[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4889-S4890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    National Flood Insurance Program

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, my motion to instruct conferees to the 
minibus appropriations bill, H.R. 5895, is a simple 6-month extension 
of the National Flood Insurance Program, currently set to expire July 
31, 2018--in about 2 weeks. The same timeline in this motion was passed 
by the Senate a few weeks ago by unanimous consent during consideration 
of the farm bill.
  The National Flood Insurance Program insures properties in every 
State, insuring over 5 million homes and businesses and $1.2 trillion 
in assets. If the NFIP is not extended, people will not be able to 
renew or purchase new flood insurance policies, and more people would 
be without flood insurance during peak hurricane season. This is so to 
the moment because, given the series of emergency supplemental 
appropriations bills the Senate has passed, an expiration of the NFIP 
puts the U.S. taxpayer in the very vulnerable position of funding more 
uninsured losses in emergency supplemental appropriations legislation.
  I thank Senators Crapo and Brown for their work in providing a path 
forward to a bipartisan long-term reauthorization of the NFIP, which 
ideally includes commonsense reforms providing for greater investment 
in flood mitigation, updated flood mapping technology, greater 
accountability, and consumer choice. However, these discussions will 
not conclude in the next 2 weeks, prior to the upcoming NFIP expiration 
deadline.
  It is imperative that Congress provide for a 6-month extension of 
NFIP now, so progress can continue on long-term reauthorization and 
reform of the NFIP through the Banking Committee.
  I urge my colleagues to vote to protect the taxpayer, the homeowner, 
and to support this motion to instruct.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.


   Energy and Water, Legislative Affairs, and Military Construction 
                       Appropriations Legislation

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, in the next few minutes, the Senate 
will be taking the next steps on an appropriations process that is 
being conducted the way an appropriations process is supposed to be 
conducted. Boy Scouts shouldn't get a merit badge for telling the 
truth, and Senators shouldn't get a pat on the back for conducting an 
appropriations process the way it is supposed to be conducted. It is 
worth noting that we are doing it, since it has been a long time since 
we have done it.
  The right way means we are moving ahead on three bills: Energy and 
Water, legislative affairs, and Military Construction. The right way 
means we have had hearings on all of these bills. We have consulted 
with Senators. I know that in our Energy and Water bill, Senator 
Feinstein and I heard from 83 different Senators and tried to respond 
to them in our bill. We marked up the bills unanimously in most cases.
  What was missing was allowing the other 70 Senators to participate on 
the floor. We did that this time; 40 amendments, 7 rollcall votes. We 
got off the floor without a cloture vote; that is, a motion to cut off 
debate. We are doing it the way it is supposed to be done. That was 
done by showing something that needs to be shown more in the Senate--
restraint. Restraint means that when you have a lot of freedom, it 
doesn't mean you exercise all of your freedoms all at once because 
nothing will happen.
  We avoided controversial riders. We even had 20 Republican Senators 
vote to table something we agree with, which is the waters of the 
United States provision, because we thought this was not the 
appropriate bill for it.
  Now we are moving to motions to instruct, which are nonbinding 
resolutions. It is important, though, because they give the Senate a 
chance to say what Senators want to say. That is why we are here.
  One of those issues has to do with tariffs. The administration has 
imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel, and now other products, 
provoking a response of tariffs on soybeans and other products grown 
and manufactured in our country. In general, these tariffs are a big 
mistake. Using national security as an excuse to impose them is an even 
bigger mistake.
  I have urged President Trump instead to focus on reciprocity; tell 
other countries to do for our country what we do for you.
  Imposing tariffs as a way of achieving that is like shooting 
ourselves in both feet as a way of solving our problem. Tariffs are 
taxes. They raise the price of what we buy and sell. Tariffs reduce 
revenues, profits, wages, and jobs.
  U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel hurt 136,000 Tennesseans who work 
in more than 900 auto plants in 88 of our 95 counties; that is, one-
third of our manufacturing jobs. Retaliatory tariffs hurt Tennessee 
soybean farmers by lowering prices and making markets disappear.
  Our goal should be to persuade our trading partners to do for us what 
we do for them. Shooting ourselves in both feet at once is not a good 
way to do that. There are better ways to achieve the goal.
  This doesn't just hurt auto parts workers in Tennessee. I was in 
Springfield, TN, the other day. They had been excited about an 
expansion of an Electrolux plant, a $250 million expansion for that 
community. Electrolux canceled it when word of the steel tariffs came, 
even though Electrolux, which makes washing machines, buys all of their 
steel in the United States. Tariffs on imported steel raise the price 
of steel sold in United States.
  In Chestnut Hill, Bush Brothers cans about one-third of all beans 
canned in the United States. You wouldn't think that is such a big 
deal, but it involves a lot of people and a lot of beans. They say that 
8\1/2\ percent of their revenues will go down as a result of the tin-
plated steel that is used for their cans. Not enough is produced in the 
United States.
  Then, we have Bridgestone and Hankook. They make tires in Tennessee. 
They are big companies. They use steel wire in every tire, and none of 
it is produced in the United States. The price goes up.
  For 40 years, I worked to bring the auto industry to Tennessee. It 
has done more than anything that has happened to raise our standard of 
living, to raise families' incomes. Tariffs will lower our standard of 
living. They will hurt our State more than almost any other State.
  As respectfully and as effectively as I can, I have said to the 
President: Mr. President, we agree on taxes. We agree on regulations. 
We agree on judges. We are proud of having the best economy in 18 
years, the lowest employment rate that anyone can remember. But these 
tariffs are a big mistake. They will take us in the wrong direction.
  I have not been successful in talking with the President about this, 
but I intend to keep trying. There are other, better ways to persuade 
our trading partners to do for us what we do for them instead of 
shooting ourselves in both feet at once, which is what we do when we 
impose these tariffs.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, before we vote this morning, I want to 
express my support for the appointment of conferees and my belief that 
this is yet another encouraging sign of a return to regular order in 
the appropriations process.
  The package of appropriations bills that will be conferenced with the 
House received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate. This 
broad agreement was facilitated by a concerted effort by both parties 
to prevent partisan riders from poisoning the well. Thus far, we have 
been able to translate bipartisan cooperation among members of the 
Appropriations Committee into success on the Senate floor.

[[Page S4890]]

  At this time, I want to recognize and to commend the continued 
efforts of the committee members in the process, especially the 
Republican and Democratic managers of this package. In particular, I 
want to thank Vice Chairman Leahy for his strong partnership in this 
effort and Senator Alexander, who is here on the floor, who has guided 
this process and will chair the conference committee.
  We will continue to consolidate critical mass for a return to regular 
order, but we still have a long way to go. This is another step in the 
right direction. Senator Alexander, Vice Chairman Leahy, and I will 
have a strong slate of conferees joining us. On the Republican side, it 
will be Senators Boozman, Daines, and Lankford. On the Democratic side, 
it will be Senators Feinstein, Schatz, and Murphy.
  Our objective will be to build upon the momentum we have generated in 
the Senate by urging the same type of bipartisan cooperation in the 
conference. We will aim to return to the Senate floor--hopefully, 
sooner than later--with a conference report that reflects bipartisan 
agreement and merits the support of our colleagues.
  It is, I believe, the right thing to do for the American people. 
Whatever partisan fights may ensue in the coming weeks, I believe the 
appropriations process should not suffer those wounds, and we should 
continue our hope and work. Thus far, it has been immune from such a 
fate. It is my hope that we can continue on that path. That will be our 
goal in this conference committee. I hope others will join us.
  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. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________