Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate Confirms Christopher Wray As FBI Director 20170801

Mr. Hatch mr. President . The presiding officer president pro tempore, the senator from utah. Mr. Hatch the senate is not in a quorum, right . The presiding officer the senate is not in a quorum call, senator. Mr. Hatch mr. President , i represent a generation of lawmakers brought up on the principles of bipartisanship and compromise. And i believe that these very virtues of the key to my success as a legislator. By putting these principles in practice as chairman of the finance committee, i was able to pass more than 40 bills sent to law during the last congress. And by working with my friends across the aisle over many decades of Public Service, ive been able to pass more legislation than anyone alive today. Mr. President , i draw from these personal experiences to illustrate a simple point. In an era of endless gridlock and increasing polarization, there is no alternative to civility and healthy debate. We would do well to remember this in light of the frustrations we have all felt over the past several months. The senate is capable of so much more than it is today. I know because ive seen the senate at its best and ive seen the senate when regular order was the norm, when legislation was debated in committee, and when members worked constructively with one another for the good of the country. Ive seen the senate where seen the senate when it truly lived up to its reputation as the worlds greatest deliberative body. Mr. President , i believe we can do we can again see this body at its best, but restoring the senate to its proper function requires real change on all sides. It begins by recognizing that all of us here, democrats and republicans alike, are to some extent culpable for the current dysfunction. If we want to break free of the current gridlock and if we want to show the American People that were serious about legislating, then we have to be honest with ourselves and we have to recognize that laying all the blame on the other side is as counterproductive as it is disingenuous. Most importantly, we must be willing to work in good faith with members of the opposite party. All too often we miss the opportunity to effect meaningful change by hiding behind partisan differences. We must take the opposite course by renewing our efforts to reach across the aisle, to overcome division, and forge consensus. There is no better temp lat for effective bipartisan legislating. This is the model that i followed for decades for the betterment of utah and the nation. And its the model that i followed most recently in working with my dear friend, senator coons, to introduce the International Communications privacy act or what we affectionately refer to as icpa. Icpa is more than just a commonsense proposal that updates Law Enforcement for the modern age. Its a symbol of what our two parties can accomplish when we lay aside petty differences and come together for the good of our nation. In crafting this proposal, senator coons and i took great pains to strengthen International Data privacy protections while also enhancing Law Enforcement civility to access data across borders. This issue has long been a priority of mine. Ive spoken about it at length both here on the senate floor and in other venues and have introduced legislation on the subject over multiple congresses. Most recently i came to the senate floor to explain how the rise of cloud and Remote Network computing has transformed the way we store data and to describe the implications of that transformation for our data privacy laws. Until recently or i should say until relatively recently, most electronic data was housed in personal computers or on servers located in offices or homes. This meant that in order to access data, a person could simply go to the relevant location and retrieve it. That is no longer the case. Nowadays, much of our data is stored not on home or Office Computers but in the cloud, a network of remote servers spread throughout the world that allows us to access data from literally anywhere. Data pertaining to a single individual or even to a simple document may be stored at multiple sites spread across the countries, or even conts innocents continents. This has profound implications for data privacy. To begin with our privacy laws require government officials to obtain a warrant before they can access many types of electronic communications. Warrants, however, traditionally have stopped at the warrants edge. This means if a Law Enforcement agent is investigating a crime here in the United States but a key piece of information is stored on a remote server outside the United States, the agent may have significant difficulty obtaining the information. Without a warrant or an ability to get a warrant, the agent may have to use diplomatic channels to obtain the information, a process that can be extremely slow and cumbersome. Our privacy laws also prohibit disclosure to foreign entities. This means that when a Foreign Government is investigating a crime within its borders and a key piece of information is stored in the United States, the Foreign Government must likewise work through diplomatic channels to obtain the information. The growing prevalence of cloud and Remote Network computing has brought Law Enforcement into increasing conflict with these sorts of restrictions. Crime knows no borders. A child pornographer in bangalor may post photos of a victim on a british server that can be accessed worldwide. A u. S. Official investigating the crime pay need information stored on the british server in order to track down the culprit. If the server was in the United States, the official could simply issue a warrant but that tool isnt available in this scenario because the server is overseas. Moreover, the United Kingdom may have a statute similar to our own law that prohibits British Service for riders from disclosing communications to foreign entities. Diplomatic channels exist for storing such data but those channels are exceptionally slow and take months or even years to process requests. In the meantime, crimes go unpunished and perpetrators disappear. Mr. President , this state of affairs is simply not tenable. We cannot allow outdated laws to hamstring Law Enforcement. Law enforcement efforts in this way. At the same time, we must adequately protect americans privacy against unwarranted government intrusions. Some have suggested that the answer is to simply extend the reach of u. S. Warrants worldwi worldwide. This, however, is not a viable solution as foreign disclosure laws can and do conflict with u. S. Laws. Extending the reach of u. S. Warrants without reasonable limits would thus Place Service providers in the impossible position of having to choose which countrys laws to violate, ours or the foreign jurisdicti jurisdictions . What we need, mr. President , is a sensible ar regime with clear rules based on factors that matter to the person whoses data whose data is being sought. We need to take proper account of the laws and interest of the other countries, especially our allies. We ought to avoid wherever possible trampling on other nations sovereignty or ignoring their own citizens legitimate claims to privacy. Accordingly, icpa sets clear rules for when and how u. S. Law enforcement can access electronic data based on the location and nationality of the person whose data is being sought. Heres what the bill says. If a person is a u. S. National or is located in the United States, Law Enforcement may compel disclosure regardless of where the data is stored provided the data is accessible from a u. S. Computer and Law Enforcement uses proper criminal process. If the person is not a u. S. National, however, and is not located in the United States, then different rules apply. These rules are founded on three principles, respect, comity, and reciprocity. First respect. If u. S. Law enforcement wishes to access data belonging to a nonu. S. National located outside the United States, then u. S. Law enforcement must first notify the persons country of citizenship and provide that country an opportunity to object. This shows respect to the other country and gives it an opportunity to assert the privacy rights of its citizen. Second, comity if after receiving notice the other country lodges an objection, the u. S. Court undertakes a comity analysis to determine whose interest should rightly prevail. The u. S. Interest in obtaining the data or the foreign interest in safeguarding the privacy of its citizen. As a part of this analysis, the Court Considers such factors as the location of the crime, seriousness of the crime, the importance of the data to the investigation, and the possibility of accessing the data through other means. Third, respec reciprocity. In order to receive notice and an opportunity to object, the other country must provide reciprocal rights to the United States. This ensures that the u. S. Provides its own citizens an equal or greater level of protection against foreign requests for data. It also offers incentives to Foreign Governments to properly safeguard the data of u. S. Citizens within their borders. Now, mr. President , up to this point ive been focusing on requests by u. S. Law enforcement for data stored outside the United States, but theres another side to the problem. And thats what happens when foreign Law Enforcement requests data stored inside the United States. As ive mentioned, our privacy laws prohibit disclosure to foreign entities. Suppose you have a british subject who committed a crime in britain but data relevant to the legislation excuse me to the investigation is stored in the United States. Even if british law provides for extra territorial process, a u. K. Official investigating the crime will be unable to obtain the data because u. S. Law prevents disclosure to foreign officials. As with u. S. Requests for data in other countries, diplomatic channels exist for sharing such data but these channels are slow and extremely cumbersome. Accordingly, for the past several months, ive been working with senator graham and others to find a solution to this second part of the problem. Senator graham together with senator whitehouse convened a hearing in may of this year that i believe highlighted the need for action. I have also met with ambassadors and sore highranking foreign officials who have impressed upon me the challenges they are facing under existing u. S. Law. And so, mr. President , i think we need to address this second side of the problem. Foreign requests for data in the u. S. As well, and we need to address it in conjunction with the first side, u. S. Requests for data and other countries. It will not do to give foreign authorities readier access to data stored in the u. S. Without likewise clarifying u. S. Law enforcements ability to obtain data stored abroad. Similarly, it is incan conceivable to me that we would it is inconceivable to me that we would open our doors to Law Enforcement requests that say Law Enforcement obtaining data in other countries is not permitted. Surely, we should not preference foreign criminal investigations over domestic ones. Mr. President , i believe these two issues, icfa and the bilateral u. S. U. K. Agreement are inextricably linked. I have worked in good faith with senator graham and senator whitehouse to find a path forward on these issues. It is my firm belief that we need to move these two issues together. Everyone has a vested interest in privacy and everyone has a vested interest in bringing criminals to justice. Were going to Work Together on this. In closing, mr. President , i would emphasize one additional point. The question of whether when and under what circumstances the United States should authorize Law Enforcement access to data stored abroad is a question for congress. There have been suggestions in some quarters that this is a question for the courts to decide. I emphatically reject that position. This is a policy question for congress. We should not defer to the courts interpretation of the statute that was passed 30 years ago with no thought or comprehension of the situation we face today. Subject to constitutional constraints, it is congress job to set the bounds of governments investigatory powers. We decide what government officials can and cannot do. We should not pass the buck to the judiciary merely because this is a this is an issue. We just shouldnt do that. The International Communications privacy act provides critical guidance to Law Enforcement while respecting the laws and interests of our allies. It brings a set of simple, straightforward rules to a chaotic area of the law and creates an example for other countries to follow. It is a balanced approach, a smart approach, and it deserves this bodys fullthroated support. Mr. President , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Thune mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune mr. President , when polls ask americans what issues are most important to them, one topic seems to score high every time jobs and the economy. Its not surprising. The American People had a rough time over the past few years. The obama years were characterized by longterm economic stagnation. Jobs and opportunities were few and far between. Wage growth was almost nonexistent, and yearly Economic Growth alternated between weak and woeful. During the last year of the obama administration, years, i might add, after the recession ended, Economic Growth averaged a dismal 1. 