[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
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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
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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.
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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.
____________________