[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6014-S6025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                             CLIMATE CHANGE

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I am very grateful to my colleague 
from New Mexico, Senator Udall, for joining me today for my 218th 
``Time to Wake Up'' speech. Senator Udall is a formidable advocate for 
conserving public lands and protecting endangered species--helping to 
ensure that future generations will inherit a healthy and beautiful 
planet. These lands and creatures Senator Udall fights so hard to 
protect are under direct attack from the current administration and the 
heavy hand of industry that guides it both through regulatory rollbacks 
and other efforts to weaken protections for special places and special 
wildlife. These species and places are also under siege from the 
consequences of climate change.
  Just last week, both the Washington Post and The Atlantic reported on 
a recent study in the prestigious journal Science. The titles of their 
articles were foreboding--``Climate change could render many of Earth's 
ecosystems unrecognizable'' from the Washington Post and ``No Ecosystem 
on Earth Is Safe from Climate Change'' from The Atlantic. The study 
looked at historic vegetation and temperature records to predict how 
global warming will transform our world.
  Dr. Stephen Jackson, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and 
the lead author, told The Atlantic:

       Anywhere on the globe, the more you change climate, the 
     more likely you are to see major ecological change. Having 
     this kind of change occur at such a massive scale in such a 
     short period of time is going to create unprecedented 
     challenges.

  Dr. Dorothy Peteet, a researcher with NASA who commented on the 
article, said: ``There are notable effects of climate change we are 
seeing today . . . and they will probably be much more exacerbated in 
the future.''
  From the mountains to the sea, from the North Pole to the South, 
climate change is wreaking havoc on our natural systems and the living 
creatures that rely on them for survival. A study from Global Change 
Biology earlier this year found ``a strong association between rapid 
climate warming and declines of bird and mammal populations . . . 
showing that population declines have been greatest in areas that have 
experienced most rapid warming.''
  Birds are often seen as sentinels of an ecosystem's health and are 
especially vulnerable to climate change. In particular, migratory 
birds, some of which travel thousands of miles each year to breed, rely 
on a delicate balance of temperature cues and food availability to 
successfully make their impressive journeys.
  Here on the east coast, Delaware Bay enjoys an annual visit from the 
rufa red knot, a bird with a body not larger than a teacup but whose 
wings carry it on a more than 9,000-mile journey from Tierra del Fuego 
on the southern tip of South America to the Canadian Arctic. After 
spending the summer nesting in the north, they make their return trip 
back south to winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
  On the northward journey, the red knots make a straight leg from the 
coast of Brazil to Delaware Bay. Think about that. These tiny birds 
take off from the coast of Brazil, and they fly all the way to Delaware 
Bay. They lose as much as half their body weight on this arduous trip, 
but Mother Nature provides a bounty for them upon their arrival.
  Delaware Bay is the largest horseshoe crab spawning area in the 
world, and each May, millions of horseshoe crabs take part in a mating 
ritual that predates the dinosaurs. Each female horseshoe crab can lay 
up to 90,000 eggs, and horseshoe crab eggs make excellent fuel for 
little birds relishing a pause in their long journey. But warming 
waters and shifting seasons threaten to knock the timing of both 
species' cycles out of whack. If the environmental signal comes too 
early or too late and these little birds fly all that way and they get 
to Delaware Bay and the horseshoe crabs aren't there, that will shake 
the species.
  Predictability in seasonal changes affects the survival of much of 
the world's wildlife. In 2014, the National Audubon Society published a 
comprehensive review of how climate change would affect the ranges of 
nearly 600 North American bird species. More than half of the species 
studied are at risk of losing more than 50 percent of their current 
range to climate change by 2080. Around a quarter of the species 
studied could see their range shrink that much by 2050.
  Mr. President, may I interrupt my remarks for a moment? I see the 
minority leader on the floor. If he seeks recognition, Senator Udall 
and I have time to do a pair of climate speeches. I am more than happy 
to interrupt and have him do what he needs to do.
  I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of the leader's 
remarks, I be recognized and resume my remarks and that at the 
conclusion of them, Senator Udall be recognized.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Democratic leader is 
recognized.


                     Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

  Mr. SCHUMER. First, let me thank my good friend--who did a great and 
outstanding job this morning on the Judiciary Committee--for his 
graciousness and thoughtfulness as always. I also thank my friend from 
New Mexico.
  Mr. President, the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings today on 
Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Democrats on 
the committee have pointed out that over 40,000 of Judge Kavanaugh's 
documents were handed over to the committee last night. It is the 
latest insult in what has been an insulting process for reviewing the 
nominee's record on the issues. It has not just been insulting to 
Democrats in the Senate but insulting to the Senate as a whole and 
insulting to the American people: We can jam this through, and it 
doesn't matter what you think and what you need to know.
  More than 90 percent of the nominee's record has been shielded from 
public scrutiny. The chairman keeps claiming that there are several 
hundred thousand pages that have been made available. That is not the 
point. If only 7 percent of the documents are made available, the 
question is, What looms in the other 93 percent? It is the percentage 
that matters because we want to know what is hidden.
  Furthermore, we have no knowledge of why we were given these 
documents and not given the vast bulk of the documents. What is the 
rule? Is there some objective rule finding? They should make it public. 
Why? They haven't, and the reason is simple. The obvious conclusion--
and we can't prove it because we don't have the documents--is that in 
the 93 percent, there are things they don't want to be made public. 
Otherwise, there would be a set system, and they would say: Here is why 
you are getting this, and here is why you are not getting that.
  Again, it is not the number; it is the percentage. Almost everything 
the Republicans requested with Elena Kagan and Sotomayor when they were 
in the minority--in our position now--was granted. Very little of what 
we have requested has been granted. So the question looms: What are 
they hiding?
  I commend my colleagues, sincerely and strongly, for standing up and 
raising these issues this morning. The Judiciary Committee members were 
lending their voices to a large and growing chorus of people out in 
America who are deeply concerned about how this process has been run. 
Every member of the Judiciary Committee was eloquent and forceful in 
their clarifying of just how far the Republicans have gone to keep 
Judge Kavanaugh's record a secret. Here, for the highest Court in the 
land--which has huge power over every one of our lives in many 
different ways--we are hiding what he really thinks. Maybe it is 
because they don't want the American people to know what he really 
thinks.
  Nonetheless, the Judiciary Committee proceedings are going forward 
even though the Republican majority has taken great pains to shield a 
great bulk of Kavanaugh's record from the American public. Since they 
are in the majority, they can do this against the will of all of the 
Democrats and of, probably, much of the American people, but it is so 
wrong. Let's review what we already know about this nominee.
  For the bulk of his career, Brett Kavanaugh has been a loyal 
Republican foot soldier who has consistently found himself near the 
center of the most heated, partisan legal fights of the past

[[Page S6015]]

two decades. From the Starr report to Bush v. Gore and through the 
myriad controversies of the Bush White House, Brett Kavanaugh was front 
and center in representing the political interests of the Republicans. 
His service as a partisan warrior was rewarded with a judgeship, 
wherein he immediately began to establish a jurisprudence far outside 
the judicial mainstream.
  As a judge, he ruled against commonsense gun safety measures. He 
ruled against commonsense environmental protections. He consistently 
ruled against the rulemaking powers of independent agencies. He went so 
far as to label the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 
unconstitutional, and he has praised the dissents in both Roe and 
Casey, which are two landmark cases that established a woman's right to 
privacy with respect to her medical decisions.
  Remember--we can't forget--Brett Kavanaugh was selected from a 
preapproved list of candidates that had been vetted by the Federalist 
Society and the Heritage Foundation--two hard-right groups that are 
dedicated to the destruction of our healthcare law and the repeal of 
Roe v. Wade. He was selected by a President who explicitly promised to 
pick judges who would do those two things exactly.
  Unlike with former nominees, Brett Kavanaugh has the special burden 
of explaining his views on these crucial issues. The President didn't 
just say: I am going to choose the best legal mind available. He said: 
I am going to choose someone who will repeal Roe. He said: I am going 
to choose someone who will overturn many of the healthcare protections 
that we have, as in the ACA. So he has a special obligation.
  When I interviewed him in my office, he ducked. I asked him if he 
believed Planned Parenthood v. Casey was correctly decided, not whether 
it were precedent. That doesn't matter. Precedents change. Supreme 
Court Justices do it. I asked him whether it was correctly decided. He 
refused to say. He refused to say whether any restriction on a woman's 
reproductive freedom constituted an undue burden. There was nothing 
that I heard from Judge Kavanaugh in our interview to dispel the 
presumption that has been created by President Trump's litmus test that 
a Justice Kavanaugh would vote to overturn Roe and protections for 
Americans with preexisting conditions.
  Judge Kavanaugh will, no doubt, refuse to answer these important 
questions in the committee hearings as well. We are not going to get 
clear answers. That is what judicial nominees have been taught to do. 
Yet, given how he was chosen--in his coming from a preappointed list--
that makes, No. 1, his obfuscation even more troubling. No. 2, it makes 
the need for documents all the more compelling.
  Another area of examination this week should be of Judge Kavanaugh's 
views on Executive power and accountability. During his time in the 
White House, it seems that Judge Kavanaugh developed an adulation for 
powers of the Presidency. He said that Presidents should not be subject 
to investigations of criminal or civil wrongdoing while in office. He 
said that a President can refuse to enforce any law that he deems 
unconstitutional even if a court has ruled otherwise. In our meeting, 
he refused to say that a President must comply with a duly issued 
subpoena. Judge Kavanaugh also wrote that Presidents should be able to 
hire and fire, at will, the heads of independent agencies. In Brett 
Kavanaugh's jurisprudence, the Executive of the United States is nearer 
a King than a coequal branch of government.
  At a time when the President of the United States routinely tests the 
bounds of powers of his office, at a time when the President disdains 
and routinely disparages the rule of law, at a time when the President 
has been named as a coconspirator in a Federal criminal case, Brett 
Kavanaugh's views on Executive power are more than dangerous; they are 
disqualifying.
  This week, the Judiciary Committee has the task of scrutinizing 
Kavanaugh. I would remind my colleagues there is no legal standard, 
rule, or logic that prohibits nominees from answering questions that 
don't involve immediate and specific cases that are or could become 
before the Court. I would remind my colleagues that indications of 
stare decisis and solemn promises to respect precedent have been called 
before the committee before and generally have little bearing, 
unfortunately, as to whether the nominee will abide by those principles 
on the bench.
  Only a few months ago, Judge Gorsuch reminded us of that with his 
ruling in the Janus case, as Justice Roberts reminded us with his 
ruling in Citizens United. Justices will overturn decades of well-worn 
precedent if given the opportunity. The debate this week about the 
future of the Supreme Court may get wonky and technical, but what is at 
stake is not abstract. It is real; it is concrete for Americans whose 
lives, health, happiness, and freedoms are on the line at the Supreme 
Court. Closely divided decisions recently have meant that the 
difference between the ability to marry the person you love or not, to 
have your right to vote protected or not, to make personal choices 
about your healthcare or not are all at stake. Stakes in this 
nomination today could not be higher.
  The need for openness and lack of secrecy is as high as it has ever 
been. The responsibility of the Judiciary Committee this week is to 
drill down and examine Judge Kavanaugh's views to the extent that he 
will share them and to point out those areas in which he fails to be 
forthcoming. The American people have a right to know who may become 
the deciding vote on issues ranging from women's reproductive rights, 
to civil rights, to labor rights, to voting rights, to LGBTQ rights, 
and more. I believe the Judiciary Committee's proceedings this week 
will reveal to the American people a nominee unfit for the job of 
Associate Justice.
  Mr. President, there is one more issue--that of President Trump's 
unconscionable statement of politicizing the Justice Department. 
Yesterday, the President made the following statement:

