U. S. Senate here on cspan2. The senate will come to order. The chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, the king of glory, your never failing providence sustains us. Today, inspire our lawmakers with the music of your wisdom that they may bring hope, joy, and unity to our nation and world. Remind our senators that even in the darkness, you are a sure guide. Lord, energize them to strive, to transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. And lord, in this new year, go before us to show us the way, behind us to press us forward, beside us to give us courage, above us to provide protection. And within us to give us your wisdom and discernment. We pray in your loving name. Amen. The presiding officer 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. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington d. C, january 4, 2018, to the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable daniel sullivan, a senator from the state of alaska, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch, presidet pro tempore. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i spoke yesterday about the need to fund the federal government by january 19. Members in both parties, including leadership on both sides, have publicly stated their desire to approach this issue in a serious and collaborative manner. And those sentiments were renewed in a productive meeting we had yesterday. Im optimistic we can begin 2018 with a bipartisan twoyear Funding Agreement that meets several critically important objectives. To begin with, any agreement must provide our armed forces with the resources they need to fulfill their missions. That means setting aside the misguided notion that new defense spending needs to be matched tkphrar dollar for dollar by new nondefense spending. Some describe this notion as parity but of course there was no parity at all in the damaging costs that the budget control act inflicted on our National Security. Since fiscal year 2013, discretionary defense spending has been cut by 85 billion morn nondefense spending. That number has real consequences for the men and women who serve our country in harms way. Last year secretary of defense mattis testified that no enemy in the field has done more to arm the combat readiness of our military than these selfinflicted budget reductions. Nothing about this issue needs to be partisan. During the obama administration, defense secretaries panetta, hagel, and carter all similarly warned that sequestration cuts would handicap our men and women in uniform. Those were all secretaries of defense during the obama administration. Unfortunately at a time when our country faces myriad threats and strategic challenges around the globe, experts agree that this is exactly what has happened. Congress has a golden opportunity to put aside political calculations and prioritize the actual needs, actual needs of americas allvolunteer military. Theres no reason why an arbitrary formula which bears no relationship none to the real needs of our armed forces should dictate the degree to which we fund them. Our men and women in uniform are doing their job. Our job is to give them the resources they require. Funding our armed forces is not the only area that is ripe for productive bipartisan negotiations. Last december the senate made progress toward moving a longterm reauthorization of the Childrens HealthInsurance Program. Unfortunately though, Senate Republicans were prepared and eager to move forward. We were not able to include that effort in the continuing resolution. Approximately nine million children, including thousands in my state of kentucky, depend on chip for health coverage. Their parents depend on it for Financial Security and for peace of mind. Instead of giving them a fiveyear reauthorization in time for the holidays, partisan objections forced congress to settle for a shortterm patch. This month, we can set this right. I know that colleagues on both sides of the aisle are eager to find a longterm solution. Five years, full reauthorization. Lets get this done for working families. Furthermore, as senators from both parties have stated, congress should act now to provide relief to communities across the country that were devastated by disasters in 2017. Last years hurricanes crippled puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands and dealt blows to mainland communities from florida to texas. Wildfires caused serious damage across the western United States. For Many Americans in these areas, life is nowhere near back to normal. Its time to complete our work on the supplemental Disaster Relief legislation. And its imperative that none of these urgent priorities be held hostage to our ongoing discussions around immigration policy. Senators with diverse viewpoints have been discussing how to address the unlawfully established daca program while also improving border security, interior enforcement, and addressing other important parts of our broken immigration system. As i have stated, if a compromise solution emerges that meets the president s conditions, it will be brought up for a vote here in the senate. In the meantime, lets continue productive negotiations and secure a bipartisan Funding Agreement. Now, mr. President , i understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. The clerk h. R. 4667, an act making further supplemental appropriations, and so forth, and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provision of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum were not in a quorum. Thank you. Yesterday, mr. President , the four congressional leaders had a positive and productive meeting with director mulvaney and representatives from the white house, including mr. Short. It was a good first step, but there is a lot of work to do. Ultimately, the budget agreement must lift spending caps with parity between defense and urgent domestic priorities. It must include disaster aid, a health care package, and an agreement to enshrine daca protections alongside Additional Border security. Like our republican colleagues, democrats want to make sure our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to do the job. There is not an argument about that. But we also want to make sure that there are crucial investments in Economic Development and job creation here at home, programs that support the middle class and help it grow. That includes a number of things opioids, Life Expectancy has gone down in america for the first time in years because of deaths from opioids. Young people, middleaged people. Are we going to just shrug our shoulders at that . There is a lot more to do, and it affects rural areas, urban areas, suburban areas. 63,000 americans died from drug overdoses. Those are deaths on the battlefield in a certain sense as well, and they are often the flower of our youth, the prime of our america. So many in rural areas. So these are kids who were full of potential. Many of them were veterans dealing with the wounds of war. They served our country, didnt get what they needed when they came home. I had a father cry in my arms. His son had been grappling with opioids. Finally, they had persuaded the son to sign up for a Treatment Program, but the Treatment Program didnt have the funding it needed, so there was a long waiting list, and the son died of an overdose while waiting on that list. You cant have that anymore. What about Veterans Health care . These are people who died for u. These are people who risked their lives for us. We need to do it. What about millions of hardworking americans who need pensions . Pensions, retirement is one of the things americans are most worried about. For years, they paid into these plans. They were told, you know, when you retire, youre not going to be rich, youre not going to be able to buy luxuries, but at least you will have a life of dignity. And now those pensions have been robbed from so many people throughout the country. Are we going to shrug our shoulders . So i hear the majority leader say that hes not for parity. Paritys not a word. Its veterans. Its people who are needing opioid relief. Its working class folks, people who need pensions. Are our republican colleagues going to do what they just did in the tax bill and abandon the middle class . Are our republican colleagues going to do what they tried to do in the Health Care Bill and take away health care from millions of working people, people in the middle class . Parity is a term we use around here. I would rather call it defending middleclass america. And just as its important, mr. President , to defend america from foreign enemies which our soldiers do so bravely and proudly, all of our military does so bravely and proudly, we have to defend america here, and i would plead with leader mcconnell not, not, not to abandon the middle class in this bill. Defending the military, funding the military is a worthy goal. So is helping the middle class. And for the past year unfortunately, our republican colleagues have been doing what the very wealthy people want and ignoring the middle class and working people. Thats one of the reasons right now so Many Americans say they would refer have a Democratic Senate than a republican senate. I would rather have a senate that helps the middle class, whatever the political outcome, but our colleagues dont seem to be going for that, and they cannot, and i would say to leader mcconnell, my friend, you cannot let the hard right dictate what you want because the hard right and their wealthy benefactors is not where america is at. Its not even where the Republican Party has always been. Now, in addition to parity, helping the middle class, we need to do other things. We should have passed a disaster package that treats all states and territories fairly, given the necessity of relief to texas, california, louisiana, florida, puerto rico, u. S. Virgin islands. And by the way, we need to make sure that we straighten out things in the west so the Forest Service isnt robbed of the funding they need to prevent future forest fires as they take the money for present forest fires. We have to do that. I know that lots of Republican Congressmen from the house want aid, even though many of them opposed aid when new york and new jersey had the crisis. Were not going to play tit for tat, but we want a fair bill, and we want our priorities recognized as well. And finally, there are the dreamers. This must be done now. Leader mcconnell seems to think there is no urgency. We disagree strongly, respectfully but strongly. There is an urgent need. We have hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of americans who want america to be their country, who were taken here through no fault of their own, who are working in our factories and offices, who are going to our schools, who are serving in our military. Right now, every morning they wake up with a pit of fear in their heart that they will be deported, separated from their families. There is a very strong urgency there, very strong, and we have to get the dreamers taken care of as well as these other needs. So our language, our proposal on this budget deal, take care