July 29, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5125 about that what Putin has done is wrong,’’ access to U.S. officials. Still, Senate GOP The legislative clerk read as follows: Reid said. leaders blocked a bipartisan measure to re- Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 165, H.R. He added that it was unclear what the ject Putin’s denial of election interference, 3877, a bill to amend the Balanced Budget ‘‘right wing’’ Republicans attacking Obama mandate immediate enactment of sanctions and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, were seeking from the president. passed by Congress last year and ask Senate to establish a congressional budget for fiscal ‘‘Did they think that he should do an Iraq committees to hold hearings into the sum- years 2020 and 2021, to temporarily suspend move maybe?’’ Reid said. ‘‘I don’t under- mit’s private meeting between Putin and the debt limit, and for other purposes. stand what they’re saying. I think that the Trump. cautious direction of the president has been On Tuesday, McConnell lauded the NDAA’s CLOTURE MOTION very good in Ukraine. aid for Fort Knox (home to Army Human Re- Mr. MCCONNELL. I send a cloture Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, sources Command), its authorized end- motion to the desk for the motion to since 2017, I have continued reminding strength boost, and its recognition of Amer- proceed. everyone that Putin is not our friend. ica’s tense relationships with Russia and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- Russia is going to continue trying to China. ture motion having been presented meddle. We need a comprehensive ‘‘It would have been denying reality and in under rule XXII, the Chair directs the a sense putting our head in the sand not to strategy to contest Russian aggression, have a significant increase in military clerk to read the motion. and alliances like NATO are critical spending,’’ McConnell said, acknowledging The legislative clerk read as follows: for standing up to our adversaries. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ advocacy to CLOTURE MOTION Once more, for good measure, I ask Trump and Congress for added spending. We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- unanimous consent that the news arti- ‘‘In fact, we gave the Department of De- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the cle dated August 15, 2018, entitled ‘‘U.S. fense exactly what they asked for,’’ McCon- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby Senate’s top Republican likens Russia nell added. The Senate leader also praised move to bring to a close debate on the mo- to ‘old Soviet Union’ ’’ be printed in the Trump’s tough stance against China on tion to proceed to H.R. 3877, a bill to amend trade. RECORD. the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit ‘‘We’d rather not be adversaries, but we Control Act of 1985, to establish a congres- There being no objection, the mate- don’t have a perfect relationship either,’’ rial was ordered to be printed in the sional budget for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, to McConnell said of Beijing. ‘‘The Chinese temporarily suspend the debt limit, and for RECORD, as follows: have become more aggressive on the mili- other purposes. [August 15, 2018] tary side, which has been unusual for them Lamar Alexander, Thom Tillis, Martha US SENATE’S TOP REPUBLICAN LIKENS RUSSIA in the past.’’ McSally, John Cornyn, Pat Roberts, TO ‘OLD SOVIET UNION’ Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Mike Rounds, Susan M. Collins, Tom (By Joe Gould) don’t normally take the time to re- Cotton, Roy Blunt, Roger F. Wicker, John Thune, Bill Cassidy, Richard WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader spond to critics in the media when they Mitch McConnell, R–Ky., isn’t ready to get have no clue what they are talking Burr, John Barrasso, Rob Portman, cozy with Russia, comparing it to ‘‘the old about, but this modern-day McCar- Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell. Soviet Union’’ on Tuesday. thyism is toxic and damaging because f A month after the Helsinki summit be- of the way it warps our entire public EXECUTIVE SESSION tween U.S. President Donald Trump and his discourse. Facts matter. Details mat- Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, at which Trump discredited U.S. intelligence ter. History matters. And if our Nation and American policies isolating Moscow, the is losing its ability to debate public EXECUTIVE CALENDAR powerful Senate leader showed he was on a policy without screaming about trea- Mr. MCCONNELL. I move to proceed separate track. son, that really matters. to executive session to consider Cal- ‘‘The Russians are not our friends. They In the middle of the 20th century, the endar No. 402. try to create problems in every way they original McCarthyism hurt America’s The PRESIDING OFFICER. The can,’’ McConnell said in a news conference at strength and diminished our standing question is on agreeing to the motion. Fort Knox, Kentucky, set up to tout the $716 in the Cold War by dividing us against billion National Defense Authorization Act The motion was agreed to. that Trump signed into law Monday. ourselves and letting lies, innuendo, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ‘‘I think the Russians are acting like the and baseless accusations crowd out rea- clerk will report the nomination. old Soviet Union used to act,’’ McConnell sonable politics. The frenetic politi- The legislative clerk read the nomi- said, pointing to its alleged meddling in U.S. cized witch hunt distracted from legiti- nation of Kelly Craft, of Kentucky, to and European elections and its 2014 annex- mate efforts to contest the Soviet be the Representative of the United ation of Crimea from Ukraine. (Louisville- Union, including more sober efforts to States of America to the United Na- based Spectrum News posted video of the root out real Soviet agents in our presser.) tions, with the rank and status of Am- Without mentioning it directly, McConnell midsts. In short, McCarthyism did the bassador Extraordinary and Pleni- displayed his differences with Trump and Russian’s work for them. McCarthyism potentiary, and the Representative of Sen. Rand Paul, the junior senator from did the work for the Russians. the United States of America in the Se- Kentucky and an outlier in the Senate when Now, here we are in 2019. Again, curity Council of the United Nations. it comes to Moscow. Paul, who visited Rus- Putin and the Russians seek to pro- CLOTURE MOTION sia this month, said the politics in America voke fear and division in our country, around the issues are poisoning the chances Mr. MCCONNELL. I send a cloture to undermine faith in our institutions, motion to the desk. for cross-Atlantic dialogue. to exacerbate our political divisions Trump’s openness toward Russia has fueled The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- tensions over the separation of powers. until we tear ourselves apart, and, once ture motion having been presented Trump issued a signing statement for the again, it seems there are some who under rule XXII, the Chair directs the NDAA that claimed some provisions man- blindly take the bait. clerk to read the motion. dating tough action on Russia would actu- American pundits are calling an The legislative clerk read as follows: ally impinge on the powers of the executive American official treasonous because CLOTURE MOTION branch. of a policy disagreement. If anything is ‘‘This signing statement is troubling be- an asset to the Russians, it is dis- We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- cause, yet again, the President is showing ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the the world he cannot be trusted when it gusting behavior like that. Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby comes to standing by U.S. commitments and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- promoting our interests over—his own,’’ the jority leader. nation of Kelly Craft, of Kentucky, to be the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s rank- f Representative of the United States of Amer- ing member, Sen. Bob Menendez, D–N.J., said ica to the United Nations, with the rank and in a statement. He called on Trump to ‘‘un- BIPARTISAN BUDGET ACT OF status of Ambassador Extraordinary and equivocally stand strong for the United 2019—MOTION TO PROCEED Plenipotentiary, and the Representative of States and our allies and against Kremlin the United States of America in the Security Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I aggression.’’ Council of the United Nations. The Senate has taken a few bipartisan move to proceed to Calendar No. 165, Lamar Alexander, Thom Tillis, Martha shots at Trump on Russia, voting over- H.R. 3877. McSally, John Cornyn, Pat Roberts, whelmingly to affirm support of NATO and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mike Rounds, Susan M. Collins, Tom unanimously to oppose giving the Kremlin clerk will report the motion. Cotton, Roy Blunt, Roger F. Wicker,

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