[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7534-S7540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIRECTING THE REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES IN
THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS--
Continues
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of S.J. Res. 54, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 54) to direct the removal of
United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic
of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.
Pending:
Young amendment No. 4080, to clarify that this resolution
prohibits United States Armed Forces from refueling non-
United States aircraft conducting missions as part of the
ongoing civil war in Yemen.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
Farewell to the Senate
Mr. HELLER. Madam President, I rise with gratitude to address my
colleagues and members of my staff to reflect on one of my life's
greatest honors, and that is serving the people of the great State of
Nevada. I begin by thanking them for giving me the profound honor of
representing Nevada in the U.S. Congress for 12 years and then in the
U.S. Senate for almost 8 years.
Nevada, thank you for granting me the privilege of working every day
for a State I am so proud to call my home.
Of course, I thank my immediate family, especially Lynne, my wife,
for being at my side for my nearly 30 years of public service.
To my children Hilary, Harris, Drew, and Emmy and to their spouses
Eddie, McKenzie, and Collin, thank you for your patience, your
understanding, and your tolerance of this process.
I would be remiss if I didn't thank Jack and Janet Heller, my
parents, for setting the right example and religious tone in our home
while I was growing up.
To Richard Brombach, my father-in-law, and all of my wife's family,
thank you for raising such a wonderful daughter, sister, cousin, and
aunt.
I have five brothers and sisters, and they all played a vital role in
my upbringing. So thank you to Jack, Tamie, Mac, Sara, and Bryan.
All of these individuals whom I have mentioned gave me their
steadfast support and made my journey from the Nevada Legislature to
the secretary of state's office, to the U.S. House of Representatives,
and to the U.S. Senate possible. I could count on them every step of
the way.
We all know how important our staffs are, and I am no exception. I
have been fortunate to have had two staff members with me during my
whole tenure in Congress, and I would like to highlight both of them.
Mac Abrams, my chief of staff, hails from North Carolina. I know more
about North Carolina than I thought I ever would. Mac came to me from
Senator Vitter's office. After 12 years, we muse about writing a book
together because, together, we have seen and been through a lot. From
the great recession's impact on Nevada to the visits from Senator Reid
to my House office, to Senator Ensign's resignation, to the Governor's
appointment of me to the Senate, to ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, immigration
reform, tax reform, and changing the courts--just to name a few--Mac
has always been there.
In these Chambers, there are a lot of slings and arrows, and it takes
an expert to walk through these minefields. No one does it alone. I
have always had Mac Abrams by my side. So I thank him for his service
to me but, more importantly, for his service to the State of Nevada.
Scott Riplinger has also served the office with distinction. Those
who know him and who have worked with him know that he is a problem
solver.
[[Page S7535]]
It didn't matter which hat he was asked to wear, he wore it with pride.
I will miss his hard work, his work on the Banking Committee, his
loyalty, and his great sense of humor. Every office needs a Scott
Riplinger.
I would like to mention two more.
Sarah Paul has become a dear friend of mine. She joined my staff 7\1/
2\ years ago, and I have leaned on her heavily to help navigate some
very complicated issues. From gaming issues, to mining, to technology,
no one--I say no one--can grasp an issue like she can. During the last
campaign, she served as my chief of staff as others were relegated to
the State of Nevada.
Thank you, Sarah, and congratulations.
On Thanksgiving Day, she introduced Liam Milliner Paul to the world.
Again, congratulations to Sarah, to Raymond, and to big brother James
on the new addition.
Finally, I recognize Ashley Jonkey. Ashley oversees our State
operation, and she has been with us since my early days in the U.S.
House of Representatives. Whether it is putting together the Tahoe
Summit or keeping me up to speed on local issues, Ashley is someone I
can always count on. In fact, over the past decade that I have known
Ashley, she has become like family to me but, more importantly, like
family to Lynne. She is based in Reno, but we are fortunate to have her
here in Washington, DC, today.
I recognize her, along with Mac, Scott, Sarah, and the many members
of my staff, who are here today on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
We have a great team. I have had a great team from top to bottom--a
team that includes naturalized citizens whose families came to this
country to seek better lives, professional social workers, and multiple
combat veterans. Every member of my team in Reno, Elko, Las Vegas, and
Washington, DC, has worked tirelessly to make a difference in the lives
of Nevadans. My staff's dedication, enthusiasm, and work ethic go
unmatched.
I ask unanimous consent to have a list of current and former staff
and their names printed in the Record for this legislative day.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Senator Heller's List of Current and Former Staff To Be Entered Into
the Congressional Record
Mac Abrams, Sarah Paul (Timoney), Ashley Jonkey, Meron
Bayu, Scott Riplinger, Megan Taylor, Gretchen Andersen, Annie
Sedgwick, Scarlet Doyle, Andrew Williams, Joe Boddicker,
Blair Bjellos, Rachel Green, Lindsey Parobeck, Jazmine Kemp,
Adam Miller, Hayley Brower, William Yepez, Meagan Devlin,
Elizabeth Lloyd.
