Allow North Macedonia to join nato. Also on the agenda, debate on an executive nomination. Now to live Senate Coverage here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will open the senate with prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Come, mighty king, your throne stands firm, even in the midst of chaos. You speak and it is done. Lord, your our strength and shield. Our protection comes from you. Today, guide our senators as a shepherd would lead the lambs. May our lawmakers find in you Green Pastures and still waters. Lord, support us with your powerful hands until the shadows flee away. Forgive all our sins and rebellion, empowering us to glorify your name in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We pray in your great name, amen. The president pro tempore amen. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. 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. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak for one minute, as if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley recent research by historians have identified a person participating in the raising of the flag at iwo jima. That iconic photograph of marines raising the American Flag at iwo jima is a testament to american strength and sacrifice. The marine corps has identified another one of the marines pictured in this photograph as Corporal Harold keller of brooklyn, iowa. Keller never sought recognition or fame. He never mentioned to his children that he had helped raise that flag. He died in 1979, so he doesnt know what we know now or he knew it, but we know it now. 74 years later im proud that this iowan is finally recognized for his role in making history. I yield the floor and 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 later today the senate the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell so, madam president , later today the senate will finally vote on get the appropriations process moving. If we take up the legislation, i intend to stay on it until we complete it. On both sides of the capitol our democratic colleagues have spent recent weeks insisting over and over that their threeyearold quest to impeach the president will not prevent them from the substantive work that American Families need us to tackle. So far the early returns havent been too encouraging. A few weeks ago we saw the unusual spectacle of Senate Democrats voting to filibuster defense funding due to political fights with the white house. Democrats block add pay raise for our Service Members because theyd rather fight with the president. We know that across the capitol for months now Speaker Pelosi has been blocking the usmca and blocking the 176,000 new american jobs it would create. But this week offers another test. Soon well be voting on appropriations, and well see whether our democratic friends really can put aside their impeachment obsession long enough to get some real work done on the side. Actions speak louder than words. First, i hope we will tackle a package of domestic funding bills. After that well turn to a defense vehicle. I urge our democratic colleagues to drop the stall tactics that have left funding for our armed forces in limbo and deliver the funding that our military commanders need to keep us safe. So on another matter, madam president , i opposed President Trumps decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria, so im encouraged by press reports his administration is considering retaining a military presence in that country to keep the pressure on isis. Since september 11, our nation has learned cephal key lessons several key lessons about the fight against radical islamic terrorism. The terrorist threat cannot be wished away. The terrorists mean us harm. And we cannot allow them to establish safe havens and solidify their networks. When they do, the bloodshed ends up right here on our shores. American leadership is essential. Weve seen our partners and allies step up and take on Important Roles. In fact, as we speak, france is playing a leading role in the african. But just about every place that President Trump tried to lead from behind provides reminders that there are certain kinds of leadership only america can contribute. But unfortunately, were not in this alone. The huge progress we have won in recent years against isis and the taliban has come by partnering with local forces. With senator from a Broad International coalition. America has only provided limited specialized capabilities to reinforce the local partners who do the heaviest lifting. This approach is sustainable. Unfortunately, we know exactly what happens when america forgets these lessons and simply decides were tired of sustaining the fight. Abandoning afghanistan in the 1990s have created the conditions for al qaedas ability to grow and plan the september 11 attacks from a safe haven far from our shores. President obamas retreat from iraq allowed isis to arise from the stillwarm ashes of al qaeda in iraq. If not arrested, withdrawing from syria will invite more of the chaos that breeds terrorism and creates a vacuum our adversaries will certainly fill. It will invite the brutal assad regime to reassert its impressive control over northeastern syria, repressing sunni arab communities and creating the same conditions that led to isis growth in the first place. Russia will gain more leverage to amass power and influence throughout the middle east, project power into the mediterranean, and even promote its