[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S552-S553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Travel Ban

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I came to the floor today to join with 
Senators and people across this country in speaking out against the 
President's misguided and, I believe, destructive Executive order that 
has abruptly closed our borders to all refugees as well as citizens 
from seven Muslim-majority countries.
  During the campaign, Candidate Trump called for a ``total and 
complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.'' I had 
certainly hoped that once in office, he would receive wise and prudent 
counsel and he would realize that elevating such a Muslim ban to the 
status of official U.S. policy would have very negative consequences.
  Instead, what we have seen is that a small group in the White House 
acting in secret produced this Executive order. They did so without 
legal review and even without the knowledge of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, or the nominee to be 
Secretary of State. As a result, as we all know, we saw a weekend of 
chaos and confusion--a self-inflicted wound to our national security 
and to our reputation in the world.
  The consequences go far beyond the scenes of disorder that we 
witnessed in recent days. By singling out Muslim-majority countries and 
banning their citizens from entry into the United States and by denying 
entry to all refugees, the President has greatly damaged America's 
image across the world and, perhaps, worst of all, this Executive order 
is a gift to ISIS, Al Qaeda, and to every other radical jihadist group. 
On social media they celebrated the travel ban as a confirmation to 
their narrative that the United States is at war with Islam and that 
they are engaged in a clash of civilizations. One ISIS sympathizer 
praised the Executive order as a ``blessed ban,'' comparing it to what 
he called ``the blessed invasion'' of Iraq, which inflamed anti-
American anger across the Islamic world. This is dangerous because this 
is a powerful recruitment tool for our enemies.
  I am also deeply concerned that this Executive order endangers our 
troops and our diplomats who are in the field. Today, more than 5,000 
American troops are supporting Iraqi troops in the fight to reclaim 
Mosul and drive ISIS out of Iraq. By discriminating based on religion 
and nationality, the President's order undermines the local alliances 
and the trust established by our troops and diplomats in the field. 
This order is so ill-considered that, as originally drafted, it even 
barred Iraqi civilians, including translators who provided essential 
assistance to the U.S. mission.
  Just to be clear, this Muslim ban is un-American. It is offensive to 
our Nation's core values and ideals. The right way forward is not to 
carve out small exceptions to the Muslim ban. It is to repeal the ban 
entirely. The President has called for what he has termed ``extreme 
vetting,'' but the truth is that our vetting procedures are already 
thorough and rigorous. It takes as long as 24 months for a refugee to 
make it through the process and come to the United States. The entire 
screening process takes place outside the United States. So it doesn't 
pose a threat to people here in America.
  In my home State of New Hampshire, the President's Executive order 
has caused shock and profound concern, especially in our business and 
academic communities, as well as in our immigrant communities. T.J. 
Parker is the CEO of PillPack, a company that employs nearly 400 people 
in Manchester, which is the largest city in New Hampshire. He said on 
Monday: ``This ban is wrong and goes against our values as a company 
and as Americans.''
  He continued: ``I'm also deeply concerned about any measures that 
could discourage talented individuals from studying and working in the 
U.S.''
  The Union Leader newspaper reported yesterday that more than 700 
refugees who settled in New Hampshire over the past decade are from the 
seven countries singled out in the Executive order and would have been 
banned from entry. These immigrants are not Iraqis, Somalis, Sudanese 
or Syrians. They are proud loyal members of our diverse American 
family. Many of them have spouses or children still in refugee camps, 
and they hope to be united with their families. The President's order 
has now slammed the door on these hopes.
  Yesterday the Associated Press in New Hampshire reported on Dr. Omid 
Moghimi, an internist at New Hampshire Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical 
Center. An American citizen, he fell in love with a childhood friend in 
Iran and married her in Tehran in 2015. Here is the picture of the two 
of them on their wedding day. After months of vetting for entry to the 
United States, his wife had an appointment for her visa interview. That 
appointment was abruptly canceled after the President's Executive 
order, and Dr. Moghimi worries that this could become permanent. He is 
now in his first year of a 3-year residency, and he fears he will have 
to leave the United States in order to live with his wife, who 
volunteers at daycare centers and an orphanage. Dr. Moghimi told the 
AP: ``There's no evidence that she is in any way even a miniscule 
threat, security risk, and there are many, many cases like her out 
there.''
  If this Executive order stays in effect, we lose the opportunity to 
have Dr. Moghimi practice in the United States and maybe serve a 
community in New Hampshire, and it has a real impact on their lives. 
The ill-advised words and actions, including this Executive order, have 
damaged America's standing in the world and harmed our national 
security. But the Senate has

[[Page S553]]

an opportunity to send a very different message to our allies and to 
our enemies across the globe. We can make clear that America's 
democracy is founded on a system of checks and balances, and that the 
President doesn't speak for America or make policy all by himself. I 
urge my Senate colleagues to join with us in supporting legislation to 
repeal the President's order. We need to send a clear message to the 
world that America does not support discrimination based on religion. 
We welcome appropriately vetted refugees from wars and violence, and we 
respect our Muslim allies, including our friends in Iraq who have 
sacrificed so much in the fight against ISIS.
  In recent days we have seen what happens when America betrays its 
ideals and its allies. The Senate has a responsibility to reassert 
those ideals and to reassure our allies. I urge my colleagues to 
support legislation that Senator Feinstein put forward to repeal the 
President's Executive order.
  Thank you very much. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. DONNELLY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the nominee 
for Secretary of State. I will be brief and to the point.
  Mr. Rex Tillerson led his last organization in a lobbying campaign to 
undermine the national security interests of the United States in favor 
of Russia, Iran, and corporate profit. Putting narrow corporate 
interests ahead of America's national security interests is inexcusable 
for a CEO and disqualifying for a nominee to be our Nation's chief 
diplomat.
  I will vote against Rex Tillerson's nomination for Secretary of 
State, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield back the remainder of my time.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of our time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  All postcloture time has expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Tillerson 
nomination?
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 56, nays 43, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 36 Ex.]

                                YEAS--56

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Warner
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--43

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cortez Masto
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Coons
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote on 
confirmation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the motion to reconsider.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to table the motion to 
reconsider, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion to table the motion to 
reconsider the vote on confirmation.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Alabama (Mr. Sessions).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Toomey). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 55, nays 43, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 37 Ex.]

                                YEAS--55

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Warner
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--43

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cortez Masto
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Coons
     Sessions
       
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

                          ____________________