[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 178 (Thursday, November 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6988-S6989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              North Korea

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, President Trump will be leaving on a 
lengthy trip to Asia. He will be visiting Japan, the Republic of Korea, 
China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In each of those countries, we 
expect that the No. 1 national security issue that will be talked about 
is North Korea.
  North Korea's dangerous activities are certainly putting not only the 
region but the global community at risk. They have a nuclear weapons 
capability. They currently have the ability to explode a nuclear 
device. They are working on delivery systems that could very well reach 
not just the region but the United States. They are violating 
international commitments. They have done dozens of tests this year 
alone, all in violation of those international commitments.
  We have had a strong policy to try to isolate North Korea. The United 
States has led in the imposition of sanctions. We introduced this year 
and passed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. 
It passed this body by a 98-to-2 vote. I notice the chairman of the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee is on the floor, and he was one of 
the strong architects of that legislation. The United Nations Security 
Council passed Resolutions Nos. 2270, 2321, and 2375. The President has 
issued Executive Order No. 13810.
  We have been asking for rigorous enforcement of sanctions. We could 
do more. One of the points I hope the President will be talking about 
during his trip is robust and rigorous enforcement of the sanctions 
that are out there. And I see there is activity taking place in the 
Banking Committee. We have legislation in the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee. If additional sanction authority is needed, let's do that. 
That is important.
  But what additional things can we do, and what should the President 
be promoting as he visits Asia? First, let me give you a few 
unacceptable alternatives.
  We cannot lead with military intervention. The casualties could be 
astronomical. The technology to develop nuclear weapons would still 
remain. Our allies are certainly not in agreement with that policy. 
There is no congressional authority for the use of force.
  A second alternative that is not acceptable is to just continue the 
current course. North Korea is developing a delivery system that will 
threaten not just Japan and the Republic of Korea but also Guam and the 
United States. We will see an arms race if we do not effectively stop 
North Korea's nuclear program.
  President Trump's statement, in my view, made the challenges even 
more dramatic. His ``America first'' statements isolate America and 
make it more difficult for us to get the type of support we need. I 
think his reckless statements make it more likely rather than less 
likely that we will use a military option.
  What we need is a surge in diplomacy. A surge in diplomacy can very 
well start with the meeting between President Xi of China and President 
Trump of the United States. We have a

[[Page S6989]]

common agenda. Neither China nor the United States want to see a 
nuclear North Korea. Both China and the United States recognize that 
the Kim Jong Un regime in North Korea is unreliable. We are both 
looking for an off-ramp so we don't need to use a military option.
  China has the capacity to turn the pressure on North Korea through 
sanctions that could change the equation in North Korea. China and 
North Korea have a common agenda. Both want to preserve the regime of 
Kim Jong Un--Kim Jong Un for obvious reasons; China, because they do 
not want to see a unified Korean Peninsula under Western influence.
  Our objective is for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. 
China needs to be convinced that our objective is the same as theirs. 
With that, they could instill greater pressure on North Korea, and 
diplomacy could work.
  What should be our objective? We have to be realistic. In the short 
term, it should be containment. Freeze the current program. Stop the 
testing. Make it clear that we cannot allow these programs to continue. 
Ultimately, we want to see a nonnuclear Korean Peninsula.
  We know that in the past--the 1994 framework agreement with North 
Korea lasted for 8 years. So there is an ability to make progress, but 
we have to develop confidence between the parties.
  In conjunction with this, let me urge us not to lose sight of the 
North Korean people. Let's continue our focus on the human rights 
problems in the country. Let's work with our allies, particularly Japan 
and the Republic of Korea, and let's rigorously enforce the sanctions 
until progress is made.
  We can achieve an alternative outcome in North Korea, but it requires 
U.S. leadership, and President Trump needs to engage on that issue. We 
need confidence building, and we need to make sure that we make 
progress. Time is not on our side, but there is still time to make 
progress. Without a diplomatic surge, there are only unacceptable 
options. Our goal should be a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous 
northeast Asia community.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all time has 
expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Bibas 
nomination?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. 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 assistant bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. 
McCaskill), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the Senator 
from Florida (Mr. Nelson), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) 
are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 261 Ex.]

                                YEAS--53

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

                                NAYS--43

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

                             NOT VOTING--4

     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Nelson
     Warner
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. HELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that with respect 
to the Bibas nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of 
the Senate's action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________