[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1296-D1300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                       Wednesday, December 19, 2018

[[Page D1296]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate agreed to the motion to concur in the House amendment to 
      the Senate amendment to H.R. 695, Further Additional Continuing 
      Appropriations Act, with a further amendment.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S7823-S7955
Measures Introduced: Twenty-two bills and six resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 3778-3799, and S. Res. 733-738. 
                                                         Pages S7925-26
Measures Reported:
  Report to accompany S. 3217, to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins 
Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. (S. Rept. No. 115-434)
  Report to accompany S. 791, to amend the Small Business Act to expand 
intellectual property education and training for small businesses. (S. 
Rept. No. 115-435)
  Report to accompany S. 1538, to amend the Small Business Act to 
establish awareness of, and technical assistance for, the creation of 
employee stock ownership plans. (S. Rept. No. 115-436)
  Report to accompany S. 3552, to amend the Small Business Act to 
adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under the 7(a) program of 
the Small Business Administration to bring those thresholds into line 
with the thresholds used by the Federal banking regulators. (S. Rept. 
No. 115-437)
  Report to accompany S. 3553, to amend the Small Business Act to 
adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under the section 504 
program of the Small Business Administration to bring those thresholds 
into line with the thresholds used by the Federal banking regulators. 
(S. Rept. No. 115-438)
  Report to accompany S. 1548, to designate certain land administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of 
Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas and to make 
additional wild and scenic river designations in the State of Oregon. 
(S. Rept. No. 115-439)
  Report to accompany S. 2809, to establish the San Rafael Swell 
Western Heritage and Historic Mining National Conservation Area in the 
State of Utah, to designate wilderness areas in the State, to provide 
for certain land conveyances. (S. Rept. No. 115-440)
  Report to accompany S. 2290, to improve wildfire management 
operations and the safety of firefighters and communities with the best 
available technology. (S. Rept. No. 115-441)
  S. 2764, to amend and enhance the High Seas Driftnet Fishing 
Moratorium Protection Act to improve the conservation of sharks. (S. 
Rept. No. 115-442)
  S. 1426, to amend the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to 
expand the purposes of the corporation, to designate the United States 
Center for Safe Sport, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
(S. Rept. No. 115-443)
  S. 278, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for 
innovative research and development, with an amendment in the nature of 
a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 115-444)
  S. 2948, to improve efforts to identify and reduce Governmentwide 
improper payments, with amendments. (S. Rept. No. 115-445)
  S. 3041, to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act to provide for disaster recovery reforms, with 
amendments. (S. Rept. No. 115-446)
  H.R. 50, to provide for additional safeguards with respect to 
imposing Federal mandates, with amendments. (S. Rept. No. 115-447) 
                                                             Page S7925
Measures Passed:
  Justice for Victims of Lynching Act: Committee on the Judiciary was 
discharged from further consideration of S. 3178, to amend title 18, 
United States Code, to specify lynching as a deprivation of civil 
rights, and the bill was then passed, after agreeing to the following 
amendment proposed thereto:                              
  Pages S7842-44
  Harris (for Booker) Amendment No. 4168, in the nature of a 
substitute.                                              
Pages S7843-44

[[Page D1297]]

  Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act: Senate passed 
S. 3247, to improve programs and activities relating to women's 
entrepreneurship and economic empowerment that are carried out by the 
United States Agency for International Development, after agreeing to 
the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.   
  Pages S7863-65
  Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act: Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 4174, to amend titles 5 and 44, United States 
Code, to require Federal evaluation activities, improve Federal data 
management, and the bill was then passed, after agreeing to the 
following amendment proposed thereto:                    
  Pages S7870-78
  McConnell (for Johnson/Murray) Amendment No. 4171, in the nature of a 
substitute.                                              
Pages S7871-78
  United States Ports of Entry Threat and Operational Review Act: 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was discharged 
from further consideration of H.R. 6400, to require the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to conduct a threat and operational analysis of ports 
of entry, and the bill was then passed.                      
  Page S7896
  Secret Service Overtime Pay Extension Act: Senate passed H.R. 6893, 
to amend the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016 to extend 
the Secret Service overtime pay exception through 2020.      
  Page S7896
  No Hero Left Untreated Act: Committee on Veterans' Affairs was 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1162, to direct the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide 
access to magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy to veterans, and 
the bill was then passed.                                    
  Page S7896
  7(a) Real Estate Appraisal Harmonization Act: Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship was discharged from further consideration 
of H.R. 6347, to adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under the 
7(a) program to bring them into line with the thresholds used by the 
Federal banking regulators, and the bill was then passed. 
                                                         Pages S7896-97
  Small Business ACE Act: Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 
6348, to adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under the section 
504 program to bring them into line with the thresholds used by the 
Federal banking regulators, and the bill was then passed. 
                                                         Pages S7896-97
  Full Military Honors Act: Committee on Veterans' Affairs was 
discharged from further consideration of S. 3523, to amend title 10, 
United States Code, to require a full military honors ceremony for 
certain deceased veterans, and the bill was then passed.     
  Page S7897
  Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5923, to 
direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain public lands in 
Ouachita National Forest, and the bill was then passed.      
  Page S7897
  M.S. `Mitch' Mitchell Floodway: Committee on Environment and Public 
Works was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3383, to 
designate the flood control project in Sedgwick County, Kansas, 
commonly known as the Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project, as 
the ``M.S. `Mitch' Mitchell Floodway'', and the bill was then passed. 
                                                             Page S7897
  Donna Sauers Besko Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 1850, to designate 
the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 907 Fourth 
Avenue in Lake Odessa, Michigan, as the ``Donna Sauers Besko Post 
Office''.                                                    
  Page S7897
  Sergeant Kenneth Eric Bostic Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 5205, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
701 6th Street in Hawthorne, Nevada, as the ``Sergeant Kenneth Eric 
Bostic Post Office''.                                        
  Page S7897
  SO2 Navy SEAL Adam Olin Smith Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 5475, 
to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located 
at 108 North Macon Street in Bevier, Missouri, as the ``SO2 Navy SEAL 
Adam Olin Smith Post Office''.                               
  Page S7897
  Thomas P. Costin, Jr. Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 6059, 
to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located 
at 51 Willow Street in Lynn, Massachusetts, as the ``Thomas P. Costin, 
Jr. Post Office Building''.                                  
  Page S7897
  James William Robinson Jr. Memorial Post Office Building: Senate 
passed H.R. 6167, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 5707 South Cass Avenue in Westmont, Illinois, as the 
``James William Robinson Jr. Memorial Post Office Building''. 
                                                             Page S7897
  Oakville Veterans Memorial Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 6335, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
322 Main Street in Oakville, Connecticut, as the ``Oakville Veterans 
Memorial Post Office''.                                      
  Page S7897
  Ross Bouyea Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 6930, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
10 Miller Street in Plattsburgh, New York, as the ``Ross Bouyea Post 
Office Building''.                                           
  Page S7897

[[Page D1298]]

  Postmaster Frazier B. Baker Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 7230, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
226 West Main Street in Lake City, South Carolina, as the ``Postmaster 
Frazier B. Baker Post Office''.                          
  Pages S7897-98
  Sergeant First Class Alwyn Crendall Cashe Postal Facility: Senate 
passed H.R. 7243, to amend Public Law 115-217 to change the address of 
the postal facility designated by such Public Law in honor of Sergeant 
First Class Alwyn Crendall Cashe.                            
  Page S7898
  U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps 75th Anniversary: Senate agreed to S. Res. 
737, recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the 
United States Cadet Nurse Corps and expressing the appreciation of the 
Senate for the contribution of the members of the United States Cadet 
Nurse Corps during World War II.                             
  Page S7898
  Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge: Committee on 
Environment and Public Works was discharged from further consideration 
of S. 3456, to redesignate Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge as the 
Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, and the bill was 
then passed.                                                 
  Page S7898
  Faster Access to Federal Student Aid Act: Committee on Finance was 
discharged from further consideration of S. 3611, to amend the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 and the Higher Education Act of 1965 to facilitate 
the disclosure of tax return information to carry out the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, and the bill was then passed.     
  Pages S7946-47
  Innovations in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act: 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 5509, to direct the National Science 
Foundation to provide grants for research about STEM education 
approaches and the STEM-related workforce, and the bill was then 
passed, after agreeing to the following amendment proposed thereto: 
                                                         Pages S7947-49
  Boozman (for Thune) Amendment No. 4172, in the nature of a 
substitute.                                              
Pages S7947-49
  Strengthening Coastal Communities Act: Committee on Environment and 
Public Works was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5787, to 
amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to give effect to more accurate 
maps of units of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System 
that were produced by digital mapping of such units, and the bill was 
then passed.                                                 
  Page S7949
  SOAR to Health and Wellness Act: Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 
767, to establish the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and 
Wellness Training pilot program to address human trafficking in the 
health care system, and the bill was then passed, after agreeing to the 
following amendment proposed thereto:                    
  Pages S7949-50
  Boozman (for Alexander) Amendment No. 4173, in the nature of a 
substitute.                                              
Pages S7949-50
  SECURE Act: Senate passed H.R. 7327, to require the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to establish a security vulnerability disclosure 
policy, to establish a bug bounty program for the Department of 
Homeland Security, to amend title 41, United States Code, to provide 
for Federal acquisition supply chain security.               
  Page S7950
  DELTA Act: Senate passed H.R. 4819, to promote inclusive economic 
growth through conservation and biodiversity programs that facilitate 
transboundary cooperation, improve natural resource management, and 
build local capacity to protect and preserve threatened wildlife 
species in the greater Okavango River Basin of southern Africa. 
                                                             Page S7950
  Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act: Senate passed S. 
1023, to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 
through fiscal year 2021, after agreeing to the committee amendment in 
the nature of a substitute, and the following amendment proposed 
thereto:                                                 
  Pages S7950-53
  Boozman (for Portman) Amendment No. 4174, to modify the authorization 
of appropriations.                                       
Pages S7951-53
  Securing Energy Infrastructure Act: Senate passed S. 79, to provide 
for the establishment of a pilot program to identify security 
vulnerabilities of certain entities in the energy sector, after 
agreeing to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                         Pages S7953-54
House Messages:
  Asia Reassurance Initiative Act: Senate concurred in the amendment of 
the House of Representatives to S. 2736, to develop a long-term 
strategic vision and a comprehensive, multifaceted, and principled 
United States policy for the Indo-Pacific region.        
  Pages S7865-67
  Johnson-O'Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization 
Act: Senate concurred in the amendment of the House of Representatives 
to S. 943, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an 
accurate comprehensive student count for the purposes of calculating 
formula allocations for programs under the Johnson-O'Malley Act. 
                                                         Pages S7887-88

[[Page D1299]]