       Two long-running, Obama era investigations of two very 
     popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well-
     publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff 
     Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt 
     because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff. . . .

  That is the President speaking. Yes, I think he spoke. He didn't 
tweet.
  For so long, President Trump's actions have suggested that he views 
the Justice Department not as an independent law enforcement agency but 
as a tool to prosecute his enemies and protect himself and his friends. 
President Trump's statement yesterday comes right out and says it. 
Trump is chastising the Attorney General of the United States for 
enforcing the law--for announcing two indictments, backed up by ample 
evidence, because it may hurt members of his political party from 
winning elections. How outrageous is that?
  So I say to President Trump: America is not some fiefdom in which the 
lord of the manor gets to decide who the law applies to and who it 
doesn't apply to. The beauty and the greatness of American democracy is 
that we are all equal in the eyes of the law--Republicans, Democrats, 
and, yes, even Presidents.
  President Trump, you do not seem to understand or choose not to 
understand the basic principles of the rule of law that have governed 
our great Nation since its founding.
  President Trump seems to think he is above the law, so it is no 
wonder he selected Judge Kavanaugh--who believes sitting Presidents 
should not be investigated--to sit on a potential jury on the Mueller 
probe.
  Again, I thank my colleagues for their courtesy. I might note that I 
am very proud of the job the Senator from Rhode Island and all of his 
colleagues on the Judiciary Committee did this morning.
  I yield the floor
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Flake). The Senator from Rhode Island.


                             Climate Change

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, as I resume my remarks, we head 
westward to the tallest peaks of the Rockies, where, according to the 
U.S. Geological Survey, the Northern Rocky Mountains have been warming 
more than three times as fast as the global average over the past 100 
years.
  A 2014 Union of Concerned Scientists report warned that the Rocky 
Mountains will ``become even hotter and drier,'' which will lead to 
increased

[[Page S6016]]

wildfire, reduced snowpack, and declines in the keystone trees that 
define the Rocky Mountain forests.
  A recent study by U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University 
researchers found that species like the pygmy rabbit, wolverine, Canada 
lynx, and snowshoe hare, which have specific habitat requirements, will 
be particularly vulnerable. Some mountain amphibians are even at risk 
from a harmful, invasive fungus that thrives in warmer temperatures.
  The increased spread of disease and invasive species is a recurring 
theme of climate change. Animals and plants that are already stressed 
from depleted food and changing temperatures are more susceptible to 
disease, and stressed ecosystems leave openings for invasive species to 
move in and take over. After hitting U.S. shores in the early 2000s in 
wood packing material, the invasive and injurious emerald ash borer has 
spread to around 30 States and has destroyed tens of millions of ash 
trees in its wake. In July, my Rhode Island Department of Environmental 
Management discovered this invasive species in our State.
  We look seaward from Rhode Island, and coastal States like ours are 
facing a red menace in their waters--the harmful algae blooms known as 
red tide. Florida is battling a devastating toxic algae bloom that has, 
according to Quartz, ``killed masses of fish, 12 dolphins, more than 
500 manatees, 300 sea turtles, countless horseshoe crabs, [and] a whale 
shark'' as of August 22. Those were just the ones whose bodies came 
ashore. Locals and tourists alike are greeted with decaying marine life 
along the docks and beaches and with air that is tainted with the 
algae's toxins. Quartz writes that this year's ``red tide in Florida 
doesn't just make the issue of global warming visible; it's an all-out 
sensory onslaught.''
  Though algal blooms occur annually in Florida, this year's bloom is a 
harbinger of the shifting reality of climate change. The Washington 
Post notes: ``As air and ocean temperatures increase, the environment 
becomes more hospitable to toxic algal blooms.''

  In addition to these warmer water temperatures, climate change also 
spurs heavy downpours, which wash more fertilizer from farms and lawns 
into the water, providing nutrients that spur the growth of the algae. 
Sea level rise expands the area of shallow coastal waters, where warm 
temperatures and ample sunshine bolster growing algae.
  The oceans are experiencing ``marine heat waves.'' According to a 
recent review in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, these 
extended periods of elevated sea-surface temperatures ``have caused 
changes in biological production, toxic algal blooms, regime shifts in 
reef communities, mass coral bleaching, and mortalities of commercially 
important fish species, with cascading impacts on economies and 
societies.''
  That is ``science-ese'' for a pretty tough formula for coastal 
communities.
  Indeed, a marine heat wave is responsible for the dramatic coral 
bleaching that occurred in the Great Barrier Reef, killing about half 
of the reef since 2016. In recent weeks, San Diego recorded its highest 
seawater temperature, around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, since measurements 
started in 1916.
  The Nature study attributed 87 percent of modern marine heat waves to 
human-caused climate change. They warn that these heat waves ``will 
become very frequent under global warming, probably pushing marine 
organisms and ecosystems to the limits of their resilience and even 
beyond.'' Couple these extreme heat spells with ocean acidification, 
deoxygenation, and changes in ocean circulation and currents, and you 
are looking at a perfect storm for coral reefs, fisheries, and ocean 
wildlife.
  Marine and atmospheric heat waves are also contributing to the rapid 
opening of Arctic sea ice. The iconic images of starving polar bears 
have brought this concern home for many, but sea ice also provides 
protection for narwhals, hosts algae that feed Arctic cod and whales, 
and provides an interstate highway of sorts for wolf and fox 
populations. This ice is the crux of the Arctic ecosystem, and it is 
falling apart.
  For the first time since scientists started monitoring the Arctic's 
sea ice in the 1970s, the waters north of Greenland are breaking 
through the usually permanently frozen ice cover. Until now, this area 
had been assumed to be the Arctic ice's stronghold--the strongest and 
oldest ice plane in the Arctic. But spikes of warm temperatures earlier 
this year allowed the weakened ice to be pushed from shore, leaving it 
vulnerable to wind and waves.
  Dr. Walt Meier, with the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, 
called this loss of sea ice ``a pretty dramatic indication of the 
transformation of the Arctic sea ice and Arctic climate.'' A researcher 
with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute put it even simpler, 
calling it ``nice and scary.''
  I will now yield to my friend the Senator from New Mexico in the 
hopes that at some point this body will find the sense and the courage 
to address this problem as we see its manifestations from north to 
south, from pole to pole, and from the depths of the sea to our highest 
mountaintops.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, thank you for the recognition.
  Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I just want to tell you how proud I am to 
join Senator Whitehouse today on the floor. I want to thank the Senator 
from Rhode Island for continuing to bring the urgency of combating 
climate change to the attention of this body. I admire his passion and 
intellectual clout, which he has brought specifically to climate change 
a number of times here on the Senate floor. He has been a great 
advocate for his State of Rhode Island, where we all know there are 
going to be very serious impacts--sea level rise is one of the major 
ones, but there are many others--as a result of how climate change and 
global warming are playing out.
  Let's state several things here that are clear. One is that the 
science is clear. The Earth's atmosphere is warming at an alarming 
rate, and human activity is the principle cause. What we see every day 
with our own eyes--extreme weather events around the globe--is clearer 
and clearer. But worse and most clear is the harm being done to 
millions of Americans and people all around the world as a result of 
the destructive effects of climate change.
  People are losing their homes, their lands, and their farms. We now 
have a new kind of refugee--climate refugees--who are displaced from 
their homes by catastrophic weather disasters, including drought and 
floods. In 2017 roughly 68.5 million people were climate refugees, and 
that number is expected to double to over 140 million by 2050.
  Hundreds of thousands are losing their lives. The official death toll 
in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria is now 2,975, and there are even 
higher estimates of losses.
  Climate change is the most pressing moral issue of our time. As the 
people in Puerto Rico know all too well, as the people of Rhode Island 
know well, as the people of New Mexico know well, and as all of our 
States and territories know well, it is an existential threat. Yet in 
the words of the late, great John McCain--as the Presiding Officer 
knows, he was always an outspoken gentleman--``we are getting nothing 
done, my friends. We're getting nothing done.''
  I know that Senator Whitehouse was an honorary pallbearer at Senator 
McCain's ceremony at the National Cathedral. We had 4 days of 
celebrating the John McCain that spoke up about core issues that 
America really faced. As I mentioned, John gave us that deserved 
chewing-out on the Senate floor on July 25 of last year for not working 
together, for not working in a bipartisan fashion, and for not reaching 
across the aisle. On climate change, we certainly are not getting 
anything done, and we are not working across the aisle, as John told us 
to do.
  The West that John McCain so loved and worked to protect is getting 
hit hard. We have less precipitation and less snowpack, and the 
snowpack we have is melting earlier. Rivers and reservoirs are running 
at historic lows, and some river segments are drying. We now have 
abnormally dry conditions in every Western State. We have extreme 
drought weather in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, 
Colorado, and even Oregon. In my

