Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240713

1 45 eastern today. Now to live coverage of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. Todays opening prayer will be offered by robert lewis, former pastor and founder of better man, the National Mens organization from little rock, arkansas. The guest chaplain let us pray. Heavenly father, we give thanks for this new day and the hope that lies within it. We have been a blessed nation not by accident but by this. In you, god, we trust. Thank you for the men and women of this distinguished body who will again rise to face the immense challenge that will mark this day along with the special opportunities it holds for good. I pray you will make this body ready for both. In these turbulent times, empower their work with your spirit. Give them a difference making wisdom only you possess. Protect them from small ambitions. Call each heart here up to the higher ways of humility, understanding, and much needed unity. Help these leaders seek what is right and best for all in this nation the weak and the strong, the rich and the wanting, the great and the small. And let their work here today end tonight as a credit, not a deficit, to our nations lifegiving legacy of liberty and justice for all. Bless this chamber, father. Make us better through them. And lead us all forward in the ways of righteousness for your greater glory. We pray this in jesus 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. , october 17, 2019. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john boozman, a senator from the state of arkansas, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. Mr. Boozman madam president . The presiding officer the senator from arkansas. Mr. Boozman i would like to take a moment first of all to thank chaplain black for all he does here. The senate is a much better place as a result of having him around. Id also like to take a moment to thank dr. Robert lewis for delivering the opening prayer in the senate today. Robert and i had the opportunity to play football at the university of arkansas together. He was a very good Football Player and had the gift of smack. He would hit you. He had a tremendous work ethic and tremendous character. And we all knew that he would do well in whatever he decided to do. Today robert is a renowned pastor, a best selling author, passionate speaker, and christian visionary. He developed a curriculum that has over one million men worldwide in chumps, colleges, churches, colleges, corporate boardrooms and corrections facilities. His Program Provides men with an encouraging process that teaches them how to live lives of authentic manhood as modeled by jesus christ and directed by the word of god. The program was designed to help men come together and strengthen each other through weekly sessions that combine biblical teaching and small group interaction. For 21 years robert served as directional leader of Fellowship Bible Church of little rock. During that time the church grew from a few hundred members to over 5,000 and was widely recognized as being one of the most innovative and influential churches in america. Robert helped bring down line a citywide Discipleship Ministry to little rock where he continues to serve as a part time instructor. He continues to be voflged to be involved in his local church and beyond ministering nationally and across the world as well. Robert, his wife, have been married for over 40 years. They have four children and three grandchildren. Serving as the guest chaplain is an incredible honor. Im thankful for roberts ministry and im so pleased that he could be here to offer an invocation asking god to guide and bless the efforts of congress and americas leaders. Thank you, madam president. And i yield back my time. Mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell first this morning, id like to join colleagues on both sides of the capitol in expressing our grief and sadness at the passing of our house colleague chairman Elijah Cummings. Over more than two decades in the house of representatives, cummings became a Living Legend in his native baltimore. By all accounts, he was a powerful and passionate voice on the National Stage and a strong advocate for his neighbors, his district, and his values. He counted Close Friends and admirers all across the political spectrum. Today the capitol will lower its flags to mark the significant loss and remember the life well lived. The senate unites our prayers with those of the house, for elijahs wife mya, his children, for all the colleagues, friends, and staff who will miss him greatly. Now, madam president , on an entirely different matter, i was encouraged to see yesterdays display of bipartisan concern in the house of representatives for sustaining americas Global Leadership and specifically over the damaging impact of hastily withdrawing that leadership from syria. Back in january i led a forwardlooking debate here in the senate on these very issues. I sponsored an amendment to s. 1 which earned the support of a bipartisan super majority 70 senators. We went on record opposing a premature exit from syria or afghanistan and emphasized the need for sustained American Leadership in the fight against terrorism. I was disappoint whd a number of leading democrats, including my counterpart, the democratic leader and most of the colleagues who were running for president voted against this bipartisan consensus. But overall, a huge majority of the senate spoke up strongly. I know many of us are keen to engage further in these important issues, further enlight further in light of recent events. As the Senate Debates our middle east policy and contemplates what action to take, i believe its important we make a strong forward looking strategic statement. For that reason my preference would be for something Even Stronger than the resolution the house passed yesterday which has some serious weaknesses. It is so narrowly drafted that it fails to address the plight of imperiled sunni arab and minority Christian Communities in syria. It is backward looking and it is curiously silent on the issue of whether to actually sustain a military a u. S. Military presence in syria. Perhaps to spare democrats from having to go on record on this key question. So my first preference is for something stronger than the house resolution. I look forward to continuing to engage with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we chart the right course and i expect many of us will have much more to say on the subject very soon. Now, on one final matter, ive been discussing this week how washington democrats have sought for three years to effectively nullify the trump presidency. Theyve tried to cancel out the voters decision in 2016 and dodge the consequences of secretary clintons defeat. Whether through the threeyearold impeachment parade that House Democrats have been leading or through the unprecedented delays and obstruction on the president s nominations here in the senate. Well, today our democratic colleagues will have another effort to fire up the time machine. They want to move forward legislation that would undo a regulatory Success Story of the Trump Administration and reopen the Obama Administrations disastrous war on coal. Specifically they want to try and revive the socalled Clean Power Plan, a dangerous, misguided policy that the Trump Administration has rightly done away with. Well be voting on their resolution later today. So, madam president , the basic facts havent changed since this jobkilling scheme was first put forward back in 2014. This relic of the Obama Administration would have further buried the producers of affordable American Energy under a mountain of stifling red tape. It would have created overlapping local, state, and federal standards, unrealistic compliance deadlines, and set up washington pure set up a washington bureaucracy that was effectively rooting, rooting for American Energy to fail. Its no wonder that one analysis at least by one analysis, 125,000 jobs would have been on the chopping block had president obama gotten his way. Workers in my state know better than anyone the true cost of the last administrations misguided war on coal. Kentucky workers know what happens when plants that create jobs and generate affordable electricity at the same time are simply shut down. Thats why ive been proud to lead the fight ending the regulatory war on coal, why i wrote every governor in the country in 2015 raising my concerns about the Obama Administrations dangerous Clean Power Plan scheme because even today nearly three years into an administration that is not at war with American Energy, kentucky miners continue to feel the effects of the policies of the previous administration. We also know the full effects of the Clean Power Plan would have stretched far beyond coal country. The ripples of this harmful proposal would have been felt across the country by americans paying their power bills. One independent report predicted that consumers in 40 states including kentucky would have seen doubledigit percentage increases in their electricity costs. By obamas officials own administration, the proposal would have hit low income and minority communities the hardest. So let me say again, madam president. Low income and minority populations would be hit hardest by the double digit electricity bill increases in four of every five states. Thats quite a wrap sheet for a federal policy. In a nation where Carbon Emissions have already been trending downward, this proposal would have sold off our economic edge to overseas competitors whose emissions are actually steadily climbing. It would have taken the legs out from under american job creators while some of the worlds leading polluters continued to roar right past us. It would have literally shipped our economic competitiveness to places like china and india. And heres how experts estimated the effect of all this selfinflicted economic damage on the climate. One 100th of one degree difference by 2050. Heres the impact estimated to have happened if it went forwa forward. One 100th of one degree difference by 2050. Think how deeply youd have to be in the grip of leftwing ideology for that tradeoff to sound like a good deal for American Families. Todays effort to revive this bad policy is being pushed by the same Senate Democrats who overwhelmingly could not bring themselves to vote against something as absurd, absurd as the Green New Deal back in march. Unfortunately we know theres a considerable appetite among democrats to inflict huge economic harm on American Workers and American Families just so we can better comply with this new green religion. But heres the good news for my constituents in kentucky and for hardworking americans across the nation. Senate republicans are on the case and we wont let far left fascists take precedence over the common good of our country. The American People have elected an administration and a Senate Minority that trust workers and job creators, not washington purbureaucracies. We spent years, years cleaning up the meetings of overregulation that the obama era left behind. And well continue to stop democrats from reanne canting that damage reenacting that damaging history. So i would urge all of my colleagues to join with us today and oppose these efforts to nullify a presidency and take us backwards. Lets vote to keep this illconceived leftwing policy on the shelf where it belongs. Now, madam president , i understand there are two bills at the desk due a second reading en bloc. The presiding officer the leader is correct. The clerk will read the titles of the bill for the second time en bloc. The clerk Senate Joint Resolution 58, expressing support for freedom of conscience. H. J. Res. 77, opposing the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish Military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in northeast syria. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings en bloc. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bills will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the democrat leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, madam president , we woke up this morning to learn with profound sadness that our friend and colleague, congressman Elijah Cummings, the son of sharecroppers who became the chair of the House Oversight committee, passed away last night at the age of 68. It was the first thing i saw when i read the paper this morning, and it hit me like a punch in the stomach. In his 23 years in congress, elijah amassed a legacy that will live on long after his sudden passing. He served the people of his maryland district with selflessness, passion, and grace. Since it only happened this morning, i cant do justice to the legacy of Elijah Cummings, but id like to share a few reflections, and i know that my dear friend, senator cardin, was close like this, like brothers with Elijah Cummings, and they had worked together on so many things for maryland and the country, that i know he is here sharing our deep sadness. Now, truly, Elijah Cummings was not just a great congressman. He was a great man. He had a presence, a commanding presence when he entered the room. And he could be strong when he had to be, and he had to be strong quite often, but he also was always kind and decent and caring and honorable. Its a rare combination, that inner strength and that decency and that kindness. Elijah had it. If we had lived in happier times, maybe the public would have seen this kind side more often, but elijah was never one to shrink from the moment. I talked to him frequently. We would talk about the goingson in the house or the senate or the political trivia of the day. Sometimes we would talk about maryland politics. He was an expert. Elijah was revered by his constituents and indeed by the entire state of maryland. Liberal or conservative, democratic or republican, black or white, you went to Elijah Cummings for advice. His loss is an enormous one for his constituents, for his staff and, above all, his family. I prosecutor toker for them this morning and i i pray for them this morning. Now on syria, yesterday the United States military carried out air strikes to destroy what only a few weeks ago had been the headquarters of the American Campaign to destroy isis in syria. Nothing encapsulates the failure of President Trumps decision to stand aside for erdogan more than the fact that we are now bombing our own bases rather than allow them to fall into the hands of assad, erdogan, or putin. If erdogan, putin, and assad are such great allies or no problems, as President Trump told us yesterday at the white house, then why do we have to bomb our own headquarters after american troops evacuated so it doesnt fall into syrian or turkish or even russian hands . That one thing encapsulates the absurdity, the awfulness of President Trumps lack of policy and erratic, impulsive and whimsical movements in the syrian front. Yesterday the president said this withdrawal was, quote, a strategic move. Certainly its not that because this is not the action of a military that carried out a deliberate withdrawal. Its the action of a military that was give an flybytheseat of its pants decision by the president contrary to the recommendations of the commanders on the ground. Donald trump has the nerve, the gall, to think he knows more about the military than these generals who have served our country for decades. It is appalling. How does america put up with this . How do our republican colleagues put up with this . He doesnt consult the generals. What a blunder. And it seems to be the result of the president s inability to say no to dictators. He seems to like a putin and an erdogan and even a kim more than our allies. This is also a clear demonstration of the president s fecklessness. As lindseycy graham said, i fear this is a complete and utter National Security disaster in the making. So yesterday yesterday afternoon congressional leaders went to the white house at its request to meet with the president about the rapid disintegration of the situation in northern syria. Speaker pelosi and i talked about it ahead of time and we talked about it with senators reed and menendez as well and we had a plan, to find out if the president had an actual plan to defeat isis. Alarmingly, alarmingly, President Trump had no plan. The greatest insult that occurred in that room was not any of the namecalling that trump did. A far greater insult to america, to all of us, was the lack of any policy guidance, any policy decisions, any direction from the president and his top National Security advisors on how to contain isis. I reminded the president that as two new yorkers, we probably knew better than most the damage that is small band of terrorists can do even half a world away. I asked, what is your plan to prevent isis from regrouping and resurging . He didnt have one. Secretary of defense mark esper didnt have a plan. After we pushed them and pushed them, they said, well i said, whos going to take care of all these prisoners . The president said there were 70,000 isis prisoners and their families. Whos going to take care of them . Make sure they dont escape, as some have already . And they finally said, well, the syrians and the turks will do that. So i asked the group if they had any intelligence or assurances that turks and syrians would do a decent job. Secretary esper himself said there was no evidence of that. This is amazing. Terrorists who we have spent a decade fighting, we have spent billions of dollars and lost lives to fight them, finally theyre imprisoned, the kurds are guarding them, the kurds are leaving, understandably, because they have to fight the turks now. Whats the plan . There isnt any except to rely on syrians, turks who have not even close to the interests we have in curbing isis. Assad is much more interested in gaining back his syrian homeland. Erdogan is focused on hurting the kurds, who he is fan nationalically against. Fanatically against. So theyre not going to pay much attention to isis. Appalling, just appalling. President trump has stepped aside for putin, assad, erdogan. Our allies, the kurds, are being slaughtered as a result of our betrayal, and most importantly, as secretary mattis said, quote, if we dont keep the pressure on syria, isis will resurge. Its absolutely a given they will come back. The president didnt like hearing mattis words, but all of america should. Hes one of the most respected military minds, one of the most respected leaders on both sides of the aisle liberals, independents, conservatives. Heres what he said again repeating if we dont keep pressure in syria, isis will resurge. Its an absolute given they will come back. So, make no mistake, the president s incompetence, his impulsiveness, his erraticness has made americans less safe americans here in our homeland. Congress today must make the fact clear to the president in a bipartisan fashion. We have the opportunity, my colleagues. The house passed a resolution condemning the president s decision by an overwhelming vote 345660. That means the vast majority of House Republicans condemned the president s decision in syria. Leader mccarthy, whip scalise, number three cheney all voted for it. Theyre as loyal to President Trump as anybody, but they saw the danger, the real danger. Today the senate should and i hope will follow suit. We can quibble about the language, but i have no doubt we can agree on the basic message, and theres no reason we cant vote on a Senate Resolution today. Time is of the essence. To say, well, id like to add this word or add this sentence, as kurds are being slaughtered, as isis terrorists are escaping . No, no, no. No, no, no. We should move the house bill immediately because we all know theres only one person who can reverse this, and that is the president. And the greatest ability to make him reverse is an overwhelming message from the republican side house and senate that this is wrong. He doesnt hear that too often publicly from our republican friends. Hes heard it from the house, correctly and courageously. Please, my friends, my republican friends in the senate, lets put politics aside. Lets vote the house bill passed yesterday by them today. There is no time to waste. Time is of the essence. Because the president still doesnt get it. Our meeting at the white house demonstrated that to all who were present. Hopefully, an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the senate will break through to him. So i strong in the strongest terms urge leader mcconnell and our republican colleagues too allow a vote on the syrian resolution today. Security, justice, fairness demand no less. Now, on climate, as senator cardin well knows, later the senate will vote on his resolution of disapproval to repeal the Trump Administrations socalled Affordable Clean Energy rule. This is one of the few opportunities where the minority can force a vote on the senate floor, and there may be no more worthy an issue to than protecting our environment. Four years