5 . Thats barely half of the growth needed for a healthy economy. Now, there have been some encouraging signs over the past few months. Economic growth for the Second Quarter of 2017 was stronger, but we still have a ways to go to get where we need to be. Things still need to get better and better faster. And another thing, mr. President , we want things to get better for the long term. During the obama administration, there were periods of reasonable Economic Growth but they were quickly followed by weak periods, and thats not good enough. We need to put our economy on a strong, healthy footing for the long term. So how do we do this, mr. President . How do we get back on the path to longterm Economic Health . One important thing that we can do is reform our outdated, inefficient, and growthstifle ing tax code. Now, the tax code might not be the first thing people think of when they think of Economic Growth, but it actually plays a huge role in every aspect of our economy. It helps determine how much money you have left over to save or invest or whether or not you can afford a car or a house. And when it comes to businesses, it can be the key to determining whether or not a young business gets off the ground or an existing business has the money to grow and to hire new workers. Unfortunately, our current tax code is not helping our economy. Too often, American Families find their Opportunities Limited by the size of the tax bill that they owe to uncle sam. And large and Small Businesses alike find themselves struggling under heavy tax burdens that compromise their ability to grow and compete. So what does tax reform need to look like . On the individual side, of course, we need to lower income tax rates to put more money in americans pockets. American families should be the ones deciding how to spend their earnings and not washington bureaucrats. And on the business side, there are two important things that we can do, mr. President , that will have longterm benefits for Economic Growth. First, lower tax rates for all types of businesses. Sole proprietorships, s corporations, limited Liability Companies and corporations. And second, accelerate the rate at which businesses can cover their investment costs to free up money for them to reinvest in their businesses, create new jobs and increase wages. When it comes to lowering business tax rates, there are several things that we need to do. For starters, we need to lower our nations Corporate Tax rate. The United States has the highest Corporate Tax rate in the developed world, and that puts american businesses at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. When american businesses are taxed at a far higher rate than their foreign competitors, its likely to be the foreign rather than American Companies that expanned expand and thrive. But its not just our high Corporate Tax rate that puts american businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Its also our outdated worldwide tax system. We want american businesses if we want american businesses to stay competitive in the global economy, we need to move from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system. The chairman of the Senate Finance committee, senator orrin hatch, delivered a speech the other day explaining exactly why we need to move to a territorial system. I highly recommend reading his full speech, but im going to take just a moment, mr. President , here to highlight some of the points that he made in that speech. What does it mean to have a worldwide tax system . Under a worldwide tax system, American Companies pay u. S. Taxes on the profits they make here at home, as well as any profit that they make abroad once they bring that money back here home to the United States. The problem with this is twofold. First, these companies are already paying taxes to Foreign Governments on the money that they make abroad. Now, while the current tax code gives them some credit for those foreign tax payments, they can still end up paying some u. S. Taxes when they bring that money home, meaning that they are being taxed twice on the same profits. This discourages companies from bringing their profits home to invest in their domestic operations here in the United States. If the tax burden for bringing that money home is too great, they have a strong incentive to leave that money abroad and invest it in Foreign Workers and foreign economies. The other problem is that most other major world economies have shifted from a worldwide tax system from a territorial tax system. In a territorial tax system, you pay taxes on the money you earn where you make it and only there. You arent taxed again when you bring money back to your home country. Now, most of American Companies foreign competitors have been operating under a territorial tax system for years, so they are paying a lot less in taxes than our American Companies. And that leaves American Companies at a competitive disadvantage. These Foreign Companies can underbid American Companies for new business simply because they dont have to add as much in taxes into the price of their products or services. By moving to a territorial tax system here in the United States, a move thats supported, by the way, by members of both parties, we can put American Companies on an even footing with their global competitors. And with the territorial tax system and a lower Corporate Tax rate, we can provide a strong reason for companies to keep their operations here in the United States and to bring their profits back home instead of incent Incentivizing Companies to bring their operations overseas the way they do now. Improving the competitiveness of American Companies and giving them a reason to invest their profits back home will have huge economic benefits, not only for American Companies who are competing in the global marketplace, but also for all the small and Mediumsized Companies that form the supply chain here in the United States. For every American Company that operates in countries around the world, there are countless companies here at home that supply the raw material for the products that are sold abroad. Businesses that handle the packaging and the shipping of those products, and enterprises that supply support Services Like accounting and legal and payroll services. And, mr. President , the list goes on. Americas global economies rely on a web of supporting businesses that spans the entire United States. As a result, when American Companies are successful, so is the american economy. Mr. President , obviously lowering Corporate Tax rates and moving to a territorial tax system will have the most impact on American Companies with an international footprint, so tax reform also has to focus on that other engine of Economic Growth, and that is the american Small Business. Like bigger businesses, Small Businesses currently face high tax rates, at times even exceeding those paid by large corporations. Lowering tax rates for Small Businesses has to be a part of any tax reform bill. A dollar saved in lower rates is a dollar a Small Business owner can put back into the business to expand, to add another worker, or to give employees a raise. The other thing that we can do for Small Businesses is to allow them to recover their investments in inventory machinery and the like faster. Under current law, small and mediumsized corporations are often required to use a method of accounting known as accrual accounting. Basically, what that means is that a business has to pay tax on income before it receives the cash, and it cannot deduct all of its expenses when it pays the invoice. And for investments in equipment and facilities, the delay in recovering the cost of the investment can be even longer. For instance, right now, the cost of a computer is recovered over five years. Tractortrailers over seven years, and commercial buildings over 39 years. For many businesses, this means it can be many years before that substantial investment can be fully deducted, and that can leave a business extremely cash poor. And cashpoor businesses, mr. President , dont expand. They dont hire new workers, and they dont increase wages. Boosting Small Businesses available cash by allowing them to recover their investments faster is one of the most important things we can do to help Small Businesses thrive. And, mr. President , i have actually already introduced legislation that would do just that. My bill, which is called the invest act, focuses on allowing new businesses to recover their startup costs more quickly and allowing the existing small and mediumsized businesses and farms and ranches to recover their investments faster. In some cases, deducting the acquisition costs immediately. Mr. President , all of the tax reform priorities that i have discussed here today and more will be part of the final tax reform package that we develop here in the United States senate. Members of the taxwriting committees in both the senate and the house have spent years working out the best approach to tax reform, and both committees have redoubled their efforts this year, even as the senate and the house took up a variety of different priorities. Last week, leaders from the senate, the house, and the administration announced that the Senate Finance committee, of which i am a member, and the house ways and Means Committee would begin putting together a final version of a tax reform package. Our goal is for the senate and house to take up and pass the legislation sometime this fall. Im looking forward, mr. President , to working with chairman hatch and all of my colleagues at the Senate Finance committee to put together that final bill, because American Families and businesses are counting on us to enact a tax system that works for them and not against them. And thats what we intend to give them. Mr. President , i yield the floor. And i suggest sorry. Mr. President , i would ask unanimous consent that quorum calls during consideration of the wray nomination be charged equally to both sides. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune mr. President , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from minnesota. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i rise today to recognize the presiding officer were in a quorum call. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Klobuchar mr. President , i rise today to recognize the tenth anniversary of the collapse of the 35w bridge and to pay tribute to those who lost their lives on that tragic summer day as well as all the First Responders and Health Care Workers and ordinary citizens who did extraordinary things on this day ten years ago. First i wanted to acknowledge one other topic, and that this evening we will be voting on the nomination of Christopher Wray to serve as the f. B. I. Director. I was proud to join all of my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee now that is not an ordinary thing to have happen on its own that we all agreed on something from both sides of the aisle to support mr. Wrays nomination in committee on july 20 with a unanimous vote of support. In his hearing, mr. Wray showed that he has the integrity, that he will follow the law and that he believes in the importance of an independent f. B. I. Senators on both sides of the aisle asked him strong and tough questions. Given this important time in our nations history for Law Enforcement and for the f. B. I. , i dont think he would expect anything less. Mr. Wray handled the questions well. He was knowledgeable, but most importantly for me, he showed the respect for the agents, he showed a respect for his predecessors both mr. Mueller and mr. Comey he showed a respect for the law, and he understood the somber time in which he comes in to take this job. In particular, mr. Wray said that if he was asked to do something illegal or unethical, he would urge the president not to proceed with such a course of action and he would resign if necessary. Mr. Wray also responded to senator graham that he does not consider special counsel mueller to be on a, quote, witch hunt, and he agreed that Anyone Running for elected office should notify the f. B. I. If a Foreign Government offers assistance on a political campaign. Mr. Wray also agreed with the concerns that i raised posed by organized criminals, including those from Foreign Governments or who work for Foreign Governments, hiding their money in shell companies. He said that we had to, quote, follow the money. With news report that the eighth person in the meeting with donald trump jr. , Paul Manafort and a lawyer connected to the russian government was a russian who has been linked to money laundering, this issue is as important as ever. In addition, mr. Wray pledged to continue the f. B. I. s efforts to work with the Election Assistance Commission and to address cybersecurity threats to our election infrastructure. So its not just investigating things backwards. A lot of what fighting crime is about and i certainly knew this in my time as county attorney in hennepin county, a lot of this is making sure you protect people Going Forward. And so the f. B. I. Has enormous responsibilities Going Forward with cybersecurity not only for our elections, but for our government and also for business and individual citizens. Importantly, mr. Wray promised to be responsive to requests from the Judiciary Committee as it carries out its oversight responsibilities. Those were questions posed to him by the committees chairman, chairman grassley. This is a tough time to take this tough job. The previous f. B. I. Director, as we know, was fired because of the russia investigation. The former acting attorney general was fired. And weve had a slew of other firings throughout the government over the last few months. While i believe Christopher Wray is someone who will come in there with the integrity that we need to do the job for those brave agents that go to work every day not wearing a political button, they just go to do their work to protect us. And i also believe he is the right choice at this time for our country. Im very proud of the work the f. B. I. In minnesota has done, especially in recent the recent past year with the stabbing that we had at the shopping mall. The police chief there often talks about how there was so much going on at that moment, and the f. B. I. Was able to come in and help with that investigation in a significant way. So the police chief could not only work on the investigation with his officers, but also calm the community and work with them and do the other work that had to be done in the aftermath of that tragic stabbing. Thats just one example of our f. B. I. In minnesota. But i think every member in this chamber have examples in their own communities, and thats why its important to have someone of the caliber of Christopher Wray take charge. I look forward to voting for his confirmation this evening. So, mr. President , im here today to talk about the i35w bridge. As i said earlier, this was a tragedy that captivated not only my state, but the country and the world. It was ten years ago to the day that the i35w bridge collapsed in the mississippi river, taking the lives of 13 people and injuring over 100. Ill never forget the shock and horror of that day. Everyone in my state remembers where they were when they heard that the bridge collapsed. As i said that day, a bridge just shouldnt fall down in the middle of america, not an eightlane highway, not a bridge just a few blocks from my house that i drive over every single day with my family. But it happened. And when Something Like that happens, a lot of it has to do with, yes, what caused it you want to know that but also you want to know how did a community respond. And that gets to the part that i really wanted to focus on today. In the minutes and hours following the disaster, the response of minnesotas firefighters, police, hospital personnel, Emergency Personnel personnel, ordinary citizens was nothing short of heroic. People did not run away from that disaster. They ran toward it. Everyone remembers the video of the offduty firefighter diving in over and over again, looking for survivors. Or they remember that school bus precariously hanging on the edge of that broken down bridge, where ordinary people had come to help on this broken bridge as a school bus is rested on the side ready to fall, to get the kids off the bridge that were just going to a summer camp and coming home for the day. And the driver helping them out one by one by one, and not leaving that bus until every single kid got off the bus. During the first two hours after the bridge fell