[[Page S6017]]

home State of New Mexico, every single county is in abnormally dry or 
drought conditions.
  Here are the drought maps of the West from last week and from the 
same time of the year in 2000, when the Federal Government first began 
keeping track. This map here is from 2000, when the Federal Government 
first began keeping track. Let's look at the contrast, which is very, 
very stark.
  On the first map, we didn't see the extreme form and exceptional 
drought at all, but we can see a very, very stark contrast 18 years 
later.
  These dry conditions are creating more wildfires that are burning 
more acreage and threatening more homes and threatening more lives.
  The Mendocino Complex fire in California is the largest fire that 
State has ever experienced. Since it began in late July, it has burned 
over 450,000 acres, taken one firefighter's life, and destroyed 157 
homes. After 2 months, it is still not fully contained.
  In my home State of New Mexico, about 20 miles of the Rio Grande, 
south of Albuquerque and through the Bosque del Apache National 
Wildlife Refuge, we are already dry in May, months earlier than in 
typical years. Two weeks ago, farmers in the Middle Rio Grande area in 
my State started getting notified that the water stored for their crops 
was almost gone--months before irrigation season's end in October. As 
of 2 days ago, Elephant Butte Reservoir was only 4.6 percent full--4.6 
percent. Back in the 1990s, the reservoir was 27 miles in length. 
Today, it is about 10 miles.
  Here are the aerial maps of the Elephant Butte from 1994 and 2013. 
These photographs show that climate change is here and now. You can see 
Elephant Butte here in 1994, and in 2013 you see a very dramatically 
shrunken Elephant Butte.
  Elephant Butte provides water to over 90,000 acres of farmland in 
southern New Mexico and western Texas. It is an economic engine for 
Sierra County, the rural county where it is located. We can't afford 
for this reservoir to be at 4.6 percent.
  John McCain's beloved Arizona is in its 21st year of drought. We have 
measured the Animas River in Colorado for 106 years. Two weeks ago, in 
Durango, it was at its lowest measured point for this time of year, 
ever--ever.
  Utah's temperature has warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 
century. The State's $1.3 billion ski industry has seen warmer winters, 
less snowpack, and less powder. Ski resorts that never had to make snow 
have to make it now.
  Alaska is under singular threat. A warmer atmosphere is rapidly 
melting the Arctic's snowpack and glaciers. The seas are rising to 
unprecedented levels. Animals such as the polar bears and the walruses, 
which depend on ice to survive, are struggling to survive. The iconic 
polar bear has been listed as a threaten species since 2008--a direct 
result of climate warming.
  During the last past century, Alaska has warmed twice as fast as the 
global average. Native villages along the sea are under siege. There 
are at least 31 Alaskan towns and cities at imminent risk of 
destruction. Two Native villages have voted to relocate. Newtok, a 
Native village along the river that feeds to the Bering Sea, is 
literally collapsing into the water and is already relocating. Their 
relocation will cost $100 million. Congress gave them $15 million this 
year toward that effort.
  The fact is that Native Americans and other marginalized populations 
are more vulnerable to the devastation of climate change, but no one is 
immune from this. I could recite 1,000 statistics that show how climate 
change is hurting the American West, its people, and its lands. The 
statistics are there. The science is there. The American people are 
there. Congress needs to get there.

  The New York Times Magazine recently ran its longest article ever. It 
was on climate change, entitled ``Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost 
Stopped Climate Change.''
  The article showed that between 1979 and 1989, we came to understand 
the causes and dangers of the greenhouse effect. During that decade, we 
had the opportunity to take action to dramatically reduce carbon 
emissions, but we failed.
  In 1998, one of the leading climate scientists then and now, James 
Hansen, working for NASA, told Congress that it was 99 percent certain 
that the global warming trend was not a natural variation but was 
caused by buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. He told 
Congress 30 years ago that climate change was here--here and now.
  During that decade, there was more opportunity for consensus than 
today. The oil and gas industry was more receptive to taking action. 
Politicians' views weren't as set in concrete. But that generation 
failed to act on the science and failed to protect present and future 
generations.
  There was another opportunity in the early 2000s for Congress to act. 
John McCain wanted us to act, but we didn't.
  As chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, he held groundbreaking 
hearings in 2000 on climate change. He brought the science of climate 
change to light in the halls of the Senate.
  Then, he and Senator Joel Lieberman crafted the first major, 
bipartisan climate change legislation--cap-and-trade legislation--
modeled after similar and successful legislation to curb pollution from 
acid rain.
  Senators McCain and Lieberman forced a vote on the floor of the 
Senate on their legislation in 2003.
  John began his speech on the floor in support of his bill, quoting 
from Hemingway's ``The Snows of Kilimanjaro":

       Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, 
     and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western 
     summit is called . . . the House of God.

  John warned then, in 2003, all too presciently, that the snow on 
Kilimanjaro may someday be relegated to the realm of fiction.
  Some Senators who sit today voted on the McCain-Lieberman bill. The 
bill had a chance to succeed, but failed 43 to 55. Kilimanjaro's 
glaciers, in fact, have receded dramatically since that vote. The ice 
sheets depend on snowfall, which is affected by Indian Ocean currents. 
The Indian Ocean's warming, due to climate change, has changed moisture 
delivery to Kilimanjaro, and Hemingway's snow is disappearing.
  Congress has had a few more bipartisan efforts at addressing climate 
change, including my own cap-and-trade bill in the House of 
Representatives with Republican Representative Tom Petri. But after the 
McCain-Lieberman bill and those efforts failed, we turned to the Obama 
administration to take on climate change in earnest.
  The Obama administration passed the Clean Power Plan to limit carbon 
emissions from powerplants and put the brakes on new coal-fired 
powerplants; passed regulations to control methane, a super potent 
greenhouse gas from oil and gas operations; and joined with 190 
countries in executing the Paris Agreement. All of these initiatives 
are now under assault by the Trump administration and industry. The 
United States is alone as the only country in the world that walked 
away from the Paris Accord.
  Turning our backs on climate change means ignoring the national 
security threat it represents. Large groups of displaced people and 
scarce resources create conflict. The U.S. military--especially the 
Navy--recognizes the threat. That is why they created the MEDEA Program 
in the early 1990s to analyze the security threats of climate change, 
and that is one reason John McCain once worked toward a bipartisan 
solution to climate change.
  Neither party can claim they have done enough to tackle global 
warming, but climate action demands that Republicans step up as Senator 
McCain once did.
  The destruction to property and lives wrought by global warming does 
not distinguish between parties. This is a bipartisan problem that 
demands bipartisan solutions, and demands them now.
  The West is right in the bull's-eye of climate change, but the West 
has great potential to be part of the solution. The West's potential to 
generate renewable clean energy through solar, wind, and geothermal is 
immense. New Mexico, California, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada have 
some of the highest potential for solar generation in the country, and 
virtually all the Western States have immense potential for geothermal 
power. We should be harnessing this potential, creating sustainable 
jobs, and growing our rural Western economies and industries that are 
the future--industries that will help tackle the greatest challenge 
humanity faces.

[[Page S6018]]

  The American people want Congress to meet the challenges of climate 
change. They want to protect future generations, their children, and 
their grandchildren.
  We can do this, but we must do it now. And we must, as our late and 
very great colleague from Arizona urged us, do this on a bipartisan 
basis.
  Let all of us show the courage, resolve, and independence of John 
McCain and do right by today's generation and future generations. Let 
us all commit to doing what it takes to reduce our carbon emissions, to 
meet the goals of the world of nations, to increase renewable energy to 
its fullest potential, and, most importantly, to do right by our 
children, our grandchildren, and beyond.
  I yield the floor.


