Youre live now oregon the senate floor here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, who transforms common days into transfiguring and redemptive moments, hallowed be your name. Make our lawmakers great enough for these momentous times, as they seek to live worthy of your great name. May your precepts keep them from lifes pitfalls, guiding them through the darkness to a safe haven. Lord, cleanse the fountains of their hearts from all that defiles, so that they may be fit vessels to be used for your glory. Let your peace be within them, as your spirit inspires them to glorify you in their thoughts, words, and actions. We pray in your wonderful 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 madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell this week the senate will continue considering a number of nominations, beginning with kevin newsom of alabama to serve as judge on the 11th Circuit Court of appeals. Mr. Newsom has earned bipartisan support, having been voted out of the Judiciary Committee 182. Chairman grassley pointed out prior to that vote, several lifelong democrats and republicans have penned letters to the committee touting mr. Newsoms professionalism and qualifications. Hes an exceptionally accomplished nominee, chairman grassley said, who has spent the last 20 years building an impressive legal resume. That resume includes things like clerking for an associate justice on the u. S. Supreme court, serving as alabamas solicitor general, and earning an appointment to the Advisory Committee on appellate rules. For his exceptional work, mr. Newsom has garnered a number of awards from the legal community. The American Lawyer magazine has included him on a list of americas top 50 litigators under age 45. Chambers u. S. A. Has ranked him band one for appellate litigation. And the National Association of attorneys general has awarded him on several occasions the best brief award for his briefings before the supreme court. During his impressive legal career, mr. Newsom has argued four cases before the supreme court, filed amicus briefs in many other cases and argued more than 35 cases in federal Circuit Courts. As indicated by his distinguished professional background, mr. Newsom will be an excellent addition to the court. I look forward to supporting his nomination today and to confirming hum to the is 1th circuit to the 11th circuit later this week. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Under the previous order, time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the newsom nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, Kevin Christopher newsom of alabama to be United States circuit judge for the 11th circuit. Mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. Ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 175, Marvin Kaplan. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed say nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, National Labor Relations Board, Marvin Kaplan of kansas to be a member. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion. The clerk cloture motion, we the understand signed senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Marvin Kaplan to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board signed by 16 senators. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call be waived. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Democratic leader . Mr. Schumer thank you, madam president. First, madam president , on the matter of health care, now, i sincerely and tewellly hope truly hope the events of last week are a turning point. I hope they steer this body towards a period of greater bipartisanship. We sure could use it because the problems in our Health Care System did not end last week. We democrats know that the Affordable Care act wasnt perfect. We want to keep what works and there were a lot of good things in it and we want to fix what doesnt. And we have to work to do we have a lot of work to do on that front. Our first order of business should be to stabilize the individual market and then both parties should Work Together through regular order through committees to discuss other improvements. Chairman alexander, Ranking Member murray have indicated they want to Work Together. They want to have public hearings and do this right away. Im hopeful that chairman hatch, Ranking Member wyden both of whom have proven themselves willing and able to Work Across Party Lines also will be willing to work closely together to address broader problems with our Health Care System. But let me repeat. The first order of business should be to stabilize the individual market which has been racked by uncertain. Right now as insurers previous to lock in their prepare to lock in their rates and plans for 2018, the Trump Administration is dangling a massive sword of damocles over the heads of millions of americans, threatening to end payments the administration is supposed to make that would lower deductibles and outofpocket costs for so many americans. These payments are critical to keeping Health Care Costs down and keeping the markets stable. Remember, ahip, the largest trade group of insurers has said that the uncertainty about these payments is, quote, the single most destabilizing factor in the individual market. Thats not Chuck Schumer or some democrat saying it. Thats the insurers. They say it. Make no mistake. By refusing these payments, President Trump is sabotaging our Health Care System. Hes actively trying to make it collapse taking out his political loss on the American People. Thats not being president ial. Thats small. Its vindictive, and it will hurt millions of americans hes sworn to help. In pennsylvania, North Carolina, insurers have filed two separate sets of possible rates for 2018. One if the payments are made, one if theyre not. If the payments are not made, premiums would be 20 higher. Lets repeat that. If the payments are not made, if President Trump follows through on his vindictive idea of not making the payments, premiums would be 20 higher for the people of North Carolina