Michael Lienhard, Katie Pace, Rocio Meza, Lauren Morris,
Eduardo Martinez, Brett Pollak, Mark Sutliff, Donna Bath,
Kike De La Paz, Andrew Lingenfelter, Christy Guedry, Devyn
Hartmann, Bruno Moya, Ryan Dutiel, Marcie Zajac, Andrew
Thomas, Andrew Holbert, Emy Lesofski, Leeann Gibson (Walker),
Josh Finestone.
Hayley Douglas, Stewart `Mac' Bybee, Michawn Rich, Pat
Garrett, Alli Collier, Tom Ferraro, Stephanie Beverly, Mari
St. Martin (Nakashima), Corrine Gianpaolo (Zakzeski), Katie
Carr, Alison Gaske, Stephanie Ferguson, Karen Paulson, Paula
Carroll, Amber Heinz, Ryan McBride, Victoria Glover, Emily
Wilkenson, Jeremy Harell, Kristen Elias.
Kristen Pierce (Casey), Luke Burns, Spencer Armuth, Laura
Hutson (Bland), Greg Facchiano, Chandler Smith, Neal Patel,
Lauren Ann Rehrauer, Ryan Leavitt, Chana Elgin, Matt Morris,
John Knobel, John Blum, Mallory Nersesian, Robert Jackson,
Eric Duhon, Erin Collins, Christine Atchian, Daniel Giudici,
Britt McManus Chapman.
Veronica Charles, Josh Marin-Mora, Chloe McClintock, Sam
Crampton, Glenna Smith, Lucero-Gomez Ochoa, Stephen
Sifuentes, Michael Mendenhall, Margot Allen, Terri Fairfield,
Leonardo Benavides, Matt Morris, Andres Moses.
Veterans
Mr. HELLER. Madam President, I would like to shift gears, for just a
moment, to mention several topics that have demanded a lot of my time
and a lot of my energy.
When it comes to our legislative successes--tax reform, changes on
the courts, banking reform, go down the list--I am most proud of what
we have accomplished to help the 300,000 veterans who call Nevada home.
I think everybody in this Chamber will agree that while we can never
fully repay our debt to our Nation's heroes, we can do everything in
our power to show our gratitude for their selflessness and for their
sacrifice. Once these men and women return home after leaving their
families to fight for our country, it is our turn to fight for them and
to make sure all of Nevada's veterans receive the treatment they need,
the services they need, and the skills they need to get the jobs to
take care of their families.
I see that responsibility as a duty and a privilege. In fact, I have
said this before, and I will say it again: The greatest compliment I
ever received in public office was when I overheard one veteran say to
another, ``If you need help, call Senator Heller's office.''
As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
I have had the opportunity to give our veterans a strong voice in
Washington, DC. Under Chairman Johnny Isakson's leadership, we have
made great strides in bringing greater accountability to the VA and in
improving the benefits, the care, and the support our veterans have
earned.
For example, earlier this year, we pushed the historic VA MISSION Act
over the finish line. This new law directs more than $50 billion to our
VA healthcare system so the VA can hire more high-quality doctors and
allow veterans to get the care they need near their homes and on their
schedules.
We also expanded the VA Caregivers Program, which provided a stipend
to the families of severely disabled veterans who require caregivers in
their homes. Previously, only post-9/11 veterans were able to apply.
Now veterans from every era are eligible. This was particularly
important to many veterans in Nevada who told me how critical it was
that we give veterans more access to this program.
These are just a couple of examples to fix a problem that came up
during my discussions during my Veterans Advisory Council meetings. I
established these groups of veterans in the northern and southern parts
of the State in order to speak frequently and directly with them about
the challenges they are facing and the problems that need to be fixed.
For instance, just a few years ago, the Reno VA was one of the worst
ranked offices in the Nation. This was at a time when veterans were
waiting, on average, 400 days for their disability claims to be
approved. This was not acceptable, so I teamed up with Senator Bob
Casey, from Pennsylvania, to hold the VA's feet to the fire. As a
result of the implementation of the 21st Century Veterans Benefits
Delivery Act, the backlog has been reduced by nearly 85 percent, and
500,000 of our military heroes around the country are no longer waiting
for their health benefits. We also provided accountability through
expedited firing authority of bad VA employees and overhauled the VA
appeals process so veterans do not have to wait years for a decision.
The President signed this bill into law in Reno last year.
Expanding veterans' access to care has been one of my top priorities.
