The guest chaplain mr. President , members of the senate, may the lord be with you. Let us bow our heads in reference to his presence. God, our help in ages past, be our comfort still. Thank you for this great, great nation, and its foundation of one nation, under god, indivisible. Thank you, lord, that we can emphasize indivisible. Thank you for the liberty, the justice, and the freedoms we enjoy. We pray for all who walk these hallowed halls where lifechanging, worldchanging decisions are made. Bless this austere gathering of men and women chosen by you and the American People to serve us all. Give them wisdom to acknowledge you first in all they do. Give them grace, as has been extended to them. Guide them, o holy spirit. Guide them, o holy spirit. Fill them and this chamber with your presence, and fill these halls with your glory. When they leave today, may they say, we have not just been in the presence of men; we have been in the presence of god. Now, in the name of the one i trust, jesus christ, my lord and savior, fill this place, holy spirit. The president pro tempore plee join me in reciting the pledgef allegiance to our flag. 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 a. Khasbulato mr. Cassidy mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from louisiana. Mr. Cassidy may i briefly acknowledge and thank the pastor for being here. Today is his 83rd birthday. He has blessed many people. He is an anointed man of god who many others have looked towards as guidance, as a man who by his life and by his words guides them to a deeper relationship with god. So, on behalf of our entire senate, i extend our thanks to Bishop Tenney for being here today. Thank you. I yield back. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday the senate voted overwhelmingly to take the next step to pass the 21st century cures bill, Bipartisan Legislation to bolster medical innovation. This legislation promotes critical investments in research and treatment development. It helps cut through unnecessary regulations that would hinder the development of cures while also protecting safety. And it builds upon the progress of the innovative therapies and regenerative medicine. This legislation puts patients first. It helps strengthen the kind of research and treatments needed to cure the most devastating diseases, and it includes provisions to help enhance men it will Health MentalHealth Programs and to provide fund being to fight opioid abuse. Ive heard from Health Professionals across my state who express the impact this legislation can make. From the Kentucky Hospital Association to the university of kentucky, our states Largest Research university. This bill, u. K. s president says, supports the president s investment and research which addresses the compelling questions of our day. I will be pleased to welcome u. K. s president capaluto to the capitol this morning. Cures is one example, he says, of how the university will be betterequipped to improve the lives of those in our commonwealth. We know this bill wouldnt have been possible without chairman alexanders seasless effort is along ceaseless efforts along Ranking Member murrays efforts to drive it forward. We thank them as well as senator cassidy. I also want to recognize my friend, Vice President biden, who joined us yesterday for his efforts to include his Cancer Moonshot Initiative in the package. This is an issue that hits close to home for the Vice President. As we all know, hes been a leading voice in supporting efforts to strengthen Cancer Research and to find a cure. Im pleased that well pass this legislation soon so that we can begin to put its provisions to work on behalf of american families. Now, on the other important issues before the senate, ive spoken with the speaker on a number of occasions about an issue facing coal miner retirees like those i represent in kentucky and have insisted that the c. R. Include a provision to address that issue so these retirees dont lose their Health Care Benefits at the end of this year. We hope to have a final bill to share with members soon, and we look forward to turning to it as soon as possible after house action. Ill have nor say on this ill have more to say 0en that later. Were also working to wrap up a number of conference reports including for the Defense Authorization bill and the Water Resources development bill. Last night i took the next step on the defense conference voter that we can pass it this week. This legislation will provide more of the Tools Service members need to take on in the security challenges, help strengthen our military posture, and support our men and women in uniform with the benefits and the pay raises theyve earned. I hope the senate will also take the next step soon on a Water Development resources conference report. This Water Resources conference report will invest in our nations waterways infrastructure, enhance commerce, and support safe and reliable water sources to prevent future situations like the one we saw in flint, michigan. To that poipts, this bill also to that point, this bill also includes assistance for families like those in flint who have already been impacted by lead poisoning. So, mr. President , we all remember where we were on september 11, 2001. The man we honor today certainly does. He was in berlin. Hed only just begun his second day as ambassador to germany and then everything changed. Planes smashed into the world trade center, terrorist attacked the pentagon where his soninlaw worked, his family thankfully emerged unbroken that day; others were not so fortunate. Ambassador coats found himself thrown into a role he couldnt have foreseen a day earlier, a role in which he would excel, but one that would forever change him. Those who know dan coats say that day in september affected