and pennsylvania. So if President Trump does not guarantee these payments permanently, americans will have to pay a trump tax on their premiums next year. Let me say that again. If President Trump does not guarantee these payments, americans will be paying a trump tax of 20 higher premiums. President trump has a responsibility to make our Health Care System work, and millions of americans will hold him accountable if the system implodes on his watch, if insurers leave the markets on his watch, or if their premiums go up 20 or more on his watch. Of course, we in congress could remove the uncertainty hanging over the market and take the decision out of the president s hands. We can and should guarantee these payments as soon as possible before the insurers set their rates for next year. Id urge my republican friends to join us on senator shaheens bill to guarantee these payments and prevent President Trumps premium tax from going into effect. Republican senators alexander, collins, hatch, portman, johnson have all spoken about the need to do this. I hope theyll help us move forward. We could get this done very quickly and show the American People that were able to Work Together on health care in a very bipartisan way to help keep costs down for so many, so many ratepayers. Now, madam president , on another matter, russia sanctions. I am very proud that last week as nearly every member of Congress Save five voted to pass legislation to sanction russia, iran and north korea that there was such bipartisanship on that issue. According to reports, the president will sign the legislation. These are tough sanctions. Theyll have a real effect on russia, and they are more than justified. President putin violated the sovereignty of the ukraine, aided and abetted human rights abuses in syria and attacked the very foundation of our democracy by meddling in the 2016 election. Just as important, the sanctions bill gives congress the ability to review any decision, to weaken, dilute or lift sanctions on russia. President putin will not be able to get out from under the sting of these sanctions without the consent of congress. Let this be an unequivocal message to mr. Putin and any other nations thats thinking of interfering in our elections. If you interfere with our elections which we hold sacred, you will be sanctioned. Those sanctions will be severe. Finally, madam president , a word on the investigation conducted by special counsel mueller. Since the beginning of the investigation into russias meddling into our elections both here and congress and the executive branch, the heavy hand of the administration has never been far away. We know the administration solicited the help of the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee to beat back reports in the press about russias interference in our election, and that was after 17 intelligence agencies said it happened. The president fired f. B. I. Director jim comey and admitted on National Television he was thinking, quote, about this russia thing when he did it. Then, after special counsel mueller was appointed to lead the investigation, allies of the administration went on television to defame his character, to sully his reputation; shameful ploy to a man with one of the most sterling records of nonpartisan Public Service a man can have in this country. And now the president routinely berates and humiliates his former friend maybe hes still his friend. Who knows. But his attorney, his great ally in his campaign, a man on twitter. Jeff sessions was one of President Trumps earliest friends, one of his first supporters in congress. Not only does that get to character, which im sure it does, i cant imagine any american likes the way senator sessions was treated whether you agree with him or disagree with him. But it also raises questions about whether the president wants the attorney general to resign so he can point a new attorney general willing to fire general mueller. If that comes to pass we will have a constitutional crisis on our hands. The senate should remove even the possibility of it coming about. So in the tradition of the senate, i expect we will hold pro forma sessions throughout the upcoming recess to prevent a recess appointment from being made. The fact that President Trump continues to medal with medde with the department of justice and impede the investigation gets to a larger question. If President Trump has nothing to hide, nothing to mere, why not let special counsel mueller do his job, follow the facts, and finally get to the bottom of the matter . On a matter as important as foreign interference in our elections, the American People deserve a thorough and impartial investigation into the facts. President trump should come nowhere, nowhere near it. I yield i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Nelson madam president , i ask that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Nelson madam president , we have chaos in venezuela. Its a protracted crisis in venezuela which took yet another turn for the worse yesterday. Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pushed ahead with a vote despite so many people, including the opposition, to try to have him avoid and became a sham vote. Only about 10 of the population voted. The opposition stayed home. It was a vote, no wonder why people stayed home. It was a sham vote to form a Constitutional Assembly despite the vehement opposition of the venezuelan people and the Overwhelming International criticism. Plain and simple, the vote was illegal, and it was rigged. And once again on the streets and at the ballot box, the venezuelan people have made themselves loud and clear. Two weeks ago more than seven million venezualans voted against even holding this vote, and yet the numbers are millions stayed home. Maduro wants to rewrite venezuelas constitution so that he can cling to power. And yesterdays vote was only the latest attempt to undermine, if not to completely undo, venezuelas democracy. He continues to crack down on protesters. Theyve killed more than 100 and injuring and