[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7802-7805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued


                          National Police Week

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, this week, our Nation observes National 
Police Week. This year, during National Police Week, we pay tribute to 
143 officers who died in the line of duty during 2016--among them, 
Sergeant Allen David Brandt of the Fairbanks Police Department. I come 
to the floor to acknowledge not only Sergeant Brandt but all those 
officers who served us so honorably.
  Sergeant Brandt's wife Natasha and children, Fritz, Kate, Claire, and 
Belle have traveled all the way from Fairbanks to participate in the 
events this week. They are accompanied by Allen's best friend, Officer 
Phil McBroom of the North Pole Police Department, as well as a large 
group of colleagues from the Fairbanks Police Department, led by Chief 
Eric Jewkes.
  Chief Jewkes, joined by Sergeant Lockwood and Officer Werner, came 
into Washington for Police Week in a somewhat unique way. They joined 
2,200 officers from around the Nation in a 4-day charity bike ride from 
Northern New Jersey to Washington, DC. They call it the Police Unity 
Tour, and their motto is: ``We ride for those who died.''
  Police Week begins with the dedication of names added this year to 
the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on Judiciary Square. 
That dedication occurs during a very, very moving candlelight vigil at 
the beginning of Police Week. The candlelight vigil was conducted on 
Saturday evening on the National Mall this year.
  Chief Jewkes, in full uniform, read Allen's name before a crowd 
numbering 10,000 people or more. A bell was rung, acknowledging the 
loss of Allen David Brandt. Allen's name was the only Alaska name added 
to the wall this year.

[[Page 7803]]

  I wish to thank Craig Floyd, who is the president of the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, for the courtesy in affording Chief 
Jewkes this special honor.
  Allen's name is now inscribed in perpetuity on the memorial wall 
among the 21,000 officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. His 
name appears on the bottom of Panel 21-East. This week, the shoulder 
patch of the Fairbanks Police Department is affixed at the top of that 
panel. Quite coincidentally, a few lines up on that same panel are the 
names of Officers Matt Tokuoka and Anthony Wallace of the Hoonah Police 
Department, who were brought down by an assailant's bullet in 2010.
  During Police Week, we do not dwell on the circumstances under which 
law enforcement officers gave their lives. We rather focus on how they 
lived their exemplary lives, and, yes, we pay our respects to the 
fallen, but Police Week also looks forward. The annual survivor's 
seminar, sponsored by Concerns of Police Survivors, which helps those 
who have suffered a law enforcement tragedy grieve and ultimately 
recover, is an important part of this week as well.
  While so much of Police Week is for the law enforcement family, those 
of us in Washington cannot help but notice what is going on around us--
officers in uniform, honor guards, motorcycles, police cars from around 
the country, the entire law enforcement family--Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, and visiting officers from places like Canada, England, and 
Israel.
  Many visiting officers bring their spouses. Some bring their 
children. We are able to truly see the faces behind those uniforms and 
those badges, and we can look into the eyes of the families.
  Let me say a few words about the children who have come in for the 
observance. You see them on the Metro, sitting atop their father's 
shoulders. Daddy is wearing his dress uniform. At the candlelight 
vigil, one of my staff members witnessed a U.S. Park Police officer, in 
uniform, explaining to her young daughter the meaning of the ceremony. 
You experience the words of the children at the memorial wall itself, 
where Emma Moody, the 10-year-old daughter of a fallen California 
officer, left a hand-drawn memorial to her dad, and it reads:

       When I get to heaven the first thing I am going to do is 
     find you. The second thing I will do is never ever let you go 
     again.

  When you experience things like this, you cannot help but appreciate 
the humanity behind the uniforms--a father, a mother, an aunt, an 
uncle, a friend, a colleague, a neighbor. Law enforcement is no 
stranger to controversy. Yet it is so important that we see beyond 
controversy; that when we look at an officer we see the humanity that 
runs toward danger and not from it; the humanity that responds to every 
call for service, not knowing whether it will be the last; the humanity 
that kisses a child goodbye before beginning a shift, not knowing 
whether he will ever see those children again; the humanity that was 
Allen Brandt.
  The story I just recited is Allen's story. Allen was released from 
the hospital after being shot five times by an assailant. He died from 
complications associated with a second series of surgeries.
  Allen lived long enough to appear before the Fairbanks City Council 
and thank the community for their support. He also offered some very 
cautionary words. He said:

       Our officers do a very hard job, most of the time 
     thankless. Working weekends when their friends are with their 
     families. Working nights and sleeping during the day. We need 
     your support and not just when bad things happen.

  A few weeks later, Anchorage Police Officer Arn Salao thought he was 
responding to a call involving a dispute between a cabdriver and his 
passenger. When he arrived at the scene, he was ambushed and shot four 
times. Miraculously, Officer Salao survived his injuries.
  In spite of these tragedies, it is dispiriting that people continue 
to challenge law enforcement. Last week, Colonel James Cockrell, 
retired after 30 years with the Alaska State Troopers, and just prior 
to his retirement, reflected on the dangers troopers face. Assaults on 
Alaska State Troopers are up, from 52 in 2013 to 131 last year.
  I wish to share with the Senate a few lines from an interview with 
KTUU in Anchorage. Colonel Cockrell said:

       I think there's generally a little bit less respect for law 
     enforcement. I think a lot of that spurred from the Lower 48. 
     We're having troopers contact people in a one-on-one 
     situation. Individuals are more apt to fight with us if they 
     think they have an advantage, when we don't have backup. We 
     don't have two or three troopers responding to a high risk 
     crime in progress. The consequences are that people are more 
     apt to fight with our Troopers.

