july 4, will go a long way to steadying the funding we need to respond to the covid19 virus. It has affected our economy, but it has also affected our ability to maintain our supply chain and to defend the nation. I want to thank the senator from tennessee for pointing out the plus ups that weve been able to do in this years bill and previous bills for junior rotc. Junior rotc is a fantastic way to build character and build ability and education in our high school students. If you take a school that is fortunate enough fortunate enough to have one of these programs, the statistics are absolutely astounding. Students in a school that participate in in junior rotc consistently statistically have better grades, they have fewer dropouts, theres a better graduation rate, and theres higher post second ri participation second secondary participation who participate in a school with r ctc. I want to thank the bipartisan leadership in our committee in continuing to expand and build the program. I would echo what the senator from tennessee said about high schools within her state that have the junior rotc program. I visited these programs in the state of mississippi. They work and they are good they are not only good for National Defense, they are just good for america and citizenship. I want to particularly mention what this bill before us does with regard to shipbuilding and military aircraft manufacturing and why that is so important. This years ndaa would restore funding for american ships after a dip that weve had to experience because of budget constraints. And i would point out, madam president , that this bill authorizes the money. This bill does not appropriate a single penny. That will be left up to us to take the product from the Appropriations Committee. But if we are able to spend the money that is authorized, heres what were going to end up with by the end of the year. It would fund seven new battle force ships, it would authorize four new Amphibious Assault ships which would be built in our american shipyards, some of them in my home state of mississippi. Its worth mentioning, i think to my colleagues, that we had wonderful news yesterday that the navy will build an additional destroyer in mississippi and that that destroyer will be named after our former colleague, the late senator thad rock ran, a navy veteran cochran, a navy veteran himself and longtime member of the committee. These projects would bring our navy closer to the total of 385 ships which is cloture that we need from the admirals and generals around the world what we need to keep this nation safe. We need 355, and if we actually went back to them today and made them reassess that number, and they may be doing that right now, they would probably tell us that that number is over 355. When we did when i was chairman of the seapower subcommittee, madam president , is put that requirement of 355 in the statute. Its not a sense of the senate, its not a sense of the congress. We built it into the statute and made it part of the law of the land and 355 ships is where we need to be if we want to protect the United States of america. We had this dip in military manufacturing that affects both ships and aircraft manufacturing. And i would just point out to to my colleagues that we are going to need to restore that that dip outside of regular appropriations process. And i would commend to my colleagues the possibility of of putting the job creation part of this equation in phase four of our covid19 response bill, which i think will come before the senate in the second part of july once we return from the twoweek fourth of july break. I hope we can come up with a little extra money for ship manufacturing and for aircraft manufacturing. This will get us where we need to be in terms of protecting our nation but also it is an unbelievable job creator. Listen to what shipbuilding does for our economy alone. In shipbuilding alone there are 14,000 Supplier Companies in all 50 states shipbuilding impacts that Many Companies in every single state. The lha7 program, for example, requires 541 suppliers across 39 different states to produce fully that class of ship. So it protects america and it puts americans back to work. I think we can spare a few extra billion dollars to restore that dip and put these people back to work as part of our recovery program. With regard to the f35 program, aircraft manufacturing. In 2020, this year, there are over 1,800 suppliers working on that aircraft manufacturing program. In 48 states and in puerto rico. And of those 1,800 companies who are suppliers, over 1,000 of those suppliers are Small Businesses. The Small Businesses alone, madam president , contribute over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs in the United States of america. And overall the program itself in all 50 states contributes 254,000 direct and indirect american jobs attributed to this program. And so i would i would commend this bill to our colleagues and ask for a yes vote, and well get a yes vote. But i would also ask us to bear in mind the fact that were going to have to figure out a way to pay for this and i think thats going to require a little innovation and a little addition in phase four of the Covid Response bill. Im happy to say that this additional job creation and and manufacturing is supported by the leadership up to the top level in the pentagon up to and include the secretary of defense. Its supported by the National Security advisor and by the entire team around the president. So i think well be able to have bipartisan support for this. Good work on behalf of the committee in authorizing these programs, additional work that needs to be done by us and our friends on the Appropriation Committee in actually getting the money there to restore the dip. Its a good day for america and its a good occasion for this United States senate that were able to end this work period with bipartisanship and support for our troops. And i yield the floor, madam president. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Lankford two days ago, 3 30 in the morning in tulsa, officer k ashan did a routine traffic stop. He got backup coming from him, which was Sergeant Craig johnson, dealt with a person that would not get out of their vehicle. 12 times they said to this person, get out of your vehicle, trying to figure out what to do. They worked to deescalate and they realized hes not going to move. And after the backandforth conversation there at the street, the individual got out of his car with a pistol, shot both officers multiple times in the head. Jumped in a second car and drove away. Seven hours later both those individuals were apprehended. While the flippant National Conversation in this room and across the country continues about defunding the police, two officers in tulsa are clinging to their life in a hospital right now. I think our nation loses track of exactly the sacrifices that Law Enforcement make every single day. Their families hug them before they took off for the graveyard shift and said see you in the morning. Officers kashan had been on patrol six weeks. He graduated from the academy in may. I am grateful that there are men and women across our country that continue to put on the blue uniform to serve and protect us because there are people on the streets that do mean to do our Community Harm and that when given the opportunity they will take that opportunity. If