arresting thousands more. His thugs have raided homes, terrorizing the oppositions families. Hes tried to strip the National Assembly of its powers, undercut the attorney general, and he has coopted the courts. His thugs attacked the National Assembly, injuring opposition lawmakers. He blocked a lawful referendum to recall his election. His cronies steal the countrys money and enrich themselves, all the while the venezuelan people suffer. The people go hungry. Children are malnourished. There are no staple products, no medicines, no medical supplies for the people. Of course you know who gets the food and the medical treatment. Its the privileged few, the maduro ones that he protects. Now this is venezuelas tragic reality. Maduro has made himself dictator , and he and his cronies are bent on turning venezuelas once vibrant democracy and once vibrant economy into a cubanstyle regime. Nevertheless, the venezuelan people in the face of violence, oppression, and deprivation, they continue to fight for their democracy, for the little bit of freedoms that they have left. Theyre doing everything they can at great risk to themselves and their families to save their democracy and, thus, to save their country. Well, the task just got a lot harder. So the issue before us, mr. President , is what can we do to support them since maduro has now installed himself with this fake referendum on a National Assembly. What can we do to support maduro from being the dictator that he is. And so what we need to do is condemn the Constitutional Assembly as the sham that it is. It also means the United States increasing the pressure on the maduro regime. Ive just spoken this afternoon with the Treasury Department, and the United States has announced a little earlier this afternoon, has frozen maduros assets. I expect at least two other countries to follow suit, and probably more after they do. This is an important step, and i hope its the first in what i hope will be the strongest possible economic sanctions to stop maduro. Its time that we consider cutting the imports of Venezuelan Oil also. Now what have we done thus far . Well, there were already a group of maduros cronies, some in the private sector, some in the government, that the sanctions have been slapped on. You say, well, what does that do . What good does that do . Listen, all of these cronies of maduro, they love to come to miami. They love to have offshore Bank Accounts and all kinds of assets stashed overseas. And if not in the u. S. , perhaps in some of those other countries that are going to follow suit. So we do that with his cronies. Now what we have done today by the announcement from the Treasury Department is that we have frozen Nicolas Maduros assets. And if other countries follow suit, theyre going to freeze his assets as well. Maybe we should take the next step. The next step is venezuela exports a lot of its oil to the United States. Its such a heavy, dirty crude, a good part of that has to go to the refineries in the u. S. Because those refineries are the ones that are capable of refining that heavy, dirty crude. Maybe we just ought to stop our imports of the Venezuelan Oil, absorb that percentage of loss of oil coming into the u. S. From venezuela, clearly on the world marketplace, which oil is fungible. Maybe thats what we ought to do. We are now dealing with a cubanstyle dictator thats the head of venezuela. I think going forward, the United States must insist on the release of all political prisoners, that venezuela has got to go back to when it was a thriving democracy, the rule of law. That was back when they respected human rights and the people had some freedoms. And we ought, as the United States, to help rally the nations of the organization of american states and to rally the support of the world to bring about a meaningful end to this crisis. Because its just going to get worse and worse. The violence that youve seen on the tv yesterday and today, its going to continue as you continue to squeeze the people to starve them, to take away all semblance of human decency, what do you think theyre going to do . Theyre going to revolt. And the violence isnt going to stop. Now, mr. President , there is a role for congress, and there is an opportunity for the congress to lead. The president s budget eel eliminated funding for democracy programs in venezuela that support the old National Assembly and Civil Society and those same democracy programs that promote human rights and the encouraging of an independent media. Recently i wrote to the Senate Appropriations committee, along with a number of other senators, urging that the committee continued that funding for those democracy programs in venezuela. In may, this senator joined senators cardin and rubio and seven others in introducing the venezuelan humanitarian assistance and defense of democracy of democratic governance act. That bill addresses the many aspects of the crisis in venezuela. It codified targeted sanctions on regime officials, something that we are now implementing, and thank goodness for the announcement by this administration. I give them kudos for that. That act would authorize badly needed humanitarian assistance. It would back the oa o. A. S. Efforts to bring about an end to the crisis, and it funds electionobservation organizations and groups working to defend democracy in venezuela. These are bipartisan efforts, and i would urge our colleagues to support them. And i would urge that we bring them up as soon as possible. The situation is terrible in the country and the situation and that chaos, especially what weve seen in ka weve seen will get worse. Time is of the essence. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Nelson i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Enzi mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be waived. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming is recognized. Without objection. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Kevin Christopher newsom of alabama to be United States circuit judge for the 11th circuit, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Kevin Christopher newsom of alabama to be United States circuit judge for the 11th circuit shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote quorum call the presiding officer does any senator wish to change their vote . On this motion, the yeas are 68, the nays are 26, the motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader of the senate. The presiding officer i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that the senate proceed to the executive session for consideration of executive calendar 155 through 233, and all nominations placed on the secretarys desk in the air force, army, marine corps and navy, that the nominations be confirmed, motions to be considered be considered made and laid upon the table, that no further motions be in order, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senates action and the senate then resume legislative session. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now, mr. President , i understand there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. The clerk h. R. 3219, an act making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2018, and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell i now ask for a second reading and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. The presiding officer the bill will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. , further following the morning prayer prayer and pledge, Morning Hours be expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, further following leader ee marks the senate remarks the senate resume consideration of the newsom nomination with all time during recess, adjournment, and leader ee marks counting postcloture on the newsom nomination and the Senate Adjourn from 12 30 until 2 15 for the conference. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that the senate stand adjourned following the remarks of senator brown. The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Brown mr. President , a number of wall street banks and big corporations and pay day loan sharks have two things in common. They have a record of ripping off consumers and, second, they have armies of expensive lawyers an lobbyists in washington and columbus and and state capitals all over the country to protect them from facing the consequences. Thats why its so important that ordinary American Consumers have their own cop on the beat, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The recent abuses by wells fargo are the latest proof of how necessary the Consumer Bureau is. Less than a year ago, we learned that wells fargo secretly opened millions of phony bank and credit card accounts without customers permission. The c. E. O. Of wells fargo had to resign as a result. This is an outrageous abuse of American Consumers. The sheer size and scope of this scam are breathtaking. In total, wells fargo may have opened as many as three and a half million unauthorized accounts, meaning they opened these accounts without the account holder even messily knowing they did it, without permission. Cost customers some 2. 5 million in fees. The abuses are bad enough, but to make matters worse, wells fargo tried to keep this scandal hidden from the public, and they used something called the forced arbitration clause buried in the fine print of customer contracts to deny them their day in court. There is hardly anybody in this country that hasnt confronted small print in a contract when signing that contract, especially with a financial institution. Customers first sued over these fake accounts back in 2013, but wells fargo then forced them into secret arbitration proceedings, keeping this scam under wraps and blocking consumers from any relief. Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other watchdogs blew the lid off this scandal. Customers sued again. Once again, the bank tried to block them from getting relief in court. This time, because of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the l. A. Times and others shining a light on the scandal and all the bad press that came with it, wells fargo relented. So after two congressional hearings, a flood of bad headlines, wells fargo is cutting a deal in their phony account scandal. But now we have learned that this isnt the only scam that one of americas largest banks has pulled. Just last week, we learned the bank forced unwanted insurance on 800,000 auto loan borrowers. Think about that. They forced unwanted insurance on 800,000 auto loan borrowers, potentially pushing tens of thousands of them into default and repossession, and they are still using these forced arbitration clauses in their contracts to cheat future consumers, including the contracts in this auto loan scam. The only thing more outrageous than the fact that wells fargo continues to cheat its customers is the fact that members of congress, a lot of members of congress in this body and down the hall, are trying to make it even harder for those customers to seek justice by overturning the arbitration rule. They think forced arbitration, they think the fine print that most people dont read and most people dont understand if they do read it, that they think thats legitimate. No wonder so many hardworking americans believe the systems rigged against them in wall streets favor. These scams cause real damage for hundreds of thousands of americans. 275,000 wells fargo customers were forced into delinquency by being charged for unnecessary insurance. 20,000 vehicles were unfairly repossessed. 