The final passage that is scheduled for 6 15 today. Later that week the senate takes up legislation to expand sanctions on iran targeting people of the Ballistic Missiles program. Bring you live coverage from the floor of the u. S. Senate. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, the fountain of wisdom, you are more majestic than the mountains. Give our lawmakers the reverence for you that will motivate them to do your will. May they labor to enhance your glory, striving to make our nation and world stronger and better. Lord, help them to honor your name, cherishing the fact that they belong to you. Show them how to use todays fleeting moments to accomplish your purposes. Sanctify their thoughts, words, and deeds. May they set you always before them as their guide, keeping you close so that they will not be shaken. We pray in your sacred name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell every week it seems we hear more news about the failures of obamacare. For instance, two weeksing a, we learned that nearly 70,000 people in parts of missouri and kansas would lose their last insurance provider on the Obamacare Exchanges in 2018. From rural towns to kansas city, these americans are being left without options. Last week we learned that thousands of obamacare customers in nebraska would be left with only one provider on the exchanges and that the remaining insurer hasnt even decided if its going to stay through 2018. This week we learned that a number of Health Insurers participating in Obamacare Exchanges had declined by nearly a quarter from 2016 to 23017. To 2017. It has become painfully clear that obamacare is failing to live up to its promises and is collapsing right in front of our eyes. If this continues, more americans are likely to lose their insurance options. More americans are likely to see their premiums continue to rise. More americans are likely to get caught in the downward spiral of obamacare. It is time for our friends on the other side of the aisle to get serious about moving beyond the problems of this law. Theyve spent years defending the system, promising it will get better over time, and claiming others were exaggerat exaggerating obamacares flaws. But heres the reality that our democratic colleagues seem to be missing obamacare did not get better. The problems are real and continue to get worse. They are blaming the problems of obamacare on anything but anything but the Health Care Law itself. They can try to shift the blame but the American People are not going to fall for it. Many kentuckians have called for us to move away from obamacare to bring relief to families. An official report released last month showed that since obamacares enactment in 2013, average premiums in kentucky have skyrocketed by 75 . A woman from lancaster, kentucky, wrote my office to express their frustration. With high premiums and a staggering deductible, she asks, why is there a law forcing me to pay for something i cant afford . Either i can eat and pay my mortgage or pay for insurance. Far too Many Americans face these painful choices every day because of obamacare. As the system continues to collapse around us, this kentuckian and many more like her are left to deal with the consequences. The obamacare status quo is unsustainable and unacceptable. Our country can do better, and our country really must do better. I hope that Senate Democrats will join us as we move beyond the systems failures. They can either continue to defend this broken system with its higher costs and diminishing choices, or they can work with us to move beyond obamacare towards smarter health care solutions. Whats clear that we have to act. Otherwise, more americans will be stuck paying the price of obamacares continuing failures. Now, mr. President , on another matter, like those whove called for relief from obamacare, Many Americans across the nation are counting on us to ensure better Quality Health care for our veterans. This is a critical issue no matter what state we come from, no matter what party we represent. Our veterans have sacrificed too much and in return they deserve our support. We must keep the commitment to them when it comes to ensuring that the v. A. Is providing the Quality Health care they rely on. Unfortunately, as we all know, many v. A. Facilities across the nation have long failed to provide our nations heroes are the timely with the timely and effective medical attention they need. Already congress has taken a number of steps to improve these facilities for our veterans and to keep the faith with those who have willingly and courageously fought fought on our behalf. Now we can build on those efforts by passing the department of Veterans Affairs accountability and whistleblower protection act. As the name implies, this legislation will enhance Accountability Measures in the v. A. And better enable the department to remove to remove employees who are failing to meet the standards expected of them. This bill, in conjunction with the continued Administration Efforts like those secretary shulkin announced yesterday, will further improve medical Services Offered to our veterans at v. A. Facilities all across the country. It was tout see this legislation held up in a Previous Congress but i am proud that the Republican Congress has made its passage among our top priorities. I want to recognize Johnny Isakson and senator rubio for the part they played in moving this bill forward and remaining vigilant on the one hand behalf of on behalf of americas veterans. I know well advance it today and send it on down to the white house for the president s signature. Now, one final matter. Today well confirm Courtney Elwood, the general counsel of the Central Intelligence agency. She has an impressive legal background, graduated from Yale Law School before clerking under chief Justice Rehnquist on the Supreme Court and served as an advisor to both Vice President cheney and president bush as well as to the attorney general. In her role at the c. I. A. , elwood would be tasked with providing sound legal advice to director pompeo, ensuring accountability at the agencies a whole. Her nomination has already earned bipartisan support and im sure that once shes confirmed shell serve her country well in this new role. Mr. Schumer mr. President . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer are we in a quorum call, mr. President . The presiding officer we are not. Mr. Schumer thank you, mr. President. So this week first, i want to talk about infrastructure. This week the administration is laying out a few, quote, proposals on infrastructure. So far its g. N. P. A major disappointment so far its been a major disappointment. President trump pitched a Million Dollar infrastructure plan in his campaign. We democrats welcomed the idea. One of my first conversations with the president after he was elected was about infrastructure. I said, called for a trillion dollar infrastructure program. He said to me at least that. I said, sounds good to me. Lets work on it. Weve made overtures to the white house saying wed be willing to work with the president on infrastructure. Ive said it to the president directly several times. Democrats have been pushing for new money for infrastructure for a very long time. We even put out our own proposals, a trilliondollar infrastructure plan, hoping it would spark a discussion. And we democrats continue to welcome a serious and constructive dialogue on this issue. But, unfortunately, the president continues