Hhs security we should see a vote throughout the day. Live coverage of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Almighty god, were grateful that your will prevails when reliance on humanity is futile. Give our senators the wisdom to understand that without your help, they cannot succeed. Today, use them to work and act to accomplish your purposes on earth; help them not to repay evil with evil, but plant seeds of goodness that will bring a harvest of joy. Arise, oh lord. Lift yourself up in these dangerous times to bring your peace to our hearts. Help us to remember that you saved the upright in heart, and your justice will sustain us. Keep us from conceiving troubles and embracing falsehoods, as we focus on loving and serving you. We pray in your loving name, amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , october 4, 2017. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable rand paul, a senator from the commonwealth of kentucky, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch, president pro tempore. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday chairman hatch held another hearing hon a subject thats incredibly important to the Economic Future of our country tax reform. For too long our economy has failed to live up to its full potential. For too long americans have suffered through stagnant paychecks, a lack of steady work, and retirement that can seem to slip further away by the day. These are the forgotten men, women, and families of the last decade. For Many Americans living on the coast, working in silicon valley, or in finance, the recession of 2008, 2009 may seem like just a moment in history. But for too Many Americans, the last ten years has been a lost decade where our economy has stumbled along and opportunities have declined for American Workers and their families. Tax reform represents the single most important thing we can do today to get our economy back on track and give American Workers a leg up. Its our onceinageneration opportunity to replace an outdated tax code that holds us back with one that works for American Families and small businesses. We want to lower taxes and simplify rates. We want to expand job creation and grow paychecks. Put another way, we want to take more money out of washingtons pocket and put more in yours. That is the essential goal of tax reform. That is our message to the American People. Its what i believe, its what chairman hatch believes, its what chairman enzi believes as well, and chairman enzi has an Important Role to play in this process, too, because later today he will lead his committee in marking up a comprehensive budget for fiscal 2018 that will help our country achieve balance by reining in federal spending. It will also help our economy grow and one of the ways it will do so is by providing legislative tools to advance tax reform. I thank the Budget Committee for overlights good for all of its good work so far. Now on another matter, earlier this week i filed cloture motions on four qualified nominees for various agencies throughout the federal government. I shouldnt have had to. In different times, we may have even considered them on voice votes. But this is where we are, and now it is time to advance and confirm them as soon as possible. Later this morning the senate will consider eric harass began to be deputy secretary of the department of health appeared Human Services as the people from puerto rico continue to recover from the hurricanes. Mr. Harass begans experiential will mr. Hargans experience will help the department respond to these crises. I look forward to confirming mr. Hargan soon so he can deliver relief and help saves lives. After that, this afternoon we will take up the nomination of randall quolls randal quarl quarles. Mr. Quarles has domestic and International Experience from multiple administrations. And he will be a strong guide for our nations monetary policy. We also intend to confirm mr. Quarles to the position of vice chair for supervision. This is an essential role created by doddfrank and it is critical that mr. Quarles begin this work over at the fed. Tomorrow the senate will confirm Lee Francis Cissna to be director of United States citizenship and immigration services. Mr. Cissna has a wealth of experience in immigration policy serving in senior positions in both the bush and obama administrations and then working for the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee. He was voted out of committee with bipartisan support, and i look forward to his confirmation. To this Important Role. And then well consider cal list is a gingrich, whom the president has nominated to be our ambassador to the holy see. Her work will continue the strong relationship between our nation and the vatican. Id like to thank each of these nominees for their willingness to serve our nation. Theyre each wellqualified and suited for their role and i look forward to the Senate Confirming them very soon. On one final matter, id like to take a moment to congratulate dr. Tom appleton of lexington, kentucky, on his retirement from the History Department at Eastern Kentucky university. One of kentuckys premier historians, tom has spent his career writing about the commonwealths rich heritage. He joined the faculty in the fall of 2000 and over the years left a positive imprint on his students, his field, and his state. Hes also proven an invaluable resource for me. Years i began a series of talks focused on kentucky. In each speech i have tried to convey a bit of history on these rids. Toms counsel has been invaluable in paying tribute to