A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. A senator mr. President , i would ask that we would dispense with the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Ernst dal i rise to talk about the possible impact that the tax cuts will have on our iowa farmers. Our iowa economy is important and the men and women serving as farmers, ranchers and growers in the great state of iowa mean the world to me coming from a farm that my family had there in southwest iowa. We all understand that this has been a very, very challenging time for farmers and our Rural Communities. The community that i come from in southwest iowa, just 10,000 people in our county, many of them have faced the challenges of the economic downturn. Since their peaks in 2012, corn prices have declined by 60 and Soybean Prices have declined by 47 . My neighbors are hurting, folks. Farm income has nearly been cut in half since 2013. A lot of our producers are hurting, especially our young and beginning farmers whove gotten their start just in maybe the last ten years or so. But fortunately for our farmers, our ranchers, and our growers, tax relief is on its way. The tax cuts and jobs act will provide sweeping tax cuts for farmers and Rural Communities allowing our producers to keep more of those hard earned dollars. About 95 of farms are organized as passthrough business, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, and s corps. These businesses are taxed under individual tax rules and will benefit from lower tax rates for every income bracket. On top of that, they will see significant relief through a new 20 deduction on passthrough business income. The law also provides relief from the costly individual mandate, which forced many farmers to choose between buyi g an expensive obamacare plan through their state exchange or being fined. Now just a couple years ago i remember a very intense conversation that i had with a beginning farmer in northeast iowa. When he was purchasing his insurance through the state exchange, the cost had more than doubled. He was shaking, he was so upset about it. And he explained to me the additional cost of that individual policy was his truck payment. There was no room in his budget for the additional cost of that insurance policy. So he had to make that choice. Do i purchase through the individual exchange or do i make my truck payment . So fortunately, within this bill we have that relief. He can make that choice, and the choice is his. Whether he makes that truck payment and foregoes the insurance or whether now he can do without that type of insurance and be fined because he was too poor to afford it. In addition, the bill dramatically expands section 179 expensing and allows five years of 100 bonus depreciation. Both of these changes will foster muchneeded investment in farms throughout iowa. The law also preserves a number of important tax provisions for farmers, including the interest deduction, cash accounting and the use of likekind exchanges for property. Last but certainly not least, the tax cuts and jobs act doubles the federal estate Tax Exemption while preserving the stepped up bases. The death tax can have a devastating impact on family farms. Over 90 of farm assets cannot be sold easily without losing value, especially as we continue to experience a downturn in that ag economy, family farmers are sometimes left with no choice but to sell land or their equipment that they use to farm that land when they are forced to pay that tax. The tax cuts and jobs act is a big step in the right direction for agriculture. Im thankful to the president for his leadership and to my colleagues in the senate and the house for helping get this longneeded bill done. On behalf of agriculture, thank you. Thank you, mr. President. I would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call a senator mr. Speaker. The presiding officer the senator from arkansas. Mr. Boozman thank you, mr. President. I note the absence of a quorum and ask it be rescinded. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Boozman i rise today to highlight the effects the tax reform will on our agriculture economy. Agriculture is arkansas largest business accounting for approximately one in every six jobs. We are the top rice producerring state in the nation number two in the nation in broiler chickens and the thirdlargest producer of catfish in the United States. We could also clothe and shelter ourselves from fiber grown in arkansas as we are the third in the nation in cotton production and the fifthlargest soft wood lumber producing state. You could keep going down the list and youd find arkansas as one of the nations top ten producers of a number of Agricultural Commodities clearly ensuring is that washington helps create an economic environment that allows the agriculture industry to thrive is extremely important to my home state of arkansas. When President Trump signed the tax cuts and jobs act into law, his signature provided muchneeded tax relief to americas farmers. More than 94 of farms are organized as passthrough businesses, which means they are impacted by the same tax provisions as individual filers. Lower tax rates across the board and a 20 deduction from their taxable income means immediate savings which can be reinvested and help grow their operations. 97 of the farms in arkansas are family owned, and the vast majority of them will now be exempt from the estate tax, the death tax. This is a big deal. It will help keep those farms and ranches in the family for generations to come. Finally, farmers and ranchers will be able to expense 100 of their Capital Investments such as equipment over the next four years. In his address to the farm bureau earlier this week the president called this the sleeper in the bill. Hes right. People dont realize there hasnt been enough talk about how beneficial this provision will be for our familyrun agoing aal operations. The substance of the president S Farm Bureau speech tilted heavily towards our efforts to bring stability and predictability to the economy. As we witnessed over the course of the previous administration, uncertainty is devastating to our economy. There are few industries that are inherently for affected by uncertainty than agriculture. This is why weve taken steps to eliminate some of the punitive, needless regulations that create uncertainty for our farmers and our ranchers. Its also why my colleagues now on the ag committee, under the steadfast leadership of chairman roberts, are working hard to reauthorize the farm bill. Programs are authorized by the farm bill that are absolutely vital to farmers, ranchers and consumers. These programs will provide more certainty in Rural America to address the challenges ahead. And finally, it is why we took great care to ensure that the agriculture industry receive the benefits of tax reform. Establishing a tax code that works for our farmers and ranchers as opposed to against them is vital to their ability to plan for the future and invigorate our Rural Communities. Im proud of our efforts to pass this landmark tax reform law and im confident that it will have lasting positive effects for our economy. And with that, i yield back and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Isakson