[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3276-S3278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Tariffs

  Mr. President, despite the fact that I agree with President Trump on 
taxes, judges, regulations, and the list I just read, there is one area 
in which I have been supremely ineffective in persuading him, and that 
is in the area of tariffs.
  I care about tariffs, especially because Tennessee has become, in 
many ways, the No. 1 auto state. I have spent a lot of time over the 
last 40 years watching the auto industry in Tennessee grow--ever since 
I helped to recruit the Nissan plant to Tennessee in 1980 as Governor 
at a time when we had literally no auto jobs--and suddenly today, one-
third of our manufacturing jobs are auto jobs. They are not only in 
three big auto plants, like Nissan, General Motors, and Volkswagen, but 
they are in over 900 different auto suppliers in 88 of Tennessee's 95 
counties.
  Let me say that again: We have over 900 auto suppliers in 88 of 95 of 
Tennessee's counties--one-third of all of our manufacturing jobs. 
Nothing has done more in the last 40 years to move us from the third 
poorest State in average family incomes up toward the middle and 
heading toward the top. It has been the greatest source of benefit for 
Tennessee families of anything that has happened, so you can see why I 
become concerned when anything threatens that.

[[Page S3277]]

  A 25-percent tariff on steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum 
threatens that because almost every one of those auto parts suppliers 
in Tennessee uses aluminum and steel in making their parts for cars and 
trucks that will be sold in the United States and exported around the 
world.
  If your price goes up, what usually happens is your profits go down, 
your sales go down, and your wages don't go up as fast or jobs might 
disappear. That is what happened when President George W. Bush did 
something similar at the beginning of his term. I had just come to the 
U.S. Senate in 2003, and President Bush tried to protect the steel 
companies, but what he did was hurt everyone else more than the steel 
companies. There were more jobs lost in the companies that used steel 
than in the companies that produced steel.
  Already, I am hearing stories all across our State about the effects 
of tariffs, and I was hearing stories about the potential effects of 
tariffs even before they were imposed. For example, not just auto parts 
but Electrolux--a big home appliance manufacturer planning a $250 
million new plant to make home appliances in Springfield, TN--buys 100 
percent of its steel in the United States. But as soon as the steel 
tariffs were announced, it put that expansion on hold because when you 
raise the price of steel coming into the United States, then all the 
domestic suppliers raise their prices. Electrolux said that even though 
it bought all of its steel from U.S. suppliers, it couldn't be 
competitive in the marketplace with tariffs on imported steel. That is 
one example.
  Here is a different kind of example. Bush Brothers in East Tennessee, 
in Newport, has a remarkable operation. They can one-third of all the 
beans in the United States. You have probably bought Bush Brothers 
beans. Well, the cans have a certain kind of steel that is mostly 
imported because not enough of it is made in the United States. Bush 
Brothers estimates that the tariff on steel will reduce their revenues 
by 8.5 percent. They are a big company. That is one-third of all beans 
in the United States. These aren't served in country clubs. These are 
people who are in ordinary homes around the country buying cans of 
baked beans. Their prices go up, and the revenues go down, profits go 
down, employees go down, jobs go down, and wages don't go up in 
Newport, TN.
  Then we have two big tire companies in Tennessee. Bridgestone is one 
of them. All tires have a strengthening kind of steel to make them 
stronger. None of that is produced in the United States. All of it is 
imported. So when you put a 25-percent tax on that strengthening steel 
coming in for the tires there at Bridgestone and at Hankook, in 
Clarksville, TN, up goes the price for American consumers who buy 
tires, and down go the profits for Bridgestone and Hankook, and down go 
the revenues, and down go the opportunities for increased wages and 
jobs.
  So think about the impact of a 25-percent increase on the materials 
you use to make parts in the companies that employ one-third of all the 
manufacturing jobs in Tennessee. We have a big, strong auto industry in 
the Southeastern United States. We think a lot about the Midwest, and 
we are proud of that. While the Midwest lost 3.6 million jobs in the 
last 20 years in the auto industry, the Southeast gained 3.6 million 
jobs. We have a good, strong auto industry in Tennessee, and we don't 
want to see it hurt.
  That is why I have respectfully said to President Trump--I saw him in 
Nashville last week, and I said: Mr. President, as you know, I agree 
with you, and I am proud of what has happened with the best economy in 
the last 18 years with lower taxes, with fewer regulations, and all of 
those things. These are the most significant accomplishments in at 
least 30 years by a conservative government. I would like to persuade 
you to change your mind on tariffs. Our State is likely to be hurt more 
than any other State because, in many ways, we are the No. 1 auto 
State. What I would suggest, respectfully, is a focus shift from 
tariffs to reciprocity; in other words, say to every country: Please do 
for us what we do for you. We are going to insist on that. And then we 
have various tools and weapons--maybe including tariffs in some cases--
to enforce that. But the goal should be, you do for us what we do for 
you.

