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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, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018 No. 64 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was Senator from the State of Mississippi, to per- Now it is time to build on our success called to order by the Honorable CINDY form the duties of the Chair. and better protect vulnerable children, HYDE-SMITH, a Senator from the State ORRIN G. HATCH, so today I will introduce the Pro- of Mississippi. President pro tempore. tecting Moms and Infants Act. This Mrs. HYDE-SMITH thereupon as- legislation directs the Secretary of f sumed the Chair as Acting President HHS to report on the implementation pro tempore. PRAYER of the strategies developed in the pre- f vious bill. It would have the Centers The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- for Disease Control and Prevention de- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY fered the following prayer: velop educational materials to better LEADER Let us pray. inform doctors and expecting mothers God of wisdom and order, who filled The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- about opioid alternatives. It authorizes the universe with mysteries of Your pore. The majority leader is recog- increased funding for competitive Fed- power, restore us to the image of Your nized. eral grants to help organizations ad- glory. Create in us clean hearts, and f dress this particular part of the opioid cleanse us from all unrighteousness. crisis. This bill continues our years- Lord, we thank You for Your life-giv- PROTECTING MOMS AND INFANTS long efforts to protect the most vulner- ing Spirit flowing through us to rein- ACT able. force our faith, hope, and love. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, I thank Senator CASEY and my col- Inspire our Senators. Give them we all know the grief the opioid crisis league from Kentucky, Congressman truth in their innermost being, a sense produces: broken families, stolen op- BRETT GUTHRIE, who is sponsoring of dedication in their work, and a spirit portunity, lost loved ones. This epi- companion legislation in the House. of cooperation that they may labor to- demic has been especially severe in my gether for the good of this land we Medical professionals, law enforce- home State of Kentucky, claiming ment officials, and many across Ken- love. May they strive to do justly, to lives at a record pace. love mercy, and to walk humbly with tucky are working every day to bring In light of this urgent problem, I am an end to the misery of the opioid epi- You. proud Congress is fighting back. We We pray in Your great Name. Amen. demic. This legislation will continue have passed substantial bipartisan leg- that fight, and I urge my colleagues to f islation to give communities the re- support it. sources they need. The most recent PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE government funding bill provided bil- f The Presiding Officer led the Pledge lions of dollars of additional support. of Allegiance, as follows: But the work to end the suffering con- tinues. NOMINATION OF JAMES I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the BRIDENSTINE United States of America, and to the Repub- One of the most heartbreaking facts lic for which it stands, one nation under God, is the skyrocketing number of infants Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. who are born dependent on opioids. De- yesterday we voted to advance JIM fenseless children start their lives suf- BRIDENSTINE’s nomination to lead the f fering from addiction. That is why in National Aeronautics and Space Ad- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING 2015 I sponsored, along with Senator ministration. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE CASEY, the bipartisan Protecting Our JIM is a decorated pilot and combat Infants Act. As the first law to specifi- veteran. His tenure in the House of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cally address prenatal opioid exposure, Representatives testifies to his under- clerk will please read a communication it directed the Secretary of Health and standing of the issues facing today’s to the Senate from the President pro Human Services to review the subject space program and to his advocacy of tempore (Mr. HATCH). of opioid abuse in prenatal and infant NASA modernization. But, as is often U.S. SENATE, patients. Our bill tasked the Secretary the case, this well-qualified nominee PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, with developing strategies to fill the has waited too long for a vote. NASA Washington, DC, April 19, 2018. To the Senate: gap in opioid research and program- has been led by an Acting Adminis- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, ming and provide recommendations for trator for a record 15 months. So I hope of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby preventing further harm to expecting my colleagues will join me in voting to appoint the Honorable CINDY HYDE-SMITH, a mothers and newborns. confirm JIM BRIDENSTINE today. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S2289 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 19, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19AP6.000 S19APPT1 S2290 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 19, 2018 NOMINATION OF MIKE POMPEO what we should all want, regardless of omy, and we enacted sweeping tax re- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, party? form to help families and reignite speaking of personnel business, I wish Those who claim to want a larger growth. to say a few words this morning about role for diplomacy should match those What are the early results? Consumer Mike Pompeo, our CIA Director and words with action and vote to approve confidence hit a 14-year high, jobless the President’s extraordinary choice to him. What would be a better example claims a 45-year low—jobless claims, a serve as Secretary of State. of diplomacy than just what we were 45-year low—and millions of Americans In recent days, the world learned talking about—the visit to North receiving bonuses, pay raises, and new that Director Pompeo had undertaken Korea and direct conversations with benefits. Ninety percent of wage earn- initial conversations with Kim Jong Kim Jong Un. ers expected to see lower income taxes Un directly, over the Easter weekend, We all know Mike’s resume. He is a than last year. Ninety percent of wage to discuss denuclearizing the Korean graduate of the U.S. Military Academy earners—lower income tax rates than Peninsula. Obviously, he has the con- and Harvard Law School. He has served last year. fidence of the President—engaged in as a U.S. Army officer, on the House The philosophical difference is espe- the most sensitive undertaking one Intelligence Committee, and as Direc- cially stark in States where one Sen- could imagine in today’s world—and tor of the CIA. In my view, Mike ator votes to let all of this good news yet so many on the other side are sug- Pompeo is uniquely qualified to restore happen, but the other Senator tried to gesting they have reservations about esprit de corps throughout the ranks of stop it from taking place. this outstanding nominee. the Foreign Service. It is hard to imag- Bonnie Brazzeal from Missouri told Pursued with clear-eyed realism and ine a better choice for Secretary of President Trump last month that she clear objectives, this is a worthy effort. State than Mike Pompeo. is using her tax reform bonus to save North Korea has been a perplexing f for retirement. problem for President after President In West Virginia, Sean Farrell says PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES after President, and Mike Pompeo is on he is using expanded 529 savings eligi- the point of this effort, which hopefully Mr. MCCONNELL. Now, one final bility to afford Catholic school tuition will finally lead to some outcome. Al- matter. We have been talking all week for his children. though every Commander in Chief has about a big philosophical difference be- Chelsee Hatfield from Indiana is insisted it would be unacceptable for tween Democrats and Republicans. Tax using her permanent raise to pay for North Korea to obtain a nuclear-armed reform has thrown it into stark relief. community college classes, working to- intercontinental ballistic missile, it is On the one hand, the Democrats’ gov- ward her associate’s degree. this administration that finds itself erning philosophy is about consoli- At some point, the Democratic Sen- having to actually achieve that objec- dating as much money and power as ators from these States I just men- tive because time has run out. So, as a possible right here in Washington, DC. tioned will have to explain why they matter of policy, it would be hard not Under President Obama, we watched voted to stop all that from happening. to be encouraged by the fact that there Democratic leaders turn every chal- They will have to tell Bonnie and Sean were actually talks—direct talks—un- lenge the country faced into an excuse and Chelsee that they agree with the derway. to raise taxes and impose regulations. Democratic leader, who has said Wash- Based on Director Pompeo’s impres- Our dear friends on the other side are ington knows how to spend money bet- sive record at the CIA, the North Kore- the party of taxation, regulation, and ter than citizens do. ans undoubtedly view him as credible, litigation as well. We saw who wins But, my Republican colleagues and I determined, and insightful. Isn’t that under this top-down philosophy and will stay on the side of the American what we would want in a Secretary of who loses.