Socalled Affordable Care act has been collapsing under its own weight, democrats in the senate have been cherrypicking what few positive data points they can find and telling the American People that everything is fine. And that obamacare is working. Give me a break. Yet by no honest or reasonable measure is obamacare living up to the promises that were made at the time it was passed. And, as a result, the American People are saddled with a Health Care System that has been poorly designed and recklessly implemented. Sure it has made for partisan political theater for my colleagues to express shock and dismay at the current state of the health care debate. Im quite certain that the strategy has poll tested very well among the Democratic Base and the Senate Minority leader clearly has an elaborate Media Campaign in mind. But before they dig in berating republicans, i hope my democratic colleagues were able to come up with something to tell their constituents whose Health Care Costs have exploded as a result of obamacare. And im just mentioning a few things. I hope they have answers for their voters who are wondering why they only have one insurance option available to them, if they even have that. And, most importantly, i hope they have an explanation as to why theyve been more or less silent while the law they supported and still support has wreaked havoc on our nations Health Care System. Until they can answer these questions those questions and provide those explanations, my good friends should spare anyone within earshot of their lectures about whats currently happening in the senate. Finally, let me address the irony my democratic colleagues selective complaints. Some of them have selective history when it comes to obamacare. Weve heard colleagues talk about the number of hearings known in advance of obamacares passing. What we dont hear is that there was not a single hearing held in the senate on the obamacare reconciliation bill, which was an essential element that ensured passage of the Affordable Care act in the house. Weve heard our colleagues talk about the markup process in committee and the number of amendments that were filed and accepted. What we dont hear about is the fact that the bills passed in the Senate Help Committee were tossed aside so that the Health Care Bill could be rewritten behind closed doors in senator reids office, who was then the minority leader the Senate Majority leader, i think, of the senate. I final product was only made public a few days before the senate voted on it. The truth of the matter is, this Senate Committee included including the finance committee, have had literally dozens of hearings wherein the failings of obamacare, both the structure of the law and its implementation, have been thoroughly examined. Between all the relevant committees, there have been at least 66 health care hearings in the senate since obamacare became the Health Care Law of the land. More thank half of those more than half of those were in the finance committee. Committees have conducted countless oversight investigations and inquiries into these matters over the years. Mr. President , few matters in the history of our country have received as much of the senates attention as obamacare has received. Very few laws have been examined as extensively as the socalled Affordable Care act, which is anything but affordable. Obamacare is the very definition of wellcovered territory. The majority leader has made clear that members will have an opportunity to examine the forthcoming Health Care Bill, and i expect that to be the case. He has also made assurances that when the bill is debated on the floor, we will have a fair and open amendment process, as required under the rules. Theres really no reason for anyone to expect otherwise. Lets recall that when obamacare was passed, the democratic speaker of the house, with a plain face, stated that congress had to pass the bill in order for people to see what was in it. Lets also recall that a couple years later one of the chief architects of the socalled Affordable Care act bragged about the lack of transparency that surrounded its passage and said it was necessary to, in his words, take advantage of the, quote, stupidity of the american voter, unquote. Any argument that the process that resulted in obamacare was the picture of transparency and deliberation is so offbase that it would almost be humorous if the issue was something less important. As i said in Committee Last week, i want to welcome my democratic colleagues to the health care debate. Ever since obamacare was signed into law, democrats have more or less assumed that the debate was over, that all they had to do was keep telling the American People that everything was just fine, as if repetition alone would make it come true. Everyone is going to see the bill, and everyone is going to get their chance to say their piece about it. For now, i simply hope that my democratic colleagues will spare us their lectures, maybe look in the mirror when theyre ranting about the degradation of the processes and traditions of the senate. Mr. President , ive been around health care most of my 41 years in the senate. A lot of the Health Care Bills that work in this country have my name on them. This is one of the worst bills ive seen in all my time in the United States senate. And if i were a democrat, i wouldnt be claiming success because of that bill. Its a pathetic piece of legislation. Its going to put this country down and make health care not available for everybody but make everybody have the worst Health Care System they could possibly have. Now, its one thing to cherrypick a few things that the health care can help with, but it would be pretty totally stupid bill if it didnt have something in it that was good. If you look at the overall bill and you look at the overall cost to america and you look at what its doing to america and you look at how the medical profession is starting to really wonder if they want to be in the profession anymore, you cant do all this and look at all these things without saying, what in the heck have we done here . Are we so stupid that we believe the federal government is the last answer to everything . Well, well see. I think some people around here are that stupid. And, frankly, i dont want to name anybody and i hope im wrong, but ive been around here 41 years and ive seen a lost stupidity around this place, and you have to go a long way to find anything worse than the socalled, quote, affordable, unquote, Health Care Bill. This is a piece of legislation thats going to wreck our country, if we dont, as democrats and republicans, get together and reform t this is an opportunity for my friends on the democratic side, as well as the republican side, to see what we can do about this and to get thing strainted out. This is the straightened out. This is the greatest country in the world. Theres nobody in this country that should go without basic health care. When we have terrible cases like my distinguished colleague from connecticut has mentioned, yes, we want to make sure that people who suffer like that are taken care of. And there are some on our side that could be a little more humane and compassionate. But theres some on the other side, too, who could be a little more humane and compassionate, and maybe a little more honest when they talk about this bill. Mr. President , were a long way from solving the Health Care Problems of this country. And if we go down this road any further, well be even a longer way from solving these problems, and we may very well bankrupt the american economy, which will then really show us how bad we are with regard to health care in this country. My friends on the other side never ask, wheres the money going to come from . Whos going to pay for this . Whos going to help us to get through this . Were just going to throw money at it and were 100 trillion in unfunded liability in this country. 20 trillion in national debt. I mean, thats astounding. Whos going to pay for it . And especially when it doesnt work any better than this. Now, i spent some of my prior life in medical malpractice work defending doctors and hospitals and Health Care Providers, and some of that was really astounding to me because some of those cases were just brought just to get the defense costs. Which were always pretty high because those cases were very expensive to defend. Most of them were not good cas cases. But once they got to the court, if they had any kind of basis at all but even if they were dismissed, it still cost a lot of money. All i can say is theres a lot wrong with our Health Care System in this country, but its still the best Health Care System in the world. And its about to go down if we dont get together as republicans and democrats and straighten this mess out. We can make our political points all we want to and both sides have been right on some occasions and both sides have been wrong on some things. But were wrong if we think the Current System is going to work, and we ought to be working to the as republicans and democrats or democrats and republicans to straighten it out. Mr. President , with that, id yield the floor. Mr. Peters mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from michigan. Mr. Peters mr. President , i rise today with the understanding that the senate will be voting on a republican Health Care Bill next week. A bill that has been written entirely behind closed doors. The bill has been hidden from the American People, the press, and, as far as i can tell, almost every senator. I have not been allowed to see it and near the have any of my democratic and neither have any of my democratic colleagues. I was elected in 2014 during the same election that republicans gained the majority. I remember a pledge by their leadership that the senate would return to regular order. Well, regular order means public hearings on legislation. Regular order means committees have a chance to gather input from expert witnesses, consider a policys potential impact, and amend bills before they come to the floor. Prior to enacting obamacare, the Senate Finance and help committees held nearly 100 hearings, round tables, and wa walkthroughs on health reform. In the house, where i served at the time, there were over 69 bipartisan markups that included an opportunity for our republican colleagues to offer input and amendments in the bill. Dozens of republican amendments were adopted during the House Committee markup of the Affordable Care act. That, mr. President , is an open process. What we are seeing now is a bill drafted entirely in secrecy and hidden behind closed doors. But why . Is it because republicans know that this bill is not a good deal for the American People . You could call the recent process a lot of things, but you cant call it open and you cant call it regular order. Supposedly the bill has been assembled by a working group of 13 of my republican colleagues, but just yesterday just yesterday one of these members complained that he had not yet seen a draft. In fact, he went on to say this is a republican colleague of mine on this work group and i quote it has become increasingly apparent in the last few days even though we thought we were going through a change in writing the bill within this working group, its not being written by us. Its apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the Republican Leadership in the senate. This quote makes it clear that this working group