i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Isakson mr. President , i am honored and privileged to come to the floor to talk about michael brown, appointed by President Trump to be Northern District georgia judge. He is an outstanding citizen of our state, married to a wonderful lady with three wonderful children, graduate from Georgia Law School magna cum laude in 1994 with a record of practicing law. Having worked for king and spalding. They have produced many of the judges in the United States of america, not the least of which the attorney general under president jimmy carter. It produced sam nunn, an outstanding member of the United States senate and has produced many from his firm. Its a privilege for me to talk about michael for many reasons. Most pornl, he comes with a importantly he comes with a background of experience. He has been recommended as one of the great lawyers in the United States of america in business matters. One of the things our courts need is a tempered balance of business and consumer. It is important to have someone experienced in business as a judge will be terrific. As my i say to my fellow members of the senate and to the president , i thank him for nominating michael and making it appointment and to the members of the United States, i urge you to join me in voting for michael brown. He will be a great judge on the bench, a great decision for us, and will continue the growth of outstanding judges elected by this senate in 2018. With that, mr. President. I yield back the balance of my time. I note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from north carolina. A senator i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. A senator i ask unanimous consent to begin the series of votes. The presiding officer without objection. The question occurs on the parker nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote . If not, the yeas are 98, the nays are zero. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. The president will be immediately notified of the senates action. 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 Michael Lawrence brown of georgia to be United States district judge for the Northern District of georgia, 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 Michael Lawrence brown of georgia to be United States district judge for the Northern District of georgia shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer is there anybody in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote . If not, the yeas are 97. The nays are 1. And the motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, Michael Lawrence brown of georgia to be United States district judge for the Northern District of georgia. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , the Trump Administration has come up with a name for its Energy Policy. The Energy Policy amounts to basically a big fat cascade of gifts and special favors for oil, gas, and Coal Companies which in turn make big political contributions. But Trump Administration officials call the policy energy dominance, more accurately its name would probably be fossil fuel industry political dominance. Or one might actually call it ignorance dominance since the administration willfully ignores scientific understanding, basic economics and market theory, and even, even the warnings of our National Security community. The situation is not pretty from an environmental point of view. E. P. A. Administrator scott pruitt is busily trying to roll back fuels limiting the ephegss of emissions of methane, a more powerful Greenhouse Gas and carbon dioxide. He is considering walking back fuel efficiency standards that saves drivers money at the pump. President trump withdrew the u. S. From the paris climate accords and was promptly ignored by every other nation on earth. Last month, on the recommendation of the interior secretary, trump took big areas of the bears ears and grand staircasesque staircase monuments in utah away from the public. He has shown interest to open all u. S. Coastline for drilling to oil and gas companies. That includes drilling in protected areas in the arctic, drilling up and down the Atlantic Coast, expanded drilling in the gulf of mexico and l drilling along the pacific coastline. The plan even includes georgias bank and other crucial fishing grounds for this drilling scheme is likely dead on arrival. Republican governors in new jersey, maryland, and florida have all denounced the plan, as have floridas democratic and republican senators. And it even runs into objections from the pentagon. When president obama considered opening the southern Atlantic Coast to drilling two years ago, the Defense Department told the Obama Administration that offshore Energy Development could interfere with military readiness and missile testing. Given the dominance of fossil fuel political interests in this administration, the whole Trump Energy Dominance scheme, of course, neglects the warnings of our National Security experts about Climate Change. Climate change as an accelerant of global instability and conflict and Climate Change as a direct hazard to military installations and infrastructure. From Norfolk Naval station to far away facilities like diego garcia in the indian ocean. In 2008 the National Intelligence council reported more than 30 u. S. Military installations facing risk from rising sea levels. A Vulnerability Assessment directed by the 2010 quadrennial defense review found that at around three feet of Sea Level Rise, 128 military installations are at risk. Naturally many of those belong to the navy, indeed 56 out of those 128. Its a significant share of the navys global footprint, totaling around 100 billion in value. On to 2011, when the National Academy of sciences report National Security implications of Climate Change for u. S. Naval forces recommended continued review of how Sea Level Rise and changes in storm frequency and intensity would affect coastal installations. And the National Defense authorization we just passed directs the department of defense to study how Climate Change will affect our most vulnerable military bases over the next 20 years, including, and i quote, the effects of rising sea levels, increased flooding, drought, desertification and wildfires as well as how Climate Change may drive new requirements for combatant commanders. The law includes a sense of Congress Statement that, and i quote again, Climate Change is a direct threat to the National Security of the United States and is impacting stability in areas of the world both where the United States armed forces are operating today and where strategic implications for future conflict exist. That is a sense of Congress Statement that has passed this Republicancontrolled Senate and the republicancontrolled house and was signed into law by this administration. Thank you to the author of this language, my friend and fellow rhode islander congressman jim langrahim. Even the u. S. Accountability office has engaged. The independent Oversight Agency issued a report titled Climate Change adaptation, d. O. D. Needs to better incorporate adaptation into planning and collaboration at overseas
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