The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. God of our destiny, you have watched over us from generation to generation. May our lawmakers trust your faithfulness during this challenging season of our nations history. Lord, inspire them to recall how you have sustained the land we love in prosperity and adversity, in peace and in war. Give our senators the wisdom to believe that they can trust your constancy and greatness, as they cling to your promise never to leave or forsake them. Believing in your power, help us all to face fresh challenges with total confidence in you. And lord, we pray for the health and safety of all as communities begin the process of reopening businesses. We pray in your mighty name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in 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. Mr. Grassley madam president . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak for three minutes in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley im deeply concerned about reports that china began hoarding medical supplies in early january while working to prevent the World Health Organization from sounding the alarm about the virus pandemic. By analyzing International Trade data, the department of Homeland Security assessed that the Chinese Government intentionally concealed the severity of the covid19 from the world in early january in order to stockpile medical supplies. Furthermore, the Chinese CommunistParty Government tried to hide its actions by denying there were any export restrictions. They even tried to obscure and delay their trade data so they wouldnt get caught. These acts are outrageous. Even worse the c. I. A. Informs intelligence agencies have found evidence that china threatened the World Health Organization to stop cooperating on efforts to combat covid19 if the organization declared a Global Health emergency early on. So it was declared and hence valuable time lost to fight the virus. This is simply unacceptable behavior. The Chinese Communist party ought to be held accountable for the countless lives lost around the globe due to the no nontransparent aggressive and inhuman behavior. The World Health Organization is comprised of many honorable and dedicated medical professions who believe in the w. H. O. s mission. If nil of them were privy to what was going on by the Chinese Communist party, they ought to step forward and shine light on any misdeeds by organization leadership. Whistleblowers are necessary to prevent corruption within any institution which is why i have longstanding reputation of protecting whistleblowers. The world deserves to know what the World Health Organization leaders knew and when they knew it. The evidence is quickly becoming Crystal Clear china is responsible for tremendous suffering worldwide through its lies and active coverup. Telling the truth about the Chinese Communist party does not, as some have suggested, have any bearing on how we analyze our domestic response. We should learn from democratic countries that have been successful in containing outbreaks like taiwan and south korea. However, Going Forward everyone around the world should have their eyes open about the true nature of the chinese regime. I yield. Mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell the coronavirus pandemic continues to challenge our nation and the senate is here working for the American People. Our committees have called in experts like dr. Fauci and leaders like chairman powell to discuss the cares act and the path toward reopening. Were tracking the effects of the largest rescue package ever and are considering next steps like strong Legal Protections so that doctors, Small Businesses, school teachers, and universities do not face a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits. The senate is also staying on top of other threats that predated covid19. The meddling of putins russia, the brutal Chinese Communist party, rogue states like iran and north korea, Foreign Terrorists such as isis. Two weeks ago we overwhelmingly confirmed an impressive leader for our National Counterintelligence and Security Center whom acting grenell has announced will play a central role in briefing candidates and campaigns on foreign threats against our elections. Today our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee led by acting chairman rubio will report out the president s nominee to be the next director of National Intelligence. Last week we reauthorized essential tools that our Intelligence Community needs to track our enemies and protect americans. But we didnt stop there. Over the last several years weve been painfully reminded that our nation and liberties are not only threatened, the fabric of our country is also hurt when tools and capabilities that are meant to keep us safe are abused. In ways that are at best reckless, sloppy, unaccountable, or worse polluted by political bias. In 2016 the f. B. I. Embarked on a counterintelligence investigation against Donald Trumps campaign for the presidency. Federal Law Enforcement used taxpayer money to scrutinize a Political Campaign in the middle of a democratic election. You would have thought such a radical step must have sprung from an air tight justification. Certainly you would think the Outgoing Obama Administration should only have used the awesome power of the federal government to pray into their political rivals if they had a slamdunk basis for doing so. But is not what they had. In one instance the f. B. I. Got permission to surveil a trump associate by telling half truths, blurring evidence, and citing sketchy sources like a dossier, partisan Opposition Research that had been funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the d. N. C. Heres how even the New York Times explained the recent findings of the justice departments Inspector General. Heres what the New York Times said. The f. B. I. Had cherrypicked and misstated evidence about the trump advisor. When seeking permission to wiretapping. That, madam president , was from the New York Times. So an american Citizens Campaign for the american presidency was treated like a hostile foreign power by our own Law Enforcement in part because the democraticled executive branch manipulated documents, hid contrary evidence, and made a d. N. C. Funded dossier a launch pad for an investigation. The Inspector General counted seven significant inaccuracies and omissions. Heres his report. We identified multiple instances in which factual assertions relied upon and the in the phishs fisa application were inaccurate, incomplete, or unsupported by appropriate documentation based upon information the f. B. I. Had in its possession at the time application was filed. Did you catch that last part . Based upon information the f. B. I. Had in its possession at the time, the application was filed. So were either talking about gross incompetence or intentional bias. Does any senator think its acceptable for any federal warrant application to include seven significant inaccuracies and omissions . But this wasnt just a run of the mill warrant. It was a fisa warrant to snoop on a president ial campaign. This was just one of the realities that President Trumps democratic critics spent years calling conspiracy theories or inventions of the president s mind. Yet here it is in black and white from exactly the kind of independent Inspector General the democrats rushed to embrace when convenient. Sadly, this was no isolated incident. Just recently attorney general barr has had to take the incredible step of unwinding a d. O. J. Prosecution of another former trump advisor because the governments case against him was unfair and distorted as well. It was largely on the basis of these proceedings that democrats