Database that searches when people attempt to purchase firearms but when the federal government doesnt do this it is reported that the air force simply through interventions, human error or somewhere failed to do it then there is nothing there to contradict the misrepresentation by the purchaser when they go to buymc it. We leave these remarks to return to live coverage of the senate here on cspan2 fficer wt objection. Mr. Mccain mr. President , in recent months the United States and Coalition Forces have achieved major gains against isis in iraq and syria. U. S. Coalition partners have liberated the capital of raqqa and syria, the pocket of hawija in Northern Iraq and just days ago the border town of alkine in western iraq. The socalled caliphate the terrorists claimed would overrun the middle east is now a shadow of its former self, a shrinking swath on a map once defined by an open reign of terror. Unfortunately, however, our challenges in the region remain daunting despite these hardfought tactical victories. Our relentless focus on destroying isis, which is of course essential, has obscured a troubling reality the United States lacks a clear, comprehensive strategy that addresses the middle east in all of its complexity. This is part of the unfortunate legacy that the Obama Administration left for its successor. But merely one year into the trump administration, we lack clarity on essential questions about our nations role. Were left to observe the intensifying symptoms of a collapsing regional order as bystanders while in some cases were bystanders that take action, we do so with unclear and often unstated objectives. The United States is committed to the sale of over 100 billion of weapons to saudi arabia. We have announced an outline of strategy to counter iran while providing only limited detail. We remain conspicuously silent on the future of our role in iraq and syria beyond eliminating isis, as the assad regime and its partners consolidate power. Our power and influence is diminishing in the middle east, as a result of our lack of direction and the vacuum has been filled by forces working contrary to american interests. Consider the events that have swept the region in recent months in iraq, Iranian Forces are working to sow discord as we recently saw in kirkuk, where a commander exacerbated tensions among the kurds and government in baghdad. Iranianbacked militias continue to gain power and aim to turn next years election into a setback that drives american influence out of iraq. Meanwhile, the scourge of isis remains despite recent military successes. The terrorist attack last week in manhattan shows its persistent appeal, its ries rise in the wake of its rise in the wake of u. S. Withdrawal years ago demonstrates the danger of leaving before win wig the peas. Across the board in syria, the board backs by an array of militias has retaken most of the country, including many eastern areas that are strategically important. The consequences of the resulting humanitarian crisis have spilled beyond its border for years, destabilizing nations far beyond syria and paving the way for radicalization. Forcesthat are hostile to our interests and values are shaping the future on the ground while we we remain silent, focused on the immediate defeat of isis. I want to emphasize, we want to defeat isis. We are defeating isis. But that is not our only goal in the middle east. On saturday, the lebanese Prime Minister resigned, mr. Ariri, claiminclaiming that he faced dh threats from iran, leaving the United States with one less valuable partner in a divided government in which hezbollah plays a major role. I happen to have become friends with mr. Ariri over the years. He is a good prodemocratic outstanding individual who basically was forced out of office. The web of iranian proxies and allies is spreading from the levant to the arabian pen lins in a peninsula threatening freedom of navigation, stability, and the territory of our partners and allies, including with advanced conventional weapons. Iran itself continues to menace its neighbors, use its sanctions relief windfall to harmful ends, test ballistic missiles, and spread weapons throughout the region. According to our allies and partners, just days ago Houthi Rebels in yemen launched an iranianprovided missile at the airport in riyadh. Meanwhile, our allied allies meanwhile, our arab allies are embroiled in infighting and in diplomatic disputes that weaken Regional Cooperation and Coalition Efforts in the face of these pressing threats. Saudi arabia itself is in the midst of monumental change. The recent the appointment of a new crown prince, the arrest over the weekend of a number of prominent saudi citizens, and the kingdoms ongoing war in yemen which has spawned a humanitarian crisis of its own indicate a forcefulness that promises progress but also rai raises concern about internal stability and regional conflict and ultimately it could serve to strengthen saudirrivals. In turkey, president ered wasnt continues to consolidate power, abuse human right and rule of law and stifle democracy while growing closer to russia and straining the relationship with nato. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putins russia casts a long shadow throughout the region as it reestablishes itself as a powerbroker hostile to american interests and wholly uncertain unconcerned about human rights. These challenges are confusing and complex. Borne of years of neglect and aggravated by weeks filled with the events of decades. The questions that a comprehensive strategy must address are formidable. What are our political and military objectives in the region . How should we prioritize our pursuit of objectives given the numerous regional challenges . And how should we measure our success . What roles and responsibilities should our allies and partners play . And what support will they need to do so . What should be the size, roles, missions and capabilities of u. S. Forces in the region, whether in iraq, turkey, the persian gulf, or elsewhere . How will the United States facilitate humanitarian relief, stabilization, reconstruction, and political reconciliation, where possible . These questions, many of which we require the president and department of defense to answer in the National Defense authorization act, are not academic. The United States is not involved in the middle east because we labor under the illusion that our presence will solve every problem but because the stability of the region is vital to our National Interest and International Security alike. Middle eastern instability tends to travel far beyond its borders. The regions importance to the Global Economy that americans benefit from and depend upon cannot be underestimated. But if we keep sleepwalking on our current trajectory, we could wake up in the near future and find that american influence has been pushed out of one of the most important parts of the world. And that we cannot abide. The world faces an unprecedented array of challenges of which instability in the middle east is only one. Most importantly, the United States faces growing threats from russia and china, both of which are eager to tilt the balance of power in europe and asia towards them rather than towards us. The majority of the world favors greater freedom and openness. We need to prioritize these critical challenges by rebuilding military readiness, reorienting our force structure, investing in needed capabilities to deter nearpier competitors and strengthening alliances with likeminded peoples and partners and allies. If we neglect to consolidate our gains against isis and address the threats to american interests throughout the middle east, our gains will easily be overtaken. As my friend and former secretary of state George Shultz once observed, if you have a garden and you want to see it flourish, you have to tend to it. We could find ourselves enmeshed in conflicts far more costly in lives, power, and opportunity if we neglect to care for a particularly frustrating part of the world. Our elected leaders must articulate a comprehensive strategy that reflects these judgments with specificity and detail rather than piecemeal offerings and tactical victories. Congress, with our constitutional role as a coequal branch of government and, more importantly, the American People deserve no less. Mr. President , i note the absence of a quorum. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley today the senate will confirm Stephen Engel serving as assistant attorney general, office of Legal Counsel. The office of Legal Counsel, we refer to that in the Judiciary Committee as o. L. C. , functions as Legal Advisor to the president and executive branch agencies, providing advice on complex questions of constitutional statutory interpretation. The o. L. C. Essentially serves as a general counsel to the executive counsel branch. Mr. Engel is wellequipped to lead that office, and ill tell you how wel wellequipped he is. Both from the standpoint of academics and from the standpoint of background. Mr. Engel received his undergraduate degree from harvard, his masters of philosophy from cambridge university, and his law degree from Yale Law School. Following his graduation, mr. Engel clerked for junk kazinski of the ninth Circuit Court of appeals and Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Mr. Engel joined the law firm of Kirkland Ellis after clerking for Justice Kennedy. Mr. Engel practiced focus focused on appellate and commercial litigation matters. In 2006, mr. Engel joined the o. L. C. As counsel to the assistant attorney general at the time and then was later promoted to Deputy Assistant attorney general. There he provided legal advice to the attorney general, to the white House Counsel, and other executive branch clients on a variety of legal matters. In 2009, mr. Engel joined the law firm of deckart as a partner in whitecollar security litigation and later in that same firm as a member of the complex commercial litigation group. Mr. Engels nomination has broad support across the legal community. The senate Judiciary Committee received a number of letters in support of his nomination. One such letter is signed by former attorneys general mukasey and gonzalez as well as former deputy attorneys general philip, morford, and mcnulty. Other letters of support were received from coclerks on the Supreme Court, a group of mr. Engels former colleagues and Yale Law School classmates, and harvard law professor jack goldsmith. Mr. Engel also received an endorsement from the Patrolmens Benevolent Association of the city of new york, which happens to be the Largest Police union in new york city. Another letter from my former from a former senior governmental official and Legal Officers of the executive branch include kenneth waningstein and wanestein and michael hayden, they noted their enthusiastic support their words for mr. Engels nomination. Wanestein and hayden wrote, were confident that as head of o. L. C. Steve will hender legal render legal opinions with the highest level of professional integrity and according to his best understanding of what the law and the constitution is, end of quote. Mr. Engel and