July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4897 [Rollcall Vote No. 153 Ex.] We live in times that are the opposite intent on overturning Roe v. Wade. YEAS—74 of ordinary. These are not ordinary They produced for him a list. He se- Alexander Gardner Murray times. We live at a time when there is, lected from that list, and the rest is an Barrasso Graham Nelson right before our eyes, an ongoing as- unfortunate, deeply tragic chapter in Bennet Grassley Perdue sault on the in this country, American history. Blunt Hassan Portman coming from the President of the Boozman Hatch Reed has been Burr Heinrich Risch United States on down. We live at a vehement in its desire to overturn and Cantwell Heitkamp Roberts time when the courts are critically im- strike down the Capito Heller Rounds Cardin Hoeven portant to our democracy because they and deny many Americans access to Rubio are a bulwark for fundamental rights Carper Hyde-Smith Sasse health insurance. It has fought to end Cassidy Inhofe Scott and liberty, and when the history of protections for people who suffer from Collins Isakson Shaheen this era is written, I believe that our Coons Johnson these conditions, and they are not only Shelby Corker Jones judiciary and our free press will be the the ones I have mentioned but also Cornyn Kaine Smith heroes because they stood between the many others that are common Tester Cotton Kennedy President defying the law and pre- throughout our society. Its efforts to Crapo King Thune Cruz Klobuchar Tillis serving those key freedoms and rights shape the Supreme Court are a part of Daines Lankford Toomey that are foundational to our democ- a conscious, concerted strategy in a Donnelly Manchin Udall racy. war on the ACA. Durbin McCaskill Van Hollen What we know about the President’s Enzi McConnell Warner Perhaps as troubling as any other Ernst Moran Whitehouse nominee for the highest Court in the fact about this nominee, to many of us Fischer Murkowski Wicker land—the most important to that ef- who have seen the horrific, unspeak- Flake Murphy Young fort against this assault on the rule of able effects of gun violence, Judge NAYS—25 law—is that he will ‘‘automatically’’ Kavanaugh is the dream candidate of Baldwin Harris Sanders vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. We know the NRA. He has taken the view that Blumenthal Hirono Schatz that he will vote effectively to elimi- almost all commonsense, sensible Booker Leahy Schumer nate the Affordable Care Act and to un- measures to stop gun violence violate Brown Lee Stabenow dermine protections for millions of Casey Markey the Constitution. Sullivan Americans who suffer from diabetes, Cortez Masto Menendez Warren He is the dream pick of the NRA. He Duckworth Merkley Wyden obesity, alcohol abuse, addiction to is a nightmare for the students of Feinstein Paul opioids, stroke, Parkinson’s, and many Gillibrand Peters Parkland, the survivors of Orlando, other preexisting conditions. Millions Columbine, San Bernardino, and all of NOT VOTING—1 of Americans suffer from those kinds of the mass shootings, including Sandy McCain sicknesses, including more than 500,000 Hook, and all of the victims and sur- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Connecticut residents. We are a State vivors, their loved ones, families, and pore. On this vote, the yeas are 74, the of about 3.5 million people, so you can friends, who know the tragic effects of nays are 25. do the math. There are a lot of Ameri- those 90 people gunned down every day The motion is agreed to. cans who suffer from preexisting condi- in America. Those 90 victims every day tions. in this country who die as a result of f We know these facts because we have gun violence bear witness to why we heard them from none other than the EXECUTIVE CALENDAR should reject this nominee. President of the United States, who The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Just minutes after Judge said that his nominee would automati- pore. The clerk will report the nomina- Kavanaugh’s nomination was an- cally overturn Roe v. Wade and who be- tion. nounced, the NRA endorsed him, show- rated Chief Justice Roberts for uphold- The senior assistant legislative clerk ering praise on his extreme record ing the Affordable Care Act in his deci- read the nomination of Paul C. Ney, against gun safety. As an appellate sive . When a President tells Jr., of Tennessee, to be General Coun- judge, Judge Kavanaugh heard the se- you he is trying to eliminate basic sel of the Department of Defense. quel to Heller, a case regarding the legal rights and liberties for the people The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. constitutionality of the District of Co- of the United States, you better take TOOMEY). The Senator from Con- lumbia’s gun registration requirement him at his word, and I do. But in this necticut. and semiautomatic assault rifle ban. case, actually we need not take the On a panel of all Republican ap- NOMINATION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH President at his word because we can pointees, Judge Kavanaugh was the Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, review the facts—in fact, the cir- only judge to vote to strike down both we are at a crossroads, a historic turn- cumstantial evidence surrounding this gun safety measures as unconstitu- ing point for the U.S. Supreme Court nomination. and our country. This body is often The President has allowed himself to tional. called upon to consider court nomina- become a puppet of rightwing fringe His basic premise is that gun laws tions for the district courts and the groups— Society and the have to be similar or identical to laws courts of appeals, but we are at an ex- Heritage Foundation, which have been that he considers ‘‘traditional’’ or traordinary decision point for the U.S. trying to strike down Roe v. Wade and ‘‘longstanding.’’ He rejects bans on as- Supreme Court—the highest Court in overturn it for decades. As one recent sault weapons and gun registration re- the land, a branch of government that news story put it, if you want a seat on quirements. He has no clear definition can shape the law and culture of this the Supreme Court, the man to see is of what is ‘‘longstanding’’ and enables country for generations to come. not ; it is , a statute to be upheld. But consider his When we are called upon to consider the executive vice president of the Fed- logic. He has, in effect, ruled out any a Supreme Court nominee, ordinarily eralist Society. statute that bears no resemblance or we have to read tea leaves. Ordinarily Leonard Leo and the Federalist Soci- connection to laws on gun violence on we have no way to know with certainty ety have made clear their desire to the books in 1789. That is a breath- the values and beliefs that someone overturn Roe v. Wade for years, and taking concept of the constitutional will bring to the Court. Ordinarily Mr. Leo’s friend, Ed Whelan, brags test that should be applied to measures Presidents make every effort to per- about Leo’s efforts, stating: ‘‘No one against gun violence. suade us that their nominees were has been more dedicated to the enter- The Founders almost certainly never picked on the basis of merit, not ide- prise of building a Supreme Court that considered the possibility of universal ology. So ordinarily we look forward to will overturn Roe v. Wade than the background checks at a time when it hearing what nominees tell us about ’s Leonard Leo.’’ might have been impossible to do it their beliefs and values, since they are The President of the United States anyway and when the kinds of firearms unknown when we first hear their outsourced this decision to the Fed- available were very different than they names. eralist Society and other groups long are now. By Judge Kavanaugh’s logic,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11JY6.011 S11JYPT1 S4898 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2018 Congress would seemingly be prohib- under Judge Kavanaugh’s concept the stopping this nomination, as it is our ited from requiring universal back- President is above the law. Nothing is responsibility to demand specific an- ground checks, even though more than more fundamental, no principle more swers that this nominee recuse himself 90 percent of all Americans want them sacrosanct in this country—no one is from any consideration of the Presi- on the books. above the law. No President. No one is dent’s financial dealings or the special That is a radical view, even for the above the law. counsel and to reject the phony plati- far right. Should Judge Kavanaugh be A President who has demonstrated tudes and the evasive and vague an- confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, unprecedented disdain for the rule of swers that have been accepted before, you can say good-bye to a slew of gun law has nominated a Justice who will because we know that the old plati- safety measures around the country in tell him he can ignore the law. A Presi- tudes adhering to settled is States like Connecticut, California, dent who has fought tooth and nail meaningless. We do not live in ordinary New York, or, now, Florida. Many against the special counsel’s inves- times. We need extraordinary efforts to other States are realizing that they tigating some of the most serious make sure that the U.S. Supreme should be on the right side of history crimes has nominated a Justice who Court remains faithful to the rule of and the right side of the American peo- would allow him to fire the special law. ple and adopt commonsense, sensible counsel at will for no reason. A Presi- I yield the floor. measures. They would be struck down dent who faces not only the prospect of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- by the logic that Judge Kavanaugh indictment but an ongoing civil suit ator from Missouri. Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I defi- would bring to the Supreme Court. We brought by nearly 200 Members of Con- nitely agree with one thing that my would have fewer safeguards against gress—I am proud to be leading them— friend from Connecticut just said, the scourge of gun violence. for his violation of the chief anti-cor- which is that there is a long record There is now one mass shooting ruption provision in the Constitution here on the President’s nominee. It is a every day and 90 deaths every day in would be declared above the law, im- record I want to look at. It is a record America. This country is in the midst mune from lawsuit and accountability. I want to be sure that I talk about to of an epidemic of gun violence—a pub- We are going to continue with that the people I work for as we go through lic health emergency. With Judge lawsuit to make sure that the Presi- this process. In this process, we will Kavanaugh as a member of the Na- dent obeys the Constitution and comes have some time. My guess is it will tion’s highest Court, this epidemic to Congress for consent before he ac- take about the same amount of time would continue unabated. cepts the payments and benefits in the that it has taken for the last two nomi- This nominee is part of a concerted, hundreds of millions of dollars that he nees, which means sometime in the coordinated effort to roll back the is doing every day. Judge Kavanaugh month of September, in all likelihood, clock, to take the Nation back to a would absolve him of accountability. we will be on the floor, voting, and we time—one of our darkest eras—when These are no ordinary times. In the will see where that vote takes us. abortion was criminalized, when coming days, I will be speaking out on A lot of people have jumped to a lot women died and they were denied ac- other areas where Judge Kavanaugh of conclusions here. It wasn’t my friend cess to contraception and the morning- would undermine the rights of every- Senator BLUMENTHAL at all, but some- after pill, when Americans were denied day Americans and put the rights of body had a news release yesterday at a healthcare because of those preexisting corporations and special interests news conference I was in. One of our conditions, and when civil rights, above them. fellow Senators had, apparently, gotten LGBT rights, voting rights, and work- Judge Kavanaugh would prevent Con- it out a little too quickly. The news re- ers’ rights were largely ignored. gress and the States from passing com- lease read that Supreme Court nominee That prospect is frightening. For monsense gun violence laws that will XXX is the most extreme candidate President Trump, the nomination of save lives. He would invalidate a slew that the President could have possibly Judge Kavanaugh is about more than of existing laws in States across the picked. Another one of our colleagues just undermining or eviscerating these country, and he would leave powerful said yesterday that he didn’t care who fundamental rights. It is about under- corporations to prey on consumers, the President nominated but that he mining and eviscerating the rule of workers, and anybody who wants to wouldn’t be voting for him. We are law. breathe clean air or drink clean water. going to hear a lot of that over the Judge Kavanaugh has written that These prospects are not imaginary or next few weeks. the President can refuse to enforce a abstract. Read his opinions and his At least going back to 1975, I think law if he believes that it is unconstitu- writings. In one area of law after an- every single Republican nominee has tional—if he alone believes it is uncon- other, Judge Kavanaugh poses a clear supposedly been the nominee that stitutional—even if that law was duly and present danger to our fundamental would bring an end to so many things passed by Congress and upheld by the liberties, to effective government, and that people have tried to focus on when courts. He has written that special to the rule of law. To the people who these nominations have come up. With counsels—like Robert Mueller, who is say to me ‘‘What can we do?’’ our chal- ’s nominee in 1975, who investigating the President—should be lenge is a call to action. It is to mobi- turned out to be Justice Stevens, these appointed only by the President and lize and