[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 4, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3185-S3187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               H.R. 2157

  Madam President, today I rise to speak about a disaster so many of 
our American citizens have experienced over the last few months. I am 
not talking about the historic flooding that has taken place in the 
Midwest. I am not talking about the devastating

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tornadoes that have touched down all over the country, including most 
recently in my home State of Alabama. I am not even talking about 
Hurricane Michael, which hit Alabama's Wiregrass and wiped out entire 
fields of crops. We all agree those have been tragic and deadly natural 
disasters, but the disaster I want to talk about for a few moments 
today is the self-imposed disaster that was created by this U.S. 
Government that has taken place in the wake of these storms and natural 
disasters.
  President Trump and certain Members of Congress on both sides of the 
aisle have managed to take what has traditionally been a bipartisan 
process and turn it into a political mess. It began last December when 
the President decided to insist on funding for some type of wall along 
our southern border. That demand resulted in the longest government 
shutdown in our Nation's history. It also set off a series of delays 
for badly needed disaster relief. Only after the President dropped his 
demand for wall funding could the government once again open and resume 
full operations.
  After the government reopened and disaster relief was proposed in 
this new Congress, the President was locked into a political dispute 
with leaders in Puerto Rico and refused to provide the necessary aid to 
those American citizens--American citizens--and yet another stalemate 
thus began. As that stalemate dragged on, the President once again 
injected the issue of border security and immigration into the 
unrelated discussions regarding disaster relief. Finally, after a delay 
of several months that saw the occurrence of additional weather-related 
disasters, the President, just as he had done with the most recent 
government shutdown in January, resumed his political demands and 
signaled he would sign a clean bill that included only disaster relief.
  That bill passed the Senate a couple of weeks ago by unanimous 
consent. Unfortunately, it did not pass the House last week because of 
three individuals who refused to let it pass the House also with 
unanimous agreement. It was only after the President withdrew his 
demands that the bill got to the Senate floor with enough support to 
garner the necessary votes to pass.
  What was interesting about the bill that passed by unanimous consent 
in the Senate a couple of weeks ago and passed the House of 
Representatives just last night was the ``lo and behold'' moment as 
Republicans voted for the bill last night. A month ago, they had voted 
against an almost identical bill in order to please the President. They 
obediently switched their votes to aye when the President signaled his 
support.
  Folks, I think it is somewhat shameful to play politics with people's 
lives the way we have done in this Congress over the last few months--
to play politics with people's lives and their livelihoods, especially 
when the political issues that were holding things up had really 
nothing to do with the important issues at hand.
  You can see it here. This photograph shows what happened in the 
Wiregrass area of Alabama just last fall as a result of Hurricane 
Michael. On the left side of this graphic is the ``before'' picture. We 
had a record cotton crop that was ready to be harvested, and everyone 
was excited about the bumper crop we had. Hurricane Michael came 
through, and, with no pun intended, it was just gone with the wind--
literally wiped out. That was last fall.
  Then it was in March that the tornado season once again hit Alabama. 
This is one photograph, but I can show you many of the devastating 
effects of the tornado that touched down in Lee County in March, 
killing 23 people. I myself visited there with the first responders to 
comfort those who had lost loved ones and had lost everything.
  What you cannot see in this picture is the littered countryside of 
Lee County, littered with not only the splintered trees but with 
people's lives--their homes, their belongings, their mobile homes that 
were scattered throughout the entire area. All was lost in that area 
and in Beauregard and in Smith Station. Yet these folks couldn't get 
the disaster relief they needed in a timely manner because it was being 
held up by the President and Congress. These folks had been through so 
much already, and the fact that we put them through so many months of 
uncertainty while they were waiting for help from their elected 
representatives is really unconscionable.
  Now that this bill has passed--and I am assuming that as soon as the 
President comes back, he will sign it, as he signaled he would--I want 
to thank my senior colleague from Alabama, Senator Shelby, and Senator 
Leahy for their leadership in getting this bill across the finish line. 
I want to also say a special word of thanks to my neighbors from 
Georgia, Senator Isakson and Senator Perdue, who worked tirelessly--so 
hard--to make this bipartisan deal such that the President would sign 
it.
  Although it took far too long, I am certainly grateful that farmers 
and Americans across the country who have suffered from these 
disasters, experienced them firsthand, can finally breathe a sigh of 
relief today because of the disaster relief bill that has finally been 
passed.
  (The remarks of Mr. Jones pertaining to the introduction of S. 1708 
and S. 1709 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on 
Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. JONES. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.


                       75th Anniversary of D-day

  Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, 75 years ago tomorrow, June 5, 1944, 
General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave a speech to U.S. soldiers the day 
before the invasion of Normandy.
  In that speech, he said this:

       Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary 
     Force!
       You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward 
     which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the 
     world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving 
     people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave 
     Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring 
     about the destruction of the German war machine, the 
     elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of 
     Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

  He ended his comments by saying:

       I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty 
     and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full 
     Victory!
       Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty 
     God upon this great and noble undertaking.

  It was an undertaking not just remarkable for its logistical effort 
and massive supply planning but for what it meant to humanity: a 
mobilization in the name of freedom to stand against evil and a massive 
undertaking uncertain of outcome to fight oppression for a free world.
  I hope every American will take some time this week to reflect on 
that massive undertaking 75 years ago that ultimately led to the 
liberation of Europe, the destruction of Adolf Hitler, and the end of 
World War II and to reflect on the sacrifice and courage, the selfless 
acts of bravery, and the stories of families who never saw a loved one 
return.
  The decision to move forward with the invasion was reached in late 
1943. By May of 1944, nearly 3 million Allied troops were amassed in 
southern England. Gathered along with the millions of soldiers was the 
largest armada in world history, with over 4,000 ships from Canada, the 
United States, and Great Britain. There were 11,000 airplanes that 
participated in the invasion, pounding the shores and Nazi positions, 
and delivering supplies and thousands of troops up and down the coast 
of France.
  The assault began shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944, with Allied 
bombers attacking targets along the coast and inland. More than 24,000 
American, British, and Canadian airborne assault troops and 1,200 
aircraft followed the air bombardment. At 1:30 a.m., the 101st Airborne 
Division began landing behind Utah Beach, and the 82nd Airborne 
Division began landing at 2:30 a.m. The second phase on the coast began 
at 5:30 a.m. when six Allied divisions and numerous small units began 
landing on five beaches. In total, the Allies landed more than 160,000 
troops at Normandy--73,000 American, along with 83,115 British and 
Canadian forces--on Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches.
  By the end of the first day, Allied casualties were estimated at 
10,000 killed, wounded, and missing in action: 6,603 Americans, 2,700 
British, and 946 Canadians. From D-Day through August 21, the Allies 
landed more than 2 million men in northern France and

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suffered more than 226,000 casualties, with nearly 73,000 killed or 
missing. They paid the ultimate price to save the world from tyranny, 
and their average age was 26 years old.
  Etched in the pavement of the U.S. Armed Forces Memorial Garden in 
Normandy, France, are the words: ``From the heart of our land flows the 
blood of our youth, given to you in the name of freedom.'' Let us never 
forget the sacrifice of the greatest treasure this Nation has and what 
these men and women did for a free world and free people.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.