down, the Minneapolis Emergency Communications center received and processed over 500 calls, 51 of which came directly from the scene of the disaster. The eyes of the nation were on our state and what they saw that day was the very best of minnesota. That tremendous spirit of community is what carried us through the dark days after the bridge collapsed. I remember going there with thensenator coleman the next morning with the transportation secretary. And we there were already literally billboards the morning after directing people where to go because this involved a major highway and telling them what buses would be working and which way they should go. Thats a community responding. Senator coleman and i pledged that day that we would work with congressman oberstar who was a major force, who is sadly no longer with us, on the house transportation committee, and then of course with congressman ellison who is a congressman and is a congressman for that district. Senator coleman and i pledged to get the money and secured 250 million in emergency bridge reconstructing in the first few days. It was a bipartisan effort, and i was proud to have the support of so many people in this chamber. And as a result of that, and maybe this is a lesson that in light of what we heard senator mccains beautiful speech and in light of what we know we need to still be doing with infrastructure in this country, with president bushs help and with bipartisan support, we rebuilt that huge bridge in minnesota in a little over a year. Literally 13 months later i was driving over that bridge to my house. It was a shining example of what we can accomplish when we put politics aside to get big things done. And i believe the i35w bridge can and should be a model not just of a tragic disaster and of our declining infrastructure which it certainly is but also a model of how we can fix things. A republican senator working with a democratic senator, we got it done. Now weve made some progress in this chamber when it comes to infrastructure. In 2015, democrats and republicans worked together to pass the fixing americas surface transportation act, or fast act, led by senator mcconnell, the leader, with senator boxer. They dont agree on much, but they worked hard to get that bill done. I always love that it was called the fast act, because its kind of a scary thing to name a bill in congress these days. But they named it that, and it got done. It was a longterm reauthorization bill that increased transportation funding from existing Revenue Streams and helped provide certainty for local governments planning critical projects. Under the fast act, minnesota is scheduled to receive more than 4 billion in funding over five years, which will help to ensure infrastructure is safe and efficient. And by the last year its about a 100 million increase just for our state over what we were getting before, the year before we passed the fast act. But we still need to do more. This year the American Society of civil engineers, which every so often comes out with grades of the nations infrastructure, gave americas infrastructure a grade of dplus. While other countries are running ahead with infrastructure investments, were Still Standing still, even with the fast act, it doesnt propel us into the future where we want to be. Because as we know, and as the presiding officer, the president , knows from his own state of north dakota, we are an export state. We are an export country. We hav we have to bring goods to market and into the United States. We have to bring people to their jobs and we cant do that if we have infrastructure and roads and bridges and rail and blocks and dams that are setup for the last century. Standing still means falling p behind in this global economy. In minnesota we know the cost of neglecting our roads and bridges. Our country needs to build roads, bridges, locks, dams, and rails that work. While safety needs to be our first priority, it shouldnt be our only expectation. Our infrastructure should help farmers from the presiding officers home state to my state to get crops to market quickly. Workers have to get to their jobs. Lets not forget about updating our energy grid, repairing and replacing our Water Infrastructure and our sewers and making sure all americans have access to broadband, and not just slow broadband, but highspeed broadband. I dont want to hear about another farmer going to the mcdonalds parking lot to do his business or a doctor in northern minnesota that would go to look at his xrays if he couldnt get to the hospital, he couldnt look at xrays at home or anywhere except at a coffee parking lot. That makes no sense. If our infrastructure if our infrastructure goes unaddressed it will lead to a loss of over two million jobs. If we address it, we can create millions of jobs. Now, heres some ideas. Senator mark warner of virginia and senator roy blunt of missouri have a bipartisan bill that ip am part of that would establish an Infrastructure Financing Authority to complement existing funding and expand investments by providing new incentives. Another idea is to reform our tax code, and we have to do a lot of work on that to simplify it to create incentives for businesses to invest right here in america. We can also provide incentives to bring back trillions of dollars of foreign earnings. But if we do that, we have to make sure that a chunk of it goes into infrastructure. Of course these tools should supplement and not replace direct are federal funding. Because especially when it comes to rural america, were not going to see that same kind of Publicprivate Partnership that you might in other parts of the country. So it has to be a combination of Funding Sources to make this work for every state, especially for rural america. Im committed to moving forward in a bipartisan way to address our infrastructure needs and prevent another tragedy like the collapse of the i35w bridge. Its time to Work Together to make this happen, and i actually believe the United States senate is a place where we can make this happen. Weve already shown the ability to get through a major infrastructure bill just two years ago and we can do it again. Today, on this tenth anniversary, we honor the victims and their families of that i35w bridge collapse and we recognize the bravery of not just the First Responders who were incredible and not just the 911 operators who answered those calls and got the help to where it was supposed to go, and not just the nurses and the doctors and the e. R. People and the ambulance workers and everyone else, we actually also today and i cant think of a better time when were going through a difficult period like we are in our country to remember the actions of ordinary citizens who could have said, oh, this looks scary, im going home. They didnt do that. They didnt run away from the disatser. They disaster, they ran toward it. Ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things. Why did they do it . They knew that while they crossed over that bridge five minutes before it collapsed and could see it in their Rearview Mirror and maybe they had gone and were approaching the bridge and saw it collapse, it was only a five minute difference or a one minute difference or 30second difference and it would have been them on the bridge and they knew that and thats why they helped. Thats what america really thats what america really is all about. Its not just a lottery where certain people win and certain people lose. You have to put yourself in the shoes of other people and think were all on one team. Thats what this democracy is all about and thats what we saw on this day ten years ago, august 1, in minnesota. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. Blumenthal mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. I ask that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer the senate is not in a quorum call. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i know that later this afternoon we are likely to proceed to the nomination of Christopher Wray, and im proud to support him, as i was during the Judiciary Committee voting for hirm, as did for him, as did every other member of the Judiciary Committee. The reason is, quite simply, he is a professional as nonpolitically associated as anyone can be going into this position. And like the f. B. I. Itself, known for his independence and integrity. There are two qualities needed today in the f. B. I. And its director, and that is aindz integrity. And integrity. The f. B. I. Is one of the worlds most important Law Enforcement agencies, and certainly one of the most important in this country. The f. B. I. Director doesnt serve at the pleasure of the president alone. He has a tenyear term, and the f. B. I. Director does not serve the president alone. He serves the constitution and the people of the United States. He must be independent of political interference and his integrity, or hers, must be unquestioned. The f. B. I. Deserves a leader with the integrity and strength necessary for that solemn mission. Mr. Wray, in my view, has shown himself to be that kind of leader. Those qualities are especially important because never before have the rule the law and our Law Enforcement institutions been so threatened by political interference, and it begins at the very top. The reason that Christopher Wray has been nominated to serve as f. B. I. Director is that the vacancy was created by the firing of jim comey for reasons that have led to an aspect of the Ongoing Investigation by the special counsel. The reason that position is vacancy is vacant is because three months ago jim comey was fired by the president because of, quote, the russia thing. The russia thing was very much on the president s mind more so than any of the reasons given in the memos done by attorney general sessions and Deputy Attorney rod rosenstein, according to the president himself. The russia thing is the f. B. I. And the special counsels investigation into whether the Trump Campaign colluded with the russian government to influence our elections. Theres no question that there was a campaign of interference and meddling through cyber attacks, disinformation, propaganda, and other means. And theres no question that the russians will do it again unless they are made to pay a price. And others may well collude and conspire with them, americans, unless they are compelled to pay a price. We have only to look at the morning at this mornings headline to see how farreaching and significant this investigation may be. The news that the president himself wrote a statement to be issued in the name of his son about a meeting with the russians that promised dirt on Hillary Clinton and directly misled about that meeting shows what is at stake. The misleading words put into the president s sons mouth by donald trump himself are potential pieces of evidence relating to criminal intent fitting the mosaic that the special counsel is assembling. They add color and weight to that mosaic. They are not alone proof. The report, if proved, certainly describes a pattern of conduct pieces of a pattern that fit together into a mosaic providing evidence of intent concerning potential obstruction of justice. And so the likelihood of threat is increasing the threat of political interference, the threat of firing bob mueller, the threat that the attorney general Jeff Sessions may be used as a vehicle to lead to bob muellers firing. Even before jim comeys dismissal, i called for an independent special prosecutor at the department of justice. I was the only member of the Judiciary Committee to vote against rod rosensteins nomination to be Deputy Attorney general because he failed to commit to appoint a special prosecutor. I believe a special prosecutor was necessary not only to determine the full extent of russias meddling in our democracy, but also to protect that investigation from the president s efforts to shut it down. This belief was brought into stark relief by jim comeys firing and it precipitated the appointment of rob mueller. The firing of special counsel mueller would precipitate a firestorm on both sides of the aisle. It would put the president over a precipice that likely could lead to the most drastic action possible in this democracy. That precipice can be avoided and Congress Must play a role in avoiding it. We are in talks across the aisle about action that can be taken to provide a check and a firewall against that kind of firing, drastic action that would put the president over that precipice politically and morally and legally. And my hope is also the new chief of staff, general kelly, will add a voice of reason and wisdom perhaps to check some of the more rash and impulsive action that might otherwise be taken by the president. The special counsel was given a clear mandate to follow the evidence wherever it may lead. And i believe that special counsel mueller has the guts and backbone as well as the expertise to uncover the truth, to follow that evidence, to bring charges if they are appropriate and necessary if he is assured the resources and independence to do the job. Thats why Christopher Wrays nomination is so critically important. He will be a key Decision Maker in providing those resources, investigative agents that are necessary to do the legwork, and the review of documents and other hard work challenging work that is necessary for the special counsel to have the facts and the evidence. And the f. B. I. Director is also going to be important in assuring the independence of that special counsel as an ally and a source of support. The f. B. I. Director will be critical. The most important priority, in fact, for Christopher Wray will be to protect the independence and integrity of that special counsel investigation, just as he must protect the f. B. I. s because they are intertwined and identified at the core. They involve the rule of law, the essence of our democracy. The belief and trust that wrongdoing will be investigated and prosecuted no matter how powerful the target, no matter how wealthy or powerful the wrongdoing. And that investigation has expanded appropriately to include financial dealings on the part of the president of the United States, any attempt by the president to set limits on that investigation are inappropriate and potentially illegal and further evidence of criminal intent. The mandate in short for both director wray and special counsel mueller must be unconditional. There must be no limit set by political interference. The nominee that we vote to confirm today must sustain and secure that ongoing independent investigation from any interference no matter how powerful the source, including the president of the United States. No one can set limits because no one is above the law. And the special counsel must have the freedom to decide where the investigation will lead because he will follow the facts to where they lead. The f. B. I. Director has a broad and inclusive mandate in addition to protecting the United States against corruption and wrongdoing involving misuse and abuse of