galvanize America, just as we exact same things were said then. I should be removable by the President. did during the healthcare debate, when don’t know that it is what the Presi- Under that rule, Robert Mueller never they said the Affordable Care Act dent said during the campaign that would have been appointed as special would be repealed, and we mustered matters as much as what the nominee counsel, and the President would be Americans’ sense of outrage and alarm. will say during the next few days. able to fire him for no reason at all— I say to the students of Parkland who I do know of the job the nominee cur- except that he is investigating the spoke so eloquently and movingly, rently has. I want to talk to him, and President. your time has come; to the patients I want to look at the record. I want to Finally, Judge Kavanaugh has writ- who came to my townhalls in Con- visit with him about his philosophy ten that the President should not have necticut and spoke so powerfully about personally before I reach a final con- to deal with those responsibilities or their fear of what would happen to clusion. I do know the job that Judge burdens that the rest of us, ordinary them and their insurance coverage if Kavanaugh currently has is often cited Americans, fulfill. A President under preexisting conditions were declared in as the second most significant court in Judge Kavanaugh’s rule could not be violation of those insurance policies, the country, the DC Court of Appeals. I investigated or indicted, could not be your time has come; to all who care do know that his 100 most often cited held accountable under the law, and about civil rights and civil liberties, opinions have been cited by more than would not have to respond to a civil workers’ rights, and gay rights, your 210 judges around the country. I do suit, a subpoena, or a request to be in- time has come. We need to hear your know that the Supreme Court has en- vestigated by law enforcement. He need voice here, just as we did during the dorsed his opinions of the law at least not be interviewed by the FBI or co- healthcare debate, as powerfully and a dozen times and has adopted them as operate with law enforcement because eloquently. The challenge is yours in the opinions of the Supreme Court.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.030 S11JYPT1 July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4899 Remember the way this works with It seems to me that in the Scalia tra- community and, as we saw the other the job that Brett Kavanaugh cur- dition and in the Gorsuch nomination night, to his family and to his faith. He rently has as a circuit judge with the tradition, we have a judge here who ap- spends his time coaching youth basket- court of appeals. Unlike all the others, pears to be committed in every way to ball and serving as a church volunteer, it is the court that often has the real looking at the law and enforcing the as well as mentoring in local schools. jurisdiction over a constitutional case. law. I think it was Judge Scalia who His mom was a schoolteacher and went So there have been lots of cases, and said and others who have said that to law school while she was a school- we will be looking through the 12 years good judges are often not happy with teacher and, eventually, became a of what he has done as a judge. the opinions they have to render be- judge. He takes these qualifications to I know there are some requests to see cause the opinions they have to render the Court. every piece of paper that Brett are based on the facts of the cases and I think this is an important part of Kavanaugh had in his hands when he may not be the way they would have our job—to advise and consent. Yet we was the Staff Secretary, the Assistant liked the cases to have worked out at have a lot of people who have rushed to to the President, when George W. Bush all. It is not their job to decide how a determination that they absolutely was President. That would be every they would like the cases to work out. would not be for Judge Kavanaugh. I piece of paper that had gone to the The job of a judge is to judge the appli- think a majority is likely to come to White House. Yet the job of the Staff cation of the law and the application of the determination that we should be Secretary is not to have an opinion on the Constitution. for Judge Kavanaugh. those pieces of paper. In fact, he is Seven Justices, including our most I look forward to visiting with him probably the highest level official ap- recent nominee to the Court, Justice over the next few days. I look forward pointed by the President in the White Gorsuch, served as law clerks on the to learning more about his philosophy House whose job it is not to have an Supreme Court. If he is confirmed, as a judge and how he thinks the Su- opinion but to facilitate the work, to Judge Kavanaugh will be the eighth. preme Court would be different and get the paper to whom it needs to go. I His background, his training, and his how his job there may or may not vary suppose we could get, virtually, every work as a circuit judge appear to qual- from being on that second-most impor- piece of paper from the National Ar- ify him in a significant way. He was a tant court in the country. My guess is chives and the George W. Bush Library. Supreme Court clerk for Justice Ken- he will say that it doesn’t vary at all. That is possible but not necessary and nedy. The job of a Supreme Court judge, just not justified. We ought to understand what is hap- like the job of a court of appeals judge, What is justified is to look at all of pening here. Justice Kennedy has been is to apply the Constitution, apply the these opinions. What is justified is to on the Court for 30 years. He filled a law, and not try to make the law or to look at the individual, to look at what rewrite the Constitution. I look for- he does on the court, to look at what vacancy that was created in 1987. He served on the Court for 15 years after ward to that opportunity. I look for- he does in the community, to look at ward to looking at many of the judge’s his opinions. These are, without any the person who nominated him to the Court had died. Talk about a long-term opinions. question, important responsibilities I noticed two Pinocchios in the impact of both the President who not just for the President but for today about one of nominates and the Senate that con- Senate. the cases that has already been firms. Three decades of impact on one Once again, Americans are reminded brought up—the determination of this of the branches of government is pretty that it matters who is in the Senate. It argument about the right way to deal matters who composes a majority in substantial. In addition to being the clerk for with a President while he is in office— the Senate. My guess would be, in 21⁄2 certainly not a nuisance lawsuit. If the months or so from now, that a major- Justice Kennedy, Judge Kavanaugh was, as I said, not only in the private topic of a lawsuit is wrong, if it is the ity of votes will be cast for Judge wrong thing for the President to do, sector but, for 5 years, served in the Kavanaugh, that they will be bipar- there is clearly a way to remove the Bush administration. Probably the tisan in nature, and that he will go to President. the Court, probably, before its new most important job he held in that ad- That is the point, I think, in what term begins on October 1. In fact, that ministration was, simply, of seeing will be a much discussed law journal should be one of our goals here—to that things got done in an orderly way article that Judge Kavanaugh was have a Justice in place by that time. to produce a result. In 2006, President making. He didn’t suggest that the law Three of the current Justices on the Bush nominated him to serve on the now prohibited a President from being Court, by the way, were put on the DC Court of Appeals. Twelve years indicted. He just said that there is a Court in an election year, in an off later, we are here today. constitutional way to return a Presi- Judge Kavanaugh’s opinions are cited year—Justice Kagan in 2010. It was al- dent to the status of a private citizen, most exactly analogous. A Democratic by judges around the country. Again, and then the President will have all of President and a Democratic Senate put the Supreme Court has endorsed his the same vulnerabilities that a private a Democratic nominee on the Court opinions at least a dozen times. He has citizen would have if 200 Members of who had, by the way, worked at the written that the judge’s job is to inter- Congress filed a lawsuit. There is a White House. The only difference was pret the law, not to make the law or to place in the Constitution that says there was not as large a body of work make policy. It is to read the words of what 200 Members of the Congress to demonstrate the commitment we the statute as written and to read the should do if they think the President would hope to find to the Constitution text of the Constitution as written, should be removed. That place in the and the law. being mindful of history and tradi- Constitution does not say you should In my mind and, I think, in the tion—an important point. It is to be harass the President all you can about minds of a vast majority of the people consistent with the law and the Con- everything you can whenever you can. I work for, the goal of a Federal judge stitution and to read the text of the It is going to be an interesting debate and a Supreme Court Justice is to Constitution as written while being for the American people. Once again, judge a case based on the law and the mindful of history and tradition. Don’t they are going to be reminded as to Constitution. It is to look and be sure make up new constitutional rights that how important the courts are, as to the that those match up and to be sure are not in the text of the Constitution. incredible impact of the appointing that the law is applied as it is written, Don’t shy away from enforcing con- power and the nominating power to the not as a judge thinks it should have stitutional rights that are in the text Federal courts, and of the partnership been written. It is to be sure the Con- of the Constitution. That is in one of responsibility and important impact stitution is applied as it is written, not his many writings, and we have lots of that the U.S. Senate has. as a judge thinks it should be amended. things to look at here. I yield the floor. There is a way to pass a new law, and Since 2009, he has been the Samuel The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- there is a way to amend the Constitu- Williston Lecturer in Law at Harvard ator from Oklahoma. tion, but that is not to be done by the Law School. In addition to being a bril- Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I, Court. liant legal mind, he is devoted to his along with the rest of the Senate, look

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.031 S11JYPT1 S4900 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2018 forward to going through the process Today, on the southern border be- in the number of family units detained with Brett Kavanaugh, who is an ex- tween Mexico and the United States, in June 2018 compared to June 2017. In ceptionally qualified judge. He has there will be half a million legal cross- May, it was a 600-percent increase. In been described as a judge of judges. He ings into the United States. The ques- April, it was an 863-percent increase. is one to whom judges look around the tion is, for individuals who illegally We are seeing a dramatic shift in the country to see what he has written and cross the border, should we stop those number of units that are coming at us. what his opinions have noted. In fact, individuals and ask: Who are you? No matter your view on immigration historically, the Supreme Court has What are you doing here? Why are you reform, increases of this kind of mag- also looked to his opinions on the cir- crossing into the country? Because not nitude should cause us to slow down cuit court and has taken high notice of every person crossing into the country and ask simple questions. Are the loop- those and has quoted several of his is just crossing for work that we would holes in our law and the prosecutorial opinions verbatim in Supreme Court consider good work. discretion to release families to show opinions. Today, U.S. Customs and Border Pro- up later for a hearing causing more in- This person has had a lot of respect tection released an announcement that dividuals to pretend to be families or for what he has done and how he has the officers referred a 38-year-old male more families to come? I think it is done it in the process. I have enjoyed for further inspection as he crossed causing more individuals to come who getting a chance to meet his family into the United States. Following a are coming not as a family unit but and to have been introduced to not positive alert from a K–9 unit, officers who are pretending to be a family unit, only his personal faith but to his pas- seized 21 pounds of cocaine from the ve- though we also have, obviously, family sion for people and his work with the hicle’s firewall. Not everyone who is units that are coming as well. homeless and other things that he has entering the country is coming for a A key issue we need to address is done for so many years. legal reason. Not everyone who is pretty straightforward. Of the 1 mil- This will be an interesting process. crossing our border is coming just to lion-plus people who come here legally, Over the next 2 months or so, this body work. So the zero tolerance policy is should we have greater respect for should do as it has done before with really a question of should we stop in- those individuals who have gone Justice Gorsuch and Justice dividuals to evaluate someone who is through the legal process? I believe we Sotomayor—about 66 days for both of illegally crossing the border—not one should. In fact, I had a small them as we worked through their nom- of the half a million people today who meeting in Lawton, OK, just last week. ination processes until we actually got will legally cross the border? If you