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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 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018 No. 101 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, at 12 noon. Senate MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018 The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was to the Senate from the President pro military personnel strengths for such fiscal called to order by the Honorable TODD tempore (Mr. HATCH). year, and for other purposes. YOUNG, a Senator from the State of In- The legislative clerk read the fol- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER diana. lowing letter: The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- f U.S. SENATE, pore. The Democratic leader is recog- PRAYER PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, nized. Washington, DC, June 18, 2018. The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- To the Senate: FORCED FAMILY SEPARATION fered the following prayer: Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Amer- Let us pray. of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby icans are deeply troubled by the images Loving God, whose ways are clearly appoint the Honorable TODD YOUNG, a Sen- and news of parents being separated ator from the State of Indiana, to perform seen as the Heavens declare Your from their children at the southern glory, we celebrate Your faithfulness. the duties of the Chair. ORRIN G. HATCH, border. The Trump administration’s Lord, we see around us change and policy of zero tolerance at the border decay, but You are changeless. We pray President pro tempore. has already resulted in 2,300 cases of for our lawmakers, for our Nation and Mr. YOUNG thereupon assumed the forced family separation, according to its leaders, and for all the nations of Chair as Acting President pro tempore. Homeland Security statistics obtained this Earth. Through the power of Your f by the Associated Press. The pace of Spirit, use our Senators to cause jus- separations has increased from nearly tice to roll down like waters and right- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME 50 to nearly 70 a day. eousness like a mighty stream. As chil- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- dren are being separated from their pore. Under the previous order, the Any parent could imagine how dif- parents, remind us to love our neigh- leadership time is reserved. ficult this is, how heartbreaking it is to be forcibly separated from your bors as ourselves and to protect the f most vulnerable in our world. May we young son or your young daughter, claim afresh Your forgiving and trans- CONCLUSION OF MORNING looking at their faces as they wonder: forming power, becoming instruments BUSINESS What is going on here? Why are they taking my parents away from me? It is of Your love in our world. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- just as heartbreaking to imagine the We pray in Your great Name. Amen. pore. Morning business is closed. f separation and the anxiety it produces f in everybody. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- Let’s be clear. Separating children The Presiding Officer led the Pledge TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019 from their parents and denying relief of Allegiance, as follows: to victims of brutal domestic violence The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the will not make our country a better or pore. Under the previous order, the United States of America, and to the Repub- safer place. These policies are cruel, in- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Senate will resume consideration of humane, and so unlike the America we indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. H.R. 5515, which the clerk will report. have known for 229 years. f The legislative clerk read as follows: No one who doesn’t meet the legal re- A bill (H.R. 5515) to authorize appropria- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING quirements should be allowed into this PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE tions for fiscal year 2019 for military activi- ties of the Department of Defense, for mili- country; we cannot have open borders, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The tary construction, and for defense activities but we have an adjudication process for clerk will please read a communication of the Department of Energy, to prescribe those cases. In the past, there has been ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S3961 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Jun 19, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A18JN6.000 S18JNPT1 S3962 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 18, 2018 no need to separate parents from chil- HEALTHCARE ily who has a preexisting condition dren while that adjudication was oc- Mr. President, over the past few gets health insurance. That is even curring. The Trump administration has months, insurers in several States— worse than before. actively decided to take a different, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Penn- Last week, the Republican leader crueler, more callous approach. sylvania, and Oregon—have requested said that his whole caucus supports Yet what does President Trump do? significant rate increases for next year, protections for Americans with pre- He has spent the last few days trying the result of Republican healthcare existing conditions. While this is a to deflect blame. The President has policies that have undermined our complete reversal from the various said repeatedly that the separation of healthcare system. On Friday, the healthcare bills our Republican leader- parents and children is the result of a State of Minnesota sought a decrease ship supported last year, which would law ‘‘the Democrats forced . upon in their rates. have decimated protections for people our nation.’’ That is not true. Why? What has made Minnesota so with preexisting conditions, I applaud Allow me to quote from the Associ- different from these other States? Why him for saying it and hope it represents ated Press’s nonpartisan, fact-check of were the people of Minnesota allowed turning over a new leaf. the President’s claims. Here is what to breathe a sigh of relief that their in- Now Senate Republicans have to put they say: surance costs weren’t going up, wheth- their money where their mouth is. There is no law mandating the separation er it be the monthly payments or the When President Trump does things of children and parents at the border. The deductible or the copay? that are so bad for the American peo- separations are a consequence of a Trump Why? I will tell you why. Minnesota ple, so bad for his very supporters who administration policy to maximize criminal implemented a State-funded reinsur- depend on healthcare, our Republican prosecutions of people caught trying to enter ance program that is helping to back- colleagues fold. They are afraid of him. the U.S. illegally. Trump’s repeated, but stop their healthcare market. This is I hope that is not the case with pre- nonspecific references to a Democratic law what can happen when States support appear to involve one enacted in 2008. It existing conditions because millions of passed unanimously in Congress— patients and fight back against what Americans’ lives and health and sanity, President Trump and congressional Re- at least fiscal sanity, depend on it. That meant Democrats and Repub- publicans are doing. This is what hap- If Republicans were serious about licans supported it— pens when you try to strengthen our maintaining protections for people and was signed by Republican President healthcare system instead of sabo- with preexisting conditions, they George W. Bush. taging it. would join us in urging the Trump ad- He was hardly a Democrat. Imagine if every State were like Min- ministration to reverse their shameful It was focused on freeing and otherwise nesota. Imagine if every State, for the decision not to defend the preexisting helping children who come to the border first time in decades, were dropping healthcare law in court. They would without a parent or guardian. It does not premiums and out-of-pocket costs for join us in urging the administration call for family separation. consumers next year. Think about not to finalize their plan to sell junk I know what Donald Trump will say what a difference that would make in insurance policies. as he tries to undo our American insti- the lives of tens of millions of Ameri- I say to my Republican friends and tutions: That is fake news. It is from cans who pay too much for healthcare my dear friend Leader MCCONNELL: Ac- the Associated Press, which has had a and worry that their healthcare bills tions speak louder than words. Your reputation of being down the middle are going to go up and the quality of simply saying that your whole caucus for scores of years. their healthcare and availability of supports protecting Americans with Let me quote the New York Post edi- their healthcare will go down. preexisting conditions doesn’t make it torial, one of the most conservative It wouldn’t have been that difficult so, as the very administration you sup- newspapers in America—hard right. to achieve the goals of Minnesota. We port tries to undo it. Here is what they say: spent months negotiating a bipartisan Republicans should work with Demo- The immediate cause of the crisis is Team healthcare stabilization package that crats, right now and throughout the Trump’s decision to start prosecuting illegal included ideas like the reinsurance pol- summer, to focus on lowering costs for border-crossers, rather than simply deport- icy that has been implemented in Min- the American people.

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