the chair doesnt mind, id like to pause and pray just a moment for their families and for them. Father, we do ask your help for sergeant johnson, officer zarkeshan. He would intervene in a way only you can. Help the doctors and nurses. Give them wisdom. Give some peace to those families as they struggle for answers. Pray for chief franklin and for all the tulsa p. D. God, they need your help in these moments. I pray that you would bring peace as only you can. In your name, i pray. Amen. Madam chair, senator inhofe and jack reetd have done reed have done pretty remarkable work, working through all the ndaa and all that has to be done and literally all of the thousands of decisions that have to be made, its pretty remarkable what they have done and im grateful for all of their work the we lose track of the fact that there are folks in afghanistan right now fighting to bring some kind of peace and stability to try to push down some terrorists that are in the area still. We lose track of the fact that their there are u. S. Army soldiers right now have dinner in a tent in poland. There are folks in the United States navy that are sound asleep in guam, except for those folks standing watch. There are marines in okinawa right now that are asleep, but they wont be asleep very long. There are folks in the air force that are prepping for tomorrows mission in south korea. All around the world, awake and asleep, theres never a moment and theres never a place where folks in the suns military are not representing in the United States military are not representing our nation and doing exactly what our nation has asked them to do. Were grateful for those folks. This bill, the ndaa this year, gives a 3 pay chief to those folks. It assures that we wouldnt have another brac round of base closing here in the United States during the next fiscal year, it deals with some of the allied relationships we have in taiwan and ukraine and helps those interpreters who were in afghanistan for years to the United States. It deals not just with the military but their families as well. It deals with additional funding for military spouses. It adds additional supervising for military housing to be able to make sure we do better supervision there. Bases and posts around oklahoma, it has specific things. It fully funds the b21 program, very significant to tinker and all the Community Around them. It deals with the 180day rule modification. It is an amendment that i put into this. It is something that the folks at tinker have asked for over and governor. Those folks who are retiring in their uniform are interested in civilian spots but under Current Practice they have to wait 180 days before they can move from military to civilian. Well, in that time period, guess what happens . They get snatched up by a defense contractor and weigh lose their skills and their wisdom that they had. Why do we do that . Why do we literally punish one of our members when they retire from the military after Great Service and say if youre interested in serving in the community youre in, you have to wait six months before you do it . We put an addition in there to be able to expand this Pilot Program to allow those folks to be able to move from uniform to civilian and not have to wait 180 days. It fully funds the kc46. It prohibits us stopping the k c135 tankers until all the details are worked out with the kc46. It funds the t7 read hawk and the development of that, the replacement for the t38. In mcallyster, it stunned mcallister, it funds the capability of the sea lion. Thats an area where we have old munitions that have to come back and be disassembled to be safely disassembled. It is a job a lot of folks dont want because they are80s handing old munitions, but it is folks in mcallister that do it every day. And were very grateful for the work that they continue to do there. In fort sill, it funds the integrated management system, very significant advantage that we have. Its one of the things that everything that happens in lawton in the fires they want all over the world. Whether youre in south korea or whether youre in saudi arabia, theyre interested in whats happening in lawton. Even for some of our guardsmen, for the oklahoma National Guard, it protects is the 137th, stopping any kind of divestiture of their system for the mc12, continues that process. I it is a very significant bill to it is a very significant bill and pace attention to all the people around the world but also takes care of the issue that we need to be able to resolve to be able to have them trained, equipped, and ready, much of that happening in oklahoma. Theres some specific things that are in this that i requested as well. If everyone in the military is familiar with the term dd214. Everyone when you get out of the military, when you go to the v. A. Or whatever, thats your records when youre in active duty service. The problem is though if you are a he a reservist or guardsman and theres 840,000 of those across the country. They dont gleet a dd214 like the active duty do. So in later years if they want to be able to prove their service record, they cant do that. This is an amendment that i brought for the oklahomans in the guard for them to be able to have records for their service just like the active duty has records for theirs. One of the things that i focused in on as well is allowing religious accommodation and training for that in our military. Our members of the military have the same religious freedom as everyone else does. They are to be accommodated in their faith, no matter what their faith is, in the United States military. Sometimes the training is lax on that. And officers and j. A. G. Members have sometimes struggled to say for good order and discipline, Everyone Needs to put their faith aside. But you are not required to give up the constitution. You are protecting it. You are allowed to be able to keep your faith. And to be able to maintain that. This bill will allow some greater training and instruction to be able to protect the rights of each individual to live their faith. We think thats important as well. There is tea a lot of good things in theres a lot of good things in this and to be able to see this continue on even through some things that you may not think are really military in it. Last year in the bill had it came out of conference, paid parental leave was aided to it for federal was added to it for federal employees. It came from a housesenate compromise and the house sent over documentation to add paid parental leave. What the house had pulled together didnt work for a lot of folks. It left out people like the f. A. A. And all the folks who work for f. A. A. It left out the t. S. A. It left out article 1 judges. If you work for the f. S. A. , you dont get paid parental leave. I have an amendment that says lets treat all federal workers the same. Dont ignore the good folks that work at f. A. A. And t. S. A. This fixes a bill that came over from the house to make sure all federal employees are treated equally. We can do this. This is something we already had wide participate support for wide bipartisan support for. It is why we opened up the bill with so many votes on a wide bipartisan majority. Lets get it done before the 4th of july so we can continue to honor the members of the United States military and be a toil a thank them and to be able to thank them because theyre standing watch across