[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 141 (Thursday, August 23, 2018)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D943-D946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                          Thursday, August 23, 2018

[[Page D943]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed H.R. 6157, Department of Defense Appropriations 
      Act, as amended.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S5871-S5939
Measures Introduced: Twenty bills and three resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 3369-3388, and S. Res. 616-618. 
                                                         Pages S5931-32
Measures Reported:
  H.R. 1491, to reaffirm the action of the Secretary of the Interior to 
take land into trust for the benefit of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash 
Mission Indians. (S. Rept. No. 115-326)                      
Page S5930
Measures Passed:
  Department of Defense Appropriations Act: By 85 yeas to 7 nays (Vote 
No. 193), Senate passed H.R. 6157, making appropriations for the 
Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, 
after taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto: 
                                                      Pages S5875-S5907
Adopted:
  McConnell (for Inhofe/Rounds) Amendment No. 3731 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to make available $2,000,000 for a program to commemorate the 
75th anniversary of World War II.                            
Page S5900
  McConnell (for Lankford) Amendment No. 3722 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
relating to public notice of Department of Defense grants.   
Page S5900
   McConnell (for Menendez) Amendment No. 3903 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require a report on the portion of the Department of Defense's 
advertising budget that is spent on advertising and public relations 
contracts with socially and economically disadvantaged small 
businesses.                                                  
Page S5900
   McConnell (for Moran) Amendment No. 3702 (to Amendment No. 3695), to 
provide funding for the defense community infrastructure pilot program.
                                                             Page S5900
  McConnell (for Sasse) Amendment No. 3710 (to Amendment No. 3695), to 
make available $4,000,000 for the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. 
                                                             Page S5900
   McConnell (for Schatz) Amendment No. 3717 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to make available funds for Operation and Maintenance, Army for the 
sustainment of certain morale, welfare, and recreation facilities. 
                                                             Page S5900
  McConnell (for Portman/Brown) Amendment No. 3860 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to express the sense of the Senate on research regarding blast 
exposure on the cellular level of the brain.                 
Page S5900
   McConnell (for Warner) Amendment No. 3764 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to make available from amounts appropriated for Operation and 
Maintenance, Defense-Wide $7,000,000 for the Information Assurance 
Scholarship Program.                                         
Page S5900
   McConnell (for Cardin) Amendment No. 3750 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require a report on investments of the Armed Forces in research on 
energetics.                                                  
Page S5900
   McConnell (for Gillibrand) Amendment No. 3981 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to make available from Operation and Maintenance, Air Force and 
Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard $45,000,000 for payments 
to local water authorities and States for treatment of certain acids in 
drinking water as a result of Air Force-supported activities. 
                                                         Pages S5900-01
   McConnell (for Shelby/Durbin) Amendment No. 3910 (to Amendment No. 
3695), of a perfecting nature.                               
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 3880 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to prohibit payments to corporations that have delinquent federal tax 
liabilities.                                                 
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 3727 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to prohibit the use of funds for assistance to the Islamic Republic of 
Iran.                                                        
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Hirono) Amendment No. 3733 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to authorize the use of

[[Page D944]]

