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, TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2019 No. 3 Senate The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- dan, as its people and government called to order by the President pro jority leader is correct. grapple with the security and humani- tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). The clerk will report the bills by tarian ramifications of the Syrian cri- f title for the second time en bloc. sis. The senior assistant legislative clerk Importantly, the legislation also in- PRAYER read as follows: cludes the Caesar Syria Civilian Pro- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- A bill (S. 28) to reauthorize the United tection Act. This provision would hold fered the following prayer: States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of accountable individuals responsible for Let us pray. 2015, and for other purposes. the senseless evils of the Assad regime Merciful God, enthroned far above all A bill (H.R. 21) making appropriations for and impose severe penalties on the en- other powers, we need You to exercise the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and tities that support them. for other purposes. Your might for our Nation during this We will vote later today on whether challenging season. As we wrestle with A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 1) making fur- ther continuing appropriations for the De- or not Members of this body believe the stalemate of this partial govern- partment of Homeland Security for fiscal these issues should be addressed. It is ment shutdown, inspire our lawmakers year 2019, and for other purposes. my sincere hope that the Senate will to do what is best for our Nation and Mr. MCCONNELL. In order to place approve these bipartisan proposals and world. Remind them that Your power the bills on the calendar under the pro- send the strong message of support is far above any conceivable command, visions of rule XIV, I object to further that our friends and partners in the authority, or control. Help them to ap- proceedings en bloc. Middle East deserve. preciate their accountability to You, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- During the last Congress there was as You guide them to contribute to tion having been heard, the bills will be broad agreement on both sides of the unity and finding common ground. Be placed on the calendar en bloc. aisle on the need for action. I expected near to those who are the collateral f today’s action to be a big bipartisan damage of this impasse, supporting vote, not some partisan showdown, but them with Your wisdom, power, mercy, THE MIDDLE EAST over the last few days something seems and grace. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, for to have happened. The Democratic We pray in Your sovereign Name. years America’s vital interests in the leader and several of his colleagues Amen. Middle East have been jeopardized by have stood up and said they want to f regional chaos. The security of our ally block the Senate from even considering PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Israel continues to be challenged by this legislation—never mind that it in- the long reach of the Iranian regime cludes legislation cosponsored by the The President pro tempore led the and its affiliates. In Syria, the Assad Senate Democrats last Congress and Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: regime has made its own nation a never mind that Senate Democrats I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the graveyard for hundreds of thousands of mentioned the Syria crisis literally United States of America, and to the Repub- innocent civilians, and the resulting lic for which it stands, one nation under God, dozens of times last month here on the indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. chaos continues to provide Iran and Senate floor. Russia opportunities to expand their f f malign influence throughout the re- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY gion. That is why the Senate is going BORDER SECURITY LEADER to vote later today to take up pressing Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, in The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. legislation that tackles all of this head spite of all of that, some Democrats HOEVEN). The majority leader is recog- on. have now threatened to block us from nized. The bill at hand would reaffirm the even taking this legislation up later f United States’ commitment to Israel’s today. We would have to ask why. It is security and authorize military assist- because we are 18 days into the partial MEASURES PLACED ON THE CAL- ance, cooperative missile defense, and government shutdown caused by Demo- ENDAR—S. 28, H.R. 21, AND H.J. loan guarantees. It would counter an crats’ total unwillingness to negotiate RES. 1 aggressive and hostile attempt to with the White House over border secu- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I delegitimize the State of Israel rity. understand that there are three bills at through economic boycotts. It would Democrat intransigence has made the desk due for a second reading en also reauthorize efforts to strengthen sure that a quarter of the Federal Gov- bloc. defense cooperation with our ally Jor- ernment has been shut down for more

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

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VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.000 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S36 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 than 2 weeks—2 weeks. Now they are partisan subject in the first place. in a terrorist attack directed from Af- threatening to shut the Senate down They have put that partisan tantrum ghanistan on New York’s World Trade too. They have shut down the govern- ahead of keeping a quarter of the gov- Center and the Pentagon, we learned a ment for 2 weeks, and now they want ernment open. Now they are saying hard lesson: Although separated by an to shut the Senate down. They are their partisan tantrum is more urgent ocean, what happens in the region does threatening to shut down efforts to than pressing legislation that concerns not stay in the region. protect our allies and strengthen our our alliance with Israel and the Syrian Finally, with the proliferation of nu- relationship with Israel—something civil war. clear weapons and the nuclear aspira- they all recently claim to support. I hope that isn’t the case. I hope our tions of Iran—the No. 1 state sponsor of Let’s remember what we are talking Democratic colleagues don’t pile on terrorism in the world—to attain them, about. In light of the urgent humani- even more pointless obstruction. I hope the relative stability and security of tarian and security crisis on our bor- they don’t block the Senate from turn- the Middle East have a direct connec- der, the President is requesting $5.7 bil- ing to this important legislation—leg- tion to our national security, as well as lion for physical barriers and border se- islation, by the way, they support. We that of our allies, like Israel. curity. For some context, that is just will find out later today. With the administration’s recent an- about one-tenth of 1 percent of Federal We all know what is necessary to nouncement that the United States spending—one-tenth of 1 percent—for move past the funding impasse: a nego- will begin withdrawing troops from physical barriers like fences and bar- tiated solution that can pass the Syria, this debate and these votes riers that already exist, which Demo- House, earn 60 votes in the Senate, and could not be more timely. crats have previously voted for with get the President’s signature. That is While I am comforted by National enthusiasm. what it takes to make a law. Security Advisor John Brennan’s re- Back in 2006, then-Senators Hillary As I have stated clearly, the Senate cent statement that the withdrawal Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and will not waste floor time on show from Syria will be conditions-based, our colleague, the current Democratic votes, messaging votes, or any other the precise details of how and when it leader, all voted for more than $1 bil- proposals that fail to check those boxes will be executed remain to be seen. One lion to construct about 700 miles of regarding the funding bills. thing, however, is perfectly clear: We cannot allow the creation of a power physical barriers. The Democratic leader actually Then-Senator Obama called it ‘‘badly shared that opinion earlier. Here is a vacuum in the Middle East to bolster needed funding for better fences and fairly recent quote from the Demo- our adversaries’ influence in the re- better security . . . that should help cratic leader. He said: ‘‘The President gion. That is precisely what this legis- stem some of the tide of illegal immi- must publicly support and say he will lation addresses. The Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East gration.’’ That is what Senator Barack sign an agreement before it gets a vote Act incorporates four bipartisan, non- Obama said. in either Chamber.’’ That is a fairly re- controversial bills that were nearly en- Senator SCHUMER later described his cent quote. vote proudly as ‘‘miles of border fence I am glad we seem to agree on that— acted last year, but the clock on the that create a significant barrier to ille- no wasted floor time on appropriations 115th Congress ran out on December 31. As we begin what I hope will be an- gal immigration.’’ bills that fail to clear the President’s As recently as 2015, Secretary Clin- reasonable threshold. other productive year in the Senate, I ton boasted: ‘‘I voted numerous times For the sake of the humanitarian cri- am glad we will have a chance to vote . . . to spend money to build a barrier sis on our border—as the President will on this legislation. Our national interests demand that to try to prevent illegal immigrants describe in his address to the Nation we fully support and ensure the secu- from coming in.’’ That is what Hillary this evening—for the sake of our na- tional security, and for the sake of all rity of Israel—our closest ally in the Clinton said. region. As the majority leader said last Obviously, that was then, and today the Americans who need all of their week, this bill affirms that the United the new Speaker of the House is trying Federal Government reopened, I would States needs to do more than just talk to argue that a physical barrier is ‘‘im- urge our Democratic colleagues to get past these harmful political games and the talk; we must also walk the walk moral’’—‘‘immoral.’’ to support Israel’s security. Today, my friend the Democratic get serious about negotiating with the President. This legislation will help Israel leader is proposing to add a Senate maintain its qualitative military edge shutdown to the partial Federal Gov- I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The against ongoing threats by authorizing ernment shutdown and block even military assistance and allowing the more of the people’s business, all—all— clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant legislative clerk transfer of equipment and defensive to avoid more of what he already voted proceeded to call the roll. weapons. Importantly, it will also as- for. Maybe the Democratic Party was Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask sist Israel in countering the emerging for secure borders before they were unanimous consent that the order for threat of unmanned aerial vehicles de- against it, maybe they are just making the quorum call be rescinded. ployed by Iran, in particular. it up as they go along, or maybe they The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without In addition to supporting Israel, it are dead set on opposing this particular objection, it is so ordered. will empower State and local govern- President on any issue, for any reason, f ments in the United States to counter just for the sake of opposing him. the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, Walls and barriers are not immoral— S. 1 and sanctions movement—better how silly. Enforcing our laws wasn’t Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today known as BDS—and its discriminatory immoral back in 2006 when then-Sen- the Senate will vote to begin consider- economic warfare against the Jewish ator Clinton, then-Senator Obama, and ation of legislation that will address state. our friend the Democratic leader were some of the seemingly never-ending In addition to nurturing our relation- proud—proud—to vote for physical bar- challenges the world—including the ship with Israel, the bill also recog- riers. The only things that have United States—is facing in the Middle nizes the importance of supporting Jor- changed between then and now are the East. dan—another key regional ally. It re- political whims and, of course, the oc- The decision made at the beginning authorizes legislation to strengthen cupant of the White House. of the 20th century by then First Lord our defense cooperation and support This is no newfound, principled objec- of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, Jordan’s response to the overwhelming tion. It is just political spite—a par- to convert British ships from coal to humanitarian crisis caused by the Syr- tisan tantrum being prioritized over oil for fuel changed world history by ian civil war. According to the United the public interest. For more than 2 making access to Middle East oil re- Nations, there are more than 740,000 weeks, they have indulged in that par- serves a national security imperative refugees in Jordan. That equates to 89 tisan tantrum rather than negotiate in for all developed nations. refugees per 1,000 inhabitants, making good faith over border security fund- More recently, on 9/11 of 2001, when them the second highest refugee host ing—hardly something that should be a nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives nation per capita in the world.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.002 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S37 The impact of the crisis in Syria is Mexico is literally on the other side of would benefit from more of it. But we immense and potentially destabilizing the international bridge. Each day at also need personnel to enforce the laws and requires our support to maintain that single port of entry, an average of along the border and ensure our ports the peace. 20,000 people cross the border on foot of entry are operating efficiently. And, Finally, this bill takes critical steps legally—going to work, going to yes, we need technology, things like to address the ongoing war and human- school, visiting friends and family, or scanners to scan for drugs that are em- itarian crisis in Syria by providing aid shopping. That is in addition to the bedded in shipments that come across to impacted communities and con- 35,000 car crossings and the 2,500 cargo the border. We need drones, radar, and demns the heinous human rights viola- trucks that cross each day just at the sensors to help maximize border secu- tions committed by the murderous El Paso port of entry. rity, as well as access to the Rio Assad regime. I often compare the United States Grande for Border Patrol agents so Until this horrendous conflict is re- and Mexico to an old married couple they can police the border for illegal solved, new sanctions will be imposed who have occasional differences but entry. on anyone who supports Syria either fi- who can’t get divorced. We depend on This shouldn’t be a partisan debate, nancially or militarily. one another, and we depend on a safe, and historically, our differences on this It is true that this bill will not solve secure, and efficient border to allow topic have not been so polarizing. I all the problems in the Middle East. It both countries to live in harmony. think the nature of our political sys- will not, for example, provide justice to Not everyone or everything attempt- tem today makes it easy to forget that innocent civilians killed by the Assad ing to cross the border is in our coun- not too long ago, border security was regime. It will not rebuild the commu- try’s best interest. Transnational something supported by both political nities treated as collateral damage criminals, drug smugglers, and human parties. throughout this crisis. But it is a step traffickers try to take advantage of to ensure our allies are prepared to any opportunity, any gaps in our bor- In 2006, the Senate passed the Secure fight for and defend our shared na- der, and they use it to infiltrate, Fence Act by a vote of 80 to 19. That is tional security interests. threaten, and endanger our commu- what I would call a bipartisan victory. Senate Democrats have indicated, nities. Among those who voted for that bill in- unfortunately, that they are likely to For too long, our frontline officers clude many current and former leaders block this legislation from coming to and agents haven’t had the tools and of the Democratic Party, including Mi- the floor, as their discussions with the resources they need to do their job. nority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, then- President on border security remain at Whether it is outdated infrastructure, Senator Barack Obama, and then-Sen- an impasse. Leader MCCONNELL, personnel shortages, or technology, the ator Hillary Clinton. They didn’t be- though, has made it clear that the Sen- fact remains that we need additional lieve that fences and walls and physical ate will not waste time holding show border security funding to empower barriers were immoral, as apparently votes on legislation that the President these hard-working officers and agents the current Speaker of the House of will not sign, so we continue to wait to complete their mission at both our Representatives does. Not only did that for Speaker PELOSI and Minority Lead- ports of entry and between those ports legislation call for more than 800 miles er SCHUMER to take serious, credible of entry. of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico bor- action to break that impasse. Until After talking to the experts—Border der, it also authorized the other impor- that time, there is a lot of work we can Patrol officials in Texas, as well as tant components of border security and should do, such as debating and local stakeholders—I introduced legis- that I talked about, things like tech- voting on this legislation, which will lation in the fall of 2017 to address a nology and personnel. That was in the protect our national security interests number of their concerns. That legisla- 2006. in the Middle East. tion, called the Building America’s In 2013, more recently, all 54 Demo- Twenty-five percent of our govern- Trust Act, would have authorized ap- cratic Senators voted for $46 billion in ment has already been shut down be- proximately $15 billion over 4 years for border security—every single one—and cause of this impasse. I urge our Demo- a long-term border security and inte- now President Trump’s request for $5 cratic colleagues in the Senate not to rior enforcement strategy. Notably, billion is somehow a nonstarter. shut down the work of the Senate too. the bill provided a great deal of discre- The Border Security, Economic Op- I want to thank the majority leader tion to the Department of Homeland portunity, and Immigration Moderniza- for scheduling this important debate Security’s experts on the ground to de- tion Act provided funding for, yes, in- and vote, and I look forward to voting termine what tactics were needed and frastructure, personnel, and tech- yes when the time comes. where. nology. That is exactly the right mix As my friend Manuel Padilla, former f that Chief Padilla mentioned, which I Chief of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande referred to a moment ago. These are BORDER SECURITY Valley Sector, once told me—he said: really the same types of issues we are Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, as I The answer to border security from the talking about today. These are not rad- mentioned, this partial government Border Patrol’s perspective is finding ical ideas. We need a sensible combina- shutdown continues, now on its 18th the right balance of three things: per- tion of physical barriers, technology, day. But 18 days in, not much has sonnel, technology, and infrastructure. and personnel. changed. The newly elected Demo- The landscape along the U.S.-Mexico cratic House refused to come to the ne- border—particularly the 1,200 miles of My Democratic colleagues supported gotiating table with a serious offer or common border between Mexico and border security during the Bush admin- to negotiate in good faith. Texas—the geography varies signifi- istration. They supported border secu- This entire debate has been surreal. I cantly, and there is no one-size-fits-all rity during the Obama administration. would say it has been a joke, but it is solution to border security. That is Now I urge them to come to the table really not funny. It has now degen- why it is important to listen and learn with a serious proposal to help secure erated into a game of silly semantics, from law enforcement and key stake- our border and end this standoff and to while losing sight of just how much is holders how to adapt the right mix to stop the foolishness and the political at stake for the people affected. each area. That way, we can ensure we games. A secure and vibrant border is crit- are deploying the most effective and Mr. President, I yield the floor. ical to the safety and livelihood of our practical solutions to achieve oper- entire country, and it, of course, plays ational control along the southern bor- f a vital part in the daily life for many der. Texans, especially those who live and Yes, we need physical infrastructure RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME work in the border region. If you visit in places—a fence, a wall, a vehicle El Paso, for example, out West, you barrier, for example—because the hard- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under will see firsthand how interconnected working agents and officers on the the previous order, the leadership time the city is with its neighbor, Juarez. ground tell us that it works, and we is reserved.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.004 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S38 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 CONCLUSION OF MORNING Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask America to see ISIS reemerge the way BUSINESS unanimous consent that the order for they did after 2011, when the United The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the quorum call be rescinded. States left Iraq. the previous order, morning business is The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. When the United States left and closed. YOUNG). Without objection, it is so or- pulled back its presence in Iraq, it al- dered. lowed ISIS to reconstitute itself and f S. 1 reemerge. They were called something STRENGTHENING AMERICA’S SE- Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, a few mo- different then, but they were basically CURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ments ago we welcomed our new col- a spinoff of al-Qaida. They started out ACT OF 2019—Motion to Proceed league, my colleague for the State of as an insurgency and grew very rap- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Florida, former Governor and now U.S. idly. They are larger today and they the previous order, the Senate will re- Senator RICK SCOTT, who will do a phe- are more powerful today than when sume consideration of the motion to nomenal job here on behalf of the State they reconstituted themselves almost a proceed to S. 1, which the clerk will re- of Florida. I welcome him to the U.S. decade ago. I have no doubt that if this port. Senate, the world’s greatest delibera- moves forward, ISIS will reconstitute The legislative clerk read as follows: tive body—and, on occasion, perhaps itself, maybe not as a caliphate but as something equally dangerous, and that A bill (S. 1) to make improvements to cer- the strangest as well. tain defense and security assistance provi- In about 1 hour 15 minutes, the Sen- is an insurgency with the capability sions and to authorize the appropriation of ate is going to take up S. 1, which is a not just to create havoc, mayhem, funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United combination of four separate bills that murder, and destruction in Syria and States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of enjoy widespread support in this Cham- potentially once again in Iraq but also 2015, and to halt the wholesale slaughter of ber from colleagues on both sides of the to externally plot and attack us here the Syrian people, and for other purposes. aisle, all of them sponsored and cospon- on Homeland. Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I now sored by both sides of the aisle, and ap- This raises all other types of possi- suggest the absence of a quorum. parently we will fail to get a signifi- bilities, like the Iraqi troops along The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cant number of votes to get on this with irregular forces sponsored by clerk will call the roll. bill, nonetheless. Iran—the Shia militia that have been The legislative clerk proceeded to So it is perhaps one the few places on on the ground in Iraq—coming across call the roll. Earth where people vote against things the border and into Syria. We all have Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I they are for because of reasons unre- read and heard about the Turkish ask unanimous consent that the order lated to the issue at hand. I don’t want troops that want to come into the for the quorum call be rescinded. to dig too deep into that. That will be Kurdish areas. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without ob- a topic for conversation later on, and If Assad is sitting there now with the jection, it is so ordered. maybe I will be wrong. Maybe they will United States pulling out and all of f change their minds in the next 1 hour this is going on, he figures that at this 15 minutes, and we will have the votes point what does he need a political so- CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION we need, but I don’t think it makes a lution for, what does he need the U.N. The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair lot of sense to say: I am upset about or anybody for? The saddest part is previously laid before the Senate the the government shutdown—by the way, that this diminishes the chances that certificate of election from the State of the Senate voted unanimously to fund Assad will ever have to face account- Florida. The certificate was in the the government by a voice vote. We ability for the crimes committed by his form suggested by the Senate and was didn’t even have a rollcall vote. So this regime against innocent civilians— printed in the RECORD. Chamber has already enacted in that children, women, and others—not just (The certificate of election was print- regard. At this point, it is incumbent for the gassing and use of chemical ed in the RECORD of January 3, 2019.) on the leaders of the Democratic Party weapons but for widespread torture and f in the Senate, combined with the murder. We will discuss that more as White House, to come up with a deal to the week goes on. ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF reopen the government. This govern- We are also concerned about Iran’s OFFICE ment shutdown is not good for any- growing influence with the United The VICE PRESIDENT. If the Sen- body. I have never seen anybody win States leaving, especially in southeast ator-elect will now present himself at one of these. Iraq and on the border of Jordan and the desk, the Chair will administer the That said, I don’t know why we Israel, with Hezbollah and other Ira- oath of office. would shut down the Senate, too, given nian proxies and Iran itself, or the The Senator-elect, Rick Scott, es- the issues we face. IRGC and General Soleimani, who is a corted by Mr. RUBIO, Mr. LeMieux, Mr. About 3 weeks ago, the President an- maven of murder in that area, basi- Martinez, and Mr. McGillicuddy III, ad- nounced that the United States was cally doing whatever they want. They vanced to the desk of the Vice Presi- withdrawing from our engagement in have more freedom of movement, and dent; the oath prescribed by law was Syria. I—and I think the majority of there is the direct threat that it poses administered to him by the Vice Presi- the people in the Senate—believed that to both Israel and to Jordan. dent; and he thereupon subscribed to decision was a mistake and is a mis- By the way, when the Turks come in the oath in the Official Oath Book. take. or potentially Iraqi troops come in— The VICE PRESIDENT. Congratula- While I was certainly encouraged by when ISIS is reconstituted and starts tions, Senator. some of the comments by the head of killing people again—you are going to (Applause, Senators rising.) the National Security Council, Ambas- have new refugee flows. Maybe it will f sador John Bolton, on the pace and be mostly Kurds this time, maybe folks scale and scope of the withdrawal, from the Syrian defense forces who had STRENGTHENING AMERICA’S SE- nonetheless, there have been con- fought alongside us for a while and CURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST flicting statements since then which their families. Where will all of these ACT OF 2019—Motion to Proceed put this all in question. new refugees go? Potentially, some will (Continued) At the time he made this decision, we wind up in Jordan, further desta- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. walked through all of the reasons why bilizing or testing that country’s abil- HOEVEN). The majority leader. this was a mistake—not because we ity to deal with all of this. Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- want to be in war in Syria forever. On that last point, both the Kurds sence of a quorum. That is false. Of course, it has to come and the Syrian defense forces have in The PRESIDING OFFICER. The to an end, but it needs to come to an excess of 700 ISIS fighters in custody, clerk will call the roll. end in a way that is in the interest of in prison. Are they going to let them The legislative clerk proceeded to the United States of America. It is not all go? Because without us there sup- call the roll. in the interest of the United States of porting them, I don’t know how they

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.005 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S39 are going to hold them, and none of the Hezbollah no longer has a few rockets. cott, divestment, and sanctions. It is, countries they came from want them It has enough to potentially overwhelm in essence, by and large, to punish back. So you can potentially face hun- defenses. That means you could have Israel by convincing companies—inter- dreds of ISIS fighters being released the best missile defense system in the national companies and others—to boy- overnight. These are all the con- world, but if you fire enough of them, cott doing business with Israel or sequences—and more. eventually some of them will get Israeli entities, to divest of invest- What are we going to do if in a few through, and when they get through in ments in Israel or Israeli entities, and days, a few weeks, or months from now a small country like Israel—which at convincing governments to sanction ISIS decides to deploy chemical weap- its narrowest point is only 9 miles Israel. ons against the Kurds or others in wide—and it hits a population center This provision of the law does not these areas? That is the parade of and kills thousands of people, then, outlaw boycott, divestments, and sanc- horribles, and the possibilities are ex- you know we are facing a catastrophe. tions. If a United States company traordinary. We could go on and on for Israel will respond to that sort of at- caves to this pressure and decides it is a while. tack with overwhelming force. This going to boycott or divest from Israel, That is why, among other reasons, it could spiral quickly out of control. they have the legal right to do so. This was a mistake, and when we came out How could we wind up at that point? doesn’t outlaw it. However, it does say and said it was a mistake, a lot of peo- We could wind up at that point because if a State or local government decides ple said: What are you going to do now that the United States is leaving that it is not going to do business or if about it? Don’t just talk; act. Syria, the Israelis are going to say: We the government is not going to issue It is difficult in an issue like this. are not going to allow Iran and contracts for goods or services with Congress can stop wars. Congress can Hezbollah to build up its presence. We any company that is boycotting or di- defund them and deauthorize actions, are going to step up our military at- vesting from Israel, they have a right but Congress cannot force the Com- tacks inside of Syria. to do that. mander in Chief to stay in a military It is possible, when they step it up, I have heard the argument that this engagement. We cannot force the that it is likely that Iran and is about free speech. First of all, it is President to deploy troops or keep Hezbollah will respond by hitting back. not about free speech. It is about for- them somewhere. We can keep him Then, Israel will hit back even harder. eign policy. We will talk about that from doing it, but we can’t force him to At that point of escalation, you could more as the week goes on, but there do it. Our options in this field are lim- easily see the missiles start coming out are court cases out there that talk ited. of Lebanon into Israel, and Israel re- about how this is not an effort to influ- We wanted to do something. We felt sponding with overwhelming force, and ence a domestic political debate or to so strongly about this. The response is then we have a much broader conflict, speak or take action in the form of S. 1, which is the item before us here with thousands—if not hundreds of speech that influences a domestic po- today. S. 1, as I said, combines these thousands—of people whose lives are on litical debate. This is about influencing four bills that enjoy widespread bipar- the line. the behavior of a foreign government’s tisan support. You would think that in So making it clear to Hezbollah or to foreign policy. The courts give broad the midst of everything else that is any enemy of Israel that the United discretion to Congress and the Presi- going on, this would be a really good States stands ready to equip them in dent in the setting of our foreign pol- way to start the new Congress, in for- the case of such a contingency is one of icy. eign policy, in an area that tradition- the best things we can do to prevent it Putting that aside for a moment, as ally has not been partisan—or from happening. If Israel’s enemies be- I told already you, this doesn’t in any shouldn’t have been—by combining lieve there is any doubt that the way prevent anyone from participating these four bills into S. 1, which is what United States will step forward and in boycotting or divesting from Israel. is before us today. help Israel resupply in case of such All it says is that if you do, your cli- I want to briefly outline the four pro- conflict, you have increased the prob- ents, in the form of State or local gov- visions combined in this bill. Two of ability that they will miscalculate and ernments, can boycott or divest from them deal directly with our ally in take such action. you in return. Free speech is a two-way Israel. First, it makes very clear that But if they know that we are com- street. ‘‘it shall be the policy of the United mitted to rearming Israel as often and Beyond that, it makes it very clear States to provide assistance to the as much as possible and necessary in in the law that nothing in this law Government of Israel in order to sup- order to help them defend themselves, should be construed to violate anyone’s port funding for cooperative programs then, the chances of them attacking First Amendment rights. to develop, produce, and procure mis- are diminished. That is why this bill These are the two provisions that sile, rocket, projectile, and other de- authorizes U.S. security assistance in help Israel and to prevent the sort of fense capabilities to help Israel meet foreign military financing to Israel at economic warfare that is being driven its security needs and to help develop an amount no less than $3.3 billion a against them and to make clear to and enhance United States defense ca- year for the next 10 years. their adversaries that the United pabilities.’’ By the way, this, in essence, is au- States stands ready to resupply and That last line is important because thorizing a memoranda of under- strengthen Israel’s ability to defend much of the technology that is being standing signed between the Obama ad- itself—not just helping Israel defend innovated and developed by Israel to ministration and Israel. We are author- itself if it comes under attack but, defend Israel can also be used by the izing that and putting it into law. We frankly, in the hopes of deterring an United States to protect us from rock- are also authorizing the President to attack against Israel. We do that by et attacks there or when we are de- transfer precision-guided munitions to authorizing and putting into law the ployed abroad. The reason why this is reserve stocks as needed for legitimate memorandum of understanding that so critical is that Hezbollah has a large self-defense by Israel. The world now was signed by the Obama administra- presence in Syria and has their base of knows—and Israel’s enemies now tion in September of 2016. operations in Lebanon. Today, know—that the United States has put In addition, the third thing the bill Hezbollah is better funded, better aside reserve precision-guided muni- does is to deal with Jordan. Jordan is a equipped, and has more armaments tions that are there if Israel needs U.S. ally. It is, by the way, a nation than at any time in its history. them for us to quickly transport them that, along with Egypt, has been a We all recall the Hezbollah-Israel war to them in case they come under at- linchpin of Israel’s security in the re- from about over a decade and a half tack and run low on the munitions gion, and it is also a nation that has ago. The next Israel-Hezbollah war will they need to defend themselves. That is faced an onslaught of refugees fleeing be far deadlier and costly because the first thing this bill does. the conflict in Syria. They face the Hezbollah no longer simply depends on Another thing it does, by the way, is threat from ISIS, as well. In S. 1, we Iran to provide them the weapons. the Combating BDS Act of 2019. For reauthorize the United States-Jordan They make them themselves. those not familiar with BDS, it is boy- Defense Cooperation Act, which passed

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.007 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S40 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 in 2015. It is an act that, among other than just a wall. I remind many of my aisle will reconsider their objection to things, includes Jordan on the list of colleagues who were here in 2013 that even beginning debate so we can get on countries that are eligible for certain when we sponsored the Senate bill on this and get to work on behalf of the streamlined defense sales, because Jor- immigration, we authorized four times men and women of this country for dan itself is facing many of the same as much in that bill for border secu- whom we work and represent. challenges, particularly because of our rity. Of course, the politics have I yield the floor. pullout from Syria. changed, and so people’s positions on The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. If you think the pullout from Syria— the issue of border security have JOHNSON). The Senator from New Mex- especially from southeastern Syria—is changed. ico. a good thing for Jordan, you are wrong. That said, I am not in favor of gov- GOVERNMENT FUNDING Once the United States leaves that ernment shutdowns. I don’t think they Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I rise to area, the Iranian influence will grow, make sense. The people have nothing call on the President to stop holding and potentially, the ISIS influence will to do with this. They are not respon- the government hostage and trying to grow. It will become harder—not easi- sible for this. Border agents, TSA em- force taxpayers to pay for his border er—on Jordan. This is the least we can ployees, and Federal employees from wall—a wall that would be ineffective do to strengthen an important ally in these Agencies all across the country and wasteful and that is rejected by this legion. are missing paydays now. Their mort- the American people. The last piece is one sponsored by the gage companies and their credit card President Trump said he is ‘‘proud’’— soon-to-be chairman of the Foreign Re- companies don’t care that there is a that is his word that he used—to shut lations Committee, Senator RISCH—the shutdown. They want to get paid or down the government. He is proud to Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. they will ruin your credit. I hope we force hundreds of thousands of people It does three principle things. It re- can find a resolution for them—but across this country to miss their hard- quires the Treasury to determine also for the country—without our earned paychecks. He is proud to shut- whether the Central Bank of Syria is a abandoning the reality that we need to ter critical services. He is proud to try financial institution that launders deal with border security. and extort the American people into money for the regime. I am not sure it Here is what I know, though. I don’t paying for a wall they don’t support. will take them long to conclude that believe shutting down the Senate and This Trump shutdown is nothing to be they are, but that opens the door for not allowing us to move forward on proud of. It is a national disgrace, and the second thing it does, and that is something as important as a Syria pol- it is time to end this recklessness. new sanctions on anyone who does icy is the way to resolve the shutdown I join with my Democratic colleagues business with or provides financing to issue. You don’t solve a shutdown with today in calling on the Republican the Syrian regime. a shutdown. Shutting down the Senate leaders to do their jobs and reopen the It also, by the way, requires the ad- and saying we are not doing anything government right now. The American ministration to brief us here in Con- here until we resolve this issue is not a people don’t support Trump’s border gress as part of our oversight role on constructive approach, and it is cer- wall, and they don’t support this what our strategy is to facilitate the tainly not the way to start this new Trump shutdown. The funding bills delivery of humanitarian products and Congress. that are being held up and used by the humanitarian assistance inside Syria. At a time when, I think, the Senate President as a bargaining chip have Hopefully, we will be on this bill, but serves as important a role as it has in broad bipartisan support. The Demo- as the week goes on, I sadly will have two decades, this country needs a Sen- crats in both Chambers want to pass to come to the floor and point out the ate that is capable of functioning and these appropriations bills now. Yet, as horrifying atrocities that have been agreeing on the things we agree on—on the Democrats stand ready to reopen committed and that, I believe 50 and passing bills that have broad support the government, President Trump 100 years from now, people will look and not allowing them to fall victim to plans to address the Nation tonight to back at as one of the most horrifying debates that are unrelated to the issues tell us again why he is proud to keep things that have happened in this cen- at hand. I remind all of my colleagues the government shut down. tury. The people who have done this who, just 2 or 3 weeks ago, joined me We will likely hear more bizarre talk should be held to account. and others in criticizing the decision to tonight about what we need at the bor- This law puts in place not just re- draw down from Syria; that there isn’t der from a President who doesn’t know quiring the administration to tell us a lot we can do in Congress to force the the first thing about the border. Once what they plan to do in the short term President to stay there, but there are again, we will likely hear blatant lies to help people to the extent possible, some things we can do to reassure our about immigrants, about our border, but it also puts in place the ability to allies in the region that at least in the and about our border communities. The hold those who have done this respon- U.S. Senate they have our support— American people are tired of this Presi- sible and accountable for what they did that Israel and Jordan and the inno- dent’s assault on the truth. They are and what they continue to do. cents who have been tortured and tired of having their lives and liveli- I sincerely hope that we can get on killed in Syria have our support. We hoods caught up in this President’s in- this because the American people in have a bill before the Senate, S.1, that ability to rise to the office he holds. No the face of all this noise that is out does that, and I don’t know why we are address from the Oval Office will there are in desperate need of reassur- not looking forward to at least debat- change that. ance that our Republic still works and ing it. We need the Republican leadership in that, at a minimum, we can still agree The vote we are taking in about 60 this Chamber to muster the political on what we agree on and we don’t use minutes or 59 minutes from now is not will to stand up to the President and the pretext of a shutdown to shut down a vote to pass it. It is just a vote to get Federal employees back to work the Senate. begin debate on it. That is all it is. It and critical services restored. We are As I remind everyone again—and I is a vote to begin debate on it. To not now on day 18 of this shutdown—the know we have some new Members—this even allow debate to begin on some- second longest period that the govern- body unanimously passed a bill to fund thing we basically largely agree on ment has been shuttered since 1980. We the government. I have my views on may make a lot of sense in the hall- have already begun to see real-life con- this shutdown, and I don’t understand ways here, but it doesn’t make a lot of sequences for families all across the the objection. It is $5 billion for spend- sense to the men and women back Nation, and my home State of New ing on border security. By the way, it home who are already watching the Mexico is one of the States that is is not $5 billion on a wall. It is $5 bil- government shutdown with disdain and being hit the hardest by the Presi- lion to fund the top 10 priorities of the who then, on top of it, see that not dent’s temper tantrum, by his act of border security plan, and included in even the Senate can function in the political extortion. those top 10 are those of strengthening midst of all of this. In New Mexico, roughly 5,800 Federal existing walls and barriers and building I hope, whether it is today or later workers are either furloughed or are some new ones, but it includes far more this week, my colleagues across the working without pay. These aren’t just