                        Remembering John McCain

  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a true American 
hero, my friend and my colleague, John McCain.
  To know John was to know a man who was fiercely devoted to his 
family, his constituents, and his country. My thoughts and prayers are 
with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.
  As a nation, we all share in the sense of emptiness his passing has 
left behind, but we also share a profound sense of gratitude for the 
life John lived and the legacy of service and unwavering commitment he 
has left us to cherish.
  Many Americans felt a personal connection to John McCain. Our men and 
women in uniform always knew he was on their side. He was one of them. 
John understood better than anyone what it meant to send people into 
combat. So much of his work in the Senate was devoted to making sure 
our troops got the training, the equipment, and the pay they need.
  Last year, I had the honor of traveling with John on one of his final 
trips to the Middle East. I had the chance to see how deeply revered he 
was by everyone in uniform. They all knew the story. They know how John 
McCain, the war hero, spent nearly 6 years as a prisoner of war in 
North Vietnam; how, when offered an abrupt release less than a year 
after his Navy jet was shot out of the air, John McCain refused to be 
released while his brothers were still in captivity; how he was 
isolated, tortured, and beaten so badly that he carried the physical 
consequences of his loyalty to our country with him for the rest of his 
life; how he could have avoided it all but endured out of love and 
loyalty to his fellow servicemembers. They knew the story, and every 
single servicemember we saw treated John like a celebrity rock star, 
and that is because he was.
  John was a deeply principled man. I had the honor of working with 
John closely in the fight to reinstall Glass-Steagall, and, boy, was it 
a fight. Throughout the entire battle, John would tease me about 
pulling my weight in ``getting this thing done.'' ``Show some fight, 
girl.'' ``Don't tell me you're afraid.'' ``Get in there--throw some 
punches.'' That was John's approach to life: If you are going to be in 
a fight, you had better give it your all.
  Don't get me wrong, John and I disagreed on many things, and 
sometimes quite forcefully, but even when we disagreed, I always 
respected that his heart was focused on doing what he believed was 
right for the American people.
  I remember expressing to John my views on the most effective strategy 
in Iraq and Afghanistan; that there are simply some problems that 
cannot be solved through military action alone. We can't simply fight 
our way to peace. We need to bring our troops home. Respectfully, John 
would disagree and then proceed to energetically walk me through why he 
believed in the benefits of staying longer.
  Democrat or Republican, foreign leader or President of the United 
States, John McCain would go toe to toe with anyone to fight for what 
he thought was right. He applied these principles to his service to our 
country, in his commitment to the people of Arizona, and his abiding 
love and defense of the American people. At a time when character and 
integrity are under siege, the entire Nation mourns the loss of a 
public servant who lived his life with courage and conviction.
  John ran the Armed Services Committee with an iron fist but also with 
respect for the importance of bipartisanship and a basic sense of 
fairness that no one could ever ignore. If you came to the table ready, 
prepared to work, John made sure you were heard. There were so many 
occasions where John would jump in while I was questioning a witness 
because John was listening and would hear how the questions were being 
dodged and disregarded. His admonishment to the witness was like a 
whip: If you can't come up with better answers, what are you here for?
  I count it as a blessing to have had the honor to serve with Senator 
John McCain in the U.S. Senate. If there ever was a true American 
patriot, John McCain was that patriot. I will miss his strength, I will 
miss his maverick spirit, but most of all I will miss his kindness.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Louisiana.


                     Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I rise to speak about Judge Kavanaugh's 
nomination to the Supreme Court.
  Let me begin by saying the Senate has been hard at work vetting and 
confirming good judges to the bench. So far, the Senate has confirmed 
60 of President Trump's judicial nominees--a historic pace that 
includes 26 circuit judges, 33 district court judges, and Neil Gorsuch 
to the Supreme Court. This week, we will confirm even more, as the 
confirmation process continues for President Trump's second Supreme 
Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
  I would also like to point out, the last week or two, the Democratic 
minority has been very cooperative with this, appointing good, 
conservative Republicans to the district and circuit courts, but let me 
continue about Judge Kavanaugh.
  First, let's just say he is well regarded by his peers. He is a 
mainstream, independent jurist who is extremely well regarded across 
the political spectrum. All you have to do is look at Judge Kavanaugh's 
professional career to see why. His record at the Supreme Court as a 
clerk is stellar. The Supreme Court has adopted positions advanced by 
his opinions at least 13 times and overruled him only once.
  On the DC Circuit Court, Democratic-appointed judges were just as 
likely to join Judge Kavanaugh's published majority opinions in full as 
his Republican-appointed colleagues, about 88 percent of the time.
  Two of President Obama's Solicitors General praised Judge Kavanaugh, 
saying he is an ``incredibly brilliant, careful person'' who is ``very 
gracious . . . on the bench and off.'' One said: ``He carries out all 
phases of his responsibilities as a judge in the way you'd want, in an 
exemplary way.''
  That said, Judge Kavanaugh is acknowledged as being highly qualified, 
and even though they are on opposite sides of the aisle, these legal 
figures respect Judge Kavanaugh's qualifications and depth of 
experience.
  Lisa Blatt, who worked in the Solicitor General's Office for 13 years 
during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, said:

       Sometimes a superstar is just a superstar. This is the case 
     with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who had long been considered the 
     most qualified nominee for the Supreme Court if Republicans 
     secured the White House. The Senate should confirm him.

  She also said:

       I expect my friends on the left will criticize me for 
     speaking up for Kavanaugh. But we all benefit from having 
     smart, qualified and engaged judges on our highest court, 
     regardless of the administration that nominates them.

  I have to say, on a personal level, when I met Judge Kavanaugh in my 
office, I was incredibly impressed. We talked about his views on the 
role of the judiciary, original intent, and the importance of 
interpreting the Constitution as written. It was clear he had a deep 
and thorough grasp of the law, but you don't have to take my word for 
it, and you don't have to take Lisa Blatt's word. She is not the only 
one who has attested that Judge Kavanaugh is a legal ``superstar.''
  Recently, over 100 students, alumni, and faculty at Yale College 
wrote that Judge Kavanaugh is a ``distinguished jurist'' with ``deep 
conviction and integrity.''
  The American Bar Association, which Democratic leaders have called

[[Page S6019]]

their gold standard of judicial evaluations, unanimously rated Judge 
Kavanaugh as ``well qualified.''
  Last week, 144 law professors from around the country wrote to the 
Judiciary Committee in support of Judge Kavanaugh, saying they ``all 
agree'' he ``displays outstanding scholarly and academic virtues and 
that he would bring to the Court an exceptional record of distinction 
in judicial service.'' These 144 law professors also stated that they 
are ``impressed by Judge Kavanaugh's long record of teaching and 
mentoring students of diverse backgrounds.''
  As an example, perhaps, members of the Harvard Law School chapter of 
the Black Law Students Association have been vocal in their support for 
Judge Kavanaugh, citing the positive impact he has had on their 
chapter. They know his character. It is the same humility and 
generosity we all saw just a couple days after he was nominated in 
July, when he was spotted serving hot meals to the needy alongside 
other volunteers with Catholic Charities, a ministry he has been a part 
of for a long time.
  I will also say, he is one of the most transparent nominees in 
history. This is the nominee Senate Democrats labeled ``extreme''? 
Please. We know most of them announced their opposition to Judge 
Kavanaugh before his confirmation hearing even started. We also know 
many of them announced their opposition before he was even named. We 
know they did so because they want a Supreme Court full of liberal 
activists who will help them create law instead of following the law.
  That is not just Kavanaugh. He is a mainstream, independent jurist 
who respects the Constitution. He doesn't try to rewrite it for 
political reasons, to fit his own opinions about the way it should be. 
That is apparently why Democrats are concocting a new reason every day 
to explain why they wish to block him. Their latest excuse is they want 
more time to see documents.
  Let's be absolutely clear. Judge Kavanaugh's professional record is 
the most transparent record the Senate has ever had for a Supreme Court 
nominee, and it is not even close.
  The Senate Judiciary Committee has received more pages of executive 
branch records for Judge Kavanaugh's nomination than for the last five 
confirmed Supreme Court nominees combined. The committee has reviewed 
more than 440,000 pages of documents submitted from Judge Kavanaugh's 
time in the executive branch--the largest volume of records for any 
Supreme Court nominee ever.
  During his time on the bench, Judge Kavanaugh has authored more than 
300 opinions and heard more than 2,000 cases. No less than nine Senate 
Democrats cited their review of his opinions when they announced weeks 
ago that they would oppose him. They said they had seen enough of his 
record. Now we are supposed to believe they want to see more of his 
record. It is obvious this argument is not in good faith.
  Indeed, I think it is fair to say that the Democratic Senators' 
disruptions show desperation. We see this desperation in some of the 
most shameful political theatrics we have seen, and those are from the 
Senate Democrats in the committee hearing today. It is clear they are 
increasingly desperate to resist this incredibly qualified nominee. 
They are throwing everything and anything against the wall, but nothing 
is sticking.
  Today, we learned that the Democratic minority leader plotted a 
coordinated protest strategy over the weekend with his Members, and 
they all agreed to disrupt and protest the hearing. They would like to 
think it was a spontaneous outburst of righteousness anger, but indeed 
it was a planned strategy in order to draw attention to themselves.
  I would remind my colleagues across the aisle that this is the United 
States of America, not a third-world legislative body where they toss 
decorum out the window, scream, shout, and throw chairs and punches in 
order to thwart the legislative process.
  Those who are interested in preserving and protecting our democratic 
process and institutions should shun the chaos Senate Democrats appear 
intent upon creating. In this country, we debate ideas and nominees on 
the merits. I urge my colleagues to do just that. If they do, I am 
confident they will understand the broad support, the justified support 
Brett Kavanaugh has for his nomination to the Supreme Court.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                       Nomination of Elad Roisman

