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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, FIRST SESSION Vol. 165 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019 No. 23 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was The PRESIDING OFFICER. The This great country belongs to all of called to order by the President pro clerk will read the title of the bill for us, and it is going to take all of us to tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). the second time. keep moving forward. As the President f The senior assistant legislative clerk put it, ‘‘cooperation, compromise, and read as follows: the common good.’’ PRAYER A bill (S. 340) to promote competition in Last night, the President high- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- the market for drugs and biological products lighted, in particular, the national fered the following prayer: by facilitating the timely entry of lower-cost challenges he sees as most urgent and Let us pray. generic and biosimilar versions of those as top priorities for his administration drugs and biological products. Almighty God, the source from which this year. Tackling them will require we come and the goal to which we trav- Mr. MCCONNELL. In order to place that same bipartisan spirit in Con- el, enter into our lives and make us the bill on the calendar under the pro- gress. He restated the administration’s more like You. Strengthen our Sen- visions of rule XIV, I would object to commitment to addressing the humani- ators. Equip and empower them with further proceedings. tarian and security crisis at our Na- Your heavenly grace, so that they may The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- tion’s southern border, to fighting on solve the problems of our times with tion having been heard, the bill will be behalf of American workers and job Your wisdom and love. May their la- placed on the calendar on the next leg- creators, to rebuilding America’s infra- bors help make America a nation You islative day. structure, and to helping simplify fam- can trust and bless. Lord, grant that f ilies’ budgets by lowering the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs. On the powers of justice, understanding, STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE and cooperative endeavors will be used these and other challenges, the Amer- to unify this land we love. Mr. MCCONNELL. Last night, the ican people deserve the full attention We pray in Your strong Name. Amen. President shared a hopeful vision of a of a fully functioning Congress. They bright future for our country. In part, deserve a Democratic Party that puts f he reminded us that the future is the public interest ahead of political PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE bright because of the big steps we have spite and comes to the table to nego- taken together in the past 2 years to tiate necessary compromises. The President pro tempore led the move the Nation forward—steps such Well, it will not be long before we Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: as historic tax reform that has helped will see if this institution can rise to I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the middle-class families across America the occasion. The next deadline for ap- United States of America, and to the Repub- keep more of what they earn; the regu- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, propriations will arrive in a little over indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. latory reforms that have amped up our a week, and Members in both Chambers economy and fueled job creation; the will need to prove we can move past f landmark legislation we passed to com- making points and start actually mak- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME bat the opioid epidemic; the long-need- ing a difference. ed investment in our Armed Forces Throughout the coming year, if we The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. that gives our servicemembers the are serious about advancing meaning- CRAMER). Under the previous order, the tools and training they need to keep us ful policy, this basic requirement will leadership time is reserved. safe. remain the same—good-faith efforts be- f As I mentioned yesterday, some of tween a Democratic-controlled House RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY these accomplishments were delivered and a Republican-controlled Senate LEADER by Republicans alone, but the lion’s and President Trump’s administration. share of them were bicameral and bi- Another challenge the President The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- partisan. They combined the ideas and mentioned is the ongoing obstruction jority leader is recognized. priorities of both sides of the aisle and of his nominations to the executive f both Chambers of Congress. So even branch and the Federal courts. He was though I know our Democratic col- absolutely right about that. To a his- MEASURE PLACED ON THE leagues’ first instinct these days is to toric degree, Senate Democrats have CALENDAR—S. 340 reflexively criticize anything President slow-walked well-qualified nominees, Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Trump says or does, I hope they took gumming up committee consideration understand there is a bill at the desk some pride in the strong state of our and burning weeks of valuable time on due for a second reading. Union which the President described. the floor. As I have said time and ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S875 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A06FE6.000 S06FEPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S876 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 6, 2019 again, this mindless obstruction is un- The senior assistant legislative clerk publican side. He said if he weren’t acceptable. read as follows: elected President, we would be in a war So I was encouraged the President Motion to proceed to S. 47, a bill to provide with North Korea—what hyperbole. It took an opportunity last night to high- for the management of the natural resources is not just hyperbole—what untruth, light for the Nation exactly what we of the United States, and for other purposes. what selective memory. President are up against in this regard. We are Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- Trump began his time in office by pre- into the third year of his Presidency— sence of a quorum. cipitously ramping up tensions with the third year—and the American peo- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The North Korea. They were much lower ple deserve a fully functioning and clerk will call the roll. under President Obama than they were fully staffed Federal Government after The senior assistant legislative clerk with President Trump. 3 years. It is time for their elected rep- proceeded to call the roll. Maybe the most blatant contradic- resentatives to be part of the solution. Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask tion of all, which makes you just lose I know several of our colleagues are unanimous consent that the order for respect for the integrity and honesty of discussing ways to help the Senate bet- the quorum call be rescinded. the President, was when President ter fulfill its duty in this area. I hope The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Trump spoke about the need to defend there will be cooperation from the objection, it is so ordered. protections for Americans with pre- other side of the aisle to identify and RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER existing conditions, while at the very advance a durable and fair solution. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The same time his administration is waging President Trump offered a clear pic- Democratic leader is recognized. a lawsuit that would eviscerate protec- ture of the ways in which our policies STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE tions for preexisting conditions. How are delivering significant results to Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last can the President have the nerve to get families across America and the urgent night President Trump had the oppor- up on the podium last night and say he challenges we still need to confront to- tunity to bring our parties together wants to preserve preexisting condi- gether. He offered us a powerful re- and offer the Congress and the country tions and wage a lawsuit, support a minder that America’s strength and a new vision for the next 2 years of di- lawsuit that tries to undo them? It is goodness are inextricably linked with vided government. President Trump shocking hypocrisy—that one maybe our commitment to individual liberty squandered the opportunity with a for- most of all for a speech that had many. and free enterprise and that we can gettable and, oftentimes, incoherent Of course, there were a whole lot of never allow the United States of Amer- speech. At times, he called for unity omissions in the speech that many ica to dim our light by sliding into the without specifics, and at other times Americans felt should have been placed failures of socialism. Socialism has he served up divisive campaign rhet- in. Let me give an example. The Presi- failed everywhere it has been tried, and oric that he has used so frequently in dent did talk about a few potentials for we are not going to try it in this coun- the past. bipartisan compromise. We Democrats try. We need to do right now what we The President’s speech was like a 90- would love to compromise with the need to in order to move forward to- minute performance of ‘‘Dr. Jekyll and President and come up with some gether.