E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 114 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 162 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 No. 91 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the adopted. This tradition is an essential called to order by the President pro United States of America, and to the Repub- part of the American character, and tempore (Mr. HATCH). lic for which it stands, one nation under God, having Steve Berger here to help us indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. f celebrate that essential part of the The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. American character is a very special PRAYER HELLER). The Senator from Tennessee. moment for me as well as for Senator The PRESIDENT pro tempore. To- f CORKER. day’s opening prayer will be offered by f Steve Berger, pastor of Grace Chapel in WELCOMING THE GUEST Leiper’s Fork, TN. CHAPLAIN RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY The guest Chaplain offered the fol- Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I rise to LEADER lowing prayer: speak of Pastor Steve Berger. It moves The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Let us pray together. me to hear his voice echoing through- jority leader is recognized. Almighty God, King of Creation and out this Chamber. He is one of the pre- f Ruler of the Universe, we thank You eminent spiritual leaders in our Na- for Your undeniably sovereign, mer- tion. He prays daily with his wife NATIONAL DEFENSE ciful, and benevolent hand in the form- Sarah, who happens to be in the Cham- AUTHORIZATION BILL ing, leading, and blessing of these ber. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, United States. He prays daily for our Nation. There President Obama’s approach to na- Father, thank You for revealing Your is a purity of his mission in leading a tional security policy began with un- will and Your ways to this Nation and church that is making a difference in workable ideas on the campaign trail, its leaders through Your sacred, Holy our State, and I think making a dif- and it has been marked by some con- Word. ference in our country, leading efforts sistent themes, like inflexible commit- We pray, therefore, that we would be not only here but around the world to ments to drawing down our conven- united in doing what is good in Your bring people together, and I am so tional military posture from across the sight, and what You require of us, to do thrilled this Chamber and the people of globe, like an excessive reliance on justly, to love mercy, and to walk our country are able to witness some- international organizations, like a humbly with our God. Father, may our leaders and our Na- one who I believe to be one of the tendency toward the use of Special Op- tion also walk in the faith of Abraham, greatest spiritual leaders in our Na- erations forces to train and equip units the integrity of Moses, the wisdom of tion. in other countries. Solomon, the courage of the Prophets, I only hope more people would be What do we see as we look back now and the self-sacrificing love and com- able to hear from him. Truly, it is a at the twilight of his Presidency? We passion of Jesus. very moving moment for me to have a have seen increased instability in O God, when we fail to walk in Your friend like Steve Berger, who means so places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and ways, and sin against You and one an- much to our State and country, before Yemen. We have seen the evolution of other, may we be quick to humble our- us. I thank him for his willingness to Al Qaeda in Iraq into ISIL and its ex- selves and pray, to seek Your face, to do this. pansion into Libya, Syria, and the turn from our wicked ways, that You The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Sinai. might hear from Heaven, forgive our ator from Tennessee. In just a few short months, the next sin, and heal our land. Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I Commander in Chief, regardless of Remember mercy, O God, and revive welcome Steve Berger and thank Sen- party, will be faced with the con- us in Your ways, that this Nation ator CORKER for arranging for him to sequences of the President’s failed for- might be blessed for generations to be here today. Steve is, indeed, one of eign policy and will need to adapt an come. our most distinguished Tennesseans. insufficient defense modernization pro- We ask all these things through the We welcome his family and some of his gram to tackle both the challenges Name of Jesus and by the power of the friends who are with us in the Gallery. posed by terrorism and by adversaries Holy Spirit. Amen. Chaplain Barry Black has reminded like China, Russia, and Iran. f us that this tradition of opening the This is why we need to use the re- Senate with a prayer has been with us maining months of this administration PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE since the Senate began, and the Senate to help prepare the next administra- The President pro tempore led the has had a Chaplain before the First tion, regardless of party, to deal with Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: Amendment to our Constitution was the news it is about to inherit. That is ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S3667 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jun 10, 2016 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A09JN6.000 S09JNPT1 SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S3668 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 9, 2016 what we are doing on the floor right tagon and the middle class, and avoid RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME now. The Defense bill before us will poison-pill riders. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under modernize our military and provide our Today, we vote on Senator MCCAIN’s the previous order, the leadership time troops with more of the tools they need amendment to add $18 billion in Pen- is reserved. to confront the threats we face. It will tagon spending beyond what Congress f help prepare the next Commander in agreed to in last year’s bipartisan Chief to confront the complex chal- agreement. In response, Senator REED NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- lenges of today and of tomorrow. It is of Rhode Island and Senator MIKULSKI TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 serious policy—policy that will keep of Maryland have offered an amend- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under our country safe, and after years of ment that would add security and the previous order, the Senate will re- this administration’s spin and failures, other funding in America to maintain sume consideration of S. 2943, which that is what our people deserve. the parity to which both parties agreed the clerk will report. f in the budget law passed last year. The legislative clerk read as follows: RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY Our amendment would increase fund- A bill (S. 2943) to authorize appropriations LEADER ing to combat Zika. By the way, we for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of had a briefing yesterday by the head of the Department of Defense, for military con- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the Centers for Disease Control. The struction, and for defense activities of the Democratic leader is recognized. man who is in charge of NIH, with this Department of Energy, to prescribe military f personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and terrible virus that is sweeping this part for other purposes. PARITY IN THE BUDGET of the world, told us they are desperate for money. They are desperate for Pending: Mr. REID. Mr. President, I just left money to do their research to prepare McCain amendment No. 4229, to address my ‘‘Welcome to Washington,’’ which I vaccines. unfunded priorities of the Armed Forces. have been having for many years. I had Reed/Mikulski amendment No. 4549 (to about 85 people from Nevada, my con- Our amendment would also increase amendment No. 4229), to authorize parity for stituents—our constituents—and they money for local police to fight the defense and nondefense spending pursuant to asked me what I had done in the Sen- opioid scourge, to improve our infra- the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. ate that I remember. So I told them a structure around the country, and to Mr. REID. Mr. President, is the time few things. They also asked me if I do something about the money that automatically divided? have a regret, and I do. has never been provided to take care of The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is not. It takes a lot of gall for my friend the devastation that hit Flint, MI, Mr. REID. I suggest the absence of a the Republican leader to talk about with the lead in the water. The secu- quorum and ask that the time be di- foreign policy. My biggest regret is rity of our great country depends on vided equally between the majority and having voted for the Iraq war. I was more than bombs and bullets. I support minority. misled, as a number of people were, but the military. I have my entire career. I The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time it didn’t take me long to figure that know how gallantly they fight. is not generally divided. out. So I became convinced it was a In my ‘‘Welcome to Washington’’ Mr.