  Tribal Burial Benefits: Senate concurred in the amendment of the 
House of Representatives to S. 2248, to amend title 38, United States 
Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide certain 
burial benefits for spouses and children of veterans who are buried in 
tribal cemeteries.                                           
  Page S7896
  Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act: Senate agreed to 
the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to 
H.R. 695, to amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to 
establish a national criminal history background check system and 
criminal history review program for certain individuals who, related to 
their employment, have access to children, the elderly, or individuals 
with disabilities, with McConnell Amendment No. 4163, in the nature of 
a substitute, after taking action on the following motions and 
amendments proposed thereto:                         
  Pages S7826, S7899
Withdrawn:
  McConnell motion to refer the message of the House on the bill to the 
Committee on the Appropriations, with instructions, McConnell Amendment 
No. 1922, to change the enactment date.              
Pages S7826, S7899
  McConnell motion to refer the House Message on the bill to the 
Committee on Appropriations, with instructions, McConnell Amendment No. 
4165, to change the enactment date.                  
Pages S7826, S7899
  McConnell Amendment No. 4164 (to Amendment No. 4163), to change the 
enactment date.                                      
Pages S7826, S7899
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  McConnell Amendment No. 1923 (to (the instructions) Amendment No. 
1922), of a perfecting nature, fell when McConnell motion to refer the 
message of the House on the bill to the Committee on the 
Appropriations, with instructions, McConnell Amendment No. 1922 (listed 
above) was withdrawn.                                
Pages S7826, S7899
  McConnell Amendment No. 1924 (to Amendment No. 1923), of a perfecting 
nature, fell when McConnell Amendment No. 1923 (listed above) fell. 
                                                     Pages S7826, S7899
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that 
notwithstanding previous Senate action on the House message to 
accompany the bill, the motions and amendments of Wednesday, December 
19, 2018 remain in status quo and the earlier motion to concur and the 
motion to concur and the motion to refer with instructions and 
McConnell Amendment No. 1923 (listed above) and McConnell Amendment No. 
1924 (listed above) be withdrawn.                            
Page S7829
  By 71 yeas to 21 nays (Vote No. 273), Senate agreed to the motion to 
instruct the Sergeant at Arms to request the attendance of absent 
Senators.                                                    
Page S7899
  McConnell Amendment No. 4166 (to (the instructions (Amendment No. 
4165) of the motion to refer), of a perfecting nature, fell when 
McConnell Amendment No. 4165, to change the enactment date, was 
withdrawn.                                                   
Page S7899
  McConnell Amendment No. 4167 (to Amendment No. 4166), of a perfecting 
nature, fell when McConnell Amendment No. 4166 (to (the instructions 
(Amendment No. 4165) of the motion to refer), fell.          
Page S7899
Appointments:
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that a correction 
to an appointment made on December 18, 2018 be printed in the 
Congressional Record.
  United States-China Economic Security Review Commission: The Chair 
announced, on behalf of the Democratic Leader, pursuant to the 
provisions of Public Law 106-398, as amended by Public Law 108-7, and 
in consultation with the Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on 
Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Finance, the appointment of 
the following individual to serve as a member of the United States-
China Economic Security Review Commission: Thea M. Lee of the District 
of Columbia for a term expiring December 31, 2020.           
  Page S7954
Signing Authority--Agreement: A unanimous-consent agreement was reached 
providing that the presiding officer be authorized to sign duly 
enrolled bills or joint resolutions during the Wednesday, December 19, 
2018 and Thursday, December 20, 2018 sessions of the Senate. 
                                                             Page S7896
Nomination Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nomination:
  Joseph Maguire, of Florida, to be Director of the National 
Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence.                                        
Pages S7834, S7955
  During consideration of this nomination today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  By 95 yeas to 1 nay (Vote No. 272), Senate agreed to the motion to 
close further debate on the nomination.                      
Page S7832
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  Routine lists in the Coast Guard.                      
Pages S7954-55
Messages from the House:                                     
  Page S7924
Executive Communications:                                
  Pages S7924-25
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S7926-27

[[Page D1300]]

Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:              
  Pages S7927-33
Additional Statements:                                   
  Pages S7922-24
Amendments Submitted:                                    
  Pages S7933-46
Authorities for Committees to Meet:                          
  Page S7946
Privileges of the Floor:                                     
  Page S7946
Quorum Calls: One quorum call was taken today. (Total--2)    
  Page S7899
Record Votes: Two record votes were taken today. (Total--273) 
                                                     Pages S7832, S7899
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 
and adjourned at 12:07 a.m. on Thursday, December 20, 2018, until 11:30 
a.m. on the same day. (For Senate's program, see the remarks of the 
Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page S7954.)