power. He must also protect the United States against terrorism and foreign intelligence threats. He is charged with providing Leadership Services to state, federal, and ne municipal agencs and partners, and he is responsible for protecting civil rights. On friday, july 28, 2017, President Trump gave a speech in brentwood, new york, in effect encouraging Law Enforcement to use or misuse excessive force. More specifically, he directed Law Enforcement not to be, quote, too nice, end quote, and he described graphically how officers should potentially allow arrestees to be banged on the head or otherwise mistreat mistreated. With his comments President Trump encouraged the worst intents of our law enforcers, the instints of a insting ins of Law Enforcement, and the vast majority take one is seeking to stop in any misuse of authority. I will be joining with colleagues and working with the very distinguished senator of california who has joined us on the floor in asking that our Law Enforcement leadership take action to express its disapproval of that kind of misconduct. And my hope is that specifically the department of justice will express its disapproval of such instincts and misconduct. The f. B. I. Has a special obligation to condemn such violation of standards and law, and i hope that the new director, mr. Wray, will join dozens of Law Enforcement leaders across the country in making clear that the president s remarks have no place at the f. B. I. And i believe that Christopher Wray has the experience and credibility and the expertise to lead the f. B. I. In that effort as well as protecting the special counsel. Based on his career and testimony before the Judiciary Committee, i believe he will bring that leadership to the f. B. I. I regret that he will be the f. B. I. Director only because it is the result of an abusive and improper firing of james comey and the special counsels investigation of that firing as a potential obstruction of justice is well warranted. And i know that mr. Wray will do Everything Possible to enable it to be fair and effective, comprehensive and thorough and to do justice. He will help the special the special counsel will do justice just as he will help prosecutors and Law Enforcement agencies across the country to do justice. The future of the f. B. I. And our nation are truly at stake. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from california. Mrs. Feinstein thank you. I want to thank the distinguished senator from connecticut for his remarks, and id like to make a few remarks with respect to my position as Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee. As has been well described, shortly we will vote on the nomination of Christopher Wray to be the next director of the federal bureau of investigation. The Judiciary Committee has reviewed his record and held a full and complete hearing. His nomination was sent to the floor for consideration by a vote of 200, a very good vote. Im very satisfied that mr. Wray has the qualifications and independence necessary to lead the f. B. I. So i will support mr. Wrays nomination to be f. B. I. Director. I want to begin by saying just a few words about what i think after 24 years in this place what is necessary Going Forward. First, it is really important that we have a strong f. B. I. Director. There can be no manipulation. Secondly, special Counsel Robert Mueller must be allowed to proceed with his investigation undisturbed. Third, the f. B. I. Director must manage and speak for the f. B. I. On the basis of the constitution and the laws of the United States, not the dictates or requests or statements of any politically elected person in this country. Fourth, the f. B. I. Director must be independent from the white house and any political figure. This is what the f. B. I. And the American People need now. The f. B. I. As you and i know is a critically important Law Enforcement agency. It must be able to move forward with its work and with its Senior Leadership in place. As i noted at mr. Wrays hearing and just noted again, the f. B. I. Must be an independent Law Enforcement organization, free from political influence. During his hearing and in his written responses to followup questions, mr. Wray stated that the f. B. I. Director must maintain strict independence. He committed to doing the job by the book. These are quotes. And, quote, without regard to any partisan political influence. He also testified that his loyalty is to the constitution and the rule of law, not to any ideology or individual, including the president. And he was believable to all of us in those statements. Mr. Wray also testified that he would resist any efforts to interfere with f. B. I. Investigations and that he would not, quote, pull any punches. When asked what he would do if the president asked him to do something unlawful or unethical, mr. Wray replied he would first try to talk him out of it. And if that failed, he would resign. These commitments are important, especially at this moment in history. We need an f. B. I. Director who has the strength and fortitude to stand up and do whats right by the law when tested. Mr. Wray has received bipartisan support from more than 100 former United States attorneys who enthusiastically endorse his nomination and state their belief that mr. Wray and i quote from their letter is a strong and effective leader with unassailable integrity, judgment, and courage. According to this group, which included former bush administration, Justice Department officials like Larry Thompson and ken waynestein as well as eric holder and sally yates, mr. Wray will discharge the duties of f. B. I. Director, and i quote, with honor, independence, and a tireless commitment to the rule of law. End quote. Earlier this year when we considered other nominees for the Justice Department, i pointed out that we need leaders with steel spines, not weak knees. I believe that mr. Wray will be such a leader. Now, the issue of torture is very important to me, and on this issue i was encouraged by mr. Wrays acknowledgment that torture is wrong, unacceptable, illegal, and ineffective. He testified under oath that he did not participate in the drafting of the socalled torture memos issued by the office of Legal Counsel some time ago. Mr. Wray has further testified that interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, painful stress positions, threatening detainees with dogs, forced nudity and mock execution are, quote, abusive under all circumstances, end quote. Importantly, for me, he has committed that the f. B. I. Under his leadership will never engage in such techniques or other forms of torture and that it will adhere to the policy of using the informed interrogation approach outlined in the army field man which, thanks to john mccain, was added as a new law to last years authorization military authorization bill. Mr. Wray also committed that he will read the Senate Intelligence committees report on c. I. A. s detention and Interrogation Program under a former administration. On the issue of torture as well as his independence and integrity, i take mr. Wray at his word. As we discussed, when mr. Wray and i met in his office, i believed that the next f. B. I. Directors integrity and commitment to the rule of law, sadly, will likely be tested by this administration. One early test may come in relation to the investigations being conducted by special counsel mueller. This committee and other committees in congress. Mr. Wray as committed to supportinsupporting the investin being conducted by special counsel mueller, and i trust that mr. Wray will keep the Judiciary Committee of our house informed of any attempts to interfere with that investigation. Now, hes got a tough job ahead of him. The f. B. I. Is our premier Law Enforcement agency. It faces new criminal terrorism threats every day. I remember f. B. I. Director comey telling us that the f. B. I. Had a counterterrorism investigation going on in virtually every state in the union. That was last year, but i assume many are still going on. On top of that, his predecessor washings as we all was, as we all know, suddenly fired by the president for questions that are reasonable, and that is the subject of Ongoing Investigations. And lately we have seen the president attempt to bully his own attorney general. But even in the light of these challenging circumstances, i believe mr. Wray is up to the task. Based on his testimony and the commitments he has made to me and other members of our Judiciary Committee, i believe we will all vote on the committee to support his nomination. And if he is confirmed, i commit to working with him to support the f. B. I. , its mission and some 30,000 30,000plus agents who work every day to help protect our nation. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i thank the senator from california for her fine remarks on mr. Wray, and im here for the same reason she is and i thank her for also facilitating getting this through the committee in a very quick way. Thank you. Im pleased to support the nomination of Christopher Wray to be director of the f. B. I. Mr. Wray supposes the skills, the character, and the unwavering commitment to impartial enforcement of the law that we need as an f. B. I. Director. Based on a unanimous vote that mr. Wray received from the Judiciary Committee, im confident that my colleagues believe this as well. Mr. Wray has an accomplished record as a lawyer. He was a federal prosecutor for a number of years and went on to serve in various senior roles at the department of justice, including leading the Criminal Division at the department. Mr. Wray earned the departments highest award for Public Service and leadership. His prior record of service demonstrates his competence in leading within the federal government and demonstrates that l a be able to that hell be able to lead effectively at the f. B. I. He has shown that he has the expertise needed to address the wide range of policy issues currently facing the f. B. I. Of course, my colleagues and i asked mr. Wray about his positions on many such issues during his hearing. He answered those questions very well, but the most important thing that we wanted to learn from him had to do with his view of the job and where his loyalties lie. As all of us in this body know, when we take the oath of office, we affirm that we will support and defend the constitution of the United States. We dont pledge support to any member of the government or even to a political party. We pledge our loyalty to the constitution and to the rule of law. Many members asked mr. Wray very pointed questions about loyalty during his hearing. I was impressed with his plainspoken, candid answers, and i take hum at his word him at his word when he says that his, quote, loyalty is to the constitution and the rule of law, end of quote, and when he says that he will, further quoting, never allow the f. B. I. s work to be driven by any other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice, period, full stop, end of quote. Now, if he is confirmed, mr. Wray will step into this role at a crucial moment, not only in the history of the f. B. I. But in the history of the nation. As we know, multiple investigations are under way, including by this body, to clearly lay out russias activities that attempted to influence the 2016 election. These are important and sensitive investigations, and they cannot be inappropriately influenced by people in powerful positions in any way whatsoever. This applies to the f. B. I. Director. Mr. Wray was asked very directly what he would do if presented with the opportunity to influence these investigations in any way. He told the committee that he wont condone tampering with investigations and that he would resign rather than unduly be unduly influenced in any manner. Mr. Wrays record of service and his reputation give us no reason to doubt him. He was forthright when he was asked specific questions about the events leading up to his being offered the job of f. B. I. Director by President Trump. He made no loyalty pledges then, and i expect him never to make such a pledge moving forward. Mr. Wray will also face the challenge of running the f. B. I. , motivating its staff, and ensuring that the f. B. I. Operates effectively and efficiently. My colleagues know that i havent been pleased with how the f. B. I. Has or has not replied to Judiciary Committee inquiries and requests for information, and this doesnt apply just to this senator but all the senators on the committee, and it doesnt matter whether theyre republican or democrat. Theyre entitled to ask questions, and they ought to get answers. Thats the constitutional responsibility of oversight that all 535 members of congress have. So, not being satisfied with the f. B. I. In the past, i asked mr mr. Wray directly about the f. B. I. s responsiveness to members of this body. He promised me, and in turn other members of this body, that hell prioritize responsiveness and transparency to this body. This will allow us to do our vitally important job of oversight over the nations top Law Enforcement agency. Im glad that mr. Wray is ready to work in partnership with the senate to help us perform our role very effectively. I expect to see improved responsiveness from mr. Wray to our letters and to see enhanced protection for whistleblowers within the f. B. I. Who come forward, and they do that at graving risk to themselves at great risk to themselves to let this body know where abuses of power are going unnoticed. We owe it to these brave people that we call whistleblowers, but theyre patriotic people, to give them the protection they deserve and the culture for giving this protection starts at the top with the new f. B. I. Director, mr. Wray. As i mentioned before, mr. Wray was voted out of our committee unanimously. The fact that all of my colleagues, democrat and republican, trusted mr. Wray with their aye vote says what we need to know about mr. Wrays ability to perform the Important Role of f. B. I. Director and to do it with integrity, with competence, with professionalism, and the utmost respect for the constitution and the rule of law. We cant ask for mr. Wray to do anything more than that. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm Christopher Wray as the next director of the f. B. I. I yield the floor. Mr. Isakson mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. Mr. Isakson mr. President , i have a unique privilege and honor. The presiding officer were in a quorum call. Mr. Isakson id ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer the senator is recognized. Mr. Isakson ill start over. I have the rare privilege and honor right now. A lot of times you and i come to the well to make speeches that we have to, we ought to or that somebody wanted us to. Rarely do we have the opportunity to come to the well of the senate to speak about an individual from our own state that we know personally. That is impeccable in their reputation and now appointed to a jobs that essential to the job thats essential to the health and wellbeing of the people. I speak of Christopher Wray of georgia, who is my friend and worked for the law firm of king and spawldling, the same one worked for by sam nunn. All with a great tie to our government and country. And at a time for an appointment to be a great one, this is the time. There have been issues at time from time time with the f. B. I. And we need someone to do the job well and without impropriety. Christopher wray is that type of person. He founded to convict massou and prosecuted the snipers in washington, d. C. He is add dedicated, committed prosecutor, has been selected many times to work for the department of justice. Went to the department of justice as an assistant to larry johnson. He worked during many of the investigations with the terrorists that have attacked america. He is the right man for the right time in the right place. So if ever there was a time mr. Schumer would my colleague yield for a brief unanimous consent request. Mr. Isakson i would be happy to yield. Mr. Schumer unanimous consent my statement in support of mr. Wray be added into the record after the senator from georgia speaks. Im in full support of mr. Wray. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer i thank my colleague for the courtesy. Mr. Isakson i know when there is a time for me to shut up. Once the democratic leader has showed up Christopher Wray is the type of person that Chuck Schumer wants, the type of person i want and the type of person that america is looking for as the chief Law Enforcement officer of our country. He will make our state and country proud and will do the right thing at the time and in all cases for the United States of america. Mr. President , i urge the members of the senate to vote in support of Christopher Wray as the new director of the bureau of investigation for the United States of america. I yield back and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Isakson mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. Mr. Isakson i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Isakson mr. President , i yield back all time on our side and ask for the yeas and nays and their side as well. The presiding officer without objection. Autumn time is yielded back all time is yielded back. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer have all senators voted . Any senator wish to change their vote . On this nomination, the yeas are 92, the nays are five. The nomination is confirmed. The question occurs on the newsom nomination. A senator i ask for the yeas and nays. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators wishing to vote or change their vote . If not the yeas are 66. The nays are 31. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Cornyn mr. President . Id ask unanimous consent that with respect to the wray and newsom nominations, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc and the president be immediately novembered of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse mr. Chairman . The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse i think were simply waiting for senator grassley to come and well be ready to proceed. I dont think we need to go in a quorum call right now. Mr. Portman mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are not. Mr. Portman i would appreciate the indulgence of my colleague from iowa and rhode island. I would like to talk today about the criminal act of sex trafficking. Today we introduced legislation that is incredibly important to combating sex trafficking. The senate also passed a resolution today by unanimous consent to provide information to the Justice Department that comes out of an investigation that we did here in the United States senate regarding sex trafficking. This is an important day in pushing back. Let me talk about this for a second in personal terms. Imagine, if you will, that your daughter is missing. You do everything you can do to find her. Finally, you see her picture on the internet and shes being sold for sex. That may sound like a horror movie to you, but its very real. Unfortunately, its happening across our country. Families in ohio and in your state have experienced this nightmare situation. Let me tell you about kabicki pride. Kabicki pride gave powerful testimony here in the United States senate. What miss pride said her daughter had been missing for nine months when she found her picture on the top website for commercial sex activity backpage. Com. She was actually glad to have found her daughter, so she called backpage. Com and said thats my daughter. She has been missing for nine months. She is 14 years old. Thank you for taking down the ad. Backpage. Com said to her did you pay for the ad . She said no, its my 14yearold daughter. She said were not going to take down the ad. You didnt pay for it. Imagine that. Imagine that this is your daughter. Imagine how you would feel. These traffickers are using the internet to sell girls, to sell women. Congress has the responsibility to act. We have a responsibility to act because Human Trafficking has now become a national crisis. Were told the Human Trafficking, including sex trafficking, is now a 150 billion a year industry. That makes it the second biggest criminal enterprise in the world, only behind the drug trade. And this route ruthless, ruthless, corrupt industry is growing because of the internet, the digital age. As i have been told, this has gone from the Street Corner to the cell phone. A leading antitrafficking Advocacy Group has received 33,000 reports of Human Trafficking through its hotlines. Polaris endorsed our legislation today which i appreciate. In 2016 alone, polarisoperated hotlines received 8,000 reports of Human Trafficking. Almost 25 of trafficking instances reported to polaris happened just in the last year. Human trafficking reports on these hotlines have gone up dramatically. There is no reason to believe this trend will reverse unless we act. This is a 21st century epidemic. The National Center for missing and exploited children noted an 846 increase in reports of suspected child sex trafficking through its Cyber Tipline from 2010 to 2015. Over five years an increase of over 800 . They found this dramatic spike to be, and i quote, directly correlated to the increased use of the internet to sell children for sex. Thats whats going on. How is this happening . People are being bought and sold on public domains, accessible from a simple search. This is not the dark web. This is public domains. The majority of online sex trafficking can again be traced to one website. Its called backpage. Com. The National Center for missing and exploited children said 73 , nearly three quarters of all suspected sex trafficking reports it receives from the general public come from this one website. And according to leading antitrafficking organizations, Service Providers working with child sex trafficking victims have reported that between 80 and 100 of the victims that they help were bought and sold on backpage. Com. My experience in ohio is similar to that. I will tell you anecdotally as i talked to women and girls who have been victims of sex trafficking, almost all of them tell me they have been sold on backpage. By the way, almost all of them tell me that they have become addicted in the process to an opioid, heroin, or prescription drugs, and thats used to keep their dependency on their trafficker. In january of this year, a nearly twoyear investigation by the Senate Permanent subcommittee on investigations produced a report finding backpage to be more deeply complicit in illegal online sex trafficking than anyone imagined. Everyone already knew that sex trafficking was taking place on this website. Its there. But a report found that backpage actively and knowingly facilitated the criminal sex trafficking of women and children, and then they covered up evidence of these crimes to increase its own profits. This is the information we have now provided to the department of justice. We also know from a recent Washington Post report that despite its claims, backpage aggressively created and solicit ed sexual ads to its companys website. The company includes sex ads for children. It appears the industry backpage leads is online sex trafficking, valuing its profits more than Vulnerable Women or children. They have known their site has been used for illegal sex trafficking for years, but instead of working to put a stop to it, the company has actually facilitated these crimes. Thats why congress has to act. Last month along with senator mccaskill and carper, i recommended a criminal review be launched of backpage. Com. Today materials were release interested our 18month investigation into the website. I think this requires a legislative fix once and for all. There is a recent documentary that i would encourage you to look at, powerful, tough, but its important. Its called i am jane doe. It chronicles the cases of three young girls who were sex trafficked, bought and sold on backpage. They brought suits against backpage, accusing them of knowingly and assisting in their trafficking. Their youth was explicitly promoted on backpage. The court found that victims made strong cases tailored at making sex trafficking easier, but the court ruled that thirdparty websites facilitating sex trafficking are immune from charges brought on, citing the blanket immunity granted by a 1996 law called the Communications Decency act or c. D. A. Around the same time in massachusetts, three young victims sued backpage after they were bought and sold on the website. They, too, argued that backpage tailored its website to make sex trafficking easier. The case reached the First Circuit court of appeals, but backpage was once again spared of any legal ramifications because of the Communications Decency act. Specifically, section 230 of that law. The clause courts credit to give thirdparty providers blanket immunity from crimes committed on its website. Despite its ruling, the court recognized the immoral nature of backpage with online prostitution, but they maintained they couldnt do anything about it because the law protected these acts. The Court Opinion stated that in order to fix the problem, quote, the remedy is through legislation, not litigation. Thats where we are. Were the legislators. The court of appeals said congress, do your job. Numerous judicial decisions have suggested Congress Must act before the courts to bring justice to the victims and families of online sex trafficking, and thats our intention in introducing our legislation today. Now i believe that we need to have a free internet, all of us do, and i believe the decency act is well intentioned. But the law was not intended to protect those who knowingly facilitate illegal conduct like sex trafficking and it certainly wasnt intended to protect backpage. Com. Thats why today along with my colleagues we have introduced this bill called stop enabling sex traffickers act. The bill clarifies the Communications Decency act to ensure websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking can be held liable and the victims can get justice. Its very narrow. You have to knowingly be involved in supporting, assisting, facilitating sex trafficking. This will not be a broad net. The stop enabling sex traffickers act would put in place three very narrowly crafted reforms. First, allow victims to seek justice against websites that knowingly facilitate crimes against them. Second, it eliminates the federal liability for websites that assist, support and facilitate the violation of federal sex trafficking laws, laws already on the books. Finally it will enable state Law Enforcement, not just the department of justice, to take legal action if these businesses violate federal sex trafficking laws. 47 attorneys general have asked for this. The internet has revolutionized illegal sex trafficking, and federal law simply has not kept pace. Its time for this 21yearold law to be brought into this century. The stop enabling sex traffickers act is legislation our courts have been calling for, our attorneys general have been calling for, and most importantly the victims and their families have been insisting that they do. That we do. Again, this law was never intended to protect sex traffickers who prey on the most innocent and vulnerable among us. This bill gives Law Enforcement the tools they need to go after the criminals. There are groups who have tried to stop this online exploitation. They have suggested that this bipartisan bill could impact mainstream websites and Service Providers, the good actors out there. This is false. Our bill does not amend and thus preserves the Communications Decency acts Good Samaritan provision. This provision simply protects good actors who proactively block, screen for offensive material and thus shields them from any frivolous lawsuits. Thats in the legislation and needs to be in there. This Bipartisan Legislation preserves Internet Freedom while holding those who actively facilitate online sex trafficking accountable. I recently visited a place in ohio called the ranch of hope. Its a place of hope for girls between the ages of 13 and 18 to find healing and recovery during a residential treatment program. Most of the girls on the ranch, i am told, have been victims of sex trafficking. As i heard heartbreaking stories from these girls who have had their most basic human rights stripped from them, backpage came up. As i said earlier, it almost always does. They can never take back the horrors they had to endure. What we can do, though, and what this legislation will do is bring justice to these victims and their families. Im proud to stand by with my 20, now 25 bipartisan colleagues as well as 18 antitrafficking Advocacy Groups and Law Enforcement organizations from around the country who support this legislation as we fight against this evil. The president and c. E. O. Of the National Center for missing and exploited children in a letter of support wrote, quote, this bill will help ensure justice for child sex trafficking victims and clarifies remedies available to civil attorneys and state attorneys general to assist victims in Holding Everyone responsible who participated in their trafficking. Thats what its about. Its about securing justice for those who have had their most basic human rights taken away. Its about protecting Vulnerable Women and children. The victims of sex trafficking know evil far worse than many of us could ever imagine. The trauma they go through is unbelievable. We owe it to them to hold these predators accountable and to fix the flaws in the Justice System that allow people complicit in these crimes to profit from human misery and suffering. The stop enabling sex traffickers act will do just that. Thank you, mr. President. I thank my colleague from iowa. I yield back my time. Mr. Grassley mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley for the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act, i would like to proceed this way. I will make some short comments, and then id like to defer to senator whitehouse, and then i