Justice, and righteousness. May they cultivate such ethical consist tency, that their words will be undergirded by right actions. Lord, keep them aware of your continued presence, as they find in you fullness of joy. Show them the path to life, as you guide them to your desired destination. We pray in your merciful name. Amen. The president pro tempore amen. Please join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of americ, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Grassley madam president . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak as if in morning business for one minute. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley the United States of america has the mightiest military in the world to protect our freedoms and to guarantee peace around the world. Thats why its so important to keep check on the pentagons financial ledgers. Taxpayers expect their money to be spent wisely, and its our job in the congress to make sure that that money is spent wisely. Im glad that secretary esper has said that he will work with whistleblowers to stop wasteful spending and to prevent more spare parts ripoffs. These are things thats been of interest to me over the last several decades with the defense budget. I met with secretary esper, and i believe he has his heart in the right place to help us accomplish these goals. He has also indicated that he will prioritize getting a clean audit of our military services and an opinion that can be certified because 2010 law was not met by 2017, that all the audits ought to be certified and still not done. And how can you follow the money if it cant be audited . Our men and women in uniform deserve no less than to make sure that every dollar in the Defense Department is spent wisely. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday the administration the presiding officer were in a quorum call. Were in a quorum call. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday the administration informed congressional leaders that secretary mnuchin, white house chief of staff mulvaney, and acting o. M. B. Director vought had reached a deal with Speaker Pelosi to prevent a Government Spending crisis and deliver on the president s top priorities. The agreement secures the most important priority of the republican conference. In fact, in my view, i. T. The most important its the most important obligation of the entire congress, and thats securing the resources we need to provide for the common defense. This deal does it. Over the past two and a half years, republicans in congress have worked with the president to stop and reverse the decline in the strength and the readiness of our armed forces. After years of insufficient funding that hurt readiness and tied commanders hands, congress and President Trump have secured badly needed funding increases to rebuild and modernize the u. S. Military. They still have more work ahead. The progress that weve made remains tenuous. Americas adversaries arent taking the foot off the gas anytime soon. So we cant either. We have to keep up the momentum, and this agreement provides the stability of funding that our military deserves and requires. Thanks to tough negotiating by the Trump Administration, this deal delivers for the security of our nation. It delivers for our men and women in uniform. It protects the progress of the last two years and provides the fuel for further progress. So thats the bottom line, madam president. The nature of divided government means this certainly isnt the agreement that republicans would have written all by ourselves. For example, ill never understand why our democratic colleagues treat funding the United States armed forces like a republican priority that somehow needs to be matched up with additional spending that democrats like in order to make it palatable for them. It seems to me that every one of us both sides should jump at the chance to fund defense adequately. But, alas, thats not a mystery that was going to be solved for me in the immediate future. The fact is, the effect is coming up with urgent deadlines with respect to the debt limit and beginning the appropriations process. The full faith and credit of the United States cannot be in question, and the last thing americans need is for washington to throw a big wrench into this redhot economy thats creating historic levels of Job Opportunities and growing their takehome pay. And so faced with our democratic colleagues reluctance, the administration took the high road. They did what needed to be done for our armed forces and veterans and negotiated a successful deal. In fact, compared to current law, the administration has secured a larger increase for defense spending than for nondefense. Let me say that again. A larger increase for defense than for nondefense compared to current law. Whats more, the administration success itly kept leftwing poly riders far away from this agreement. I applaud the fact that no leftwing riders were allowed into the deal. This is the deal that was necessary to continue rebuilding our National Defense after years of not guilty and its the deal that was of neglect and its the deal that was possible in limiting government. Ill be proud to support it when the senate votes on the agreement before we adjourn at the end of this month. In the meantime, this body has other significant business to complete for the American People. Most immediately, in just a few hours, well be confirming a new secretary of defense. The vote to advance dr. Mark espers nomination came in yesterday afternoon at 856. Thats