[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 170 (Monday, October 23, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6703-S6707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIP ACT OF 2017
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the House message to accompany H.R. 2266, which
the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
House message to accompany H.R. 2266, a bill to amend title
28 of the United States Code to authorize the appointment of
additional bankruptcy judges; and for other purposes.
Pending:
McConnell motion to concur in the amendment of the House to
the amendment of the Senate to the bill.
McConnell motion to concur in the amendment of the House to
the amendment of the Senate to the bill, with McConnell
amendment No. 1568, to change the enactment date.
McConnell amendment No. 1569 (to amendment No. 1568), of a
perfecting nature.
McConnell motion to refer the message of the House on the
bill to the Committee on Appropriations, with instructions,
McConnell amendment No. 1570, to change the enactment date.
McConnell amendment No. 1571 (to (the instructions)
amendment No. 1570), of a perfecting nature.
McConnell amendment No. 1572 (to amendment No. 1571), of a
perfecting nature.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time until 5:30
p.m. will be equally divided between the two leaders or their
designees.
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, let me just speak for a few minutes on the
emergency supplemental appropriations for disasters.
No one in this Chamber is immune from disaster. Six years ago, I
remember, in Vermont, Marcelle and I watched as communities around
Vermont felt the devastating impact of Tropical Storm Irene. That storm
washed away entire communities in our State, tearing down homes, local
landmarks, and bridges alike. I watched the devastation from a
helicopter with the Governor and the head of our National Guard the day
after the storm hit. I saw bridges washed away. The only way we could
get into the towns was by helicopter because all of the roads were gone
that led into them. I saw homes that had been on the north side of a
river that were now upside down and destroyed on the south side of the
river.
Do you know the one thing that occurred to me as I traveled around
the State of Vermont? It is that I had heard from my fellow Senators,
both Republicans and Democrats, saying that they would help us rebuild.
I had heard the same thing from the President of the United States.
They stood by Vermont's side to help us rebuild--again, Republicans and
Democrats alike--because that is who we are as Americans. We lift each
other up in times of disaster. We are one country.
Today, in California and across the West, families are returning to
the charred ruins of their homes--those who were able to get out alive.
In Florida and Texas, communities are trying to put their lives back
together after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma--again, those who were able
to get out alive. In Puerto Rico, hundreds of thousands are still
without potable water, electricity, cell service, or adequate medical
supplies following Hurricane Maria. The Virgin Islands are also facing
devastation that I can never remember. Millions of Americans all over
the country, as well as the Americans in Puerto Rico and the Americans
in the Virgin Islands, need us to work together to help lift them up,
just as we have seen in past disasters. This is not a Republican or a
Democratic issue; this is an American issue. This is who we are as a
country. We hold together.
I have been privileged to serve here since the time of President
Ford. In times of disaster, I have seen every single President,
Republican and Democrat, work to help Americans and do it out of
concern for Americans, not for themselves. That is why it is so
disappointing that President Trump
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seems more concerned with claiming credit for a job well done than the
actual situation on the ground deserves, particularly in Puerto Rico.
President Trump has given himself a 10 out of 10 as though this were a
game show for the administration's response to the devastating
hurricane, but let's look at some numbers that really matter for the
people who have lost everything.
It has been 48 days since Hurricane Irma made landfall in Puerto Rico
and 34 days since Hurricane Maria tore through the island. These storms
wreaked havoc on those who live there. They destroyed houses and killed
at least 49 people. Yet, 48 days later, nearly 80 percent of the island
is still without power, and 30 percent of the population is without
clean drinking water--some having to resort to drinking contaminated
water. Roads are impassable. Bridges are down. The few hospitals that
are operating are operating on generators.
Frankly, the administration was slow to respond to the disaster. So
to claim that it gets a 10 out of 10 for its response is to ignore the
facts, especially the facts that the people who have been hit know so
well. As I said before, this is not a reality TV show. It is not where
the participant with the highest score advances to the next round. This
is not fiction. These are people's lives--real people. They are
people's homes. This is the hard part of governing. This is where we
roll up our sleeves and dig in for the long haul. We stop patting
ourselves on the back. Instead, we use that hand to give a hand to the
people who are hurting.
Today we are going to advance a disaster package that contains $36.5
billion in additional emergency relief. It includes $18.7 billion for
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, Disaster Relief Fund,
$16 billion for the National Flood Insurance Program debt forgiveness,
$1.2 billion for nutrition assistance, and $576.5 million to address
these devastating wildfires in the western part of the United States.
As vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I support this
bill, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the
same. If we do not act, the Disaster Relief Fund and the Flood
Insurance Program will run out of resources in a matter of days. This
money, if we pass it, will help FEMA, the Department of Defense, the
Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies to continue their work in
all of the devastated communities and to start catching up with the
work that needs to be done and to help families begin to rebuild their
homes and their lives--those who did not die in the disaster. This is
just the next step. This is a multistep process. This is the next step
on the road to recovery.
Last week, I met with Governor Ricardo Rossello, of Puerto Rico, and
his staff. I have been to Puerto Rico many times, in happier times, but
here he detailed the unique challenges that face Puerto Rico. He was
telling us what is happening to our fellow Americans. The electric grid
was almost completely destroyed. Its infrastructure, itself, was
demolished. Houses were flattened. At the same time, Puerto Rico faces
a fiscal situation that will make it nearly impossible for it to
provide the Federal match that is required for most disaster assistance
programs. It faces a Medicaid funding crisis that may leave nearly 1
million people without healthcare in just a matter of months, assuming
that we restore their healthcare.
This tells us that our response cannot be business as usual. We need
to tailor disaster assistance to meet Puerto Rico's unique challenges.
We may need to consider legislation to address its unique needs. Most
importantly, we need to think long term. To simply replace and repair
what was destroyed would be shortsighted. We have to help our fellow
Americans who are in Puerto Rico to recover, to rebuild, and to be more
resilient and better prepared. We should invest in the 3.4 million U.S.
citizens in Puerto Rico and invest in their infrastructure so that the
next disaster is not a humanitarian issue and crisis.
Some like to say that the situation is unique in Puerto Rico. It is
not. We have to acknowledge that historic-sized storms are now annual
occurrences, and we have to respond accordingly. Even with the help
from our own citizens and from the U.S. Government, we are just now
fully rebuilding in Vermont, and we were not hit as badly as these
other places were. Across the country--from wildfires in California to
the flood damage in Florida, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as
what I said about Puerto Rico--we can invest in technology, and we can
invest in conservation and infrastructure. That would mitigate further
damage.
Do you know what? It would also make these communities more resilient
because we cannot speak about ``once in 100 years'' storms. Sometimes,
as we have seen this year, they have been ``once in 2 months'' or
``once in 3 weeks'' storms. This requires a commitment from the U.S.
Government. It is not measured by days or weeks or months but in
years--a commitment that does not waver, a commitment that does not
depend on whether you live in Texas or Florida or Puerto Rico or the
Virgin Islands.
Today, I urge all Senators to support this emergency supplemental
bill that will provide much needed assistance for disaster relief
across the country, but it is still just the next step on the path to
recovery. The Trump administration is committed to putting forward a
third, more comprehensive disaster package in the coming weeks. As vice
chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I intend to hold the
administration to that commitment.
In conclusion, even in the years since Irene, this Vermonter still
takes comfort in the number of Republican and Democratic Senators who
called me during that storm and pledged support and, along with the
pledge, came through with the support.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
The Budget and Tax Reform
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last week, the Senate took an important
step for the fiscal and economic future of our country with passage of
the budget for fiscal year 2018.
The comprehensive, responsible budget we passed marks out a clear
vision for the future. It will put the Federal Government on a path to
balance, and it sets out a new course after the long years of the Obama
economy, when paychecks stagnated, steady work became harder to find,
and retirement for many slipped further away. The budget we passed
isn't just about getting our fiscal house in order--though it is
certainly about that--it is also about getting our economy going again
and growing again.
Perhaps the most important way it does so is by authorizing
legislative tools to advance tax reform, and passing tax reform is the
most important thing we can do today to get our economy reaching for
its true potential.
Tax reform is all about helping the middle class succeed. It is about
making it easier to create jobs in America and keep them right here. To
summarize the effort in one phrase, it is this: Tax reform is about
taking more money out of Washington's pocket and putting more in
yours--more for workers, more for small businesses, and more for the
middle class. After all, as the President wrote over the weekend, ``we
are not talking about the government's money--we are talking about your
money, your hard work.''
If you look back a few months, many doubted our ability to get a
budget done or to advance tax reform. They didn't see the path forward.
Those skeptics underestimated our resolve. The Senate has delivered on
the budget, and we will soon have the tools to deliver on tax reform.
We now look forward to our House colleagues' continued consideration
and passage of the budget. Once they do so, we can move forward with
tax reform for American families.
For Americans who have suffered through years of uncertainty--
everything from a recession to outsourcing to unemployment--we are
ready to deliver for you. For those who watched opportunity recede
while the personal wealth of coastal elites grew beyond comprehension,
help is on the way. We want to put more money in your pocket, we want
to make retirement a reality for you, we want to get this economy
moving the way it should, and tax reform is the key to helping us get
there.
I would like once again to thank Chairman Enzi and the members of the
Budget Committee for their important work to get this budget resolution
passed.
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I also would like to thank the cloakroom staff, the Parliamentarians,
the clerks, the pages, and the officers of the U.S. Capitol Police who
worked into the evening to make sure, as they always do, that the
Senate runs smoothly.
Thanks also to Chairman Hatch and the members of the Finance
Committee. We now look forward to their continued good work on
development of the kind of tax relief that will get our economy truly
moving again.
Mr. President, on another matter, the Senate remains committed to
doing its part to support the ongoing hurricane relief efforts, and, to
that end, today we will take a vote to advance the administration's
most recent supplemental funding request. These resources will ensure
that FEMA and the rest of the administration have the ability to
continue their crucial support to help those impacted by devastating
storms.
Like many colleagues, I have been engaged on this issue from the very
start. Through several meetings with leaders from Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, I have had the opportunity to hear firsthand how
the government can support their relief efforts. I met with Puerto
Rico's Governor last week to get another update on the funding request
and to hear about the continuing recovery.
In addition, I have continued working with the administration as it
responds to these storms. For instance, after the devastation of
Hurricane Harvey, I met with the Department of Homeland Security's
Acting Secretary to learn more about what would be needed. I also met
with President Trump's eminently qualified nominee to lead that
Department.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a supplemental
funding request with strong bipartisan support, and now it is our turn
to act. As we all know, the administration will continue to actively
review hurricane relief and recovery needs. As it does, we can expect
the transmittal of additional supplemental requests for our
consideration in the near future.
The victims of these hurricanes continue to count on our support, and
I look forward to the Senate continuing to do its part to help.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Nominations
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I just want to address very briefly one
other issue that surfaced last week.
Press reports indicate there are multiple nominees of President Trump
awaiting Senate confirmation, but even though they haven't been
confirmed--there has not been a vote maybe even in committee, I
understand; certainly they have not been confirmed by the Senate. Yet
they are engaged in the very duties of the positions for which they
have been nominated. That includes nominees showing up to work, even
though they are not yet confirmed. It means they attend White House
meetings, even though they are not yet confirmed. They show up for
photo ops, even though they are not confirmed. This includes officials
with at least three different agencies.
If accurate, this is nothing but an end run around our constitutional
system. It directly flouts the Senate's constitutional role to check
and balance the enormous power wielded by the executive branch. It is
our obligation to advise and ultimately consent, vote up or down, the
appointment of high-level agency officials. Their decisions impact
millions of Americans. I hope that all of us--both Democrats and
Republicans--will speak up and defend the prerogatives of the Senate if
the Trump administration continues to insist it is above the law.
I have been here a half dozen times when Democrats were in the
majority and a half dozen times when Republicans were in the majority.
We have always insisted that these kinds of nominees await a vote
first. Back in my time during the Ford administration, the Carter
administration, the Reagan administration, the Bush administration--the
first Bush administration--the Clinton administration, the next Bush
administration, the Obama administration, we actually followed the law
and the Constitution. It was something that both Republican leaders and
Democrat leaders insisted on, and I agreed with it. Although I may have
hated to wait sometimes, we insisted on it. So I raise that point.
It raises a real question. I am told that it may be a violation of
the law. It certainly raises a question if they make decisions based on
their responsibilities in a position that requires confirmation and
they haven't been confirmed. We may be facing lawsuits--taxpayers
paying to defend lawsuits--when all they have to do is wait a few days.
Republicans are in charge of the Senate. They can bring up these
nominees. Bring them up and vote on them, but don't just pretend the
Senate is not here. Let's not pretend the advice and consent part of
the Constitution doesn't exist.
Let's actually obey the law and the Constitution. It can be
refreshing to do things the way the law and the Constitution requires.
In the long run, the country will be better off.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Democratic leader is recognized.
Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you, Mr. President.
Healthcare
Mr. President, first, on the issue of healthcare, since I last
addressed this Chamber, the bipartisan agreement reached by Senators
Alexander and Murray has amassed enough cosponsors to guarantee its
passage. It now has 12 Republican cosponsors and 12 Democratic
cosponsors. That is as bipartisan as it gets. I believe all 48 Members
of my caucus will support the agreement, which means it has the
necessary 60 votes. Even Leader McConnell has made it clear that he
will put the Alexander-Murray bill on the floor as soon as President
Trump supports it.
Let me make a direct appeal to the President.
Mr. President, come out and support the Alexander-Murray bill. You
called it ``a very good solution'' already. Announce that you will
support it, and it will pass through the Senate soon after.
The President's only stated concern was that the Alexander-Murray
bill ``bails out insurance companies.'' I can assure the President that
Senators Alexander and Murray took great pains to make sure the
insurance companies would not get one extra penny from this deal. I
have read the language. I have worked with them. It is good. It is
strong. They have included provisions in the bill to prevent insurance
companies from double dipping on the cost-sharing program and ensure
that the money goes precisely where it is intended: to keep premiums
and other out-of-pocket costs down for low-income Americans.
If the President wants even greater assurances, we can work to move
back the start of enrollment 1 month. He may be able to do that
administratively, but if not, that is something both Senator Alexander
and Senator Murray wanted to do, which would ensure that there would be
new applications, and the rates would be looked at as if cost sharing
were happening, but the White House blocked it. If the White House and
the President want to make it even stronger--I think it is strong
enough already--then we can do that. From what I understand, the
President might be able to do that administratively.
This idea that the President isn't supporting this because he doesn't
want the insurance companies to make money on this--well, it is wrong.
There is some other reason he doesn't want it done. Maybe he doesn't
want a bipartisan bill. Maybe it is because he wasn't involved. Maybe
it is because on issue after issue the hard-right Freedom Caucus people
say don't do it, and he is afraid, because he is not showing much
leadership when they stand up to him.
The only reason the President shouldn't support this bill is that he
wants to continue intentionally hurting Americans. He has talked about
that. He almost seems gleeful: ObamaCare will fail--even though he is
trying to make it fail.
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The President should know that premiums have shot up 30 percent in
Pennsylvania because of the President's decision to end cost sharing.
Premiums for silver plans will rise 20 to 25 percent if cost sharing is
not restored. It is time for the President to stop the sabotage. He
created the problem by for the first time not renewing cost-sharing
payments. Now we have a solution that will renew them, but Democrats
will have to give. Copper plans have never been our favorite. He should
go along with the good compromise.
The President has told me repeatedly that he wants to work in a
bipartisan way. He told me that he wants to work in a bipartisan way on
healthcare. Well, on this one, I am from Missouri. Shows us. Show me.
It is time, Mr. President, to turn the page on healthcare and pass
the Alexander-Murray bill. We have other pressing healthcare issues to
grapple with. For the first time in history, again due to lack of
leadership from that White House, the authorization for the Children's
Health Insurance Program has expired. That must be reauthorized, too,
and soon. Kids across America are depending on it.
President Trump, please stop the games. Stop the zigging and zagging.
You are for it one day and against it the next. Stop coming up with
fake excuses. Declare your support for this bill so we can move forward
in a bipartisan way to improve our Nation's healthcare.