are There were lots of questions about to the final votes. one of the individuals not crossing the keeping families together. I am one of We will see how this goes in the days border legally, should we stop you, and those individuals who says, as often as ahead. I look forward to getting a should we prosecute you? we possibly can, the default position chance to visit with Judge Kavanaugh Previous administrations used what should be keeping families together, in my office in the days ahead to ask they called prosecutorial discretion. but for those individuals who were at him specific questions. I am reserving They have taken folks in, and they re- this meeting in Lawton, all the ques- judgment on him until I have the op- leased them into the country until tions were about what are we doing portunity to visit with him personally they determined who to prosecute and about immigration. How are we han- and to finish going through all the who to not prosecute. This administra- dling this? How are we prosecuting opinions he has written. tion has stepped up and said: Let’s take this? Are we treating people humanely? He seems like an exceptional can- a moment where we are going to pros- Those are reasonable questions for us didate. I look forward to walking ecute everyone and try to slow down as Americans. through this process judiciously. the process. At the very end of the townhall IMMIGRATION There has been a noticeable increase meeting, one gentleman asked me: Mr. President, I did want to mention in something that a lot of people have What about legal immigration? He today, though—and to step back a lit- not noticed, and that is the number of asked it in a very specific way. Are tle bit from the immigration conversa- families coming across the border. Why there issues we should deal with, with tion—there are a lot of issues with im- would that be? It is not just individuals that? migration that we deal with on a reg- crossing the border as a family. It is in- I followed up with him and asked: ular basis, but it is more conversation dividuals who are bringing children Why do you ask that? than it is solutions. with them to cross the border because The reason he asked that is because It has been my great frustration that they have been treated differently over he is a legal immigrant. He went we talk about H–2B visas, refugees in the past several years. through the process and is in his final asylum, talk about overstaying visas, Over the first 5 months of this fiscal stages. In fact, just the week before, he temporary protective status, illegal year, there has been a 315-percent in- had received his green card. He is a lit- entry, quotas and diversity lottery, crease in apprehensions of groups tle frustrated with people who are and families. We don’t ever seem to re- fraudulently claiming to be families. treated differently—who came into the solve the issue. We talk about it. Let me run that past you again. This country illegally versus people who are The great frustration is, many of the year, in the last 5 months, there has actually doing it the right way. issues we deal with right now on immi- been a 315-percent increase in appre- It has been interesting to me to gration are a direct result of Congress hensions of groups who fraudulently watch this whole movement about not fixing the issue. My encouragement claim to be families—not a 315-percent abolishing ICE and saying maybe we to this body is to stop pointing the fin- increase in families. These are smug- shouldn’t have ICE enforcement at ger at the President and ask a very glers who bring a child with them be- all—no immigration and customs en- simple question: Why is there con- cause they know if you bring a child forcement at all. The entity was cre- versation about a zero tolerance policy with you, then you are treated dif- ated after 9/11 because the 9/11 terror- and what does that really mean? ferently at the border. Historically, ists were individuals who came into the In its most simple form, I think we you have been released. country, overstayed their visas, and could agree that if someone illegally This administration has said to stop they were not stopped. ICE was created crosses the American border into the this. We are going to start prosecuting to help us with our immigration en- country, they should be stopped and at and try to figure out who is actually a forcement because we had just been least asked: Who are you? Why are you family, who is not a family to figure penetrated by a group of individuals here? Because in the last year, 1.1 mil- out how to prosecute them because who were terrorists and killed thou- lion people became legal citizens of the there has been such a dramatic change. sands of Americans. United States. They made legal appli- The numbers are just increasing for After that was created in 2003, there cations, worked through that process, family units that are coming. is now this big movement, as if we have received a green card, were evaluated Let me run some of the numbers past lost all we have learned since 2001. Now with background checks, and became you. According to Customs and Border there is a whole group saying maybe citizens of the United States. Patrol, there is a 407-percent increase we just need to abolish ICE entirely.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.032 S11JYPT1 July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4901 Let me run through a few things on I heard a lot of criticism saying put country, the children of that family that. Last year, ICE seized 2,370 pounds that adult back with that child again. can be detained for only 20 days. That of fentanyl. That may not seem like a This should be easy, but it is not that sounds reasonable, except that, on av- lot—just over a ton of fentanyl that simple. Many of those adults who came erage, it takes 35 days just to have a they seized—but according to the DEA, with that child are really not their par- hearing. So since that settlement all 2 milligrams of fentanyl is a deadly ent. They were using them as a vehicle the way back in 1997, every administra- amount to take in. Fentanyl is laced to get easy access into the country. tion has said: I either have to separate into heroin or into cocaine to dramati- What does that really look like? families, or I have to release those cally increase the high, but if you have Well, let me give you a couple ideas on families into the country and hope up to 2 milligrams of it, it is not going this. As we talk through the different they show up for a court hearing at a to increase your high. It will kill you. numbers that are related to some of future date. The amount of fentanyl that ICE these children and how many of these By the way, we called and checked on seized last year is a deadly dosage children were connected or not con- some of the future court dates. If you amount for just over 537 million people; nected with the adults who were with are in line to get a court date—if you 537 million people could have been them, let me give you a few of these are released into the country and told killed with just the amount of fentanyl stats: Of those children who are 4 and to come in for a court date—the long- that ICE seized last year. On top of under, 14 of those are not eligible for est period of time that you will wait, that, ICE agents seized almost 7,000 reunification because their parents depending on the region you are headed pounds of heroin, and a total of 1 mil- have major issues—or those individuals to, is 4 years and 2 months from now. lion pounds of narcotics were seized claiming to be their parents. That is the next available date. So as a just in 2017. Let’s just talk about the people who family unit, you are released into the We also know that ICE freed 518 vic- are parents whom we know are parents. country for 4 years, and then we hope tims of human trafficking. They freed Eight of those parents had serious you show up for your court date 4 years 904 children from child exploitation. criminal history discovered when they from now. They picked up 800 MS–13 gang mem- did the background check, including This body knows all these numbers, bers as an arrest, and almost 5,000 gang child cruelty, narcotics, and human and we have not acted to solve the members were taken off the street just trafficking. One had a warrant for mur- problem. We need to address these by ICE. der and robbery. So as Americans, we issues. We need to be a country that We hear a lot about ICE raids, as if are not reconnecting those eight. Five continues to be open to legal immigra- ICE is wandering around neighborhoods adults were found not to be the parent tion. We need to be a country that is looking to pick people up. I would like of the accompanying child at all. These open to workers—even workers who to remind folks, the majority of what were of the children 4 and under. One of cross the border on both sides, north ICE does is detain individuals at the those individuals faced incredible evi- and south. We need to be a nation that border. In fact, last year, ICE agents dence of child abuse in the process. We deals with things like H–2B visas and removed 62,913 more people who were are not reconnecting those. asylum and refugees. We need to con- detained at the border than arrested in I hear a lot in the news of individuals tinue to keep the promise that we are the United States. saying every one of those folks needs a nation built on a set of values and ICE agents are law enforcement. to be reconnected as fast as possible. I the American dream that says: If you They are enforcing the law of our coun- hear a lot of criticism, saying they are want to come and live under the law try. It is quite remarkable to me to doing DNA testing of these individuals. and live in a land of freedom, where hear some people, even in this Cham- They are trying to figure out if that you can become anything you want to ber, discuss with seriousness abolishing adult is really the parent of that child become, you are welcome to be here if Federal law enforcement that is taking or has that adult picked up a child you come legally. human traffickers off the street, has somewhere through Mexico or Central We need to be that Nation, but we taken gang members off the street, America to use them as a tool to try to also need to not just ignore illegal im- that is taking legal doses of fentanyl get into the United States? I only wish migration and assume there aren’t real off the street, and taking tons of nar- that wasn’t happening. It is. problems with gang violence, the cotics off the street. Why don’t we Reconnecting families is a major pri- movement of drugs, human trafficking, show them some respect? ority. I said before, and would say it and child-trafficking, because they are If there are things that need to be again, our default position should be real. Is it every family who comes done to reform it, the ICE agents would keeping families together, but part of across? Absolutely not. But are you OK be the first ones to step up to this body our struggle is determining who are with it happening at all? What if it is and say: Here are some ideas and the actual families we can keep to- 1 in 10 who is child-trafficking or drug- things that can be done to reform it. gether and who are individuals who smuggling? Is that an acceptable num- Abolishing ICE is a ticket to lawless- could very well do that child harm? ber, or should we know the people who ness in our country. So let’s do this: Let’s keep the atten- are crossing the border and know the As a reminder, the President asked tion on the reunification of families. issues that are there? Congress 21 days ago to enact legisla- Let’s continue to ask very fair and rea- We can do better than this. Let’s tion that would allow families to stay sonable questions of the administra- solve this. Let’s keep the debate going, together. This Congress has failed to tion as they are reconnecting these and let’s actually resolve this in the act on that at all. As we all know, over families. But let’s also make sure this days ahead. the course of 1 month, roughly 2,000 Congress actually acts on the issues With that, I yield the floor. children were separated from their par- that need to be addressed on immigra- I suggest the absence of a quorum. ents and placed in HHS custody while tion. the parents were referred to the De- Twenty-one days ago, there was a re- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. partment of Justice for prosecution. A quest in this body to deal with the GARDNER). The clerk will call the roll. great deal of attention, rightly so, has issue of family reunification. It still The bill clerk proceeded to call the been focused on HHS to ensure that has not been acted on. roll. those children are reunited with those In February of this year, this body Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I parents, especially those children had a vote on dealing with what is ask unanimous consent that the order under age 5. To do this, HHS has to called the Flores settlement. That is for the quorum call be rescinded. first verify that adult is actually the what causes the separation of these The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without parent of that child. As I mentioned be- families. It is a settlement that goes objection, it is so ordered. fore, just in the first 5 months of this all the way back to 1997. Every single NOMINATION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH fiscal year, there was a 315-percent in- administration since 1997 has struggled Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I crease of family units coming in that with the Flores settlement because the rise to speak in opposition to President pretended to be family units but are Flores settlement says that if you ar- Trump’s nominee to the Supreme really not family units. rest a family illegally entering the Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.034 S11JYPT1 S4902 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2018 In my home State of New York, more case, and he said that even though the gether, and you get the algae blooms than 8 million people have health prob- Affordable Care Act requires employers that suck the oxygen out of the river, lems. That is almost half my State. to cover birth control medicines for making it a dead river because there is They are living with diabetes. They their workers, they shouldn’t have to not enough oxygen in the water for the have had treatment for cancer. They do it if they don’t want to. He even fish. There was a similarly bad algae have a childhood disease. took it so far as to say that if the bloom back in 2016, in 2013, and many Before the Affordable Care Act be- President doesn’t like a law—if the times in years past. came law, if you had a health problem President doesn’t like a law—then the The pollution in Lake Okeechobee and you needed to see a doctor, health President could ignore the law and ig- created a toxic brew of a blue-green insurance companies were allowed to nore the courts. algae that blooms and that at one make you pay much more. The health Listen to this one opinion. This will point this summer covered 90 percent insurance companies were allowed to interest the Presiding Officer, I am of Lake Okeechobee. Because the lake turn you away. They were allowed to sure. Tell me if you think this is sound has risen to a 141⁄2-foot level, the Army tell you ‘‘Sorry, you are not profitable judicial judgment. He wrote: ‘‘Under Corps will most likely have to resume for us because you are sick,’’ and they the Constitution, the President may releasing water to the east in the St. did it many times. Let’s not forget decline to enforce a statute that regu- Lucie and to the west in the that included women who were preg- lates private individuals when the Caloosahatchee because of the pressure nant. President deems the statute unconsti- on the dike around Lake Okeechobee. But they can’t tell them that any- tutional, even if a court has held or Thus, here we go again—more nutrient- more because of the Affordable Care would hold the statute constitutional.’’ laden water flowing into these water- Act. The Affordable Care Act made Anyone with the most basic under- ways in the heat of summer, and then that simple statement illegal. of how the constitutional sys- the algae blooms just keep going and Now insurance companies must cover tem of government works in this coun- going. There is one of many projects that you if you are sick. They must cover try knows that this is not what our can help, which is definitely a step in you if you have had a health problem Founding Fathers intended. the right direction. The reservoir in the past. And millions of Americans If this judge is confirmed, then there is a dangerously high likelihood that project that the Army Corps approved are better off now because of that fact. today is so critical because once it is So what does this have to do with the he will strike down the Affordable Care constructed, it will provide storage so Supreme Court? President Trump has Act. We must not go back to the days that the Corps doesn’t have to dis- made it clear that one of his biggest charge as much water to the east and goals as President is to destroy the Af- when an insurance company could charge a person more just because they to the west. When you combine that fordable Care Act. He has already tried with the fact that just last week, the hard to get Congress to repeal the law, have health problems. We cannot go back to the days when an insurance Army Corps, through the White House and luckily for us, he failed. He failed budget office, let us know they have because people don’t want their health company could say no to a patient be- cause they could say: You are just not approved the funds to strengthen the insurance taken away from them. It is dike and accelerate its construction— really that simple. going to make us enough money. We must listen to our constituents— the combination of these kinds of Millions of Americans raised their things is going to help, so that the voices and told Congress that if the Af- listen to the millions of men, women, and children all across this country Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t have fordable Care Act were repealed, they to release that nutrient-rich water, would lose their insurance, and that who need access to basic healthcare, and they cannot afford to lose their in- which will cause the algae blooms. would be devastating for them and This reservoir to the south of the their families. And Congress listened to surance. We must reject this nominee. lake will include water treatment fea- them. I yield the floor. tures so that the water can be cleaned But now there is a new challenge to I suggest the absence of a quorum. as well as stored before it is sent far- the law in Federal court, and the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ther south in the long journey that Trump administration is refusing to clerk will call the roll. Mother Nature intended—sending that defend the Affordable Care Act. The senior assistant legislative clerk water in a slow, gravity-drained, south- When this case makes it to the Su- proceeded to call the roll. ward flow through the river of grass preme Court in a few more years, then Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask otherwise known as the Florida Ever- the next Supreme Court Justice could unanimous consent that the order for glades. Many of us were cheering the be the deciding vote on whether the Af- the quorum call be rescinded. news today that this project will be fordable Care Act is overturned. That The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ready for inclusion in the water bill, means the next Supreme Court Justice objection, it is so ordered. which the Senate will be taking up per- could have the power to decide that in- RESERVOIR PROJECT IN FLORIDA haps next week. It was interesting tim- surance companies don’t have to cover Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I re- ing to get the Corps of Engineers’ re- patients anymore if they have a health ceived very good news for Florida this port so that we could get this project problem. He could have the power to morning. The Army Corps of Engineers in as a part of the overall Everglades decide that insurance companies don’t has signed off on a long-awaited report restoration project. have to cover you or your child any- that will allow Congress to authorize a REMEMBERING NATHANIEL REED more if your child is sick. new reservoir project south of Lake Unfortunately, Mr. President, we re- Healthcare costs in my State have al- Okeechobee in the upcoming Water Re- ceived the very somber, sad news this ready skyrocketed because of the fact sources Development Act—what we afternoon that one of our great Ever- that the Trump administration has at- refer to as the water bill. Many of us in glades restoration advocates, Nathan- tacked this law over and over again. Florida have been pushing the Army iel Reed, has passed away. Nat Reed But repealing the law would be abso- Corps and the Trump administration to leaves behind a long legacy as an envi- lutely devastating to so many families. approve this project for months and ronmental champion. More than 8 million New Yorkers could months. Nat served as environmental adviser lose their health insurance or pay more Last week I was in the area of Lake to Claude Kirk beginning in for their coverage. So would millions Okeechobee visiting with folks affected 1967. In 1971, he became Assistant Sec- more all across the country. I am very by the algae blooms on the west coast retary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife concerned that is exactly what Judge over in Fort Myers on the and National Parks under President Kavanaugh would do if he were given Caloosahatchee River and on the east Nixon and stayed in that position this opportunity. coast in Stuart on the St. Lucie River. through the Gerald Ford Presidency. Just look at his record. When Judge They are facing a problem that seems Nat returned to Florida in 1977 and Kavanaugh had a case before him that to repeat itself almost every year. continued his career in public service was attacking another part of the Af- The heat of summer and the excess by working under seven different Gov- fordable Care Act, he dissented in the nutrients in the water—put those to- ernors in various capacities, including

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.036 S11JYPT1 July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4903 chairman of the Commission on Flor- they allow a fraction of the excess rain water After about 10 years, the St. Lucie Canal ida’s Environmental Future, which was to flow south as the everglades system once was completed in 1926 to provide easy access instrumental in the land acquisition functioned. Water is backed up throughout from the lake to Stuart, where ships would the Florida Everglades known as water con- carry vegetables and fruit to the upper east projects that we now know as Ever- servation areas. coast and provide access for the east to the glades restoration. He also served as a Overly high water is inundating the unique west coast for pleasure boats. board member for the National Audu- ‘‘Tree Islands,’’ a major feature of the ever- It did not take any length of time for the bon Society, the Nature Conservancy, glades system which provides essential habi- Corps to realize that an overflowing Lake the National Parks Conservation Asso- tat for deer and other mammals indigenous Okeechobee threatened the ‘‘suspect con- ciation, and the Natural Resources De- to the Everglades during times of excessive struction’’ of the Hoover Dike and that the fense Council, as well as the National rain water. The Tree Islands also are ‘‘sacred two outlets—the St. Lucie Canal and the sites’’ for the Miccosukee Native Americans. Caloosahatchee River—would serve as escape Geographic Society. Before the 1928 great hurricane that de- valves whenever there was excessive rainfall One of Nat Reed’s most passionate stroyed the small dike that then surrounded and a rising lake that could threaten the in- projects was to expedite construction much of Lake Okeechobee, small farming tegrity of the Hoover Dike, especially on the of this reservoir south of Lake Okee- communities grew around the south side of south side, where farming communities had chobee—the project the Army Corps the lake. Winter vegetables were the main grown in size. With the connection to the Ev- approved today. I had spoken to Nat crop, but thousands of acres were devoted to erglades now severed, the present day colo- numerous times about this important raising cattle on the lush grass that the nel of the Corps of Engineers and his staff have no options other than releasing billions project and about our shared goal of re- muck fields provided. U.S. Sugar grew a total of 50,000-plus acres of sugar cane. Their of gallons of water that is polluted from storing the Everglades. main profit was made from the sale of some years of agricultural back-pumping from the We have lost a real environmental of the finest Brahma cattle raised in the Everglades Agricultural Area and now large champion who was bipartisan in his ap- world for warm weather cattle ranches in amounts of nutrients flowing down the Kis- proach. I mentioned that he served Cuba, Central America and South America. simmee and the other headwaters of the seven Governors. It didn’t make any The King Ranch had a similar operation for lake. difference whether the Governor was a their famous crossbred cattle. During his tenure, Gov. Bob Graham an- Republican or a Democrat—Nat was The low dike failed during a 1926 hurricane, nounced in the early 1980s a major effort to and once again in 1928, drowning 3,000 people. restore the Everglades system. Each succes- about restoring as much of Mother Na- President Herbert Hoover requested the Con- sive governor has made a contribution to- ture as possible back to its functioning gress to pass legislation authorizing the con- ward that goal. The state has spent $1.8 bil- self. struction of a high dike around Lake Okee- lion acquiring land to clean up the excess Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- chobee. water flowing from the 500,000 acres of sugar sent to have printed in the RECORD a When there were long, wet summer rain cane—a crop that enjoys a federal taxpayer column written by Nat in 2012 that lays seasons and fall hurricanes in the 1940s, ex- guaranteed price. The amount of cane sugar out the history of the Everglades’ envi- cess water flowed through the Everglades that is permitted to be imported into the United States is controlled by the sugar car- ronmental problems and how we can fix and even over Tamiami Trail into what is now the Everglades National Park. The tel to guarantee them maximum profit. them. Corps of Engineers studied the average size Their leadership is unrelenting in its efforts There being no objection, the mate- of Lake Okeechobee and designed a dike to to produce maximum profits at the Ever- rial was ordered to be printed in the surround it. The dike was made from local glades’ expense. RECORD, as follows: sand and gravel. The Corps then made a fate- Unless excessive Lake Okeechobee water is cleansed through a vast series of pollution- [From TC Palm, Nov. 25, 2012] ful engineering decision to cut off the nat- ural flow-way from Lake Okeechobee to the control artificial marsh systems built prin- NATHANIEL REED: DON’T BLAME THE ARMY downstream Everglades and dump it more cipally by the taxpayers of the 16 counties of CORPS OF ENGINEERS FOR OKEECHOBEE, EV- ‘‘efficiently’’ to the east and west estuaries. South Florida for the sugar cane and winter ERGLADES WOES Perhaps the nearly 700,000 acres now crop growers, drainage cannot be allowed to Until a few weeks ago, billions of gallons of known as the Everglades Agricultural Area flow into the Everglades, as it will change polluted water was flowing into the St. Lucie of rich organic soils—the byproduct of cen- the botanical makeup of the River of Grass River, the Indian River and the turies of dying marsh grasses—was the in- within months. Caloosahatchee Estuary from Lake Okee- centive, but this error in judgment has cre- So where are we? chobee. ated a conflict