to disappoint. We sent our plan several monthsing a, and weve heard nothing months ago and weve heard nothing for those months. Now the president seems to be intent on pushing forward an infrastructure plan on his own, one with few details, thats mostly privatesector driven and that means tolls and with minimum investment, that would ignore huge sections of our infrastructure. The president doesnt seem to be talking to anyone but a few people in his inner circle. Some of them are financiers of course theyve been financing private infrastructure for a long time but thats not the way weve worked here since henry clay. Not a republican, mr. President. We didnt have any then. Avenues whig. He came up with this idea of internal improvements. I remind the majority leader, he was from kentucky, clay, and internal improvements were supposed to connect what was then the east coast with the far west kentucky, tennessee, ohio. Roads over the appalachians. Ever since weve had bipartisan support on the federal government Building Infrastructure and putting in the dollars for it. But not from President Trump, at least thus far. The president s plan is a recipe for trump tolls, from one end of america to the other. Thats not what the American People are crying out for. They dont want more tolls. They want us to rebuild our crumbling water systems, bridges, schools, roads, broadband. Not finance new toll roads. Unfortunately, the president surrounds himself with bankers and financiers. These are folks who used to work in Investment Banks. They look at infrastructure as an investment to be made by corporations in the private sector. But infrastructure has never been a business investment. Infrastructure has been something the government has invested in for decades and even centuries because the benefits of infrastructure have great, what the economists call, mr. President , externalities. The benefit for having a good highway is not just for the people who use the highway. But if a factory is nearby because it can get its goods there more quickly thats a benefit. A factory might locate nearby and bring jobs and economic vibrancy to an area. The private sector might not build highspeed internet all the way out to the house at the end of the road if there isnt a profit there, but our rural people are as entitled to highspeed internet as people in urban areas and i might add there are large parts of new york city where that last mile isnt done because there are poorer residents and its less profitable. So thats why theres always been the role of government to stimulate infrastructure investment, to provide support for necessary maintenance and construction which the private sector would ignore, to connect that house at the end of the road to highspeed internet so children living in it can learn, thrive, and compete in the global economy; benefits america even if someone isnt making a huge profit immediately from the building of that broadband. Same with the highway, same with the bridge, same with water and sewer, same with the school with internet. So, bottom line if the president wants to sit down with democrats, of course we want to do it. But if he continues to take this path with a plan cooked up by wall street advisors, it wont succeed or it will result in such small measure that it wont be effective. And again id say to the president , you know, theres talk and in the newspapers they want to do this by reconciliation. No democrat votes. Just 52 republican votes here in the senate. The same problem they had with health care, the same problem theyre having with tax reform will repeat itself with infrastructure if you dont do it in a bipartisan way. Our colleagues constantly remind us that obamacare didnt work because it was done by one party. But now theyre letting trump lead them to do the same thing on just about every major issue. Its a formula for failure that President Trump is advocating. He hasnt been down here in washington that long. Its up to our republican colleagues here to teach him that working in a bipartisan way is the only way you can really get things done here. So my view, we need bipartisanship, but the president might not get just remember that many republicans are very, very negative, initially at least, with a privatesector driven infrastructure bill because they represent rural areas. Heres what a republican senator from wyoming, senator barrasso fine man what does he say . Funding solutions these are his words, not mine, mr. President. Funding solutions that involve publicprivate partnerships do not work for rural areas. And my friend, the republican senator from west virginia, said as a person who represents an almost rural state, im concerned about how were going to be able to incent the private dollars to go to the less populated, less economically developed areas of our country because the investments are just as important. The bottom line is this an Investment Bank infrastructure plan like the one the president is proposing is a sure loser here in congress. A Goldman Sachs infrastructure plan just wont work except for a few. It would turn over a public good to the whims of private finance who wont build infrastructure where America Needs it. Theyll build it where they can make a buck, and that means tolls paid by working americans and middleclass americans. That means rural areas wont get the support they need. That means any project that cant generate user fees or taxes, like repairing our schools or watersewer systems, wont get done. There is no free lunch. When the private sector wants to finance infrastructure, they naturally, thats our Free Enterprise system. They want to get repaid. But whos going to repay them . The average american. The truck driver whos scratching out a living, the salesmen or women scratching out a living, the family thats going on vacation and has to stop every 30 miles for another big toll, the Small Business that depends on roads to get the goods to and from that business location. If the president truly wants to rebuild our nations infrastructure, he has to approach this issue in a bipartisan way. There are several republicans who dont want the federal government to spend any more money on infrastructure, but the majority of senators on both parties probably do. The president needs to sit down with democrats and work out and work something out if he wants to get something done. He hasnt sat down with democrats. He doesnt seem to want to. There are even reports that the president is considering doing infrastructure on reconciliation. That means just republican votes. A huge mistake. Republicans have been tied in a knot here in washington. The president has been tied here in a knot in washington. Because he insists on going at it alone. You look at the entire Trump Administration agenda. He ran against both President Trump ran against both the democratic and republican establishments. A populist, if you will. But he has thrown his lot since hes become president , with hardright conservatives and is now pursuing an agenda entirely through the partisan process republicans once decried. Health care, reconciliation. Taxes, the same. Now infrastructure. The one area, mr. President , where we kept the president out of it, the appropriations process worked swimmingly well. Leader mcconnell and i, senators cochran and leahy, house members got together in a bipartisan way, and we worked it out. We each thought we had some victories. It worked. But i had to stand at this desk and tell our republican