E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 165 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019 No. 69 Senate The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was nication of the Secretary of the Senate sary, dangerous attempt to weaken my called to order by the President pro regarding that matter. constitutional authorities, endangering tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). The legislative clerk read as follows: the lives of American citizens and f UNITED STATES SENATE, brave service members, both today and OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, in the future. PRAYER April 29, 2019. This joint resolution is unnecessary The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Hon. MICHAEL R. PENCE, because, apart from counterterrorism fered the following prayer: President of the Senate, operations against al-Qa’ida in the U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Let us pray. DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: On Wednesday, April Arabian Peninsula and ISIS, the Sacred Father, open the hearts of our 17, 2019, the President of the United States United States is not engaged in hos- lawmakers to the joy and beauty of sent by messenger the attached sealed enve- tilities in or affecting Yemen. For ex- Your providence. Provide them with a lope addressed to the President of the Senate ample, there are no United States mili- greater appreciation of Your favor, wis- dated April 17, 2019, said to contain a veto tary personnel in Yemen commanding, dom, and grace. Remind them of Your message on the bill S.J. Res. 7, a Joint Reso- participating in, or accompanying plans to keep them from stumbling and lution to direct the removal of United States military forces of the Saudi-led coali- present them before Your glory with Armed Forces from hostilities in the Repub- tion against the Houthis in hostilities lic of Yemen that have not been authorized great joy. In their weakness, impart by Congress. The Senate not being in session in or affecting Yemen. Your strength. In their fatigue, give on the last day which the President had for Since 2015, the United States has pro- them renewal. Empower them with a the return of this bill under the provisions of vided limited support to member coun- moral and spiritual stamina to walk in the Constitution of the United States, in tries of the Saudi-led coalition, includ- the paths of integrity and courage. order to protect the interests of the Senate ing intelligence sharing, logistics sup- And, Lord, as houses of worship face so that it might have the opportunity to re- port, and, until recently, in-flight re- the reality of criminal violence, sus- consider the bill, I accepted the message at fueling of non-United States aircraft. tain and keep all who labor to bring 10:20 a.m., and I now present to you the All of this support is consistent with President’s veto message, with the accom- Your peace on Earth and good will to panying papers, for disposition by the Sen- applicable Arms Export Control Act humanity. ate. authorities, statutory authorities that We pray in Your sovereign Name. Respectfully, permit the Department of Defense to Amen. JULIE E. ADAMS, provide logistics support to foreign f Secretary of the Senate. countries, and the President’s constitu- Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, for tional power as Commander in Chief. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE the leader, is the veto message with None of this support has introduced The President pro tempore, led the the papers attached at the desk? United States military personnel into Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is. hostilities. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Mr. GRASSLEY. For the leader, I We are providing this support for United States of America, and to the Repub- ask unanimous consent that the veto many reasons. First and foremost, it is lic for which it stands, one nation under God, message on S.J. Res. 7 be considered as our duty to protect the safety of the indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. having been read and that it be printed more than 80,000 Americans who reside The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. in the RECORD and spread in full upon in certain coalition countries that have HAWLEY). The Senator from Iowa. the Journal. been subject to Houthi attacks from The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there f Yemen. Houthis, supported by Iran, objection? have used missiles, armed drones, and DIRECTING THE REMOVAL OF Without objection, it is so ordered. explosive boats to attack civilian and UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES The veto message is ordered to be military targets in those coalition FROM HOSTILITIES IN THE RE- printed in the RECORD as follows: countries, including areas frequented PUBLIC OF YEMEN THAT HAVE To the Senate of the United States: by American citizens, such as the air- NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY CON- I am returning herewith without my port in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addi- GRESS—VETO approval S.J. Res. 7, a joint resolution tion, the conflict in Yemen represents Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, for that purports to direct the President to a ‘‘cheap’’ and inexpensive way for Iran the leader, is there a message at the remove United States Armed Forces to cause trouble for the United States desk in reference to S.J. Res. 7? from hostilities in or affecting the Re- and for our ally, Saudi Arabia. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The public of Yemen, with certain excep- S.J. Res. 7 is also dangerous. The Chair lays before the Senate a commu- tions. This resolution is an unneces- Congress should not seek to prohibit ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S2469 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A29AP6.000 S29APPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE S2470 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 29, 2019 certain tactical operations, such as in- That means 230 years ago this week, does accomplish things. I have said it flight refueling, or require military en- the Senate elected its first Chaplain, before and I will say it again because gagements to adhere to arbitrary and since then the Senate has had 62 you can’t say it too often: Congress has timelines. Doing so would interfere people serve in the position as Chaplain a constitutional responsibility to en- with the President’s constitutional au- of the Senate. gage in robust and aggressive oversight thority as Commander in Chief of the HEALTHCARE of the Federal Government and its pro- Armed Forces, and could endanger our Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, addi- grams. service members by impairing their tionally for 1 minute, I would like to My EpiPen investigation is a perfect ability to efficiently and effectively speak to the issue of healthcare. Some example. Several years ago, I began to conduct military engagements and to elected officials are proposing radical receive letters, phone calls, and emails withdraw in an orderly manner at the changes to our healthcare system. from my constituents about the rap- appropriate time. These proposals include Medicare for idly increasing, high price of the The joint resolution would also harm All, Medicare buy-in, Medicaid for All, EpiPen. In 2007, a pack of two EpiPens the foreign policy of the United States. and expansion of the Affordable cost $100. By 2016, it had skyrocketed Its efforts to curtail certain forms of Healthcare Act. All of these are to over $600. Of course, anybody paying military support would harm our bilat- versions of completely government-run it or even anybody hearing about it eral relationships, negatively affect healthcare. knows that to be a substantial price in- our ongoing efforts to prevent civilian Americans don’t support a govern- crease. I wanted to find out what was casualties and prevent the spread of ment-run healthcare system when they happening and what could be done to terrorist organizations such as al- are told about the tradeoffs. Medicare fix this problem of dramatically in- Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and for All would eliminate private health creasing prices and maybe unwarranted ISIS, and embolden Iran’s malign ac- insurance companies. Medicare for All prices. tivities in Yemen. would require middle-class Americans My investigative and policy focus We cannot end the conflict in Yemen to pay much more in taxes. Medicare soon turned to the Medicaid Drug Re- through political documents like S.J. for All would threaten the benefits bate Program administered by the Cen- Res. 7. Peace in Yemen requires a nego- that current Medicare beneficiaries re- tiated settlement. Unfortunately, inac- ters for Medicare & Medicaid Services. ceive, and those people who have paid The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program is tion by the Senate has left vacant key into the system for a lifetime should diplomatic positions, impeding our a contributing factor that has played a not have Medicare, which has been part part in how much money the govern- ability to engage regional partners in of the social fabric of America, put in support of the United Nations-led peace ment and the taxpayers pay for some jeopardy by loading more people into process. To help end the conflict, pro- drugs, and, as you will find out, the it. waste of some taxpayers’ money. mote humanitarian and commercial Government-run healthcare is a slo- access, prevent civilian casualties, en- Now, as a condition for participating gan, not an answer. in the program, drug companies have hance efforts to recover American hos- I yield the floor.