[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.
____________________