colleagues keep the president out of it because it will boll locks everything up. Fortunately h they did. Maybe we can do that again. But id say to the president , mr. President , you can spend your entire first term agenda trying to jam through partisan bills. That would be a shame because America Needs to get moving again, and on infrastructure, this is an issue where we really have some common ground. Thats why Senate Democrats put forward a 1 trillion infrastructure plan that would create millions of jobs and actually fix our crumbling roads and bridges, invest in every corner of america with particular attention to rural america. We stand ready and willing to work with the president on that plan or something similar that actually achieves what he promised on the campaign trail. Now, mr. President , another Matter Health care. According to reports, republican senators were planning to use the state work period last week to rewrite their Health Care Bill. Well, now were back in session, and unfortunately my friends on the other side of the aisle dont seem to be any closer to having a bill. If they do have one, theyre hiding it and going down the same path as house republicans. Drafting a bill that will impact tens of millions in secret, no transparency, no committee hearings, no debate. Even with all this secrecy, more and more republicans seem increasingly pessimistic about finding a republicanonly bill that can get 50 votes in the senate. Over the weekend, the senior republican senator from north carolina, senator burr, said, quote, i dont see a comprehensive Health Care Plan this year. Unquote. Just yesterday senator thune, a member of the republican leadership, said the republicans may rush a Health Care Bill to the floor before they know if it has the support of their caucus. Well, my friends on the other side of the aisle are learning how difficult it is to refigure our Health Care System under a process with only votes from one party, the socalled reconciliation process, and do it in a way that actually improves our health care, not devastates it, as the house bill would. So i hope my republican friends will realize the only way well get votes necessary to pass a Health Care Bill is to drop repeal and work with democrats to improve our Health Care System, not to sabotage it. We stand ready and willing to work with our republican colleagues to further stabilize the insurance markets, build on the progress weve made in health care. In fact, were running out of time. Before the 2018 rates are locked in, most Insurance Companies are saying theyre raising rates because of the uncertainty that republicans continue to inject in the market. The president has not come out permanently for cost sharing, which would reduce premiums and keep people in the market. They just sort of do it months at a time. And thats going to make the markets worse, and the public already, unfortunately, will with blame those in charge our republican friends and the president for the mess, as much as they would like to look past, as much as our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to point fingers past. People want something done now, dont want fingers of blame on something that happened five years ago or eight yearsing a. We democrats dont want to tear everything down and start over again. Lets keep all the progress. 20 million more americans insured, kids who can stay on their parents plan, protection for folks with preexisting conditions, and find ways to make even more progress on bringing down costs for consumers and improving the quality of care. I yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the elwood nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, Central Intelligence agency, Courtney Elwood of virginia to be general counsel. Mr. Cornyn mr. President . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , i came to the floor to talk about other matters, and i will get to those in a moment. But i cant help but be struck by the Democratic Leaders sudden interest in addressing health care reform. It is a fact that even if Hillary Clinton were elected president of the United States, we would be revisiting the failed promises of the Affordable Care act. Premiums, for example, since 2013 have gone up 105 in the individual market. That is people who dont have employerprovided coverage or arent on medicare or medicaid, people, Small Businesses, individuals have to go out and purchase their health care have seen premiums go up 105 . And we hear stories every day, and ill recount some of those from texas, where people say they have zero choices. For example, in iowa, we learned that there are no Insurance Companies that are willing to sell Health Insurance on the individual market. That isnt because of anything that President Trump or the republican majority has done. These are the failures of obamacare, which president obama made extravagant promises about obamacare, none of which has really proven to be true. He said hed bring down premiums 2,500 for a family of four. Well, these folks in the individual market have seen their premiums go up 105 since 2013. He said if you like your policy, you can keep your policy. Well, that proved not to be true because unless you bought the governmentapproved health care policy, Insurance Companies couldnt sell it on the exchanges. And he said if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. But as people find out when their policies change, frequently the doctors in the network that they can see change. And so people saw premiums go up. They lost coverage they liked, and they lost the doctor that they had confidence in. So the suggestion of the democratic leader that somehow this Current Situation is a result of President Trump or congressional action is ludicrous. And i think people understand that, but i just couldnt resist responding a little bit to what he had to say because sometimes when people dont respond, they assume there isnt a response, and clearly there is. Mr. President , its good to be back at work here in washington after a workweek at home, and i had the honor, starting on memorial day, of spending some time with texas newest recruits to our countrys military academies. Every year, now for the 11th year, i had the privilege of hosting an Academy Sendoff ceremony in military city u. S. A. , my hometown of san antonio. This annual gathering recognizes the bright young texans who have accepted an appointment to one of the premier military academies that serve our armed forces, and im always proud to celebrate the incredible achievements they have made so far in their young lives and encourage them as they begin a life of Public Service. It is truly inspirational and it is my favorite event of the year. This year, about 272 young texans have answered the call to get a Service Academy education and then a career of military service. Its a good deal. If you can qualify for it, because you basically get a free ride to one of these premier service academies. Plus we train the next generation of military leaders, which is good for all of us. As i said, my wife sandy and i look forward to this be event each year. We found that memorial day is a fitting time to send off these young men and women while we at the same time remember the ultimate sacrifice made by those who gave their lives answering that same call to service. I tried to recruit a top tier speaker to these events, somebody who will challenge and inspire these young men and women, and this year was no exception. Admiral william mcraven, translor of the university of texas system, spoke to these incoming cadets and midshipmen about be lessons he learned in Public Service and his 37 years in the United States navy as a navy seal. He spoke candidly that this would be the greatest challenge of their young lives, but also the most rewarding. And he said it would be a decision they would never regret. And he also spent some time, appropriately so, on memorial day talking about the heroes who have sacrificed all to serve the military of the greatest country in the world. So all in all, memorial day was a great day and it was a great event for these young men and women. As we come back the week after memorial day, i know im not the only one encouraged by their example to find better ways, more effective ways to serve our country, and fortunately this chamber, the United States senate, will have a chance to do that. Soon well vote on a bill that will reform the u. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A department riddled with inefficiencies and marked too often by scandal and corruption. This is a huge government department. Last count, some 330,000 people worked for the Veterans Administration, and unfortunately we have all become familiar with the Horror Stories of fake scheduling, indicating that people actually were being seen who were not seen, huge wait times and people literally dying as a result of not getting the treatment that they have earned by virtue of their military service through the department of Veterans Affairs. This legislation that we will vote on is called the competent Competent Department of Veterans Affairs accountability and whistleblower protection act. It will protect those Veterans Administration employees who care deeply for veterans by protecting them as whistleblowers, and it also provides managers with the tools they need to address poor performance and misconduct. To sum it up, this bill will make it easier for v. A. Employees to be held accountable, and thats something that the Veterans Administration and our veterans desperately need, as it has for some time. It will make the v. A. Work better for the men and women who have served us so well. I should point out that at a time when i suspect people doubt whether there is any bipartisanship in the United States congress or in washington, that this is a bipartisan piece of legislation. It was voted out of the Veterans Affairs committee by voice vote two weeks ago, which essentially is by unanimous consent. And it has growing support among groups focused on helping our returning warriors to get the treatment and care and support they need, and thats because the bill will help the v. A. To do what its supposed to do, and which it unfortunately hasnt always done well, which is to serve our veterans. Like all of us, i have the honor of meeting with our veterans regularly and working with them to help them succeed after giving so much of themselves to keep our country safe. One other example of legislation, Bipartisan Legislation that was signed last week by the president of the United States was a bill called the american Law Enforcement heroes act, a bill that i introduced to help connect veterans to opportunities in Law Enforcement in their local communities. So its another example, perhaps not in the headline, that is not a big partisan food fight over it so most people arent aware of it, but i think its important to remind people that amid all the distractions that they see in washington and in the news, that there is work, important work being done to benefit people who certainly deserve it, and that would be the case for our veterans. Im thankful for the work of the chairman of the Senate Veteran affairs committee, senator isakson, as well as the diligent, thoughtful work of the dutiful senator from florida, senator rubio, on this important veterans bill. So i look forward to passing this bill soon. I also look forward tomorrow to confirming the nominee or perhaps its this afternoon it is this afternoon, confirming the nominee for general counsel of the Central Intelligence agency. Director pompeo has been there for some time now, having been nominated and confirmed nominated by President Trump and confirmed, an outstanding choice to be the director of the Central Intelligence agency. But, like every organization, it seems, these days, the c. I. A. Needs a good lawyer to lead its efforts to make sure that it conducts itself precisely in accordance with the rule of law. And miss elwood is extraordinarily qualified. She served during the administration of president george w. Bush as a counselor to the attorney general, deputy counsel to the Vice President and associate counsel to the president. Im confident that she will serve with a sharp, independent mind at the c. I. A. , and i hope well confirm Courtney Elwood soon, and i trust we will. Finally, mr. President , as we redouble our work on the failed obamacare law and seek to replace it with marketdriven solutions so people can actually buy insurance they want at a price they can afford, i want to briefly remind my colleagues why were fixing it. I alluded to that at the beginning, and now i will close with a few more reminders. This last week, it was reported that only three insurers, three Insurance Companies who offer plans on the Obamacare Exchanges will return to the houston area in 2018. In 2018, in 2016, excuse me, just last year, there was more than twice that number. So we can see the pool of available choices for americans on the exchanges has shrunk and continues to shrink and in places like iowa has gone away entirely where there is no Insurance Company willing to sell insurance on the Obamacare Exchanges. Houston, after all, is the nations fourth most populous city, so if you are seeing that sort of trend there, it can and it will happen everywhere. Obamacare continues to fail the American People by not delivering on its promises. I have said before that in my previous life, i was attorney general of the state of texas. One of the most important things the Attorney Generals Office does is consumer protection, protecting consumers from fraudsters and those who would try to deceive them and cheat them out of their hardearned money. And i have said, because i believe it to be true, that obamacare represents one of the largest cases of Consumer Fraud that i have ever seen. When president obama made the extravagant promises he made and yet we have the evidence of its failure, its clear that the American People were misled when it came to obamacare. So many people arent getting the access to health care they thought, and those who are using Obamacare Exchanges are finding its increasingly expensive. Their premiums, as i have indicated, have gone up 105 in the 33 states with 39 states with Obamacare Exchanges since 2013 alone, and then the deductibles that most people find, their outofpocket costs before the insurance actually kicks in, keeps going up and up and up to the effect that many people essentially find themselves without the benefit of the insurance that they are paying so much for because the deductible is so high. We know that the insurers on the exchanges just keep passing the costs on to the consumer, with rate increases up almost 50 in many cases, and thats just in the houston area im talking about. Obviously, the 105 since 2015 is a nationwide number. We know that nationwide as well that only one in three counties has only one insurer on the Obamacare Exchange as of 2017. This is just simply unsustainable, and its irresponsible. Thats why my colleagues and i are committed to doing something about it. Our friend, the democratic leader, was in here claiming that the instability in the market and the fact that premiums are so high and Insurance Companies were leaving as a result of instability created by Political Uncertainty now. Well, thats clearly not the case. Obamacare has been with us since 2016, and its been its been a terrible failure to the people who buy their insurance on the individual market. Thats why were committed to doing everything we can to replacing it with patientcentered options that actually work, that help people get the type of coverage they want at a price they can afford. Mr. President , i yield the floor, and i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President , today the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mr. Wyden i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. Proich without. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Wyden mr. President , today the senate will vote on the nomination of Courtney Elwood to be c. I. A. General counsel. This is an important job that got even more important in the past week. As ill explain, this position may play a crucial role in determining whether history is erased or preserved for generations of americans to come. As senators know, last week the current chair of the Senate Intelligence committee demanded that several key Government Agencies get rid of their copies of the torture report prepared by senator feinstein and her colleagues. Im going to take a few minutes to describe what this has to do with Courtney Elwood. In short, it starts with the c. I. A. s history of torture which was carefully documented and sourced by the intelligence leadership under senator feinsteins leadership. This is the issue that is being debated the c. I. A. s history of torture. That is why it is critically important that the c. I. A. Get its copy of the report back. If Courtney Elwood is confirmed, the decision on whether or not to do so may be up to her. Heres why the c. I. A. Director, mr. Pompeo, who said at his confirmation hearing that he would read the report, has gotten rid of the c. I. A. s copy. He did so despite the fact that the current chair of the Intelligence Committee had no authority to demand this of him. Mr. Pompeo got rid of the report despite a personal promise to read it, and he did this even though it may have violated the law, and it certainly violated a fundamental principle important to the American People that in this country, we dont erase history. Now this can be fixed. The c. I. A. Can get the report back. It can do what senator feinstein told the government to do back in 2014, which is to distribute this report, read it, learn from it. Will director pompeo get the report back on his own . Theres no reason to think so. But if theres one thing director pompeo said again and again during his remarks through the confirmation process, director pompeo told the Senate Intelligence committee repeatedly that he is going to rely on the advice of his lawyers, and that is exactly where Courtney Elwood comes in. What will her advice be to director pompeo . What will she advise him about whether to allow this attempt to erase history to stand or whether its going to get fixed and the report is going to be brought back . The senate doesnt have any idea this morning. We do know that ms. Elwoods responses to questions on the torture issue are troubling and that we need to look at those responses in a whole new light based on what happened last week. Now, ms. Elwood said that she read the unclassified executive summary of the torture report, but based on her responses to questions, the 500page executive summary was not adequate for her, was not sufficient for her to conclude whether the c. I. A. s interrogation techniques violated the law. So clearly, she needed to read the classified report. Ms. Elwood, in both her written answers and in her hearing, said that she would read the classified report, but now because of what the current share of the Intelligence Committee and the director of the c. I. A. Have done, its not going to be available. Its not going to be available for her to reads. Now, many members of this body have spoken out about the torture report and the need for its lessons to be learned so this country never again engages in the kind of illegal, damaging program that senator feinstein has documented, but now there is an issue that goes beyond what the senate has thought this issue was all about. Now there is an individual nominee for whom these lessons are critical. This nominee told our committee that she had not yet studied whether the c. I. A. s torture techniques were legal. She told us that she would read the report, and now the report is gone. What could be more troubling than that . What is at issue here is one of the most disturbing and undemocratic events to ever take place in the United States senate. The current chair of the Intelligence Committee has told the executive branch to get rid of its copies of the report and at least some of the agencies have sent their only copies to the committee. So im going to be clear, the current chair does not have the authority to do this. First, in december of 2014, the full final classified report was filed as a senate report. It is therefore not a committee document. Second, no one can retroactively change the status of a Historical Senate report. The report was finalized, filed, transmitted to the executive branch during the 113th congress. Only in the 114th congress did the current chair assume the chairmanship and begin to assert control over the report. So think about the implications here. How can this body allow members of bong who dont like what a Previous Congress has done allow members of congress who dont like what a Previous Congress has done to rewrite history. How many other congressional reports would be at risk . There are other reports that have not yet been fully declassified. Should the senate worry about whether or not they will be protected . Should america be concerned that the countrys Historical Records are going to be erased before the public ever sees them . My view is the effort by the current chair of the committee is an assault on one of the fundamental values of our democracy, that in this country, you dont eradicate a historical record just because you find it uncomfortable. Now, theres a reason why insecure dictators do it. Theres a reason why this kind of thing has never happened here. Because we are a confident democracy thats always looked to our own history and all our flaws as we seek to build a better nation. Were better than this. I urge my colleagues to defend these principles. I urge them to vote against this nomination. I yield back. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from arkansas. Mr. Cotton i want to add my support this morning for Courtney Elwood as the next general counsel of the c. I. A. , not that she really needs it. In her many years of Public Service and private practice, courtney has earned the esteemed of her colleagues across both parties and two administrations. David christ, an obama appointee, calls her a firstclass lawyer. Another bush appointee calls her one of the finest lawyers of her generation. Caroline crass, another obama appointee, calls her an excellent choice. And juan kim, another bush appointee, says she is careful, brilliant and highly accomplished. In other words, you dont need me to tell you Courtney Elwood is a firstrate attorney. In fact, you dont need anyone to tell you that because her accomplishments speak for themselves. She graduated from yale law in 1994 and went on to clerk for both judge mike ludick and then chief Justice William rehnquist at the Supreme Court. After spending some time in private practice, she worked for six years in the george w. Bush administration, rising from associate counsel to the president to deputy counsel to the Vice President to deputy chief of staff and counselor to the attorney general. Were not talking about a rookie lawyer sheer who is unexperienced in the ways of washington or in the corridors of power. And her commitment to the law is unquestioned and unquestionable. And thats just the person we need for this position. The general counsel of the c. I. A. Will help director pompeo navigate the many twists and turns of the thorny legal terrain as our Intelligence Community defends our country against a wide range of threats terrorism, cyber warfare and good oldfashioned espionage. We need people of the highest caliber serving at our National Security agencies, and theres broad agreement that Courtney Elwood fits the bill. Im happy to support her nomination. I want to thank her and her family for answering the call to serve once again. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the following remarks be entered in a separate part of the journal. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cotton the attacks in london last weekend exposed in a matter of minutes just how vulnerable our free societies truly are. All it takes is a van or a knife and an unsuspecting bystander to turn a fun night out on the town into a horrific nightmare. Of course, we shouldnt need any reminders, but let me give one yet again. We are at war with islamic extremists. We have been for years, and im sorry to say theres no end in sight. Its easy to forget this as we go about our daily lives, but our enemies have not and they will not. They have never taken their eyes off the ultimate target either, the United States. Yes, were at war with a vicious and unyielding foe, and just as our enemy can attack us with the simplest of everyday tools, the strongest shield we have in our defense is just as basic. It is the intelligence information of knowing who is talking to whom about what, where, when, and why. After the 9 11 attacks, our National Security agencies developed cutting edge programs that allowed us to figure out what the bad guys are up to and stop them before they could perpetrate such heinous attacks. Very often, the intelligence they have collected has made the difference between life and death for american citizens. But one of those programs is going to sunset later this year. Im talking about section 702 of the foreign Intelligence Surveillance act. This is a program that collects information about foreign persons on foreign soil. As a result, saves american lives. Unfortunately, this and other programs were distorted in the public debate by a traitor, disgruntled exn. S. A. Contractor Edward Snowden who now sits in the warm embrace of russian intelligence services. And ever since his very damaging leak of classified material a few years back, Many Americans have grown doubtful about these programs, and section 702 in particular. Which is why it bears repeating just what responsible 702 does that allows our National Security agencies to collect internet or phone communications from a source within the United States like an Internet Service provider, but only under a very specific set of conditions. It cannot target american citizens, not even lawful permanent residents. It cant even target foreigners communicating on u. S. Soil, and it can only target people discussing a specific list of topics preapproved by the fisa court which is made up of federal judges with life tenure, and were not talking about what they are picking up at the Grocery Store or checking in on the kids. Were talking about things like weapons of mass destruction. Its true that this program occasionally does collect information about american citizens, and that will be true of any attempt to stop any kind of homegrown terrorism. But if youre concerned about protecting americans privacy rights, then you should support extending section 702. It puts in place a host of privacy protections to scrub raw intelligence of any unnecessary identifying information. To allow this program to expire on december 31 would hurt both our National Security and our privacy rights. Thats why today im introducing a bill that would reauthorize section 702 permanently, as is, with no changes. We cant tie the hands of our National Security officials at the precise moment that our enemies are taking the gloves off around the world. Terrorists dont plan to sunset their threats to our way of life, so why should our important counterterrorism tools sunset . Im glad to say my legislation has the support of every republican senator on the defense committee, and i look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the weeks ahead, because we cant afford to let this program expire. It is not too much and it is not an exaggeration to say that american lives depend on section 702. Mr. President , i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call s quorm call quorm call mr. Cassidy are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Cassidy i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cassidy i am here to speak about the Affordable Care act, or obamacare, as people also know it. Clearly we need action. I had a Facebook Post from maybe a week or two ago from brian in covington, louisiana. He said, my family plan is 1,700. The quote goes on to say that his family cannot afford that 1,700. Rates are going up. Time and time again, my friend back in baton rouge, he and his wife, 60 and 61, their quote was 39,000 for one year. That is clearly not affordable. It is not only there, but but is in washington, d. C. And across the country where quotes are going up they cannot support. Connecticut insurers theres two proposes rate increases that is 15. 2 and 38. 8 respectfully. In oregon they are quoting quotes 22 over 2017 and in maryland some insurers are going to raise rates as much as 59 for those individual plans. Im a physician. Ive learned a couple of things during my 20 or 30 years of practice. One, the lower cost, the patient must have the power, but, two, the insurance must be affordable, and, three, the insurance they receive must be adequate. President trump totally got this. On the campaign trail President Trump said time and again, what i call his contract with the voter, he wanted folks to maintain coverage with lower premiums, those with preexisting conditions and no mandates. He said if we focus on lowering premiums and making sure it passes the jimmy kimmel test, as the latenight comedian immediately got the care his child needed. If we get the jimmy kimmel case, lowering premiums, taking care of the rest of President Trumps goals, i think we can accomplish it. We need to tubing experts, actuaries, those that design insurance plans to make sure we come up with something. Theres Something Else the president said that i want to focus on. This is just before he took the oath of office. He said, people covered under the law, meaning the excuse me, the republican replacement can expect to have great health care. One of the things about the Affordable Care act is that it is so complicated. 