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Elad Roisman, 
who has been nominated to serve on the U.S. Securities and Exchange 
Commission. On June 1, 2018, President Trump announced his intention to 
nominate Elad to be the Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission for a 5-year term.
  Elad currently serves as chief counsel for the Banking Committee. I 
and many members of the committee can personally attest to his 
qualifications for this position. He has an impressive command of 
securities law, a keen intellect and work ethic, and has always 
exhibited a steadfast commitment to doing what is right. Those 
attributes were manifest during his nomination testimony hearing a few 
weeks ago. He was subsequently voted out of the committee by voice vote 
with unanimous bipartisan support.
  As many on the Banking Committee know, Elad is intimately familiar 
with the inner workings of the SEC, having previously served as counsel 
to Commissioner Daniel Gallagher and as chief counsel at the NYSE 
Euronext. He is highly regarded by those with whom he has worked and is 
an exceptionally qualified candidate for this position.
  The SEC has an important three-part mission: protect investors; 
maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital 
formation. Each part of this mission is equally important and should 
not come at the expense of another. In his nomination hearing, Elad 
echoed the importance of this mission and committed to furthering it.
  He stressed the need to promote investor confidence in both the 
markets and the SEC itself and the importance of dispelling the 
perception that markets are inaccessible or rigged against the little 
guy.
  He committed to ensuring that the SEC has a strong enforcement 
program--one that holds regulated entities and individuals accountable. 
Elad also emphasized that the SEC must listen to small business owners 
and investors, many of whom do not make it to Washington regularly, 
whose perspectives are incredibly important to the SEC's work and its 
continued improvement of capital markets.
  The U.S. financial system and markets are the preferred destination 
for investors throughout the world, and the SEC has an important role 
in ensuring that it remains so. Capital markets drive innovation and 
job creation, and access to them is the lifeblood of our economy. Elad 
has consistently demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that our markets 
remain the envy of the world, and I am confident he will work hard to 
make sure the U.S. financial markets can thrive while also protecting 
investors.
  I personally want to thank Elad for his tireless service to the 
Senate and for being a trusted resource and ally of mine. I urge my 
colleagues to vote yes on the cloture motion and to support his 
nomination so he can quickly get to work for the American people.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                        Remembering John McCain

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, there have been many words that have 
been spoken about our friend, Senator John McCain, and I want to join 
with the many words and the tributes that have been shared in the 
recent days since his passing.
  We all know the background. We all know the bio. John McCain served 
our

[[Page S6020]]

Nation for 60 years, starting as an officer in the U.S. Navy, as a 
prisoner of war in unspeakable conditions, and during his terms in the 
House of Representatives and in the Senate for some 30 years. That is 
the biography of the man, but it is just the start of who he was and 
the mark he made not only on the lives of us in the Senate but on the 
lives of Americans all over the country.
  John McCain was a beloved colleague. He was a patriot. He was truly 
an American hero. He had remarkable intellect. He had an iron will, 
most certainly. He had unquestionable integrity and courage that was 
absolutely unwavering.
  When I think about John and how John approached issues, John was one 
who did what he thought was right. When he thought he was right, there 
wasn't much arguing with him--he was right. Even then, we would engage, 
we would go back and forth, and I think oftentimes it was those 
arguments that caused us to either gain greater respect or perhaps 
greater fear, depending on where you were in the process.
  John was one of those guys who favored straight talk. I don't think 
he would have any hard feelings about any of us describing our 
relationship with him over the years. We didn't always agree, and 
sometimes we didn't even get along, but the truth was, John McCain 
would always make sure you knew where he stood.
  John was very clear that you had to earn his respect. Respect was not 
something that came with the title. The fact that you were a U.S. 
Senator didn't mean you had earned his respect. And I know because I 
felt that in my early years here in the Senate. I came through an 
appointment, and I think John McCain was just going to wait to see if I 
was able to prove myself, and he ultimately decided, apparently, that I 
had. He came up to me one day--we were actually walking down the aisle 
there, and he came up and he said: You know, you are OK, kid. And for 
that, that was high praise.

  We all have heard some of the legendary stories of when individuals 
kind of came head-to-head or toe-to-toe with John McCain, and certainly 
there were some areas where we disagreed. We had a little bit different 
view on earmarks. And that was not just my relationship with Senator 
McCain but previous Alaskan Senators as well. But I think we all agreed 
that our disagreements were principled in nature.
  I remember one very interesting and heated exchange over the merits 
of essential air service, and John was on one side of the issue and I 
was an advocate for essential air. We were literally nose-to-nose, and 
I said: Don't you understand that it is called essential air because it 
is essential because we don't have roads to these places? And he kind 
of growled at me and: Well, I don't know why we need to have it. There 
were legendary back-and-forths, and sometimes you won, sometimes John 
won, but it was always with a great deal of passion that these 
exchanges moved forward.
  Then there was the other end of the spectrum--those times when John 
and I were voting together, sometimes against the majority of our own 
party. Healthcare and the ACA vote last year is certainly a prime 
example of that. That was a tough vote. That was a tough vote for our 
conference. It was a difficult vote, but I will tell you, it was 
comforting to have some solidarity with my friend John McCain even when 
it was clear that we may have disagreed with many of our colleagues. 
But John was one who, when he had made up his mind up, he had made up 
his mind, and you respected that.
  John visited Alaska, and it helped validate his view that climate 
change is real, that it is something we have to deal with, and that we 
have to take practical steps to address it. And I agree with John. I 
don't need any convincing on that, and I am going to be proud to help 
achieve that goal.
  I valued John's work on campaign finance reform and comprehensive 
immigration reform. I was never part of the gang on immigration, but my 
votes clearly marked me as a fellow traveler.
  We also shared a strong respect for our Native peoples. Both Arizona 
and Alaska have many Tribes and large concentrations of indigenous 
Americans, and his decades of work to advance the cause of Native 
people was legendary.
  Because John accomplished so much during his time here--we all talk 
about his time spent on the international front working on defense 
issues, but I think oftentimes the issues with Native Americans, Indian 
issues, were overlooked, so let me comment on that for a moment.
  Back in the 1990s, John joined with Senator Inouye of Hawaii on 
amendments to the Indian Self-Determination Act providing for Tribal 
self-governance compacting. That opened up a whole new era of 
opportunity for Alaska Tribes. It laid the groundwork for Alaska Tribes 
to take over the delivery of Native healthcare from a failing Federal 
bureaucracy. Now, around the State, whether you are up in Utqiagvik or 
down in Ketchikan, they enjoy award-winning, world-class healthcare in 
a system that the Native people control, and that really would not have 
been possible without people like John McCain fighting for our Native 
people.
  I think that John would have been proud of me on the afternoon that 
he passed. I was in the village of Savoonga, which is a small 
community--about 800 people--on St. Lawrence Island, about 40 miles 
from Russia. It is in the Bering Sea. It is one of the most remote 
places in Alaska. I was there to conduct a field hearing--the Indian 
Affairs Committee--focused on poor housing conditions, overcrowded 
housing, where our Native people are forced to live in extraordinarily 
difficult homes with difficult sanitation problems in these very remote 
communities. John was really a champion for ending the Third World 
living conditions that too many of our Native people still endure. We 
have a lot of unfinished work on that front, and I plan to attack it 
with the same vigor John brought to the fight.
  I mentioned John's love for our military, for our veterans. He will 
long be remembered for his efforts to bring our military back from 
years of neglect and the devastating pain of sequestration.
  The story that we all know--John worked on major defense budgets and 
was an extraordinary advocate for all of our defense. I think my story 
and how it intersects with a very, very small group of elderly Alaska 
warriors demonstrates that this big, strong, gruff guy, who was truly 
taking on the world, had a very soft spot in his heart, and the 
kindness he showed to these few elderly Alaska Native Guard veterans is 
something that is worthy of sharing.
  After Senator Stevens left the Senate in 2009, the Pentagon had tried 
to cut off the pensions of two dozen--just two dozen--elderly men who 
served in the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II. Senator 
Stevens had worked very hard to get their service counted as military 
service and to grant them veteran status, and, not unlike the way Ted 
did things, he took care of it in the appropriations process, so it was 
an earmark. Over the Christmas holiday, the Pentagon kind of worked to 
reinterpret that earmark. Needless to say, Ted was gone, and this was 
an important issue to these 24 elderly veterans, and so I moved an 
amendment on the Defense appropriations bill to reverse it. I talked to 
John, and he was pretty skeptical at first because, he said, it was an 
earmark. But then he asked whether these Native Guardsmen, these Eskimo 
Scouts, had actually seen war, and I was able to share with him the 
story of those who had stood lookout on the homeland in the Aleutian 
Islands, the reminder that in Alaska, we were the only American soil 
that was occupied by the Japanese in World War II and that it was these 
Native warriors who were standing guard, standing lookout. So, long 
story short, John knew that supporting these elderly veterans was the 
right thing to do.
  There are so many things we can share about John, but really when I 
think about his legacy going forward, whether he is ``Project 
Maverick,'' as my friend from South Carolina has said, or however we 
choose to remember him, I do hope that history will remember John as an 
institutionalist in the highest tradition of the Senate.
  John was committed to thoughtful debate and regular order. He was an 
effective committee chairman, respecting the interests of members on 
both sides. He managed his bills on the floor working hand-in-hand with 
the other side. These were tough bills. The annual Defense 
authorization bill draws