For veterans living in Northern Nevada, I worked to authorize
construction of the Reno VA hospital and delivered $33.5 million in
Federal funding for it so that the veterans of the north don't have to
drive 500 miles to Boulder City to access the State Veterans Home.
I walked through the construction site when I was in Sparks last
month, and I look forward to the completion of this state-of-the-art
facility.
I did the same for veterans in Southern Nevada. I worked for 10 years
to secure the approval of the new larger clinic in Pahrump. For
veterans who face barriers to try to get an education so that they can
earn a good living, I introduced a bill that increases the education
benefits for Guard Reserve members that ensures that the GI bill is
available to veterans for life.
After Nevada was ranked second among States with the highest rate of
veteran suicides and was experiencing a doctors' shortage, I authorized
a new law that gives veterans more access to mental healthcare services
and treatment.
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Chairman Isakson,
Ranking Member Tester, Senate leadership, and this administration to
enact laws that provide our veterans with the support and benefits they
are owed.
While we have made progress, we can and must do even better. It is my
hope that the next Congress--Republicans and Democrats--can continue to
work together to get things done for our veterans.
[[Page S7536]]
Now, on another topic--tax reform--when I delivered my maiden speech
on the floor of the Senate, Nevada was struggling after being knocked
down by the great recession--a time when Nevada led the Nation in home
foreclosures and when we had double-digit unemployment. Today, Nevada
is leading the Nation in private sector job growth, the housing market
has recovered, and home prices are increasing. Now we are one of the
fastest growing States in the Nation.
Nevada is booming. It is because this Congress delivered tax cuts
that put more money in America's paychecks, their pocketbooks, and
their pensions, and we advanced pro-growth policies that have led to
more jobs, higher wages, and more opportunities for Nevadans.
As a Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, I am proud to have
authorized and authored several provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
that include, for example, not limiting but doubling the child tax
credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. Since the law was enacted, tens
of thousands of jobs in the State of Nevada have been created.
Recently, Nevada's unemployment rate hit a new 11-year low--the lowest
rate since the 2008 economic downturn. As a result of this new law,
tens of thousands of Nevadans have benefited from bonuses, raises, and
expanded benefits, on top of bigger paychecks and strengthened
pensions.
To give you a couple of examples, South Point Hotel and Casino
doubled its full-time workers' bonuses. Developers of a stalled project
on the Las Vegas Strip committed to creating over 10,000 jobs, and the
Prospect Hotel in Ely gave its employees bonuses and raised its
starting wages. All of this was a direct result of the tax reform bill.
Nevada's economy is back on track, and I hope this Congress will
continue to advance policies to keep us on that path to help Nevada
workers and the hard-working families get ahead.
Let me move on. Since coming to Washington, DC, my No. 1 focus has
always been the people of Nevada and putting our State's priorities
first. For example, I worked with Senator Martin Heinrich from New
Mexico to level the playing field for the development of new,
alternative energy technologies to support Nevada's energy
diversification.
Earlier this year, I was proud to host the bipartisan annual Lake
Tahoe Summit, and I worked with Senator Feinstein throughout my career
to deliver resources to protect the Tahoe Basin and to fight
devastating wildfires.
When Congress came together to approve a 5-year highway bill, I was
able to secure my top infrastructure priority, and that was to expand
Interstate 11 up to Northern Nevada.
Whether it is leading the Republican charge to extend unemployment
benefits in 2014, when Nevada's unemployment rate was nearly double
what it is now, or breaking with my party to pass the Violence Against
Women Act, I have always been willing to work with anyone who has good
ideas to help move Nevada's families and Nevada's communities forward.
While I am pleased that I have been able to work with my colleagues
to turn these ideas into over 100 pieces of legislation that are now
law, this job is about more than advancing good policies. It is about
helping people, and that is what is most important. I work for
Nevadans, and when someone comes to me with a problem or calls one of
my offices for help, we drop everything we do and all that we do in an
effort to help them.
When the VA refused to pay a homeless veteran $40,000 after he won
his appeal, we made sure the veteran got paid so he could get back on
his feet.
When a constituent had a liver transplant and was denied coverage and
left without insurance, he enrolled into the marketplace exchange. When
the time came to reenroll, the exchange denied him and forced him to go
without insurance until my office intervened.
Take, for example, a woman who came to us after being charged a
Medicare penalty of about 40 percent each month. My staff worked with
the local and regional offices to secure reimbursement of $1,000 and to
adjust the monthly premium to save that constituent, potentially,
thousands of dollars.
When a constituent spent 9 months trying to get her Social Security
retirement benefits, we were able to get her a resolution to properly
begin receiving her payment.
Finally, when a Navy veteran was in jeopardy of losing his home while
he was temporarily out of work, we contacted the lender of his mortgage
on his behalf and ensured that he was able to keep his home.