the earth on our behalf. With that, i yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from missouri is recognized. Mr. Blunt i am always pleased to be on the floor with my good friend from oklahoma, mr. Lankford. But i was particularly glad to be able here today early in his remarks talking about a family, remembering that family in prayer, and then very thoughtfully going around the world of where people are at this minute that defend us. Its a good thing for us to think about. Its a good thing for us to keep in mind. And its good that when we say we have remembering people in our prayers, to be sure that he really understand that we are. But im glad to be with my neighbor here today and also with senator hoeven on the floor. This will be the 60th time in a row, madam president , if we do our job that we pass the national Defense Authorization act. I dont think theres any other bill in fact im sure theres no other bill we pass every year. And when we pass this bill every year, we reestablish every year that defense is our numberone priority. Defending the country in the one thing that almost everybody admits they cant do for themselves. The states dont think they could do this without us. This is a national responsibility. And, you know, the threats we see today are complex. They are more pronounced than any our nation has ever faced. Former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general dunford, recently said that our military has to be ready to fight across regions, to fight across domains, and across functions. This bill moves forward in all of those areas, being sure that were interoperable where need to be, that were quickly mobile where we need to be, that our Armed Services work as well together as we can possibly hope. The president has launched policies and programs toen sure the safety and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of americans. Certain lit people who defend us, who who serve in the military are doing their part to protect our nation. Now it is time for the congress to do its part, led by the senate and led by chairman inhofe and the Ranking Member reed, bringing this bill to the floor. Its not a small bill and it is not a bill that gets done just without a lot of work and a lot of compromise and a lot of determination as to whats really doable at this time. But this is the bill were voting on. Since we do it every year, a lot of it is not absolutely new, but all of it, in my view, is updated, as the committee could bring it to the floor and were going to have a discussion of what needs to change even being there. This year the senates version of the bill provides 740 billion to support the department of defense. We see this at a critical time when our adversaries, including china and russia, seek to undermine our influence around the world. Russia was just accused of putting a bounty on the head of not only American Service people but our allies in some parts of the world. If thats true, there should a price should be paid for that. And were going to be working hard in the next days to determine how deep that intelligence goes and how true that allegation is. But whether its true or not, it should be no surprise that the russians are constantly focused on things that diminish the impact of the United States of america, and the chinese are more and more focused on that the at the same time. This bill authorizes 1. 4 billion to establish a Pacific Deterrence Initiative that will help secure our interest in the pacific and our friends in the pacific. The bill supports military readiness and modernization priorities. It has more than 21 billion for shipbuilding, investing in technology, hypersonic weapons. Our artificial intelligence, machine learning, things we have to keep the current advantages we have. And it recognizes the family. Theres 4 million in this bill to help military spouses transfer their professional license between assignments and between states when Service Members are reassigned. A. M. Pleased to say that the im plea pleased to say im pleased to say that the Missouri Attorney general has been a leader. When you leave the state sasse a spouse of someone in the military, your credentials are able to be moved with you. This bill increases funding for impact aid bipeds 70 million, 20 billion of that is for children with severe disabilities. But the other 50 million is just trying to make up for what would have been a taxpaying unit if that unit had been there. I think impact aid matters. This bill once again says it matters, and were increasing it. The programs are critical. Theyre important. We need to ensure theyre there. Military Construction Projects that will be funded later by the appropriations process are authorized here. 40 million for the new hospital that ground was broken on at Fort Leonardwood just last week. 60 million for the new National Geospatial facility in st. Louis, 1. 3 billion or so project thats well on its way now. This authorizes the next moving forward of that project. Investments in military weapons that are made in missouri and things that help our military that are made in missouri, such as the development of the b21 raider that will be based at whiteman or the modernization of the c30h aircraft, where rosecranz is the World Training Center for our nato allies to come and understand lift and moving things around and how thats c30 work, the c30 airlines work. This bill also authorizes 1. 8 billion to buy 24 f18 aircraft that are built in missouri and 1. 3 billion to buy f15s that are built in missouri, made with a great missouriillinois workforce. And i know senator durbin and i will Work Together again on defense approps to be sure this authorization is fully filled. These aircraft are essential, and they need to be part of our continuing defense base. Senator hawley and i proposed analyte in the bill that would proposed an amendment in the bill that would make Silver Star Service banner day annual recognition on may 1. This is to be sure we honor those who have made sacrifices of the wounded and ill members of the air force. I urge my colleagues to recognize the addition of silver star banner day in this bill. There are a lot of bipartisan priorities in this bill. This will have a bipartisan vote when it leaves the senate. It is a bill worthy of support, and, madam president , i look forward to our efforts to get this done for the 60th senate in a row. And id yield back. The presiding officer the senator from north dakota is recognized. Mr. Hoeven thank you, madam president. I appreciate the opportunity to join with my colleague from the state of missouri and agree very much with the comments hes just made. But im here today to express my support for the national Defense Authorization act this week. The Defense Department leader is always telling me that if we dont get ndaa done and our defense appropriations bill and i am on the Appropriations Committee and on the defense openings appropriations subcommittee that those delays really are a challenge and a problem for the military. It costs them money. So obviously, if we can get this bill done this week and get on to our defense appropriations bill and get those passed, it makes a big positive difference for our men and women in uniform. And we should be able to move this ndaa legislation quickly because the chairman and the Ranking Member have put together a good bill for the National Security for