Senate is ready to meet with executive nominations, votes coming up at noon eastern. Live coverage of the senate here on cspan2. Reverend brooks let us pray. O god, we first thank thee for another day of life. We thank you for the chance to bring joy and opportunity to someone elses journey. Lord, guide these Public Servants within the United States senate. Please lead them as they lead us to a better and more peaceful landscape. Create, o god, within all of us the zeal to make our communities around this country more stable. Remove from us, o god, any personal animosity that might prevent us from acting as my brother or sisters keeper. We ask your healing on those members of this legislative body who are injured or sick. We ask, o lord, that you would extend comfort and peace to those families that have been affected by the tragedy in sutter link springs, texas, even in the midst of this tragedy. We thank you, that those 26 fellow sojourners are in your loving presence, a celestial pl
And direct their way, training them in your school of humility so that they will strive to bring glory to you. We pray in your holy name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington d. C. , december 12, 2017. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable ben sasse, a senator from the state of nebraska, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch, president pro tempore. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday the senate advanced the nomination of Leonard Stephen grasz to be a judge on the eighth Circuit Court of appeals. Mr. Grasz has sterling credentials
Circuit judge, you could look at what he had decided. We could look, mr. President , you, and i and other members of the senate could look at what he decided and anticipate what his record would look like and it makes a difference. I have no doubt that President Trump will continue to nominate judges who will rule as Justice Scalia, the last vacancy created with the unfortunate loss of Justice Scalia who served on the Supreme Court for 26 years after the person that nominated him left the white house and 13 years after president reagan died. So the legacy of what happens here is important. Justice scalia became profound in his sense that the judge the work of the court was not to decide what the legislature should have done. The work of the court was to decide what the law said and what the constitution said and there are ways to change the law and there are ways to amend the constitution. But a person who is on the court needs to look at what the constitution and the law say. Thats wh
Difference for families. Also to make sure for family business, family farms, that kind of thing, Small Business, we double the estate tax, the death tax unified credit and we include the stepup in basis. Hugely important to make sure that you can transition a Small Business or a farm or ranch from one generation to the next. To save for college, we enable the 521 savings accounts to continue for parents that are saving for that college education. Another one thats very important is we encourage businesses to provide paid family and medical leave by giving them a tax credit to partially offset an employees pay while caring for a child or a family member. Other things that we keep in terms of deductions that are very important again to hardworking families. The mortgage interest deduction. We make sure that they can continue to deduct the interest on their home morning. The deduction of charitable contributions. Obviously very important for the greater good of our society, that people c
The smart will vote on Net Neutrality rules. A number of senators commented. I ask the quorum call be dispensed with. Without objection. Thank you, mr. President. The innovation and innovation driven economy of the United States. Chairman of fcc decided to repeal critical Consumer Protection known as Net Neutrality. This is a wrongheaded move, misguided and driven by big cable interests that want to gouge consumers and charge them more as they charge for making sure that consumers either pay or have their internet lines slow down. This decision turns the success of what has been an essential 21st century innovation over to those in big corporations, instead of making sure that main street innovators continue to do what they t do best. I dont think the American People want Cable Companies to be the gatekeeper on the internet. They want to have the fcc continue to playnt a role in making sure that an open internet is there for all, so that Small Businesses that entrepreneurs, that innova