is, well, its not working. When senators in the Majority Party are unable to tell you who is writing the bill, let alone what is in the bill, we have a problem. While we clearly have a problem with the secretive rushed process, this process is a symptom, not the disease. The underlying disease is that this bill which we reportedly will see tomorrow, is almost certainly terrible for the American People. There are two explanations for keeping a product under wraps. Either you want to build excitement for it or youre worried about the weaknesses that would be exposed by the daylight. And i dont believe for a moment that republicans are trying to build excitement by hiding this bill. This bill is not next years model of the ford mustang or chevy camaro waiting to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show to great fanfare. This bill is like a disaster that will negatively impact millions of americans. This bill is the iceberg that sunk the titanic, and Republican Leadership have turned off the ships radio and theyre furiously shoveling coal into the engines. While senate moves full steam ahead to vote next week on a bill that we havent even seen yet, im worried that my colleagues across the aisle, along with too Many Political commentators and pundits, are simply asking the wrong questions. They are asking, will moderate republicans vote for it . Will the Tea Party Wing support it . Will it take sweetheart deals to get to the 51 votes . Well, folks, this is not a game. This is not about if and how the majority can count to 51 votes and solve their political problems with a farright wing base of their party. This is about peoples lives. There are serious policy questions that we need to ask, and the American People deserve to have answers. Questions like what are your policy goals here . How do you think this will help people afford Quality Insurance coverage . What will the bill do for tens of millions of americans who gained Health Care Coverage in recent years . What will the bill do for patients with preexisting conditions . What will the bill do for michiganders covered under the successful Cover Michigan program. What will the bill do for Small Businesses and employees . And what will the bill do for seniors who need affordable longterm care options . What will the bill do for individuals battling opioid addiction . These are questions that im asking along with all of my democratic colleagues. I serve on the permanent subcommittee on investigations, and just a few weeks ago we held a hearing on opioid abuse and how the epidemic is simply ravaging our nation. I had the opportunity to ask to speak with a police chief from a Southern Border State in ohio. He was very clear that if Medicaid Expansion were to go away, as we saw in the house bill, and expect to see in the senate bill, it will make it much more difficult for local Police Departments to tackle this crisis because of dramatically scaledback availability of addiction treatment. I spoke with a corner, a medical doctor and addiction expert on the panel as well. These are professionals dealing with a Public Health crisis each and every day. Not people with political agendas. And they all agree, Medicaid Expansion is critical to combatting addiction, improving Public Health and helping individuals suffering from addiction have the opportunity to be productive citizens and have a Second Chance at life. The bottom line is that this bill, this secretive, rushed bill that well supposedly see tomorrow, will move us backwards and Rip Health Care away from millions of americans. And when you take Health Coverage away from people, people will die. As a member of the house, i voted for the Affordable Care act because i knew at the end of the day it would save peoples lives. As elected officials and public servants, there are only a handful of votes that we cast that are literally about life and death. And next week we will see one of those votes. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to read the bill whenever we get it, and then talk to doctors, patients, families, clinics and hospitals in their state. I also urge my colleagues to vote no next week and start a truly bipartisan process that keeps what works, fixes what doesnt, but most importantly helps all americans afford Quality Health care in their communities. I stand here ready and willing to be a partner in the bipartisan process and to work with my republican colleagues to improve our Health Care System. Show us and the American People you are serious about health reform. Lets have an open and honest process and pass a bill that is genuinely in the best interest of the American People. Mr. President , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Whitehouse mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse thank you, mr. President. Are we presently in a quorum call . The presiding officer yes. Mr. Whitehouse i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse thank you very much, mr. President. As you know, i come weekly to the senate whenever were in session to give my time to wake up speech, talking about Climate Change and quite often talking about the climate Denial Campaign that prevents us from taking action, and quite often talking about the Campaign Finance problems in our country that make climate denial effective. Here in congress, it is not hard to connect the dots from Campaign Finance to climate denial. The Supreme Court republican majoritys disastrous Citizens United decision was requested by the fossil fuel industry, and the fossil fuel industry took instant advantage of it, almost like they saw it coming. The industry and its front groups instantly used their new power conferred by Citizens United to come after politicians , republicans in particular ask bob engliss who backed responsible climate policies. Citizens united created new american dark money emperors, and no surprise, the new emperors love their new political power. Their first payoff was that republicans in congress fled from any legislative action on Climate Change. Before Citizens United, there were multiple bipartisan climate bills year after year, when i was here, 2007, 2008, 2009, bipartisan climate bills to the left of you, bipartisan climate bills to the right of you. Bipartisan climate bills cropping up all over. Today we watch our republican president trying to undo curbs on carbon emissions. And to the cheers of republicans in congress, withdrawing United States from the historic paris agreement. We join syria and nicarauga as the only nations to reject this common cause. That, my friends, is the heavy hand of fossil fuel influence, driving us into isolation and abdication of american leadership. And of course right now no republican can safely sponsor any bill to limit Carbon Dioxide emissions, and so none do. Very different than before the Citizens United decision in january of 2010. That changed everything. When those five republican justices opened up unlimited political spending to the big Republican Special interests, that unlimited political spending was inevitably going to find dark money channels. Dark money channels hide the identity of the political donor. So big special interests can pollute our politics with their money with seemingly clean hands the climate denial scheme of the fossil fuel cartel is powered politically by dark money, whether through the lure of dark money coming in for you in a political race or the threat of dark money coming in against you in a political race, dark money powers climate denial. Well, we just learned something new about dark money. Chairman graham and i held hearings in our judiciary subcommittee on crime and terrorism to look at russias interference in the recent 2016 election and what it portends for elections to come. Our witnesses warned us that russia has strategically manipulated politics in europe for decades. They started working the former soviet Union Countries and they expanded to where theyre manipulating politics in france, in germany, in holland, in england, all over europe. And the witnesses warned us that we in america must be prepared for that. They jumped the atlantic to manipulate the 2016 elections, and theyre not going away. One identified weakness of the United States against russian influence was this dark money in our politics. Why is that . Well, its obvious. Once you allow dark money in, dark is dark. Cash from Vladimir Putin is no more traceable than cash from charles and david koch. One witness told us, a former Republican National security official i quote him here it is critical that we effectively enforce the Campaign Finance laws that would prevent this type of financial influence by foreign actors. Critical that we effectively enforce the Campaign Finance laws against foreign influence by foreign actors. The two best studies of russian influence in western europe in their elections and in their politics are the kremlin playbook by csis, the center for Strategic International studies, and the kremlins trojan horse by the atlantic council. Both of them report that russia takes advantage of nontransparency in Campaign Financing to build its shadowy webs of influence and control. You leave dark money channels lying around, and it is likely Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs will find them. The trojan horses report warns this ill quote it the kremlins blatant attempts to influence and disrupt the u. S. President ial election should serve as an inspiration for a democratic pushback thats lower case d democratic pushback. And the report points to one key way we need to push back. Electoral rules should be amended so that publicly funded political groups, primarily Political Parties should, at the very least, be required to report their sources of funding. That is, end dark money. Likewise, the kremlin playbook report warns, and ill quote it enhancing transparency and the effectiveness of the western democratic tools, instruments, and institutions is critical to resilience against russian influence. Enhancing transparency means ending dark money. Our hearing and these reports reveal another political influence tool used by the kremlin fake news. As we shore up our democracy to defend against russias fake news information warfare, we must remember this climate denial was the original fake news. To give you an example, heres a story that may sound familiar. An unknown hacker illegally breaks into and steals an organizations emails. The organizations emails are held until they can be released at a a little bit hickly strategic strategically moment. The fake news is driven into the media and has their desired political effect. Does any of that sound familiar . Of course its the methodology of russians hack of the democratic committee. Unknown hackers, strategic release, cashing them until they can be used, shady website, regular media takes the bait, political damage. But if you step back and look just at the methodology, we have seen this pattern before. Socalled climategate cooked up by the climate denial machine. It was 2009, not 2017. The organization hacked was not the d. N. C. Was the Climate Research unit in the united kingdom. It was tied to the copenhagen. It went to climate. The political damage was done. These revelations are bound to inflame the public debates wrote the New York Times at the time, as hundreds of negotiators prepared to negotiate at a climate accord at meetings in copenhagen next month. It worked so well that in november 2009, the climategate operation did it again just before the u. N. Climate conference in durbin in what was dubbed climategate 2. 0. As the guardian wrote, almost all of the media and political discussion about the hacked climate emails has been based on soundbites by professional science skeptics and their blogs. They have been twisted to mean something they were never intended to. Eight times everyone from the Inspector General of the u. S. Department of commerce to the National Science foundation to the British Parliament found no evidence of any misconduct by the scientists. For the climate denier groups, the truth was never the point. This climategate stunt was the result of a built by the fossil fuel industry to attack and undermine real climate science. Disinformation campaigns, false front organizations, stables of paidfor scientists, propaganda honed by Public Relations experts. This denial operation aspires to memberric and rival real science and it is an industrialstrength add ver is a sairy adversary with big advantages. It needs to create the public illusion of a real dispute. It doesnt have to waste time in peer review and it doesnt have to be true. It just has to found like it sound like it might be. This industrial fake news operation isnt going anywhere. Its too valuable to the big polluters. As we prepare to face down russias campaign of election interference, well have to face up these two hard facts if the kremlin wants to deploy fake news warfare, the climate denial fake news infrastructure already exists. Remember, climate denial was the original fake news. And if the kremlin wants to deploy financial influence campaign, the dark money infrastructure already exists. The fossil fuel industrys manipulation machinery is ready to go. Putin doesnt have to build a thing. The fossil fuel dark money and fake news infrastructure stands ready to go. Unfortunately, we know it works because it has worked for years for the fossil fuel cartel, particularly since it is united it has united and forced silence on the republican party. So the dangers of fake news, dark money, climate denial, and foreign interference in our elections are all intermixed. They have brought us to the point where the president of the United States will leave the paris agreement, betraying the countrys interest in the service of the fossil fuel industry, the Koch Brothers climate denial operation, and breitbart fake news. This calls for an american response. Dark money and fake news are a sinister combination whoever is behind them. America must address the twin threats of fake news and dark money. Its bad enough when these are the tools of the fossil fuel industrys climate denial operation but were on notice now. Were on notice from these reports and from multiple witnesses, the kremlin can borrow these tools too. So ill close by asking that we clean up this mess. It may take citizen action, given the stranglehold dark money and fake news have on congress, but this is a fight worth having. There is no good that comes out of dark money and fake news whoever is behind them we should rid ourselves of this sinister combination. I yield the floor. Mr. Portman mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman mr. President , i rise today to talk about a promising young man from wyoming, ohio, just outside of cincinnati, my hometown, a young mans whose life was tragically cut short at just 22 years of age. I rise to talk about otto wore woremere. He had all the smarts and talent that you could ask for. He was the homecoming king, he was the salutatorian from the high school class, he spent a summer at the economic school, as everyone except, he excelled at u. V. A. He had a thursday for learn a thurst for learning and his future was as bright as it could be. It was this smart, kindhearted young man, a college kid who was taken prisoner by the north korean regime. Ottos retainment was unnecessary and appalling. Neither should have happened in the first place. At some point soon after being sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, from what we know, otto suffered a severe brain injury. From what we dont know, and we may never know. Who did the north korean government tell about this . No one. For the next 15 months or so they kept this a secret. They denied him access to the best medical care he deserved and they refused repeated requests for counselor access normally provided by those who had been retained, requests from our government, from the obama administration, from the trump administration, requests from the red cross, requests from the swedish government, requests from many of us here in the capitol. The regime unjustly imprisoned him and then lied about his severe medical condition. By the way, they continue to tell stories that make no sense. Doctors at university of cincinnati, some of the best doctors in the world, and just the type of medical professionals otto should have been able to see from the start, say that north koreas claims as to what happened simply dont and it up to the evidence. They called him a prisoner of war, but they also violated the geneva convention. But for north korea to imprison otto without medical access with his brain injury demonstrates a complete failure to recognize fundamental human rights. Because of these actions by the north koreans, otto is dead. His promise has been cut short. If there were any doubt about the nature of the north korean regime, then ottos case should erase all doubt. We know this regime has no regard for the rule of law or the freedoms reenjoy here, but they that we enjoy here. They have subjected hundreds of thousands of their own people to mistreatment, torture and death for decades. They are now extending it that