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.008 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S41 numbers, these are real people. They leaving Native families in these cities not relate to the struggles of everyday are real people who are wondering how without support. The Yankton Sioux Americans who are hurt by his policies. they will make their mortgages or rent Tribe in South Dakota was just in- He cannot and does not relate to Fed- payments or will feed their families. A formed that its Indian Health Service eral employees who live paycheck to Federal employee in Albuquerque unit must begin reducing services. paycheck or to Santa Fe construction wrote to my office to tell me how this The 276 Tribes that depend on the workers who wait anxiously to get shutdown is affecting her and her fam- USDA’s Food Distribution Programs back to work. He has shown us time ily. on Indian reservations—a program that and again that his policies and behav- She wrote to me to ‘‘go on the record feeds nearly 100,000 American Indians ior are heartless and that he is unfit that I am not one of the Federal em- and Alaska Natives—are also faced for the office he holds. I will say it ployees the President is touting . . . as with reliving the 2013 shutdown crisis, again. The President told the American wanting to be out of work, without a when food rotted in locked warehouses people on camera that he is ‘‘proud to paycheck, until he gets his wall.’’ while hungry families gathered out- shut down the government.’’ The re- She had an important message for side—all because the President and sponsibility falls squarely on him and the Republican leadership of the Sen- some extreme Members of his party now on his Republican collaborators in ate: refuse to do their jobs and keep the the Senate. The Senate does not work for the Presi- government open. The impacts reach every corner of dent—it is supposed to represent the citizens It is disgraceful, and it is dangerous. our Nation. His shutdown has already of the United States .... Federal employ- Every day that the President continues had real impacts on our Nation’s public ees do not want to stay out of work; we want to treat Tribal health and public safety lands, including our most iconic na- to go back to work and get paid. programs like hostages for political tional parks. She ended: gain, it endangers families across In- Many national parks, such as Ban- This is not our fight—just his. dian Country. The United States has delier National Monument and Valles Economic anxiety is pervasive in all trust and treaty obligations that Caldera National Preserve in New Mex- corners of the State. In fact, New Mex- Tribes obtained in exchange for ceding ico, remain closed. Restrooms have ico was recently ranked as the most millions of acres of land. The con- been closed for 2 weeks, trash has accu- vulnerable to the impacts of the shut- sequences of the President’s outright mulated, and roads have not been down because of our significant Federal disregard for treaty obligations are plowed. For 2 weeks, we have heard workforce and the importance of the real. The consequences of the Senate horror stories of poor sanitation and Federal Government to our economy. majority leader’s inaction are real. The public safety issues at national parks As the ranking member of the Sub- consequences of the Republicans’ un- because of the shutdown, including committee on the Interior, Environ- willingness to stand up for Tribes in overflowing toilets, vandalism, and ment, and Related Agencies, I am their States—to stand up for basic hu- other resource damage. In Big Bend acutely aware of how the lapse in ap- manity and common sense—are also National Park, because of the lack of propriations is affecting the Agencies real. emergency services, Good Samaritans that are funded in our bill and the serv- We are talking about people’s lives had to rescue a hiker who fell and ices they provide. These include the and the fundamental obligation of our broke his leg while hiking on Christ- Department of the Interior, the Envi- Nation to honor its commitment to Na- mas Eve. ronmental Protection Agency, and the tive Americans. It is really that sim- In fact, the effects have been so dev- Indian Health Service. ple. We all know how pressing these astating that, in a legally questionable As the ranking member of the Senate problems are. The impacts of the move, this administration just made Indian Affairs Committee, I am espe- Trump shutdown are far and wide. the unprecedented decision to dip into cially cognizant of how this shutdown There are thousands of stories across the park’s entrance fees to fund basic is hurting Native communities. For the Nation. Let me tell you another services at a handful of parks across Tribes across Indian Country, the shut- from my home State of New Mexico. the country. These are fees that Con- down’s consequences are particularly A local Santa Fe small business—a gress authorizes the Park Service to dire after their going more than 2 construction company, Sarcon Con- collect to pay for deferred maintenance weeks without Federal funds. Simply struction Corporation—is ready to projects and other critical needs, not put, Tribes report that Federal pro- begin an $8.4 million project to build to take the place of appropriated funds. grams that are critical to health and two new hangars at the Santa Fe Mu- We still don’t know which parks will be public safety are grinding to a halt and nicipal Airport. This 32,000-square-foot affected by the administration’s deci- that lives are in danger. project will generate $650,000 in local sion, but I fully expect this bandaid ap- In New Mexico, the shutdown has left tax revenue and will employ 75 to 100 proach to fall far short of protecting the Mescalero Apache Tribe’s reserva- people. Many of those people are lit- our treasured national resources or re- tion—larger in size than the entire city erally unemployed now while waiting storing services to the public in a of Houston, TX—with only one on-duty for this project to begin. This project is meaningful way. It is merely a cynical police officer, which would be unac- a big deal for my home city of Santa attempt to get the problems caused by ceptable even under normal cir- Fe. the President’s shutdown off the front cumstances. Yet, due to a huge winter Do you know why the project is page of the newspaper. storm that left my State under heavy stalled? Sarcon can’t get the necessary If we want to reopen the parks, there snowfall and subfreezing temperatures, approval from the Federal Aviation Ad- is a simple solution: Pass the Interior that lone officer is responsible for not ministration because of the Trump appropriations bill without delay, and only responding to domestic violence shutdown, as the FAA personnel who we can reopen the entire National Park and child welfare but also to snow-re- are responsible for its approval are fur- System. In the meantime, reopening lated accidents and emergencies across loughed. some park sites but not others will not 720 square miles—all because fur- This shutdown has real consequences help many gateway communities that loughed road crews aren’t clearing the for real people, especially for people depend on parks and public lands to snow and ice from the reservation’s like those unemployed New Mexicans provide needed revenue and that are roads. One elder already died because who are ready and eager to work but facing economic crisis as this shutdown he was unable to make it to dialysis. who are unable to because of our Presi- wears on. Sadly, Mescalero’s experiences are not dent’s tantrum. The President says he The National Parks Conservation As- uncommon. can ‘‘relate’’ to Federal workers who sociation estimates that in January, The Yurok Tribe of California will can’t pay bills during the shutdown, visitors spent an average of $20 million soon have to close its courts, curtailing but in the next breath, he blithely as- per day in nearby communities. That is the Tribe’s efforts to rein in the opioid sumes they will ‘‘make adjustments’’ real and vital revenue. In New Mexico epidemic. Urban Indian Health Pro- and be fine. alone, national parks generated more grams in Baltimore and Boston are As he has demonstrated time and than 1,700 jobs in 2017 and created more days away from closing completely, again, this President cannot and does than $140 million in economic output

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.010 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S42 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 for my State. I can tell you that New have bipartisan bills, and we did. I thing more tone-deaf from a President Mexico can’t afford for these sites to be think the appropriations bills have had of the United States of America. closed. more bipartisan votes than they have Perhaps for a man who was made a It is not just the parks that are at had in over 20 years. millionaire by his father at the age of risk. Fire prevention programs funded Now, where are we? We are on the 8, the idea of living paycheck to pay- by the U.S. Forest Service are being 18th day of the Trump shutdown. For check is a foreign concept, but it is not deferred during the shutdown, despite a more than 2 weeks now, the President to the millions of Americans—both Re- recordbreaking fire season. Environ- has withheld the paychecks of more publicans and Democrats alike—across mental protection programs are suf- than 800,000 Americans. He has held this country who struggle to make fering. EPA has halted most activities them hostage in order to extort Con- ends meet. They should not be bar- related to hazardous waste cleanups gress into funding his border wall—a gaining chips in the President’s game. under its national Superfund Program. wall for which he gave his word to the This is not a game for them, and the Enforcement activities against pol- American taxpayers over and over President should not treat it as such. luters have ground to a halt, as have again that Mexico would pay for, not In fact, in addition to all of the Fed- Federal permitting efforts. States the American taxpayers. Now he says: I eral employees who are wondering aren’t receiving funds to operate their want the American taxpayers to pay when they will get their next pay- regulatory programs. for it. check, vital services on which many Even our Nation’s cherished national For more than 2 weeks, the President Americans rely and have paid taxes to museums are shuttered. On January 2, has withheld vital government services support have come to a grinding halt. the Smithsonian ran out of funds and from the American people in order to Remember that. Americans have paid closed its doors, preventing more than gain leverage to fulfill a divisive cam- taxes for these services, and they have 110,000 visitors a day from accessing its paign promise and rally his base. He come to a grinding halt. prized collections. Its next-door neigh- has totally ignored that we had passed Farmers can’t get loans from the bor, the National Gallery of Art, is also the bills that would reopen the govern- U.S. Department of Agriculture— closed, leaving school groups, families, ment. Shamefully, he cares more about USDA—to get them through the next and everyday citizens out in the cold. this cynical bumper sticker symbol of planting season because no one is in Again, there is a simple solution to his Presidency than he does about the the office to process the applications. stop this damage. All we have to do is millions of Americans impacted by his We passed a 5-year farm bill. I am pass an appropriations bill and reopen shutdown or the hardships to come if proud of the bipartisan bill that Sen- the government. the Trump shutdown continues. He ator ROBERTS and Senator STABENOW I want to end where I began. The wants rhetoric, not reality. I want re- led through the Senate. I was one of President has nothing to be ‘‘proud’’ of ality. the conferees on that farm bill, and it here. President Trump needs to stop I ask, what will the President say to was bipartisan. It is complicated, and holding Federal programs hostage to the 800,000 Federal workers who will there are new rules in it, but the USDA his demands for a wasteful, ineffective, not get a paycheck this Friday because cannot implement the new farm bill and destructive wall and end this shut- of this political stunt? What will he because all of the staff have been fur- down now. We can do it easily. The say to the men and women who have loughed. How about all of the mid- Senate can immediately take up and mortgages, families to feed, and bills western farmers who don’t know what pass H.R. 21—the appropriations bill to pay? What will he say to those the rules are going to be before they passed by the House last week. This forced to deplete their hard-earned sav- start planting? They have to make should cause no controversy. These are ings or retirement funds or to those that decision now. They paid their bills drafted by Republicans with broad who have no safety net at all? taxes to have the Department of Agri- bipartisan support. In fact, the Interior I will give an example. Just yester- culture to help them, but it is closed bill is the exact same legislation that day, a man called my office. He has a now. was passed by this Chamber by a vote job with the Internal Revenue Service Our national parks—the prize of this of 92 to 6 last August—a margin that in Vermont. He has been furloughed. country since the time of Teddy Roo- would override a veto of the bill, I He will not receive a paycheck this sevelt—are being vandalized and lit- might add. week. He fears he will not be able to tered with trash and human waste. I call on Leader MCCONNELL and pay his bills past mid-January if he Since the Trump shutdown began, Members of his party to let us get to does not get paid. He has already seven people have died in national work. We need to do what is right and turned off the cable and most of his parks. The parks were left unsuper- immediately take up and pass the family’s cell services to save money. vised and unstaffed. House bill today. There is no reason He is concerned about feeding his fam- Homebuyers are finding out that this shutdown must go on one day ily, and his wife has serious medical their Federal Housing Administration longer. The lives and livelihoods of ev- issues that require attention. Inciden- loan applications are on hold. eryday Americans hang in the balance. tally, I was looking at the weather re- Food safety inspections are slowing. As a final comment, I will say that I port for parts of Vermont. Tomorrow, How many people are going to die of so much appreciate working with Sen- it will be 5 degrees below zero. He also food poisoning? ator LEAHY, who is vice chairman of has to heat his home in that weather. The Small Business Administration the Appropriations Committee and who So he was upset, he was worried, and he has stopped issuing new business loans, I know feels, sees, and hears from all of was looking for help. and our Federal courts are running out his Appropriations members how con- Does the President even care about of money. cerning this situation is. these people? The President claims he This is the United States of America. With that, I yield the floor. can relate to them, but he dismisses We are an embarrassment to the rest of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- their fears, glibly saying they will the world because of this. The Presi- ator from Vermont. ‘‘make adjustments.’’ Make adjust- dent should be embarrassed because he Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Ap- ments for their child’s medical bills? is the one who has asked for the Trump propriations Committee has worked ex- Make adjustments for their mortgage Shutdown. tremely hard to get these bills payments? Make adjustments for heat- Everyone agrees that we need to se- through. We passed them almost unani- ing their homes when it is 5 degrees cure our borders, but there are smart mously. Every single bill to keep this below zero? He even absurdly claims ways to do it. A wall is not one of government open has been passed by they support his silly wall. Really? them. It is a 5th-century solution to a this Senate or the Senate Appropria- Really? Come on. There are 800,000 Fed- 21st-century problem. In 2015, the tions Committee and will be passed eral employees who are affected by the President’s own acting Chief of Staff again if Republicans allow it to come Trump Shutdown. Let somebody poll said that the idea of a wall was ‘‘absurd to a vote. They passed almost unani- them and find out how many support and almost childish.’’ He said that a mously out of committee. Senator what many in Vermont have called a ‘‘fence doesn’t stop anybody who really SHELBY and I worked very, very hard to ‘‘dumb wall.’’ I have never heard any- wants to get across . . . you go under,

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In ers and farmers have had that land in suit. short, a physical barrier—wall—creates an their families for years. They are We are not in the business of pro- enduring capability that helps field per- proud, hard-working, taxpaying Ameri- viding blank checks to satisfy Presi- sonnel stop, slow down and/or contain illegal cans, and we say that we are going to dential whims. The President’s own entries. In concert with the U.S. Army Corps budget request to Congress was $1.6 bil- of Engineers, CBP has increased its capacity come in with a wall through their land. to execute these funds. The Administration’s It would require building walls through lion for the wall, and he has never sub- full request would fund construction of a wildlife refuges and nature preserves. mitted an addendum. No matter how total of approximately 234 miles of new phys- It would forever scar the landscape and much he or others talk about it, he ical barrier and fully fund the top 10 prior- ecosystem of the southwest border in never has. Instead, he makes demands ities in CBP’s Border Security Improvement ways we cannot anticipate. After all of by tweets and through the press. I have Plan. This would require an increase of $4.1 that and billions of wasted taxpayer lost track of all the times his demands billion over the FY 2019 funding level in the for the wall have changed, but I still go Senate version of the bill. dollars, what would we have accom- Immigration Judge Teams—Executive Of- plished? back to the original request. The only fice for Immigration Review (EOIR): The Tonight, the President will assert request in his budget was $1.6 billion. President requests at least $563 million for 75 that the security of our Nation is in This weekend, Democrats asked the additional Immigration Judges and support crisis. He will assert that criminals and Vice President for more details on staff to reduce the backlog of pending immi- drugs are pouring across the border. their border wall request. The adminis- gration cases. The Administration appre- But his claims are not grounded in tration sent Chairman SHELBY and me ciates that the Senate’s FY 2019 bill provides fact. That is typical of the claims he a letter asking for $7 billion in border this level of funding, and looks forward to security investments that the Presi- working with the Congress on further in- makes. The disinformation coming creases in this area to facilitate an expan- from the White House has been stag- dent is demanding as part of this nego- sion of in-country processing of asylum gering. tiation, including $5.7 billion for the claims. In his zeal to feign a national emer- wall. This letter came out of nowhere 3 Law Enforcement Personnel, Border Patrol gency at the border, the President has months into the fiscal year and 18 days Agent Hiring, CBP: The President requests employed nothing short of a propa- into the shutdown, and it did not come $211 million to hire 750 additional Border Pa- ganda campaign like we have seen in from the President, it came from the trol Agents in support of his promise to keep Acting Director of the Office of Man- our borders safe and secure. While the Sen- dictatorships of the past. ate’s FY 2019 bill supports some Border Pa- The reality is that between the year agement and Budget. I think I may trol Agent hiring, fulfilling this request re- 2000 and 2018, apprehensions at the bor- have that letter. They are asking for quires an increase of $100 million over the der have dropped. How much? They $5.6 billion more for the Department of FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version have dropped by 75 percent. The reality Homeland Security than they proposed of the bill. is that apprehensions at the southwest in their original budget request, in- Law Enforcement Personnel, Immigration border have dropped to similar levels cluding an additional $4.1 billion for and Customs Enforcement (ICE): The Presi- dent requests $571 million for 2,000 additional we had in the 1970s. It has dropped. the wall. This came up this weekend, law enforcement personnel, as well as sup- The reality is, many southern border but the letter included no budget jus- port staff, who enforce our U.S. immigration communities have violent crime rates tification, no details, and no sugges- laws and help address gang violence, smug- that are lower than the national Amer- tions for how to pay for it. The letter gling and trafficking, and the spread of drugs ican average. The reality, according to has a lot of cliches but does not say in our communities. This would require an the Drug Enforcement Administration, where the money comes from or what increase of $571 million over the FY 2019 is that the vast majority of drugs ap- it is going to do. That is not the way funding level in the Senate version of the bill. prehended at the border are seized at we operate. It should not be the way we Detention Beds, ICE: The President re- ports of entry so a wall between such operate. quests $4.2 billion to support 52,000 detention ports would be entirely useless at stop- Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- beds. Given that in recent months, the num- ping drugs. sent that the letter be printed in the ber of people attempting to cross the border The demographic that is increasing RECORD. illegally has risen to 2,000 per day, providing in number are families—women and There being no objection, the mate- additional resources for detention and trans- children—seeking asylum. Many are rial was ordered to be printed in the portation is essential. This would require an increase of $798 million over the FY 2019 RECORD, as follows: not even trying to sneak past the Bor- funding level in the Senate version of the der Patrol; they present themselves to EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESI- bill. Border Patrol agents when they cross. DENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT Humanitarian Needs: The President re- They are not here to perpetuate vio- AND BUDGET, quests an additional $800 million to address lence; they are fleeing violence, they Washington, DC, January 6, 2019. urgent humanitarian needs. This includes are fleeing murder, they are fleeing Hon. PATRICK LEAHY, additional funding for enhanced medical sup- Vice Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, rape, they are fleeing crime from their port, transportation, consumable supplies U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. appropriate for the population, and addi- countries. Wasting billions of Amer- DEAR SENATOR LEAHY: The President con- tional temporary facilities for processing ican taxpayer dollars to build a wall tinues to stress the need to pass legislation and short-term custody of this vulnerable will not stop them from coming. We that will both reopen the Federal Govern- population, which are necessary to ensure need comprehensive immigration re- ment and address the security and humani- the well-being of those taken into custody. form—like the bipartisan bill the Sen- tarian crisis at our Nation’s Southwest bor- Counter-narcotics/weapons Technology: ate passed in 2013—and smart foreign der. The Administration has previously Beyond these specific budgetary requests, transmitted budget proposals that would policy to address these issues, not the Administration looks forward to working support his ongoing commitment to dramati- with Congress to provide resources in other fearmongering, not distortions, not cally reduce the entry of illegal immigrants, areas to address the unprecedented chal- lies, and certainly not thousands of criminals, and drugs; keep out terrorists, lenges we face along the Southwest border. miles of concrete or steel. public safety threats, and those otherwise in- Specifically, $675 million would provide Non- The Constitution vests the power of admissible under U.S. law; and ensure that Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at in- the purse to Congress. It is our job to those who do enter without legal permission bound lanes at U.S. Southwest Border Land be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. A can be promptly and safely returned home. Ports of Entry (LPOE) would allow CBP to border wall doesn’t meet that thresh- Appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) deter and detect more contraband, including 2019 that have already been considered by narcotics, weapons, and other materials that old. Even if it did, the President has the current and previous Congresses are in- pose nuclear and radiological threats. This never provided us with a detailed plan adequate to fully address these critical would require an increase of $631 million for how he would spend the money, and issues. Any agreement for the current year over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate he has been all over the map about how should satisfy the following priorities: version of the bill.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.012 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S44 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 In addition, to address the humanitarian government and let 800,000 Americans teams. I can say, without a doubt, if crisis of unaccompanied alien children stop their suffering. you are going to follow college foot- (UACs), Democrats have proposed in-country I yield the floor. ball, get to know the Clemson Tigers asylum processing for Central American Mi- I see the Senator seeking recogni- because you are going to see them nors. This would require a statutory change, tion, so I withhold my request. along with reallocation of State Department again. Go Tigers. funds to establish in-country processing ca- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- I yield the floor. pacities at Northern Triangle consulates and ator from South Carolina. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- embassies. Furthermore, for the new proce- CONGRATULATING THE CLEMSON TIGERS ator from Colorado. dure to achieve the desired humanitarian re- Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I will S. 1 sult, a further corresponding statutory be quick. I know we have a lot to do be- change would be required to ensure that Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, to my fore we vote, but if you are from South colleague from South Carolina, Sen- those who circumvent the process and come Carolina, you have a lot to be happy to the United States without authorization ator GRAHAM, we will challenge the about today. If you watched the foot- can be promptly returned home. Without the Clemson Tigers to the NCAA skiing latter change, in-country processing will not ball game last night, I thought you saw championship anytime. a real display of college football. reduce the unauthorized flow or successfully I rise to speak about the bill we are I am a South Carolina graduate. I mitigate the humanitarian crisis.’’ working on today, S. 1, Strengthening These upfront investments in physical bar- went to the University of South Caro- America’s Security in the Middle East riers and technology, as well as legislation lina. I have lived near Clemson most of Act. to close loopholes in our immigration sys- my life, and I am here to congratulate I am proud to be a sponsor of this tem, will reduce illegal immigration, the the Clemson Tigers because after last flow of illicit drugs entering our country and legislation, along with Senator RUBIO night, the Clemson Tigers have become reduce the long term costs for border and im- and Senator RISCH. I commend Chair- the gold standard for college football, migration enforcement activities. man RISCH for working with the major- both on and off the field. The Administration looks forward to ad- ity leader in attempting to move this vancing these critical priorities as part of What I like most about Clemson is, legislation to reopen the Government. they believe you can’t win on the field important legislation and effort with- Sincerely, if you lose off the field, and it starts at out delay. RUSSELL T. VOUGHT, the top. Coach Swinney is the very def- I think it is important to recognize Acting Director. inition of ‘‘all in’’—with his family, his that this bill combines four non- Mr. LEAHY. The President may not faith, his coaches and staff and his controversial pieces of legislation from care about the impact the shutdown is dedication and loyalty to his current the 115th Congress that are intended to having on millions of Americans, but and former players. He is one of the support our strong allies, Israel and the U.S. Senate—a body that should be most beloved men I have ever met in Jordan, and to impose sanctions the conscience of the Nation—should the coaching profession. His players against the gross human rights abuses care. Stoking fear through misinforma- understand that he cares about them, of the Assad regime in Syria. tion in order to promote a political and when he pushes them, it is only be- We have no stronger ally in the Mid- agenda is simply wrong. We could and cause he wants them to be the best dle East than the State of Israel. Israel should reopen the government this they can be and the best the team can has proven itself to be a resilient bea- week. be. con of democratic values, despite fac- Last week, the House passed a bipar- Clemson University is not a football ing existential threats daily since its tisan, six-bill minibus to reopen most school, for those who are wondering. It founding in 1948. of the government and a continuing is one of the top-tiered, academically Our two nations have worked closely resolution for the Department of challenging public universities in the to fight terrorism, to stop the spread of Homeland Security. To show how bi- entire country—and it is not bragging radical Islamist extremism, and to pre- partisan it is, the six appropriations if it is true—which happens to have a vent nuclear and chemical weapons bills the House passed originated in the great football team and a great coach. proliferation by rogue regimes, such as Republican-controlled Senate last Con- To those who don’t want to see Syria and Iran. The legislation before gress and had bipartisan support, in- Clemson versus Alabama part 5, I can us today simply reaffirms our strong cluding by Senator SHELBY as chair- understand that. I have some advice for support for Israel, including $3.3 billion man and by myself as vice chairman of you. Get better and beat one of them. per year in annual U.S. security assist- the Appropriations Committee. Don’t complain. These are the two best ance, consistent with the 10-year U.S.- I worked hard with Senator SHELBY— teams in the Nation. Israel memorandum of understanding, and I admire his efforts—to produce To my friends from Alabama, your which was signed in 2016 by President these bills last summer and fall, and all program is going to go down as one of Obama. of them received nearly unanimous the most historic programs in the his- In the 115th Congress, 72 Senators—72 support when they were considered on tory of college football, but last night, Senators, Republicans and Demo- the floor of the Senate or in the Appro- the best team in the Nation was the crats—cosponsored this legislation. It priations Committee. Senator MCCON- Clemson Tigers. They won decisively. passed in the Senate unanimously on NELL should bring them to the floor of They won with class. The 2018 season August 1, 2018. There is no reason why the U.S. Senate today and put them up will be remembered as long as there is my colleagues across the aisle should for a vote. We have already shown vir- a Clemson University. not support this legislation today—no tually every Republican and every I live 5 miles from the stadium. I reason—in order to show our strong bi- Democrat in this body will vote for grew up in the shadow of Clemson Uni- partisan support to our friend and ally, them. versity. I got an honorary degree from Israel, at a time of great need. Bring them up. Let’s vote for them. Clemson. That is about the only way I This package also includes provisions End this nonsense. End it. The leader would have ever gotten a degree. I am supporting State governments that owes that to the American people. We very proud of what Clemson University have taken action against the anti- owe that to the American people. Let has accomplished on and off the field. Israel and anti-Semitic movement us be the conscience of the Nation, not TIM and I will be introducing a resolu- known as Boycott, Divestment, and an institution that is simply a foil for tion recognizing this great accomplish- Sanctions, or BDS. To date, 26 States— the latest tweet or posting. We can do ment by the Clemson Tigers. including my home State of Colorado— it. We have passed these bills before. I just want to end with this. In these have adopted laws or executive orders Bring them up. Bring them up. Bring troubled times, when there is a lot against BDS. This legislation before us them up, and pass them again. Repub- going on in the world, and there is a lot today simply endorses those decisions licans and Democrats have voted for of bad news, this is a chance to cele- and clarifies that these measures them in the past. The Republican brate something very positive. Amer- adopted or enforced by a State or local chairman and I strongly support them. ica is a football country, and college government are not preempted by any Bring them up. Bring them up. Bring football is one of our most beloved Federal law if they comply with the re- them up and pass them and open the sports. Last night, you saw two quality quirements in the legislation.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.004 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S45 This anti-BDS legislation had 48 bi- these comments and to show bipartisan sup- bill itself, insinuates that a number of re- partisan cosponsors in the 115th Con- port for our ally Israel. spected, long-serving senators are somehow gress. There is no reason it should not Sincerely, more loyal to Israel than they are to the be passed with bipartisan support Cory Gardner, Lindsey Graham, Marco United States. Rubio, Chuck Grassley, Ted Cruz, The charge evokes classical anti-Semitic today. Susan M. Collins, Jon Kyl, John tropes about dual loyalty—in this case ap- BDS is a vile movement—a vile Hoeven, Steve Daines, John Thune, plied to some lawmakers who are not even movement—and should be vociferously Cindy Hyde-Smith, Roger Wicker, Jewish—that have no place in our political opposed by Republicans, Democrats, James E. Risch, David Perdue, Tim discourse. and everyone alike. This is why, on De- Scott. Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- cember 20, I led a letter, with 14 of my Mr. GARDNER. In that letter, we sent to have printed in the RECORD the Senate colleagues, to the majority asked for immediate bipartisan re- statement from AJC dated January 7, leader and the minority leader to take sponse against BDS, including moving 2019. immediate action against BDS. today’s legislation forward. In that let- There being no objection, the mate- Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- ter, we quote the minority leader, Sen- rial was ordered to be printed in the sent that this letter be printed in the ator SCHUMER, when he spoke at the RECORD, as follows: RECORD. annual American-Israel Public Affairs AJC OUTRAGED BY REP. TLAIB’S TWEET There being no objection, the mate- Committee conference just this past (Jan. 7, 2019) rial was ordered to be printed in the March. Less than a year ago, here is NEW YORK.—AJC is outraged at the tweet RECORD, as follows: what Senator SCHUMER told the audi- posted by Representative Rashida Tlaib (D– U.S. SENATE, ence at AIPAC on March 5, 2018: MI) claiming that U.S. senators who had in- Washington, DC, December 20, 2018. [W]e must continue to stand firm against troduced Israel-related legislation ‘‘forgot Hon. MITCH MCCONNELL, the profoundly biased campaign to what country they represent.’’ That asser- Senate Majority Leader, delegitimize the State of Israel through tion, which completely avoids legitimate de- The Capitol, Washington, DC. [boycotts, divestment, and sanctions]. bate about the content of the bill itself, in- Hon. CHARLES SCHUMER, While Iran publicly executes its citizens, sinuates that a number of respected, long- Senate Minority Leader, Turkey jails its journalists, scores of Arab serving senators are somehow more loyal to The Capitol, Washington, DC. nations punish homosexuality with impris- Israel than they are to the United States. DEAR LEADERS MCCONNELL AND SCHUMER: onment and torture, why does BDS single The charge evokes classical anti-Semitic We write today to bring to your attention a Israel out alone for condemnation? tropes about dual loyalty—in this case ap- disturbing development concerning the anti- When there is such a double standard, plied to some lawmakers who are not even Israel and anti-Semitic movement known as when the world treats everybody one way Jewish—that have no place in our political Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). and the Jew or the Jewish State another discourse. Ironically, it was Representative Regrettably, in recent days, future members way, there’s only one word for it: anti-Semi- Tlaib who took the unusual step of wrapping of the U.S. House of Representatives have tism. Let us call out the BDS movement for herself in a foreign flag upon winning elec- publicly expressed support for this extreme what it is. Let us delegitimize the tion to Congress, and who said she would movement. delegitimizers by letting the world know serve as ‘‘a voice for’’ another nation in the We urge you to issue a joint statement when there is a double standard. Whether House of Representatives. publicly condemning BDS and to prioritize they know it or not, they are actively par- Her ad hominem attack on congressional legislative efforts in the next session of Con- ticipating in an anti-Semitic movement. colleagues joins a growing list of troubling gress to counter this destructive trend. We statements by the newly elected member, in- note there were bipartisan legislative ef- Those are the words of the Demo- cratic minority leader in March of 2018. cluding her rejection of a two-state solution forts, including the Combating BDS Act (S. to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 170) and the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), I completely agree with Senator SCHU- AJC calls on Rep. Tlaib to apologize for which were introduced in the 115th Congress. MER. Yet today I understand that he her offensive remarks. Israel is our country’s most steadfast ally and Members of his caucus plan to vote Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I be- in a highly volatile region of the world. The against the motion to proceed on bipar- State of Israel has proven itself to be a resil- lieve this body can do different, so I tisan legislation that would condemn ask my colleagues to put politics aside ient beacon of democratic values, despite BDS. It is regrettable. It is unfortu- facing existential threats daily since its and vote yes on the motion to proceed founding in 1948. Working closely together, nate. It is horrible. to this legislation that will help en- our two countries have worked to fight ter- It is also part of a new and disturbing hance our national security and will rorism, to stop the spread of radical Islamist trend that we see from some of our col- take strong action against a reprehen- ideologies, and to prevent nuclear and chem- leagues in the Democratic caucus. As sible and racist movement known as ical weapons proliferation by rogue regimes, we noted in our letter, several Mem- BDS. such as Syria and the Islamic Republic of bers of the House of Representatives Iran. I know there are some who believe we have now publicly endorsed BDS and should shut down the Senate because of As then-President Barack Obama stated in have not been condemned by Senator his speech in Jerusalem on March 21, 2013: the current funding situation in the ‘‘Israel has established a thriving democracy SCHUMER and other Democratic lead- Federal Government, but let me re- with a spirited civil society, proud political ers. We saw the manifestation of this mind Members of this Chamber that in parties, a tireless free press, and a lively dangerous trend 2 days ago, when a 2013, under Democratic Majority Lead- public debate—lively may even be an under- Democratic Representative issued a er Harry Reid, what was voted on dur- statement. And Israel has achieved this even statement alleging that the Senators ing the shutdown in 2013—here it is—a as it has overcome relentless threats to its who introduced the bill before us security—through the courage of the Israel bill to authorize the Secretary of the today, myself included, forget what Interior to take actions to implement Defense Forces, and a citizenry that is resil- country they represent. This is a rep- ient in the face of terror.’’ the agreement between the United Simply put, the BDS movement seeks to rehensible charge of dual loyalty ut- States of America and the United de-legitimize the State of Israel and its peo- terly unbefitting of a sitting Member Mexican States concerning transbound- ple. Senator Schumer, as you so eloquently of Congress, and we all need to come ary hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Gulf stated on March 6, 2018: ‘‘We must continue together to condemn such vile insinu- of Mexico. Somehow, in 2013, it was OK to stand firm against the profoundly biased ations. to find time for that measure. campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel I am glad to see that respected, non- through [BDS] . . . While Iran publicly exe- While complaining about finding partisan organizations, like the Amer- time for other measures right now, cutes its citizens, Turkey jails its journal- ican Jewish Committee, AJC, have now ists, scores of Arab nations punish homosex- during the shutdown in 2013, they found uality with imprisonment and torture, why issued strong statements rebuking this time to address the Security Clearance does BDS single Israel out alone for con- Democratic Member of Congress. Oversight and Reform Enhancement The AJC statement reads in part: demnation?’’ Act. They found time for the Small It is disheartening to see future members AJC is outraged at the tweet posted by Airplane Revitalization Act. They of Congress take a position on BDS that is [the Representative] that U.S. senators who not only highly biased, but contrary to fun- had introduced Israel-related legislation found time to ensure that any new or damental facts and detrimental to U.S. na- ‘‘forgot what country they represent.’’ revised requirement providing for the tional security interests. We therefore re- That assertion, which completely avoids screening, testing, or treatment of in- spectfully urge you to immediately condemn legitimate debate about the content of the dividuals operating commercial motor