These are just a few examples of what this job is really all about--
making life better for people you work for. I know that I am not alone.
I truly believe that this is what drives all Members of Congress, and
that is to serve their constituents--no matter your party, no matter
your State, no matter what you did before you got here.
Before I got here, I grew up with two parents and five siblings who,
like Nevadans, embodied the ``battle born'' spirit. I would like to pay
tribute not only to my family, friends, and mentors who have helped me
along the way but to all of my constituents by talking a little bit
about what makes Nevada different.
Nevadans are pioneers. They are not afraid to take risks, to dream,
to put in hard work, or to start from scratch. We are self-starters, we
are builders, and we are trailblazers. We laid down tracks to connect
railroads and mined for gold and silver in the north. We shoveled mud,
drilled through rocks, and scaled concrete to construct the Hoover Dam,
and in the Mojave Desert we created the Entertainment Capital of the
World.
One characteristic outsiders may overlook is this: We are fighters.
There is no other event in our history that best serves as an example
of that trait than the aftermath of the October 1 mass shooting in Las
Vegas, a tragedy that truly shook our State.
I have spoken before on the Senate floor about the incredible and
heroic people who helped to lead concertgoers and, in turn, the whole
community, out of that darkness. Whether these individuals wore
uniforms or not, they stepped up to help others, and their actions
helped us grieve and start to heal together.
This immeasurable pain, suffering, and devastation inflicted by one
man elicited a profound, innate, and immediate human response from
Nevadans across the State.
Like many Nevadans, I saw firsthand the strong sense of family,
faith, and strength in the wake of the October 1 shooting. When I leave
here, I will carry those extraordinary moments of unity and generosity
with me.
During the 1989 inaugural address, Former President George H. W. Bush
once said:
We know what works: Freedom works. We know what's right:
Freedom is right. We know how to secure a more just and
prosperous life for man on Earth: through free markets, free
speech, free elections, and the exercise of free will
unhampered by the state.
Regardless of what party affiliation you have, I still think we can
all agree with those words. We can all agree that we are fortunate to
live in a great country defended by men and women who stand guard to
defend our way of life. We can all agree we are fortunate to live in a
great country in which every aspiration or dream is possible to
achieve. We can all agree that this is because freedom works, and that
freedom is right.
No, not everything comes easy, and I would be lying if I said others
didn't have to fight harder than some. But that job you want to get,
that school you want to get into, that business you want to start, or
that idea that you would like to see come to life is possible in
America. This is a country where the son of an auto mechanic and a
school cook had the opportunity to deliver the newspaper to then-
Governor Michael O'Callaghan, go to Sunday school with then-Lieutenant
Governor Harry Reid's sons, get his education at the same public high
school as the late Senator Paul Laxalt, play basketball with Governor
Brian Sandoval, and a place where that same kid can grow up and serve
Nevada in the U.S. Senate.
My goal always has been making Nevada a better place today than it
was yesterday. It is a better place to raise a family--not only one
where you can find a job but a place where you can have a long-term
career.
I would like to end with this. My daughter Hillary and her husband
[[Page S7537]]
adopted a young child from China. She was abandoned as an infant at a
bus station. Her name is Ava. She was raised in an orphanage for the
first 2 years of her life.
When my daughter and her family first met Ava, she did not cry when
she was hungry. She did not cry when she was tired. She did not cry
when she needed to be changed, and she did not cry when she was hurt.
Why? Because it didn't matter; she was always on someone else's time.
But she did cry when they took her shoes off to put her to bed. You
see, in an orphanage, kids sleep with their shoes on so they don't get
lost. Ava, at 2 years of age, had never slept without her shoes on.
Now, she did cry the first time when they bathed her in a tub of
water. In an orphanage, you take cloth baths. So Ava had never been in
a bathtub. Today, when Ava falls, someone is there to pick her up.
Today, when she cries, someone is there to wipe away the tears. Today,
when she is hungry, someone is there to feed her. Today, when she is
tired, there is always someone there to tuck her into bed.
When Ava grows up in this country, there will be plenty of doors that
she can open that would otherwise have been closed. I will never forget
seeing my newest granddaughter in the arms of the Vice President,
knowing that her life had changed forever.
This is the job at hand, to uphold this country's longstanding
reputation as the land of opportunity.
I an optimist, and I will remain one after leaving this great Chamber
because I have seen remarkable moments here in Washington. This body
has come a long way from its early days when Henry Clay, Daniel
Webster, and John Calhoun were navigating a divided nation and fighting
to save our young democracy. I believe that our Nation's future is
bright, and that Nevada's future is bright. My heart has been and
always will be in Nevada, a State that I love and a place that I am so
proud to call home.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work for you.
Thank you, Madam President.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I can say with great confidence that
Nevada and the Senate and the country are better for Dean Heller's
service to our Nation. We know Dean is a smart guy. He is so smart that
when I was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in
2010 and was trying to get him to run for the U.S. Senate, he declined
to do so, only to then run in 2012 and, obviously, he succeeded.
I know there are many others who would like to speak and pay tribute
to Dean, and I won't take but a moment.
Of course, one of the things I remember most about Senator Heller is
his optimism. I also particularly appreciate his comment about things
he has done to help ordinary Nevadans that do not involve major pieces
of legislation. He certainly played a part in major legislation like
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but Dean's efforts to also pass legislation
like the SAFER Act, which helps our law enforcement agencies reduce the
rape kit backlog--Dean's efforts on the Federal level, coupled with
State level reforms, played a role in making it possible for nearly
8,000 untested sexual assault kits in Nevada to be sent to labs for
testing.
Dean's commitment to our veterans led to his bill, the Veterans
Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act.
I appreciate his reminding us that sometimes the most important work
we do is what we call casework. When veterans come to us and say ``I am
not getting access to the healthcare that I have earned by virtue of my
military service'' or when a senior says ``I am not getting my Social
Security benefits'' or sometimes when people contact us and say ``I
have relatives who can't enter the country because they can't get a
visa''--these are the kinds of things that people will never forget.
They are the sorts of acts of individual kindness and generosity that,
with a true attitude of public service, people will never forget.
Sometimes these efforts amount to some of the most meaningful work that
we can do and that our staff can do.
So I have every confidence that we will see and hear a lot more from
Dean and Lynne, no matter what they do. It is clear to me that Dean has
his priorities right: family first, faith, and then service to our
country.
Dean, we are going to miss you, but we look forward to staying in
touch with you and Lynne, as friends do, and we wish you all the luck.
Given your talent for working on cars, which is one of the things I
think is particularly noteworthy, you will be my first call if I need
my transmission fixed.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, as chairman of the Veterans Committee,
for the last 4 years I have had the privilege of working with Dean
Heller from Nevada.
In his opening remarks in his farewell speech, he spoke about his
compassion for veterans. I have seen it up close and personal. His
value as a member of that committee to me is invaluable. I could not
have had a better member.
We had a lot of tough votes that had to be taken. A lot of times I
had to count noses, and I knew I could count on him when it got to
committee. This is a guy you could count on 100 percent of the time,
every day.
He cares about what he is doing. He knows what he is doing. He is an
affable person who is fun to be with, even if you disagree on things.
Dean is one of a kind, in my opinion, and someone I am very proud to
have served with on the committee. I wish he were going to be there for
my last 2 years as chairman so that I could count on him a little bit
more.
Dean is the real deal. He is the guy you can put money in the bank
on. He has helped a lot.
I wish him the very best. His service to the country is invaluable. I
served with him in the House and in the Senate. For the whole 20 years
he has been here, I have been here too. I have seen him in countless
tough votes. Whether it is Part D of Medicare or whatever it might be,
he has always been there to be counted on.
He has stood up for the State of Nevada, whether the issue was
nuclear energy, nuclear storage, nuclear waste, or nuclear bombs.
Nevada is a great State. This is a great Senate, and we have a great
country. One of the reason we do is we have great individuals like Dean
Heller.
God bless you, and I wish you the best.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I wish to associate myself with the
comments of my colleague from Georgia, Senator Isakson, who chairs the
Veterans Affairs Committee.
I have the privilege of chairing the Senate Commerce Committee.
Senator Heller has been a very active and important voice on our
committee on countless issues. Our committee has a very broad, wide
jurisdiction. We heard him speak about his passion for veterans, and
everybody knows that and how hard he has worked to make life better for
veterans in the State of Nevada. But I would say, also, on issues like
rural broadband and transportation, many of which, as I said, fall
under the jurisdiction of the Senate Commerce Committee, I can't think
of anybody who has been more passionate, more representative of his
State and his people, more conscientious, more hard-working, and,
frankly, just rock solid when it comes to the way he stands up for and
represents the State of Nevada here in the U.S. Senate.
So I, too, am going to miss him and his voice and his excellent work
and that of his staff on the Senate Commerce Committee. As those who
have spoken before me have said, we know that his contributions not
only to the people of Nevada but also to the people of this country
will continue because he is someone who not only has great talent but
also tremendous character.
As I think about the future that he and Lynne are going to enjoy,
hopefully it will include a little more time together and more time
with those grandkids, which we talk about all the time.
The other thing I appreciate about Dean Heller is that no matter how
tough the going was, he always had a smile on his face. People talk
about his optimism. That is a virtue that, to me, really matters around
here. We deal
[[Page S7538]]
with weighty and serious issues. It is important that we see the
lighter side and that we appreciate the humor in what we do, too; that
we approach it with a sense of purpose but also a sense of optimism.
That is always evident whenever you encounter Dean Heller in any
circumstance. The thing I think I will miss the most about him is that
whenever I see him, I see that smile, and I appreciate that.
I wish him and Lynne and his family the best in the days ahead. I
thank him for his great work here, and I thank his family for the
sacrifice they have made to enable him to be here to represent Nevadans
in the U.S. Senate.
So, Senator Heller, God bless you and your family in the days ahead.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, like my colleagues, I, too, want
to honor and express my gratitude to my friend and colleague, Senator
Dean Heller.
Most people don't know that he has spent 30 years serving the great
State of Nevada. I have heard everyone talk about how Dean loves
Nevada. There is no doubt that if you just have an initial conversation
with Dean Heller, you will learn about Nevada and his love for Nevada
and why it is a wonderful place to live.
He has advocated for the people of Carson City as a member of our
Nevada State Assembly. He served as Nevada's secretary of state, where
he made Nevada the first State in the Nation to adopt paper records for
electronic voting machines.
In Congress, Dean has fought tirelessly on behalf of our Nation's
veterans, as we have heard, first as a Representative for Nevada's
Second Congressional District and then as a United States Senator. I
have watched Dean and have had the honor to work with him now across
the aisle.
When I first came to the Senate as a junior Senator, he warmly
welcomed me. We had a conversation about how we could work together--
although we don't see eye to eye on everything, but how we could work
together for the best interests of the State of Nevada. He made a
commitment then, and he followed through on that commitment.
So together we have worked to do so many things on behalf of the
great people of the State of Nevada. We worked on critical
infrastructure. He has worked to support our local law enforcement and
fund programs, as you have heard, for veterans and seniors and low-
income families.
We also found common ground, just as Nevadans expected us to do, and
introduced bipartisan legislation to protect our public lands in
eastern Nevada while also prioritizing long-term economic growth in our
rural communities. I have also worked with him and watched Dean as he
worked on domestic violence prevention and human trafficking prevention
in the State of Nevada.
We have had the opportunity, not just here in Washington but in our
home State, to work side by side to stop any attempts to revive Yucca
Mountain. We introduced bipartisan legislation requiring the Secretary
of Energy to obtain the written consent of the Governor and impacted
local Tribal communities before building a nuclear waste repository.
As you have heard, Dean and I also shared an unfortunate, horrific
incident on October 1--the deadly shooting in Las Vegas. He and I were
on the ground, along with our entire delegation, to do everything we
could in our community, and Dean was everywhere. He was talking to so
many people, thanking the first responders, stopping by the hospitals,
talking with the families. It truly was his commitment to his home
State to do everything he could to help that community heal, and he
continues to do so today.
The one thing I do know as a Nevadan born and raised, just like Dean,
is that when it comes to our beloved State, it is about putting that
State first, the people there, and uniting and coming together to make
sure that we are working together. No matter the climate, no matter the
partisanship that we see here in Washington, it is about what we can do
every single day to work together, and I thank him for that commitment.
I thank him for his willingness to bring this junior Senator in and
have conversations about how we can work together to the benefit of our
community.
I want to thank Senator Heller for everything he has done over the
years on behalf of the State of Nevada, for his decades of service, and
for his friendship. I wish you and Lynne and your beautiful children
and grandchildren the best in this chapter of your life. I know you are
not done. We are all excited to see what is next.
So I thank you, my friend, and I look forward to working with you in
the future as well. Thank you for your commitment.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, before I speak on the topic that I came
to the floor to speak about, which is the resolution currently before
the Senate, I wanted to just echo the commentary made about our
colleague Senator Heller. I have enjoyed our time working together.
I spent 6 years of my childhood growing up in Las Vegas, so we have a
lot of mutual friends. He knows a lot of the people I grew up with and
is a part of our family. He will be sorely missed here. I am sure he
will be warmly welcomed back home to the community and to his family.
We all look forward to seeing the future endeavors lying ahead for him.
I know he still has much to offer the Nation and the State of Nevada.
S.J. Res. 54
Madam President, one of the things that makes service in the Senate
meaningful is when we get to discuss big issues of great importance. I
want to start by thanking the authors of this War Powers Resolution on
Yemen because, while I may not agree with it--and I am going to
describe why in a moment--I think it is important that the Senate have
big debates about big topics and play its rightful role. The Senate and
the legislative branch have an important role to play in setting the
foreign policy of the United States.
I actually don't think the War Powers Act is constitutional. I
believe it is an unconstitutional restraint on the power of the
Commander in Chief, and even if it were constitutional, I do not
believe that our engagement, or what we are doing in Yemen with the
Saudi UAE coalition, rises to a level of triggering it.
That doesn't mean that Congress should not be involved. Frankly, the
one way to be involved if you wanted to, if you wanted to pronounce
yourself on a matter of this topic, you should file to cut off the
money. I wouldn't support it, but that is where Congress's power really
comes from. Shut off the money; say that no money can be spent on this
effort. Few people are willing to do that, so we rely on these other
mechanisms that exist in our law.
But I want to talk more about why I think it is bad idea to vote for
this and why I hope more of my colleagues will join me in opposing it.
First of all, I understand what is happening. This resolution is not
new; it has been discussed before. It existed for a number of months,
well before Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder
at the Saudi consulate in Yemen. So this is not a new issue, but it has
become for many Members proxy--a vehicle by which they can express
displeasure at the way the administration and the President have
responded to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.
I think what has happened to Mr. Khashoggi is an outrage. I don't
need a smoking gun or an intelligence briefing to tell me that the
Crown Prince is responsible.
If you know anything about Saudi Arabia, if you know anything about
how their government works, and if you know anything about the Crown
Prince, you know that there is no way that 17 guys close to him get on
an airplane, fly to a third country, chop up a guy in a consulate,
dispose of the body, and fly back, and he didn't know anything about
it. It is just not real.
It is also consistent with a pattern of behavior by the Crown Prince.
He literally kidnapped the Prime Minister of Lebanon about a year and a
half ago. He has jailed multiple members of his family and government
because they weren't in support of his being the successor to the King.
This is a pattern of behavior that needs to be dealt with. I do not
believe dealing with it requires us to shatter the Saudi-U.S. alliance.
Foreign policy is hard because it must be infused with our values and
[[Page S7539]]
the defense of human rights. And I say this with humility--I hold my
record up to that of anyone in this Chamber when it comes to fighting
on behalf of human rights and humanitarian causes, and we have a lot of
great champions of that in the U.S. Senate. But we also have to
recognize that this has to be balanced sometimes with realism, and it
requires us to make difficult decisions.
The interesting thing about foreign policy is that it is often not a
choice between a great idea and a bad idea; it is often a choice
between two less-than-ideal outcomes, and you are trying to figure out
which one would do the least harm and make the most sense. In many
ways, that is what we are facing here in this debate about the Saudi-
U.S. alliance.
I have long recognized and condemned the horrifying human rights
violations that occur at a systemic level in Saudi Arabia, and I will
continue to do so. But I also recognize that there is a threat in the
Middle East posed by Iran and their ambitions that must be confronted,
and it must be confronted now, regionally, or eventually it will pull
the United States into direct conflict. Saudi Arabia and our alliance
is a key part of that coalition, so it would be a mistake to shatter
it.
In the case of Yemen, this has become a proxy issue for the broader
issue of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Hopefully later today, there will
be a resolution offered by the chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee and the majority leader--I hope others will join in--that
makes very clear that the vast majority of Members in this Chamber
condemn what happened to Mr. Khashoggi and hold the Crown Prince
responsible for his murder.
There is no disputing that what is happening in Yemen is a horrifying
humanitarian tragedy. The numbers speak for themselves. Over 57,000
human beings have lost their lives. Half the country's population of 28
million people is starving to death, including many women and children,
and 2.3 million people have been displaced from their homes. It is
horrifying, and there is plenty of blame to go around, including Iran
and their Houthi surrogates.
The first question I would ask is, If this resolution passes and were
to become law, would it end this conflict? If we pass this and the
White House were somehow forced to do what we are asking them to do, it
wouldn't end this conflict. This conflict will continue, this fight
will continue, and the reason why is pretty straightforward: The Saudis
view the Houthis as agents of Iran. They already see agents of Iran via
Hezbollah, Syria, and Iraq obviously for a long time in Lebanon, and
now, to their west and south, Yemen. They are not just agents of Iran.
They have launched rockets and ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, at
their civilian populations, including efforts to kill members of the
Saudi royal family and government leadership. They have threatened
global shipping in the region, where over 400 million barrels of oil a
day transit--critical to the world's energy supplies. So they are going
to have a war. There is no way Saudi Arabia or the UAE or any of these
countries are going to allow themselves to be encircled by Iranian
agents.
This conflict will continue irrespective of what we do, and the
Saudis will have no problem buying weapons. One of the sad facts about
the world today is that countries have plenty of sources from which
they can buy this weaponry and plenty of countries and arms dealers who
are willing to sell it to them.
Will this resolution, if it passes, end the suffering? The answer,
sadly, is no, it will not. In fact, it is the Houthis who have blocked
the two access roads that lead to the port, making it difficult to
deliver aid. It is the Houthis who have placed mines at the entrance of
the port. It is the Houthis, by the way, who are torturing people--
torturing people. We have seen reports of faces being smashed by
batons, of people hanging from chains by their genitals and by their
wrists for weeks in places, people being scorched with acid. That is
the Houthis. That will continue.