treatment to be innocent americans. North korea should be universally condemned for its abhorrent behavior and held accountable for their actions. Ottos family, god bless them, tried everything they could to bring otto home. For 18 months and for almost 16 months not knowing of his dire condition they were steadfast and resill yent trying everything they resilient trying everything they could. I was there with fred and Cindy Warmbier when otto came home from north korea. It was incredibly emotional to watch otto be reunited with his loving family. I believe he knew he was back home. I believe he knew he was among those who loved him. I want to thank state Department Special representative joe unin and secretary tillerson for their work to help secure ottos release last week and to bring him home. There are still three americans being detained by the north koreans. They should be released immediately. And we should do everything that we can do as a country to secure their release. Ottos case is a reminder that we must on the one hand increase pressure on north korea to force them to change and there will be more to discuss soon on that. But at the same time weve got to maintain an open line of communication to deal with the deadly ceaseus serious issues that he we face. Fred, cindy, and the entire warmbier family have been incredibly strong through this ordeal. No one should have to go through what that family has experienced. My wife jane and i will continue to be at their side, including, of course, at the Funeral Service tomorrow in wyoming, ohio. So i urge my colleagues, and everybody listening at home, continue to hold this family up in prayer. But also lets ensure that this tragedy is a wakeup call about the true nature of this brutal regime. Thank you, mr. President. I yield back my time. Ms. Warren mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from massachusetts. Ms. Warren thank you, mr. President. President trump said last week the Health Care Bill passed by the house was mean, and he said the senate should make the bill, quote, more generous, kind, with heart. It sounds like the president is having second thoughts about this republican bill. So now, mr. President , you are waking up and noticing just how heartless this bill is . You know, the bill that your republican buddies in the congress slapped together in a back room, you know, the one that you celebrated with a Big Press Conference in the rose garden a few weeks ago, you know, the bill that you and House Republicans gave each other high fives over for taking away health care from millions of people, and now it sounds like you doesnt a doover. Too bad, but no one explained to the president that mean is just part of the deal that the republicans have struck. Mean is baked into every sentence of this bill. When you set out to trade Health Insurance of millions of American Families for massive tax cuts for the wealthy, things get real mean fast. The mean bill does a lot of things, but some of the meanest things about it are how hard it will hit american women. To pay for the hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for this bill, republicans chose to make one of their classic moves, a sort of old reliable for republican men. Attack Womens Health care. Lets run through just a few examples. Today, most people helped by medicaid are women. The republican bill cuts medicaid by 834 billion. Republicans say that millions of women who Lose Health Care will do just fine. Today, plans on the individual market have to cover Maternity Care and treatment for postpartum depression. The republican bill says forget it, let the states drop those benefits. Women are the only ones using them anyway. Today the law says you cant charge women more by labeling things like pregnancy as preexisting conditions. The republican bill says who cares, go for it. Today women can choose Health Care Providers they trust the most, but the republicans want to eliminate that choice by cutting funding for planned parenthood. Republicans say that women can do just fine without the care that they need. Frankly, i am sick of coming down to the senate floor to explain to republicans what planned parenthood does. I am sick of explaining that it provides millions of women with birth control, cancer screenings and s. T. I. Tests every year. I am sick of pointing out again and again that federal dollars do not Fund Abortion services at planned parenthood or anywhere else. Women come to the floor. We explain, we cite facts, but republicans would rather base Health Care Policy on politics than on facts. Speaker ryan called this mean bill prolife, but this is just the biggest political play of all. Calling something prolife wont keep women from dying in back alley abortions. It wont help women pay for the cancer screenings that could save their lives. It wont help them take care of their families, have safe sex or afford their medical bills. The prolife label is the republicans playing politics with womens lives. Lets be blunt. The republican bill will make it more likely, not less likely, that women and their children will die. Women arent fools. We can feel the difference. We can tell the difference between reality and lies. And thats why were here today. Thats why were fighting back on the senate floor today. Right now, 13 senators, all men, are sitting in a room writing revisions to the secret republican bill. 13 men will not show us the bill and will not hold hearings on its contents. And just in case anyone missed the point, please note that all 13 of these men have already voted during their time in the senate to reduce womens access to contraception and abortion. Republicans have told the press that americans shouldnt worry about the fact that women are shut out because, quote, reducing the 13 men to their gender is a game of identity politics. This is not identity politics, and it is certainly not a game. This bill will affect every woman in this country, and we know whats going on behind closed doors. 