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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017 No. 18 Senate The Senate met at 11 a.m. and was Mr. SULLIVAN thereupon assumed of President Obama’s two first-term called to order by the Honorable DAN the Chair as Acting President pro tem- Supreme Court nominees. Did not. We SULLIVAN, a Senator from the State of pore. thank the Democratic leader for clear- Alaska. f ing that up. His statement also re- f minds us that both of the Supreme RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME Court Justices President Clinton nomi- PRAYER The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- nated got straight up-or-down votes as The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- pore. Under the previous order, the well. There is no reason someone like fered the following prayer: leadership time is reserved. Judge Gorsuch, who has received wide- Let us pray. spread acclaim from both sides of the O God, who remains the same when f aisle, should be treated differently all else fades, thank You for loving and now. using us for Your glory. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY Guide our Senators in the footsteps LEADER When he was nominated to his current seat on the court of appeals, Judge of those who were willing to risk all for The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Gorsuch received the American Bar As- freedom, who transformed dark yester- pore. The majority leader is recog- sociation’s highest possible rating— days into bright tomorrows. nized. Lord, uphold our Nation with Your unanimously ‘‘well qualified.’’ At his wisdom and might, enabling it to con- f confirmation hearing, no one had a sin- tinue to be a city of refuge for those MEASURE PLACED ON THE gle negative word to say about him— whose hearts yearn for freedom. Keep CALENDAR—S. 274 not a single negative word. At his con- us all from untimely and self-made firmation vote, no one cast a negative Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I cares, as we continue to look to You, vote against him—not then-Senator the Author and Finisher of our faith. understand there is a bill at the desk Obama, not then-Senators Clinton, We pray in Your great Name. Amen. due a second reading. Biden, or Kennedy, and not my good The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- f friend Senator SCHUMER, either. Judge pore. The clerk will read the bill by Gorsuch was confirmed in exception- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE title for the second time. ally fast time for a court of appeals The Presiding Officer led the Pledge The bill clerk read as follows: nominee—just 2 months. So you have of Allegiance, as follows: A bill (S. 274) to nullify the effect of the re- to wonder, if this nominee was so non- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the cent executive order that temporarily re- controversial in 2006 that a rollcall United States of America, and to the Repub- stricted individuals from certain countries vote was not even required, what could from entering the United States. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, possibly have changed since to justify indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. MCCONNELL. In order to place threats of extraordinary treatment f the bill on the calendar under the pro- now? What has happened in the last 10 APPOINTMENT OF ACTING visions of rule XIV, I object to further years? If the Democratic leader or any- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE proceedings. one else in his conference did not raise The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The a concern in committee or cast a single pore. Objection is heard. clerk will please read a communication negative vote then, let alone even ask The bill will be placed on the cal- to the Senate from the President pro for a rollcall vote, what could possibly endar. tempore (Mr. HATCH). justify these so-called grave concerns— The bill clerk read the following let- f grave concerns—he claims to have ter: now? NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH U.S. SENATE, Professor Laurence Tribe, President PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Obama’s law school mentor, called Washington, DC, February 2, 2017. was surprised by a statement my friend Judge Gorsuch a ‘‘brilliant, terrific guy To the Senate: the Democratic leader made right here who would do the Court’s work with Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, yesterday. I am glad he came back to distinction.’’ This is Laurence Tribe, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby the floor to correct himself, though. I the President’s constitutional law pro- appoint the Honorable DAN SULLIVAN, a Sen- ator from the State of Alaska, to perform think we all appreciated the Demo- fessor, one of the best-known liberal the duties of the Chair. cratic leader making clear that Repub- professors in the country. ORRIN G. HATCH, licans did not—let me repeat, did not— Neal Katyal, President Obama’s top President pro tempore. insist on 60-vote thresholds for either Supreme Court lawyer, lauded Judge

∑ 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 23:18 Feb 02, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.000 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S610 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 Gorsuch as ‘‘one of the most thought- coal jobs. One study actually estimated tion. Any one Democrat can require it. ful and brilliant judges to have served that this regulation would put as many Many already have. It was a bar met by our nation over the last century.’’ Over as one-third of coal-related jobs at each of Obama’s nominations; each re- the last century. That is President risk. That is why the Kentucky Coal ceived 60 votes. Most importantly, it is Obama’s Supreme Court lawyer. Association called it ‘‘a regulation in the right thing to do. And I would note The left-leaning Denver Post research of a problem.’’ They joined with that a 60-vote threshold was reached by cently highlighted Judge Gorsuch’s the United Mine Workers of American each of them either in cloture or in the reputation as a ‘‘brilliant legal mind’’ and the attorneys general of 14 States actual vote. who applies the law ‘‘fairly and con- on both sides of the aisle urging Con- On a subject as important as a Su- sistently.’’ gress to act. We should heed their call preme Court nomination, bipartisan I am happy to report that we have now and begin bringing relief to coal support is essential and should be a even been assured by liberal talk show country. Today’s vote on this resolu- prerequisite. That is what a 60-vote host Rachel Maddow that Gorsuch is ‘‘a tion represents a good step in that di- threshold does; 60 votes produces a relatively mainstream choice.’’ Rachel rection. mainstream candidate. And the need Maddow. Once our work is complete on this for a mainstream consensus candidate Turns out, in the years since Judge legislation, we will turn to another is greater now than ever before because Gorsuch’s unopposed Senate confirma- House-passed resolution that will pro- we are in major new territory in two tion, he has shown himself to be the tect American companies from being at ways. very kind of judge everyone hoped he a disadvantage when doing business First, because the Supreme Court, would be, one who demonstrates a overseas. Although the Securities and under Chief Justice Roberts, has shown ‘‘sense of fairness and impartiality’’ Exchange Commission may have had increasing drift to become a more and that Democratic then-Senator Salazar good intentions, the resource extrac- more pro-business Court—siding more lauded him for in 2006, which Salazar tion rule costs American public compa- and more with corporations, employ- called a ‘‘keystone for being a judge.’’ nies up to nearly $600 million annually ers, and special interests over working That was the Democratic Senator from and gives foreign-owned businesses in and average Americans—we need a Colorado when he was confirmed in Russia and China an advantage over mainstream nominee to help reverse 2006. American workers. We all want to in- that trend, not accelerate it. I will re- That was Judge Neil Gorsuch’s rep- crease transparency, but we should not mind my colleagues, that is how Presi- utation back then, and it is his richly raise costs on American businesses, dent Trump campaigned, but his nomi- deserved reputation still, as those in only to benefit their international nee seems not to be in that direction at both parties who have known and competition. Let’s send the SEC back all—not for the average working person worked with him continue to tell us. to the drawing board to promote trans- but, rather, for special business inter- As one Democrat and Denver attorney parency without the high costs or neg- ests. put it, Judge Gorsuch is ‘‘smart [and] ative impacts on American businesses. Second, given that this administra- he’s independent.’’ The things we have These CRA resolutions keep the in- tion—at least at its outset—seems to heard from so many about Judge terests of American families and work- have less respect for the rule of law Gorsuch—smart and independent, fair ers in mind. Today, we will continue to than any in recent memory and is test- and impartial, thoughtful and bril- chip away at the regulation legacy of ing the very fabric of our Constitution liant—are just the qualities we should the Obama years, with more CRA reso- within the first 20 days, there is a spe- expect in our next Supreme Court Jus- lutions in the coming days as well. cial burden on this nominee to be an tice. They are the same qualities I am Let’s pass these two resolutions independent jurist, someone who ap- confident Judge Gorsuch will bring to without delay so we can send them to proaches the Court without ideological the Court. the President’s desk and continue giv- blinders, who has a history of oper- f ing the power back to the people. ating outside and above politics, and CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT I suggest the absence of a quorum. who has the strength of will to stand The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- RESOLUTIONS up to a President who has already pore. The clerk will call the roll. shown a willingness to bend the Con- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, this The bill clerk proceeded to call the stitution. Republican-led Congress is committed roll. Requiring 60 votes has always been to fulfilling our promises to the Amer- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask the right thing to do on Supreme Court ican people. That work continues now unanimous consent that the order for nominations, especially in these polar- as we consider legislation to push back the quorum call be rescinded. ized times. But now in this new era of against the harmful regulations from The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the Court, in this new administration, the Obama administration. On its way pore. Without objection, it is so or- there is an even heavier weight on this out the door, the Obama administra- dered. tradition. And if the nominee cannot tion forced nearly 40—40—major and f gain the 60 votes, cannot garner bipar- very costly regulations on the Amer- tisan support of some significance, ican people. Fortunately, we now have RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER then the answer is not to change the the opportunity to work with a new rules; the answer is to change the President to begin bringing relief from The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- nominee and find someone who can those burdensome regulations. pore. The Democratic leader is recog- gain those 60 votes. Last night, the House sent us two nized. Changing the rules for something as resolutions under the Congressional f important as the Supreme Court gets Review Act—one of the best tools at NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH rid of the tradition, eliminates the tra- our disposal to undo these heavy- dition of mainstream nominees who handed regulations. Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have bipartisan support. It would be so, This afternoon, the Senate will have spoke at length about the Supreme so wrong to do. I know many of my col- the opportunity to pass the first of Court nomination yesterday, but I just leagues on the other side are hesitant these resolutions, a measure to over- want to underscore a few points. We in to do it, and I hope they will remain turn the stream buffer rule. The resolu- the Senate have a constitutional duty strong in that regard. tion before us now is identical to the to examine the record of Judge one I introduced earlier this week, and Gorsuch robustly, exhaustively, and f it aims to put a stop to the former ad- comprehensively, and then advise and ministration’s blatant attack on coal consent, as we see fit. We have a re- NOMINATIONS OF BETSY DEVOS miners. In my home State of Kentucky sponsibility to reject if we do not. AND ANDREW PUZDER and others across the Nation, the We Democrats will insist on a rig- Mr. SCHUMER. Now, on another stream buffer rule will cause major orous but fair process. Part of that matter, the pending nominations of the damage to communities and threaten process entails 60 votes for confirma- President’s Cabinet, again, we are in

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.002 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S611 unchartered waters with this adminis- SIONS, are casting the deciding votes on remind them that this is very serious. tration. They have not proposed a nor- a controversial Cabinet position for These Cabinet officials will have im- mal Cabinet. This is not even close to Betsy DeVos. Mr. President, this has mense power in our government and a normal Cabinet. never happened before. wield enormous influence over the lives I have never seen a Cabinet this full The White House will, in effect, get of average Americans: their wages and of bankers and billionaires, folks with two deciding votes in the Senate on a the education of their children, for in- massive conflicts of interest and such nominee to the President’s Cabinet: stance. little experience or expertise in the the Vice President and the nominee for To spend a few more days on the areas they will oversee. Many of the Attorney General, our friend Senator process is well worth it. And if they nominees have philosophies that cut SESSIONS. prove unfit for the austere and power- against the very nature of the Depart- It highlights the stunning depth of ful roles they are about to take up, ment to which they were nominated. concern this nominee has engendered then it is our responsibility, as Sen- Let me give you two examples this in Republicans and Democrats alike. It ators who advise and consent, to reject morning: Betsy DeVos, the nominee for is clear now that Senators of both par- their nomination. the Department of Education, and An- ties agree she is not qualified to be f drew Puzder, nominee for the Labor Secretary of Education. And I would Department. hope that my colleagues on the other UKRAINE First, Betsy DeVos. When you judge side of the aisle—this is such an impor- Mr. SCHUMER. One final point: I her in three areas—conflicts of inter- tant position; the nominee is so want to take a moment to mention est, basic competence, and ideology, laddered on issue after issue after issue Ukraine. views on education policy—it is clear that we could get someone better. I Yesterday Rex Tillerson was sworn in that Betsy DeVos is unfit for the job of don’t think it will be that hard. It will as Secretary of State. In addition to Education Secretary. be President Trump’s nominee. It will dealing with the fallout from the Presi- In all three areas, ideology, com- not be us deciding, but it will be some- dent’s first engagements with Aus- petence, and conflicts of interest, she one who has basic competence, fewer tralia and Mexico, I want to call the rates among the lowest of any Cabinet conflicts of interest, and, above all, a Secretary’s attention to the situation nominee I have ever seen. At her hear- commitment to public education. in Ukraine. ing, she didn’t seem to know basic So I urge my Republican colleagues, Since President Trump’s call with facts about Federal education law that friends, to stand up and reject Betsy Mr. Putin last weekend, there has been guarantee education to students with DeVos, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer a significant increase in violence. I disabilities. She didn’t seem to know urged in an editorial this morning. hope Secretary Tillerson will ensure the basic facts of a long simmering de- This is not a normal nominee, once that there is a strong statement from bate in education policy measuring again. In my view, when I dipped into the Trump administration condemning growth proficiency. And in her ethics her record and how she performed in these escalatory actions by the Rus- agreement, which was delivered to the her brief hearing, she has not earned sians. committee after her first hearing, it and should not receive the Senate’s ap- I also hope my Republican counter- was revealed that she would keep inter- proval. parts will start doing what they did ests in several companies that benefit Second, the nominee for the Depart- last year every time this happened: from millions of dollars in contracts ment of Labor, Andrew Puzder. The Come to the floor and demand that the from the Department of Education, hearing for his nomination has now Senate act on tough sanctions against which she would oversee. been delayed four times because he Russia. As I have said before, Russia There was a rush to push her still hasn’t submitted key paperwork remains a strategic threat to our Na- through—one round of questions, 5 laying out his disclosures and detailing tion, and countering them needs to re- minutes each. Why? Why did someone a plan for divesting, if necessary, to main a deeply bipartisan effort. generally as fair as the chairman of avoid conflicts of interest. But that Mr. President, I yield the floor. that committee do that? My guess, an might be the least of the Senate’s con- educated guess: He knew how incom- cerns. f petent this nominee was, how poorly This is a nominee who is being sued DISAPPROVING A RULE SUB- she fared under normal questions, and by dozens of former employees due to MITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT the idea was to rush her through. workplace violations. This is a nomi- OF THE INTERIOR Well, that is not what we should be nee who has repeatedly attacked the doing on something as important as minimum wage, opposed the overtime The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- this. And if the nominee can’t with- rule, and advocated for more automa- pore. Under the previous order, the stand a certain amount of scrutiny, tion and fewer jobs. He talked about— Senate will resume consideration of they shouldn’t be the nominee. I think in very positive terms—robots H.J. Res. 38, which the clerk will re- The glaring concerns have led two of and how they may run the fast food in- port. my Republican colleagues, the Sen- dustry. This is a nominee for Secretary The bill clerk read as follows: ators from Maine and Alaska, to pledge of Labor who not only wants workers A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 38) dis- a vote against her confirmation, leav- to earn less, he wants fewer workers. approving the rule submitted by the Depart- ing her nomination deadlocked at 50 to For several of these Cabinet posi- ment of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule. 50. I believe both of them cited the fact tions, it seems the President has that in their State, charter schools are searched for candidates whose philoso- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- not the big issue; it is public schools. phies are diametrically opposed to the pore. Under the previous order, there How are we going to treat public very purposes of their Departments. will now be 6 hours of debate, equally schools? Particularly in rural areas, as For Education, pick someone with no divided in the usual form. I am sure my friend the Presiding Offi- experience in public schools and has The Democratic whip. cer knows, there is not a choice of spent her career advocating against NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH schools outside the major metropolitan them. For Labor, pick someone who Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I lis- areas, the major cities. If you don’t has spent his career trying to keep the tened carefully this morning to the have a good public school, you have wages of his employees low and advo- statement made by the Republican ma- nothing. So particularly people from cated against policies that benefit jority leader, and I was a little bit curi- the rural States should be worried, in workers. ous as to what he was trying to say be- my judgment, about our nominee’s Again, I repeat: This is not your typ- cause he talked about a judicial nomi- commitment to public education. ical Cabinet. This is highly, highly un- nee who rated unanimously ‘‘well For the first time ever, we have the usual. qualified’’ by the American Bar Asso- chance that the Vice President and a So when my Republican colleagues ciation, who received kudos from Re- pending Cabinet nominee, the nominee come to the floor every day to com- publicans and Democrats alike, includ- for Attorney General, Senator SES- plain about delays and holdups, I would ing Members of the Senate, who went

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We think requires. was, of course, President Obama’s this is the first time in the history of If my Republican colleagues com- nominee to fill the vacancy on the Su- the United States that a new President plain about the process for Judge preme Court. within the first 10 days had an Execu- Gorsuch, just remember that no one Senator MCCONNELL this morning tive order stopped in the Federal ran a worse process on a Supreme said repeatedly: So what has changed courts. It shows how controversial that Court nominee than my Republican since the first time Judge Gorsuch order was, that the Federal courts colleagues themselves did for Merrick came before the Senate? Senator would step in with this brand new Garland. They really have no right to MCCONNELL, what has changed is you, President and say: Stop. This has to be complain. what you did when Merrick Garland’s weighed as to whether it is legal or Now that President Trump has nomi- name was sent up. For the first time constitutional. nated Judge Gorsuch, Senators will ever in the history of the U.S. Senate, Then on Monday there was the un- embark on a thorough review of his Senator MCCONNELL denied a hearing precedented firing of an Attorney Gen- record. He was confirmed to the Tenth and a vote to a Presidential nominee to eral who refused to defend President Circuit in 2006, but the level of scrutiny the Supreme Court. It never happened Trump’s unlawful Executive order in is far higher for Supreme Court nomi- before, not once in history. And if you court. President Trump moved up his nees and lifetime appointments to the think, well, maybe the Democrats Supreme Court announcement to try to High Court. He now has a lengthy judi- didn’t have a chance to show the same change the headlines. In doing so, he cial record which we will review care- steel will, the same political deter- made it even more clear how critical it fully. mination, in the last year of his Presi- is that we have an independent judicial There are parts of his record that al- dency, Ronald Reagan nominated An- system, not a rubberstamp for the ready raise questions and concerns. In thony Kennedy to fill a vacancy on the President. It’s especially vital at this recent years, we have watched the Su- Supreme Court. He sent the nomina- moment in our history. preme Court transform into a cor- tion down to the Senate. I believe Sen- President Trump and his agenda are porate Court, where all too often cases ator Biden was the chairman of the Ju- likely to come before the Supreme seem to break for the big corporations, diciary Committee at the time. There Court eventually. From his violations regularly against the little guy. We was a Democratic majority. In the last of the Constitution’s emoluments need a Supreme Court that gives the year of Reagan’s Presidency, a so- clause to his unprecedented Executive American people a fair shot against called lameduck year by Senator actions, President Trump is likely to corporate elites, corporate special in- MCCONNELL’s description, the Demo- keep the High Court busy. We need terests. Judge Gorsuch’s record as a cratic majority in the Senate gave Justices on the Supreme Court who are judge and advocate raises concerns as President Reagan the respect of hon- truly independent. to whether he would hasten that trend oring his constitutional responsibility President Trump’s announcement toward a corporate court. to fill the vacancy and sent Anthony came 10 months and 15 days after a I note that yesterday, Reuters pub- Kennedy to serve on the Supreme White House announcement about an- lished an article entitled ‘‘As Private Court. So Senator MCCONNELL has other Supreme Court nominee I men- Lawyer, Trump High Court Pick Was asked what has changed. He has tioned earlier, Judge Merrick Garland, Friend to Business.’’ The article said changed. He has changed the Senate. perhaps the most well-qualified, main- that while Judge Gorsuch was in pri- And here is the good news for him. stream, independent nominee to come vate practice, he ‘‘often fought on be- We are not going to forswear our own before the Senate. Merrick Garland is a half of business interests, including ef- demands that a Presidential nominee son of Illinois, a good man, and an out- forts to curb securities class action for the Supreme Court is deserving of a standing judge. Judge Gorsuch himself lawsuits, experience that could mould hearing and a vote. I said that over and once described Judge Merrick Garland his thinking if he is confirmed as a [Su- over again when Merrick Garland was as ‘‘among the finest lawyers of his preme Court] justice.’’ being stonewalled by Senator MCCON- generation.’’ During his time on the bench, Judge NELL and the Republicans in the Sen- Merrick Garland was subjected to un- Gorsuch appears to have a consistent ate. I will say it again. I do believe the precedented obstruction by Senate Re- pattern of favoring companies over President’s nominee has a right to a publicans and Senator MCCONNELL. Re- workers in cases involving employment hearing and a vote. That nominee also publican Senators simply ignored their discrimination, worker safety, and has a responsibility to show us that he constitutional responsibility to con- other matters. That is why we need to is not only qualified to serve on an im- sider this nomination, for political rea- carefully review his record. portant appellate court but to serve sons. It was worse than a filibuster. Judge Gorsuch must also answer im- with a lifetime appointment to the Do you remember the time when Sen- portant questions about his views on highest Court in the land. ator MCCONNELL and a number of oth- issues of fundamental importance to On Tuesday night, President Trump ers in the leadership said they would American people, such as our right to announced he would nominate the not even meet with the President’s privacy. Is there anything more impor- Tenth Circuit Court Judge Neil nominee—would not even give him the tant? Almost on a daily basis we are Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. It is courtesy of a meeting? Merrick Gar- being asked if we are ready to give up important to put that nomination in land was the first Supreme Court nomi- a little more of our privacy. We know context. This is not a run-of-the-mill nee in our Nation’s history to be denied that corporate interests and business nomination. It is an extraordinary any consideration by the Senate—no interests are collecting data on us. We time in America’s history. President hearing, no vote—nothing. It was can find it every time we log on to the Trump’s announcement was actually shameful. Internet and there is this cascade of supposed to happen today. Why was it I took an oath of office to support ads on the side of the page asking us if sped up? Why did they hurry it up? and defend the Constitution—every we want to buy something that we just Well, because of the avalanche of criti- Senator does—and to bear true faith happened to buy a couple months ago. cism being heaped on the Trump ad- and allegiance to it. I take it seriously. We know as well that information is ministration for their Executive orders Even though my Republican colleagues being catalogued carefully and being on refugees and immigration. They had chose to ignore their responsibilities used by business interests to promote to change the subject. After dozens of when it came to filling that Supreme their products and to categorize us as legal immigrants were detained at air- Court vacancy in an election year, I Americans. We also believe—I think ports over the weekend solely because know we have a constitutional respon- there are even some Republicans who

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At Since the confirmation of Justice to at a later time when I go into more that last heartbreaking moment when Clarence Thomas in 1991, Supreme detail about my support for Judge a family member has to decide about Court Justices have had to show they Gorsuch and why I think he is exactly the medical care for someone who is can pass the threshold of 60 votes to the type of individual we want to see nearing death, is that going to be sub- get confirmed. I expect nothing less named to the Supreme Court, but the ject to a court order or is that going to from this nominee. Justice Elena comment has been made, not only by be a decision made privately by a fam- Kagan, nominated by President Obama, my colleague from Illinois but from ily? At that moment when a family received 63 votes; Justice Sonya others, that somehow or other Judge faces the pregnancy of a teenage girl in Sotomayor, nominated by President Gorsuch is for Big Business and not the the household, is that a family decision Obama, received 68 votes; Justice Sam little guy. It seems that the criticism or is that a decision where government Alito had a cloture vote where he re- is based on this viewpoint that courts has the last word? The Supreme Court ceived 72 votes and subsequently re- should not defer to Federal agency in- decides this, and we need to ask Judge ceived 58 votes for his actual confirma- terpretations of their own rules, and Gorsuch what he thinks and under- tion; Justice Roberts, 78 votes; Justice certainly Big Business is a frequent stand clearly what he says. Breyer, 87; Justice Ginsburg, 96. challenger of government overreach. We also believe that when it comes to Judge Gorsuch has a burden to bear. But, as the Presiding Officer and I both our security—not just our privacy but He has to demonstrate that he is a know, so are ordinary Americans—peo- our security—the Supreme Court time nominee who will uphold and defend ple like John Sturgeon, an Alaskan and again will have the last word. the Constitution for the benefit of all who took on the Federal Government, When it comes to the issue of safety, of us, not just for the advantage of a took on the agencies, and took on the health, and environmental protection, privileged few. Park Service because he was told he where will this new Supreme Court I take my constitutional responsi- could not use a hovercraft in an area nominee be? Is he going to bend toward bility very seriously when it comes to where he had operated one for decades. the corporate interests and look the the Supreme Court. As a member of the John Sturgeon, with the help of a few other way as we face climate change, Judiciary Committee, I am reviewing friends, who did everything from ga- the pollution of streams, the contami- the record and preparing questions to rage sales to fund his litigation, and nation of our drinking water, and dan- ask the nominee. It is going to take with just the generosity out of their gers to our public health? If he is going some time. It usually does, several own pockets, took all the way to the to rule consistently for the corporate months. But my Republican colleagues Supreme Court the question of whether interest no matter what, he certainly have kept this seat vacant since Feb- or not the Park Service’s regulation doesn’t, as far as I am concerned, rep- ruary of last year, so they don’t have had exceeded their legal authority. resent the values we need on the Su- any basis for arguing and complaining I happen to believe very strongly preme Court. He needs to answer ques- that we just have to move on this real- that Judge Gorsuch is clearly on the tions as well on immigration, privacy, ly fast. right track here when he questions the campaign finance, and voting rights. I am sorry we are not considering the deference that courts give to our gov- Like Justice Scalia, Judge Gorsuch nomination of Merrick Garland, an ernment agencies. I think most Alas- professes to be an originalist. Let me eminently qualified mainstream judge kans would probably agree with us on address that for a moment. I have been who deserved better treatment than he this point—that when we are talking with the Judiciary Committee for quite received from Senate Republicans and about the scales of justice, they should a few years. Time and again, whether it Senator MCCONNELL. No one deserved not be tipped in favor of our Federal is the nominee for Attorney General or the treatment Merrick Garland re- agencies. nominees for the High Court, here is ceived. Again, I am pleased to hear that the the cliche we are given: We are just With my oath to support and defend minority whip agrees that a filibuster going to apply the rule of law, what- the Constitution in mind, I will con- is not appropriate, is not the way to ever the law says. That is what we do. sider Judge Gorsuch’s nomination pur- proceed with this fine nominee. I look We are originalists. I call that the suant to the Senate’s role of advise and forward to learning more about Judge robotic view of justice; that if you just consent. I will strive to be thorough, Gorsuch but also to be able to share plug in the facts, a computer can tell fair, and focused on the important more of my observations at a later you the answer because a computer principles I have discussed today. point in time. compares it to the law. Yet we know I yield the floor. Mr. President, I wish to join my col- better. We know judges make decisions The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- leagues in support of H.J. Res. 38 to based on a variety of concerns, and pore. The Senator from the great State disapprove and nullify the Department they weigh some facts more carefully of Alaska. of Interior’s so-called stream protec- and give some facts more strength than Ms. MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Mr. tion rule. I wish to begin my comments others. This rule of law by robotic jus- President. by thanking Majority Leader MCCON- tice is a fiction. We know that each I come to the floor this morning to NELL and Senator CAPITO of West Vir- nominee, whether from a Democrat or speak on the resolution of disapproval ginia for sponsoring the Senate version Republican, brings views to the Court that is before us, but I want to make of this resolution. I also wish to note that will decide how many cases will just a few comments following my col- that I am proud to be listed with the lean. league, the minority whip. Presiding Officer as a cosponsor on this Judge Gorsuch has to answer the I am pleased to hear him say that he bipartisan measure with 28 colleagues questions forthrightly. There is a cot- does look forward to the opportunity in support. tage industry of teaching nominees to for a hearing on Judge Gorsuch and the Now, by name alone, the stream pro- give thoughtful nonanswers to impor- opportunity for a vote. I think we rec- tection rule may sound pretty inno- tant questions. That will not cut it for ognize that we have in front of us an cent, pretty well intentioned, but as we me or many of my colleagues. The individual who has truly a stellar legal have heard and as we will hear American people want honest, candid reputation, who has committed himself throughout this debate, the reality is candidates for the bench. to the law in a remarkable way. When really different. This regulation will We know Judge Gorsuch is the hand- he was before this Senate for confirma- have severe economic impacts. It will picked nominee by President Trump tion leading up to the Tenth Circuit, he cost us jobs. It will cost us revenues as and has been lauded by rightwing orga- enjoyed very strong support. I would well as affordable energy all across our nizations all over the United States. like to think that on yet further re- country. They hope he will be a dependable vote view of this very strong individual, our By way of background, the rule re- in their favor, but he has to dem- colleagues will do the due diligence vises longstanding regulations for coal

VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Feb 02, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.006 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S614 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 mining under the Surface Mining Con- 29 to 65 percent, with anywhere from densome and unlawful rule that usurps trol and Reclamation Act, something $15 billion to $29 billion in lost annual states’ authority as primary regulators around here we simply call SMCRA. coal resource value and $3.3 billion to of coal mining as intended by Congress Now this rule was finalized in Decem- $6.5 billion in lost State and Federal under SMCRA’’ while also seeking to ber of 2016, and it took effect 2 weeks revenue. impose ‘‘an unwarranted top-down, ago, making more than 400 changes to So with estimates like this, it is no one-size-fits-all approach that does not existing regulations. wonder that this rule has drawn such take into account important regional Now, 400 is just a number that shows strong bipartisan opposition from Alas- and ecological differences.’’ the scope of the changes that the ka all the way to Appalachia. If you Then, finally, the U.S. Chamber of Obama administration has made, but it are doubting the statistics—if you are Commerce noted that the rule ‘‘exceeds hardly does justice to the sweeping saying, well, I am hearing certain the Department’s authority, will cause substance of the changes or the delib- things on one side and others on an- significant economic harm and job erately opaque process that the Obama other—you need to talk to people out losses, and interferes with long- administration followed to make them. there. We did that. Instead of just tak- standing and successful state efforts to SMCRA is supposed to be an example ing what the Obama administration protect water quality.’’ of cooperative federalism, and many said, we went out and we asked people. It is very clear to me that this rule States have approved programs that Last March, I held a field hearing of simply cannot stand. We have an op- allow them to regulate coal mining the Energy and Natural Resources portunity here to make sure that is the within their own borders. But beyond Committee, and we held the field hear- case. So if you are concerned about that, the law explicitly directs the Fed- ing up in Fairbanks, AK. Among our families paying more for their heating eral Government to work with States witnesses was a woman by the name of and their electricity bills, you should to engage with them whenever any Lorali Simon. The occupant of the support this resolution. If you are wor- changes are made. So it requires a high Chair knows her well. She works for ried about job losses due to access re- level of cooperation and collaboration. Usibelli Coal Mine, an initially family- strictions and rising energy costs, you Contrary to the collaborative mood owned and operated coal mine—which should support this resolution. And, if intended by SMCRA, the Obama ad- has been very successful—and provides you care about States’ rights, which so ministration chose to draft the stream coal and power to the residents of the many of us do, or overregulation by the protection rule behind closed doors. It Interior, and has been for a long time. Federal Government, which we clearly ignored the input and recommenda- Ms. Simon spoke about how coal redo, you should support this resolution. tions that were provided by States and sources contribute significantly to our I have noted to a couple of people other stakeholders. It subverted the State by providing jobs and a reliable today that this is a pretty good day to law, basically, to meet its own policy energy source. be debating a disapproval resolution objectives, which was to keep the coal She explained that coal is the cheap- under the Congressional Review Act. It in the ground. Ultimately, that is what est source of energy in Interior Alaska is Groundhog Day, and it is exactly they wanted to do, and it finalized a for everything from the local commu- what the last 8 years have felt like for rule that will shut down coal mining in nity to our military bases there and anyone who has paid attention to the several regions in our country, includ- how usability has helped to create regulations that were just churned out ing possibly in Alaska, if it is allowed business for others like our Alaska by the Obama administration. The SPR to stand. railroad. She also highlighted the rule is a perfect place to start as we Now, the Obama administration broader picture about how coal sort through the major burdens that claimed that this rule would cost only strengthens our national and energy the last administration imposed $81 million a year and that it did not security. So those are all good things, through its relentless regulatory ac- qualify as what is considered ‘‘eco- in my book. tions. nomically significant’’ as a rule, as a But Lorali also testified about the So, again, I wish to thank Leader result of that. We will likely hear that stream protection rule. She said that, MCCONNELL and Senator CAPITO for number touted by some of the oppo- if the rule was finalized as it was pro- sponsoring and leading this legislation, nents of this resolution and probably posed—which it has been—it will likely and know that I intend to vote for it. I some who will claim that we are exag- kill all coal development in Alaska. urge my colleagues to do the same. gerating the impact. But I don’t think She also noted that Congress passed With that, I yield the floor. we should forget how the Obama ad- SMCRA, but during the Obama admin- I suggest the absence of a quorum. ministration determined that the rule istration, she said: ‘‘We were seeing The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- was insignificant in the first place. unelected federal employees violate pore. The clerk will call the roll. In January of 2011, the Associated legislative intent, which will kill The legislative clerk proceeded to Press obtained documents showing America’s coal industry.’’ call the roll. that this rule was projected to elimi- Now, Lorali Simon is not alone in her Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I nate 7,000 direct jobs across the coun- criticisms or her opposition to this ask unanimous consent that the order try. So instead of going back and fixing rule. Our Governor in Alaska, an Inde- for the quorum call be rescinded. the rule to avoid these potential job pendent by the name of Governor Bill The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. losses, what happened? The Depart- Walker, recently noted that it was one FISCHER). Without objection, it is so ment of Interior fired the independent of the worst of many different actions ordered. contractor that had made the projec- the Obama administration took to Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I tion. So, effectively, we have a situa- limit resource development in our see my colleague from Texas. Did he tion where the Department essentially State of Alaska. want to make remarks in leader time? cooks the books instead of fixing the The attorneys general of 14 different Madam President, I come to the floor rule. It then took steps to rebrand the States wrote: to talk about the action today in the rule, changing the name from the The rule would have a disastrous effect on Senate, which is to try to overrun the ‘‘stream buffer zone rule’’ to the coal miners, their families, workers in af- clean water rule as it relates to the ‘‘stream protection rule’’ making the fected industries, and their communities. It mining industry. rule sound rather innocuous. would also impose very significant costs on The bottom line is, polluters should So what the American people should American consumers of electricity, while un- pay for the pollution, and that is what know is that there is a real discrepancy dermining our Nation’s energy supply. the rule says, and that is what is try- between the economic impacts the That is pretty tough—not only a dis- ing to be overrun today after a very Obama administration estimated and astrous effect on the coal miners but short debate in the Senate. what other sources project will happen the cost on American consumers of Some of my colleagues on the other if the rule is left in place. The projec- electricity, undermining our Nation’s side of the aisle would like to say it is tion is that up to 30 percent of the di- energy supply. about the coal industry and a war on rect jobs in coal mining will be lost, The Interstate Mining Compact Com- coal. If they are so concerned about the and domestic coal production will fall mission described this rule as a ‘‘bur- coal industry, I would suggest to them

VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Feb 02, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.007 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S615 and coal workers that they take up the moval have been called out by the the Obama administration once again pre- pension bill they promised to take up press for a long time. I wish to quote vailed in court, beating back another indus- in the last Congress and have failed to from a Washington Post editorial: try challenge. take up. For decades, coal companies have been re- This editorial ends by saying: Last December, thousands of coal moving mountain peaks to haul away coal The emerging scientific evidence should miners came to Washington, DC, and lying just underneath. More recently, sci- cut through the rhetoric. The EPA is right asked the Senate to live up to their entists and regulators have been developing to move more firmly to protect health and promise that was made and put their a clearer understanding of the environ- the environment. health on the line and make sure that mental consequences. They aren’t pretty. We are right to defend this rule and In the 1990s, coal miners began using large they had a pension program. More than law and say that polluters should pay. equipment to strip away mountaintops in Madam President, I yield the floor. 20,000 retired coal miners are at risk of states such as West Virginia. The technique losing their health care if we do noth- made it economical for them to extract more The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- ing by April, and they have a very coal from troublesome seams in the rock, jority whip. small pension—averaging about $530 a which might be too small for traditional Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, yes- month—that is also at risk. mining or lodged in unstable formations. En- terday the Senate took up legislation I know some of my colleagues would vironmentalists were appalled, but the prac- to block the stream buffer rule, which like to believe this is somehow entirely tice spread and now accounts for more than is a job-killing regulation from the 40 percent of West Virginia coal production. related to a war on coal, but that nar- Obama administration—something the Burning coal has a host of drawbacks: It Obama administration will be long re- rative ignores the facts. In 2008, right produces both planet-warming carbon diox- before the financial crisis, the United ide and deadly conventional air pollutants. membered for—a regulatory overreach Mine Workers’ pension plan was 93 per- Removing layers of mountaintop in the ex- that strangled the growth of our econ- cent funded—in 2008, 93 percent funded. traction process aggravates the damage. The omy and the jobs that come along with Its actuaries projected it was on track displaced earth must go somewhere, typi- it. This is a prime example of a mis- to reach full funding in several years. cally into adjoining valleys, affecting nomer, though. It is not really about So this notion that somehow the dis- streams that run through them. The dust protecting streams, as it claims, but that’s blown into the air on mountaintop re- about killing the coal industry and en- cussion behind the scenes by the Inte- moval sites, meanwhile, is suspected to be rior Department or the EPA caused an ergy production in our country. unhealthy for mine workers and nearby com- One of the things that have caused implosion in the mining industry and munities. thereby they didn’t have resources is Scientists have recently produced evidence our economy to grow historically has not the case. What is the case is that backing up both concerns. Over the summer, been access to low-cost energy, but un- the financial crisis hit, and Wall Street a U.S. Geological Survey study compared fortunately this regulation has made speculators blew up our economy, cost- streams near mountaintop removal oper- that not possible in coal country, taking it $14 trillion—according to the ations to streams farther away. In what ing many jobs along with it and I think should be ‘‘a global hotspot for fish biodiver- Dallas Fed—and many in this body in part, at least, responsible for the sity,’’ according to Nathan Hitt, one of the vote President Trump got in many bailed them out. But we did nothing to authors, the researchers found decimated bail out the miner pension program. fish populations, with untold consequences parts of the country that felt left be- Those pensions were thrown into crisis. for downstream river systems. The scientists hind by the economy and because of By 2009, the United Mine Workers’ plan noted changes in stream chemistry: Salts job-killing regulations like the stream had dropped from the 93-percent funded from the disturbed earth appear to have dis- buffer rule. level down to the low seventies—a 20- solved in the water, which may well have NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH percent drop in a single year. So de- disturbed the food chain. Madam President, yesterday I had Last week, the Charleston Gazette re- the chance to meet with Judge Gorsuch spite the fact that the plan was well ported on a new study finding that dust from managed, the investment returns con- mountaintop removal mining appears to con- personally, the man President Trump tinued to be problematic. Wall Street— tribute to greater risk of lung cancer. West nominated to serve on the U.S. Su- not the Department of the Interior or Virginia University researchers took dust preme Court. EPA—is the reason mine workers have samples from several towns near the moun- It is plain to me now why President so much challenge today. taintop removal sites and tested them on Trump selected him to be the nominee If they care so much about the min- lung cells, which changed for the worse. The for the seat vacated by the death of ing industry and the workers, then findings fit into a larger, hazardous picture: Justice Scalia. Judge Gorsuch’s experi- People living near these sites experience ence, intellect, and background make bring that legislation forward on the higher rates of cancer and birth defects. floor of the Senate today instead of him uniquely qualified and qualify him trying to overturn a rule that says pol- Again, all this is from the Wash- as a mainstream nominee. That seems luters should pay. ington Post editorial. to be the nomenclature that has been These safe drinking water issues and With these sorts of problems in mind, the embraced by our colleagues across the fishing issues are so important to an Environmental Protection Agency is taking aisle. They said they hope President a more skeptical look at mountaintop re- Trump nominates a mainstream nomi- outdoor economy that employs a mil- moval mining permits. The Clean Water Act lion-plus workers and is a vital part of gives the government wide authority over in- nee. Well, he did. But I fully expect our practically every State’s economy. The dustrial operations that change rivers and colleagues across the aisle to try to notion that somehow this is a jobs streams. paint him as some sort of extremist, issue—if they want to protect jobs in The EPA has already used its efforts, which they can’t do based upon his dis- the outdoor industry, then please allow in some cases where there was concern, tinguished record on the Tenth Circuit people to fish in rivers where they to revoke a permit and has instructed Court of Appeals for the last 10 years don’t have to worry about selenium. its branches and offices to be more as a Federal judge or his previous life. This is a big issue, whether talking careful. They are going to have to make things about Montana, Colorado, Washington, The coal industry and its allies— up in order to cause people to believe or the State of Alaska. this nominee is not a mainstream And we have heard some of them I will say that the Alaskan issues of nominee. salmon and habitat far outweigh the here— I look forward to working with my 113 jobs the Alaska coal industry pro- are howling. Skeptics of mountaintop re- colleagues on the Judiciary Committee duces. Both can be seen as valuable moval, one industry pamphlet insisted, ‘‘pro- to do our job of advice and consent and mote an anti-coal, anti-business agenda that jobs, but if we want to know about an uses environmental issues as a mere pawn to to see the nomination come to the economic impact to the State, it is redistribute wealth, grab power, and put floor, where I hope he will be con- dwarfed by the issue of making sure forth liberal, social ideology. The GOP-confirmed. I trust he will be confirmed one salmon have clean rivers and streams trolled House passed a bill that would strip way or the other. to migrate through. the EPA of some of its permitting power. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats— This legislation today is about trying But just this month— particularly their leader, the Senator to protect those waters. I would again Because that was a couple years from New York—have already an- say that the effects of mountaintop re- ago— nounced that they will fight tooth and

VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Feb 02, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.009 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S616 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 nail against any nominee put forward their constituents. Unfortunately, this nately, our Democratic colleagues’ bad by President Trump. Predictably, the type of behavior has become par for the habits on the Finance Committee have minority leader has made clear that he course throughout the first days of spilled over to the Environment and will try to filibuster the President’s President Trump’s administration. We Public Works Committee, and they choice. It has been ironic to watch him have seen other examples of slow-walk- chose to boycott that hearing as well. come here and extol the virtues of the ing nominations, invoking every proce- Notwithstanding that boycott, the ma- 60-vote cloture requirement for con- dural rule that there is to deny unani- jority of the committee did vote out firming a Supreme Court Justice when mous consent—the sort of normal cour- the nomination, and we will take that he and the rest of his colleagues in- tesies that go along with working in up soon. voked the so-called nuclear option to the Senate on technical or procedural This lack of cooperation is unprece- change the Senate rules by breaking matters. dented. It really is unprecedented. At those rules and reducing the cloture re- We have seen countless examples of this point in 2009, President Obama had quirement for lower Federal court their slowing down the nomination 11 of his Cabinet members confirmed judges and Cabinet members to 51. process intentionally, even for highly by the Senate—11. Today we have only We see what happened as a result of qualified candidates. five confirmed, and many of those who that action. Now they find themselves On the Judiciary Committee, on have been confirmed were slow-walked on the receiving end of that 51-vote re- which I also sit, there is another exam- by our Democratic colleagues for one quirement caused by the nuclear op- ple with respect to the nomination for lame excuse or another. This is not be- tion. So much for immediate gratifi- Attorney General of Senator JEFF SES- cause President Trump’s nominees cation and not so much for taking the SIONS, a well-respected colleague in aren’t qualified; it is because our col- long view in terms of how the Senate this Chamber. I am glad we were fi- leagues on the other side of the aisle are determined to undermine this new ought to operate. nally able to move his nomination out This sort of resistance mentality of the committee yesterday. But the President and his administration, no that has grown up among our col- truth is that even though many Demo- matter what cost is paid by the coun- leagues on the other side of the aisle crats on the committee had worked try. After the election, President Obama, ignores the fact that we had an elec- side by side with Senator SESSIONS and to his credit, talked about the impor- tion on November 8. The American peo- had cosponsored legislation with him, tance of a peaceful transition of power ple made their choice, and it is plain they themselves said what a good man from one administration to the next. that our Democratic colleagues are he was. They voted against him after Some of our colleagues who are now simply not happy about the choice slowing down this obvious choice to obstructing this President’s Cabinet they made and are going to undermine lead the Justice Department. members have also paid lipservice to a President Trump talks about drain- and resist this President no matter peaceful transition of power. What we ing the swamp in Washington, DC. The what, particularly when it comes to are seeing is a hostile transition of staffing his Cabinet with the people he biggest swamp in Washington, DC, has power—mindless obstruction, foot has chosen to serve the Nation as part been a Justice Department headed by dragging, and delay for delay’s sake. of his administration. Eric Holder and, sadly, by his successor Let me remind them once again that The American people also indicated Loretta Lynch. They have refused to the American people voted on Novem- they wanted us to move forward, away enforce the rule of law and instead ber 8 and chose a President who has the from the bickering, away from the turned that into a political outpost for authority to nominate the people he gridlock, away from this mentality the Obama administration. Attorney sees fit to serve on his Cabinet. We that we were here to serve someone General JEFF SESSIONS is going to can’t afford to let this administration else other than the American people. change that. He is going to enforce the operate with one hand tied behind its They want results, not politics as law, and he will respect the law no back for the foreseeable future. We usual. I think that is the lesson we all matter who wins and who loses because need to do our job and provide the should have learned from this last elec- his duty is to the Constitution and President and the country with the ex- tion. The sad reality is that it is in- laws of the United States and to en- perts and advisers that the administra- creasingly clear to me that my Demo- force those laws as Attorney General tion needs to keep our country safe and cratic colleagues didn’t learn the right and, yes, to defend those laws. to keep government functioning for the lesson last November and are trying to Some of our Senate colleagues were people. bring the Chamber to a standstill. shocked when Deputy Attorney Gen- I hope soon—I am not optimistic, but Thanks to the nuclear option that eral Sally Yates—although the Office I hope that soon our Senate Democrats then-Majority Leader Senator Reid of Legal Counsel said that the Execu- will start working with us and not championed and which all of our Demo- tive order issued by the President was against us and, more importantly, cratic friends voted for, they are not legal and proper in its form—wrote a against the interests of the American going to be able to stop President letter saying she was instructing the people who sent them here. Trump’s nominees to the Cabinet be- line lawyers in the Justice Department TRIBUTE TO LINDA BAZACO cause all it requires is 51 votes. Yes, not to defend it in court. President Madam President, I want to spend a they can slow it down, but they can’t Trump fired her, and he should have. few minutes recognizing an extraor- stop it. My question is, What purpose is That is political grandstanding by dinary public servant on my staff who to be served from keeping the Presi- somebody who should know better, served in a unique capacity that many dent fully staffed with the Cabinet that considering her distinguished career at may not know exists. he has chosen, knowing that you are the Department of Justice for the last One of the most important things we ultimately going to lose the fight? 30 years. get to do as Members of Congress is to Unfortunately, this is not about the I don’t know who gave her the bad act as the intermediary or intercessor Senate alone. This is about the Amer- advice, but I am glad that President between our constituents and a Federal ican people. For 2 days in a row, Senate Trump decided to fire someone who ba- Government that sometimes is not re- Democrats on the Finance Committee, sically defied their duties to the De- sponsive, particularly in dealing with which has been one of the most bipar- partment of Justice and to the U.S. Federal agencies. For instance, when tisan committees in the U.S. Senate— Government and preferred to take the somebody isn’t receiving their proper our Democratic colleagues, each and side of politics and misinformation. check from the Social Security Admin- every one of them, boycotted the meet- We know that the Senate is con- istration or is having trouble getting ings to consider President Trump’s tinuing with other nominations as an appointment at a Veterans Adminis- nominees. well. I see this morning that the Envi- tration clinic or is in need of assistance I sit on the Finance Committee. As I ronment and Public Works Committee with foreign adoptions, where do they said, it has historically been a bipar- finally voted out the nomination of the turn? They turn to people like Linda tisan committee, but our Democratic attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Bazaco, who heads my casework pro- colleagues chose to relinquish their re- Pruitt, for Director of the Environ- gram in Dallas, TX, and is going to be sponsibility and ignore their duties to mental Protection Agency. Unfortu- retiring soon.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Feb 02, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.010 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S617 I am proud to say that we do our very Senators, Linda, thank you for your Court. These lifetime appointments are best to make sure that the 28 million service. established under article III in the Con- people I have the privilege of rep- Madam President, I yield the floor. stitution and are the ultimate author- resenting get the very best help pos- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ity over all of the Federal courts and sible to help navigate the very real and ator from Washington. State court cases involving Federal very personal issues that involve the Ms. CANTWELL. I know we are going law. Federal bureaucracy. That way, my of- back and forth. I wish to inquire if my Since it was established, the deci- fice—specifically my constituent serv- colleague seeks to speak. sions the Supreme Court has made ices or what we call my casework Go ahead because we are expecting have guided and altered the course of team—can help ensure that no Texan someone on our side. our Nation. The decisions it makes who reaches out to us slips between the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- often have long-lasting ramifications, cracks. ator from South Dakota. that in one vote can dramatically alter In some circles, apparently, we have Mr. ROUNDS. Madam President, I the course of our country. Based on a reputation for bragging in Texas, but ask to speak as in morning business for what I know of Judge Gorsuch, I be- I have to say my staff are some of the up to 5 minutes. lieve he has the aptitude for this life- absolutely best in the field when it The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without time appointment. He is greatly re- comes to getting responses for Texans objection, it is so ordered. spected on both sides of the aisle. In from Federal agencies. I like to say NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH fact, he was previously confirmed to that if it can be done, it will be done. Mr. ROUNDS. Madam President, I the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth In that way, we play an important role rise today to discuss President Trump’s Circuit unanimously, and not a single in holding the bureaucracy accountable Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil M. Republican or Democratic Member of and reminding the Federal Government Gorsuch. the Senate dissented. As such, we ex- who their customer really is. It is the As you know, the vacancy exists be- pect the Senate will continue its tradi- taxpayers to whom they ought to be re- cause last year Supreme Court Justice tion of approving highly competent, sponsive. They shouldn’t need to call Antonin Scalia died suddenly at the qualified individuals to the Supreme their Senator or their Congressman or age of 79, leaving an unexpected va- Court in an up-or-down vote, following Congresswoman in order to get re- cancy on our Nation’s highest Court. a thorough vetting process. sponses from the Federal Government, As I said at the time of his passing, I thank President Trump for nomi- but, in fact, sometimes they do, and replacing Justice Scalia, one of the nating to the Supreme Court a judge sometimes—well, it is our privilege to Court’s strongest defenders of our Con- who has lived up to the Scalia gold help. stitution, would be extremely difficult. standard. I also thank the American As I indicated, the person who has For nearly three decades, with his bril- people who voted in November in sup- led this effort in my office for the last liant legal mind and animated char- port of our efforts to retain Scalia’s many years is Linda Bazaco, someone acter, Justice Scalia fiercely fought legacy on the Court when his replace- whom I came to know after she worked against judicial activism and legis- ment is confirmed. for my predecessor, Senator Phil lating from the bench. To say our next Perhaps most importantly, I thank Gramm. Linda fervently believes in the Justice has big shoes to fill would be Judge Gorsuch for his lifelong commit- concept of government accountability an incredible understatement. That is ment to defending our Constitution and has developed a way to get the an- why the decision was made early on by and applying the law as it was written. swers that Texans need and deserve. Leader MCCONNELL and others to give If confirmed, I am confident he will be As I indicated, she started under my the American people a voice in this an outstanding member of the U.S. Su- predecessor, Senator Phil Gramm, process, by waiting to confirm the next preme Court. about 27 years ago. Today, Linda’s sys- Justice until the 45th President was in I yield the floor. tem has become the gold standard for office and able to nominate someone The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- other elected officials to get results on him or herself. We held that belief, ator from Washington. behalf of their constituents and, in even when it looked like our party Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I doing so, has impacted constituents’ would not win the Presidency. would like to continue the debate on lives in profound ways: benefits, As we have been reminded before, the measure before the Senate, which checks, expedited passports, medical elections have consequences. The is to basically overturn a provision care, or even the most basic—simply a American people chose to elect Presi- that would require coal polluters to return phone call from an agency. All dent Trump, who throughout his cam- make sure they clean up the damage the while, Linda has done this with en- paign said that he would nominate they do to the clean water streams of thusiasm and with an eye toward qual- someone in the mold of the late Justice our Nation. ity and getting results for the people of Scalia. With his pick of Judge Gorsuch, We are here today because the agen- Texas. President Trump made an excellent cy who is in charge of setting these Linda, along with the team she has choice in fulfilling that promise. We rules has finalized a rule. They did so built, has pushed the government to be believe Judge Gorsuch espouses the after more than 5 years of discussion. more accountable and responsive to the same approach to constitutional inter- They set it because there was so much tens of thousands of Texans who have pretation as Justice Scalia and has a scientific information about the great reached out to my office and, in most strong understanding of federalism degradation to our streams caused by cases, will never know she was their se- upon which our country is built. mining, when rocks are blown up and cret weapon. Because the current makeup of the selenium is introduced into the stream. Soon Linda will be taking on another Court is evenly split between I have pictures I showed last night of challenge. After serving the 28 million conservative- and liberal-leaning Jus- deformed fish, pictures of river streams people of Texas for nearly 27 years now, tices, this ninth spot is as important as that are polluted. I have pictures of ob- she will take up an even more impor- it has ever been. The next Justice has vious degradation of the environment tant role; that is, a full-time grand- the potential to hold incredible influ- around them. mother extraordinaire. I couldn’t be ence over the ideological direction of The real issue is, the rule is now in prouder of having someone of her cal- the Court for a generation to come. place, and my colleagues want to ex- iber as a leader on my team, and I wish The Supreme Court is the final author- empt the coal industry from such regu- her and her husband Val and her three ity for interpreting Federal laws and lation. Why would you want to exempt children and her five beautiful grand- the Constitution. It is one of the most anybody from cleaning up their mess? children the absolute best in the next important responsibilities found within Polluters should pay. I know my col- chapter of their lives. our federalism. leagues are starting to chorus on some On behalf of all the generations of Since our very first Supreme Court— refrain about the economy, which Texans you have helped over the dec- Justice James Wilson took the oath of makes no sense. Natural gas has driven ades, the staff members you have led office in October of 1789—there have a very competitive market to con- along the way, and at least two U.S. been just 112 Justices to serve on the suming more natural gas than coal,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Feb 02, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.012 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S618 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 and Wall Street blew up the pension cies, and two of its largest companies, ment, they want to fish, they want to program of the miners, and now it is in underwent a 30-day review.’’ What was hunt, they want to recreate, and they jeopardy. If you want to help miners, that about? That was about the State want an opportunity to do so. As a then come address their health and of Kentucky failing to implement the company, I can attract the best and safety and their pension program. If old law. This was in 2010. The State of the brightest because they know they you want to make natural gas more ex- Kentucky’s Attorney General—they are going to live in that kind of envi- pensive, maybe you could make coal were such laggards at this—people sued ronment. competitive again, but I don’t think the companies in the State because the The notion that this kind of ‘‘let us that is what we really want in Amer- State wasn’t doing its job. Eventually, make sure the coal industry doesn’t ica. they uncovered, as the article says, have to play by the rules, they get an My colleagues somehow ignore the ‘‘massive failures by the industry to exemption from clean water’’ is some fact that the people of the United file accurate water discharge moni- sort of economic strategy for the fu- States of America are going to demand toring reports. They filed an intent to ture of coal country, it is absolutely clean water one way or another. You sue, which triggered the investigation not. can protect the coal industry here with by the State’s energy and environ- Saying that AGs are going to do the special interests and the amount of mental cabinet.’’ The notion that job, we have many examples of where lobbying they do, or you can step up States are on the job and doing their they haven’t. There are also examples this process and have a regulation that job in Kentucky—they weren’t. from Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the works for the United States of America A State case was provoked by other degradation is so bad it is nearly im- so the outdoor industry, sportsmen and people who were monitoring for clean possible to clean up. fishermen—who have many more jobs— water. It is our prerogative to set a Let us talk a little bit about the can continue to thrive. Why do I say standard for miners to clean up their comparison of jobs from outdoor indus- that? Because my colleague from Texas mess. That is what we are talking try and the coal industry. It is not to brought up the EPA nominee, Mr. Pru- about. Now the other side of the aisle demean the jobs of the coal industry itt, who is coming to us from Okla- wants to overturn that, saying that and the individuals who have worked homa. I found, with great pleasure, the polluters don’t have to pay. their whole lives in that sector or to same arguments that the other side of How did we get to this situation? As say that one job is better than the the aisle is trying to make, they tried mentioned, the past administration other. There are over 6 million jobs di- to make in Oklahoma. ‘‘Oh, my gosh. It worked hard at coming up with a rectly in the outdoor industry. They is environmental regulation that is stream protection rule. Why did they generate $80 billion in tax revenue, but stopping us from producing a greater, come up with a new stream protection if you come to Montana and there is a more robust farming economy. We need rule? Because it had been 33 years since mine on top of a stream and people to do something to stop those unto- we had a stream protection rule. The don’t want to go there to fish and ward regulations.’’ old rule did not prohibit mining recreate anymore, then you have What did they do? They had a big ini- through streams. Guess what? Neither caused damage. What are we talking tiative for the ballot that basically does the new rule. The new rule says about by State? Let’s look at it. Mon- said: Let’s make it really hard for any- you are not prohibited from mining tana, there are 64,000 jobs related to body to regulate in regard to farming, through a stream, but by gosh you outdoor recreation. Why? Because unless they show it is somehow in the ought to be required to mitigate the Montana is beautiful. It has so many greater State interest. Even in red- mess you create in the water system by streams. I mentioned last night that state Oklahoma, they got it. They mining through that stream. wonderful movie called ‘‘A River Runs knew it was a fast run on the Clean We are talking about mitigation re- Through It.’’ It doesn’t say, ‘‘A River Water Act, and they defeated that basi- quirements, and we are talking about Runs Through It and a Mountaintop cally 60 to 40. measurements. Why do we need that? Mine Sits on Top of It.’’ That is not If we want to have a debate by de- Because since 1983, when the previous what that movie was about. It was bate, State by State, a discussion rule was put in place—we now know about the beauty of the great outdoors. about clean water because people here that things like selenium cause very There are 122,000 recreation jobs in will not defend the right for people to bad things to happen in water, with Utah. There are 125,000 in Colorado, have clean streams, then we will have rocks and the discharge. We know sele- 50,000 in Wyoming. There are 28,000 in that debate. My colleagues sometimes nium can cause the deformation of fish North Dakota. Are people down here try to say: Well, this is what attorneys and that eating those fish can make defending those jobs? I am defending general are concerned about. Some of you sick. That is why we want to have them because a clean stream is a great them don’t like the rule. You have a rule to understand the impacts and source of recreation for people. I don’t ample opportunity to change the rule. to mitigate for them. I think about want to fish or hike in a stream with You could come here and propose legis- this particular picture, and the defor- selenium that could poison me or poi- lation. You could ask your colleagues mation in the fish tail and in the fish son other people. What is wrong with now to do something and move forward lip—the front end of the fish—are ex- polluters paying? I say nothing. on an alternative, but that is not what treme examples of what selenium is The economic cost of this legislation is happening. This egregious approach doing in our water supply. Why would is very minimal. The industry would be is not only getting rid of a rule that you not want—as someone blowing up a responsible for less than .01 percent of currently protects us, for safe streams, mountaintop and creating this kind of the economic cost; that is, the pollu- but because it is a Congressional Re- stream damage, why would you not tion that would be required to clean up view Act overriding that rule, it will want them to mitigate that? Why from this type of effort would be mini- prohibit us from taking up, in the same would you want to protect them? Be- mal to the industry. So what are they fashion, an approach to make sure this cause you think you are protecting complaining about? What are they is regulated in the future. That is some coal industry jobs that basically complaining about? They don’t want to right. Turning down the rule this way have fallen off because natural gas has measure selenium in the water. They will stop an agency from doing the job become a cheaper product? Your eco- don’t want to be responsible for miti- it is supposed to do. Why not just leave nomic strategy is a race to the bottom. gating it. it to the States? That is like saying: I You think if you have the lowest envi- The economic challenges that the in- am going to leave clean air, clean ronmental standards in the United dustry faces from natural gas have water, or nuclear waste cleanup to States of America, that is somehow nothing to do with this issue. This whatever a State decides. That is not going to generate jobs? I think it is issue is about whether polluters should what Federal law is about. just the opposite. I have so many peo- pay and whether we as a body are going Here is an editorial from Kentucky ple in Washington State who say: I to not only overturn this rule that is where a ‘‘proposed $660,000 settlement can’t attract employees unless we have about clean water and safety for our of the Clean Water Act violations be- a clean environment here because peo- communities by having streams pro- tween the State’s environmental agen- ple want to live in a clean environ- tected. It is also about whether we are

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.014 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S619 going to preclude another administra- hard-working Alaskans, my constitu- Many of my colleagues—all of whom tive approach to fixing this issue. ents. So I am particularly pleased that I respect highly—on the other side of The Congressional Review Act is a the first of these actions—and we are the aisle, my Democratic colleagues, very large cannon blowing a hole in the going to be using the Congressional Re- came down to the floor. They were say- clean water requirements for the coal view Act a lot because the economy ing how coal miners of America were industry. Once you turn this down, you and families in America need relief—in under siege, how they needed help. cannot easily reinstate something new. the Senate is to nullify the so-called They were talking about my good So our colleagues on the other side of stream buffer rule of the Department friend and colleague Senator MANCHIN’s the aisle, if they truly wanted to do of Interior. bill with regard to protecting coal something about this, could come to My colleague and friend, the senior miner pensions, which, by the way, I the floor today and say: I propose Senator from Alaska, Ms. MURKOWSKI, am a cosponsor of. something different. President Trump, was down on the floor a little bit about So I agree about protecting our coal if he wanted to propose something dif- ago. She described just how sweeping miners, but I watched a lot of those re- ferent that both guaranteed clean this rule was in scope and how despite marks. My colleagues were down on water and moved us forward, he could the Federal law called SMACRA, which the floor for several hours, but what I propose something. Instead, they sim- requires cooperative Federalism, work- found very ironic was that I looked at ply want to repeal this. ing closely with the States, the Obama a lot of these Senators and asked: So this chart shows just what I have administration did not give the States Where were you during this 8-year war been referring to; that coal basically any input—certainly not my State. against coal miners? What were you now in 2016 is getting beat by natural But what I wanted to talk about on doing? I hate to say it, but a lot of gas. It is getting beat by natural gas this rule in particular and why it is so them were allies in the Obama admin- important to have not just Republicans because it has become a cheaper istration’s assault on hard-working but Democrats—and I am going to en- source. We are not going to get into families and coal miners. the details of how that happened, but courage my colleagues on the other I am not saying that about my good side of the aisle to please support this we are going to say here today that the friend from West Virginia, JOE resolution of disapproval—why it so notion that you want to let them off MANCHIN, but there were a lot who important we vote for this resolution the hook from meeting environmental were. Heck, some were even leading the of disapproval today is because of the rules and regulations as a way to be charge, but, nevertheless, several were coal miners in America—the coal min- competitive is a dangerous, dangerous down here on the floor right before the ers in America, who have been under precedent for the United States to be holidays lamenting about what has incredible strain and their families. setting. The vote we take today is going to happened to the coal miners in Amer- We will not win, and our economy offer them the first signs of relief in ica. So to my colleagues who were will not win from that situation. What years. Now, there were projections by down here shedding tears for America’s we have to do instead is make sure the Department of Interior’s own con- coal miners in December, I want to that we are taking care of our environ- tractors—as my colleague, Senator offer a challenge to you. Here is your ment and being competitive in all sorts MURKOWSKI, mentioned a little bit chance. Here is your chance. This is a of industry issues. For example, this ago—that thousands of coal miners rule that our own Federal Government story was about, in West Virginia, how would lose their jobs because of this has said will put thousands of coal mountaintop mining caused a fish spe- rule—thousands. miners out of work. If you really care cies to disappear. ‘‘We are seeing sig- A study showed that estimates would about the coal miners of America, nificant reductions of the species of be one-third of coal miners, coal-min- whether in West Virginia or Alaska, abundant fish downstream from mining ing jobs in the country were at risk become down on the Senate floor this operations.’’ cause of this rule. That is a big deal. afternoon when we have this vote and To me, that would be an anathema in That is a big deal. One-third. Studies vote for this resolution of disapproval, the Pacific Northwest. Fishing is ev- are showing that by the Department of if you want to help the coal miners, if erything. If somehow we were involved Interior’s own contractor. But not to you want to turn this around so there in a mining process that was killing worry, the Obama administration is no war against them, led by the Fed- fish, that would be the worst thing that issued the rule anyway. Again, as my eral Government. Its own studies said: could happen to our economy. There is colleague Senator MURKOWSKI men- Yep. Sorry. You and your families are no reason for us not to set rules and tioned, there were concerns—very le- going to be out of work. If you really regulations to make sure the mining gitimate concerns in my State—that care like you were saying in December, industry cleans up their mess. this rule could literally kill every coal- then come down to the floor today and I hope our colleagues will understand mining job in Alaska, at the Usibelli vote for this resolution. how detrimental this rule is. Do not coal mine in interior Alaska. I yield the floor. give the mining companies an exemp- So what was the so-called stream The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- tion from cleaning up messes in their buffer rule really about? What was it? ator from Washington. streams. Let’s say that we are going to Well, I think we all know. It was the Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I do the public interest and not special last salvo in the Obama administra- think my colleague from Massachu- interests. tion’s arsenal in the war on coal min- setts is here on the floor to speak. I I yield the floor. ers, a war that has left thousands of will let him have some time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- hard-working Americans out of work, I would say to my colleague from ator from Alaska. injured, in despair in its wake. That is Alaska, the real bait-and-switch is the Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, what happened. Just look at what hap- side of this aisle that allows the Fi- today we are going to be voting on the pened. Look at our own Federal Gov- nance Committee to pretend like it is first of what will be many resolutions ernment going to war against hard- going to do something on the pension of disapproval under the Congressional working Americans. That is what hap- program and votes a month before the Review Act to roll back the avalanche pened for 8 years—disgraceful in my election, and then after the election, of Federal regulations that the Obama view. fails to act on such an important issue. administration placed on the U.S. Now it is time to fight back. Now it I hope people are not advocating pollu- economy and, most importantly, the is time to fight back. Now it is time for tion as an economic strategy because it working men and women of this great this body to show coal miners in Amer- will not work. country. ica that we are actually on their side The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Nowhere have these regulations been and not against them and not trying to ator from Massachusetts. more of a burden than on the energy ruin them and their families. I want to Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I industry of America, which employs recount a recent colloquy by a bunch of thank the Senator from Washington millions, millions of Americans— my colleagues from the other side of State for her tremendous leadership on Democrats, Republicans, good, hard- the aisle from last December—right be- all of these environmental issues, working Americans, and thousands of fore recess. which are now on the table in our

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.015 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S620 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 country for the first time in a genera- metals destroy water quality for near- to do in order to maintain the high tion. by residents and ruin ecosystems. standards that we have created for the TRIBUTE TO BILL BONNAVILLIAN The rule that the Republicans are at- protection of families over the last Before I turn to the resolution the tempting to repeal today protects the generation. Senate is debating, I want to take a public health and drinking water of Last year, electricity generation minute to recognize the contributions millions of American citizens in Appa- from natural gas surpassed that from of Bill Bonnavillian to advancing lachia and elsewhere across our coun- coal for the first time since 1949, when America’s science and technology pol- try. data collection began. Why? To quote icy. Last month, Bill stepped down as The rule requires that lead, arsenic, the Department of Energy: the head of the Washington office of selenium, and other toxic pollutants The recent decline in the generation share the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- are monitored. It requires that streams of coal, and the rise in the share of natural nology after 11 years. that are damaged or destroyed must be gas, was a market-driven response to lower Bill’s leadership of the office contin- restored. natural gas prices that have made natural ued MIT’s historic role of providing a Now, the majority likes to say that gas generation more economically attrac- there is a war on coal, but the only war tive. vision for advancing science policy and Between 2000 and 2008, coal was signifi- ensuring that knowledge generated at that coal is losing is in the free market cantly less expensive than natural gas. How- MIT was relevant and available for pol- to natural gas, to wind, to solar. These ever, beginning in 2009, large amounts of nat- icymakers in Washington, DC. His are the sources of electricity that the ural gas produced from shale formations leadership will be missed at the MIT utilities of our country, that the citi- changed the balance. Washington office, but I am glad to zens of our country have been moving While the cost of coal has risen by 10 know he will be staying engaged with to over the last 10 to 15 years. There is percent since 2008, the cost of natural the MIT community. I hope he will a war going on in the marketplace. gas has fallen by more than 60 percent. continue to provide guidance to this Adam Smith is spinning in his grave For a power producer considering new body since now, more than ever, we as he listens to the Republicans trying generation capacity, the lifetime cost need science to inform the decisions we to protect an industry from market of electricity from a new coal-fired are making on the Senate floor. forces. Adam Smith is actually spin- powerplant is 67 percent higher than Today, Madam President, congres- ning so fast in his grave that he could from a new natural gas powerplant and sional Republicans are beginning the qualify as a new energy source for our 17 percent than from a newly con- process of going one by one to overturn country. That is how shocked he would structed wind farm, according to the commonsense rules that have long been be about this attempt to undermine National Academy of Sciences. opposed by the oil and gas, coal, and the public health and safety in our The reason no one is building coal- other industries in the United States of country on behalf of an industry that is fired powerplants is very clear: It is the America. The majority is trying to losing a battle in the marketplace. free market. Coal cannot compete in undo these rules by deploying a rarely It is the free market that ultimately the free market. In 2016, we added more used procedural tool known as the Con- is causing these changes, and the coal than 14,000 new megawatts of solar. We gressional Review Act. industry is saying: Please protect us are going to add 7 to 8,000 new In fact, the majority is talking about from having to protect the public megawatts of wind. We are going to using the Congressional Review Act, or health and safety—clean air, clean add nearly 9,000 new megawatts of nat- CRA, so often that it could actually water. Please protect us from having to ural gas, and we added virtually no new get hard to keep track of which indus- protect families affected by our indus- megawatts of coal-fired generation in try is benefitting from week to week to tries. our country. We are projected to add week from the Republicans’ use of the A few years ago, we generated rough- no new coal generation this year as CRA. I brought down a helpful tool so ly 50 percent of our electricity from well. It will be more natural gas, more the viewers at home can keep track of coal. Now it is down to 30 percent of all wind, and more solar. which industries are benefitting each electricity generated in our country The marketplace is rejecting coal as week from Republicans using the CRA from coal—50 percent to 30 percent of a source of electricity. The market- to roll back protections for public all electricity in a handful of years. place is doing that. This isn’t a con- health, for clean air, for clean water, Coal has been replaced in the free spiracy. It is competition in the free for clean soil, for the health of the fam- market by natural gas, which has market. ilies in our country. grown from a little over 20 percent of Lest my colleagues think that this is So let’s consult our wheel to see who U.S. electricity generation a decade just happening in the United States, it is the big winner of the GOP giveaway ago to 35 percent today. That is coal’s is not. More than half of all electrical this week. big problem—natural gas, another fos- generating capacity added in the world Up first are the mining and the coal sil fuel, but one that emits one-half of last year was renewable. industries. They are the first big win- the greenhouse gas pollutants as does Let me say that again. More than ners of the GOP Congressional Review coal. half of all new electrical generating ca- Act wheel of giveaways. That is right. Coal has also been replaced by clean pacity added in the world last year was First up for repeal by the Republican energy, by wind, especially, which has from renewable energy—wind and Congress are public health protections grown by 5 to 6 percent of our genera- solar—across the planet. against the toxic practice of mountain- tion, and by solar, which is now 1 per- China recently announced that it in- top removal coal mining. cent of our generation. tends to invest $360 billion on renew- These protections were put in place In other words, if you go back to 2005 able energy by 2020. They intend to cre- by the Obama administration because a and you look at our country, natural ate 13 million Chinese jobs in renew- Bush-era rule was thrown out by the gas was a relatively small percentage able energy in that time. courts. These commonsense rules to of electrical generation, and so were This isn’t a conspiracy. It is competi- monitor and ultimately restore wind and solar. As we debate this issue tion, and the competition for those streams impacted by coal mining are here today, wind and solar are now up clean energy jobs is global. despised by the coal industry. Those to 7 percent of all electricity generated When we started carrying iPhones, it that created the problem despise any in our country, up from 1 percent just wasn’t a war on black rotary dial rules that would require remedying the a little bit more than 10 years ago. It is phones; it was a technological revolu- problem, as it affected public health— growing so fast as a preference for tion. When we started using Macs and no surprise. American industry, American utilities, PCs, it wasn’t a war on typewriters; it Mountaintop removal mining is one and American homes, that it poses a was a technological revolution. The of the most environmentally destruc- marketplace threat. horseless carriage wasn’t a war on tive practices on Earth. Mountains are So what we need to do now, finally, is horses; it was a technological revolu- turned into barren plateaus. Streams to have the big debate out here as to tion that moved us to automobiles. in the bottoms of nearby valleys are what are the implications for public The move away from coal and oil to- filled with debris and buried. Heavy health and safety and what do we have ward clean energy and natural gas isn’t

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.016 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S621 a war; it is a revolution—an American- the heart of that issue. What the coal homa but Nebraska and many other made free market revolution. industry is doing is using the justifica- States—what is the most serious prob- We now have more than 400,000 Amer- tion of their need to be competitive lem they have, they would say it is the icans employed in the solar and wind with the natural gas, wind, and solar overregulation of the EPA. If you ask industries. By 2020, there are projected industries, a battle they are losing in them, of all the regulations, which to be 600,000 Americans working in the financial marketplace, as a jus- ones are the most difficult for the these clean energy industries. It is not tification for undermining the public farmers out there trying to scratch a a war. It is a revolution. health of our country so they can be living, they will say it is the regula- Now, next there is going to be an- more competitive. tions on water. other industry to win in the CRA, the In other words, the price to be paid Historically, the jurisdiction of water Congressional Review Act giveaway to make the coal industry more com- is a State jurisdiction. Now, a liberal game. That is right. The next winner petitive with other industries to which always wants that jurisdiction to be will be the oil and gas industries. they are losing market share in the with the Federal Government in Wash- Republicans intend to move to over- electrical generation market is that ington. That is their nature. I don’t turn a bipartisan requirement under the public health has to be com- criticize them for that. They believe the Dodd-Frank bill that publicly trad- promised and we have to turn a blind that. But if you ask the farmers in my ed oil, gas, and mining companies dis- eye to the impact on the children and State of Oklahoma, they will say they close to their investors when they the families in our country who are don’t want that to happen. Histori- make payments to foreign countries, being exposed to these dangerous cally, water has always been the but that requirement is vigorously op- chemicals. State’s jurisdiction, with the exception posed by ExxonMobil, the American That is the price we have to pay as a of navigable water. We understand that Petroleum Institute, and the oil and nation? It is unacceptably high. navigable water should have a Federal gas industry. So Adam Smith looks on, and Adam jurisdiction. In fact, I would have to Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Smith judges us here today. say there was a real effort 6 years ago Street Reform and Consumer Protec- This marketplace defeat of coal by by a Senator who at that time was rep- tion Act was a bipartisan provision au- natural gas, wind, and solar is one that resenting the State of Wisconsin and a thored by Senators CARDIN and LUGAR. is being used to hurt children and hurt House Member who was representing a It requires oil, gas, and mining compa- families in our country. I do not think district in Minnesota. Those two indi- nies to disclose payments to foreign it is an acceptable position for our Na- viduals introduced legislation to take governments, and that is now in jeop- tion to take. I urge a rejection of that the word ‘‘navigable’’ out of water reg- ardy. motion. ulations so the Federal Government The Dodd-Frank disclosure rule goes I yield back to the leader of this ef- would have jurisdiction over all of the to the core of the Securities and Ex- fort on the Senate floor, the great Sen- water in the States as opposed to the change Commission’s mission of inves- ator from Washington. State having that jurisdiction. Not tor protection. Secret payments can The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. only did we defeat the legislation, but easily be expropriated by corrupt gov- SASSE). The Senator from Oklahoma. both of those Members were defeated in ernments. They can also be a signal Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, first of the polls when they came up for reelec- that a company is involved in risky all, I appreciate the opportunity to get tion on that issue. The people are business overseas—risks that investors wedged in here. There are a number of clearly on our side. need to know about when making in- very interesting things happening Where does a CRA come in? A CRA is vestments. today. One is the CRA that I am very something that has been used to shed By eliminating this disclosure re- much concerned about. I know that my light on what we are doing here. I am quirement, using the Congressional Re- good friend from Massachusetts did not talking about with respect to our elect- view Act, we are potentially allowing misrepresent something intentionally; ed representatives. If there are regula- for oil companies to make secret, un- however, this is a little bit more com- tions that are punitive to the busi- disclosed payments to foreign govern- plicated than people think it is. nesses back home, when the Senator ments. Those could include payments I spoke earlier this week on our need goes back to his or her State, they can intended to gain an advantage over to roll back a lot of these regulations say: Well, that wasn’t I, that was an other companies or even bribes to for- that were handed down during the unelected bureaucrat who did that. I eign officials. Obama administration. They are all a am opposed to it. They have a shield so Eliminating this disclosure require- part of that War on Fossil Fuels, and people don’t really know where they ment could allow for oil companies to as you hear, that war is still going on stand. A CRA takes away that shield make secret payments to foreign na- with some of those individuals. How- because the CRA challenges a regulations that could have serious implica- ever, President Obama is gone, and now tion, and it has to be voted on, forcing tions for these nations and for inves- we have to look at some of these over- Members of the Senate and the House tors. regulations. to be responsible for how they are real- I urge my fellow Senators to reject For a number of years, I chaired the ly voting. It is a way of shedding light. these resolutions and keep in place the Environment and Public Works Com- We have a lot of CRAs coming. One is commonsense protections for public mittee. During that period of time, going to be a CRA that I sponsored health, clean water, and financial dis- that particular committee had the ju- having to do with a regulation in the closure. risdiction over the EPA, which is Dodd-Frank bill, in section 1504. As I Earlier today, the Republicans on the where most of the bad regulations mentioned, most of the overregulations Environment and Public Works Com- came from. When I say ‘‘bad regula- come from the EPA, but this particular mittee reported out the nomination of tions,’’ I am talking about the overregulation didn’t come from the EPA. Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt. regulations that make it very difficult It came from the Dodd-Frank banking Democrats on the committee have for our companies to compete with for- legislation having to do with financial grave concerns about his ability to up- eign companies that don’t have these services. It is in a section that had hold the EPA’s mission to ‘‘protect types of regulations. nothing to do with financial services. human health and the environment.’’ Let me share something that is not Section 1504 requires all information to So what we are talking about here is very well understood, and that is what be made public that would come from a the totality of a picture. The use of the a CRA really is. There are a lot of peo- bid. In the United States of America, CRA to—one by one by one—go after ple of the liberal persuasion who would our oil and gas companies are in the these environmental protections that like very much to have everything private sector, but in China it is run by have been put in place to increase the they could regulated in Washington, the government. If we are competing health of Americans, to reduce their DC. For example, one of the fights we for an oil and gas issue that might be exposure to arsenic, to lead, and to had was the WOTUS fight. If you ask in Tanzania and we are competing with other dangerous chemicals. This first any of the farmers and ranchers in China, China would be competing as a one that we are debating goes right to America—not just in my State of Okla- government, and we would be doing it