amounts to reimburse the Government of the Republic of Palau for land 
acquisition costs for defense sites.                         
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Murray) Amendment No. 3830 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to make available from Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Navy 
$2,000,000 for research on means of reducing fighter aircraft engine 
noise at the source.                                         
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Cassidy) Amendment No. 3926 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report on 
improving trauma training for trauma teams of the Department of 
Defense.                                                     
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Merkley) Amendment No. 3796 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to increase certain funding for the Air National Guard, and to provide 
an offset.                                                   
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Isakson) Amendment No. 3857 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require a Comptroller General of the United States report on the 
monitoring, compliance, and remediation of lead in military housing. 
                                                             Page S5901
   McConnell (for Murray) Amendment No. 3831 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to make available from Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide 
$20,000,000 for the Department of Defense Family Advocacy Program. 
                                                             Page S5901
   McConnell (for Perdue) Amendment No. 3940 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to 
Congress a report on maintenance of the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target 
Attack Radar System aircraft fleet.                          
Page S5901
   McConnell (for Cruz/Inhofe) Amendment No. 3809 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to limit the use of funds to implement the Arms Trade Treaty. 
                                                             Page S5901
   McConnell (for Flake/McCain) Amendment No. 3835 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to prohibit the use of funds for the development of beerbots or 
other robot bartenders.                                      
Page S5901
   McConnell (for McCaskill/Isakson) Amendment No. 3841 (to Amendment 
No. 3695), to require the Secretary of Defense to use amounts 
appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense 
to provide testing for elevated blood lead levels at military treatment 
facilities for babies during their 12-month and 24-month wellness 
checks or annual physical examinations.                      
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Donnelly/Crapo) Amendment No. 3707 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to increase funding for the guidelines for investigation of 
potential cancer clusters.                                   
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Blunt/Murray) Amendment No. 3721 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to authorize student aid administration funds to be available 
for payments for student loan servicing to an institution of higher 
education that services outstanding Federal Perkins Loans.   
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Reed/Capito) Amendment No. 3751 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to require a report on barriers to obtaining and paying for 
adequate medical care for survivors of childhood cancer.     
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Schumer/Collins) Amendment No. 3759 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to increase funding for Lyme Disease activities.      
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Warner) Amendment No. 3763 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require a report to Congress on potential barriers to participation 
in the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program.            
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Whitehouse/Cassidy) Amendment No. 3765 (to Amendment 
No. 3695), to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
provide Congress a status update on rulemaking, with respect to 
conditions of certification of health information technology and 
information blocking, required by the 21st Century Cures Act. 
                                                             Page S5902
   McConnell (for Heller/Klobuchar) Amendment No. 3810 (to Amendment 
No. 3695), to require the Secretary of Education to report to Congress 
regarding coordination between the Department of Education, the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science 
Foundation on STEM programs for students in grades pre-kindergarten 
through 12.                                                  
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Hyde-Smith/Reed) Amendment No. 3812 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to improve section 115 of title I of division B with regard to 
Unemployment Insurance State consortia.                      
Page S5902
   McConnell (for Cortez Masto/Ernst) Amendment No. 3825 (to Amendment 
No. 3695), to provide for the conduct of a study on the relationship 
between intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury. 
                                                             Page S5902
   McConnell (for Rubio/Nelson) Amendment No. 3853 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide funds to enhance harmful algal bloom exposure 
activates.                                               
Pages S5902-03
   McConnell (for Cassidy) Amendment No. 3858 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require the Director of the NIH shall conduct a comprehensive study 
and submit to Congress a report that includes a portfolio analysis of 
current funding levels of the NIH related to mental health and 
substance use disorder.                                      
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Nelson/Rubio) Amendment No. 3862 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide $10,000,000 to the Department of Education to fund a 
demonstration program to test and evaluate

[[Page D945]]

innovative partnerships between institutions of higher education and 
high-needs State or local educational agencies to train school 
counselors, social workers, psychologists, or other mental health 
professionals qualified to provide school-based mental health services 
in order to expand the employment pipeline and address employment 
shortages relating to school-based mental health services in low-income 
public elementary schools and secondary schools.             
Page S5903
  McConnell (for Peters/Capito) Amendment No. 3870 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to ensure youth are considered when the Substance Abuse and 
Mental Health Services Administration follows guidance on the 
medication-assisted treatment for prescription drug and opioid 
addiction program.                                           
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Casey/Collins) Amendment No. 3875 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide funding for the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to establish the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents 
Raising Grandchildren.                                       
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 3881 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require the Secretary of Labor to provide a report to the Committees 
on Appropriations on the implementation of the plan to reduce improper 
payments published by the Department of Labor in the fiscal year 2017 
Agency Financial Report.                                     
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Wicker/Peters) Amendment No. 3883 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide a sense of Congress that computer science education 
programs, including coding academies, can provide important benefits to 
local industries and the economy and help meet in-demand workforce 
needs, and the Department of Education and Department of Labor should 
work together with industry to improve and expand computer science 
education programs and opportunities, including through 
apprenticeships.                                             
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Heitkamp) Amendment No. 3893 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to provide funding for the SOAR (Stop, Observe, Ask, Respond) to Health 
and Wellness Program.                                        
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Schatz/Hirono) Amendment No. 3897 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to assess the ongoing mental health impact to the children and 
families impacted by a volcanic eruption covered by a major disaster 
declared by the President in calendar year 2018.             
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Cantwell/Cassidy) Amendment No. 3908 (to Amendment 
No. 3695), to provide a sense of the Senate that dedicated funding for 
coding courses in kindergarten through grade 12 education should be a 
top priority.                                                
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Heller/Manchin) Amendment No. 3912 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide additional funding for activities related to neonatal 
abstinence syndrome.                                         
Page S5903
   McConnell (for Isakson/Murphy) Amendment No. 3927 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide for the establishment of the National Neurological 
Conditions Surveillance System.                          
Pages S5903-04
   McConnell (for Heitkamp) Amendment No. 3933 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to improve obstetric care for pregnant women living in rural areas. 
                                                             Page S5904
   McConnell (for Blunt) Amendment No. 3950 (to Amendment No. 3695), to 
increase funding for oversight of grant programs and operations of the 
National Institutes of Health.                               
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Heller/Tester) Amendment No. 3951 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to authorize the use of $2,000,000 to carry out a pilot program 
for preparing members of the Armed Forces transitioning to civilian 
life to qualify for, and for assisting in placing them in, 
apprenticeship programs.                                     
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Merkley) Amendment No. 3977 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to require a report on Civilian Conservation Centers.        
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Cornyn) Amendment No. 3979 (to Amendment No. 3695), 
to promote school safety in rural areas.                     
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Casey/Young) Amendment No. 3982 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to increase amounts available for the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act State grant program.                           
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Reed) Amendment No. 3985 (to Amendment No. 3695), to 
require the Comptroller General of the United States to study and 
report on the condition of the public school facilities of the United 
States.                                                      
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Rubio) Amendment No. 3998 (to Amendment No. 3695), to 
require a report on circumstances in which the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services may be providing Medicare or Medicaid payments to, or 
otherwise funding, entities that process genome or exome data in the 
People's Republic of China or the Russian Federation.        
Page S5904
   McConnell (for Durbin/Grassley) Amendment No. 3964 (to Amendment No. 
3695), to provide for the use of funds by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services to issue regulations on direct-to-consumer advertising 
of prescription drugs and biological products.               
Page S5904
  Shelby Amendment No. 3695, in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                             Page S5876
Rejected:
  By 45 yeas to 48 nays (Vote 191), McConnell (for Paul/Lee) Amendment 
No. 3967 (to Amendment No. 3695), to prohibit Federal funds being made