ago the Obama Administration put in place new standards and safeguards for co2 and fossil fuel emissions from power plants, the first of their kind intended to meet the threat of climate change. But earlier in july, by employing shady science, the Trump Administration owe Ballistic Missile rated these safeguards, so obliterated these safeguards, so vital to protecting our globe, our world, and frankly a lot of the forests in my home state of new york. In its place, the Trump Administration enacted a new rule that will allow big polluters to recognize our air, dirty, our water, and poison our earth with little or no accountability. Thanks to this new rule, commonsense limits on Carbon Emissions have been blurred. Deadlines for implementing the reductions have now been tripled or even quadrupled. Time is running out for the United States to meet the existential threat posed by climate change, and thats why this rule is such a grave, grave mistake. Thankfully in this case, the minority can do something under the Congressional Review Act. We are allowed to overturn some of the rules that this administration unilaterally put in place. Later this morning well vote on senator cardins resolution of disapproval, which it passed would repeal the Trump Administrations destructive ruled and reinstitute the safeguards that were originally in place. So our republican colleagues have a choice. They can either stop the rollback of lifesaving Environmental Protections or they can side with Energy Companies that put their fortunes ahead of our future. The choice is theirs. One final note today marks the 1,000 days of President Trumps time in office. If we were to summarize his administration over the last two and a half years in a single phrase, it would be this broken promises to working people. When candidate trump ran for office, he promised to drain the swamp, but after 1,000 days as president , this place is the swampiest its ever been. With conflicts of interest crippling this administration and inexperienced billionaires running our government. Candidate trump promised Insurance Health insurance for everybody. But after 1,000 days as president , costs are higher, coverage is skimpier, and the administration is suing to repeal the health care we have in place. That would send prices skyrocketing for millions. President trump promised a tax bill that would be a middleclass miracle. But the only miracle this has been is to corporate america, who uses it for stock buybacks instead of increasing salaries for their workers, increasing their investments in plant and equipment. So, so much of these tax breaks went to buybacks. A shame. 1,000 days in, President Trump has failed to follow through on promise after promise after promise to working americans. But he isnt the only one at fault. Democrats have fought to do the work of the American People, but as the house passes things, leader mcconnell and my Senate Republican colleagues have simply turned this chamber into a legislative graveyard, where good ideas that would help the middle class and those trying to get to the middle class just come to die. We could be reauthorizing the violence against women act, we could be voting on Election Security, we could be voling on background checks voting on background checks, but leader mcconnell has buried hundreds of house bills in his legislative graveyard. After 1,000 days since President Trump took office, he and his republican colleagues have made clear whose side theyre on. If youre ultra rich, if youre very powerful, have great connections, its ban its been a great few years. But for everyone else its been a string of disappointing and heart heartbreaking promises. Come next year the American People will have a chance to vote for real change i yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. S. J. Res. 53 is discharged from committee. Mr. Cardin madam president . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin i move to proceed to Senate Joint Resolution 53. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. J. Res. 53 providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, u. S. Code of the rules submitted by the Environmental Protection agency relating to repeople of the Clean Power Plan and so forth. Mr. Cardin madam president . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin i know of no further debate. The presiding officer is there further debate . If not, the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Those opposed no. It appears the ayes have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report. The clerk Senate Joint Resolution 534 providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States code of the rules submitted by the Environmental Protection agency relating to repeal of the Clean Power Plan and so forth. The presiding officer under the previous order, the time until noon is equally divided. Mr. Cardin madam president . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin madam president , i want to comment on as the senior senator from maryland on the comments of leader schumer and the great hoss we had that we learned about loss we had that we learned about early this morning in the death of Elijah Cummings. I found out this information as i awoik this morning. Its a sad day for baltimore, for maryland, and for our country. Two days ago i had a chance to talk to congressman cummings wife to inquire as to how the congressman was doing. She explained to me that he was still in the hospital but he was using every ounce of energy he had to carry out his responsibilities as chairman of the Oversight Committee and as a member of the house of representatives. We all know that he used his energy every day on behalf of the people he represented. Our nation has lost one of the great champions for social justice. What a powerful voice he was for those whose voices otherwise would not have been heard. Its a great loss. Its a great loss for the people of baltimore. His record of accomplishment on behalf of our city and our region is well known. And its a personal loss for me. I first got to know Elijah Cummings when he was elected to the maryland general assembly. I was speaker of the house. I recognized that here was a person coming in with incredible talent. Gave him an opportunity to use that talent and he used it so effectively on behalf of the people of his district as a member of the maryland general assembly. Congressman cummings and i have a lot in common. We both attended the same Public High School in Baltimore City, Baltimore City college high school. Different years. He also graduated the university of Maryland Law School and i graduated from the university of Maryland Law School. We served together in the maryland general assembly. We served together in the house of representatives. God gave him the talent to communicate like no one ive heard. Incredible passion in his voice. I had the opportunity to see firsthand what he was able to accomplish on behalf of the people. What a legacy. He used every moment. He achieved high position of chairman of the Oversight Committee but never lost his sense of purpose for the people he represented. He went home to baltimore every night. You could see him in the Community Every day, at schools, at church. He never lost the passion for the people that he represented. And what a legacy he has left for all of us. We cant fill the void thats been created by congressman cummings passing, but all of us need to step up and help carry out that legacy of public service. Terrible loss for the people of our community. A terrible loss for our nation. Our prayers go out to Maya Rockeymoore cummings and his family in this incredible difficult time and well commit ourselves to carry on the legacy of a great american, our friend Elijah Cummings. With that i would yield the floor. Mr. Thune madam president . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Thune madam president , before i begin, i too, want to join with my colleagues who have preceded me and just say how sad i was to hear of the death of Elijah Cummings. We joined the house together. He got here a little before i did in a special election in 1996. I came in january of 1997. But i always admired his fire, his dedication. He was a fierce advocate for his constituents and for the causes that he believed in. And the house will be a lesser place for his absence. And so our prayers are with his family and all those who had the opportunity to know him, his constituents, those he represented in baltimore and the state of maryland who are going to mourn his loss today and miss his presence for many, many days in the future. Madam president , farmers and ranchers have gotten some good news on the trade front in recent weeks with the signing of a trade deal with japan. U. S. Farmers depend on access to the japanese market. Its the fourth largest market for u. S. Agricultural producers. And this agreement will remove barriers to the sale of a variety of products, from cheese to sweet corn to beef, pork, and wheat. But while this is very good news for farmers and ranchers, we have a lot more work to do on the trade front to help our ag community and to increase demand for american Agricultural Products around the world. And we should start by passing the United Statesmexicocanada Free Trade Agreement. Canada and mexico are the number one and number two markets for american Agricultural Products and preserving and expanding access to these markets is key to improving the Economic Outlook for americas farmers. Over a year ago the administration finished negotiating a strong deal with these countries that will help boost our struggling agricultural economy. To start with, United Statesmexicocanada agreement will provide farmers with certainty about what these important markets are going to look like Going Forward. One of the Biggest Challenges facing farmers on the trade front right now is the uncertainty about what markets around the world are going to look like. The United Statesmexicocanada agreement will give farmers and ranchers clarity about what trade is going to look like with these two key trading partners. In addition to providing certainty and preserving Market Access for American Farmers and ranchers, the United Statesmexicocanada agreement makes a number of improvements to the status quo. Of particular interest to south dakota are the agreements dairy provisions. If you drive the i29 Corridor North of brookings, south dakota, you can see firsthand the major dairy expansion south dakota has experienced over the past several years. The United Statesmexicocanada agreement will preserve u. S. Dairy farmers role as a key dairy supplier to mexico and it will substantially expand Market Access in canada. The u. S. Trade commission estimates the agreement will boost u. S. Dairy exports by more than 277 million. The agreement will also expand Market Access for u. S. Poultry and egg producers. It will make it easier for producers to export wheat to canada. And much more. Madam president , ive just focused on the benefits for farmers. In fact, the United Statesmexicocanada agreement will benefit almost every sector of our economy from the Automobile Industry to digital trade to ecommerce. It will create 176,000 jobs. And it will raise wages for workers. So given the major benefits not only for farmers but for the economy as a whole, why hasnt Congress Passed some agreement yet . Well, thats a good question, madam president. The answer is really quite simple. By law the house of representatives has to take up the agreement first. And the house has unfortunately been more focused on political theater of late than on collaborating on measures that would actually help American Families. And unfortunately it doesnt look like thats going to change. I heard the democrat leader down here earlier, madam president , you know, sort of attacking the Current Administration for not doing enough on this or that. The fact of the matter is if you look at the Economic Statistics over the past couple of years, theyre pretty remarkable. Unemployment is at a historically low rate, 3. 