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.018 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S622 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 in the private sector. Section 1504 re- There are others in the humanitarian ulation through the CRA and to repeal quires the private sector to disclose all community who have expressed con- section 1504 of Dodd-Frank and rewrite elements of their bid when they are cern to me that the CRA will under- it so it accomplishes the goal of stop- competing for a contract with China. mine efforts to fight corruption in ping corruption and at the same time The reason for this initially was to pre- other governments around the world. is not going to put us at a competitive clude a country’s leaders from at- Let me assure you that I support your disadvantage. tempting to steal money that was goal. With that, I yield the floor. given to them for a certain oil project. The courts were emphatic when they The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- With this disclosure, they would not be said this regulation should be repealed. ator from West Virginia. able to do it. Well, you don’t have to In fact, it was taken down by the court Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise have all the components of the bid. All way back in 2013. Well, it has come also to speak about the rule. I want ev- you have to have is the top line, how back up again. What we want to do is eryone to know that the State of West much money was actually sent to, in merely comply with what the courts Virginia has been a heavy-lifting State. this case, the country of Tanzania. told us to do in 2013, and that is to use We are a construction State. We mined The courts came along in 2014 and the CRA to knock out this section 1504 the coal that made the steel that built said this regulation was wrong. There and go back and rewrite it to take out the guns and factories that enabled our are a couple of problems. One problem merely the requirement for a break- Nation to defend us and gave us the is that there is no reason in the world down of all the individual elements of a great country we have. that you should have a mandate to dis- contract. That is something we intend We have done everything. There is no close all the details of a bid because to do. one in West Virginia, Oklahoma, or that is giving away information to the I see my good friend from West Vir- any extraction State who wants dirty competition, giving the other side an ginia, who I think would understand water or dirty air. Pitting people advantage. The other problem is the just as well as anyone that when I go against each other is just wrong. The expense of it. We are talking about $600 back to my State of Oklahoma, they way this comes down is that this is a million a year that would be borne by say to me: You have a President—this duplicative rule, this stream protection the private sector in America that was back when President Obama was rule that was put in place. China would not have to pay. So it President—who has a War on Fossil My colleagues know that last year only punishes those within the United Fuels. Fossil fuels are coal, oil, gas, the Department of Interior Office of States. and I would include nuclear. Coming Surface Mining and Reclamation En- After the courts threw this out, the from my State of Oklahoma, they ask: forcement basically decided to send the SEC should have reworked the rule. Explain how, if 89 percent of the power final stream protection rule to the They were instructed to rework the that is generated in America comes White House without fulfilling their rule so every detail of the bidding did from fossil fuels and nuclear and they obligations or even a request by myself not have to be disclosed, just the total are successful in doing away with it, to contact and work with the local au- amount. That solved the problem that how do we run this machine called thorities and to work with the States was perceived to be out there because America? The answer is, we can’t. We that are involved. They did nothing. then it would be known that so much have to have it. They would not reach out to us whatso- money, for instance, maybe a check for I think we all understand what we ever. This was one of many of Presi- $50 million, would go out, and we want to do is have this rule changed so dent Obama’s administration’s regula- wouldn’t have to break down the de- we are not put at a competitive dis- tions that absolutely crippled West advantage so we are able to go ahead tails of it. The main thing is, we need Virginia families and businesses with and compete with countries that have to know, in good government—and that no plan to replace or create new jobs or a government-run system. To be able was the intention in the first place— help these communities. to do that, we need to rewrite this par- how much money was going to a for- Not only is this rule very alarming in ticular act. Again, the courts have al- eign government. its scope and potential impacts, the Some have argued that the CRA is ready agreed to that and that is what rulemaking was executed in a very motivated by companies who want to we are attempting to do. flawed way. The rules by the Depart- For those concerned about the tim- get around transparency. That is clear- ment of Interior and Office of Surface ing and speed of the CRA, I have good ly not the case. The courts have said it Mining and Reclamation must be based news. The actual rule is not set to go is not the case. Oil and gas companies into effect until 2018 anyway. The more on comprehensive data that is avail- in particular are longstanding sup- swiftly we can enact the CRA, the able to stakeholders, particularly when porters of greater transparency initia- more time it will give us and the SEC those rules threaten to eliminate thou- tives such as the Extractive Industries to rework it. This is something that is sands of jobs. All we have asked was to Transparency Initiative, the EITI, that perfectly acceptable. come to the DEP, the West Virginia is a multilateral, multistakeholder Some of my critics say we can’t come Department of Environmental Protec- global initiative composed of energy back with a rule that is substantially tion, and tell us what is not working, companies, civil society organizations, the same. This will not be substan- tell us what you want us to do dif- and host governments. The EITI rules tially the same. Actually, this is what ferently, work with us and help us would apply equally to all companies the court recommended in 2013. strengthen where there is a flaw. that would be operating in a country. In closing, I want to ask this ques- Not once did we ever get that type of That would level the playing field. tion: If we put forth a rule that makes courtesy. States critical to the imple- We have also heard from those on the it harder for U.S. companies overseas, mentation of this rule were left out of left saying that voting to repeal the who will fill the void? The U.S. compa- the process in any meaningful way. rule would be a vote in favor of corrup- nies have the best environmental The Office of Surface Mining failed to tion. Yet, importantly, the United standards, the best labor practices, and work with States throughout this proc- States already has in place the Foreign the least corruption of many of the ess, despite the clear congressional in- Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits other countries. However, if this vacu- tent. Furthermore, agencies should not the paying of bribes to foreign officials um is there, the business will go to be assuming duplicative rules that to assist in obtaining or trying to re- companies from China, India, and Mex- overlap regulations under other envi- tain business. The Federal Government ico that don’t care about pollution and ronmental laws such as the Clean is able to bring civil enforcement ac- don’t care about labor standards. That Water Act. tions against companies that violate is not what we want to have happen. This rule is excessive and duplica- this rule, and section 1504 of the Dodd- What we need to do is foster a strong tive. It has over 400 changes to the Sur- Frank Act did not change that. That competitive environment, with reduced face Mining Control and Reclamation was in place before and is still in place corruption overseas, for the benefit of Act—which is what we refer to as now. If we pass the CRA and eliminate those living under these governments. SMCRA—that duplicate existing prac- section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, it So I invite my colleagues to join me tices and protections that the EPA and is not going to change things. in this effort to do away with this reg- the Army Corps already oversaw.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.019 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S623 So, basically, we already have two sand and say: I am going to have what- down coal mining. That is the only agencies that have to do with any type ever I have. This will work fine. And I conclusion I could come up with. It of permitting that goes through the have no fossil. I don’t need fossil. wasn’t about clean air and clean water; EPA, in conjunction and in alliance I am sorry, the world doesn’t work it wasn’t about protecting this re- with the Army Corps. This overstepped that way. This country doesn’t work source; it was about shutting down the and took all the powers away from that way. The grid system—your light coal mines. them completely. Why would we want switch—doesn’t work that way. So this impacts not only the ability to duplicate? If we have an agency that So today once again I am standing on of our utilities to access this affordable is not doing its job, either change the behalf of West Virginians and common- and abundant resource, it hits thriving personnel or get rid of the agency; sense people all over this country, and rural communities throughout North don’t just create another duplicative we have a lot of them in West Virginia. Central North Dakota, communities role and another agency to oversee it. I ask my colleagues to hear their like Hazen, Washburn, and Beulah that During my time in the Senate, I have voices and vote in support of this reso- rely on coal for good-paying jobs, for been committed to policies that pro- lution that gets rid of these over- funding our schools, for fire protection, tect our coal-mining communities and reaching, duplicative rules that do for law enforcement and other commu- economies, and that is why I intro- nothing but create havoc on the econ- nity resources that allow our rural duced this resolution of disapproval to omy and the well-being of the citizens communities and healthy middle class undo this harmful, duplicative regula- of our great country. to thrive in the State of North Dakota. tion. Thank you, Mr. President. One-size-fits-all rules do not make I am a firm believer in the balance I yield the floor. any sense. And when you look at the between the economy and the environ- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- application of this rule and once-size- ment. I believe that everything we do ator from North Dakota. fits-all, it clearly makes no sense. The in life should have a balance, and we Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I beautiful mountains, forests, and should try to find that balance. But think all of us understand the gravity streams that dominate the West Vir- when you are trying to basically use of moving forward on a CRA. It is not ginia landscape, as just described by overreach, duplicative rules—a nui- a usual procedure; it is limited in my great friend Senator MANCHIN, are sance—which do nothing but create terms of filibuster rules, and it is ex- nothing like the rolling prairies, the havoc and make it almost impossible traordinary. In this case, unfortu- buttes, and the prairie potholes of to go forward, you can’t hire enough nately, it is necessary. Had the pre- North Dakota. How anyone can look at lawyers and enough accountants to get vious administration actually listened these two States and think that a rule through the paperwork the government and worked constructively with Sen- which is promulgated which will be can put on you. ator MANCHIN and me and my utilities universally applied can logically be ap- But never once, from any of us—from and the coal industry in North Dakota, plied to those two different land- West Virginia or any other State that we would not be standing here now. scapes—the logic of that completely es- does the heavy lifting—none of us This was a rule that had a specific in- capes me. think that we should discard the Clean tent of addressing mining practices in A rule that requires enhancements to Water Act or the Clean Air Act. Those Appalachia. Yet the former administra- the land, including trees and perma- are things that we will cherish and we tion made the rule applicable to the nent fencing to keep livestock away will protect, and those came about by entire country. from streams—well, in North Dakota, Republicans and Democrats working I don’t know that any of those folks we are pragmatists. Not only do we re- together—Republican administrations. drafting the rule had ever been to turn the land to the same or better We are all for that; we are just not for North Dakota to see just how different condition, we usually convert that land beating us over the head with a ham- our mining practices and geology are from farm or ranchland to this beau- mer when we can work to fix things if compared to Appalachia, so I invited tiful landscape we see here. we think there is an error. former Assistant Secretary Schneider I want everyone to understand what The consequences of this regulation out last year to take a look for herself. reclamation looks like. I want you all will have far-reaching impacts on the When she came out, she heard directly to understand that this used to be a future of coal mining and therefore all from North Dakota utilities, regu- strip mine. This used to be a big hole in other things we can count on. I think, lators, and coal companies, and she saw the ground producing coal. And over as the Senator from Oklahoma just how our operations differ and how my generations, and restoring this to the said, in West Virginia, we have what State is a national leader in reclama- topography—the biggest challenge we we call ‘‘all of the above’’ energy. We tion. Based on the final rule, it is ap- have in North Dakota is convincing the want all of the above to be used, and parent that the rule was already made original landowner, who would love it use it in the cleanest fashion, and de- before her visit, and the input of the to be straight so it is easier to farm, sign and develop new technologies that folks back home in my State, quite that we have to put it back the way it we can use and depend on. We depend honestly, was not taken seriously. was. on coal, we depend on natural gas, and North Dakota coal stakeholders esti- My colleagues can look at this land- we depend on nuclear power for the ma- mate that the rule could cost coal pro- scape, and they cannot tell me that the jority of our energy. ducers in North Dakota alone approxi- company that did this and the State The other thing I have said is that I mately $50 million annually in addi- that set the standards and the commit- believe we should be developing renew- tional compliance costs and take more ment that was made to reclamation ables also, and we are doing that. Wind, than 600 million tons of otherwise was not honored; that it is not working solar, biomass—we do everything. But mineable, affordable coal off the table. in North Dakota and that we need a if you believe that is going to run the I will tell you, when you look at the one-size-fits-all stream regulation to country in the energy you use every landscape of North Dakota and you are fix a problem that doesn’t exist—a day and take for granted, then tell me sitting there and you are explaining problem that is going to cost us $50 what 4 hours of the day you want your this and you are showing how one rule million and hundreds of jobs in my electricity to run. What 4 hours of the would require equipment to be moved, State. This is exactly why the people of day do you want your refrigerator to draglines to be moved, and how all of this country get frustrated, and the stay cold? What 4 hours of the day do that makes absolutely no sense in people of this country do not under- you want to heat your home? Tell me terms of the resource and, in fact, in stand why Washington, DC, thinks what 4 hours of the day you take for terms of the difficulty of actually they know it all. granted that anything and everything doing reclamation that needs to be As a matter of fact, our reclamation you want works 24 hours a day, because done in that situation; when you are programs are highly regarded, and we you will not have baseload. Those are standing out there and you actually are, in fact, recognized for doing the the facts. If you don’t like it, then let’s look at it, the only conclusion you can best reclamation in the country. I continue to work to make it better, come to when you see the net result of would point to the 2016 Abandoned but don’t just put your head in the this rule is that it was intended to shut Mine Land Reclamation Small Project

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.021 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S624 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 Award that went to our mine reclama- consumers. It costs us jobs, and it is The stream buffer rule that we are tion project in Bowman, ND. wrong on so many levels. being asked to undo requires coal com- Our coal industry and our utilities With that, I would say, please—this panies to monitor water for contami- are always willing to work with the is a process that should only be used nants. Communities have a right to Federal Government on regulations very rarely but I think is being used know what is in their drinking water. that focus on actual results, on im- appropriately in this situation with the They have a right to know that their proving environmental safety and stream rule. So I stand with my friend water is clean. They have a right to standards. They are willing to do that JOE MANCHIN in helping sponsor this know what kind of contaminants are in again. They have never had an issue CRA. We will continue to fight for our their water. I don’t think this is an un- with updating this regulation. All that industry, fight for our good-paying reasonable expectation. Why are we was asked was that the former admin- jobs, and fight for commonsense regu- making this debate a fight between istration listen to them, actually be- lation that actually achieves the pur- supporting jobs for coal miners and lieve their eyes when they see the work pose of protecting this beautiful re- clean water? we are doing and understand the im- source we have in North Dakota. Divide and conquer is a time-tested pact of that rule. Thank you, Mr. President. tactic that ends up hurting vulnerable It was done in haste, it was done hur- I yield the floor. populations and communities. Let’s riedly, and it was done so they could The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- not fall prey to such divisive tactics. check a mark and say: See, we really ator from Hawaii. This is why I am perplexed as to why are leaving it in the ground. Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I am we are voting to undo the progress we If you want to be leave-it-in-the- deeply concerned about efforts under- have made. I will be voting against the ground, then have the courage to come way to use the Congressional Review CRA and any other CRAs that harm here and say that this country, in the Act to eliminate protections that have our environment and public health and next 20 years, will not extract one fos- saved lives and cleaned up our environ- force us to make a false choice. sil fuel from the ground. ment. I certainly respect the views of Again, while I respect the views of I have great respect for Senator MAR- my friend and colleague from North my colleagues who have a different KEY. He was just here talking about Dakota, but there are other perspec- how we have made progress because of tives to consider. And while today it is perspective on what we are being asked the conversion from coal mining to a stream buffer rule, tomorrow it will to do today, I urge my colleagues to natural gas. It is a little disingenuous, be some other rule intended to protect join me in defeating this resolution. I would say, because the whole while, the health of our communities and our Mr. President, I yield the floor. we are talking about how this conver- citizens. Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to sion would not have been made possible The Congressional Review Act is a oppose the resolution of disapproval on if it weren’t for industry practices of rarely used tool that can erase rules the stream protection rule. Each Con- utilizing fracking to extract natural that have taken years and much public gress has an opportunity to promote gas. input to develop. Passing a CRA resolu- having cleaner air and cleaner water. This is a structured movement using tion, as we are being asked to do in Our job description shouldn’t include bogus regulations to promote a na- this instance, also prevents us from im- hollowing out the protections for clean tional policy without having the cour- plementing similar protections in the air and clean water which previous age to just advance that national pol- future. The reason is that by passing Congresses have provided. icy forward, which is to leave it in the this kind of resolution, it prevents us Clean air and clean water are vital ground. from implementing any kind of other not just to human health and the envi- We heard from Senator MANCHIN. I rule that is similar in nature. ronment, but to our economy as well. want everyone who says: We are going Regardless of whether you voted for The number of premature deaths due to to pursue a leave-it-in-the-ground na- Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, no- poor water quality affects our econ- tional policy—I want them all to think body wants to live in a dirty environ- omy. The number of school or work about what that does to women and ment where we don’t have clean water, days missed due to health problems af- children who live on fixed incomes. I clean rivers, clean streams, or clean fects our economy. The ability of in- want you to think about what that air. Once again, we are being told to dustries to have access to clean water means for reliable, redundant, and af- choose between a clean environment affects our economy. fordable power generation in our coun- and creating jobs. Like many of my colleagues, I am try. We are going to let the market de- In Hawaii, we have one of the lowest proud to represent part of Appalachia, cide. unemployment rates in the country in the western part of Maryland. I have We have moved toward wind energy, and some of the most robust protec- enjoyed skiing, hiking, and simply en- which, ironically, the big movement of tions for our environment. Today’s de- joying one of the most beautiful places wind energy was facilitated by a com- bate over the stream buffer rule and fu- in our country. Recreational activities promise we reached over a year ago ture debates under the Congressional along the Appalachian Mountains de- that dealt with allowing for the export Review Act are not about States’ pend upon clean air and clean water. of crude oil out of this country—the rights. Today’s debate is not about reg- And recreation is a huge part of ex- lower 48—in exchange for more perma- ulation for the sake of regulation. It is panding economic opportunities in Ap- nency and for production tax credits not about a war on coal; it is about pre- palachia. and investment tax credits. We can, in venting fossil fuel companies from cre- fact, achieve a public policy result if ating unhealthy communities by pol- Over the years, I have met with we work together and if we don’t have luting the water we drink and the air many people directly affected by the hidden agendas like ‘‘leave it in the we breathe. mining practice known as mountaintop ground.’’ The Department of the Interior has removal, and I have worked very hard This rule was wrong, it was struc- been working on this rule for 7 years— to address their concerns in a bipar- tured wrong, and it attacks an industry 7 years. It replaces an outdated regula- tisan manner. For instance, in the that does this. I will tell my col- tion that was written during the 111th Congress, I introduced S. 696, the leagues, I have been out there. I have Reagan administration in 1983. Appalachia Restoration Act, with the worked in this industry and I have Science has come a long way in 34 senior Senator from Tennessee, Mr. been a regulator of this industry. This years. In that time, we have learned a ALEXANDER, to help protect streams is not unique. This is what reclamation lot about the detrimental impacts of and rivers. looks like in North Dakota. And to coal mining on clean water and public The stream protection rule updates suggest that we have not been good health. Clean water is essential, and 33-year-old regulations to implement stewards, to suggest that somehow we politically expedient decisions we the Surface Mining Control and Rec- are contaminating this beautiful re- make now will have lasting impacts for lamation Act. The update establishes source by what we are doing, is wrong years to come, as families in Flint, MI, clear requirements for responsible sur- on so many levels. It is costly to our know all too well. face coal mining that will protect 6,000

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As The stream protection rule includes the Senate passes this resolution of many as 60,000 additional cases of can- reasonable and straightforward reforms disapproval. cer are linked to the practice within to revise three-decades-old coal mining Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I op- those 1.2 million Americans who live in regulations to avoid or minimize harm- pose the Republicans’ current efforts to these areas. ful impacts on surface water, ground- gut environmental protections that put In addition, a 2011 study in the sci- water, fish, wildlife, and other natural industry profits before public health. entific peer-reviewed journal Environ- resources. There are a number of very In repealing the EPA stream protec- mental Research found that, even after positive, reasonable, and economically tion rule, Republicans are again choos- accounting for socioeconomic risks, feasible changes in the proposed stream ing to put the health and well-being of birth defects were significantly higher protection rule that make it an im- average Americans in jeopardy in favor in mountaintop mining areas compared provement over the existing regula- of the interests of the Big Coal indus- to non-mining areas. tions. try. Likewise, a 2011 study in the Journal The rule incorporates the best avail- This bill seeks to unravel clean of Rural Health found that areas in Ap- able science, technology, and modern drinking water protections imple- palachia with mountaintop removal mining practices to safeguard commu- mented by the Obama administration. have significantly higher death rates The last time I checked, no one voted nities from the long-term effects of from heart disease than other areas to pollute the environment in the last pollution and environmental degrada- with similar socioeconomic conditions. election. The majority of Americans do tion that endanger public health and Researchers in the same Rural Health not agree that we should be disman- undermine future economic opportuni- study estimated that more than 700 ad- tling protections that ensure clean air ties for affected communities. ditional deaths occur annually. and clean water. The final Rule gives regulators more Yet the rule is dogged by many The stream protection rule shields tools to measure whether a mine is de- myths and falsehoods spurred by the communities from toxic pollution from signed to prevent damage to streams fossil fuels lobby. Almost a quarter of a coal mining, updating regulations that billion dollars have been spent by oppo- outside the permit area. are more than 30 years old. These pro- The rule would require companies to nents of the rule—the coal mining in- tections bolster those in the Clean avoid mining practices that perma- dustry, electric utilities, National As- Water Act and establish a long-overdue sociation of Manufacturers, railroads, nently pollute streams, destroy drink- monitoring requirement for water pol- ing water sources, increase flood risk, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce— lutants—including lead, arsenic, and on political lobbying and campaign do- and threaten forests. selenium—known to cause birth defects It would also require companies to nations. They—and Republicans—claim and other severe human health im- restore streams and return mined areas that implementing this rule will kill pacts. The rule was updated to better coal production—not true. Coal produc- to the uses they were capable of sup- protect public health and the environ- porting prior to mining activities and tion is impacted by many factors, in- ment from the adverse effects of sur- cluding low natural gas prices. The replant these areas with native trees face and underground coal mining. and vegetation, unless that would con- CEO of the coal company Murray En- This rule would protect or restore ergy even said, ‘‘I’ve asked President- flict with the implemented land use. about 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 To help mining companies meet elect Trump to temper his comments acres of forest over two decades. It about . . . bringing coal back. It will these objectives, the rule requires test- would prevent water pollution by au- ing and monitoring the condition of not happen.’’ thorizing approval of mountaintop re- In comparison, this rule could actu- streams that might be affected by min- moval mining operations only when ally create jobs. Many of the jobs cre- ing before, during, and after their oper- natural waterways will not be de- ated by the rule will be construction- ations to provide baseline data that en- stroyed, requiring protection or res- type jobs easily conducted by former sures operators can detect and correct toration of streams and related re- coal miners. problems and restore mined areas to sources, such as threatened or endan- Another myth is that the rule is a their previous condition. gered species. It gives communities in huge economic burden on industry— Using the Congressional Review Act, coal country much needed information not true. The economic impacts of im- CRA, to attack a rule that protects about toxic water pollution caused by plementing this rule are small relative people and communities from harmful nearby mining operations. Long-term, to the size of the coal industry. Indus- impacts of irresponsible coal mining the rule would ensure that premining try compliance costs are estimated to operations, such as buried streams, land use capabilities are restored and average only 0.3 percent or less of the floods, and subsidence, will benefit coal guarantee treatment of unanticipated coal industry’s $31.2 billion 2015 esti- companies that cut corners at the ex- water pollution discharges. mated annual revenues. Conversely, pense of the people who live in Appa- Mountaintop mining destroys com- the costs of repealing the rule are lachia. And if the resolution is passed, munities. Let’s be clear. This rule borne by Appalachian families and agencies will be prohibited from pro- helps protect communities from the small businesses. Families in these mulgating any other ‘‘similar’’ rule, pollution caused by mountaintop re- communities will be the ones to endure unless Congress passes enabling legisla- moval coal mining. In Appalachia, significant health impacts. Businesses tion. mountaintop removal coal mining has like restaurants, farms, and the out- Opponents of the rule call it a ‘‘job been responsible for the destruction of door recreation industry rely on clean killer.’’ That is myth. The regulatory 2,000 miles of streams and 2.5 million water and are jeopardized by coal con- impact analysis, RIA, for the rule esti- acres of the region’s ancient forests. tamination in their community’s mates that, overall, employment will States have issued advisories that peo- streams. increase by an average of 156 full-time ple should not eat the fish in mined I urge my colleagues to vote no on jobs. According to the RIA, the rule areas because of chemical contamina- this effort to kill the important protec- will create more than twice as many tion. In dozens of peer-reviewed stud- tions provided by the stream protec- jobs as it will eliminate by requiring ies, mountaintop removal mining has tion rule. We must reject efforts to put operators to perform more duties for been linked to cancer, birth defects, the interests of the Big Coal industry reclamation, including stream moni- and other serious health problems above the health and well-being of the toring. Likewise, the impact on an av- among residents living near these sites. American people. erage household’s monthly electricity According to Kentuckians for the Com- Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, bill is slight: just 20 cents per month. monwealth, the public health costs of with the resolution on the floor today, Coal miners and their families need pollution from coal operations in Appa- our Republican colleagues are begin- jobs, and they need clean water. The lachia are $75 billion every year. ning their effort to roll back critical

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.001 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S626 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 health, safety, and environmental safe- permitted to update the old 1983 rule at dinary fashion. He was confirmed by a guards that the Obama administration all. I believe that it was right for the voice vote here in the U.S. Senate. His put in place. government to update this outdated opinions reflect a history of upholding The tool that they are using, the regulation and use the best available the rule of law. His conduct on the Congressional Review Act, is a particu- science to protect drinking water and bench demonstrates an exemplary judi- larly blunt instrument. The Congres- safeguard public health. Therefore, I cial temperament. He is enormously sional Review Act allows the majority urge my colleagues to join me to vote well qualified. His educational back- to rush a resolution of disapproval against this resolution to disapprove ground is impressive: an undergraduate through the Senate with limited debate the rule. degree from Columbia, a law degree and only a limited opportunity for Ms. HIRONO. I suggest the absence of from Harvard, and a Ph.D. from Oxford Americans to see what Congress is a quorum. University. Judge Gorsuch clerked for doing. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the the Supreme Court. Further, he is well But a resolution of disapproval under Senator withhold her suggestion? within the mainstream. the Congressional Review Act does not Ms. HIRONO. Yes, I will. Among his many impressive aca- just send a rule back to the drawing The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- demic distinctions, he is a Truman board. Instead, the resolution repeals ator from Nebraska. Scholar. This sizeable financial award the rule and prohibits the Agency from NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH is given by the Harry S. Truman Schol- ever proposing anything like it again. Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise arship Foundation to young people pur- An analysis in the Washington Law Re- to address the nomination of Judge suing a career in public service. I note view reported that it is ‘‘conceivable Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme that my colleague from Delaware, Sen- that any subsequent attempt to regu- Court of the United States. ator COONS, is a Truman Scholar. late in any way whatsoever in the same I will address Mr. Gorsuch’s quali- Former Secretary of State Madeleine broad topical area would be barred.’’ fications and his extensive legal experi- Albright serves as president of the Tru- The rule before us today, the stream ence in a moment, but first, I invite man Foundation. Senator MCCASKILL protection rule, deals with how waste my Senate colleagues to consider: of Missouri is a board member. All are from surface mining, also called What do we seek in a nominee to our highly respected Democrats. It should ‘‘mountaintop mining,’’ is handled. The Nation’s highest court? be telling that the organization, now rule prevents this waste from being Maybe it is easier to say what we headed by Secretary Albright and Sen- dumped near streams. The waste from don’t want. We do not want a law- ator MCCASKILL, helped Mr. Gorsuch these mining operations includes toxic maker. Washington has plenty of fund his graduate studies. pollutants like lead and arsenic. And those, 100 Senators and 435 Members of Jeffrey Rosen of the nonpartisan Na- these pollutants can cause serious Congress. We do not want a crusader tional Constitution Center had this to health problems in surrounding com- for a cause. Most of all, we do not want say about the judge: ‘‘He sometimes munities. A 2008 study in the Journal a trailblazer. reaches results that favor liberals when of the North American Benthological What we want is a follower of the he thinks the history or the text of the Society found that 98 percent of Constitution. We want a Supreme Constitution or the law require it, es- streams downstream from mountaintop Court Justice who will follow the laws, pecially in areas like criminal law or mining operations were damaged. This as written, and uphold the rule of law. the rights of religious minorities.’’ rule limits pollution near streams, re- This demands discipline; it requires the Norm Eisen, Special Counsel for Eth- quires monitoring of water quality, and rarest of virtues: humility. There is no ics and Government Reform in the creates standards to restore streams room for hubris on the Supreme Court. White House for President Barack after a mining operation ends. We do not want a Justice who be- Obama, attended law school with Mr. The Reagan administration first put lieves he knows better than our Found- Gorsuch. He called him, simply, ‘‘a forward stream protections in 1983, ex- ers. That is not his job. A Supreme great guy.’’ ercising authority under the Surface Court Justice should neutrally apply There is much more that can and will Mining Control and Reclamation Act of the laws as written by Congress and as be said about the nominee in the days 1977. Today more than 30 years later, understood by the Framers of our Con- to come. Much of it will contribute to we better understand the effects of sur- stitution. They must not impose their a vigorous confirmation process. Sadly, face mining, and it makes sense to up- personal preferences upon the law or I suspect much of it will not. Many, in- date our standards to protect public upon the American people. I want to cluding some in this Chamber, have health. The Bush administration revis- say again that we want someone who said they will oppose any nominee, no ited the issue in 2008, but a Federal will follow the law and uphold the rule matter how qualified. court vacated the Bush administration of law. Americans deserve better than this rule because they failed to fully con- We also seek a keen legal mind. A bitter feud in the U.S. Senate. The sider effects on wildlife. nominee must possess the sharpest in- Presidential campaign is over. As the Under the Obama administration, in tellect and only the most rigorous aca- Washington Post recently editorial- 2009, the Office of Surface Mining Rec- demic qualifications. This person may ized, ‘‘A Supreme Court nomination lamation and Enforcement, or OSMRE, be one of nine human beings who will isn’t a forum to refight a presidential began considering options to bring resolve questions affecting the free- election.’’ The newspaper’s editors these stream protections up to date doms and the rights of millions. There- urged against ‘‘a scorched-earth’’ re- with the current scientific under- fore, in addition to ironclad commit- sponse. standing. In the course of developing ment to the rule of law and brilliant Senate Republicans gave President the updated rule, OSMRE shared infor- intellect, this person must be a known Bill Clinton an up-or-down vote on his mation and solicited comment from quantity. There must be a reliable first two Supreme Court nominees. State regulatory authorities and incor- record for us to carefully assess. Senate Republicans gave President porated their feedback. The Office of In exercising our constitutional Obama an up-or-down vote on his two Management and Budget’s Office of In- power of advice and consent, we don’t first Supreme Court nominees. This is formation and Regulatory Affairs con- make guesses here in the U.S. Senate. a chance for my colleagues in the U.S. tinued the stakeholder engagement We hold hearings; we ask probing ques- Senate to show how high-minded they process. The Obama administration tions. This is how we will determine if can be. They can permit a similar up- considered the issue deliberately, for 7 Mr. Gorsuch is the legal disciple, bril- or-down vote on this President’s first years, before publishing the final rule liant mind, and known quantity the Supreme Court nominee. in December. American people need and the person I invite them to engage with me in a OSMRE acted appropriately with the the American people deserve. The evi- respectful, civil dialogue as we carry Stream Protection Rule. But the ques- dence so far suggests that he is. out our duty of advice and consent. We tion before us today is not whether the As a judge on the U.S. Court of Ap- need a vigorous confirmation process, rule is perfect. Today we are consid- peals for the Tenth Circuit, Mr. and I will work for that vigorous, open, ering whether the Agency should be Gorsuch has served 10 years in extraor- respectful, and transparent process. I

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.003 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S627 hope all of my colleagues on both sides processes—published in the Federal than in all of Europe. Think about of the aisle will join me in that. Register, and something like 60 days on that—more species of freshwater fish in Mr. President, I yield back the re- the legislative calendar have run, then one river system in Tennessee than all maining proponent debate time. that rule is official; it is in full effect. of Europe. Yet surface coal mining has The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pro- However, if a Member of this body or destroyed more than 2,000 miles of ponent’s time is yielded back. the House wants to use the Congres- streams in this region alone. Cutting The Senator from Delaware. sional Review Act authored by Senator the heart out of our ecosystems is no NOMINATION NEIL GORSUCH Harry Reid, they can repeal a rule for way to do business. Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I would which the 60-day legislative clock has The question is, Would mining com- just remind my colleagues that a lot of not run since that rule or regulation panies respect and consider these val- folks in my State and people I talk to was published in the Federal Register. ues and benefits as part of their oper- around the country believe it is out- In this case, 60 legislative days have ations and reclamation efforts without rageous that the last President nomi- not passed since the stream protection surface mining and clean water laws nated a candidate for the Supreme rule was promulgated, printed in the and the effective protections provided Court for almost a year—a full 10 Federal Register, and one or more of by the stream protection rule? I would months—before stepping down before our colleagues has said: Let’s use the say probably not. It is no surprise, his term ended, and that nominee CRA—Congressional Review Act—to then, that conservation and fisher- never got a hearing. see if we can block or repeal it. men’s organizations, such as Trout Un- We had a National Prayer Breakfast I spoke on this yesterday, and I am limited, the American Fly Fishing this morning, as our Presiding Officer happy to have a chance to talk a little Trade Association, the Izaak Walton knows. One of the occurring themes of bit about it again today. League of America, and Theodore Roo- the speakers at the Prayer Breakfast A prevailing argument in favor of sevelt Conservation Partnership, so was the Golden Rule, the obligation to this resolution to kill the rule is the strongly support this rule and robust treat other people the way we want to significant negative economic implica- implementation of the Clean Water be treated. I think that should apply to tions of managing mining operations Act. In fact, 82 percent—over 8 out of this nominee from this President. I and site reclamation in such a way 10—of America’s hunters and anglers also believe it should have applied to that life and economy continue along feel that we can protect water quality the last nominee from the last Presi- with and after extraction ends. and also have a strong economy and dent. I think the way Merrick Garland Let’s take a few minutes to reflect on good jobs at the same time. It is a false was treated was outrageous, and he was the other side of the coin. I can assure choice to say we can’t have both at the roundly praised by Democrats and Re- you that hunters, fishermen, bird- same time. The stream protection rule would publican, Members of this body, alike. watchers, and recreation enthusiasts of protect and restore an estimated 6,000 The fact that he never got a vote I all ages, sorts, and varieties in my miles of streams and 52,000 acres of for- think is appalling. It runs against ev- home State of Delaware—and I am sure est over two decades—areas important erything I was taught to believe. in every State in our Nation—value an Perhaps the Presiding Officer’s par- environment that supports the places for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. ents raised him the same way. My par- they treasure and the species they All these activities would provide ents raised us to believe that two seek. That is not the legacy of mining. local citizens and communities with Because of historically weak rec- wrongs don’t make a right. Two wrongs economic opportunity to replace or lamation and restoration require- don’t make a right. Folks on our side build upon what often are one-industry ments, Appalachia now has more than believe—although deeply troubled by regions. They, in turn, support local a million acres of economically unpro- the way the last nominee for the last economies and create accessible work ductive grasslands that cannot support administration was treated—this nomi- opportunities for residents, many of nee deserves a hearing. My hope is that farming, ranching, or the hardwood whom would otherwise struggle to he gets one and there is time set aside forest products sectors. That is one of make ends meet, care for their health, to prepare for that hearing. My hope is the reasons for and one of the many and support their families. In the end, that he will take the time to come and strengths of this rule: to focus on post- this is a much more valuable and sus- meet with us, particularly those of us mining economic uses of land, which tainable future for everybody con- who have concerns about his nomina- could include ranching, forestry, tour- cerned. tion. ism, birdwatching, hunting, fishing, These truths hold in their unique I think he should be subject to the and the list goes on. ways in mining States across our coun- same 60-vote margin the last several In America today, there are 47 mil- try, whether they involve ensuring Supreme Court nominees were sub- lion men, women, and children who salmon runs in Alaska or ranching in jected to and passed; I think in one hunt and fish. We all represent them. Wyoming. case it was 62 votes, and in another According to a 2014 report from the Na- I will close by repeating a point I case, 63 votes. tional Wildlife Federation, these ac- made previously in support of this I just want to let my friends on the tivities deliver an astonishing $200 bil- stream protection rule. This past year, other side—and they are my friends— lion to the country’s economy, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclama- know that we and, frankly, a lot of they support one and a half million tion and Enforcement and the Fish and people in this country are still trou- jobs. Wildlife Service completed consulta- bled, looking back. We are going to I wish to also point out that mining tion under the Endangered Species Act, look forward with the Golden Rule in impacts on headwaters are particularly resulting in what is known as the 2016 mind. My hope is that our colleagues important, as they represent the very Biological Opinion. This new Biological will do the same in the future. foundation of our water system that Opinion smooths the way for more effi- Mr. President, I rise on a subject that supports all these activities and gen- cient Endangered Species Act compli- some of my colleagues have talked erates all of these benefits. Just to il- ance and provides some important pro- about here today. It is one that we lustrate this point, Appalachia—a re- tections to industry and State regu- have been discussing for almost the gion in which I grew up—is the world’s lators regarding possible impacts of last 24 hours. It is a Congressional Re- leading hotspot of aquatic biodiversity. mining operations on protected species. view Act resolution to disapprove the I was born in Beckley, WV, and we I think it is important to note that if stream protection rule. lived there for 6 years or so after I was we kill this rule—and I hope we will People may wonder, What does this born and I came back a whole lot over not—that protection for industry and mean? There once was a Senator from the years to hunt and fish with my State regulators will go away, and Nevada named Harry Reid. He once grandfather, but I had no idea there those players will have to resort to a wrote a law that said: If Congress was this kind of biodiversity in that re- more cumbersome case-by-case review doesn’t like a particular rule that has gion. under the Endangered Species Act for been approved and has gone through There are more species of freshwater all activities that might affect pro- the process—drafting, all the approval fish in one river system in Tennessee tected species. That would be a shame.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.025 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S628 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 That would be a shame, especially for a part of Appalachia, and don’t understand the been going on for decades—decades— struggling industry. extent of coal mining in our state, I have trying to establish a fair environ- For this and for so many other rea- seen the devastating impact of coal mining mental standard for those in mining sons, this is a job-creating, economy- in our state . . . first hand. operations. Efforts have been made, expanding rule. Why wouldn’t we sup- He goes on: some with limited success. Courts have port it? Once again, I urge a ‘‘no’’ vote I have seen lakes turned gray downstream thrown out earlier versions. So the on this resolution. of mines. I have seen streams turned bright Obama administration decided they With that, I yield the floor. orange downstream of coal preparation would tackle this. They spent 6 years The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- plants. I have seen sloughs that once formed rewriting 380 pages of rules. Over deep channels (perfect spots for largemouth ator from Oregon. bass) filled in with sediment. 150,000 public comments were solicited Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, yes- and received. John wants to see Federal protec- terday I had the chance to come to the This is a pretty controversial matter, tions ‘‘that help protect water quality floor and talk about the changes I have as you can tell. I have been amused by for all uses downstream of coal mines seen in the streams and rivers in my the critics of this rule who said: Well, and associated industries’’ and wants home State of Oregon as we worked to Obama just did that as he was going to see the stream protection rule stay clean them up, restore them for wild- out the door. No. They worked on it for where it is. life, restore them for swimming, re- years. There were, as I said, over 100,000 Here is a final story. It is from Chuck store them for boating, and restore public comments. It is not easy. It is Nelson, a fourth-generation coal miner them for drinking water, and how ter- tricky and it is challenging, but they from West Virginia who dug coal un- rific it was to see this occur. produced it. Now today the Repub- derground for 30 years. He became an We are now considering a parallel licans in the Senate and the House advocate for environmental rules like provision—a provision designed really want us to wipe it away. the stream protection rule after a coal to protect the streams near intense What difference would it make? If processing plant was built near his mining zones. I had a chance yesterday you don’t live next to a coal mine, do home. Thick, black coal dust was al- to go through the details of the regula- you think, well, what difference does it ways coating his home inside and out. tion and how it made, for example, the make in my life? His wife developed very bad asthma coal slurry ponds more secure so they I listened to JEFF MERKLEY, my problems, and his kids couldn’t use the wouldn’t rupture. As I pointed out, one friend from Oregon, talk about the swimming pool because of a thick ruptured and killed over 100 people and streams and the rivers. Maybe I don’t black skin always on the top of the injured more than 1,000 people, not to fish, and I don’t care. I don’t go out water. He decided to make his voice mention the damage it did to the eco- camping, either, and I haven’t been heard, and he came to DC from West system for an extended length down- hiking. Whether the fish are alive or Virginia 25 times to talk to lawmakers stream. I talked about the toxic chemi- dead or the streams are polluted or and regulators. He was a regular cit- cals that are leaching out of improp- not, who cares? I guess some people izen. He saw a problem impacting his erly developed piles, as they are called. feel that way. I don’t, even though I wife, and he wanted us to work to fix Today I want to share a few more of don’t use our natural resources as it. He finally succeeded when the the stories of folks who live in the area much as some. But there is a bigger stream protection rule was finalized in and how important it is for them. issue here. This is not just about December. Sam Needham, who lives near Appa- whether there will be fish alive in the It amounts to this: The way that one lachia, VA, talks about the changes he stream or the lake. conducts mountaintop coal mining has has seen in rivers near his home since Let me tell you what that issue is. a huge impact, just as it does with he moved there in 1978. Sam said that The issue is the safety of our drinking other industries. Having basic rules when they first moved there, ‘‘Callahan water. Do you know what is going on about how that work is done ensures Creek that runs near our house . . . when these mining operations dump all sustainability of the nearby streams. was full of different kinds of fish. Now this debris into the streams? It rains. This was done with a tremendous I don’t see any fish in the water. I wish Water is flowing. The stream water amount of involvement of stake- it could be like it was in the 70’s and goes downstream. Now follow the water holders, tremendous number of meet- 80’s, but with all the runoff from sedi- from the dumping of the mining oper- ings, 6 years of coordination, trying to ment ponds and mines, I don’t think it ations to the chemicals included in find a way that doesn’t paralyze coal will ever be like that again.’’ Sam sup- that dumping—arsenic, for example. As mining but does protect the streams. ports the stream protection rule. He it goes downstream, it doesn’t just kill That is the balance which was being said: ‘‘I would like to see regulations to the fish. In my State, 1 out of 10 people searched for, discovered, and imple- protect our waters and maybe one day in Illinois depend on those internal mented with this rule, and we should be able to fish in Callahan Creek river and stream sources for their leave it in place. We shouldn’t destroy again.’’ He is not asking for a tremen- drinking water. If you don’t have hon- these years of work to protect our dous amount. est, realistic, and safe standards when beautiful streams with just a few hours Chad Cordell of Charleston, WV, said it comes to drinking water, you have of debate, with no public notice or that he has ‘‘been concerned about the decided to up the risk of the people awareness of what is going on. If we impacts of mountaintop removal since who are drinking the water that comes want to review this thoughtfully and learning the beautiful valleys and out of the tap. seriously, let’s have it done in com- streams of my home state were being I think that is a problem. Have you mittee, where the public can partici- buried under hundreds of feet of rub- had a conversation with your family at pate and Senators can take a delib- ble.’’ He said he wants ‘‘strong, any point about what is going on? Why erate stand and not destroy this work science-based protections for the do we have so much cancer in this to protect these thousands of miles of creeks, streams, and rivers that are the area? Why do we have so many prob- streams in a blink of an eye. lifeblood of our state,’’ and he noted lems in this area? Could it be the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- that ‘‘attacking the Stream Protection drinking water? We have asked that ator from Illinois. Rule isn’t the way to build strong, question ourselves in our own area of Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, there is healthy, resilient communities or a Central Illinois, and many other fami- a provision in the law which allows the strong, stable economy.’’ lies have asked the same. Congress to review regulations within If we take the approach which we are John Kinney of Birmingham, AL, 60 days after they are written and de- being asked to today and wipe away said: cide up or down. That is what we are the safety standards for the water that I have lived most of my life in Jefferson doing here. is ultimately flowing into the taps County, Alabama, enjoying the outdoors, particularly canoeing and fishing on the This is about the stream rule that where we drink it, shame on us. Shame Black Warrior and Cahaba River. has a direct impact on mining oper- on us. Is it too much to ask the mining While it seems that many folks in regu- ations, particularly coal mining oper- operations not to dump their trash into latory agencies don’t consider Alabama to be ations. This has been a battle that has the streams? Is it too much to ask

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.026 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S629 them to restore vegetation after they The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. CAS- What is wrong with selenium? It have chopped off the top of a mountain SIDY). The Senator from Washington. causes very serious reproductive prob- in West Virginia? In Illinois, I can tell Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I lems, physical deformities, and at high you the strip mining, which went on thank my colleague from Illinois for concentration it is toxic to humans. for years and decades left a lot of areas being on the floor to speak. He is right. Basically, it is the similar effect to ar- of beautiful farmland in Illinois forever We are going to keep score. There are senic poisoning. blighted. going to be attempts by the Trump ad- These coal mines are transforming Whatever happened to the coal com- ministration and the other side of the our landscape, lowering our ridges, and panies that stripped off that land, took aisle to level the score against clean raising our valley floors. One study in the coal, and left the mess behind? water; that is to say, polluters don’t 2013, in Central Appalachia, found that Long gone. You couldn’t find them if have to pay. So if we pass this override mining lowered these ridgetops by an you wanted to. of existing clean water rules—yes, this average of 112 feet. What we are trying What Senator CANTWELL has said, will be the start. Trump 1, clean water to say is, you are impacting wildlife and we ought to remember, we believe 0. downstream; that the deforestation of polluters should pay. We believe that Unfortunately, it is probably not these sites allows the flow of these riv- the ultimate responsibility, when it going to the end because what is hap- ers to increase flooding. The effects are comes to keeping our environment pening now is, Republicans control ev- worsened because the compacted soil clean, our drinking water safe, is on erything in Congress. They want to use on these sites also causes a problem. It the polluter. The Republicans disagree. their ability to have very little debate is not much better than just plain old They say: Well, it is just Obama’s and to then override rules that are on asphalt; that is, it means that plants War on Coal. the books to protect streams in the and forests cannot grow back, it means All right. If you want to bring it United States of America. that it impairs these various species, down to that level, then it is Trump’s I so appreciate my colleagues coming and it causes problems. War on Clean Drinking Water. That is to the floor to explain this issue, as Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- what this vote is all about. That is this is critical. It is critical because sent to have printed in the RECORD an what it is all about. Shame on us if we the impacts of mining destroy head- article from the Pittsburgh Post-Ga- decide to eliminate this protection for waters. Between 1992 and 2000, coal zette. families and run the very real risk that mines were authorized to destroy about There being no objection, the mate- the pollution in those streams could 1,200 miles of headwater streams, and rial was ordered to be printed in the cause public health issues, as well as this resulted in the loss of 4 percent of RECORD, as follows: the death of wildlife and fish down- our upper headwater streams in areas [From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 31, stream. That is why I think this vote is of Appalachia in a single decade. 2017] so important. The surface mining impact on water A PLUME OF POLLUTION DISCOLORS PART OF This is a first. You heard what Re- from fractured rocks above coal seams MONONGAHELA RIVER publicans have said is the reason Amer- react chemically with the air and (By Don Hopey) ican business is not growing—overregu- water and produce higher concentra- An iron-orange acid water discharge from a lation. You get this picture of some tions of minerals, irons and trace met- long-abandoned coal mine discolored the mettlesome, busybody bureaucrat als, and those headwaters in West Vir- Monongahela River for a four-mile stretch dreaming up some other way to make ginia typically measure with elec- along the Allegheny County-Washington life more difficult for people who own tricity conductivity on an order of County border over the weekend, raising businesses. I will tell you there is some magnitude of those downstream. What public concern but causing no problems for of that, and I am not going to defend that is saying is, these chemicals react public water suppliers downriver. The discharge from the Boston Gas Mine, it, but there is also a conscientious ef- in the water to create problems. Under- its volume boosted by recent rains, enters fort by people who are scientists to try standing what has been going on with the river in the small Sunfish Run tributary to make sure that those of us who are that level of conductivity is one of the at Sunnyside, in Forward, 34 river miles not scientists live in a world that is big advances in science in the last 10 from Pittsburgh’s Point. Beginning Saturday safe, safe for the air we breathe, safe years. That is why we want to update evening and continuing through Sunday, it for the water we drink. If we start the rule because we now know what was visible flowing downriver in a 75-foot sweeping that away, rejecting the goes on when selenium is in the water. wide plume that hugged the east bank until science that proves overwhelmingly The conductivity is highly correlated blending into the river near New Eagle. ‘‘It was orange, and it had to be an enor- that we are going through global with the loss and the absence of var- mous amount of water to color the Mon,’’ warming and climate change, rejecting ious species that are very pollution said Janet Roslund, a resident of the science that says the runoff in sensitive. Monongahela, where she viewed the plume. these streams and rivers could ulti- This level of stream degradation ‘‘Something about that is just not right.’’ mately hurt not only wildlife but ulti- comes from the various fractured rock. Neil Shader, a spokesman for the Pennsyl- mately hurt the American people and When sulfate is present, you get acid vania Department of Environmental Protec- the water they drink, shame on us. mine drainage. That acid mine drain- tion, said the plume likely contained iron, Well, we will get rid of regulations, age then mobilizes metals toxic to aluminum and manganese, and the department is continuing to take water samples. coal mining operations will make more fish—such as iron and aluminum and ‘‘At this time there is no concern for drink- money, and maybe they will continue zinc—and that is where we start to ing water, and water systems have systems on—I am sure they will in some re- have problems. A 2008 study found that in place to remove the contaminants,’’ he spect—but will we be better off as a na- 93 percent of streams downstream of said. tion? surface mining operations in Appa- The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation This is day 14 of the Trump Presi- lachia were impaired, and our col- commission notified all downriver water sup- dency. It seems like a lot longer to leagues don’t want to make sure that pliers on the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, but some of us. Republicans in the Senate the mining companies monitor that the closest, Pennsylvania American Water, with intakes 10 miles down the Mon in and the House have decided to strike a and do stream restoration? Elrama and 18 miles downriver at Becks blow for eliminating science-based reg- Another study found that adverse im- Run, reported no water quality problems. ulation to protect the public health. It pacts of Appalachian mines extended ‘‘We’ve been monitoring the intakes for is a shame, but it is going to happen. on an average of 6 miles downstream; the past 40 hours and have found no impacts They have the votes on the Senate that is, this acid mine drainage is flow- to the water supply,’’ Gary Lobaugh, a water floor. They are in control and now the ing 6 miles downstream. Why not have company spokesman said Monday. ‘‘We’ve American families are going to ask us: the mines measure this at the top of increased our sampling of source water to Were you there? Were you standing up the stream, understanding what the se- every hour but seen nothing impacting our water quality.’’ for us when the safety of our drinking lenium impact is, and doing something According to Joe Donovan, a geologist at water was at stake? to minimize the impact on our streams West Virginia University who studies aban- I will be voting no on this effort to that we are going to have to live with doned mine discharges in the Mon Valley, repeal this legislation. forever. the abandoned Boston Gas mine is a large

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.028 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S630 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 mining complex that has approximately cently through the exurbs east of Morgan- Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- eight outcrop discharges along the river be- town. A planner for the state office, he said sent to have printed in the RECORD an- tween Donora and Monongahela. The one on housing developments have been built above other article from the Columbus Dis- old mines that many homeowners don’t even Sunfish Run that created the orange plume patch. in the river is the largest, he said. know about. ‘‘Nothing new here,’’ he said. ‘‘(The) flow The state will get $23.3 million from the There being no objection, the mate- may be up this time of year, especially right federal reclamation fund this year, which is rial was ordered to be printed in the after a precip event.’’ replenished by fees on mining companies. RECORD, as follows: The mines pay 12 cents per ton of under- [From the Columbus Dispatch, July 20, 2014] Ms. CANTWELL. The discharge from ground coal mined and 28 cents per ton from the long-abandoned Boston Gas Mine in surface mining, but the funding has dropped IN WEST VIRGINIA, MOUNTAINTOP MINING IS Pennsylvania turned a 4-mile stretch of the past three years with a downturn in coal CAUSING FISH SPECIES TO DISAPPEAR the Monongahela River orange. The production. WASHINGTON.—In West Virginia’s Appa- Pennsylvania Department of Environ- It will cost about $1 billion just to extin- lachian Mountains, fish are vanishing. The mental Protection said the plume like- guish all of West Virginia’s 43 fires in aban- number of species has fallen, the populations doned mines, according to the state office. of those that remain are down, and some fish ly contained iron, aluminum, and man- They could have been caused by forest fires, look a little skinny. ganese. A geologist at West Virginia arson, lightning strikes or even old under- A new government study traces the decline University who studies abandoned ground explosions that never went com- in abundance to mountaintop removal, the mine discharges said the abandoned pletely out. controversial coal-mining practice of clear- mine is a large mining complex that About $5 million will be spent to extin- cutting trees from mountains before blowing has approximately eight outcrop dis- guish the Preston County fire, smoldering a off their tops with explosives. stone’s throw from houses in a mostly rural When the resulting rain of shattered rock charges and created this large plume. area near the hamlet of Newburg. In October, Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- hits the rivers and streams that snake along the office spent $209,400 to cut trees and plug the base of the mountains, minerals released sent to have printed in the RECORD an holes feeding the fire with oxygen. from within the stone change the water’s AP story dated January 28, 2017. The state office, with about 50 staff, is paid chemistry, the study said, lowering its qual- from the federal Abandoned Mine Reclama- There being no objection, the mate- ity and causing tiny prey such as insects, tion Fund along with the contractors it rial was ordered to be printed in the worms and invertebrates to die. hires. Together they close mine portals, ex- ‘‘We’re seeing significant reductions in the RECORD, as follows: tinguish fires, support collapsing hillsides number of fish species and total abundance [From the Associated Press, Jan. 28, 2017] and sinking houses, and treat acidic water of fish downstream from mining operations,’’ UNDERGROUND FIRES, TOXINS IN UNFUNDED leaking out along with dissolved metals. The said Nathaniel Hitt, a research fish biologist CLEANUP OF OLD MINES need for drainage work won’t end for cen- for the U.S. Geological Survey’s office in (By Michael Virtanen) turies. The grants also fund water lines to replace polluted wells. Kearneysville, W.Va., and one of the study’s PRESTON COUNTY, W.VA. (AP).—An under- ‘‘There’s more water within mine pools in two authors. ground coal mine fire burns beneath a West Virginia than there is in the lakes of Hitt and his co-author, Doug Chambers, a sprawling hillside in West Virginia, the pale, West Virginia,’’ Rice said. ‘‘More than 2,500 biologist and water-quality specialist in the acrid smoke rising from gashes in the miles of streams are severely degraded be- Charleston, W.Va., office of the USGS, took scarred, muddy earth only a stone’s throw cause of mine drainage in West Virginia.’’ a 1999 study of the Guyandotte River basin’s from some houses. The state program has brought several fish populations by Penn State researchers The fire, which may have started with back to life with new treatment systems. to compare them over time. arson, lightning or a forest fire, smoldered The federal program is scheduled by law to For two years starting in 2010, they sam- for several years before bursting into flames expire in 2021, leaving behind about $2.5 bil- pled the populations in waters downstream last July in rural Preston County. The grow- lion in a trust fund expected to pay for any from an active mountaintop coal-mining oping blaze moved the mine to the top of a list ongoing work needed by 25 states and three eration. In one of the sample areas, the Mud of thousands of problem decades-old coal Indian tribes to address problems from pre- River watershed, which contains the largest sites in West Virginia awaiting cleanup and 1977 abandoned coal mines. West Virginia has tributary of the Guyandotte River, at least vying for limited federal funds. set aside about $55 million of its grant ‘‘100 point-source pollution-discharge per- State officials say $4.5 billion worth of money received already for continuing water mits associated with surface mining have work remains at more than 3,300 sites aban- treatment funded by the interest. been issued,’’ the study said. doned by coal companies before 1977, when The federal program has collected more North America’s central Appalachian Congress passed a law establishing a nathan $10.5 billion in fees from coal produc- Mountains, where the basin lies, are consid- tional fund for old cleanups. That program tion and distributed more than $8 billion in ered a global hot spot of freshwater-fish bio- was part of an effort to heal the state from grants to states and tribes, according to the diversity, but few researchers have inves- the ravages of an industry that once domi- federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation tigated the impact of mountain strip mining nated its economy but has fallen on hard and Enforcement. It will provide nearly $181 on stream fish, and the effects ‘‘are poorly times. million in fiscal 2017. understood,’’ the study said. ‘‘We continue to discover threats from left- ‘‘West Virginia is right at the top for Hitt and Chambers found that the number behind mine pits, dangerous highwalls, acid needs,’’ said Chuck Williams, head of Ala- of species was cut in half and the abundance mine drainage that pollutes our water sup- bama’s efforts and past president of the Na- of fish fell by a third. The silverjaw minnow, plies, and hazardous mine openings,’’ federal tional Association of Abandoned Mine Lands director Joe Pizarchik said earlier this year. rosyface shiner, silver shiner, bluntnose min- Programs. He said Pennsylvania, Kentucky An Obama administration appointee, he re- now, spotted bass and largemouth bass, plus and West Virginia—all states with a mining signed effective last week. at least two other species detected before history that extends back two centuries—ac- Pollution and lurking underground dangers their study, were no longer there. count for the lion’s share of unfinished work from mining since 1977 fall into a different Another fish species—the small and worm- among the 28 states and Indian tribes in the category because the federal government like least brook lamprey, never before de- program. made them the responsibility of the compa- tected—had moved in. Despite being one of the most affected, fed- nies. They were required to post bonds before In areas of the river basin where there was eral officials have only one-third of West opening mines, with the state taking over if no mountaintop mining, fish flourished. In Virginia’s proposed cleanup costs on their $7 they default. addition to species that had been in those waters previously, seven new ones were billion national list of high-priority work. Ms. CANTWELL. The article talked The sites include old mines that leak acidic found, including the spotfin shiner, the water into streams and kill wildlife and dan- about Preston, WV, and a fire in an spottail shiner and the golden redhorse. gerous holes that attract children. Tunnels abandoned coal mine that smoldered ‘‘I think if we only focus on the fact that and caverns beneath homes also need to be for several years. This mine is one of it’s fish . . . some people will say, ‘So shored up and new water lines are needed ‘‘thousands of problem decades-old coal what?’??’’ Chambers said. But fish and the where wells are polluted. sites in West Virginia awaiting clean- invertebrates they eat are canaries in a coal ‘‘Our program exists to abate health and up.’’ mine for researchers, ‘‘indicators of the safety hazards,’’ said Rob Rice, chief of the These abandoned sites include old water quality,’’ he said. West Virginia Office of Abandoned Mine mines that leak acidic water into The USGS looks ‘‘at the nation’s water re- Lands and Reclamation, which is handling streams and killing wildlife. Tunnels sources . . . their significance to the nation, the mine fire. ‘‘We have so much need. It’s and tries to understand processes that are frustrating for us.’’ and caverns beneath homes threaten degrading water quality. Tainted water may Environmental improvements are a sec- water sources where wells are polluted. not be suitable for additional uses.’’ ondary but major benefit, he said. All of these are examples of the kind Research such as the USGS’ study of ‘‘This whole area has been extensively of damage that is being done by these mountaintop mining, published online this mined,’’ said Jonathan Knight, riding re- mines. month by the Society for Freshwater

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.005 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S631 Science, is viewed with suspicion in coal spewed pollution in Pennsylvania, kill- enhancements. It says on groundwater, country, where mining operations provide ing 43,000 fish and 15,000 mussels. Seven States can choose their sampling, pro- thousands of jobs. years later, the fish and mussels are tocol, subsequent analysis, and base- ‘‘The people opposed to the coal industry are trying to pile on with more studies,’’ said still missing and not returning. They line. On rain measurements, States can Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia have paid a fine, but we are still living choose whether to require mines to Coal Association. ‘‘It sounds like this is one with the damage. prepare a hydrologic model about the of those studies that sets out to show there’s As my colleagues can see, this issue mine, and States can choose to allow harm done. It sounds like perhaps more of is about overriding a rule that helps mining companies to change their the same.’’ protect our streams and rivers and drainage patterns as they look at re- Raney said he has not seen the USGS study makes sure that the wildlife there has and cannot strongly criticize its methods or building ephemeral streams. conclusions, but people ‘‘don’t just wake up safe drinking water and to make sure There is a lot of flexibility for the in the morning and decide they are going to that we enjoy these natural areas. As I States. A lot of them haven’t been do mountaintop mining,’’ he said. ‘‘It takes have pointed out through this debate, doing as good a job as we would like, three to four years to get a permit. Every as- there are many jobs in the outdoor in- but you have to have a Federal stand- pect of the operation is analyzed.’’ dustry, and that is why sportsmen such ard. Your Federal standard is decades Mountaintop removal as a way of extract- as Trout Unlimited and the wildlife old. Science is telling us we have a ing coal has been in practice since the 1960s, problem. Please, please, do not pass but its use has expanded in the past two dec- federations that are coalitions of hunt- ades, and it now takes place in the Appa- ers and fishermen all support this rule this override of an important clean lachian regions of Ohio, Kentucky and Vir- and don’t want it overturned. water law. Instead, if we want to fix it, ginia in addition to West Virginia. I know that the coal industry has let’s sit down and do that legislatively. The coal that the process produces pro- spent $160 million over the last dozen- Let’s not allow the polluters to get vides power to hundreds of thousands of plus years trying to defeat regulation away with having their way on so homes, industry advocates say, and creates of its industry. Actually, the 0.1 per- many streams across America. about 14,000 jobs that pay middle-income sal- Mr. President, my comments here re- aries in regions where work is hard to find. cent they would have to pay was a lot ‘‘The average mining wage is more than lower than what they were spending on flect my understanding as ranking $66,000 per year . . . 57 percent higher than their lobbying issues. Instead, they member of the Senate committee of ju- the average for industrial jobs,’’ according to should help us all get to the bottom. risdiction over the Surface Mining the National Mining Association. ‘‘Moun- But why have we done this by trying Control and Reclamation Act, SMCRA. taintop mining accounts for approximately to fight today? That is because the I am strongly opposed to dis- 45 percent of the entire state’s coal produc- science has told us that since 1983, we approving the Office of Surface Mining tion in West Virginia.’’ Raney’s association disputes allegations have a lot more information about the Reclamation and Enforcement’s stream that mining destroys streams and moun- toxic level in the streams because of protection rule because I both support tains, saying that state permits and govern- these products. We simply want a rule the substance of the rule and I believe ment regulations require the land to be re- that reflects that the mining industry the Congressional Review Act is an in- stored after use. must measure and mitigate that im- appropriate and extreme legislative But the Sierra Club Eastern Missouri pact. What is wrong with allowing tool. Group called the practice ‘‘quite possibly the science to lead the way? While my opposition to H.J. Res. 38 worst environmental assault yet’’ because of and its Senate companion, S.J. Res. 10, the amount of landscape it removes and the I know our colleagues like to say effects on people and animals. that States should be left to do this, is clear, in the event that either resolu- Homeowners in one West Virginia commu- but you do have to have a Federal tion is enacted, I would look forward to nity, Lindytown, were bought out by a com- standard. You do have to have a Fed- a timely reissuance of a new rule. Not- pany before the town essentially disappeared eral standard that they adhered to. It withstanding the delay resulting from after mountaintop removal. Homes and a would be as if today I said: Let’s over- enactment of either disapproval resolu- grave site were left behind. Cascading debris ride what we have done in this Nation tion, the authority SMCRA grants to has buried streams, affecting a diversity of OSMRE through the Secretary of the wildlife, a major concern raised by the U.S. in setting a miles per gallon for auto- Environmental Protection Agency. mobiles and just leave it up to the Interior will persist—so will the clear Often, companies are granted exemptions States instead. obligations in the statute. that ease requirements to restore land. Con- Well, we are saying we should have The provision in the Congressional servationists call the practice a plunder, and fuel efficiency but let’s just leave it up Review Act that prohibits reissuance of protesters, including Quakers in Appalachia to the States about how many miles a future rule ‘‘in substantially the and demonstrators at the White House, have per gallon we really should have in same form’’ as the rule being dis- called on the government to end it and banks automobiles. approved, unless specifically author- to stop funding it. ‘‘Mountaintop-removal mining is one of If we did that, how many regulations ized by another future law, does not di- the fastest-changing land-use forms in the do you think we would have? Do you minish my confidence. Under the region,’’ Hitt said. ‘‘One of the main ques- think we would have the same fuel effi- ample authority granted to the Sec- tions for our research lab is how biological ciency we have today? retary of the Interior under SMCRA, a communities respond to land-use changes.’’ What is happening is these coal com- large variety of forms of implementing In the case of the fish, they seemingly do panies are going into States, going into its obligations under SMCRA remain not respond well, Chambers said. ‘‘To sum their areas, and lobbying lawmakers available to the Agency. up, 10 fish species were apparently extirpated there against regulation, and in a cou- The resolution represents a major from the mined sites,’’ meaning they were wiped out, he said. ple of cases I have discussed today they setback for many communities affected Fish with a more diverse diet appeared to were successful in getting Kentucky to by coal mining that had participated in fare well, but those that relied primarily on fall asleep at the switch so the citizens an extensive 8-year rulemaking proc- invertebrates, such as small aquatic insects, brought the lawsuits to clean up the ess. But it does not limit OSMRE’s tended to fare poorly. mines. They were successful because ability or obligation to implement ‘‘It’s telling us that the water quality is they finally caught the attention of SMCRA’s statutory requirements fully, changing,’’ Chambers said. Water in that area is not used for drinking, he said, but ‘‘if people who should have been doing including but not limited to regula- you look at it from a regulatory perspective, their job. tions that define material damage to you have to determine if the water is fish- This rule, as it has been put in place, the hydrologic balance outside the per- able, swimmable, drinkable—all of these are does give States flexibility. Its key def- mit area; give effect to the SMCRA’s benchmarks.’’ inition says States get discretion to es- prohibitions against material damage Ms. CANTWELL. The article states: tablish an objective criteria for meas- to the hydrologic balance outside the ‘‘The report found that the number of uring standards and restoring the permit area; prohibit harmful mining species was cut in half and the abun- streams. It basically says the final rule activity within a certain perimeter, in- dance of fish fell by a third, down- has several options to demonstrate cluding the stream buffer zone as under stream from these mining operations.’’ compliance on the area of fish-and- the 1983 regulations; require permitting I wish to talk about a mine now wildlife. States can use their judgment decisions to be based on full and com- owned by Murray Energy that in 2009 about the types, scope, and location of plete information; ensure protections

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.006 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S632 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 for fish and wildlife; and guarantee NOT VOTING—1 The senior assistant legislative clerk that adequate financial assurances are Sessions read the nomination of JEFF SESSIONS, put into place to provide for full and The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 38) of Alabama, to be Attorney General. complete reclamation. was passed. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- I expect any Secretary of the Interior The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader. to follow the law and fully implement jority leader. CLOTURE MOTION the ongoing obligations under SMCRA. f Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I I yield the floor. send a cloture motion to the desk. Mr. President, I suggest the absence MOTION TO PROCEED TO The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- of a quorum. EXECUTIVE SESSION ture motion having been presented The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk will call the roll. move that the Senate proceed to execu- clerk to read the motion. The senior assistant legislative clerk tive session to consider Calendar No. The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 14, JEFF SESSIONS to be Attorney Gen- read as follows: Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask eral. CLOTURE MOTION unanimous consent that the order for The PRESIDING OFFICER. The We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- the quorum call be rescinded. question is on agreeing to the motion. ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask for the yeas Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby objection, it is so ordered. and nays. move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a nation of JEFF SESSIONS, of Alabama, to be yield back the remainder of our time. sufficient second? Attorney General. There appears to be a sufficient sec- Mitch McConnell, Johnny Isakson, Jeff The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time Flake, Steve Daines, James Lankford, is yielded back. ond. Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis, Rob The joint resolution was ordered to a The clerk will call the roll. Portman, John Hoeven, Roger F. third reading and was read the third The bill clerk called the roll. Wicker, John Thune, Deb Fischer, time. Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator James M. Inhofe, Tim Scott, Lindsey The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint is necessarily absent: the Senator from Graham, Jerry Moran, Pat Roberts. resolution having been read the third Alabama (Mr. SESSIONS). f time, the question is, Shall the joint Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the resolution pass? Senator from Delaware (Mr. CARPER) is MOTION TO PROCEED TO Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I ask for necessarily absent. LEGISLATIVE SESSION the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a any other Senators in the Chamber de- move to proceed to legislative session. sufficient second? siring to vote? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The There appears to be a sufficient sec- The result was announced—yeas 53, question is on agreeing to the motion. ond. nays 45, as follows: Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask for the yeas The clerk will call the roll. [Rollcall Vote No. 44 Leg.] and nays. The senior assistant legislative clerk YEAS—53 The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a called the roll. Alexander Fischer Murkowski sufficient second? Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator Barrasso Flake Paul There appears to be a sufficient sec- is necessarily absent: the Senator from Blunt Gardner Perdue ond. Boozman Graham Portman The clerk will call the roll. Alabama (Mr. SESSIONS). Burr Grassley Risch The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Capito Hatch Roberts The senior assistant legislative clerk any other Senators in the Chamber de- Cassidy Heller Rounds called the roll. Cochran Hoeven Rubio Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators siring to vote? Collins Inhofe Sasse Corker Isakson are necessarily absent: the Senator The result was announced—yeas 54, Scott Cornyn Johnson from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM) and nays 45, as follows: Shelby Cotton Kennedy the Senator from Alabama (Mr. SES- [Rollcall Vote No. 43 Leg.] Crapo Lankford Sullivan Thune SIONS). YEAS—54 Cruz Lee Daines Manchin Tillis The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Alexander Flake Moran Donnelly McCain Toomey any other Senators in the Chamber de- Barrasso Gardner Murkowski Enzi McConnell Wicker siring to vote? Blunt Graham Paul Ernst Moran Young Boozman Grassley Perdue The result was announced—yeas 51, Burr Hatch Portman NAYS—45 nays 47, as follows: Capito Heitkamp Risch Baldwin Harris Nelson Cassidy Heller Roberts [Rollcall Vote No. 45 Ex.] Bennet Hassan Peters Cochran Hoeven Rounds Blumenthal Heinrich Reed YEAS—51 Corker Inhofe Rubio Booker Heitkamp Sanders Cornyn Isakson Sasse Alexander Fischer Murkowski Brown Hirono Schatz Cotton Johnson Scott Barrasso Flake Paul Cantwell Kaine Schumer Crapo Kennedy Shelby Blunt Gardner Perdue Cardin King Shaheen Cruz Lankford Sullivan Boozman Grassley Portman Casey Klobuchar Stabenow Daines Lee Thune Burr Hatch Risch Coons Leahy Tester Donnelly Manchin Tillis Capito Heller Roberts Cortez Masto Markey Udall Enzi McCain Toomey Cassidy Hoeven Rounds Duckworth McCaskill Van Hollen Ernst McCaskill Wicker Cochran Inhofe Rubio Durbin Menendez Warner Fischer McConnell Young Collins Isakson Sasse Feinstein Merkley Warren Corker Johnson Scott NAYS—45 Franken Murphy Whitehouse Cornyn Kennedy Shelby Gillibrand Murray Wyden Cotton King Sullivan Baldwin Franken Nelson Crapo Lankford Thune Bennet Gillibrand Peters NOT VOTING—2 Cruz Lee Tillis Blumenthal Harris Reed Carper Sessions Daines McCain Toomey Booker Hassan Sanders Enzi McConnell Wicker Brown Heinrich Schatz The motion was agreed to. Ernst Moran Young Cantwell Hirono Schumer Cardin Kaine Shaheen f NAYS—47 Carper King Stabenow EXECUTIVE SESSION Baldwin Carper Feinstein Casey Klobuchar Tester Bennet Casey Franken Collins Leahy Udall Blumenthal Coons Gillibrand Coons Markey Van Hollen Booker Cortez Masto Harris Cortez Masto Menendez Warner EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Brown Donnelly Hassan Duckworth Merkley Warren Cantwell Duckworth Heinrich Durbin Murphy Whitehouse The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Cardin Durbin Heitkamp Feinstein Murray Wyden clerk will report the nomination.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.011 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S633 Hirono Murphy Stabenow EXECUTIVE SESSION NAYS—47 Kaine Murray Tester Baldwin Gillibrand Nelson Klobuchar Nelson Udall Bennet Leahy Peters Harris Peters Van Hollen Blumenthal Manchin Reed Hassan Reed Warner Booker Markey Sanders EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Heinrich Sanders Warren Brown McCaskill Schatz Heitkamp Schatz Whitehouse Cantwell Menendez Schumer The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Hirono Schumer Wyden Cardin Merkley Shaheen clerk will report the nomination. Kaine Shaheen Carper Klobuchar Stabenow The senior assistant legislative clerk Casey Leahy NOT VOTING—2 Tester read the nomination of Thomas Price, Coons Manchin Graham Sessions Udall Cortez Masto Markey of Georgia, to be Secretary of Health Van Hollen The motion was agreed to. Donnelly McCaskill and Human Services. Duckworth Menendez Warner Warren f The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Durbin Merkley jority leader. Feinstein Murphy Whitehouse Franken Murray Wyden LEGISLATIVE SESSION CLOTURE MOTION The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I NOT VOTING—1 jority leader is recognized. send a cloture motion to the desk. Sessions The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- The motion was agreed to. f ture motion having been presented f MOTION TO PROCEED TO under rule XXII, the Chair directs the EXECUTIVE SESSION clerk to read the motion. LEGISLATIVE SESSION The assistant bill clerk read as fol- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I lows: move to proceed to executive session to jority leader. CLOTURE MOTION consider Calendar No. 13, Thomas Price f to be Secretary of Health and Human We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Services. ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the MOTION TO PROCEED TO Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby EXECUTIVE SESSION The PRESIDING OFFICER. The move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- question is on agreeing to the motion. nation of Thomas Price, of Georgia, to be Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask for the yeas Secretary of Health and Human Services. move to proceed to executive session to and nays. Mitch McConnell, David Perdue, Johnny consider Calendar No. 12, Steven The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a Isakson, Tom Cotton, Mike Crapo, Mnuchin to be Secretary of the Treas- sufficient second? James E. Risch, Jerry Moran, Pat Rob- ury. There appears to be a sufficient sec- erts, Roy Blunt, Lamar Alexander, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ond. John Barrasso, Orrin G. Hatch, Jeff question is on agreeing to the motion. Flake, John Cornyn, Shelley Moore The clerk will call the roll. Capito, John Thune, Richard Burr. Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask for the yeas The bill clerk called the roll. and nays. Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a f is necessarily absent: the Senator from sufficient second? Alabama (Mr. SESSIONS). There appears to be a sufficient sec- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there MOTION TO PROCEED TO ond. any other Senators in the Chamber de- LEGISLATIVE SESSION The clerk will call the roll. siring to vote: Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I The legislative clerk called the roll. The result was announced—yeas 51, move to proceed to legislative session, Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator nays 48, as follows: and I ask for the yeas and nays. is necessarily absent: the Senator from [Rollcall Vote No. 46 Leg.] The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a Alabama (Mr. SESSIONS). YEAS—51 sufficient second? The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Alexander Fischer Murkowski There appears to be a sufficient sec- any other Senators in the Chamber de- Barrasso Flake Paul ond. siring to vote? Blunt Gardner Perdue The question is on agreeing to the The result was announced—yeas 51, Boozman Graham Portman motion. nays 48, as follows: Burr Grassley Risch Capito Hatch Roberts The clerk will call the roll. [Rollcall Vote No. 48 Leg.] Cassidy Heller Rounds The senior assistant legislative clerk YEAS—51 Cochran Hoeven Rubio called the roll. Collins Inhofe Sasse Alexander Fischer Murkowski Corker Isakson Scott Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator Barrasso Flake Paul Cornyn Johnson Shelby is necessarily absent: the Senator from Blunt Gardner Perdue Boozman Graham Portman Cotton Kennedy Sullivan Alabama (Mr. SESSIONS). Burr Grassley Risch Crapo Lankford Thune The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Cruz Lee Tillis Capito Hatch Roberts Daines McCain Toomey any other Senators in the Chamber de- Cassidy Heller Rounds Enzi McConnell Wicker siring to vote? Cochran Hoeven Rubio Ernst Moran Young Collins Inhofe Sasse The result was announced—yeas 52, Corker Isakson Scott NAYS—48 nays 47, as follows: Cornyn Johnson Shelby Cotton Kennedy Baldwin Gillibrand Murray [Rollcall Vote No. 47 Ex.] Sullivan Crapo Lankford Bennet Harris Nelson Thune YEAS—52 Cruz Lee Blumenthal Hassan Peters Tillis Daines McCain Booker Heinrich Reed Alexander Flake Paul Toomey Enzi McConnell Brown Heitkamp Sanders Barrasso Gardner Perdue Wicker Ernst Moran Cantwell Hirono Schatz Blunt Graham Portman Young Cardin Kaine Schumer Boozman Grassley Risch NAYS—48 Carper King Shaheen Burr Hatch Roberts Baldwin Durbin Manchin Casey Klobuchar Stabenow Capito Heller Rounds Bennet Feinstein Markey Coons Leahy Tester Cassidy Hoeven Rubio Blumenthal Franken McCaskill Cortez Masto Manchin Udall Cochran Inhofe Sasse Collins Isakson Booker Gillibrand Menendez Donnelly Markey Van Hollen Scott Corker Johnson Brown Harris Merkley Duckworth McCaskill Warner Shelby Durbin Cornyn Kennedy Cantwell Hassan Murphy Menendez Warren Sullivan Feinstein Merkley Whitehouse Cotton King Cardin Heinrich Murray Thune Franken Murphy Wyden Crapo Lankford Carper Heitkamp Nelson Cruz Lee Tillis Casey Hirono Peters NOT VOTING—1 Daines McCain Toomey Coons Kaine Reed Wicker Sessions Enzi McConnell Cortez Masto King Sanders Ernst Moran Young Donnelly Klobuchar Schatz The motion was agreed to. Fischer Murkowski Duckworth Leahy Schumer

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.009 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S634 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 Shaheen Udall Warren NAYS—48 Markey Peters Tester Stabenow Van Hollen Whitehouse McCaskill Reed Udall Baldwin Gillibrand Murray Tester Warner Wyden Menendez Sanders Van Hollen Bennet Harris Nelson Merkley Schatz Warner Blumenthal Hassan Peters NOT VOTING—1 Murphy Schumer Warren Booker Heinrich Reed Sessions Murray Shaheen Whitehouse Brown Heitkamp Sanders Nelson Stabenow Wyden The motion was agreed to. Cantwell Hirono Schatz Cardin Kaine Schumer The motion was agreed to. f Carper King Shaheen Casey Klobuchar Stabenow f EXECUTIVE SESSION Coons Leahy Tester Cortez Masto Manchin Udall PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL Donnelly Markey Van Hollen DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUB- Duckworth McCaskill Warner MITTED BY THE SECURITIES EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Durbin Menendez Warren AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Feinstein Merkley Whitehouse The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Franken Murphy Wyden The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination. The motion was agreed to. clerk will report the joint resolution. The senior assistant legislative clerk The legislative clerk read as follows: f read the nomination of Steven T. A resolution (H.J. Res. 41) providing for Mnuchin, of California, to be Secretary LEGISLATIVE SESSION congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of of the Treasury. title 5, United States Code, of a rule sub- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. mitted by the Securities and Exchange Com- jority leader. BLUNT). The majority leader. mission relating to ‘‘Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers.’’ CLOTURE MOTION f Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant send a cloture motion to the desk. PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL to 5 U.S.C. 802(d)(2), there will now be The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUB- up to 10 hours of debate, equally di- ture motion having been presented MITTED BY THE SECURITIES vided between the proponents and the under rule XXII, the Chair directs the AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION— opponents of the joint resolution. clerk to read the motion. MOTION TO PROCEED The Senator from Idaho. The legislative clerk read as follows: Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise CLOTURE MOTION move to proceed to H.J. Res. 41. today to discuss the regulatory burden We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The imposed by the SEC’s extractive re- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the clerk will report the motion. source rulemaking and offer my sup- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby The senior assistant legislative clerk port for the resolution to disapprove it. move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- read as follows: I will take a few minutes to talk nation of Steven T. Mnuchin, of California, Motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 41, a joint about the complicated history of this to be Secretary of the Treasury. resolution providing for congressional dis- rule and then about the concerns with Mitch McConnell, Roger F. Wicker, John approval under chapter 8 of title 5, United the way it was formulated. Boozman, Orrin G. Hatch, Roy Blunt, States Code, of a rule submitted by the Secu- The SEC originally adopted the rule John Cornyn, Steve Daines, Tim Scott, rities and Exchange Commission relating to John Hoeven, Michael B. Enzi, John in 2012 and was challenged in court by ‘‘Disclosure of Payments by Resource Ex- the Chamber of Commerce and the Barrasso, John Thune, Mike Rounds, traction Issuers.’’ Mike Crapo, James M. Inhofe, Joni American Petroleum Institute. In 2013, Ernst, Chuck Grassley. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the U.S. district court threw out the question is on agreeing to the motion. regulation, contending, among other f Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask for the yeas things, that the SEC misread the re- MOTION TO PROCEED TO and nays. quirements of the statute. The SEC did LEGISLATIVE SESSION The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a not appeal the decision, acknowledging sufficient second? that it needed to rewrite the rule. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I There appears to be a sufficient sec- The SEC’s proposed timetable for a move to proceed to legislative session. ond. new rule was delayed several times, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The clerk will call the roll. and in 2014, Oxfam America sued to question is on agreeing to the motion. The legislative clerk called the roll. compel the SEC to move forward on a Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask for the yeas The result was announced—yeas 52, new rulemaking. The court ordered the and nays. nays 48, as follows: SEC to file an expedited schedule and, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a [Rollcall Vote No. 50 Leg.] as a result, a new rule was proposed in sufficient second? YEAS—52 2015 and finalized last year. There appears to be a sufficient sec- As one can see, this rule and its var- ond. Alexander Flake Perdue Barrasso Gardner Portman ious iterations have been fraught with The clerk will call the roll. Blunt Graham Risch controversy for many years. Advocates The senior assistant legislative clerk Boozman Grassley Roberts of the rule have said that it will com- called the roll. Burr Hatch Rounds Capito Heller bat corruption in resource-rich na- The result was announced—yeas 52, Rubio Cassidy Hoeven tions. The SEC’s final rule raised nays 48, as follows: Sasse Cochran Inhofe Scott Collins Isakson doubts about this. The final rule stated [Rollcall Vote No. 49 Ex.] Sessions Corker Johnson several things, including: The direct Shelby YEAS—52 Cornyn Kennedy Sullivan causal relationship between increased Alexander Flake Perdue Cotton Lankford Thune transparency in the extractive indus- Barrasso Gardner Portman Crapo Lee Tillis try and social benefits is ‘‘inconclu- Blunt Graham Risch Cruz McCain Toomey Boozman Grassley Roberts Daines McConnell sive.’’ In fact, it noted that ‘‘research Wicker Burr Hatch Rounds Enzi Moran and data available at this time does Ernst Young Capito Heller Rubio Murkowski not allow us to draw any firm conclu- Cassidy Hoeven Fischer Paul Sasse sions.’’ Unlike the potential benefits, Cochran Inhofe Scott Collins Isakson NAYS—48 Sessions though, the costs are reasonably cer- Corker Johnson Baldwin Coons Hassan Shelby tain. Cornyn Kennedy Bennet Cortez Masto Heinrich Sullivan Cotton Lankford Blumenthal Donnelly Heitkamp The SEC estimated up to $700 million Crapo Lee Thune Booker Duckworth Hirono in initial costs and up to $590 million in Cruz McCain Tillis Brown Durbin Kaine ongoing annual costs. Put another way, Toomey Daines McConnell Cantwell Feinstein King each company would endure between Enzi Moran Wicker Cardin Franken Klobuchar Ernst Murkowski Young Carper Gillibrand Leahy $560,000 and $1.6 million in initial costs, Fischer Paul Casey Harris Manchin and between $224,000 and $1.3 million in

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.013 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S635 additional costs each year. We cannot couple of questions to ease my fears through extensive years-long adminis- view these costs as affecting only the about this question. trative and public review, including on largest companies, but must consider First, I would like to direct a couple issues that agencies were specifically the plight of the smaller ones. of questions to the chairman. It is my ordered by this Congress to study and Just under half of all companies cov- understanding that this joint resolu- address. ered by this rule are considered smaller tion does not—underscore not—repeal Republicans’ unprecedented use of companies, and they would be dis- section 1504 of Dodd-Frank law; is that the CRA is not about Congress per- proportionately impacted by millions correct? forming due diligence or agency over- of dollars in fixed costs—money that Mr. CRAPO. Yes, that is correct. sight, it is a gross abuse of power to could be better spent on jobs and What this resolution does is to cause make their big corporate allies happy. growth. the current SEC rule to not take effect. I heard my friend from Idaho talk Finally, the President’s statement of As it was characterized yesterday on about the Chamber of Commerce and administration policy also endorses the House floor and will be character- the American Petroleum Institute. this resolution. Some of the reasons it ized further today on the Senate floor, That is just a start. highlights include: what the SEC will need to do is to go The rule they are trying to repeal In some cases, the rule would require com- back to the drawing board and come up protects U.S. citizens and investors panies to disclose information that the host with a better rule that complies with from having millions of their dollars nation of their project prohibits from disclo- the law of the land. vanish into the pockets of corrupt for- sure or is commercially sensitive. Mr. ISAKSON. I thank the chairman eign oligarchs. It does that by requir- The rule would impose unreasonable com- for that answer. ing all oil, gas, and mineral companies pliance costs on American energy companies I would like his commitment to work listed on U.S. stock exchanges to dis- that are not justified by quantifiable bene- with me and other members of the cau- fits. close the royalties and the bonuses and Moreover, American businesses could face cus who are concerned and who want to the fees and the taxes and other pay- a competitive disadvantage in cases where be assured that the SEC will move for- ments they make to foreign govern- their foreign competitors are not subject to ward with the implementation of this ments. similar rules. replacement provision as soon as pos- This kind of transparency is essential I have repeatedly stressed the need sible. to combating waste, fraud, corruption, for the U.S. financial system and mar- Mr. CRAPO. I thank my colleague. I and mismanagement, as Senator ISAK- kets to remain the preferred destina- will work to ensure that the SEC im- SON talked about the poverty he sees in tion for investors throughout the plements all of its congressional man- these resource-rich countries. world, and this rule harms this status. dates. Yet Rex Tillerson, whom this body I urge my colleagues to support this Mr. ISAKSON. I thank the Chair. just, I believe yesterday, confirmed resolution and to preserve the integ- Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I yield with a pretty much partisan vote—Rex rity of our securities laws and capital the floor. Tillerson and congressional Repub- markets. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- licans want to strip it away. Rex Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- ator from Ohio. Tillerson, in his years as CEO of Mr. BROWN. Mr. President— sent to at this time enter into a col- ExxonMobil—and we will talk about Mr. INHOFE. Will the Senator from loquy with my colleague from Georgia, that in a moment—strongly opposed Ohio yield for a request? this rule, almost by himself, with Senator ISAKSON. I ask unanimous consent that at the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there ExxonMobil as the head of that com- conclusion of the remarks of the Sen- pany. objection? ator from Ohio, I be recognized for up Without objection, it is so ordered. At Mr. Tillerson’s confirmation hear- to 5 minutes. ing, Senator KAINE from Virginia in- Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President and The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there chairman of the Banking Committee, I troduced into the record a 2008 report objection? by Republican Senate Foreign Rela- appreciate the time and the recogni- Mr. BROWN. Up to 5 minutes? tions Committee staff. That report was tion. As the chairman knows, I am a Mr. GRASSLEY. OK, as long as I get the basis—Republican staff, I assume member of the Foreign Relations Com- to speak after this issue is over. mittee and a former chairman of the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without at the behest of Senator Lugar and African Subcommittee, and I have objection, it is so ordered. others—that report was the basis for traveled to both of those continents for Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise in what eventually became section 1504 of many years. I have seen resource-rich opposition to the resolution before us, Dodd-Frank, known as the bipartisan and poverty-poor countries where they which really ought to be titled the Cardin-Lugar amendment to fight cor- have a natural resource investment ‘‘Kleptocrat Relief Act.’’ ruption in mineral-rich developing and wealth, but they never reinvest in My Republican colleagues today are countries. That report concluded that their people. trying to repeal a critical bipartisan many resource-rich countries are poor I think transparency is important in rule initiated by Senator Lugar, a Re- because their vast mineral resources seeing to it that the resources they republican from Indiana, and Senator often breed corruption. That corrup- ceive for selling those natural re- CARDIN, a Democrat from Maryland. It tion lines the pockets of the sources are made available to their is a critical bipartisan rule to prevent kleptocrats—read ‘‘thieves’’—increases people so that the resources go to the corruption. poverty, increases hunger, and in- benefit of the people and not the gov- This transparency rule is part of the creases instability. ernment. Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. It As Senator Lugar said: Are you also aware that I am not a is one of the best anti-corruption tools Paradoxically, history shows that rather big supporter of the Dodd-Frank disclo- that President Trump now has to keep than a blessing, energy reserves can be a sure bill, but I also have concerns that bane for many poor countries, leading to his promise to, in his words, ‘‘drain the fraud, corruption, wasteful spending, mili- simply vacating the rule implementing swamp’’ in Washington and around the tary adventurism and instability. Too often, the Lugar-Cardin amendment without world. oil money that should go to a nation’s poor providing for a replacement would cre- But now, in just week 2 of his Presi- ends up in the pockets of the rich or is ate a setback for U.S. leadership in dency, Republicans are racing to use an squandered on the trappings of power and anti-corruption efforts around the obscure law called the Congressional massive showcase projects instead of being world? Review Act to wipe it out. The CRA invested productively and equitably. Because of what we have done in was not intended to hand a new Presi- That is called the resource curse. It transparency and anti-corruption, dent the power to roll back regulations prevails all over the world today. For countries like the United Kingdom, the that protect workers, protect the envi- example, oil-rich Venezuela is running EU, Norway, and Canada have followed ronment, protect investors, and protect out of food and medicine. Resource- our lead, and I do not want to lose consumers. rich Nigeria is in an economic mess that. Therefore, I wish to ask the In this case, Republicans are using wracked by terrorism and poverty. chairman of the Banking Committee a the CRA to target rules that have gone Armed groups have fought for years

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.048 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S636 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 over mineral wealth in the Congo and for-life, his son, and his nephew. Imag- ExxonMobil agreed to pay $600 mil- elsewhere in Africa. ine that. Instead of paying the national lion to renew the licenses and con- Resource-rich countries in Asia have treasury, the oil companies made pay- struct a powerplant at a cost of $900 similar problems. The natural resource ments into this account in another million to the company, making a sector in so many countries is fa- country, controlled by a dictator and total contribution of $1.5 billion. Yet mously corrupt—the world’s single his relatives. I can’t believe we in this documents suggest that the Nigerian most corrupt industry, according to body support that. How could the citi- Government may have valued the li- the Organisation for Economic Co-op- zens of Equatorial Guinea know how censes at $2.5 billion and that the Chi- eration and Development. But oil com- much royalty money was coming in for nese oil company CNOOC offered to pay panies can no longer hide behind the their oil in their country and where it $3.7 billion for the same licenses—over excuse of confidentiality. Increasingly, was going when it was in a secret ac- six times the amount reportedly paid companies are expected to disclose count controlled by a dictator? The an- by ExxonMobil. what they pay in taxes and other pay- swer, obviously, is they couldn’t. Other incredible and notorious exam- ments to governments whose natural The report from the PSI—the com- ples abound. It would be reason enough resources they extract. That is what mittee that investigated—documented for us to act to try to help the millions this language from Senator Lugar, that some of the funds from that ac- of people around the world who are vic- Senator CARDIN, and Senator LEAHY count were used to make suspicious tims of this corporate collusion, but in did. That is what the rule does. That is transactions. The United States then today’s world, the resource curse what we should do. This Congress investigated the President-for-life’s doesn’t just impact far-off countries; it wants to undo that. This is now re- family finances. Prosecutors noted affects Americans every day. It has em- quired under the laws of the United that President-for-life Obiang’s son powered anti-American dictators in States and 30 other countries, as well ‘‘received an official government sal- Iraq, Libya, and Syria, situations as international initiatives. In other ary of less than $100,000 a year but used which cost American lives and Amer- ican taxpayer dollars. It worsens global words, what we did here was followed his position and influence as a govern- poverty, which can be a seedbed and a by 30 other countries, and a number of ment minister to amass more than $300 fertile growing ground for terrorism more responsible energy companies, I million worth of assets through corrup- against us and our allies. It leads to would say, passed this language and tion and money laundering.’’ He paid the instability that threatens global began to implement these laws. himself $100,000 but found a way to The Extractive Industries Trans- amass $300 million more—all in viola- oil supplies. It raises gas prices at parency Initiative is a global standard tion of the laws of his country and our home. That is why we need this rule—all of that aims to put information about country both. the above—to protect American na- government revenues from natural re- In 2014, the son settled a case brought tional security interests by combating source deals into the public domain in by Federal prosecutors. He agreed to sell his $30 million mansion in Malibu, the corruption and secrecy, with all 51 countries, including ours. This in- these oil companies at the table with cludes telling us what taxes the compa- his Ferrari, and various items of Mi- chael Jackson memorabilia he had col- them. That has caused conflict, insta- nies pay, which is key to ensuring citi- bility, and violent extremist move- zens know what benefits they get— lected. The New York Times reported earlier ments in Africa and the Middle East. from Venezuela or Nigeria or Congo— this month that he is still working to As ISIS has demonstrated, nonstate ac- from their own natural resources. tors benefit from trading natural re- Let me offer some concrete examples delay his trial on corruption charges in France, where prosecutors say he sources in order to finance their ter- of the kind of corruption we are talk- amassed a personal fortune of $115 mil- rorist operations. ing about. This just turns your stom- lion, which he used to indulge his Despite all this, the Republican-led ach. House of Representatives, as Senator In Equatorial Guinea, according to tastes. When he served as Agriculture Min- CRAPO said, voted yesterday to repeal anti-corruption groups, oil companies, ister of Equatorial Guinea, prosecutors this bipartisan initiative—an initiative including Exxon, have had a long his- say he used his influence over the tim- that holds Big Oil accountable and pro- tory of problems on this front. The re- ber industry—next to oil, the most im- tects the American people. Today, the gime of President-for-life Obiang, who portant export industry in the coun- Senate Republican leadership is fol- executed his brutal uncle to gain power try—to line his pockets. lowing suit. It is a little ironic in light almost 40 years ago, has been tarnished Last November, prosecutors in Swit- of the fact that Candidate Trump, at with allegations of corruption, cro- zerland seized luxury cars belonging to almost every rally in my State, almost nyism, brutal political repression, rou- him, and last month, at the request of every rally in State after State after tine human rights violations, and drug the Swiss, the Dutch authorities seized State where he was campaigning, trafficking for years and years. his 250-foot, $100 million yacht named talked about draining the swamp. Years ago, the Senate Permanent the ‘‘Ebony Shine’’ as it was about to Since the rule’s creation, Subcommittee on Investigations re- sail to Equatorial Guinea. He said the ExxonMobil, led by Mr. Tillerson—now leased a report and held a public hear- yacht belonged to his country’s govern- the Secretary of State—and Big Oil al- ing which revealed that a number of oil ment. All the while, his people are lies, such as the American Petroleum companies—again, ExxonMobil; they starving. Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Com- keep coming up in this—were making You can’t make this stuff up. If the merce, and the Heritage Foundation, direct payments into an account in the bill before us were adopted, the Obiang have fought to kill it. name of the Republic of Equatorial family would be celebrating. They Who else opposes this rule besides Guinea located at Riggs Bank in Wash- would be celebrating in Washington, in Senate Republicans, House Repub- ington, DC. Virtually all of the money California, and in Equatorial Guinea. licans, and President Trump? There are in the account, tens of millions of dol- In Nigeria, again according to Global the autocrats in Russia. We know lars, consisted of royalties and other Witness, a major oil deal struck by— about the connections between Russia payments from oil companies, pri- surprise—ExxonMobil with the Nige- and the Secretary of State. We don’t marily—surprise—ExxonMobil, to the rian Government is being investigated know quite enough about the connec- country of Equatorial Guinea for the by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial tions between our President and Presi- right to explore and produce oil in that Crimes Commission, a law enforcement dent Putin because we can’t get the country. But instead of paying the agency that investigates high-level President’s tax returns. We know money to the government or the na- corruption. The probe centers on a pro- something is going on. Everybody tional treasury of Equatorial Guinea, tracted and controversial deal agreed knows it. Nobody knows quite what. the companies sent the money to the to by ExxonMobil and the Nigerian Who else opposes it? Autocrats in account at Riggs Bank. That account Government in 2009 to renew three lu- Iran, where Advisor Flynn made some was controlled by President-for-life crative oil licenses, which at the time interesting and provocative comments Obiang and two of his relatives. The ac- accounted for around a quarter of Nige- today, autocrats in Venezuela, auto- count signatories were the President- ria’s entire oil production. crats in Africa with oil wells, gasfields,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.049 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S637 or copper mines who want to keep their rule won’t cost a single American job. I appreciate and—I know it is a very payments a secret. It is working for Everything oil companies can legally popular statement that was made by them. It is working for the autocrats. do today is still allowed under the anti- my friend from Ohio; unfortunately, it It is working for Exxon. Apparently it corruption rule. They only have to do has nothing to do with the issues we is working for Republicans in the one more thing: They have to report are looking at right now. House and Senate too. I am not sure their numbers to the Securities and Back during the time Dodd-Frank exactly how, but I know it is working. Exchange Commission. How can that was considered, it was dealing with More than 30 countries—mostly the cost millions of dollars? banks and financial institutions. It had United States, Canada, and European The Cardin-Lugar rule makes Big nothing to do with energy. Yet section nations—have adopted similar anti- Business and government more trans- 1504 was put in there. Part of section corruption standards. Senator Lugar, parent, fights corruption, and does it 1504 required that information be pro- Senator LEAHY, and Senator CARDIN’s all without hurting taxpayers. It is a vided during the course of a competi- law passed as part of Dodd-Frank, and creative approach to global problems tive situation for some kind of a the SEC is adopting this rule. More that our leaders did embrace until we project. than 30 other countries in the world had a President who wants to ‘‘drain I will give you an example. We have followed our lead, and some of the the swamp,’’ he says—should be em- a private sector in our oil and gas. For more responsible oil companies were bracing, not rejecting at the behest of China, that is a government project. If prepared to comply. So to be clear, just a few actors. we are competing with them—let’s say with Europe and Canada in the same Again, who is lobbying to overturn for some cause that is in Tanzania or disclosure system, the playing field is this rule? It is autocrats around the someplace—they said, so that there is a now level. It is working. world. It is Exxon. It is the American safeguard and there can’t be corrup- Many companies already report such Petroleum Institute. It is a very small tion, so that if we should win—I say payments under European rules and number of companies, when so many ‘‘we,’’ but I am talking about the pri- are doing just fine, so this is hardly people are on the other side. vate sector in the United States of causing them undue burdens in the reg- If we repeal this measure today, America—then they have to report the ulatory framework that my colleagues shareholders, investors, and poor com- information to the SEC, which in turn like to talk about. That is why many munities around the world will con- makes it published. Their intent was in industry support the rule, despite tinue to see their money and natural not to have to break down everything the actions of Exxon, the bad actor resources stolen by crooked oligarchs. that was in that offer. It is the bottom We will be undoing the moral leader- here, and the CEO of Exxon—now, line. ship. This is in so many ways a moral What is the total cost that goes to amazingly, our Secretary of State. BP and Shell—two major, large oil question that Senator CARDIN, Senator these countries? What are the total companies—have publicly endorsed Lugar, and Senator LEAHY brought to costs? That is all they care about be- payment reporting and lining up U.S. us bipartisanly, with broad support by cause if that money went to Tan- both parties. We will be turning a blind rules with those in other markets. For- zania—and there are some corrupt offi- eye to corruption, we will be betraying cials there and they might steal some eign and state-owned oil companies our principles, and we will be undercut- of the money, but to keep that from from China and Brazil, including ting our allies in Europe and Canada happening, we want to report what the CNOOC, PetroChina, Sinopec, and Bra- who followed our lead and crafted their cost was in the winning party. You zil’s Petrobras, are required to disclose own rules based on ours. don’t have to have all that informa- under U.S. rules, leveling the playing Under the terms of the Congressional tion. field for U.S. companies. Gazprom, Review Act, any future ‘‘substantially In fact, in 2013, the court struck this Rosneft, BP, and Shell already report similar’’ rule will be forever prohibited down because they said that was not under UK rules. The largest mining from being written by the SEC. That the intent. The intent was to have the companies in the world, including makes no sense. total figure, so they said, even sug- Newmont Mining, BHP Billiton, and I hope this effort fails. I know my Re- gested—and our intent at that time Rio Tinto, have supported similar republican colleagues understand this be- was to vacate that, as the court did va- porting. Oil, gas, and mining workers cause enough of my colleagues recog- cate that rule and send it back and unions, such as United Steelworkers, nize the merits of this anti-corruption have the SEC redo it in such a way back the rule. measure and they refuse to kowtow to that it would affect only the amount of Notice who doesn’t back the rule: the dinosaur wing of Big Oil. It is not money that would go that might cause Exxon, the American Petroleum Insti- even all of Big Oil; it is the dinosaur some corruption at some time. That is tute, and autocrats in Iran, Russia, and wing of Big oil. It is the autocrats. It is what it was all about. Unfortunately, Venezuela. the American Petroleum Institute. It they put together another one that was Investors also support it—including is the Chamber of Commerce. It is very similar and required a lot of infor- investor groups with $10 trillion under ExxonMobil. mation that was not necessary. management—so they can better un- I thank Senator CARDIN and Senator I would like to correct something on derstand and manage the reputational, LEAHY for their work, and I thank the CRA that the Senator from Ohio expropriation, sanction, and other former Senator Lugar from Indiana for said. The CRA is there because when an risks facing firms in which they invest. the important work he did on this unelected bureaucrat comes out with It is supported by the American Catho- measure. some kind of an unreasonable rule that lic bishops, the Presbyterian Church— The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- is very costly to the people of this all kinds of religious groups. ator from Oklahoma. country and it is done by someone who Who is against it? Republicans in the Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I know is not an elected official, the elected House, Republicans in the Senate, the that President Obama is gone now, but official says: Look at this. Wait a President of the United States, his War on Fossil Fuels is alive and minute. This is something that people ExxonMobil, the Secretary of State, well. However, they are not winning are complaining about when I go home. who used to be CEO of ExxonMobil, and that. They love that because they can say: autocrats in Iran and Venezuela. We Back in Oklahoma, they ask me the This wasn’t me. This wasn’t me. This get the picture. question sometimes: If all of the lib- was an unelected bureaucrat that put All these groups who care about jus- erals are concerned and if they are all these rules in. tice, who care about fair play, who care opposed to fossil fuels—and to nuclear, What a CRA does is make us in the about doing business with predictable I might add; coal, oil, gas, and nu- House and in the Senate more account- and fair rules, like BP and Shell, all of clear—if coal, oil, gas, and nuclear are able because we have to then stand up them support it—Global Witness, the responsible for 89 percent of the power and vote on something, saying that we ONE Campaign, Oxfam, and Publish it takes to run this country, how do endorse this rule or we don’t endorse What You Pay. you run the country without those? this rule. That is what it is all about. We need to be clear on one other Those are the kinds of questions we Anyway, we have an opportunity thing my friend from Idaho said: This get. here to go ahead, and I am certainly

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From the royal- If that happens, then we will know Some Republicans and their friends ties paid by U.S. and other foreign how much money that was, and we will in the oil and gas industry say this rule companies. be able to go to the party and find out creates unacceptable burdens. That is Do we really want to be complicit in if they are stealing some of this utterly without merit, as I will explain that kind of thievery and immorality money. Why is it necessary to have all in a moment. by shielding it from public scrutiny? of the components of competition when But even assuming there were a grain Do we really think that the American you have the private sector in the of truth to that, rather than proposing people want to be tarred with it indi- United States of America competing to amend the underlying legislation, rectly through the shady activities of with countries like China where it is a which would require bipartisan sup- American companies? Do we really government-owned institution? port, this resolution is being advanced want to hide important information That is all this is about. All we want under the Congressional Review Act, to from investors who are trying to assess to do is to be able say we want to re- enable a simple majority vote to com- risk in the companies they invest in? port so that the public knows how pletely dismantle the rule with min- Of course not. much the total bid or, in this case, the imum debate. Anyone who reads this rule and pays total amount was, not all the compo- Keep in mind that the rule is simply the slightest attention to the esti- nents that went into the calculation of the product of the U.S. Securities and mated $1 trillion lost to crime, corrup- that. That is all it is about. Exchange Commission, SEC, imple- tion, and tax evasion in these countries My time has expired. menting bipartisan congressional in- and the millions of deaths attributed I yield the floor. tent and would not take effect until to corrupt practices where these ex- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. the end of 2018. Despite what some have tractive companies operate will recog- YOUNG). The majority leader. claimed, the SEC has not twisted the nize the fallacy of the baseless attacks ORDER OF BUSINESS statute in any way when they devel- by those who oppose it. The sponsors of this resolution claim Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I oped this rule. But if this rule is over- that this rule puts American busi- wish to lay out the schedule for every- turned, the SEC will be prevented from nesses at a competitive disadvantage. one. I know they are interested in issuing any substantially similar rule, What are they talking about? The rule knowing the way forward. I have dis- potentially in our lifetimes. applies to both U.S. and foreign compa- cussed with the Democratic leader In other words, what we are doing here is, for all practical purposes, the nies and complements existing laws where we go from here. elsewhere in the world. In fact, Chinese The Senate is going to debate the death knell for global efforts—involv- state-owned companies, like pending joint resolution tonight for as ing most of our closest allies—to com- PetroChina and Sinopect, are covered long as there is interest in debate. To- bat massive corruption resulting from the extraction of natural resources and by the U.S. law. Great Britain, the EU, morrow the Senate will convene at 6:30 Canada, and Norway are just four ex- a.m. and immediately proceed to two help investors assess risk in the often murky and unstable oil, gas, and min- amples of governments that have rollcall votes: passage of the joint reso- adopted similar rules, with Russian ing sectors. This is an issue on which lution of disapproval and cloture on state-owned companies like Rosneft the United States, until now, has been the nomination of Betsy DeVos. and Gazprom covered in the U.K. Restating that, debate tonight as a global leader. I challenge the sponsors of this legis- I mention this because the sponsors long as our friends on the other side lation to provide any objective facts to of this resolution have said that they would like to debate, and tomorrow we support the argument that U.S. compa- support the goals of this rule, and all will convene at 6:30 a.m. and imme- nies are disadvantaged by this rule. they want to do after overturning it is diately turn to two rollcall votes: pas- That is a pernicious myth. sage of the joint resolution of dis- make some minor adjustments to it. The sponsors have also repeated the approval and cloture on the nomina- That is the epitome of disingenuous. self-serving claims of the petroleum in- tion of Betsy DeVos. The rule does not take effect until the dustry that complying with this rule The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- end of 2018. If that was what they real- would unacceptably increase their cost ator from Vermont. ly wanted to do, they would propose an of doing business. While that has be- Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, has the amendment, and we could discuss it. come the predictable complaint of the distinguished majority leader finished? Their real purpose, even if they are re- business community whenever such a Mr. MCCONNELL. Yes. luctant to say so, is to prevent disclo- rule is promulgated, in this instance, Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Repub- sure. they base it on an outdated and dis- licans in both Chambers have intro- This rule has two primary purposes. credited analysis. The irony is that, duced a resolution to permit oil, gas, First, it is to protect investors. Inves- even if one were to agree with their and mining companies to continue tors whose combined net worth exceeds most farfetched, worst-case scenario, it making secret payments—involving $10 trillion, support this rule and its pales compared to their immense prof- billions of dollars—to corrupt foreign equivalency with the rules adopted by its. governments in exchange for access to some 30 other governments. And sec- If we overturn our rule, what pre- their countries’ natural resources. ond, to protect the public. vents others from doing the same? And This resolution would overturn legis- The practical effect of overturning then we are right back where we start- lation on which I worked closely with this rule is that U.S. and foreign com- ed. Once again, we will have paved the former Republican Senator Richard panies will be able to continue to make way for secret payments and billions of Lugar and Senator CARDIN and was in- secret payments to corrupt foreign dollars stolen from the public treas- cluded as section 1504 of the Dodd- autocrats like Vladimir Putin and uries and squirreled away in Swiss Frank Wall Street Reform and Con- kleptocracies in Africa like the govern- bank accounts by the Robert Mugabes sumer Protection Act to provide great- ments of Angola and Equatorial Guin- of the world. er transparency when such payments ea. By doing so, these companies will There is another aspect to this that are made and help better inform inves- be aiding and abetting those no one has talked about, and that is tors and combat massive corruption in kleptocrats when they pocket the pro- the connection between corruption and the process. ceeds for their personal use. We have terrorism, particularly in Africa. Ter- One would think that everyone here seen this for years. The people of those rorist groups flourish where govern- would support a commonsense rule countries barely survive on $1 or $2 per ment corruption contributes to incom- that will protect investors and make it day, while their leaders drive Mer- petent, corrupt military forces. Terror- a lot harder to get away with the theft cedes, fly private jets to vacation ists benefit when revenues from these

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I am Corruption is among the most corro- they had the resource curse. The people not sure why because today other sive forces that breed instability and were living in horrible poverty. Yet the countries have adopted similar stand- violence, and then countries like ours country had mineral wealth—gas and ards. This information is readily avail- end up trying to feed and shelter the oil—that was being exploited but not able as far as the way it is compiled by innocent people who bear the brunt of for the benefit of the people. It was companies. Many oil and mineral com- it. being used to obtain income for their panies today are supplying this infor- It not only wreaks havoc on the peo- leaders to funnel corrupt practices. mation with no complaints, no prob- ple of those countries; it hurts Amer- Senator Lugar, in October of 2008, au- lems, but it was fought. ican companies trying to do business thored a committee report of the Sen- Tonight we are debating the use of there, and it hurts Americans who in- ate Foreign Relations Committee enti- the Congressional Review Act. It was vest in these risky companies. If the tled ‘‘The Petroleum And Poverty Par- pointed out earlier tonight that before norm is nondisclosure, then bribery be- adox: Assessing U.S. And International today, it only had been used once since comes an unavoidable and accepted Community Efforts To Fight The Re- its 1996 enactment. The reason is be- way of doing business. source Curse.’’ cause it is a sledgehammer approach to That is what companies from coun- We went through the regular legisla- dealing with issues that should be dealt tries like Russia and China that com- tive process as to how we could deal with by a scalpel, but here is the real pete with American companies would with the circumstance that we knew abuse. We are using the Congressional prefer because corruption is what they the United States must exercise leader- Review Act—which is supposed to be are best at. But this rule requires those ship. As Senator BROWN has pointed used when an agency goes rogue, when foreign companies and others to simi- out the whole history and the impor- they start to do things that were never larly disclose their profits. Are the tance of it—and all of the details—I intended by Congress, were never au- sponsors of this resolution even aware just want to fill in some of the details thorized by Congress. Section 1504 was of this? This rule will enhance U.S. as to how this came about because we passed by Congress, and it has taken competitiveness. This rule protects in- were looking for a way in which we the SEC almost a decade to get the vestors and the public. could turn the wealth of a nation to its rules out. And we are saying they When it was first passed, section 1504 people and cut off the corruption that abused their power? Maybe they abused put the United States at the forefront it funded. The corruption was not just their power by delay, but they cer- of transparency and government ac- the obscenity of wealth being used by tainly haven’t abused their power with countability efforts. And as I have al- their leaders—as Senator BROWN point- what they have come forward with. ready said, that leadership paid off. ed out in Equatorial Guinea—it was They are carrying out congressional Other countries have followed our ex- also the fact that this wealth that was mandate as they should. It was never ample. This resolution will jettison a coming to these leaders was also being the intent of the CRA to be used for decade of work here and abroad. There used for criminal activities, to finance this type of a process. So I just urge is no excuse for it. There is no need for illegal drug activities and to finance my colleagues to recognize that this is it. If there are legitimate concerns terrorism. not the right way we should be pro- about section 1504, then let’s talk I take issue with my friend from ceeding. about ways to amend it and improve it. Oklahoma and his comments. There In September 2009, with Senator But let’s not, by overturning this has never been an effort in this legisla- Lugar’s help, I introduced legislation. rule, tell the world that we don’t be- tion to affect the supply of any source It was bipartisan. Senators MERKLEY, lieve in transparency and good govern- of energy here or anywhere around the WICKER, SCHUMER, LEAHY, DURBIN, ance, that we will turn our backs on world. That is being done. The question the theft and misuse of payments made FEINSTEIN, MENENDEZ, and others is, Where does the money go that is by U.S. companies, that we do not care joined in that effort. The SEC was di- being used to exploit these resources? about the people of those countries rected to develop rules on oil, gas, and Do they go to the people of the country who suffer the consequences, and that mining companies as to how the disclo- where the resource is located or do we do not care about American inves- sures could be made on the U.S. stock they go for corruption? That is what tors who deserve this critical informa- exchange so they could disclose their we attempted to do—Senator Lugar tion so they can have confidence in the rights and payments made to foreign and I and others. I thank Senators companies they invest their hard- governments. That is what we man- earned money in. This resolution is an LEAHY and DURBIN, who was on the dated. Why do we want to know that? affront to the values and to the citi- floor earlier and was one of our early Because these royalties and payments zens of our great and good Nation. leaders, Senators MENENDEZ and were basically bribes to government The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- WICKER. We did this not only in the leaders because it never went to the ator from Maryland. Senate Foreign Relations Committee people. It was in the U.S. interest, not Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, let me at the time I was chairman of the Sen- only because of how those funds were thank Senator LEAHY for his com- ate U.S. Helsinki Commission—the used against our principles and not ments. Ten years ago, I was privileged Helsinki Commission, and Senator only did it finance illegal activities, to be elected by the people of Maryland WICKER was helping, we worked in that but it could have been a source for sta- to represent them in the U.S. Senate. I organization to see how we could deal ble governments, which was important came to the Senate with Senator with transparency and how the Amer- for U.S. interests that we have stable BROWN at that time. It was our first ican leadership could help the inter- governments. It helps us in our foreign year. Senator BROWN had the oppor- national effort to end the resource policy and national security. It also tunity to serve on the Banking Com- curse. As a result, legislation was au- gives us a stable source of oil, gas, and mittee. I had the opportunity to serve thored and introduced in order to try minerals. Investors have the right to on the Senate Foreign Relations Com- to deal with this issue. Senator Lugar know. They have the right to know in mittee. Today I hold the position on and I authored a bill, a bill that said what countries their companies are in- the Senate Foreign Relations Com- we want to know where the money is vesting their stockholder investments. mittee that Senator Lugar held when I going so we can track the money. We It was a reasonable request by Con- first went on the committee; that is, wanted to be able, for the people of gress. One of my colleagues indicated the ranking member of the committee. that nation, to say: We know money is that it was held to be inappropriate by I remember one of the very first coming in now. Our leaders show us our courts. That was on a process issue. hearings we had in the Senate Foreign where the money is going. It was not on a substantive issue. That

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Do you really believe panies missing out on an estimated $17.4 bil- to have ample time in order to comply that with the law saying that the SEC lion due to production disruptions. with the rule. cannot bring out a rule that is substan- Myth 1: Compliance costs for disclosure I just want to make this point. It cre- tially the same in form, unless author- could reach as high as $591 million per year. ates a level playing field. It does not Facts: The only comprehensive cost anal- ized by a subsequent law of Congress— ysis submitted to the SEC concluded that put American companies at a disadvan- do you really believe that will not be the total aggregate compliance cost to in- tage. This is a level playing field. Thir- challenged in the courts with lengthy dustry in the first year would amount to ty countries already require this. The litigation before we will ever see an- $181M and would not exceed $74 million per EU requires this. Canada requires this. other rule take effect? annum in subsequent years. Do you want to know why they did it? Let us be clear about this. I am going The $591 million number comes from an Because the United States led. We to continue to do everything I can to outdated SEC estimate from the 2012 version passed the law. I met with the Euro- of the final rule. The reason the number is so make sure that the people of these na- high is because API claimed that there were peans. I met with the Canadians. They tions get the wealth of their country. I countries that prohibited disclosure and if said: This is a good bill. You are our am going to do everything I can. I am companies were forced to disclose they leaders. You are doing it. We are going going to work with all my colleagues would have to hold a ‘fire-sale’ of all of their to do it also so they did it. It is in ef- on both sides of the aisle. I really do assets in that country—this number comes fect in these countries. Oil companies believe in the sincerity of my col- from the assumption that every company and mineral companies have complied leagues, that they believe in this trans- would lose their assets in these countries with it. They are fine. Guess what. It parency. It is going to be tested. I am where disclosure was supposedly prohibited. wasn’t difficult. Shell, BP, France’s It is (1) disingenuous to quote this cost esti- going to come back and see where we mate from the 2012 regulation, instead of Total, Russian’s Rosneft, Lukoil, can make sure that 1504 is enforced be- quoting form the 2016 regulation, and (2) ir- Gazprom—their huge giant—all have cause if I heard my chairman—and I re- relevant because the SEC now allows for reported. It has not caused any com- spect him greatly, we work on a lot of companies to apply for an exemption if they petitive problems. They are not losing issues together—when the chairman believe disclosure is prohibited in a country, any proprietary rights, as has been says that he is going to make sure the therefore the above estimate is wildly inac- suggested. There has been no harm SEC complies with all congressional curate. done. mandates—this is a congressional man- Myth 2: U.S. companies are at a competitive disadvantage because non-U.S. compa- When I listen to the cost-benefit date—and it is our responsibility to analysis and listen to our distinguished nies do not have to make the same disclo- make sure the SEC complies with Sec- sures, and the rule applies only to public chairman talk about the data is not tion 1504. If our colleagues pass this companies. really available, the reason the data is CRA—and I hope you don’t—it is our Facts: The U.S. law covers all oil, gas and not available is because we don’t have responsibility to make sure the SEC mining companies listed on U.S. stock ex- disclosure. If we get the information, complies with 1504. I am going to be changes not simply companies based in the then we will be able to tell exactly how here urging in every way I can to make United States. Thus, the rule covers all companies filing an annual report with the SEC we can deal with the problems in sure that happens. Ghana or Nigeria or in Equatorial both foreign and domestic. This includes for- Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- eign oil majors BP, Shell, and Total as well Guinea or problems in so many coun- sent that the statement from Publish as leading state-owned oil companies from tries where the people are hurting with What You Pay, which talks about a lot China and Brazil, such as PetroChina and some of the worst poverty rates in the of the different aspects and myths that Petrobras. But a significant number of for- world. We will be able to find that in- have been said, be printed in the eign companies are already required to make formation out, but if we don’t know RECORD. the same type of disclosures under the rules what is being paid by U.S. companies, There being no objection, the mate- in other jurisdictions. how do you do a cost-benefit analysis? rial was ordered to be printed in the Since the passage of Cardin-Lugar in 2010, important U.S. allies have followed our lead- I don’t know how you could possibly do RECORD, as follows: ership in payment transparency and now 30 it. PUBLISH WHAT YOU PAY UNITED STATES countries have adopted their own mandatory I heard the numbers, the cost of com- MYTH BUSTING: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CARDIN- disclosure rules for companies listed on their pliance, and I would challenge that. I LUGAR ANTI-CORRUPTION PROVISION stock exchanges. And while in many ways, would challenge the cost of compliance The Cardin-Lugar Provision requires US- the Canadian and EU requirements are more numbers because this information is al- listed oil, gas and mining companies to pub- stringent (and also cover private companies), ready available. Companies know licly disclose the project-level payments the laws in all jurisdictions have been where their money is going. It is a nor- they made to the U.S. and foreign govern- deemed equivalent by the SEC. Companies mal business issue. I heard it is going ments for the extraction of oil, gas and min- are allowed to submit the same reports in all jurisdictions. These laws already cover the to cost hundreds of millions of dollars erals. The Cardin-Lugar provision is a landmark vast majority of companies that compete of contracts. I don’t want to minimize piece of bipartisan legislation. The final with American firms including Russia’s the cost, but as a percentage of the anticorruption rule implementing the state-owned companies, Gazprom and business they are doing, it is minor. Cardin-Lugar provision passed by the SEC in Rosneft which are required to report in the The benefit we get if the money can go June 2016 significantly advances inter- UK. to the people and deal with these hor- national efforts to curb corruption and has Myth 3: The SEC rule is burdensome. rible conditions that we see in these re- been applauded by investors, companies and Facts: The Cardin-Lugar Provision is a re- governments around the world. However, a porting requirement, which is not onerous source-wealthy countries, then it is and does not limit the operations of oil, gas, certainly worth the effort. That is part great deal of misinformation has been spread about the rule. Below you will find evidence and mining companies; the rule simply re- of our effort in dealing with other correcting the most glaring inaccuracies put quires companies to publicly report pay- countries, to try to lift up the standard forward. ments that companies would track in the of living in so many of these countries. But before getting into the myths, here are normal course of doing business The rule is So when we look at, again, what is at some hard facts. a straightforward requirement to make that stake—what is at stake? And that is to Research concludes that increased trans- data transparent and usable by investors and allow the wealth of a country to go to parency resulting from the disclosures re- citizens. Leading global oil and mining ma- its people for its stability. I have heard quired by the Cardin-Lugar Rule could lower jors such as Shell, BP and Total, along with the cost of capital for covered companies by Russian state-owned companies, are entering my colleagues say: Well, we are not $6.3 billion to $12.6 billion. their second year of reporting under EU against this. The law is still there. All The international norm of resource sector rules without any negative impact or re- we are talking about is this regulation. payment transparency, built on strong ported issue. In fact, many major companies Once we pass this CRA, we are going to American leadership, is estimated to have have publicly endorsed this type of reporting

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.054 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S641 and have called on the U.S. to ensure our Warren, Baldwin, Markey, Coons, Shaheen, Facts: There is no evidence justifying the rules are harmonized with those other mar- Whitehouse, Menendez and Merkley, ex- claims that the Cardin-Lugar rule would kets. pressed explicit support for the SEC’s inter- have any negative impacts on security. In Myth 4: The rule requires companies to dis- pretation of Section 1504 during the rule- fact, all available evidence points to the con- close proprietary information that could making process. trary. The United Steelworkers explicitly help foreign competitors. The rule has significant benefits for inves- argue that the Cardin Lugar anti-corruption Facts: The SEC rule requires companies to tors. Throughout the rulemaking process, in- rule will enhance employee safety. Gen- disclose payment information; it does not vestors worth nearly $10 trillion of assets erally, 1504 helps protect U.S. national secu- mandate the disclosure of proprietary, con- under management repeatedly emphasized rity interests by preventing the corruption, fidential or commercially sensitive informa- their support for payment disclosures under secrecy, and government abuse that has tion by companies. Numerous companies are the rule. The rule provides investors with catalyzed conflict, instability, and violent already reporting under the similar rules in critical information for assessing risk in the extremist movements in Africa, the Middle other markets, such as Shell and BP, and often murky and unstable oil, gas and min- East and beyond. As ISIS demonstrated, non- none have reported any competitive harm ing sectors, with positive follow-on impacts state actors can benefit from trading natural from payment transparency. However, the for firms that benefit from increased inves- resources in order to finance their oper- tor confidence and certainty. The increased SEC’s rule nonetheless contains safeguards. ations; project level reporting will make hid- transparency resulting from this provision To the extent a company legitimately being imports from non-state actors more dif- has been estimated to lower the cost of cap- lieves that disclosure will risk exposing pro- ficult, thereby limiting their ability finance ital for covered U.S.-listed firms by $6.3 bil- prietary information, they can apply to the themselves with natural resource revenues. lion to $12.6 billion. SEC for exemptive relief on a case-by-case Myth 12: This law increases prices at the Myth 8: We don’t need Cardin-Lugar be- basis. cause we have the Foreign Corrupt Practices pump and takes capital away from other Furthermore, a competitor cannot use pay- business opportunities. ment data to ‘‘reverse engineer’’ a com- Act. Facts: While the Foreign Corrupt Practices Facts: All of the data suggests that trans- pany’s return on investment or the contract Act (FCPA) remains an important statutory parency actually helps company balance terms of a specific project. Complex factors tool critical to fighting global corruption, sheets by lowering the cost of capital and in- such as access to technology and finance de- its scope is confined to bribery. Bribery is creasing investor confidence. On the other termine a company’s success in winning bids only one tool used to facilitate corruption. hand, corruption costs oil and mining com- with host governments—not transparency of All too often, it is the legal payments made panies millions of dollars every year from in- payments. Extractive companies that are to governments that are misused, or si- stability and fragility in resource-rich coun- covered by payment disclosure requirements phoned off to the bank accounts of a countries, which contributes to increased oper- in other jurisdictions have continued to win try’s corrupt elites. However, the fact that ating risks, waste, inefficiency, and delays. bids. companies are already subject to the FCPA For instance, between 2011 and 2014, the con- Myth 5: This rule was not properly vetted does mean the burden of reporting payments flict in Libya fueled in part by citizens’ frus- by Congress. to comply with the Cardin-Lugar rule is tration with corruption and poor governance Facts: The Cardin-Lugar Amendment en- minimal; companies are already required to caused five U.S.-listed oil companies to miss joyed bipartisan support and was subject to collect and track payment information as out on more than $17 billion in revenues due extensive review in both the House and Sen- part of the books and records provision of to production disruptions in the country. ate, and it was unanimously supported in the FCPA. In this way, the two laws work Mr. CARDIN. Let me conclude, for conference. It is based on underlying legisla- very well together in creating a strong regu- years, Congress has been fighting to tion with a long Congressional history that latory foundation to prevent corruption. was the subject of multiple hearings in both Myth 9: This rule is the same as the one shine a light on the billions of dollars the House and Senate. In fact, the first present back to be revised by the courts in 2013 paid by extracted companies to foreign cursor was a Republican House resolution on and did not incorporate the Court’s or indus- governments. By taking away one of oil and mining transparency from 2006. For try concerns. the only tools we have to shine a light this reason, propositions to repeal the rule Facts: The American Petroleum Institute on extracted payments’ associated cor- signify an inappropriate use of the CRA. The filed suit to challenge the original rule ruption, we are sending a message to issued by the SEC in 2012, despite its largest intent of the CRA is to address midnight corrupt leaders around the world that rules, not rules like 1504 that have undergone member companies claiming to support years of extensive regulatory development. transparency. The earlier version of the rule the United States does not care about Myth 6: The SEC rule will cause companies was vacated by the court and sent back to corruption; that we won’t hold them to lose out on foreign contracts. the SEC in 2013 on narrow procedural accountable, and that they should con- Facts: Opponents of the Cardin-Lugar anti- grounds, not on the substance of the rule. tinue with business as usual: Exploit- corruption provision have claimed that com- Since then, the SEC has had another two ing their own people, and perhaps even years of public consultations and internal panies could be placing themselves at odds funding terrorist organizations with with legal or contractual prohibitions on re- analysis, resulting in an even more robust porting in countries like Angola, China, record with substantial evidence supporting some of their secret proceeds. It is not Qatar, and Cameroon and may subsequently each aspect of the 2016 rule. That evidence in our national interest to stop an lose out on business in those countries due to also includes the experience of companies al- anticorruption rule that bolsters the transparency rule. In the six years since ready reporting on their payments under America’s national security, advances this law was passed, no company has pro- similar rules in other jurisdictions. The our humanitarian and anticorruption duced evidence that any country prohibits SEC’s final rule strikes an appropriate bal- goals, and demonstrates U.S. moral ance by requiring the level of transparency this type of disclosure, and numerous sub- leadership. missions to the SEC have demonstrated no Congress intended, while also accommo- dating industry concerns by providing com- I urge my colleagues to join me in such prohibitions exist. The experience of voting against this resolution of dis- companies already reporting under the par- panies with the opportunity to apply for allel disclosure rules in other countries like- case-by-case exemptions when they face re- approval. porting challenges and a generous phase-in wise confirms the absence of any prohibition I yield the floor. period. Reporting will only begin at the end on reporting; companies like BP and Shell The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- of 2018. ator from Iowa. have disclosed project-level payments made Myth 10: Sections 1504 (extractives trans- NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH in Angola, China, and Qatar with no reper- parency) and 1502 (conflict minerals) are the cussions. Nor have these companies lost out same thing/substantially similar. Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I on bids because of payment disclosure re- Facts: Section 1504 requires U.S.-listed oil want to take a few minutes to com- quirements. Nonetheless, the Cardin-Lugar and mining companies to annually disclose ment on some of the initial reactions provision contains safeguards to ensure that the company’s major payments made to the that I have heard from my Democratic companies that face a legitimate problem U.S. and foreign governments. It is simply a can apply for an exemption from disclosure colleagues on the President’s nomina- financial disclosure of payments companies tion of Judge Gorsuch to be an Asso- on a case by case basis. already track. Myth 7: The Cardin-Lugar provision has Section 1502 mandates that a certain set of ciate Justice of the Supreme Court. nothing to do with the SEC or investors. companies using tin, tungsten, tantalum or First of all, even before we had the Facts: It is important to note that the SEC gold in their products undertake supply nominee, there were many of the extractives transparency rule is not a case of chain due diligence and report annually to Democratic Members vowing to fili- agency overreach. Congress specifically man- the SEC regarding the source of the minerals buster the nominee, site unseen. That, dated the SEC issue this rule in Section 1504 used in their products and whether the min- of course, is very unfortunate, as well of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, and by issuing erals are sourced in conflict areas in the as being ridiculous—in other words, the 2016 rule the SEC complied with the will Democratic Republic of Congo. of Congress. Both Senator Cardin and Sen- Myth 11: The Cardin-Lugar rule poses a se- saying you are going to filibuster ator Lugar, the original sponsors of the bill, curity risk for American companies and somebody before you even know who along with Senators Leahy, Durbin, Brown, their employees working abroad. the nominee is. But of course, given

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.038 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S642 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 how the minority has treated the minority leader stated that part of the ments about why we should delay a President’s Cabinet nominees so far, it ‘‘fair process’’ is a 60-vote threshold. I hearing on Judge Gorsuch. is not exactly surprising that they suppose that if you are already com- But as my friend and former chair- would say this before the President mitted to attempting a filibuster on a man of the Judiciary Committee, Sen- even nominated somebody for the Supreme Court nominee before you ator LEAHY, often noted, Supreme Court. even know who that person might be, Court nominees don’t have the oppor- Then, of course, this week the Presi- then you might consider that part of a tunity to respond to personal attacks dent announced his nominee. Judge fair process. outside of their confirmation hearing. Gorsuch, of course, was confirmed by Of course, we all know—all Repub- So I am going to consult with the the Senate in 2006 without a single licans and Democrats know—that ranking member on timing for the ‘‘no’’ vote and is universally respected launching a filibuster against a Su- hearing. But I can tell you what we are as one of the finest and most fair- preme Court nominee is not part of a not going to do. We are not going to minded judges in the country. In fact— fair process. It never has been. But I delay this hearing, especially in the get this—one of President Obama’s So- suppose we should cut our colleagues face of all of these attacks on his licitors General called him ‘‘one of the just a little bit of slack. They are hav- record and character, which, both for most thoughtful and brilliant judges to ing a hard time figuring out how to the record and for his character, are have served our Nation over the last make good on their promise to attack unjustified. century.’’ the nominee no matter who it is, when So I will conclude with this. I had the Now, if an Obama Solicitor General they have now been presented with a good fortune of meeting one-on-one says that and that is not mainstream nominee with impeccable credentials with Judge Gorsuch yesterday. He is as enough, I don’t know what is. After the as well as broad bipartisan support. impressive a person in person as he is President’s announcement, something This brings me to the second brief on paper. I expect that as my friends very interesting happened. Right out of point that I want to make. Judge on the other side of the aisle meet the gate, there were a number of Sen- Gorsuch had barely finished speaking Judge Gorsuch and actually review his ate Democrats calling for ‘‘a hearing at the White House, and there were al- record, they will find him to be an im- and a vote.’’ Well, that certainly ready attacks on the nominee by some minently qualified and universally re- sounds very encouraging. The press on the left. Some of my colleagues on spected judge, whose decisions faith- picked up on these comments, and one the other side of the aisle had already fully applying the text of the law place newspaper even reported that after taken to the Senate floor to attack and him well within the judicial main- learning who the nominee was, there mischaracterize Judge Gorsuch’s stream. were already seven Senate Democrats record. Though we expected it, these Now, maybe people that say they opposed to filibustering this nominee. scurrilous attacks are untoward and want a mainstream judge wanted an At first glance, it appears those obviously misplaced. After all, those on activist judge who will read the text Democrats were trying to be consistent the left trot out the same tired argu- the way the judge wants it read for with their stance from last year that a ments against every Republican nomi- their own personal views, as opposed to nominee deserves a hearing and an up- nee. the intent by Congress. But Judge or-down vote. But of course, now they Now, you know, going back a few Gorsuch is doing what any judge conveniently seem to have dropped the years—maybe, too far for some of you should do reading the law. He said: If up-or-down portion of that stand. younger Members—they attacked Jus- Now, isn’t that a nice trick, a new any judge likes every decision he tice Stevens because he ‘‘revealed an trick. Take, for example, one of my makes, then he is not a very good colleagues, who last year said: ‘‘The extraordinary lack of sensitivity to judge. Constitution says the Senate shall ad- problems that women face.’’ Now, this is what we are going to do. They called Justice Kennedy a sexist vise and consent, and that means hav- We are going to do our due diligence, who ‘‘would be a disaster for women.’’ ing an up-or-down vote.’’ But oddly, and we are going to send a question- They said there was ‘‘ample reason to just yesterday, that same colleague naire to Judge Gorsuch in the next day fear’’ Justice Souter. Of course, you said: ‘‘I support a 60-vote margin for all or so. I will expect he will answer that Supreme Court nominees.’’ know what turned out. Justices Ste- questionnaire promptly, and then we That is a very nice sleight of hand. vens and Souter turned out to be favor- will do what I said before the election, But most of the Senators are not that ites of the left, and too often Justice before we knew who was going to be gullible. The Washington Post Fact Kennedy has ruled the liberal way. the next President. Checker certainly took notice of their This morning, the Washington Post In fact, we thought it was going to be wordsmithing. That has earned them editorial board noted that, while we ar- Secretary Clinton. When I say we, the two Pinocchios. When you look at the gued last year—meaning the paper ar- country as a whole had that in their facts, a 60-vote threshold has never gued last year—that the President mind. There was no doubt about it. So been a standard, as the minority leader should not fill a Supreme Court va- I said before the election, as the one re- said yesterday. Otherwise, we would cancy that occurs during a Presidential sponsible for not having a hearing on not have two of the current justices election year, Senate Republicans— the previous nominee, that, whoever sitting on the Supreme Court. quoting the Post—‘‘refrained from tar- was elected President, this process was Of course, my colleagues tried unsuc- ring Mr. Garland personally.’’ going to move forward. cessfully to filibuster Justice Alito. Now, in contrast, the paper noted So we will have that hearing where The Senate voted 72 to 25 to invoke clo- that this dissent is unwarranted this Members can ask this nominee any ture. He was then confirmed 58 to 42 on early by writing this: ‘‘Trashing Mr. questions they deem appropriate. We an up-or-down vote. Gorsuch as an outlandish radical, de- will vote on him in committee, and the Justice Thomas, now on the Supreme spite his impeccable credentials, the full Senate will vote on his nomina- Court for 25 years, was confirmed 52 to wide respect he commands in his field, tion. But given his exemplary record 48. There was no cloture vote on Jus- his long service as an appeals court and the facts as we know them, I ex- tice Thomas’s nomination. In fact, the judge and the unanimous voice vote he pect this nominee to be confirmed. Senate did not set any sort of a re- received the last time the Senate con- I yield the floor. quirement that there be 60 votes for 7 sidered him for the Federal bench is, at The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- of the 8 justices serving on the Court. the very least, premature.’’ ator from Virginia. So, if there has been any sort of re- Our friends on the other side of the Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am quirement or practice in the Senate on aisle would do well to take note of the going to try to be very brief. Supreme Court nominees, it has, in Washington Post’s observation. So I I am rising to return to the topic of fact, been that the nominee does not would like to make this point. If the the effort of the CRA to roll back need 60 votes, although many of them process we have witnessed for the transparency in the oil and gas indus- received that kind of support. President’s Cabinet nominees is any try, and I will speak briefly. I know my We already know some Members have guide, I am quite confident that we will colleague from Arizona is here and pledged to filibuster the nominee. This hear all manner of reasons and argu- wants to speak too.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.056 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S643 The issue has been described. It is an wealth go to dictators and further cor- I urge my colleagues to vote against SEC rule requiring energy companies ruption. What are you going to do the CRA repeal of this rule. to disclose the payments they make to about it, as the Secretary of State, Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, during foreign governments for natural re- working on development, for example, my time in the Congress, I have had sources. The reason is that many coun- of some of these poor nations? And he the privilege of visiting many other na- tries with abundant natural resources talked about high-minded values and tions, often fragile or new democracies are run by dictators, and there has virtues of the things the United States struggling to meet the needs of grow- been a long history of payments by oil could do that would battle corruption ing numbers of youth and emerging companies—American and others—to and increase transparency. middle classes. those dictators that don’t get to the He didn’t tell me that he had been For example, many of the fastest people and actually further the corrup- personally involved in an effort to de- growing economies are in the devel- tion of the country. feat the legislation that passed Con- oping nations of Africa and Asia. In Just one example: An IMF report gress in 2010. Now there is press out fact, a few years ago, the World Bank stated that in just 1 year, 1998, the suggesting that is the case, and he said Africa was on ‘‘the brink of an Government of Equatorial Guinea re- didn’t tell me that apparently there economic take-off.’’ ceived $130 million in oil revenue, and was an effort underway to undermine Such economic gains should be wel- $96 million of that went directly into the transparency statute that was so come news for lifting millions out of the personal bank account of the dic- important. poverty, providing better basic services tator, Teodoro Obiang. Meanwhile, I have to put it on the record. Within such as education and health care, and hunger in that country is rampant, and 1 day—within 1 day of the Senate ap- improving the lives of women. that is what led to this. proving Mr. Tillerson for Secretary of They are also opportunities to create I am on the Foreign Relations Com- State, the Trump administration has more markets for our goods and serv- mittee. In preparation for our hearing relaxed sanctions on Russia. That hap- ices, to add to our global allies, and to on the nomination of Rex Tillerson, pened today. And now, apparently, we reverse the conditions that lead to vio- the former CEO of ExxonMobil, for are going to vote to eliminate a law lent extremism. Secretary of State, I read a wonderful that requires transparency among com- But for those of us who have visited report that was done by Senator Lugar panies like ExxonMobil. many such nations, we are also aware when he was the ranking member of I kind of feel like I got snookered at of a major impediment to realizing the Senate Foreign Relations Com- the hearing. What public interest is at these improvements—namely effective mittee. stake in rolling this back? I don’t and clean government. October 2008: Report to members of think there is any. You see, too often, endemic corrup- the Foreign Relations Committee from Some say: Well, look, it is about lev- tion—frequently around lucrative ex- the ranking member. The title was eling the playing field. The United tractive oil and minerals—robs untold ‘‘The Petroleum And Poverty Paradox: States shouldn’t be at a competitive sums from generation after generation Assessing U.S. And International Com- disadvantage, but U.S. companies are in many of these nations. munity Efforts to Fight The Resource at a disadvantage. Companies listed on Just look at such oil rich nations as Curse.’’ I read this. I read the book the U.S. stock exchange—wherever Angola, Venezuela, Nigeria, or Equa- ‘‘Private Empire,’’ a recent history of they are from—are required to do this torial Guinea, where government after ExxonMobil written by journalist transparency, these disclosures, and government squandered and stole the Steve Coll, to prepare for my examina- many are already doing it. Because we oil wealth from its own people, far too tion of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of have led, the European Union and Can- many of whom still live in terrible State. ada have said this is a great idea, and squalor. This particular report was the basis they are doing it too. Some of you may remember the dev- for the 2010 law that was described by It would be a horrible thing if the astating column Nicholas Kristof wrote Senator CARDIN, and it was sponsored United States pulled away from its in 2015, ‘‘Deadliest Country for Kids.’’ in a bipartisan way. It didn’t prohibit leadership. Here is how he describe Angola: ‘‘This any company from doing anything. It In conclusion, I am concerned that in is a country laden with oil, diamonds, only required companies that pay for- the opening 2 weeks of the Trump ad- Porsche-driving millionaires and tod- eign governments to disclose those ministration—despite a lot of promises dlers starving to death. . . . this well payments. about what they would do in the econ- off but corrupt African nation is I voted yesterday against Rex omy—what has the administration ranked No. 1 in the world in the rate at Tillerson for Secretary of State be- done about the economy? which children die before the age of cause I believe a public official’s duty— On day one, they entered an Execu- five. . . . Under the corrupt and auto- especially Secretary of State—has to tive order retracting an FHA mortgage cratic president, Jose Educardo dos be to the country. I was worried, based reduction, thereby requiring home- Santos, who has ruled for 35 years, on three areas of his testimony, that owners with FHA loans to have to pay billons of dollars flow to a small elite— Rex Tillerson could not set aside his more for their monthly mortgages. as kids starve.’’ loyalty to ExxonMobil. They have done a Federal hiring ban He continues: ‘‘There are many ways He refused to answer questions that I that falls disproportionately on vet- for a leader to kill his people, and al- asked him about ExxonMobil’s knowl- erans because the Federal workforce is though dos Santos isn’t committing edge of climate science, yet their ef- a veteran-heavy workforce. They have genocide he is presiding over the sys- forts to convince the public that the done the immigration rules that we tematic looting of his state and neglect science was not settled. He told me he have discussed which not only affect of his people . . . Let ’s hold dos Santos wouldn’t answer my questions. immigrants but have a dramatic nega- accountable and recognize that ex- He did not demonstrate to the com- tive effect on America’s technology in- treme corruption and negligence can be mittee’s satisfaction, in my view, that dustry. something close to a mass atrocity.’’ he could be independent in Russia. For And then in the first two uses of the In 2008, Republican Foreign Relations example, he said that ExxonMobil had CRA procedure since the 1990s, they Committee staff, under then-Senator not lobbied against sanctions against have eliminated a rule to allow more Richard Lugar, released a report on Russia, when we actually have the lob- pollution of streams in poor areas this scourge, ‘‘The Petroleum and Pov- bying forms to suggest they had. where coal is produced, and now this— erty Paradox.’’ In both of those areas, I found his re- allowing companies to escape trans- The report from Lugar discussed the sponses wanting, and I voted against parency and make the very kinds of ‘‘resource curse’’ which is a ‘‘phe- him. payments that lead to corruption in nomenon whereby large reserves of oil I will be honest. I asked him about foreign governments, corruption so se- or other resources often negatively af- the resource curse question, and today vere that a former Republican Member fect a country’s economic growth, cor- I kind of feel like I got snookered. of this body was compelled to write a ruption level and stability.’’ I said: There is a lot of concern about superb report in 2008 and have bipar- Why is this important? Let me quote these countries that let resource tisan legislation passed. from the report: ‘‘This ‘resource curse’

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.057 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S644 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 affects us as well as producing coun- parency, and good governance. It is The CRA was enacted in 1996 as part tries. It exacerbates global poverty hard to understand opposition to great- of the radical deregulatory and which can be a seedbed for terrorism, it er transparency. anticonsumer actions by shepherded by dulls the effect of our foreign assist- As such, I will vote against his meas- Newt Gingrich. Before now, the CRA ance, it empowers autocrats and dic- ure and I urge my colleagues, espe- has successfully been used to overturn tators, and it can crimp world petro- cially my Republican colleagues who only one rule. leum supplies by breeding instability. have made helping the world’s poor one There is a reason it has only been . . . This report argues that trans- of their endeavors to do the same, successfully used once. The CRA is a parency in revenues, expenditure and don’t vote to put more money in the blunt weapon. It is a poorly written wealth management from extractive pockets of the world’s worst autocrats law that comes with unintended con- industries is crucial to defeating the at the expense of the world’s most vul- sequences. The CRA allows Congress to resource curse.’’ nerable. strike down a rule in its entirety with Wise words from a wise man. Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, President only an hour of floor debate in the And so, this report became the basis Trump made bold claims about his in- House and without the ability to fili- for a very thoughtful, bipartisan law tention to ‘‘drain the swamp.’’ But here buster it in the Senate. that I was proud to support which tried we are, debating a measure that would This flawed process can undo years of to tackle this issue in a very common- do the exact opposite. The Senate is ac- careful work by stakeholders and Fed- sense manner. tually voting to kill an anticorruption eral agencies. Work done through an It simply required that the SEC issue regulation. open, thoughtful rulemaking process. a rule requiring all oil, gas, and min- This regulation was the result of bi- The Cardin-Lugar rule took years to fi- eral companies listed on the U.S. Stock partisan effort led by Senator Dick nalize. Republicans want to kill it in a Exchange to disclose royalties, bo- Lugar. Senator Lugar was my mentor day. nuses, fees, taxes, and other payments when I first joined the Senate. He And let’s be clear—it does kill the made to foreign governments as a helped me better understand the role regulation. Earlier today, Leader transparency tool for fighting corrup- and traditions of this body; and he MCCONNELL mischaracterized this ef- tion. showed me what it meant to be a fort. He said, ‘‘Let’s send the SEC back The U.S. law became the catalyst for statesmen. to the drawing board to promote trans- others: all 28 European Union member Senator Lugar was one of the most parency.’’ But that is not what the CRA does. It states have enacted similar legislation, thoughtful foreign policy experts to doesn’t send the agency ‘‘back to the followed by Norway and then Canada, serve in the Senate. He chaired the drawing board.’’ What it does do is pro- who are key players in extractive in- Foreign Relations Committee, and he hibit the agency from issuing another dustries—further establishing an inter- was deeply respected on both sides of regulation that is ‘‘substantially the national norm. the aisle. same,’’ unless Congress specifically au- Moreover, a study conducted by busi- He understood the ‘‘resource curse.’’ thorizes the agency to do so through ness professors at George Washington How developing countries with billions University and Catholic University subsequent legislation. of dollars in oil, gas, or other valuable The courts have not yet determined found that increased transparency re- minerals often had the worst poverty, sulting from disclosures required under how different a new regulation must be how the governments of these coun- so that is not ‘‘substantially the the rule lowers the cost of capital for tries made deals with huge corpora- covered U.S. listed firms by up to $12.6 same.’’ This discourages an agency tions to sell their resources, but the from issuing a new similar regulation billion. citizens of those countries never saw So claims that this is burdensome once a rule has been blocked. the benefits. Instead, corrupt leaders This is not going back to the drawing and will result in competitive harm to would enrich themselves, rather than American firms are unfounded and sim- board. This is going back to corrup- use the funds to pay for healthcare, tion. ply untrue. education, infrastructure, or housing. So here we are, 4 months since our Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, Senator Lugar, with Senator CARDIN, intelligence services disclosed that a with this resolution, the Senate major- developed legislation to address the re- ity is continuing its rush to overturn former KGB official led a cyber act of source curse, to bring transparency to war on our Nation and democracy—and Obama administration consumer and an opaque system. The result was sec- investor protections, this time by tar- what is the priority of the Republican tion 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act. It di- geting a bipartisan anticorruption majority? rected the SEC to issue a rule requiring Establishing an independent commis- measure. all oil, gas, and mineral companies list- In 2008, under the direction of Sen- sion to look into the Russian attack? No. ed on U.S. stock exchanges to disclose ator Richard Lugar, Republican staff of Taking up bipartisan legislation to the payments they make to foreign the Senate Foreign Relations Com- tighten sanctions on Russia for its at- governments. mittee produced a report, ‘‘The Petro- tack on our Nation? This allows the citizens of those leum and Poverty Paradox: Assessing No. countries to hold their leaders account- U.S. and International Community Ef- In fact, not a single Republican has able. It shines a light on corruption. forts to Fight the Resource Curse.’’ even come to the Senate floor to dis- And when citizens can demand that They traveled to some of the most re- cuss these grave matters of national this money is used for their benefit, it source-rich countries in the world and security. reduces their need for foreign aid. explored how government corruption, Ronald Reagan, who understood the Opponents of this rule claimed it fraud, and instability prevented those Russian mentality so well, must be would put American companies at a nations’ people from benefitting from turning in his grave to see this abdica- disadvantage. In fact, it made the U.S. their oil, gas, and mineral reserves. tion by his party. a leader. Other countries followed suit Rather than spurring national eco- Instead, what is the majority party’s and passed similar requirements. nomic development, benefits were con- priority? The Cardin-Lugar rule became the centrated among government and mili- Well, repealing health care from mil- global standard for transparency. tary elites and organized crime. Ac- lions without an alternative—and, now, Today, 80 percent of the world’s largest cording to the nonprofit research orga- trying to strip this good governance publicly listed oil, gas and mining com- nization Global Financial Integrity, in anticorruption law—one led by a mem- panies—including state-owned compa- 2012, developing countries ‘‘lose rough- ber of their own party and subject to nies from Russia, China, and Brazil— ly $1 trillion per year to crime, corrup- years of debate and input—aimed at ad- are subject to disclosure rules. tion, and tax evasion.’’ dressing corruption that robs so much This resolution of disapproval is just The 2008 Foreign Relation Committee from the world’s poor—not exactly one of many misguided efforts by Re- report led to the bipartisan Cardin- draining the swamp. publicans to use the Congressional Re- Lugar amendment to direct the Securi- This isn’t an onerous rule. It is sim- view Act to kill regulations that pro- ties and Exchange Commission to re- ply a matter of disclosure, trans- tect the most vulnerable. quire that all oil, gas, and mineral

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.042 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S645 companies listed on U.S. stock ex- tory of the Supreme Court. From his vote on the Senate floor. I am con- changes disclose their payments to for- landmark decision that protected our fident that when he receives that up- eign governments, including royalties, Second Amendment right to bear arms or-down vote, he will fill the vacancy fees, taxes, and bonuses. Congress en- to his staunch defense of limited gov- on the Supreme Court. acted the Cardin-Lugar amendment as ernment and enumerated powers, Jus- I yield back. section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act. tice Scalia stood as a bulwark against The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- These transparency provisions are any erosion of our constitutional ator from Hawaii. critical to combatting corruption in re- rights by an activist judiciary. He did Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, back on source-rich nations. And these provi- this with his unshakable commitment the topic of the evening: the Congres- sions are critical to protecting inves- to an originalist interpretation of the sional Review Act action to overturn tors by ensuring that they have a clear Constitution. Through this lens, he did the SEC’s rule. I am just kind of at a loss for words. picture of companies’ interactions with not read words that were not there or There are people back home asking foreign nations. infer intent that did not exist. Instead, As the Foreign Relations Committee how politics is going, and they have a Justice Scalia simply understood the certain set of assumptions about the report noted: ‘‘transparency in extrac- Constitution, as the Founders under- tive industries abroad is in our inter- way Congress works. They watch stood it. ‘‘House of Cards.’’ They watch movies ests because mineral wealth breeds cor- Judge Scalia’s passing marked a wa- about politics. They have watched ruption, which dulls the effects of U.S. tershed moment for the future of our foreign assistance; inequitable dis- other TV shows on Hulu and Netflix, country. Suddenly, in the midst of the whatever it may be. I submit to you tribution of mineral revenues creates last Presidential campaign, voters were civil unrest, threatening political and that what we are doing right now is so empowered to determine the philo- corrupt, so grotesque, so obvious, so energy instability and adding a price sophical balance of the Supreme Court premium to commodities such as oil trite that it wouldn’t even make the at the polls. By entrusting Republicans cut as a plot for a TV show about poli- and gas; and energy rich countries can with the stewardship of our Federal become emboldened militarily.’’ tics because who would believe that the Government, voters signaled their de- Republican Congress, as one of their The Cardin-Lugar amendment con- sire for change and for the values that tinued American leadership in first acts, would pass a law prohibiting our party embraces. From strong sepa- anticorruption efforts, and has estab- the implementation of a rule that re- ration of powers to a commitment to lished a new global standard. Similar quires oil companies to disclose what federalism, to religious freedom, people rules ale now in effect in Europe, Nor- kind of foreign payments they are in Arizona and around the country way, and Canada and apply to 80 per- making for the privilege of extracting wanted to restore these foundational cent of the world’s largest publicly list- resources. principles. Now, President Trump’s ed oil, gas, and mining companies, in- So what does that mean? You have nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to cluding state-owned oil companies in oil companies that in order to extract the Supreme Court will help usher in Russia, China, and Brazil. resources in places like Africa and else- While many of the world’s largest ex- that change and solidify those values where—mostly poor countries around tractive businesses have expressed sup- on the Court for a generation to come. the globe—they have to cut a deal with port for transparency, including BP, Earlier this week, I had the oppor- whoever is in charge of the government Shell, and Newmont Mining, the SEC tunity to attend the ceremony at the in order to have access to that re- rule has been strongly opposed by a White House and listen to Judge source. Whether it is in Equatorial narrow group, including ExxonMobil. I Gorsuch accept his nomination. I was Guinea, Indonesia, Africa, Myanmar, or am concerned to see the Senate acting impressed by his humble respect for elsewhere, they cut a deal with the to repeal this rule and prohibit the the law and for his commitment to governing despot, usually. That money SEC from ever establishing a similar service. I was particularly struck by very often makes it directly into the anticorruption and investor-protection his recognition that ‘‘it is for Congress, pockets of the family of the people who measure in the same week that it voted not the courts, to write new laws’’ and run the country. This is what Senator to confirm Rex Tillerson, former CEO that a Justice should make decisions CARDIN was elucidating, as was Senator of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of based on what the law demands, not LEAHY and the ranking member, Sen- State. the outcome that he or she desires. ator BROWN. There is no logical reason to go I also appreciate his experience as an But this issue was new to me, and I against international norms and repeal appellate court judge. This experience came to the floor not as a member of a rule supported by much of the regu- has given him a firm understanding of the Senate Foreign Relations Com- lated industry, investors, and advo- a properly functioning Federal circuit. mittee but as a citizen. I can’t believe cates for transparency and government As someone who has tried to reform an we are doing this. This is one of the reform in favor of a narrow opposition oversized and overworked Ninth Cir- stinkiest pieces of legislation that I led by ExxonMobil. I urge my col- cuit, I really appreciate that insight. have seen in my now 5 years in the leagues to reject this special-interest Judge Gorsuch is an accomplished, Senate and my 8 years in the Hawaii favor to ExxonMobil and maintain this mainstream jurist with a judicial phi- State Legislature, in my life in poli- important tool to fight corruption and losophy worthy of Judge Scalia’s seat. tics. I can’t believe that we would have protect investors. We can be confident that he will read the gall to put a bill on the floor to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the law as written and not attempt to prevent us from disclosing what kinds ator from Arizona is recognized. legislate from the bench, but if we of foreign payments—that is a euphe- (The remarks of Mr. FLAKE per- allow rigid partisan and ideological mism—are being made to despots and taining to the introduction of S. 276 are calculus to seep into our confirmation autocrats around the planet. These are printed in today’s RECORD under process, I fear that no President will American companies traded on the ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and ever be able to get a Cabinet or Su- stock exchange, American companies Joint Resolutions.’’) preme Court pick confirmed. making foreign payments, NOMINATION OF NEIL GORSUCH A favorite line of our former Presi- euphemistically, for the privilege of ex- Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I want to dent is that ‘‘elections have con- tracting primarily oil. Our ability as a speak for a couple of minutes about the sequences.’’ Indeed, they do. Like it or country to be the world’s lone super- Supreme Court. not, the winning party governs. That is power—as Madeleine Albright called A year ago, we lost one of the great- democracy, and we have a responsi- us, ‘‘the indispensable nation,’’—to be est legal minds to ever serve on the Na- bility now to govern. the superior country when it comes to tion’s highest Court. For nearly three My hope is a return to the long- money, morals, and might is now in decades, Justice Antonin Scalia fought standing traditions of bipartisan co- question. Everywhere you look, it for individual liberty and defended the operation on this Supreme Court nomi- seems like America is ceding global integrity of the Constitution. nation. Judge Gorsuch is experienced. leadership. No Justice in recent memory has so He is qualified, and he deserves a fair China is set to outshine the United fundamentally influenced the trajec- hearing. He deserves an up-or-down States on climate change policy—

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.041 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S646 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 China. Germany’s Prime Minister is ex- how corruption fuels insecurity, pov- I am coming to the floor tonight to plaining international conventions on erty, and oppression in other countries share my concerns about a basic chal- refugees to the President of the United and how that can contribute to the lenge we have in the world. This basic States. We have insulted some of our condition that breeds violent extre- challenge is that when you get a ruler closest allies in the fight against ISIS mism. That is why he fought for the of a country who is corrupt, they forge with a Muslim ban. level of transparency required by this contractual relationships, particularly Now we are alienating ourselves from rule and to make it harder for dic- if they are rich in minerals or oil, and Australia, a country that has stood tators to steal from their own citizens. they pocket the money and they spread with the United States in every major That means that getting rid of the the corruption. It makes it virtually conflict since the beginning of the 20th Cardin-Lugar amendment is also bad impossible for the interests of the peo- century. It is hard work to offend Aus- for investors. If a company is operating ple of that country to be represented tralia. You have to go out of your way in a risky, corrupt, unstable country, by their government because whatever in a phone call between the United investors have the right to know. If a governing body they have keeps mak- States and Australia to have it go side- company is perhaps even adding to the ing decisions based on those corrupt ways. region’s insecurity, investors have a payments. So the world is asking if the United right to know that too. But that right Now, we are a nation that values gov- States will still lead in the fight is now in jeopardy. ernment by the people—of, by, and for against ISIS. The world is asking if the The way Republicans are going about the people. That is the vision of our United States will still keep its word, this, we won’t be able to revisit this Nation, but that vision would not be and they are asking if the United once it is all said and done. This is an fulfilled if the Members of this body States is still the moral leader for the important point. I said it last night on were being paid by foreign companies to serve the interests of the foreign world. the stream protection rule, and I think companies instead of the interests of I think everyone in the Congress it bears repeating. If you do a CRA ac- the people. We can understand from would agree that the answers to these tion—we are now on the third in Amer- our own perspective our own desire to questions should be a resounding yes, ican history, and the second was yes- have a government that serves our citi- but somehow one of the first orders of terday. The first was sometime in the zens and that other nations want to business in this Republican Congress is eighties, about ergonomics. The reason not a bill that demonstrates American have a government that serves their this never gets done is because, when citizens. That is what this particular leadership but one that concedes it, be- you overturn a regulation using the bill and the regulation that flows from cause that is exactly what we would do Congressional Review Act, it is an in- it were all about. It was section 504 of if we overturn the Cardin-Lugar credibly blunt instrument. What hap- Dodd-Frank, the resource extraction amendment. pens under law is that the rule can’t be If we diminish our moral compass, rule, that was passed now 7 years ago. promulgated again. You can’t tweak It took quite a while to get the regu- the rest of the world stops looking at this thing. lation into place. The first version the United States as the leader among As to the concerns that were ex- came out in 2012, after a tremendous nations. The law we are voting to re- pressed by some of the Members on the amount of consultation was struck peal set a new international standard Republican side about the modifica- down in court because it was chal- in the fight against corruption. It re- tions they would like, if we want to lenged by one of the companies that quires oil and mining companies that legislate, let’s legislate. But what they did not want to have transparency in are listed on the U.S. Stock Exchange are going to do is overturn this rule international payments. Then folks to report any payments they may and the Securities and Exchange Com- went to work again and produced a rule make to foreign governments. The idea mission from doing anything ‘‘substan- that went into effect this last year. Un- is that the companies won’t bribe dic- tially similar’’ ever again. Everybody fortunately, we are about to strike tators in mineral rich countries be- who understands the CRA under the that down. cause they know they will have to dis- law understands that, basically, we I was thinking about how one of the close the payments. can’t touch this topic again. So this champions for this was Senator Dick After the United States passed this isn’t about fixing a reg or being a Lugar of Indiana. I was so impressed by law in 2010, some 30 countries followed check on runaway bureaucrats. These his thoughtfulness when I came to the our lead, but we never got to imple- so-called bureaucrats, these civil serv- Senate. He had been here quite a while, menting it. So today, more than one- ants in the Securities and Exchange and he worked to really understand third of the world’s oil and gas compa- Commission, had a statute. They were issues, and he worked to solve prob- nies have strong legal incentives to do told to do something. Now, they took lems. He didn’t work to obstruct an ad- business the right way. If Republicans forever to do it, but that is not running ministration because it was of a dif- get rid of this disclosure requirement, away and going rogue. That is going a ferent party. He didn’t work to sabo- it will be bad for American consumers. little slow, I will grant you, but they tage the work of this body because one In 2004, a Senate subcommittee un- did the right thing pursuant to the law. party or the other was in the majority. covered that oil companies, including Now—I don’t know why, but I have He worked to solve problems. He had ExxonMobil, have paid hundreds of my suspicions; I don’t know why, but I really a deep understanding of the millions of dollars to the President of have my suspicions—we are over- challenges in the world. Equatorial Guinea, which is an oil-rich turning both a rule and a law that re- He could see this from his consider- country in Africa. That money didn’t quires the disclosure of payments to able experience. He was on foreign rela- go to the businesses and citizens. It foreign governments made primarily tions for a very long time, and he went directly into the pockets of the by oil companies. It is one of the most served as its chair. He knew from his President who has been called Africa’s awful things I have seen done in the own work in that committee, from his nastiest dictator. Instead of buying Congress—not just when I have been own studies, from his own travels, and food or roads for people—by the way, here but as I have observed it over the his own conversations—overseas con- most people who live there live on less last 20 years. versations with foreign governments than $1 a day—the President and his I yield the floor. and conversations with our State De- family bought real estate in Paris, lux- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- partment and our Defense Depart- ury cars and life-sized statues—plural— ator from Oregon. ment—that we had a significant issue of Michael Jackson. Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ap- in which contracts with large compa- Getting rid of this amendment will preciate my colleague from Hawaii, nies are used to defeat government of, also be bad for national security. Sen- both on the substance of the issue and by, and for the people in nations ator Lugar is one of the Republican on the Congressional Review Act and around the world. He wanted to do Party’s most distinguished foreign pol- how it is an unsuitable tool in a situa- something about it. He had partner- icy voices and the former chairman of tion like this because of how it bars ships, and Members of our own body the Foreign Relations Committee. He the door for a simple way to replace or who are still serving here today were understood the risk. He understood modify a regulation. deeply involved in this.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.061 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S647 It was a tremendous provision, but develop our nation, they are stymied haps there are good arguments to the the American Petroleum Institute by this complex web of undisclosed cor- contrary that I haven’t heard because wasn’t happy about it because it has ruption. So that is what this bill is all my colleagues aren’t here presenting worked really well for oil companies to about, and that is what this rule stem- them. And maybe out of that mutual not disclose and to make deals with ming from the section of the bill is all exchange, we would find a path to do ruling dictators and ruling families or about. something other than using this crude ruling governing groups, whether they Let’s take, for example, a poster and destructive tool to strike down be in a so-called elected form or child for this resource curse. In many this very important provision. unelected form. countries, it is known as the oil curse. There are three groups who benefit Well, finally, last year the rule was Oil is a particularly prominent case. from this disclosure rule. The first completed in June. They crafted a rule But the Democratic Republic of the group who benefits is the investors in a that, for the most part, made various Congo has not just some oil but a lot of company who want to invest in compa- stakeholders happy and it won broad minerals. It is a significant producer of nies that have responsible practices. international support. Dozens of other the world’s cobalt, diamonds, tin, gold, The disclosure gives them the ability countries—including Canada, Norway, and other minerals. This problem of a to have that information. and countries of the European Union— corrupt dictator goes way back to dec- The second group who benefits is con- followed American leadership. They ades ago. His name was well known sumers who want to buy products from adopted similar laws. So our particular around the world: Mobutu Sese Seko. companies that engage in responsible law made it clear that if a company He ruled from 1965 to 1997, so 32 years, practices, and disclosure enables them was listed on our stock exchange—on three decades. It is estimated that he to do that. The third group, though, really is the any of our exchanges—and it made a diverted from the country $4 billion to most important group, and that is a significant payment—$100,000 or more— $15 billion. That is a lot of roads being group of citizens in the country who it had to disclose that payment. That built in a poor country. That is a lot of are being corrupted by these payments wasn’t just U.S. companies. It wouldn’t food for people who are near starva- because when they hear that a com- just have been U.S. companies. It was tion. That is a lot of public school edu- pany has a contract and has paid X any company listed on our exchange, cation. That is a lot of health care clin- no matter where it was based. Other amount of billion dollars for that con- ics. So one very rich man was stashing tract, then the newspapers of that companies followed suit. So companies money in Swiss bank accounts rather based in other countries were affected. country and the citizens of that coun- than that money going to the govern- try can try to get additional informa- So, basically, it was a vision that in ment to do fundamental responsibil- short order took over the entire world, tion: Did you take the percentage of ities for the people. The country has an that that was supposed to go to the re- with developed countries coming to- estimated $24 trillion in mineral depos- gether and saying that we are going to gional government and actually get it its. When we think about that, the $4 disbursed to the regional government? stop this process that destroys govern- billion to $15 billion doesn’t sound like Did you take the percentage of that ments for the people in so much of the very much. that was supposed to go to the local world. Often, the way it works is these cor- It isn’t just kind of a theoretical city or province and did it get there? rupt payments enable companies to get They can start to see that there is this question of some liberal vision of how contracts far below cost, which is not a governments work. We are talking lump of money that is supposed to be good thing, obviously, for these impov- serving the citizens, and they can ask about the difference between the deci- erished nations, to be essentially giv- sions of dictators to stash billions of questions about how it serves the citi- ing away their money because they are zens. What bank account did it go dollars overseas or build health care being bribed to do so. into—so they can follow the money and clinics. We are talking about the dif- So that is extremely disturbing to track the money. But they have no ference between dictators buying hun- me, this particular issue being done ability to do that if these payments are dreds of the world’s most expensive here late in the evening, with very few hidden. That is what this is about. sports cars or developing an education of my colleagues here—mostly col- So it is about investors who want to system in their countries. We are talk- leagues who are trying to fight this do the right thing, consumers who ing about the fundamental quality of rule. Those who are supporting the want to use their marketing and pur- life for millions and millions of people multilateral corporations, the multi- chasing power to do the right thing, around the world. This provision, this national corporations that don’t like but it is really about the citizens of resource extraction rule, went in an to have disclosure, they are not here to that country not having their re- enormous direction in terms of making talk about how this is damaging the sources diverted when they desperately the world a better place. Shouldn’t lives of millions of people in the poor- need the fundamental things, such as that be what we are about? est countries around the world. Maybe transportation and education and This challenge of foreign contracts we need to have a rule in the Senate health care. with money diverted into the pockets that if you are going to damage the Well, Senator Lugar said recently of the dictators and the ruling class— lives of millions of people, you have to that if we allow this rule to be re- the money that should go to the devel- actually be here to hear the debate. pealed, it would be ‘‘a real tragedy for opment of the country—is particularly This debate is limited to just 10 democracy and human rights.’’ a problem in resource rich countries hours, 5 hours on either side. If one side I agreed with Senator Lugar when he with weak institutions. They have gives back their time, it is just 5 hours. said, ‘‘It is hard to believe that this weak courts. They have weak inves- There are not a whole lot of conversa- would be such a high priority right tigative branches to find corruption. tions. Maybe we could limit the con- now.’’ We have a lot of issues in the They have courts that essentially exor- versation to 20 minutes a person or 10 world that we are challenged by, in- cise the ability to try people for which minutes a person so we get a lot of cluding security issues. We have a lot there is evidence, who should be voices in. of nominations to address and debate. charged and should be convicted. So Before we go about the process of de- Why is it such a high priority at this the same corruption that affects the stroying the lives of millions of people moment to tear down a provision that decisions that are made protects those all around the world, maybe, instead of improves the quality of life for mil- who make those decisions. This means just listening to the lobbyists for a lions of people in some of the poorest that if you have someone who grows up multinational bank in your office, you countries in the world? Why is it so im- in this country and says: We have hun- should be here on the floor to have a portant at this moment to tear down a dreds of billions of dollars of resources conversation about the damage you are law that reduces corruption in govern- and nothing to show for it; so let’s contemplating doing. Maybe then we ments around the world? Why is it so change that system; let’s change that would have an actual debate here in important right now to destroy this system and enable the people of this the U.S. Senate—a place that used to provision that helps create an oppor- country to benefit from schools and be a place where people did come and tunity for ‘‘we the people,’’ a govern- health care and transportation; let’s listen to each other debate issues. Per- ment that we profess to believe in?

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.062 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S648 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 It is well known that the CEO of If we enable, if we promote corrup- fore us. This short debate, with vir- ExxonMobil traveled to Washington to tion around the world, we do enormous tually no one present, does not honor it personally lobby Senator Lugar on this damage. That is why a bipartisan and does enormous damage, and it is section. He wanted this provision group of Senators, including Dick just wrong. scrapped, and that individual is now Lugar leading it, took this on. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- our Secretary of State. That certainly How about Equatorial Guinea. It is ator from Massachusetts. disturbs me, that the day after he be- one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, for the came Secretary of State, the provision producers, and it, like many other oil first time in more than a decade, the he lobbied for as an oil executive is countries, has the oil curse. President Republican Party controls the House, being accomplished here on the floor. Obiang has been in power since he the Senate, and the White House. This Because of his testimony in com- ousted his uncle in a military coup in week they are starting to roll out their mittee, there was some hope that he 1979 and declared himself President for legislative agenda. would stand up and fight for the funda- life. Let’s just say what he is: He is a So now that they have complete con- mental visions of our country, the fun- dictator. His government has been trol of the agenda, what do the Repub- damental values and principles of our known to detain arbitrarily and tor- licans have in store? Something to country, and if so, he would be sending ture critics, to disregard elections. It bump up wages for working families or out information right now saying: Stop has been prosecuted for using oil prof- something to create more jobs? Some- what you are doing because I know how its for financial gain of the President’s thing to tackle the student debt crisis? this works around the world and how it family. The result is, although this Maybe something to deal with all the destroys ‘‘we the people’’ governments, country is one of the wealthiest Afri- jobs that get shipped overseas? No, one and we shouldn’t be doing it; that is, can nations per capita, the majority of of the Republican Party’s first orders we should keep the provision we have the Nation’s citizens survive on less of business is a giveaway to right now. than $2 a day. Let me clarify that. It is ExxonMobil that will help corrupt and Nigeria is another nation that has one of the richest African nations per repressive foreign regimes and make it had a resource curse or oil curse. Last capita, but a large percent of the citi- easier to funnel money to terrorists year, a deal was struck between zens survive on less than $2 a day be- around the world. ExxonMobil and the Nigerian Govern- cause President Obiang and his ex- Here is the problem. Big corporations ment—or it came under investigation tended network—his extended corrupt like Exxon—or other oil, gas, and min- last year by that country’s anti-cor- network—are stealing the resources of ing companies—often pay millions of ruption and law enforcement agency, the country, and they are doing it dollars to foreign governments to ac- often through contracts with oil com- the Economic and Financial Crimes cess natural resources located in these panies like Exxon, which happens to be Commission. The investigation sur- countries. Many of these foreign re- a major partner in exploiting the re- rounds a 2009 agreement where an gimes are corrupt, and Exxon’s massive sources of Equatorial Guinea. payouts regularly end up in the pock- Exxon subsidiary and the Nigerian Less than half of Equatorial Guinea ets of government officials rather than Government agreed to renew a 40-per- has access to clean drinking water, a in the hands of the people. These cor- cent share in three new oil licenses. fundamental need and a fundamental rupt officials get filthy rich while their Exxon reached a deal to pay $600 mil- factor in health. Twenty percent—that citizens face punishing poverty and lion for those licenses, and it built a is one out of every five children—die dangerous working conditions. Worse powerplant at a cost of $900 million, so before reaching the age of 5. This is be- still, some of these undisclosed pay- it made a $1.5 billion investment. So a cause of the corruption that is facili- ments can end up financing terrorists. $1.5 billion investment—that sounds tated by undisclosed sums, reinforcing Just over 6 years ago, Congress like a pretty high sum for a contract. a dictator—a dictator whose family passed a bipartisan provision to help However, an outside group who was owns fleets of fancy sports cars, luxury tackle this problem. With the strong investigating corruption found that the yachts, private jets, massive properties support of Senator Dick Lugar, the Nigerian Government had valued those in Europe, massive properties in Brazil, leading Republican on the Senate For- contracts at $2.15 billion—in other and properties right here in the United eign Relations Committee, Congress words, $1 billion more than what Exxon States. But one-fifth of the children die required oil, gas, and mining compa- was paying. Furthermore, they found before age 5. That is why this is so im- that wasn’t just in theory because an- portant. nies to disclose any payments they other bidder offered $3.75 billion, and Let me conclude by saying that what make to governments to extract nat- that is more than twice what Exxon we are doing here tonight in putting ural resources. Republicans and Demo- paid. But the Exxon deal was chosen. this forward with no real debate be- crats agreed that shining a light on Isn’t there some sense that some- cause my colleagues are not here—a these payments would help combat cor- thing is wrong when a government re- few colleagues are here to give speech- ruption and terrorism around the globe jects a payment that is $2.25 billion es like I am giving to say ‘‘Stop, this is and help citizens in some of the very more than the offer that was accepted? wrong,’’ but our colleagues are not poorest nations in the world hold their That is what happens with corrupt pay- here to hear us. What is happening to- own governments accountable. ments between powerful companies and night is an enormous travesty. It is an Disclosing these foreign payments dictators. That is what destroys gov- enormous blight on the United States, also helps investors right here in the ernment of, by, and for the people which led the world in taking on this United States so they can make more around the world. problem and now is abandoning not informed investment decisions. Some It is estimated that over time—that just that leadership but is abandoning investors may want to stay away from is, since 1960, so after the last 57 the principle. The world is worse off for companies that could face expensive years—$400 billion of Nigerian oil reve- it. lawsuits for violating the Foreign Cor- nues have disappeared due to corrup- I hope that my colleagues will some- rupt Practices Act or other anti-cor- tion—$400 billion disappeared. What how come to an inspiration or a revela- ruption laws. Other investors, quite would $400 billion do to improve the tion, that those who are not here lis- frankly, may just prefer not to invest lives of Nigerians? tening to this will come to an under- in companies that could be helping That is why transparency in these standing that something is wrong with prop up corrupt foreign governments or payments is so important. It affects this and will oppose this effort to re- indirectly financing terrorism. impoverished people all over the world. peal this very important provision. But Congress directed the Securities and We can have all of our aid programs, I know that the heavy hand of cor- Exchange Commission to write the we can have our Food for Peace Pro- porate lobbying is behind the fact that rule, and the SEC spent years solic- gram, we can have our Millennium Cor- this is on the floor tonight, and I am iting input from investors, from human poration, but this type of deal does so not optimistic. That saddens me a rights advocates, from anti-corruption much more damage than all the good great deal. experts, and from oil, gas, and mining we do through our programs that we Let us strive to have a process that companies. The agency ultimately budget for and put money into. honors the importance of the issues be- issued a ruling last year, and it

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.066 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S649 worked. The rule gained the support of the reasons. In fact, the demographic VIVITROL, to keep people off of their faith groups, human rights groups, de- that saw the biggest drop in life ex- addiction. velopment organizations, and anti-cor- pectancy was among middle-aged Second, we have just put in place for ruption advocates all around the world. White women—the very group that has the first time ever programs for recov- The rule also earned the support of in- been hardest hit by the heroin and pre- ery support services. Again, in this leg- vestors who collectively controlled scription drug epidemic in overdoses islation, CARA, we funded long-term more than $10 trillion in assets, and— and overdose deaths. Unbelievably, this recovery. So it is not just a detox cen- we should really be proud—it set an epidemic is actually driving down life ter, not just a treatment center that international standard, with the Euro- expectancy in our great country. might be short term, which they usu- pean Union, Canada, and other coun- It has been pretty dramatic. The ally are, but longer term recovery, in- tries adopting similar standards for number of heroin users in the United cluding getting people into sober hous- companies in their own countries. States has tripled since 2007, and the ing, providing them with people who But it didn’t go down well with ev- number of heroin overdoses has tripled will support them and encourage them. eryone. A handful of powerful oil and just since 2012. It has gotten to the That, we have found out, keeps people gas companies have been after this re- point where we are now losing one from relapsing and is incredibly power- quirement from the start, and Exxon American life about every 12 minutes ful. has been leading the pack on this. In to this epidemic. So during this talk Third, there has been a grant to em- fact, Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon today, which will be about 12 minutes, power States and local governments to at the time, personally lobbied against we expect another American to die of a help fight this epidemic. the requirement back in 2010. His rea- heroin overdose. This is all-important. It is real son? What was his objection? The for- Congress has begun to act, and I ap- progress. But our work is far from eign payments rule would undermine plaud the House and the Senate for done. In fact, there are five more CARA Exxon’s ability to do business in Rus- that. We have acted over the last year grant programs yet to be implemented. to do a couple things. One is that, in sia. Listen to that again. If Exxon has Again, I call on the new administra- the appropriations bill that passed at to tell the world about the millions of tion to do so urgently. I know they are the end of last year, we put more dollars it hands over to the Russian focused on this issue. We just need to money aside for treatment. So States Government, Exxon wouldn’t be able to get these programs up and going to are now receiving grants—$500 million do as much business in Russia. So now help our communities right now. this year, $500 million next year. These the Republican Congress wants to rush Near my hometown of Cincinnati, grants are needed. It is going to the in to help out poor Exxon so they can OH, the Winemiller family of Wayne hardest hit States. It is going to States keep the secret money flowing to these Township had a pretty tough Christ- based on their need, which I think is Russian officials. mas. They were missing a son and a This Exxon giveaway shows just how very important, because some States daughter because of heroin. Over bankrupt the Republican agenda is. are hit harder than others. My col- Easter weekend last year, Roger They don’t have any ideas for helping league from Ohio is here on the floor, Winemiller found his daughter Heather working families. It is just one cor- and he has been very involved in this dead of a heroin overdose in their bath- porate giveaway after another—mak- issue as well. My State has been one of room. She left behind an 8-year-old ing their big business donors happy and those States hardest hit. Some think son. Then, just 5 days before Christ- keeping the campaign contributions that Ohio now has the highest number mas, Heather’s brother Gene—a father flowing for the next election. But the of overdoses when we add prescription of three children under 18—died of a economic lives of our working families, drugs, heroin, and synthetic heroin, heroin overdose. Gene started abusing our moral leadership in the world, the like fentanyl. painkillers when he was in his early safety of our financial system, and the Second, last summer Congress took twenties. He became addicted, and water we drink and the air we what I think is the biggest step we when the pills were too expensive, he breathe—all of those—are just after- have taken in decades in terms of switched to heroin, which is cheaper thoughts to the corporate wish list. fighting this issue when we passed the and, really, more accessible. If you are a corrupt foreign dictator, Comprehensive Addiction and Recov- Republicans rolling back the rules is ery Act. The President signed it into Unfortunately, this is a fairly com- great for you. If you are an oil com- law. It is already helping with regard mon story in my home State and pany executive, Republicans rolling to providing more prevention efforts, around the country. We are told this is back the rules is great for you. But if treatment, and long-term recovery. It how four out of five heroin addicts in you are anyone else, you should be out- is also helping our law enforcement the United States started on heroin— raged that the Republican Congress is and other first responders to be able to prescription drugs. so willing to throw you under the bus handle this growing crisis. Heather and Gene both got clean sev- to please these groups. We fully funded this Comprehensive eral times. Heather was clean for 3 I urge all of my colleagues to vote Addiction and Recovery Act—also years before she relapsed and died. against this resolution. called CARA—this year, and now we These were vibrant people; they loved I yield the floor. need to ensure that the new adminis- life. Heather loved gardening, and she The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- tration that has just come in continues was a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan. ator from Ohio. to effectively implement this program Gene loved rock music, hunting, and HEROIN AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE as quickly as possible. fishing. But they both made the tragic EPIDEMIC Just in the last few weeks, three of mistake of trying these drugs, and it Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise CARA’s grant programs got up and changed their lives forever. tonight to talk about a problem that is running. One is funding for drug courts. Gene Winemiller’s funeral took place affecting every single one of the States Those who are involved with drug at Blanchester Church of Christ in represented in this Chamber and every courts back home already know this, Blanchester, OH. I know Blanchester, one of our communities. It is one that but it is a very effective way to take OH, pretty well. It is a small commu- folks back home are, unfortunately, ex- those who are in the criminal justice nity of about 4,000 people. The very periencing and, frankly, we don’t talk system because of a drug issue—pre- next day, there was another funeral in enough about this in Washington. It is scription drug and heroin issues in par- that same church in this small town of this epidemic of heroin and prescrip- ticular—and get them into a diversion 4,000 people for a heroin overdose. As tion drug abuse. program where they can get treatment, Gene’s dad Roger puts it, ‘‘I can’t em- How bad is it? We just learned very with the risk of going back to incarcer- phasize enough: No one—no one—is im- recently that for the first time in 23 ation if they do not stay clean. This is mune from this epidemic.’’ years, life expectancy in the United really working well in some of our Unfortunately, he is right. It knows States has gone down, and there is no communities in Ohio. They are also no zip code. It is in the rural areas. It question that the surge in heroin and using interesting new techniques, in- is in the suburban areas. It is certainly prescription drug addiction is one of cluding a medication called in our inner cities. It is everywhere.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.068 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S650 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 Take Cleveland, in Northeast Ohio, than 50 times. One church in Chil- That is from a report just yesterday. for example. Cleveland medical exam- licothe, Zion Baptist Church, recently Right now these drugs are difficult to iner Thomas Gilson said that ‘‘2016 was had funerals for three overdose victims detect before it is too late. Part of the an unprecedented year.’’ The number of in 1 week. I know Chillicothe. It is a reason is that, unlike private carriers overdoses in Cleveland doubled in 2016 small town of about 21,000 people. such as UPS or FedEx, the Postal Serv- compared to 2015—doubled. Overdoses Heroin and prescription drug pain- ice does not require information about are happening all over the Cleveland killers are flooding our communities to packages. If you are a private carrier, area. More than 150 heroin overdose meet a rise in demand. CARA, this leg- you have to have electric customs data deaths happened in the city and an- islation I talked about, will reduce for packages coming into the country, other 150 happened in the suburbs, kind that demand by increasing access to saying where it is from, what is in it, of evenly split. It is everybody, every treatment for those who need it and where it is going. This means the U.S. group, every age group—African Amer- preventing new addictions from start- Postal Service is a more attractive way ican, White, Hispanic. ing in the first place through better for traffickers to get these dangerous Take Dayton, OH, in Southwest Ohio, prevention and education efforts. drugs like fentanyl or carfentanil into as another example. In Dayton last After CARA became law, I introduced our country. It shouldn’t be this way. year, there were more than 2,500 bipartisan legislation to take another It doesn’t have to be this way. overdoses, about 7 a day. About half of step. This is called the Synthetics The STOP Act would close that loop- the victims were men, and about half Trafficking and Overdose Prevention hole and make the Postal Service re- were women—some in the cities and Act, or the STOP Act. Again, it builds quire advanced electronic data. Where some in the suburbs, with 60 percent in on CARA because it helps reduce the is it coming from? What is in it? Where their thirties and forties and 40 percent supply of drugs coming into our com- is it going? That information on these who were either younger or older than munities. packages before they cross our borders that. So this is happening all over our Some of the deadliest drugs coming would be incredibly helpful. It is com- State and all over our country—in cit- into Ohio are synthetics—drugs such as mon sense. It would help stop these ies, suburbs, inner cities, and rural fentanyl, carfentanil, or U4, essentially dangerous synthetic drugs from being areas and to rich and poor, old and synthetic heroin that is made in a lab- trafficked into the United States, and young alike. oratory somewhere. Guess where these it would save lives. That is what our In 2015, Ohio statewide experienced a drugs are coming from: overseas. Boy, law enforcement officials are telling record 3,050 drug overdose deaths, they are incredibly powerful. Fentanyl us. which is a 20-percent increase from can be more than 50 or even 100 times I know the scope of this epidemic is 2014, and more than quadruple the as powerful as heroin. According to the daunting. It is in your State of Indi- number of overdose deaths in 2000. In Drug Enforcement Agency, it takes ana. It is in my State of Ohio. Its con- 2015, we lost an Ohioan every 3 hours to about 2 milligrams to kill you. sequences are hard to even think about this epidemic. Sadly, the toll was even Carfentanil is even more powerful than because it is about the overdose deaths, higher in 2016. We don’t have the final that—up to 10,000 times as powerful as but it is far more than that. It is about numbers yet. morphine. It is so powerful that it is people not being able to live out their One of Ohio’s economic assets, of used primarily as a tranquilizer for dream. It is about higher costs for law course, is our location. We are cen- large animals like elephants. enforcement. It is about crime. It is trally located. It is great for transpor- Heroin bought on the street today in about our workforce and people not tation. They say half of America’s con- Ohio and elsewhere is often laced with being able to go to work and not being sumers are within 1 day’s drive from these drugs to make it more potent. able to find workers who are drug free. Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus. Roger Winemiller, the Dad I talked It is about so much that affects our Unfortunately, that central location about a few moments ago who lost his communities. also makes us very vulnerable to drug two kids, compares buying heroin to Yet there is hope. We have to work traffickers. playing Russian roulette because you here in Congress to continue to pro- Last year, Ohio State troopers con- never know the potency of the drug mote legislation and policies that will fiscated nearly 160 pounds of heroin. that you are buying. Many of these help us to achieve the dream of turning Depending on the potency, that could spates of overdoses in our urban areas this tide around. The STOP Act that I be equivalent to more than $50 mil- in Ohio are because of the mix with talked about is going to help keep lion—or more than 180,000 injections— fentanyl and carfentanil. some of that poison out of our commu- of heroin. That is nearly triple the These fentanyl deaths in Ohio have nities and increase the cost of heroin. amount of heroin seized the year be- increased nearly fivefold in the last 3 That is good. fore. The Ohio State Highway Patrol years. Three years ago we had about 1 These synthetic heroin increases are also confiscated a record-level number in every 20 overdoses in Ohio because of really concerning. Treatment is incred- of illegal painkillers and fentanyl. Now it is one in five. We ex- ibly important, and it can work. I have methamphetamines last year. pect it soon to be one in three. You can met so many people across Ohio who We have to thank our law enforce- see where this is going. have beaten their addiction—people ment officers because they are saving I talked a minute ago about the traf- who are now back on their feet, back lives every day by keeping this poison ficking of drugs on our interstate high- with their kids, back with their fami- out of our communities, certainly, but ways. That is a serious problem, but so lies. It is hard, but with treatment and also helping to reverse the overdoses is the problem of traffickers shipping a supportive environment, particularly with this miracle drug called naloxone these drugs through our mail system to this longer term recovery, it can be or Narcan. In 2015, the last year we our communities to meet this growing done. have numbers for, Narcan was adminis- demand. Last year I met with Aaron Marks in tered 16,000 times. Think about that: Just yesterday the U.S.-China Com- Columbus, OH, at a conference held by 16,000 people were saved who could have mission released a report about the the Ohio Association of County Behav- died of an overdose, thanks to our first trafficking of Chinese fentanyl into ioral Health Authorities. Aaron is from responders and their professionalism. this country. The report says: Cleveland, a suburb called Beachwood. We don’t have numbers yet for 2016, The majority of fentanyl products found in He began using prescription painkillers but, again, it is going to be, unfortu- the United States originate in China. . . . as a freshman at Beachwood High nately, far higher than that. Chinese law enforcement officials have School. He was just 13 years old. The Washington Post recently pub- struggled to adequately regulate the thou- Again, it is a story that is all too lished a report on the heroin epidemic sands of chemical and pharmaceutical facili- common. Often because of an accident in Chillicothe, OH, where there were ties [laboratories] operating legally and ille- gally in the country, leading to increased or injury, people start using these pain more than 300 overdoses last year, and production and export of illicit chemicals pills. where a single police officer, Officer and drugs. Chinese chemical exporters . . . He was smart, had good grades. He Ben Rhodes, says that he used covertly ship drugs to the Western hemi- got into the University of Cincinnati, a naloxone to reverse an overdose more sphere. great school. One day at UC he ran out

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.070 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S651 of pills. A fellow student who was liv- State is the most beautiful place in OPIOID ADDICTION ing in the same dorm room offered him America. It is probably the most beau- Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I appre- something else. He said: It is cheaper; tiful place in the world. I ask anyone ciate the comments of my friend from it is called heroin. who is watching to come visit us, you Alaska—also from Cleveland—and He tried it. Soon, he had sold vir- will love it—guaranteed. those of my friend from Cincinnati, tually everything he owned to buy It is the people that make my State Senator PORTMAN, about opioids. I ap- more. Finally, with the help of so special—kind, generous people, full preciate his leadership in my State, the Glenbeigh treatment center in Cleve- of rugged determination, full of patri- work he has done, and the work we land, OH, Aaron got clean and has otism, full of compassion. Many of have done together on opioid addiction. stayed that way for more than a dec- them are willing to go the extra mile, It is a tragedy, and I don’t go much of ade. Aaron is now a successful manager literally, in some of the most difficult anywhere in the State without finding of business development at American terrain and extreme conditions of the someone who is affected, someone who Express. world to help friends and neighbors and is addicted in a family, or a close We can have a lot more success sto- use their strength and skills to inspire friend who has died. ries like Aaron’s if we all engage—all us all. As Senator PORTMAN said, Ohio has of us. Washington, DC, is not going to I wish to tell you a little bit about more opioid deaths than any State in solve this problem. It will be solved in Andrew Kurka, an extraordinary Alas- the country. We are the seventh largest our communities. It is going to be kan from Palmer, which is a beautiful State, but the State with the most solved in our families. It is going to be community about 45 miles outside of deaths. It is troubling, and clearly we solved in our hearts. Anchorage. In his younger years, An- are not dealing with it as well as we Washington, DC, can play a more drew was a wrestler. He put his heart should. constructive role. In passing this legis- into it. For his efforts, he was very suc- Mr. President, I rise to close the de- lation, it makes sense to give people cessful. He was a six-time Alaska State bate on this motion today on the Con- the tools they need to be able to fight champion in freestyle and Greco- gressional Review Act to wipe out the this scourge. The role is put the right Roman wrestling. SEC rule. I rise in opposition to the policies in place, like the STOP Act, When he was 13, he suffered a spinal bill, as a number of colleagues on my like fully funding treatment, like fully cord injury in a four-wheeler accident. side of the aisle have very strong feel- funding CARA in the coming months. His physical therapist urged him to ings on it. With the exception of my We can then bring down the demand for keep going, to keep trying, to stay ac- friend from Idaho, the chairman of the these dangerous drugs, and we can keep tive, and actually paid for his first ski- Banking Committee, there weren’t these poisons from coming into our ing lesson with a group called Chal- many Republicans who wanted to come communities and build on the progress lenge Alaska, a nonprofit Paralympic to the floor for this, in part because I that Congress has made over the past sports club. think it is just the supporters they year. Let’s not let up until we finally According to an article in the Alaska have on their side don’t make you want turn the tide of this epidemic and begin Dispatch News, Andrew is ‘‘willing to to rush to the floor and support them. to save lives. give just about anything a try— Some called this the Kleptocrat Relief I yield back. bodybuilding, water-skiing, ultra-mar- Act. I will give you a real quick history The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- athon, handcycling.’’ He even raced in before I wrap up. There is a provision in Dodd-Frank ator from Alaska. the Arctic Man ski and snow machine to deal with giving the President and Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I race in Alaska—a race that is not for others the best anticorruption tools we want to begin by complimenting my the faint of heart. It is one tough race. colleague, the Senator from Ohio, Mr. It is in sit skiing where he truly ex- could have around the world, where countries that have lots of natural re- PORTMAN. He has been the leader in the cels. He has been a longtime member of sources have been countries with all U.S. Senate on addressing this issue the U.S. Paralympic team and has won the wealth from natural resources. that literally is impacting every single numerous medals. Just last month, he They are some of the most corrupt gov- one of our States—whether it is Ohio won three medals, including the Gold ernments with some of the worst pov- or Alaska or Indiana where the Pre- for the men’s downhill race at the siding Officer is from—and it is a kill- erty anywhere on Earth. World Para Alpine Championships in This legislation in Dodd-Frank, and er. Italy—the Gold for the whole world. The opioid epidemic that is hap- the rule that came out of it from the His accomplishments are amazing SEC, was going a long way to pre- pening is something we all have to enough, but his willingness to serve work together on, but we have hope, as venting corruption. What we saw was and be a role model for others is what the support. Thirty countries in the Senator PORTMAN said. I believe we makes him a true Alaska treasure. He world followed suit from our country. have hope because of communities, be- is involved in numerous organizations cause of brave Americans like those he The companies that were affected, with for great causes, and he travels all a few very notable exceptions, were be- is talking about. across Alaska and the country, visiting We also have hope because of guys ginning to do what they knew they with children with medical problems needed to do and should have done and like ROB PORTMAN, and we would be a and urging them to dream big the way that the rule called for. As a result, we lot less further along in this country in he has. turning around this epidemic and high- were going in the right direction until ‘‘I have spent my life hoping to be an this new administration, this new Con- lighting it for Americans if it weren’t example to others,’’ Andrew said. gress. for him. I really want to commend my ‘‘Having the chance and being put in a I ask unanimous consent to have colleague from Ohio. He has done such position where I can make a difference printed in the RECORD relevant letters a great job and is so passionate about means the world to me.’’ That is An- from investors. this issue. drew. There being no objection, the mate- TRIBUTE TO ANDREW KURKA For his determination against all rial was ordered to be printed in the Mr. President, in the last few weeks odds, for his accomplishments, for his RECORD, as follows: I have come to the floor to recognize compassion, and for making the United AUGUST 14, 2013. an exceptional Alaskan—someone who States and Alaska proud last month in MARY JO WHITE, spends time giving back to our commu- Italy at the World Para Alpine Cham- Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Com- nity by sharing their time and talents pionships, Andrew Kurka is this week’s mission, Washington, DC. up north. There are thousands of these Alaskan of the Week. DEAR CHAIRMAN WHITE: As investors rep- people, of course, in my great State, Congratulations, Andrew, from all of resenting more than US$5.6 trillion in assets and I would love to recognize every sin- your supporters. You are a great inspi- under management, we commend the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gle one of them. They do so much for ration to all of us. for its leadership in producing final rules for all of us. I yield the floor. the implementation of Section 1504 of the We Senators are not humble about The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con- our States. I certainly believe my ator from Ohio. sumer Protection Act (Section 1504). The

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.071 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S652 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 rules were carefully considered and reflected term returns to our pensions, insurance and interests, from all parts of the political spec- investors’ substantial interest in oil, gas and savings clients. It is in this spirit that we trum that are trying to co-opt the SEC’s cor- mining industry payment transparency. The wish to contribute our views on the value to porate disclosure regime to achieve their SEC’s leadership encouraged the develop- investors of improving transparency and own objectives.’’ Commissioner Piwowar ment of a public global disclosure standard governance in the extractives sector through raises a valid point that merits discussion: that includes the European Union Trans- regulations such as Section 1504. We also as investors whose interests are inextricably parency Directive and regulation under de- welcome the parallel submission by Calvert bound with the commercial interests of the velopment in Canada. Investment Management et al, and note the oil and mining companies in which we in- On July 2, the U.S. District Court for the common objectives our respective groups of vest, we wish to clarify that we fully agree District of Columbia made a ruling in Amer- signatories share in promoting high stand- that the remit of the SEC is, and should re- ican Petroleum Institute et al. vs. Securities ards of transparency in the extractives sec- main, that of safeguarding the efficient func- and Exchange Commission vacating the rules tor. tioning of financial markets. We also agree for the implementation of Section 1504 and We would like to highlight that we have that legislative and regulatory tools aimed requiring the Commission to review them. only belatedly become aware of the detailed at achieving purely social aims properly be- We encourage the SEC to continue its vig- submission made on April 15, 2014 by the long within instruments other than SEC reg- orous defense of the Section 1504 rules as it American Petroleum Institute (API) on this ulation. responds to the’U.S. District Court’s deci- subject. Inasmuch as we had produced this However, it is our contention that Section sion. statement, and secured approvals from the 1504, in line with the broader purpose of the It is in the interest of investors and com- undersigned institutions, well before having Dodd Frank Act, i.e. mitigating systemic fi- panies subject to both the U.S. and EU re- had an opportunity to review the API sub- nancial market risk, plays an essential role quirements that the reporting obligations in mission, we wish to draw your attention to a in containing behaviours related to extrac- these jurisdictions are as uniform as pos- brief supplementary comment that several of tive sector activity that contribute to dam- sible. Consistent and predictable regulations our signatories will shortly be submitting by aging levels of financial and economic insta- may lower compliance costs and enhance the way of parallel submission in order to ad- bility. As you know, Section 1504 calls for the pro- salience of disclosures. Therefore, we hope dress any additional points that are relevant vision of detailed publicly-available informa- that the SEC will take all necessary steps to to the API’s arguments. tion regarding payments to government. The ensure that the rules go into effect as early The undersigned signatories strongly support the Extractive Industries Transparency purpose of such disclosure is to: a) defuse as possible and that they maintain con- suspicions by civil society; b) curb the inci- tinuity with regulations in other jurisdic- Initiative (EITI). As such, we not only welcome the US’s involvement as an EITI Sup- dence of corruption and fiscal mismanage- tions. In doing so, the SEC should have due ment; c) and thereby reduce the social and regard to the lengthy deliberations it con- porting Country since the Initiative’s incep- tion in 2003, but are particularly pleased to political risk factors that drive high levels of ducted before the promulgation of the rules, operating risk in resource-dependent emerg- and the inputs from diverse constituencies note its recent admission as an EITI Can- didate Country. We regard the United States’ ing nations. The latter notably exacerbates including many investors. the volatility and risk in the commodities Payment disclosure regulations, such as decision as instrumental in establishing the de facto global standard for transparency in markets. It is precisely because of its role in Section 1504 and the European Union Trans- helping to counteract these damaging pres- parency Directive, play a critical role in en- the extractives sector, and see the steady progress being made as a critical factor in sures that we regard Section 1504 as very couraging greater stability in resource-rich much in the interests of investors, and con- countries, which benefits both the citizens of helping to reduce volatility in the oil and other vital hard commodity markets, with sistent with the basic mission of the SEC. those countries and investors. The Extrac- Nevertheless, as investors, we are sympa- beneficial impacts on global financial mar- tive Industries Transparency Initiative thetic to the concerns of industry regarding kets and the real economy. (EITI) Board Chair Clare Short has stated the practical impacts of any new legislation In line with our support for the EITI, we that mandatory payment disclosure regula- in terms of potential administrative com- also highlight that we regard the mandatory tions would ‘‘strengthen the local account- plexity and cost burden, particularly in re- project-level reporting provision contained ability EITI provides.’’ In fact, the latest respect of companies that operate in multiple in Section 1504 as entirely consistent with, vision of the EITI standard explicitly made jurisdictions. As such, it is imperative that and complementary to, the goals of the EFL project level payment disclosure contingent the disclosure regulations introduced by Sec- As such, we wish to underscore the impor- on alignment with SEC and EU regulation. tion 1504 reflect alignment between the US, tant revisions made in 2013 to the EITI We encourage the SEC to keep the com- EU and Canada—all key jurisdictions for ex- Standard that aim specifically to ensure plementary nature of regulations such as tractive industry issuers. Firstly, this would Section 1504 and EITI in mind as it considers convergence with the disclosure standard pi- simplify compliance for extractive compa- its response to the U.S. District Court. oneered by Section 1504. These are now nies, particularly for those that already have Investors depend on the SEC’s leadership echoed in similar legislation already passed dual listings. Secondly, it would lift overall and deliberate consideration of disclosure re- by the European Union (Transparency and transparency standards while deterring less quirements that protect investors, maintain Accounting Directives) and in progress in scrupulous issuers from actively seeking out fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and fa- Canada (Canadian Mandatory Reporting in more opaque regulatory regimes. Such cilitate capital formation. We commend the the Extractive Sector). ‘forum-shopping’ would not only harm well- In short, Section 1504 started a process Commission on issuing rules for the imple- governed companies through unfair competi- mentation of Section 1504 that reflect thor- that has now been embraced by the world’s tion, but expose investors to higher risk, and ough contemplation of these factors and are other key jurisdictions: where initially it the general public to greater systemic risk. confident the SEC will continue to act in the could have placed US listed companies at a Our strong interest as investors is there- interest of investors as it responds to the commercial disadvantage, this risk has been fore to achieve both consistency across com- U.S. District Court’s July 2 ruling in API vs. reduced. As institutions based in numerous peting jurisdictions and high standards, SEC. international jurisdictions, with both cus- rather than regarding them as necessarily tomers and assets spread around the globe, mutually exclusive. In this regard, the we welcome this virtuous development, and APRIL 28, 2014. moves by the EU and Canada to follow in consider that regulations favouring not only MARY JO WHITE, Dodd Frank 1504’s footsteps signal a clear Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis- high, but just as importantly, globally con- trend that is now very difficult to reverse: sion, Washington, DC. sistent standards of transparency, are essen- transparency has firmly taken hold, and it tial to safeguarding the effective functioning Re: Section 1504 of the Dodd—Frank Wall would be a mistake to roll backwards. of the financial markets. As a large group of diverse investment in- Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Finally, we highlight that our portfolios stitutions, we acknowledge that different in- DEAR CHAIR WHITE: We write on behalf of have substantial exposure to the global ex- vestors may make greater or lesser use of the 34 undersigned institutional investors to tractives sector, through both equity and the granular data produced through such dis- convey our strong support for the leadership fixed income instruments, and that many of closure for individual stock decision pur- the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis- the undersigned also invest actively in the poses, depending on the nature of their port- sion (SEC) has shown in producing final rules sovereign debt of resource-dependent emerg- folios and investment processes. However, for the implementation of Section 1504 of the ing nations whose fiscal governance has a di- while individual investment strategies may Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con- rect bearing on the quality of the credits differ, we are strongly of the view that dis- sumer Protection Act [Section 13(q) of the they hold. It is therefore specifically with a closure of the type called for by Section 1504 Securities Exchange Act of 1934]. This letter view to safeguarding and enhancing our cli- affords the following benefits to investors: follows up on a prior submission made to the ents’ portfolio returns that we contribute Putting such information in the public do- SEC on August 14th 2013 on this subject and the following comments. main is of major indirect benefit to inves- signed by many of the institutions below. Chair White, your fellow SEC Commis- tors, thanks to its impact on the overall By way of introduction, the signatories of sioner Michael Piwowar has recently been quality of the business climate: better trans- this submission manage assets that collec- reported to have voiced the concern that parency helps to build trust with the citi- tively total more than US$ 6.40 trillion, and Section 1504 may have involved a degree of zenry, deter corruption through better scru- our mandate is to deliver sustainable long- legislative overreach, by allowing ‘‘special tiny of revenues and spending, and reduce

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the likelihood of contract rescissions. An APRIL 28, 2014. Commission will see the process through to a anonymous compilation of the submissions MARY JO WHITE, conclusion that fulfills its obligations and required by Section 1504 would likely not Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis- advances the interests of all parties. provide the information necessary to serve sion, Washington, DC. Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, on one this purpose. DEAR CHAIR WHITE: As investors rep- The value of such a standard lies in its resenting more than $2.85 trillion in assets side of this argument, one side of this consistent application across all global mar- under management, we applaud the U.S. Se- rule, we see in the end—and this kind kets: this means that country exemptions curities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for of sums it up. We have these 30 coun- should not be granted in cases where foreign its leadership in producing final rules for the tries that followed us and passed the jurisdictions wish to impose secrecy—other- implementation of Section 1504 of the Dodd- rules and the laws the same as we did. wise, such exemptions, often referred to as Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer We have on our side, the American the ‘‘tyrant’s veto’’, will merely serve to en- Protection Act [Section 13(q) of the Securi- courage such governments to introduce anti- ties Exchange Act of 1934]. The rules the SEC Catholic Bishops, the Conference of transparency standards, thereby under- adopted for the implementation of Section Bishops, the Presbyterian Church, mining the very object of this regulation. 13(q) on August 22, 2012 would protect inves- groups like the One Campaign and The impact of such disclosure on competitors and promote efficient capital markets Oxfam—public interest groups that tiveness has been overstated, as dem- by providing investors with valuable factual made their mission trying to end cor- onstrated by the strong support afforded to information on risk profiles and company ruption and deal with the economic Section 1504’s Canadian equivalent by the performance. Delay in implementation of leading trade associations in the Canadian and social distress and devastation these rules or their significant revision brought on by some of these companies mining sector (Mining Association of Canada would continue to deny investors this valu- and Prospectors and Developers Association able information. and some of these kleptomaniacal—for of Canada), and the more nuanced position of The opportunities and challenges of both want of a better term—governments. the Canadian Association of Petroleum Pro- operating and investing in the oil, gas and That is on the one side. ducers relative to the American Petroleum mining industries have changed significantly On the other side, we have my Repub- Institute. We also note that this information in recent decades as companies have been in- lican friends in the Senate and House. can be easily obtained by purchasing spe- creasingly compelled to explore and produce We have Rex Tillerson, the new Sec- cialist research—which merely ensures that in countries with challenging governance it is available to competitors who can afford and business environments, including some retary of State, who lobbied vigorously to pay, but not to citizens who cannot. More with pervasive corruption. We believe that and unceasingly against this rule as importantly, as investors, we stand to ben- Section 13(q) creates a chance for disclosure president of Exxon. We have Exxon on efit more from efficient, competitive mar- requirements to evolve in a manner that re- the other side. We have the Chamber of kets that enable ethical behaviour than we flects the changing dynamics of these indus- Commerce and the American Petro- do from isolated instances of companies tries. leum Institute. And on that side for gaining a temporary negotiating advantage Investors’ decisions regarding the oil, gas this bill—against the rule—we have through secrecy. and mining industries and the efficient func- The impact on companies’ compliance tioning of markets in general rely on the autocrats in places like Russia, Iran, costs should be given due consideration, and public disclosure of relevant information Venezuela. You can bet on this vote to- we would therefore urge that with regard to from issuers that is comprehensive and con- morrow morning, if 7 a.m. comes out the definition of ‘project’, the disclosure sistent. Therefore, we agree with the Com- the way it looks like it will, you can framework in Section 1504 be consistent with mission’s August 2012 rules for Section 13(q) bet there will be celebrations in Rus- best practice for disclosing disaggregated that require issuer-by-issuer, government- sia, in Iran, and Venezuela, in all these production information that references the level, and project-level public disclosures countries where these kleptocrats, legal relationship between individual and believe that these are beneficial to in- where these leaders who are so corrupt, projects and host governments. Such an ap- vestors. proach may be modeled on the project-level Issuers’ annual public Exchange Act re- where they benefited so much. disclosures that have been developed under porting is an indispensable factor for invest- I think that really sums it up, how the EU Directives and also made by Statoil, ment decision-making. It must be done on a important it is that we defeat this bill, the large Norwegian-based international oil basis that allows investors to make decisions how important it is that this Presi- company, as well as Tullow Oil, the FTSE100 about the securities of individual issuers. An dent, who came to town and has been UK oil company. These base their definition, anonymous compilation of the submissions in office less than about 2 weeks, his either implicitly or explicitly, on economic required by Section 13(q) would likely not rather than geological entities (so-called provide the information necessary to serve second week in office—his campaign ‘payment liability’), which we regard as a this purpose. It is in the interest of both in- was all about drain the swamp, and one cost-efficient way of mirroring internal cor- vestors and issuers that the data disclosed of the first things he did, with his Re- porate reporting. We recommend a single pursuant to Section 13(q) maintains consist- publican House and Senate Members consistent standard in preference to allowing ency across each issuer’s operations. Fol- following along like sheep, they have companies to self-define project boundaries lowing the enactment of Section 13(q), other done this. It is just incredible how they for two reasons: 1) a multiplicity of report- jurisdictions have responded with com- moved so quickly to side with the auto- ing standards would cause confusion and plementary regulatory efforts, most notably crats, to side with the Russians, to side drive up compliance costs; 2) flexibility for the European Union Accounting and Trans- companies would also risk undermining the parency Directives and Canada’s commit- with Big Oil, to side with ExxonMobil aim of the regulation. Such a standard ment to establish mandatory payment trans- and these autocrats in places like Iran should also require a consistent and reason- parency reporting standards. Consistency and Russia. It is not a good com- able degree of disaggregation, as this would with these reporting mandates requires pay- mentary on this body. I am sorry to see meet the aims of the regulation, namely im- ment information for all countries in which it. proving fiscal governance at both national issuers operate, without exception. I ask my colleagues to vote no. and subnational level. Section 13(q) and its complementing regu- In conclusion, we are pleased to signal our lations also require project-level disclosure. I yield back my time. strong support for the SEC’s leadership in es- It would be most beneficial to investors if Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I yield tablishing a mandatory reporting standard this disclosure were consistent with best back the remaining Republican time. in the extractives sector that is complemen- practice for disclosing disaggregated produc- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. SUL- tary to the EITI, aligned with equivalent tion information that references the legal re- LIVAN). Without objection, the major- standards in the EU and Canada, and de- lationship between individual projects and signed pragmatically to deliver the very real host governments. Such an approach may be ity time is yielded back. benefits that we see coming from enhancing modeled on the project-level disclosures fiscal transparency and accountability in re- made by Statoil, the large Norwegian-based f source-dependent emerging nations. The SEC international oil company, as well as Tullow has demonstrated great diligence in appre- Oil. MORNING BUSINESS ciating the changing needs of investors The SEC has demonstrated great diligence through the implementation of Section 1504. in appreciating the changing needs of inves- Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask We remain confident that the Commission tors through the implementation of Section unanimous consent that the Senate be will see the process through to a conclusion 13(q). We also welcome the parallel comment in a period of Morning Business, with that fulfills its mission and advances the in- submitted by Allianz Global Investors et al., Senators permitted to speak therein terests of all its stakeholders. and note the common objectives our respec- We thank you for your attention to this tive groups of signatories share in promoting for up to 10 minutes each. submission, and remain at your disposal for high standards of transparency in the extrac- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without any further information or clarification. tives sector. We remain confident that the objection, it is so ordered.

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John is herd of Polled Hereford cattle and be- school to sports. a World War II veteran, a beloved came an internationally recognized Ally broke new ground as the first member of the Lyndhurst community, Hereford cattle breeder. person from Harlowton High School ap- and an inspiration to many. This success also earned them the pointed to the U.S. Military Academy A native of Hoboken, John Salamone recognition of ‘‘Boone County Family at West Point. The number of cadets at began his service upon enlistment in Farm of the Year’’ in 1973. West Point will be nearly double the the U.S. Navy in 1943 at the age of 17. He took his expertise to Montana in population of Wheatland County. Ally After basic training, he was assigned to 1978 to work in the cattle industry and won’t flinch at this. She is not one to the medical corps and deployed to the was active on the national cattle show seek out comfort, make excuses, or Pacific Theater on the hospital ship circuit, winning the award for national look for shortcuts. She will do what the U.S.S. Haven. John’s service in the champion bull in 1994 and 1995. she has always done—wake up when al- Pacific took him to the Battle of Oki- After his decades of raising cattle, he most everyone else is still sleeping, nawa, to the liberation of POWs in the could still remember in detail his focus on the tasks at hand, and simply Philippines, and to the destroyed city prized animals. He was more than get the job done. Her exemplary of Nagasaki. happy to share pictures and stories of hardwork and leadership will serve our John’s experiences during the war his cattle. Nation well in the military. Good luck, changed him. For several years fol- Joe was a longtime member of the and Godspeed, Ally; the people of Mon- lowing his return, he used his training Union Baptist Church where he served tana support you.∑ to assist others as a volunteer emer- as a deacon, church secretary, and f gency medical technician in his com- treasurer. 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE munity. After seeing the devastation of The Dearings were so kind to my MATTATUCK DRUM BAND the atomic bomb released over Naga- daughters when they were showing ∑ Mr. MURPHY. I would like to con- saki, John became passionate about cows through 4–H. We spent countless gratulate the Mattatuck Drum Band, sharing his war experiences with others hours with Joe and Dennie traveling the oldest continually operating all over the country, and we witnessed in the hopes that the United States marching band in the Nation, on its the great examples of integrity and might never again deem atomic war 250th anniversary. The Mattatuck character that defined their lives. necessary. To this day, he still prays Drum Band’s performances have cap- Joe Dearing left a lasting legacy. He for peace. tivated audiences in Connecticut since was a beloved husband, friend, commu- John is treasured by all who have before the founding of our Nation and nity member, and cattle rancher. I was been fortunate enough to meet him, deserve recognition for continuing this proud to call him my friend, and in and thanks to his outgoing and affable important musical tradition over so fact, he and Dennie always seemed nature, almost everyone in the town- many years. ship of Lyndhurst knows him. John is a more like family. He will be greatly During the marching band’s forma- fixture there: he was a Little League missed. My thoughts and prayers are tive years in the early 1770’s, it was coach, a member of the Elks Lodge and with his loved ones during this difficult known as the Farmingbury Drum ∑ the Knights of Columbus, and a mem- time. Band. The group performed at ber of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic f Farmingbury church events, where Church, where he still attends mass TRIBUTE TO ALLY MARTIN churchgoers were called into services every Sunday, just as he has for more by drumbeat—a common practice for ∑ Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, this than 50 years. For 68 years, until her churches without a bell. During the week, I have the distinct honor of rec- death, John was the loving husband of American Revolution, many members Mary Salamone, and he is the proud fa- ognizing Ms. Ally Martin of Wheatland of the band served as wartime fifers ther of Robert Salamone, Maureen County, a tough ranch hand with a and drummers, providing military field Hirsch, and Mary Ann Osgoodby. In his very bright future. This young lady has music for soldiers fighting for Amer- retirement, after a 40-year career in flat out excelled in her community. ican independence. Shortly after re- sales with Chemical Bank, John spends The superintendent of Harlowton Pub- turning home from the war, the band his time doting on his seven grand- lic Schools said of Ally, ‘‘I have known grew in popularity and changed their children and nine great-grandchildren, Ally for her whole life and she has yet name to the Wolcott Drum Band. advocating for the veterans commu- to disappoint me.’’ In the 19th century, many band mem- nity, and sharing his unique story as a Ally is the oldest of four siblings on bers continued their service to the U.S. Navy corpsman during World War a working sheep and cattle ranch not military during the War of 1812 and in II. too far from the Musselshell River in the Civil War, participating in rallies John’s remarkable commitment to central Montana. Anyone who knows and recruiting events to ‘‘drum up’’ his community and our Nation is an the amount dedication and persever- support for the militia. Following the example for all who seek to serve. It is ance it takes to keep this type of fam- Civil War, however, many band mem- an honor to formally recognize him for ily business running knows that Ally’s bers relocated, and interest in the his tremendous contributions to his achievements in sports, school, and 4–H group waned. The group was revived in fellow citizens and thank him for his are remarkable. Ally gets her grit from 1881, when the remaining active mem- faithful service.∑ her family. Her parents would drive 25 bers of the band moved the group to f miles to take Ally to her part-time job Waterbury and renamed it the washing dishes and waiting tables at Mattatuck Drum Band. The uniform REMEMBERING JOE BILL DEARING the Crazy Mountain Inn in first donned by this group in 1884 is ∑ Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, today Martinsdale. still worn by the Mattatuck Drum I wish to remember Joe Bill Dearing, From 2013–2015, Ally was recognized Band today. an Arkansan with a big heart who as the Wheatland County 4–H ‘‘Grand As the band continued into the 20th loved to tell a good story and was a Champion’’ for her sheep project. Ally century, their main purpose shifted legend in Hereford cattle breeding. He meticulously cross-bred Suffolk sheep from rallying support for the militia to passed away on Monday, January 30, into her family’s Targhee flock, mak- bolstering the morale and feelings of 2017, at the age of 88. ing noticeable gains to weaning weight. patriotism amongst the public. Al- Joe was born in Harrison, AR. He Some of her 4–H peers even started though many Mattatuck Drum Band married his high school sweetheart, using her lambs in 4–H as well. Ally has members enlisted to serve their coun- Dennie, in 1947, and the couple pursued been able to shoulder the demands of try during World War I and World War

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They received mittee of the Senate. ing practices, and for other purposes; to the a standing ovation and applause for (Nominations without an asterisk Committee on Finance. their performance. were reported with the recommenda- By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. Today the Mattatuck Drum Band tion that they be confirmed.) BENNET): S. 285. A bill to ensure adequate use and performs at many parades and celebra- f access to the existing Bolts Ditch headgate tions, using their powerful drum beats and ditch segment within the Holy Cross to continue the patriotic tunes and tra- INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS Wilderness in Eagle County, Colorado, and ditions that have inspired so many for other purposes; to the Committee on En- Americans over generations. I would The following bills and joint resolu- ergy and Natural Resources. like to congratulate the Mattatuck tions were introduced, read the first By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. Drum Band on their incredible history and second times by unanimous con- BENNET): sent, and referred as indicated: S. 286. A bill to require a land conveyance of service and inspiration. It is my involving the Elkhorn Ranch and the White hope that the band continues this in- By Ms. HEITKAMP (for herself, Mr. River National Forest in the State of Colo- credible musical tradition for many BOOZMAN, Mr. UDALL, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. rado, and for other purposes; to the Com- more years to come.∑ DURBIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KING, mittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ms. COLLINS, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. DON- f By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. NELLY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BENNET): MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE WARNER, and Mr. COCHRAN): S. 287. A bill to update the map of, and S. 275. A bill to allow the financing by At 4:30 p.m., a message from the modify the maximum acreage available for United States persons of sales of agricultural inclusion in, the Florissant Fossil Beds Na- House of Representatives, delivered by commodities to Cuba; to the Committee on tional Monument; to the Committee on En- Mrs. Cole, one of its reading clerks, an- Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. ergy and Natural Resources. nounced that the House has passed the By Mr. FLAKE (for himself and Mr. By Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. following joint resolutions, in which it MCCAIN): LANKFORD, Mr. BLUNT, and Mr. requests the concurrence of the Senate: S. 276. A bill to amend title 28, United HATCH): States Code, to divide the ninth judicial cir- S. 288. A bill to require notice and com- H.J. Res 37. Joint resolution disapproving cuit of the United States into 2 circuits, and ment for certain interpretative rules; to the the rule submitted by the Department of De- for other purposes; to the Committee on the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- fense, the General Services Administration, Judiciary. ernmental Affairs. and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad- By Mr. MANCHIN: By Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. ministration relating to the Federal Acquisi- S. 277. A bill to establish a Rural Tele- GARDNER): tion Regulation. communications and Broadband Advisory S. 289. A bill to adjust the boundary of the H.J. Res 40. Joint resolution providing for Committee within the Federal Communica- Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, and for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of tions Commission; to the Committee on other purposes; to the Committee on Energy title 5, United States Code, of the rule sub- Commerce, Science, and Transportation. and Natural Resources. mitted by the Social Security Administra- By Mr. DAINES (for himself and Mr. By Mr. UDALL (for himself and Mr. tion relating to Implementation of the NICS WARNER): BOOZMAN): Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. S. 278. A bill to amend the Homeland Secu- S. 290. A bill to amend the Internal Rev- f rity Act of 2002 to provide for innovative re- enue Code of 1986 to provide a standard home search and development, and for other pur- office deduction; to the Committee on Fi- MEASURES PLACED ON THE nance. CALENDAR poses; to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs. By Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. The following bill was read the sec- By Mr. RUBIO: LEAHY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. HEINRICH, S. 279. A bill to amend the Water Resources Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Ms. HARRIS): ond time, and placed on the calendar: S. 291. A bill to amend the National Secu- Development Act of 1986 to modify a provi- S. 274. A bill to nullify the effect of the re- rity Act of 1947 to modify the requirements sion relating to acquisition of beach fill; to cent executive order that temporarily re- for membership in the National Security the Committee on Environment and Public stricted individuals from certain countries Council and cabinet-level policy forum, and Works. from entering the United States. for other purposes; to the Select Committee By Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. on Intelligence. f BENNET): By Mr. REED (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, S. 280. A bill to authorize, direct, expedite, REPORTS OF COMMITTEES Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. ISAKSON): and facilitate a land exchange in El Paso and S. 292. A bill to maximize discovery, and The following reports of committees Teller Counties, Colorado, and for other pur- were submitted: accelerate development and availability, of poses; to the Committee on Energy and Nat- promising childhood cancer treatments, and By Mr. BARRASSO, from the Committee ural Resources. for other purposes; to the Committee on on Environment and Public Works, without By Mr. LEE: Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. amendment: S. 281. A bill to amend the Immigration By Mr. SCOTT (for himself, Mr. BOOK- S. Res. 42. An original resolution author- and Nationality Act to eliminate the per- ER, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BENNET, Mr. GRA- izing expenditures by the Committee on En- country numerical limitation for employ- HAM, Mr. COONS, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. vironment and Public Works. ment-based immigrants, to increase the per- GILLIBRAND, Mr. PETERS, Mr. GARD- country numerical limitation for family- f NER, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. WARNER): sponsored immigrants, and for other pur- S. 293. A bill to amend the Internal Rev- EXECUTIVE REPORTS OF poses; to the Committee on the Judiciary. enue Code of 1986 to provide for the deferral COMMITTEES By Mr. HELLER (for himself, Mr. HEIN- of inclusion in gross income for capital gains RICH, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. TESTER, Mr. The following executive reports of reinvested in opportunity zones; to the Com- RISCH, Mr. DAINES, Mr. BENNET, and mittee on Finance. nominations were submitted: Mr. UDALL): By Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. By Mr. BARRASSO for the Committee on S. 282. A bill to promote the development RUBIO, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. DAINES, Mr. Environment and Public Works. Scott Pru- of renewable energy on public land, and for CASEY, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. BOOZMAN, itt, of Oklahoma, to be Administrator of the other purposes; to the Committee on Energy Mr. TESTER, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. Environmental Protection Agency. and Natural Resources. HELLER): By Mr. JOHNSON for the Committee on By Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Mr. S. 294. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Homeland Security and Governmental Af- TILLIS, Mr. COONS, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify the Food fairs. *Mick Mulvaney, of South Carolina, to WYDEN, and Ms. HIRONO): and Drug Administration’s jurisdiction over be Director of the Office of Management and S. 283. A bill to amend title 38, United certain tobacco products, and to protect jobs Budget. States Code, to provide for the treatment of and small businesses involved in the sale, By Mr. ENZI for the Committee on the veterans who participated in the cleanup of manufacturing and distribution of tradi- Budget. *Mick Mulvaney, of South Carolina, Enewetak Atoll as radiation exposed vet- tional and premium cigars; to the Com- to be Director of the Office of Management erans for purposes of the presumption of mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and and Budget. service-connection of certain disabilities by Pensions.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.043 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S656 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 By Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. SUL- vada (Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) were added S. 244, a bill to repeal the wage require- LIVAN, and Ms. MURKOWSKI): as cosponsors of S. 58, a bill to amend ment of the Davis-Bacon Act. S. 295. A bill to amend title 28, United the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to re- S. 251 States Code, to provide for the appointment peal the excise tax on high cost em- of additional Federal circuit judges, to di- At the request of Mr. WYDEN, the vide the Ninth Judicial Circuit of the United ployer-sponsored health coverage. name of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. States into 2 circuits, and for other purposes; S. 59 SCHATZ) was added as a cosponsor of S. to the Committee on the Judiciary. At the request of Mr. CRAPO, the 251, a bill to repeal the Independent By Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. name of the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Payment Advisory Board in order to DAINES, and Ms. MURKOWSKI): RISCH) was added as a cosponsor of S. ensure that it cannot be used to under- S. 296. A bill to establish a Commission on 59, a bill to provide that silencers be mine the Medicare entitlement for Structural Alternatives for the Federal beneficiaries. Courts of Appeals; to the Committee on the treated the same as long guns. Judiciary. S. 94 S. 255 By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mrs. At the request of Mr. CARDIN, the At the request of Mr. SCHATZ, the MCCASKILL): names of the Senator from Connecticut name of the Senator from Virginia (Mr. S. 297. A bill to increase competition in the (Mr. MURPHY) and the Senator from KAINE) was added as a cosponsor of S. pharmaceutical industry; to the Committee Colorado (Mr. GARDNER) were added as 255, a bill to increase the rates of pay on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. cosponsors of S. 94, a bill to impose under the General Schedule and other f sanctions in response to cyber intru- statutory pay systems and for pre- sions by the Government of the Rus- vailing rate employees by 3.2 percent, SUBMISSION OF CONCURRENT AND and for other purposes. SENATE RESOLUTIONS sian Federation and other aggressive activities of the Russian Federation, S. 264 The following concurrent resolutions and for other purposes. At the request of Mr. LANKFORD, the and Senate resolutions were read, and S. 109 name of the Senator from Missouri referred (or acted upon), as indicated: At the request of Mr. GRASSLEY, the (Mr. BLUNT) was added as a cosponsor By Mr. BARRASSO: name of the Senator from New York of S. 264, a bill to amend the Internal S. Res. 42. An original resolution author- (Mrs. GILLIBRAND) was added as a co- Revenue Code of 1986 to allow chari- izing expenditures by the Committee on En- sponsor of S. 109, a bill to amend title table organizations to make state- vironment and Public Works; from the Com- ments relating to political campaigns mittee on Environment and Public Works; to XVIII of the Social Security Act to the Committee on Rules and Administration. provide for coverage under the Medi- if such statements are made in ordi- By Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. care program of pharmacist services. nary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, S. 182 Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. S. 272 At the request of Ms. KLOBUCHAR, the WYDEN): name of the Senator from Nevada (Ms. At the request of Mr. SCHATZ, the S. Res. 43. A resolution recognizing Janu- names of the Senator from Connecticut CORTEZ MASTO) was added as a cospon- ary 2017 as National Mentoring Month; con- (Mr. BLUMENTHAL) and the Senator sidered and agreed to. sor of S. 182, a bill to provide for the inclusion of court-appointed guardian- from Michigan (Mr. PETERS) were f ship improvement and oversight activi- added as cosponsors of S. 272, a bill to ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS ties under the Elder Justice Act of 2009. enhance the security operations of the Transportation Security Administra- S. 208 S. 54 tion and the stability of the transpor- At the request of Mr. KING, the name At the request of Mr. BOOKER, the tation security workforce by applying of the Senator from Nevada (Mr. HELL- name of the Senator from Delaware a unified personnel system under title ER) was added as a cosponsor of S. 208, (Mr. CARPER) was added as a cosponsor 5, United States Code, to employees of a bill to amend the Internal Revenue of S. 54, a bill to prohibit the creation the Transportation Security Adminis- Code of 1986 to make the Child and De- of an immigration-related registry pro- tration who are responsible for screen- pendent Care Tax Credit fully refund- gram that classifies people on the basis ing passengers and property, and for able, and for other purposes. of religion, race, age, gender, ethnicity, other purposes. S. 212 national origin, nationality, or citizen- S. 274 ship. At the request of Mr. CORNYN, the At the request of Mrs. FEINSTEIN, the S. 56 name of the Senator from Mississippi names of the Senator from Montana At the request of Mr. SULLIVAN, the (Mr. WICKER) was added as a cosponsor (Mr. TESTER), the Senator from Indiana names of the Senator from Kentucky of S. 212, a bill to provide for the devel- (Mr. DONNELLY), the Senator from (Mr. PAUL), the Senator from Kentucky opment of a United States strategy for Florida (Mr. NELSON) and the Senator (Mr. MCCONNELL), the Senator from greater human space exploration, and from North Dakota (Ms. HEITKAMP) Utah (Mr. HATCH), the Senator from for other purposes. were added as cosponsors of S. 274, a Texas (Mr. CORNYN), the Senator from S. 224 bill to nullify the effect of the recent Louisiana (Mr. KENNEDY), the Senator At the request of Mr. RUBIO, the executive order that temporarily re- from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT), the Senator name of the Senator from Georgia (Mr. stricted individuals from certain coun- from Georgia (Mr. ISAKSON), the Sen- PERDUE) was added as a cosponsor of S. tries from entering the United States. ator from Wisconsin (Mr. JOHNSON), the 224, a bill to amend title 18, United S.J. RES. 1 Senator from South Dakota (Mr. States Code, to prohibit taking minors At the request of Mr. BOOZMAN, the ROUNDS), the Senator from Indiana across State lines in circumvention of name of the Senator from Montana (Mr. YOUNG), the Senator from Okla- laws requiring the involvement of par- (Mr. TESTER) was added as a cosponsor homa (Mr. INHOFE), the Senator from ents in abortion decisions. of S.J. Res. 1, a joint resolution ap- Montana (Mr. DAINES), the Senator S. 241 proving the location of a memorial to from Wyoming (Mr. BARRASSO), the At the request of Mrs. ERNST, the commemorate and honor the members Senator from Georgia (Mr. PERDUE), names of the Senator from Wyoming of the Armed Forces who served on ac- the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. BOOZ- (Mr. ENZI) and the Senator from Geor- tive duty in support of Operation MAN) and the Senator from North Caro- gia (Mr. PERDUE) were added as cospon- Desert Storm or Operation Desert lina (Mr. BURR) were added as cosponsors of S. 241, a bill to prohibit Federal Shield. sors of S. 56, a bill to require each funding of Planned Parenthood Federa- S.J. RES. 5 agency to repeal or amend 2 or more tion of America. At the request of Mr. CARDIN, the rules before issuing or amending a rule. S. 244 names of the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. S. 58 At the request of Mr. LEE, the names HIRONO) and the Senator from Con- At the request of Mr. HELLER, the of the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. necticut (Mr. BLUMENTHAL) were added names of the Senator from Arizona THUNE) and the Senator from Idaho as cosponsors of S.J. Res. 5, a joint res- (Mr. FLAKE) and the Senator from Ne- (Mr. RISCH) were added as cosponsors of olution removing the deadline for the

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.021 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S657 ratification of the equal rights amend- (Mr. ENZI) was added as a cosponsor of With problems like these, we are left ment. S.J. Res. 19, a joint resolution pro- to ask: Is the Ninth Circuit simply too S.J. RES. 9 viding for congressional disapproval big to succeed? If you are an Arizonan, At the request of Mr. INHOFE, the under chapter 8 of title 5, United the answer is unquestionably yes. name of the Senator from Arkansas States Code, of the rule submitted by Arizonans deserve better, and that is (Mr. COTTON) was added as a cosponsor the Bureau of Consumer Financial Pro- why today I am introducing a bill to of S.J. Res. 9, a joint resolution protection relating to prepaid accounts break up the Ninth Circuit. With the support of my colleague viding for congressional disapproval under the Electronic Fund Transfer from Arizona, JOHN MCCAIN, and the under chapter 8, of title 5, United Act and the Truth in Lending Act. support of Gov. Doug Ducey, I have in- States Code, of the rule submitted by S. CON. RES. 6 troduced the Judicial Administration the Securities and Exchange Commis- At the request of Mr. BARRASSO, the and Improvement Act. This bill would sion relating to the disclosure of pay- names of the Senator from New Mexico create a new Twelfth Circuit by mov- ments by resource extraction issuers. (Mr. HEINRICH) and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. GARDNER) were added as ing Arizona, as well as Alaska, Idaho, S.J. RES. 11 cosponsors of S. Con. Res. 6, a concur- Montana, Nevada, and Washington, out At the request of Mr. BARRASSO, the rent resolution supporting the Local of the Ninth Circuit. Doing so would name of the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Radio Freedom Act. create two smaller appellate courts RISCH) was added as a cosponsor of S.J. where one dysfunctional court stood, f Res. 11, a joint resolution providing for all the while establishing stronger congressional disapproval under chap- STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED local, regional, and cultural ties. This ter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS would help alleviate the Ninth Cir- the final rule of the Bureau of Land By Mr. FLAKE (for himself and cuit’s enormous caseload and ensure a Management relating to ‘‘Waste Pre- Mr. MCCAIN): more timely and accurate judicial vention, Production Subject to Royal- S. 276. A bill to amend title 28, process for both circuits. ties, and Resource Conservation’’. United States Code, to divide the ninth Now, importantly, the bill would also S.J. RES. 13 judicial circuit of the United States free the new circuit from the Ninth At the request of Mrs. ERNST, the into 2 circuits, and for other purposes; Circuit’s precedent. That means States names of the Senator from Wyoming to the Committee on the Judiciary. like Arizona would be able to chart (Mr. ENZI) and the Senator from Geor- Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, one of their own legal course, consistent with gia (Mr. PERDUE) were added as cospon- the most important elements of the their local needs and traditions. sors of S.J. Res. 13, a joint resolution rule of law is the promise of swift ac- A fair and functioning judiciary is providing for congressional disapproval cess to the courts, but that promise has one of the pillars of our democracy. Ge- under chapter 8 of title 5, United been broken in my home State of Ari- ography shouldn’t limit a citizen’s ac- States Code, of the final rule submitted zona. That is because Arizona falls cess to the courts. by the Secretary of Health and Human under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court The Judicial Administration and Im- Services relating to compliance with of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a cir- provement Act will right this wrong by title X requirements by project recipi- cuit that is both oversized and over- restoring faith in our judicial system ents in selecting subrecipients. worked. and securing the access to Justice that With the jurisdiction encompassing Americans deserve. S.J. RES. 14 13 districts spread across nine States At the request of Mr. GRASSLEY, the and 2 U.S. territories, the Ninth Cir- By Mr. DAINES (for himself and names of the Senator from Georgia cuit covers 1 in 5 Americans. It hears Mr. WARNER): (Mr. PERDUE), the Senator from Mon- roughly 12,000 appeals each year. The S. 278. A bill to amend the Homeland tana (Mr. DAINES) and the Senator next busiest circuit doesn’t even hear Security Act of 2002 to provide for in- from Kansas (Mr. MORAN) were added 9,000, and for the thousands of cases novative research and development, as cosponsors of S.J. Res. 14, a joint under its consideration, the average and for other purposes; to the Com- resolution providing for congressional turnaround time exceeds 15 months. mittee on Homeland Security and Gov- disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, Now, if excessive delays weren’t bad ernmental Affairs. United States Code, of the rule sub- enough, it turns out the Ninth Circuit Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, in recent mitted by the Social Security Adminis- is overturned by the Supreme Court 77 years we have seen the inability of the tration relating to Implementation of percent of the time when the Supreme Federal Government to quickly adapt the NICS Improvement Amendments Court grants cert—77 percent of the to changing technology and emerging Act of 2007. time. That is obviously higher than threats. In June of 2015 the Office of S.J. RES. 15 any other court. So not only is the Personnel Management, OPM, was in- At the request of Ms. MURKOWSKI, the court excruciatingly slow, but in many filtrated with a major cyber breach, af- name of the Senator from North Da- instances it is simply wrong. fecting more than 22 million current kota (Mr. HOEVEN) was added as a co- The court, itself, is unusually large. and former Federal employees, includ- sponsor of S.J. Res. 15, a joint resolu- It has 29 authorized judgeships. That is ing myself. In January of 2016, another tion providing for congressional dis- 12 more than the next largest circuit. nearly half a million Americans had approval under chapter 8 of title 5, The Ninth Circuit is so big that it their social security numbers stolen United States Code, of the final rule can’t even rehear cases as a whole when the Internal Revenue Service was submitted by the Director of the Bu- body, like every other appeals court hacked. reau of Land Management relating to does. Instead, cases are reheard with I spent 28 years in the private sector, resource management planning. limited en banc; these are panels of 11 12 years with a global cloud computing judges each. That means that only one- company. We faced cyber threats daily, S.J. RES. 16 third of its judges are deciding law for and our customers expected security of At the request of Mr. WYDEN, the the entire court—only one-third. their data. We delivered, not once was name of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Of the States suffering under the our data compromised. Until I came to SCHATZ) was added as a cosponsor of weight of the Ninth Circuit’s crushing the Federal Government and received S.J. Res. 16, a joint resolution approv- backlog, Arizona shoulders a uniquely the letters from OPM, my data had ing the discontinuation of the process heavy burden. Per capita, Arizona has been secured too. for consideration and automatic imple- the busiest Federal docket in the cir- I know firsthand that industry has mentation of the annual proposal of cuit. That puts Arizonans at the back the talent and incentive to keep their the Independent Medicare Advisory of an already long line just to get their information systems secure. The Fed- Board under section 1899A of the Social day in court. eral Government should continue to in- Security Act. As if the deluge of cases continues to novate and utilize industries’ expertise S.J. RES. 19 fill the Ninth Circuit’s docket, the line and learn from their best practices. At the request of Mr. PERDUE, the keeps getting longer and longer if you That is why I am introducing the name of the Senator from Wyoming happen to live in Arizona. Support for Rapid Innovation Act. This

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.023 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE S658 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2017 legislation will extend the authoriza- ‘‘(8) assist the development and accelerate cidentally inserted at any time during the tion for the Secretary of Homeland Se- the deployment of full information lifecycle lifecycle of the software; and curity to carry out innovative research security technologies to enhance protection, ‘‘(B) functioning in the intended manner.’’. and development projects that will en- control, and privacy of information to detect (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of hance our Nation’s cyber security. It and prevent cybersecurity risks and inci- contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Se- dents; curity Act of 2002 is amended by inserting will focus efforts on developing more ‘‘(9) assist the development and accelerate after the item relating to second section 319 secure information systems, tech- the deployment of information security the following new item: nologies for detecting and containing measures, in addition to perimeter-based ‘‘Sec. 321. Cybersecurity research and devel- attacks in real-time, and develop cyber protections; opment.’’. forensics to identify perpetrators. This ‘‘(10) assist the development and accelerate (b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT will be done by leveraging private sec- the deployment of technologies to detect im- PROJECTS.—Section 831 of the Homeland Se- tors’ innovation and ingenuity. proper information access by authorized curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391) is amended— I want to thank Senator WARNER for users; (1) in subsection (a)— being an original cosponsor of this bill ‘‘(11) assist the development and accelerate (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), the deployment of cryptographic tech- and Representative RATCLIFFE of Texas by striking ‘‘2016’’ and inserting ‘‘2021’’; nologies to protect information at rest, in for leading introduction of companion (B) in paragraph (1), by striking the last transit, and in use; sentence; and legislation in the House of Representa- ‘‘(12) assist the development and accelerate tives. I ask my Senate colleagues to (C) by adding at the end the following new the deployment of methods to promote paragraph: join us in support of this important greater software assurance; ‘‘(3) PRIOR APPROVAL.—In any case in legislation. ‘‘(13) assist the development and accelerate which the head of a component or office of Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- the deployment of tools to securely and the Department seeks to utilize the author- sent that the text of the bill be printed automatically update software and firmware ity under this section, such head shall first in the RECORD. in use, with limited or no necessary inter- receive prior approval from the Secretary by There being no objection, the text of vention by users and limited impact on con- providing to the Secretary a proposal that the bill was ordered to be printed in currently operating systems and processes; includes the rationale for the utilization of the RECORD, as follows: and such authority, the funds to be spent on the ‘‘(14) assist in identifying and addressing S. 278 use of such authority, and the expected out- unidentified or future cybersecurity threats. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- come for each project that is the subject of ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this the use of such authority. In such a case, the resentatives of the United States of America in section, the Under Secretary for Science and Congress assembled, authority for evaluating the proposal may Technology shall coordinate activities not be delegated by the Secretary to anyone SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. with— other than the Under Secretary for Manage- This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Support for ‘‘(1) the Under Secretary appointed pursu- Rapid Innovation Act of 2017’’. ment.’’; ant to section 103(a)(1)(H); (2) in subsection (c)— SEC. 2. CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVEL- ‘‘(2) the heads of other relevant Federal de- (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre- OPMENT PROJECTS. partments and agencies, as appropriate; and (a) CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVEL- ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2016’’ ‘‘(3) industry and academia. OPMENT.— and inserting ‘‘2021’’; and ‘‘(d) TRANSITION TO PRACTICE.—The Under (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is Secretary for Science and Technology shall follows: amended by adding at the end the following support projects carried out under this title ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annu- new section: through the full life cycle of such projects, ally submit to the Committee on Homeland including research, development, testing, ‘‘SEC. 321. CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DE- Security and the Committee on Science, VELOPMENT. evaluation, pilots, and transitions. The Space, and Technology of the House of Rep- ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Under Secretary shall identify mature tech- resentatives and the Committee on Home- Science and Technology shall support the re- nologies that address existing or imminent land Security and Governmental Affairs of search, development, testing, evaluation, cybersecurity gaps in public or private infor- the Senate a report detailing the projects for and transition of cybersecurity technologies, mation systems and networks of information which the authority granted by subsection including fundamental research to improve systems, protect sensitive information with- (a) was utilized, the rationale for such utili- the sharing of information, information se- in and outside networks of information sys- zations, the funds spent utilizing such au- curity, analytics, and methodologies related tems, identify and support necessary im- thority, the extent of cost-sharing for such to cybersecurity risks and incidents, con- provements identified during pilot programs projects among Federal and non-Federal sistent with current law. and testing and evaluation activities, and in- sources, the extent to which utilization of ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The research and devel- troduce new cybersecurity technologies such authority has addressed a homeland se- opment supported under subsection (a) shall throughout the homeland security enterprise curity capability gap or threat to the home- serve the components of the Department and through partnerships and commercialization. land identified by the Department, the total shall— The Under Secretary shall target Federally amount of payments, if any, that were re- ‘‘(1) advance the development and accel- funded cybersecurity research that dem- ceived by the Federal Government as a re- erate the deployment of more secure infor- onstrates a high probability of successful sult of the utilization of such authority dur- mation systems; transition to the commercial market within ing the period covered by each such report, ‘‘(2) improve and create technologies for two years and that is expected to have a no- the outcome of each project for which such detecting and preventing attacks or intru- table impact on the public or private infor- authority was utilized, and the results of any sions, including real-time continuous mation systems and networks of information audits of such projects.’’; and diagnostics, real-time analytic technologies, systems. (3) by adding at the end the following new and full lifecycle information protection; ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: subsection: ‘‘(3) improve and create mitigation and re- ‘‘(1) CYBERSECURITY RISK.—The term ‘cy- ‘‘(e) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall de- covery methodologies, including techniques bersecurity risk’ has the meaning given such velop a training program for acquisitions and policies for real-time containment of at- term in section 227. staff on the utilization of the authority pro- tacks, and development of resilient networks ‘‘(2) HOMELAND SECURITY ENTERPRISE.—The vided under subsection (a) to ensure account- and information systems; term ‘homeland security enterprise’ means ability and effective management of projects ‘‘(4) support, in coordination with non-Fed- relevant governmental and nongovernmental consistent with the Program Management eral entities, the review of source code that entities involved in homeland security, in- Improvement Accountability Act (Public underpins critical infrastructure informa- cluding Federal, State, local, and tribal gov- Law 114–264) and the amendments made by tion systems; ernment officials, private sector representa- such Act.’’. ‘‘(5) assist the development and support in- tives, academics, and other policy experts. (c) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No frastructure and tools to support cybersecu- ‘‘(3) INCIDENT.—The term ‘incident’ has the additional funds are authorized to carry out rity research and development efforts, in- meaning given such term in section 227. the requirements of this Act and the amend- cluding modeling, testbeds, and data sets for ‘‘(4) INFORMATION SYSTEM.—The term ‘in- ments made by this Act. Such requirements assessment of new cybersecurity tech- formation system’ has the meaning given shall be carried out using amounts otherwise nologies; such term in section 3502(8) of title 44, authorized. ‘‘(6) assist the development and support of United States Code. technologies to reduce vulnerabilities in in- ‘‘(5) SOFTWARE ASSURANCE.—The term ‘soft- By Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. dustrial control systems; ware assurance’ means confidence that soft- LANKFORD, Mr. BLUNT, and Mr. ‘‘(7) assist the development and support ware— HATCH): cyber forensics and attack attribution capa- ‘‘(A) is free from vulnerabilities, either in- S. 288. A bill to require notice and bilities; tentionally designed into the software or ac- comment for certain interpretative

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.029 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S659 rules; to the Committee on Homeland into the causes of childhood cancers they and their families need is to spend Security and Governmental Affairs. and improved treatment options, I in- months being given the run-around Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask troduced bipartisan legislation that trying to access a potential treatment. unanimous consent that the text of the eventually was signed into law in 2008 I am hopeful that we can build on bill be printed in the RECORD. as the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer this momentum. Indeed, it was heart- There being no objection, the text of Childhood Cancer Act. ening to see the House of Representa- the bill was ordered to be printed in This was an important step. Yet, tives pass the Childhood Cancer STAR the RECORD, as follows: more work remains. The STAR Act Act as one of its last acts of the 114th S. 288 seeks to advance pediatric cancer re- Congress by a unanimous vote. While, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- search and child-focused cancer treat- the Senate was unable to follow suit as resentatives of the United States of America in ments, while also improving childhood time ran out at the end of the year, Congress assembled, cancer surveillance and providing re- HELP Committee Chairman ALEX- SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. sources for survivors and those im- ANDER and Ranking Member MURRAY This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory pacted by childhood cancer. have committed to working with Sen- Predictability for Business Growth Act of If a treatment is working, doctors ator CAPITO and me to move the legis- 2017’’. elsewhere should know immediately. lation this year. SEC. 2. REQUIRING NOTICE AND COMMENT FOR The same should happen if a treatment CERTAIN INTERPRETATIVE RULES. The Childhood Cancer STAR Act has Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United isn’t working, or if other major med- the support of the American Cancer So- States Code, is amended— ical events occur during the course of a ciety Cancer Action Network, St. (1) in section 551— particular treatment. It is critical that Baldrick’s Foundation, and Children’s (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at doctors, nurses, and other providers are Oncology Group, among others. I look the end; able to effectively communicate infor- forward to our continued work with (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the pe- mation about the disease, the treat- these stakeholders to build support for riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; ment process, and what other health the bill and with the HELP Committee and and development impacts children can (C) by adding at the end the following: to see this bill advance through the ‘‘(15) ‘longstanding interpretative rule’ expect to experience with a particular legislative process. means an interpretative rule that has been course of treatment. f in effect for not less than 1 year; and As such, the STAR Act would reau- ‘‘(16) ‘revise’ means, with respect to an in- thorize the Caroline Pryce Walker Con- SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS terpretative rule, altering or otherwise quer Childhood Cancer Act, creating a changing any provision of a longstanding in- comprehensive children’s cancer bio- terpretative rule that conflicts, or is in any SENATE RESOLUTION 42—AUTHOR- repository for researchers to use in IZING EXPENDITURES BY THE way inconsistent with, any provision in a searching for biospecimens to study subsequently promulgated interpretative COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT rule.’’; and and would improve surveillance of AND PUBLIC WORKS childhood cancer cases. (2) in section 553— Mr. BARRASSO submitted the fol- (A) in subsection (b)(A), by striking ‘‘inter- This legislation also includes provi- pretative rules’’ and inserting ‘‘an interpre- sions dealing with issues that arise for lowing resolution; from the Committee tative rule of an agency, unless the interpre- survivors of childhood cancer. Unfortu- on Environment and Public Works; tative rule revises a longstanding interpreta- nately, even after beating cancer, as which was referred to the Committee tive rule of the agency’’; and many as two-thirds of childhood cancer on Rules and Administration: (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘inter- survivors are likely to experience at S. RES. 42 pretative rules’’ and inserting ‘‘an interpre- least one late effect of treatment; as Resolved, tative rule of an agency, unless the interpretative rule revises a longstanding interpreta- many as one-fourth experience a late SECTION 1. GENERAL AUTHORITY. tive rule of the agency,’’. effect that is serious or life-threat- In carrying out its powers, duties, and ening, including second cancers and functions under the Standing Rules of the By Mr. REED (for himself, Mrs. organ damage. Senate, in accordance with its jurisdiction under rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the CAPITO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and We must do more to ensure that chil- Senate, including holding hearings, report- Mr. ISAKSON): dren survive cancer and any late ef- ing such hearings, and making investiga- S. 292. A bill to maximize discovery, fects so they can live a long, healthy, tions as authorized by paragraphs 1 and 8 of and accelerate development and avail- and productive life. This legislation rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Sen- ability, of promising childhood cancer would enhance research on the late ef- ate, the Committee on Environment and treatments, and for other purposes; to fects of childhood cancers, improve col- Public Works (in this resolution referred to the Committee on Health, Education, laboration among providers so that as the ‘‘committee’’) is authorized from Labor, and Pensions. doctors are better able to care for this March 1, 2017 through February 28, 2019, in Mr. REED. Mr. President, I am population as they age, and establish a its discretion, to— (1) make expenditures from the contingent pleased to be joined by Senators CAP- new pilot program to begin to explore fund of the Senate; ITO, VAN HOLLEN, and ISAKSON in the improved models of care for childhood (2) employ personnel; and introduction of the Childhood Cancer cancer survivors. (3) with the prior consent of the Govern- Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Lastly, this bill would ensure more ment department or agency concerned and Research, STAR, Act of 2017. This leg- pediatric expertise at the National In- the Committee on Rules and Administration, islation is an extension of ongoing bi- stitutes of Health to better leverage use on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable partisan efforts in the Senate over the the research investment to improve pe- basis the services of personnel of any such past decade to get us closer to the goal diatric cancer research by requiring department or agency. of hopefully one day curing cancers in the inclusion of at least one pediatric SEC. 2. EXPENSES. children, adolescents, and young oncologist on the National Cancer Ad- (a) EXPENSES FOR PERIOD ENDING SEP- TEMBER 30, 2017.—The expenses of the com- adults. Representatives MCCAUL, visory Board and improving childhood mittee for the period March 1, 2017 through SPEIER, KELLY, and BUTTERFIELD are health reporting requirements to in- September 30, 2017 under this resolution introducing the companion legislation clude pediatric cancer. shall not exceed $3,060,871, of which in the other body. Last year, Senator CAPITO and I were amount— I first started working on this issue able to get a provision of this bill in- (1) not to exceed $4,666 may be expended for after meeting the Haight family from cluded in the 21st Century CURES Act, the procurement of the services of individual Warwick, Rhode Island in June of 2004. which was signed into law at the end of consultants, or organizations thereof (as au- Nancy and Vincent lost their son, Ben, the year. That provision will provide thorized by section 202(i) of the Legislative some clarity for patients and their Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i))); when he was just nine years old to neu- and roblastoma, a very aggressive tumor in physicians attempting to access new (2) not to exceed $1,166 may be expended for the brain. drugs and therapies from pharma- the training of the professional staff of the With the strong support of families ceutical companies. When a patient has committee (under procedures specified by like the Haights for increased research run out of other options, the last thing section 202(j) of that Act).

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(b) EXPENSES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018 PE- S. RES. 43 Resolved, That the Senate— RIOD.—The expenses of the committee for the Whereas, in 2002, the Harvard T.H. Chan (1) recognizes January 2017 as National period October 1, 2017 through September 30, School of Public Health and MENTOR: the Mentoring Month; 2018 under this resolution shall not exceed National Mentoring Partnership established (2) recognizes the caring adults who— $5,247,208, of which amount— National Mentoring Month; (A) serve as staff and volunteers at quality (1) not to exceed $8,000 may be expended for Whereas 2017 is the 15th anniversary of Na- mentoring programs; and the procurement of the services of individual tional Mentoring Month; (B) help the young people of the United consultants, or organizations thereof (as au- Whereas the goals of National Mentoring States find inner strength and reach their thorized by section 202(i) of the Legislative Month are— full potential; Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i))); (1) to raise awareness of mentoring; (3) acknowledges that mentoring is bene- and (2) to recruit individuals to mentor; and ficial because mentoring encourages edu- (2) not to exceed $2,000 may be expended for (3) to encourage organizations to engage cational achievement and self-confidence, re- the training of the professional staff of the and integrate quality in mentoring into the duces juvenile delinquency, improves life committee (under procedures specified by efforts of the organizations; outcomes, and strengthens communities; section 202(j) of that Act). Whereas young people across the United (4) promotes the establishment and expan- (c) EXPENSES FOR PERIOD ENDING FEBRUARY States make everyday choices that lead to sion of quality mentoring programs across 28, 2019.—The expenses of the committee for the big decisions in life without the guidance the United States to equip young people with the period October 1, 2018 through February and support on which many other people the tools needed to lead healthy and produc- 28, 2019 under this resolution shall not exceed rely; tive lives; and $2,186,337, of which amount— Whereas a mentor is a caring, consistent (5) supports initiatives to close the ‘‘men- (1) not to exceed $3,334 may be expended for presence who devotes time to a young person toring gap’’ that exists for the many young the procurement of the services of individual to help that young person— people in the United States who do not have consultants, or organizations thereof (as au- (1) discover personal strength; and meaningful connections with adults outside thorized by section 202(i) of the Legislative (2) achieve the potential of that young per- their homes. Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i))); son through a structured and trusting rela- f and tionship; (2) not to exceed $834 may be expended for Whereas quality mentoring— AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED AND the training of the professional staff of the (1) encourages positive choices; PROPOSED committee (under procedures specified by (2) promotes self-esteem; SA 190. Mr. CRAPO (for Mr. CRUZ (for him- section 202(j) of that Act). (3) supports academic achievement; and self and Mr. NELSON)) proposed an amend- SEC. 3. REPORTING LEGISLATION. (4) introduces young people to new ideas; ment to the resolution S. Res. 27, honoring The committee shall report its findings, Whereas mentoring programs have shown the life and achievements of Eugene A. together with such recommendations for leg- to be effective in combating school violence ‘‘Gene’’ Cernan. islation as it deems advisable, to the Senate and discipline problems, substance abuse, in- at the earliest practicable date, but not later carceration, and truancy; f than February 28, 2019. Whereas research shows that young people SEC. 4. EXPENSES AND AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS. who were at risk for not completing high TEXT OF AMENDMENTS (a) EXPENSES OF THE COMMITTEE.— school but who had a mentor were, as com- SA 190. Mr. CRAPO (for Mr. CRUZ (for (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in pared with similarly situated young people himself and Mr. NELSON)) proposed an paragraph (2), expenses of the committee without a mentor— amendment to the resolution S. Res. under this resolution shall be paid from the (1) 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in contingent fund of the Senate upon vouchers college; 27, honoring the life and achievements approved by the chairman of the committee. (2) 81 percent more likely to report partici- of Eugene A. ‘‘Gene’’ Cernan; as fol- (2) VOUCHERS NOT REQUIRED.—Vouchers pating regularly in sports or extracurricular lows: shall not be required for— activities; In the 12th whereas clause of the preamble, (A) the disbursement of salaries of employ- (3) more than twice as likely to say they strike ‘‘2016’’ and insert ‘‘2017’’. ees paid at an annual rate; held a leadership position in a club or sports f (B) the payment of telecommunications team; and provided by the Office of the Sergeant at (4) 78 percent more likely to pay it forward PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR Arms and Doorkeeper; by volunteering regularly in their commu- (C) the payment of stationery supplies pur- nities; Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask chased through the Keeper of the Stationery; Whereas 90 percent of young people who unanimous consent that my team (D) payments to the Postmaster of the were at risk for not completing high school member, Patrick Drupp, be granted Senate; but who had a mentor said they are now in- privileges of the floor. (E) the payment of metered charges on terested in becoming mentors themselves; The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without copying equipment provided by the Office of Whereas mentoring can play a role in help- objection, it is so ordered. the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper; ing young people attend school regularly, as (F) the payment of Senate Recording and research shows that students who meet regu- f Photographic Services; or larly with a mentor are, as compared with HONORING THE LIFE AND (G) the payment of franked and mass mail the peers of those students— costs by the Sergeant at Arms and Door- (1) 52 percent less likely to skip a full day ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUGENE A. keeper. of school; and ‘‘GENE’’ CERNAN (b) AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS.—There are au- (2) 37 percent less likely to skip a class; Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask thorized to be paid from the appropriations Whereas youth development experts agree unanimous consent that the Judiciary account for ‘‘Expenses of Inquiries and Inves- that mentoring encourages smart daily be- Committee be discharged from further tigations’’ of the Senate such sums as may haviors, such as finishing homework, having be necessary for agency contributions re- healthy social interactions, and saying no consideration of and the Senate now lated to the compensation of employees of when it counts, that have a noticeable influ- proceed to the consideration of S. Res. the committee— ence on the growth and success of a young 27. (1) for the period March 1, 2017 through person; The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without September 30, 2017; Whereas mentors help young people set ca- objection, it is so ordered. (2) for the period October 1, 2017 through reer goals and use the personal contacts of The clerk will report the resolution September 30, 2018; and the mentors to help young people meet in- by title. (3) for the period October 1, 2018 through dustry professionals and train for and find The bill clerk read as follows: February 28, 2019. jobs; f Whereas all of the described benefits of A resolution (S. Res. 27) honoring the life mentors serve to link youth to economic and and achievements of Eugene A. ‘‘Gene’’ SENATE RESOLUTION 43—RECOG- social opportunity while also strengthening Cernan. NIZING JANUARY 2017 AS NA- the fiber of communities in the United There being no objection, the Senate TIONAL MENTORING MONTH States; and proceeded to consider the resolution. Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. Whereas, despite the described benefits, Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask 9,000,000 young people in the United States WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, unanimous consent that the resolution feel isolated from meaningful connections Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. with adults outside their homes, consti- be agreed to; that the Cruz amendment WYDEN) submitted the following reso- tuting a ‘‘mentoring gap’’ that demonstrates to the preamble be agreed to; that the lution; which was considered and a need for collaboration and resources: Now, preamble, as amended, be agreed to; agreed to: therefore, be it and that the motions to reconsider be

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Feb 03, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02FE6.032 S02FEPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE February 2, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S661 considered made and laid upon the Whereas Gene Cernan logged 566 hours and The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without table. 15 minutes in space, of which more than 73 objection, it is so ordered. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without hours were spent on the surface of the Moon; The resolution (S. Res. 43) was agreed objection, it is so ordered. Whereas Gene Cernan and the crew of to. Apollo 17 set records that still stand today, The resolution (S. Res. 27) was agreed for longest manned lunar landing flight, The preamble was agreed to. to. longest lunar surface extra vehicular activi- (The resolution, with its preamble, is The amendment (No. 190) was agreed ties, largest lunar sample return, and longest printed in today’s RECORD under ‘‘Sub- to, as follows: time in lunar orbit; mitted Resolutions.’’) Whereas Gene Cernan retired from the (Purpose: To amend the preamble) f Navy after 20 years and ended his NASA ca- In the 12th whereas clause of the preamble, reer in July 1976; and strike ‘‘2016’’ and insert ‘‘2017’’. ORDERS FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY Whereas, on January 16, 2017, Gene Cernan 3, 2017 The preamble, as amended, was passed away in Houston, Texas, leaving be- agreed to. hind a vibrant history of space exploration Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask The resolution, with its preamble, as and advocacy for NASA, a legacy of inspiring unanimous consent that when the Sen- amended, reads as follows: young people to ‘‘dream the impossible’’, and ate completes its business today, it ad- a documentary that encourages continual S. RES. 27 journ until 6:30 a.m., Friday, February human space exploration: Now, therefore, be 3; that following the prayer and pledge, Whereas Gene Cernan was born on March it the morning hour be deemed expired, 14, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, was raised in the Resolved, That the Senate honors the life of suburban towns of Bellwood and Maywood, Gene Cernan, a Naval aviator, fighter pilot, the Journal of proceedings be approved and graduated from Proviso Township High electrical engineer, and the last astronaut to to date, and the time for the two lead- School; walk on the Moon. ers be reserved for their use later in Whereas Gene Cernan began his career as a f the day; further, that following leader basic flight trainee in the United States remarks, the Senate resume consider- Navy; NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH ation of H.J. Res. 41, with no debate Whereas Gene Cernan was one of fourteen Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask time remaining; finally, that following astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963 to participate in the Gemini and Apollo pro- unanimous consent that the Senate the disposition of H.J. Res. 41, the Sen- grams; proceed to the consideration of S. Res. ate vote on the motion to invoke clo- Whereas Gene Cernan was the second 43, submitted earlier today. ture on the DeVos nomination, rule American to have walked in space having The PRESIDING OFFICER. The XXII notwithstanding. spanned the circumference of the world twice clerk will report the resolution by The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without in a little more than 21⁄2 hours in 1966 during title. objection, it is so ordered. the Gemini 9 mission; The bill clerk read as follows: Whereas Gene Cernan served as the lunar f A resolution (S. Res. 43) recognizing Janu- module pilot for Apollo 10 in 1969, which was ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 6:30 A.M. referred to as the ‘‘dress rehearsal’’ for Apol- ary 2017 as National Mentoring Month. lo 11’s historic landing on the Moon; There being no objection, the Senate TOMORROW Whereas Gene Cernan was commander of proceeded to consider the resolution. Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, if there is Apollo 17 in 1972, during the last human mis- Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask no further business to come before the sion to the Moon; unanimous consent that the resolution Senate, I ask unanimous consent that Whereas Gene Cernan maintains the dis- be agreed to, the preamble be agreed it stand adjourned under the previous tinction of being the last man to have left his footprints on the surface of the Moon; to, and the motions to reconsider be order. Whereas Gene Cernan was one of the three considered made and laid upon the There being no objection, the Senate, men to have flown to the Moon on two occa- table with no intervening action or de- at 8:06 p.m., adjourned until Friday, sions; bate. February 3, 2017, at 6:30 a.m.

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