that will continue until suffi- Before the flow way and the pollution con- trol marshes are built and are operational, The environmental damage is massive. cient land is acquired to restore a flow-way additional storage—both upstream in the After four years of drought and no large re- from Lake Okeechobee to the northern Flor- lake’s headwaters and within the Everglades leases of excess water from Lake Okee- ida Everglades and is then allowed to flow Agricultural Area—must be acquired, and a chobee, the near record rainy season again south and under Tamiami Trail into Ever- number of other priorities must be ad- has quickly filled the lake. Every time there glades National Park. is a wet tropical storm or series of hurri- The decision by the power brokers to per- dressed. First, Tamiami Trail must be modified to canes such as those that hit Florida in 2004– suade the then-governor of Florida and the allow massive amounts of water to flow 05, the lake rapidly rises 3–4 feet within days, congressional delegation to dredge the Kis- southward into the park. A one-mile bridge threatening the Hoover Dike and the com- simmee River to allow drainage in the head- and limited road raising are currently under munities south of the lake. waters of Lake Okeechobee was an ecological construction. While this is a very positive The Corps has no options. It must reduce disaster. Thousands of acres of wetlands that first step, more needs to done! The trail the water level in Lake Okeechobee in case served as storage for Lake Okeechobee and needs more bridges and road raising (up to of a potential wet hurricane, common in slowed down rain-driven floods moving south another 2 feet) so that it is protected when even October like Hurricanes Wilma and into the Kissimmee chain of lakes allowed the Everglades and the lake are once again Isaac. developers to sell real estate around those connected. Before we collectively blame the Corps for lakes, guaranteeing an unnatural low water Additionally, the southeast corner of the the incredible damage that is being inflicted level. The Kissimmee chain of lakes during vast Everglades system known as Water Con- on our once productive waters, especially the high rainfall periods used to hold billions of servation Area 3B has a vital role in deliv- remarkable recovery of seagrasses and in- gallons of water that was slowly released ering Okeechobee and Florida Everglades’ land fisheries since the Okeechobee flood down the Kissimmee into Lake Okeechobee excess water to flow under the proposed five- gates were last opened in 2010, we collec- naturally. The wetland marshes flanking the mile bridge. The Corps admits that when the tively need a short history lesson and then a Kissimmee’s two-mile-wide flood plain were eastern dike of Water Conservation Area 3B firm guide on how to stop these all too fre- wildlife treasures that were drained and was constructed, it did not consider leakage quent environmental outrages. turned into cattle pastures when the project to be a potential problem, as no one farmed The great Everglades ecosystem has been was completed. Excessive rainwater then or lived near the dike. Now, there are hun- brutalized by a number of thoughtless deci- flowed at unnatural speed into the lake, rais- dreds of acres of fruit trees and thousands of sions. ing it to dangerous levels and carrying a pol- homes that could be impacted if the dike al- The private construction of Tamiami Trail lution-filled muck that now covers half the lowed significant seepage. by the Collier family to open up Naples to lake’s bottom. This problem must be solved before excess east coast tourists in the 1915–20’s formed a The Caloosahatchee River first was con- water can be released into Everglades Na- dike preventing natural water flow from the nected to Lake Okeechobee by Hamilton tional Park, relieving the entire system of northern Everglades marshes into what have Disston, one of Florida’s pioneer speculators too much water which forces the discharges become Everglades National Park and the who envisioned steamboats moving up from of billions of gallons of water down the great fishery of Florida Bay. Ft. Myers and then the Kissimmee River to Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers. Although there are gated discharge struc- pick up winter crops and bring their loads We also have some local problems that tures and culverts under Tamiami Trail, back to Ft. Myers for shipment north. must be faced with private drainage systems

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.037 S11JYPT1 S4904 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2018 that drain millions of gallons of excess water Mr. NELSON. Nat recommended fo- The other risk is that of a carbon into the St. Lucie River. Canals C–23, 24 and cusing on projects like bridging the bubble. There is a lot of talk in the 25 were built at the urging of the Martin and Tamiami Trail, which is U.S. 41—vir- economic literature about a carbon St. Lucie County citrus growers and devel- tually a dike across the southern pe- bubble. One recent financial study re- opers, who wanted their lands drained at ninsula of Florida. It is now being public expense. Together with the C–44 and ports that ‘‘the potential effects of a the St. Lucie Canal, more than 498,000 acres bridged, first with a mile-long bridge, carbon bubble on financial stability drain through canals into the estuary and la- and now—under construction—with a have been recently discussed in the goon. 21⁄2-mile bridge so the water can flow academic literature and are increas- These decisions have all combined to seri- under the road into the water-starved ingly on the agenda of [bank] regu- ously add damaging amounts of polluted run- Everglades National Park. lators and supervisors.’’ Indeed, in an off into the St. Lucie and Indian rivers. He recommended focusing on projects official statement, the Bank of Eng- There are plans to complete a pair of res- like restoring the Kissimmee River to ervoirs? one on the St Lucie, the other on land has warned that ‘‘investments in its natural meandering state. Half a fossil fuels and related technologies the Caloosahatchee? to capture local runoff, century ago, when all the emphasis was hold it and clean it before slowly releasing it . . . may take a huge hit.’’ That huge to flow into the two estuaries. on flood control, getting the water off hit is the other side of a carbon bubble: What is the hope for the two rivers that the land, they took this meandering It pops, and you have a crash. So let’s are being used as drainage escape routes? stream called the Kissimmee River look at the prospects for not just a car- The federal and state governments must that cleansed the water as it oozed bon bubble but a carbon crash. pay for the cost of modifications of the east- south in all of the marsh grasses, and There are several elements in the ern dike of Water Conservation 3B to prevent what did they do? They dug a straight seepage. runup to a crash. Some of these we wit- ditch. Nat was one of the leaders in ad- nessed in the crash of the housing bub- The Federal government should use fuel vocating restoring the river to its nat- tax revenue to raise Tamiami Trail and build ble back in 2008. When these conditions additional bridges to allow water to flow ural meandering state so that by the exist, we should take warning. into ENP. time the water gets to Lake Okee- One condition is whether you can The state of Florida must acquire signifi- chobee, it will have been cleaned up by trust the players. In the housing crash, cant amounts of additional land both north natural processes. the rating agencies were in bed with and south of the lake or, at minimum, en- Both of those projects—Tamiami the banks, and you couldn’t trust their forceable easements to contain excessive Trail and the Kissimmee River—are risk evaluations. The whole thing was water until it can be leaked slowly down to now well underway, and we are already the lake from the north and south through a cooked. The big fees the rating agen- seeing the benefits to the environment cies were taking also took their eye off flow-way into the Everglades system. and to the wildlife. The gross pollution of Lake Okeechobee the ball, and they gave wildly erro- Nat also wrote about the importance must become a state priority. Recent phos- neous ratings to high-risk investments. of water storage and treatment phorus loads to Lake Okeechobee have been So at the heart of the 2018 housing in the 500-ton range, more than three times projects both north and south of the lake—a refrain this Senator often re- crash was a failure of trustworthiness. the goal of 140 tons. Today, estimates are Can we trust the fossil fuel industry that so much phosphorus has already been peats as well. That is why I not only any better than those rating agencies? spread in the watershed to keep these heavy respect and appreciate so much what There is no reason to think so, and loads coming for decades. Today, nutrients Nat contributed to our country and to there is plenty of reason to think not. from the EAA are less than 5 percent of the our State but also loved him as a This is an industry that has been lying total into Lake Okeechobee. More than 90 friend. His untimely death today in an percent is from the northern Lake Okee- about fossil fuel’s effect on our climate accident in Canada is a huge loss. Nat chobee watersheds. The failure to control for decades, and once you get used to phosphorus runoff is shared by the Florida and I had been so focused on advancing this new reservoir project south of lying about one thing, it is hard to con- Department of Agriculture and the Depart- tain the spread of the rot. Exxon even ment of Environmental Regulation. Lake Okeechobee. It saddens me so Agricultural and water utility interests much to announce this good news at once gave its CEO the infamous, phony must accept the fact that Lake Okeechobee’s the same time that I announce the Oregon Petition, which urged the level must be held below 16 feet and that death of one of the Nation’s true envi- United States to reject the Kyoto Pro- ‘back pumping’ polluted water from the EAA ronmental champions. In the years to tocol, to cite to shareholders at an an- even in times of drought must not be per- come, as we go about actually con- nual meeting. mitted. Lake Okeechobee cannot continue to I have spoken before about what I be considered a sewer. structing that reservoir, it would be a fitting tribute to name that project in consider to be the untrustworthiness of Additional lands within the vast EAA must Exxon’s response to the BlackRock be acquired by the state and the South Flor- Nat Reed’s honor. All we can do is try ida Water Management District to construct to continue his life’s work protecting shareholder resolution, which required major additional storage capacity and pollu- Florida’s unique environment. Exxon to report the predicted effect of tion control marshes that will dramatically Mr. President, I yield the floor. climate policies on Exxon’s business reduce the nutrients flowing off the sugar The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- model. As fossil fuels are priced out of cane plantations into the Everglades system. ator from Rhode Island. the market by renewable energy and as The sugar cane plantations should be CLIMATE CHANGE nations enact carbon emissions restric- forced to control and treat the thousands of Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I tions, fossil fuel reserves now claimed gallons of polluted water on their land before as assets by energy companies may be- they discharge it into the waters of the spoke before the Fourth of July recess state. They should pay a far greater share for about two financial risks that are com- come undevelopable stranded assets. cleaning up their wastes for the needed addi- ing our way thanks to not getting any- In a nutshell, Exxon seems to have tional pollution control marshes. thing done on climate change. wildly—indeed, so wildly, you can only These are tall orders, but think for a mo- One, of course, is the risk to coastal conclude deliberately—overestimated ment before we continue to rail against the properties—not something the Pre- the adoption of carbon capture utiliza- Corps’ decision to lower Lake Okeechobee to siding Officer has to worry too much tion and storage, wildly underesti- protect the integrity of the Hoover Dike. mated the adoption of electric vehicles, Everything on my ‘‘must do’’ list rep- about given his home State but some- resents one week of the Afghanistan War ex- thing that Rhode Island, the Ocean and wildly underestimated renewable penses. State, has to care a lot about and that energy growth, all to reach its rosy Everything on my wish list is obtainable. the distinguished Senator from Florida conclusions that its assets were more Our congressional delegation has signifi- and his constituents have to care a lot or less secure. cant power in Congress. Our governor and about. On the subject of trustworthiness, Florida commissioner of agriculture are very There is a point where rising sea lev- right now big oil companies are still persuasive with our legislature, even in els intrude on the saleability, the being untrustworthy, telling the world times of recession. they want a price on carbon, while at Despite the need to reduce the incredible mortgageability, and the insurability national deficit, don’t you think manmade of houses. None other than Freddie the same time telling their political disasters like what is threatening our rivers Mac, the huge Federal housing corpora- fixers in Congress to kill any such and the Everglades ecosystem are worthy of tion, is predicting that there will be a thing. Who knows how much they push national and state investments? coastal property meltdown. around their analysts and others who