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.015 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S46 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 vehicles for sleep disorders is adopted government are getting clobbered, as bills that passed our Appropriations pursuant to a rulemaking proceeding are the employees who work for them. Committees—in one case unanimously, and for other purposes. Now they don’t We have it within our power to vote and in one case, all but one Senator want to bring up anti-BDS legislation tonight to end this shutdown by voting voted for it. So these are bipartisan because we shouldn’t be talking about on the two bills that passed the House bills that have been sent over to us anything else, but in 2013, they had of Representatives last Thursday. They from the House that have already time to vote on and to consider things made it their first order of business, cleared this body once. Now we can like extending the period during which and so should we. I have copies of those pass them, keep government open for Iraqis who are employed by the U.S. bills. most of the agencies, and in the case of Government in Iraq may be granted I have a copy of H.J. Res. 1 right here Homeland Security, a continuing reso- special immigrant status and tempo- in my hand. It would reopen the Home- lution. rarily increasing the fee or surcharge land Security Department at current This shutdown caused by President for processing machine-readable non- levels until February 8, allowing us an Trump is a disaster. It is hurting peo- immigrant visas. opportunity to discuss with the Presi- ple. In this morning’s Sun paper, there I am not downplaying the importance dent the best and most effective ap- was an article about an important eco- of these bills. I am saying that there proach to border security. It is iden- nomic development project in Balti- seems to be a significant double stand- tical to what this Senate passed on a more City on the east side that cannot ard and a significant partisan double bipartisan basis just before Christmas. move forward because HUD can’t proc- standard because what is being com- The second bill that passed the ess the paperwork so it can go forward. plained about today is the same thing House—and I have that right here at We are getting hurt every day. that was fine in 2013—had time to vote my desk as well—would reopen the Senator VAN HOLLEN mentioned the on a couple of district judges as well, other eight Departments of the Federal 800,000 Federal workers. About half are but now there is no time for that. Government for the remainder of the being asked to show up and work every People are saying we shouldn’t vote fiscal year and, importantly, at levels day without a paycheck. The others on this legislation until the govern- that were supported in this Senate on a are being locked out and are being fur- ment is funded. I have said it very bipartisan basis either through votes loughed without pay. People are get- clearly—we need to fund the govern- on this Senate floor or in the Senate ting hurt. ment. What also needs to be very clear Appropriations Committee. The taxpayers of this country expect is how people will vote on this legisla- Both of these bills—H.J. Res. 1 and to be able to get government services tion, to not hide behind the shutdown H.R. 21—are on the Senate calendar. from their agencies, and they can’t get how they would vote on anti-BDS legis- We could bring them up, and we could those services. They are being hurt. lation. vote tonight to end the government Contractors are being hurt, small We have heard the rhetoric. We have shutdown. Then we could have a dis- businesses are being hurt, and our heard the very real comments from not cussion with the President on the best economy is being hurt. fictitious Members of Congress but way to secure our borders. Let’s stop It makes no sense whatsoever. The from actual Members of Congress who holding the entire Nation and 800,000 first order of business should be to take support an anti-Semitic movement. We hard-working Federal employees hos- up these two bills. Let’s put aside what can condemn it today with a simple tage in a disagreement they have noth- is currently pending. Let’s bring up vote to proceed. If people don’t want to ing to do with. these two bills. We can return to that take too much time to debate it, I President Trump did say that he was calendar immediately thereafter. We think everybody knows that it is right going to be proud to shut down the gov- can do that, but let’s make sure we get to support an anti-BDS position. They ernment, and he did it. Every day that these bills passed so we can open gov- know it is right to oppose Assad and goes by in this Senate without a vote ernment now. The Senate should not be his chemical attacks and the other tor- on the House bills to reopen the gov- complicitous in the shutdown that turous actions he has taken against his ernment makes this Senate more and President Trump has caused. Let’s act own people. It is a pretty simple vote more complicit in the shutdown. No in good faith. Let’s open up govern- on this motion to proceed—vote yes; Senator—no Senator—should be con- ment. Let’s negotiate border security. support the underlying legislation. Bi- tracting out their constitutional re- If we can’t get that done quickly, we partisan Members, Republicans and sponsibilities and their votes to the could at least have a continuing resolu- Democrats, just last year supported President of the United States. Let’s tion and continue our debate on border this legislation, voted for this legisla- not be an accomplice to this shutdown. security, but don’t hold the American tion, and I hope they will not let par- Let’s bring up the vote, bring up the people hostage. That is exactly what tisan politics get in the way of doing bill, vote on it now—no business-as- the President of the United States is what is right. usual tonight—and let’s, first of all, do trying to do. Mr. President, I yield the floor. the people’s business and reopen the Mr. President, I yield the floor to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- government. Let’s do it now. Senator WARNER. ator from Maryland. I am proud to now give time to Sen- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, we ator CARDIN, my friend, the senior Sen- ator from Virginia. are now in day 18 of an unnecessary ator from Maryland. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask and shameful government shutdown. I The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- unanimous consent that Senator KAINE am proud to be joined on the floor by ator from Maryland. and I each be permitted to speak for up my colleague and partner, the senior Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I take to 5 minutes prior to the scheduled Senator from Maryland, BEN CARDIN, this time to support what Senator VAN vote. Senator TIM KAINE and Senator WAR- HOLLEN has said. I am here with Sen- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without NER from Virginia, and many of my ators WARNER and KAINE. We have the objection, it is so ordered. colleagues, to say loud and clear that honor of representing Maryland and Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I want the first order of business in this Sen- Virginia in the Senate, where there are to join my colleagues from Maryland ate should be to reopen the Federal so many Federal workers. and my friend, the Senator from Vir- Government because every day that I want to underscore one point Sen- ginia, as well, to speak out on this goes by, more and more Americans are ator VAN HOLLEN made about the two manufactured crisis. losing access to important government bills that are on our calendar that This President is holding 800,000 Fed- services, 800,000 hard-working Federal passed the House. These are not Demo- eral workers hostage, folks who are employees are going without pay and cratic bills; these are bipartisan bills. going to work, some of them without facing mounting monthly bills, 400,000- These are bills that passed this body pay, and others who are furloughed. As plus are working without pay to help just a few weeks ago by unanimous has been mentioned, this is not just af- protect our country, and over 300,000 votes to keep government open as we fecting Federal workers. Senator KAINE are forcibly furloughed. Small busi- continue to negotiate on border secu- and I have been talked to by a number nesses that do contract work for the rity. They deal with appropriations of contractors, small business owners.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.018 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S47 A couple of them are closing their and I have organized a group of more ing contributed to the construction of doors this week because they have now than 15 Democrats who will take the this bill. gone for weeks without being paid. You floor to talk about the effect of the We need to get this important work can’t put a business back together government shutdown in each of our done now, not in a month or two. It is after you have closed its doors. So States. We will talk about the effect on leftover business, as I said, and it is there are 800,000 Federal employees, workers, on families, and on citizens about as unanimous as anything there are contractors, but there is a needing services. I don’t want to repeat around here gets. whole slew of other folks who are al- what I will say in about an hour, but I Now, I understand that there is fric- ready immediately affected. want to address the issue of the vote tion around here at the moment, as my The complete lack of thought this that is now coming before us. good friend from Virginia just talked administration had in this shutdown— The vote is a vote to proceed to a about. But, look, we are the U.S. Sen- they tried to say: We are not going to number of issues that are important to ate. We can walk and we can chew gum make it seem like a shutdown. We are the security of other nations. I am the at the same time. going to leave the parks open. Now we cosponsor of one of bills that is before These issues that are in this bill des- see destruction going on in our parks. us—a U.S.-Israel security assistance perately need our attention, and it is We see in our State that Shenandoah bill—and strongly, strongly support it, disheartening to see that there is going National Park has trash overfilling. We but as passionate as I have been for the to be a vote against this simply be- have the battlefields where people have security of the nation of Israel, I am cause the parties want to focus on just engaged in inappropriate activities. We every bit as passionate about the secu- one issue. That isn’t the issue in front have seen as well a whole slew of busi- rity of the United States, and I think of us. If it were, of course, we could nesses that depend upon a high volume the first business of this Senate should vote that way. of tourist travel during the holidays— be to reopen the Government of the I don’t think there is anybody on this none of that took place. United States. floor that wants to see the government I also wonder whether Donald Trump, I think to take any other action or to who says this is about security—well, shut down. There are a lot of us that focus on any other issue when we have would like to see a smaller govern- if it is about security, we ought to bipartisan bills pending in the Senate make sure our Coast Guard is paid. We ment, a less intrusive government, and that have been supported by our Re- a less regulatory government, but we ought to make sure our TSA agents are publican colleagues that would reopen paid. We are seeing dramatic numbers were elected to govern. We were not government—to skip by those bills and elected to not govern, and it is impor- of folks calling in sick, dramatically push them aside for another 18 days or reducing the ability to maintain secu- tant that we do resolve that. longer—makes absolutely no sense. But in the meantime, we have these rity at our airports, where, frankly, So I will be opposing the motion that important matters left over from the most of our vulnerability on the border is on the floor this evening because the last Congress, and I hope we can move actually takes place. That is going to first business of this body should be to to them and get them done. get exponentially worse after Friday reopen government. when these employees go without a I think of the question that Abraham Israel and Jordan have been steadfast paycheck. Lincoln raised at Gettysburg. He allies and friends of the United States. The fact is, these workers don’t work talked about this Nation dedicated to This legislation reaffirms our strong for Donald Trump; they work for the proposition that all are created friendship with these countries and ex- America. Echoing what my colleague equal and the question about whether tends critical aid to these two allies. said, our first order of business ought any nation dedicated to that propo- Israel and Jordan deserve the support to be making sure we get this govern- sition can long endure. I don’t think and cooperation that this legislation ment reopened. President Lincoln, the founder of the would extend. We should not let them The final point I want to make is modern Republican Party, would have down. this: The heartlessness of this Presi- supported a government shutdown for a Also included in this legislation is dent in his comments about our Fed- year, for a week, for a day, or for a the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection eral workers that somehow they can Act, which very nearly passed in the manage through without a paycheck, minute. This issue that is on the table before us is about the endurance of the full Senate by unanimous consent in that somehow they can negotiate with the closing hours and minutes of the their landlord if they can’t pay their United States Government and giving people confidence in us that we support last Congress. There was only 1 objec- rent—rather than Donald Trump put- tion to it, but 99 Senators agreed to ting on a political show tonight on TV the government’s operation. We should not take up other items this act. and a political trip to the border to- until we take up the bipartisan pro- The Caesar bill declares that it is morrow, I invite the President to come posal before this body and make sure U.S. policy to use all diplomatic and anywhere in Virginia, Maryland, or the that the government of the United economic means to compel the govern- District and sit down with Federal em- States is funded and that people are ment of Bashar al-Assad to stop the ployees and explain this crisis and why protected. slaughter of the Syrian people and to they are not getting paid. I yield the floor. work toward a democratic government. So my hope is that, echoing what our S. 1 Sanctions are an important tool of Senators from Maryland have said, the U.S. foreign policy. Carefully designed Senate shouldn’t be complicit in this. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ator from Idaho. sanctions allow the United States to We need to reopen the government. If create the conditions to influence deci- we want to negotiate additional border Mr. RISCH. Mr. President and fellow Senators, I rise today to present S. 1, sion-making and serve U.S. national security, I am all for it, but not hold- security interests without having to ing hostage, literally, our Federal em- the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019. implement additional military meas- ployees and countless others. ures and put U.S. troops in harm’s way. I yield to the Senator from Virginia. It is really a compilation of three The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- bills, addressing three different issues The sanctions method has been par- ator from Virginia. in the Middle East. It is left over from ticularly effective in some very impor- Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, before I the last Congress, the 115th. tant situations. begin, I ask unanimous consent that It is fitting that the first piece of leg- The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection following my remarks, Senator RISCH islation on the Senate floor in the Act includes strong financial sanctions be permitted to speak for up to 5 min- 116th Congress is made up of bills that to target those individuals responsible utes. have previously enjoyed the support of in the Assad regime for the terrible The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there my colleagues on both sides of the loss of life and destruction in Syria. objection? aisle. This is a bipartisan piece of legis- Further, it extends sanctions to those Without objection, it is so ordered. lation—all three of them that are put who would support the Syrian regime’s Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, tonight together in this bill—with many Sen- actions in the war in Syria, such as following this vote, Senator SHAHEEN ators from both sides of the aisle hav- Iran and Russia.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.020 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S48 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 In order for us to bring a permanent [Rollcall Vote No. 1 Leg.] REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF THE I–75 defeat of ISIS, which necessitates get- YEAS—56 COLLISION NEAR GAINESVILLE, FL ting Iran out of Syria, we should en- Alexander Gardner Perdue Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I rise courage politically negotiated solu- Barrasso Graham Portman to speak in memory of five children tions that will bring major change to Blackburn Grassley Risch from Louisiana, my home State, who Blunt Hawley Roberts were tragically killed in an awful car the current Syrian regime structure. Boozman Hoeven Romney wreck last Thursday in Florida—Jere- With nearly 500,000 killed in Syria, Braun Hyde-Smith Rounds this legislation is deserved, and it is Burr Inhofe Rubio miah Warren, 14; Joel Cloud, 14; Cara Capito Isakson Sasse Descant, 13; Brieanna Descant, 10; and long overdue. We must exert maximum Cassidy Johnson Scott (FL) Cierra Bordelon, 9 years old—all from pressure in coordination with our allies Collins Jones Scott (SC) Cornyn Kennedy Marksville, LA, a small town of less and friends to bring the Syrian dic- Shelby tator, Assad, and his Iranian friends Cotton Lankford than 6,000 people. Cramer Lee Sinema All of the children were members of and their allies to account. Sullivan Crapo Manchin the Avoyelles House of Mercy Church It is my hope that the Senate can Cruz McSally Thune move to this bill and take up this im- Daines Menendez Tillis family. They were traveling together Toomey portant legislation with its three- Enzi Moran in a van with four other children and Ernst Murkowski Wicker three women from the House of Mercy pronged approach that supports our Fischer Paul Young important allies. Let’s not let these al- Church while on their way to Disney NAYS—44 lies down. World. A tractor-trailer that was trav- Again, I come back to I understand Baldwin Harris Rosen eling in the opposite direction hit a car Bennet Hassan Sanders that there is some friction here on that crossed the highway, hit their van Blumenthal Heinrich Schatz and another 18-wheeler, and created a other issues that we should be address- Booker Hirono Schumer ball of fire. The drivers in the two trac- ing, but right now the vote is this: Do Brown Kaine Shaheen Cantwell King tor-trailers died as well—Steve Holland you or do you not support the allies Smith Cardin Klobuchar Stabenow of Florida and Douglas Bolkema of New and the civilian population of Syria, Carper Leahy Tester Casey Markey Mexico. We include them in our pray- who are being slaughtered in the fash- Udall Coons McConnell ers. ion that they have? Van Hollen Cortez Masto Merkley Losing five children is such a dev- Warner My fellow Senators, I urge an affirm- Duckworth Murphy astating tragedy for the Marksville ative vote on this good piece of legisla- Durbin Murray Warren Feinstein Peters Whitehouse community. One can hardly imagine tion. Wyden the grief and shock that grips everyone I yield the floor. Gillibrand Reed The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this who knew them—their neighbors, CLOTURE MOTION friends, family, and fellow church The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. vote, the yeas are 56, the nays are 44. Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- members. RUBIO). Pursuant to rule XXII, the Pastor Eric Descant said: ‘‘I cried so sen and sworn not having voted in the Chair lays before the Senate the pend- much this morning that my tears felt affirmative, the motion is rejected. ing cloture motion, which the clerk like lava running out of a volcano.’’ The majority leader. will state. His granddaughters Brieanna and Cara Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I The legislative clerk read as follows: died in the crash. His wife, Karen, is enter a motion to reconsider the vote. CLOTURE MOTION still hospitalized. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mo- During a Monday night vigil at We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- tion is entered. ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Marksville High’s stadium, Pastor Des- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby f cant spoke to the crowd over the PA move to bring to a close debate on the mo- system by phone from Florida. He said: tion to proceed to Calendar No. 1, S. 1, a bill CLOTURE MOTION ‘‘I never knew a heart could break so to make improvements to certain defense Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I much and still work.’’ and security assistance provisions and to au- send a cloture motion to the desk on He also delivered an important re- thorize the appropriation of funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan De- the motion to proceed. minder that even in the midst of such fense Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- immense heartache and loss, ‘‘God will wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, ture motion having been presented get the glory out of it.’’ and for other purposes. under rule XXII, the Chair directs the He added: Don’t stop. Keep praying. Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, John clerk to read the motion. I know so many around Louisiana Barrasso, Cory Gardner, John Hoeven, The senior assistant legislative clerk and the country are doing just that. Mike Rounds, Mike Crapo, Roy Blunt, read as follows: We are also praying for the full re- Tom Cotton, John Boozman, John Cor- covery of those who were injured and CLOTURE MOTION nyn, John Thune, Roger F. Wicker, who are still hospitalized: Karen Des- We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Marco Rubio, Bill Cassidy, Shelley cant, Robyn Rattay, Amy Joffrion and Moore Capito. ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the her 14-year-old son Noah, Ali Laborde The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the mo- and her 11-year-old daughter Chelsea, imous consent, the mandatory quorum tion to proceed to Calendar No. 1, S.1, a bill and two other children, 9-year-old call has been waived. to make improvements to certain defense Trinity Woodward and 9-year-old The question is, Is it the sense of the and security assistance provisions and to au- Chance Bernard. Senate that debate on the motion to thorize the appropriation of funds to Israel, We are sincerely grateful to the peo- proceed to S. 1, an act to make im- to reauthorize the United States-Jordan De- ple in Florida who assisted the victims provements to certain defense and se- fense Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the and their families—the first respond- wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, curity assistance provisions and to au- ers, law enforcement, everyone at thorize the appropriation of funds to and for other purposes. Mitch McConnell, John Hoeven, Roger F. Health Shands Hospital, North Florida Israel, to reauthorize the United Wicker, John Cornyn, Rick Scott, Mitt Regional Medical Center, and the States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act Romney, Cory Gardner, Marco Rubio, Pentecostals of Gainesville. of 2015, and to halt the wholesale John Thune, Chuck Grassley, Todd To those around the country who slaughter of the Syrian people, and for Young, John Barrasso, Deb Fischer, have heard about this tragedy and have other purposes, shall be brought to a Lindsey Graham, Johnny Isakson, donated money through GoFundMe, close? James E. Risch, John Boozman. thank you for your generosity, support, The yeas and nays are mandatory Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous and prayers. under the rule. consent that the mandatory quorum To my fellow Louisianans, I remind The clerk will call the roll. call be waived. you of what Scripture says in Psalm 34: The legislative clerk called the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ‘‘The Lord is near to the broken- The yeas and nays resulted: yeas 56, objection, it is so ordered. hearted, and saves the crushed in spir- nays 44, as follows: The Senator from Louisiana. it.’’

VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.022 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S49 I yield the floor. a good time. I am going to say it again. where people are not getting paychecks The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- If I make it to Heaven, the first ques- and citizens are not being served, is be- ator from Louisiana. tion I am going to ask is, Why do bad neath what we should aspire to as f things happen to good people? For now, Americans and certainly as U.S. Sen- I just pray that these families will find ators. MORNING BUSINESS the strength they need to go on and Finally, before I yield to my col- Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask that all the injured are healed quickly. league from New Hampshire, the shut- unanimous consent that the Senate be Thank you. down is painful. There are statistics in a period of morning business, with I suggest the absence of a quorum. about the numbers affected during the Senators permitted to speak therein The PRESIDING OFFICER. The shutdown. Others may get into the sta- for up to 10 minutes each. clerk will call the roll. tistics; I just want to share stories be- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without The senior assistant legislative clerk cause Virginians are reaching out to objection, it is so ordered. proceeded to call the roll. Senator WARNER and me and sharing f Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I ask their stories with us. unanimous consent that the order for REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF Allen is a veteran and a Federal civil the quorum call be rescinded. servant in Yorktown, VA. He has been THE I–75 COLLISION NEAR The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without GAINESVILLE, FL working without pay since the shut- objection, it is so ordered. down began. He wrote to our office say- Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want GOVERNMENT FUNDING ing that his emergency savings are ex- to take a few minutes to join my col- Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise, to- hausted, he is behind on his bills, and league, Senator CASSIDY, to talk about gether with a number of colleagues the situation will not get any better as the unspeakable tragedy that happened who will follow me tonight, to talk long as his Agency is unfunded. I will last Thursday near Gainesville, FL, about the need to end the Trump shut- repeat that. Allen is a veteran who vol- when a large tractor-trailer crashed down and to reopen the government of untarily served the military, this coun- into a car, crossed into oncoming traf- the greatest Nation on Earth. I am try, and this is how this President is fic, and struck a church van that was glad to have so many colleagues here treating him. bound for Disney World. who each will share the stories that Joanna is from Woodbridge, VA. She I wish I understood why bad things have been experienced by folks living wrote to me saying that she doesn’t happen to good people. There were five in our States regarding a shutdown know what she will do if she doesn’t kids—five youngsters—from Marks- that has now gone on for 18 days and get paid by the end of the month, as ville, LA, who lost their lives in that will soon become the longest shutdown her family ‘‘can’t afford to miss a sin- terrible collision. They were Joel Cloud in the history of the U.S. Government. gle paycheck.’’ She writes that ‘‘even a and Jeremiah Warren, both 14 years The shutdown is unnecessary, the slight decrease’’ in her pay means her old; Cara Descant, aged 13; Brieanna shutdown is embarrassing, and the family cannot afford their rent. Descant, aged 10; and Cierra Bordelon, shutdown is painful. It is unnecessary. A family from Culpeper wrote to me aged 9. These five youngsters were Why punish American workers? Why wondering how they will feed their members of the United Pentecostal punish American citizens? No patriotic children and pay their mortgage with- Church in Marksville, LA. They were leader in their right mind would want out being paid for their service to our five beautiful lives, full of potential, to do that. government. They say that if this shut- who were gone before their time. It is The thing that is so troubling about down goes on for a month or more, heartbreaking, and there are, simply, this shutdown is that the over- they will have to worry about losing no words. whelming majority of people who are their home. I will say it again. I wish I under- affected are not connected to the dis- Michael and Chris, two Federal em- stood why bad things happen to good pute between Congress and the Presi- ployees in Annandale, have three kids, people. I can’t imagine any greater suf- dent over immigration reform and bor- two in college. They are going to have fering than a parent’s being asked to der security. Why should that dispute to miss their kids’ tuition payments bury a child. The love of a child is not lead to farmers not being able to reach that are due for the semester this like the love for a parent or a spouse or their extension agents? Why should month. If the shutdown continues, they a sibling. That is deep love. Yet, as my that dispute lead to small businesses are not sure whether they will be able late father used to tell me, ‘‘Son, you not getting their small business loan to make their mortgage payment. will never, ever understand love until applications processed? Why should a James is a furloughed Federal em- you have a child.’’ I can’t think of any dispute about immigration block the ployee from Fredericksburg. He says he greater suffering than to ask a parent courts of DC from issuing marriage li- is the ‘‘sole breadwinner’’ for his fam- to bury his or her child. censes to people? ily. He tells me a shutdown that goes I want to tell each of these kids’ fam- The President praying for, urging, into months would spell financial ruin ilies, the United Pentecostal Church in and then being proud of a shutdown is for his family and others. Marksville, the whole community in hurting all kinds of people who are A Virginian from Haymarket wrote Marksville, and the Avoyelles Parish completely unconnected with the issue me and told me that her loved one is a that the entire State of Louisiana in dispute between Congress and the Federal employee who is working with- grieves with you and that you are in President. In that sense, it is unneces- out pay. She had to postpone a nec- our prayers. sary. essary medical procedure because their The Marksville van was carrying Second, it is unnecessary because family could no longer cover the costs some very precious cargo. In total, there are bills on the floor right now of copays for testing and surgery. there were 12 passengers: 3 women—one that would solve this—bills that are bi- Teresa is a Federal employee from of whom is pregnant—and 9 children. partisan, bills that were supported by Springfield. She is worried about pay- There were survivors—thank you, the Presiding Officer and other Repub- ing her mortgage, utilities, food and Lord—but many of the survivors were lican colleagues in the Chamber just a more, but most of all, she is worried gravely injured, and I pray that they few weeks ago. If we took action right about the health of her son, Tommy. all have a swift and full recovery. now, we could stop the punishment. We Tommy has a disability. She writes: I want to express my sympathies to could end the pain—the gratuitous Because of his medical fragility, the families of the two drivers who died pain—that is affecting American fami- Tommy must have numerous prescrip- in that accident. I also thank the first lies and workers. tion medications; therefore, there are responders who put themselves at risk The shutdown is unnecessary. The copays to pay. Missing a single dose every day to try to save lives during shutdown is embarrassing. This is the could land him in the ICU. President these catastrophes. United States of America. This is the Trump needs to stop holding Federal There are no words to describe this greatest Nation on Earth. The fact that employees hostage. When I start miss- tragic accident. It happened far too we are in an 18-day shutdown of crit- ing paychecks, Tommy is possibly close to the holidays, but there is never ical components of our government, jeopardized in his own life.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.027 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S50 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 Finally, John—a NASA contractor pact on them. Last year, New Hamp- realization of not being able to pay my mort- from Virginia—and his wife, who also shire dairy farmers lost $1 million be- gage, credit cards from Christmastime, and works for the same Agency, have lost cause of the tariffs, and our farmers now this funeral is too much to bear. Air traffic control is a very stressful pro- 100 percent of their household income tell me they are in danger of losing fession, but I am proud to be able to do it since President Trump’s shutdown several million more this coming year. and work with such a group of professionals started. Get this: Their daughter, who So they can’t afford to have another who come to work and are dedicated to safe- lives at home, is a schoolteacher, and hit. ty in the National Airspace System. My col- it is their schoolteacher daughter who The fact that this new dairy safety leagues and I deserve better. is helping pay for the parents’ expenses net program, which was passed in the Please end the government shutdown im- mediately! during this shutdown. farm bill—and congratulations to Sen- DORA (Bedford, NH). The shutdown is unnecessary. The ator STABENOW, the ranking member of shutdown is embarrassing. The shut- the Agriculture Committee. She and DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, As an Air Traffic down is painful. We need to end the Senator ROBERTS did a great job pro- Controller and constituent, I want you to Trump shutdown and reopen the gov- viding help for the first time for so know how the partial government shutdown ernment. many dairy farmers. Even though they is affecting me. For the last two weeks, air With that, I yield the floor to my col- are hurting because of the tariffs, those traffic controllers have remained on the job, league from New Hampshire. farmers can’t benefit from that right dedicated to the safety of every flight. But now because the program’s implemen- we don’t know when we will receive our next The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- paycheck. My colleagues and I have suffered ator from New Hampshire. tation has been delayed. They don’t the sudden loss of our income due to the gov- Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am know how long they will be able to ernment shutdown. My husband is a fire- pleased to join my colleague Senator hold on before they are able to get fighter/EMT in Londonderry. We both have KAINE and so many others who are here help. very important and stressful jobs and take on the floor today to talk about the Furloughs have also slowed work at our responsibility for public safety very seri- hardship that has been created for so the Office of National Drug Control ously. We have a home, a mortgage and are Policy and the programs it oversees trying to start a family and the stress of not many Americans by this government knowing when I will receive my paycheck is shutdown—a government shutdown that are integral to New Hampshire’s effort to fight the deadly opioid epi- a heavy burden to bear. Many of my col- that is wasteful, unnecessary, and to- leagues had to cancel vacation time over the tally about politics. demic. Everybody who is getting ready holidays and miss out on time with their Today is the 17th day since this par- to speak has seen the effects in their family out of concern that they would not be tisan brinkmanship shut down 9 out of States because of the delays in these reimbursed for time off that they worked 15 Departments and dozens of govern- programs. Last year, New Hampshire hard to earn It is not too much to ask to get paid for ment Agencies that we depend on to had the second highest rate of deaths due to opioid-related drug overdoses. the time we are required to show up and protect our health and safety. work our hardest five days a week. We could reopen the government’s Continued delays from the Agency will Many air traffic facilities are already criti- doors today if Senate Republicans take pull the rug out from under our first cally staffed with many having scheduled 6 up the bills that were passed by the responders, who rely on ONDCP re- day work weeks. In our building, we cur- House—bills that were written and sources and critical Federal opioid re- rently have 6 employees whose training is at overwhelmingly approved by the Re- sponse efforts. Just as we are beginning a standstill because their trainers are non- to see some progress in fighting the essential contractors. publican-controlled Senate just a few Senator Shaheen, I truly appreciate your weeks ago. opioid epidemic because of the work of time and beg you to do all you can to end If there is bipartisan and bicameral Congress, we are seeing steps taken this shutdown immediately. agreement on the appropriations bills, that move us backward. Sincerely, then why has the government shut Of course, there are the air traffic SARAH (Deerfield, NH). down? Sadly, it is because the Presi- controllers. Last Friday, I visited with dent wants to force American tax- New Hampshire’s air traffic controllers DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, As an Air Traffic Controller, I want to you to know how the payers to foot the bill for an ineffective to discuss how the shutdown is affect- ing their operations and safety at our government shutdown is affecting my family and costly wall on the southern bor- and I. My husband and I are both Air Traffic der—a wall which the President prom- airports. I have received 38 hand- Controllers and are extremely proud of what ised Mexico would pay for and which is written letters from New Hampshire we do. However, not knowing when we will opposed by the majority of Americans. air traffic controllers who are opposed get paid puts a log of stress on us in addition Meanwhile, the men and women who to the shutdown. to an already stressful environment that we work in Agencies that protect the (Mr. DAINES assumed the Chair.) work in. I myself am in training at A90 and American people and who protect our Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- this shutdown has the possibility of delaying sent that these letters be printed in the my final rating, which means a pay raise. borders are either not working or on Bills do not stop and we are both out of a the job but not getting paid. In total, RECORD. There being no objection, the mate- paycheck. This puts a huge burden on my more than 380,000 Federal employees rial was ordered to be printed in the family and I. Please end the government have been furloughed, and more than shutdown. RECORD, as follows: 450,000 are working without pay. Sincerely, This shutdown affects the entire DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, My name is Dara MICHELLE (Pelham, NH). and I have been an air traffic controller with country, including New Hampshire. It the FAA for close to 19 years. I am writing DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, Thank you so is not just the thousands of Federal this letter to express my concern about our much for all the hard work you are doing on workers who are affected by the shut- current government shutdown. my behalf to end this harmful government down; it is also harming millions of On Christmas Eve, my dear mother passed shutdown. Americans who depend on essential away. Ever since I was a child I have been It was a pleasure to meet with you yester- services provided by the affected Agen- taking care of her since she was permanently day and discuss my concerns with the shut- disabled from Multiple Sclerosis. The day be- cies, people like those Senator KAINE down. As an Air Traffic Controller and Presi- fore Thanksgiving she was diagnosed with dent of Boston TRACON NATCA, located in described. metastatic cancer and was given 3–6 months Last Friday, I had a chance to meet Merrimack, NH, I was able to discuss with to live. When she passed I was devastated! I you firsthand how the shutdown is harmful with farmers in New Hampshire who had to call people on Christmas Day to tell to my coworkers and the FAA as a whole. are affected by the ongoing closure of them the news. That was so hard. I had to Please keep up the fight to end the shut- the Department of Agriculture’s Farm contact the funeral parlor down in NJ (that’s down. Service Agency. They are not receiving where we’re from) to coordinate a burial. I Sincerely, the essential services and loans they had to take 3 days off to make it work. But CURT (Merrimack, NH). need to prepare for spring planting. I still worked during this difficult time on DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, I am writing to Many dairy farmers, who have been Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the 26th. I also ended up having to pay thousands you today to share with you the effect the under extreme hardship anyway be- of dollars for her funeral. government shutdown has had on my family. cause of the tariffs with China and fall- Honestly, this government shutdown has I’m married to someone who is older and re- ing dairy prices, talked about the im- been the last thing on my mind. But now the tired, so his income is considerably less than

VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.029 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S51 mine. We have two small children and own a brief fleeting moment I actually thought may convince eligible controllers to retire or home in Merrimack, NH. We not only have a about fuel for my truck. I had fuel and have make others decide to seek other employ- mortgage to pay, but other bills for heat and resources for more for now, but I need to ment. The number of fully certified air traf- utilities and my car. This shutdown has been keep driving to work without pay. I did go fic controllers is now at a 30-year low. extremely stressful, more than the others I down to check up on her and she came home Please end the shutdown immediately. have worked through. The current adminis- last night thankfully. I do despise the fact Sincerely, tration has been so unpredictable as well as however that the thought of not going even TODD (Manchester, NH). volatile, it’s an actual thought that this crossed my mind. Starting next week I have could drag out for months and that non-es- to start looking for a second job to offset DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, As an Air Traffic sential friends and family that are currently some of the losses. I will have 16 years of Controller and constituent, I want you to furloughed will not receive pay. This shut- government service at 3 different air traffic know how the partial government shutdown down is unfair to the dedicated and profes- facilities in March. is affecting me. sional government employees, not just my- I humbly request your assistance in ending self and the other air traffic controllers. the government shutdown and returning In the past year my in-laws have moved in I am asking you to please end the shut- some normality to our house hold. with my family. My father-in-law lost his job down. Please re-open the government and Sincerely, and him and his wife were no longer able to allow us to work knowing we will earn our JAMES (Nashua, NH). afford living on their own. The extra finan- paychecks again. cial burden with the combination of the gov- Sincerely, DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, First and fore- ernment shutdown is going to make it hard LISA (Merrimack, NH). most, I want to thank you for taking the for me to meet my financial obligations. time to read my letter. During times of a Please end the shutdown immediately! DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, I am writing you government shutdown, federal employees (ei- SHANE (Bedford, NH). today to share the impact the government ther furloughed or working without pay) feel like no one is actively listening to their sto- shutdown is having on me and more impor- DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, I appreciate your tantly my family. First, I would like to tell ries. With that in mind, thank you for hear- efforts for our state and country. At this you a little about my wife and I. We were ing what I have to say. I am a single mother of three, and I thank time I feel it is vital that you understand the high school sweethearts and have been mar- impact that Washington politics is having on ried almost 15 years. While Kelly is not per- God every day for the job that I have. My ca- reer as an air traffic controller has enabled my family and friends. The inability for our fect, she is perfect for me. Kelly struggles elected officials to find common ground and with and is receiving treatment for anxiety me to take care of my children and afford to give them opportunities that many families demonstrate leadership is disheartening to and depression. Due to childhood trauma, say the least. It is time for our elected offi- she struggles with uncertainty. In previous cannot afford. I have two girls attending out of state colleges. One is at Purdue University cials to put politics aside and put people as shutdowns the not knowing causes stress and their priority. Our federal workforce has strife. Even the anticipation of a possible studying Airport management, the other at University of South Carolina studying Polit- good men and women with a strong desire to shutdown raises her anxiety so I have started place the needs of this country first, yet our to keep them to myself and not tell her until ical Science. My son, 14, is in middle school and actively engaged in sports. elected officials are preventing this. Please the last possible moment to save her the an- end this shutdown now and allow us to do guish. It has been over two weeks with no Some days, when I feel the stress of bills pilling on, I feel guilty because I have a our jobs. end in sight and this wreaking havoc on our GERALD (Brookline, NH). relationship. great job, make a really good salary, and Next I would like to tell you about my two have great benefits. However in the end, no daughters. My oldest Kaley is 13, a bright matter how much any of us make, we all HON. SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN, I would honor roll student athlete. Kaley has been have bills and responsibilities. I work for the like to first thank you for reaching out and having gastrointestinal issues for a few years sole purpose of earning a wage to support my meeting with our NATCA legislative leader- and just had her second endoscopy last family. This government shutdown has left ship team yesterday. They do so much work, month. Even with FEHB coverage the proce- me worried. I called one of my creditors and on their own time, to help support all the air dures are not free. We have a follow up with they were not sympathetic at all. I’m wor- traffic controllers throughout New England. her G.I. tomorrow. I find myself hoping she ried about using credit cards and being As a constituent directly impacted by this won’t need major medical treatments as charged a high interest rate and yet, life still government shutdown, I would like you to money is starting to get tight. happens. Food needs to be put on the table, stress to all colleagues, Democrat or Repub- Next would be my other daughter Savanna. cars need to run, and my daughter’s rent at lican, that this has and will continue to put She is 10 and like her mom suffers from anx- college still needs to be paid. Unfortunately, an undo stress upon me and my family. As an iety. Like her mother, I have also tried to everything goes on except my paycheck. air traffic controller, with one of the most shield her from this so she won’t worry be- Holding federal employees paychecks ‘‘hos- stressful jobs in the world, the last thing cause no 10–year-old should have to. Unfortu- tage’’ should never be an option in the midst that I need is to worry about when I’m going nately, the time where I can protect her of Congressional funding arguments. The to receive my next check for work. I’ve been from this is drawing to a close as this week ironic thing about it is that I am ‘‘paying performing at a professional and safe level I will have to inform her dance studio that I the price’’ and I am not even receiving a pay- that is expected won’t be able to afford February’s tuition. I check! I understand that everyone has an In the weeks leading up to the shutdown, know dance classes can seem frivolous in the opinion on border security. I would hope that and knowing that it was almost certain it grand scheme of things, but they are her out- 100% of Congress (and the President) agree would happen, my federal coworkers and I let, her freedom, and her happiness. I hope that employees of the federal government raised over $12,000 in donations in the South- and pray for accommodation and under- should not be a pawn in this matter. ern New Hampshire area. This included 200 I hope that you and your fellow members standing from a N.H. small business owner to gifts and gift cards, totaling over $18,000 to of Congress can come to an agreement to let allow her to continue without payment. An- the Nashua Children’s Home and $4,020 do- federal employees go back to work, get paid, other Savanna story for you, she has sensory nated to Family Promise of Greater Nashua and feel safe knowing that their family needs issues and through therapy is finally learn- at Anne Marie House. We will continue to are being met. ing how to voice them. About a week before contribute to our communities but please Sincerely, Christmas while tucking her into bed, I jok- bring an end to this shutdown immediately. SHERRI (Hollis, NH). ingly asked her why she had 9, yes 9 blankets Thank you for your time, on her bed. Her response was a big break DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN, As an air traffic EVERETT (Bedford, NH). through for us. ‘‘Dad, I like the weight of it. controller and a constituent, I want you to It helps me calm down.’’ That Saturday we know how the partial government shutdown THE HON. SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN, As an were finishing up our Christmas shopping for is affecting me and my colleagues. air traffic controller and constituent, I want mom and I took her into Yogibo at the The lack of paid leave means missing time you to know how the partial government Pheasantland mall. They have weighted with the family. It means coming to work at shutdown is affecting me. For the last two blankets and I let her try it out. ‘‘Oooh dad, a stressful job when you might not feel at weeks, air traffic controllers have remained this is nice.’’ Well, those N.H.-made blankets your best. It means not being able to plan on the job, dedicated to the safety of every are $80. Normally, a purchase would have time off to get my car fixed or get that new flight. But, we don’t know when we will re- been made that day. Unfortunately, that was furniture delivered during the week. ceive our next paycheck. My colleagues and the eve of the shutdown, and Savanna is still The world of air traffic is constantly evolv- I have suffered the sudden loss of our income waiting patiently for dad’s next check. ing. New and revised rules and procedures due to the government shutdown. It’s going Lastly, how has this affected me? I put my- are a constant. The lack of support personnel self last as I normally do with the girls. It to be hard for me to meet all of my financial means that eventually those changes could obligations. pains me to watch them go through this. be missed and safety compromised. Furthermore, I was faced with a thought The lack of training in classrooms and Please end the shutdown immediately! that would never have come up normally. simulators means an already short-staffed ANDRE (Derry, NH). Thursday night my 64–year-old mother was controller workforce will continue to shrink rushed to the emergency room in Brockton, and controllers will not be able to progress THE HON. SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN, I am MA, about an hour away from Nashua. For a in their careers. Eventually the lack of pay currently working at Boston TRACON for