The Budget and Tax Reform
Now, Mr. President, on taxes, last week the Republican majority
jammed through one of the worst budgets in history. That is not
hyperbole; this is one of the worst budgets in history. They should
hang their heads in shame. It increases the deficit by $1.5 trillion,
slashes Medicare and Medicaid by $1.5 trillion, and sets up the same
partisan process the Republicans used for healthcare.
Now it goes to the House for their approval, where many conservative
House Republicans will have to rationalize voting for a bill that
dramatically increases deficits. For many in the conservative wing of
the House Republican caucus, the debt and deficit have been their No. 1
focus in Congress, their raison d'etre. Many campaigned on the singular
promise--made with almost religious fervor--to lower our Nation's debt
and deficit. They rhapsodize fiscal responsibility. They hold
themselves up as the guardian of preventing the debt from being passed
on to our grandchildren. They evangelize constitutional amendments
requiring a balanced budget. They were willing to risk default on our
Nation's credit for a spurious talking point.
The budget resolution will be a true test of the principles the
Freedom Caucus and the hard right in the House have espoused about the
evils of deficits for the better part of the last decade, because those
same Members of the Freedom Caucus must now vote to approve a budget
that increases the deficit by $1.5 trillion. The House bill didn't do
that. The Senate bill clearly does. Yet, so far, we haven't heard a
peep from the Freedom Caucus. The most scolding deficit hawks have
morphed into deficit doves, eschewing principle for political
expediency.
With respect to the deficit, any economist will tell you that a
dollar less in revenue due to a tax cut is the same as a dollar less in
spending. Yet the Freedom Caucus and deficit hawks only harp on the
deficit when it is about spending cuts: Get rid of Medicare. Get rid of
Medicaid. Slash them--programs every bit as popular and as important as
any.
As Representative Walker, a conservative of the House, lamented,
``[The deficit] is a great talking point when you have an
administration that's Democratic-led. It's a little different now that
Republicans have both houses and the administration.'' Really? So you
are a deficit hawk only when it is politically expedient,
Representative Walker?
Well, the Freedom Caucus still has a chance to change the course of
their budget when we vote this week. When the Freedom Caucus came out
against the Republican healthcare bill, the Republican majority was
forced to make concessions to them. If they were real deficit hawks,
honest deficit hawks, consistent deficit hawks, nonpolitical deficit
hawks, they would do the same thing here.
Let's see how Representative Walker and his fellow Members of the
House Freedom Caucus vote on a GOP budget to increase the deficit by
$1.5 trillion.
Another point on the GOP tax plan. The Republicans are so wedded to
their desire to give a massive tax break to big corporations and the
superrich--which will blow up the deficit even in their fake math
models--that they are searching for new ways to sock it to the middle
class to make up the difference.
First, Republicans debated eliminating the mortgage deduction, then
they included the provision to eliminate State and local deductibility,
and recently there have been reports that some Republicans want to cap
Americans' pretax contributions to their 401(k)s. That is one of the
few provisions we have to encourage middle-class families to start
saving for an early retirement. President Trump tweeted this morning
that we are not going down that road. The fact that Republicans were
even considering raiding American's retirement savings to pay for giant
tax cuts for corporations shows just how backward their plan is.
The Tax Policy Center estimated that while the wealthiest 1 percent
of America would reap 80 percent of the benefits under the GOP plan, it
would also raise taxes on nearly a third of middle-class workers. That
statistic reveals the rotten core at the center of this tax plan: The
Republicans are so eager to give tax cuts to the rich, they are willing
to explore many different ways of raising taxes on the middle class to
pay for them. Each time, they bring up different methods--mortgage
interest deductions, State and local deductibility, capping pretax
401(k)s--and then back off when they see the political and popular cost
to each proposal. That shows you the dilemma they are in.
The fact is, there is no way the Republicans can avoid raising taxes
on a good number of middle-class families if they are going to cling to
such massive tax cuts for the rich and powerful and still make the
numbers work, even with fake math.
