expected to continue work on legislation sanctioning people and organizations involved with iran's ballistic missile program. they'll be authorizing the president to levy sanctions relate today human rights abuses in iran. the procedural vote on the measure is scheduled for 4:30 eastern this afternoon. live to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2 the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. faithful father, as our lawmakers face the challenges of this day, infuse their minds with a renewed sense of how much you have invested in them. lead them to live for your glo glory, embracing your vision for our nation and world. lord, guide and inspire them with the great plans you want to accomplish through their work. may the knowledge that you are with them eviscerate fear, for you are our lord and savior. help us all to surrender to your transforming power so that your will may be accomplished on earth, even as it is done in heaven. and, lord, bless our wonderful pages as they prepare to leave capitol hill. we pray in your merciful 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., june 8, 2017. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable luther strange, a senator from the state of alabama, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: 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. 1628 it an act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title 2 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 201. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar, under the provisions 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. mcconnell: now, mr. president, yesterday senators voted on an overwhelming bipartisan basis, 91-8, to advance critical legislation granting the administration more of the policy tools it needs to hold iran accountable for its actions. we must now keep working toward final passage. the bill makes clear that congress recognizes that iran's aggressive behavior and efforts to expand its revolution across the border middle east must be stopped. unfortunately, the obama administration's desire to draw down our conventional military presence from the persian gulf and iraq created the self-defeating imperative that avoid nation-safe conflict at any cost. and they were reluctant to take any action -- any action -- that might upset the joint comprehensive plan of action; in other words, the so-called iran deal. they kept this hands-off approach even when iran supported terrorism and shia militias and even as they harassed u.s. ships at sea, actions that were not part of the nuclear program or the iran deal. advancing this bill makes the logical point that our nation needs a comprehensive strategy to deal with all areas -- all areas -- of iran's aggression. it will give the current administration more of the tools it needs to take a stronger approach than the previous administration. it includes new, mandatory ballistic missile sanctions, new terrorism sanctions, and a mechanism to ensure better enforcement of the arms embargo. these sanctions represent another key measure that we can take now to keep american families safer and to support our allies over in that region. soy i want to again -- so i want to again note the broad bipartisan support this legislation has already received and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue working together so we can pass it. now, on another matter, just this week ohioans learned that a major insurer will exit their state's obamacare exchanges next year, leaves thousands in at least 18 counties without a single option -- not one, not a single option -- in the marketplace. the state's insurance department cites obamacare as the reason behind this troubling news, saying, before the affordable care act, ohio had a very competitive health insurance market. but new regulations from the a.c.a. have driven some companies out of ohio and made it harder for them to do business, both of which have driven up the cost of health insurance in ohio. forcing insurance options out of the marketplace, making it harder for people to find coverage, driving up cost of health insurance. these, mr. president -- these are the results of obamacare. in ohio and across the country and the pain is all too real for thousands of americans like those the president visited with just yesterday. as he addressed a crowd in cincinnati, the president shared the story of a small business owner in lou weville who is with us -- -- louisville who is just one of the victims of the obamacare catastrophe forced -- forced -- on the american people. before this, kentuckians had multiple options for high-quality, affordable health care. now under the failed health care law, these workers face premiums that are 150% higher while having fewer choices. to make matters worse, health insurance under obamacare has become so unaffordable that he now has difficulty creating new jobs that would employ even more kentuckians. this louisville man is not alone. just a couple daysing a dr. tom price, the secretary of health and human services, met with a business owner who faced similar challenges because of obamacare, people like one kentuckian from richmond. sheer what he had to say -- here is what he had to say, the founder of a c.p.a. firm, said of her experience with the failed health care law -- this is what she said: of all the clients that we see, there's not one good story about obamacare -- not one good story. and it's mostly without exception horror stories of what -- storeries of what has happened to themselves and their own employees. she, like so many others, knows that the so-called affordable care act has really been anything but affordable for too many small business owners and their employees. these kentuckians' stories provide just a glimpse into the disastrous impact obamacare has had on americans across the country. and though some may try to paint a different picture now, obamacare is directly responsible for the failures and the hurt it's created. not the american people, not those of us trying to help rescue families from this ill-advised law. since obamacare was fully enacted in 2013, premiums have increased by an average of 105% and millions -- millions -- of americans have lost their plans. this year people in just under three-quarters of counties nationally have only one or two choices on the obamacare exchanges, and the situation is likely to only get worse next year. that's why senate republicans believe we must act. that's why we're working to keep our commitment to the american people and finally provide relief from obamacare. this law has failed the american people, and the status quo is clearly unsustainable. as senate republicans continue our conversations on a path forward, i hope our democratic colleagues will finally put aside their last-ditch efforts to salvage this failing law that's hurting so many people in the states they represent. it's time to face reality, no matter how inconvenient it may be, and help those who are counting on relief from obamacare. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: so, mr. president, this morning the intelligence committee is hearing testimony from former f.b.i. director james comey. i hope and expect him to be as forthright and straightforward as he can be. the u.s. senate and, by extension, the american people deserve to know the truth about mr. comey's interactions with the president. based on the opening statement mr. comey submitted to the committee, we know that he will confirm much of what we already have learned about the events of the past three months through the press. that's important in and of itself. until now we've read these reports with a healthy dose of skepticism, waiting for mr. comey to confirm or to refute their veracity. it appears the bulk of what we learned from the reports about mr. comey's memos is true. the president asked mr. comey to pledge loyalty to the president and asked him if he could let go of an investigation into one of the president's close associates, former national security advisor general flynn. that conversation took place in a meeting during which the president raised the prospect of mr. comey not continuing in the job. the senate appreciates this testimony. i am sure members of the intelligence committee will seek answers to the many of the remaining and new questions the testimony raises. there are so many questions that mr. comey's testimony leaves hanging out there. every single lead should be pursued. let's not lose sight of the very heart of this matter: a foreign adversary interfered with our democracy. there is an open counterintelligence investigation into whether members of the trump campaign worked with that foreign adversary to help that campaign win the white house. this issue gets to the very foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections and the rule of law. there is no process more sacred in democracy than the people exercising their voice at the ballot box. there is no principle more enshrined in our legal system than the principle that no one -- no one -- is above the law. members of both parties should deeply care about getting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. i hope that spirit will direct senators in their questioning today. now on russia and iran sanctions and the pending legislation thereof. senators from both parties are negotiating the content of an amendment to the bill for tough bipartisan russia sanctions legislation. we on the democratic side feel very strongly that we need a tough, effective package of russia sanctions to move alongside iran sanctions. i believe many of my republican colleagues do as well. so there is very likely an agreement to be reached. president putin has violated the sovereignty of the ukraine by annexing crimea. he has committed human rights abuses, including the propping up of the brutal assad regime in syria, of stifling political dissent and the rights of his own people, and our intelligence community has concluded that russia made a direct assault on our democracy by conducting a campaign to interfere in our elections. that is why principally i proposed a vote on a bill put forward by my friend, the republican senator from south carolina, senator graham. that's a bill that includes as its cosponsor senator mccain and rubio on the republican side, senators cardin, brown and mccaskill on the democratic side. it's a strong bipartisan bill. the bill would establish a process for congress to review any russia-related sanctions relief. the president and administration officials have demonstrated that they're willing to consider lifting sanctions on russia in exchange for vague, yet to be articulated concessions, if any concessions at all. congress ought to have the power to review any decision made by this administration before sanctions on russia are lifted. senator mccain has also introduced an amendment along with senator cardin that would impose new sanctions on russia. given the revelations of russian interference in our elections, new sanctions are warranted, in addition to the existing sanctions. in addition to the graham-cardin bill, which should definitely be included, i hope senator mccain's proposal is part of our consideration of russia-related sanctions as well. chairman corker, chairman crapo, ranking member brown, ranking member cardin are in ongoing discussions, as are the majority leader and i, about the content of russia sanctions and amendment. i am hopeful that we can resolve this issue and vote to advance both measures. and, mr. president, a final note on health care. my friends on the other side of the aisle continue to work on their health care bill behind closed doors. they haven't made a -- they haven't made public a shred of bill text or even considered holding a committee hearing to debate the topic, and yesterday my friend, the majority leader, filed a motion to bring trumpcare directly to the floor, skipping the committee process. this is a party that screamed from the rafters read the bill, read the bill when democrats were putting together the affordable care act. we spent one year debating that, over a year debating that bill. we tried with a bipartisan group of six to come up with a solution. republicans, meanwhile, are putting together their bill in secret with no democratic input, and then will rush their bill to the floor without a single committee hearing, all in the span of three short weeks. this is a bill that will alter one-sixth of the american economy and affect tens of millions of american lives. for many, it will have live-and-death consequences. the way republicans are crafting this legislation is pulling the wool over the eyes of the american people on one of the most crucial issues affecting their lives. why? it's only one explanation, mr. president. they don't want the american people to see their bill. they don't want to go home to town hall meetings and let people give their opinions. keep it under wraps, rush it through. only one good reason. they are not very proud of the product that they have put together. the republicans know that even if they make some changes to the bill that came over from the house, they may increase subsidies a bit or lower the amount of tax breaks they give to millionaires. they will still wind up with a bill that is far worse than the status quo. higher costs, less care. and that's because they're working from a fundamentally flawed premise, which is to take support away from health care programs like medicaid to give a tax break to the wealthiest americans. senate republicans can nibble around the edges, but they won't be able to excise the rotten core of their health care plan. the house bill has the support of approximately 18% of americans. a majority of democrats, independents arcs and republicans -- independents, and republicans don't like it. don't you get the message, my republican friends? we understand the ideologues are telling you you must repeal, but now that you people have actually looked at repeal, they realize that this is not the way to go. the right approach is not to move backwards, not to undo all the progress we have made in health care over the past eight years and start from scratch. the american people don't want to go back to the days when an insurance company could discriminate against you because you have a preexisting condition or jack up your rate simply because you're older. that's not the kind of health care system the american people want, but that seems to be what our republican colleagues in the dark of night are considering. the right approach is to keep all the good things that are in the existing law and work in a bipartisan way to make more progress on lowering costs for consumers and improving the quality of care. again, i urge my republican colleagues to drop their repeal efforts and instead work with democrats on actually improving our health care system. and one other point, mr. president. i heard our president, president trump, talk about democrats being obstructionists yesterday out in -- out in ohio, kentucky. the health care bill, they're not asking for democratic help or input. they're tied in a knot because their own party can't agree on the tax bill. there, again, not asking for democratic input. they are tied in a knot because their own party can't agree. and now it looks like they're doing the same thing on infrastructure. the president is in an altered reality world. he blames democrats, but then his republican colleagues, often at his instruction, are told not to work with the bill on democrats -- with democrats. what is going on here? what the president tweets and talks about at his rallies and what's actually happening are two different worlds, two different worlds. that's no good. no good for america, no good for the american people, and, frankly, no good for the president. 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 resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 722, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of s. 722, the bill to impose sanctions with respect to iran in relationship with iran's ballistic missile program, and so forth, and for other purposes. quorum call: quorum call: