Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 114 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 114 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 161 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015 No. 126 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, August 7, 2015, at 11 a.m. Senate WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015 The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was NUCLEAR AGREEMENT WITH IRAN when he announced it by falsely called to order by the President pro Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, as conflating debates from more than a tempore (Mr. HATCH). the administration’s agreement with decade ago with the unique and con- f Iran comes under greater scrutiny, sequential realities of today. Now is a time to aim higher. Now is PRAYER there is growing bipartisan concern. It is widespread, and it is well founded. a time to dig deeper. What I am asking The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- The leading House Democrat on the is for President Obama to join us in ris- fered the following prayer: Foreign Affairs Committee recently ing to the moment. Let us pray. Senators and the American people Immortal, invisible, God only wise, said the deal ‘‘troubled’’ him because ‘‘it doesn’t prevent Iran from having a are being asked to weigh the con- continue to lead our lawmakers like a sequences of what it would mean to great shepherd. May they be watchful nuclear weapon, it just postpones it.’’ Yesterday another House Democrat allow Iran to become a nuclear-thresh- among the unwatchful and awake said the deal lacks ‘‘sufficient safe- old state with the power to dominate among those who sleep. Give them the guards’’ and ‘‘could lead to a dangerous its neighbors, spread its influence, and wisdom to speak and act with such regional weapons race.’’ She warned threaten our allies. This is a serious pure minds that joy will follow them that the agreement would leave the decision to make with serious con- like gentle winds. Lord, guide their consciences so that international community with limited sequences for our country. America de- our Senators may faithfully serve our options to prevent Iran’s nuclear serves a debate worthy of it. Nation and uphold Your values and breakout. I imagine the many Democrats with These are strong words, and they are truths. As we near the August break serious reservations about this deal from congressional Democrats who are may our lawmakers appreciate that feel the very same way. Nearly every otherwise supportive of the President. substantive things have been accom- Member of both parties voted to have It is clear that this deal is making plished, but much remains to be done. this debate when they passed the Iran Thank You that the illumination of Members of both parties uneasy—and Nuclear Agreement Review Act this Your wisdom enables us to more clear- with good reason. spring. Given the widespread bipartisan America’s role in the world, its com- ly see Your truth. concern about this deal, it is clear that We pray in Your sacred Name. Amen. mitment to global allies, and the kind a serious and proper debate, followed of future we will leave our children are f by a vote on the agreement, is now just all tied up in this issue. That is why I exactly what our country needs. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE have called for a debate worthy of the The President pro tempore led the importance of the agreement when the f Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: Senate takes it up in September. I hope the President will echo this I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the CYBER SECURITY United States of America, and to the Repub- tone of seriousness in his remarks later lic for which it stands, one nation under God, today. I hope he will avoid tired, obvi- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, a indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ously untrue talking points about this cyber attack can feel like a very per- f being some choice between a bad deal sonal attack on your privacy. A crimi- and war. Of course it isn’t. He knows it nal with your medical records, your RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY isn’t. He himself has said that no deal credit cards, and your Social Security LEADER is better than a bad deal. number; a stranger with emails from The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. There is also no need to insult the your boss, texts to your friends, and BOOZMAN). The majority leader is rec- man who negotiated this agreement pictures of your kids—it is personally ognized. and the man who stood by his side violating, financially crippling, and it ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S6327 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:50 Aug 06, 2015 Jkt 049060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A05AU6.000 S05AUPT1 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with SENATE S6328 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 5, 2015 can be just plain creepy. But with ef- Russ has all of the qualities you would 1. That is a short time away—less than fective cyber security legislation, we look for in a highly successful member 2 months. Every day that passes we are can help protect America’s privacy. of our leadership team—always willing another day closer to the crisis of an It seems the White House agrees too. to take on the difficult but necessary unfunded Federal government. We were glad to see such a strong tasks, unafraid to offer his candid ad- For months we have been warning statement of support yesterday for the vice, working each vote until the gavel Republican leaders that there is a need strong bipartisan and transparent falls, and defined by loyalty and integ- to find a solution to these budget prob- cyber security bill before the Senate. rity. This is someone whose judgment I lems. We have offered to meet with The President’s spokesman said ‘‘the value greatly. them. We have urged them to nego- Senate should take up this bill as soon I am glad Russ’s son Austin got to tiate. The answer is always no answer. as possible and pass it.’’ That is what see him in action. He has had a front- The Republican leader knows he the President’s spokesman said just row seat as a page here in the Senate. must negotiate. Here is what he said yesterday about the bill that is cur- We hope Austin will be seeing more of yesterday: ‘‘Different parties control rently on the floor. It is easy to see his dad soon, the same with his sister the Congress from control the White why. This bipartisan legislation would Sasha and Russ’s wife Cindy. House, and at some point, we’ll nego- help the public and private sectors pro- Thank you, Russ, for your service to tiate the way forward.’’ I am sure that tect America’s most private and per- the Senate. You have been an invalu- didn’t come out exactly the way he sonal information by defeating cyber able member of our team, and you will wanted, but I think I get the picture. attacks. be truly missed. He believes we have two Houses of Con- It contains important measures to gress that are different from the White f protect ‘‘individual privacy and civil House. I am quite certain that is what liberties,’’ as the top Democrat on the RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY he meant to say. issue put it. It has been scrutinized and LEADER Regardless, the question remains: supported overwhelmingly—14 to 1—by The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Why does the Republican leader con- both parties in the Intelligence Com- Democratic leader is recognized. tinue to decline our invitation to sit mittee. down and craft a bipartisan solution Our colleagues said they would be f and do it now? Why does he continue to happy to consider the bill in a timely NUCLEAR AGREEMENT WITH IRAN tell us no? This should not come as a fashion—a couple of days ‘‘at the surprise, however, because Republicans Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Iran ac- most’’ is what the Democratic leader are in the habit of governing by manu- cord is the result of many years of hard told us—if allowed to offer some factured crisis. We have seen that over work by lots of people. Congressional amendments. That seemed reasonable the past 7 months. committees are conducting hearings to enough to me. That is why I offered a Their obvious distaste—some say ha- listen to the administration’s case and fair proposal yesterday that would tred—of government generally is so others. For example, this evening at 5 have ensured at least 10 relevant deep that many take pleasure in clos- p.m., we will have an all-Senators clas- amendments to be pending and debated ing it. We hear that from the state- sified briefing. At that meeting, we will for each party. That is actually more ments that have been made over the hear from Dr. Moniz, the Secretary of than what Democrats have been asking last few days. That could explain why Energy, a man imminently qualified as for. So I think everyone was a little they keep fighting to not move forward a scientist—an MIT physics professor taken aback when they chose to block on negotiations and finding excuses to who is world famous for his scientific the proposal anyway.