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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017 No. 204 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was EXECUTIVE SESSION from around the globe, and it is the called to order by the President pro Senate’s responsibility to provide the tempore (Mr. HATCH). service chiefs with the resources to EXECUTIVE CALENDAR train and equip our warfighters and to f The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under provide them with the resources they the previous order, the Senate will pro- need to keep us safe. PRAYER ceed to executive session and resume The diverse challenges posed by Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, ISIL, al- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- consideration of the following nomina- Qaida, and its affiliates span the spec- fered the following prayer: tion, which the clerk will report. trum of warfighting, and our force Let us pray. The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of James C. Ho, of must be trained and prepared to oper- O Lord our God, we are grateful for ate on sea, air, land, and in cyber Your marvelous works and power. Keep Texas, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. space. These challenges were only com- us from becoming weary in doing what pounded by the Obama administra- is right, as You remind us that a har- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- tion’s focus on reducing the size of our vest of blessings is certain. Give conventional force, withdrawing our strength to our lawmakers and bless jority leader is recognized. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, forward presence, and placing an unre- them with Your peace. We praise You alistic reliance upon allies and Special that You are the strength of our lives today the Senate will continue another historic week confirming more of Operations forces. and we need not fear for the future. As In stark contrast to the previous ad- President Trump’s impressive judicial You guide our Senators with Your wis- ministration, this Republican-led Con- nominees to the Federal bench—Steven dom, create in them a hunger and gress and the Trump administration Grasz, confirmed; Don Willett, con- thirst for righteousness, preparing have taken the initial steps to rebuild firmed. And soon we will add James Ho them to be filled with Your Divine our military. We are working to ensure to the list by confirming him to serve nourishment. Lord, thank You for not that the needs of the force are met and on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. withholding blessings from those who our servicemembers have the tools and He is an exceptionally well-qualified walk upright. training necessary to fulfill their mis- nominee whose career in both public We pray in Your great Name. Amen. sions. service and the private sector has gar- In our ongoing discussions sur- f nered respect from both sides of the rounding government funding, we must aisle. The former Democratic mayor of continue to prioritize our Nation’s men PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Dallas supported his nomination, call- and women in uniform. It is illogical ing him ‘‘among the most brilliant ap- for this Senate to repeatedly vote to The President pro tempore led the pellate lawyers in the United States.’’ Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: pass National Defense Authorization When we vote to confirm Mr. Ho, we Acts at one level of authority and not I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the will be adding another fair and impar- United States of America, and to the Repub- meet that commitment with the nec- tial judge to the Federal bench, and by essary appropriations act; and this lic for which it stands, one nation under God, doing so, the Senate will take another indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. funding cannot be held hostage to the important step to ensure that the Fed- Obama-era demand that increases in f eral judiciary fulfills its proper role in defense funding be matched by equal our constitutional system. Each of increases in nondefense spending. Con- them will be an asset to our Nation’s RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME gress ignored that demand earlier this courts. year, and we must do it again now. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Under Chairman GRASSLEY’s leader- The reason is simple: Under the STRANGE). Under the previous order, ship, the Senate Judiciary Committee Budget Control Act, the Department of the leadership time is reserved. has done outstanding work to move Defense has received a dispropor- these judicial nominees to the floor. I tionate funding cut—and will again if f am grateful for his efforts, and I urge Congress fails to come to an agree- all of my colleagues to join me in vot- ment. That type of blow would unac- CONCLUSION OF MORNING ing to confirm Mr. Ho soon. ceptably diminish our military’s readi- BUSINESS FUNDING OUR MILITARY ness and damage our national security. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning Mr. President, on another matter, I hope that Members can work to- business is closed. our Nation faces a myriad of threats gether to provide the necessary funds ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S8017 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Dec 15, 2017 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A14DE6.000 S14DEPT1 S8018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 14, 2017 to our military—and to all parts of our tant to the country but especially im- our healthcare delivery system and government—so that the men and portant to the providers of healthcare provides more stability and more cer- women of our all-volunteer force can for children, the children, and their tainty in these challenging times for continue to keep our country safe. families who receive that coverage and healthcare providers across Kansas. TAX CUTS AND JOBS BILL care; that is, the Medicaid CHIP pro- I am happy the House of Representa- Now, on a final matter, Mr. Presi- gram. It was established in 1997. tives has passed reauthorization. They dent, yesterday, Congress moved closer I call to the attention of my col- did their bill. It is now time for the to delivering much-needed tax relief to leagues the importance of us acting in Senate to act. The Finance Committee American families and small busi- the next several days in regard to the has taken its action, but this bill is nesses as Members of the House and reauthorization extension of the CHIP still pending on the floor of the U.S. the Senate held a public meeting of the program. It has helped provide cov- Senate. During this Christmas season, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act conference com- erage to children of low-income fami- this holiday time, parents should not mittee. The conferees discussed the lies in my State and those individuals have to wonder what they will do in best way to provide tax reform to fami- who would otherwise be left without the absence of this insurance program lies and small businesses across our any insurance and most likely, in that allows their children to receive country. Throughout this process, we every case, the funds necessary to routine care and, in many instances, have focused on the middle class and cover healthcare costs for the well- lifesaving care. on those left behind by the Obama being of those young men and women. Continuing to delay action on this economy—like many of the families in This program is funded through a bill is not in the best interest of the Kentucky who I represent. multiyear authorization that requires American people. It would be nice, it By overhauling our broken and out- Congress to take action each time the would be appreciated by Americans to dated Tax Code, we are working to program reaches the end of that au- see the U.S. Senate work on a program seize this once-in-a-generation oppor- thorization. The end of that authoriza- that has broad bipartisan support but tunity to grow paychecks, create more tion occurred on September 30, now still, for some reason, can’t get it jobs, and help our economy reach its several months ago. While I have been across the finish line. That finish line, full potential. The plan before the con- assured in my State that there are suf- I suppose, was September 30, but I ference committee will also end many ficient funds to get us through the end would say that finish line is now the of the perverse incentives for corpora- of the year, I am concerned. In fact, end of the year, and specifically De- tions to ship American jobs overseas. the belief is, we may have enough funds cember 22, with the CR expiring at that We want to bring those jobs and invest- to pay for our insurance program point in time. It is time for Congress to ments home and keep them here. through March. That certainly is prob- take action in that regard. Once the committee completes its ably not the case across the United My plea on the Senate floor this work to reconcile the differences be- States, and we need to act within a few morning is for the U.S. Senate to take tween each Chamber’s bill, every Mem- short days. I hope this is an issue that legislative action and reauthorize this ber of Congress will have the oppor- is addressed, as the continuing resolu- program, provide certainty, and care tunity to cast a vote to provide mean- tion that funds the Federal Govern- for our country’s children who are, ingful tax relief to middle-class Ameri- ment expires on December 22.
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