our armed forces. This ndaa supports our National Defense strategy that is designed to keep us ahead of the russians and the chinese and other adversaries, and it includes things like standing up to space force, investing in new technologies like hypersonics, artificial intelligence, and creating a Pacific Deterrence Initiative to help ensure we have the capabilities we need throughout the Pacific Region to deter conflict and coordinate with our allies. Also, i am very pleased that this bill includes strong support for modernizing our Nuclear Deterrent which is vital to our National Security, and that certainly includes the dual Nuclear Mission at the Minot Air Force base in my state. This bill moves forward a number of Modernization Programs, including the Modernization Program for new intercontinental ballistic missiles, the icbms, a new Nuclear Cruise missile which is now called the longreach standoff missile, and upgrades for the b52, including a new engine, reengining what has been an incredible aircraft for many, many years. It has had a longevity that is unbelievable. The air force projects an ongoing longevity for it for quite some time. Part of that is all the upgrades that we have put into this platform, including new engines as well as things that include the weapons systems, the ability to carry those weapons systems, communications. Just a whole range of upgrades that have been incredibly important for that aircraft. And, of course, there are other aspects that go with the Nuclear Mission, whether its Nuclear Command and control systems, as well as upgrading the Nuclear Warheads on the weapons that the aircraft use. Also i support provisions in this bill that have the retirement of the global hawk which is headquartered at Grand Forks Air Force Base in north dakota. Our combat and commanders rely on the global hawk every single day. These highly capable and they are not easily replaced. So were going to need a lot more information from the air force about what capabilities could replace the global hawk. In other words, what is the followon mission. Thats particularly true given the navys commitment to the tritan which uses the same air frame as the global hawk. We need to know what the followon is and when that will be available before there is any retirement of the rt4, and we have that included in this legislation to make sure that is properly addressed. I also support the procurement of mq9 aircraft. This is used every day in a mart of visions. We need to sustain it as well until there are a proven replacement for it. Because were going to be flying the mq9 for many years to come, we have to make sure we have all the facilities we need to operate that aircraft. Of course now im talking about the reaper which we use all over the globe. One of the air National Guard units that flies that mission, one of the first to fly it is our north dakota air National Guard, and im pleased that this bill includes authorization of 17. 5 million for a new Operations Facility for the north dakota air National Guard in fargo, and i look forward to working in my role on defense Appropriations Committee to make sure that that authorization is funded for that facility. Very important in terms of that mq9 mission. The bill also provides authorization for a 3 increase for our forces and authorizes the fiscal year 2021 military construction program. Again, im looking forward to working on those as im also a member of the milcon appropriations subcommittee as well, and we want to make sure we are providing funding for those priorities, those milcon projects, military Construction Projects. Finally, i want to thank the chairman and the Ranking Member for helping us to clear some of my amendments which i have included to further this legislation as well. The committee included an amendment i authored that will require the air force to define how its next budget will support activities in the arctic, which is increasingly important for our National Security. The air force is starting to refine its strategies to operate in the arctic region, and my amendment helps ensure that the air force translates Strategic Concepts into real capabilities that will ensure we do not cede this critical region to our adversaries. I also appreciate the chairman and Ranking Member, including an amendment i filed in relation to the groundbased Strategic Deterrent program, which is to develop a new icbm. Its critical that we keep this g. B. S. , ground base Strategic Program on schedule to replace the existing minuteman 3 at the end of the decade. Of course, all of our Nuclear Weapon components have to be capable of withstanding electromagnetic pulses or e. M. P. s. So my amendment requires that the air force report on how it will ensure that these systems and components will be protected from ee locate metro magnetic pulses. By planning ahead, we can make sure that we are prepared for Something Like that. I also hope that we will be able to include an amendment that senator udall and i have offered, a bipartisan amendment that would reauthorize and reform native American Housing assistance programs as well as authorize a joint tribal Housing Initiative between housing and urban development and the veterans administration, provide native americans who are homeless veterans. Were talking about our veterans. And the percentage of native americans that serve in the military. I think its the highest of any ethnic group. We have a lot of native American Veterans. For those that are homeless, we have got to help them with their housing and their health care services. Thats what this amendment does. I chair the committee on on native americans, and along with our vice chairman, vice chairman udall, we put together this legislation which includes housing and also addressing our native American Veterans in a way that i think is important and helpful, and i hope that that can be included in this legislation. In closing, the ndaa provides vital support for our men and women in uniform. It authorizes important defense priorities for our nation including unmanned aerial systems, which is, of course, a huge growing area is our unmanned aerial systems. The support for the Nuclear Mission which i have mentioned. Again, i think this is good legislation, its bipartisan legislation, and we need to all Work Together now to get it done and to get it done this week for our men and women in uniform. They do so much for us, and we need to be there for them. We need to support them by passing this legislation. With that, madam president , i yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from iowa is recognized. Ms. Ernst madam president , this week we debate, as the senate should, the annual defense bill, the national Defense Authorization act. I served 23 years in military uniform as both a Company Commander in iraq and kuwait during Operation Iraqi freedom and as a logistics Battalion Commander with the iowa National Guard. And its because of that experience that i understand that the work we do here on this bipartisan defense bill matters immensely to our troops. When the covid19 pandemic hit us, 50,000 National Guard and active duty troops answered the call without hesitation and are out there today running test sites, delivering medical supplies by ground and by air, and even running food banks to ensure no one goes without during this trying time. During a recent confirmation hearing for