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.007 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S52 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 the FAA. For the past thirty years I have excused if they are missing only one source duties cases that help ensure our com- been providing air traffic services for the of income, even buying simple groceries or panies are competing on a level playing United States. For the first nine and half paying for childcare becomes difficult for a field. years I was serving the country in the Air family when all sources of income have been Finally, this shutdown, like all shut- Force during Operations Desert Storm and stopped and you are required to continue downs, is going to put a lasting burden Desert Shield. working. on the economy. The 16-day shutdown I am a one income family that relies on my Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- federal paycheck. I have two children, one in 2013 cost the government $2.5 billion that is planning on going to college in the sent to have Chris’s letter printed in in pay and benefits, and it lowered upcoming year. That being said, I should be the RECORD. fourth-quarter gross domestic product financially planning to pay for her college, There being no objection, the mate- for the country by about $3 billion in not my mortgage! While the Congress is cele- rial was ordered to be printed in the lost output. brating, high fiving each other, I’m won- RECORD, as follows: dering, How will I meet my financial obliga- The 2018 Trump shutdown has fur- AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERN- tions. Please help end this nonsense soon. loughed about 380,000 employees, near- MENT EMPLOYEES COUNCIL OF Sincerely, ly half of the number furloughed in PRISON LOCALS, LOCAL #2008, DOUGLASS (New Boston, NH). 2013. So it is fair to say that the shut- Berlin, NH. Mrs. SHAHEEN. Air traffic control- DEAR SENATOR SHAHEEN: My name is Chris down has already cost the government lers keep our airways safe, but, as we Allen and I am the President of AFGE Local at least $1 billion, and the number is all know, they are being asked to work 2008. 1 represent 180 staff members at the growing every day. The toll this shut- long shifts without being sure they are Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, down is taking on the American people going to get paid for that work. One air NH. Today I write to you with great concern was completely avoidable. That is what traffic controller I heard from was re- for these federal employees. As you are is so frustrating, and I know it is frus- aware, these staff members are currently trating to everybody in this Chamber. cently transferred to the Boston area, being affected by the current lapse in fund- which is covered in New Hampshire. Last week, the House passed legisla- ing for the Justice Department. Every staff tion to reopen the government that is She is the sole provider to her mother. member employed at FCI Berlin is consid- Now she is paying not only her mort- ered ‘‘excepted’’ and are required to report virtually identical to legislation that gage but her mother’s mortgage. for work without being paid at this time. passed the Senate or was reported by In a letter she addressed to my office, Next week, on January 17, 2019, which would the Appropriations Committee with she wrote: have been our next scheduled pay day, we strong bipartisan margins. In fact, As a sole source of income to my house- will be missing our first full pay check. here, as we remember, that continuing hold, the foreseeable future of this shutdown We are fortunate to have some banks will- resolution to allow us to keep negoti- is detrimental. . . . [It has created] a sub- ing to lend a helping hand to employees dur- ating passed by a voice vote. stantial burden on not just me but the thou- ing this difficult time. However, it hasn’t I urge Senator MCCONNELL to bring sands of federal employees it’s impacting. been a save all either. Staff members are these bills to the floor. Let President running into issues with banks asking for Sadly, the shutdown also stands to documentation that they are truly fur- Trump decide to sign them or not sign affect the safety of air travel—not be- loughed and guaranteed to be paid when the them. He can make that choice as cause our air traffic controllers aren’t shutdown ends. With no firm date that the President, but we are a separate branch on the job. They are on the job. They shutdown could be resolved and no legisla- of government, and it is up to us to are doing the work even though they tion in place to guarantee they will be paid make the determination to end the are not getting paid. But the fact is, in the end, banks are giving staff a harder shutdown immediately and to do what men and women who provide adminis- time while they are applying for loans at a is right for the American people. We trative and maintenance functions on 0% interest rate. The other fear is that the need to ensure that all government em- shutdown continues past one or two pay peri- ployees affected by the shutdown re- the runway—those people who fix ods. Many of the banks are only offering equipment when it stops working, who short term loans equal to only one or two ceive the pay they deserve. I know are in the control tower and at airport pay checks. If the shutdown continues, there is legislation, led by Senators facilities—they will not be at work to banks are undecided on whether future low CARDIN and COLLINS, to do that. I urge support our air traffic controllers. So or no interest loans will be continued for our Congress to take up and pass this crit- when a runway or taxiway light goes staff. ical legislation as soon as possible. dark, it is going to go unrepaired. That We also have a number of families working One of the most fundamental con- jeopardizes the safety and the effi- at FCI Berlin that have two incomes coming stitutional duties of Congress is the ap- ciency of aviation operations. from the Justice Department. While some propriations process—to supply annual staff members may have a significant other funds for Federal programs that sup- Then there are the impacts to those being paid from outside the government, Agencies that are funded by the Com- many of our families are now missing two port national defense, transportation, merce-Justice-Science appropriations sources of income. While some staff members small businesses, food assistance for bill. I understand this particularly well can call and potentially have a mortgage or low-income families, research and de- as the ranking member on the CJS car payment excused if they are missing only velopment, and so much more. Right Subcommittee of Appropriations. I one source of income, even buying simple now, by refusing to allow legislation to know what a devastating effect this groceries or paying for childcare becomes reopen the government, this Senate— shutdown is having on these Agencies. difficult for a family when all sources of in- this Congress—is failing, and millions More than 41,000 law enforcement come have been stopped and you are required of Americans are suffering as a result. to continuing working. agents of the Department of Justice— I ask you and your colleagues in Wash- I urge President Trump, Senator including agents within the FBI, the ington to please keep the excepted staff of MCCONNELL, and congressional Repub- Drug Enforcement Administration, and FCI Berlin in mind during this time of shut- licans to reopen the government and the Bureau of Prisons—are working for down so they can be paid for the professional allow Americans to get back to work. IOUs. We are hearing this directly in work they do day in and day out to keep our I yield the floor. New Hampshire, where every staff communities safe. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise member at the Federal Correctional In- Sincerely, today out of deep frustration with the stitution in Berlin, NH, which is in CHRIS ALLEN, Trump administration’s treatment of northern New Hampshire, is excepted. President, AFGE Local 2008. Federal workers due to the government That means they are required to report Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, be- shutdown. for work, and they are not being paid. cause of the shutdown, the Department It has been 17 days since more than I would like to read an excerpt from of Commerce is not processing U.S. 380,000 Federal workers were fur- a letter I received from Chris Allen. companies’ requests to be excluded loughed and more than 450,000 began Chris is the president of the union at from the President’s steel and alu- working without pay. FCI Berlin, which represents 180 staff minum tariffs. That delay will cost Once upon a time, we were told that members. He highlighted the kinds of companies millions of dollars and will Mexico would pay for the President’s choices staff members are being forced increase economic uncertainty. The border wall. Now the President is de- to make. He said: shutdown is also preventing the De- manding taxpayers cough up more than While some staff members can call and po- partment of Commerce from assessing $5 billion, and he is holding our Federal tentially have a mortgage or a car payment new anti-dumping and countervailing workers hostage until he gets it.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.008 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S53 At first the President tried to paint Federal workers aren’t in this busi- to catch a plane, I had a press con- Federal workers and contractors as po- ness to get rich; they are public serv- ference and brought four of these TSA litical actors. Now he imagines that ants who often forgo higher pay in the agents in to explain what has happened Federal workers are actually cheering private sector to serve their country. to them and what will happen this him on. Dishonoring this sacrifice with a coming weekend because, you see, this But rather than imagining what Fed- shutdown, with a pay freeze, and with is showdown weekend for these employ- eral workers are going through, I en- the President’s utter indifference to ees. President Trump’s shutdown of the courage the President and my Repub- our Federal workers is a national dis- Federal Government will mean that for lican colleagues to listen to the first- grace. the first time this coming weekend, hand accounts of how this shutdown is It is having a devastating effect on these employees of the Transportation affecting the real families caught up in morale and the Federal Government’s Security Agency are not going to re- it. ability to recruit and retain talent. ceive a paycheck. They show up for Here are some of the messages I have Here is how Joanna, a DHS employee work every day. They have to. They received from Virginians whose fami- from Woodbridge, put it: ‘‘I love my are known as essential personnel, lies are experiencing significant finan- job, but being a pawn for those who which means our government has de- cial hardship because of this Presi- have no compassion for me or those I cided we can’t really function as a na- dent’s shutdown. work beside is going to drive me and tion without them. Yet our govern- Rebecca in Chesapeake writes: ‘‘. . . I many, many others out of public serv- ment has decided—at least in the just want my husband to be able to go ice.’’ White House—that as important as back to the work he loves and to have At a time when the share of Federal they may be, as essential as they may stability for my family returned . . . employees eligible for retirement is ex- be, starting this weekend they will The stress of not knowing how long pected to jump to 30 percent in 5 years, work without pay. the last thing we should be doing is ac- this will last is eating at both my hus- I had not met them personally be- tively undermining the competitive- band and me.’’ fore, but I asked each of them to ex- Rosemarie in Falls Church shared ness of the Federal workforce. plain, what is this going to mean to In conclusion, I thank my friend, this: ‘‘My husband was diagnosed last you and your family—not getting a Senator KAINE, for bringing us together week with advanced lung cancer and paycheck. this evening and for his partnership in now on top of that stress, I have to They really brought home to me fighting for Virginia’s Federal workers what workers across America—not just worry about not getting a paycheck and contractors. . . .’’ Federal employees but workers across Thank you as well to my constitu- America—face every payday. They The President, who has never worked ents Rebecca, Rosemarie, Lisa, Chad, for a paycheck in his life, says he can each said to me, with only one excep- Joanna, and others for allowing me to tion: Senator, we live paycheck to pay- relate. He says he is sure Federal work- share their stories. ers ‘‘will make adjustments.’’ Here is check. If we don’t receive our pay- I want to reassure them and every checks, we have to make some basic what those ‘‘adjustments’’ actually Virginian that I remain committed to look like. decisions. ending this unnecessary shutdown and One young woman, who had worked Lisa in Arlington writes: ‘‘I am making sure every worker impacted by for 16 years for TSA, said to me: I live forced to look for multiple part-time it is made whole. 39 miles away from O’Hare, roundtrip jobs to make ends meet and my savings Thank you, Mr. President. 78 miles every single day, and I make it will soon run out. Creditors and land- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- because I need this job, and I need gas- lords have only so much patience with ator from Illinois. oline for my car to get here. It costs us.’’ Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank me a lot of money each and every day How disheartening it must be to dedi- the Senator from New Hampshire, as and every week. I don’t know what I cate your life to serving others, only to well as the Senator from Virginia and am going to do without the paycheck. find your own livelihood in jeopardy my other colleagues who are gathered Another one talked about the fact through no fault of your own. here. that they are dealing with expenses we That is why I am doing everything I My trek each week to this desk all face—whether it is mortgage or can to make sure Federal employees starts in Illinois. It means that for a rent—and what it will mean to them if receive back pay for any time spent number of years, I have gone through they can’t make their mortgage pay- furloughed or working without pay. the airports of the Midwest—primarily ment. Well, if you don’t make your That means low-wage Federal con- in Illinois and Missouri—more than mortgage payment on time, and time tractors, too. The other day, I received most. In fact, I probably know O’Hare passes, it affects your credit rating. It a letter from a Federal contractor from Airport and every corner of it better could affect the interest rate you pay Ashburn, who says the shutdown has than anyone who doesn’t work there on on your mortgage or whether you even ‘‘rocked the financial stability of my a regular basis, and I know the people have a mortgage when it is all over. So, family.’’ who work there, too, at all different for these people, it is a critical ele- These folks who serve the Federal levels. ment. Government as custodians, cafeteria Starting in 2001, we brought in TSA One woman brought up something, workers, security guards, and in many as a means of making certain that we which I am sure many working families other important roles should not suffer would be safe boarding airplanes, that know instantly. She said: Senator, if I because of this President’s actions. people would not bring guns or weap- can’t get my paycheck, I can’t pay the We also need to reverse the Presi- ons or bombs onto planes. These men daycare center that takes care of my dent’s unilateral Federal pay freeze—a and women, of course, get on our kids while I come to work here every slap in the face to hardworking Federal nerves once in a while as we have to day. That is the reality of life for employees—announced just a few days open a valise or piece of baggage and working families. before Christmas. take off our shoes, and perhaps we for- So why in the world has President The truth is, Federal workers are got there was a water bottle onboard. Donald Trump decided that in order to sick and tired of being treated like bar- It is a little frustrating, and I know I make his case to the American people, gaining chips by this administration. have had that feeling, but I often think he is going to penalize these workers, Here is what Chad, furloughed NASA to myself: They are doing their job, many of whom are essential to Amer- engineer from Suffolk, told me: ‘‘I’m and thank goodness they are. If it ica’s security and safety? Why did he disappointed to once again find myself weren’t for the men and women of TSA do this? barred from doing the job that I love. I carefully screening passengers every I would have to say, with all due re- find it offensive to be used as a polit- single day, we would not be as safe, nor spect to President Donald Trump: Pick ical pawn and find the recent executive would our families be as safe, on these on somebody your own size. Stop pick- order to freeze civil servant pay at 2018 airplanes. ing on people living paycheck to pay- levels, while on furlough no less, to be At 10 this morning, I went out to check who are trying to serve this Na- shockingly disrespectful and wrong.’’ O’Hare. Instead of heading to the gate tion in important ways.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.009 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S54 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 What we hear from the President: I oria. They have been turned off because fentanyl seized by CBP was coming just have to do it because I have to of President Trump’s shutdown. through ports of entry. What are we have my wall. I met with one of the research team. doing to stop it? Let me tell you, we We remember the wall. You couldn’t She has worked there for 15 years, she are not doing enough. Ninety-eight per- miss it in his campaign. He talked has a degree in chemistry, and she is cent of the railroad cars that come into about it incessantly, the sea to shining doing her best to do her job, but she is the United States are scanned, a basic sea concrete wall that was going to not going to get paid this weekend. I x ray, to find out what is inside that protect America and be paid for by the asked her what she was going to do as car. Is it something that wasn’t dis- Mexicans. Remember that? Well, here a result of it. She said: I hoped I might closed? When it comes to cars and we are. We have given the President be able to apply for unemployment trucks coming into this country, 18 money over the last 2 years in his Pres- compensation, but, Senator, the percent are being scanned, fewer than idency to construct fences and barriers records I need to produce for unem- one out of five of the cars and trucks where they are needed—not his al- ployment compensation are in that coming into this country. Ever wonder mighty wall, 2,000 miles long—but we laboratory building, and I can’t get in how the fentanyl is coming into this have asked him to justify each year there. They have shut me out. country and killing people in every She can’t even apply for unemploy- how he is going to spend this money, town across the State of Illinois and ment compensation so her family can taxpayers’ dollars, and whether it real- across America? It is coming in get by until the shutdown is over. Why ly is worthwhile. through ports of entry. The President has decided he is impa- did we do this to her? Why does this tient. He can’t wait any longer. He has President want to impose this kind of If the President would stop preaching to have huge sums of money, maybe shutdown and hardship on people who about his almighty wall and take a even $5 billion, dramatically increasing are doing worthy work—at taxpayers’ look at real border security, he would spending on barriers at the border, and expense, for sure, but for the taxpayers be doing what is necessary to stop this he has to have it now, and the only way of America? Whether it is TSA agents fentanyl and these drugs coming into to make his point is to shut down the or it is people at the ag lab, these are this country—and we are not doing government. good people who are dedicated to this enough. I was at a meeting last week when government and have given their life I am for border security. Make it the President said: Make no mistake, I and their life’s work to this govern- smart. I am not worried about a Presi- am not talking about shutting down ment. They deserve better treatment dent keeping a campaign promise that this government for a few days. I am than this. didn’t make sense from the start. I am prepared—and he repeated it afterward Let me close by saying a word about worried about keeping this border safe in front of the cameras. Donald Trump the border. The President says it is all for our families across the entire Na- said: I am prepared to shut down this about walls. Well, it turns out there tion. Tonight, let’s make sure the peo- government for months, even years. are things he hasn’t shared with the Now, this President is making his- American people, and he is not likely ple who work that border and work at tory. No President in the history of to do it when he makes his presen- TSA and work for the Federal Govern- this country has ever shut down his tation this evening. ment get back to work this week. That own government. We have elected men Take a look here at the apprehen- is priority No. 1. to lead and manage this government, sions at the border. These are the ap- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- and we understand that their responsi- prehensions being made by Federal ator from Michigan. bility is to keep the lights on and make agencies and people trying to cross the Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I am sure taxpayer dollars are well spent, border illegally. Notice something? very proud to join with my colleagues but this President doesn’t understand You may have noticed, in the year 2000, tonight. I thank the Senator from Vir- that to be his responsibility, and a lot there were 1.6 million apprehensions. ginia, the Senator from New Hamp- of innocent people are suffering. Then take a look at the year 2018. The shire, and other colleagues who are Yesterday, I was at the Department apprehensions are down to slightly here to speak out and talk about com- of Agriculture research lab in Peoria, under 400,000. So from 1.6 million to mon sense and what is happening and IL. It turns out it is the largest one, slightly under 400,000. what we believe should be happening with 200 researchers there. You think We are going to be told we are facing for the American people. to yourself, they are doing important a security crisis at the border, and it research when it comes to agriculture. turns out that we have fewer people In Michigan, we are building a new It turns out this lab has some amazing seeking to cross the border illegally bridge, and Canada is paying for it. history behind it. now than we have in 45 years, and the That is the truth. Canada is paying for It was during World War II at this lab apprehensions of those people have a bridge in Michigan. Here in Wash- where they discovered penicillin. It was gone down dramatically from 1.6 mil- ington, President Trump is demanding at the Peoria ag lab where they came lion to slightly under 400,000, and we walls that he is expecting American up with penicillin that we could use for have already dramatically increased taxpayers to pay for—walls that the our troops who were being wounded in the number of people in Border Patrol. majority of experts and the majority of World War II, saving countless lives in Meanwhile, let me add something people do not believe will be effective the process. They are pretty proud of that the President doesn’t talk about in keeping us safe. Meanwhile, in that legacy, and they should be. because it doesn’t fit into his wall sce- Michigan hundreds of Customs and Do you know what they are working nario. We are facing the worst drug epi- Border Patrol officers, who keep us on now? The Peoria ag lab is working demic in the history of the United safe every day, are working without on something called tunicamycin. I had States of America. It is opioids, heroin, pay, and that is wrong. never heard of it, and I am a liberal and fentanyl, and fentanyl has now The President says we need more se- arts lawyer so I don’t understand a lot been identified by the CDC as the dead- curity. I support strong border secu- about it, but here is what it gets down liest narcotic on the streets of Amer- rity, as my colleagues do—strong, ef- to: This element, which occurs natu- ica. rally in nature, can boost the healing Where is the fentanyl coming from? I fective border security. I also support power of antibiotics that have been can tell you where a large part of it is economic security for hard-working spent—they no longer have an effect on coming from, from China through Mex- Michigan families. people—but if tunicamycin is added, ico. Oh, they must be putting it in Some Federal employees in Michi- they can once again be effective and backpacks and jumping over the bor- gan, as other colleagues have spoken save lives. Peoria may have done it der. No, 80 percent of the fentanyl about, are wondering how they are again: first penicillin, now seized by CBP in 2018 was coming going to support their families, pay tunicamycin. Well, the lights have through ports of entry, places where their mortgages, and keep the heat on been turned off at the Department of vehicles and railroad cars go through without the paychecks they are sup- Agriculture research laboratory in Pe- now. So 80 percent of this deadly posed to receive on Friday.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.033 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S55 President Trump is talking about a I spoke about every day on the floor of Senate now have both passed the ap- humanitarian crisis. Here is a humani- the Senate: We need to put in place a propriations bills on a bipartisan vote. tarian crisis: 38 million people who de- 5-year farm bill with predictability for At the end of last year, we passed it in pend on food assistance—the Supple- farmers in rural communities and fam- the Senate. It was just passed last mental Nutritional Assistance Pro- ilies. However, the President has un- week in the House. We can repass those gram—to keep food on their tables now dermined the certainty that the farm bills. They should go to the President’s have to worry that it might suddenly bill provided by continuing this shut- desk, and this shutdown should end. He be gone. Most of those Americans are down at the U.S. Department of Agri- should sign the bipartisan appropria- senior citizens, people with disabilities, culture. tions bills and put the American people and children. This shutdown fight Every day the USDA is shut down is first. should not be about politics, but it is. another day the improvements we We can and will continue to debate It should be about people. What is hap- made in the 2018 farm bill are delayed. what border security looks like and pening here is about people, and the Local farm service offices all across how we can be most effective, doing American people are losing. Michigan are closed. Farmers can’t what we all want to see get done. It is One issue we should be able to agree apply for the loans they need, as they time to stop the shutdown and for the on is the border. We all support border look to next year. We have dairy farm- President to sign the appropriations security. I can’t say that enough, and ers in very desperate situations. We bills that are bipartisan and make sure my colleagues say that as well. I cer- dramatically increased support for the American people know he is on tainly know the importance of border them in the farm bill—a new dairy pro- their side when it comes to what is security, as a Member from a border gram—and they need it now. They happening in the country. State—in fact, the State with the most needed it yesterday. They needed it I yield the floor. active crossings at the northern bor- last week. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- der. The professionals on our northern Important crop reports have been ator from New Mexico. halted that farmers need to make deci- Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, we are border keep us safe every day, and they sions about upcoming planting seasons: now in the third week of President know what they need to do their jobs. What is the market? What are the Trump’s government shutdown. This is They will say: It is more resources, prices? And there are all kinds of tech- yet another manufactured, unneces- more staff, more people. Above all, nical information they need to plan to sary, and irresponsible crisis from this they need more technology. What they move forward. Frankly, the USDA President. This one comes at a steep, don’t need is a 1st-century solution to World Development Office is the eco- steep cost for very real people. A gov- a 21st-century problem. Building a wall nomic development arm for every ernment shutdown ripples throughout on our border is a little like providing small town in every rural community the entire economy. It shakes con- the U.S. Army swords and shields and in Michigan. Our rural homeowners sumer confidence. It impacts hard- expecting them to defend our Nation cannot receive the housing loans they working families. today. need to finance their homes and pay In my home State of New Mexico, al- Unfortunately, this administration is their mortgages. There are so many most 6,000 Federal workers have been more focused on the merits of concrete other ways things have stopped. furloughed or are working without pay, versus steel than actually protecting We can’t forget about our families on many of whom were already living pay- the American people in a real and ef- food assistance. Thirty-eight million check to paycheck before this Presi- fective way. If our border is a national people are able to put food on their dent’s shutdown. emergency right now, then, why hasn’t table thanks to the Supplemental Nu- Carol from Tijeras wrote to me: ‘‘I the President spent the hundreds of trition Assistance Program, or SNAP. feel I am being held Hostage by my millions of dollars that we have al- While we should certainly do every- government which I have always felt it ready given him in the last year’s thing we can to ensure that food assist- was an honor to work for.’’ budget. We have already allocated dol- ance is available in the near term—and Carol is worried about how she and lars for border security—the majority I appreciate the Department working her coworkers are going to pay their of which has not been spent. on that—our families deserve long- mortgages and their car payments if We all agree that border security is a term certainty, especially considering this shutdown continues. high priority, and we should also be that nearly 70 percent of those on Kathy from Los Lunas wrote to me: able to agree that workers—people SNAP are seniors, children, and people ‘‘I am a federal employee and I am dis- working—deserve to be paid, and they with disabilities. It is unconscionable mayed that the president is holding us should be able to take care of their to risk letting those most in need go hostage. . . . He needs to quit toying families. hungry because of the politics of a gov- with our lives and all of the public that I have heard from Michigan workers ernment shutdown. we support and serve and end this shut- who can’t pay their bills and are des- Beyond SNAP, school meals, support down.’’ perately seeking temporary jobs—fami- for WIC—a very important program for It is hard to say it any better than lies who have been left without health women, infants, and children—and food that. The shutdown’s impacts hit far insurance, businesses that contract for seniors are all at risk if this con- more than our Federal employees. Hun- with the Federal Government, that tinues to go on. Due to the shutdown, dreds of thousands of New Mexicans know that even if Federal workers get local food banks are no longer receiv- rely on the Federal agencies that paid back at the end of this, they will ing funds to distribute and to store President Trump refuses to reopen. not. There are also thousands of small food. There are very real consequences During President Trump’s shutdown, businesses that depend on spending by going on. We could go through every our public lands have had to lock their Federal employees to remain open—the single Department to speak about what gates or leave parks and facilities dry cleaner, the neighborhood store, is happening to real people and what unstaffed. The impacts of reduced visi- the local restaurant. will happen if this does not get re- tation, the challenges for furloughed This shutdown is also hurting Amer- solved. public land workers, and the costs of ican agriculture. My colleagues have We can disagree about a lot of things. repairing the damage accrued during talked about the fact that at the end of We should be able to agree, though, the shutdown will hurt communities last year, just a few weeks ago, we that people keeping us safe every day across our State and many others. passed a strong bipartisan farm bill to should be paid; that Federal workers In this era of increasingly extreme help farmers struggling with low should be able to pay their bills and and catastrophic wildfires, I am par- prices, with growing trade concerns, take care of their families; that chil- ticularly worried about the impact and unpredictable weather, to say the dren, seniors, and people with disabil- that a prolonged shutdown will have on least. ities shouldn’t have to worry about our national forests. During these difficult times, our where their next meal is coming from Nicholas, a wildland firefighter fight- farmers desperately need the predict- because of a government shutdown. er from Las Cruces wrote to me that he ability and confidence of a 5-year farm It is time for the President to end and his coworkers have been fur- bill. That is what Senator ROBERTS and this. It is very easy. The House and the loughed. He says: ‘‘If this shutdown is

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.035 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S56 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 not resolved, it will impact my ability having on our Federal workers respon- Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I yield the to provide for my family.’’ sible for keeping our Nation safe along floor to the Senator from Massachu- Nicholas deserves to be able to sup- our southern border. As a border State, setts. port his family. Our communities can’t New Mexico is more familiar than Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I thank afford to wait for Nicholas and his co- President Trump with responsible and the Senator from Virginia and I thank workers to do their essential work that smart border security policies. In fact, the Senator from New Hampshire for keeps our forests healthy and prevents our State is the proud home of the Fed- their great leadership on this issue. more destructive wildfires. eral Law Enforcement Training Center, Just talking about SNAP very brief- Our State’s farmers and rural com- one of the primary training centers for ly, 50 percent of all children in the munities are also facing increased un- U.S. Customs and Border Patrol offi- United States, at some point in their certainty. That is because President cers. Because of President Trump’s lives, are going to be on SNAP, are Trump’s shutdown has shuttered the shutdown, the workers at FLETC and going to need some help to eat so they Department of Agriculture, which all of the officers working at our ports can avoid hunger—50 percent of all funds agricultural loans and many eco- of entry and agents along our border children. So we are playing games with nomic development programs in rural are either furloughed or working with- the program that is central to the lives communities. out pay. How can it possibly be the of millions of families across this coun- If the shutdown continues into next best way to keep our Nation’s border try, and we are playing out this entire month, as President Trump seems en- region safe and secure? drama in an all-too-familiar scene. tirely willing to allow, the Supple- The President has said he would be For the third time in just 2 years of mental Nutrition Assistance Pro- proud to shut down our government, the Trump Presidency, we are once gram—sometimes referred to as food and, well, I have to say there is noth- more in the midst of a government stamps—will run out of funding. That ing—nothing—to be proud of about any shutdown. It is important to remember would mean that millions of Ameri- of this. The President can—the Presi- how we got here. cans—including more than half a mil- dent must—put an end to this shut- In December, the Senate majority lion in New Mexico alone—would be down. leader brought to the floor a temporary left struggling to put food on the table. Look, the way out of this is pretty funding bill to keep the Federal Gov- Over the weekend, KOB, one of our straightforward. The votes are not ernment open. It passed this Chamber local television stations in Albu- there in either the House or the Senate unanimously. Everyone—all 100 Sen- querque, talked to New Mexicans who ators at the time—agreed that, at the would be impacted by a lapse in food to make Americans pay the bill for President Trump’s wasteful border very least, it was important to keep stamps funding. One man named Ste- the government open while we debate ven said: wall. Signing a bipartisan government the issue of border security and immi- All of us who use food stamps rely on it. gration reform. That’s how we eat, that’s how we get our nu- funding bill to reopen the government trition. is the only responsible way forward. So why on Earth is the government shut down? Well, simply because Presi- He said that if he can’t receive his The only thing he is doing by refusing dent Trump has decided to hold the support for food next month, he might to back down is hurting Americans like government hostage because he didn’t have to take out a loan and go into the families I represent in New Mexico, get funding for a costly, ineffective debt. like the people who work along our New Mexico is also home to many southern border. They expect and de- wall. Shutting down the government Tribal nations, which are dispropor- serve so much better than this irre- over billions of dollars for a wall is like tionately impacted by a lapse in Fed- sponsible—this preventable—shutdown. canceling the World Series because eral funding and are now under distress President Trump has all the power to your team didn’t make it. to meet very basic needs in their com- end this madness right now. I will say At nearly 3 weeks into the Trump munities. That includes things like law this one last time. Mr. President, if shutdown, we can track and see the enforcement, education, housing, and you are listening, listen to the Amer- devastating effects of the President’s transportation. ican people. Listen to the people who hostage-taking. Some 800,000 Federal Let me tell you one example I heard work for you and me and this entire employees are going without pay, and from the Mescalero Apache Tribe in Nation whom you are you hurting. Do the longer this goes on, the more their southern New Mexico. Mescalero’s the right thing and end this now. worries mount. Mortgages, student lands span more than 700 square miles. Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, will the loan payments, car payments, heating Because of President Trump’s shut- Senator yield for a question? bills, food on the table—President down, the Tribe’s federally funded po- Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I will. Trump may operate from crisis to cri- lice force has been furloughed. Just Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, prior to sis, but countless American families think about what that means for some- Senator MARKEY, I wanted to ask Sen- are living paycheck to paycheck. one who needs help, someone who needs ator HEINRICH this: If I heard correctly, I have heard from many of the indi- to report a crime, or someone who you indicated that half a million New viduals and families who are part of needs medical attention. Mexicans are currently participating the approximately 7,800 Federal work- I need to remind us that this shut- in the SNAP program. ers across Massachusetts, and they are down comes right after Congress failed Mr. HEINRICH. That is correct. rightfully anxious about how they will in December to reauthorize the Vio- Mr. KAINE. What is the total popu- make ends meet. Twenty-two percent lence Against Women Act. Now, with- lation of New Mexico? of Federal employees in Massachusetts out this law and without funding, Mr. HEINRICH. A little over 2 mil- are veterans—22 percent. So how does Tribes are especially strained in ad- lion people. Donald Trump repay thousands of indi- dressing an epidemic of sexual violence Mr. KAINE. So nearly one-quarter of viduals who have served and sacrificed that has been so acutely felt in their the State is participating in the Food for their country? By not paying them. communities. Stamp Program that is jeopardized by Let’s be clear about who these work- Mescalero has seen every single one this shutdown. ers are. They are janitors, cafeteria of its Bureau of Indian Affairs social To the Senator from New Mexico, are workers, secretaries, security guards. workers and victims specialists fur- you aware that 95 percent of the em- WORK, Incorporated, is the largest em- loughed. That is extremely dangerous ployees of the Agency that administers ployer of individuals with disabilities for women and children who are vic- SNAP have been sent home and fur- in New England under the Federal tims of abuse. These are real people’s loughed? Are you aware of that? AbilityOne Program. It employs hun- lives being unnecessarily damaged by Mr. HEINRICH. I was aware of that. dreds of individuals with significant President Trump all because he will Mr. KAINE. That is causing problems disabilities who work across Federal not stop holding our government hos- not only for your half a million but for facilities in the region, but because of tage. any new family who falls into hunger the Trump shutdown, they aren’t going Perhaps most telling about President and needs to apply for SNAP every day. to work. If they are not working, they Trump’s shutdown is the impact it is Mr. HEINRICH. Thank you. are not being paid, and they are not

