Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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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, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018 No. 195 Senate The Senate met at 10:03 a.m. and was appoint the Honorable CINDY HYDE-SMITH, a cured by several Members, the Senate called to order by the Honorable CINDY Senator from the State of Mississippi, to per- will take up the recently revised crimi- HYDE-SMITH, a Senator from the State form the duties of the Chair. nal justice bill this month. I intend to of Mississippi. ORRIN G. HATCH, turn to the new text as early as the end President pro tempore. f of this week. Mrs. HYDE-SMITH thereupon as- As a result of this additional legisla- PRAYER sumed the Chair as Acting President tive business, Members should now be The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- pro tempore. prepared to work between Christmas fered the following prayer: f and New Year’s if necessary in order to Let us pray. complete our work. Let me say that RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY O God, who has stretched out the again. Unless we approach all this LEADER. heavens and marches on the waves of work in a highly collaborative, produc- the sea, Your great works are too mar- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- tive way and take real advantage of velous to understand. Thank You for jority leader is recognized. unanimous consent to expedite pro- the glory of the sunrise and the maj- f ceedings, it is virtually certain that esty of the sunset, for Your miracles the Senate will need to be in session that are without number and for Your BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE between Christmas and New Year’s in providence that sustains us. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, order to complete this work. Strengthen our lawmakers. Empower I think it is time the Senate subject The Senate is a consent-based insti- them this day to mount up on wings itself to a bit of a reality check. Today tution. Expediting this work would re- like eagles, running without weariness is December 11. Here are just some of quire an extraordinary degree of col- and walking without fainting. May the things the Senate needs to accom- laboration from everyone. So Members their consistent communion with You plish before this Congress adjourns: should either prepare to cooperate and be expressed in their thoughts, words, We need to confirm more of the work together or prepare for a very, and actions. Lord, make them one in President’s nominees for the judiciary very long month. the common cause of justice, right- and for the executive branch, such as In just a few hours from now, we will eousness, and truth. the well-qualified nominee to be Dep- receive an indication of whether that We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. uty Secretary at the Department of cooperation will begin to take shape. f Treasury, whom we are currently con- My friend the Democratic leader and sidering. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE his counterpart in the House are sched- We need to reach an agreement to uled to meet with President Trump at The Presiding Officer led the Pledge fund the remaining one-fourth of the the White House later today. of Allegiance, as follows: Federal Government that was not cov- For the Nation’s sake, I hope my I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the ered by regular appropriations. Democratic friends are prepared to United States of America, and to the Repub- We need to make a substantial new have a serious discussion and reach an lic for which it stands, one nation under God, investment in the integrity of our bor- accommodation with the President on indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ders and the security of American fam- funding for border security. Otherwise, f ilies. circumstances are beginning to resem- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING We need to take up and pass the con- ble a movie we have seen before. It was PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE ference report for the farm bill to only this past January when Demo- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The honor our commitments to our Na- crats chose to manufacture a govern- clerk will please read a communication tion’s growers and producers. ment funding lapse over the issue of il- to the Senate from the President pro This week alone, we need to dispense legal immigration. It didn’t work out with the debate pertaining to the situ- very well. tempore (Mr. HATCH). The senior assistant legislative clerk ation in Yemen and an attempt by The reality is that the President’s re- read the following letter: some of our Democratic colleagues to quest is entirely reasonable. And before undo reforms that protect Americans’ today’s partisan considerations set in, U.S. SENATE, private, personal information as they I bet it might have looked reasonable PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Washington, DC, December 11, 2018. exercise their First Amendment rights. to many of the majority of the Senate To the Senate: In addition, at the request of the Democrats who joined in support of Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, President and following improvements physical border security legislation of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby to the legislation that have been se- back in 2006—some 12 years ago. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S7389 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Dec 12, 2018 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11DE6.000 S11DEPT1 dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with SENATE S7390 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 11, 2018 Senate Republicans are working with into America. It is time to let Amer- to redact this information when releas- the President and his homeland secu- ican growers get back in business with ing a nonprofit’s public tax filings. The rity team on $5.02 billion of targeted this versatile crop once again. guidance does nothing to affect the in- funding to bolster security measures in The farmers, processors, and manu- formation that is publicly available. specific places where the Department facturers in my State and across the So why does the IRS need to stock- of Homeland Security determines it is country are ready for the hemp come- pile this information? For safekeeping? most needed. And make no mistake— back. It began in 2014 when I secured Hardly. the need is great. In fiscal year 2018, the establishment of a hemp pilot pro- Several years ago, the IRS had to Customs and Border Patrol reported a gram with the help of then-agricultural settle a lawsuit. A worker broke the 30-percent increase in apprehensions at commissioner Jamie Comer. States law and leaked an unredacted copy of a the U.S.-Mexico border. Looking fur- like Kentucky got the chance to ex- group’s confidential forms. Of course, ther back, the monthly apprehension plore the plant’s potential and show us that information ended up in a leftwing total this past October reached its just what hemp could do, and the re- organization on the opposite side of the highest level in 4 years—4 years. CBP sults have been nothing short of ex- issue. has observed over the past year a 50- traordinary. Now, American-grown A few years before that, California, percent increase in apprehensions of hemp can be found in your food, your which had begun demanding its own known gang members and a 115-percent clothes, and even in your car dash- copy of this private information, acci- increase in seizures of fentanyl nar- board. The results mean jobs, economic dentally published the private informa- cotics. growth, and new opportunity. Last tion of donors to over 1,000 nonprofits Clearly, delivering border security year alone, hemp products contributed registered with that State. These aren’t isolated incidents. They funding must be a priority. That is be- more than $16 million to Kentucky’s are part of a disturbingly hostile cli- cause the men and women of the Bor- economy, and that was just from the mate for certain kinds of political ex- der Patrol deserve to be a priority. pilot program—just from the pilot pro- pression and for the free exchange of American communities deserve to be a gram. ideas. priority as they face down the threat of At a time when farm income is down We have seen angry activist mobs gang violence. American families de- and our growers are struggling, indus- deal out personal harassment and pro- serve to be a priority as the flow of le- trial hemp is a bright spot of agri- fessional sabotage to individuals with thal drugs fuels an epidemic of addic- culture’s future. whom they have a disagreement. We tion. My provision in the farm bill will not have seen the last administration’s IRS This is the right investment in the only legalize domestic hemp, but it focus hostile treatment on certain or- right place at the right time. There is will also allow State departments of ganizations whose political views ran no reason why the Democratic leader agriculture to be responsible for its afoul of the bureaucrat’s own opinions. and the House Democratic leader oversight. In Kentucky, that means This is the backdrop which makes should put the demands of far-left spe- that Commissioner Ryan Quarles—an- Secretary Mnuchin’s pro-privacy deci- cial interests ahead of the safety of other champion of hemp—will be able sion so important.