him profoundly. It shook him as a father, it sharpened him as a policymaker, it clarified the stakes and his sense of responsibility. He may not have known it then, but he would feel the tug of that responsibility many years later and answer the call. Senator coats had enjoyed a successful congressional career when he decided to retire in 1998. He earn earned a reputation for working hard, getting things accomplished, being an indispensable member of his conference. After dan announced his decision mott to seek reelection, thenmajority leader trent lott range him up said, you cant leave, lott recalls saying. I cant go forward in the Senate Without you. Dans success was no accident. He learned the legislative ropes working for an upandcoming congressman named dan quayle. He applied that knowledge as he progressed from quails staffer to quails successor, first in the house, then in the senate. This was evident whether dwans focused on rebuilding the military after the cold washings bringing opportunity to lowincome families and children, even dissecting the finer points of american garbage policy. Yes, garbage policy. Toward the beginning of dans time in the senate, hoosier landfills were filling with new jersey trash and hoosiers were fed up. So in came dan with a war cry, dont dump on us and just the right blend of determination, legislative knowhow and humor to capture the attention of colleagues and the hearts of constituents. Some were amused in d. C. Or trengton, but back in or trenton, but back in indiana, hoosiers why over the moon p. For many, their first introduction to this plucky new senator came through his famous trash ad. The coats for senate commercial which featured a garbage man, led to a place in the halls. Perhaps a ticket back to the senate. When senator lott was not able to persuade dan to run for senate later, he offered him this statement hes bid him farewell. Dan coats is levering the senate, but he is not leaving us. I have a feeling that hes going to have a real influence in many ways for the rest of his life and hes going to stay close to all of us. How right he was. Fastforward to just over a decade later. Former senator coats looked out and saw a country in crisis, adrift on the world stage. Stagnant at home, sliding into despair. Dan was deeply unsettled. He shared his concerns with his wife marcia. He realized he had two choices. He could sit back and watch or he could do something. Dan coats chose to do something. The election was hardly a sure thing. He pulled through anyway. When he returned to the capitol, he put his head down and got right to work. Dan can be a man of few words. He doesnt always feel the need to speak up, but when he does, people pay attention. Its a true mark of distinction in a body like this with its big egos and sharp elbows. People listen to this former ambassador when he explains the ins and outs of foreign policy. People listen to this veteran of Previous Health care debates when he dissects the problems of obamacare. And when this fiscal expert shares his waste of the week, people pay attention. Its how we learned taxpayer dollars are being spent on swedish massages for bunny rabbits. Its how we discovered taxpayer money was being wasted to determine whether hanger thats hunger plus anger is a real thing. Senator coats knew he wasnt going to solve all of our nations problems as one senator in one term but he understood the important contributions he could make. He also recognized his responsibility to make them. In the process, he submitted a legacy that will long outlast him here in the senate. It will certainly continue on in my office. My own chief of staff is a coats alum. Ryan speaker ryans chief of staff dave hoffey is another coats alum. The list of coats staffers who have gone on to achieve great things, from former white house chief writer gerson to incoming indiana Governor Eric Holcomb is as long as it is impressive. I know dan is looking forward to spending more time at Wrigley Field after he retires. Here is the tweet dan dan sent t last month. A century in the making. We fining aolly made it we finally made it. What a great day to be a cubs fan. It is hard to overstate the importance of moment for him. I mean, this is the guy who spent part of his honeymoon his honeymoon at Wrigley Field. So i wonder if maybe, just maybe, he was able to see a little of himself in his favorite team. Maybe in a guy like fellow Indiana University hoosier kyle schwarber, a standout player who stepped away from the game for a season and then came back and picked right up where he left off without a hitch, knocking it out of the park just when his team needed him most. Dan promises hes not coming back a third time. Well see. Its obvious dan never needed the office or the title. Not the first time, not the second time, not a third time. That said, i know dan isnt going to stop caring. I know he has isnt going to stp working. So were going to keep the dan coats bat signal plugged in should the people call out for a hero yet again, and i hope our friend will suit up one more time, because if nothing else, were really, really going to miss him. So let us recognize and congratulate senator coats for his many years of service. Let us wish him well in his latest retirement, and let me personally thank him for his wise counsel and trusted friendship. Ill miss you, my friend. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , senator mark kirk has never been one to be intimidated by a challenge. Hes willing to work hard even when the going gets tough. He never shies away from a tough debate, and he always comes prepared. He has been defying the odds for a long time and inspiring others along the way. Nearly five years ago, senator kirk suffered a debilitating stroke, one that threatened to end his Senate Service nearly as soon as it had begun. In the blink of an eye, kirk went from juggling constituent meetings and Committee Hearings to lying in a hospital bed wondering if he would ever walk again. Or talk again. Or read again. If senator kirk had decided to just quit the senate and focus on his recovery, no one would have blamed him, but he didnt do that. He never lost hope. He never gave up. He set his sights on getting back to work for the people of illinois and the nation. Thats exactly what he did. And we were there to witness his triumph several months later. Cane in hand, a smile on his face, joe manchin to one side, joe biden to the other, one foot in front of the other, senator mark kirk climbed and climbed and climbed. He ascended each of those 45 Capitol Steps to the top of this chamber as we all cheered him on. Mark could rest assured no one was going to let him fail or fall that day, and senator manchin could rest assured that he wouldnt have to go another day waiting for his buddys return. Days after marks stroke, senator manchin hopped on a flight to chicago to check on his friend in person. He saw firsthand the many challenges kirk had to overcome in recovery, but he never doubted marks will, determination or desire to get back to work. Kirk, he says, is like the energizer bunny. He just keeps going and going and going. Manchin and kirk might seem like an unconventional pair. Ones a democrat, the other republican. The West Virginian is an outdoorsman. The illinoisan is a gamer. Senator manchin is a mounteer and senator kirk isnt. But as the senior senator from West Virginia put it, they just clicked from day one and quickly became the best of friends. Now they go boating together, they meet for lunch nearly every thursday, and they support each other. The support of good friends like senator manchin has been critical to senator kirks dramatic recovery. He has found support in other places, too, including the mailbox. A few weeks after his stroke, jackson, a 9yearold fellow stroke survivor from illinois, wrote senator kirk to share his own story and some words of encouragement. Dont give up on yourself, jackson wrote. All the hard work is worth it. P. S. , he said, i think kids should get paid to go to school. The pair quickly became pen pals and even picked up a new joint sport of Tower Climbing in their rerehabilitation. Rehabilitation. Senator kirk calls jackson his personal hero. Last year, he invited him to visit washington, too, and be his guest at the state of the union. To hear kirk tell it, he may have never made it back for that address at all without jacksons support and kind words. I know the support he received from his fellow home state senator didnt go unnoticed either. After marks stroke, senator durbin visited kirks staff, offering to help out however he could. Senator kirks story reminds us that the senate can be more than just a place of work. It can actually be a family. In his own words, the things that divide us in politics are infinitesimal compared with the dignity of our common humanity. Its a powerful message, and i think its one we can all learn from. Senator kirk says that americas men and women in uniform represent the greatest force for Human Dignity on earth. Hes right. And the work hes done to help us meet the obligation our nation has to military families and our veterans will endure beyond his term. Mark kirk, a veteran himself, understands the sacrifices our Service Members and their families make each day on our behalf. He knows they deserve our full support not only when they are on active duty but also after their tours are complete. Thats why hes worked to help guarantee the Quality Health care that our heroes are counting on. Its why hes worked to help eliminate corruption within the v. A. So that our veterans receive timely care as well. Hes proven himself as a leader on National Security issues, too. He understands the value of our alliances and works to strengthen them, especially with israel. He has a cleareyed view of our adversaries, too, and has never been afraid to speak out or take action, from north korea to iran. When it comes to iran specifically, senator kirk was the tip of the spear on this issue. Bringing attention to the threat of irans aggressive behavior and pushing for legislation to help hold tehran accountable. He has long been an advocate for critical iran sanctions like those extended just this past week. Even when the administration pushed back, even when democratic colleagues pushed back, too. He doesnt back down, and thanks to efforts like his, we were able to see the legislation through. So, yes, senator kirk may be leaving the senate, but hes cast a long shadow here, and hes not done yet. We know he wont stop looking out for our country. We know he wont stop advocating for stroke survivors. We know hes not going to stop. He will just keep going and going and going like he always has. Senator kirk reminds each of us that its possible to persevere through even the most difficult of obstacles like life presents. So today we thank him for the impact hes made on this body, for the inspiration he has been to so many and for the years hes dedicated to serving the people of illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President . The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin mr. President , have you announced the business of the senate . The presiding officer we have not. Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the house message to accompany h. R. 34, which the clerk will report. The clerk house message to accompany h. R. 34, an act to authorize and strengthen the tsunami detection forecast Warning Research and Mitigation Program of the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration, and for other purposes. Mr. Durbin mr. Presiden