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.036 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S57 providing the critical services which pending one if this Trump shutdown If, as the President suggests, the are needed for families in New England continues and Americans are left with- shutdown drags on for months or even and across the whole country. out government services. So let’s end years, those hardships to our families We have gone from Mexico paying for this. and our economy will grow as pay- the border wall to Americans going To my Republican colleagues, let’s checks continue to be delayed. without pay. That is how absurd the pass the bipartisan legislation to re- It doesn’t have to be this way. Last President is being in terms of who ulti- open the government. You supported it week, the House of Representatives mately winds up paying the price for before; support it again. Raise your passed bills that have received substan- his campaign promises. voices. Let’s put people back to work, tial support from Members of both par- What is more, the Trump shutdown and let’s provide certainty for the ties in the Senate and would reopen the reaches beyond workers and empty American public. government immediately. Those in- paychecks. Once again, I thank Senator KAINE cluded robust funding for border secu- The shutdown of the Environmental and Senator SHAHEEN for their leader- rity, funding to support commonsense Protection Agency means almost all of ship in organizing this very important improvements, including better tech- the 516 employees in EPA region 1, colloquy. nology that border agents say they which includes New England, have been I yield back. need. Unfortunately, the President is furloughed. That has halted cleanup of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- more focused on campaign slogans than ator from New Hampshire. rivers and other brownfields all across on strengthening border security based Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise our region. It endangers the water, the on the facts on the ground. As a result, today to join my colleagues in calling air, all of the work that is done to pro- the President has created a crisis for tect the 13 million people who live in for an end to this senseless government shutdown. I, too, want to thank my families across the country, including New England. for the border protection agents and It means the Federal investigation friend and colleague from New Hamp- law enforcement officers whose duty it into the deadly September 13 natural shire as well as my friend from Vir- is to protect us. gas explosions and fires in Merrimack ginia for their leadership in bringing us The fact is that we can keep our Valley is suspended and residents are together tonight to speak about the country safe while also reopening our left waiting for answers. The Trump need to move forward and end this government. That is why Leader shutdown is shutting down justice for shutdown. MCCONNELL must bring the bipartisan the residents of Lawrence and Andover All across our country, Americans bills that have passed the House to the and North Andover because that inves- are feeling the impact of this shut- tigation is now suspended. down, and government services people Senate floor and the President must We are heading for absolute catas- rely on have been put to a halt. sign them into law. trophe if the shutdown stretches on In New Hampshire, our farmers were In the meantime, I am focused on en- much longer as millions of vulnerable, relieved last month at the passage of suring that our Federal workforce gets low-income Americans relying on the the farm bill. Now, thanks to the shut- the pay that they deserve and that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance down, they are again facing uncer- they have earned. That is why I have Program—or SNAP—may have had tainty that they may not receive the joined with a bipartisan group of col- their benefits cut severely. That is financial assistance they need to help leagues on legislation to ensure that going to put 764,000 of the poorest Mas- them operate. any government employee furloughed sachusetts residents at risk of hunger. Our craft breweries, which contribute as a result of this shutdown or any fu- President Trump may think it is OK to our economy, are unable to move ture ones will be paid retroactively as to furlough workers, but he can’t fur- forward with new projects because the soon as appropriations are restored. I lough hunger, he can’t furlough dirty brewers can’t get the projects approved cosponsored legislation that would drinking water, he can’t furlough pipe- through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax fund Coast Guard operations during line accidents. We need an open gov- and Trade Bureau. lapses in appropriations—including ernment to prevent these things from At the White Mountain National For- pay—for members of the Coast Guard. happening. est, some visitors’ services are closed, Mr. President, it is time for these In just a few hours, we will hear from and at this amazingly beautiful na- games to end. We need to keep pro- the President. He will go on TV tonight tional resource, trash is piling up. viding the government services that and present a fear and hate-ridden case Additionally, the shutdown is cre- Americans rely on, and the people who about a manufactured national secu- ating safety concerns with regard to provide these services deserve stability rity emergency at our border. air travel. The Airline Pilots Associa- not only for their own sake but for that The irony is, the longer President tion International recently wrote to of the people and country they serve. Trump extends this government shut- the President to say that the shutdown More broadly, the American people de- down, the more insecure and unsafe is ‘‘adversely affecting the safety, secu- serve to know our government can op- American families become because rity and efficiency of our national air- erate effectively without these con- Federal workers aren’t there to protect space system.’’ stant games and irresponsible tactics them against the things that they We know this shutdown is impacting from the President. work every day to ensure that each and our Federal workforce. These are law Let’s move on from this shutdown. every family in our country are spared enforcement officers, border security Let’s reopen our government. from—the pain that otherwise would be agents, members of our Coast Guard, Thank you, Mr. President. inflicted. workers from our National Park Serv- I yield the floor. So the Department of Homeland Se- ice, TSA agents, and so many other The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- curity is one of the agencies the Presi- people who dedicate their lives to serv- ator from Maryland. dent has shut down. An outsized num- ing their fellow citizens, but because of Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Thank you, Mr. ber of Transportation Security Agency the shutdown, many workers are President. screeners and agents who screen and scrambling to make ends meet. First, I want to thank my colleague apprehend dangerous suspects at air- President Trump has said these from Virginia, Mr. KAINE, for bringing ports are calling in sick rather than workers can simply ‘‘make adjust- us together this evening on the floor of work without pay. Some have even ments’’ to stay financially secure, but the Senate to talk about the urgent quit. in making such a claim, the President need to end the government shutdown Sadly, our own American President grossly ignores the reality that hard- because of the mounting toll it is tak- is the architect of this crisis. The truth working Americans face. What an out- ing on the American public and on Fed- is, there are more Americans today of-touch statement. eral employees who are going without going without their paycheck than im- One missed paycheck can be the dif- paychecks at this very moment. migrants who illegally crossed the ference between people being able to This is a shutdown that President southern border in the past 2 years. put food on the table or not, of making Trump said he would be ‘‘proud’’ to put Trump has completely manufactured their monthly mortgage payments, of in place, but I think, if he begins to this emergency, but there is an im- affording their medications. look around and see the consequences,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.038 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S58 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 he has to ask himself what he means fair to those who are working hard and Security Department at current levels by being proud. playing by the rules and who want to through February 8 while we negotiate. Just yesterday, I had a roundtable do the public’s business, like our Fed- We have already done it. So why are we discussion with many Federal workers eral employees. not taking up this bill this evening? in my State of Maryland. I wish Presi- Mary said that because of the shut- The other bill that passed the Senate dent Trump had been there at the down, she has had to make some dif- I have right here in my hand. It is also roundtable to hear what these public ficult decisions in her own household. on the Senate calendar. This bill that servants had to say. Maybe if he had Mary’s mother was recently widowed, passed the House on their opening day listened, he would know that a govern- and the shutdown is hurting her ability would open eight of the nine Depart- ment shutdown is nothing anybody to help her mother make do during this ments that are closed. The first bill should be proud of. I want to share tough time. would open the Department of Home- some of the stories my constituents Before I had this forum with a num- land Security, while we negotiate, shared with me yesterday, and I hope ber of Federal employees who have until February 8. The other bill opens President Trump is listening to all of been shut out of work, I visited Prince eight of the nine other Federal Depart- us here this evening. George’s Community College in Mary- ments that have been closed. Tyra was one of the people who came land. It is a great community college. Here is the kicker: The House did not yesterday. She works for the Court The president of that community col- adopt the House appropriations levels. Services and Offender Supervision lege is Dr. Dukes. As I was going to The House looked at what the Senate Agency. She has to keep reporting to meet Dr. Dukes, I met a mom on the had passed on a bipartisan basis either work every day, but she is not getting elevator. The mom had been there to here on the Senate floor or in the Sen- a paycheck. Tyra talked about the talk about her daughter who is en- ate Appropriations Committee, and challenges of juggling the cost of medi- rolled there. It turned out that her they took the Senate funding levels to cine, food, and gas for her daily com- mother is a Federal employee who has open those eight Departments through mute to a job where she is not getting been shut out of the Department of the entire fiscal year, through Sep- paid right now. She told me yesterday: Commerce. Then I talked to Dr. Dukes, tember 30. ‘‘I am trying to figure out how to get and the president of this great commu- Mr. President, we all have a very my child lunch.’’ That is what the nity college told me that she has been simple question: Why is the majority shutdown means for Tyra. getting phone calls all week from par- leader and why are our Republican col- I heard the President say the other ents who have students enrolled at leagues not bringing up those House day: ‘‘I can relate, and I am sure that Prince George’s Community College bills that are sitting right here in the the people that are on the receiving who are on a monthly installment pay- Senate? We have already supported end will make adjustments. They al- ment plan, and they are calling the those bills on a bipartisan basis. We ways do.’’ That is the President of the president of this community college can pass these bills to reopen the gov- ernment tonight, and there is no ex- United States saying he can relate to and saying: What are we going to be cuse for not doing it. these hard-working Federal employees able to do? We are not going to be able I am going to close by sharing the who are now going without a paycheck. to make our next payment on our comments of one of the other individ- Someone needs to tell the President child’s community college tuition bill. uals who joined me yesterday at that that in the United States of America, Just today, I got a number of letters gathering. His name is Otis Johnson. 40 percent of our fellow citizens lack from air traffic controllers in Mary- He works here at the National Gallery the $400 in their bank account that land. They, like thousands of other of Art. His message to President would be needed for an emergency. So Federal employees, are working every Trump: ‘‘Mr. President, if you really when you are talking about skipping a day right now, but they are not getting can relate to how the Federal employee pay period, you are talking about thou- paid for it. is feeling, you need to go ahead and Tension is mounting, frustration is sands of families who are not going to open the government back up so our mounting for the air traffic control- be able to make ends meet. Mr. Trump people who want to work can get back lers, a lot of Federal law enforcement can hang out at Trump Tower, and he to work and handle America’s busi- officers, and the people at the border, can fly down to Mar-a-Lago, but it is ness.’’ pretty clear that one thing he cannot our border security. So, Mr. President, I wish President Trump was listening do is relate to the people who are going you don’t know how to relate to these to Otis and all the other hard-working without a paycheck right now but who fellow Americans who are struggling Federal employees I met with yester- have bills they have to pay. because of your shutdown. day. If he talked to them, he would In the Senate, our failure to take up Another individual who joined us hear their stories, and he would know the bills that have already passed the yesterday was Trish. Trish is an aero- they are suffering, as are the American House and are sitting right here in the space engineer at NASA. Trish is try- people who every day are losing access Senate to reopen the Federal Govern- ing to buy a home, but the shutdown is to important services. throwing a wrench in those plans be- ment is making this Senate complicit I want to again thank my colleague in this Trump shutdown. Every day cause her mortgage company, not sur- from Virginia, Mr. KAINE, and my other prisingly, says that they need current that goes by where we don’t make our colleagues. pay stubs from her in order to close on first order of business ending the shut- I yield the floor. her purchase. What can she tell them? down makes the Senate an accomplice The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- She doesn’t have any current pay stubs in the Trump shutdown. The House ator from Minnesota. coming in, so she may not be able to made it its first order of business to Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I get that mortgage. say: Let’s reopen government. They come to the floor today to join my col- Mary works at the Commodity Fu- passed two bills. Both bills have over- leagues in voicing my sincere hope that tures Trading Commission, the CFTC. whelming support for their components the President will end this senseless She told us about the important work here in the Senate. shutdown. CFTC does to safeguard the financial I have the first bill they passed right The American people are tired of our system against financial wrongdoing here in my hand. H.J. Res. 1 says to country being held hostage and our and fraud. She explained that because open the Department of Homeland Se- economy threatened. There are real of this shutdown, the CFTC cannot pur- curity at current funding levels consequences. I see it all the time. Of sue legal cases against bad actors who through February 8 while we negotiate course my State, unlike Mr. VAN HOL- were defrauding American consumers the best way to provide border secu- LEN’s State of Maryland and the State and that they have had to ask the rity. This is on the Senate calendar. of Virginia, may not have as high a courts to suspend those cases. We can vote on this tonight. Of course, percentage of Federal workers, but for So I guess the shutdown is good for the irony here is that this Senate, just every worker who has been hit by this, those who are trying to take advantage before the Christmas break, voted on it is the same story. of our fellow citizens through various exactly this measure. We voted on a bi- At our airport just this weekend, I financial schemes. It certainly is not partisan basis to open the Homeland talked to countless TSA officers. They

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.040 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S59 said: We will continue to do our job, the Department of Homeland Security one more day or one more week. The but now we are not going to get paid. through the end of the fiscal year. That standard of success had nothing to do You think about these people on the includes the Treasury Department, the with whether we invested in the next frontline who are doing the work for Agriculture Department, the Interior generation of Americans and had noth- our country, who are keeping us safe, Department—government agencies ing to do with what America’s place in and who are not getting paid because of that provide critical services. These the world was, and tonight, 18 days this senseless shutdown. You hear noncontroversial bills were originally later, we are shut down. about the garbage piling up in our na- drafted and approved by the Senate Ap- Just like in Minnesota and just like tional parks. You hear about people propriations Committee run by the Re- in New Hampshire, people in Colorado having trouble paying their rent or publican Party. None of this makes are suffering as a result of this. This mortgage. You hear about the fears sense to me at all. The measures that shutdown is inflicting real harm on about airport security lines. Everyday were passed by the House are sensible, people who are Federal workers who Americans are affected by this as well. and they are ones that have been sup- can’t pay their mortgage, can’t take Other consequences of this shutdown ported in the past by Republicans in care of their kids, can’t hire a plumber. are less visible but deeply painful for this Chamber. We heard today that the EPA is only those affected. There are entrepreneurs Shutdowns are not good for the econ- getting paid half of their paycheck. who want to take their companies pub- omy. I lived through the 2013 shutdown. You can’t pay only half your mortgage. lic but can’t get approval by the SEC. That was estimated to cost our econ- You can’t go to the grocery store and You have rural home buyers who can’t omy over $20 billion. The President’s pay only half your bill. We have farm- get their mortgages backed by the Ag- own economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, ers and ranchers all over the State of riculture Department. Farmers can’t has estimated that this shutdown will Colorado who can’t get operating loans access critical loans or information shrink our economy by 0.1 percent from the FSA to buy seed or fertilizer. about how the Department will imple- every 2 weeks. Maybe that doesn’t We have had FEMA meetings can- ment the new farm bill. We were so sound like much. Do you know how celed and critical projects delayed that proud to pass the new farm bill in this much it really is? It is roughly $10 bil- are vital to our rebuilding after the Chamber on a bipartisan basis—some- lion every single week. That is real 2013 flood, the last time there was a thing the President took credit for— money for real Americans. So stop the long shutdown like this. After a ter- and now we can’t even implement it games. rible fire year in Colorado, the Forest and help our farmers as they approach Shutting down the government Service can’t move forward with new growing season in the spring. They should not be a negotiating tactic. If projects or reduce wildfire risks in our don’t even know what is going to hap- President Trump were to agree to sign communities. pen with the new provisions of this the bills that the House has now passed Rocky Mountain National Park is farm bill, especially the dairy farmers and every Member of the Senate sup- closed. Why do people from Estes Park of Minnesota, who have been hit so ported last month, we would end this have to bear the burden of the stu- hard by low prices and by the trade war shutdown. Instead, critical services and pidity of this place—the inability to that we are in. our economy are being threatened with govern like every other entity in While this trade war is going on, we poison pill partisanship. America governs, where you could are also going to not be able to help To my colleagues in the Senate, I say never shut down your local government them and to deny the help that vulner- this: Let’s get this done. We owe it to and you could never shut down your able Americans need. Funding for the the people whom we were elected to school district? But for some reason, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance serve. We owe it to the country. As one you can do it over politics. In this case, Program, which helps put food on the former Congresswoman once said, why? It is over a mnemonic device that table for 38 million Americans, would America should be as good as its prom- the Trump campaign supplied to can- be severely reduced or cut off all to- ise. This is a promise we made to them didate Trump—the wall—and two gether. The Department of Housing and when we were elected—to do the best things that weren’t true: one, that Urban Development payments that for them and to serve our country. Mexico would pay for the wall. If he maintain housing for 3 million Ameri- Let’s get it done. had fulfilled that promise, we wouldn’t cans could be in jeopardy. I yield the floor. be here because there wouldn’t be a It is time to put aside the political The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- need for $5 billion because the Mexi- games, and it is time to get in the real ator from Colorado. cans would pay for this wall. That is game—and that is the lives of Amer- Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise what he said over and over. It was ob- ican people—and to stop this shutdown. tonight to talk about the government jectively not true, just as it is not true It means reopening our entire govern- shutdown. I thank my colleague from that what is needed is the wall that he ment so we can work on the issues that Minnesota for her remarks. I remember has proposed. matter. the 2013 shutdown that she talked We had a bill here in 2013 that 68 Sen- This is a time in our country when about. The reason I remember that is ators voted for. That bill had $46 bil- we should not be governing from crisis. that while this place was shut down by lion of border security in it, 350 miles We should be governing from oppor- the Senator from Texas, my State was of fencing on the southern border, in- tunity. After the downturn, the econ- under water from some of the worst ternal security, and fixed our visa sys- omy had stabilized, and we should be floods we had ever seen, and there were tem—far more effective than the inef- working with the rest of the world. We people at every level of government— fective wall that the President is try- should be selling our goods to market the local level, county government, the ing to build now for $5 billion. He can’t and building the infrastructure in this State level—coming together to work even spend the money that has already country. We should be doing something with FEMA, coming together to work been appropriated, and now he has shut about prescription drug prices. We with religious organizations, coming the government down for $5 billion to should be training our workers for the together to work with ordinary people keep a campaign promise that is not jobs that are available today and the to literally dig themselves out of the true. It wasn’t true then, and it is not jobs that will be available tomorrow. mud and the rocks that were the con- true now. There are simple proposals out there. sequence of floods we had never seen This is ridiculous. Last week, China There is the Senate and the House of before. I had to stand there almost like marked the New Year by landing a Representatives legislation that passed a fool explaining that the Federal Gov- spacecraft on the dark side of the through this body unanimously—not a ernment was shut down for politics, Moon. That has never happened before single Senator opposed it—yet the and here we are again. in human history. Here in the United President suddenly changed course For 10 years, I have come to this States, while they were accomplishing and, once again, insisted that he needs floor and said over and over that this that, we had a government shutdown. over $5 billion immediately. The new place had become the land of flickering Close observers might say—and they House has now passed legislation to lights. The standard of success was would be right—that NASA—which, by fund all shuttered agencies other than only whether we kept the lights on for the way, is closed—marked New Year’s

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.042 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S60 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 Day by successfully flying the New Ho- These folks pay the price of this wrote to me about her family’s lapse in rizons probe past an object 4 billion shutdown while this political drama healthcare coverage since the shut- miles away. We should celebrate that that we have seen in Washington, DC, down because the employees at a Fed- achievement, but let’s also remember drags on and on—on cable TV, on Twit- eral health insurance agency, GEHA, that mission was 18 years in the mak- ter, and on other social media plat- have been furloughed. Her family’s ing because people planned for the fu- forms. These folks are hard-working change in coverage was never fully ture. An American craft is literally on Alabamians who keep our airports safe. processed by the end of the year. So it the outer edge of human discovery, and They protect our communities. They lapsed and was canceled as of Decem- last week we were shut down while the monitor our prisons. ber 31. The family members are now Chinese landed their craft on the other We have three Federal prisons in Ala- facing important medical decisions— side of the Moon. Because of the bama. Three of the workers in the appointments, prescriptions, refills in fecklessness of people in this body, we Aliceville prison were on CNN today the next few weeks—but don’t know if can’t even put an astronaut into space talking about the effects on them and they are going to have the insurance to now. We have to call up the Russians their community in Aliceville, AL. cover it. and ask them to put us on a rocket to These are people who support our na- The administration announced today take us up there. Do you think our par- tional defense, like folks in Redstone that the deadline for farmers to receive ents and grandparents would have Arsenal and at all of the military bases their subsidies, because of the adminis- stood for that? in our State. They support the aero- tration’s trade policies, will be ex- There was a unanimous vote in this space programs in our State. These are tended, which all sounds really great. Chamber, and it passed in the other the folks who are getting hurt. Many of It sounds all good and well. We are Chamber. We should reopen the govern- these people are veterans who have going to extend it. We are going to put ment. This is doing too much damage gone on to serve their country a second a bandaid on this for our farmers. to the country, and the President time by working in Federal service. These farmers have been hit hard by should understand that part of his job Most of these folks support strong the trade war that this administration of being President is keeping the gov- border security. I venture to guess that has started, which I have talked about ernment open, not cheering it when it all of them support strong border secu- on the floor of the Senate on any num- is closed. rity. Some will support the wall, as the ber of occasions and around my State. I yield the floor. President has described it, but they To ease that pain, a few months ago The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- don’t agree with—they don’t support— the administration decided to allocate ator from Alabama. shutting down the Government of the $12 billion as almost a bailout. Now, Mr. JONES. Mr. President, first of United States of America in a way to these farmers really don’t want these all, let me say how much I appreciate just get that wall or that border secu- handouts. They want their markets. my colleagues on the floor—particu- rity done. They do not support that at Yet, to ease their pain, to its credit, larly, Senator BENNET’s comments— the expense of their communities and the administration came up with $12 and the passion that everyone has their families. billion to ease that pain. Less than half shown for the people in this country Over the past 18 days or so since this of that amount—roughly, about $5.2 and why we are here for the people that shutdown, I have heard from any num- billion in payments—was made before we represent, whether they voted for us ber of my constituents. They call the the Department of Agriculture’s local or not. That is not the issue. We are office here in Washington, and they offices were closed. While extending here to represent all the people, and I call the offices in Huntsville, in Mo- that deadline sounds very good and is, really appreciate those incredible bile, in Birmingham, and in Mont- simply, putting a bandaid over the words from my colleagues and, particu- gomery. They talk about how they are wound, the fact is that until we get larly, the passion shown by Senator hurting already because of the shut- this government open, farmers who did BENNET. down. not get their payments in before this I am rising today to give my voice to One constituent who wrote to me is a shutdown are going to have a problem. the thousands of Alabamians who are small business owner in North Ala- Another problem with the shutdown also suffering as a result of this gov- bama, near Huntsville, whose 30-plus is that they can’t depend on the Fed- ernment shutdown. It is not just the employees have provided very impor- eral Government any more than they folks who are employed but those who tant, continuous support for NASA pro- can depend on the weather. These are affected by this shutdown by what- grams for the past 7 years. As their farmers are at risk every season, every ever means necessary. work gets delayed or stopped alto- year, of things that are out of their There are people who are not em- gether, these folks don’t know whether control. What they don’t need is a gov- ployed by the government who are also they are going to have jobs. If their ernment that they cannot depend on, affected. In the midst of all the polit- work stops, those employees are going and that is what we have right now. ical posturing that we have seen, the to need jobs, and they are going to They are out of luck at a time at which costly government shutdown has hurt start looking for other jobs. In the they need it the most, as they are over 5,100 Alabama workers, their fami- economy that we have now, in which starting to plan for their spring plant- lies, and the people who rely on them unemployment is low, people are look- ing and summer planting—their loans, to do their job. Thousands more are ing for workers, and they are going to their crops, buying the seed—as Sen- contractors who will not get backpay. find those jobs. So his business may get ator BENNET talked about a few mo- Unlike the Federal workers, who tradi- shut down. ments ago. tionally get backpay, these contractors There is a military spouse who also There is one constituent who wrote who are not working now because there works for the Federal Government me a really heartbreaking letter about is no work to be had with the Federal whose husband is deployed to Afghani- the impact of losing her SNAP benefits Government will not get backpay from stan right now. She also wrote to me after January 31 if the shutdown con- their employers. and urged an end to this shutdown. She tinues. She is living on a razor’s edge Our Coast Guard employees, who said that while she supports the wall, financially and depends on Social Secu- aren’t paid through the Department of she doesn’t believe that Federal em- rity disability benefits and SNAP dol- Defense budget that passed last year, ployees should be used as bargaining lars to survive. It is not a lot of money don’t know whether their paycheck chips just to get it done. She said that on a monthly basis. It is such a small will come or not. By the way, it is the a lapse in funding would be devastating amount of money that folks in this Coast Guard who is interdicting so for her job and that her family needs body and folks in the House and, cer- much of the illegal drugs that are at- the paychecks to cover these bills. This tainly, the folks in the administration tempting to come into this country. It is a family that is already living under wouldn’t think twice about it. It is is not the southern border. It is the stress with its having a husband and fa- probably less than they spend at Coast Guard, which we are putting at ther in Afghanistan. This family Starbucks every morning, but, for her, risk, that is doing the best job of inter- doesn’t need the extra stress. it is an incredibly important part of dicting the illegal drugs that are at- On behalf of her family of four in her life, and we have to make sure that tempting to come into this country. Smiths Station, AL, another mother we do everything not to let her down.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.043 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S61 I did see, just before I came over we might have disagreements on what ous about border security, just like the here, that the administration has said border security will look like, but it Senate of the United States and the that we are going to extend it. We are doesn’t mean that we want open bor- House of Representatives of the United going to make sure that SNAP benefits ders as I keep hearing from the admin- States should be serious about border are paid in February. Again, that is istration. That is a preposterous state- security—we should reopen the rest of great and sounds wonderful, but it is a ment. the government. Officials should also bandaid. Sooner or later, if we don’t In fact, in the last Congress, we had come back to the Hill, like they did in end up doing something about this one of the President’s nominees before February, and brief Members of both shutdown, that bandaid is going to be us for the head of ICE. He used to work parties in Congress about what is need- ripped off, and these folks are going to on the border. He was there. He con- ed and of exactly the new border secu- be left in the cold once again. trolled it. He was the head of border se- rity money and how it will be spent. We need to remember—and I think curity. This week, the House has been voting this gets lost sometimes in the talk I asked him in the hearing: Have you on a series—or will be voting on a se- about this shutdown—that this is not ever heard one politician—have you ries—of funding bills that the Senate just about the paychecks and the di- ever heard anybody in Washington, has already passed, many by a vote of rect benefits that people in this coun- DC—say that he is for open borders? 92 to 6. Think about that. As I travel try receive from the Federal Govern- He said: No, sir, not at all. around the State, I tell people all the ment. It also affects all of those people We have to get away from that polit- time what I saw last year—my first in our communities who serve those ical posturing so that we can find the year—which is that there is so much who work for the government—those common ground that is necessary to more bipartisanship in this body that who take in their grocery money and move this forward. The fact of the mat- you don’t see just by watching C–SPAN take in their utility money and take in ter is that we have found common and listening to dueling press con- their gas money. It is going to affect ground. We have found that common ferences. There is a lot of it that goes those people. It is going to affect car ground right here in this body. on, and we passed those bills by 92 to 6. dealers, and it is going to affect local Last February, in the midst of bipar- These bills will ensure that the Fed- businesses. It is just like the folks at tisan talks on more comprehensive im- eral employees and contractors can go the prison in Aliceville said today, migration reform, a number of senior back to work and can get paid, that which is that sooner or later, if they administration officials came to the food assistance and housing vouchers don’t have money to spend around Senate and briefed Members on the sit- can go forward, that vital research can Aliceville, it is going to affect that uation at the border. They outlined be done, that our parks and museums community. This touches so many peo- how an infusion of money in the con- can reopen, that our airports are safe, ple in this country that we need not text of a larger piece of legislation and that our prisons are monitored. In- lose sight of that. could improve security and conditions stead of handing political appointees a The letters and calls and voice mails for asylum seekers and on the border. 10-percent raise, it will ensure that we are pouring in every day as this shut- In the wake of that presentation—if I will pay the Coast Guard, whose mem- down continues. More and more Ameri- recall correctly, they proposed a $25 bers continue to serve throughout this cans face the increasing consequences billion price tag for border security— shutdown without knowing if their of the impasse that we see here in Republicans and Democrats alike, next paychecks are going to come. Washington, DC. There is, simply put, which was a majority of the U.S. Sen- I am literally sad to say—and I really no excuse for it. We can and must do ate, voted to include that $25 billion in hope people will take this into account, better. We can and must find the com- border security funding over the next especially the folks who have been here mon ground that so many of us talk decade. That was a bipartisan effort. for a long time—that in my first year about. Every day, over and over, we Over the course of the last spring and here, my first year in the Senate, this talk about finding common ground, but early summer, the U.S. Senate Appro- is the third government shutdown that we have to practice what we preach in priations Committee—led by my col- we have seen. We should be embar- terms of finding that common ground. league from Alabama, Senator SHELBY, rassed about that, and the administra- This past year, I talked to a number and by Senator LEAHY, the ranking tion should be embarrassed about that. of my constituents back home who had member—passed a bipartisan Home- At every opportunity, I have voted to gone through a number of issues. I land Security funding bill by a vote of keep the government open. I can’t say talked to a lot of people who asked me 25 to 5. It did that in June of this year. that I would do it every time, because to support the wall. They stopped me It included $1.6 billion in border secu- it will depend on the circumstances, over the holidays, and I would always rity funding, which was on top of the but, thus far, I have done all I can to stop and talk to them. They were al- $1.3 billion, I think, that was funded keep this government open. ways very respectful, unlike with some last year. What has started this whole The American people are frustrated things that happen in our political dis- process today is the administration’s and disheartened by the dysfunction course today. These people were always demand of a blank check of $5.6 billion and empty rhetoric that they hear out very respectful, and we had nice con- for a wall as the price to reopen the of this town, but we have to remember versations. When I asked them what government. That is, simply, not how that the Senate of the United States they were talking about, they said that our government should work. has done its job and done so in a delib- I needed to vote for a wall. Now, candidly and in all fairness, in erative and bipartisan way. No one on They said: We just need border secu- recent days, we have gone from an ar- either side of the political aisle should rity, Senator. We need border security. gument that was just, simply, about lose sight of that. This gave me the opportunity to say: dollars and cents on both sides of the We came together and found common I completely agree. aisle—5.6 versus 1.6 or 1.3—to where we ground, and we should insist that the Unfortunately, the so-called ‘‘wall’’ have now seen the administration President of the United States not only that we keep hearing about, primarily begin to slowly roll out how it would acknowledge that but honor that, get on Twitter, has really become just a actually spend that money. There was this government up and running, and metaphor to support a secure border. no plan in the beginning. It was just let’s sit down to continue to discuss To oppose it is to oppose a secure bor- ‘‘send us $5.6 billion.’’ We are learning the plans for the border security that der. That makes no sense. What is get- about that plan via Twitter and on the we all know is necessary and we would ting lost in this debate is that every TV talk shows, not the way this body like. Member of this body wants secure bor- is used to getting information from the Thank you. ders. Every Member of this body and administration—through a budget I yield the floor. every Member of the House wants bor- process or through some proposal f der security measures that will keep about which you can ask questions and our communities safe. We might have can vet. TRIBUTE TO BILL CUNNINGHAM disagreements about the best way to If the administration is serious about Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, on make sure our borders are secure, and border security—and it should be seri- February 1, the Kentucky Supreme

