We confess that we often neglect this opportunity to find power in your presence. Guide our lawmakers with your wisdom, liberating them from doubts and uncertainties as they remember that their times are in your hands. May they seek directions from you as they strive to honor your name. Lord, undergird them with your enabling might and help them to remember that without you, their striving would be losing. Give them a steady faith, a firm hope and a fervent charity so that they will stay within the circle of your will. We pray in your mighty 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, april 18, 2016. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable james lankford, a senator from the state of oklahoma, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch, president pro tempore. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader of the senate. Mr. Mcconnell americans continue to see the difference a Republicanled Senate can make on behalf of our country. We passed legislation to combat the prescription of opioid and heroin epidemic to provide a longterm highway funding solution, and to advance many other important issues. Today im hopeful well be able to add to that record of achievement with an f. A. A. Reauthorization and Airport Security bill which aims to keep americans safe in our airports and in the sky. Recent terror attacks across the world emphasize the importance of assuring that our airports are secure, and im pleased the bill includes a number of provisions that will help to do so. From increasing security in prescreening areas to securing International Flights arriving in the u. S. To ramping up measures aimed at deterring cybersecurity attacks, this legislation contains the most comprehensive Aviation Security reform in years. It also includes a number of passengerfriendly provisions like refunds for lost or delayed bags and efforts to improve travel for those with disabilities. The bill accomplishes all of this without raising fees or taxes on passengers and without imposing heavyhanded regulations that threaten consumer choice. The f. A. A. Reauthorization bill is the product of hard work and deliberations from members of both sides of the aisle. It wouldnt have been possible without the leadership of senator thune, our Commerce Committee chair, and senator ayotte, the aviation subcommittee chair. They worked to consider amendments from both republicans and democrats that members thought would make this a good bill and an even better one. I also want to thank the Ranking Member counterpart, senator nelson and senator cantwell for their efforts to advance this legislation. So lets continue that bipartisan progress today and move the f. A. A. Reauthorization and Airport Security bill across the finish line. Its a win for passengers. Its a win for National Security. Its another example of common sense legislating under a leadership thats getting the senate back to work. Mr. Reid mr. President . The presiding officer the Senate Minority leader. Mr. Reid i really have to smile when i hear the republican leader he says it almost every day day the senate is back to work speech. Some republicans show only half the time for work and want a raise. They go through the motions but they feel they do their job. They fail to fund opioid legislation. They fail to do anything about the water in flint, michigan. They fail to fix the renewable tax credit. They fail to address the zika virus and on and on. Republicans used to talk all the time about meeting deadlines and budget resolutions but this year they arent doing one. Even District Court nominations supported by republicans seem too hard for this group to get accomplished. And it appears the senate will fail even to have a hearing on the president S Supreme Court nomination. It seems republicans still need to learn how to do their job. Mr. President , Senate Republicans are making history, but for all the wrong reasons. Republicans obstructionist of president obamaS Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland is the first in history. As each day passes, republicans set some new mark for gridlock. For example, in the postworld war ii era, the average time between a Supreme Court nomination and nominee was 31 days. Today already were five days past the average. The longest nominee has been forced to wait for a hearing was 82 days. That was president eisenhowers nominee Potter Stewart who was confirmed at a later time. Republicans vow every day there will be no hearing so theyre well on the way to eclipsing the 82day mark. Senator mcconnell is quote a proud guardian of gridlock. Thats what he said. Americans take no pleasure in this recordsetting obstruction. Instead, americans want republicans in the senate to do their job and to give Merrick Garland a hearing. Mr. President , its been almost three years since the Senate Passed comprehensive Immigration Reform. It was done on a bipartisan basis. Senate democrats worked with a handful of republicans to craft a good, fair, comprehensive reform bill that passed with bipartisan support. Then we watched Speaker Boehner capitulate to tea party radicals and refused to allow a vote on the floor. Had he allowed a vote on the floor it it would have passed overwhelming. To his credit, president obama saw republicans on Immigration Reform and decided to act. He told us at the state of the Union Address that he was