Expect by wednesday. By the end of the week in the senates expecting the house to sentenced over the short term spending bill to fund the government until december 22nd current Government Spending expires this friday. Now live to the floor of the u. S. Senate. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain dr. Barry black will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Spirit of the living god, fall afresh on us this day. Radiate your hope and power through our lawmakers creating in their hearts an expectation of your best for them, our nation, and our world. May they face their challenges with total confidence in the triumph of your unfolding providence. Give our senators the wisdom to seek ways to Work Together to find Creative Solutions to the crucial issues of our time. As they seek to serve your purposes for their lives in this generation, may they remember the sacrifices of those who fought and died for the american dream. Lord, change and decay surround us but you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. We praise you and pray in your great 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. , december 4, 2017. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i reble joni ernst, a senator from the state of iowa, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed orrin g. Hatch, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the nielsen nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen of virginia to be secretary. Mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell today the senate will continue to full fill its important responsibility to confirm critical nominees to President Trumps administration. Well do that by investigating to advance the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen the president chose to serve as secretary of Homeland Security. As my colleagues know, this is an incredibly important position within our government with responsibilities ranging from Cyber Security to protecting our borders to the continued Recovery Efforts from the recent natural disasters. The department of Homeland Security requires strong leadership to get the job done. Miss nielsen is a qualified candidate with the talent and experience for succeed as chief of staff to the previous d. H. S. Secretarygeneral john kelly she understands the daily operations of the department and shares our goals for its future. In addition, her previous tenure with the department makes her an ideal candidate to be ready to lead the agency on day one. Miss nielsen is an experienced professional who will help lead the department as it faces constantly evolving threats. I look forward to advancing her nomination later today and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting miss nielsen for this Critical National security post. Now, on another matter this Week Congress will consider shortterm funding legislation to provide resources to address many important issues facing our country. The house recently released its legislative text to fund the government through december 22. I look forward to our colleagues consideration of that measure. This bill, one without any controversial policy riders will continue government funding and give the house and senate time to complete their work on a longterm solution. It will keep the government open and functional and it includes Critical Resources for our National Defense and to give states certainty to continue the Childrens HealthInsurance Program while the bipartisan work on chip reauthorization continues. Congressional leaders continue to work with the administration on a longterm funding proposal to help agencies accomplish their goals and to plan for the future. As we wait for the house to take the next steps, i encourage my colleagues on the senate to review the legislation. Well pass it before the end of the week. Now, one final matter. Last week the Senate Passed a critical tax reform bill to jumpstart the American Economy by putting more money into the pockets of hardworking families and Small Businesses, creating more jobs and economic opportunity, and taking steps to ensure that jobs and business stay right here in america. This is a once in a Generation Opportunity and were meeting the challenge. Soon the house and senate will meet in conference to produce a final bill so we can send it to the president s desk. Then the American People can begin to enjoy the relief. I want to take a few minutes to thank a number of people who were key to getting us to this point. First, President Trump and Vice President pens who fought for the promise they made to the American People to caught their taxes. Their tenacity, commitment to the effort and engagement with the senate were invaluable. I look forward to working with them on the many other priorities we plan to deliver for our country. The president and Vice President are great allies and we accomplish much working together. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of secretary mnuchin, directodirector kahn, general k, mark short and many others at the white house who worked with us on this effort. Speaker ryan, ways and Means Committee chairman brady, and our friends over in the house have done great work as well. Were looking forward to getting a final bill to the president s desk soon. To my Leadership Team who provide good counsel and good humor even in the most trying of times. Thank you. Most especially to majority whip jorn cornyn who is not only a valued colleague but a trustedded friend. John and his team led by monica pop helped navigate many challenges all along the way. There is no doubt we wouldnt have made it this far without them. The chairman of the finance committee orrin hatch, his many years of service in the senate have brought the expertise and steady hand we needed to get this bill written out of committee and on to the floor. Not only is orrin an expert at legislating but he also is a trusted friend, and i thank him for his many years of work to get us to this point. And to the chairman of the Budget Committee, mike enzi. There are few people around here who understand this complicated process better than chairman enzi and were grateful to him as well. And the chair of the energy committee, lisa murkowski. This is an important moment for alaska and for American Energy security. To the committee staffs, finance led by j. Kozlo, energy and Natural Resources led by bryan hughes, and budget led by betsy mcdonnell. And of course the senate dean of the tax downs, mark braider. Thank you, mark. There are a number of other members critical to the process. Senators thune, portman, toomey, and scott took on the work in finance committee as we worked to unite our conference on a bill that everyone could support. Ill never forget the time and energy they put into this effort and i cant thank them enough. My staff calls them the core four on tax reform. Id also like to extend my gratitude to the Senate Parliamentarians who work long hours and weekends with republicans and democrats alike to apply the rules of the senate in a fair and unbiased manner. The floor staff, door keepers, those working for the sar jentsz at arms sergeant at arms, secretary of the senate, architect of the capitol, those behind the scenes that provide essential support for the senate whenever were in session. You are the reason this institution functions so well no matter the challenges before us. We appreciate your commitment and your service. To the members of the United States scapt police who stand Capital Police who stand constant guard and protect the members and staff and millions of visitors who travel here. Were always grateful for your service. Without our teams on the floor and the cloakroom, this place simply wouldnt run the way it should. Secretary for the majority, laura dove, Robert Duncan and the whole cloakroom team are invaluable to the work we do each and every day. I would like to thank them for the hours they put in no matter what the