Congressional Record, Volume 163 Issue 17 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017)

[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

NOT VOTING--2

Coons
Sessions

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

____________________