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, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019 No. 126 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was appoint the Honorable CINDY HYDE-SMITH, a bers deserve better than a string of called to order by the Honorable CINDY Senator from the State of Mississippi, to per- funding crises and continuing resolu- HYDE-SMITH, a Senator from the State form the duties of the Chair. tions. Our commanders need predict- of Mississippi. CHUCK GRASSLEY, able resources and sufficient resources President pro tempore. f to lay the foundations for the future of Mrs. HYDE-SMITH thereupon as- our national defense. PRAYER sumed the Chair as Acting President Servicemembers deserve to deploy The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- pro tempore. armed with state-of-the-art training fered the following prayer: f and cutting-edge equipment; their fam- Let us pray. ilies deserve the best support services RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY Almighty God, the author and fin- the Nation can offer; and the Nation as LEADER isher of our faith, we rejoice in the a whole deserves the global presence privileges You have strewn on our The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- that is up to snuff and competitive path. Give us the courage to use our pore. The majority leader is recog- with the leaps forward in which our ad- opportunities to serve You and coun- nized. versaries have invested heavily. try. May our lawmakers strive to stand That is why we have delivered his- for right though the heavens fall. Re- f toric increases in resources for mod- mind them that evil prospers when BUDGET AGREEMENT ernization and DOD reforms—to ensure good people do nothing. May our Sen- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, the U.S. military is strong and agile ators also use the gift of intercessory today we expect the House of Rep- enough to confront a growing number prayer to unlock Your storehouse of resentatives will pass the 2-year gov- of threats to America and our inter- blessings so desperately needed in our ernment funding agreement the Trump ests. That is why just a few months ago Nation and world. In hours of hardship, administration and Speaker PELOSI an- we authorized the largest year-on-year provide them with Your peace. Lord, nounced earlier this week. I stand with increase in defense funding in more give our legislators the wisdom that the President, who has publicly ex- enables them to hasten the coming of than a decade. This funding agreement pressed his support for the agreement Your Kingdom of justice and peace. is the next step forward in that proc- We pray in Your sovereign Name. on several occasions. I am grateful to ess. Amen. the members of his administration who Every Member of this body knows led the negotiations: Secretary the threats we face are serious and get- f Mnuchin, Acting Chief of Staff ting more serious: the resurgence of PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mulvaney, and Acting OMB Director great power competition with nations The Presiding Officer led the Pledge Vought. like Russia and China; the destabiliza- of Allegiance, as follows: Considering the circumstances of di- tion of influence of state-sponsored ter- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the vided government, this is a good deal. ror and regional aggression from bad United States of America, and to the Repub- After the House approves it today with actors such as Iran; and the testing of lic for which it stands, one nation under God, bipartisan support, I expect the Senate historic alliances. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. to do the same next week. Here is why Amidst the growing international f it is a good deal: It achieves the No. 1 chaos, the preeminent obligation of the APPOINTMENT OF ACTING goal on the Republican side of the aisle U.S. government is to provide for the PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE of providing for the common defense common defense. This agreement and continuing our progress in rebuild- prioritizes that commitment to the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ing the Armed Forces of the United safety and the security of the Amer- clerk will please read a communication States and modernizing them so they ican people. to the Senate from the President pro can continue to keep Americans safe A nation that understands these tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). and project power for years to come. threats and takes them seriously The senior assistant legislative clerk This has been a top shared priority for makes serious investments in the read- read the following letter: this Republican Senate and this Repub- iness of its own defenses today and the U.S. SENATE, lican White House for 21⁄2 years. modernization that will preserve their PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Pentagon leaders need stable, reli- strength into the future. Washington, DC, July 25, 2019. To the Senate: able, and sufficient resources. The For years, we have seen China extend Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, greatest military on Earth should not its strategic reach, testing the waters of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby drift in uncertainty. Our servicemem- of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S5073 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A25JY6.000 S25JYPT1 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with SENATE S5074 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2019 We have watched its Communist lead- MEASURE PLACED ON THE Leader MCCONNELL, let me read you ership nearly double military spending CALENDAR—S. 2258 those sentences, if you care about in the last decade and push the bound- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, America. Mueller said about Russian aries in everything from offshore terri- I understand there is a bill at the desk interference: torial claims to 5G technology. that is due a second reading. It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it America’s edge is in jeopardy. Our al- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- as we sit here. And they expect to do it dur- lies in the Pacific are uneasy. The ad- pore. The clerk will read the title of ing the next campaign. ministration’s budget agreement with the bill for a second time. He went on to say that many more the Speaker will allow America to en- The senior assistant legislative clerk countries were developing capabilities sure that our own foot stays on the gas read as follows: similar to what Russia has. He re- pedal as well. A bill (S. 2258) to provide anti-retaliation minded members of the House Intel- protections for antitrust whistleblowers. ligence Committee that Russian fake Meanwhile, in the Middle East, we Mr. MCCONNELL. In order to place images reached nearly 126 million peo- are confronted daily with escalating ple on Facebook alone. threats to our allies and interests. the bill on the calendar under the pro- visions of rule XIV, I object to further As if it even needed to be spelled out, State-sponsored terror and proxy ac- Mr. Mueller added: ‘‘Much more needs tions are becoming bolder. Gray zone proceedings. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to be done in order to protect against activity in places like the Straits of pore. Objection having been heard, the these intrusions, not just by the Rus- Hormuz is raising the economic and bill will be placed on the calendar. sians but by others as well.’’ geopolitical stakes of Iran’s meddling. Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- Mueller’s testimony was a clarion From Syria to Crimea, Russia con- sence of a quorum. call for election security. Mueller’s tes- tinues to stretch its legs. Not since the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- timony should be a wake-up call to height of the Soviet Union have we pore. The clerk will call the roll. every American—Democrat, Repub- seen Moscow this focused on extending The senior assistant legislative clerk lican, liberal, and conservative—that influence beyond its borders. All over proceeded to call the roll. the integrity of our elections is at the world, historic alliances and part- Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I stake and to be manipulated by a for- nerships like NATO need to be ask unanimous consent that the order eign power. strengthened and renewed for this new for the quorum call be rescinded. This is all about the future of this landscape. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- country. If we lose faith in our elec- toral process, democracy begins to Fortunately, in the coming days, we pore. Without objection, it is so or- walk away from us, and we will be a will have the opportunity to address all dered. different country than the glorious these areas—Europe, the Middle East, f country we have been since 1789. Yet the Indo-Pacific, and beyond. That op- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY our Republican colleagues put their portunity is this bipartisan spending LEADER heads in the sand. agreement. So I am grateful to the ad- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Donald Trump, as usual, with his ministration for ensuring that such ro- pore. The Democratic leader is recog- enormous self-ego, doesn’t want to bust funding for our national security nized. admit the Russians interfered—even is included in this package. It will f though he encouraged it publicly—be- make us safer worldwide and make cause he feels it will cast some illegit- needed investments in our own facili- ELECTION SECURITY imacy on his election.