issue of the day may become. And finally to my own team, first sharon who leads my staff with focus and commitment to success. Im lucky to have her by my side every day. She makes each of us better by not letting us forget why were here, and that is to do the right thing for the American People. We have seen a lot of debates together over the last ten years, and her counsel is always stead and straightforward. She truly is the best of the best. Don stewart. Stu keeps us always on our toes but always with a smile. The Communications Team of Robert Stewart and tony afario, david popp, stephanie pinn and be kevin grout and many more help to communicate in a challenging news environment every single day, and im so thankful for their efforts. Hazen marshall who has been in the trenches on this every day since we started our work on this bill. Hazen may be the most likable guy in the senate but with a backbone of steel. Jane lee, my budget lead. Smart, cheerful, and determined. My Leader Office policy team who get to work with the committees as well as folks outside the senate to help keep everyone informed, field questions, and address concerns. I want to thank them all. Scott rabb, Terry Van Dorn and erica swarez each played a role in this. I thank them. My personal office staff that each day helps my whole team keep kentucky at the forefront of anything were working on. I cant thank them all enough, and to many others in both my state operation, especially terry carmac and my leader of the office team, while i cant name everyone by name, know that my appreciation goes to each of you as well. And of course steph macha, my director of operations, she keeps everything running and is always working, and i cant imagine this success without her. And finally, to the man who has been the steady hand in the tax reform effort in my office, brendan daugh. His leadership and counsel over the last several months has been absolutely unparalleled. Brendan many days worked around the clock to hear from our constituents and help us get to the passage of this incredibly significant piece of legislation. He worked with the committees to draft language, rework ideas, present thoughts and prioritize member feedback. I couldnt be more proud of brendan and the work he has done. Brendan, you have my deep gratitude and admiration for how you have helped manage this critical bill. Its an honor to call you a colleague and also a friend. I notice the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer madam president , in the early hours i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. The democratic leader. Mr. Schumer madam president , in the early hours of saturday morning, under the cover of darkness, the republican majority rushed through one of the worst, most hastily considered pieces of major legislation i have seen in my time here in the senate. The bill will cause one of the greatest transfers of wealth to Corporate America and the already wealthy, while working america picks up the tab. Millions of middleclass families will pay higher taxes under the republican plan in only a few short years. Because the bill is unpaid for, the deficit will skyrocket, cannibalizing resources for education, scientific research, infrastructure, and our military. Endangering social security, medicare and medicaid. As i said last week, i have not seen a more aggressive piece of legislation so devoid of a rationale, so illsuited for the condition of the country, so removed from the reality of what the American People need. The text of the bill itself was released in the early evening only several hours before a final vote took place. Lobbyists had the chance to read and change the bill before members of the u. S. Senate. When we received the bill, there were sections of text handwritten in the margins concerning some of the most complex tax ploigz. The joint committee on tax was not even able to produce an analysis of the bill until after, until after the final vote took place at around 2 00 or 3 00 in the morning. Amid such haste, the republican majority likely made drafting errors and inclusioning that will have unintended consequences, even severe ones. Amid such secrecy, such cloak and dagger legislating, the majority slipped in several additional goodies for big corporations, the very wealthy that are already being uncovered. Im sure more will come to light in the coming days. The appalling process we all witnessed led bloomberg news, a middle of the road, businessoriented publication to write the following in an editorial today. Quote in their hush to pass something, anything, they can call tax reform Congressional Republicans have achieved the impossible. They have made an all of plan even worse. The end result is a sheer absurdity, bloomberg went on. A report that actually a reform that actually complicates the tax code further and that must partially selfdestruct to attain some semblance of the fiscal discipline republicans claim to value. It is hard to imagine a more egregious waste of time and energy or a worse outcome for taxpayers and the broader economy, end quote. Thats bloomberg news. It is a business publication. If they can say that, imagine what average americans are saying. What a condemnation from a publication that would be inclined to favor tax reform. In short, my republican friends ought to be ashamed of the process and the product that emerged from the senate last week. As the two houses of congress prepare to go to conference, i suggest my republican colleagues reconsider their efforts and think again on how much better of a product we could produce through a bipartisan, open, and transparent process. Regardless, madam president , theres so much left to do before the end of the year. The republicans should not be devoting their energies towards a conference on tax reform because this bill in both the house and senate needs dramatic repair. On the yearend, madam president , the most pressing matter before the senate this week is not tax reform. That has no immediate deadline. Its, rather, to make sure we keep the government up and running on friday. Nobody should want to see a government shutdown. We should all be working to avoid one. And i must say, i dont believe my republican friends leader mcconnell, speaker ryan want a government shutdown. The only one at the moment whos flirted with a shutdown is President Trump, who tweeted earlier this year that, quote, we could use a good shutdown to fix the mess, and was quoted in last weeks Washington Post suggesting to associates that a shutdown could help him politically. While congressional negotiators have tinged the hard work of hash have continued the hard work of hash be out a deal, the president s unproductive deal has been the only Monkey Wrench in the process. It is hard to find a solution when one of the people at the table tweets that he doesnt see a deal. The white house has reached out and asked for a second meeting with congressional leadership. We hope the president will go to this meeting with an open mind rather than deciding that an agreement cant be reached beforehand, as he did before the first meeting. We need to reach a budget agreement that equally boosts funds for our military and key priorities here at home, including the Opioid Crisis, pension plans, Veterans Health care, Student Loan Debt relief and rural infrastructure. We have to provide funding for Community Health centers and chip, as well as relief for the millions of Americans Still reeling from the natural disasters that hit us earlier this year. And we also must come together on a bipartisan deal to pass the dream act, along with tough Border Security measures. There is a bipartisan path forward on every one of these items. As negotiations with our republican counterparts continue, were hopeful the president will be open to an agreement to address the urgent needs of the American People and keep the government open. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call vote