[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15690-15700]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          TSUNAMI WARNING, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2015

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of the House message to accompany H.R. 34, which 
the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       House message to accompany H.R. 34, an act to authorize and 
     strengthen the tsunami detection, forecast, warning, 
     research, and mitigation program of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

  Pending:

       McConnell motion to concur in the amendment of the House to 
     the amendment of the Senate to the bill.
       McConnell motion to concur in the amendment of the House to 
     the amendment of the Senate to the bill, with McConnell 
     amendment No. 5117, to change the enactment date.
       McConnell amendment No. 5118 (to amendment No. 5117), of a 
     perfecting nature.
       McConnell motion to refer the message of the House on the 
     bill to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
     Pensions, with instructions, McConnell amendment No. 5119, to 
     change the enactment date.
       McConnell amendment No. 5120 (to the instructions 
     (amendment No. 5119) of the motion to refer), of a perfecting 
     nature.
       McConnell amendment No. 5121 (to amendment No. 5120), of a 
     perfecting nature.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.


                    Remembering James Tancill Lyons

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Jim Lyons, a 
longtime staffer on Capitol Hill--my staffer--and a fixture in tax 
policy here in DC, who passed away on September 29 of this year.
  James Tancill Lyons was born on March 7, 1973, to Stephen and Ann 
Lyons, both natives of the DC-Virginia area with longstanding ties to 
the local community. Growing up in Springfield, VA, Jim was an 
accomplished athlete, excelling in both baseball and basketball. Oddly, 
for a sports fan in the DC area, his favorite football team was the 
Dallas Cowboys--a decision he made consciously because his older 
brother, Stephen, was a big Redskins fan.
  Jim was also a great student, eventually graduating summa cum laude 
from James Madison University. He went to law school at the University 
of Texas, where he made the Editing Committee of the Texas Journal of 
Business Law and won a scholarship for being the best tax law student 
in his class after pulling the top grade in his business associations, 
income tax, international tax, corporate tax, and estate and gift tax 
classes.
  After law school, he earned a clerkship at the Fifth Circuit Court of 
Appeals and then got a job working for Cleary Gottlieb, one of the 
finest law firms in the country. Of course, you would never guess any 
of this if you knew Jim. While he was always an incredibly valuable and 
often brilliant attorney and congressional staffer, he talked about his 
college and law school days as though he spent most of his time having 
fun and just barely skating by. That, of course, was vintage Jim 
Lyons--incredibly outgoing but unbelievably humble.
  Jim could have a long conversation with anyone about pretty much 
anything, but he was never one to spend all that much time touting his 
own accomplishments. Make no mistake, Jim Lyons was very accomplished. 
After his time at the law firm in New York, Jim made his way to the 
House Ways and Means Committee, and, following a brief subsequent and 
successful stint at the Department of Justice, he was hired by Chairman 
Chuck Grassley to serve as tax counsel on the Senate Finance Committee.
  In his 8 years on the Finance Committee, he made a mark on every 
major tax bill, not to mention a number of debt and budget deals that 
went through the Senate, including many tax-extenders bills, some of 
which he seemed to be able to cobble together singlehandedly.
  Jim was smart as a whip. He was a tremendously valuable congressional 
staffer because he had both a remarkable understanding of tax policy 
and an uncanny ability to see all the traps and pitfalls that stood 
ahead for any particular proposal or piece of legislation. He had an 
encyclopedic knowledge of the technical aspects of the Tax Code, as 
well as a clear understanding of the real-world implications, 
immediately seeing where a particular tax policy or bill would fit in 
the larger policy and, when necessary, the political landscape. Jim was 
one of those people who

[[Page 15691]]

could go into the weeds to discuss, debate, and negotiate tax policy 
literally with anyone on the planet but also break that same policy 
down to its essential elements and explain it to lesser mortals, 
including, I have to say, more than a few of us U.S. Senators.
  Of course, like all of us, Jim had his own ideological views and 
opinions, and he made no secret about the way he saw the world and his 
beliefs about the best path forward for our country. When necessary, he 
was a fierce advocate for his own views, but more importantly, for 
someone in his position, he was able, when necessary, to 
dispassionately apply his accrued knowledge and expertise to any tax 
proposal, whether it came from a conservative or liberal or a 
Republican or Democrat, and then break it down to its essence and give 
a clear and concise assessment of the policy and its chances for being 
enacted.
  All of this made him an essential and indispensable part of our 
efforts on the Senate Finance Committee for close to a decade. As I 
think all of my colleagues will attest, staffers with that kind of 
knowledge and ability to evaluate policy and lay out its chances for 
success really can be hard to come by.
  However, in the weeks since Jim's passing, it hasn't been his 
accomplishments or his knowledge of the Tax Code that people have most 
remembered; instead, most of the focus has been on his friendly 
demeanor, his mischievous sense of humor, and most of all, his kind 
heart.
  Dozens of Jimmy's friends and colleagues visited Jim and his family 
in the hospital during his final days, and during the October recess, 
hundreds attended a memorial service held here in the Capitol. Each one 
of these people had at least one personal story to share about Jim. 
Sure, some of the stories did touch on his successes as a staffer and 
his professional disposition, but far more often the stories were about 
Jim's kindness, even to strangers, or his ability to make people feel 
at ease--and sometimes laugh uncontrollably--even in tense situations.
  Jim was always quick to offer assistance and comfort to those in need 
and to provide a much needed laugh when things got really tough. He is 
one of very few people I have come across on Capitol Hill--and keep in 
mind I have been here a while--who will be remembered more or less 
equally for the bills he successfully drafted and negotiated and for 
the way he cracked everyone up at the negotiating table.
  I think my favorite story I have heard about Jim came from his mother 
Ann. In 2003, Jim was living in New York City when much of that part of 
the country suffered a massive blackout. It is difficult to be in a 
place like New York without power, and Jim noticed many people on his 
way home who were stranded and in need of assistance. Rather than look 
down at the ground and head quickly for home, as many would probably 
want to do in that situation, Jim offered help to a dozen or so people, 
bringing them all home to his apartment, giving them both food and a 
comfortable space to ride out the power outage. Most of these people 
were strangers. Yet Jim, ever the kind soul, offered his time and his 
home to help them through a difficult evening.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of pages 14 and 15 
from the August 2003 edition of Cleargolaw News, a newsletter for the 
law firm where Jim worked at that time, be printed in the Record 
following my remarks.
  The article tells the story of Jim's efforts during the power 
blackout.
  These are the types of stories that have constantly been shared since 
Jim's passing, and I know these memories and stories from people who 
knew and worked with Jim have been helpful to his family during this 
difficult time.
  When I hear these accounts of people's interactions with Jim, I am 
reminded of a popular hymn in my church, which reads:

     Each life that touches ours for good
     Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
     Thou sendest blessings from above
     Thru words and deeds of those who love.
     What greater gift dost thou bestow,
     What greater goodness can we know
     Than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways
     Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.
     When such a friend from us departs,
     We hold forever in our hearts
     A sweet and hallowed memory,
     Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

  Jim Lyons led a life which touched many others for the better. His 
positive influence has been felt by countless people, pretty much 
anyone who had the opportunity to interact with him. I personally 
already miss Jim's stalwart presence on the Finance Committee. I miss 
his wise and plain-spoken advice and unequalled knowledge of tax 
policy. More than that, I miss the kind and humorous manner that 
endeared Jim to so many of us working in and around the Senate.
  There is a simple quote--an anonymous proverb of sorts--that has 
often been attributed to Dr. Seuss, though its origin is ultimately in 
dispute: ``Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.''
  Over the past couple of months, I think that has been the prevailing 
sentiment among those of us who were lucky enough to know Jim Lyons. 
While tears have been shed and great sadness has been felt, the 
remembrances we have had of Jim's life and our interactions with him 
have given all of us reason to smile and even laugh.
  I want to once again express my condolences to Jim's family, his 
parents Stephen and Ann, his brother Steve, his two nephews, Tyler and 
Blake, and of course his beloved dog Buddy. Recently, I have had the 
opportunity to spend time with and get to know Jim's wonderful family. 
They are truly extraordinary people, and my prayers continue to go out 
to them. I know I am not alone in that regard. I care for them. 
Everybody who knew Jim and has now known them cares for them. Our 
sympathy and our heartfelt thanks go out to them for allowing their son 
to become the great person he became, and, of course, allowing him to 
come and work with us on Capitol Hill.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    Thank You for Taking Care of Us

                          (By Alice Steinert)

       Here is a wonderfully refreshing story about a truly good, 
     kind person.
       The day of the blackout was scary for some, devastating for 
     others, and just plain inconvenient for many. There are those 
     of us who still have thighs and calves that ache from all 
     those flights of stairs! Many people could not get home that 
     night for a number of reasons--1) after walking down that 
     many flights of stairs, some people were a bit lame and 
     therefore could not walk the distance to their homes, or 
     their homes were too far to walk to; 2) there were few, if 
     any, buses, taxi cabs, cars, trains, ferries, no subways, and 
     no hotel vacancies; 3) etc., etc., etc.
       But, for those of us fortunate enough to know Jim Lyons, 
     CGSH Associate extraordinaire, we certainly know the meaning 
     of the true human spirit.
       Jim invited many people to his home that day when we had to 
     evacuate OLP. He provided an immediate ``base'' for people to 
     relax, calm down, regroup, make contact with family/friends, 
     eat, drink, whatever they needed. But, for nine of us (Ron 
     Becton, Robert Franklin, Monica Gagnon, Glenville Hunter, Amy 
     Menendez, Alice Steinert, Jason Steinert, Naj-Lah Toussaint 
     and Carol Whatley), he provided much, much more. He provided 
     a safe haven for the night.
       At about 7:45 P.M. Jim walked from his home to OLP to see 
     if there was anyone else in need of assistance. Well, he 
     found nine of us who were seriously thinking about bunking 
     down for the night in front of the lobby doors. Without 
     hesitation Jim invited all of us to his home (he had never 
     even met some of us before). Not only did he provide us with 
     a roof over our heads, he also offered food and beverage, the 
     use of his cell phone, pillows and blankets, and even gave up 
     his bed to two of us ladies. Not only that, he bought 
     toothbrushes for us; What ensued was a night we will all 
     remember--good people, stimulating conversation, a lot of 
     fun, and a great deal of bonding and comeraderie.
       While we will individually, and as a group, thank Jim, I 
     think everyone in the firm should recognize what an 
     exceptional person Jim is. If there were more ``Jim's'' in 
     the world, what a different place it would be. God Bless You 
     Jim.


            Remembering King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today, December 5, 2016, in 
commemoration of the 89th birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej 
of Thailand and in recognition of the National Day of Thailand. In 
remembrance of the extraordinary life, steady leadership, and

[[Page 15692]]

remarkable 70-year reign of the beloved King Bhumibol, I have 
introduced S. Con. Res. 57, along with Representative Matt Salmon in 
the House. This resolution honors the late King's lasting legacy, 
extends our collective condolences to the royal family and the people 
of Thailand, and celebrates the alliance and friendship between our two 
nations. I would like to thank the cosponsors of this resolution, 
Senators Whitehouse, Roberts, Markey, Flake, Cotton, and Gardner. 
Additionally, I express my appreciation to Chairman Bob Corker for his 
assistance in receiving timely consideration of this bipartisan effort 
in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
  His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, enjoyed a special relationship 
with the United States, having been born in Cambridge, MA, in 1927, 
while his father was completing his medical studies at Harvard 
University. He was always a trusted friend of the United States in 
advancing a strong and enduring alliance and partnership between our 
two countries.
  At the time of his death on October 13, 2016, King Bhumibol Adulyadej 
was the longest serving head of state in the world and the longest 
serving in the history of Thailand. He dedicated his life to the well-
being of the Thai people and the sustainable development of his 
country. His Majesty was an anchor of peace and stability for Thailand 
and for the region, earning him the deep reverence of the Thai people 
and the respect of leaders around the world.
  I hope my colleagues will join me tomorrow in passing S. Con. Res. 57 
as a gesture of respect and appreciation for the life of this great 
leader and as a symbol of our continued commitment to and friendship 
with Thailand. Additionally, I am sure my colleagues in the Senate will 
join me in offering our warmest congratulations and best wishes to the 
new King of Thailand, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


Passage Vitiated--H.R. 5602, S. 3336, and Calendar Nos. 675 through 683

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to vitiate passage 
of H.R. 5602, S. 3336, and Calendar Nos. 675 through 683.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                         Farewell to the Senate

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on the Senate floor 
for the last time. I am not generally big on nostalgic reminiscences, 
but I would like to briefly reflect on what is clearly the greatest 
honor of my professional life--my 12 years in the U.S. Senate and 5\1/
2\ years in the U.S. House of Representatives and the enormous honor of 
serving the people of Louisiana to whom I will always be so deeply 
indebted.
  In some ways it seems like just yesterday that I was on the floor of 
the U.S. House being sworn in, surrounded by our very young children, 
except for Jack, who wasn't born yet. I said then: ``I am honored, 
humbled, awestruck to stand before you today.'' I stated my simple 
goal: to become at ease and comfortable as I learn the ways of 
Congress, as I hopefully become an effective representative and 
respected colleague and friend, but never to become so at ease and 
comfortable that I lose these feelings of honor, of humility, of awe, 
and, believe me, I haven't.
  My very first year in the Senate was a very memorable one. That year 
Louisiana was struck by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. After the initial 
shock of those cataclysmic events, I realized that for quite some time, 
my priorities as Louisiana Senator would be dominated by the desperate 
need to rebuild our State, including dramatically improving our 
hurricane and flood protection and restoring our coastline.
  Katrina's devastation was hard to imagine, destroying much of 
Southeast Louisiana and Coastal Mississippi. Less than 1 month later, 
Hurricane Rita slammed into Southwest Louisiana as another one of the 
most intense hurricanes in history. I immediately went to work with 
Senator Landrieu and the rest of our Louisiana delegation as well as my 
good friends Thad Cochran,Trent Lott, and others to secure the 
necessary disaster recovery assistance and also to make reforms to the 
Army Corps of Engineers to better protect our families and communities 
from future natural disasters.
  Louisiana has continued to face and survive other major disasters, 
including Hurricane Gustav in August and September 2008, Hurricane Ike 
in September of that same year, Hurricane Isaac in 2012, the Red River 
flooding in Northern and Central Louisiana, and the 1,000-year-flood 
event in greater Baton Rouge and Acadiana this past August.
  As if all of that weren't enough, in April of 2010, the Deepwater 
Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 men and 
devastating our coastline. The disaster, followed by the horribly 
misguided offshore drilling moratorium President Obama put in place, 
caused economic and environmental chaos in Louisiana.
  Once again, I immediately went to work with so many others to 
increase and improve safety measures and reopen the Gulf of Mexico to 
energy exploration and put people back to work. We introduced 
legislation to dedicate a majority of the BP penalties toward restoring 
coastal ecosystems and economies damaged by the spill. It was an uphill 
battle to ensure Louisiana was fairly compensated, but we did, and we 
achieved substantial wins, including passage of that critical RESTORE 
Act that I described.
  During the recovery fight following each of these disasters, I found 
that the most effective leadership involved communicating clearly and 
employing solutions based on Louisiana common sense, and what always 
inspired me and kept me going was the unbelievable resilience, faith, 
and determination of my fellow Louisianans. Their strength and optimism 
have been oh so powerful reminders of how blessed I have been to serve 
them.
  On a host of other important issues, I always sought to further two 
sets of political values, really modeled after my two favorite 
Presidents, Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt. I always strove to 
further the central American tradition of limited government and 
individual freedom, and I was never afraid to shake things up, to 
demand needed reforms to ensure that leaders in Washington served the 
American people and not the other way around.
  I have had the honor of protecting Louisiana's traditions and proud 
heritage while here in the Senate. Louisianans love the outdoors and 
want strong environmental conservation and sportsmen's policies to 
maintain that culture, and that certainly includes securing the rights 
afforded to each American by the Second Amendment, which I have fought 
to do.
  Louisianans respect the sanctity of life, which has been one of my 
top priorities while serving in Congress. I have introduced many bills 
that end taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion mills and have 
proudly stood in the defense of life.
  When it comes to our Nation's immigration policies, I have been an 
advocate for targeted reforms that fix the immigration crisis, starting 
with border security and enforcing the immigration laws already on the 
books. I fought President Obama's unconstitutional attempts to 
implement Executive amnesty, which only encourages more immigrants to 
come here illegally and insults the millions of fine immigrants who do 
follow U.S. law.
  I was also the first to introduce legislation in 2007 to end 
dangerous sanctuary city policies and have continued

[[Page 15693]]

to do so each Congress since. I have also been critical of too big to 
fail in the banking sector and have found banking reform to be an area 
in which Republicans can absolutely find common ground with Democrats. 
That is where I found success in passing into law specific measures 
that restrict too-big-to-fail and tax-funded bailouts. Also during my 
time in Congress, I have introduced several important government reform 
bills so we can get back to the best traditions of our democracy, which 
includes electing citizen legislators, making sure they don't make 
themselves into a separate ruling class, and advocating for term limits 
so individuals don't remain in office for an eternity.
  Americans of all backgrounds think Washington is on a different 
planet and Members of Congress just don't get it. That is why I fought 
to end Congress's automatic pay raises each year. I first introduced 
that language in 2009, and the raises have been successfully blocked 
each year since. Congress can be an effective representative body only 
when it lives under the same laws it imposes on the rest of the 
country, and one major way to support that is through term limits. When 
I was a member of the Louisiana State legislature, I was successful in 
establishing legislative term limits there, and I have offered the 
leading term limits measure for Congress here, as well as imposing it 
on myself.
  I fought for commonsense legislation that helps all Americans have 
access to high-quality and affordable health care. That includes the 
work to dismantle ObamaCare and replace it with patient-centered health 
care reform, which I am very hopeful the incoming Trump administration 
will achieve. In the meantime, I have been fighting to end Washington's 
exemption from ObamaCare, an illegal Obama administration Executive 
order that allows Washington elites to avoid the most inconvenient, 
expensive aspects of the Affordable Care Act by giving themselves 
taxpayer subsidized health care through an exchange meant solely for 
small businesses. Also in the health care arena, I was able to pass 
into law the bipartisan Steve Gleason Act of 2015. It provided 
immediate relief for patients who have been denied access to lifesaving 
and life-altering medical equipment. It was about a 2014 Medicare 
policy change that we had to reverse. Our bill allowed these patients 
to have access to medical equipment that truly empowers them, that is a 
true lifeline, and it changes their lives absolutely for the better.
  I have also fought against large drug manufacturing lobbies to allow 
for reimportation of safe and approved prescription medicine from other 
countries, which gives patients, especially our seniors, relief from 
rising health care costs.
  I have been honored to serve in the Senate in additional ways as 
well, including as a top Republican on the Environment and Public Works 
Committee and most recently as chair of the Senate Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship. I am very proud to say that we have 
accomplished so many of our goals in those two roles.
  We worked in a bipartisan fashion on EPW to pass several major pieces 
of legislation, including the Water Resources and Development Act of 
2007 and the even more significant WRDA of 2014, several 
reauthorizations of the highway bill, the bipartisan and historic 
rewrite of the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act, which began as 
conversations between Senator Frank Lautenberg and myself, a 
partnership which Senator Tom Udall continued after Frank's unfortunate 
passing.
  We were also able to hold the administration accountable by 
conducting investigations into some outright corruption within the 
Obama EPA, and we advanced key transparency initiatives that shed light 
on government's attempts to implement policies that were not based on 
sound science or strategic needs.
  As chair of the Small Business Committee, I have been advocating to 
make sure the voices and concerns of small business owners across the 
country are heard in Washington. We have held 23 hearings here, 18 
field hearings, numerous roundtable discussions. We have heard 
testimony from over 175 witnesses, usually about the disastrous 
negative effects of Obama policies like the new waters of the United 
States rule, key and disastrous effects on small businesses and job 
creators and their employees.
  At the very same time, we found common ground with Ranking Member 
Shaheen and other Democrats on the committee. During my tenure as 
chair, we passed 32 bipartisan bills out of the committee, which is 22 
more than my predecessors did over a much longer period, and 8 of our 
bills have passed through the entire legislative process and have been 
signed into law.
  These accomplishments are but a fraction of the years of hard work my 
staff and I have dedicated to the people of Louisiana and, indeed, the 
American people. I have worked hard to be a champion for them because 
the government should serve the taxpayer and not the other way around, 
and that includes by working hard to stay in touch through 398 townhall 
meetings, at least 5 in each parish of Louisiana, through 231 telephone 
townhalls, and through active, energetic casework and constituent 
service.
  Clearly what I will treasure most about my service here is the people 
with whom I have been honored to serve; my colleagues, including my 
fellow Louisianian Senator Bill Cassidy, mentors like former Senator 
Rick Santorum and Senator Jeff Sessions, and most especially each of 
the dedicated people who have been part of Team Vitter. I have come to 
the Senate floor several times this year to thank key departing staff 
members.
  That is for a very simple reason. My staff has been the key 
ingredient--the key--to every success we have enjoyed together in 
public service. Wendy and I consider them a part of the family. I truly 
thank my staff again for their tireless, dedicated service to 
Louisiana. I am so very grateful. Wendy joins me in that.
  I want to specifically recognize some of our leaders: my chief of 
staff, Luke Bolar; my legislative director, Chris Stanley; my wonderful 
finance director, Courtney Guastela; our state director, Chip Layton; 
and committee staff director, Meredith West; our grants coordinator, 
Brenda Moore; my media head, John Brabender; and senior infrastructure 
policy advisor, Charles Brittingham; my senior economic adviser, David 
Stokes; campaign treasurer Bill Vanderbrook; and communications 
director, Cheyenne Klotz.
  I know a few of our other former senior staff members are here or are 
watching, like Mac Abrams, Joel DiGrado, Bryan Zumwalt, Travis Johnson, 
and Michael Long. Last, and obviously not least, is my beloved family. 
My five wonderful brothers and sisters, our children, their children, 
the extended family, led by the ultimate leader of Team Vitter, my wife 
Wendy.
  I can never thank them enough, and certainly I can never ever thank 
Wendy enough. Through it all, Wendy has been so enormously patient and 
supportive and understanding, not to mention being the life of every 
Team Vitter party, leading the rounds--rounds plural--of Fireball 
shots. She and our daughter Lise are in the Gallery today. I thank them 
and Sophie, Airey, and Jack for decades of love and support. Lise, up 
there, was in my arms as a 2-year-old when I was first sworn into the 
House of Representatives and made those previously quoted remarks: ``I 
am honored, humbled, awestruck to stand before you.'' She has changed 
some, but as I said at the beginning of my reflections, those feelings 
certainly have not.
  I would like to close as I did that day in the House over 17 years 
ago; that is, simply by recognizing the wonderful, loving forces that 
have brought me here today: God, family, led by my parents up above, 
and my wife Wendy, staff and friends, and of course the wonderful, 
wonderful people of Louisiana. They are here with me today. They are 
here with me always. I thank them from the depths of my heart.
  For the last time, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.

[[Page 15694]]