some of kentuckys most prominent political leaders. Before joining e. K. U. s faculty nearly 20 years ago, tom spent more than two decades at the Kentucky Historical society. It certainly shows. Even the tv show jeopardy has used him as an historic resource. Tom has been the coeditor of six books on the history of the american south. Including a groundbreaking look into the lives of kentucky women. And he is currently working on a biography of kentuckys own a. B. Happy chandler. Toms passion for kentuckys rich history is obvious. Hes been a wonderful friend and resource for me. He has been an advocate for our commonwealth and has made a Lasting Impact on the next generation through his teaching. As one former student recalled, dr. Appletons mission was less about imparting facts and dates and more about ensuring that students had an enhanced understanding of the rich cultural tapestry of kentucky. He admonished students to be worthy of the proud legacy of our commonwealths great statesmen, military leaders, writers and sports legends. Thats a legacy to be proud of, and so after his final semester of teaching, tom can be forgiven for wanting to retire from his work as an historian altogether. But thats not tom. He plans to continue his research and writing about the lives and events that shaped our home state. And i planning to continue reading his fascinating take on our shared kentucky heritage. So i wish tom well and i urge all of my colleagues to join me in congratulating dr. Tom appleton on a truly remarkable career. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. And under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the hargan nomination, which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of health and Human Services. Eric d. Harass bega eric d. He deputy secretary. The presiding officer the time between now and 11 00 will be divided between the two leaders h. R. Other designees. The clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer mr. 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 thank you, mr. President. Now, i understand the administration intends to submit its first request for disaster aid for puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands today. Its a good first step, but its just the start of the Financial Aid well need to provide to the american citizens in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. I urge my colleagues to work quickly to add additional and urgent Flexible Funding for recovery. Like Community Development block grants, just as we did for texas after hurricane harvey, with the understanding that an additional and more comprehensive request for puerto rico, the virgin islands, florida, texas, and the western wildfires will be coming from the administration once the damage assessments are complete. Now, returning to the events of las vegas on sunday, we cannot, we cannot let this tragedy, this american tragedy, another in a long line of american tragedies, fall out of our hearts and minds too quickly. Let us pledge to be there for the families of the 59 americans who were killed and the over 500 americans who were still injured and recovering. Seeing the pictures of so many of these beautiful young people in the prime of life, young, excited about the world, some of them newly married, some of them a little older with young children, it just breaks your heart. So not just today or this week, but in the weeks and months to come, let us pledge to continue to show our gratitude to those firefighters and cops, the emergency medical personnel, and all the other First Responders who rushed to the scene. Let us pledge to remember the acts of everyday heroism that are a beacon of light in this moment of darkness, the lines to give blood that stretched around the block at 6 00 a. M. , the teachers who went to school the day after the shooting to try and give their students a sense of normalcy. I hope these are the things that President Trump highlights in his visit to las vegas today. And one more thing. President trump has an opportunity to wrench his party out of the grasp of the n. R. A. And get our country and our congress to Start Talking about commonsense gun safety reforms. Before President Trump ran for office, he repeatedly supported several sane, rational gun safety measures, including the assault weapons ban, longer waiting periods to purchase a gun. As recently as 2012, President Trump supported president obamas response to sandy hook. In the wake of sandy hook, president obama called for action. In the wake of las vegas, President Trump should do the same. Weve heard it over and over again that now is not the time to talk about gun safety because it would politicize the tragedy. My friend, the majority leader, said no less than three times at his press conference yesterday that it is premature and inappropriate to talk about any legislative solutions to the epidemic of gun violence. As Martin Luther king said in his letter at the birmingham jail, not now means never. Wait means never. Thats what he said. Wait means never. And thats what our republicans they dont want to talk about it today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. And we know why they dont want to talk about it. They know the country is totally against their view. Its not political out in the country. 