Lieutenant General holkinson to be the head of the National Guard bureau, i asked what the governors would do without the National Guard. He said he shuddered to think what they would do because they are americas First Response in communities across the nation. Just a few weeks ago, on june 7, we had over 120,000 National Guard deployed, and that includes not only those within the United States but those that are deployed overseas. As a former National Guardsman, i can tell you these are some of our best and brightest. They are ready to go at a moments notice to respond to anything, whether its civil unrest, pandemics, or natural disasters. And thats why i am extremely pleased that this defense bill includes my provision to provide hazardous duty pay for our National Guard and other troops who are deployed to fight covid19. Now, being a woman in the military has many challenges, and some of these obstacles are preventable, and we here in the senate can take action on. For example, ensuring our female Service Members are properly equipped for the battlefield. Through my efforts and that of my fellow army veteran senator Tammy Duckworth of illinois, this defense bill ensures female troops will have body armor that fits them properly, and d. O. D. Will be forced to report to us on their progress in finally getting this done. But its not just the body armor. Were protecting troops in other areas as well. One issue i have worked on for quite some time is treating and preventing traumatic brain injury or t. B. I. This years ndaa funds effective treatments for t. B. I. Such as noninvasive neurostimulation therapy that has been proven to work in clinical trials. Through my provisions in the bill, were also improving safety for military vehicles and ensuring our troops have the best weapons and ammunition. Our soldiers have been carrying the same weapons and ammo for decades, and they are about to jump to the next generation of weapons with a new and better ammunition package. By bolstering funding for our armys small arms rifles and automatic weapons, our infantry will finally be carrying the most effective assault weapons on the planet in a few short months. Now, when we look at waste in our federal government, folks know that i call it like i see it, and as a former member of our military, im not proud to say it but the department of defense oftentimes is responsible for some of our most egregious spending. So to protect iowas taxpayers, i made sure this ndaa that we require all d. O. D. Grant recipients who get federal dollars to include a price tag disclosing the cost to taxpayers for their projects if they put out a press release for their work. The comptroller general will also investigate the most expensive cost overruns in weapons systems, and the pentagon will Tell Congress their top ten most expensive weapons to fix and maintain. On duplication and waste, i was proud that my committee, the emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee, put 300 million in research and Development Programs that were wasteful, duplicative, or simply not a priority. And we redirected this funding towards Urgent Research needs such as getting a deployable Coronavirus Vaccine for our troops and for funding t. B. I. Programs. The ndaa also requires the most Senior Science and Technology Leaders to meet and discuss their research to ensure that it is coordinated and the pentagon doesnt continue to pay for the same research twice. Finally and very importantly, this defense bill starts the long and hard work to fix our overdependence on china, a near peer adversary that we should always keep our guard up against. In the defense realm, the u. S. Has grown too reliant on the Chinese Communist party for components and material and for our most advanced weapons systems. Through my efforts in the bill, we are helping secure the u. S. Supply chain for rare earth metals and battery components so we dont rely on china for our weapons. Were also working to deploy counterdrone weapons to stop unmanned aerial attacks on troops and invest in the latest technology for headsup displays and wearable text for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Madam president , before i close, i want to remind everyone of something. The national Defense Authorization act is largely bipartisan, and its through the work we did in our Armed Services committee, led by senator jim inhofe and Ranking Member jack reed, that we were able to move quickly and debate it here on the floor this week. In what seems like a never ending polarization of politics, important work of the ndaa often goes unnoticed or is only highlighted because of the newsworthy provisions in the bill. I wish that were not the case. As ive said many times over, america does not have a perfect history and many of our heroes were flawed, but, folks, we still live in the greatest country on the face of this planet and thats because of the men and women who have fought and died to protect our freedoms, liberties, and rights. And our troops continuing to serve on the front lines to protect our homeland. Ensuring our troops are ready for the threats we face now and well into the future is something we should all celebrate. And, thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. Mr. King madam president. The presiding officer the senator from maine is recognized. Mr. King madam president , were talking about the national Defense Authorization act. Were talking about preventing and dealing with threats to our country. I want to describe a hypothetical threat, a threat that throws millions of people out of work almost overnight, causes a stock market collapse, cripples the airline industry, has people afraid to leave their homes, the states scrambling for materials to prepare and cope with the attack. The attack comes in waves. Just as it seems to be receding, it comes back. Its difficult to know the sources of the attack. The country is divided. There are conspiracy theories and polarization and politicalization of this awful situation. Madam president , im not describing the pandemic. Thats what weve experienced. Im describing a potential catastrophic cyberattack on this country. Everything that i lied would be part listed would be part of what would happen in the case of such an attack, plus our networks would likely be down. No more working from home, no zoom, no meetings. The effect on the economy would be twice, at least, the effect of the coronavirus. The electric grid could likely be compromised. The electric grid, people think about the lights, but in the south electricity is necessary, in the north it is necessary for firing furnaces. Were talking about no air conditioning and no heat. It could be in the dead of winter. Were talking about airports closed and the Financial System potentially in tatters. Peoples life savings could be destroyed at the stroke of a key. Were talking about thousands of Water Systems across the country that could be compromised by a cyberattack making people afraid to drink the very tap water in their homes. We would have uncertainty, economic catastrophe, and an enormous challenge to this country. And, by the way madam president , what i just talked about is not entirely hypothetical. Its happening now. Our Financial System is under attack. I talked to a utility executive recently whose system is being cyber attacked three million times a day. Today. Ive talked to small banks in