                        Tribute to David Vitter

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I have the honor to recognize and thank 
my colleague and friend, the Honorable Senator David Vitter, for his 25 
years of service to Louisiana. Our State has been fortunate to have him 
as its voice and advocate in this Chamber for the past 12 years.
  On a personal note, when I arrived at the Senate, David worked with 
me, sharing with me some of the privileges that normally he, as a 
senior Senator, could have kept all to himself. With great 
graciousness, he worked with me and said: Listen, this is how I think 
the process should be set up. I would like you to have some of this 
privilege as well. I will do the same with whoever replaces David. He 
has set a pattern that, again, by his graciousness and magnanimity, 
deserves repetition.
  As a new Senator, I was fortunate to have him as a resource for 
advice and knowledge that comes from time and experience in this body. 
There are some things that happen here that you have to kind of have 
experience to follow. David had both the experience, the sharpness, and 
the insight to recognize.
  I again look forward to sharing what he has taught me with whoever 
takes his place. I will note, as David did, he helped lead our State 
through some of our worst times. From Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to the 
great flood of 2016, all of the way in between, David has worked hard 
to make sure Louisiana and the people of Louisiana have what they need 
to recover.
  The hallmark of Senator Vitter's tenure is that he has always cared 
deeply about our State, constantly looking for what he could do that 
would benefit our State, not just in the short term but doing that 
which is consistent with his principles to help Louisiana and the 
United States thrive in the long term.
  He has been on the side of that family whose father goes for 2 weeks, 
works on an oil rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, working hard 
so his family has a better future. David has been on the side of that 
mom juggling two jobs to earn enough to make sure her children's needs 
are met.
  A recent example--again for the short-term and long-term perspective 
David handled so well--he stayed persistent for years working across 
the aisle, first with Senator Frank Lautenberg, then Senator Udall, to 
pass the much needed reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the 
first reform of its kind in 40 years.
  This reform protects both the workers--those people on that rig, 
perhaps, at least the people who would be processing the products of 
that rig--but also gives the manufacturers of Louisiana and across the 
country the certainty they need to expand their businesses and create 
more jobs.
  On a lighter note, David is a great Saints fan. We in Louisiana kind 
of liked the fact that when the slogan ``Who Dat'' came up 
spontaneously, and people started to put it on their shirts and the NFL 
was going to go court to stop this from happening, David wrote a letter 
to Roger Goddell. The letter started off by saying: ``Who Dat.'' So 
speaking truth to power on behalf of the ``Who Dat Nation'' is one 
credit of his.
  Similarly, David was tweeting before our President-elect made it 
perhaps as high profile. I remember during the 2013 Super Bowl in New 
Orleans--and again the context of this is, the Saints had just been 
punished--of course Saints fans think unfairly--by Roger Goddell. So 
during the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans, when the power went out, 
David's tweet, without missing a beat said: ``Like most Saints fans, I 
am immediately assuming Roger Goddell is the chief suspect for the 
power outage.'' The quick-witted quip cut to the emotion of the ``Who 
Dat Nation.''
  As the 114th Congress comes to a close, the Senate will be losing an 
important Member. David brings a sound, strategic mind to this Chamber 
that will be missed. I wish him, Wendy, their children, Lise, Sophie, 
Airey, and Jack, the best of luck in their journey forward. On behalf 
of all Louisiana, I say thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Louisiana for his 
very kind remarks. More importantly, I want to thank him for years of 
great partnership, great work on behalf of Louisiana. I know he will 
make an outstanding senior Senator. Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the 21st 
Century Cures Act, and I commend the chairman and ranking member of the 
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Lamar 
Alexander and Senator Patty Murray, for their unwavering commitment to 
this very significant bipartisan legislation.
  The Senate HELP Committee, on which I am privileged to serve, has 
devoted considerable time and effort to this comprehensive legislation. 
It includes many reforms and priorities that will benefit so many 
families across our great country. The 21st Century Cures Act will 
support the research and development of safe treatments and cures for 
millions of Americans and their families who are coping with 
devastating diseases. It will improve the process of moving new 
discoveries from laboratory benches to patient bedsides.
  I doubt that there is a family in America who will not be touched by 
this important legislation in some way. All of us have a family member, 
a coworker, or a friend who has courageously faced the struggles of 
living with a debilitating chronic illness or a rare disease or who has 
received a devastating diagnosis and has passed away far too soon, 
leaving a hole in our hearts. Imagine how this could change with the 
passage of the 21st Century Cures Act and strong support of the 
research and development that will lead to new treatments and therapies 
that can help us achieve our dream of conquering so many devastating 
diseases.
  Simply put, this legislation matters. It matters to the children who 
know firsthand the burden of living with type 1 diabetes and who beg 
their parents for just one day off--their birthday or Christmas--from 
having to deal with the consequences of their juvenile diabetes. It 
matters to the family members who know the agonizing experience of 
looking into the eyes of a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's 
disease, only to receive a confused look in return. It matters to the 
parents of young boys who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, who know 
what it is like to give their all in an effort to help their sons 
achieve their dreams, whether it is finishing college or driving a car, 
even as every day their children battle the progression of this 
debilitating and ultimately terminal illness. The 21st Century Cures 
Act will drive progress in medical innovation so that we can prevail 
against these diseases and many more that cause so much pain and 
suffering, so much fear and uncertainty, and so much heartbreak.
  There simply is no investment that we can make that provides greater 
return for Americans than our investment in biomedical research. It not 
only leads to new discoveries and the development of better treatments 
and even cures but also can have a dramatic effect on the budgets of 
families, States, and the Federal Government. The bill before us will 
help direct $4.8 billion to the National Institutes of Health, 
including $1.6 billion for the BRAIN Initiative to improve our 
understanding of diseases such as ALS, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's, 
our Nation's most costly disease.
  We spend $263 billion a year caring for people with Alzheimer's 
disease. Of that amount, approximately $160 billion comes from the 
Medicare and Medicaid Programs. If the current trajectory continues as 
our population grows older, this disease will bankrupt the Medicare and 
Medicaid Programs. That

[[Page 15695]]

is why I am so pleased to see the BRAIN Initiative funded in this bill 
and also the work we are doing in the Appropriations Committee to boost 
funding for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias so that we can 
finally find effective treatments, a means of prevention, or perhaps 
even a cure for this disease that brings so much heartache not only to 
those suffering from it but to their families as well.
  Our bill will also help provide $1.8 billion for the Vice President's 
Cancer Moonshot. We all know that Vice President Biden has taken on 
this cause--a very personal one for him--because he lost his beloved 
son Beau to cancer.
  Another exciting field that will be funded by this bill is $30 
million for regenerative medicine, using adult stem cells. How exciting 
it was to have an individual come before our policy lunch whose sight 
had been restored due to innovative stem cell surgery. This individual 
lives in Tennessee now but happens to be from Presque Isle, ME, just 13 
miles from where I was born and grew up. How I wish so many older 
people in this country who are losing their vision to macular 
degeneration and glaucoma--in some cases, a combination of both--or 
injuries to their eyes could benefit from this exciting development 
with adult stem cells, which has restored the sight of someone who was 
legally blind. He now can drive. That is so exciting, and that is the 
promise of researching regenerative medicine.
  In addition to support for NIH, the 21st Century Cures Act will help 
direct $1 billion in much needed funding to address the horrendous 
heroin and opioid abuse problem in this country. Maine has been 
particularly hard hit by this epidemic. In just the first 9 months of 
this year, Maine experienced a record 286 overdose deaths. That is more 
than one a day. Tragically, that number already exceeds the 272 
overdose deaths in Maine during all of 2015.
  I am distressed when I hear about the lack of treatment options for 
Mainers who are struggling with drug addiction, particularly in rural 
areas. As a result of the shortage of treatment alternatives, this 
epidemic is playing out in emergency rooms, county jails, and on the 
main streets of my State. I can't tell you how many sheriffs have come 
to me pleading for help, telling me that the intake area of their jail 
looks like a detox center or an emergency room of a hospital. They are 
overwhelmed by these cases.
  We can and must do more to support access to treatment and to alert 
people of all ages to the risks of opioid abuse and heroin use. The 
21st Century Cures Act will provide a vital infusion of $1 billion over 
2 years to support grants to States to supplement treatment and 
prevention efforts.
  I was talking with one of my colleagues earlier today. Both of us 
remember when we were in school hearing lectures from recovering heroin 
addicts who came into the schools, and I can state that it was highly 
effective. We would never have tried heroin. I can't even think of a 
proper analogy.
  We know, unfortunately, that many of the people who are using heroin 
started with prescription opioids, and that is why I am encouraged by 
movements across our country and by actions taken, at my request and 
the request of other Senators, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services to make sure we are not putting pressure on providers to 
overprescribe opioids. Surely they are appropriate in certain cases, 
but the number of prescriptions has soared in this country and is twice 
the number prescribed on a per capita basis as in our neighboring 
country of Canada.
  The 21st Century Cures Act also includes a bill that I introduced 
with several of my colleagues--Senators Warren, Kirk, Baldwin, 
Alexander, and Murray--that is called the Advancing NIH Strategic 
Planning and Improving Representation in Medical Research Act. Despite 
its extremely cumbersome name, it is an important bill that has been 
incorporated into this legislation. It will require the NIH to release 
periodically a strategic plan outlining how the agency will meet its 
mission statement, and it will provide us with important guidance and 
metrics as we continue to work together to increase this vital funding.
  It will also help to ensure that study populations in clinical 
research are more representative of the diverse population in our 
country. For example, women face many of the same health threats as 
men, such as heart disease and cancer, but they react differently to 
various treatments.
  I remember years ago an infamous study that was called MRFIT. It had 
only men enrolled in it. I believe, if memory serves me correctly, it 
was to look at heart disease. Well, women often have different symptoms 
of heart disease than do men, and they respond differently to different 
medications, therapies, and treatments. We also know that women are at 
higher risk for certain chronic health conditions, such as Alzheimer's 
disease and osteoporosis. They suffer from those diseases in far 
greater numbers than do men. With Alzheimer's disease, I am wondering 
whether it is simply a matter that the biggest risk factor is age and 
women live longer than men, but perhaps there are other factors at 
play.
  My point is that by helping to ensure that women, African Americans, 
Latinos, and other demographic groups are appropriately represented in 
clinical research, we can increase our scientific understanding of the 
causes, risk factors, prevention strategies, and effects of treatments 
for diseases that commonly or disproportionately affect these 
populations.
  The bill before us also includes legislation that I introduced with 
my colleague from Wisconsin, Senator Baldwin, to help address the 
educational debt burden that many young researchers face. This is so 
important to help ensure that America's finest, up-and-coming young 
researchers continue to help lead the world in biomedical discovery in 
this country. I don't want to lose these young talented people to other 
countries. I want them to stay right here. If they come to work for the 
NIH or the CDC or other federally funded institutions and agencies and 
we can get them help with their medical school, college, their advanced 
degrees, and their debt, that is a very good agreement for us to be 
making.
  It is also of tremendous importance that we were able to add mental 
health legislation to the 21st Century Cures Act. The reforms in this 
bill will enhance coordination, address a lack of resources, and 
develop real solutions to improve outcomes for individuals with serious 
mental illness and to help their families, who are often desperate to 
get them the help they need.
  I am pleased that the bill also includes the Mental Health on Campus 
Improvement Act, which I offered as an amendment when we considered the 
mental health legislation in committee. My colleague, Senator Dick 
Durbin, and I introduced this legislation for the first time in 2009. I 
commend him for his leadership.
  College students in Maine and across the country must have access to 
critical and often lifesaving mental health services. Despite growing 
demand for these critical services, far too many students still lack 
access. Without these services, students may experience detrimental 
effects that range from declining academic performance to drug 
dependence and to being at greater risk of suicide.
  While millions of Americans suffer from mental illness, only a 
statistical few engage in unspeakable acts of violence against 
themselves or others. Suicide, however, is the leading cause of death 
among Americans between the ages of 15 and 34. In addition, recent 
tragedies on college campuses, such as the shooting at a community 
college in Roseburg, OR, or at Northern Illinois University, highlight 
the dire need for mental health outreach and counseling services on 
college campuses.
  Perhaps some of the tragedies that we have witnessed might have been 
prevented had the resources been in place to support timely diagnosis, 
early intervention, and effective treatment for those struggling with 
severe mental illness.
  One of the saddest meetings I have had in the last year was with a 
group of families from Maine who had adult children who were suffering 
from severe mental illness, yet these families felt powerless in 
getting them the help

[[Page 15696]]

they needed. These adult children were not compliant with the 
medication they had been prescribed, and in many cases their families 
felt powerless to be able to get them the help they needed.
  In one terrible case, a man's son was released from a hospital in the 
State of Maine--from a hospital for people with mental illness--and he 
killed his mother, thinking she was Al Qaeda. Only then could his 
father get his son the institutionalized help his son so desperately 
needed.
  It was just such a painful, painful story to hear from this anguished 
father and husband. I believe the language in this bill will help to 
change that.
  The 21st Century Cures Act passed the House last week by an 
overwhelming vote of 392 to 26. Think how few bills pass with that kind 
of strong, bipartisan support. It is supported by President Obama, who 
had an op-ed in Maine newspapers this weekend endorsing the bill. It is 
the product of years of bipartisan work on the Senate HELP Committee, 
and it has earned the support of more than 300 organizations.
  Frankly, I am surprised that we are having a rollcall vote--a cloture 
vote on this bill. I am surprised because, while this bill may not be 
perfect--and no bill is--there is so much that is worthwhile, good, and 
significant in it that will make such a difference to so many American 
families.
  I urge all of our colleagues to vote in support of this bill so that 
we can quickly send it to the President's desk, where he is eager to 
sign it into law. It may well be the most important, far-reaching 
legislation that we pass this year in terms of its benefits for 
families across this great Nation.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                        Supporting Our Veterans

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of nearly 100,000 
veterans who live in Montana. These are folks who have earned our deep 
respect and gratitude.
  I have traveled the State many times, listened to their ideas, and I 
have listened to their concerns. Montana's veterans have not been shy 
about expressing their views.
  What I have heard is this. There is no doubt that we must hold the VA 
accountable and work to improve access to health care, jobs, education, 
transportation, and housing for veterans.
  That is why it is critically important that we are taking marching 
orders from veterans and the advocacy organizations that are led by 
veterans, because we know that their top priority is to do right by the 
folks who they serve.
  Veterans in Montana also tell me that when it comes to solving the 
problems facing veterans, they expect folks in Washington, DC, to check 
their politics at the door and go to work.
  Unfortunately, there are groups out there that are funded by dark 
money. They hide their out-of-touch political agenda behind the veil of 
our Nation's veterans.
  As the incoming ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I 
have serious concerns about who President-Elect Trump is listening to 
when it comes to honoring our veterans and this Nation's commitment to 
those who have worn the uniform. That is why it is so troubling that 
recent news reports have indicated that the Trump administration is 
relying heavily on guidance from Concerned Veterans for America. 
Concerned Veterans for America is a political advocacy group funded by 
the Koch brothers, who want to dump unlimited amounts of dark money to 
push dangerous policies that would privatize the VA or to convert the 
Veterans Health Administration into an independent, nongovernment-
chartered, for-profit corporation. CVA also wants to divert funds from 
the VA and cripple its ability to plan for the long term to recruit 
doctors and nurses and to invest in the information technology that can 
improve veterans' experiences at the VA. These cuts will undermine the 
quality of care at the VA.
  There is nothing wrong with helping veterans get specialty care in 
the community in a timely fashion when the VA cannot do it. That often 
happens in rural communities, but CVA's push for wholesale dismantling 
of the VA is not what we want, and that is not what the veterans need.
  We need to talk to the veterans--the veterans I have spoken to--and 
this is what we will see.
  When folks volunteer to serve in the Armed Forces, this Nation is 
indebted to them. We must ensure that we deliver on those promises that 
are made. Privatizing the VA will fail our veterans and their families. 
It will reduce the quality of care that our veterans receive, and it 
will be more expensive for taxpayers. Privatizing the VA will 
ultimately mean that veterans will wait longer for doctors' 
appointments and the cost of care will go up.
  All we have to do is take a look at the Veterans Choice Program, 
which allows veterans to access care at private facilities. It has 
resulted in longer wait times, and this is unacceptable.
  Under this program, veterans are actually waiting longer to see 
doctors. Hospitals are increasingly frustrated and refusing to see 
veterans, and costs are going through the roof. Imagine this program on 
steroids. That is what the CVA wants to do--all while starving the VA's 
existing workforce and infrastructure. In fact, what CVA is pushing for 
is similar to what Speaker Ryan wants to do with Medicare, and we have 
seen the backlash to that proposal by seniors across this Nation.
  The same is true with the veterans and proposals to privatize the VA. 
It is simply bad policy. Groups such as the VFW, the American Legion, 
Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, 
and many others oppose privatization, and they oppose it for good 
reason.
  The American Legion national commander, Dale Barnett, said it best:

       The private sector didn't send our heroes to war. Uncle Sam 
     did.

  Barnett is right. The Federal Government has an obligation to honor 
those incredible sacrifices. When we shirk that responsibility, it 
dishonors those brave men and women. We need to listen to the American 
Legion and countless other veterans groups, whose mission is to help 
the veterans, not unravel the VA. Veterans service organizations are 
very different and have a very different mission and tax structure than 
Concerned Veterans for America, the first being that VSOs take their 
cues from the veterans they represent, not from billionaire political 
activists who fund their operation. Groups such as the Legion, the VFW, 
and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America are organized as nonprofit 
groups whose missions are simply to help veterans.
  Concerned Veterans for America is an issue advocacy group with a 
political mission. VSOs disclose their donors. CVA doesn't have to. Yet 
CVA has incredible influence and the ear of the President-elect. This 
is deeply concerning to me and, more importantly, it is deeply 
concerning to the veterans across this Nation.
  I talk to veterans every week when I am home in Montana. They 
universally tell me that they like the care they receive from the VA 
once they get in the door; the problem is getting in the door. They 
don't want to see a private doc; they want to be seen by a VA doc. They 
know that the VA understands their unique issues. They know that 
doctors and nurses at the VA are attentive to the wounds of war.
  My hope is that President-elect Donald Trump starts talking with the 
folks who want to help veterans and not to organizations with a 
political agenda. My hope is that he will work with Chairman Isakson 
and me and countless other reputable veterans groups to hold the VA 
accountable while increasing access to care. My hope is that he will 
work with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to reform our 
campaign finance laws so that we can increase transparency and know who 
is trying to influence this government.

[[Page 15697]]

My hope is that he will put veterans first as he chooses the next VA 
Secretary.
  I remain hopeful that we can find common ground to work together to 
hold the VA accountable, to improve care, and to ensure that we are all 
delivering for veterans. When our brothers and sisters and sons and 
daughters are sent to war, we make promises to them--promises we must 
keep. When they come home, they are changed people, and we cannot 
expect the private sector to address these seen and unseen wounds of 
war.
  In this upcoming Congress, there will be incredible opportunities to 
make progress, and I am fully committed to Montana's veterans and 
veterans across this country and their families, and I will push back 
against those who attempt to undermine the noble mission of the 
Veterans' Administration.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I wish to support the 21st Century 
Cures Act, which would make vital investments in research to develop 
new treatments for deadly diseases, including cancer. The bill would 
also dedicate desperately needed funding to address some of our 
country's most pressing public health problems--opioid addiction and 
mental illness.
  First, I would like to speak about the bill's provisions for cancer 
and rare diseases. Cancer touches the lives of all Americans; it 
doesn't discriminate. We have all experienced the grief and pain that 
comes with losing a loved one, friend, or colleague to this terrible 
disease.
  Cancer is the second leading cause of death in our country. Nearly 40 
percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in 
their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute. We have made 
great strides in improving detection, treatment, and survival rates for 
many cancers, including early-stage breast cancer, prostate cancer, and 
melanoma.
  Despite this progress, other cancers like pancreatic and certain 
brain cancers remain extremely deadly, with very low 5-year survival 
rates. These cancers are typically detected in late stages, and even 
the most cutting-edge treatments may result in just a few more months 
of life.
  The Cures Act designates nearly $4.8 billion in additional funds for 
medical research through the National Institutes of Health, $1.8 
billion of which will expand and accelerate cancer research, in line 
with Vice President Biden's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. This research 
funding also supports important initiatives focused on precision 
medicine and neurological research.
  Next, I would like to talk about the bill's funding to combat opioid 
addiction, which is an epidemic in this country. Nearly 2 million 
Americans are addicted to opioids, and 19,000 Americans overdosed and 
died in 2014. This epidemic stems from a surge in the use of 
prescription drugs. It is not a coincidence that prescription overdose 
deaths quadrupled during the same period that opioid prescriptions 
quadrupled.
  In 2012, 259 million prescriptions for opioids were written. That 
means 80 percent of Americans could have a bottle of pills. 
Prescription drug abuse frequently leads to heroin addiction because 
these drugs affect the brain in the same way. This problem is 
exacerbated because heroin is significantly cheaper that prescription 
opioids like OxyContin or fentanyl.
  This crisis demands an immediate, comprehensive, national response. 
Congress took a first step earlier this year, passing the Comprehensive 
Addiction and Recovery Act in May. This bill authorizes grants to 
expand access to substance use disorder treatment, strengthen 
prescription drug monitoring programs, and supply first responders with 
naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an overdose. However, this 
bill didn't include any funding for the initiatives it authorized. The 
Cures Act takes that step, providing $1 billion for the Department of 
Health and Human Services to fund many of the prevention and treatment 
programs authorized by Congress earlier this year.
  Lastly, I would like to highlight the bill's provisions to improve 
our country's mental health system. This is an area where we fall far 
short. We don't do nearly enough to ensure those with mental illness 
are able to access appropriate treatment and this has ripple effects 
throughout society.
  In October, I was briefed on the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles 
and toured a shelter for homeless women. A significant percentage of 
the city's homeless population is battling mental illness. So, by 
improving our mental health system, we are also going to address 
connected issues like homelessness.
  Under the bill, Health and Human Services will develop a strategic 
plan to address mental health priorities. There is increased funding to 
train our doctors and nurses to better integrate substance abuse and 
mental health treatment into primary care visits.
  The bill also reauthorizes many important existing programs, 
including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the National 
Child Traumatic Stress Network, and increases support for mental health 
and drug courts. These innovative approaches to criminal justice 
provide an alternative process for individuals to receive and comply 
with needed treatment and are supported by the law enforcement 
community.
  The bill further provides for police training when police officers 
encounter individuals who exhibit mental illness. I recently convened 
meetings in Los Angeles and San Francisco with law enforcement and 
community leaders, and they all stressed the importance of deescalating 
situations with mentally ill individuals to make sure that situations 
do not end with violent encounters.
  In closing, I reiterate my support for the 21 Century Cures Act and 
urge its swift passage. This is a great opportunity to spur this 
century's medical innovation, improve access to needed treatments, and 
strengthen public health.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Kirk be recognized next and then Senator Murphy following him and that 
after that, I be recognized. We will be voting at 5:30.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, 4 years ago I climbed the Capitol steps for 
those who could not. I vowed to return to the Senate to create and 
establish a standard of care for rehabilitation in this legislation to 
make sure many people can have access to the best rehab, as I did. With 
the passage of the Cures Act tomorrow, we will achieve this lofty goal.
  The Cures Act also contains bipartisan provisions to provide 
accelerated approval of regenerative medicines and therapies. The 
Regrow Act, which is also in this bill, is a major step forward so that 
Americans will not have to go to other countries for their own stem 
cells to be used in their own therapy. Making sure this faster approval 
process happens in this bill means that many more people will be able 
to receive advanced stem cell therapies that are also available 
overseas, right here at home.
  I would like to thank everybody. We have made progress with the FDA. 
I championed with Senators Collins and Manchin on this. I thank my 
senior colleague from Tennessee for all of his action on the Regrow Act 
so we can make the fundamental point of using your own stem cells to 
accelerate healing. In the case of using your own stem cells, they 
already have your exact DNA match. I think it is wise that we go 
through a shorter process. I thank the Senator for putting the Kirk 
language in the Regrow Act.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, while we are waiting for Senator 
Murphy, let me salute Senator Kirk for his leadership from the very 
beginning. He has pointed out to the committee and the Senate that, as 
the Mayo Clinic has said, regenerative medicine is a game changer for 
stroke victims, for heart disease, and for people with retinal disease.

[[Page 15698]]

  Thanks to Senator Kirk, Senator Collins, Senator Manchin, and Senator 
McConnell, we have legislation that takes an important and responsible 
step forward to recognize the promise of regenerative medicine.
  This bill includes $30 million to the National Institutes of Health 
for clinical trials to support regenerative medicine. Then there are 
two other provisions in the bill. One of them allows the Food and Drug 
Administration to make regenerative therapeutic products eligible for 
the FDA's existing accelerated drug approval pathway. We have had great 
success over the last 4 or 5 years with an accelerated pathway for 
drugs, similar to what Senators Burr and Bennet and others got enacted 
into law. We are doing the same thing with combination drugs and 
devices in this legislation. Now Senator Kirk has added regenerative 
medicine to the accelerated pathway, and I salute him for that 
leadership.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, I wish to remind my colleague, who is also 
the chairman of the Appropriations Energy Subcommittee that controls 
the exascale funding, one of the most complicated things we can face in 
our world is biological systems when we look at the new Aurora computer 
that is going to be built in the Argonne National Laboratories. I know 
that at Oak Ridge, we have exascale computers. My goal is to make sure 
we are always way ahead of the Chinese. In the case of Aurora, we now 
have $165 million to make sure that we have a computer that is far 
faster than the computer in China. With that, we will be able to model 
proteins themselves to make sure we make these advances much faster. My 
hope is that we will be stunned at how much biological work is being 
done at the Oak Ridge lab with their leading computer to make sure we 
accelerate progress on this.
  Let me say one thing about the work of the Senator. Every piece of 
legislation that he touches goes through by a couple hundred votes. 
When we see Lamar take over a bill, we know it is going to be going 
through on a big walloping. He got a huge vote in the Senate, and I 
hope he gets a big vote again. Everything he touches turns to gold, and 
we cannot have a better friend in medical care than we have in Lamar 
Alexander.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, the Senator from Illinois is very 
generous, and I thank him, but I would remind him that he was the 
persistent agent for the change in support for regenerative medicine. 
That wasn't easy to do, and he has been the leader, along with others 
of us who cared about the same thing, in making sure the United States 
maintains its lead in supercomputing competition around the world.
  Senator Murphy, the Senator from Connecticut, is coming. I think what 
I will do is begin, and when he comes I will stop and let him make his 
5 minutes of remarks and then resume so I don't delay the vote because 
I know everyone is looking forward to casting a great big ``yes'' vote 
in a few minutes.
  The U.S. Senate majority leader, whose position in the Senate this 
is, has said more than once in private meetings I attended and on the 
floor of this body that the 21st Century Cures bill on which we will be 
voting in a few minutes is the most important legislation Congress will 
pass this year.
  In his address to the Nation this past weekend, President Obama urged 
us to vote for the bill today and tomorrow. ``It could help us find a 
cure for Alzheimer's,'' the President said. ``It could end cancer as we 
know it and help those seeking treatment for opioid addiction.'' The 
President continued: ``It's an opportunity to save lives and an 
opportunity we just can't miss.''
  Vice President Biden has been telephoning Senators urging support for 
21st Century Cures because, in the Vice President's words, it is a big 
step for cancer research and the Cancer Moonshot that is so close to 
his heart.
  Speaker Paul Ryan in the House of Representatives has made 21st 
Century Cures explicitly a centerpiece of his vision for our country's 
future, describing it as ``bipartisan legislation that would accelerate 
the discovery, development, and delivery of lifesaving treatments.''
  With such bipartisan support from the President of the United States, 
the Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House, the 
Senate majority leader--two Democrats, two Republicans--it is no wonder 
that on last Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved 21st 
Century Cures by the overwhelming vote of 392 to 26.
  This legislation holds the promise of improving the life and health 
of virtually every family in the country.
  It will provide $4.8 billion in a one-time surge of funding for 
biomedical research in a time of breathtaking opportunity.
  It will advance Vice President Biden's Cancer Moonshot to find cures 
for cancer and President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative, as well 
as the BRAIN Initiative.
  It will help move safe and effective treatments and cures through the 
development and regulatory process more rapidly, and it will lower 
costs, making medicines available sooner and hopefully also at lower 
costs to patients.
  It will provide $1 billion in grants to help deal with the raging 
opioid epidemic.
  It includes legislation to help the one in five adults in this 
country suffering from a mental illness, help them receive treatment by 
updating many of our country's mental health programs for the first 
time in a decade.
  It will improve health information technology for doctors who are 
eager to get rid of the overdocumentation of hospitals and their 
patients and help get the Nation's electronic health records system out 
of the ditch.
  From a taxpayer's point of view, it does all of these things in a 
fiscally responsible way by reducing other spending to pay for every 
penny of the $6.3 billion cost.
  I see the Senator from Connecticut on the floor, so I would like to 
suspend my remarks for 5 minutes so that he can make his, and then I 
would ask unanimous consent that the totality of my remarks follow his 
remarks.
  Before he speaks, let me just say once again how much I appreciate 
his leadership and that of Senator Cassidy and Senator Cornyn. One 
reason the majority leader calls this the most important piece of 
legislation Congress will act on this year is because it includes the 
mental health legislation that these Senators, including Senator 
Murphy, Senator Cornyn, and Senator Cassidy, have offered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Alexander's kindness 
in allowing me to say a few words in support of this bill on behalf of 
myself and Senator Murray. I wish to congratulate Senator Alexander for 
once again showing how the Senate can work properly, how we can bring 
together Republicans and Democrats for a priority that really has 
nothing to do with whether one is a Republican or a Democrat or whether 
one voted for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. If people are out there 
suffering from a life-altering or potentially terminal disease or 
suffering from mental illness or addiction, they need help, and we are 
coming together in maybe one of the most important pieces of health 
legislation that has passed this Congress in a very long time to 
deliver that help.
  So I am not going to endeavor to recreate the remarks of Senator 
Alexander when it comes to describing the important aspects of this 
bill except to say that after passage of this bill, it is going to be a 
whole heck of a lot more likely that a life-changing, lifesaving drug 
is going to be able to make it to market in time to save a life.
  Every single one of the underlying reforms in this bill to the drug 
discovery process is bipartisan. I think about Senators Bennet and 
Hatch's bill, the promise for antibiotics and therapeutics for health, 
which establishes a new pathway for antibacterial and antifungal drugs 
that will treat serious, life-threatening infections for patients. I 
think about Senator Casey and Senator Isakson working on the Advancing 
Hope Act, which will extend the pediatric priority review voucher 
program until 2020. It incentivizes drug companies to research 
treatment for

[[Page 15699]]

life-altering diseases that impact pediatric patients.
  Inside this bill are all sorts of good, important, bipartisan 
achievements. As Senator Alexander noted, there is also help on the way 
for people suffering from addiction. In my tiny little State--only 1 
percent of the Nation's population--we are going to have over 800 
people die this year from drug overdoses. Yes, we need to get to the 
source of that epidemic and stop people from getting addicted to pain 
medications in the first place, but, boy, we have an awful lot of 
people showing up with overdoses in our emergency rooms who have no 
place to go, have no detox programs, no long-term residential programs. 
The $1 billion authorized in this legislation to fight the opioid 
epidemic is going to save lives in my little State.
  Finally, when it comes to the issue of mental health--Senator 
Alexander, Senator Cassidy, and I were on the floor last week talking 
about this legislation; the focus on funding prevention, the focus on 
making sure parents are part of the care for their adult children, the 
focus on ensuring that insurance companies really do pay attention to 
the Parity Act we passed 10 years ago in this Congress to assure that 
you get covered for mental illness just like physical illness. A broken 
leg really isn't any different than a broken brain when we think about 
it. We can treat both. These are important advances in mental health as 
well.
  I know this place has a bad reputation; that people pay attention to 
the fights here more often than they do to the moments where we get 
together and cooperate. The 21st Century Cures Act that Senator Murray 
and Senator Alexander, with help from Senator Cornyn, me, Senator 
Cassidy, and in the House Congressmen Upton, Pallone, Tim Murphy, and 
Eddie Bernice Johnson--this is an example of how this place can work 
better.
  As we head in to what may be a very charged atmosphere in January, I 
hope we remember this moment. I wanted to come down on behalf of 
Senator Murray, who has helped shepherd this process, to congratulate 
Senator Alexander on it and recommend its passage to all of my 
colleagues.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator for his words, 
support, and his leadership this year. I thank also Senator Murray from 
Washington. She would be here, except her plane is delayed. The vote 
will be held open to make sure she can be here, but Senator Murray is a 
Member of the Democratic leadership and well respected on that side of 
the aisle but also on this side of the aisle because, when she can, she 
creates an environment where we can do today exactly what we are doing 
today. I think the American people appreciate that, and Senator Murphy 
and I both benefit from that. I thank the Senator for those remarks and 
will now continue my remarks.
  At a Senate hearing earlier this year, Dr. Francis Collins, the 
distinguished head of the National Institutes of Health--an agency he 
calls the ``National Institutes of Hope''--offered ``bold predictions'' 
about major advances to expect in the next 10 years from sustained 
investments in biomedical research, such as we are doing with this 
bill.
  One prediction is that scientists will find ways to identify 
individuals at risk for Alzheimer's even before symptoms appear, as 
well as how to slow or even prevent the disease. Today, Alzheimer's 
causes untold family grief and costs $236 billion a year. Left 
unchecked, the cost in 2050 would be more than our Nation spends on 
national defense.
  Dr. Collins' other predictions are equally breathtaking. Using stem 
cells, doctors could use a patient's own cells to rebuild his or her 
heart. This personalized rebuilt heart, Dr. Collins says, would make 
transplant waiting lists and anti-rejection drugs obsolete. He expects 
development of an artificial pancreas to help diabetes patients by 
tracking blood glucose levels and creating precise doses of insulin. He 
says a Zika vaccine should be widely available by 2018, with universal 
flu vaccine and HIV/AIDS vaccine available within the decade. To 
relieve suffering and deal with the epidemic of opioid addiction that 
led to 28,000 overdose deaths in America in 2014, he predicts new 
nonaddictive medicines to manage pain, an even more effective antidote 
than the $1 billion we would be authorizing by our votes today. These 
truly would be miracles.
  The bill has taken more than 2 years to assemble both in the Senate 
and the House. There have been major differences of opinion, but the 
resolution of those differences--thanks to Senator Murray and many 
other Senators--has been bipartisan every step of the way. We saw that 
on display in the work of the President, the Vice President, the 
Speaker of the House, and the Senate majority leader. We saw it in the 
House with its vote of 392 to 26 last week, thanks especially to the 
leadership of Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Pallone, and 
Representative DeGette. We saw it in our Senate Health Committee, where 
we approved 19 bills that include 50 proposals, and every one with both 
a Democratic and Republican sponsor, except for 1 bill offered solely 
by Senator Murray, who is the ranking Democratic member of our 
committee.
  We have a diverse committee of 22 Members--that would be an 
understatement, actually--some of the most liberal Members and some of 
the most conservative Members, but when our committee considered these 
19 bills during our 3 markups held over several months, the largest 
number of votes against any one of these 19 bipartisan bills was 2. Let 
me say that again. The largest number of votes--recorded votes--against 
any one of these 19 bipartisan bills was 2 in our committee of 22.
  Here is what some of those 19 bipartisan bills--again, approved 
unanimously or by a wide margin--would do to help move safe and 
effective treatments and cures more rapidly through the regulatory 
process and into patients' medicine cabinets and into doctors' offices.
  For example, Senators Bennet, Warren, Burr, and Hatch's act would 
allow researchers to use their own data from previously approved 
therapies when they submit for review a treatment or cure for serious 
rare genetic diseases, like Duchenne's, a rare kind of muscular 
dystrophy that could impact children as young as 3.
  Senators Burr and Franken's legislation will help to bring innovative 
medical devices--such as artificial knees, insulin pumps, and heart 
stents--to patients more quickly by getting rid of unnecessary burdens 
in medical device evaluations and streamlining the review process for 
clinical trials.
  Senators Baldwin and Collins have a bill to improve opportunities for 
our young researchers, essential to advancing biomedical research.
  Senator Kirk just talked about his legislation with Bennet, Hatch, 
Murkowski, Isakson, and Collins to improve rehabilitation research and 
help the approximately 800,000 Americans who suffer a stroke each year.
  Senators Isakson, Murphy, Casey, Wicker, and Vitter will help advance 
our understanding of neurological diseases.
  Senator Murray, as I mentioned earlier, will clarify that the FDA 
requires cleaning and validation data for reusable medical devices.
  Senators Murray, Hatch, Bennet, Cassidy and Whitehouse's bill will 
improve health information technology for doctors and their patients. 
We had six hearings on medical information technology programs in a 
ditch. We think we are helping to get them out of the ditch. We have 
been working with the Obama administration to do that, and I look 
forward to working with the Trump administration to continue that.
  Senators Burr, Bennet, Hatch, and Donnelly would speed safe 
breakthrough devices, putting senior people in charge of the review 
process.
  Casey, Isakson, Brown, and Kirk's legislation. If you are the parent 
of a child with a rare disease like brain cancer, their bill would 
increase the likelihood that your child will be able to

[[Page 15700]]

take a drug that will help by giving a drug company that develops a 
drug for such a disease a voucher they could keep or sell that would 
speed up the review of another drug.
  One may say this is getting boring. This is too long. It is not 
boring to the millions of Americans who stand to benefit from this, and 
it is exactly the kind of work we ought to be doing in the United 
States Senate and what the American people would like to see us do more 
of.
  The Medical Electronic Data Technology Enhancement Act, with Senators 
Bennet and Hatch and many others interested in that.
  Senators Burr and Casey and Isakson and Roberts have important 
legislation for planning ahead for events like bioterror attacks, to 
help protect against anthrax, for example, or smallpox.
  The Combination Products Innovation Act, with a number of Senators 
involved on the committee, will help prevent the growing field of 
combination products--like bandaids with Neosporin built in or a heart 
stent that can be implanted to deliver blood thinners to prevent 
clots--from being caught in redtape.
  Then there is legislation that will give patients and their families 
a voice in drug development. There is one that is a top priority for 
the heads of FDA and NIH which will help those agencies attract and 
keep the kind of talent they need to approve all these exciting 
advances that are coming.
  There is legislation to shorten the development of new treatments to 
help those affected with life-threatening superbugs.
  The Advancing Precision Medicine Act, which Senator Murray and I 
cosponsored, is in direct support of President Obama's initiative to 
map 1 million genomes so researchers can develop treatments and cures 
tailored to a patient's genome.
  There are five or six other major pieces of legislation that I will 
include in the Record but not read at this time because we are 
approaching the time for a vote, but let me conclude by saying that in 
addition to these bipartisan policies, the 21st Century Cures bill 
includes $6.3 billion in funding. We usually don't attach such funding 
to a bill authorizing programs. We usually work along two tracks; one 
track for authorizing programs and one deciding how much to spend on 
those programs.
  During the last 2 years, while we have been working on our 
authorizing legislation, our appropriations committees have recommended 
major increases in support for biomedical research, and it is important 
that every Senator know this. In the current year, at the urging of 
Senators Blunt and Senator Murray, Congress added $2 billion a year to 
the $32 billion budget of the National Institutes of Health, which 
could total $20 billion over 10 years. Then, the Senate Appropriations 
Committee recommended another $2 billion increase for the next fiscal 
year, 2017, which could total another $20 billion over 10 years. This 
21st Century Cures legislation adds $4.8 billion in a surge of one-time 
spending for the National Institutes of Health on top of the regular 
appropriated money toward key objectives: $1.8 billion for the Cancer 
Moonshot, $1.4 billion for precision medicine, $1.6 for the BRAIN 
Initiative, and it adds $1 billion for State grants to help States 
fight the opioid abuse epidemic. I believe that for every State 
represented by a Senator here tonight, the opioid epidemic is on the 
front pages of the newspapers. It adds $500 million for the Food and 
Drug Administration, and 21st Century Cures also gives the National 
Institutes of Health $30 million for clinical trials to support 
regenerative medicine, which the Mayo Clinic has described as a ``game-
changing area of medicine with the potential to fully heal damaged 
tissues and organs, offering solutions and hope for people who have 
conditions that are beyond repair.'' It gives the FDA authority to 
allow regenerative therapeutic products to be eligible for FDA's 
existing accelerated drug approval pathway.
  I wish to acknowledge the work of Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell 
in designing a way to secure funding that both Democrats and 
Republicans can accept. That is not always easy. For those concerned 
about additional spending--often on our side of the aisle--Speaker Ryan 
and House Budget Chairman Tom Price made sure the funding is one time, 
not mandatory, paid for, and approved each year by Appropriations 
Committees. It doesn't add one penny to the overall budget because for 
every increase in the discretionary budget, we reduce the same amount 
in the mandatory ledger.
  For those who worry that Congress might not approve the $6.3 billion 
in additional spending in later years--I have heard a little of that 
from the other side of the aisle--my answer is that the best way to 
ensure the money is spent in the following years is a big vote today 
and tomorrow when we finally pass the bill, just as the House did last 
week.
  In conclusion, it will be hard to explain why you voted to spend $6.3 
billion for cancer, the Precision Medicine Initiative, and opioids this 
year but then voted not to spend it next year, and the legislation 
provides that the money cannot be diverted for any other purpose than 
what we vote for today and tomorrow.
  In addition, this year's portion of Cures funding--including one-half 
billion for opioid grants--is included in the continuing resolution 
that we will vote on later this week.
  This is the kind of lasting legacy the President of the United States 
and our Congress can be proud of. The next administration or the next 
Congress will not be repealing this law because we have taken the time 
to work out our differences and create a consensus of support. We did 
this at this time last year with an equally complicated bill to fix No 
Child Left Behind, which, despite its complexities, received 85 votes 
in this body. When he signed it, the President called it a ``Christmas 
miracle.''
  The 21st Century Cures bill will present President Obama with another 
Christmas miracle, one that will help virtually every family. When we 
pass this legislation, the real winners will be the American families 
whose lives will be improved by this bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, with the permission of my 
distinguished chairman, who has worked very hard on this bill and whose 
efforts I appreciate very much, I wanted to add, very briefly, that I 
hope very much and look forward to working with my colleagues to assure 
that the second tranche of the opioid funding is aligned with the CARA 
bill, or the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which we just 
passed in such bipartisan fashion a few months ago.
  We have not achieved that alignment yet, and I hope that we do very 
soon. I appreciate the terrific efforts of my chairman.
  With that, I yield.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The VICE PRESIDENT. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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