20,000 vehicles unfairly repossessed because of this behavior, because of the behavior of this bank, and wells fargo is not alone. Sam tanderra has used clauses to Service Members, doing business in the United States, using forced arbitration clauses against American Service members, again for illegal car possessions. In 2015, santanderra forced an Army National guard sergeant from seeking justice after the bank illegally repossessed his car while he was serving our country overseas. I see that kind of thing happening at Wright Patterson air force base in dayton. Air force men and women are not always making big salaries, putting it mildly. They are serving their country, they dont make a lot of money. A lot of these young families struggle, yet predators, Companies Like wells fargo and payday lenders continue to prey on them. But the consumer Protection Bureau stands with them. The cfpb is looking out for folks like the Army National guard sergeant, like those at Wrightpatterson Air Force base, in springfield and mansfield, youngstown, the air base is there. With all this happening, some members of congress again are doing the bidding of wall street lobbyists. The bureau just finalized a new rule limiting the arbitration clauses that allow big corporations to get away with ripping off Service Members and students and other hardworking americans. The ink is barely dry on this new consumer protection, but then the big banks and their allies in congress and god knows they have a lot of allies in congress and allies in the administration are already trying to overturn this rule. Republicans in the house voted last week to overturn the rule that ensures that all americans ripped off by banks or payday lenders are able to have their day in court. Despite promising during his campaign to look out for the little guy, President Trumps acting controller of the currency, also, alas, a former wells fargo lawyer, is trying to get the Consumer Bureau to back off that rule. Its unconscionable that washington politicians are undermining the rights of consumers to have their day in court when theyre cheated by banks, when theyre cheated by payday lenders. Folks in washington who want to dismantle the Consumer Bureau, want to gut the rules seem to have collective amnesia about the devastation that wall street greed wreaked on communities across the country. Most ohioans dont have that luxury. Theyre still recovering. My wife connie and i live in the city of cleveland, zip code 44105. Ten years ago, ten years ago right now, in the first half of 2007, there were more foreclosures in that zip code than any zip code in the United States of america. So i have seen the aftermath, i have seen whats happened with wall street greed, and the kind of collective amnesia in this body, that whenever wall street wants something, whenever the payday lenders want something, whenever the big banks want something, that congress rushes in to help them and respond to their lobbyists and their lawyers lobbying this body. Its pretty simple. Gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus arbitration rule means banks get away with cheating their customers. So i ask senators in this body to ask themselves whose side are you on . Are you on the side of payday lenders . Are you on the side of wells fargo when they graduate the public . Or are you on the side of the service men and women, are you on the side of people who have lost their cars which were repossessed because of unilateral actions of this bank . Those working families, the same big banks that preyed on working families before the crisis, wrecked the economy and handed taxpayers the bill. Is that whose side are we on or are we on the side of consumers . Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until Senate Stands adjourned until earlier today, the senate voted to advance the nomination of kevin to be u. S. Judge. And with the failure of the healthcare law last week, other legislative items including defense programs, executive nominations and an fta drug user fee bill. Lawmakers have delayed their august recess by two weeks to work on the issues. They plan to recess sometime after august 11. Follow the senate live on cspan two win members couple back in. Later today, kentucky senator rand paul will talk about the future the conservative movement and how Young Americans can play a role. Will be speaking at the annual National Student conference. You can watch live at 7 30 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Tonight, on the communicator. Has an internet group, is their job and people putting things online and theres money at risk, all of a sudden hacker started getting job strain security. I kept getting emails of people tell me i have to convince my boss to send me to death cant for my job. So i was trying to make this a more professional and finally when my friends came up and said, he should just throw real conference, charge real money i make it a professional conference. I thought that was brilliant but i didnt have the money. I was too young. I save my money for a year, took alone out and then a started it a year later than i wish. And then it has grown for 20 years. Jeff, founder and creator of blackcon talks about his back to back conferences for security researchers and hackers, emerging threats to cyber security, and how hacking works. Its hostile everywhere. It used to be just hostile during devcon. But now every airport seems to have a fake cell tower operating, big wifi catchers because if you can steal someones login, why not an international airport. So if you monitor your signals youll see these space stations, amtrak has a fake tower outside, this is just the way it is. Fear criminal and can build the backpack to intercept information and leave the backpack plugin somewhere thats more low risk than trying to rob a bank. Watch tonight at eight eastern on cspan2. Tonight, American History to be in prime time with programs from the recent society for historians for American Foreign relations. With a look at how americans explains were death. How laws can restrain war, and the impact of religious and emotional form policy. American history to be, starting tonight at eight eastern on cspan three. Cspans washington journal, love every day with new some policy issues that impact you. Coming up on tuesday morning, sasha booker, staff attorney and a transgender marine veteran discusses the proposed transgender military band. On them bloomberg Joshua Greene will talk about his book on white house chief strategist, steve bannon and his
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