S2846 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 23, 2018 awaiting action from the President RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME talking about CFIUS, or the Com- that will help America’s motorists. He The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under mittee on Foreign Investment in the is good pals with the Crown Prince, the previous order, the leadership time United States, there is a much bigger who is running Saudi Arabia with the is reserved. issue at stake, and that is the issue of heads of the United Arab Emirates. He competing global visions. seems to have a good relationship with f China makes no secret about the fact Putin. Why doesn’t he jawbone them to CONCLUSION OF MORNING that Karl Marx is, in many ways, its at least stop constricting production so BUSINESS national hero. In fact, there was a prices can come down? He isn’t. He will weeklong celebration in China earlier The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning this month which included a manda- talk to them about other things but business is closed. not about something so vital to the tory study session, led by President Xi, middle class. f of Marx’s famous work the Communist As a result, gas prices are headed to- EXECUTIVE SESSION Manifesto. ward $3 a gallon, and the U.S. Energy Events like these in some ways show Information Administration estimates that China is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. that the average American family can EXECUTIVE CALENDAR When it tries to present itself as west- expect to pay $200 more this driving ernizing its economy and becoming a The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under friend to the global community of na- season than last driving season and the previous order, the Senate will pro- $250 more than the 2016 driving season. tions, China conveniently ignores cer- ceed to executive session to consider tain facts about its alternative devel- Prices are up more than 60 cents, on the following nomination, which the average, from the last day Obama was opment model and state-controlled clerk will report. economy. It also tends to disguise and in office until today. Where is Presi- The legislative clerk read the nomi- dent Trump? downplay its overall geopolitical aims, nation of Brian D. Montgomery, of to rewrite the rules of our world order The rising gas prices will, as one Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Goldman Sachs economist put it, and recreate them in China’s own Com- Housing and Urban Development. munist image. roughly cancel out the 2018 consump- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under tion boost from tax cuts. Big touting of Whether it is China’s increasing bel- the previous order, the time until 3:15 ligerence in places like the South the tax cuts, but when gasoline prices p.m. will be equally divided in the China Sea, its crushing of internal po- take it all away, where is our Presi- usual form. litical dissent, its flagrant human dent? Whatever benefit working fami- The majority whip. rights violations, or its population con- lies might have seen from the Trump CHINA trols, such as the one-child policy, tax scam for the rich, if they got any China has repeatedly shown itself as a benefit at all, is being wiped out by gas Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, yester- power-hungry authoritarian, willing prices, and what about our Big Oil ex- day the Senate Banking Committee and able to violate the rights of its own ecutives and oil companies? They got passed a very important piece of legis- people, and dismissive and contemp- huge tax breaks—huge tax breaks. Why lation out of the committee by a unan- imous vote. I am very pleased that this tuous of international norms. isn’t the consumer seeing any of that I am not being hyperbolic. I am not at the pump? At the same time our oil legislation, which I will describe in a moment, received that sort of broad bi- exaggerating. This is just the truth— companies get huge tax breaks, they the hard truth—in front of us, if we raise prices on everybody. How is that partisan support. This is a bill I originally introduced will look. So let’s not deceive ourselves helping the middle class? Why isn’t otherwise. When China tries to just President Trump jawboning them like with the senior Senator from Cali- fornia, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, to strengthen ‘‘blend in’’ internationally, let us be he does on other issues? Where is he? wary that its rosy rhetoric and mis- It is time for the President to stand the review process of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United leading narrative of cooperation are up to OPEC, to stand up to Big Oil, and often camouflage for its true and more do what is necessary to lower gas States, which plays a critical role in protecting our national security. The troubling aims. prices. Remember, once again, the hy- As we all know, right now, there are jurisdiction of this Committee on For- pocrisy of this President. This is the high-level negotiations ongoing be- eign Investment in the United States same President who tweeted multiple tween the U.S. executive branch and hasn’t been updated in more than 40 times that President Obama was to Chinese Government officials on the years, and bad actors like China con- blame for rising gas prices. So I would very important issue of international tinue to exploit gaps in the process to remind the President that the final trade, but it is important to remember acquire sensitive national security price of gas under President Obama that in the West, belief in free trade is know-how, as well as military and was an average of $2.36 a gallon, and almost axiomatic. In democracies like the current price under President dual-use technology from U.S. compa- ours, free trade is based on open mar- Trump is $2.92 a gallon and going up. nies. kets, the free flow of capital and infor- I hope, for the sake of the middle I want to be quick to say that this is mation, as well as the rule of law. class and those struggling to get not about labeling foreign investment China, on the other hand, honors there—the folks for whom gas prices in the United States as bad. That is not none of those things. It doesn’t believe really make a difference—that Presi- true. Foreign investment is by and in open markets, it doesn’t believe in dent Trump takes immediate action to large a very good thing. But when our the free flow of capital of information, bring down the cost of gas. He has the laws are being exploited to target cut- and it be doesn’t believe in the rule of power. He can force OPEC to do things ting-edge, dual-use technology that has law. That reality is why we need to ap- by jawboning them. He can force the national security applications, that is proach these trade negotiations deli- Big Oil companies to consider lowering a matter of national security. This is cately. We need to remain steely-eyed their prices, given all the profits they not about banning or labeling foreign and make sure China isn’t playing us got from his big tax bill. Where is he? investment as being bad. for fools. I yield the floor. I appreciate Chairman CRAPO and the Of course, we are well aware of the I suggest the absence of a quorum. Banking Committee’s bipartisan work need to tread lightly when it comes to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The in advancing this narrowly tailored trade. After decades of globalization, clerk will call the roll. legislation to close the gaps that I just any overly broad limits on Chinese in- The legislative clerk proceeded to mentioned and safeguard our national vestment in the United States could call the roll. security because I believe it is past harm American companies that need Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask time for us to do so. Every day we fail capital and customers to survive and unanimous consent that the order for to pass this set of reforms is a day we grow. We need to resist that tempta- the quorum call be rescinded. are putting our future in jeopardy. tion. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without We need to maintain a sense of ur- China is not just any old trading objection, it is so ordered. gency and realize that when we are partner. Its enterprises are state- VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 May 24, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G23MY6.005 S23MYPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE May 23, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2847 backed, and there is no clear dividing world when it comes to stealing theft, civil-military integration poli- line between the Communist Party and through the cyber domain—cyber theft. cies, coercion through joint ventures what might otherwise be described as They are very creative in engaging in with foreign companies, targeted in- the private sector. There is no distinc- research partnerships. Joint ventures, vestment, or Chinese nationals exploit- tion. This makes a real difference when one of the gaps that the CFIUS legisla- ing access to such technologies here in it comes to Chinese investments in tion intends to plug, where they realize the United States. U.S. companies that are at the cutting that this is a gap in our current review The main point of our letter was not edge of developing military dual-use process for foreign investment and na- to criticize but to alert our colleagues technologies.