Will this end the warfare? It will not. It will not end the warfare.
In fact, I think it has the potential to trigger broader warfare.
First of all, it won't end the warfare because right now they are
having peace talks. Put yourself in common sense for a moment, and ask
yourself: If you are the Houthis and you just read in the newspaper
that now the U.S. Senate has voted to end support for Saudi Arabia--do
you know what they are thinking? We don't need a peace deal; we might
be able to win this thing now. They don't know that it is not going to
become law, that the House is not going to take it up. They don't know
any of that. They just read that the United States is weakening in its
support of Saudi Arabia, and they think, we don't need a peace deal. It
is going to embolden them to not strike a peace deal.
But here is where I think it really gets dangerous. The United States
stops its support of Saudi Arabia. Houthis establish more control and
more stability in their control in areas of Yemen. What are they going
to do then? Are they then going to go and rebuild the country, build
roads and bridges, and move on to an era of prosperity and peace? They
are not. They are going to become what they are but in an expanded
way--agents of Iranian influence and of Iranian-sponsored violence.
Here is what you can expect to see if the Houthis establish control
of key areas of Yemen and are able to reach a stalemate or, worse, are
able to solidify their grip on power: You are going to see hundreds of
ballistic missiles launched against Saudi Arabia--missiles that, by the
way, in a contingency where there is a crisis between the United States
and Iran, would also be able to target American service men and women
serving in the region. You are going to see these explosive UAVs that
they have already used in attacking Saudi Arabia.
Do you know what Saudi Arabia is going to do in response? They are
going to hit them back even harder. In fact, they may even hit Iran,
triggering an even broader war. And it gets worse. It gets worse
because you can also see them using explosive boats and anti-ship
missiles to cut off shipping lanes in the Arabian Gulf. At that point,
you will see the U.S. Navy called upon to go in there and reopen
shipping because the global energy supply is relying upon it, and the
world looks to the United States as a guarantor of the freedom of the
seas.
In essence, this could very well lead, in the long run, to an even
broader and more dangerous conflict that could involve us and could
pull us in. That is the way we need to think about these issues--not
just what is before us now. You have to think two or three steps ahead,
and two or three steps ahead is that this could become a broader
conflict that forces us in.
Imagine it for a moment. We know for a fact that Iran's plans are to
use surrogates to attack the United States in instances of a crisis.
That is why these Shia militias in Iraq are so dangerous. At a moment's
notice, they could decide they are going to start attacking American
troops in Iraq, and Iran is going to say: It wasn't us; it was the Shia
militia. That is why Hezbollah in Syria is so dangerous. That is why
Lebanese Hezbollah is so dangerous. That is why they have cells all
over the world ready to be activated at a moment of crisis as an
asymmetrical way for Iran to attack the United States without direct
attribution. And now we are going to give them one more--the Houthis in
Yemen to target our service men and women and our allies in the region,
and then we will have to respond, and then we will be in a war
involving American service men and women.
Nothing we are doing now guarantees that won't happen anyway, but I
am telling you that if we pull out of this effort, it makes it likely.
I think it makes it likely that we will see a broader conflict in the
very near future that will directly involve the United States of
America.
On this final point, I will say that it is important for us to think
about these things pragmatically because we lose our influence over the
conduct of this war. The Saudi authorities and their military do not do
a good job of respecting the rules of war. In fact, they have a
military culture in Saudi Arabia where you are more likely to get
punished for not taking the shot than for blowing up a bus full of
children or hitting a residential project.
[[Page S7540]]
You are more likely to be punished for not taking the shot than for
taking the shot that kills innocents. That has to change, and we have
some level of influence now, given the fact that we are engaged with
them, to sort of steer them in that direction and explain to them what
troubles our alliance here in Washington. We lose that influence if we
walk away.
I do sympathize with the two points behind this resolution:
reasserting congressional authority on foreign policy--I agree we need
to have more oversight and engagement, and I agree that the conduct of
this war in Yemen is horrifying and that what is happening to civilians
there is terrible. I just don't think our pulling out makes it better.
I actually think it makes it worse, and I actually think that in the
long run, it sucks America into a much broader and more dangerous
conflict. That is why I hope more Senators here today will oppose this
resolution.
We do need to send a clear message to Saudi Arabia that what the
Crown Prince did to Mr. Khashoggi is unacceptable, but this is the
wrong way to do the right thing.
I yield the floor.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I know I was supposed to speak next, but
I know the distinguished Senator from Missouri has a unanimous consent
request, so I yield to him.
Mr. BLUNT. I thank the Senator from Vermont.
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