tired of waiting around for republicans to do things, he has to do things himself and thats what he has done. Using his executive authority under existing law, he worked to fix the system and prioritize enforcement resources on those who pose a threat to our National Security and Public Safety. On november 20, 2014, president obama ordered a series of executive actions and increased Border Security and ensured greater accountability throughout our immigration system. One aspect of president obamas executive actions was the deferred action for parents of americans and unlawful permanent residents program. The program provided temporary deportation relief for parents of u. S. Citizens and lawful permanent residence to meet three requirements. One, be nonpartisan country for at least p knife one, be in the country for at least five years. Today president obama deferred action for the program to protect dreamers brought to the United States at a very young age. Today over 700,000 dreamers have been protected. 12,000 in nevada alone. Not only were these executive actions the right thing to do, they are also smart investments. Nevada would benefit from about 3. 5 million a year increase in state and local tax revenue. Nevadans would see an increase for more than 1 billion over ten years. Together these programs will help grow america by 230 billion over the next ten years. Now this progress is being threatened. Shortly after president obamas announcement, politically motivated lawsuit was filed by the Texas Attorney general and joined by republican governors and attorneys. Not all of them. A lot of them. The attorney wanted a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the programs. This came from a single judge. The United StatesSupreme Court agreed to consider the case and today will hear oral arguments. They were good. They were good. I thought it was an extremely sound, deliberate argument. I think that justices asked questions that went to the heart of what the issues are, standing and other things. A decision to overturn the president s action would put many families at risk of deportation and prevent the department of Homeland Security from doing its job focusing on criminals and other threats to National Security. In nevada alone, president obamas executive action will affect 50,000 nevadans who should not be separated from their families. The United StatesSupreme Court must do the right thing and recognize president obamas authority. Thats why i joined 30 other Senate Democrats and 186 House Democrats in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court to make clear Congress Granted the department of Homeland Security broad discretion in enforcing our countryS Immigration laws. What the president did was lawful and it was necessary. He helped target limited enforcement resources. Its also what every other president since eisenhower has done, including Ronald Reagan and george h. W. Bush. Instead of litigating the president s executive action, republicans should work to fix our immigration system here in congress. By working with democrats to pass Immigration Reform, they would render the president s executive actions unnecessary. So i hope the Supreme Court ultimately decides in the administrations favor. I think they will. Even though the court is short a member. I hope that these executive orders are implemented to get hardworking families out of the shadows. Our nation would be far better off with a permanent solution. Our nation would be far better off with a bipartisan comprehensive overhaul of our nationS Immigration laws. Mr. President , my friend, the assistant majority leader, has been at the forefront of these immigration issues. The dream act is something he stepped forward on more than two decades ago. I admire the work hes done on this. I think he has really kept this issue alive when a lot of republicans would have wanted it to go away. Hes been helpful to people in nevada, people who dont know his name, will never ever see him. But we have 12,000 dreamers whose life has been changed forever, and we want the same to happen to their parents. Mr. President , would you announce the business of the day. The presiding officer under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h. R. 636, which the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 55, h. R. 636, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to permanently extend increased expensing limitations and for other purposes. Mr. Durbin mr. President . The presiding officer the minority whip. Mr. Durbin mr. President , let me first thank the minority leader, senator reid, for his kind words about the dream act which i is introduced 15 years ago. 15 years ago. This was a piece of legislation that came about because a mother who called my office in chicago, and here was her family story she brought her two kids to america from brazil. They had actually started off in korea, but they came through brazil and they came to chicago, mother, father, two kids. The father had the ambition of starting a church. There are a lot of korean churches around chicago and around the country, and his dream was a koreanamerican church. His dream never came true. He continued to pray and read the bible, but didnt work much. It was up to mom to go to work. She went to work in a dry cleaning establishment in chicago. And if youve been around that great city, and im