13 men are trading away Womens Health care for tax cuts for the rich. American Women Deserve better than this mean republican bill, and american women are here to fight back. Thank you, mr. President. I yield. Mr. Crapo mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from idaho. Mr. Crapo i ask unanimous consent to speak for five minutes before the vote. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Crapo i rise today in support of mr. Marshall billingslea who has been nominated to serve as assistant secretary of the treasury for terrorist financing. Mr. Billingslea proved that his nomination hearing before the Banking Committee that he is exceptionally qualified for this job. As assistant secretary for terrorist financing, mr. Billingslea would be in charge of coordinating treasurys efforts on terrorist financing, antimoney laundering and other illicit financial threats to the domestic and International Financial system. Mr. Billingslea would work with the entire National Security and Law Enforcement communities, the private sector, foreign governments, and other entities to carry out this mission. As demonstrated at his confirmation hearing, his unique background includes 22 years of experience working with these entities to protect the nation, and it also includes time in the legislative and executive branches as well as the private sector. After 9 11, mr. Billingslea served in senior positions in the department of defense and nato. Prior to that, he worked on National Security affairs at the Senate ForeignRelations Committee where he drafted numerous pieces of sections of legislation intended to combat weapons of mass destruction and disrupt terrorist networks. Mr. Billingsleas qualifications and capabilities were affirmed when he received bipartisan support from the Banking Committee in a 194 vote. Before we proceed to the cloture vote on mr. Billingslea, we will have a final vote on ms. Sigal mandelkers nomination to be under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial crimes, which i spoke about yesterday. These two positions are critically important to defending our nation from threats and securing our interests. As assistant secretary, mr. Billingslea would work closely with ms. Mandelker as head of the policy and outreach apparatus for the office of terrorism and financial intelligence, which ms. Mandelker would lead. As we saw with the Senate Passage of the iran sanctions bill and our russia sanctions amendment last week, there is strong bipartisan support in congress to remain strong against these nations. As with the passage of that bill, i urge my colleagues to confirm ms. Mandelker and to move forward with mr. Billingsleas nomination so they can carry out the important work for which we have already shown such strong bipartisan support. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. The question occurs on the 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 change their vote . If not, the yeas are 96, the nays are 4. The nomination is confirmed. The majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , could we have order in the senate. The presiding officer well have order. Order in the chamber. The majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be moodily notified of the senates action. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. 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 marshal billing billingslea, to be assistant secretary for terrorist financing, department of treasury. Signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Marshall Billingslea of virginia to be assistant secretary for terrorist financing, department of the treasury, 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 are there any senator in the chamber senators wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 65, the nays are 34. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of the treasury, Marshall Billingslea of virginia to be assistant secretary for terrorist financing. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell today i want to touch on a topic that, as i announced recently, im going to continue to speak about in the coming weeks and months on the senate floor, and thats the right of free speech. The fundamental right is one of our most cherished. It forms the beating heart of our democracy. Its at the core of our civic identity. Yet these days it seems to be coming under increasing threat across our country. The challenges it faces is different than those in the past but we are to confront these too if we are to preserve the right for future generations. It is what intend to do and i hope more colleagues will join in this effort as well. Our colleagues know this is a topic that ive devoted a large part of my career to. Throughout the obama years i warned that our ability to engage in civic life and organize in defense of our beliefs was under assault from a determination that appeared determined to shut up anyone who challenged it. These efforts to suppress speech were well documented, extended throughout the federal government, and were often aided by the obama administrations allies here in congress. There were threats before then as well. I know because i took up the fight against many of them, sometimes it was a lonely battle, often it was an unpopular one, but in my view it was necessary because whether the threats threats for free speech came from the i. R. S. Or the obama administrations s. E. C. , they shared a similar goal