16 pages online with your w2, if you dont get it, you get booted out. The president said we must have a much simpler way of going about this, much less expensive, and much better. What could this look like . Let me propose some conservative solutions that could be in the republican plan that would achieve the president s goal. First, the patients have to have the power. In my 30 years of practice, if the patient has the power, the system lines up to help her. If the provider has to publish the providers price so if a patient needs a blood test and the patient knows the cost at that moment and compare it to someone down the street, we will lower costs. One example came up in a newspaper, nolo com is the web site. A woman went in, got a blood test, received the bill and it was for 324. She found she could have gotten the same blood test for 30 down the street. Another woman came up to me and said she heard of price transparency. The doctor ordered an m. R. I. On her sons shoulder and she called up the different places she could have it done and gets a price 667 its on my Facebook Page i got it for 667. Then i remembered what you said, if you pay cash, you get a discount. I called them back and said, if i pay you cash, will you give me a lower cash . They said well cut it to 400. The patient had the power and she ended up paying far less for the procedure the doctor ordered. That is one conservative solution, give the patient the power. Secondly, let state innovate. We need to take all of this power that obamacare brought to washington, d. C. And push it back out to the states. If we do that, were going to accomplish something. Lets just acknowledge theres 700,000 people or so in alaska, and if you took the state of alaska and over if you took a map of the state of alaska and put it over the lower 48, it would stretch from roughly georgia to the pacific ocean. Washington, d. C. Has almost the same population as alaska and you can walk across the city in the morning. Clearly, you need Different Solutions for an area you can walk across and an area that you cannot fly across in the same time that you would walk across washington, d. C. We have to return power back to the states. We have to engage doctors and patients so that those patients with complex conditions get their health care managed. I use the example take a diabetic. She perhaps developed childhood diabetes and now she is 35 years old. If a doctor is managing her condition, she works, stays at home, her complications are minimal, her life is much better. If her condition is not managed, she comes to the emergency room three times a month with diabetes out of control. That just that just shoots a hole in the bucket of fiscal responsibility and also in her health. Instead of working, keeping a family, instead shes coming to the hospital, getting care through the emergency room, which she cannot afford to pay for, and that cost is shifted to everyone else. That is not the way to manage that. We need to engage doctors with patients. Another conservative solution we need more competition between irn surers so insurers so there is not just one Insurance Company in the market who can set prices, but rather we have multiple. If we give the patient the power, by giving the patient the credit, a tax credit, that she can use to purchase the insurance she wishes to have, that will create competition as more insurers enter the be market. If we have that competition, those market forces, prices come down. One more thing. When the president said we have to make things simpler, i think that also includes how we enroll people in insurance. We figure that out on medicare. Under medicare, if someone turns 65, theyre on medicare. It could not be simpler. They get a letter. Theyre on medicare. If they dont want to, they can call. Hey, i dont want to be on medicare, but as a rule theyre on medicare. Fortune 500 companies have figured out the same thing. In order to enroll people into retirement plans, they say, listen, youre in the 401 k plan unless you choose not to be. And by making it simpler, they get 95 enrollment in retirement plans. Now, you could say hey, listen, you have to fill out a bunch of forms. If you dont fill out these forms, youre not going to be enrolled. But that would not work for medicare. It would not work for 401 k s. It has not worked under obamacare. We need to take those same sort of solutions we found for both medicare and enrolling people in their retirement and do it for the republican alternative. The republican alternative would say we make it easy to enroll. Youre in unless you out. If youre eligible for a tax credit, youd receive it. You would have the insurance. If you were passive about trks you would have a default policy. If you were active, you could do more with it. But by doing so, you actually increase the number of people insured. Now, when you increase the pool of those insured, you lower premiums. We have blue cross look at our proposal to make it easy to enroll. Youre in unless youre out. That would lower premiums by 20 just by expanding the number of those who were insured. 20 . So when President Trump says he wants to continue coverage, caring for those with preexisting conditions without mandates, and lowering premiums, doing this feature where you are in unless you call us and tell us you dont want to be, making it simple achieves all four goals. We would increase coverage. By that we would lower premiums taking care of those taking care of those with preexisting conditions. Again, using the mechanism that is already used in medicare and in fortune 500 companies, making it easy to enroll. There are some who dont want to give states the options, dont want to give patients the options, dont want to make it simple to enroll. They want to replace, if you will, the tyranny of obamacare where all this now we are was taken to washington, d. C. And states and people were told what they had to do with a different sort of or a different sort of tyranny telling states what they cant do. I think we should give as much power to the states, as much latitude for the patients to give them the solution that works for them. I am speaking as a conservative. I very much invite our democratic colleagues to come to the table. There are some of my democratic colleagues that very said they just want republicans to work through this and thinking that it might be a political train wreck, that it would work for their advantage. But in those states, there are americans whose premiums are becoming unaffordable. I mentioned earlier in connecticut premiums are rising 15 and 34 this year. In oregon as high as 22 . Maryland as high as 60 . Now, who cares if the person is a democrat or a republican. If our premium is increasing 60 , she cannot afford it. So i challenge my democratic colleagues to get off the sidelines, engage, try and do something not for political purposes but for the purpose of that person whos at home struggling to pay the bills and deciding that she can no longer afford insurance but perhaps unbeknownst to her she has a cancer brewing inside her. And just when she decides she can no longer afford coverage because premiums have risen 60 , that is when her cancer is discovered. We have to address this. And it will take us on either side of the aisle, both democrats and republicans, to work together. Ill finish with a quote from the fellow from covington. Brian, on my Facebook Page, recall him saying his plan is 1,700 a month for he, his wife and two children. The aca, the Affordable Care act has brought him to his knees. I hope we can get something done. The middle class is dwindling away. Can everyone just come together and figure this out . This is a cry for help. It is a challenge to republicans and democrats to come up with a plan which is not a red plan or a blue plan but an american plan to address his needs, his wifes needs, and those similar to him across the country. Thank you, mr. President. I yield back. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that patrick flanagan, an intern in senator kennedys office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the day. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cassidy mr. President , i yield back. Note my colleague from louisiana to my right. A senator thank you, mr. President. Thank you, senator cassidy. We came back from the memorial day recess. Mr. Kennedy and i wanted to not only reflect on that but also reflect on our anniversary of dday and the days that the day, rather, that our allies invaded france in 1944. And in doing so today, mr. President , id like to speak and pay tribute to all of those including but not limited to americans, but especially americans who risk their lives to defend our freedoms. And in particular, mr. President , i come today to recognize a special group of dedicated soldiers. You probably havent heard of them but theyre referred to as the ghost army. The ghost army. This is a unit that served in world war ii. It was comprised of the 23rd special Head Quarters troops and the 3133rd signal Service Company. The personnel of this u. S. Army unit were hand picked. They were hand picked for their artistic and creative characteristics, and youll see why, mr. President , in just a moment. They handled top secret information, and they were among some of americas most promising artists, engineers, and signals professions. Their mission, the ghost army, their mission was very simple. Fool adolph hitter. Fool Adolph Hitler using what was called tactical deception. The ghost armys deceptive creation of fake battles, inflatable tanks, theatrical props, and other inventive equipment falsified troop movements and had our enemies chasing ghosts, hence the name the ghost army. Beginning in normand di two weeks more mandy two weeks after dday and ending in the rhine river valley, the ghost army, mr. President , staged over 20 fake battles, fake battlefield deceptions. The german army didnt know whether they were coming or going thanks to the ghost army. These performances, of course, were illusions. They were called illusions by the soldiers, and they occurred in the most dangerous spot in the war, on the front line of battle. Now, without the ghost armys dedication and fearless perseverance, allied successes at the battle of the bulge and the final battles in po valley, italy, would not have been possible. The 23rd unit was composed of only 1,184 men. 1200 men. They put themselves at risk every day at the forefront of danger and they fought tirelessly. They used ingenious innovative methods to mislead the enemy ultimately leading the allies to many victories in europe. Because of their bravery, because of the bravery of the 1200 men in the ghost army, up to 30,000 american soldiers and 10,000 german soldiers were able to return home alive. So why are we waiting until today to honor these 1,184 brave americans. Because until recently the ghost armys mission was classified. It was top secret. Nobody except the members of the ghost army knew anything about it. And this has finally changed. And thats one of the reasons that im here today, mr. President. Im proud to be a cosponsor of the ghost army soldier bill, a bipartisan effort led by senators markey, collins and king and this long overdue legislation will reward a congressional gold medal to the 23rd special headquarters troops and the 3133rd signal Service Company. Its a privilege, mr. President , to share, that in my home state of louisiana, the ghost army is being recognized at the new Orleans Museum of art. Soldiers art is on display depicting many watercolor portraits as well as graphite portraits of civilians, soldiers, refugees during world war ii. Its a legacy that our great state now gets to honor. And specifically, mr. President , i want to recognize six brave men from louisiana, my state, who were members of the ghost army. Hilton howell riley of new orleans, prominent journalist, the author of touched with madness. He recruited several of the hand picked 23rd. Mr. Riley trained and deployed the 3133rd signal Service Company which served in italy. Also mr. Murphy p. Martin of st. Maartenville, louisiana. Mr. Thomas l. Ragio of lake charles, louisiana. Mr. Roy l. Ravia o of my state. Mr. Alvin j. Peacard and last but certainly not least, mr. Anderson b. Wilson of sl slydale, louisiana. Unfortunately, mr. Wilson is the only ghost army soldier still alive in louisiana. I had the rare privilege and the rare honor of speaking with mr. Wilson this morning. In december of 1943, president roosevelt authorized the ghost army unit. Only two weeks later in january 1944, mr. Wilson was on his way to camp morris, tennessee, to join the ghost army. Who says the federal government cant move quickly when it wants to . Mr. Wilson trained there until may when his unit was shipped out of new york to liverpool, england. It was the largest convoy that at the time had ever crossed the atlantic ocean. From there mr. Wilson and his team traveled more than any other unit. From england they went to france. They went to belgium. They went to holland. They went to luxemburg and they went to germany. Mr. Wilson and his comrades fought fearlessly through the wars end, members of the ghost army. In july of 1945, mr. Wilson finally came home. However, while he came home safely, he couldnt even disclose, he couldnt even talk about even to his own family the Honorable Service unit that he was a part of. Now, thats humbling to me to hear a mans sacrifice, to go through what he went through and not even be able to talk about it to his family. But he kept his word out of the honor to his country. The willingness of mr. Wilson and his fellow soldiers to risk their own lives to defend the freedom we have today, well, it, too, is humbling. Mr. Wilson returned home in 1945, and i hope hes listening right now. Hes been a little under the weather. He was in the hospital when i spoke to him tod to him today. It wasnt until the 1990s before mr. Wilson could talk about his service to this great country, to share his stories, his experiences, to share his fight to keep the freedoms that all of us take for granted every day. Mr. Wilsons story only gives a snapshot about the sacrifices and honorable work that these men of the ghost army gave to the allied forces victory. I for one, and i know all americanson americans join me in thanking them for the services and freedoms they protected. Im proud of this ghost army legislation, and i hope to see it move forward and pass so that these fine americans can receive the recognition, mr. President , that they have long deserved. God bless the members of the ghost army. And if youre listening, mr. Wilson, god bless you. I have six requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and the minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Kennedy mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the Senate Recess until 2 15 p. M. The presiding officer without objection. Under the previous order, the Senate Stands in r