and the media spent years fixated on wild theories of russian collusion. But upon investigation, the Mueller Investigation remember that one . It is those wild allegations that collapsed along with the credibility of several of these investigations that helped create the cloud of suspicion in the first place. In the words of our distinguished attorney general, the proper investigative and prosecutorial standards of the department of justice were abused. We saw two different standards of justice emerge. One that applied to President Trump and his associates and the other that applied to everybody else. We cant allow this to ever happen again. End quote. Thats from the attorney general. Oh, and by the way, as if this debacle needed even more shocking behavior, i understand a federal judge may try to continue prosecuting one of these cases, even though the prosecution itself wants to drop it. The judge has taken it upon himself to go browsing for other hostile parties. Obviously thats subverts our Constitutional Order in which the executive alone decides whether to prosecute cases. So look, madam president , no matter what some washington democrats may try to claim, youre not crazy or a conspiracy theorist if you see a pattern of institutional unfairness toward this president. You would have to be blind not to see one. Youd have to be blind not to see one. All of this is why the Senate Passed important fisa reforms in last weeks bill to help bring accountability and transparency into that flawed process. And we arent nearly finished. As soon as possible, the full senate will vote on mr. Ratcliffes nomination. The president will have a senateconfirmed who can pursue the Security Work of our Intelligence Community while ensuring that the i. C. Stays out of politics and out of the papers. And just yesterday chairman graham announced the Judiciary Committee will vote on a serious new set of southbounds so the senate of subpoenas so the senate can marry from Key Players Like james comey, andrew mccabe, Loretta Lynch and many others to continue getting to the bottom of in. So let me say that again. Senate republicans are taking steps to issue new subpoenas to a wide variety of Obama Administration officials with some relationship to the abuses ive just laid out. The American People deserve answers about how such abuses could happen and we intend to get those answers. So, madam president , ive been a strong supporter of Law Enforcement and the Intelligence Community during my career. The American People sleep safer because dedicated people are protecting our country and bringing our foes to justice. It is precisely because i support these missions that i feel so strongly this malpractice cannot be tolerated and must never be repeated. Now, on another matter, today its my honor to help bid farewell to a distinguished staff leader who has himself handled sensitive Security Matters with great care and dedication. For more than 30 years, this body has functioned more safely and smoothly because mike disilvestro was on the clock as director of the office of Senate Security. Mikes job is tough to describe. That is partially because long tenured allstars like mike have a way of carving out their own niche. But its mostly because his work is literally classified. Mike has been in charge of the office of Senate Security almost as long as i have been in the senate. He came on board as acting director in 1987. He took over a brandnew office with incredibly important and sensitive functions. The details are not for public consumption, but lets say there were two main missions. First, mike has managed, modernized, and expanded the security facility systems that provide classified information in the capitol to senators and committees as we govern the country. He simultaneously has been a diplomatic liaison to the executive branch who has advocated for the senates prerogative and a skillful manager of people and logistics who has made sure our secrets stay secret once they arrive here. Second, mike has been one of our top leaders on the security of the senate itself. He helps plan for contingencies and guard every facet of our institution, its people, and its systems from outside actors and bad intentions. So, madam president , these are tall orders, even for a fellow graduate of the university of louisville. Consider how much has changed in the 37 years since mike first came to the senate and in the 32 years he has held this job. Major wars, terrorist strikes on the homeland, anthrax in the hart building, countless technological advances that have made his task radically more complex. Imagine guarding some of the nations most closely held secrets, planning for possible attacks on the institution, being unanimously described by your colleagues as calm, cool, and even keeled. And mike is no cheap peepal pleaser. His duties dont permit it. When you see mike outside his secure facility and heading our way, it does not mean a social call. It means bad news, and you Better Believe the stoic sentinel has to say no a lot more than yes. Just doing the job half as reliably and reassuringly as mike is a Herculean Task by itself, but then factor in the fact that he is also one of the most personally well liked and respected colleagues among the circle of folks that hes worked with. Mike d. s reputation extends far outside the senate. I have it on Good Authority that when secretary of defense esper who served as National Security advisor to a former majority leader comes to the Senate Security to brief us members, he doesnt consider his visit complete until he has stopped in mike d. s office to check on his old colleague, but ironically outside a select circle, most people in the senate itself probably could not pick mike d. Out of a lineup. I guess when everything you work on is strictly need to know, you wind up on a needtoknow basis yourself. Even mikes own teammates described his approach as somewhat stealth like. In short, even to his beloved senate, mike has remained somewhat mysterious. It is definitely a good sign for all of us that he has never become a household name. But for some careful intelligence work on our own has turned up clues about mike d. s next assignment. His wellearned retirement will bring more hikes, more long runs, a lot more golf, and more time with the family he treasures. He may miss his colleagues and the importance of his job, but i dont think tears will be shed for the end of those heroically long commutes on i95 which took place at all hours, day and night, whenever duty called. I can offer mike i cant offer mike any higher praise than to repeat what he actually already knows. The senate has been safe and secure for more than a generation because of you. Decades of senators have gotten the information we need because of you. Some people spend their whole careers wondering if they have made a difference. You have not needed to ask that for almost 40 years, and you will never need to ask it again. So, mike, were going to miss you, but old habits diehard, and we simply arent willing to sever all ties, so this morning, the senate will officially designate mike as Senate Securitys director emeritus. The offices firstever director will become its firstever director emeritus. But dont worry, mike. Your new Job Description will just be a little bit lighter. I hope the biggest mystery you have to tackle for a while is whether to play nine holes on saturday or fit in 18. The senate and your country thanks you for everything youve done. So, madam president , i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 582 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 582, designating michael p. Disilvestro as director emeritus of Senate Security of the United States senate. The presiding off