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.044 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S62 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 Court will bid farewell to a towering [From the Paducah Sun, Dec. 30, 2018] We have no doubt the invitation’s still figure in our State’s judiciary, Justice JUSTICE SERVED good and his speech will be captivating, as always. After all, jobs and titles may change, Bill Cunningham. A Lyon County na- (By Joshua Robert) but character doesn’t. tive, Bill announced he would retire Often loquacious and poignant, Kentucky from the high court at the beginning of Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham f next month, bringing to a close a ca- struggled Thursday to find the right words TRIBUTE TO DEAN JOHNSON reer of public service that has spanned summarizing the coming sunset to his ca- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, last more than half of his life. I would like reer, emotion seeping through his typically month marked the end of a distin- to take a moment to join his col- laid-back demeanor. ‘‘I’m just very grateful—I’m trying to say guished career for Laurel County clerk leagues, his family, and his community this without getting choked up here—to the Dean Johnson. Dean recently retired in western Kentucky in congratulating Almighty for giving me the strength to after 37 years of public service to his Bill on this remarkable milestone and (serve the public),’’ the justice told a Sun re- community, our Commonwealth, and to thank him for his service to the porter. ‘‘I’m so grateful for the people of this country. Today I would like to Commonwealth. west Kentucky for giving me this wonderful take a moment to reflect on my opportunity.’’ Bill first answered the call to service That Cunningham, a state Supreme Court friend’s many contributions to Laurel early in his life. Once he graduated justice for 12 years, paired his deity with the County and to thank him for his dedi- from Murray State University and the residents of his native and beloved western cation to Kentucky. University of Kentucky College of Law, Kentucky is not surprising, nor is the affec- First drawn to public service at a Bill enlisted in the Army, nobly serv- tion one-way. young age through organizations like ing our Nation in uniform in Vietnam, The judge, folksy and often dressed in his the Key Club and the Future Farmers Korea, and Germany. Upon his return trademark seersucker suit, cuts a popular of America, Dean spent his career fo- to Kentucky, Bill decided to put his figure. An accomplished jurist, engaging ora- cused on integrity and efficiency. After tor and celebrated author, Cunningham is as legal education to work for the men serving in the Armed Forces and for 4 Kentucky as they come, though in our opin- years as the county’s treasurer, Dean and women of his community. For the ion, uncommon in the commonwealth. last 45 years, he has done just that. Cunningham, 74, of Kuttawa, announced was elected Laurel County clerk in Working in various courtrooms as Thursday that he’ll be leaving the Supreme 1985. His leadership has brought sub- stantial innovation and development to the Eddyville City attorney, public de- Court on Feb. 1, ending a career in public this eastern Kentucky community. fender for the Kentucky State Peniten- service that’s spanned more than half his life. He considered his exit from the high In my State, a county clerk is re- tiary, and the 56th judicial district’s court for more than a year and was unsettled sponsible for providing a broad range of Commonwealth’s attorney, Bill earned by the prospect of leaving halfway through services to Kentuckians, including ev- the esteem of his colleagues. In fact, his second term. erything from voter registration and his peers voted him the ‘‘Outstanding But the ‘‘constant bombardment of human election management to licensing and Commonwealth’s Attorney for Ken- woe and suffering’’ he’s seen and heard from recordkeeping. During Dean’s tenure, tucky.’’ the bench proved too much to continue. The judge, who felt compelled by duty, did what the Laurel County clerk’s office intro- Beginning in 1991, Bill moved to the good judges are supposed to—he cast aside duced new infrastructure and imple- other side of the bench when he was personal feelings to make the wisest decision mented new procedures to better serve first elected as a circuit court judge in possible, his self-assessment unsparing that a growing population. Running an elec- western Kentucky, serving in Caldwell, he’s not at his best. tion has changed quite a bit in Laurel Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg Counties. ‘‘You’ve got to be emotionally strong to County since Dean entered office, but He was then elected to the Kentucky continue,’’ Cunningham said, ‘‘and I’m just his dedication has helped promote ac- Supreme Court in 2006. On the high worn out with it.’’ cess to the ballot box for more than The judge said he doesn’t know what he’ll court, Bill represents 24 counties in 44,000 registered voters. do next, but it’ll be something of service to In addition to his work in Laurel western Kentucky. His constituents re- the people of western Kentucky. warded Bill’s accomplished service by ‘‘I’m going to stay engaged,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m County, Dean collaborated with his reelecting him to a second term in 2014. going to take a couple of months off to get peers to share best practices in the Kentucky County Clerks’ Association. In addition to his dedicated leader- my perspective, then I’m going to do what Earning both their trust and respect, ship in our Commonwealth’s legal sys- other people do when they’re out of a job— I’m going to look for one.’’ he served a term as the organization’s tem, Bill has written six books on Ken- ‘‘I’d like to be able to serve in some capac- president, helping deliver essential tucky history and is a frequent con- ity. I just don’t know what that is right services across Kentucky. Like other tributor to local newspapers. He is also now.’’ county clerks, Dean supported his fel- known as a captivating speaker, and I Running again for public office, like for a low veterans by repurposing license hope he will continue to share his per- state legislative seat, is unlikely. ‘‘I’m a di- plates into birdhouses. The products nosaur, and much of the political main- spective with audiences even in retire- are sold with proceeds benefiting our ment. stream today has passed me by,’’ he said in his self-effacing manner. Commonwealth’s veterans. As Bill’s tenure on the Kentucky Su- We’ve gotten to know Cunningham over Over the years, I have enjoyed work- preme Court comes to a close, I would the years, covering the justice’s speeches and ing with Dean on behalf of our con- like to express my sincere gratitude for appearances and publishing his thoughtful, stituents, and I am proud to salute this his lifetime of service to his commu- well-written guest opinion pieces from time man of great accomplishment. In his nity, our Commonwealth, and our to time. If we’re coming off as an admirer, retirement, Dean plans to do more of country. In retirement, Bill said he it’s because we are, unapologetically so. what he loves most: spending time with We’ve found Justice Cunningham has ad- looks forward to spending more time his daughter, Teresa, and his grand- mirable traits like modesty, kindness, intel- daughter, Rebecca. He will also con- with his wife Paula, their five children, ligence, fairness and loyalty, rare virtues and their 15 grandchildren. I extend my among today’s public servants. His replace- tinue to oversee his 175-acre cattle best wishes to the entire Cunningham ment will come from one of the 24 counties farm. As he begins this next chapter, I family, and I ask my Senate colleagues within the First Supreme Court District, but would like to wish him the very best, to help me congratulate Justice Bill in truth, it’ll be impossible to replace and I ask my Senate colleagues to join Cunningham for his service to Ken- Cunningham and all he has meant to our me in thanking Laurel County clerk tucky. communities. Dean Johnson for his decades-long ‘‘There’s some great timber out there, so service of our State. Mr. President, the Paducah Sun re- they’ll probably get a better justice than Mr. President, the Sentinel-Echo in cently published a column congratu- what they have now,’’ he said of the judicial London recently published a profile of lating Bill on his retirement. I ask nominating process. With respect to the Dean’s accomplished career. I ask judge, that’s a dubious claim. unanimous consent that the article be unanimous consent that the article be printed in the RECORD. Cunningham is slated to be the guest speaker Feb. 5 during a Paducah Lions Club printed in the RECORD. There being no objection, the mate- meeting at Walker Hall. There being no objection, the mate- rial was ordered to be printed in the ‘‘I’ll be a former judge by then, so that’s if rial was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows: they don’t cancel the invitation,’’ he joked. RECORD, as follows:

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.013 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S63 [From the Sentinel-Echo, Dec. 26, 2018] ‘‘When I started, there were 10 employees Bush community,’’ he said. ‘‘I was also the JOHNSON REFLECTS ON 37 YEARS OF SERVICE and now we have 18, so we haven’t had a big chair when George W. Bush and (former Gov- (By Nita Johnson) increase in the employees because of the ernor) Ernie Fletcher came here.’’ computer systems,’’ he explained. ‘‘This of- In fact, the shelves that line a section of Society has changed drastically in the last fice has come from a gross intake of $8 mil- Johnson’s office have a picture of the late 30 years—with technology being one of the lion to $15.5 million and we’ve never had a president, George H.W. Bush, with Johnson major advancements. non-compliant comment in the 37 years I’ve when Bush visited the Bush Fire Depart- As Laurel County Clerk Dean Johnson fills worked for the county.’’ ment. Johnson laughs when looking at the his final days in the position he has held for Being the Laurel County Clerk required picture now, saying, ‘‘My hair was a dif- 33 years, he credits technology as the most Johnson to interact with other clerks across ferent color then.’’ advantageous developments for his office op- the state over the years—some associations Johnson is also proud of his home county erations. for which he said will remain dear to his and of the many advancements that have When Johnson took office as clerk in 1986, heart. come to the residents of this community. he came from a four-year term as county ‘‘I built a rapport with other clerks and I ‘‘This county has been aggressive in grow- treasurer. In both offices, most paperwork was active in the Kentucky County Clerks’ ing and using its natural resources,’’ he said. was done on typewriters—a business machine Association,’’ he said. ‘‘I served one term as ‘‘We’ve had good leadership and that con- that is now nearly obsolete. But when the president.’’ tinues on today. I hope we keep on and keep technology craze hit full force, the first as- He has many other accomplishments for our best and brightest here and supply them pect of the clerk’s office was to have com- which he is proud—one of which is the effi- with jobs so they can make a decent living puterized vehicle tag registrations. ciency of tabulating the votes on election and stay here.’’ Another huge change came in the voter night. With that process, the election offi- Johnson is also very dedicated in his registration processes—due to technological cers returning their precincts totals are met church, Calvary Baptist, where he has served advancements and the growth in population at the back entrance of the Laurel County as the adult Sunday School teacher for sev- over the years. Courthouse and their equipment unloaded by eral years. He stands true to his beliefs— ‘‘When I came in, there were only 26 pre- persons approved by the local election com- even when that belief is not the most pop- cincts,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘We had those big mission members. The officers then carry in ular or ‘‘progressive.’’ voting machines that were the size of a re- the case containing the printouts of the But his greatest accomplishment—and frigerator.’’ votes and sign in for their particular pre- joy—comes from his daughter, Teresa, and Within a couple of years, however, the use cinct, which are processed in the lobby in the his only grandchild, Rebecca. He looks for- of Microvote was created—the small blue ground floor near the Broad Street entrance. ward to spending more time with them and ‘‘suitcase’’ style machine used to cast votes. The printouts are then taken to the clerk’s his son-in-law while he continues to oversee ‘‘We’ve moved to the self contained ma- office on the second floor where the employ- the 175-acre farm where he raises cattle. chines now because of the ADA (Americans ees of the clerk’s office then separate the ‘‘I’m retiring as of December 31,’’ he said. with Disabilities Act) because all the ma- documents and record the votes. Although ‘‘I’m going to go home and relax.’’ chines have to be compliant with that,’’ he the polls close at 6 p.m., most precincts have f said. ‘‘The other machines were hard for peo- submitted their results and the final count is ple to use if they were in a wheelchair. With completed and reported by 7:30 p.m. S. 1 that, we had to relocate some of the pre- ‘‘I’m very proud of the efficiency we have Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President cincts because some didn’t have handicapped on election night,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘That goes access.’’ to the employees in this office and the state today I rise in opposition to S. 1. We Laurel County now boasts 45 precincts, all associations of elections for the efficient should be working to reopen the Fed- ADA compliant. way we process the votes and the accuracy eral Government, not voting to in- While Johnson said he hasn’t seen a huge we have.’’ fringe upon Americans’ First Amend- increase in voter registration or turnout, he As an example, Johnson reflected on the ment rights. said the division from 26 precincts in the 2016 Gubernatorial race in which Republican S. 1 is a package of four bills that mid-1980s to the current 45 precincts does re- candidate James Comer lost to now Gov- flect on the county’s increased population. were introduced during the last Con- ernor Matt Bevin by a mere 83 votes. gress. Three of the bills concern U.S. ‘‘The precincts divisions are done by the ‘‘We had to do a re-canvas,’’ Johnson said. population in the areas, not the number of ‘‘That (statewide) re-canvas was completed aid to Israel and Jordan, as well as registered voters in an area,’’ he explained. on Thursday, with the result coming out the sanctions against the Assad regime. ‘‘And the population is always determined by same, of course. We aren’t like Florida and They are noncontroversial, and I sup- the latest Census.’’ Georgia, that took weeks to do a re-canvas. port them. He feels that the Laurel County Clerk’s of- In fact, in national elections, Kentucky is Unfortunately, the fourth bill, which fice has always maintained a high level of in- nearly always the first to report their re- is entitled the ‘‘Combatting BDS Act of tegrity and efficiency dealing with the pub- sults.’’ 2019,’’ is so controversial that I am lic for motor vehicle registrations, transfers, Johnson has also served as chair of the compelled to vote against the entire voter registration and election procedures, Laurel County Republican party, stepping and maintaining the massive load of deeds, down this year after four years in that posi- package before us tonight. mortgages, and other legal documents that tion. He also has been involved with KACo This Israel boycott legislation would fall under the scope of that office. And Lau- (Kentucky Association of Counties) for 12 encourage States and localities to re- rel County has excelled in being some of the years, is a veteran, is a Shriner and member strict First Amendment protections for first counties in the state to utilize tech- of the local masonic lodges. millions of Americans. It would do so nology to better serve the public. His interest in being a public servant came by tacitly endorsing State actions to ‘‘We were among the first counties in the early in his teens, being a President of his cut financial ties and terminate any state to create a computerized absentee bal- school’s Key Club and FFA (Future Farmers government contract with anyone who lot form. I worked with a guy to simulate of America). He learned early on about work- the state forms,’’ he said. ‘‘Right now we ing hard, and said he always had a drawing engages in or supports boycotts of have 44,000 registered voters in the county.’’ toward political issues. Israel. The clerk’s office was also one of the first ‘‘As a kid I liked to be active in things and My grandfather arrived in the United offices in the county to receive and use a I always liked being involved in politics,’’ he States as a stowaway fleeing the Polish FAX machine, he said, adding that the Lau- said. ‘‘There were two people in politics that pogroms, and my grandmother’s family rel County Public Library was one of the I always admired—Boyd Boggs who was a fled Russia during the revolution. first to offer the FAX service. county judge executive and later the sheriff, As a young child during World War The growth in the county’s population and Dwight Eisenhower. Those two had given II, I came to view Israel as a symbol over the past 30 years has massively in- a lot and I wanted to be able to help people. creased the work load for those who serve in As the clerk, you are in the position to help that never again will there be another that office. people and I’ve tried to do that, not just with Holocaust. My support for Israel isn’t ‘‘When I came here in 1986, it was the 160th questions about elections or vehicle reg- about politics. It is about Israel’s right year of Laurel County being established,’’ istered. Other people just come in and ask to exist. Johnson added. ‘‘There were fewer than 200 about different things and I always tried to I will always support a free and mortgage books. Now we have approximately help them the best I could. I leave here with democratic Israel as the homeland of 1,200.’’ a good feeling because I think I’ve done the Jewish people. That is why I have While the workload of the deputy clerks in that.’’ always voted to provide Israel the secu- the office has increased to huge proportions His political interests also brought him an- over the past three decades, Johnson said the other accomplishment for which he is very rity assistance it needs. application of technological advancements proud. However, my unwavering support for has not caused a large increase in the em- ‘‘I was the Laurel County campaign chair Israel does not override my support for ployees needed in his office. and we brought George H.W. Bush to the Americans’ constitutional rights.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.026 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S64 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 The right to free speech is the foun- by Oliver Goldsmith that begins with firmed a historic number of Federal dation of American democracy. Any this line: ‘‘Sweet Auburn! Loveliest vil- judges during the 115th Congress, in- legislation that encroaches on that lage of the plain.’’ cluding the very difficult confirmation foundation should be considered with With the mighty Androscoggin River of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In Decem- great caution. I don’t believe that has providing power, Auburn soon was ber, Mike spoke about his work for me been the case here. home to many lumber, grain, and tex- to the Iowa Lawyers Chapter of the Federal courts have already ruled tile mills. When the factory system of Federalist Society. I ask unanimous against similar laws regarding boy- shoe manufacturing was developed consent that the text of Mike’s speech cotts of Israel enacted by Arizona and there, the people of Auburn formed a be printed in the RECORD. Kansas. skilled and dedicated workforce that There being no objection, the mate- In Kansas, the State legislature built a great Maine industry. The fac- rial was ordered to be printed in the passed a law in 2017 requiring any indi- tories attracted many French-Cana- RECORD, as follows: vidual or company that contracts with dian immigrants, whose culture con- KAVANAUGH AND BEYOND: JUDICIAL CONFIRMA- the State sign a certification that they tinues to enliven the city. The pros- TIONS IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION are not participating in a boycott of perity produced by hard work and de- Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you to Israel. termination was invested in schools Sam Langholz and the rest of the Iowa law- yers’ chapter of the Federalist Society for In Arizona, State law requires any and churches to create a true commu- inviting me to speak today. The Federalist company that contracts with the State nity. Society continues to perform the critical to certify that it is not engaged in a On February 22, 1869, the fast-grow- task of building the farm team of constitu- boycott of Israel and that it will not do ing community incorporated as the tionalist, originalist, and textualist lawyers so in the future. city of Auburn. Together with Lewis- across America who can go on to serve in Federal courts in both States found ton across the Androscoggin River, an senior government posts, including in the that these laws raised substantial First economic powerhouse was created, and federal judiciary. Sam is no doubt one of Amendment concerns by infringing on the ‘‘Cities of the Androscoggin’’ today those lawyers. I have known Sam for more than 20 years, from our college internship individuals’ right to political expres- form Maine’s second largest municipal days in Washington. Sam is an exceptional sion and issued preliminary injunctions region. lawyer and leader, and Governor Kim Rey- blocking their enforcement. The decline of traditional industries nolds and all Iowans are fortunate to have Given the courts’ rulings in Arizona in the 20th century posed a great chal- Sam serving as a senior member of the Gov- and Kansas, I fail to see why supporters lenge. Auburn’s response is described in ernor’s team. believe this legislation can be consid- words etched into the walls of Auburn I am completing my service as one of Sen- ered constitutional. Hall: a Latin phrase that translates to ator Chuck Grassley’s lawyers on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Equally alarming, the legislation ‘‘No Steps Backward.’’ Auburn is a where Senator Grassley is finishing his 4- would also apply to Israeli settlements community that was built by the year tenure as the Chairman. In January, in the West Bank, territory that Israel power of a great river. Now, the power Senator Grassley is taking over the chair- has never claimed as its own. of community is building a new future manship of the Senate Finance Committee, Today, there are more than 400,000 on that river with new economic oppor- along with assuming the constitutional of- Israelis living on 132 settlements in the tunities, wonderful food, vibrant arts fice of President Pro Tempore of the United West Bank. Since President Trump and entertainment, and exciting recre- States Senate. As President Pro Tem, Sen- ator Grassley will become third in line in the took office, the Netanyahu government ation. Auburn cherishes its history as presidential succession, behind the Vice has accelerated the expansion of exist- it continues to move forward. President and the Speaker of the House. It ing settlements, created new settle- Auburn is a city of compassionate, also means that Senator Grassley must have ments and outposts, and taken steps to involved people. It is home to the Good a protective detail, which he absolutely does retroactively legalize settlements built Shepherd Food Bank, the largest hun- not want. But as I remind him, the deer on private Palestinian land. ger relief organization in Maine. The across Iowa can now cross Iowa’s highways a Enacting legislation to stifle criti- Auburn Police Activities League, little more easily without the fear of Chuck cism of settlements on land beyond which provides educational and ath- Grassley behind the wheel. At least for the next two years, anyway. Israel’s borders would set a dangerous letic opportunities to children and In all seriousness, I am very proud to work precedent that would further erode our teens after school and during the sum- for Senator Grassley. He is 85 years old, and credibility as a neutral arbiter in the mer, is an outstanding example of pub- his health is excellent. His mind is razor- Middle East conflict. lic officials and committed citizens sharp. He remembers everything. He still Instead of wasting time on this un- joining together to change lives today runs several miles, several times a week. He constitutional bill, the Senate should to create the leaders of tomorrow. The still runs circles around his staff, especially me. In fact, the ‘‘Farmer from Iowa’’ schools instead focus on reopening the govern- energy and planning that are going me on the law, when I am supposed to advise ment by voting on the Federal funding into Auburn’s 150th anniversary cele- him on legal issues. When he does this, I tell package the House passed last week. bration demonstrate the pride resi- him that at least my jokes are better than I fail to see why S. 1 should be a pri- dents have in their city. his. He laughs. Sometimes. ority during the government shutdown. The celebration of the city of Au- Senator Grassley is one of the most kind, The Senate has a responsibility to up- burn’s 150th anniversary is not merely caring, decent people I have ever met. He hold the Constitution and keep the about the passing of time. It is about comes home to Iowa virtually every week- end. He puts Iowans above all. And he will government running. This bill does nei- human accomplishment. We celebrate never become a creature of The Swamp, even ther. the people who, from the dawn of our after his 44 years in Congress. Yet Senator f Nation to our time, have pulled to- Grassley is one of the most—if not the gether, cared for one another, and built most—consequential lawmakers in Wash- 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF AUBURN, a great community. Thanks to those ington. And his chairmanship of the Senate MAINE who came before, Auburn, ME, has a Judiciary Committee has been one of the Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today I wonderful history. Thanks to those most consequential in our nation’s history. wish to commemorate the 150th anni- In fact, earlier today, following Senator there today, it has a bright future. Grassley’s dogged and determined leader- versary of the city of Auburn, ME. Au- f ship, Senator Grassley joined the President burn was built with a spirit of deter- at the White House for the bill signing of the mination and resiliency that still TRIBUTE TO MIKE DAVIS First Step Act—a once-in-a-generation guides the community today, and this Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I criminal-justice-reform bill that Senator is a time to celebrate the generations would like to pay tribute to Mike Grassley wrote and shepherded through Con- of hard-working and caring people who Davis for his incredibly hard work on gress. No one expected this legislation to have made it such a wonderful place to my Senate Judiciary Committee staff pass, let alone with overwhelmingly bipar- tisan support. Yet Senator Grassley is the live, work, and raise families. as chief counsel for nominations. He is one senator—with the experience, credi- Auburn was settled in 1786 and first an Iowan, so his work ethic should be bility, and trust of his colleagues across the incorporated as a town in 1842. The no surprise, but he went above and be- political spectrum—who could have made name was inspired by a popular poem yond to ensure that the Senate con- this happen.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.010 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S65 During his 4-year chairmanship of the Sen- cial nominees brought to the Senate floor. even farther, accusing Justice Kavanaugh of ate Judiciary Committee, Senator Grassley How rare are cloture votes for judicial nomi- being a serial gang-rapist who drugged led the effort to report out of committee 61 nees? Only 2 of President Obama’s nominees women at parties in his teenage years and bills. The Senate passed 45, and 29 became in the first two years faced cloture votes. even through his 20s. While the FBI found no law. Regardless of what you think about the Only 3 of President George W. Bush’s nomi- evidence of this in any of its previous 6 full- particulars of any one of these laws, very few nees from the first two years faced cloture field background investigations conducted in Washington have this record of legislative votes. Only 1 for Clinton; 0 for H.W. Bush; 0 during Justice Kavanaugh’s 25 years of pub- success. As always, Grassley works. And for Reagan. lic service, Senator Grassley nonetheless Grassley delivers. Like he has done for his 38 And the Senate Democrats’ obstruction took the allegations seriously. years in the Senate. tactics were on full display during the con- More than 20 staff members of Senator I am particularly pleased to join you today firmation process for Justice Brett Grassley’s Oversight & Investigations Unit to discuss one of Senator Grassley’s most Kavanaugh, who the Senate confirmed on and Nominations Unit immediately began significant legislative achievements of his October 7, 2018. Senator Grassley oversaw the investigating these claims. They worked nearly 60-year career in public office. As most comprehensive and transparent con- around the clock. Their work was thorough Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Com- firmation process in history, including fully and comprehensive. Senator Grassley was mittee, Senator Grassley led the historic and investigating a number of allegations satisfied it contained all the answers he record-shattering effort to confirm President against Justice Kavanaugh that turned out needed, but some senators demanded a sup- Trump’s lifetime-appointed judicial nomi- to be completely meritless. plemental FBI investigation. All senators nees. Senator Grassley and his team reviewed were able to review that supplemental re- Over the last two years, Senator Grassley the most documentation in Supreme Court port, and most were satisfied that it con- has led the effort in confirming 85 new fed- nomination history—including more than firmed what we already knew and what Jus- eral judges. This includes Justice Gorsuch, 500,000 pages of Justice Kavanaugh’s records tice Kavanaugh had been saying from the be- Justice Kavanaugh, an all-time record 30 cir- from his prior government legal service. ginning: Justice Kavanaugh was innocent of cuit judges, and 53 district judges. Additionally, Senator Grassley and his the outrageous allegations made against At 85 judges appointed under President team also reviewed more than 300 written him. Trump, Senator Grassley has led the effort opinions—more than 10,000 pages—that Jus- After Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation, to confirm nearly twice as many judges as tice Kavanaugh wrote or joined in his more Senator Grassley’s staff produced a report of the 43 judges that President Obama ap- than 12 years of service on the D.C. Circuit, more than 400 pages, which catalogues the pointed in his first two years in office. the most important federal circuit court in tireless work his staff did in investigating Moreover, in 2017, Senator Grassley led the America. We also reviewed more than 17,000 these allegations. This report made clear effort in setting the all-time record for fed- pages of Justice Kavanaugh’s academic that some of the people who made the wild eral circuit judges confirmed during a presi- writings, speeches, and other materials pro- accusations against Justice Kavanaugh de- dent’s first year in office, at 12 circuit judges vided to the Senate Judiciary Committee in served to be criminally referred to the Jus- confirmed. response to its most expansive questionnaire tice Department. And Senator Grassley And earlier this year, Senator Grassley led ever submitted to a nominee. made those criminal referrals. the effort in setting the all-time record for Even after the 4-day hearing, in which Jus- Senator Grassley felt strongly about mak- federal circuit judges confirmed during a tice Kavanaugh testified for more than 32 ing this report public, because it dem- president’s first two years in office. The pre- hours, Senate Democrats submitted 1,287 onstrates his commitment to process—some- vious record was 22; Senator Grassley helped written questions for the record—more than thing many Senate Democrats wanted none smash this record, by leading the effort to the total number submitted to all prior Su- of. To them, due process is inconvenient confirm 30 federal circuit judges in less than preme Court nominees in our history, com- when it stands in the way of achieving their 2 years. bined. political ends. Senator Grassley, however, And Senator Grassley has readied the field The normal hearing process confirmed for knows that upholding the constitutional cor- for 2019, when Senator Graham takes over as Senator Grassley that Justice Kavanaugh nerstone of due process, of innocence until the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Com- was one of the most qualified, if not the proven guilty, was worth fighting for. And mittee. Senator Grassley and the Senate Ju- most qualified, Supreme Court nominee in Senator Grassley helped deliver justice; Jus- diciary Committee have already held hear- our history. The Senate Democrats and their tice Kavanaugh prevailed. ings for 50 more federal judicial nominees, liberal allies landed no punches. Justice The American people clearly felt the same including 6 more federal circuit nominees, Kavanaugh had gone through 6 prior FBI way. Indeed, in an election that showed big who will have confirmation votes in early full-field background investigations, going gains for Democrats across the country, Re- 2019. Senator Grassley has put the ball on back to 1993. He had served in the highest po- publicans actually gained 2 seats in the Sen- the tee for his successor. sitions in the White House and on the second ate. Voters booted out of office Trump-state While Senator Grassley had made this look most important court in the land for more Senate Democrats who voted against Justice easy, it certainly was not. Senator Grassley than a dozen years. It was very clear that Kavanaugh—like Claire McCaskill from Mis- and his team thoroughly vet each of these Justice Kavanaugh unquestionably had the souri, Joe Donnelly from Indiana, Heidi nominees, carefully examining their back- character and fitness to serve. Heitkamp from North Dakota, and Bill Nel- grounds and qualifications, understanding The Senate Democrats and their liberal al- son from Florida. The one Senate Democrat their judicial philosophy, and carefully as- lies ensured that what should have been a who actually voted the way his constituents sessing their character and fitness to serve. ‘‘normal’’ confirmation hearing was any- wanted him—Joe Manchin from West Vir- Senator Grassley held 20 nominations hear- thing but normal. From the opening mo- ginia—won reelection. ings this year alone, generally every other ments, Senate Democrats conducted them- These legislative victories are just more in Wednesday that the Senate was in session. selves more like petulant children than the long line of wins that the country has And Senator Grassley generally held com- United States senators. They interrupted the seen during Senator Grassley’s time chairing mittee meetings for debates and votes on Chairman with inappropriate motions and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Again, nominees almost every Thursday that the wild yelling. Indeed, throughout the hearing, Senator Grassley works; Senator Grassley Senate was in session. And Senator Grassley we experienced a senator—who proclaimed to delivers. worked both behind the scenes and in public, become Spartacus—willfully leaking con- Thank you for your continued support of to build support for these judicial nominees. fidential records, another senator asking This took a significant amount of Senator misleading innuendo-laced questions with no Senator Grassley. And thank you for your Grassley’s time. But Senator Grassley under- basis, and other senators doing other out- continued efforts in helping to find, creden- stands the critical importance of appointing rageous things. tial, and appoint judges who share our judi- judges who find and apply the law as the Leftwing allies followed the disgraceful cial philosophy. We can never get tired of public understood the law at the time of its lead of these senators. With Justice winning. The stakes are too high. writing. And Senator Grassley also under- Kavanaugh’s two young daughters in the Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! stands the dangers to liberty—in fact, the room, paid protestors shouted vile things, I am happy to answer your questions. tyranny—when judges think it is their job to disrupting the hearing and dragging the f substitute their policy preferences for those process on for hours longer than necessary. of the American people and their elected rep- This mob-like behavior was apparent ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS resentatives in Congress. throughout the process, as angry paid Fortunately, we are winning. The Presi- protestors harassed senators, their families, dent is fulfilling his promise to the Amer- and their staffs. REMEMBERING OTTO DELIKAT ican people to nominate and appoint judges When the hearing days were over and it ∑ Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, who are constitutionalists, originalists, and was clear that Justice Kavanaugh was a good today, with a heavy heart, I wish to textualists. man with impeccable credentials, Senate Senator Grassley had to overcome historic Democrats and their leftwing allies went pay tribute to Otto Delikat, a remark- obstruction by Senate Democrats. The Sen- back to their playbook from the Justice able role model, survivor, and family ate Democrats forced time-wasting and un- Thomas confirmation. But this time, Senate man. Mr. Delikat passed away on De- precedented cloture votes on 48 of the judi- Democrats and their leftwing allies went cember 23, 2018 at the age of 96.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.020 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S66 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 His life was similar to many of the periences throughout the Holocaust led EC–4. A communication from the Director, Jewish faith during that era, an ordi- him to become active in Jewish com- Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, nary man with extraordinary spirit and munities, including 50 years at the transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘Fair Credit Reporting Act indefatigable will to survive. He will be Oceanside Jewish Center. He served as Disclosures’’ (RIN3170–AA94) received during remembered for his outstanding com- chairman of the temple’s House com- adjournment of the Senate in the Office of mitment to his communities and readi- mittee, was named their man of the the President of the Senate on December 31, ness to share his experiences in order year in 1994, joined the men’s club, and 2018; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, to promote freedom and democracy. served on the Holocaust committee. and Urban Affairs. Mr. Delikat was born in Vienna, Aus- Mr. Delikat considered it of the ut- EC–5. A communication from the Director, tria, where he grew up with his father, most importance to share his experi- Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, stepmother, brother, and two sisters. transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of ences with others. He recognized his a rule entitled ‘‘Truth in Lending Act (Regu- As a young man, he worked on a farm story and the stories of fellow sur- lation Z) Adjustment to Asset-Size Exemp- in Germany, where his family’s reli- vivors would be lost if not told. He tion Threshold’’ (RIN3170–AA93) received gion was not known. When World War liked to talk about what he went during adjournment of the Senate in the Of- II began, he returned to Vienna. With through at every available oppor- fice of the President of the Senate on Decem- his father already in a labor camp, a 17- tunity, emphasizing the positive ideals ber 31, 2018; to the Committee on Banking, year-old Mr. Delikat volunteered to go of our Nation by underlining the im- Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC–6. A communication from the Director, to the same camp. He and about a portance of living in a free and equal Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, dozen others from the labor camp were society. transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of sent to work in a brick factory. My wife Cynthia and I extend our a rule entitled ‘‘Home Mortgage Disclosure One of the men working with him in deepest sympathies to Otto’s family (Regulation C) Adjustment to Asset-Size Ex- the labor camp escaped, which resulted during this difficult time, particularly emption Threshold’’ (RIN3170–AA92) received in the rest of their group getting to his two children, Janet and Michael, during adjournment of the Senate in the Of- locked up in prison for a year. When four grandchildren, and four great- fice of the President of the Senate on Decem- the prison sentence ended, Mr. Delikat ber 31, 2018; to the Committee on Banking, grandchildren. May their many won- Housing, and Urban Affairs. and the other Jewish prisoners were derful memories of Otto provide them EC–7. A communication from the Director handed over to the Gestapo and sent to solace and comfort in the days ahead.∑ of the Regulatory Management Division, En- concentration camps. vironmental Protection Agency, transmit- f Mr. Delikat spent just under a year ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en- in the Flossenburg concentration MEASURES PLACED ON THE titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; California; EL Do- camp. Then, in October 1942, he and the CALENDAR rado County Air Quality Management Dis- other 16 people left with him were trict; Reasonably Available Control Tech- The following bills and joint resolu- nology Demonstration’’ (FRL No. 9988–52–Re- transported to Auschwitz. He was im- tion were read the second time, and gion 9) received during adjournment of the prisoned there for around a year, work- placed on the calendar: Senate in the Office of the President of the ing some of this time as part of a labor Senate on December 28, 2018; to the Com- S. 28. A bill to reauthorize the United squad tasked with going through the mittee on Environment and Public Works. States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of luggage people took with them when EC–8. A communication from the Assistant 2015, and for other purposes. Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), trans- they arrived on transports. After the H.R. 21. An act making appropriations for destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, he mitting, pursuant to law, a report relative to the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Basins and about 3,000 other prisoners went to for other purposes. Flood Risk Management project, Village of clean up the wreckage. Despite falling H.J. Res. 1. Joint resolution making fur- Mamaroneck, New York; to the Committee ill from the typhoid epidemic that ther continuing appropriations for the De- on Environment and Public Works. killed over half of the inmates during partment of Homeland Security for fiscal EC–9. A communication from the Chief of their first winter in Warsaw, Mr. year 2019, and for other purposes. the Publications and Regulations Branch, In- Delikat survived. f ternal Revenue Service, Department of the Eventually, the SS evacuated the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the MEASURES READ THE FIRST TIME report of a rule entitled ‘‘2019 Standard Mile- prisoners in 1944, not even half of whom The following bill was read the first age Rates’’ (Notice 2019–2) received in the Of- survived the several days’ long march fice of the President of the Senate on Decem- when their attempts to run toward time: ber 20, 2018; to the Committee on Finance. water led to machinegun fire. Those S. 47. A bill to provide for the management EC–10. A communication from the Chief of who made it to the cattle cars, includ- of the natural resources of the United the Publications and Regulations Branch, In- ing Mr. Delikat, then went to Dachau. States, and for other purposes. ternal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the f Mr. Delikat was soon relocated to an- report of a rule entitled ‘‘Parking Expenses other concentration camp in southern EXECUTIVE AND OTHER for Qualified Transportation Fringes Under Germany, where he met a civilian who COMMUNICATIONS Section 274(a) (4) and Section 512(a) (7) of the helped him pass letters to and from Vi- Internal Revenue Code’’ (Notice 2018–99) re- enna. Thanks to the kindness of this The following communications were ceived in the Office of the President of the civilian, he learned his father was still laid before the Senate, together with Senate on December 20, 2018; to the Com- alive. accompanying papers, reports, and doc- mittee on Finance. After liberation, Mr. Delikat spent uments, and were referred as indicated: EC–11. A communication from the Chief of the Publications and Regulations Branch, In- several months working for the Amer- EC–1. A communication from the Sec- ternal Revenue Service, Department of the ican counterintelligence corps tracking retary of the Army, transmitting , pursuant Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the down members of the SS in hiding in to law, a report entitled ‘‘Transfer of Surplus report of a rule entitled ‘‘Guidance on the order to bring them to justice. During Firearms to Corporation for the Promotion Application of Section 83(i)’’ (Notice 2018–97) his time in the displaced persons camp, of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety’’; to received in the Office of the President of the the Committee on Armed Services. he met and married his wife, and they Senate on December 20, 2018; to the Com- EC–2. A communication from the Acting mittee on Finance. had their first child. The family moved Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower EC–12. A communication from the Regula- to America, thanks to support from his and Reserve Affairs), transmitting, pursuant tions Coordinator, Centers for Medicare and wife’s aunt, where Mr. Delikat quickly to law, a report on the mobilizations of se- Medicaid Services, Department of Health found work and they welcomed their lected reserve units, received in the Office of and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant second child. the President of the Senate on December 20, to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘Medi- When asked about how he survived, 2018; to the Committee on Armed Services. care Program; Medicare Shared Savings Pro- Mr. Delikat emphasized he ‘‘always EC–3. A communication from the Director, gram; Accountable Care Organizations Path- looked for tomorrow.’’ He did not think Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, ways to Success and Extreme and Uncontrol- transmitting, pursuant to law, the Annual lable Circumstances Policies for Perform- about the days that would follow, but Report of the Consumer Financial Protec- ance Year 2017’’ (RINs 0938–AT45 and 0938– instead focused on the hope he would tion Bureau on College Credit Cards; to the AT51) received in the Office of the President make it through the current day and Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban of the Senate on December 27, 2018; to the wake up the next. He also said his ex- Affairs. Committee on Finance.