[[Page S6021]]

something on the order of 600 amendments. He was always protective of 
committee prerogatives. He was known to put his foot down when 
appropriators sought to muscle out the authorizers. He was always 
looking toward compromise and bipartisanship.
  John fought for our institution because he never lost sight of the 
fact that the legislative branch is a coequal branch of government, not 
subordinate to the White House. He took no guff--we all know--from the 
administration, no matter who was in charge. That wasn't just because 
John liked to flex his senatorial muscle; it was because he was a true 
believer in the Constitution and its checks and balances. He was a true 
believer in the institutions of government and a true believer in 
democracy.
  John certainly made his share of history, and he has earned his place 
in it. I think we all know how much we will miss him, his passion, his 
courage. His loss leaves us sad, but at the same time, I think it 
offers us a beacon of hope here in the Senate as we reflect on his life 
and his contributions.
  Senator Graham observed that John will not be replaced by any one 
Senator. It is going to take all of us working together. It is going to 
take all of us to really accomplish what John knew we were capable of. 
By coming together, respecting one another, one another's principles, 
even when we disagree, and working through these disagreements to 
compromise--that is how we really honor John's legacy. There are a lot 
of words, and these words will come and go, but the way to truly honor 
him is to live out what he believed this Senate is capable of doing.
  We were reminded that there is a little John McCain in all of us. I 
think it would be good for us to remind one another of that, to urge 
the inner John McCain in each of us to present itself in a way that 
betters our institution.
  On behalf of the people of the 49th State, the great State of Alaska, 
I thank you, John McCain. I thank the family for the years that you 
gave him to us, to his country. We will take it from here, inspired by 
your service, John McCain, by your intellect, by your integrity, and by 
your determination to do right.
  May you rest in peace, John McCain.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                             Cloture Motion

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair 
lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will 
state.
  The assistant bill clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination 
     of Elad L. Roisman, of Maine, to be a Member of the 
     Securities and Exchange Commission for a term expiring June 
     5, 2023.
         Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Michael B. Enzi, Roy Blunt, 
           Thom Tillis, Mike Rounds, Johnny Isakson, Roger F. 
           Wicker, Mike Crapo, Richard C. Shelby, Steve Daines, 
           John Kennedy, John Boozman, David Perdue, John Thune, 
           Shelley Moore Capito, Pat Roberts.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. By unanimous consent, the mandatory 
quorum call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
nomination of Elad L. Roisman, of Maine, to be a Member of the 
Securities and Exchange Commission for a term expiring June 5, 2023, 
shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown) and the 
Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Rubio). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 83, nays 14, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 201 Ex.]

                                YEAS--83

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--14

     Baldwin
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hirono
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Warren
     Whitehouse

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Brown
     Sanders
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 83, the nays are 
14.
  The motion is agreed to.
  The Senator from Tennessee.


                        Remembering John McCain

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, I am glad I traveled to Phoenix Thursday for John 
McCain's funeral. You learn a lot more about a U.S. Senator in his 
hometown than you do here in Washington, DC.
  What was clear in Phoenix last Thursday was that John McCain and the 
State of Arizona were well connected with one another. Frankly, I had 
wondered about that because it is a long way to Phoenix. It is a 5-hour 
flight. Sometimes John took a connecting flight. He must have taken 
hundreds of trips around the world. So I wondered if he really was 
connected to the State the same as he was to Senate. But I shouldn't 
have had any doubt about that because you are not going to get elected 
six times in a primary and then six times in a general election, in a 
State where both primary and general elections are competitive, without 
being well connected to your State, and he obviously was.
  Listening to those who remembered John in Phoenix, it was clear that 
John McCain kept his feet on the ground in Arizona. Grant Woods, the 
former attorney general, spoke first. He was very good. He captured 
John perfectly. He had been his chief of staff. He had been the 
attorney general of Arizona. In his remarks, he captured John's erratic 
driving and his mercurial personality.
  Tommy Espinoza, a friend of Senator McCain, helped us understand, 
again, how John thought his job was to serve everybody, whether they 
were Republicans, Democrats, or from whatever walk of life.
  We all knew John McCain was a sports nut, and I don't guess that any 
of us were surprised to see Larry Fitzgerald speak, who is entering his 
15th year in the National Football League. I was impressed when Larry 
Fitzgerald talked about having so much respect for John McCain that 
he--Larry Fitzgerald--flew to Hanoi, went to the lake where McCain 
crashed his plane, and then went to the cell in Hanoi where he spent 
nearly 6 years.
  Joe Biden brought the only touch of Washington, DC, to Phoenix last 
Thursday, but it really wasn't that big of a touch because what Joe 
mainly talked about was his friendship with John McCain and their 
relationships, which all of us know is the heart and soul of the 
Senate.
  The service in the big Baptist church, concluding with Frank Sinatra 
singing ``My Way,'' was a reminder that the service was, well, pure 
John McCain.
  Those of us who eulogized John are honest enough to say that he was 
an equal-opportunity insulter. He took the head off of almost every one 
of us in the Senate at one time or another. He was filled with passion 
for every issue he touched, and that often led to explosions. After the 
explosions and after the inevitable apologies, which usually didn't 
take very long, he would say: I never expected to be elected Mr. 
Congeniality. I chalked up those explosions--and I think almost all of 
us

[[Page S6022]]

did--to those 6 years of captivity in Hanoi. All of us wondered and 
admired how someone who suffered that much pain in those circumstances 
for the rest of his life could lead such a productive life and be so 
useful to our country.
  John brought the same passion and generosity of spirit that he had 
for his issues to his friendships--and I was glad to be included as one 
of those--and the extent of that generosity of spirit to people he 
didn't know, whom he had just met in many walks of life.
  I can remember when he was campaigning in Tennessee with me. He was 
spending the night with me at our home in East Tennessee. It was late 
when we got there, 10:30 or 11. My son had a group of national 
songwriters who were writing what they all hoped to be the next No. 1 
hit. Of course, they were eager for John to hear their No. 1 hit. He 
stopped, and he listened. He spent some time with them. One of them 
said to me last week how thrilled he still is that he got to meet John 
McCain.
  The next morning, Eugene Caylor, who is a craftsman from Townsend, 
TN, was coming to work, and John was leaving. It turns out that Eugene 
had been in Vietnam when John had been there. So they talked about that 
for a few minutes. Eugene told me this past week how much he valued 
those few minutes with John McCain.
  John McCain came to the Senate in 1976 or so. John was then a Senate 
liaison. He got his hair cut by Mario D'Angelo, who is still here 
cutting hair. I saw Mario the other day. He has been cutting my hair 
over a long period of time, as well as Orrin Hatch's and many of us. 
Mario said that about the time Senator McCain was running for 
President, he was on television, sitting there with his wife Cindy, and 
some interviewer asked him if he had any friends in the Senate.
  He thought for a moment, and finally Cindy said: Well, there is 
Mario.
  And McCain said: Mario the butcher; he is responsible for all these 
scars on my face.
  Last week, after John McCain's death, Mario laughed and said: That is 
what he always called me, ``the butcher,'' but he was my buddy.
  When he found out I was going to Phoenix, he said: Say a big good-bye 
to my buddy John McCain.
  That is how Mario felt, and that is how many, many of us felt.
  We have heard so much said about Senator McCain during the last week 
that one would wonder if there was anything left to say. What I want to 
say is not something different, but I would like to emphasize 
something, and that is the commitment Senator John McCain had to the 
Senate as an institution. His devotion to the Senate as an institution 
is, by far, not his most newsworthy accomplishment, but it underlay 
many of his most important decisions. He said he voted against the 
ObamaCare repeal because it didn't go through the regular order, the 
kind of order an institution ought to have. The last chapter of one of 
his books is entitled ``The Regular Order.''
  In 2005, when Democrats balked at George W. Bush's judicial 
nominees--Republicans were seeking to change the very nature of the 
Senate by turning it into a majoritarian institution--Senator McCain 
worked with Republicans and Democrats in sort of a gang, as they called 
it, to try to make sure that didn't happen. He wanted to preserve the 
Senate as an institution.
  I worked with him many, many hours in 2011, 2012, and 2013 on the 
same sort of thing. We saw the difficulty that President Obama at that 
time had in getting some of his nominations confirmed. So we worked to 
change the Senate rules so that President Obama and subsequent 
Presidents could get their nominees approved in a reasonable time.
  We worked with Senator Carl Levin, for example, who insisted that we 
needed to be successful or else we would have one of those nuclear 
explosions that would change the nature of the Senate and make it a 
majoritarian institution that ran roughshod over the minority. Senator 
Levin said at the time--with which Senator McCain and I both agreed--
that a Senate in which the majority can change the rules at any time is 
a Senate without any rules. What Senator Levin might also have said is 
that the Senate is a weaker institution, deserving less respect.
  In a speech at Morristown, NJ, a few years ago, the late Justice 
Scalia said that ``the reason America's basic freedom has endured for 
200 years is not the amendments to the Constitution but the 
Constitution itself.''
  Justice Scalia said this:

       Every tin horn dictator in the world today, every president 
     for life, has a Bill of Rights. That's not what makes us 
     free; if it did, you would rather live in Zimbabwe. But you 
     wouldn't want to live in most countries in the world that 
     have a Bill of Rights. What has made us free is our 
     Constitution.
       Think of the word ``constitution.'' It means structure.