90 of americans support universal background checks. A significant majority of republicans support them. Thats not political, id say to my friend, the majority leader. Its political for him because hes afraid of the n. R. A. , a powerful lobby that is off to the extreme. Its not political for American People or for republicans. Theyre for it. Over 70 of gun owners support background checks for private sales and at gun shows. The only place where this is political is here, and thats because the n. R. A. , the gun manufacturers and their powerful lobby make these folks afraid, afraid to do the right thing. They know its the right thing. The n. R. A. And these lobbies are the swamp the president is talking about. President trump talks about the swamp. Groups of lobbyists who thwart the will of the American People. Thats just what the n. R. A. Does. So id say to the president , mr. President , you have an opportunity to buck the n. R. A. , buck the gun lobbyists, buck the swamp, and lead this country in an adult conversation about gun violence. The president can and should bring the parties together, the leaders of this congress, and let both sides know he is ready to address this issue head on and talk about sensible, moderate measures for gun safety above all background checks. The president s visit is an important one today. He should be going. He should seek to provide comfort to the families and express gratitude to our First Responders, but he should take it one step further call us together, lead this nation in a debate about rational, moderate gun safety laws, get us started on the work that so Many Americans are desperate for us to do. Now, one final matter. The republican tax plan. We democrats have long said that were willing to work with our republican colleagues on tax reform, and we laid out our principles early on so there would be no mistake about them. We wanted tax reform to be deficit neutral. It shouldnt increase the deficit. For every reduction in rate, they ought to close a loophole. We wanted it to go through regular order, not the way health care did, not reconciliation, but work with us. You get a much more sensible product. And most importantly, we didnt want to give a tax cut to the top 1 . Theyre doing great already, god bless them. They dont need any more tax relief. Its the middle class that does. But the framework the g. O. P. Released last week violates all three of these commonsense principles, vastly favoring the wealthy over working americans. Now, i have spoken several times about tax breaks for the rich included in this package. Lowering the top rate from 39 to 36 , repealing the estate tax, opening up a gaping tax loophole for hedge fund managers, wealthy wall street firms, lobbyists, law firms by lowering the rate of passthrough so that these rich people would only pay 25 on their personal on their personal income tax while other people were paying a lot more. This morning, i want to highlight not only how the republican plan favors the rich but also sticks it to the middle class, something you, mr. President , have brought up. Just this week, we found a bombshell contained within the g. O. P. Resolution theyre using to pass tax reform. The republican plan says cut medicare by 473 billion and medicaid by more than a trillion. It can be a little hard to find, but its right there in the g. O. P. Budget. 473 billion for medicare. 1 trillion for medicaid. So if youre an older american, you have a family in a nursing home, someone in treatment for opioid addiction, and you think the g. O. P. Plan doesnt affect you, think again. The aarp, not a political organization. It simply represents the interests of the elderly sent a letter yesterday opposing this republican plan, the one in the house and i know i think we have gotten one in the senate as well. The same group that represented Senior Citizens and fought the backing on health care that the republicans proposed. So the republicans are proposing to pay for their giant tax cut to the rich by gutting medicare and medicaid. Thats the bombshell this week. That is the nugget that will destroy their whole plan because americans are so against those kinds of cuts. Amazingly, its just like the inverse of the republican plan on health care. In each case, they Gut Health Care for americans who need it most to pay for taxes for americans who need it the least. The Health Care Plan focused on cuts to medicaid but snuck in tax cuts for the rich. This plan focuses on tax cuts to the rich and sneaks in cuts to medicare and medicaid. The g. O. P. Budget is another page out of the same playbook. And the g. O. P. Plan contains another punch to the gut of the middle class. This is what you, mr. President , i believe spoke about yesterday. In the form of the repeal of the state and local deduction. 44 million americans take the state and local deduction. Thats a third of all taxpayers. This is not just a small rarified group in california and new york. Its across the country. And they get an average of several thousand dollars off their taxes each year. 40 of taxpayers making between 50,000 and 75,000 per year. 70 of taxpayers earning from 100,000 to 200,000. So this is a middleclass Tax Deduction worth several thousand dollars a year, and the g. O. P. Tax plan yanks it away, taking away double taxation on the middleclass families. And for many families, this will not be offset by the larger standard deduction in the g. O. P. Plan. Largely due to the elimination of state and local, the Tax Policy Center estimates that 30 of those making between 50,000 and 100,000 and 60 of those making between 150,000 and 300,000 will see a tax increase with the g. O. P. Plan, and thats after doubling the standard deduction. And, by the way, dont think its just a few states. The numbers are astounding across the country. Folks in every state claim this deduction.