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Senate WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018 E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018 No. 140 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, August 24, 2018, at 11 a.m. Senate WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018 The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was to the Senate from the President pro was during any month of the Obama called to order by the Honorable TOM tempore (Mr. HATCH). administration. Coal jobs are surging COTTON, a Senator from the State of The senior assistant legislative clerk back, and according to one industry es- Arkansas. read the following letter: timate, in 2017, West Virginia saw fast- f U.S. SENATE, er growth in construction jobs than PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, any other State. PRAYER Washington, DC, August 22, 2018. As Senator CAPITO explained in a re- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- To the Senate: cent op-ed, figures like these are more fered the following prayer: Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, evidence that Republican policies are Let us pray. of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby helping her State and the entire coun- appoint the Honorable TOM COTTON, a Sen- Eternal Father, You lead us like a try write a new chapter. Senator CAP- ator from the State of Arkansas, to perform shepherd, for we desperately need Your ITO recently shared with me that in the duties of the Chair. tender care. We thank You for life’s Wheeling, WV, the owners of Warwood clouds and storms that position us to ORRIN G. HATCH, President pro tempore. Tool are creating a new line of prod- receive Your deliverance and assur- ucts thanks to the new flexibility Mr. COTTON thereupon assumed the ance. Thank You also for refusing to brought about by tax reform. In Chair as Acting President pro tempore. move our mountains but instead giving Wellsburg, Eagle Manufacturing is buy- us strength to climb them. f ing new machinery. In Jane Lew, Doss Today, bless our Senators and each Enterprises is planning to hire up to 30 member of their staffs, who routinely RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER new workers. It is really amazing when deliver excellence in the midst of fre- we remember that only one of West netic activity. May these faithful staff- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Virginia’s Senators voted for the tax ers never forget Your promise to al- pore. The majority leader is recog- reform policies that helped make all of ways be with them. Guide them today nized. this good news possible. with fresh insights on abundant living, f As Senator CAPITO notes, recent as You supply all their needs out of the months’ promising economic numbers ECONOMIC GROWTH riches of Your celestial bounty. and all the new opportunities they rep- We pray in Your generous Name. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, this resent are only the beginning. Tax re- Amen. week, I have been highlighting some of form will also help strengthen our eco- f the examples of the strength of the nomic foundation for the long term. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE U.S. economy. The people of West Vir- In particular, one provision of the ginia, where President Trump visited tax rewrite will specifically help the The Honorable TOM COTTON led the yesterday evening, are no exception to most depressed communities in our Na- Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: this national trend. tion. It will turn these areas into op- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the During the Obama years, West Vir- portunity zones that are especially at- United States of America, and to the Repub- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, ginia’s economy was hit hard. Manu- tractive for investment. The Treasury indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. facturing employment shrunk by 13 Department has already certified zones f percent. Coal and logging employment in every State, including 55 in West shrunk by 38 percent. But today things Virginia and 144 in my home State of APPOINTMENT OF ACTING are different. The State’s unemploy- Kentucky. Nearly 35 million Americans PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE ment rate has been lowered during live in communities within the newly The PRESIDING OFFICER. The each of the past 19 months under this designated opportunity zones. To- clerk will please read a communication united Republican government than it gether, they have an average poverty ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S5791 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Aug 22, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A22AU6.000 S22AUPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S5792 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 22, 2018 rate of around 32 percent. This program I was proud to secure $5 million for a He could not tell me if he believed is just one of so many ways that Re- brandnew Centers for Disease Control the Affordable Care Act was constitu- publican policies are providing a boost initiative to help prevent the spread of tional. Nor would he answer or recall to the very communities that Demo- infectious diseases like HIV and hepa- his level of involvement in a number of cratic policies systematically left be- titis B and C, which are a consequence controversies during his time in the hind. of the opioid epidemic. The CDC is di- Bush White House, a portion of his The opportunity zones, by the way, rected to prioritize high-risk areas, in- record the Senate has been denied ac- were the idea of Senator TIM SCOTT cluding 54 counties in Kentucky. cess to by the Republican majority. from South Carolina, who was able to This legislation also contains provi- Now, I understand the imperative all insert them into the pay raise—into sions from my CAREER Act, which judges face not to bias themselves by the tax reform bill. would dedicate new Federal funds to commenting on cases that could come So there are bonuses, pay raises, and career and training services so that re- before their court, but these are some tax cuts for middle-class families today covering substance abuse patients can basic questions of already decided and the foundation for more invest- transition back into the workforce and cases. Furthermore, I told Judge ment and more jobs tomorrow. begin to rebuild their lives. Kavanaugh that he is in a different f In sum, the appropriations measures place than others. President Trump has said that he APPROPRIATIONS we are considering this week invest in human capital from all angles. They will only appoint nominees who will Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, on will put new tools in the hands of dis- undo Roe v. Wade. President Trump a related matter, I am proud that on tressed communities, of workers who has said he will only appoint nominees this Congress’s watch, our economy need new skills, and of families who who will declare the ACA unconstitu- has produced so many job opportuni- need help defeating drug addiction. tional. Judge Kavanaugh is under a ties for the American people. I thank the subcommittee chairman, burden to refute that. I asked him if, even when he sat with Here was the AP’s headline a few Senator BLUNT, and the ranking mem- the President, did he tell the President weeks ago: ‘‘Open jobs outnumber US ber, Senator MURRAY, for their bipar- not to count on him, that he will not unemployed for 3rd straight month.’’ tisan work on the Labor-HHS title. I absolutely vote to repeal Roe. He But that growth and prosperity needs look forward to voting in support of didn’t. to reach all families and all commu- this legislation, along with the vital nities. That means expanding Ameri- So Kavanaugh has a burden beyond funding for the Department of Defense, that of a normal Justice because of cans’ opportunities to invest in their in the coming days. own human capital by building new what President Trump, the person who skills and transitioning into growing f selected him, has said unequivocally. industries. That is why the appropria- So here is Justice Kavanaugh’s si- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME lence or refusal to commit to even the tions legislation the Senate is cur- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- most common things that should be rently considering provides billions of pore. Under the previous order, the said. He said he would say Brown was dollars for training and employment leadership time is reserved. correctly decided. Why can’t he say services. It includes $160 million for ap- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Roe was correctly decided? There is his prenticeship programs, $220 million for suggest the absence of a quorum. silence, especially given his recent dislocated workers, with a special $30 The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- praises of dissent in Roe and Casey. In million emphasis on displaced workers pore. The clerk will call the roll. 2016 and 2017 he praised Justice in rural communities like those I rep- The senior assistant legislative clerk Rehnquist and Justice Scalia’s views resent in Eastern and Western Ken- proceeded to call the roll. that Casey and Roe were decided tucky, and just under $100 million to Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask wrongly. What is anyone supposed to integrate ex-offenders back into pro- unanimous consent that the order for reasonably believe? ductive society. the quorum call be rescinded.
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