would ask unanimous consent. I think we will soon be able to pass a juvenile justice and delinquency prevention reauthorization act. I reintroduced this measure this year with senator whitehouse. The bill before us is almost the same as the one that the Judiciary Committee cleared by voice vote in the 114th congress, and its very similar to the one we hotlined last year. We hotlined it in february, and all the members of this chamber had six months to review it. We had one objection, and we cleared it earlier this week. The bill would extend a federal law known as the juvenile justice delinquency prevention act for five more years. The centerpiece of this 1974 legislation which Congress Last extended 15 years ago in 2002 is its core protection for youth. These core protections call for juveniles to be kept out of adult facilities except in very rare instances. They ensure that juveniles will be kept separate separated from adult inmates whenever they are housed in adult facilities. They call for reducing disproportionate minority contact in state juvenile Justice Systems and states adhering to these requirements receive yearly formula grants to support their juvenile Justice System. This bill would promote greater accountability in government spending. The Judiciary Committee that i chair heard from multiple whistleblowers that reforms are urgently needed to restore the integrity of the formula Grant Programs that are the centerpiece of our current juvenile justice law. The Justice Departments office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention administers this formula grant program. This program would be continued for five more years under the bill, but the Justice Department would have to do more oversight of this bill if its enacted. This bill also calls for evidencebased programs to be accorded priority in the funding. The goal is to ensure the scarce federal resources for juvenile justice will be devoted mostly to the programs that Research Shows have the greatest merit and will yield the best results for these young people. Finally, i want to take this opportunity to thank our many cosponsors. This bill is truly a bipartisan effort, and many senators contributed provisions to strengthen this bill since we introduced it last april. The bill reflects the latest Scientific Research on what works best with atrisk adolescents. At this point, i would ask if the presiding officer would turn the floor over to senator whitehouse, and i ask that or i mean, i want to thank senator whitehouse for being so persistent in this effort as well and thank him for his great help. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse thank you, mr. President , and thank you, mr. Chairman. Chairman grassley has been a wonderful colleague in this effort. It is the culmination of years of work, including multiple committee hearings, briefings at home in rhode island and else where, and really working the regular order of the senate to get this done, and chairman grassley has both been patient and persistent, and i really appreciate his leadership. I want to thank also our Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee, senator feinstein, for her work. And i want to thank senator rand paul, he would have liked to have seen a stronger bill, but its slim as would we have, by the way and he held on for a while hoping that we could strengthen it, but it turned out there was objection to that, and he was gracious about yielding, and now we are able to move forward bipartisan and unanimously. The history of the juvenile justice and delinquent prevention act is a noble history. Its because of this law that children arent locked up in adult prisons any longer. Its because of this law that children dont get placed in solitaire confinement for extended periods or shackled when they are arrested for things like running away from home or not coming to school. But it had been a while since this bill was updated. The last time it was reauthorized was 13 years ago, and weve learned a lot about adolescent development and the best practices for dealing with children in those 13 years. So were moving forward today. I look forward to working with my chairman on the broadbased criminal Justice Reform that he is championing in the committee. But theres no reason we shouldnt go forward with getting juvenile justice right while we move on to other areas. I particularly want to thank him and recognize the groups involved for the patient work that was done over many years with all sorts of interested groups. We had to make this right. We wanted to minimize conflict. We wanted to maximize what we were able to accomplish and the result is that we have over 150 organizations that have endorsed this legislation, from the aclu to the National Association that supports probation and parole officers, from boystown to the National Association of counties and the National Center for victims of crime. The bill focuses the way it should on evidencebased and traumainformed programs that have emerged in the last 13 years. It focuses on protecting juveniles who are held in adult facilities, making sure that theyre fully separated in sight and sound from adult inmates. It limits the narrow circumstances under which they may be confined in isolation. And it requires datadriven approaches to reduce ethnic and racial disparities. We recognize that kids now are much more vulnerable to Substance Abuse issues and that they, too, Face Mental Health challenges. And we try to bring this bill together so that states have to provide appropriate treatment and recognition when the cause of whats going on in that childs life is Substance Abuse or a Mental Health challenge. We make it a good deal harder to incarcerate for the status offenses. A status offense is an offense that wouldnt even be an adult if an adult did it. I. T. Only that you are a he a child that its even a child at all skipping school and running away from home and so forth. There are better ways to deal with those childrenandthan incarcerating them. We steer in this. We have the courts in rhode island that work really, really well where the child and you community is engaged. They really learn a lesson from what they d they have to do something helpful to sort of remediate themselves with their community. It has been very successful. So there are real things that can be done here and, of course, separate ago child from their family separating a child from their family in order to improve their situation is usually something that backfires. You need to have the family engaged. Consistent with senator portmans remarks, we also recognize that very often some of the times that children get in trouble, it is because they have been traumatized. They have either been the victims of violence themselves or a witness to violence in ways that have created trauma and in many cases are sadly the victims of child sex trafficking. So we focus on states identifying and responding to those particular children to make sure if thats whats behind whats going on, that thats needs are met. We ban the use of shackles on girls once theyre pregnant. It shouldnt be asking too much. And it is about time we stopped shackling girls, particularly pregnant girls. And, last, something near and dear to my chairmans heart, it improves the accountability and the oversight of the federal grants program. I know that has been a goal that he has pursued for a long time. The chairman is one of the most determined members of the senate when it comes to transparency and accountability, and so im very pleased to be his partner in that particular piece of the bill. With that, i will yield the floor back to chairman grassley so that he may take us through the formal steps of passing this law. Its a very happy moment for me, and i send my appreciation to chairman grassley. Mr. Grassley once again, thanks to senator whitehouse the presiding officer the senator iowa. Mr. Grassley once again, thanks to senator whitehouse for his cooperation in working so hard over the course of the last two congresses to get this done. So now i give you my unanimous consent request, that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 860 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 860, a bill to reauthorize and improve the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act of 1974 and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection . To proceeding to the measure . Without objection. The committee is discharged. And the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Grassley okay, i ask unanimous consent that grassley amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Grassley i know of no further debate on the bill. The presiding officer is there any further debate on the bill . Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Opposed, nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. Mr. Grassley i ask unanimous consent the presiding officer the bill the bill as amend is passed. Mr. Grassley i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley i yield the floor. The. The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mr. Alexander i thank the senator from iowa for allowing me to go next. Mr. President , this afternoon the senator murray, the senator from washington state, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on health, the health, education, labor, and Pensions Committee and i, the chairman of the committee, made a joint bipartisan announcement that the senates help committee will hold hearings beginning the week of september 4 on the Actions Congress should take to stabilize and strengthen the individual Health Insurance market so that americans will be able to buy insurance at affordable prices in the year 2018. We will hear from state insurance commissioners, from patients, from governors, from health care experts, and Insurance Companies. Committee staff will begin work this week working with all Committee Members to prepare for these hearings and discussions. That was the announcement that senator murray and i made today. Now, in my own words shall the reason for these now, in my own words, the reason for these hearings is unless congress acted by september 27, when Insurance Companies must sign contracts with the federal government to sell insurance on the federal exchange next year, millions of americans with government subsidies in up to half our states may find themselves with zero options for buying Health Insurance on the exchaplains next year, 2018. Many others without government subsidies will find themselves unable to afford Health Insurance because of rising premiums, copays and deductibles. There are a number of issues with the American Health care system, mr. President , but if your house is on fire, you want to put out the fire. The fire in this case is the individual Health Insurance market. Both republicans and democrats agree on this. Our committee, the help committee, had one hearing on the subject on february 1 are and will work intensively between nod and the end of september in order to finish our work in time to have an effect on Health Insurance policies next year sold in 2018. Im consulting with senator murray to try to make these hearings as bipartisan as possible and to involve as many Committee Members as possible. Ill be consulting with senator hatch and senator wyden so that the finance committee is aware of any matters we discuss that might be within its jurisdiction. A umin of senators, both a number of senators, both democratic and republican, have approached senator murray and me and said theyd like to be involved. Wed like them sob involved update them on our progress. And these discussions, the ones im describing, were dealing with a small segment of the total Health Insurance market. Only about 6 of insured americans buy their insurance in the individual market. Only about 4 of insured americans buy their insurance on the Affordable Care act exchanges. But while these percentages are small, they represent large numbers of americans, including many of our most vulnerable americans. Were talking about roughly 18 million americans in the individual market. About 11 million of them buy their insurance on the Affordable Care act exchanges. About 9 million of these 11 million have Affordable Care act subsidies, and unless we act, many of them may not have policies available to buy in 2018 because Insurance Companies will pull out of the collapsing markets. It would be like having a bus ticket and no bus coming through town. Just as important, unless we act, costs could rise once again, even making health care unaffordable for the additional 9 million americans in the individual market who receive no Government Support to help buy insurance. Roughly 2 million of them who buy their Health Insurance on the exchanges but who dont qualify for a subsidy and roughly 7 million who buy their insurance outside of the exchanges, this means they have no government help paying for their premiums, their copays and their deductibles. As we prepare for these discussions, i have urged again that President Trump temporarily continue the costreduction payments through september so that congress can work on shortterm solutions for stabilizing individual markets in 2018. These costsharing reduction subsidies reduce copays and reduce deductibles and reduce other outofpocket costs to help lowincome americans buy their Health Insurance on the exchanges. Were talking about those who make under 250 of the federal Poverty Level or roughly 30,000 for an individual or roughly 50 now for a family of four. Without payment of these costsharing reductions, americans will be hurt. Up to half the states will likely have bare counties with zero insurance providers offering insurance on the exchanges, and insurance premiums will increase by roughly 20 , according to the american Health Insurance plans. In my opinion, any solution that Congress Passes for 2018 stabilization package would need to be small, bipartisan, and balanced. It should include funding for the costsharing reductions, but it also should include greater flexibility for states in improving Health Insurance policies, which should reduce costs. Now, it is reasonable to expect that if the president were to approve continuation of costsharing subsidies for august and september, and if congress in september should pass a bipartisan stabilization bill that includes costsharing for one year that is, 2018 it is reasonable to expect that the Insurance Companies in 2018 would lower their rates. They have told us in fact, oliver wyman, an Vice President observer of health care has told us that lack of funding for costsharing reductions would add 11 for 20 to premiums in 2018. So the president , over the next two months, and the congress over the next year takes steps to provide certainty that there will be costsharing subsidies, that should allow Insurance Companies to lower the premiums that they have projected they will charge in 2018. In fact, many Insurance Companies have priced their rates for 2018 at two different levels. One with costsharing and one without costsharing. So it is important not only that the president improve temporary costsharing for august and september but that we, the congress in a bipartisan way find a way to approve it for at least one year so we can keep the premiums down. Now, this is only one step in what we want to do about Health Insurance and about the larger question of health care costs. So we will proceed step by step. A subsequent step will be to try to find a way to create a longterm, more robust individual Insurance Market. But for the short term, our proposal is that by midseptember we will see, if we can agree on a way to stabilize the individual Insurance Market and make affordable insurance available to all americans. I thank the president and i yield the floor. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse im here to speak about something else, but let me just take a moment and thank my chairman for what he has done. I had the experience of serving on the help committee with chairman alexander and Ranking Member murray when we did the Education Bill last year. Education is nearly as fraught a topic politically around here as health care is. And what we saw in a thoughtful, regular order process that was developed under chairman alexanders leadership was a very considerable piece of work with real effect. Sometimes we agree on something on both sides of the aisle in this body because theres nothing to it. Its nasp its National Peaches week or something and everybodys for that. When its Something Big and something consequential thats when difficulties begin to emerge. What the chairman was able to work in the committee was Something Big and something consequential on health care. And to the end of my days in the senate, im going to remember that closing vote, when the clerk of the committee called the roll and every Single Member of the help committee voted in favor of the measure. It came out of committee unanimously. And with that burst of energy it came to the floor fine, it passed the house without too many changes. And it was just a remarkable piece of work. So ive seen what the help committee can do under chairman alexander and Ranking Member murray, and i am filled with confidence that the process can be terrific there. And im filled with goodwill towards a successful outcome. And i just think that its terrific what the chairman has said, and i just wanted to say that word of appreciation. Now, mr. President , i would like to ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 17 minutes as if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse what id like to speak about is a new form of fossil fuel funded climatedenial spin that has just entered the climate debate. Theyre always up to something, and heres their latest. The Trump Administration two great scientists scott pruitt and rick perry the frik and frak of climate denial denial have called for a science showdown where climate denial and Climate Science can have it out for once and for all. Red team versus blue team. Fossil fuel man pruitt has even called for the showdown to be Peer Reviewed. Well, whats comical about that is that Climate Science has been Peer Reviewed all along. Thats how it gets to be science, by going through and surviving the process of peer review by other scientists. I would like to ask unanimous consent to add a letter to administrator pruitt from a wide range of scientific organizations pointing out to him this very fact, that Climate Science is called Climate Science because it has been through scientific peer review. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse climate denial, on the other hand, avoids peer review like it was kriptonite. This call for peer rereview of the contrast between Climate Science and climate denial is almost comical except for the evil intent behind it. And of course the stakes, how very risky and dangerous continuing to get this climate issue wrong is for our country. And i would like to also add at this point an oped written by john holdrun, until recently the president s climate advisory, entitled the perversity of red teaming Climate Science. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse thank you, mr. President. So lets go back to the basics here. The basic fact of the matter is that the scientific truth of Climate Change threatens the Business Model of enormous industries that spew Carbon Dioxide and challenges the ideology of rightwing fanatics who spew hatred of government. Thats what the background is to all of this. And there has been a scheme for years to protect the industrys Business Model and the ideology of its associated cohort of fanatics. That scheme from the industry and the rightwing fanatics has been to attack Climate Science. They have been at it for years. If youre a huge polluting industry or a rightwing fanatic, how do you go about attacking science . You cant win a real attack on the science precisely because the polluter nonsense could not make it through peer review. Peer review is the most basic test to enter scientific debate. But they fail at peer review because their argument is bogus. Phony. Its a front. So the scheme has always been to avoid peer review because it is a test they would fail. So if youre going to fail the peer review test, what do you do . Instead of a direct attack through peer review journals, they attack science from the side. They create a phony parallel science, a simulacrum of science that doesnt have to face peer review. Their phony science doesnt even have to be true. In fact, they dont care whether its true or not. Indeed i contend that some of them know its not true and are engaged in deliberate, knowing fraud. But in any event, getting to the truth is not the point of this phony parallel science. The goal is political, not scientific. What they want is for government them keep polluting, polluting with their product makes them big, big money, and they dont want to stop. So the goal is not to enter the scientific debate on scientific terms. This is no quest for truth. This is a quest to influence public opinion. So the polluter nonsense doesnt have to be true. It just has to sound legitimate enough to influence an uninformed public. The goal is to fool the public and mess with politics. Thats how they keep the political pressure off having to clean up their act. Their battlefield is the public mind, and their goal is to pollute the public mind with false doubts about the real science. The climate denial apparatus that pruitt and perry serve just needs to create the illusion that there is still scientific doubt. And it just has to create that illusion in the minds of a nonscientific audience, the average voter, people who dont know any better and shouldnt be expected to. To do this, they have set up an elaborate con game to help them foment this illusion that there is a real contest here. Their first trick, of course, is to hide the hand of the funders who back this scheme behind innocent or respectable sounding names. If people saw the hand of exxonmobil or Koch Industries behind this scheme, well, the jig would be up. So they have to back front groups. Dozens, indeed, of front groups. The front groups take nice cozy words like heritage and heartland and prosperity, and they stick them on the front of the front group. Id like to add an article called e. P. A. Is asking a climate denier think tank for help recruiting its red team at the conclusion of my remarks. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse this article points out they are recruiting one of these phony front groups, heartland institute, a bill which made itself famous for putting up a billboard comparing climate scientists to the unabomber. You know that is going to be a fair contest between Climate Science and climate deniers when the group involved is a sphol fund fossil funded group. Of course you want them in the debate dont you . Its laughable except its not. The other things these groups do is go down the shelves of american history, grab the names of heroes and then slap those great names on to other phony front groups. Even the great general george c. Marshall has had his name slapped on a front group. Im a big fan of general marshal. He is a hero of mine. Winston churchill called him the organizer of victory in world war ii, and the Marshall Plan saved europe after that war. He won a nobel prize deservedly. But in general marshals life of dedicated service to our country, he had his share of sorrows. And one of those sorrows was that he had no children. So today there are no living children or grandchildren to defend his name. Any rascal can put general marshalls name on a bogus enterprise. And these rascals did. It is beyond low. So the first trick, hide the polluters hand behind an innocent or respectablesounding name. The second trick is camouflage. They ape real science by setting up groups with names that sound like scientific organizations, so when the United Nations convenes the real Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, they put up a Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change. They ape scientific activities. If scientific organizations have conferences, they have conferences. If scientific organizations have colobing findings, they publish findings. The difference is its all phony. None of it is peer review. Its not real science. Its a masquerade designed to give the appearance of science without any of the rigor of peer review and the other attributes of real science. They even ape the publications of real science. I dont have the chart with me here, but there is a publication by the legitimate United States Global Change Research Program that is titled global Climate Change impacts in the United States. Thats for real. Its real science. Then there is a lookalike publication called addendum global Climate Change impacts in the United States that was cooked up by the koch brothersbacked cato institute. Same picture on the cover. Same print, same text, same color. It virtually is a masquerade of the real item. So the first thing is to hide industrys hand behind the front groups. And the second is to mask propaganda activities and camouflage that resembles actual scientific activity without having to pass any tests of scientific activity. The last thing is to run the operation like a marketing campaign. Since, well, thats what it is. You wouldnt market soap in peerreviewed scientific journals, would you . First of all, the journals wouldnt publish it. Second, thats not your audience anyway. Same here. It doesnt do these scoundrels any good to be publishing in peerreviewed scientific journals, even if they could get their nonsense published there. The people who read peerreviewed scientific journals know better. Thats not their audience. And they know that they will lose in front of a scientific audience. They would shrivel up like the wicked witch. So they want to go right with the madison they want to go right to madison avenue with their climate denial nonsense like you would market a new soap or spaghetti sauce. Go straight to tv, straight to talk radio, straight into the political debate. The notion that the climate denial crowd now wants a scientific showdown, some high noon for climate denial is ridiculous. First they dont we know they dont. They have been dodging away from peer review for years. They want peer review like the wicked witch wanted water. So what are they up to . Their gambit is yet another climate denial trick to misdirect people to the thought that maybe Climate Science hasnt been Peer Reviewed either. Climate science is nothing but Peer Reviewed. Thats how it gets to be science. But this bit of trickery sets up in the unknowing persons mind the thought that Climate Science might not be Peer Reviewed. Mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse i see the majority leader on the floor and i would like, as a matter of courtesy, to yield to him. If i may have unanimous consent that at the conclusion of whatever he has to say, the remainder of my remarks get attached to the beginning of my remarks as if there were no interruption. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Whitehouse i yield to the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i thank my colleague very much. I proceed to calendar number 174, h. R. 2430. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk motion to proceed to calendar number 174, h. R. 2430, an act to amend the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act and so forth and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 174, h. R. 2430, an act to amend the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act and so forth and for other purposes. Signed by 17 senators mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session for the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, executive calendar 160, 163, 174, 246, 248 and 249. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk nominations, department of defense, elaine mucuker to be Principal Deputy under secretary of defense, robert dagel robert hood, to be assistant secretary of defense, richard spencer, to be secretary of the navy, Ryan Mccarthy to be under secretary of the army, l uciean to be secretary of defense, Matthew Donovan to be under secretary of the air force, allen lord to be under secretary of defense for acquisition. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate. If confirmed the motions to consider be considered made, the president be immediately notified of the senates action, that no further motions be in order and any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the record. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President the presiding officer the question occurs on the nomination en bloc. Hearing no further debate. All those in favor saya. Opposed say no. The ayes appear to have it, the ayes do have it. The nominations are confirmed en bloc. Mr. Mcconnell for the information of all senators, we just confirmed eight nominees for the defense department. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse so if our frick and frack of climate denial, pruitt and perry, had said outright Climate Science is not Peer Reviewed, well, that would be a flat lie and theyd be caught out. So instead they perform this rhetorical bank shot to just lay that suggestion out there knowing perfectly well it is false. Its a little like the old when did you stop beating your wife trick . It lays a false predicate out by insinuation. The purpose here, like the purpose of all climate denial schemes, is to buy more time for the polluters. Think how long this imaginary process of preparing for climate denial high noon will take. Oh, they could spin this out for years. One thing you can bet, game day will never come. But in the meantime, theyve got the craftily embedded lie that climate denial and Climate Science stand on equal footing and just await peer review to decide between them. That lie can just hang out there leaking its poison into the public debate. Ive got to say, who thinks this stuff up . They have made a new art form out of propaganda. Think what a schemer you have to be to think this stuff up. Thats the kind of people we are dealing with here. And in this bizarro world, frick and frack hold high office. The problem is that there actually is a judge here, a real high noon actually will come. As the old saying goes, time will tell. When it comes to Climate Change, the laws of physics and chemistry and biology are at work. The things that co2 concentrations do in the atmosphere are going to happen no matter what we say or believe about them. The laws of physics do not depend on political beliefs. The chemistry of what happens when sea water is exposed to more and more co2 is going to happen, and it will follow the laws of chemistry, not our opinions or beliefs. What we humans say or what we believe or what weve been conned into believing by the climate denial scheme wont matter at all. Our views, our opinions are not part of the equation. Fill one room with climate deniers and fill another room with climate scientists and the same chemistry experiment will have the same result in both rooms. Chemistry doesnt care about our opinions. The way trees and animals and fish and insects and viruses and bacteria react to new temperatures and new levels of acidity and new environments, we have no say in. The fossil fuel industry can cowl westerners into silence and the bark beetle wont care. It wont even know that the con game is being run. The bark beetle will keep going up the warming latitudes and altitudes and keep kill bark by the square mile. What it does is give humans to understand the laws of science so we can predict what will and wont happen. Science provides mankind headlights so we can look ahead and see what the future portends. Turning off those headlights by denying the science or trying to distract the driver so were not even looking out the windshield, that wont change whats ahead. Whatever is coming at us is still coming at us. We just wont see it in time to steer around it, to minimize the collision or slow down and soften the impact. We wont have time. We wont have time because we will have given that time to the polluters. Time is what they want. More time for the polluters to make big money. So all this lying, all this science denial, is actually truly an evil thing. And the cleverer it gets with these bank shot, foe high noon, showdown tricky lies, actually the more evil it is. The people who are behind this are doing a very grievous wrong. They are dishonorable, dishonest, and disgraceful. Time time will tell us just how wicked they are. With that, i yield the floor. Mr. Whitehouse i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President. I the senator from oregon. A senator mr. President , i ask the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Merkley thank you, mr. President. Climate disruption is a seminal challenge of our generation. It affects everything from our farms to our forests to our fishing. We see the impact in disappearing glaciers, melting permafrosts, raging forest fires, dying coral reefs, migrating animals and insects, more powerful storms. The world is changing right in front of us. It is appropriate to call this climate disruption because our climate is broken and affecting so many things we value. In response communities across the globe are transforming Energy Economies from increasing the Energy Efficiency of buildings, vehicles and appliances to replacing carbon promoting fossil fuel Energy Economy with a renewable clean Energy Economy. How much do you know about the changes underway . Lets find out. Welcome to episode four of the Senate Climate disruption quiz. Here we go. First question atmospheric Carbon Dioxide is at its highest level in at least how many years . Is it 88 years . Highest level in the last 8,000 years . Highest level in the last 800,000 years . Or the highest level in 80 million years . Think about your answer. The correct answer is c, 800,000 years. In september 2016, we reached an historic milestone. The Carbon Dioxide readings for the planet reached 400 parts per million. For perspective, before the industrial revolution, before we started burning fossil fuels in massive quantities, that number was about 280 parts billion. Heres something even scarier. The rate is going up faster and faster. Back in 1965 and 1975 it was going up about one part per million per year. And then a couple decades later, two parts per million per year. In the last two years its gone up at a rate of three parts per million per year. So as human civilization we have to turn this around. We have to not only slow it down, but we have to turn it around and lower those levels of Carbon Dioxide if were going to save our beautiful bluegreen planet. Thats the challenge before us. Question number two which governor announced that he or she will hold a Global Climate summit here in america next year . Is the answer jerry brown . Is the answer Governor Rick Snyder of michigan . Governor Susana Martinez of mexico or governor rick scott of florida . The answer, now that youve decided which one you think is right, is, a, governor jerry brown of california. And he announced on july 6 that he will bring together entrepreneurs, mathematicians, professors, climate experts and others from around the world in september 2018 for a summit to, quote, combat the existential threat of Climate Change. This meeting is being viewed as a very significant undertaking to keep the conversation Going Forward because in the absence of the United States being deeply involved in the paris agreement, the United States has to be involved in many other ways. This issue is too big, the challenge is too great for us to be sitting it out. So lets turn to question number three the worlds first Floating Wind farm is being constructed off the coast of which country . Is it germany . Is it off the coast of the United States . Is it scotland . Or is it france . Now i might point out when we say a Floating Wind farm, were talking about a wind farm in which the sea floor is deep enough that it cant be anchoret be anchored on the sea floor. So there is a little hint, a little clue. Do you have yowfer answer . Do you have your answer . The correct answer is, c, scotland. The peter head wind farm off the coast the scotland is using revolutionary technology to harvest wind power in waters that are too deep for Wind Turbines to be anchored on the seabed. The wind farms first turbine was just towed into place. One finished, it will include five six megawatt turbines. By the way those are much larger turbines than on land in the United States. The blades will be 246 feet long. And together, the group of turbines will be able to power 20,000 homes by the end of the installation. Maybe well see some of those appearing off the coast of the United States in the future. Lets turn to question number four Glacier National park in 1910 had 150 glaciers. How many are there today . Are there 200 . Are there 150 . Are there 25 . Or are there 10 . What is the answer . The answer is, c, 25. So here we are in just a century, and weve gone from 150 glaciers in glacier park to only 25 left. According to dan foger, a usgs, United States geological researchocologist, quote, within 20 years the bulk of the remaining glaciers will be too small to be considered active glaciers. When these glaciers are gone, it will have a Significant Impact on montana and its economy. They typically put off a significant amount of water in late august and early september. They feed streams that would otherwise dry up. They provide cool water that plays a Critical Role in the life cycles of both insects and fish. Youre planning to see the glaciers in glacier park, go soon. Lets turn to question five. Tesla, the electric car company, is set to install the Worlds Largest gridscale battery in which country . Are they going to install that battery in china . In australia . In mexico . Or in spain . If you had time to ponder the question and develop your answer, the answer is not china. But you might expect because china is so large and is so engaged in Renewable Energy today. Nor is it mexico or spain. It is australia. Australia has embraced Renewable Energy. In 2016, renewable sources provided more than 17 of the countrys electricity. And South Australia has raced ahead of the rest of the country in embracing renewables, particularly wind power. But until now, it hasnt been able to adequately store the energy generated by the regions wind farms. So later this year tesla will install the Worlds Largest lithium eye ion grid scale battery in a major leap forward for large scale Renewable Energy. The idea is that the 129megawatthour battery is capable which is capable of putting out 100 megawatts of power at a time will help stabilize South Australias electrical grid and provide backup power if there is a shortfall. More and more, as we have wind on the grid, as we have solar power on the grid, batteries are being turned to as a strategy to even out the flow of electricity. And so there you have it, folks. Five questions in episode four of the Senate Climate disruption quiz. Questions ripped right from the headlines. Facts on the ground are changing fast as climate scruption increases and climate disruption increases and communities across the globe are responding. We are racing the clock. There is no time to spare. So stay engaged in the fight to save our beautiful bluegreen planet. And in the near future, ill bring you episode five of the Senate Climate disruption quiz. Thank you, mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i start by asking unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of calendar number 95, s. 190. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 95, s. 190, a bill to provide for consideration of the extension under the Energy Policy and conservation act, and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to considering the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of calendar number 23, s. 178. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 23, s. 178, a bill to prevent elder abuse and exploitation, and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to considering the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the grassley amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and that the bill be amended and considered read a third time. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i know of no further debate on the bill. The presiding officer if there is no further debate, the question is on the bill as amended. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The bill as amended is passed. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 116, h. R. 601. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 116, h. R. 601, an act to enhance the transparency and accelerate the impact of assistance provided under the foreign assistance act of 1961, and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to considering the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the committeereported amendments be agreed to, the rubio amendment at the desk be agreed to, and the bill as amended be considered and read a third time. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i know of no further debate on the bill. The presiding officer if there is no further debate, the question on the bill as amended the question is on the bill as amended. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The bill as amended is passed. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask the chair lay before the senate the message to accompany s. 114. The presiding officer the chair lays before the senate a message from the house. The clerk resolved, that the bill from the senate, s. 114, entitled an act to amend title 38 United States code, and so forth, do pass with amendments. Mr. Portman i move to concur with the house amendments, and i know of no further debate. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Portman i move to reconsider and ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the committee on energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 339 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 339, an act to amend public law 94241, with respect to the northern mariana islands. The presiding officer is there objection to considering the measure . Without objection, the committee is discharged. And the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the murkowskicantwell amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of h. R. 2210, which was received from the house. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 2210, an act to designate the Community Living center of the department of Veterans Affairs in butler township, butler county, pennsylvania, and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to considering the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the committee on Veterans Affairs be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 2288, and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 2288, an amend to act to amend title 8, 38, United States code and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to considering the measure . Without objection, the senate will discharge the measure. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the isakson substitute amendment be considered at the desk and agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 93, s. 528 s. 582. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 93, s. 582, a bill to reauthorize the office of special counsel, and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the committeereported amendments be considered, the Johnson Amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the committeereported amendments as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration of s. 717 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 717, a bill to promote Pro Bono Legal services, and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. The committee is discharged. The senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the applicable committees be discharged and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following resolutions en bloc s. Res. 203, 1 94, 215, s. Res. 231, 213, 233 and s. Res. 221. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be agreed to and laid upon the table all en bloc. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate Resolutions which were submitted earlier today s. Res. 239, 240 and 241. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 510 and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 510, an act to establish a system for integration of rapid d. N. A. Instruments, and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate completes its Business Today it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. , wednesday, august 2. Further that following the prayer and pledge the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the kaplan nomination with the time until 11 00 a. M. Equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned