[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 194 (Thursday, December 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6865-S6873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FOSTERING UNDERGRADUATE TALENT BY UNLOCKING RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION ACT
Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Madam President, first, I thank the
Democratic leader for the opportunity to move forward on this unanimous
consent.
As in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 212, H.R. 2486.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 2486) to reauthorize mandatory funding
programs for historically Black colleges and universities and
other minority-serving institutions.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent
that the Alexander-Murray amendment at the desk be agreed to and that
the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 1255), in the nature of a substitute, was agreed
to, as follows:
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.)
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read the third time.
Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Madam President, I know of no further
debate on the bill, as amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
Hearing none, the bill having been read the third time, the question
is, Shall the bill, as amended, pass?
The bill (H.R. 2486), as amended, was passed.
Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent
that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the
table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senators from South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington State, and Alabama
be allowed to speak for brief moments on the great job they have done
and that I be given back my leadership time at 10:50.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, on behalf of all of us, I want to
thank the Democratic leader for his courtesy and his support on this.
He and Senator McConnell have made it possible for us to do this.
I am going to limit my remarks to a couple of minutes, and then
Senator Murray and then Senator Scott, Senator Coons, Senator Jones are
here, and we will finish by 10:50.
Madam President, it is hard to think of a piece of legislation that
would have a more lasting impact upon minority students in America than
the bill that the Senate just passed.
I believe, in doing so, we have improved the provision in the House
bill that was sent to us. That is what we did; we amended a House bill
that we are now sending back to them. We have been working with leaders
in the House to make sure that our bill is something the House can
accept and pass. We hope that will happen in the next couple of weeks,
and here is the result of it happening: No. 1, a big step for
historically Black colleges and minority institutions--permanent
funding at the level of $255 million a year for those institutions that
serve up to 2 million minority students. That is No. 1.
The second big step is one that Senator Murray and I and our
committee, Senator Jones, Senator Bennet, Senator King, and many others
have been working on for 5 years to simplify the form that students use
to apply for Federal aid for college. Twenty million families fill out
what is called the FAFSA, a Federal aid form, every year; then we have
students who borrow more than $100 billion a year. What we have done in
this bill is reduce the complexity of filing that FAFSA form by saying
to students: You don't have to give your Federal tax information to the
government twice. We will take the up to 22 questions that are a part
of the 108-question FAFSA, and we will eliminate them, and if the
student gives his or her express consent, the Internal Revenue Service
will answer those questions for the student.
I can't tell you how many times students, parents, college
presidents, Federal aid counselors have told me that the application
and the verification of this information has discouraged low-income
students from coming to college.
Five and one-half million of the twenty million students who fill out
these forms have the accuracy of those forms questioned. This will
eliminate that for most of the students because they will have to give
that information to the government only once.
I want to thank Senator Murray especially for her work on this. We
work together on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
in the Senate, but Senator Coons, Senator Scott, Senator Richard Burr
of North Carolina--which has the largest number of historically Black
colleges--and Senator Jones of Alabama have also been crucial with
their support.
I yield the floor to Senator Murray.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, HBCUs, Tribal colleges, and other
minority-serving institutions--or MSIs--are an essential part of our
entire higher education system, and those institutions serve nearly 6
million undergraduate students, a large majority of whom are students
of color or Native students.
Funding for those critical institutions should never be up for
debate, and now, because of this, it will not be. I am so glad we have
reached a bipartisan deal that will permanently fund HBCUs and MSIs.
I know many of our colleagues worked very hard on this, but I
especially want to thank Senator Jones for his leadership in pushing to
make sure this got done, as well as my partner
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Senator Alexander, and, of course, Senators Coons, Scott, and Burr.
I am also pleased that this legislation streamlines Federal student
aid for more than 20 million students applying for aid and nearly 8
million borrowers.
Our Nation's outdated and overly complicated financial aid system is
forcing students and borrowers to jump through too many hoops to access
Federal financial aid and verify their tax returns, which they have
already filled out, and to get help if they are struggling to pay their
student loans.
The FAFSA Act, which has been included in this bill, allows data to
be securely shared between the IRS and the Department of Education,
making it easier for students to fill out the FAFSA and pay their
loans.
This bill will strengthen privacy protections and how students and
borrowers navigate their financial aid through a streamlined, more
efficient process.
This bill is also thanks to Jeff Appel, an integral member of Federal
Student Aid who recently passed away. I am grateful for his
contribution, and I know that he will be sorely missed.
There is one more way in which this agreement we have reached is
important. This proves once again that we can work across the aisle and
get things done when we all stay focused squarely on what is best for
students.
We have a lot of work ahead of us to make higher education in our
country more affordable and accessible and to hold schools accountable
for student outcomes and ensure student safety on campus. I am hopeful
that we can build on this bipartisan progress we have seen so far as we
continue working together to reauthorize the Higher Education Act in a
comprehensive way.
Again, I want to thank all of my colleagues for their work on this,
and I look forward to more to come.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Madam President, to avoid the risk of
being redundant, I want to put a little skin on the bones as relates to
what this act really means to college students, particularly those
college students entering into the process for the very first time and
their families.
What it means is simply this: Simplification means more education for
a lot more students, and that is good news. We oftentimes talk about
the importance of keeping the American dream alive and keeping it well.
This will provide significant opportunities for low-income students to
get through the process very quickly.
In South Carolina we have eight HBCUs. The economic impact of those
graduates is around $5 billion of lifetime earnings. This bill makes
that more achievable, more attainable, and keeps the American Dream
alive and well.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. JONES. Madam President, I am rising today with just, for lack of
a better term, an incredible amount of hope and excitement--something
we don't always see on the Senate floor these days. We go through so
many routine measures. We go through so many political speeches. But
today is truly a day of hope and excitement and optimism because we are
on the verge of a significant moment for our Nation's historically
Black colleges and universities and all minority-serving institutions.
I frankly hope that in our partisan world we are living in and in our
partisan America, people across this country are tuning in right now or
at least will follow what is happening on the floor of the Senate
today, where a bipartisan coalition has come together for a significant
and important segment of our population that deserves the same economic
and educational opportunities as everyone else.
Fourteen months ago, I came to this Chamber to introduce a permanent
extension, an increase of funding for these important institutions of
education. Nearly half of all the funding they receive was set to run
out on September 30, 2019. We secured a quarter of the Senate as
cosponsors of the bill, and we laid out an ambitious proposal.
In the new Congress, with the clock ticking down toward the deadline,
we offered a more modest but bipartisan and paid-for plan to avert the
looming fiscal cliff. But our goal and the goal of everyone here and
the goal of all of those, including my friend Senator Alexander, was to
always reach the ultimate goal of permanent funding, a permanent
solution for these important institutions.
All told, these schools serve 6 million students across the country.
They are often the foundation upon which families begin to build
generational wealth--not just one person who goes to college but
generational wealth in communities that have long faced systematic
barriers to doing so. They create good, sustainable jobs. They are part
of the very foundation of our higher education system in this country
and in my State in particular.
With all the due respect to my friend Senator Murray from Washington,
there is a little controversy about who has the most HBCUs. I would
claim that Alabama does with 14, but that is for debate on another day.
But we can all agree that supporting these schools and the students
they serve is not a partisan issue. I think we can all agree on that. I
think we have shown that we can agree that funding should never become
a political football. We have all been working toward the same goal.
To say the least, I am so deeply relieved that today we forged this
bipartisan compromise that will allow these schools the funding and the
certainty they need to go forward and continue fulfilling their
important mission.
I sincerely especially want to thank my colleagues on the HELP
Committee and Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray in
particular for their leadership and willingness to reach across the
aisle and find the common ground for the better good of this community.
I also want to thank my friend Senator Scott from South Carolina for
joining me on what we have done over the last couple of years to
introduce the FUTURE Act and to push it forward.
I believe--and I have said this for so long--that we have so much
more in common than we have that divides us. This is just one example.
It is why I hope folks across the country are looking and see that we
can come together and we can be unified.
I am grateful today because in addition to the permanent funding of
HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, this agreement, as the Senator
from Tennessee said, includes a long overdue, first big step toward
simplifying the FAFSA application.
Even with a law degree, I can tell you that with my kids, trying to
do that made me pull out what little bit of hair I have left. I didn't
need to do that. It is not just a frustrating process; it can be so
intimidating that students or their parents just walk away. In Alabama
alone, kids walked away from millions of dollars of Federal financial
aid and grants, not just loans. The FAFSA as it is today can be a huge
barrier for students who want to go to college.
The proposal we have on the table now will help save taxpayers and
make the FAFSA process less painful by cutting up to 22 questions from
the form. It lays the groundwork for a broader FAFSA reform that
Senator Alexander and I have been working on to cut even further to
between 17 to 30 questions.
But getting across the finish line today is not just about renewing
funding or cutting redtape. At their core, these issues are about
opening doors of opportunity for young people who have talent and
motivation to succeed in college and in life, but they have not
necessarily had the financial means or the family connections to do so.
This is about making sure we empower every young person in this country
to reach their full potential and then pay it forward for future
generations. That is what gives me hope standing here today. It is what
makes me excited today.
Again, I want to thank my colleagues for the incredible effort--
Senators Alexander and Murray in particular. Our hearts have always
been in the right place. We have always moved the ball forward knowing
that the long-term goal was to help these families for generations to
come.
Thank you, Madam President.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. COONS. Madam President, today is about a moment of hope. Today is
about a moment of genuine bipartisanship made possible by the
discipline
[[Page S6867]]
and determined leadership of Senators Alexander of Tennessee and Murray
of Washington State.
I rise to join my friend and colleague, the Senator from Alabama, who
has just given remarks following the Senator from South Carolina. At a
moment when what most Americans see on their televisions is partisan
division and dysfunction in the Senate and the House, I just want to
remind all of us that we can get good, important, and significant
things done together, as just happened on the floor a few moments ago.
For generations, American families have worked and saved and strived
to send their children to college, but for a long time, our Nation's
original sin--the sin of slavery and racism--has left a long shadow and
a stain on access to the critical opportunity of higher education. In
much of our Nation, for decades, African Americans were denied entry to
most of our colleges and universities and still today face unreasonably
high barriers to higher education. The establishment of historically
Black colleges and universities, HBCUs, and other minority-serving
institutions of higher learning has been a critical answer to that
tragic history of discrimination.
Men and women who founded HBCUs refused to accept a system of higher
education that denied opportunity to African Americans, and over
decades, HBCUs have risen to become some of our Nation's finest
academic institutions. They have educated hundreds of thousands of
young men and women who have gone on to do incredible things and to be
some of our Nation's greatest leaders.
That is why all of us who have come on the floor today, Republicans
and Democrats, have acted to make a permanent commitment to supporting
HBCUs and minority-serving institutions with Federal funding. We have
agreed to make permanent $255 million in annual funding for HBCUs.
I am particularly excited about this legislation because my home
State of Delaware is home to one of the finest public HBCUs in the
country, Delaware State University. Founded in 1891, it is one of the
country's premier land grant universities. Over the last 125 years, it
has emerged as one of our Nation's premier HBCUs, graduating some of my
State's best accountants, business leaders, researchers, scientists,
teachers, social workers, and much more.
My friend Dr. Wilma Mishoe, the University's first female president,
will end her impressive tenure this month and be succeeded by Provost
Dr. Tony Allen, who will continue the upwardly rising trajectory of the
Hornets of Delaware State University.
Their research programs are important drivers for innovation in a
State with a long history of invention. It is home to the Delaware
Center for Neuroscience Research, a partnership of institutions working
to advance our understanding of our brains and how we form thoughts,
memories, and feelings that may help unlock the key to addiction and
other challenges our country faces. It is also home to OSCAR, the
Optical Science Center for Applied Research, which is helping speed the
detection of disease, supporting our soldiers in detecting threats, and
even equipping the NASA Mars rovers with improved sensors. Delaware
State has been the lead institution on grants from NASA, NSF, and NIH
in just the last few years.
We are very proud of Delaware State. The funding stream last year
provided $880,000 in critically needed funding for STEM, faculty,
research, and students.
Let me last reference something that my colleagues have also spoken
to: the streamlining of the free application for Federal student aid,
or FAFSA, which impacts 20 million American families.
I spent a long time--roughly 20 years of my life--actively involved
in the national ``I Have a Dream'' Foundation, which provides college-
access opportunities for young people from families with no means or
experience of attending higher education. I myself sat with dozens of
young Delawareans and struggled as we finished the FAFSA form for them.
This long-worked-for solution that Senators Alexander and Murray have
advanced streamlining this form from 108 questions to 22 is a critical
first step that will make a lasting difference for access to education
all over our Nation.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to join this bipartisan
coalition and look forward to even more progress in the months and
years ahead.
Thank you.
With that, I yield the floor.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first, let me thank my colleagues from
South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington State, Alabama, and Delaware for
their hard work on this very important issue. I appreciated their
words, and I think far more appreciated even than their eloquent words
is the fact that we are getting this done, finally. I am so glad for
it.
Let me just add my words of support for the FUTURE Act. A few minutes
ago, as I mentioned, we passed the FUTURE Act by unanimous consent. I
am so glad and grateful that the Senate came together today to give
these institutions and the students they serve the certainty needed to
continue focusing on their important mission.
In America, we believe in ladders up. People should have to climb
those ladders. No one is going to put them up on a pedestal. But there
should be the ladders there so that if somebody wants to work hard,
they are given fair opportunity and barriers--sometimes barriers based
on bigotry and discrimination--do not stand in their way.
One of the best ladders-up we have in America is our HBCUs. HBCUs
make up 3 percent of colleges and universities, but they produce 27
percent of African-American students with bachelor degrees in STEM
fields, 80 percent of African-American judges, 40 percent of African-
American engineers, 50 percent of African-American lawyers, and 40
percent of African-American colleagues here in the Congress are HBCU
graduates. So this is one fine ladder-up, as are our other institutions
that spend much time helping Hispanic Americans and Native Americans as
well.
We need these ladders. They are part of America. We should help them
whenever we can. Tribal colleges and universities serving Black,
Hispanic, and Native American populations serve more than 130,000
American Indians and Alaska Natives, the most underserved group in
higher education. Hispanic-serving institutions have grown by nearly 40
percent since 2009, helping the Latino community make big inroads in
college enrollment and completion. They now enroll 66 percent of all
Hispanic undergraduates but account for only 15 percent of nonprofit
colleges.
So all three of these types of institutions--the HBCUs, the colleges
and universities serving American Indians and Alaska Natives, and
Hispanic-serving institutions--are amazing ladders up. They are
essential for making higher education accessible, affordable, and
attainable for all Americans; essential for having that bright Sun--the
American dream--actually shine on people instead of it being some words
that are meaningless to them.
This is a very fine moment, and I want to thank all of those who put
this all together and made it happen. We can celebrate. Most of the
things that pass by UC around here--or many of them--are really kind of
small and narrow. This is not. This is very important. And my salute to
those who made it happen, whom I mentioned earlier.
Impeachment
Madam President, now on a less happy subject, this morning the
Speaker of the House instructed House committee chairs to begin
drafting articles of impeachment against the President of the United
States. That is a very solemn duty and solemn undertaking. The
Speaker's decision comes after the House Intelligence Committee
reported that its inquiry had ``uncovered a months-long effort by
President Trump to use the powers of his office to solicit foreign
interference on his behalf in the 2020 election.''
We know Russia interfered on Trump's behalf in 2016, and now he is
trying to make it happen again, this time by trying to push Ukraine.
The charges against the President are extremely serious. No
belittling of these charges will hold any water. The charge to use
foreign interference on behalf of a candidate in the 2020 elections is
dramatic and awful stuff.
These charges concern our national security. They concern the
sanctity of our elections and the potential corruption of our Nation's
foreign policy for
[[Page S6868]]
personal political interests of the President of the United States. The
gravity of those charges demands that Senators, if Articles of
Impeachment are served to us, to put country over party and examine the
evidence without prejudice or partisanship, which is why it is so
disheartening, confounding, and deeply disappointing that, at this
historic moment, I heard the Republican leader criticizing in such
strident terms the process of the impeachment inquiry in the House for
being too short and not including enough witnesses or due process for
the President.
I respond on two counts. First, the Republican leader is simply wrong
to suggest that the House process has been anything but deliberate,
evenhanded, and serious. Speaker Pelosi, the House Intelligence
Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee are proceeding exactly how
the Constitution prescribes. But, second, it is the height of hypocrisy
to criticize the House process for being too short and not including
enough witnesses when the Trump administration is the one blocking
witnesses from testifying.
What hypocrisy? How can a leader even say it with a straight face?
Will this febrile obeisance to President Trump never cease? Are they so
afraid of him and his bullying that they can't admit the obvious truth
and twist themselves in pretzel knots to make arguments that are so
spurious? It is the height of hypocrisy to criticize the House for not
including enough opportunities for the President to make his defense
when the President is refusing to participate. It is the height of
hypocrisy to say that there are not enough witnesses when we don't hear
a peep out of the Republicans urging the President to allow the
witnesses that the House wanted to come forward.
This hyperventilation about the length of the House process and the
number of witnesses is simply ridiculous. The Trump administration is
responsible for those things, not House Democrats. Everyone knows that.
Everyone knows they have gone to court to block witnesses and
documents.
I remind my colleagues, if the Articles of Impeachment are indeed
passed by the House, Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans must work
with Democrats to set the parameters of a fair and impartial trial.
Every Member of the Senate should support a fair process. The House is
running a fair process now. We must do the same in the Senate if it
comes to that.
All week, I have been urging my Senate Republican colleagues not to
spread or even speculate about the dangerous myth that Ukraine--not
just Putin--interfered in the 2016 elections. The myth was invented by
Putin's intelligence services to deflect blame away from Putin while
driving a wedge between the United States and Ukraine, one of Putin's
top goals. When certain Senate Republicans are parroting Putin's
talking points, we have a serious problem.
Hopefully, the overwhelming criticisms of the Members who did that
this week have convinced them to stop and back off in the Republicans'
absurd denial of fact and total defense of President Trump, even when
it is obvious that he is not telling the truth. We have reached a low
moment, and maybe the lowest of all was the mounting of Putin's
conspiracy theory about Ukraine.
Now, another insidious conspiracy theory was doused with cold water
this morning. The truth comes out, Republicans, sooner or later.