i met this summer and we discussed the importance of congressional oversight. The essential role played by members of this body and the house of representatives. He assured me that he agrees with each member whether or not a chairman of a committee is a constitutional officer entitled to the respect and best efforts of the executive branch to respond to his or her request for information. And further, he committed to review the may 1, 2017 opinion on this very issue and to consider whether a more complete analysis of the issue is necessary. You may remember my interest in this whole thing goes back to early in this new administration when people working for the president and resumably speaking for the president said that the only oversight letters that would be responded to would be those from chairman of committees. Now, you can imagine that leaves out at least 30some republicans that would never get answers to their oversight letters, it would leave out 48 democrats that would never get answers to their letters, and consequently, most of congress would not be able to do their constitutional role of oversight, making sure the executive branch does exactly in enforcing the laws and spending the money according to what we require. I raised that issue through a sevenpage letter to the white house and they came and visited with me about it and i think they had some misunderstanding about what oversight was all about. They rio a letter that said that they are they rewrote a letter that said that they were going to respond to every member of congress on oversight issues which satisfies me from the standpoint of their intent, but i as i just said in my remarks here, mr. Engel committed to review that may 1, 2017, o. L. C. Opinion and to consider whether a more complete analysis of the issue is necessary because every member of congress should be able to do oversight. Every member of congress ought to expect an answer to their letters from the executive branch of the government whether they are a chairman or not, whether they are a republican or not, whether they are a member of the house or a member of the senate. And i want to make sure that we follow through on this, although i will give this Administration Credit for almost totally reversing an opinion that they issued way back in february. The head of o. L. C. Is highly is a highly Important Role at the department of justice, and its a role of which its importance is felt throughout the federal government. Just to show you how its felt throughout the entire government, let me tell you that they issued an opinion in the Previous Administration on something to do with Inspector General work throughout the government maybe originally intended to say what the Inspector General could demand or not demand and understand the law passed in 1979 says that an Inspector General can be entitled to any information he wants from that department, but they issued an opinion, the o. L. C. Person at that time issued an opinion along the lines, well, theres some areas that maybe the head of the agency has to review, which means that the 1979 law has been carried out in spirit. That is kind of an example because that opinion of the Justice Department was used by general counsels throughout the administration of obama to Keep Congress from doing its oversight work. Thats how important the person who is head of the office of Legal Counsel is in determining what goes on in the executive branch of government, enough to stifle the oversight work of the congress of the United States or the work of the Inspector General of each department. So i see mr. Engel as a person thats going to be a friend of congressional oversight, and if he isnt, im going to be very, very disappointed. But he satisfied me through his testimony before a committee and through the promises that he that he made in privacy of my office that hes going to do that. So were ending up with a mr. Engel who is, as you can see, very well qualified to take on such a role as assistant attorney general of the office of Legal Counsel. So i urge my colleagues to support mr. Engels nomination and confirm him to this important position. I yield the floor. Mr. Thune mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Thune mr. President , are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are not in a quorum call. Mr. Thune mr. President , were getting close to making tax relief a reamount imri reality. Last week the house released its tax reform bill. Both houses will review the bills and debate them on the floor and develop a final version. Mr. President , after years of economic stagnation, americans are ready for relief. They are ready to keep more of their hardearned money. They are ready to finally see a real pay increase, and they are ready for more access to economic opportunity. Thats what our tax reform bill is going to provide. To start with, our bill is going to put more money in americans pockets by lowering their tax rates and doubling their standard deduction. In our bill a family making 24,000 a year or less wont be paying any taxes. Families making more than 24,000 a year will pay significantly less than they are paying today. Were also going to help families by substantially increasing the child tax credit. Were going to simplify and streamline the tax code so that its easier for americans to figure out what benefits they qualify for so they dont have to spend a lot of time and money filing their taxes. But, mr. President , thats only the beginning. Americans dont just warrant to keep dont just want to keep more of their hardearned money, they a