shut down or scare off the stage those who chose to think differently. Today, however, the threat to free speech is evolving. The speech suppression crowd play longer control the levels of federal power, but it hasnt given up its commitment to silencing those with an opposing view. Yesterday in the Judiciary Committee chairman grassley held a hearing to explore the worsening problem of a lack of tolerance on College Campuses. Imagine that, College Campuses of all places with the views of others one of the witnesses at the hearing was floyd abrams who senator moynihan described as the most significant lawyer of our age. Mr. Abrams noted we are witnessing something new on campus where students want to see and hear only views they hold and to prevent others from hearing views with which they differ. What could account for this . A profound lack of information is one answer. For example, ployed abrams pointed out that a third of College Students couldnt identify the First Amendment as the one that deals with freedom of speech. The day before across the street the Supreme Court reminded us of the vibrant right of free speech where its exercise does not depend on the sufferance of the government. In striking down the disparagement clause, they pointed out what too many seem to have forgotten, speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend. Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend. The foundation for individual rights and education estimates there were 43 reported instances of revoked speaking invitations or similar efforts to block speakers on campus just last year. Thats double the number recorded the previous year. Its more than 700 higher than the six incidents recorded back in 2000, and the trend is getting worse, not simply in terms of the overall number of instances, but more worryingly in terms of the growing aggressiveness of those efforts. This year alone there have been multiple incidents of intimidation and rioting across the country. There has been nasty and thuggish behavior aimed at suppressing speech. Sadly, it has often succeeded. As u. S. A. Today put it in a recent editorial, in just the place where the clash of ideas are most valuable, students are shutting themselves off to points of view they dont agree with. At the moment when young minds are supposed to assess the strength and weaknesses of arguments, they are answering chile engs to challenges to their belief with anger and violence instead of facts an reason. That should worry all of us regardless of party, regardless of ideology. Learning the benefits of others learning the beliefs of others is simply training for life in a democratic society. It doesnt mean one has to agree with those opinions, but no one is served by trapping ones self and others in cocoons of ignorance. That is hardly the recipe for a free and informed society. To quote frederick douglass, to suppress free speech is a double wrong because it violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. Just as it was not right during the obama years for those who endure harassment because the government didnt like what they believed, it certainly is not right today for americans to live in the shadow of fear simply because they dare to speak up or think differently or support a candidate or a cause that the speech suppression crowd may disagree with. It really doesnt matter who you are or whether what youre saying is popular. These rights do not exist to protect whats popular, they exist to protect precisely what isnt. Thats one reason i long opposed ideas like the flag burning constitutional amendment. This doesnt mean i agree that the flag should be burned. Of course i dont. I disagree strongly. But its the principle that matters because the moment we allow ourselves to believe some people stand outside the free speech protections of the First Amendment, then were all in trouble. All of us. The growing trend of intolerance were seeing is taking many forms lately. But the underlying hostility to free speech has not changed. As i noted earlier, in recent years the threat had often come from the federal government. These days the threat tends to come from different quarters. There have been many highprofile instances of speech speech suppression across the country, but it would be a mistake to think of this as isolated to College Campuses. The bottom line for me is this we cannot allow this trend of violence and intimidation to become the new normal in our country. This is a really serious problem that deserves serious attention. Solutions will not come simply. They will not be found in a single piece of legislation. As president reagan put it, freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. It must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same. And that, mr. President , is what were called upon to do again now. To inform, to engage, to empower. In, in the end to infair a new generation to inspire future generations. Thats what i aim to do by continuing this dialogue here on this senate floor. From this platform i will continue to raise the importance of free speech, outline the threats it faces and do what i can to inform and encourage americans to rally in its defense. Others are using their platforms to advance similar goals as chairman grassley did yesterday. I hope more will join as this discussion continues because free speech is crucial to who we are as americans regardless of party and we owe it to future generations to do what we can today to defend it. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , i say to my colleague, i have a few more items here and i will be finished. I ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate complete its Business Today it adjourn until 11 00 a. M