5 . Those are numbers we havent seen in a really, really long time. About 50 years, as a matter of fact. The number of jobs that have been created since the president took office is about 6. 4 million jobs. And in fact a very important data point, the number of people looking for work up against, juxtaposed against the number of jobs opened in our economy, for the 17th month in a row, we have more Jobs Available, about 7. 3 million Jobs Available than those people looking for work, about 5. 9 million people. That is a historically, sort of unprecedented, if you will, statistic. So you look at the overall economy, things are in the right place. Theyre moving in the right direction. Wages are up, the highest level in a decade. The American Peoples pocketbooks, the things that they care about, the things that they talk about over the Kitchen Table in terms of their wages, their jobs, their prospects, their certainty about the future, those things have all improved over the past couple of years because of the policies that this administration has put in place coupled with the work that this congress has done to try and create conditions that are favorable to economic growth. And so what does that mean . Well, its tax policy. Weve cut tax rates for individuals and families. We cut tax rates for Small Businesses who are trying to expand. We allowed them to accelerate their cost recovery, both key incentives when it comes to investment and expansion. And weve seen the results of that. Weve seen regulatory changes made by the administration. In some cases cooperating and coupled with steps that weve taken here in the congress that have lessened the burden for businesses that are trying to invest and grow and expand and create more jobs. And if you look at the energy changes, energy policy, weve become energy independent, something a decade ago or two decades ago nobody ever anticipated was possible. We as a nation are actually an exporter of energy, a remarkable change over a short period of time. And i would argue, madam president , largely due to changes in policy that have enabled an encouraged that kind of investment in energy, regulatory changes that have lessened the Regulatory Burden and made it less expensive and less difficult to create jobs in this country rather than more expensive and more difficult which is what we typically saw in the past administration. And lower the tax burden in a way that provides incentives for people to invest and to grow their companies and to pay better wages and add jobs. Those are the types of policy changes that have been made that have resulted in the Economic Data and statistics that were looking at today. And theyre not just data and statistics. Theyre actually being felt by people across this country. And so it begs the question as to why then another step that we could take on that road to economic progress hasnt been taken yet. And that is why have we now, 320 days later after the president signed the United Statesmexicocanada Free Trade Agreement has that not been taken up and passed by the house of representatives. Madam president , i would argue that if they would take that up, send it to the senate, we would vote on it here. We would pass it. We would send it to the president. He would sign it into law and farmers and ranchers in places like south dak and other agricultural states across this country would get the benefit from that. Its not just farmers and ranchers. Its every sector of our economy. Its manufacturing, digital. There are benefits in this trade deal that translate into a stronger, more robust economy that will keep this expansion Going Forward and continue to create these goodpaying jobs and higher wages and create the better standard of living and quality of life for people in this country. The reason it hasnt moved is because its up to the house of representatives. They have ball control on n. The speaker of the house can move this whenever they wants to. What theyre trying to do now is renegotiate the deal all over again. And unfortunately theyre very much obsessed at the moment with other types of activities in the house. If you look at whats happening over there right now, it doesnt look like thats going to change any time soon. With even the speaker of the house joining the far lefts now impeachment crusade, i dont think its likely, madam president , that democrats are going to wake up one morning and decide that they should spend less time on partisan politics and more time working with republicans to pass real sliewses for the American Real solutions for the American People. But i do hope that they wont destroy this trade agreement. There are thousands of farmers in my state of south dakota and around the country who are waiting for the relief that the United Statesmexicocanada Free Trade Agreement would bring. And so irrespective of what the distractions are in the house of representatives at the moment and much of the partisan rush toward impeachment thats under way there, i hope that they can figure out a way to multitask and will do what they should have done a long time ago, and that is to pick up this free trade deal, pass it through the house of representatives, send it to the United States senate where we can pass it and send it to the president where it can be signed into law and the American People can continue to see the benefits of policies that are good for this economy, that will create more growth in our economy, faster growth in our economy, better paying jobs, and a better quality of living for people not just in south dakota but all across america. Madam president , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso thank you, madam president. Madam president , i come to the floor to discuss the current partisan blockade and it is a blockade of Critical Military funding for our troops at home and abroad. Last month, Senate Democrats blocked a key vote on the defense spending bill. We need to pass this bill to fully fund the defense department. By blocking the bill, democrats are denying americas troops the pay raises that they have earned and that they deserve. To add insult to injury, both earts in both houses agree, agreed a couple of months ago to give the troops this raise. We did it more than two months ago. In fact, it was part of the bipartisan budget deal that was signed in august. By moving the defense spending bill, democrats have been refusing to allow this to move. Republicans have moved it. We are keeping our promises to our allvolunteer american force. Still, democrats have broken their promise to the troops. Why on earth would democrats want to play political games with the paychecks of our troops . Under the harshest conditions, these brave men and women defend our cherished freedoms 365 days a year. Americans serve our Service Members, our Service Members. They help keep us safe. They keep us strong. They keep us as a nation prosperous. Without a question, they deserve our full support, and that support should be bipartisan. Why it isnt right now is beyond me. Recently, i had the privilege of visiting wyoming troops, our wyoming national guard. We have a very large deployment. Our largest in ten years. They are serving in kuwait, they are serving in the united arab emirates, they are serving in kosovo. We have troop members serving as well in afghanistan. We have about 1,500 members of the wyoming national guard. Right now, about 400 of them are serving overseas. Theyre from towns like casper, cheyenne, gurnscy, laramie, sheridan, brothers from sheridan, brothers from casper. I met with all of them. Some 370 guard members serving in afghanistan, the middle east, europe. It is our largest deployment in a decade. And i was honored to spend time with these dedicated Service Members from my home state. I visited the 115th Field Artillery brigade forward. Its in the united arab emirates. Its up in the desert across from the straits of hormuz. From there i traveled to kuwait to meet with the second battalion, the 2300, the field army artillery. My fatherinlaw, bob brown, was a member of this group during korea. He had also served in world war ii, as i know, mr. President , your father was part of the dday invasion. I finished visiting the troops in kosovo. The first c company, first battalion, 297th infantry regiment in kosovo up near the serbian border. In service to our country, these soldiers now find themselves far from home, and we owe it to them to give them the raise that they have earned and that they deserve. You know, before i left, i gave every one of our soldiers a challenge coin. Its a military for me as a senator, but its something i have learned about through the military. Its something you give to somebody for camaraderie, a job well done. The coin shows the wyoming cowboy, our iconic cowboy sitting on a bucking bronco. And i give it to each one of them, saying youre from wyoming, youre a cowboy, and cowboys never quit and cowboys never complain, and neither will the United States military. So when it comes to a raise, they are not quitting, they are not complaining. It seems to me the democrats have quit. The democrats have gone back on their word to approve the pay raise that they approved a couple of months ago and now are blocking us moving forward with this piece of legislation. You know, the troops i met, they embody the cowboy spirit. They love to see you. They dont need to see you for long because they have a lot to do because theyre working seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They want to talk about whats happening at home. They want to talk about wyoming football. They wanted to talk about the hunting season. They wanted to talk about the weather at home where we have already had snow. And the day i was in one of the locations, it was 108 degrees, and the heat index was higher than that. They are, of course, in full uniform. They are there doing the job of keeping us safe and keeping us free, and they deserve the pay raise that they have earned. Theyre on the front lines. Theyre defending our freedoms. Theyre doing it every day. Over meals. I had a meal with each. You see it here right now visiting with these men and women. Its a time for camaraderie. We talked about the challenges that theyre facing overseas. I toured each of their bases. They know that the world have a very world is a very dangerous place in which they are living and in which they are serving. They know what is happening in the threats to iran, which to this group was only a little over 100 miles away, across the straits of hormuz. But clearly, the best way to protect americans at home is to keep up the pressure on our enemies abroad. Our presence there is restraining evil in the region. Thats why our troops need our full support, and they need it right now and shouldnt be placed at a point where they have to tolerate and wait for the democrats to come back to a table and come to an agreement that they had reached and made promises on earlier this year. With growing threats from abroad, the defense funding bill delivers Critical Resources that our military needs to keep us safe. One thing is crystal clear, mr. President , from my visit. The best way to honor our troops is to honor our commitments to them, so lets give these men and women in uniform the raise that they have earned, that they deserve, that they are entitled to. Let us give our troops the stateoftheart tools that they need to protect the American People in a dangerous world. It is time for democrats to lift their hold on this blockade that they have had on our defense funding bill. Then we must Work Together in a bipartisan way to complete the regular defense appropriations process and fully fund our military as our nation demands and our troops certainly deserve. Thank you, mr. President. And i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall mr. President , thank you very much for that recognition. Last month, both the senate and the house both the senate and the house of representatives resolved on a bipartisan basis to terminate the president s declaration of a National Emergency along our southern border. I was proud to lead the charge before this body to terminate that declaration, a declaration the president is using to raid congressionally appropriated military Construction Funds to build this border wall. Plain and simple, the president s Emergency Declaration is an end run around Congress Spending powers and the constitution. Last week, a Federal District judge has agreed and concluded the president s declaration is, quote, unlawful. Article 1, section 9 of the constitution could not be clearer. It reads, and i quote, no money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law. The founders Gave Congress the power to appropriate. The power of the purse. This is one of the most consequential powers. Congress has this power to make sure decisions about how public dollars are spent have widespread support and are not the product of an extreme minority, let alone one man. Our power to appropriate is part of the system of checks and balances built into our constitution. The founders made sure that the three branches of government exercise their own separate and limited powers, and they made sure that no one branch and no one person could exercise too much power, especially over the use of taxpayer money. The president s Emergency Declaration is an unconstitutional power grab. Congress has not fully funded his request for border wall funding. We set different budget priorities. Our priorities include the 3. 6 billion worth of 127 military Construction Projects across 23 states, three territories, and 20 countries, and the president canceled them. But this president will not accept Congress Judgment or our Constitutional Authority. His Emergency Declaration is an exercise of power that is just not his under the constitution. But our system of checks and balances only works if each branch has the will to check the other branch if there is encroachment, and weve seen some good bipartisan pushback, but this is the point where we need more of that. Its up to congress, the legislative branch, to guard our Constitutional Authority and to exercise the will to do so. The president has now vetoed congress resolution, and its up to this body to assert our Constitutional Authority and override that veto. Not only is it a fundamental constitutional principle at stake, the president s Emergency Declaration has reallife impacts, impacts to our National Security and impacts to the 23 states whose projects are now gone. My home state of new mexico is one of those 23 states. Were home to two military bases that will be hit by the president s raid on military Construction Projects to fund his wall. Scuttled is an 85 million project at who will hol Oman Air Force base that will improve Pilot Training facilities that are aging, have sinkholes, and bat infestation. Training our military to pilot drones is Mission Critical in this day and age. The air force is battling a shortage of these pilots. At White Sands Missile range, a 40 million project designed to replace an aging and firedamaged Information Systems facility has been cut. This project was to prepare the range to take on the next generation of missile and weapons testing, including future hypersonic testing. 22 other states are losing military Construction Projects from alabama to arizona, North Carolina to texas, and maine to florida. In utah, the air force has sought a new control center at Hill Air Force base to replace, quote, structurally deficient, dilapidated world war iiera warehouses for mission control. In louisiana, the Air National Guard sought to replace an aircraft parking ramp in a new orleans facility that exposes the public to a, quote, unacceptable risk of being impacted by an explosive accident. In indiana, army Service Members have worked in violation of Safety Standards for handling explosives and need Additional Space for munitions. In kentucky, the military seeks to repair, and i quote here, substandard, deficient, inadequate, and undersized facilities at a middle school at Fort Campbell that impairs the Overall Education Program for the children of Service Members. But, mr. President , not only is new mexico one of the states hit by the president canceling important military Construction Projects, we are one of four states that borders mexico. We are ground zero for the president s border wall, and the havoc it will wreak on our communities, our way of life, local economies, landowners, and the environment. New mexico and mexico share a 180mile border. This border passes through three counties donyana, luna, and nidalgo that are home to 11 of our states population. A majority of the population in those counties is hispanic. We have vibrant communities along the border and near the border, including our second largest city, las cruces, 45 minutes from mexico. We have two ports of entry, in columbus and santa teresa that are bustling with commerce and International Trade and hundreds who cross the border daily to visit family and friends to go to school and to shop. I i know our border communities. I could tell you for a fact, there is no justification for the diversion of military Construction Funding away from our troops and to this wall. Now, i support smart Border Security and have voted many times to fund smart investments. New mexico knows what real Border Security is wellfunded, welltrained, adequate resources, mobile assets, surveillance technology, combined with wellstaffed ports of entry that welcome commerce, visitors and also Asylum Seekers seeking refuge from horrific persecution. But the president s wall at upwards of 25 million per mile is not a smart investment. Its antiquated, its not designed for todays challenges. This wasteful approach contaft to the sound investment we made in the columbus port of entry. Commerce, personal vehicle traffic, and foot traffic have increased exponentiallloy over the years. Customs and Border Protection needed nor secure facilities. We pushed to expand and update this new mexico port. For 90 million, we greatly enhanced Border Security and added to economic growth. Now, thats a wise investment of taxpayer dollars. In new mexico, were concerned about the land grab under way by this administration. They are pushing to expropriate private lands from the president s wall for the president s wall, and there are lots of landowners who dont want their lands cut in half or made unusable. We cant get answers from the administration about what theyre doing, and so senator heinrich and i, along with senator schumer and senator durbin, requested the Government Accountability office to investigate the number of citizens who could have their land seized, the costs of property aquestion decision and the time it will acquisition and the time it will take. Im pleased the g. A. O. Has opened an inquiry. Not only is there concern the Trump Administration will skirt Eminent Domain laws, there is a real threat that environmental laws will be tossed out the window in the administrations rush to fulfill the president s Campaign Promise to build 500 miles of wall. The wall would run through hundreds of miles of untouched, pristine lands that are home to wildlife like antelope, deer, havalina. The wall will tear up these walls, cause erosion and flooding and cut off migratory paths for wildlife. The department of interior is set to transfer 500 acres of lands in new mexico, arizona, and california to the army for the president s wall. 213 of those acres are in my state. The department of interior is supposed to protect our natural resources, not endanger them with a border wall that will compromise their ecological value, destroy has been at that time, connectivity, and harm wildlife. The president s wall and his divisive rhetoric towards immigrants is deeply offensive to new mexicans. We have strong family, cultural, and economic ties to mexico. We are a proud multicultural state. Our diversity does not divide us, it defines us. It is our strength. Mr. President , this body holds the power of the purse, not the president. Now is the time to affirm this constitutional power and affirm the appropriations decisions we have made for our own states and the nation. We should override the president s veto and make sure that legitimate National Security interests are protected by seeing that the 127 military Construction Projects go forward on schedule. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Blunt mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Blunt mr. President , the next vote, the vote well take in less than an hour, is a vote that would exercise the Congressional Review Act, which im a supporter of, the idea that we should use the congressional review is a a good thing for us to look at what any administration does and determine if thats the right way to go. Today i certainly intend to vote to maintain the position that the administration has had on the Affordable Clean Energy rule. This is a rule that will have very positive impact on our state, just like the rule it replaces would have had very negative impact. Were in the top five coalusing states for energy in our state. What the Obama Administrations rule would have do the Massive Energy regulations would have imposed billions of dollars in Compliance Costs that would have been passed along every single time that someone harvested a crop, flipped on a light switch, shops for groceries or walks into the door at work. Under the obamaera rules, families would have faced doubledigit utility price increases and in fact the average missourians utility rate would have doubled in Something Like a decade. This would put that rule a vote for this Congressional Review Act would put that rule into effect as opposed to the rule it replaces. All these rules always have good titles. This the current rule, the rule that the Trump Administration has put into place, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, would replace the clean power rule, and thats significant. They both propose to do the same thing. One says theyll have clean power. The other one says itll have clean energy. The difference is in the title is actually the difference in effect, which is one proposes Affordable Clean Energy. Doesnt seem like a very tough decision. You want Affordable Clean Energy or clean energy that in my view was clearly not affordable. What the new rule would do is look at individual sources of energy and decide from a selection of things that can be done what to do h. To be done at he is what to be done at those individual sources. I was on the floor many times talking about this rule prior to the 2016 elections. It had been held in abeyance by courts that said, no, it went too far. The administration didnt have the ability to do what they were trying to do. When i was on the floor all those times talking about what this rule would do to our state and our economy and similar things all over the country, what i said was, if you next time you write your utility check, just write it out of your checkbook again because within a decade, thats exactly what youd be doing. Awed he be paying youd be paling twice as much in youd be paying twice as much in missouri than what youre paying right knox cost would have gone up and happened quickly. Thankfully, President Trump and the administration, with the support frankly i believe today of Senate Republicans will have charted a new course resulting in huge strides toward American Energy independence. Were doing that on other fronts. In fact, september and august were the first two months in 37 years that we had been a net exporter of energy, not an importer of energy. Energy selfsufficiency is important and is particularly important when you really have an alloftheabove strategy, from oil, from natural gas, from nuclear, from wind, from solar. All of those things are now part of a portfolio of energy that needs to grow but doesnt need to grow in a time that cripples American Families when they try to pay their bills or frankly when they try to get a job. To become a net exporter of energy, weve done all those things while we were still cutting emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions in the Power Industry are down 28 since 0 2005. Without the Clean Power Plan ever having gong into effect. The e. P. A. s Affordable Clean Energy rule strikes exactly the right ball, in my view, and i believe today in the view of a majority of my colleague, between reducing emissions and ensuring that americans can still continue to have access to reliable, Affordable Energy. You know, many families, the energy costs is one of the big things they have to think about when they think about their budget. For many families, theres not much of a budget to think about. You pay whatever youre paying for your housing and then you pay your utility built and then you see whats left over. The luxury of actually getting to have a technical budget about how youre going to do all the things your family would like to do doesnt happen all too often now. It would happen much less often if the utility bill is twice what it is today. The action we take here today supporting the Affordable Energy rule and walking away from the clean power rule will make a difference for those families. It makes a difference in the utility bill at home and it makes a difference in the utility bill at work. Lots of jobs just simply dont work at twice todays utility bill. It was a foolish rule. Its been properly replaced with a rule that makes sense. I urge my colleagues to vote to maintain the rule that were headed to rather than the one that were running away from. And with that, id yield the floor. Mrs. Murray mr. President , i ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Murray thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i come to the floor today because our nation is at a crossroads that strikes at the heart of our democracy the increasingly outrageous actions of this president and his administration have brought us to this moment. Where we as a nation must make a decision about who we are, what we stand for, and what kind of behavior we will allow at the highest levels of our government. And as we continue down this road paved by the president s reckless actions and his complete disregard for our nations laws and democratic norms, i want to take a moment to step back and talk about how we got here and how much is truly at stake for our country and our democracy if we dont get this right. Lets start by considering what we know for sure. The president has repeatedly sought foreign interference in our elections, which we should all find appalling. We know President Trump and his Associates President president n government to meddle in our democratic process, pushing them to launch an investigation without basis into the president s political opponents in an effort to help his election. We know that he has made overtures to china out in the open to do the same. And this is important. We dont have to take anyone elses word for it. We saw President Trumps call record with the ukrainian record, and weve all heard the president and his associates admit to their surrepetitious actions from their own lips on camera. These facts are indisputable and cant be spun. President trump and his circle of friends have been clear about their actions and their intentions, and it is clear they are unacceptable. But even more seriously, there are still many questions about the extent of President Trump and his associates actions and their potential impacts on our democracy. Question for which the American People undoubtedly deserve answers. Thats why the house was right to begin impeachment proceedings, to determine if President Trump has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and why months ago i, too, called on the house to open an inquiry to investigate the president s deeply distressing actions, because for me and for so many other people across the country this is not about partisan politics or any politics; this is about maintaining our nations security and defending the rule of law. It is about nothing less than the future of our democracy. Let me be clear. Because of President Trump, all of this is on the line, and thats how serious this is. And i have news for my republican colleagues. As much as youd like to stay silent on this, it is not an option. Our forefathers warned they warned us against the power of foreign interference to undermine the foundations of our democracy. That echoes as strongly as it did more than 200 years ago. As members of congress, as representatives of the American People, we took an oath to defend our nations security and our democracy. Thats why the constitution gives authority to congress and the immense responsibility to provide oversight of the president s actions. Based just as what we know, it would be a dereliction of duty for congress not to investigate the grave threats to our countrys safety and to our Democratic Institutions, and if President Trump and his administration have nothing to hide, they should stop obstructing. Let congress do its job and find the facts. Furthermore, if Congress Fails to investigate these issues, it would set on its own a dangerous new precedent, essentially green lighting this president s unethical behavior and his attacks against our Democratic Institutions for future generations of our nations leaders. Mr. President , thats a frightening notion. So now we are at a crossroads and we have to make a decision. And over the coming weeks the actions of the house and possibly each individual in this body will in large part determine which path we take. Will we allow foreign actors to interfere in our elections and undermine our security or not . Will we stand by and allow this president and perhaps future president s to ignore our constitution and mangle our democratic norms or not . Will we be a nation of laws or not . I believe this country is a country of laws, that our elections must be completely free from foreign interference and that every elected official should ensure these fundamental principles come before party or partisanship as this process moves forward. Mr. President , there are other priorities Congress Needs to focus on, important work we have to continue doing to secure our elections, which is all the more paramount given this president s actions, as well as efforts, of course, to Lower Health Care costs and address the Climate Crisis and the epidemic of gun violence and more. But we cannot ignore what President Trump and his associates have done and said and the impact their actions can have on our elections, our democracy, and the future of this country. Mr. President , i sat in this chamber as a juror in an impeachment trial before. It was a deeply serious undertaking and one each member took seriously before rendering a decision. That is the same seriousness that is required in this moment at this crossroads. If and when the house elects to accuse the president of an Impeachable Offense or offenses, the senate right here will host the trial, and as senators we will all serve as jurors. If and when that time comes, i know i will approach it seriously, and i deeply hope each of my colleagues will as well. Each of us will have to put aside every other consideration beyond the facts and focus solely on preserving the integrity of our democracy and upholding our solemn obligation to defend the constitution, and history will record where we all stand. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. There is very little question today that our democracy is under attack. The threat is not only from outside our country, but from within in the threat to our rule of law, our basic values, our democratic institution. From outside the country, that threat is reaffirmed by the Senate Intelligence committee which recently refused a bipartisan report offering a sobering warning, a fresh sign of interference by russia and other foreign actors in the upcoming election. The fact is that the lights are flashing red. The warning has come to us from multiple sources. Our Intelligence Community has warned us, the f. B. I. Has warned us, and our National Security professionals have warned us. And still the majority leader has refused to permit us a vote on commonsense measures that will better guarantee Election Security. We need to move forward on these measures that safeguard our democracy from outside interference, cyberattacks and social disinformation. And of course i have sponsored some of them, they are, many of them bipartisan. We can move forward with that effort. Even as we confront the challenge and the obligation, which we must do, in the ongoing impeachment proceeding. What saddens and angers me is that in the midst of this crisis and the threat from outside our nation from russia and other countries our commander in chief has essentially refused to believe that threat exists, has in fact and in effect denied that there is any threat. Thats what happened when the president used the power and authority of the oval office to pressure a foreign leader, president zelensky of ukraine, to investigate a political opponent, joe biden. This action is not only a breach of his oath of office and his constitutional duty, it is unpatriotic, immoral, and criminal, and it is a threat to our National Security because, again, it invites interference. In fact, it pressures interference in our democracy. It validates and strengthens vladimir putin, not this nation. And thats why the impeachment inquiry is being qucted by the is being conducted by the house and why its so important. Impeachment is not a remedy that we take lightly or happily. Its a serious lastresort remedy for the worst abuses of power and an unchecked rogue president who cannot be held accountable in any other way. But the president has given us no choice. He may not be upholding his oath of office, but we must uphold ours. And the most powerful proof here comes from the words of the president himself in that july 25 conversation. There is no member of this body who is unfamiliar with those records inviting, soliciting, in fact extorting the president of a foreign nation to interfere in our democracy. And he involved officials at the highest level who joined in trying to cover it up. We now have a whistleblower complaint as well as those call notes between President Trump and president zelensky that repeat the president s own words. And the transcript of that call is truly chilling, frightening almost beyond words when mr. Zen i ask mentioned that zelensky mentioned the ukraine was ready to buy more javelins from the United States for defense purposes, President Trump responded with, i would like you to do us a favor, though, a quote. I would like you to do us a favor, though. And the favor was interference in our election. That kind of invasion emboldens not only the president of ukraine, but every other autocrat and tyrant who might seek similarly to interfere. And let us remember what the founders feared most was exactly that kind of interference twhr it was from the imperial powers whom we had just fought and successfully won our freedom or dictators like vladimir putin, or other nations that will be emboldened to interfere. My republican silence my republican colleagues silence will not age well. Not only are they unwilling to stand up to this president s abuses and threats to our democracy, the majority leader has refused to put those bills on the floor. Outright refused to give us a vote on security legislation. My bill, the duty to report bill, would require campaigns, candidates, and family members to immediately report to the f. B. I. And federal Elections Commission any offers of illegal foreign assistance. It codifies into law what is already a moral duty and a patriotic duty. Base common sense basic common sense, the law already forbids soliciting during a campaign. This measure simply would require it to be reported. And i have told this body and have repeated it numerous times that director wray when he came before the Senate Judiciary committee has warned that the russians are still actively trying to interfere in our election, but President Trump has said if offered foreign assistance, quote, id take it. Congress must pass this duty to report act along with other commonsense measures that support Election Security. Not only can we do it while we are considering impeachment, we must do it because the impeachment offense in fact involves foreign interference that these Election Security measures would help to stop. Likewise, i want to mention gun violence protection. Senator graham and i, others in this body have worked hard over months on negotiating emergency Risk Protection order legislation. It could be passed along with background checks, and the two should go together. The ball is in the white houses court. The president has shifted ground one way and the other unpredictably and uncertainly. But i feel we can muster a consensus here. We can move forward even as we consider impeachment on a comprehensive set of measures that would help make america safer. My goal eventually is to save as many lives as possible as quickly as possible through those kinds of measures, including not only background checks made universal and election emergency Risk Protection order passed by states with the incentives that we would provide through this bill, but also a ban on assault weapons, safe storage in honor of ethan song, a young man killed in guilford, connecticut, because of improper storage and a gun that he and a friend were playing with. A ban on highcapacity magazines, a reversal of the sweetheart deal that gave the gun manufacturers near complete immunity. These commonsense measures can be done even as we consider impeachment. And likewise, to take another guarantee of our values and the rule of law, forced arbitration clauses cause harm to millions of americans every year. These clauses are often tucked into the fine print of lengthy consumer contracts and employer handbooks with workers and consumers having no meaningful choice but to consent to the terms. These forced arbitration clauses, like that of immunity to gun manufacturing, denies basic justice. It denies americans their day in court, and it denies public accountability. Consumers and workers are forced into unfair arbitration clauses where corporations can write the rules. They can write the rules, everything can be done in secret, and theres no meaningful judicial review. And in many cases these clauses are paired with provisions that block americans who have suffered similar harm from banding together in seeking accountability together in a class action lawsuit. At the start of this congress, 34 senators joined me in sponsoring the fair act. This bill would render invalid or unenforceable any arbitration agreement between workers or consumers and corporation that governs employment, civil rights, consumer or antitrust dispute. It has an exception for arbitration agreements that are the product of real collective bargaining agreements. It is hardly a radical proposal. Its a reform to give americans access to the Justice System again. And yet, senator mcconnell regrettably has blocked this bill and others from a vote. Senator mcconnell has said, quote, as long as im majority leader of the senate, i get to set the agenda, end quote. Meanwhile, corporations are cheating workers, consumers, children, families out of their day in court. We need to move forward on these measures gun violence protection, Election Security, the fair act. We can do it because america wants it. We will go back to our constituents in this next election, and my colleagues who will face them will be asked what have you done . We can action with real action if we come together and move forward. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from north dakota. A senator thank you, mr. President. I want to take a few minutes before the upcoming vote to express my strong opposition to what our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are doing with the Congressional Review Act resolution. Mr. Cramer they are asking americans to give up a Clean Energy Plan and replace it with the old obama era illegal, unconstitutional Clean Power Plan. Prior to being elected to congress, i spent nearly 10 years in north dakota as an Energy Regulator overseeing economical regulations in our state. I know something of this issue. For the American People, a fully implemented obama era Clean Power Plan would result in much higher electricity costs, less money in their pockets, fewer wellpaying jobs, and just a lot less freedom. Their plan reduces Household Spending power across the country by, mr. President , 79 billion. It would increase electricity prices in my state of north dakota by 43 , and it would cost over 125,000 jobs over the next decade. And perhaps one of the most disturbing things about the Clean Power Plan that was presented by the Obama Administration and one of the reasons it was deem unconstitutional and illegal is that in my state under the proposed rule, we had a target of co2 reductions of 7 , and in the classic bait and switch maneuver, the current rule increased it by 400 . 