honored to represent it and go in the dry cleaners, most of the time korean families are running it. And they are working around the clock, the hardestworking people imaginable. So mom went to work in a dry cleaners, and the kids struggled because there wasnt much money coming in. One of their girls, theresa, heard about a program in chicago called the merit Music Program. Its a program that is available for lowincome families of kids in Public Schools. And the money who left the money said give them instructions in instruments and help them buy the instruments. Teresa heard about this when she was a little girl and decided to sign up for it and practice the piano. Guess what . She turned out to be a prodigy. She was amazing. And for her, a Music Program was like an opening to another part of the world that she had never seen. She participated in the recitals. Sometimes they told me they had to give her a key to the merrick music offices because she wanted to stay and practice late at night. It was tough for her getting through high school. She tells the story when she was interviewed in the local press that sometimes she didnt have a lunch to take to school or any money to buy food. And she would wait till the other kids left, and shed go through the waste basket and look for food that they left behind. Thats how tough it was. But because of her skill at playing the piano, she was given an opportunity. She was accepted at the Julliard School of music in new york and at the manhattan conservatory music to pursue the piano. She was that good. And when they started filling out the application, she and her mom, they reached that point where it said whats your nationality, whats your citizenship. Her mom said, teresa, i dont know. You came here on a visitors visa way back when you were 2 years old, but i never filed any papers for you. She said, mom, what are we going to do . Mom said were going to call durbins office. They called the senate office. We looked into it and the law in the United States was very clear for 17yearold teresa lee. She had to leave the United States for ten years and apply to come back in. Leave for ten years. She came here at the age of 2. She didnt do anything wrong. She did everything right. She finished high school against the odds. she developed a talent against the odds. She was accepted at one of the best music schools in america, and our law very clearly said leave, we dont want you. If you want to try and come back in ten years, its your business. I dont think thats right. Thats why 15 years ago i introduced the dream act, and it said if youre one of those kids brought here under the age of 16, finished high school, no serious criminal issues, were going to give you a chance. Go to college. Join the military, and we will give you a path to ultimately getting to the back of the line but becoming a citizen of the United States, the dream act. When i introduced this bill to solve teresa lees problem, i used to give speeches about it all around economy. A funny thing would happen. When i finished the speech and go back to my car, sometimes at nighthere would be somebody waiting by my car. As i get closer, it turned out to be a very young girl usually, maybe with her friend, and theyd wait to make sure no one was around. And the little girl would say young girl would say to me, senator, im one of those dreamers. Im undocumented. My mom and dade are scared to dad are scared to be deported and then ill get deported. I hope you can pass this. Well, time passed. We called the bill on the floor. Called it in the house. Weve never been able to make it the law of the land. Sadly, the reality is that there are probably two and a half million two and a half million young People Living in america who would qualify under the dream act to be given a chance to become legal. Two and a half million. And what happened to teresa lee, got to finish that story, she ended up going to manhattan conservatory music. Two families stepped forward, families that had befriended the merrick Music Program in chicago. I know one of them well. And said this girl is too good. We cant waste her talent. We will pay for her education. And they did, out of pocket. She didnt qualify for any federal assistance because shes undocumented. So teresa finished school, played in carnegie hall, now is about to complete her ph. D. In music. Shes living in brooklyn, new york. Shes a mom with a little girl and she married an american musician so shes legal, finally. Thats her story. Thank goodness that this determined young girl stuck with it. And we have to stick with it, too. The people who want to turn away these two and a half million dreamers ought to take a moment and meet them, just meet them. Understand what it is to be a young person in america going through all the challenges of adolescents and all the challenges that might be brought to you in your community, by your family and knowing in the back of your mind at any moment someone can knock on the door and tell you you have to leave this country, youre not here legally. They do it and they fight every single day for a chance and a dream that some day theyll become part of the only country theyve ever known. These are kids who just like the United States senate a few minutes ago got up every day in the classroom and pledged allegiance to that flag, the only flag theyve ever known. They dont view themselves as