maine who are being attacked thousands of times a day. Weve had ransom wears attacks wares attacks. They attacked the o. P. M. And gotten the personal data of millions of american citizens and of course we know about the attacks on our election infrastructure and the danger of those attacks continuing and escalating. The Financial System is at risk, the energy grid is at risk. The transportation sector is at risk. Mr. President , this is a very serious and immediate challenge. The important one of the important lessons from the pandemic, i think one of the overall lessons from the pandemic, is the unthinkable can happen. If you had told any of us a year ago we wouldnt be leaving our homes, wed be Wearing Masks when we went out, our restaurants and social gatherings would be closed, nobody would believe that. Well its happened. And a catastrophic cyberattack can happen, and thats why in the National Defense act last year, the Congress Passed and the president signed, the creation of something called the cyberspace is a layer yum commission. It is totally bipartisan. Four members from the executive and six members from the private sector to take an indepth look at this threat and to try to come up with a National Strategy and set of plans to cope with it now before it happens. That was the mission of our commission. We met over 30 times, we had hundreds of thundershowers of consideration. We had00 hundreds of hours of consideration, we had hundreds of submissions of information from around the country, thousands of pages of documents, came up with a report. Ironically our report was released on march 11. It was probably the last significant large meeting in these buildings before the shutdown occasioned by the pandemic. We had dozens of recommendations. Im proud to say that 11 of our most important recommendations are in the defense bill thats going to be considered this week. Theyve been included in the bill that has been reported out by the committee on a totally bipartisan basis. And thats an important first step in implementing this project. The plain point i want to make, the main point i want to make though is how urgent this is. Just as the pandemic was unthinkable, nobody could conceive of an attack that could bring down the Financial System or the internet, but it could happen. The technology is there. And we all think in terms of world war ii and conventional forces. I believe, mr. President , the next pearl harbor will be cyber. Thats go to be the attack that attempts to bring this country to its knees, and as weve learned in the pandemic, we have vulnerability and we have to prepare for it. So weve got amendments in the defense bill that relate it the department of defense and thats good, but one of the issues with this subject matter is its spread across the government, both in the executive sector and here and weve got 18 or 20 amendments that are pending that we hope were going to be able to improve and get into this bill with the clearance of other committees. But getting 20 amendments cleared because of the multiplicity of the jurisdictions that covers cyber, we had to get 180 clearances from committees across the congress in both houses, and that indicates how fractured this policy process is. And the same thing is true in the executive branch. The authority for cyber is in Homeland Security, its in the c. I. A. , its in the f. B. I. , its in the n. S. A. , it is scattered throughout the government. It is something that we proposed that we try to make sense of this process and try to provide in both the executive branch and in the Congress Central points that can have authority and responsibility over this area. Theres a great deal of work left to be done. We had some 80 recommendations. We hope that as many as 15 or more will be in the defense bill, but there are others that will require other committees, and we look forward to working with them. Two of them our recommendations in terms of making sense of the organization relate one relates to this body, one relates to the executive. This body, were recommending that we create a select committee on cyber here in the senate and one in the house, exactly what was done in the 1970s when it was realized that intelligence was too important to be scattered throughout the jurisdictionings of all committees, thats when the select committee on intelligence was created. We are recommending a Senate Approved National Cyber director in the executive office of the president , analogous to the trade representative who is a Senate Approved position, who is appointed by the president , serves at the pleasure of the president. The idea is to give the president a Central Point of contact to deal with the multiplicity of authorities that are involved in this issue throughout the executive branch of the federal government. One of my principles of business when i was doing contracts and working in business was i want one throat to choke. I want one place where i can go to hold someone accountable and to hold them accountable not only for reacting but for planning. And thats what were proposings to be brought forth and we hope that were going to be able to earn the support of the administration. The commission, as i mentioned, had four members of congress, four members from the executive branch who made significant contributions and six members from the private sector. We had unanimous recommendations after an enormous amount of work and serious thought by very serious people from across this country. Theres plenty of work left to be done. I want to thank the Committee Chairs and the leads and the staff and all of those who have worked with us to get these recommendations this far. But i also want to leave the senate and the congress and the American People with the knowledge that were not there yet. That were vulnerable. That this is something that we have to attend to. This is not something that may happen, this is something thats happening now and it may happen it will likely happen to a more serious degree in the future. The pandemic has taught us some important lessons about planning and preparing and providing, and thats what were talking about here. We have to plan for the unthinkable. We have to prepare continuity of the economy, continuity of government. We have to prepare in terms of what our deterrent policy is because the best cyberattack is the one that doesnt occur, and we also have to provide the structures and the resources to be sure that were ready to defeat to meet and defeat this next challenge. Mr. President , i consider this one of the most serious threats facing this country and its easy in the midst of the pandemic and all the other issues that are swirling around on Election Year and everything else, but it is so clear that this is a overwhelming risk to the future of this country that we have to take it seriously. We have to respond, we have to be ready, we have to deter and we have to prepare. Mr. President , i deeply hope that we will continue the momentum thats begun in this bill and be able to take the next step and the other recommendations and other good ones that may come forward in this process so that we will be prepared, we will be able to respond and prevail. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. Inhofe mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Inhofe mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that i be recognized for such time as i shall consume. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Inhofe yeah, its another way of saying i want to complete my remarks and let me just say this about the senator from maine. Of all the members of the senate Armed Services committee, hes the one that is always there and getting involved in these things with the sense of a urgency that he feels in his heart, and i appreciate him as a very valuable member of that committee. Thats for all your service, i say to him. Earlier this morning i was at the white house with some of the other members to receive a briefing on the reports that putin putting boundaries on troops in afghanistan, youve been hearing about this. After a very long hearing, im confident that President Trump didnt know about the reporting. Theres some confusion in terms of our own intelligence, and it just didnt rise to the level of the president at that time. Another takeaway from the briefing that our intelligence agencies arent in complete agreement on this even now. So this is going to be this is going continue to be a washington, d. C. , story, one where they try to make the president look bad because heres what we also know and we dont need any special intelligence to tell us. Putin is a murder, hes a thug, he hates america, he hates our interest and we know that and were doing something about it. President trump is taking a list of steps to stand up for our troops and stand up against putins actions. And the ndaa is focused on the top priority taking care of our troops and also aligning our military to better deter against china and and russia. As we continue consideration, let me just kind of give a brief update as to where we are right now. We talk a lot about our troops an military strength in this bifl. At the in this bill. At the end of the day this bill affects all of our military family and its about their freedom and prosperity. We introduced an amendment that including 79 bipartisan amendments. As we speak, were building a managers package which contains dozens of bipartisan amendments. So were doing the job the way it is supposed to be done, the same as it was done the lastyearold and the year before. The safety of the American People is not goshable with. D. Is not negotiable. With the ndaa, we moved one step closer to ensuring that safety and close hing the gap between our military and those of china and russia also a. Something that for some reason this never gets out in the media. Nobody ever talks about this. It is so significant. That during the obama years, the last five years, that would have been between 2010 and 2015, he reduced the spending on on defense by 25 . Thats 25 in a fiveyear period. I dont think weve ever seen that before. Now, at the same time that was happening, we were reducing by 25 , russia was increasing by 34 . If you think thats bad, at the same time, china was increasing by 83 . So we reduced by 25 and china koreas increases by 85 . It increases funding for weapons for procurement programs including tomorrow hawk missiles, groundbased antiship missiles and realigning our weapons capabilities to match the n. D. S. This is the n. D. S. I like to take this with me so people understand that this is really a wellthoughtout short document. This is put together by is it democrats, 12 republicans, all were experts, all were considered to be coming to agreement. Can you believe that, 12 democrats and 12 republicans all in agreement . Well, thats what this is all about. It reestablishes our superiority in the air by focusing on procurement for air force while also preventing divestment of legacy aircraft like the kc135. The kcsparks it was envisioned about a year ago that we would be phasing out. Its going to take a while for that to get online. In the meantime we do have an adequate number of working kc were talking about a vehicle thats 60 years old. But theyre still working and working well and it shows what were going to come up when the kc46 finally comes online. It reestablishes our superiority on the seas by increasing authorization for shipbuilding, an authorization he procurement to achieve 155ship navy, still talking about that. It supports the armys focus on multidomain capabilities, especially the modernization priorities. It keeps our eye on space. The bill also goes beyond our bases, too. A few examples the Defense Community Infrastructure Program impact aid, star base for science and technology, Research Partnership with universities. And this is very significant because we have, i know, three universities who have been active in this field for the last three years. It also includes research, experimental, the 5g, vital to maintaining both our military and economic advantages. One other thing this bill does that i want to highlight is the project our g. P. S. Signals. Recently and this is very important, mr. President. Recently, the federal Communications Commission okayed a proposal by Ligado Networks to make a new cellular net work that jeopardizes ligado signals that nobody people rely on. We had some 12 agencies of government all joined in. Nobody else on the other side was talking about what ligado was going to do and the jeopardy it puts on our g. P. S. System. Were not just talking about in the use in the field for these signals but the pilots in the sky, construction workers on job sites, even our farmers use g. P. S. To irrigate and harass vast their cops harvest their craps. The f. C. C. Went ahead with this deal. Getting even worse, the f. C. C. Was aware of the threat that was being posed and the objections that were out there. And they actually had the vote to do that over a weekend. And i went back and checked and found out theyd never done that before. I dont know. I cant talk about that because i dont have the answers. Ive been trying to get the answers. Ndaa makes sure they are on the costly updates. If ligado moves ahead with the deal by prohibiting the use of d. O. D. Funds to comply with the order until and id mention thee three things, the secretary of defense submits an estimate of the costs associated with the g. P. S. Interference, two, the it directs the secretary of defense to contract with the National Academies of science and engineering for an independent technical review, and then the bill further directs the secretary of defense to create a process to ensure our nations military is reimbursed directly by ligado for the interference that they caused. In short, it makes sure that were not wasting taxpayer money to fix the problems that ligado is causing. So these are just a few of the reasons this bill is more than just a military bill. First and foremost, its what it is. Its a security bill. Every provision in this bill matters to our National Security, but it also goes beyond that. I think its really important that americans know this. With the bill, were leaving a legacy of our for our children and our grandchildren, one that values peace, protects economic prosperity, and safeguards our freedoms. We got to keep in mind, this bill has passed every year for 60 years. Its very unusual Something Like this would happen. In fact, this is the only way where that has happened. This is the only area where that has happened. We do know that the results are there. We know that its going to pass. If its passed for 59 years, itll pass for another year. And were going to make sure that we put our military back where it should be. Back where it was prior to the last administration and so i think everyone should realize we still are waiting for the last shot of amendments, and we are ready to go ahead and finish it. Conceivably, we can get this thing done before the august recess, not the august recess, before the 4th of july recess. I dont want to scare anyone with that prognosis. And that could happen. Were talking about this coming thursday. So were in the process of getting this done now. In my opinion, its the most important bill of the year and were going to get it finished. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Warner mr. President , before i get started, i want to thank my friend, the senator from oklahoma, for his leadership on the ndaa. I think that record of 59 years of getting the bill passed is one that im envious off, and i want to envious off and i want to thank him for his willingness to put into the original managers package the authorization bill which i know has sometimes some controversy to it and am grateful for the chance to am grateful for the chance to ride along on the ndaa. I thank him for his leadership on the issue. Mr. President , im here today because i fear the senate is about to fail once again to protect our elections from foreign interference. For the last three years, ive worked as vice chairman of the Intel Committee to investigate russias attack on our democracy in 2016. Im proud of the fact that with all of the controversy about this subject matter, we are the only bipartisan investigation of Russian Election interference to make it to the finish line. Our fifth volume of our report is at the odni right out in for declassification. Any member of the public can read the first four volumes of declassified conclusions. And any member of this body can read additional classified materials. Our report offers a stark warning of russias intent to interfere in future u. S. Elections, and it clear road map for how to defend our democracy from russia or any other adversaries, copying their playbook. Unfortunately, the white house and the leadership on the majority side of the United States senate seem to be the only ones not taking this threat seriously. Since 2016, this body has failed to vote on a single piece of standalone Election Security legislation. So four times in the last year ive come to the floor in an attempt to pass my bipartisan Election Security legislation known as the fire act by unanimous consent. And each time these efforts were blocked by my republican colleagues. Of course, when they blocked it, they got what they were looking for. They earned applause from the president on twitter. In a different time with a different president , this bill wouldnt be controversial at all. It should simply say to all president ial campaigns going forward, if a foreign power reaches out to your Campaign Offering assistance or offering dirt on a political opponent, the appropriate response is not to say thank you; the appropriate response is call the f. B. I. What a sad statement about partisan politics in our country when we cant even agree on that. Cant even agree to that there ought to be a duty to report an offer of foreign assistance in a president ial campaign. Mr. President , i introduced this legislation months before the facts came to light about the president pressuring ukraine into announcing politically motivated investigations into the bidens. Now or, im not here to rehash the impeachment trial, but i do want to note one thing a number of my republican colleagues justified their votes by saying that while not impeachable, it was wrong for the president to solicit foreign interference in our elections. I take my colleagues across the aisle at their word, that they believe foreign interference has no place in our elections. But at some point you got to put your money where our mouth is. We know the president tried to trade election favors with ukraine. And according to the new book from john bolton, the president tried to trade political favors with xi during trade negotiations. Maybe that happened, maybe it didnt. But id be much more inclined to give the president the benefit of the doubt if he hadnt asked china to investigate the bidens on national television, if he hadnt asked russia to hack Hillary Clintons emails during the 2016, or if hed shown even a shred of interest in defending our democracy from foreign interference over the last four years. Mr. President , we are under attack from adversaries who see this new area of cyber warfare and disinformation as a golden opportunity to undermine american democracy. We cannot afford to have a system that allows president ial candidates to welcome this interference with open arms. If we cant trust the president of the United States and his campaign to the do the right thing and report foreign interference, then we need to the require it by law. Ive spent over a year inviting my colleagues across the aisle to work with us on this already and i point out already bipartisan legislation. Ive tried to answer every objection and work through the right channels to get this legislation to the floor as the part of the ndaa. So what do we do . We went back to the Intelligence Committee again the only committee engaged in a serious effort to prevent foreign election interference. We made sure that this years intel authorization bill included several provisions to strengthen our defenses ahead of the november elections. The committee voted 141 to pass an intel authorization bill that included the fire act. The act that ive just described, that if a Foreign Government interferes or offers you assistance or offers you dirt, you dont say thanks; you call the f. B. I. So you can imagine my surprise and frustration when i learned of a backroom deal to strip the fire act out of the Intelligence Committee legislation. Because out of a supposed turf war with another committee. So, mr. President , im back again today because the security of our elections cannot wait. Lets not hide behind process or jurisdictional boundaries. The stakes are far too high to continue the partisan blockade of Election Security legislation that we have seen over the last three years. If my republican colleagues want to strip this legislation out of the ndaa behind closed doors, then i am going to offer it up as an amendment to force an upordown vote and put every member of this body on the record. Are you for Election Security or are you for allowing foreign entities to interfere and offer assistance with no requirement to report . More than ever, its time to put country over party and defend our democracy from those who would do it harm. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment and send a clear message foreign interference has no place in our elections. Thank you, mr. President. I note the absence of a quorum. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum no. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, the Senate Stands in recess until 2 15 p. M. Recess the senate is now in recess today senators working on the 740 billion annual defense programs and policy bill. So far no votes are scheduled for today but a final passage vote is expected by the end of the week. When it Senate Returns we will have live coverage right here on cspan2. Up next with from democrat leaders about reports that rush was offering the taliban bounties to kill u. S. Troops in afghanistan. A look now at their remarks