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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 No. 122 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was ments to get to a point where they No longer do disappointments for called to order by the President pro could get a clean audit. DOD is still the Democrats mean that Democrats need tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). only one that hasn’t. better arguments. Now disappoint- f Sometime around 2010, I believe, we ments for Democrats are claimed as laid down a requirement that the clean proof—proof—that our country is fun- PRAYER audit date ought to be met by 2017. damentally broken or that James The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Well, that wasn’t met. So, for decades, Madison messed something up. fered the following prayer: DOD has been saying that they are al- So while we have far-left mobs at- Let us pray. most there. Now they say it will be at tacking statues of our Founding Fa- O God of light, as we approach Inde- least another 5 years before a clean thers from coast to coast, we have far- pendence Day, we thank You for giving opinion can be reached. left politicians attacking the institu- us the gift of true freedom. One reason they haven’t been able to tions those Founders left us. You have blessed us with freedom do that is the outdated mess of hun- Now, step back and look at the land- from sin, guilt, and shame. You have dreds of financial management sys- scape of fundamental changes that redeemed us. You have also given us tems. Yet the Department of Defense leading Democrats or their close allies freedom from fear, providing us with still wants to spend almost $200 million are demanding: amending the First peace in the midst of the storms. on an annual audit. Amendment to restrict its protections, Today, please guide our lawmakers I urge my colleagues to support my ending the electoral college, packing so that they will fulfill Your purposes amendment to pause the audit effort the Supreme Court with new Justices, as they face the challenges of these that is doomed to fail anyway and, in- packing the Senate with new States, times. Lord, awaken them to Your in- stead, invest that $200 million in updat- and, to accomplish all this, destroying escapable presence. Keep them from ing the Department of Defense finan- the Senate’s distinguishing feature thinking that You are absent from our cial management system because, until that makes radical change hard by de- world or disinterested in it. Enable they get the financial management sign. them to feel You in their midst as they systems right, DOD will never be capa- We have an entire political move- grapple with the problems of our time. ble of having a clean audit. ment that is telling us—literally out We pray in Your strong Name. Amen. I yield the floor. loud—that they have lost patience with f f playing by the rules and may well de- clare war on the rule book itself. A co- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY alition of leftwing special interests are The President pro tempore led the LEADER explicitly campaigning for ‘‘51 for 51.’’ Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- They want Senators to vandalize the I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the jority leader is recognized. rules to pass legislation with a simple United States of America, and to the Repub- f majority and then use that ill-gotten lic for which it stands, one nation under God, power to cement a presumed advantage indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ISSUES FACING AMERICA by awarding the District of Columbia The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, be- two Senate seats. BOOZMAN). The Senator from Iowa. fore I discuss the legislation before the They want to nuke the Senate to Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask Senate, I need to spend a moment on pack the Senate. This is naked politics. unanimous consent to speak for 1 something broader. Our country needs No neutral principle could explain why minute in morning business. to confront the Democratic Party’s all these special interests prioritize The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without willingness to threaten our governing this cause which most Americans op- objection, it is so ordered. institutions themselves. pose. No neutral principle explains why f Earlier this year, as the Senate dis- Democrats want the 20th most popu- posed of the least fair, least thorough, lous city to get two Senators all to NATIONAL DEFENSE and most rushed impeachment in mod- itself when retrocession to Maryland AUTHORIZATION ACT ern history, I offered a broader warn- would satisfy their own slogans more Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the ing. I said: ‘‘Leaders in the opposite cleanly. Department of Defense is the only party increasingly argue that if our in- No neutral principle explains why agency that can’t get a clean audit. stitutions don’t produce the outcomes House Democrats wasted floor time on Sometime around 1990, there was an they like, our institutions themselves a potentially unconstitutional show audit law passed directing Depart- must be broken.’’ vote. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4169 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:38 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02JY6.000 S02JYPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE S4170 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 2, 2020 Just days after Democrats used the reach, but, as all my colleagues know, sources to carry out their missions. Its filibuster power to block Senator the NDAA is also a profoundly local impact will not be felt just by our ad- SCOTT’s police reform bill, even col- bill for communities in all 50 States. versaries overseas but by our service- leagues who recently defended this im- My home State is proud to support members and communities right here portant tradition have now bowed to three Army installations and the men at home. the pressure to flirt with ending it. and women of the Kentucky Air and I would like to once again thank On a similar note, you may remem- Army National Guard. Last fall, I Chairman INHOFE, Ranking Member ber that a kind of naked intimidation hosted Defense Secretary Mark Esper REED, and our colleagues on the Armed without modern precedent in modern in Kentucky to speak with the Fort Services Committee for their serious memory took place a few months ago. Knox community. He called for a re- and thoughtful work. The Democratic leader stood by the newed commitment to supporting our Let’s get this bill moving toward steps of the Supreme Court and di- all-volunteer force, including military completion. rectly threatened Justices if they ruled spouses and their families. f the wrong way in the June Medical The NDAA advances that goal. It will Services case. authorize a new elementary school at RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME This display aligned with a whole Fort Knox. This construction, paired The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under new tradition of Senate Democrats with progress toward a new middle the previous order, the leadership time threatening judges. A year ago, several school at Fort Campbell, will continue is reserved. making Kentucky’s installations a wel- wrote Justices saying the ‘‘Court is not f well [and] perhaps the Court can heal coming home for military families. itself before the public demands it be This project comes on the heels of CONCLUSION OF MORNING ‘restructured.’ ’’ Fort Knox’s selection for the new V BUSINESS In other words, nice judicial inde- Corps headquarters. This mission The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning pendence you have got there. It would brings more than 600 additional sol- business is closed. be a shame if something happened to diers to Kentucky in support of U.S. it. operations over in Europe. They will f Right on cue, a number of leftwing join Fort Knox’s already impressive EXECUTIVE SESSION groups are agitating to revive the dis- list of significant commands, including credited notion of court-packing. the Army’s Recruiting, Cadet, and Now, following the Democratic lead- Human Resources Command. The V EXECUTIVE CALENDAR er’s display, the Court ruled the way he Corps will find a premier installation The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under wanted on that very case. They handed made even better by this NDAA. the previous order, the Senate will pro- it down on Monday of this week. Our Our bill also authorizes the construc- ceed to executive session to resume colleague took to the floor cracking tion of a new headquarters for the Ken- consideration of the following nomina- jokes, giddy—giddy—he had gotten his tucky National Guard. The facility will tion, which the clerk will report. way, but just moments later the Demo- consolidate the Guard’s operation to a The senior assistant legislative clerk cratic leader picked right up where he central location. read the nomination of Russell Vought, left off, impugning and pressuring one Just recently, our citizen soldiers of Virginia, to be Director of the Office Justice whose vote he disliked. and airmen have stepped up to combat of Management and Budget. So you see, the improper pressure COVID–19. I am glad this legislation Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- and the accusations of illegitimacy will deliver for them. sence of a quorum.