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EC–13. A communication from the Regula- By Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and DUCKWORTH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. tion Coordinator, Centers for Medicare and Mr. DURBIN): GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HASSAN, Medicaid Services, Department of Health S. 31. A bill to include Livingston County, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant the city of Jonesboro in Union County, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MAR- to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘Patient the city of Freeport in Stephenson County, KEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Protection and Affordable Care Act; Adop- Illinois, to the Lincoln National Heritage Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, tion of the Methodology for the HHS-oper- Area, and for other purposes; to the Com- Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, ated Permanent Risk Adjustment Program mittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABE- for the 2018 Benefit Year Final Rule’’ By Mr. MCCONNELL: NOW, Mr. UDALL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, ((RIN0938–AT66) (CMS–9919-F)) received in S. 32. A bill to establish the Mill Springs Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. the Office of the President of the Senate on Battlefield National Monument in the State WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN): December 20, 2018; to the Committee on of Kentucky as a unit of the National Park S. 42. A bill to require a background check Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. System, and for other purposes; to the Com- for every firearm sale; to the Committee on EC–14. A communication from the Acting mittee on Energy and Natural Resources. the Judiciary. Chief Financial Officer, National Labor Rela- By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. tions Board, transmitting, pursuant to law, a BENNET): CRUZ): report entitled ‘‘Performance and Account- S. 33. A bill to update the map of, and mod- S. 43. A bill to require the Secretary of Ag- ability Report for Fiscal Year 2018’’; to the ify the maximum acreage available for inclu- riculture to transfer certain National Forest Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- sion in, the Florissant Fossil Beds National System land in the States of Texas; to the ernmental Affairs. Monument; to the Committee on Energy and Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and EC–15. A communication from the Execu- Natural Resources. Forestry. tive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Com- By Mr. CRUZ (for himself and Mr. By Mr. DAINES: mission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the COONS): S. 44. A bill to reduce a portion of the an- Commission’s Semiannual Report of the In- S. 34. A bill to require a report on the con- nual pay of Members of Congress for the fail- spector General for the period from April 1, tinuing participation of Cambodia in the ure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the 2018 through September 30, 2018; to the Com- Generalized System of Preferences; to the budget which does not provide for a balanced mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- Committee on Finance. budget, and for other purposes; to the Com- mental Affairs. By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- EC–16. A communication from the Assist- BENNET): mental Affairs. ant Secretary for Congressional and Inter- S. 35. A bill to authorize the Secretary of By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. WHITE- governmental Relations, Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource HOUSE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. Housing and Urban Development, transmit- study of the site known as ‘‘Amache’’ in the MURPHY): ting, pursuant to law, the Government Na- State of Colorado; to the Committee on En- S. 45. A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic tional Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) ergy and Natural Resources. Rivers Act to designate certain river seg- management report for the fiscal year 2018; By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. ments within the Wood-Pawcatuck water- to the Committee on Homeland Security and BENNET): shed as components of the National Wild and S. 36. A bill to authorize, direct, expedite, Governmental Affairs. Scenic Rivers System, and for other pur- and facilitate a land exchange in El Paso and EC–17. A communication from the Vice poses; to the Committee on Energy and Nat- Teller Counties, Colorado, and for other pur- President for Congressional and Public Af- ural Resources. poses; to the Committee on Energy and Nat- fairs, Millennium Challenge Corporation, By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. ural Resources. transmitting, pursuant to law, the Corpora- WYDEN): By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. tion’s Agency Financial Report for fiscal S. 46. A bill to repeal the Klamath Tribe BENNET): year 2018; to the Committee on Homeland Se- Judgment Fund Act; to the Committee on S. 37. A bill to ensure adequate use and ac- curity and Governmental Affairs. Indian Affairs. cess to the existing Bolts Ditch headgate and EC–18. A communication from the Acting By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and ditch segment within the Holy Cross Wilder- Director, Office of Personnel Management, Ms. CANTWELL): ness in Eagle County, Colorado, and for S. 47. A bill to provide for the management transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of other purposes; to the Committee on Energy of the natural resources of the United a rule entitled ‘‘General Schedule Locality and Natural Resources. States, and for other purposes; read the first Pay Areas’’ (RIN3206–AN64) received in the By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. time. Office of the President of the Senate on Jan- BENNET): By Ms. MCSALLY (for herself and Ms. uary 3, 2019; to the Committee on Homeland S. 38. A bill to maintain annual base fund- SINEMA): Security and Governmental Affairs. ing for the Upper Colorado and San Juan fish S. 48. A bill to authorize, direct, expedite, EC–19. A communication from the Chief of recovery programs through fiscal year 2023, and facilitate a land exchange in Yavapai the Border Security Regulations Branch, to require a report on the implementation of County, Arizona, and for other purposes; to Customs and Border Protection, Department those programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- of Homeland Security, transmitting, pursu- the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- sources. ant to law, the report of a rule entitled sources. By Mr. LEE (for himself and Mr. ROM- ‘‘Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for In- By Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. NEY): flation’’ (RIN1651–AB32) received in the Of- MANCHIN): S. 49. A bill to designate the outstation of fice of the President of the Senate on Decem- S. 39. A bill to provide that Members of the Department of Veterans Affairs in North ber 20, 2018; to the Committee on Homeland Congress may not receive pay after October Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Security and Governmental Affairs. 1 of any fiscal year in which Congress has Center Outstation; to the Committee on Vet- EC–20. A communication from the Acting not approved a concurrent resolution on the erans’ Affairs. Director, Office of Personnel Management, budget and passed the regular appropriations By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mrs. transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of bills; to the Committee on Homeland Secu- MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, and Ms. CANT- a rule entitled ‘‘Veterans’ Preferences’’ rity and Governmental Affairs. WELL): (RIN3206–AN47) received in the Office of the By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and S. 50. A bill to authorize the Secretary of President of the Senate on January 3, 2019; Mr. SCHATZ): the Interior to assess sanitation and safety to the Committee on Homeland Security and S. 40. A bill to require the Secretary of the conditions at Bureau of Indian Affairs facili- Governmental Affairs. Interior to submit to Congress a report on ties that were constructed to provide af- f the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to fected Columbia River Treaty tribes access manage its infrastructure assets; to the to traditional fishing grounds and expend INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND Committee on Energy and Natural Re- funds on construction of facilities and struc- JOINT RESOLUTIONS sources. tures to improve those conditions, and for The following bills and joint resolu- By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. other purposes; to the Committee on Indian tions were introduced, read the first CRUZ): Affairs. S. 41. A bill to survey the gradient bound- and second times by unanimous con- By Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. ary along the Red River in the States of DAINES): sent, and referred as indicated: Oklahoma and Texas, and for other purposes; S. 51. A bill to extend the Federal recogni- By Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- tion to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa In- MORAN, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR): sources. dians of Montana, and for other purposes; to S. 30. A bill to require the Secretary of De- By Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. the Committee on Indian Affairs. fense to develop and implement a plan to BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. DUR- By Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENEN- provide chiropractic health care services for BIN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. BALDWIN, DEZ, and Mr. RUBIO): certain covered beneficiaries as part of the Mr. BENNET, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, S. 52. A bill to halt the wholesale slaughter TRICARE program; to the Committee on Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CAR- of the Syrian people, encourage a negotiated Armed Services. PER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Ms. political settlement, and hold Syrian human

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Res. 1, a for the construction of a border wall between from Oklahoma (Mr. INHOFE), the Sen- joint resolution proposing an amend- the United States and Mexico, and for other ator from Louisiana (Mr. KENNEDY) and ment to the Constitution of the United purposes; to the Committee on Finance. the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. BOOZ- States relative to limiting the number By Ms. MCSALLY (for herself and Ms. MAN) were added as cosponsors of S. 9, of terms that a Member of Congress SINEMA): a bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, may serve. S. 54. A bill to authorize the Secretary of and Cosmetic Act to clarify the Food f the Interior to convey certain land to La Paz and Drug Administration’s jurisdiction County, Arizona, and for other purposes; to over certain tobacco products, and to STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS sources. protect jobs and small businesses in- By Ms. MCSALLY (for herself and Ms. volved in the sale, manufacturing and By Mr. MCCONNELL: SINEMA): distribution of traditional and pre- S. 32. A bill to establish the Mill S. 55. A bill to provide for the mium cigars. Springs Battlefield National Monu- unencumbering of title to non-Federal land S. 20 ment in the State of Kentucky as a owned by the city of Tucson, Arizona, for At the request of Mr. WYDEN, the unit of the National Park System, and purposes of economic development by con- names of the Senator from Connecticut for other purposes; to the Committee veyance of the Federal reversionary interest to the City; to the Committee on Energy and (Mr. BLUMENTHAL) and the Senator on Energy and Natural Resources. Natural Resources. from Oregon (Mr. MERKLEY) were added Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I By Mr. TILLIS: as cosponsors of S. 20, a bill to amend ask unanimous consent that the text of S. 56. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 the bill be printed in the RECORD. the Interior to annually designate at least to require the disclosure of certain tax There being no objection, the text of one city in the United States as an ‘‘Amer- returns by Presidents and certain can- the bill was ordered to be printed in ican World War II Heritage City’’, and for didates for the office of the President, the RECORD, as follows: other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and for other purposes. S. 32 and Natural Resources. By Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. S. 21 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the United States of America in GARDNER): At the request of Mr. THUNE, the S. 57. A bill to amend the National Trails names of the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Congress assembled, System Act to provide for the study of the SULLIVAN), the Senator from Hawaii SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mill Springs Pike National Historic Trail; to the Com- (Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator from Wis- Battlefield National Monument Act’’. mittee on Energy and Natural Resources. consin (Mr. JOHNSON), the Senator from By Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. Florida (Mr. RUBIO), the Senator from GARDNER): In this Act: S. 58. A bill to designate certain mountain Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI), the Senator (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map peaks in the State of Colorado as ‘‘Fowler from New Jersey (Mr. MENENDEZ), the entitled ‘‘Mill Springs Battlefield National Peak’’ and ‘‘Boskoff Peak’’; to the Com- Senator from Washington (Mrs. MUR- Monument, Nancy, Kentucky’’, numbered mittee on Energy and Natural Resources. RAY) and the Senator from New Hamp- 297/145513, and dated June 2018. By Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. shire (Ms. HASSAN) were added as co- (2) MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Monument’’ GARDNER): sponsors of S. 21, a bill making con- means the Mill Springs Battlefield National S. 59. A bill to adjust the boundary of the tinuing appropriations for Coast Guard Monument established by section 3(a)(1). (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, and for pay in the event an appropriations act other purposes; to the Committee on Energy means the Secretary of the Interior, acting and Natural Resources. expires prior to the enactment of a new through the Director of the National Park appropriations act. f Service. S. 24 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MILL SPRINGS BAT- SUBMISSION OF CONCURRENT AND At the request of Mr. CARDIN, the TLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT. SENATE RESOLUTIONS names of the Senator from Alaska (Ms. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), MURKOWSKI), the Senator from Michi- The following concurrent resolutions there is established as a unit of the National gan (Ms. STABENOW), the Senator from and Senate resolutions were read, and Park System, the Mill Springs Battlefield referred (or acted upon), as indicated: New Mexico (Mr. UDALL), the Senator National Monument in the State of Ken- By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. from Hawaii (Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator tucky, to preserve, protect, and interpret for CRUZ): from Washington (Mrs. MURRAY), the the benefit of present and future genera- S. Res. 10. A resolution honoring the life of Senator from New Jersey (Mr. MENEN- tions— Richard Arvin Overton; to the Committee on DEZ), the Senator from Pennsylvania (A) the nationally significant historic re- the Judiciary. (Mr. CASEY), the Senator from Ohio sources of the Mill Springs Battlefield; and By Mr. INHOFE (for himself and Mr. (Mr. BROWN) and the Senator from (B) the role of the Mill Springs Battlefield LANKFORD): in the Civil War. Vermont (Mr. SANDERS) were added as S. Res. 11. A resolution honoring the 150th cosponsors of S. 24, a bill to provide for (2) DETERMINATION BY THE SECRETARY.—The anniversary of Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla- Monument shall not be established until the homa; to the Committee on Armed Services. the compensation of Federal and other date on which the Secretary determines that government employees affected by f a sufficient quantity of land or interests in lapses in appropriations. land has been acquired to constitute a man- ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS S. 26 ageable park unit. S. 1 At the request of Mr. WYDEN, the (3) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days after At the request of Mr. RUBIO, the names of the Senator from Delaware the date on which the Secretary makes a de- termination under paragraph (2), the Sec- names of the Senator from North Da- (Mr. COONS), the Senator from New retary shall publish in the Federal Register kota (Mr. CRAMER), the Senator from Mexico (Mr. UDALL) and the Senator notice of the establishment of the Monu- Texas (Mr. CRUZ) and the Senator from from Oregon (Mr. MERKLEY) were added ment. Mississippi (Mr. WICKER) were added as as cosponsors of S. 26, a bill to amend (4) BOUNDARY.—The boundary of the Monu- cosponsors of S. 1, a bill to make im- the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ment shall be as generally depicted on the provements to certain defense and se- allow all eligible voters to vote by mail Map. curity assistance provisions and to au- in Federal elections, to amend the Na- (5) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall thorize the appropriation of funds to tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 to be on file and available for public inspection Israel, to reauthorize the United provide for automatic voter registra- in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. tion. States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act (6) ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 2015, and to halt the wholesale S.J. RES. 1 may only acquire land or an interest in land slaughter of the Syrian people, and for At the request of Mr. CRUZ, the located within the boundary of the Monu- other purposes. names of the Senator from North Caro- ment by—

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.028 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S69 (A) donation; (5) Members of Congress should be held ac- the same withholding and remittance with (B) purchase from a willing seller with do- countable for failing to pass annual budgets respect to a payment deposited in an escrow nated or appropriated funds; or that result in a balanced budget. account under paragraph (1) or (2) that would (C) exchange. SEC. 2. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ADOPT RESOLU- apply to the payment if the payment were (b) ADMINISTRATION.— TION PROVIDING FOR BALANCED not subject to paragraph (1) or (2). (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ad- BUDGETS. (4) RELEASE OF AMOUNTS AT END OF THE minister the Monument in accordance with— (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— CONGRESS.—In order to ensure that this sub- (A) this Act; and (1) the term ‘‘balanced budget’’ means a section is carried out in a manner that shall (B) the laws generally applicable to units concurrent resolution on the budget which not vary the compensation of Senators or of the National Park System, including— provides that for fiscal year 2029, and each Representatives in violation of the twenty- (i) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and sec- fiscal year thereafter to which the concur- seventh amendment to the Constitution of tions 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of rent resolution on the budget applies— the United States, the payroll administrator title 54, United States Code; and (A) total outlays do not exceed total re- of a House of Congress shall release for pay- (ii) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States ceipts; and ments to Members of that House of Congress Code. (B) total outlays are not more than 18 per- any amounts remaining in any escrow ac- (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— cent of the projected gross domestic product count under this section on the last day of (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years of the United States (as determined by the the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress. Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Depart- after the date on which funds are first made (5) ROLE OF SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.— available to prepare a general management ment of Commerce) for such fiscal year; The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide plan for the Monument, the Secretary shall (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director the payroll administrators of the Houses of prepare the general management plan in ac- of the Office of Management and Budget; and Congress with such assistance as may be nec- cordance with section 100502 of title 54, (3) the term ‘‘Member’’ includes a Delegate essary to enable the payroll administrators or Resident Commissioner to Congress. United States Code. to carry out this subsection. (b) DETERMINATION BY THE OFFICE OF MAN- (B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On comple- (6) PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.—In AGEMENT AND BUDGET.—Upon adoption by a tion of the general management plan, the House of Congress of a concurrent resolution this subsection, the ‘‘payroll administrator’’ Secretary shall submit to the Committee on on the budget for a fiscal year, the Director of a House of Congress means— Natural Resources of the House of Rep- shall— (A) in the case of the House of Representa- resentatives and the Committee on Energy (1) determine whether the concurrent reso- tives, the Chief Administrative Officer of the and Natural Resources of the Senate the gen- lution on the budget is a balanced budget; House of Representatives, or an employee of eral management plan. and the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (c) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.—Noth- (2) submit to the Speaker of the House of who is designated by the Chief Administra- ing in this Act affects the land use rights of tive Officer to carry out this section; and private property owners within or adjacent Representatives or the President pro tem- pore of the Senate (as the case may be) a cer- (B) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary to the Monument. of the Senate, or an employee of the Office of (d) NO BUFFER ZONES.— tification as to whether or not that House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget. the Secretary of the Senate who is des- (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act, the ignated by the Secretary to carry out this establishment of the Monument, or the man- (c) RULE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2020 AND 2021.— (1) FISCAL YEAR 2020.— section. agement of the Monument creates a buffer (d) RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 AND SUBSE- zone outside the Monument. (A) HOLDING SALARIES IN ESCROW.—If the Director does not certify that a House of QUENT FISCAL YEARS.—If the Director does (2) ACTIVITY OR USE OUTSIDE MONUMENT.— not certify that a House of Congress has The fact that an activity or use can be seen, Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2020 before April 16, adopted a balanced budget with respect to heard, or detected from within the Monu- fiscal year 2022, or any fiscal year thereafter, 2019, during the period described in subpara- ment shall not preclude the conduct of the before April 16 of the fiscal year before such graph (B) the payroll administrator of that activity or use outside the Monument. fiscal year, during pay periods which occur House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow in the same calendar year after that date account all payments otherwise required to By Mr. DAINES: each Member of that House shall be paid at be made during such period for the com- S. 44. A bill to reduce a portion of the an annual rate of pay equal to $1. annual pay of Members of Congress for pensation of Members of Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall release SEC. 3. SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENT FOR IN- CREASING REVENUE. the failure to adopt a concurrent reso- such payments to such Members only upon (a) IN GENERAL.—In the Senate and the lution on the budget which does not the expiration of such period. provide for a balanced budget, and for House of Representatives, a bill, joint resolu- (B) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—With respect to a tion, amendment, conference report, or other purposes; to the Committee on House of Congress, the period described in amendment between the Houses that in- Homeland Security and Governmental this subparagraph is the period that begins creases revenue shall only be agreed to upon Affairs. on April 16, 2019, and ends on the earlier of— an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask (i) the date on which the Director certifies Members of that House of Congress duly cho- unanimous consent that the text of the that the House of Congress has adopted a sen and sworn. balanced budget with respect to fiscal year bill be printed in the RECORD. (b) RULES OF SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF There being no objection, the text of 2020; or REPRESENTATIVES.—Subsection (a) is enacted (ii) the last day of the One Hundred Six- the bill was ordered to be printed in by Congress— teenth Congress. (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power the RECORD, as follows: (2) FISCAL YEAR 2021.— of the Senate and House of Representatives, S. 44 (A) HOLDING SALARIES IN ESCROW.—If the respectively, and as such it is deemed a part Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- Director does not certify that a House of of the rules of each House, respectively, but resentatives of the United States of America in Congress has adopted a balanced budget with applicable only with respect to the procedure Congress assembled, respect to fiscal year 2021 before April 16, to be followed in that House in the case of a SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 2020, during the period described in subpara- bill, joint resolution, amendment, conference (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as graph (B) the payroll administrator of that report, or amendment between the Houses the ‘‘Balanced Budget Accountability Act’’. House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow that increases revenue, and it supersedes (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the fol- account all payments otherwise required to other rules only to the extent that it is in- lowing: be made during such period for the com- consistent with such rules; and (1) The Federal debt exceeds pensation of Members of Congress who serve (2) with full recognition of the constitu- $21,000,000,000,000, continues to grow rapidly, in that House of Congress, and shall release tional right of either House to change the and is larger than the size of the United such payments to such Members only upon rules (so far as relating to the procedure of States economy. the expiration of such period. that House) at any time, in the same man- (2) The Federal budget has shown an an- (B) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—With respect to a ner, and to the same extent as in the case of nual deficit in 49 of the last 54 years. House of Congress, the period described in any other rule of that House. (3) Deficits and the Federal debt threaten this subparagraph is the period that begins to shatter confidence in the Nation’s econ- on April 16, 2020, and ends on the earlier of— By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. omy, suppress job creation and economic (i) the date on which the Director certifies WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, growth, and leave future generations of that the House of Congress has adopted a and Mr. MURPHY): Americans with a lower standard of living balanced budget with respect to fiscal year S. 45. A bill to amend the Wild and and fewer opportunities. 2021; or (4) It is the duty of Members of Congress to (ii) the last day of the One Hundred Six- Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain develop and implement policies, including teenth Congress. river segments within the Wood- balancing the Federal budget, that encour- (3) WITHHOLDING AND REMITTANCE OF Pawcatuck watershed as components of age robust job creation and economic growth AMOUNTS FROM PAYMENTS HELD IN ESCROW.— the National Wild and Scenic Rivers in the United States. The payroll administrator shall provide for System, and for other purposes; to the

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.031 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S70 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 Committee on Energy and Natural Re- SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS mit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the sources. family of Richard Arvin Overton. f Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am SENATE RESOLUTION 10—HON- once again introducing, along with my ORING THE LIFE OF RICHARD SENATE RESOLUTION 11—HON- colleagues Senator WHITEHOUSE, Sen- ARVIN OVERTON ORING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY ator BLUMENTHAL, and Senator MUR- OF FORT SILL IN LAWTON, Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. OKLAHOMA PHY, legislation to designate river seg- CRUZ) submitted the following resolu- ments within the Wood-Pawcatuck wa- tion; which was referred to the Com- Mr. INHOFE (for himself and Mr. tershed as part of the National Wild mittee on the Judiciary: LANKFORD) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the and Scenic Rivers System. S. RES. 10 Committee on Armed Services: Following more than three years of Whereas, on May 11, 1906, Richard Arvin S. RES. 11 intense study, this legislation would Overton was born to Gentry Overton, Sr., Whereas January 8, 2019, marks the 150th formally recognize the recreational, and Elizabeth ‘‘Lizzie’’ Overton in Bastrop County, Texas; anniversary of Fort Sill, a military installa- natural, and historical qualities of por- Whereas, in 1940, Richard Arvin Overton tion operating in the Lawton-Fort Sill re- tions of the Beaver, Chipuxet, Green enlisted in the Army and began his military gion of Oklahoma; Fall-Ashaway, Pawcatuck, Queen- service at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Whereas the site of Fort Sill was staked Usquepaugh, Shunock, and Wood Riv- Texas; out on January 8, 1869, by Major General Philip H. Sheridan, and the garrison was ers that flow through Rhode Island and Whereas, from 1942 to 1945, Richard Arvin Overton bravely served in the Pacific the- first called ‘‘Camp Wichita’’; Connecticut while providing access to ater, including in Guam, Palau, and Iwo Whereas Fort Sill is named after Brigadier Federal resources and promoting Jima, with the 1887th Engineer Aviation Bat- General Joshua W. Sill, who was killed in strong partnerships for their restora- talion, an all-African American unit, until the American Civil War and was a friend to tion and protection. the conclusion of World War II; Major General Philip H. Sheridan; Whereas Richard Arvin Overton attained Whereas the first post commander at Fort The Wood-Pawcatuck watershed is a the rank of corporal in the Army; Sill was Brevet Major General Benjamin National treasure that not only holds Whereas Richard Arvin Overton earned the Grierson; natural and scenic value, but also is an Combat Infantry Badge, the Meritorious Whereas, in 1877, Lieutenant Henry O. Flip- important economic driver for the Unit Commendation, the Army Good Con- per, the first African American to graduate from West Point, was assigned to the 10th area. Indeed, the 12 local river commu- duct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Cavalry Regiment at Fort Sill; nities experience direct economic bene- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World Whereas, in 1898, the Fort Sill garrison was fits from their proximity to these riv- War II Victory Medal, and the Expert Rifle down to 27 officers and soldiers as the cav- ers through increased recreation and Marksmanship Badge; alry left for battles in Cuba during the Span- tourism. The watershed provides many Whereas Richard Arvin Overton returned ish-American War, and Lieutenant Allyn opportunities for visitors to explore to Austin, Texas, after the end of World War Capron, Jr., who had joined the ‘‘Rough Rid- ers’’, was the first officer killed in Cuba; history and experience nature, includ- II and resided there until his death; Whereas, on November 11, 2013, Richard Whereas the last Indian land in Oklahoma ing viewing early industrial mill ruins, Arvin Overton was honored by former Presi- opened for settlement in 1901, and 29,000 trout fishing, bird watching, and dent Barack Obama at Arlington National homesteaders registered at Fort Sill during kayaking. Cemetery for his courage and commitment July of that year for the land lottery; Whereas Fort Sill played a major role in I have long been a supporter of pro- to service in combat zones such as Pearl Har- bor, the Marshall Islands, Guam, Palau, and expanding the nearby city of Lawton, which tecting and restoring these special riv- Iwo Jima; was named after Major General Henry W. ers, which is why I sponsored the Whereas, on January 3, 2015, Richard Arvin Lawton, a Fort Sill quartermaster who was Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Protec- Overton represented The Greatest Genera- killed in the Philippines in 1899 and was a tion Act in 2013. The process that was tion at the 2015 United States Army All- Medal of Honor recipient; American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas; Whereas, on August 6, 1901, the town of initiated by that law has been a crit- Lawton was established and quickly grew to ical tool for bringing together stake- Whereas, on May 3, 2016, Richard Arvin Overton became the oldest surviving veteran become the third largest city in Oklahoma, holders from Rhode Island and Con- of the Armed Forces after the death of Frank later becoming part of the greater Lawton- necticut including representatives Levingston, a fellow World War II veteran; Fort Sill community; from State agencies, local govern- Whereas, on May 11, 2016, Richard Arvin Whereas, with the disappearance of the ments, and conservation groups in Overton attained 110 years of age and became frontier, the mission of Fort Sill gradually changed from cavalry to field artillery, with order to develop a collaborative path a supercentenarian; Whereas, in Austin, Texas, May 11th of the first artillery battery arriving at Fort forward. The resulting Stewardship each year is designated as ‘‘Richard Overton Sill in 1902, and the last cavalry regiment de- Plan, which has been formally adopted Day’’ in honor of Richard Arvin Overton’s parting in May 1907; by the study committee and is sup- birthday; Whereas, the School of Fire for Field Artil- ported by all twelve local river commu- Whereas, in 2017, the city of Austin, Texas, lery was founded at Fort Sill in 1911 and con- nities, builds upon currently existing officially renamed the street on which Rich- tinues to operate as the United States Army Field Artillery School; efforts to preserve and manage the ard Arvin Overton resided to ‘‘Richard Overton Avenue’’; Whereas, throughout its history, Fort Sill river ecosystems while also considering Whereas Richard Arvin Overton died on has served as home to— what steps will need to be taken collec- December 27, 2018; (1) the Infantry School of Musketry, which tively in the future in order to protect Whereas Richard Arvin Overton will be was later renamed the Infantry School and laid to rest with full military honors at the moved to Camp Benning, Georgia; them. (2) the Gas Defense School; Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas; and I would like to commend Representa- (3) the School for Aerial Observers; Whereas Richard Arvin Overton is a United (4) the Artillery Officers Candidate School tives LANGEVIN, CICILLINE, and COURT- States hero who exemplified strength, sac- (Robinson Barracks); NEY for again introducing companion rifice, and service to the country: Now, (5) the Air Service Flying School; legislation. In October 2018 we com- therefore, be it (6) the Army Aviation School; memorated the 50th anniversary of the Resolved, That the Senate— (7) the School of Fire (now known as the landmark Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, (1) extends its heartfelt sympathy to the Field Artillery School); and family of Richard Arvin Overton on the occa- (8) the Air Defense Artillery School; and I am proud that after all these sion of his death; Whereas, in 1915, the first air unit in the years we are continuing our work to (2) honors the life of Richard Arvin history of the United States Armed Forces, protect such extraordinary places. I Overton and his service to the United States; the 1st Aero Squadron, was stationed at Fort look forward to working with all of my (3) honors and, on behalf of the United Sill for experiments in the aerial observation colleagues to pass this legislation so States, expresses deep appreciation for the of artillery fire and, in 1916, was sent into that we can preserve the rivers of the outstanding and important service of Rich- combat with General Jack Pershing on an ard Arvin Overton to the United States; and expedition into Mexico; Wood-Pawcatuck watershed for the en- (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary Whereas, in 1917, the Henry Post Army Air- joyment of current and future genera- of the Senate communicate this resolution field was constructed for aerial artillery ob- tions. to the House of Representatives and trans- servation and spotting;

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.032 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S71 Whereas, with the start of World War I in Whereas other Field Artillery Officer Can- Whereas, during the Cold War, the 4th Bat- 1918, the post expanded quickly, and the didate School graduates have made an im- talion 31st Infantry ‘‘Polar Bears’’ was acti- Army established Camp Doniphan on the pact on history, including— vated at Fort Sill to help train artillerymen northwest edge of Fort Sill in order to as- (1) H. Malcolm Baldrige (Class of 91-44), a in joint-combat tactics; semble, house, and train entire divisions be- former Secretary of Commerce; Whereas, although the Polar Bears unit fore sending the divisions to Europe; (2) Martin R. Hoffman (Class of 71-55), a was called ‘‘infantry’’, it was a unique com- Whereas, during World War I, Fort Sill former Secretary of the Army; bined-arms team that included an armored found itself with a unique new training mis- (3) retired General Jack N. Merritt (Class tank company; sion, as the War Department was unprepared of 35-53), former senior military representa- Whereas the high-profile Polar Bears unit to train officers and soldiers for the threat of tive of the United States to the North Atlan- participated in combined-arms live-fire exer- weapons of mass destruction posed by the tic Treaty Organization; and cises (the ‘‘CALFEX program’’), which (4) John M. Shalikashvili (Class of 4-59), wide-scale use of chemical weapons in Eu- brought together infantry, armor, field artil- former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; rope, and soldiers had to be equipped and lery, and Air Force assets; Whereas the 818th ‘‘Tank Destroyer Bat- trained for the new threat; Whereas the CALFEX program was talion’’— Whereas the 35th Division was constituted (1) was formed at Fort Sill on December 15, brought to an end by the drive for efficient in 1917 as 1 of the 17 National Guard divisions 1941; use of money, with the end of the Polar authorized for service in World War I; (2) deployed to Northern Ireland in 1943, Bears unit signaling the end of the high-pro- Whereas the 35th Division— equipped with towed guns; file CALFEX program; (1) was organized from the National Guards (3) landed in France 36 days after D-Day; Whereas, as of 2019, the Polar Bears unit of Kansas and Missouri; and has been reactivated with the 10th Mountain (2) included 3 machinegun battalions, 3 (4) after advancing through France with Division at Fort Drum, New York; field artillery regiments, 4 infantry regi- the 5th Infantry Division, fought at Metz and Whereas, in 1963, the Field Artillery School ments, 1 engineer regiment, and 1 signal bat- along the Saar River, pushing into Germany tested aerial rocket artillery, which talion, with a total strength of 26,373 sol- in early December 1944; equipped helicopters with rockets; diers; Whereas, the 5th Infantry Division— Whereas, as demonstrated during the Viet- (3) trained at Camp Doniphan until April (1) moved north on December 18, 1944, to nam War, aerial rocket artillery was effec- 1918, when the 35th Division embarked to Eu- fight in the Battle of the Bulge; tive; rope; (2) was detached on December 20, 1944, and Whereas the Field Artillery School cooper- Whereas, on September 15, 1918, the 35th reassigned to the 26th Infantry Division, ated in the development of the Field Artil- Division moved to the Meuse-Argonne front which saw action in the Ardennes; and lery Digital Automated Computer, which and, during the night of September 20, 1918, (3) from late January to March 1945, held was introduced in 1966 to compute fire direc- moved into forward positions in preparation defensive positions before driving west with tion data and made the Field Artillery a for the Meuse-Argonne offensive; the 26th Infantry Division through Germany, leader in computer developments for the Whereas, on September 26, 1918, the 35th finishing the war just inside the Czech bor- Army; Division launched an attack and, for the der at Kienberg; Whereas, in 1963, the 1st Aerial Artillery next 4 days, kept up the attack against Whereas, to best use new long-range guns Group (Provisional) was organized at Fort heavy German resistance; and improve response times, the Field Artil- Sill to test equipping CH-34 helicopters with Whereas the 35th Division returned to the lery School championed the use of organic rocket pods attached to each side, con- United States in April 1919 and was demobi- air observation to control field artillery verting the transport aircraft, an easy target lized on May 30, 1919; fires, with the War Department approving in most combat situations, into flying weap- Whereas President Harry S. Truman was a organic field artillery air observation in 1942 ons capable of direct or indirect fires; captain and battery commander of 1 of the and the field artillery air observers adjusting Whereas modern helicopter gunships are field artillery units of the 35th Division and massed fire and performing liaison, recon- descendants of the 1963 test program at Fort ran a canteen at Camp Doniphan for a period naissance, and other missions during World Sill; of time; War II; Whereas, on August 8, 1990, Fort Sill be- Whereas, after World War I, the Field Ar- Whereas, in 1942, Fort Sill stood down the came actively involved in supporting Oper- tillery School commandants began a long- last horse-drawn field artillery unit, ending ation Desert Shield, with initial activities range program to improve field artillery mo- 73 years of the partnership between soldiers centered around the preparation of III Corps bility, gunnery, and equipment; and horses that helped fuel the military Artillery units for deployment; Whereas Major Carlos Brewer, the Director strength of Fort Sill; Whereas, during Operation Desert Shield, of the Gunnery Department in the late 1920s Whereas horses did not reappear at Fort Fort Sill— and early 1930s, introduced new fire-direction Sill until 1963, when the commanding general (1) deployed 19 Active and 20 Reserve units; techniques so fire support could be more re- authorized a special ‘‘Half Section of Field (2) processed 9,246 Active and 1,397 Reserve sponsive; Artillery’’, which names the horses after personnel; Whereas Major Orlando Ward, the next Di- Fort Sill commanders; (3) trained, equipped, and validated reserve rector of the Gunnery Department after Whereas, on July 10, 1943, the 45th Infantry component units and personnel; Major Carlos Brewer, developed the fire di- Division, which trained at Fort Sill and was (4) supported active component units and rection center to centralize command and known as the ‘‘Thunderbirds’’, participated personnel; control and to facilitate massing fire; in its first of 4 amphibious landings during (5) prepared and shipped equipment to Whereas Major Brewer, Major Ward, and World War II, landing in Sicily; ports for shipment to the battlefield; and Lieutenant Colonel H.L.C. Jones encouraged Whereas the Thunderbirds served 511 days (6) with help from Army Reserve units, ex- replacing horses with motor vehicles for in combat, fighting across Sicily, Italy, panded the training base for initial military moving field artillery guns; France, and Germany; training; Whereas the 45th Infantry Division, made Whereas celebrities made appearances or Whereas, during Operation Desert Shield, up of National Guardsmen from Oklahoma, received Army training at Fort Sill during Fort Sill agencies supported Active and Re- Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas— World War II, with humorist Will Rogers and serve component units and personnel with (1) was ordered into Federal service for 1 motion-picture star Gene Autry making nu- all classes of supply, medical, dental, main- year in September 1940 to engage in a train- merous trips to entertain the troops there; tenance, personnel, finance, training, and ing program that began at Fort Sill; and Whereas Louis L’Amor, before becoming a transportation services prior to deployment; (2) participated in the Louisiana Maneu- writer of western novels, was a boxing in- Whereas Fort Sill immediately imple- vers; structor at the famous Artillery Bowl at mented its force-protection plan the morn- Whereas the Field Artillery Officer Can- Fort Sill in 1943; ing of September 11, 2001— didate School at Fort Sill— Whereas, following World War II, Fort Sill (1) by opening its installation operations (1) was opened by the Army in 1941 to help adapted to the atomic age and the Cold War, center to coordinate security measures meet the need for leaders in a rapidly ex- and the War Department consolidated all ar- around the clock; and panding Army; tillery training and development under the (2) by activating its quick-reaction force— (2) was closed during the peace period be- United States Army Artillery Center at Fort (A) to guard the outer perimeter roads; tween World War II and the Korean War; Sill in 1946; (B) to serve as roving security patrols; and (3) was subsequently reopened and re- Whereas the 45th Infantry Division ‘‘Thun- (C) to perform other security duties; mained open until 1973; and derbirds’’— Whereas, in response to the attacks of Sep- (4) trained 57,500 field artillery officers for (1) deployed to South Korea in 1952; tember 11, 2001, Fort Sill furnished security World War II, the Korean War, and the Viet- (2) was 1 of only 2 National Guard divisions personnel for high-risk targets and hardened nam War; to see combat in the Korean War; major entries with concrete and water-filled Whereas 2 Field Artillery Officer Candidate (3) was deployed with I Corps and partici- blocks, while at the same time continuing School graduates, First Lieutenant James E. pated in such battles as Old Baldy and Pork its primary mission of training officers, new Robinson (Class of 62-43) and Second Lieuten- Chop Hill; and soldiers, and noncommissioned officers; ant Harold B. Durham, Jr. (Class of 1-67), (4) participated in 4 campaigns during 429 Whereas Fort Sill supported Operation En- were awarded the Medal of Honor; days in battle; during Freedom in Afghanistan—