the kind of overwhelming bipartisan vote thats called for in this six. The nominee is beyond qualified. His record of Public Service is beyond impressive. His commitment to serving our Service Members is beyond obvious. And the need for a senateconfirmed secretary of defense is beyond urgent. I urge every one of my colleagues to vote to confirm our. The majority secretary i. Mr. Mcconnell i urge every one of my colleagues to vote to confirm our next secretary of defense later today. I know that my colleagues dont need any extended lecture from me about the sol he have commitments this program presents. Commitments to the firefighters, police officers, and all the First Responders who rushed selfish lizard the World Trade Center just moments after the attacks began to the First Responders and workers who reported for duty days or even weeks later putting their health at risk to help others. Commitments to those who responded to the pentagon and in shanksville, pennsylvania, and, madam president , in the cases where the injury or illness that is claimed the lives of those heroes, commitments to the surviving families. Congress can never repay them for their sacrifices. But we can do a small part to make our heroes whole. Thats why the senate has never failed to attend to the fund before and were not about to do so now. I had the honor of meeting with a group of First Responders and advocates several weeks back. They gave me the badge of louis alvarez, a bomb squad detective who was ill and has passed away. It was my honor to receive it. It is my honor to reiterate that the senates commitment toest going this done was never in doubt. I wanted the senate to address this prior to the august recess and today we will do so. And itll be my honor later today to vote for the funding and ensure this fund is secure. I would urge my colleagues to do the same. On one final matter, i have spoken about our nations renewed competition with other great powers like russia and china. Despite decades of efforts to welcome these nations into a peaceful, prosperous and Fair International system, were constantly reminded that these nations have their own designs on the future. And in their visions principles of sovereignty and a rulesbased International Order tend to take a back seat to power politics and the pursuit of hegemme. The Chinese Communist party, for example, is working to extend its control and influence everywhere from taiwan to cambodia to laos to burma to hong kong, as weve seen recently. The tools and tactics may differ but the goal is the same. Beijing wants to bend its neighbors to its will. Earlier this month, after historic protests, hong kongs government hit pause on legislation that would have further eroded its autonomy and invited more meddling from the mainland. But victory is not yet assured. The bill has been suspended but hasnt been totally withdrawn. Hong kongs people emboldened by this rare victory over the creeping influence has asserted the right slowly sliced away in recent years by the p. R. C. Protests continue and with them countervailing pressures from authorities beholden to beijing. Increasingly Brutal Police tactics and promainland vigilantees are drawing blood. Madam president , hong kongs autonomous government, political freedoms, and stable rule of law have been a cruel precondition of its growth and prosperity. U. S. Firms have invested tens of billions in hong kongs economy because they trust the autonomous regions political climate, independent judicial system, and degree of independence from beijing. By contrast, International Firms are currently pulling back from china due to concerns about corruption, autocracy, intellectual Property Rights violations, and statesponsored corporate espionage. So, madam president , at a time china faces slowing growth, beijings seeks to emulate hong kong and not to remake hong kong. The p. R. C. Has long been working hard under the surface to increase its influence and power. In hong kong, like in so many other areas, china has used this approach that experts have called hide and bide. Hiding their intentions and biding their time. Slowly slicing away resistance, building leverage, and encroaching one step at a time. In the case of hong kong, beijing and its agents have overreached. But theyre recalculating. Postponing action on the legislation while biding time to resume the encroachment. This is not just a matter for the people of hong kong. The p. R. C. s treatment of hong kong, just like its treatment of the uighurs or the tibetans, is an indicator of how chinese rulers will behave abroad. All nations who trade with the p. R. C. Should be watching the drama unfolding on the streets of hong kong. The world is watching and wondering if a government cannot respect the basic rights of people it claims as its own citizens, why on earth would it be trusted to respect the rights and interests of its neighbors, its trading partners, or the companies that invest in its economy . As we all know, the people of hong kong have been carrying the banner for decades. Im proud to say that here in the United States, we have been marching alongside them the entire way. Back in 1992, i was proud to author the u. S. Hong kong policy act and help codify americas stance on the special status of hong kong. And so on the 70th anniversary of the p. R. C. And the 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre, im grateful the administration and the congress on a bipartisan basis is reexamining americas relationship with the p. R. C. Im grateful for the bipartisan work my colleagues have done on this important issue, and im confident congress will continue to hold hearings and stay vigilant on the subject of autonomy and democracy in hong kong. As well as chinas overall strategy and its implications for the United States, our allies, and the entire world. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer thank you, madam president. Excuse me one minute. Now, last friday, i went with a group of Senate Democrats to visit several Detention Centers at our southern border, including the Border Patrol facility at mcallen and Processing Centers at donna and ursula in texas. The searing accounts about the conditions endured by the migrant families are true. We saw overcrowding. We heard migrants tell us they are unable to brush their teeth, shower, call their families, or access feminine hygiene products. And we saw children in soiled clothing caged and expressionless. Heart breaking. 1,000mile stares on the faces of toddlers. Where smiles and laughter should be. It breaks your heart. It makes your blood boil all at once. But we saw something else. I am always looking for the positive. And we saw a much better model employed by a nonprofit Catholic Charity center run by sister norma perentell. There families had access to medicine and food and showers as their asylum cases were being processed in an orderly fashion. These people were being treated humanely, and they were following the law. Sister norma told us the government could replicate this model. She explained that if i. C. E. Reinstated the family Case Management program, we could see as high as 99 compliance with Immigration Court orders without the need for expanded detention and overcrowding. What a difference that could make. Sister norma showed us that we can treat these migrants with respect and decency without sacrificing Border Security or law and order. The two are not mutually exclusive. That is such an important point. You can have both humane treatment and rule of law. Anyone who says we must choose between treating these people humanely and enforcing our laws is offering a false choice. We can do both, and we can follow the model of Catholic Charities all along the border. Thats why democrats have been pushing to restart and infuse more dollars into alternatives to detention, despite republican objections. The family Case Management program, coupled with the democratic bill to address the treatment of children, a bill that senators merkley, feinstein, durbin, and i have sponsored, as well as many other, over 30 democrats, i believe, would both improve conditions at the Detention Centers and ensure families comply with our immigration laws. And id say one more thing about these kids and the parents they are not criminals. I asked mark morgan, hardly a soft certainly known as a hardliner on immigration, what percentage of these kids and parents are criminals . A very small percentage. At one point, it was said 96 . At another point, 98 are not criminals. They arent the same people that our grandparents or great grandparents or greatgrandparents who who sought safety and a decent life in america. Their children and their grandchildren on my fathers side, im one of the grandchildren. On my mothers side, im one of the greatgreatgrandchildren have done good things for america throughout the country. Thats what americas all about. These people are not fleeing to break the law. They are not fleeing to trafficking drugs. They are fleeing because the gangs down there told the parents well rape your daughter, well murder your son, well burn your house if you dont do what we want. Fleeing for the safety, the beauty, and the opportunity of america that generations since the 1600s have done and made this country great. We need to return to a rational discussion about the reality on the ground, and that includes the discussion about the root causes of immigration. again, when the president says that americans should know that all these people arriving at our borders are criminals, trying to game the law, he should know who they are. As i said, his own c. P. B. Commissioner marching morgan admitted as much to our congressional delegation on friday when we questioned him. The vast majority of families are fleeing unimaginable violence and degradation in their countries. So lets get at the root causes of this instead of just tweeting and going on tv and ranting, which people do. First, allow migrants to apply for asylum inside their own countries. Second, hire more Immigration Judges to reduce the backlog in cases at the border. And third, provide Security Assistance to these Central American countries to help them crack down on the vicious gangs and drug cartels that cause so many to flee in the first place. This is a rational thing to do. I think most americans, regardless of their ideology, regardless of their party, regardless of their political position, would support, but the Trump Administration has now pledged to end the Security Assistance to Central American countries. Thats counterproductive. Its boneheaded, because its going to cause more people to flee. And so its unfortunately been typical of the president s approach. This morning, the president tweeted about and bragged about how he has cut off funding to guatemala nine months ago. Counterproductive. That means more, not less, people at our borders. Plain and simple. In my experience, i have not seen the president be serious about dealing with immigration. Hes used the issue, he riles up his base, without telling them the truth, making them think they are all crimi