  Mexico and Canada can do that. That shouldn't be a problem. The trade 
deficit is not the right indicator with Mexico and Canada. We produce 
nearly 24 percent of all the money in the world in the United States. 
Mexico produces about 1 percent. So they spend 25 percent of their 
money buying stuff from us, and we spend one-fifth of 1 percent buying 
stuff from them.
  Let's not focus on the trade deficit. Let's not start with tariffs. 
Say to other countries: Do for us what we do for you. Go country by 
country and enforce that. That would be consistent with all the other 
accomplishments that happened in the last 18 months. That would be 
consistent with the lower taxes and the fewer regulations and the other 
actions that have increased the best economy in the last 18 years. It 
is my hope that I can become more persuasive on that. Article I, 
section 8, gives Congress the specific right to deal with tariffs and 
trade, and I hope we do.
  Madam President, if I may say one more thing about the vote we will 
be having at 12:30. Today the Senate is finally voting to confirm Ken 
Marcus, a well-qualified nominee, to serve as Assistant Secretary for 
Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
  I worked to get a time agreement for this vote because Mr. Marcus did 
not deserve to be the subject of the Democrats' unreasonable and 
unnecessary obstruction and delays. I want to thank Senator Murray from 
Washington and the Democratic leader, Senator Schumer, for helping to 
bring these delays to a conclusion today.
  For example, Mr. Marcus was nominated on October 30, 2017--220 days 
ago. He has been pending on the floor since the HELP Committee approved 
his nomination on January 18, 2018--140 days ago. To compare, President 
Obama's two nominees to this position, Russlynn Ali and Catherine 
Lhamon, were confirmed in 45 and 52 days, and both were confirmed by a 
voice vote. That doesn't mean that every Republican supported these 
nominees, but it means we knew that students would be better served 
when the Department of Education had a confirmed civil rights official 
in place even if Republicans might disagree with that person.
  I would remind my colleagues that when President Obama proposed to 
have John King serve as Acting Secretary of Education for 1 year, I 
said: Mr. President, the country is better served and we are better 
served if you send us a nomination and let us confirm Mr. King, even 
though we disagree with him. The President did that. I made sure he was 
confirmed within a month. That is what should happen when a President 
makes nominations.
  It is time to confirm Mr. Marcus and give Secretary DeVos and our 
country an Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Mr. Marcus has a deep 
understanding of civil rights law. He founded the Louis D. Brandeis 
Center for Human Rights Under Law and served as Staff Director for the 
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for four years. He effectively served 
in this position before. When he worked in the Department of Education 
under President George W. Bush, he was delegated the authority of 
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. In that position, he was charged 
with enforcing civil rights laws, such as Title IX, and he issued 
guidance reminding schools of their obligation, established in 
regulation, to have in place Title IX coordinators and procedures for 
when there was an alleged Title IX violation.
  Mr. Marcus enjoys wide support. Sixty-eight organizations signed 
letters supporting his nomination, including Hillel International, the 
largest Jewish campus organization in the world, which had this to say:

       ``Mr. Marcus has been a longtime champion for civil rights 
     and for college students. We have worked personally with him 
     on several campuses across the country in response to 
     specific issues of bigotry and discrimination, and we have 
     found him to be extremely skilled and knowledgeable in Civil 
     Rights laws.''

  As Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Mr. Marcus will lead a very 
important office. The Office for Civil Rights has the responsibility of 
ensuring that Title IX and other civil rights laws, and the protections 
they provide to all students, are fully enforced. When Mr. Marcus is 
confirmed, he will get to work enforcing these laws so that all 
students feel safe at school.