  Scalia continued:

       That's why America's framers debated . . . the structure of 
     the federal government. The genius of the American 
     constitutional system is the dispersal of power. Once power 
     is centralized in one person, or one part [of government], a 
     Bill of Rights is just words on paper.

  John McCain understood that. He sensed that a nation as fragmented as 
ours has become in this internet democracy in which we live today 
especially needs strong institutions. The most important institution 
designed to reach a consensus, a compromise, an agreement, the kind of 
agreement most Americans will support and the kind of agreement that 
will last a long time--the institution most suited to do that is the 
U.S. Senate. That is our job, just as it is our job to weigh in against 
the excesses of the popular will and the excesses of the Chief 
Executive. If we don't do our jobs, as Justice Scalia said, we are 
risking creating in our country an authoritarian government.
  The U.S. Senate is a representative body, so some Senators stand out 
above others. There is usually one Senator who stands out over all the 
other Senators, and, for the last few years, that has been John McCain. 
For me, one of the most enduring contributions John McCain made to this 
institution was his continuous efforts to help strengthen the Senate as 
an institution, to see to it that we do our jobs, providing checks 
against the excesses of the popular will, excesses of the Executive, 
and that we work hard to find the kind of compromise and consensus and 
agreement that most Americans can support and that can last for a long 
time.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Daines). The Senator from Alaska.


               Tribute to Jonathan Rowan and Aaron Isaacs

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, it is Tuesday afternoon, and although I 
usually come to the floor of the Senate on Thursday to talk about an 
individual in Alaska who makes my State such a great place--what we 
call the Alaskan of the Week--we haven't been able to do that for a 
couple of weeks, so I thought I would just move up the timeline today 
and talk a little bit about some people in my State who really have 
made an incredible difference. It is one of my favorite speeches I give 
throughout the year and throughout the week because it is about people 
who help their community, help their State, help their country, and 
oftentimes they are not always recognized.
  So today we are going to talk about two--not one but two--individuals 
who are our Alaskans of the Week. We actually made our poster board 
today to be a little bit more specific on what just transpired in our 
great State a couple of weeks ago.
  The two Alaskans are Jon Rowan and Aaron Isaacs.
  As I mentioned, we have a beautiful, incredible State, and recently I 
was reminded again of just how awe-inspiring the great State of Alaska 
is. I have been home pretty much every weekend this summer. I had the 
opportunity to visit 12 villages in the western part of our State, 
where I was able to meet with my constituents--some of the most 
generous, resilient, and, very important, patriotic people in our great 
Nation.
  Jon Rowan and Aaron Isaacs are part of that tradition. Alaska has 
more veterans per capita than any State in the country, and Alaska 
Natives serve at higher rates in the military than any other ethnic 
group in the country. So this is very special patriotism, particularly 
with regard to the Alaska Native population in our great State.
  So what have they done? What did Jon Rowan and Aaron Isaacs do? They 
live in a wonderful community in Southeast Alaska, Klawock, and this

[[Page S6023]]

community now has a 37-foot totem pole dedicated to those who have 
served our country in the military. That totem pole now stands tall 
because of the dedication and skill of Jon, who is the carver, and Mr. 
Isaacs, a highly respected Alaska Native elder who had the idea and the 
vision and raised the money to make it happen.
  Let me talk a little bit about both of these Alaskan patriots. Jon 
was raised in Klawock. When he was in the eighth grade, he saw an ad 
featuring a group of men in uniform on Zodiacs at night, recon marines 
on a mission, and he was very struck by that. He said he wanted to be a 
marine. He wanted to be like them.
  Shortly after he graduated from high school, he contacted a recruiter 
whose name he still remembers, Gunny Joins, and 2 weeks after 
graduation, in 1982, he left his village to become a U.S. marine.
  Four years later, he was back home and met his future wife Patricia. 
They were soon married, and he and Patricia have been happily married 
ever since and have raised two fine daughters.
  Along the way, Jon worked as a logger, then got a job as a janitor in 
the local high school. John had a passion for carving. In the Native 
tradition, carving was something he had done since he was a child. He 
continued it throughout his life, and he became the Native artisan 
teacher and a master carver at his local high school.
  At about this time--and remember, this is about 30 years ago--he was 
approached by Mr. Isaacs, who talked to him about his plans to carve a 
giant totem pole in tribute to our servicemembers. Now, totem poles in 
Southeast Alaska Native culture are revered, and they are often carved 
and raised in ceremonies commemorating significant people or 
significant events. They are very special.
  As my colleagues can see in the pictures we have, this is what they 
were working on. A Smithsonian researcher once wrote that such totem 
poles in Alaska are ``as beautiful and interesting as the Parthenon of 
the [ancient] Greeks.'' They are truly awe-inspiring pieces of art and 
pieces of culture.
  So 30 years ago, Mr. Isaacs and Jon, my fellow brother marine, talked 
about this. Jon liked the idea, but he kind of shrugged it off. He knew 
all the work that went into building a totem pole. He knew how 
expensive it was. He didn't know where the funds would come from, but 
Mr. Isaacs was determined. He had a dream. He had a vision.
  So Mr. Isaacs, who is now 80 years old, but he doesn't look it--we 
can see him in some of these photos--also grew up in Klawock. His 
father served in the storied Alaska Territorial Guard during World War 
II. These were the Alaskan Natives who signed up by the thousands to 
defend Alaska, which a lot of Americans don't realize was actually the 
site of major battles during World War II against the Japanese.
  Mr. Isaacs had two brothers who also served in the military, one in 
the Army and one in the Marine Corps. In 1961, he was drafted and 
became a paratrooper in the storied 82nd Airborne Division.
  So my colleagues are starting to get a sense of what I am talking 
about when it comes to Alaska Natives and serving in the military, an 
unbelievable tradition and special patriotism.
  When Mr. Isaacs got back from his duty with the 82nd Airborne, he 
turned to carpentry--something he was trained in--and he built many of 
the buildings in Klawock. He married Betty, his wonderful wife, and in 
October--just next month--they will be celebrating 52 years of 
marriage. They raised a family and built a wonderful life.
  Over the years, he became more involved in helping his fellow 
veterans. He and a handful of other veterans began talking about this 
idea of creating a totem pole as a tribute to the so many veterans in 
Southeast Alaska. He knew that if it was going to be done right, he and 
the community had to do it themselves, so they began to raise money 30 
years ago, dollar by dollar, quarter by quarter. He held his first 
fundraising breakfast at his wife's restaurant, where fellow veterans 
would donate the bacon and eggs and pancake mix. It was slow going, but 
he didn't stop. He said: ``We had been struggling and struggling, and 
it was a handful of veterans who kept us going, and we had the 
vision.''
  He began to put more energy into raising funds. He sent letters. His 
fundraising efforts began to spread throughout Southeast Alaska. He 
reached out to companies, corporations, the Department of Defense even. 
Eventually, his efforts began to pay off. The funds started to come in 
and, all told, he raised $61,000. ``It was a labor of love,'' he said, 
``but I loved every bit of it.''
  Think about that--$61,000 over almost 30 years of fundraising. Talk 
about perseverance for one idea and vision.
  So after many setbacks, Mr. Isaacs and the Prince of Wales Veterans 
Association were able to procure a giant--and I am talking giant--red 
cedar tree, with the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service, and Alaska 
Specialty Wood helped to carve and transport this massive log.
  Jon, with the help of his students, got to work on the log.
  About a year ago, I was in Klawock, and we saw the hard work they 
were doing. They were carving. It was unbelievable. When I was invited 
to come to the raising of this totem pole, I said: ``I wouldn't miss it 
for the world.''
  So just 2 weeks ago, in this wonderful town of about 800 people on 
Alaska's Prince of Wales Island, hundreds--hundreds--gathered after a 
3-day ceremony to raise this massive and lovingly carved totem pole 
that pays homage to our veterans--all of our American veterans.
  Let me give my colleagues a little description of the totem pole we 
are seeing here. At its base is a folded flag, which is a flag that a 
family receives at a veteran's funeral. As we progress up the totem 
pole a little bit more, there are two soldiers on either side. One is 
an ancient warrior holding a double-headed dagger and a pick, the other 
is a 1960s-era U.S. Army soldier complete with a pack of Lucky Strikes 
tucked in his helmet.
  Going further up, we can see the emblem for our POWs and Missing in 
Action military members, and then further up is the insignia for the 
five different branches of the U.S. military positioned so you have to 
walk around the entire totem pole. At the very top are an Eagle and a 
Raven. Now, of course, there is Alaska Native cultural significance 
here, but also Jon, the carver, wanted the Eagle and the Raven back-to-
back on the totem pole.
  ``For the veterans, this is us watching each other's backs,'' he 
said. Mr. Isaacs praised Jon's work: ``It's beautiful and it's 
perfect.''
  You get a sense of just how massive this totem pole is--37 feet but 
several tons. It is not easy raising one of these totem poles. You see 
the ropes here. It involves ropes and pulleys and dozens of people 
pulling this giant totem pole up into its place of honor in this 
wonderful community.
  I had the honor of being there. I also had the honor of bringing our 
new Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Schultz, with me.
  There is the Admiral.
  There is Jon, my fellow marine.
  There is the totem pole being raised.
  It was an unbelievable ceremony. Several hundred were there watching 
something, the vision of which began 30 years ago by two veterans who 
wanted to honor all American veterans. Jon was there with his wife and 
two daughters--a master artist, a veteran, a proud Tlingit, an Alaskan, 
an American, a marine--filled with gratitude for the part he played in 
helping Mr. Isaac's dream--a Native elder, an Army veteran, an airborne 
soldier--helping that vision come true.
  Mr. Isaac's family was also there with him, including his son, who is 
a paratrooper in the Army. This community is so patriotic, they serve 
their country generation after generation in the military.
  ``I don't care who sees me,'' Mr. Isaacs told a friend next to him, a 
Korean war combat veteran, ``I'm going to cry when that [beautiful 
totem] pole goes up.'' For all of us, it was very emotional.
  I once again congratulate Jon Rowland and Aaron Isaacs. Thank you for 
all you have done. Thank you for your vision. Thank you for your hard 
work. Thank you for your military service for your country and for your 
community.
  Veterans not just in Alaska but all across America, when you come to 
Alaska, when you come to Southeast

[[Page S6024]]

Alaska, come to Klawock and see a massive totem pole that these two 
wonderful men spent 30 years putting together, raised in the honor of 
every American veteran and military member who has defended freedom in 
our great Nation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.