of the middle class in terms of pensions and opioids and veterans. Take care of Disaster Relief. Take care of the Health Care Problems we face. We all know about chip and Community Health centers and health care extenders. And take care of both the border and the dreamers. We can do it all. We should do it all. Its no secret that in each of these areas right now, there are sticking points, but there are potential points of agreement. All five parties continue to have discussion groups on these four circles of areas, and to do them concurrently and come up with solutions quickly so we can meet that january 19 deadline, because nobody wants sequestration to go into effect for the military or the nonmilitary side of the budget. Our goal should be a global agreement on all these issues by january 19. That is the best way to resolve the issues we face. I see my dear friend from georgia waiting. I yield the floor to him. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, walter david counts, iii, of texas to be United States district judge for the Western District of texas. Mr. Isakson mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from georgia. Mr. Isakson mr. President , i rise today to talk about the tradition of new years day, the beginning of a new year. Our great country and many of its great traditions. Im sorry that the minority leader left so quickly because i wanted to brag about how great new york city did, the police and Law Enforcement on new years eve. Millions of americans gathered in new york city to watch the ball drop and the new year to start. We all enjoyed doing that in the warmth of our homes, particularly on days like today, but also in the warmth of america. There is a second great tradition that takes place on new years day as well. Its called the College Football season, which is capped off by the rose bowl which is played in pasadena, california. This year, the rose bowl was between the university of georgia, my home state, and the university of oklahoma. One of the greatest Football Games i think anybody will admit has ever been played in that game before, and im proud of both those great universities. Im equally proud of the university of alabama and clemson university, the other two teams who played for the right to outlay in atlanta, georgia, on monday night of next week on january 8 to decide the collegiate National Championship in america. My bulldogs, georgia, is going to be one of those two teams. They defeated oklahoma 5448 in a great Football Game in california. Alabama made a decisive victory over clemson in new orleans, louisiana, in the sugar bowl. And the two will meet this coming monday night in the mercedesbenz bowl in atlanta, georgia. I dont know who is going to win. I know who im pulling for. I know who i am for. I know who i will brag about tonight, but i am equally bragging about all our collegiate athletics that take place in this country, and the great men and women who make it work, the coaches, the athletic directors, the people who make it go. In particular, with georgias victory, it prompts me to come to the floor and talk about kirby smart. Kirby is the head coach of georgia. Prior to coming to georgia, he was the preceder to nick saban of the university of alabama. They will play against each other on monday nights championship. Its ironic that the coach and his pupil will be the two coaches in that great game. Kirby is a university of georgia graduate, was a Great University of georgia Football Player in his own right. Came to the university of georgia with high hopes and an alumni, hoping he could be the person who could take georgia to new heights. It only took him a year. The first season was 85. The Second Season was this year, 121, now 131. Winning the rose bowl and playing for the National Championship on monday night. Kirby smart is not just smart because he knows football. He is smart because he knows how to be a leader. You saw an example of a man in the rose bowl who never took credit himself, always gave to his other coaches and his players. Never tried to be the winner, always tried to be in the background, put others ahead of himself. But behind the victory, it was his spirit, his encouragement, his living the dream that all the georgia players followed. I want to talk about a couple of them, sona michele, one of the greatest running backs to come out of georgia, charlie trippy and hershal walker. And then the combination of leadership, they brought the team on the field and the quiet leadership and confidence that kirby smart brought to the game, they won the game after an double overtime. My congratulations to oklahoma and their quarterback. I wish alabama a lot of luck on monday night, but not enough to beat my bulldogs. This is our chance to win a National Chip for pt first time in 38 for the first time in 38 years of football. We will be in our newest athletic facility, the mercedesbenz dome. I say go dogs. I hope that dir by smart remembers kirby smart knows why i am bragging about him today. He will be our leader monday night. All of the graduates will be looking monday night with anticipation and hopefully satisfaction. And i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Boozman mr. President. The presiding officer will the senator withhold . The senator from arkansas. Mr. Boozman thank you, mr. President. And i have to add that coming from arkansas that i have to congratulate the southeast conference for being the championship team. Its going to be a great game. I rise today though to recognize the bicentennial of fort smith, arkansas. Army