Instead of capping middle-class deductions or pilfering retirement
savings, how about Republicans drop their proposal to repeal the estate
tax? Repealing the estate tax would cost the government hundreds of
billions. Why are Republicans looking at middle-class deductions
instead of merely scrapping the estate tax repeal, which goes only to
estates of over $5 million--only to estates over $5 million. The number
who benefit is tiny. It is in the thousands. Their estates get huge,
huge benefits. Get rid of that instead of hurting the middle class. The
logic is confounding, and our Republican colleagues will not even talk
about it.
This plan is so rotten at its core that it has our Republican
colleagues turning themselves into pretzels and jumping through hoops,
and they can't really say what they believe--trickle down works. The
only rationale for this entire plan is that if you give tax breaks to
the wealthy and the big corporations, there will be a lot of job
growth. It didn't happen when George Bush's tax cuts occurred. It
didn't happen when Kansas dramatically cut its taxes. The Koch
brothers' center, Kansas--they did just what the Koch brothers wanted.
It was a disaster. Growth was much less than the national average even
though the taxes were slashed. Although they don't state it, it is
contrary to what our Republican colleagues believe.
I respect the Republican Member who comes up and says: Trickle down
works; that is why we are doing it. Tax cuts for the very wealthy is
what would fuel the economy.
No one else believes it anymore. History disproves it. It is fake. It
is a fig leaf so that they don't have to admit what they want to do--
give huge tax cuts to the wealthiest of their contributors, the people
who have sort of set up the sinew of this Republican Party with their
think tanks and op-eds and so many other things, the Koch brothers
network.
The American people should know that the money to pay for that giant
tax cut for the rich is coming from somewhere, and it is likely to be
coming from their pocketbooks.
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Steel and Aluminum Imports Investigations
Finally, one final topic: steel and aluminum. Recently and
shockingly, Commerce Secretary Ross has said he is waiting for the
Republican tax plan before completing critical investigations into how
steel and aluminum imports are impacting the capacity of steel and
aluminum U.S. producers to supply our defense needs. I am not sure why
the Republican tax plan has anything to do with this national security
investigation, which could finally lead to some relief from the
predatory trade practices from China and other countries. The two are
entirely unrelated.
Secretary Ross's comments smell like an excuse for further delays--
and a bad one at that. I would like to see him explain his decision to
the thousands of steelworkers whose jobs are on the line because their
companies aren't competing on a level playing field because China
repeatedly subsidizes, doesn't play by the rules, and cheats.
It is another classic example of the Trump administration promising
one thing and doing another. President Trump has promised many times to
crack down on China, and still, 10 months into his administration, his
Commerce Secretary is once again needlessly delaying a preliminary step
in that effort.
I have known him for 30 years. He is a New Yorker like I am. Every
time I see Secretary Ross, I say to him: When are we going to do
something on China?
Oh, we are going to do something tough.
Each time, there is a different excuse. This should have happened in
the first 2 months of the administration. It hasn't.
Because of the Republican inaction, because of the President's
unfulfilled and rapidly becoming broken promise on being tough with
China, Senate Democrats will be sending a letter to President Trump and
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross demanding that the administration keep
its promise to crack down on China's unfair and predatory trade
practices. We are asking that they continue these investigations and
expeditiously complete them. These trade investigations have nothing to
do with tax reform, and there is no need to delay them.
One more thing on China. Today I read that Tesla--our great car
manufacturing company--will be relocating to China.
When you want to sell cars and many other advanced products in China,
you have to do one of two things: set up a joint ownership company
which lets them steal our intellectual property or face huge tariffs.
That is based on the fact that the WTO was poorly negotiated and China
was regarded as a developing country. That was the fault of President
Bush and President Obama; neither did enough to stop China.
Based on his campaign rhetoric, one would think President Trump would
be tougher as China steals our family jewels. It is no longer clothing
and furniture; it is our best industries. They steal our intellectual
property by these joint ventures. Sometimes they do it by cyber theft--
a lot of times they do it by cyber theft--and it is hurting the good-
paying jobs that might be available to our children and grandchildren.
Based on campaign rhetoric, one would think President Trump would be
tougher on China, but so far it has been a lot of talk and not very
much action, and the delay in these investigations is another example.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
____________________