Another theory was doused with cold water when it was reported that
Attorney General Barr's handpicked prosecutor had reportedly found no
evidence that the FBI probe into the Trump campaign was a setup.
Republicans in the House, conservative media personalities, FOX News,
and other blind partisan loyalists to the President have long conjured
and peddled these deep-state conspiracy theories without evidence.
The Attorney General is even using the resources of the Justice
Department--which could be exposing Chinese Communist Party's spies or
tracking would-be radical terrorists or fighting opioids or tackling
ransomware attacks on cities across the country--to investigate the
origins of the 2016 probe. Attorney General Barr's actions are
presumably in the hopes of turning up evidence to support these far-
fetched theories.
Well, too bad, Republicans. Too bad, hard right. The Attorney
General's handpicked prosecutor found no evidence to these conspiracy
theories, that the investigation of President Trump was started with
evil and political intent. The only evidence we have is that the
outlandish loyalist theories peddled by President Trump and his allies
to defend this administration are totally baseless.
Border Security
Now, on another note, airport face scans, this morning, it was
reported that the Trump administration will propose a rule to require
U.S. citizens to have their faces scanned whenever they enter or leave
the United States. This sounds like something out of China. Currently,
all U.S. citizens are allowed to opt out of facial scans when entering
or exiting the country. Now, the Trump administration is poised to
remove that option and make facial scans mandatory for all travelers,
including U.S. citizens.
I have significant concerns about what this policy would mean for the
privacy of every American citizen. Just last year, a cyber attack of
CBP compromised the personal information--in this case, it was license
plates--and facial data of just under 100,000 people. Imagine if DHS
were required to retain the facial data of every American who travels
in and out of the country.
There are, of course, legitimate questions about whether the Federal
Government is legally allowed to collect and store this data. Those
questions must be answered before--not after--the Trump administration
moves forward with its new rules. On something as serious as this,
Congress should debate this issue.
Regardless, I see no reason why the current opt-out policy must
change, and I will work with privacy advocates in the Senate, like my
friend Senator Markey, to legislatively prevent the administration from
moving forward.
TRACED Act
Another issue, robocalls, the House of Representatives yesterday
passed bipartisan legislation to crack down on the tens of billions of
robocalls that plague Americans every year. All of us are bothered by
these darn robocalls. They come at the worse times, and they are on and
on. You can't even shut them off.
Last year alone, Americans were battered by 48 billion--billion--
robocalls. That is 150 calls per person, per year. Robocalls are
annoying. They are persistent, and beyond that, many of them are
dangerous to consumers. Foreign companies can make thousands of calls
with a push of a button and can charge Americans simply for picking up
the call. Can you believe that? Many are designed to scam elderly
Americans. We have heard about elderly Americans who are frightened and
send their life savings to these criminal callers. Many of the calls
target institutions like hospitals and slow down important businesses.
The TRACED Act passed by the Senate in May and recently amended and
passed by the House requires phone companies to block robocalls without
charging consumers and will give the Justice Department and the FCC
better tools to prosecute scammers who prey on unsuspecting--many
elderly--Americans. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the original Senate
bill. I pushed hard to move it forward. The Senate should now take
action on the amended and expanded robocall legislation from the House
and pass it before the year is out.
As we saw with the recent legislation to the democratic protests in
Hong Kong, when there is bipartisan consensus on an issue, we can move
swiftly to enact bipartisan legislation. These moments, unfortunately,
are far too rare under Leader McConnell, who has avoided the
consideration of legislation on the floor, even when it has bipartisan
support, but I hope as we enter the final few weeks of the year, Leader
McConnell will address the issue of robocalls and send this bipartisan
to the President's desk.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). The Senator from Texas.
Appropriations
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know the American people, when they see
what is happening in Washington, think that we fight all the time and
we disagree about everything, but let me
[[Page S6869]]
just agree with my friend, the democratic leader, on the issue of the
nuisance of robocalls.
But as important as that is to our quality of life and to protecting
vulnerable seniors and others who may be misled by some of these
deceptive calls, some of the most basic functions of the Federal
Government have not been fulfilled, like appropriating the money that
is necessary to support our men and women in uniform. The bipartisan
spending caps bill that we agreed to in August has been walked back by
our Democratic friends, and we find ourselves with a lot of uncertainty
here at the end of the year in terms of what the future may hold in
terms of our ability to actually get anything done, things like pass a
highway bill. That is one thing that Republicans and Democrats can all
agree on, is our disdain for traffic and congestion.
That is one thing we can work on together. We could work together to
bring down drug prices, particularly the out-of-pocket costs for
consumers with high deductibles and high co-pays. We could pass USMCA,
the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. All of these enjoy broad
bipartisan support, but unfortunately, they are now all held captive by
this impeachment mania which has stricken the House of Representatives,
and it is scheduled to come over here to the Senate probably around the
first of the year, depending on the schedule that Speaker Pelosi keeps
in the House.
Impeachment
So while there are plenty of good ideas out there about things that
we can work on together on a bipartisan basis, we all know that the
Senate and the Congress has limited bandwidth. We can't do everything
we want to do. We need to prioritize. I would hope that our priorities
would be the American people's priorities and not the political
priorities here of partisans in Washington, DC, but unfortunately, it
looks to me like the partisans are winning and the people are losing.
We need to keep fighting against that. But that is where we are right
now, particularly with Speaker Pelosi's announcement this morning that
the House is now going to proceed to draft Articles of Impeachment,
something that has only been done four times in our Nation's history.
This will be the fourth time.
We know what the outcome is likely to be with the 67-vote threshold
here in the Senate, and I think all of us in America listened or have
been exposed to anyway the various arguments on both sides of the
question, but I don't really, frankly, expect anything new to come out
of this. A lot of this is rehashed over and over again ad nauseam in
order to justify a partisan impeachment process less than 1 year before
the next general election. I would think we would be a little bit
cautious about 535 Members of Congress working here in the Nation's
Capital reversing the decision made by more than 60 million Americans
in the last Presidential election. That is a very sobering and serious
matter indeed, but, unfortunately, I don't see this issue getting the
kind of sober and serious consideration that the Founders contemplated
or that the American people deserve.
American Energy
Mr. President, on another topic, a number of our colleagues here in
Washington have undertaken a radical approach when it comes to
providing the energy that our country needs. As a matter of fact, if
you think about it, it is because of the energy being produced by the
oil and gas industry here in America today that the average price of
gasoline is now probably roughly $2.50 per gallon.
In Austin, TX, where I live, you can drive from the airport to my
home, and you can see gas prices at $2.15 a gallon. It is cheap
relative to the historical prices. And you think about what that means
in terms of consumers, regular, everyday working folks and families. It
means they are able to spend money on other things that are important
to them in their lives and not spend all of their income on filling up
their gas tank. That is a huge, huge gift to the American people and
consumers, but rather than focus on the benefits of what our innovative
and entrepreneurial industry has done, we know that some of our friends
here in Washington want to reorder the world in their own image. They
say the goal is to completely eliminate the most affordable and
reliable sources of energy. For what? Well, in pursuit of net zero
emissions. I will talk more about that in a moment.
We remember earlier this year they introduced the Green New Deal--
arguably the most extreme energy and climate proposal this country has
ever seen. The Green New Deal is chock-full of utopian ideas but
completely devoid of any pragmatic plans to implement any of its pie-
in-the-sky proposals. It puts a range of unrealistic environmental and
socialist policies under one big green umbrella with an unaffordably
high pricetag.
The best evidence of how extreme this proposal is, is when it came up
for a vote in the Senate. Not a single Senator voted for it--that
includes all of the cosponsors of the proposal. That is not exactly a
profile in courage, to tell the American people this is the solution to
our environmental and energy problems, and then when it comes up for a
vote, you run and hide. Nobody voted for it. If this proposal were not
so terrifying, it would be a terribly bad joke.
While that may be the most extreme proposal we have seen, it is not
the only one. We know some of our Democratic colleagues in the House
have tried to impose government mandates. That means more regulation,
more taxation, more control by Washington, all in an effort to achieve
net zero emissions by the year 2050. In some ways, 2050 seems like a
long way off, and in other ways it doesn't seem a long way off, but in
pursuit of programs that would address a problem in 2050, how about
let's take care of the business that is sitting here right before us
today first. We seem to have lost any sense of urgency in our most
important priorities, like funding the government and funding the
military.
On top of that, a number of our Democratic friends who are running
for President claim we should ban fracking. I would really like to ask
them if they even know what that is or how it works.
Some of them have said they also want to ban the export of crude oil.
This month, for the first time in 70 years, America became a net
exporter of oil. I will talk more about that in a moment.
Some are saying they even want to go so far as to ban the use of
natural gas. Natural gas has been responsible for taking formerly coal-
fired powerplants and putting them into a cleaner energy source, which
has actually reduced emissions by a substantial amount, but, no, in
pursuit of their pie-in-the-sky utopian dreams, the ideologues want to
eliminate something that has been a very substantial improvement in
terms of the reduction of emissions while providing affordable energy.
I think it is safe to say that we all agree--Republicans, Democrats,
Independents, everybody--we should do what we can to protect our
environment. In fact, we live here. We breathe the air. We drink the
water. We should all be equally concerned about the environment.
I really think some of these proposals are nothing more than virtue
signaling. They are not a solution to a problem. All of these folks are
trying to paint the energy industry as the enemy in the process. Every
good story needs a villain, and our friends on the left believe the
energy industry that has provided that cheap gasoline so people can
drive to work, take their kids to school, or go about their business is
really the enemy, not our friend. Well, it is just not the case.
By the rhetoric you are hearing, you would think oil and gas
companies have bankrupted the country, ruined our international
alliances, and sent the entire globe into an energy famine. Well, that
is not true. It is just the opposite of truth.
When you talk about global energy security, American oil and gas has
reversed the tide of the energy landscape in our favor and supported
our friends and allies around the world in important ways.
Our colleagues proposing these unworkable and unaffordable mandates
would be wise to look at how the global energy landscape has changed
over the last half century and consider the broader consequences of
their proposal.
To understand the importance of American energy on the world stage,
we need to rewind just a bit to the 1970s. At that time, the vast
majority
[[Page S6870]]
of the world's oil and gas came from the Middle East, giving these
nations a great deal of power. In fact, you may remember back in 1980
President Jimmy Carter announced something called the Carter Doctrine.
He said if any foreign power would block the flow of oil through the
Straits of Hormuz, it would be an act of war. That is what Jimmy Carter
said in 1980, such was our reliance on imported energy from the Middle
East. Our country dealt with this situation, and we addressed it
responsibly and effectively.
We know another indication of our dependence on imported energy is
when the United States supported our friend and ally Israel in the Yom
Kippur war of 1973. OPEC, the organization of petroleum exported
countries, primarily Middle East countries, banned the sale of crude
oil to the United States. Those who are old enough to remember,
remember that prices quadrupled, some States banned neon signs to cut
down on energy use because they were worried about the energy that
would be necessary to create that electricity, and a number of towns
asked for citizens not to even put up Christmas lights. This was
because our source of oil and gas was cut off from the Middle East,
such was our dependence. Despite strong domestic production, we were
still relying heavily on imports. Once that supply was cut off, we were
caught flat-footed.
The Arab oil embargo brought to light the risk of our energy
independence and underscored the need for America to do something about
it. There was a consensus--has been a consensus--that we needed to grow
our supplies here at home so we were less dependent on imports. So less
than 2 years later, Congress, thinking we were doing a good thing, put
a ban on export on American crude because we thought we needed it here
and didn't want to export it abroad.
Over the next four decades, a lot has changed. Advancements in the
energy sector, including hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling,
have dramatically increased the production of American energy. As I
said, for the first time in 70 years, America has become a net exporter
of oil. That is how dramatically this has turned around.
In the process, we have achieved our goal of reducing our reliance on
imported energy from dangerous and unsettled regions of the world, like
the Middle East, but pretty soon we found ourselves sitting on a gold
mine, and it became clear it was time to lift the export ban. In 2015,
after 40 years of no exports, that is what Congress did. We did so
because we believed, No. 1, we had more than we could use here in
America, but we also believed this would be a huge boon to our economy.
That was part of the equation. Just as we were able to reduce our
reliance on oil from unreliable and unstable regions of the world, we
knew that by exporting the oil that America produced, we could help
other countries--our friends and allies around the world--that were
dangerously dependent on sources of energy from countries like Russia
that is all too ready to use energy as a weapon. They say: Do what we
say, and we will keep the energy and gas flowing. Do something we don't
like, and we will shut you down.
In the not-so-distant past, many of our allies in Europe looked to
Iran and Russia for their energy needs, and the Baltic States, all NATO
allies, relied almost exclusively on Russia for their oil, gas, and
electricity. Seven European countries depended on Russia for 80 percent
of their gas, and on the whole, one-third of the gas Europe consumed
came from Russia.
When our allies are looking to our adversaries for basic needs like
heating, electricity, and fuel, that is a real problem. It is a
strategic vulnerability not only for those countries but also for the
United States.
Our friend John McCain had quite a sense of humor--those of us who
knew him during his lifetime. He aptly described Russia as a gas
station masquerading as a country. Russia's ability to export that
energy to other countries was the lifeline for their country. I think
Senator McCain hit the nail on the head, especially when Russia uses
that energy as a weapon.
As I alluded, in 2009, we saw the vulnerability this created when
Russia effectively turned the lights off in Ukraine. For almost 3
weeks, they shut down the energy supply. This affected at least 10
countries in Europe whose natural gas traveled through Ukraine.
Just as the United States realized how dangerous our foreign oil
reliance was, our allies began to understand the implications of their
dependency as well. Many of our friends in Europe have been working to
diversify their energy supply, which is a good thing, and build
strategic gas interconnectors between countries reliant on Russia for
natural gas. Getting a diversity of sources is an insurance policy for
those countries so Russia can't just cut off their energy supply.
Supplying our friends around the world with American oil and gas not
only strengthens our security but it alleviates the power our
adversaries, like Russia, hold in important regions of the world, like
Europe.
In addition to increasing global security, American oil and gas has
allowed us to provide affordable, plentiful, and reliable energy to
countries struggling to provide power for their own citizens.
If you think about it, low-cost energy coming from America has the
potential to be the greatest poverty reduction program in memory. For
example, when I first traveled to India in 2004--if you drive from
Delhi, the capital, to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is, you will drive
across vast areas where the population is very poor. Huge swaths of
that population lack access to things to cook their food with or
electricity to light their homes. So what do they do? Well, they burn
cow dung; they burn coal; they burn wood pellets or other high-emission
fuel sources. By America agreeing to export the energy we have here--
the cleaner energy we have here--we are agreeing to help one of our
closest friends and partners in the world and, in the process, help
Prime Minister Modi and the leadership there lift more Indians out of
this grinding poverty and relying on things like cow dung simply to
cook their food.
Last year, we doubled the amount of LNG exported to India, and I dare
say that the sky is the limit.
I think many of our Democratic colleagues should reflect back on the
lessons of history before advocating a return to the 1970s when it
comes to the way we approach American energy. I understand the
importance of innovation in the energy sector to lower emissions, and I
am all in, but rather than another government program, higher taxes,
more regulation, or surrendering control of our freedom to Washington,
DC, why don't we let the innovators, the entrepreneurs, come up with
solutions? That is what has happened when it comes to American oil and
gas. They came up with the answer, not Washington, DC, and we are all
benefiting from the results.
When it comes to innovation, I have introduced legislation--and a
number of our other colleagues have, too--to increase research dollars
going into ways to lower emissions by looking at alternative ways to
deal with energy production, like electricity. For example, there is a
small natural gas-fired powerplant in La Porte, TX--which I visited
with our friend Senator Collins from Maine--that emits zero carbon
dioxide. That is a boon to the environment, and I think it also
provides a solution to the oil and gas industry because what they do is
pipe the CO2 off the back end, and they use it to inject
into the ground in the oilfields, so they produce more oil and gas. It
is called secondary recovery.
Here at home, it is easy to take dependable energy for granted. We do
it all the time. We don't worry about having the energy to cook our
dinner at night or refill our cars' gas tanks. We take that all for
granted. But the truth is, in countless countries in the world and for
the majority of the world, it is a completely different story.
For our friends who advocate these utopian ideas like the Green New
Deal, I don't begrudge their desire to improve the environment, but I
would ask them to be more pragmatic when it comes to trying to solve
the problem. I would ask them: Are you really trying to solve a
problem? If you are, we want to work with you to reduce emissions, but
if your goal is to pursue some fantasy that will not work and we can't
afford, count me out. If you want to solve the problem, count me in.
American energy is simply powering the world. It is strengthening
global security and lifting millions of people out of poverty. We need
to continue to harness the power of one of our country's greatest
national assets.
[[Page S6871]]
I will conclude there. I will continue to share some of my thoughts
on the importance of American energy on the Senate floor. It is a topic
bigger than one floor speech, and it will hopefully remind and
encourage all of the Members of the Senate to work toward energy
abundance and help keep energy affordable, which will improve the
standard of living and the quality of the lives of all Americans.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
Remembering Lauren Bruner
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, on September 10, just a few months ago,
Lauren Bruner, a veteran of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, passed
away. Mr. Bruner wasn't just any veteran. He was a veteran who served
on the USS Arizona during the attack that morning.
On Saturday, December 7, millions of Americans across the country
will pay tribute to the attack at Pearl Harbor National Memorial to
commemorate what happened that morning, which brought the United States
fully into the Second World War. Aboard the USS Arizona were 1,512
officers, sailors, and marines. The attack that day on December 7
killed 1,177 of them, and 335 brave people survived that morning.
Lauren Bruner, who passed away September 10, was one of four who were
on that ship that December morning in 1941 who have survived.
Lauren Bruner passed away at the age of 98, and on this Saturday, his
ashes will be interred at the USS Arizona to join his shipmates--those
who were lost that morning and others who have joined their fellow
sailors, marines, and officers since.
Three men remain that are veterans of that war from the USS Arizona:
Lou Conter, 98 years old; Ken Potts, 98 years old; and Donald Stratton,
97 years old from Colorado Springs, CO. Ken Potts and Don Stratton will
join together for most likely the last time this Saturday as they will
watch a live video feed of the ceremony at Pearl Harbor at the USS
Arizona Memorial to view the interment of their shipmate, Lauren
Bruner, at the USS Arizona.
The Senate was able to play a small role in recognizing what brought
Don Stratton, Lauren Bruner, and the others together. You see, on that
morning, when their ship was bombed, Lauren Bruner had been shot in the
leg and Donald Stratton was on fire. The two of them and four of their
other shipmates were on a control tower as the ship was on fire when a
rope appeared. It was a line from the USS Vestal, a ship next to the
USS Arizona. A line was thrown from a sailor named Joe George. They
tied to the tower and were able to shimmy across 70 feet from the
burning USS Arizona--while they were on fire--to the USS Vestal, to
their safety.
Lauren Bruner had 70 percent of his body burned and was shot in the
leg. Don Stratton suffered burns and spent a year in the hospital as a
result. He went back into the service to continue the rest of the war.
This Chamber in Congress helped make sure that the gentleman who
threw that rope, that lifeline from the USS Vestal to the USS Arizona,
received final recognition for his act of heroism. Joe George went for
decades without recognition for his act of bravery to save these six
sailors. He was able to receive just a couple of years ago, on December
7, 2017, the Bronze Star, in recognition of his acts.
December 7, 2017, also marked the last time that Donald Stratton was
able to join the memorial service to commemorate December 7, Pearl
Harbor. I have this picture here that I will show of Donald Stratton,
who again this weekend will be joining Ken Potts as Lauren Bruner is
interred to join the other men and women who lost their lives that
morning.
This is an opportunity for us to once again say thank you to the
2,403 people overall at Pearl Harbor who were killed, to the people who
survived, who went on to fight the Second World War, and our veterans
today who live and continue to live a legacy that was given to them
that December 7 morning.
On Saturday, as we join our families and do weekend work, I hope we
will take a little bit of time to reflect once again on a dark chapter
in American history that led to a great American century, to be
thankful to the men and women who served our country, to the men and
women who fight for our Nation each and every day, to the people like
Ken Potts and Lou Conter and Donald Stratton, who continue to remind us
each and every moment why this Nation is worth fighting for.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Tax Reform
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about
the importance of passing the expired tax credit provisions for many
small businesses and industries that support families and help
revitalize economic, depressed communities, and those that are
underserved.
We all know that 2 years ago, the Republicans and President Trump
enacted a $2 trillion tax break for large corporations, and there was a
lot of lobbying here that went in to getting that legislation passed.
Yet, when it comes to these provisions, which are just about tax
certainty in the Tax Code that has been there for decades that really
needs to be reauthorized, Congress is not getting the job done, and we
need to come to terms now about why it is so important to help small
businesses have tax certainty in the code, to help families and
communities, and to get this provision done by December 31.
We all know how important it is that these individuals, green energy
companies, economic development, and many other aspects of the Tax Code
are being basically held hostage--since, I believe, 2017--by Congress's
inattention to this issue. Our Tax Code is most effective when we have
certainty, predictability, and when we have made decisions out of
Congress that we think we do want to incent and motivate investment.
Renewables are a large source of private sector infrastructure
investment, and the clean energy tax credits have allowed industry to
scale and invest in technologies that have brought prices down in wind
by 68 percent and solar prices by 88 percent. We have seen unbelievable
growth in the energy sector because of our investments in the green
energy tax credits.
Another example is the biodiesel tax credit that I worked on with
Chairman Grassley for years. That particular tax credit and its
uncertainty and Congress's failure to act and give predictability have
led to more than 10 biodiesel plants being closed so far, and there
could be many more closed if we fail to act before December 31.
This means a loss of jobs and a loss of production of fuel. It means
the loss of economic benefit to regions, and it means an impact to
soybean and other sectors that have been a part of this growing
economy. We need to act before more plants close.
I am very concerned about a particular facility in Grays Harbor, WA.
While it may employ only 37 people at this point in time, Grays Harbor
is an important point in the Washington State economy, located on our
coast, and has many great attributes positioned for the future of
trade. Not only do I want to see biodiesel grow, I want to see
biodiesel exports grow. I think it is shortsighted that Congress can't
get its act together to give people predictability and certainty about
the Tax Code.
Let's talk about some other examples that are not just about clean
energy--for example, the medical expense deduction. These deductions
give taxpayers certainty on deductions for high out-of-pocket medical
costs, and these are things that allow people to deduct qualified
expenses that exceed 7\1/2\ percent of their gross income through 2018.
This year, the threshold increased to 10 percent of adjusted gross
income. If we are not going to give people certainty, it is going to be
more dollars out of their pockets.
Another example is the mortgage debt forgiveness. When you lose your
home, you should not have to pay taxes on your mortgage debt. That is
what is going to happen if we don't give people certainty in the Tax
Code. Without this provision, if your house is foreclosed on and the
remaining debt forgiveness is in bankruptcy, the amount you would have
to pay is the same amount you would have to owe instead of being
forgiven.
So, to me, that inability to not have that mortgage debt deduction--
it is just wrong that Congress can't get its act together. If you are
going to get your act together and pass a major bill
[[Page S6872]]
for corporations, you should at least give small businesses and
individual taxpayers the certainty they deserve in the Tax Code.
These provisions have been in the Tax Code for a long, long time.
This is not like a surprise. It is not as if we haven't done this
before. But instead of taking care of today's Tax Code before December
31, people are off making grandiose discussions.
I get it that some people on this side of the aisle would like to
change and make corrections to the Tax Code, and other people on our
side of the aisle would like to make a $100 billion investment in child
tax credit. Look, I am appreciative of that discussion, but quit waging
that battle, and do our day job, and take the Tax Code and the expiring
provisions, and give taxpayers certainty by the 31st of this month.
Another example is that the expired provisions would help address the
high cost of higher education by allowing students and families to
deduct up to $4,000 for tuition and other high education costs. With
total student loan debt of $1.5 trillion and average student debt of
over $31,000, provisions like these on deductibility are very
important.
On employment and economic development, nearly 26 percent of the
provisions that are expiring are related to incentivizing employment
investment in lower income communities.
The new markets tax credit. There is probably not a Member in the
Senate who has not had a jurisdiction in their State use the new
markets tax credit as one of the most effective economic development
and community tools. This credit encourages private investments in low-
income communities. Since the program was enacted in 2000, the new
markets tax credit has delivered over $95 billion in project financing
to more than 6,000 projects and created over 1 million jobs.
Why can't we have certainty on the new markets tax credit by December
31 of this year? There is no reason.
The new markets tax credits expire, and where are we going to be on
building affordable housing, healthcare facilities, community clinics,
research and technology incubators, and mixed-use commercial programs?
I see no reason why we can't get this job done. I have been working
with Senators Cardin and Blunt on a bill that would make this program
permanent, and, hopefully, we wouldn't have to go through this routine
every year.
But take another example. The work opportunity tax credit has been an
incredibly effective tool in helping individuals, including veterans,
to find gainful employment. The work opportunity tax credit provides up
to $2,400 for hiring a certified person, including veterans and people
receiving SNAP and TANF benefits. We know this program works. In my
State, for each person certified to receive the tax credit, there is a
net savings of $17,700 in Federal subsidies. Where is the voice for
people who say: Let's give a tax credit and put people to work and
actually reduce Federal subsidies? Oh, we are letting it expire again
and giving uncertainty in the Tax Code.
Why? I am not sure because people are too busy posturing in a big
debate instead of getting our basic tax extender homework done. Let's
not continue to fail. Let's get out here and give these work
opportunity tax credits the predictability people would like to see. In
2013, Washington had over 26,000 individuals certified with the tax
credit, helping them find employment, and that represented a total of
$42 million in savings.
All of these issues I am talking about--investments in our
communities, investments in tax credits that give businesses
certainties so that they can continue to drive down costs, investments
in low-income communities, investments to help retrain and get people
off the subsidies--why can't we get this done? I hope that people will
understand that these small businesses and these families don't have
people running through the halls to lobby for them as they did on the
big corporate tax break, but I guarantee you, they deserve the tax
certainty. They deserve the predictability.
Yes, we can continue to debate the last big tax bill all through
2020. I guarantee you that we will spend a lot of time talking about
it, and each side can raise their voice and wage their battle. But do
not fail to get this basic job done that we keep failing to do--
literally, not giving these businesses and individuals certainty, I
think, since 2017. People keep thinking you are going to make it
retroactive for 3 years. No, stop. Get this job done and give the
certainty to small businesses and underserved communities that they
deserve. Help them to succeed just like you helped big corporations.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Nomination of Richard Ernest Myers II
Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I rise along with Senator Burr to urge our
colleagues to support the confirmation of Professor Richard Myers to
serve as a district court judge for the Eastern District of North
Carolina.
President Trump has nominated an eminently qualified and principled
individual to serve in the Eastern District. In his career, Professor
Myers has worked as a journalist, a prosecutor, and a professor. Each
step Professor Myers has taken in his professional career has prepared
him for this role. From the newsroom to the courtroom to the classroom,
Professor Myers has shown his commitment to the principles of truth, of
justice, and of wisdom. I cannot imagine a more solid foundation upon
which to place the responsibility of a district court judgeship than
that of Professor Myers, which he has exhibited throughout his career.
Professor Myers is a first generation college graduate who has close
ties to Wilmington, where he has chosen to locate his chambers. Once
confirmed, Professor Myers will hold court in Wilmington, the same city
where he was raised, where he went to college, and where he was a
journalist. North Carolinians are lucky to have someone like Professor
Myers with his caliber and his sense of duty to represent us in the
Eastern District of North Carolina.
I urge all of my colleagues to vote for Judge Myers', or soon-to-be
Judge Myers', confirmation when it comes up later today.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I also rise today to voice my strong support
for the President's nomination of Professor Richard Myers to serve as a
judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina. I might add for my
colleagues that it is the longest court vacancy in the history of our
court system. Professor Myers was reported out of committee on a strong
bipartisan vote on October 31. I am pleased that the Senate will today
consider his nomination.
I want to give my colleagues some additional insight into a man whom
we are asking them to vote on and that goes beyond his stellar legal
credentials. The first thing I want my colleagues to know is that
Professor Myers embodies a work ethic and diligence that we deserve in
all of our judges. As an immigrant of Kingston, Jamaica, Professor
Myers is a first-generation college student in his family. He worked
his way through his undergraduate degree at the University of
Wilmington, and after college he pursued a career in journalism. He
worked for the Wilmington Morning Star. It was his investigative
reporting that gave him the desire to earn his law degree. He graduated
magna cum laude at the University of North Carolina School of Law and
began a legal career as a clerk for Judge David Sentelle of the DC
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Second, Professor Myers will be a judge who understands the value of
public service, having made a career change from practicing at a
prestigious private firm to contributing to our Nation's justice system
following the attacks of September 11, 2001. He said that his change in
career ``was something I felt that I could do and that I owed to a
country that had been really good to my family.''
He did this first in the Central District of California and then in
the Eastern District of North Carolina. Professor Myers then took a
different path of service at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, instructing the next generation of lawyers to be people who, in
his own words, ``do the right thing every day.''
If confirmed, Professor Myers will serve on the Eastern District of
North Carolina and, as Senator Tillis said, will hold court in
Wilmington. Ironically, this court is currently meeting
[[Page S6873]]
in the building that once housed the Wilmington Morning Star, his first
job as a reporter. However, when considering Professor Myers' story, it
seems fitting that someone with the character, work ethic, and
servant's approach to life will be returning to the building of his
first post-college job wearing the robe of a Federal judge. I have
faith in Professor Myers' ability to do the right thing every day in
this critically important role, and I am grateful for the opportunity
to speak on his behalf to our colleagues. This is well-deserving, and
he will be an incredibly effective serving judge in our district court
system. I urge my colleagues to support him unanimously.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BURR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Myers
nomination?
Mr. BURR. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Isakson), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the
Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr.
Paul), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Perdue), and the Senator from
South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran)
would have voted ``yea.''
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker),
the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Minnesota
(Ms. Klobuchar), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the
Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren) are necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 68, nays 21, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 383 Ex.]
YEAS--68
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Murphy
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Warner
Wicker
Young
NAYS--21
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Brown
Cantwell
Cortez Masto
Gillibrand
Heinrich
Hirono
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murray
Schatz
Schumer
Smith
Stabenow
Udall
Van Hollen
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--11
Booker
Harris
Isakson
Klobuchar
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Rounds
Sanders
Warren
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
____________________