interests in africa. Iranbacked forces could have access to a strategic corridor that runs all the way from tehran to the very doorstep of israel. So, madam president , where do we go from here . Well, many of us in the senate were ahead of the game on the need to reaffirm American Global leadership in the ongoing fight against radical terrorists. At the beginning of this year, a bipartisan supermajority of senators warned about exactly this course of events. The mcconnell amendment to s. 1 earned 70 votes back in february. We specifically warned against a precipitous withdrawal from either afghanistan or syria and noted the need for an american presence. Congress should affirm actually, reaffirm the same truce today, and we should do so strongly. Now, unfortunately, the resolution crafted by House Democrats is simply not sufficient. Its not so much wrong as it is badly insufficient. It focuses solely on the kurds, ignoring the sunni Arab Community that suffered under both assads regime and isis and vulnerable minority communities like the christian arabs of syria. And the house was silent on the key matter of maintaining an actual physical u. S. Military presence in syria. Perhaps the goal was to pay to pave over disagreements in the democratic party. After all, our colleague, the senior senator from massachusetts, recently told a National Television audience, quote, this is the senior senator from massachusetts i think we ought to get out of the middle east. I think we ought to get out of the middle east, said the senior senator from massachusetts. And almost all of our democratic colleagues currently running for president refuse to sign on to the mcconnell amendment that earned 70 votes earlier this year. But we cant afford to dance around the critical question of u. S. Presence in syria and the middle east for the sake of democratic president ial primary politics. The senate needs to speak up. We cannot effectively support our partners on the ground without a military presence. Senators who thought we should withdraw from syria and afghanistan in february do not get to criticize President Trump for withdrawing from syria today unless they go on the record, admit they changed their minds, and say its too dangerous to quit. So today, along with chairman inhofe, chairman risch, senator graham, senator burris, i am introducing a stronger resolution that acknowledges hard truths and focuses on our Strategic Interests in the middle east. Our resolution acknowledges the vital role that our kurdish and arab syrian partners have played in rooting out and destroying the isis cal fate. Caliphate. It condemns turkeys decision to escalate hostilities in syria, warns against the abandonment of our allies and partners in syria, and urges President Trump to rethink his invitation for president erdogan to visit the white house. It also acknowledges turkeys legitimate National Security concerns emanating from the conflict in syria and the significant risk to the United States if such a strategically consequential ally were to fall further into moscows orbit. It recognizes the grave consequences of u. S. Withdrawal, the rising influence of russia, iran, and the assad regime, and the escape of more than 100 isisaffiliated fighters detained in the region. We specifically urge the president to end, end the drawdown, something that fortunately appears to be under way. We urge a reengagement with our partners in this region. We highlight the need for International Diplomatic efforts to end the underlying civil wars in syria and afghanistan on terms that address the conditions that have allowed al qaeda and isis to thrive. We cannot repeat this mistake in afghanistan. So, madam president , im aware there is some appetite on both sides of the aisle to quickly reach for the toolbox of sanctions. I myself played a Critical Role in creating sanction regimes in the past, but i caution us against developing a reflex to use sanctions as our tool of first, last, and only resort in i am supplementing our Foreign Policy. Sanctions may play an Important Role in this process, and im open to the senate considering them, but we need to think extremely carefully before we employ the same tools against a democratic nato ally that we would against the worst rogue states. Do we know what the political impacts that sanctions will have inside turkey . Will they weaken president erdogan or rally the country to his cause . Do we know the impact sanctions will have on u. S. Companies or on the economies of our closest allies who have deeply integrated their economies with turkey . If were going to use sanctions against a democratic ally, were going to have to be careful. Were going to have to be smart. Were going to have to be thoughtful and deliberate. We dont want to further drive a nato ally into the arms of the russians. Serious conversations about the use of sanctions must involve our colleagues on Foreign Relations, banking, and finance committees to ensure that this tool is used correctly. The most important thing the senate can do right now is speak clearly and reaffirm the Core Principles that unite most of us, republicans and democrats, about the proper role for American Leadership in syria, in the middle east, and for that matter in the world. We hope the damage in syria can be undone, but perhaps even more importantly, we absolutely must take steps so the same mistakes, the same mistakes are not repeated in iraq or afghanistan. I feel confident that my resolution is a strong and sorely needed step. I feel confident my colleagues will agree, and i would urge them to join me. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following treaty, which the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 5, treaty document 1161, protocol to the north atlantic treaty of 1949 op the accession of North Macedonia. The presiding officer under the previous order, the time until 12 00 noon will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer are we in a quorum . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer thank you, madam president. The leader in recent days has charged that because the house of representatives is now gauged in its constitutional duty to examine president ial wrongdoing, that somehow democrats are not interested in legislating. Its a curious criticism coming from leader mcconnell. Democrats not interested in legislating . From the man who proudly calls himself the grim reaper. Since the midterms, the Democratic House majority has passed hundreds of bills with bipartisan support while leader mcconnell has deliberately focused the senate on anything but legislation. He has turned this chamber into a legislative graveyard. Democrats want to vote on things gun safety, how about it . Health care, how about it . Infrastructure, how about it . Democracy, improving our democracy. None of these on none of these things will leader mcconnell even dare to put a bill on the floor, let alone the house bills, which would have a chance of getting something done. This very week, we have an example of how democrats plan to work with our republican colleagues to advance legislation. The republican leader has indicated finally, at last, that he may bring several Appropriations Bills to the floor this week. Democrats want to move forward and debate those bills in an open and vigorous fashion. Now, there are several Appropriations Bills that dont have any bipartisan support. The republican leader knows why. We need to have bipartisan support on the 302bs, the allocations to the various agencies to move forward on bills like Homeland Security and health and human services, military construction and defense. That negotiation to succeed must be bipartisan. Thats what the history of this chamber shows. Thats what common sense and logic shows. House leaders have suggested that a conference, democrats and republicans, house and senate, on these 302bs, thats a good idea. If republicans are willing to engage with us on the 302bs, we get negotiations back on track to fund the government. In the meantime, democrats want to move forward on the noncontroversial appropriation bills, the bills that have had bipartisan agreement, and we hope that leader mcconnell will allow a fair and robust amendment process. It would be nice to consider something on the floor besides an endless parade of rightwing judges who side with a special powerful interest time and time again, not working americans, and executive appointments. Now, on syria, today the fiveday pause on hostilities in Northern Syria is set to come to an end. What happens next is completely unknown. Will erdogan continue his military incursion into syria . Will the kurds facing another turkish offensive leave their posts guarding isis prisoners to once again defend themselves, allowing isis prisoners dangerous to america to escape . Will president s erdogan and putin cut a new deal thats bad for america and our allies . Nobody knows the answer to any of these. What we do know is that the situation has rapidly deteriorated compared to just a few weeks ago. And what caused this deterioration . One thing. The president s abrupt decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from the region after a phone call with president erdogan. When isis has been degraded and more than 10,000 detainees, many of them hardened isis fighters, were under lock and key to undo that, thats putting americas security at risk. Thats what President Trump has done. This socalled tough warrior backed off in a call with a much lesser power, erdogan. He has done this before. We dont know how many of these 10,000 detainees and their families have escaped. We dont know where they have gone. Nor there sunny plan to get them back to detention facilities. These are dangerous people, dangerous to our homeland, dangerous to new york and miami and dallas and los angeles. We dont know where they are or what theyre doing all because of President Trumps precipitous action. I get excited about this, angrily excited, negatively excited because my city has suffered from a group 10,000 miles away who did such damage. As the New York Times reported after isis had been run, quote, now President Trump says, the Islamic State has been handed its biggest win in four years. President trump has handed isis its biggest victory in four years. How can any american support that . How can so many of our republican colleagues and republican supporters of President Trump shrug their shoulders . Let me repeat. President trumps pullout has handed the Islamic State its biggest win in more than four years and greatly improved its prospects. The president s incompetence with erdogan and syria has handed isis a get out of jail free card and put, simply put american lives in danger. For the sake of our National Security, President Trump and his administration need to get a handle on this situation. Senators, i believe from both parties, have been trying to get the administrations top officia