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.022 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S72 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 (1) by serving as a mobilization station (2) pushed the Curtiss JN-3 planes (known be read for the second time on the next for— as ‘‘Flying Jennies’’) to Polo Field; and legislative day. A) the 5045th Garrison Support Unit (Mili- (3) on Aug 10, 1915, flew the planes for the tary Police), which augmented installation first time; f security efforts; Whereas Henry Post Army Airfield is the ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY, (B) the 1st Battalion, 379th Field Artillery, oldest airfield in the Army, having been sur- which augmented the training base; and veyed and established by Captain H.R. JANUARY 9, 2019 (C) the 2nd Battalion, 379th Field Artillery, Eyrich in August 1917; Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I ask which augmented the training base; and Whereas Henry Post Army Airfield is unanimous consent that when the Sen- (2) by mobilizing the 3rd Battalion, 141st named after Second Lieutenant Henry B. ate completes its business today, it ad- Infantry from the Texas Army National Post, who was killed in a plane crash in Cali- journ until 10 a.m., Wednesday, Janu- Guard to staff the entry gates of the instal- fornia in 1914; lation; Whereas several individuals associated ary 9; further, that following the pray- Whereas, although the 5045th Garrison with Fort Sill have received the highest er and pledge, the morning hour be Support Unit, the 1st Battalion, 379th Field honor for their bravery and sacrifice, includ- deemed expired, the Journal of pro- Artillery, the 2nd Battalion, 379th Field Ar- ing— ceedings be approved to date, the time tillery, and the 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry (1) Captain Gary M. Rose, who received the for the two leaders be reserved for their were eventually deactivated, Fort Sill mobi- Medal of Honor for action in Laos in 1970 and use later in the day, and morning busi- lized and deployed numerous additional units attended the Field Artillery Officer Basic ness be closed; further, that following and improved force protection during Oper- Course and Field Artillery Officer Advance ation Enduring Freedom; Course in the 1970s; the leader remarks, the Senate resume Whereas Fort Sill supported Operation (2) First Lieutenant Lee R. Hartell, who consideration of the motion to proceed Iraqi Freedom in 2003 by deploying more posthumously received the Medal of Honor to S. 1; finally, that the Senate recess than 5,000 active duty soldiers and 400 re- for action in the Korean War; and from 12:15 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow serve component soldiers, including— (3) Sergeant First Class Jared Monti, who for the weekly conference meetings. (1) C Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Ar- received the Medal of Honor for heroic ac- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there tion in Afghanistan; tillery, the first unit to deploy from Fort objection? Sill; Whereas the Fires Center of Excellence (2) the 75th Field Artillery Brigade, which consists of— Without objection, it is so ordered. deployed more than 200 soldiers; (1) the United States Army Field Artillery f (3) the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery, School; which deployed approximately 300 soldiers; (2) the Air Defense Artillery School; ORDER FOR ADJOURNMENT (4) the 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, (3) the Directorate of Training Develop- ment and Doctrine; Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, if there which deployed approximately 300 soldiers; is no further business to come before (5) soldiers from the 17th Field Artillery (4) the Capabilities Development and Inte- Brigade; gration Directorate; the Senate, I ask unanimous consent (6) soldiers from the 212th Field Artillery (5) the Army Multi-Domain Targeting Cen- that it stand adjourned under the pre- Brigade; and ter; and vious order, following the remarks of (6) additional tenant units; (7) additional soldiers and units; our Democratic colleagues. Whereas Fort Sill is a large military in- Whereas Fort Sill is— stallation in the United States, covering ap- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without (1) the only active duty Army installation objection, it is so ordered. of all the forts on the South Plains built dur- proximately 94,000 acres, with— (1) a $2,261,000 economic impact to the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ing the Indian Wars; Lawton-Fort Sill region of Oklahoma in 2016; (2) the second-oldest continuously serving ator from Oregon. and military installation west of the Mississippi (2) approximately 10,000 military and civil- f River; and ian personnel as of 2016; and (3) designated as a National Historic Land- GOVERNMENT FUNDING Whereas the people of the Lawton-Fort Sill mark; region of Oklahoma fought to establish Fort Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I Whereas Fort Sill serves as home of— Sill and have continued to support Fort Sill come to the floor tonight to talk about (1) the United States Army Field Artillery from its inception: Now, therefore, be it hostages, seven hostages—seven spend- School; Resolved, That the Senate— (2) the United States Army Air Defense Ar- ing bills that have come through this (1) honors Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, Republican-led Chamber, bills the tillery School; on its 150th anniversary; (3) the 428th Field Artillery Training Bri- (2) commends the thousands of men and House is ready to move forward on that gade; women who have worked and trained at Fort have, ironically, been taken hostage by (4) the 30th Air Defense Artillery Training Sill; the Republican leadership of the Sen- Brigade; (3) honors the people of the Lawton-Fort ate and the President of the United (5) the 434th Field Artillery Basic Combat Sill region of Oklahoma for their continued Training Brigade; States. support of Fort Sill; and (6) the Marine Corps Field Artillery Mili- Those seven hostages, those spending (4) encourages Fort Sill to continue its in- tary Occupational Specialty School; bills, the House has said: Well, Mr. strumental role in preparing the brave men (7) a Marine Corps detachment; President, we have a difference of opin- and women of the United States for the bat- (8) the 75th (Forces Command) Fires Bri- tlefield. ion that has to be worked out, and that gade; and is Homeland Security. So let’s con- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- (9) the 31st (Forces Command) Air Defense tinue that debate while setting the Artillery Brigade; ator from South Dakota. other six free—freedom for six bills Whereas thousands of soldiers and Marines f have been trained for service in the Field Ar- passed by the Republican-led Senate so tillery at Fort Sill, including former Presi- MEASURE READ THE FIRST we can put America back to work. dent Harry S. Truman, who, during World TIME—S. 47 It sounds like a pretty good idea, but War I, became the commander of Company Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I under- good ideas and common sense seem to D, 129th Field Artillery, entering combat in stand there is a bill at the desk, and I be victims—victims of this Presi- the last few months of the war, moving his ask for its first reading. dential temper tantrum over a symbol horse-drawn battery to engage the enemy on the southern border. So it shut and support the infantry, and firing his last The PRESIDING OFFICER. The shot on the day of the Armistice at 10:45 clerk will read the title of the bill for down nine Cabinet Departments: Agri- a.m.; the first time. culture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Whereas the people of Oklahoma take The bill clerk read as follows: Security, Housing, Interior, State, great pride in the history of Fort Sill and in A bill (S. 47) to provide for the manage- Transportation, and the Treasury—af- the continuing critical role the Field Artil- ment of the natural resources of the United fecting all kinds of everyday functions lery plays in the defense of the United States, and for other purposes. for Americans. States; Mr. ROUNDS. I now ask for a second The local schools keep functioning. Whereas Fort Sill is known as the birth- They figure it out. The local city place of military combat aviation, where the reading, and in order to place the bill 1st Aero Squadron, under Captain Benjamin on the calendar under the provisions of doesn’t shut down. The county doesn’t Foulois— rule XIV, I object to my own request. shut down. Has your State shut down? (1) uncrated new, unassembled airplanes The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- I don’t think so. So why this childish and put those planes together in 1915; jection having been heard, the bill will behavior, why this incompetence, why

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A08JA6.022 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S73 this disregard for the quality of life for said you were proud to own this shut- ma on children in order to send a mes- Americans? down. You said: sage of deterrence, a political message There are 800,000 workers who are ei- I am not going to blame anybody else. This of deterrence. ther instructed to work without pay or is my shutdown. Who here believes it is right to delib- who are instructed to go on furlough. Yes, it is, Mr. Trump. Mr. President, erately injure children to send a mes- We are all affected. Every one of us is it is your shutdown, and it is not a sage of deterrence? That is the strat- affected by these Departments being shutdown with a mission, a mission egy Jeff Sessions announced last May shut down, but those 800,000 workers that is important, because the mission that started this intense assault on mi- don’t get a paycheck. that is important, that you talk about, grant children. Who would defend it What does that mean when they try is border security. today? Find me one caretaker of chil- to write the check that will pay for Every Democrat, every Republican dren who believes that inflicting trau- their mortgage or their rent, their stu- supports border security. All of us who ma on children is acceptable. Find me dent’s tuition, or their utility bill? were here in 2013 voted for huge sums. one religious tradition, one moral code How do they keep the lights turned on? I have heard some describe that bill we that says that is OK—because it is not It is all fine for the President. His passed in 2013 as $35 billion for border OK. Every human civilization recog- lights are staying on. He is not incon- security. I heard in an earlier speech nizes that. venienced, but these 800,000 Americans tonight that it was over $40 billion for Meanwhile, our farmers are won- are more than inconvenienced. They border security, smart border secu- dering what happened to their Farm are put into a hard place over this hos- rity—smart border security. Service Agencies. They are closed down tage-taking by the President and the Don’t you want to spend the tax- across the country, including 23 in Or- Republican leadership of this body. payers’ dollars smartly? Do you want egon. What happened to those pay- Out in Oregon, the estimate—admit- to waste them? Do you want to shut ments that the President promised for tedly somewhat imprecise—is that 9,000 down the government and create a those affected by tariffs? The payments workers have been affected. It seems in hardship for 800,000 people because you can’t be distributed because of the the ballpark. Oregon’s population is want to waste their money? shutdown. How about our Federal fire- about 1 percent of the country, and 1 Mr. President, and to my colleagues fighters who need to be in training percent of 800,000 is 8,000. So 9,000 across the aisle, listen to the common right now for the fires we are going to sounds in the ballpark. There are 9,000 sense of people in your home State who see next summer because of climate Oregonians who are affected by this want border security, but they don’t chaos? foolishness. want a foolish shutdown. We are seeing the impacts in every An air traffic controller wrote to me The President said there is a crisis— conceivable way, as my colleagues and said, we are ‘‘tired of being a pawn crisis—at the border because so many have been pointing out, and it is time in the partisan games that are being people are coming. How many people to end it. It is time to release the hos- played in Washington. . . . These shut- are coming to the border? Let’s take a tages. It is way past time to end it. It downs have compromised aviation safe- look. This shows the number of folks has 18 days—3 days from the longest shutdown in history. It is time to end ty.’’ who have been apprehended at the bor- He said they hinder the FAA’s ability der from the year 2000—19 years ago it, put people back to work, return to to hire and train new controllers and now—to year-to-date in 2018. This is common sense, and at the same time upgrade air traffic control systems. slightly out of date, so you can add a quit afflicting children and migrant adults as a political strategy. They break down morale and an al- little bit more to that final bar, but Almost everybody—probably every- ready understaffed and frustrated you see the point. There were massive one in this room—came here as a de- amounts in the year 2000, really high workforce. scendant of immigrants, almost all Then there is the constituent who numbers in 2001 through 2007, and then Americans. Not many of us are directly wrote to me to say: ‘‘It is unconscion- the numbers dramatically decline descended from Native Americans. able for Trump to deprive Federal em- through 2011 and beyond. Most of us are descendants from immi- I just got the numbers before I came ployees of earned and necessary in- grants. How did we want them to be to the floor for the last month we had, come, holding them hostage for his treated? We wanted them to be treated which was October. About 60,000 people foolish wall.’’ with respect and decency as they wait- There are seven spending bills held came to the border. In 1 month, in 2000, ed for an asylum hearing, and that is hostage, along with 800,000 Americans 200,000 people came to the border. That what we have to return to. and their families’ finances. is quite a difference. That is now less So release the hostages, return to There is the young man in Lane than one-third than last month. common sense, and treat the American County whom I spoke with after one of There is no crisis there, only the hu- people with respect. my townhall meetings last week. He manitarian crisis, Mr. Trump, that you Thank you. was supposed to be moving to Cali- are creating with your war on chil- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- fornia to begin working in the Sierra dren—your war on migrant children— ator from Pennsylvania. National Forest this past weekend. He shoving them back into Mexico to put Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I join in was all set to go, giving up his current them at the mercy of the Mexican raising these issues tonight about the living arrangements because he was gangs; proceeding to let them into the government shutdown. The reason so going to be moving into Forest Service United States and then ripping them many of us have referred to it simply housing. Then the shutdown happened. out of the arms of their parents while as the ‘‘Trump shutdown’’ is because Now he has no job, has no key to undo you lock up their parents; deciding you the President is the person who led the the lock. He has no ability to move are going to lock up the children with way to have the government shut into that Forest Service housing. He is their parents behind barbed wire and down. He said that before the shut- stranded. There are just all kinds of ev- internment camps; establishing a na- down, as we all know. We have heard eryday stories of challenges to Ameri- tional system of child prisons that, last the statement he made in the Oval Of- cans. month, held 15,000 children, which is up fice. To President Trump, I say: Listen. from 7,000 in June; failing to provide Then, of course, we went forward. I Listen to the voices of ordinary Ameri- medical evaluations for these children think it is important to reset where we cans who are having a hard time be- when they cross the border. Two have have been and where we are. cause of you and because of the leader- died—one after 6 days in the care of the There was an agreement in this body, ship of this Senate—the Republican American border guard. the U.S. Senate, by 100 Senators, just leadership of this Senate. Ordinary You, Mr. President, have created a before Christmas, to extend funding for Americans are caught in the middle of crisis, a humanitarian crisis. The arriv- the government for a short period of this. als on the border are not the crisis; it time so that if there were issues to de- This is your shutdown, Mr. President. is your hardened heart, your dark and bate between now and February, we You said so. You said it on television. evil heart, your war on children; the could do that. It is hard to get 100 Sen- You said it from the Oval Office. You deliberate strategy of inflicting trau- ators to agree on anything around

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This is appropriations talk show hosts, and I guess they have all of those operations of the Federal hostage-taking that hurts a lot of peo- more influence on him than a lot of Government to go forward but still pre- ple and will continue to hurt more and Americans, who never want a govern- serves the opportunity for the Presi- more people as the days go on. ment shutdown. dent or anyone to make assertions, to That is one of the reasons why I sup- As we stand here tonight, 9 of 15 Fed- make arguments, and to put forth pol- ported the legislation introduced by eral Departments are closed, shut icy regarding border security, no mat- Senators CARDIN and VAN HOLLEN that down, and I am not even itemizing the ter what it is. We could debate that would guarantee backpay for these number of Agencies that is. Then we from now until that moment in Feb- hard-working Federal employees who came into the new year, on January 3— ruary—that date in February when the do so many things for the American I don’t know what hour it was, but it Department of Homeland Security people that we don’t itemize or praise, was in the evening—with a new major- would run out of money—and see what except when there is a crisis like the ity in the U.S. House of Representa- would happen at that point. one we are facing right now, the crisis tives, a Democratic majority. What did That is what people have to under- of not having a government fully fund- that Democratic majority do? What did stand. There is a way to continue a de- ed. the Democratic House Speaker do? In bate about border security, a very im- So the President shut down the gov- her first act as Speaker, and in essence portant debate. I voted for, I don’t ernment over a wall that will not their first vote on substance, they know how many tens of billions now— work, will not secure the border. Let’s voted to open up the government by billion with a ‘‘b’’—on border security not confuse the two. We have always voting in favor of a bill that was essen- since I have been here. I voted for the made investments over time—both par- tially a Republican appropriations bill. bill in 2013, the comprehensive bill that ties, many administrations, many ses- That is what the Democratic-con- got 68 votes here in 2013—68 votes. That sions of Congress have made invest- trolled House did. They voted to move means a whole number of Republicans ments in effective border security forward Republican appropriations voted for it. That committed more based upon the recommendations from bills that were voted on here in com- than $40 billion to border security, experts. We should do that again, as we mittee but also were agreed to here, in based upon the testimony of experts, have done over many years. The secu- rity experts over the number of years a sense, by consensus—a 100-to-0 con- based upon people who understand bor- charged with keeping our Nation safe sensus just before Christmas. So there der security. Let’s be honest, folks. A have said this concrete or steel wall is ample reason, there is a lot of docu- lot of House Members and a lot of along the width of the southern border mentary evidence—video evidence— Democrats and Republicans in both will not work. It will not work. that this is a Trump shutdown. parties and both Houses are not border Former Commissioner of Customs I think it is important for people to security experts. That is why we should and Border Patrol Gil Kerlikowske understand. I know some here call it a ask for their advice in telling us the said, in January 2017: ‘‘I think that partisan bill. No, it wasn’t. It was a bi- best way to secure the border. That is anyone who’s been familiar with the partisan bill. It just happened to have essentially what happened in 2013, southwest border and the terrain . . . its origin in the work of Republicans in when both parties voted—68 votes kind of recognizes that building a wall the Senate—the Senate appropriations here—to pass a comprehensive bill that along the entire southwest border is work that was done by Republicans, had more than $40 billion for border se- probably not going to work.’’ with Democratic help. Of course, this curity. That is someone who understands Chamber is controlled by Republicans, That is how you do border security. this subject. That is what he said. He is so these were Republican bills. You don’t just say: Well, because I used not a politician spewing out a sound It is also important to know what a word in a campaign, I used a sound bite or just doing an interview. He is a could happen here. There is legislation bite in a campaign, therefore, the person who has dedicated a large por- now that the Senate can vote on that sound bite—which isn’t based upon tion of his life to border security, and will open the government up by doing good policy—has to become the policy. we should listen to those voices. the following: by funding eight Depart- That is not how we should do things Building a concrete wall will not stop ments of government until the 30th of here. No one in either party should do illegal activity. Border security—effec- September. It is important for people it that way. tive border security—will. What is to understand that. They see the back Now we are, I guess, 17 days since the that? It is technology. It is 24-hour sur- and forth, and they see how a bill like President decided to shut down the veillance. It is, as in the 2013 bill, in es- that is characterized on television, but government because he would not get sence, doubling the Border Patrol. I it is important for people to know—and his wall. We should never confuse a think we could have hired 20,000 more I will keep saying it for emphasis be- wall with border security. We all want people at the border to do border en- cause this is important we get the facts border security. I don’t know of a legis- forcement. That is why the cost was so right—this is an action by a House con- lator who doesn’t support that. Most high—because to hire 20,000 people trolled by Democrats to move forward people here voted for it many times— costs a lot of money, but that is what bills that virtually every Republican border security—based upon what the we voted for then. I haven’t even listed agreed to in one way or another over experts tell us, not the politicians. If all of them, but those kinds of meth- time on various occasions. we were using politicians for that kind ods—battle-tested, proven methods to The effect of passing that bill here of expertise, we would be in big trou- secure the border will work. That is would open the government for those ble. We wouldn’t do that in many sub- what we should be doing. Agencies—those Departments is a more ject areas, including something as con- According to a 2017 national drug as- correct word—those Departments that sequential and as important and as sessment report, most illegal smug- are shut down right now, leaving only complicated as border security. We gling happens at our ports of entry, not one Department that would now be should do it the right way and have a crossing a line in a desert at the south- funded over a longer term, the Depart- debate about it and hear testimony west border—ports of entry. One exam- ment of Homeland Security. That De- from experts, not just hot air from ple is at our airports. Airports are partment would not be funded after a politicians because they said a word or among the places we should be focusing certain date in February if we can’t two or three in a campaign. That is not our attention. I haven’t heard the agree on funding until then. policy. President talk about airports. Maybe I What the effect of that is, it moves Right now, there are 820,000 Federal haven’t been listening, but he has been forward the effort to keep the govern- employees, 14,000—some in Pennsyl- President now for just about 2 years, ment operating, to keep—just by way vania, wondering how they are going to and I am not sure he has talked about of example—13,709 FBI agents who make a mortgage payment or pay the stopping smuggling at ports of entry.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.046 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE January 8, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S75 If the President was serious about se- can’t do that with a symbol. You have That bill is here, in essence. All the curing the southern border or fixing to do it with policy. That is what you majority leader has to do is put it on our immigration system, he would have to do. the floor, and it will pass. The govern- work with both parties, both Houses, The President seems totally disin- ment will be opened up, and we could on an immigration system that would terested in sitting down and trying to debate border security until the cows secure the border and do a whole range lead an effort on the kind of immigra- come home—all the rest of January, of things we need to do because we tion reform that both parties know we longer into February, as long as we all have a broken system. need and that most Americans know agree to debate it. Let’s have a real de- Here is my belief. I can’t prove this. we need as well. We all want to fix this bate. Let’s not debate a sound bite This is just my belief watching what he system with a comprehensive bill. I about an image that refers to a way has said and listening to his speeches mentioned the 2013 effort and what someone thinks we should do border se- and listening to the policies he has sup- that would have done. curity. Let’s have the evidence and put ported and the policies he has not sup- Instead of wasting $5.6 billion on a it on the table. I think my point of ported. I don’t believe the President wall, we could use that money to re- view on this would prevail, but let’s has any interest in fixing our broken build our infrastructure or to invest in hear from both sides. immigration system. He seems to have border security that is based upon ex- We have a way out of this predica- an interest in building a wall that will pertise. We could use $5.6 billion to do ment for the American people, a way to not work—I am rather certain of that— a lot of infrastructure in my State and provide certainty and relief to those but I don’t think he has any interest in a lot of States—fixing bridges, for ex- families who are suffering right now fixing this broken system. He has a ample. I live in a State, like many, and the many more families who will strong interest, in my judgment, of that has thousands of structurally defi- continue to suffer if this continues. scoring points, and I will give him cient bridges. We could use that money It is time for the majority leader to that. He is an expert at scoring polit- to enhance our national security. schedule a vote and stop making ex- ical points, but in terms of sitting I am told that we are to understand cuses why he shouldn’t. Let’s see what down with people in both parties, tak- the President is looking for money— happens if the President has to con- ing hours and hours and hours and the $5.6 billion—potentially out of the front a bill passed by both Houses. If he hours of testimony from border secu- Defense Department. Is that what we vetoes it, then it is further evidence rity experts, or at least listening to the should be doing with DOD dollars that that he is not serious about border se- presentations made here by way of are meant for national security? curity, but we will see. Maybe the hearings or information that can be We could also use $5.6 billion to in- President would sign a bill that was ascertained in a hearing, I don’t think vest in our children and thereby invest passed by both parties in both Houses. he is willing to do that. I don’t think in our future, but I don’t think the The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. he has any interest in doing that. President is interested in this. He ROUNDS). The Senator from New Hamp- The Presiding Officer and many wants to win a sound bite war or an shire. Members of this Chamber, including image or symbol war, not fix the prob- Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I the Senator from New Hampshire and lem and not make the investments we thank my colleague from Pennsyl- the Senator from Virginia, worked long should make. vania, Senator CASEY, for his compel- and hard—not over hours but over days Instead of creating chaos and perpet- ling remarks. In fact, for the last sev- and weeks—to come up with a proposal uating chaos, the President should sup- eral hours, we have heard compelling last year which would have provided port the bipartisan funding bill the remarks from a number of our col- $25 billion for border security over House passed last week—the Demo- leagues. I thank Senator KAINE from about 10 years. It is a lot of money over cratic House, which passed the Repub- Virginia for helping to organize this ef- 10 years, and they had to agree to that lican bills, for a little shorthand there. fort and all of those who have come to based upon those expert recommenda- The bills would reopen the government the floor to talk about the lasting and tions. They also coupled that with a and also provide $1 billion for border negative effects of this senseless shut- statutory change that would make sure security that is based upon facts and down—a shutdown that is all about those Dreamers in the DACA Program evidence and expertise and effective- President Trump yielding to Rush were given the benefit of the fulfill- ness, not based upon some sound bite Limbaugh and the rightwing com- ment of our promise to them. That and hot air. mentators who told them he wasn’t could have been done in law by statute, The vast majority of Senate Repub- being tough enough. and I commend Republicans who stood licans supported these funding meas- Senators CASEY and MARKEY re- up then and worked in a bipartisan ures last Congress. minded us how we got here, that we way. On August 1, Senate Republicans had an agreement we thought the What did the President do? He told joined Democrats to advance funding President had committed to sign. His them he would back them up, that he for the Department of Agriculture, Fi- Vice President, his Acting Chief of would sign that bill—that bill with $25 nancial Services, Transportation, Staff, told us he was going to sign it. It billion and a fix for the DACA Pro- Housing and Urban Development, and passed the Senate on a voice vote. gram. Then his second promise he Interior. That big appropriations bill is What is so ironic, as Senator MARKEY made was, he said: I will take the heat. affecting all those Agencies referred to said, is that what is happening now is It didn’t happen. He didn’t sign it. He there. The vote was 92 to 6 on the floor actually making us less safe. The idea denigrated it. Of course, he didn’t take of the U.S. Senate. I don’t know who that we have all of these people on our the heat because he went running for the 6 were, but 92 is a good number— southern border, all of these TSA cover. and obviously in both parties. agents, people who are working, 800,000 I don’t see much evidence on the The Commerce, Justice, Science, and employees, 400,000 who are furloughed, record that he wants to fix a broken Related Agencies appropriations bill 380,000 who are working without pay— system. Everyone knows the system is passed out of committee—this is a that is actually making us less safe. broken, everyone knows we have to committee vote; not a floor vote but an As Senator DURBIN pointed out, a rely upon experts to secure the border, important vote—on June 14 by a vote wall across our southern border everyone knows the path to citizenship of 30 to 0. wouldn’t do anything to interdict the is complicated, but we had a way to do The State-Foreign Operations bill fentanyl that is coming across from that in the 2013 bill. passed out of committee by a vote of 31 China. That is the biggest killer of peo- Everyone knows that the guest work- to 0. ple in New Hampshire from overdoses; er program and bringing people out of So one bill passed on the floor 92 to it is the fentanyl. As Senator JONES the shadows and having order and rules 6, and the other committee votes were pointed out, the Coast Guard’s role in to our immigration system is com- 30 to 0 and 31 to 0—again, bills passed interdiction is what is significant. It is plicated and difficult. Everyone knows by a Democratic House that are, in not a wall that is going to keep out you can’t do that with a sound bite. fact, Republican appropriations bills. those vehicles that are going to come You can’t do that with an image. You That is what the House did. through our ports of entry.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.047 S08JAPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE S76 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2019 Senator STABENOW reminded us that It is time for us to act in the Senate. walked by a lot of students who had there are 38 million people who depend It is time for Congress to fund this gov- come because they want to serve the on food assistance, and a quarter of the ernment, to get it back open. I very country as cyber professionals, and people in New Mexico, as Senator HEIN- much appreciate Senator KAINE’s work they were having interviews. But a lot RICH told us, depend on food assistance. here tonight as we talk about the im- of the booths—the Department of Jus- He quoted his constituent Kathy, who pacts on this country of this govern- tice—there was a booth, there was a pointed out that the President is hold- ment shutdown. sign, but there was nobody there. There ing us hostage. She said: Federal em- Thank you, Mr. President. was nobody there from the Federal ployees are being held hostage. We are I yield to my colleague from Vir- Agency to hire. ginia. now being held hostage in the Senate These are effects on everyday citi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- because the majority is unwilling to zens, kids who want jobs, Federal agen- act on the legislation that has passed ator from Virginia. Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I would cies that want to hire workers, families the House and previously passed the who just want to go to the parks. Senate. like to finish the colloquy of the Demo- Senator BENNET talked about China cratic Senators who talked about this This is hurting workers, it is hurting landing on the dark side of the Moon important issue—the need to reopen citizens, and it is hurting our country. last week. It is a reminder that we the government and to stop the shut- In conclusion, I just want to say: have to compete in this world, that we down—and I intend to do so before 9 Why? Why would we want to hurt Fed- can’t assume that America is going to o’clock. I want to thank my colleague eral workers? Why would we want be No. 1 in everything again. Yet, while from New Hampshire and all the col- them to be without a paycheck? Why China was landing on the dark side of leagues who appeared on the floor do we want to hurt everyday citizens? the Moon, our government was shut today. Why do we want to hurt the reputation down. Thousands of researchers On Friday, January 11, if we do not of the country? weren’t doing their jobs at NASA, the end this shutdown, it will be tied for Because I could see from the looks on Department of Agriculture, and so the longest shutdown of government in the faces of those getting turned away many other places because we were the history of the United States. It is at the park not just aggravation, I shut down. also a payday where more than 800,000 The cost to the economy as a whole, Federal employees will not get a pay- could see: What kind of country is this? I am a hard-working person, I pay as Senator HASSAN pointed out—there check. My quick census research sug- are craft breweries in New Hampshire, gests that is essentially the population taxes, I am coming to a national park, small businesses that can’t get their of South Dakota. More than 800,000 I am coming to a national forest, and I businesses started because government people who just want to serve their am getting turned away because the is shut down. country, some of whom have been President wants to shut down the gov- Senator KLOBUCHAR pointed out that forced to work without a paycheck, ernment over a debate about border se- the cost to the economy, according to will not get a paycheck on January. curity. the President’s own advisers, is $10 bil- Friday, January 11, is right after You know, Mr. President, because lion a week. At a time when the stock Christmas, when a lot of Christmas you and I worked on it together, in market is going up and down, when we bills come due. Friday, January 11, is February, $25 billion for border secu- have people losing billions of dollars in the middle of winter, when heating rity, that wasn’t enough. The President because of fluctuations in the stock bills are at their highest. Friday, Janu- blew up the deal. Five years ago, $44 market, $10 billion a week contributes ary 11, is right before the beginning of billion of border security wasn’t to that uncertainty. the college spring semester, and fami- enough for the Republican House. Then, of course, Senator VAN HOLLEN lies will be sitting around kitchen ta- We want to fund border security, but and Senator MERKLEY and virtually ev- bles to write tuition checks for their as I conclude, I just would say to this erybody here talked about the impact kids to go to school for the spring se- President: Do not hurt American work- on ordinary Americans from this gov- mester. That will be this Friday. ers. Do not hurt American citizens. Do ernment shutdown. We are going to This shutdown hurts workers. I told not hurt the reputation of the greatest hear from President Trump in about 5 stories of workers in Virginia who have country on Earth. minutes. He is going to speak to the already suffered, and my colleagues country. I will bet he doesn’t talk have as well. I would say to my Republican col- about the impact on ordinary Ameri- It hurts citizens. I had the experience leagues, please be willing to vote and cans of this government shutdown. I two Saturdays ago of going to four support exactly what you voted and will bet he doesn’t talk about the cost Federal—either national forests or supported just 3 weeks ago. to the economy or what he promised to Park Service operations and seeing Why the change in position? Why was sign when this Congress passed funding gates closed. I watched families come it OK in December, and it is not OK bills. I will bet he doesn’t talk about up. They had driven. They may not get now? Is it not OK because the Presi- the future of America and what is a lot of vacation. They had a lot of kids dent suddenly said he didn’t like it? Is going to happen if we don’t continue to in the car, and they were coming up to it the job of the article I branch to play invest in research and if we don’t con- have fun with their families that day. I Mother May I with the President and tinue to invest in our people and in- watched the looks on their faces as seek his permission to be an article I stead get involved in these partisan they pulled to the locations and saw branch? I don’t believe it is. Let’s end fights. No. I think what he is going to the gates closed and the sign saying this shutdown. Let’s reopen govern- do is tell Americans a made-up story that they weren’t able to enjoy the day ment. Let’s do border security and im- about the emergency at our southern they had planned with their family. migration reform the right way. border—an emergency that we saw That is not the same as missing a I yield the floor. from Senator DURBIN and Senator mortgage payment, but for families MERKLEY is not real. We have gone who are stretched in time and want to from 1.6 million people coming across spend a day enjoying time with each f our southern border and being arrested other—I saw the looks on their faces as down to about 200,000 in the last year. they were turned away. ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 10 A.M. This is not a crisis that is affecting Mr. President, you and I have worked TOMORROW America. We need to address border se- together on an important initiative to curity. Everybody here believes that. train students, college students, to be The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under All of the people who spoke tonight our next cyber professionals. Today is the previous order, the Senate stands said we need to address border secu- the cyber jobs fair that the National adjourned until 10 a.m. tomorrow. rity. We need to do it in a way that is Science Foundation sponsors for col- Thereupon, the Senate, at 9:01 p.m., thoughtful and that spends taxpayer lege students all over the country. It adjourned until Wednesday, January 9, dollars wisely. was at National Harbor. I went there. I 2019, at 10 a.m.

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