[[Page S3278]]

  I am glad we are having this vote today. I support the nomination, 
and I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Marcus as well.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I oppose the confirmation of Kenneth 
Marcus to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of 
Education. Mr. Marcus has a long record of targeting First Amendment-
protected speech and scholarship of people with whom he disagrees. His 
history also reflects a hostility towards civil rights, including 
making racially charged accusations and opposing affirmative action. In 
addition, Mr. Marcus has not publicly committed to upholding the civil 
rights protections of every student in the country, without regard to 
LGBTQI status, race, home language, gender, religion, disability, or 
immigration status.
  I am particularly concerned with Mr. Marcus's nomination, given the 
important role that the Office of Civil Rights--OCR--plays in 
protecting students from discrimination in schools and on campuses, as 
well as holding schools accountable for their sexual assault prevention 
policies. As we are all aware, Secretary DeVos and Acting OCR Director 
Candice Jackson have already taken very concerning steps to roll back 
guidance and investigations of potential civil rights violations. Given 
his testimony before the Senate HELP committee, I fear Mr. Marcus will 
likely contribute to this troubling pattern of neglect at the 
Department.
  According to a joint statement by UnidosUS and National Urban League: 
``Kenneth Marcus' troubling record with regard to enforcing the rights 
of immigrant students and English learners, and past attempts to 
undermine critical policies aimed at remedying racial discrimination, 
including affirmative action. Mr. Marcus [also] has a demonstrated 
history of hostility toward affirmative action and all race-based 
remedies to discrimination. He lacks a commitment to enforcing civil 
rights protections for students of color, and does not believe in 
disparate-impact or unintentional discrimination. J Street released a 
statement expressing its concerns with Kenneth Marcus' nomination, 
stating that ``[s]tudents deserve an assistant secretary who will 
uphold all of our community's values and priorities--including support 
for the fight against sexual violence and all forms of discrimination. 
We need government officials who will defend women and all those 
impacted by sexual violence, and who will fight this epidemic on 
college campuses and in our society. It's evident that Marcus would be 
an obstacle and not an ally in this work. His record shows that he is 
not prepared to take a stand against the many forms of discrimination 
based on gender, race, sexual identity and disability that harm 
students today.''
  In addition, the following various education, civil and disability 
rights groups oppose the nomination: American Association of University 
Women, AAUW; American Federation of Teachers; American-Arab Anti-
Discrimination Committee; Americans for Peace Now; Arab American 
Institute; Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Autistic Self Advocacy 
Network; Center for Law and Social Policy, CLASP; Disability Rights 
Education & Defense Fund; End Rape on Campus; Feminist Majority 
Foundation; Hispanic Federation; Human Rights Campaign; J Street; 
Jewish Voices for Peace; Lambda Legal; Lawyers' Committee for Civil 
Rights Under Law; The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; 
League of United Latin American Citizens; Middle East Studies 
Association of North America; Muslim Advocates; NAACP; NAACP Legal 
Defense and Educational Fund; National Alliance for Partnerships in 
Equity, NAPE; National Bar Association; National Center for Lesbian 
Rights; National Center for Transgender Equality; National Council of 
Jewish Women; National Education Association; National Urban League; 
National Women's Law Center; Know Your IX; People for American Way; 
Policy Link; Poverty & Race Research Action Council; Southeast Asia 
Resource Action Center; Southern Poverty Law Center; TASH; UnidosUS, 
formerly NCLR; and YWCA USA.
  Given the widespread opposition to Mr. Marcus's nomination, his 
troubling testimony in support of his confirmation, I cannot support 
his nomination. I urge my colleagues to likewise oppose it.
  (At the request of Mr. Durbin, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)
 Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the 
nomination of Kenneth L. Marcus, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary 
for Civil Rights, Department of Education.
  The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, OCR, was 
established to address discrimination that prevents all students from 
receiving an equal opportunity to learn. No student should experience 
harmful discrimination because of their race, gender, disability, 
religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
  Based on Mr. Marcus's record and performance during his confirmation 
process, I have no confidence that he is ready to effectively lead OCR 
and robustly enforce civil rights protections throughout the country. 
Mr. Marcus's demonstrated lack of commitment to the mission of OCR and 
his failure to understand that all children, regardless of citizenship 
status, have a right to attend public schools, are warning signs that 
the nominee is not the right person to lead OCR.
  Students in Illinois and across the Nation deserve a leader of OCR 
who will actively investigate and enforce civil rights protections, 
particularly in cases where there is evidence of systemic 
discrimination. An unwillingness or inability to address comprehensive, 
systemic discrimination in education is disqualifying, and I must 
oppose Mr. Marcus's confirmation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). The Senator from Kansas.