11 , while illegal was doable, but 45 was ridiculous. So make no mistake that right now here in the United States Senate Democrats are asking us to vote to eliminate good jobs, raise the cost of living, take more money out of the pockets of the American People, and, mr. President , for what . For what . The United States does not need an unconstitutional federal power grab like this one in order to lead the world in reducing our emissions. In fact, we already do. Emissions have been declining in the United States for nearly 50 years many we dont need to apologize for our action or inaction. In fact, we need to start honoring the innovators that have made these reductions possible in the first place. We should be encouraging them and incentivizing them to continue their work to have responsible Energy Reduction not just here in the United States but across the world. Mr. President , i often speak in the context of several issues about needing needing the to follow a federalist a federalist model, the cooperative federalism that our founders envisioned when they created the states. Thats a model of state control with p governors in charge, not president s. Under the umbrella, of course, of good federal oversight and, of course, some authority. But states need to have primacy. Put those closest to being in charge the authority and this model produces the best results nearly every time if not every time. The obama era Clean Power Plan is the opposite of that. Its a federal power grab that states rejected and, yes, the Supreme Court ruled a stay on. By stark contrast, the Affordable Clean Energy act rule put forward by the Trump Administration, the rule that democrats want to overturn today in favor of the unconstitutional plan that hurts the American People is a win for north dakota and for states across the country. It respects the law and restores the proper balance between states and the federal government. And it promotes energy security. Maybe even one could say energy dominance. Ace, as its called, gives states the flexibility to set their own emissions standards, focuseses on Energy Efficiency programs that individual power plants and incentivizes coal power plants, so we have the lowcost reliable electricity in the form of clean energy. Mr. President , this simple, responsible plan is what democrats find so abhorrent. With the vote today they are asking us to scrap the affordable clean rule, it raises electricity rates and does nothing substantial to reduce emissions. I applaud President Trump and the e. P. A. Administrator for including states and innovators in the discussions before making the rule. We cannot allow that to happen today and i encourage my colleagues to join me in voting no and i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen mr. President , i ask unanimous consent to speak before the vote. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mrs. Shaheen thank you. I rise today to express my outrage with President Trumps decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from northeast syria. This decision is dangerous, its premature, and its wholly inconsistent with what have been the facts on the ground in syria and the advice from everyone from our diplomats to our military advisors. In just one week President Trump has managed to undo five years of hardfought stability in northeast syria. Just one week ago over 10,000 isis fighters, including highvalue prisoners who targeted american victims were secured in prisons throughout northeast area. Today we face a very different picture. Several isis prisons are are already unmanned as a result of turkeys incursion, and its estimated that over 100 isis prisoners have been released already. We dont know what will happen in those other Detention Centers which have housed isis prisoners. One week ago a limited u. S. Troop presence of 1,000 special forces stabilized a population that was once terrorized by the Syrian Regime and later by isis. These forces secured a region of syria that controls over twothirds of syrias natural resources. And today american troops have either left or preparing to leave this area and the Syrian Regime is moving in. Russian troops have moved into u. S. Military bases in over 160,000 syrian civilians have fled their homes as a result of the spike in violence instigated by turkey. And it is so hard to watch those videos on television that show turkeyaffiliated fighters assassinating kurdish forces. Kurds with their hands tied behind their backs. I traveled to syria a year ago last summer. Lindsey graham and i saw first hand the work of the combined task force. We saw the work its partner forces, the Syrian Democratic forces were doing, and it was truly remarkable. Oh,s a owes a huge debt of gratitude to those who sacrificed over 10,000 of their own lives fighting isis so we didnt have to sacrifice our own, and because of this sacrifice, when we were in northeast syria last summer, we witnessed communities steadily recovering and rebuilding after three years under isis brutal occupation. And the widespread appreciation of the u. S. Presence along local multiethnic residents is a testament of the importance of our partnerships and willingness to lead in times of crisis. We saw as we were driving down the road, we saw kids flashing victory signs at our troops. When we were in the marketplace, we had people coming out, telling us how relieved they were that the United States was there helping to ensure that peace was being kept. We saw local governance taking place on the ground and it is incredibly difficult now to see images coming out of mambage and those other places we visited in northeast syria. Syrian regime has already moved troops back into this region and turkeys proxies seemingly undeterred continue to mo into continue to move into the city of mambage and they have posted videos of abandoned taxpayer funded bases. What is taking place in mambage and so many cities is an insult to the thousands of american Service Members who risked their lives to help stabilize that region to support the fight against isis, and it could have all been avoided. This really began in december of 2018 when the president said he planned to withdraw troops from syria. Thats after holding up for months stabilization dollars that could have been used to make it very clear that we were committed to the region and to ensuring that isis didnt rebuild there and that there was stability in northeastern syria, so make sure that the United States was at the table when russia and iran and assad moved in and carved up syria. Last month, the bipartisan Syrian Study Group are, which i helped to create, issued recommendations on the best way to move forward in syria. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent to enter that document into the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Shaheen the report said the u. S. Should make the most of its gain and hold this critical piece of land until a negotiated settlement is reached between all parties. Moreover, the report, which was bipartisan, that had representatives by congress and the administration, it said that withdrawing u. S. Troops would not make isis less likely to regroup or iran less likely to entrench itself. Mr. President , President Trumps illinformed and hasty decision will not only breathe new life into the terrorist groups, into isis, which is really just al qaeda by another name, it wont breathe it wont cedes americas hardfought gain, this will reroad u. S. credibility. It will cede americas hardfought gains. I wish there were way thats we could pursue, but i dont think we can put the genie back in the bottle. Hopefully we can look at ways to hold turkey and president erdogan accountable for his actions, and i certainly hope that President Trump will revoke his invitation to president erdogan to visit the United States. President erdogan needs to here about the opposition. And it makes no sense to extend hospitality and niceties during this crisis. Republicans and democrats must come together and ensure that the administration understands the consequences of these actions. We have to do more to ensure that such mistakes never happen again. Thank you, mr. President. I yield he the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. First, i ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks prior to the vote. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i rise today in strong opposition to the Congressional Review Act resolution put forward by the democrats and which we will be soon be voting. This would eliminate President Trumps Affordable Clean Energy rule. The president s rule is commonsense policy. It pockets our air, and it allows our economy to grow at the same time. The Affordable Clean Energy rule will replace the Obama Administrations socalled Clean Power Plan. The punishing plan would have damaged our economy, and what i have here is a map to go over some of that. It would have closed power plants, it would have put Energy Workers on unemployment, it would have reduced the reliability of our electricity, it would have increased energy bills for American Families and Small Businesses. The results would have been dramatic. Dramatic increases in electricity bills all across the country. The plan would have devastated communities, certainly in my home state of wiej, wyoming, raising electricity bills by 42 in the state of wyoming, but they would have gone up in every state. Wyoming is americas leading producer of coal. It supports thousands of goodpaying jobs all across the state. Across wyoming, the punishing power plan would have put hardworking men and women out of work. The rule was a massive roadblock for states. Instead of working collaboratively with state governments, it put the e. P. A. In the drivers seat of setting a National Energy policy. States would be told what energy