[[Page D946]]

available to a prohibited entity. (A unanimous-consent agreement was 
reached providing that the amendment, having failed to achieve 60 
affirmative votes, was not agreed to.)      
Pages S5891-93, S5898-S5900
Withdrawn:
  McConnell (for Shelby) Amendment No. 3699 (to Amendment No. 3695), of 
a perfecting nature.                          
Pages S5876, S5898, S5906
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  By 90 yeas to 6 nays (Vote No. 190), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn, having voted in the affirmative, Senate agreed 
to the motion to close further debate on Shelby Amendment No. 3695 
(listed above).                                          
Pages S5875-76
  By 68 yeas to 24 nays (Vote No. 192), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn, having voted in the affirmative, Senate agreed 
to the motion to waive all applicable sections of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 and other applicable budget resolutions, with 
respect to Shelby Amendment No. 3695. Subsequently, the point of order 
that the provision of Shelby Amendment No. 3695, Division B, Title III, 
lines 7 and 8, was in violation of S. Con. Res. 70, the concurrent 
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2009, was not sustained, and 
thus the point of order fell.                            
Pages S5904-05
  Leahy Amendment No. 3993 (to Amendment No. 3699), of a perfecting 
nature, fell when McConnell (for Shelby) Amendment No. 3699 (to 
Amendment No. 3695) (listed above) was withdrawn.    
Pages S5876, S5898
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that the motion 
to invoke cloture on the bill, be withdrawn.                 
Page S5906
  CENOTE Act: Senate passed S. 2511, to require the Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to carry out a program on 
coordinating the assessment and acquisition by the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration of unmanned maritime systems, to make 
available to the public data collected by the Administration using such 
systems, after agreeing to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
substitute.                                              
  Pages S5937-38
  JACK Act: Senate passed S. 2896, to require disclosure by lobbyists 
of convictions for bribery, extortion, embezzlement, illegal kickbacks, 
tax evasion, fraud, conflicts of interest, making false statements, 
perjury, or money laundering, after agreeing to the following amendment 
proposed thereto:                                        
  Pages S5938-39
  McConnell (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 4008, in the nature of a 
substitute.                                              
Pages S5938-39
  USS John F. Kennedy: Senate agreed to S. Res. 618, commemorating the 
50th anniversary of the commissioning of the USS John F. Kennedy. 
                                                             Page S5939
Johnson Nomination--Agreement: Senate continued consideration of the 
nomination of Lynn A. Johnson, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary 
for Family Support, Department of Health and Human Services. 
                                                         Pages S5871-75
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that at 
approximately 4 p.m., on Monday, August 27, 2018, Senate resume 
consideration of the nomination, and that notwithstanding Rule XXII, 
the cloture motions filed during the session of Wednesday, August 22, 
2018, ripen at 5:30 p.m.                                     
Page S5939
Enrolled Bills Presented:                                    
  Page S5913
Executive Communications:                                
  Pages S5913-16
Petitions and Memorials:                                 
  Pages S5911-30
Executive Reports of Committees:                         
  Pages S5930-31
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S5932-34
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:              
  Pages S5934-36
Additional Statements:                                   
  Pages S5912-13
Amendments Submitted:                                        
  Page S5936
Authorities for Committees to Meet:                      
  Pages S5936-37
Privileges of the Floor:                                     
  Page S5937
Record Votes: Four record votes were taken today. (Total--193) 
                              Pages S5875-76, S5899-S5900, S5905, S5907
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m. and adjourned at 6:02 p.m., 
until 4 p.m. on Monday, August 27, 2018. (For Senate's program, see the 
remarks of the Majority Leader in today's Record on page S5939.)