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11JY6.013 S11JYPT1 July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4905 are curious about a carbon bubble. scale solar costs and rooftop solar costs There is a fourth condition. This What we know is that trusting this in- also declined dramatically. This line fourth condition basically puts an ac- dustry is asking a lot. That is condi- represents rooftop solar costs. This line celerator on condition three in certain tion one for a bubble in a crash— below it represents utility-scale solar sectors of the energy market. Condi- untrustworthy actors. costs. Again, there was a percentage tion four is based on the fact that the Condition two is market failure. Mar- decrease of 86 percent. marginal cost of production of a unit of kets usually correct and have a New solar and wind energy projects fossil fuel energy varies considerably. smoothing effect. If there is market are already becoming more economical Some fuels are low cost and high cost failure, markets can go off course until than existing coal plants, as we just to produce. Some geographical loca- the correction comes, and then the cor- saw in Colorado. New solar and wind tions are low cost and high cost loca- rection is so immediate and so big that projects now compete on price with tions. In this variance, coal is pretty it amounts to a crash. There is market new natural gas plants, as a recent much dead already at the hands of oil failure in fossil fuel that props up this auction in Arizona showed. and gas, purely because of cost. We can bubble. Indeed, there are several. The The cost trajectory for renewables set coal aside for a moment. biggest is that the fossil fuel industry continues steeply downward. When you In the world’s oil markets, much of rides on what the IMF calculates is a compare U.S. wind and solar to other this cost of production variant is global multitrillion-dollar annual sub- energy sources, you see the trend is masked right now by energy cartels sidy: $700 billion in subsidy every year clear, and here is the result. On cost, that prop up the price of oil. Cartel be- in the United States alone, says the the lowest cost providers are onshore havior to prop up the price of your International Monetary Fund. That wind and utility-scale solar. More ex- product makes economic sense if you subsidy massively warps the operation pensive than them is natural gas. More can maintain monopoly pressure to prop up the price, but it also only of the market. expensive is coal. More expensive still There is also what appears to be a is nuclear. That is not counting the makes sense for the cartel participants methodological issue. The oil industry subsidy. That is apparent price. if you can anticipate that you can sell This same trend is also happening your product out into the future. You is ordinarily measured financially by globally. This graphic is prepared by hold back your output to drive up price net asset value analysis. As one paper the World Economic Forum, and it and to maximize your return in the noted, this is an ‘‘industry valuation shows the same thing for renewables. hopes that in the future you will be methodology [that] assumes full ex- In particular, here is the rapidly de- able to keep doing the same thing and traction of fossil fuel reserves.’’ A clining cost of solar photovoltaic. Here you will be able to sell your product. methodology that assumes full extrac- is the cost of coal, and here, right now, If you are not sure that there will be tion of fossil fuel reserves becomes a they cross over. We are at the tipping another day to sell your product at the problem when the question is whether point, where it is cheaper worldwide to propped-up price, you start to get anx- extraction of those reserves is even develop solar and wind than it is to ious about your product becoming possible. burn coal. stranded and about your product be- There is also what I would call a Stanford economist Tony Seba stud- coming valueless. At that point, it ‘‘massiveness factor’’ at work here. ies economic disruptions, and he likes doesn’t make sense to engage in cartel Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns to see these two photographs. It will be behavior. What makes sense is to maxi- were so massive that it was hard to hard to see from where you are. This is mize your output and to sell as much imagine them vanishing, but they did. Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1900. as you can while your commodity still The market value of fossil fuel reserves If you look at the photograph, you can has value—basically, to have a fire that can’t be burned is around $20 tril- see that every vehicle there is drawn sale. lion, according to the World Bank. by a horse. In 1900, every vehicle was Low-cost fossil fuel energy producers That is such a big wipeout that it is drawn by a horse. If you look very would be rational to drop their prices hard to comprehend, let alone antici- closely, it appears there is one leading- and maximize their market-share, fire- pate. People wait until tomorrow. edge, non-horse-drawn vehicle. The sale pricing while their fossil fuel still Then, the tomorrows pile up into a whole street is filled with horse-drawn has value. Get the dammed stuff out bubble, and then the crash comes when carriages and wagons in 1900. Thirteen the door while you still can. That be- the first person panics and everybody years later, on Fifth Avenue in New havior—dropping the cost, pricing at runs. York City, every single vehicle in that your marginal cost of production, and One other market failure is actually street is now an automobile. In only 13 selling as much of your product as you how the crooked political pressure of years, there was a complete transition can—will fend off the inevitable for this industry is causing us not to focus in transportation. If you were a har- low-cost producers for a while. How- on the 2-degree Celsius ceiling that sci- ness maker, this was a tough transi- ever, for those producers that can’t entists warn us about for global warm- tion for you. In just 13 years, the world match that fire-sale price, the down- ing, or, actually, safer yet is the 1.5-de- changed, illustrating the point that ward trajectory of their crash steepens gree Celsius ceiling, which burning ex- major economic disruptions can take catastrophically. As soon as you can’t isting reserves will blow us through. place fast. Think land lines and cell produce not at the cartel price but at We cannot have both a safe planet and phones, if you want a modern example. the lowered fire-sale price—as soon as full extraction, and the fossil fuel in- People still ride horses, and they you cannot meet that price—you are dustry is choosing extraction. probably always will, but our transpor- out of business. There still is a fossil That political castle of climate de- tation sector shifted rapidly from fuel market. You are just not in it. The nial will fall sooner or later. It is false. horse-drawn conveyance to auto- bad news for the United States is that Not only is condition one met— mobiles because horse-drawn convey- this is where much of our market is. untrustworthy players—but condition ance was an antiquated technology Economists looking at this carbon bub- two is met: There is a massive, mul- that got left behind. People still have ble mess warn that high-cost regions tiple market failure in fossil fuel landlines. I have one at home. We hard- like the United States could ‘‘lose al- awaiting correction, which brings us to ly ever use it. The communications in- most their entire oil and gas industry.’’ condition three: The energy market is dustry shifted rapidly, as antiquated Let me quote that again: ‘‘lose almost undermining fossil fuels as a tech- landline technology got left behind. their entire oil and gas industry.’’ nology. As the energy market shifts to clean- To recap about a fossil fuel ‘‘carbon We are reaching a tipping point. Here er, cheaper, more efficient renewable bubble,’’ the players aren’t trust- is Lazard’s cost curve for onshore wind technologies, fossil fuels soon will not worthy; the fossil fuel markets aren’t energy. It shows, over 8 years, a 67-per- compete in the marketplace. There is efficient in the economic sense; fossil cent decrease in cost. This line shows our third condition: not just fuels as a technology are now tipping the cost of wind energy steadily declin- untrustworthy players, not just mar- into being obsolete, priced out by re- ing from 2009 until 2017. ket distortion, but also a technological newables; and our U.S. industry is par- At the same time these wind costs tipping point making the fossil fuel ticularly vulnerable to an accelerated were dramatically declining, utility- technology obsolete. market meltdown when the tide shifts.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.039 S11JYPT1 S4906 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2018 Those four conditions don’t make a thousands of women died from having a brief supporting Texas in its attack great scenario. That is a warning we illegal, unsafe abortions. The Supreme on the ACA’s protections for millions need to start considering. What should Court changed that. of people in our country with pre- we do? The Justices on the Supreme Court existing conditions. This case will like- Everyone seems to agree on two safe- matter to each and every one of our ly end up before the Supreme Court. If ty measures. First, there is one sen- lives. That is why there is so much Texas wins its lawsuit, the healthcare sible hedge: Don’t invest all in fossil concern over President Trump’s nomi- of millions of Americans will be at fuel. Invest more in renewables. Be on nee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme stake—meaning one in four Americans the winning side of the shift. Start Court—Judge Brett Kavanaugh. could either lose their health coverage making carburetors, not just a mule Rightwing groups, like the Heritage or pay exponentially more for harness. There is also one important, Foundation and the Federalist Society, healthcare. sensible economic strategy; that is, to have been working for decades to set The outcome of this case is personal manage the transition. the stage to pack our Federal courts to millions of Americans and their As one paper on this subject con- with ideologically driven conserv- families, and it is certainly personal to cluded, ‘‘The issue of concern is the atives. They have invested millions of me. A little over 1 year ago, I was diag- lack of any transitional strategy. . . . dollars and decades of time in this ef- nosed with kidney cancer. I was fortu- Inadequate, conflicting or slow re- fort. These two organizations have nate. I have health insurance that al- sponses to climate change in invest- played the primary role in vetting and lows me to focus on fighting my illness ment and finance can entail risks that selecting Donald Trump’s nominees to rather than worrying about how I will could be avoided under a more orderly the Supreme Court. By including Judge pay for my treatment. I now join the transition.’’ Kavanaugh on their list of potential millions of Americans living with a You could equate it to jumping out of nominees, these two organizations cer- preexisting condition—illnesses that an airplane. You are going to end up on tainly expect that he will reflect their don’t discriminate on the basis of age, the ground anyway. Wouldn’t you like own ideological perspectives, which in- gender, or political ideology. a parachute to make it a gentler and clude overturning Roe v. Wade and re- As this case makes its way to the Su- more survivable voyage? What is the pealing the Affordable Care Act, the preme Court, the American people parachute but a transition plan for ACA. They certainly expected Neil should not forget that Donald Trump managing this shift? The best one is a Gorsuch—another name on their list— and this administration have been price on carbon. to do the same when he got on the Su- openly hostile to the ACA, a law that This takes us back to the discredit- preme Court. In the short time he has has helped millions of people. In fact, able conduct of the fossil fuel industry, been on the Court, Justice Gorsuch has the President has openly bragged about which, far from leading through this not disappointed them. all the things he has done to gut the transition, far from trying to build Is it any wonder that millions of peo- ACA. Does the President expect his itself a parachute, is busily still trying ple across the country are raising con- nominee, Judge Kavanaugh, to protect to deny that there is any such transi- cerns over the nomination of yet an- the ACA? I don’t think so—quite the tion, including, in my view, their false- other nominee on the Federalist Soci- opposite. ly reporting to shareholders that this ety and Heritage Foundation’s wish The next Supreme Court Justice will is all going to be OK, and we are going list? Isn’t it reasonable to conclude also play a determining role in the fu- to be able to extract and sell all of our that Judge Kavanaugh will also reflect ture of a woman’s right to make her reserves. This is an industry that is the ideological agendas of these organi- own reproductive health decisions. I re- still fighting like a wounded bear to zations? member vividly the stories of women prevent anyone from organizing the or- This is why Judge Kavanaugh does dying in America, unable to access derly transition they need. not deserve the benefit of the doubt. He safe, legal abortions. The fight for re- At some point, there has to be a has the exceptionally high burden of productive freedom, prompted by these grownup in the room. The fossil fuel in- proof to assure the American people he stories, was one of the reasons I got in- dustry has shown no capacity for that can be fair and objective. The Senate volved in politics. role, which makes it up to us in Con- has a constitutional obligation that is When I was in college, the first letter gress to help America prepare for both equal to the President’s to vet a Presi- I ever wrote to Hawaii’s congressional the predicted crash in coastal property dent’s nominee to the Supreme Court delegation was about abortion at a values, as sea level begins to enter the and fulfill its obli- time when our State legislature was mortgage and insurance horizon for gation responsibilities. I take this re- debating whether to legalize abortion. those properties, and the predicted car- sponsibility seriously because a fight Hawaii became the first State in the bon bubble we see coming and that for the future of the Supreme Court country to do so. Those of us who lived economists write about coming that we will have ramifications for so many in a time before Roe v. Wade, when a can manage our way through if we are issues that we care about. woman was forced to have a child responsible. In that regard, it is time Our Federal courts have been at the against her will, are deeply concerned for us to wake up. center of the Republican Party’s strat- about the future of a woman’s right to I yield the floor. egy to dismantle, gut, and weaken the have an abortion, to have that freedom I suggest the absence of a quorum. Affordable Care Act, the ACA, since it of choice. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. LEE). was passed over 8 years ago. The Su- Throughout his campaign for the The clerk will call the roll. preme Court narrowly upheld the con- Presidency, Donald Trump repeatedly The legislative clerk proceeded to stitutionality of the ACA’s core provi- promised to appoint Justices to the Su- call the roll. sions in 2012. The ACA provides afford- preme Court who would favor over- Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I ask able, accessible health insurance to turning the core holding in Roe v. unanimous consent that the order for millions of people in our country who Wade. The Heritage Foundation and the quorum call be rescinded. would otherwise not have such insur- Federalist Society share this goal, and The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ance. But the Republican Party’s effort it is not a stretch to assume that the objection, it is so ordered. to sabotage this critically important names they included on their Supreme NOMINAION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH law through the courts continues Court wish list hold the same views. Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, there unabated. Judge Kavanaugh’s record on this was a time when Blacks and Whites Right now, Texas and 19 other States issue is deeply troubling and of signifi- couldn’t get married or go to the same have a lawsuit pending in Federal cant concern. Last year, Judge school. The Supreme Court changed court that claims, among other things, Kavanaugh issued a dissent in a case that. There was a time when gay peo- that the Affordable Care Act’s protec- that granted a 17-year-old immigrant ple could be arrested for loving one an- tions for Americans living with pre- in the custody of the Department of other and when it was illegal for them existing conditions—illnesses such as Health and Human Services, HHS, the to get married. The Supreme Court diabetes, asthma, and cancer—are in- right to get an abortion. Kavanaugh changed that. There was a time when valid. The Trump administration filed argued in his dissent that holding the

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.040 S11JYPT1 July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4907 young woman in custody, refusing to A lot has changed since the 1980s. The repay the money to the taxpayers but release her for a medical appointment internet, which was in its infancy in oddly were promoted and even issued for a procedure until HHS was able to the 1980s, is now a part of everyday life. new charge cards. Instead of being held find her a sponsor who would serve as a Mobile phones back then were once the accountable, it is quite obvious they foster parent, was not an undue burden size of bricks. Now those mobile phones were rewarded for their illegal activ- under the Supreme Court’s legal test. can fit in the palm of your hand and do ity. He did not consider holding someone a lot more work than just making tele- During the Presidency of President in government custody to be an undue phone calls. But one thing hasn’t Obama, I pressed the Pentagon to an- burden. This is the view of someone changed in all those decades—wasteful swer for a $43 million gas station built who will not follow the law as it is cur- Department of Defense procurement in Afghanistan. This project was re- rently set forth by the Supreme Court practices. vealed as part of an audit conducted by if confronted with challenges to Roe. Since I began my work on this issue, the Special Inspector General for Af- Let us remember, it is the Supreme there have been 6 Presidents and 12 ghan Reconstruction. When I pressed Court that sets precedent, and that can Secretaries of Defense, yet the problem for answers, the Defense Department happen if Judge Kavanaugh is on the of wasteful spending at the Defense De- responded by saying that the direct Court. Really, his dissent in this case partment keeps going on. Since those cost was actually only $5 million, but is a view of someone chosen for a rea- earliest revelations, there has been a the number didn’t include the massive son, ready to fulfill Donald Trump’s steady flow of new reports on spare overhead costs charged to the project, campaign promise to see Roe v. Wade part rip-offs. No political party is im- which pushed the overall price tag up overturned. mune from these horror stories. to that $43 million. Anybody anywhere This fight matters. Who sits on our During the administration of George else—outside the beltway—knows that courts matters. How we exercise our H.W. Bush, oversight efforts uncovered doesn’t meet the smell test, and that is constitutional duty to examine a nomi- soap dishes that cost $117 and pliers not even a commonsense answer to my nee for the highest Court in our land that cost nearly $1,000. In some cases overall question. How did we waste $43 matters. Just as well-financed conserv- the Department of Defense admitted million there? ative interests have spent decades set- that some high prices didn’t pass the Even more alarming is what hap- ting the stage for the court packing smell test. pened to the rest of the $800 million going on today, those of us who oppose True, better deals were negotiated. provided for other business develop- this agenda need to mobilize, resist, People tried to make some changes, ment projects in our efforts to help Af- and stay engaged for the long haul in but to offset losses on lower prices, the ghanistan recover. Auditors could only the fight for a fair and independent ju- contractors jacked up overhead and find documentation to support about diciary. management charges, making the over- half of the money spent, leaving about I yield the floor. all contract price the same. $400 million unaccounted for. This kind The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Exercising oversight on these con- of sloppy bookkeeping means we may ator from Iowa. tracts is like working with a balloon. never know how the rest of the money DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OVERSIGHT You know the famous balloon—when was spent. Was it used for unauthorized Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I you squeeze it in one place, the prob- purposes or pocketed by crooked peo- come to the floor today to discuss the lem pops out someplace else. ple? We will probably never know. continuing need for addressing hard- Under President , a re- Now, under the Presidency of Donald hitting oversight of the Department of port by the Government Account- Trump, over 30 years since all this Defense. That need for oversight is as ability Office—we know it here as the started with me, the overpriced air- great today as it ever was. Waste is GAO—revealed that one defense con- borne toilet seat has really gained alti- alive and very well at the Pentagon. tractor paid its top executives more tude. Instead of the $640 that this cost, I have a poster, a blowup of a cartoon than $33 million a year, an amount the new pricetag was reported by the published in the Washington Post in that was reimbursed by the Federal Air Force to be $10,000, and that hap- 1985, during my early years in the U.S. Government as part of a contract. pens to be only for the lid of the toilet Senate. It shows Ernie Fitzgerald, a fa- I happen to agree that a company has stool. Any American can tell you that mous whistleblower, confronting what a right to pay its executives whatever $10,000 for a toilet seat cover is ridicu- are quite obviously his chief adver- it wants; however, when the govern- lous. Americans work too hard to see saries, the big spenders at the Pen- ment enters into cost-reimbursement their precious tax dollars flushed down tagon. contracts, those contracts in which the the toilet. As a senior Air Force official, Ernie government directly repays the com- I asked the Department of Defense Fitzgerald committed a crime. He says pany for costs incurred instead of pay- for confirmation that the seats cost he ‘‘committed truth.’’ Ernie Fitz- ing a fixed price, the contractor loses $10,000. They still haven’t answered my gerald is famous for, in 1968, exposing a incentive to control costs, and top ex- letter, but after my inquiry, the De- $2.3 billion cost overrun on the C–5 air- ecutives draw sky-high salaries at the partment of Defense has changed their craft program. In those days, having a taxpayers’ expense. story. They clarified to the media that senior Pentagon official like Ernie I introduced an amendment in the they are now 3D printing the toilet Fitzgerald speak the truth about a cost 1997 Defense authorization bill to curb seat lids for much less, but they never overrun on a high visibility program executive compensation billed directly answered my questions. We don’t know was unheard of. In fact, it was dan- to the taxpayers, but as you might ex- how many seat covers were purchased gerous. It was so dangerous that it cost pect, with the respect the Defense De- at the $10,000 pricetag; we don’t know Ernie Fitzgerald his job. That is why I partment has in this body, that amend- when they moved to 3D printing in- like to call Ernie Fitzgerald the father ment was voted down. stead of purchasing; and we still don’t of whistleblowers. During the Bush administration in have documentation or official con- The cartoon also depicts the infa- the early 2000s, I worked with the GAO firmation on the true price of toilet mous $640 toilet seat that made history to expose abuse of government charge seat lids. back in those days as one example of cards by Defense Department employ- Even if the issue of the toilet seat the terrible waste at the Defense De- ees. We found some truly egregious ex- has been sorted out, it is clear the De- partment. That happened in 1985, when penditures—for examples, over $20,000 partment of Defense still does not have I, as a first-term Senator, began at a jewelry store, over $34,000 on gam- a grip on spending. OIG reports have watchdogging the Pentagon. After a re- bling, and over $70,000 on tickets to revealed that the Pentagon frequently port uncovered a $640 toilet seat and a sporting events and Broadway shows. overpays for simple parts and does not $400 hammer, I began asking very In some cases, employees who spent perform adequate cost analysis. tough questions, such as: How could thousands of taxpayer dollars on per- One of the primary culprits for con- the bureaucrats possibly justify paying sonal expenses—way beyond anything tinuing waste and misuse of tax dollars such exorbitant prices? I am still wait- that was an ordinary business ex- is the Department of Defense’s non- ing for a straight answer. pense—were not only not asked to compliance with the congressional

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.041 S11JYPT1 S4908 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 11, 2018 mandate to pass an audit. The Depart- keep trying to fix the antiquated feeder Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, ment of Defense has a very bad record. systems or is it time to develop new, I ask unanimous consent that the order It is impossible to know how much fully integrated systems that can de- for the quorum call be rescinded. things cost or what is being bought liver reliable financial information? We The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without when nobody is keeping good track of need and we want some answers. objection, it is so ordered. the money being shoveled out the door. The Department of Defense is cur- FAMILY SEPARATION For nearly 30 years, we have been rently attempting to conduct a full fi- Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, pushing the Pentagon to earn a clean nancial audit. Secretary Mattis has di- I want to share with my colleagues and opinion on any of their audits. Way rected all employees to support the the American people what I witnessed back in 1990, Congress passed the Chief audit, and the results are expected in on a visit to a couple of immigration Financial Officers Act, which required November. Although the new Chief Fi- detention facilities on our southern all departments of the government to nancial Officer appears to be making a border and the stories of the people, present a financial statement to an in- good-faith effort to get a handle on the children, and infants being held there. spector general for audit by March problem, he also happens to be spend- On a visit to an adult detention facil- 1992. All departments have complied ing hundreds of millions of dollars a ity, I sat down with a group of six and earned clean opinions except one year for audits with a zero probability mothers whose children had been taken and that is the Department of Defense. of success. It could be very wasteful from them. One of them, Anna, had a 5- Instead of clean opinions, the Depart- spending that kind of money if they year-old daughter she brought with her ment of Defense has earned a long don’t have a feeder system in place. to the United States. After witnessing string of failing opinions called dis- The first priority of our Federal Gov- a brutal murder in her neighborhood claimers. It boils down to the fact that ernment remains and ought to be na- and receiving death threats in her the books at the Department of De- tional security. We must ensure that home country, she decided to leave fense are unauditable. our military