                               Labor Day

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, yesterday around the country, Americans 
gathered to honor the women and men who built our economy and continue 
to power it today--American workers.
  Almost every year when we return after Labor Day, I speak about 
American workers--those who work with their hands, their shoulders, 
their arms, their brains--because all work has dignity. All work 
matters to our country.
  Martin Luther King said, ``All labor that uplifts humanity has 
dignity and importance.'' He told the Local 1199 hospital workers union 
more than 50 years ago that ``no labor is really menial unless you're 
not getting adequate wages''--something that is too often the case 
today. Let me talk a little bit about that.
  All work has dignity. That is what Labor Day is all about. Over the 
last week, I traveled all over Ohio, meeting with workers who power our 
State and support our families. Last week, I talked with mineworkers 
and Teamsters in Cambridge, in Eastern Ohio, in Appalachia. They are 
fighting to protect the pensions they earned over a lifetime of work.
  One retired coal miner, John Vargo, who was there with his wife 
Linda, gave me a coal-black beer stein that was given to his father. 
Five thousand of those steins were given out to UMWA members 40 years 
ago. The front features a miner with a pickax doing his job working 
through a black tunnel. The inscription on the bottom says that it 
``represents the long struggle historically for humane working 
conditions.''
  On Sunday, I talked to firefighters and steelworkers and so many 
others--several hundred workers in Lorain; auto, steel, iron workers, 
carpenters, and other tradespeople; machinists, service workers, SEIU, 
AFSCME, and others.
  Yesterday in Cleveland, I spoke with workers at the 47th annual Labor 
Day parade and festival. This event was started nearly half a century 
ago by Mayor Carl Stokes, continued by his brother Lou Stokes and by 
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and carried on today by my friend Congresswoman 
Marcia Fudge. It is a reminder of the historic connection between the 
civil rights movement and our labor movement. Both are movements for 
justice. They are about treating Americans--no matter whether you work 
in a hospital, punch a clock, work construction, are an hourly wage 
worker, work for tips--treating all Americans with dignity and respect.
  This morning, I met with a group of firefighters, several of them 
retired--union firefighters and fire chiefs--in Shaker Heights, 
Lakewood, and Cleveland, all of whom talked to me about how we know 
that when there is a fire, firefighters rush into danger while all of 
us civilians flee and rush out. What we don't think about enough--and 
we know the dangers of the job: a collapsing roof, a floor falling in--
what we don't think enough about is the chemicals they are exposed to. 
That is why we pushed legislation here--and then the dollars to go with 
it--for a cancer registry, so we can figure out why so many 
firefighters are dying from cancer and why so many have developed 
cancer after 10, 15, or 20 years on the job exposed to these chemicals.
  All these workers--retired firefighters, mineworkers, Teamsters, 
steelworkers--all of these workers are part of the struggle.
  On my lapel, I wear this pin depicting a canary in a birdcage. It was 
given to me at a workers Memorial Day in Lorain, OH, as a reminder of 
what American workers have done for this country.
  At the turn of the last century, in 1900, mineworkers took a canary 
in a cage down in the mines. If the canary stopped singing, if the 
canary died from toxic gas or lack of oxygen, the mineworker knew he 
had minutes to get out alive. He didn't have a union strong enough to 
protect him. He didn't have a government that cared enough to protect 
him.
  American workers in the labor movement changed all that. Workers 
organized. They ended child labor. They pushed through Congress the 40-
hour workweek and overtime pay. They helped to create Social Security 
and Medicare. They fought for workers' rights, women's rights, and 
civil rights.
  The economy grew, and workers' wages grew along with it. Profits were 
up, compensation for executives went up, productivity went up, and 
workers' wages pretty much went up with it. That was then. American 
workers have been the engine behind all that success.
  You build an economy from the middle out, not from the top down--
although, from the tax bill this Congress passed, you would think my 
colleagues believe that if you shovel enough money to the rich, it will 
trickle down and help the middle class. It has never really worked that 
way.
  When I say that workers are the engine behind that success, I mean 
all workers--whether you punch a clock, swipe a badge, earn a salary, 
or make tips. But today this hard work isn't paying off. Corporate 
profits have gone up, executive compensation has exploded, stock prices 
have gone up, workers are ever more productive, but wages have barely 
budged. Wages have declined this year in spite of the administration 
singing its own praises for a growing economy.
  At the same time, do you know what else has gone up? Healthcare costs 
have gone up. Healthcare costs go up while executive compensation goes 
up, while profits go up, but workers' wages have simply plateaued. 
Workers are getting squeezed at both ends. Paychecks aren't growing 
fast enough. Workers' budgets are being stretched thin with the cost of 
everything--particularly housing, prescription drugs, and college 
tuition.
  We need to think differently about the American economy. Corporations 
don't drive the economy; workers do. We grow the economy from the 
middle class out. If work isn't valued, Americans can't earn their way 
to a better life for their families no matter how hard they work.
  Millions of Americans work long hours but struggle to get by, and 
they don't feel as though anyone notices or cares. That feeling was 
captured pretty well by my friend, Ohioan Rita Lewis, the widow of 
Teamster Butch Lewis. She herself has become an advocate, fighting for 
the pensions her husband and other Teamsters earned. Not long ago, Rita 
said, ``It's like we're invisible.'' Too often, she is right.
  To the millions of Americans working too many hours for too little 
pay, let me tell you this: You aren't invisible. You may be invisible 
to most Members of the Senate, you may be invisible to Washington, you 
may be invisible to the corrupt State government in Columbus, OH, but 
you are not invisible to me, and you are not invisible to some people 
in this body. We see you. We hear you. We fight for you. We fight for 
paid family leave. We fight for paid sick leave. We fight for the 
overtime pay that you earn.
  We fight to give workers a say in their jobs. We fight to save 
American pensions, give people a break, and make it a bit easier to 
save for retirement. We work to encourage companies to invest in their 
greatest asset: you, the American workers. That is what we will fight 
for not just on Labor Day but the next day and the day after that and 
every day throughout the year.
  If you love this country, you fight for people who make it grow, and 
you fight for people who make it work.
  I encourage my colleagues to reflect this week on what we do to honor 
American workers who make our country great.


                          Honoring Journalists

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, last week, we were reminded again of the 
important work journalists do in their communities, breaking stories 
that affect Ohioans. We know what comes out of the White House, as the 
President calls journalists and reporters enemies of the people. Last 
Wednesday, I saw something again to underscore and illustrate how wrong 
that is.
  The Chillicothe Gazette--a town 50 miles south of Columbus--reported 
that 28 people at an Ohio correctional institution were sent to the 
hospital after being exposed to a mysterious substance, prison guards 
and inmates alike. The reporters talked to the Ohio

[[Page S6025]]

Highway Patrol. They were able to confirm that the incident began when 
an inmate began showing signs of an overdose. They learned that more 
than 20 staff members had potentially been exposed and were sent to a 
hospital for treatment. They reported that some received the drug 
naloxone, which is used to reverse an overdose.
  After investigating, the reporters at the Chillicothe Gazette were 
able to confirm that it was fentanyl-laced heroin that sent workers to 
the hospital. Reporters talked with one corrections officer who told 
them: We were trying to keep up with everything. It was a form of 
controlled chaos.
  The journalists at the Gazette did what good reporters do in a 
rapidly unfolding incident like this one: They talked to witnesses. 
They reached out to the institutions involved. They established a 
hotline. They tracked down a pair of 911 calls, tracing the first call 
to 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
  They didn't stop there. They published multiple followup stories. 
They looked into the prison's history. They found that the institution 
had a history of high drug use. They tracked down the most recent 
prison report. They found that Ross Correctional led the State in 
positive random drug tests in 2015.
  Like so much good reporting, these stories were a team effort among 
journalists at the Gazette. I happened to be at the Gazette that 
morning around the time the story broke. I talked to Mike Throne, the 
editor. Mike understands, as all of his reporters do and as the 
community does, that people don't see the Chillicothe Gazette--people 
don't see these hard-working reporters, who are not paid a lot of 
money--not paid anything close to what they earn, frankly--they don't 
see them as enemies of the people; they see them as serving their 
community. These reporters do their job. They were informing us, the 
citizens of their State and this country. They were serving their 
communities in Chillicothe, Bournville, Circleville, Waverly--all over 
Southern Ohio. They deserve our respect.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________