forces remain strong that country to keep her 5-year-old In 2010, 20 years after that 1990 con- enough to deter any potential aggres- daughter safe. gressional action, Congress finally got sor and, as a result, preserve the peace. She traveled 3,000 miles to get to our fed up and passed a new law requiring The men and women on the southern border, and when she finally the Pentagon to be ready for audit by frontlines deserve fair compensation arrived, she thought: I am safe. I made September 2017. The Department was and the best weapons and equipment it. I am going to tell them who I am given 7 long years to get its act to- money can buy. We want to field the and why I am here because I know I fi- gether and to meet the same require- most capable military force in the nally made it to safety. ments as every other Federal agency world. Because national defense is so She flagged down Customs and Bor- entrusted with public money. Obvi- very important, congressional der Patrol agents thinking that they ously, that deadline has come and gone watchdogging of defense spending is would help her, but when she did, CBP like other deadlines have come and very essential. We don’t want one sin- officials arrested her. They took her gone. According to the Comptroller and gle dollar to be wasted—not even a into custody, and then they separated Chief Financial Officer, Mr. David penny. her from her daughter. Anna’s daugh- Norquist, a clean audit is still at least Until the Defense Department is able ter was put on a bus and driven hun- 10 years away. That is 10 years of not to earn a clean opinion on a very reg- dreds of miles away. being able to follow the money. If you ular basis, we have no assurance that As Anna was telling this story to me, can’t follow the money, you don’t Defense dollars are being spent wisely every single one of the mothers began know whether it is spent legally. and, most importantly, according to to cry. Anna told me this was the first There is a longstanding, underlying law. Report after report shows that time she had ever been separated from problem preventing the Pentagon from precious Defense dollars are being her 5-year-old daughter, and she had no reaching the goal of a clean audit. This wasted, misused, and unaccounted for. idea—no idea—where her daughter was is the so-called feeder system. I will Reforms have been made, but very and what they were doing with her. All not describe a feeder system, but feeder clearly the war on waste has not been of the women, as Anna was telling me systems are supposed to capture trans- won. Much more work needs to be the story, had experienced the same action data, but those feeder systems done. thing. are broken. Auditors cannot connect From my oversight post in the Sen- Each one of the women I spoke with the dots between contracts and pay- ate, I will continue to apply pressure had children under the age of 12 who ments. You can’t follow the money be- on the Pentagon to step up the war on were taken away from them. Their sto- cause there is no reliable transaction waste. I don’t expect much help from ries were the same. They had all faced data and little or no supporting docu- the inspector general. Mr. Fine seems horrific gang violence and abuse in mentation. You tend to spend money to be AWOL on waste. I raised the issue their home country and fled to protect without knowing what you even of the $10,000 toilet seat cover with him their families. They had been raped and bought. The Pentagon will never earn a over a month ago and still haven’t re- tortured. They saw loved ones killed clean opinion until those accounting ceived an answer. His office found the before their very eyes. systems are able to produce reliable fi- time to update the media about the Another one of the women I spoke nancial data that meet accepted stand- toilet seat cover. Yet my letter has with, Griselda, explained that in her ards. gone unanswered. community, the gangs expect extortion Over the last 25 years, the Depart- However, after revelations about the payments every week from business ment of Defense has spent billions try- $43 million gas station, Secretary owners, such as herself, and if you ing to fix these outdated accounting Mattis’s reaction was sweet music to can’t pay, they come to your house and systems but with no success. How is it my ears. He issued an all-hands memo. kidnap or rape or kill your children. that the very mighty Pentagon can de- In that memo, he stated flatout: I will One day, gang members came and velop the most advanced weapons in not tolerate that kind of waste. Known started threatening her son. She knew the world but can’t seem to acquire for being a man of your word, Sec- in that moment she had two options: something as simple as an accounting retary Mattis, I am counting on you stay and watch her son die or pack up system? We need to get to the bottom for your help. Maybe together we can her children and run. of this problem and fix it. wipe out the culture of indifference to- I asked the group of women: Why I am working with my colleagues on ward the American people’s money by didn’t you go to the police for help? the Budget Committee to get the Gov- the Pentagon. They explained to me that the police in ernment Accountability Office to con- I yield the floor. their country are just as corrupt as the duct an independent review of the Pen- I suggest the absence of a quorum. gangs. In their country, there is no rule tagon’s effort to acquire modern ac- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The of law. There are no protections. If you counting systems. What is the prob- clerk will call the roll. want to save your children’s lives, your lem? That is what we are trying to find The legislative clerk proceeded to only option is to run, and that is what out. Should the Defense Department call the roll. these women did.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.043 S11JYPT1 July 11, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4909 They came to the United States ex- dlers, and infants—kids under the age for families fleeing violence. We don’t pecting to find freedom and protection, of 12 who have been separated from need the Department of Defense to but instead they were thrown in jail, their parents, many for the first time. build internment camps for babies, tod- and their children were loaded on buses I was there to find out how taxpayer dlers, and kids. and driven away. These parents want money was being spent and how the Locking up families who are seeking to now know, where are their children? kids were being treated, but the facili- asylum under the laws we have put in When they asked me, I told them I ties manager locked the door and gave place to protect them will be a moral didn’t have the information they need- me the number for a communications stain on our country for generations to ed, and that I, too, was asking the director to call to seek assistance. come. same questions, but I promised them I With a handful of exceptions, most of President Trump, the American peo- would take their stories back with me my colleagues have also been turned ple demand that you explain how you to Washington, DC, and share them away. plan to reunite these families you have with the American people. The Trump administration is also scarred forever and whom you ripped Because of President Trump’s inhu- saying they are having trouble locating apart. Work with Democrats to solve mane family separation policy, we some of the parents. Part of the prob- the refugee crisis in Central America. have almost 3,000 children separated lem is, at least 12 of the parents with Don’t treat innocent parents and chil- from their parents. Their moms and children under 5 years old have already dren as political pawns. Don’t turn dads just want to have their children been deported. Can you imagine that? your back on everything this country back in their arms. Babies who can’t even speak have no stands for. Just recently, Secretary Azar testi- clue where their moms and dads went, Thank you. fied that there is no reason why any and they might never know. I yield the floor. parent would not know where their The Trump administration can’t pin The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. KEN- child is located. Well, that is abso- the blame for this on Congress, Demo- NEDY). The majority leader. lutely false. I spoke with 10 mothers crats, or anyone else. They are missing f and fathers who have no clue where the deadline for one reason and one their children are. They look at me reason only: because they never made a LEGISLATIVE SESSION with tears running down their faces. plan to reunite these families. They They pleaded with me to help them never intended to. MORNING BUSINESS find their children. They didn’t have a plan 2 weeks ago, This administration gave no thought when I went down to the border, and Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I to the damage inflicted on these fami- they don’t have one now. They created ask unanimous consent that the Sen- lies, and they clearly had no plan for this chaos with no plan to put the bro- ate resume legislative session for a pe- how they would reunite them. ken pieces back together. riod of morning business, with Sen- We have three different entities They had to start from scratch try- ators permitted to speak therein for up working to reunify these families. Two ing to locate parents and children de- to 10 minutes each. are under the umbrella of the Depart- tained across the country, and now we The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ment of Homeland Security, U.S. Cus- are hearing heartbreaking stories of re- objection, it is so ordered. toms and Border Protection and Immi- unification—toddlers who do not recog- f gration and Customs Enforcement, and nize their mothers anymore. The phys- REMEMBERING ROGER L. one under the Department of Health iological trauma this administration SHERMAN and Human Services, the Office of Ref- has inflicted on these children will last ugee Resettlement, but none of them a lifetime. Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I wish are working together. As a result, the So, today, I am calling on President to acknowledge the loss of one of West Trump administration has missed its Trump to finally do his job and provide Virginia’s brightest and recognize the court-ordered deadline to reunite us with a concrete plan. I want to see life of a dedicated advocate, educator, young children under 5 with their par- results, and I will not stop fighting veteran, and good man: Roger L. Sher- ents. until every child has been reunited man. There are 102 children under 5 years with their parents. Stop making ex- Throughout his life, Roger was old waiting to be reunited with their cuses. Stop blaming Democrats for the known for his dedication to responsible families, but as far as we know, only 4 crisis you created, President Trump. forestry and the people of rural West families have been united. The other thing I keep hearing from Virginia. From championing economic The Trump administration has been this administration and from President development to advancing graduate- ordered to reunite up to 3,000 children Trump’s allies is, the Democrats want level education, Roger made signifi- with their parents by July 26, but they open borders. This is not about open cant contributions in the areas of pub- are on track to miss that deadline too. borders. I support strong, secure bor- lic advocacy, education, and commu- In the midst of all of this, HHS offi- ders. I have spent my career fighting to nity service that benefit West Vir- cials discovered they have been holding uphold the law as the attorney general ginians to this day. Above all, Roger a toddler, who may be a U.S. citizen, in of the State of Nevada for 8 years, was highly regarded as a man of con- detention for over a year. How could fighting to secure our borders. It is not science, whose integrity pervaded that be possible? How could the reunifi- about secure borders. We need a plan to every aspect of his life and work. cation process be so erratic, inefficient, reunite these families because this is A veteran, Roger served in the U.S. and slow? about our values. This is about human Army for 3 years until 1969. He grad- This administration has been making rights. This is about who we are as a uated from North Carolina State Uni- excuses left and right, trying to pin the country, and separating families is not versity with a bachelor’s of science in blame on anyone but themselves. They who we are. We do not tear babies out forestry and went on to obtain a mas- have suggested that the reunification of their mothers’ arms. ter’s degree in forestry from Yale Uni- process is slow because too many Mem- We have always—always—had a guid- versity. He joined Westvaco as public bers of Congress are taking tours of ing principle when it comes to chil- affairs forester in 1977, and from there, these detention facilities. I couldn’t dren: We do no harm. Whether they are embarked on a more than 40-year ca- help but laugh when I heard that be- Honduran children, Guatemalan chil- reer advancing the interests of private cause I can guarantee you, I was not dren, Salvadoran children, or American landowners in West Virginia. During taking a tour when I tried to enter a children, we do no harm. this time, he served as volunteer chair children’s detention facility, and they I call on President Trump, abandon of the legislative committee of the locked me out. They would not let me your inhumane, zero tolerance immi- West Virginia Forestry Association, in. I was not allowed in to check on the gration policy; abandon the heartless WVFA, a position he held for 38 years. condition of these children or even to decision to separate families. He also received numerous awards and talk to anyone in charge about how We should be looking for humane, recognitions, including the Out- they were taking care of children, tod- cost-effective alternatives to detention standing Service to Forestry Award

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jul 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G11JY6.046 S11JYPT1