  All of this is deeply tragic. As I look across the Nation, we are not 
really seeing any signs of abatement. Some might be attributable to the 
opioid crisis, some to a loss of respect for law enforcement, and some 
simply because suspects challenge law enforcement in hopes of evading 
them.
  This year, law enforcement has already suffered 48 line-of-duty 
deaths, 17 of those from gunfire. This fact is not lost on the officers 
from Interior Alaska who are in our Nation's Capital this week. It is 
not lost on those who are considering law enforcement careers but 
decide to perhaps take a pass, leaving critical vacancies in agencies 
throughout the country. Law enforcement remains very dangerous work, 
and for all the satisfaction that comes from serving people in their 
darkest moments, there are no guarantees the officer will return home.
  I hope that, during this National Police Week and throughout the 
year, we will reflect on Allen Brandt's final words: ``Law enforcement 
needs our support and not just when bad things happen.''
  In these times, law enforcement needs that support now more than 
ever. On behalf of my Senate colleagues, I offer my continued 
condolences to Natasha Brandt and her family, to Allen Brandt's 
colleagues, and to survivors of law enforcement tragedies everywhere.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                                 China

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today as part of 
my office's Expression NOT Oppression initiative, which highlights 
human rights abuses around the world and the plight of individuals 
imprisoned or oppressed for simply exercising their God-given rights.
  Earlier this month, we observed World Press Freedom Day, which serves 
as a reminder that freedom of expression is a fundamental, universal 
human right and that a free press is vital to a free society.
  We should never take for granted the freedom of the press we enjoy 
here in the United States. These rights are an integral part of the 
bedrock of any healthy democracy, and in too many parts of the world, 
they are nonexistent or under assault.
  According to Reporters Without Borders' 2017 World Press Freedom 
Index, press freedom is threatened now more than ever. Governments 
around the world continue to crack down on their citizens' access to 
information. Out of 180 countries, Burundi dropped from 156 to 160. 
Most problematic for press freedom, Egypt dropped from 159 to 161, and 
Bahrain dropped from 162 to 164.
  Additionally, Reporters Without Borders has reported that at least 
nine journalists have been killed already in 2017. Several were killed 
in Mexico, here in our own hemisphere. It is hard to believe that 
people are being thrown in jail or worse simply because government 
officials don't like what they write or publish, but that is what is 
happening, especially in countries like China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi 
Arabia, just to name a few.
  The case I come to the floor today to highlight is that of Huang Qi, 
who has long been targeted by the Chinese Government because of his 
advocacy for

[[Page 7804]]

the rights of ordinary citizens and his coverage of the Chinese 
Government's violation of those rights. In November of last year, the 
police reportedly burst into his residence and ransacked his home and 
took him to detention. In December of last year, Chinese prosecutors 
authorized Huang's arrest for allegedly ``illegally providing state 
secrets overseas,'' a charge that can result in a sentence of life 
imprisonment. The Committee to Protect Journalists described his 
detention as part of ``an intensified crackdown on online journalists 
and bloggers who report on protests and human rights abuses.''
  Huang founded the 64 Tianwang human rights website in 1998. The 
Chinese Government has blocked access to 64 Tianwang since 2003, 
according to Radio Free Asia, because the site covers issues deemed 
politically sensitive by authorities, such as protests and government 
corruption.
  Authorities previously sentenced Huang to 3 years in prison in 
November 2009 for ``illegal possession of state secrets''--this in 
connection with his work assisting parents who lost children during the 
2008 Sichuan earthquake. In addition, Chinese authorities sentenced 
Huang to 5 years in prison in 2000 for ``subversion'' for his advocacy 
on behalf of the families of the 1989 Tiananmen protest victims--a 
solemn anniversary we will mark next month.
  In short, Huang, a veteran activist, is no stranger to the Chinese 
Government's silencing of dissent. His life's work is a testament to 
fearless reporting regardless of what consequences may follow. While 
his own government views him as a threat, outside of China, his work is 
widely praised and recognized. Reporters Without Borders awarded the 
2016 Press Freedom Award to his website. His case has been championed 
by Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, and others, including the 
Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which I am proud to chair. 
His case is featured in the Commission's Political Prisoner Database, 
which presently contains more than 1,400 active prisoner records--a 
staggering but far from exhaustive number.
  Huang is committed to reporting the facts--facts that describe the 
daily struggles of Chinese citizens. For this, he has suffered greatly, 
including reported torture and mistreatment in detention, unjust 
imprisonment, and deprivation of his most basic rights.
  The Chinese Government should immediately and unconditionally release 
him. The United States should make this case and the cases of many 
others like him languishing unjustly behind bars in China or tortured 
into ``confessing'' to ``crimes'' they did not commit, priorities--we 
should make these priorities in our bilateral engagement with Beijing.
  It is the second point--the torture and mistreatment of rights 
defenders--that brings to mind another troubling case, that of 
prominent rights lawyer Xie Yang. His wife, who recently arrived in the 
United States with her two young children, will testify before the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee later this week. Xie has bravely taken 
on sensitive cases, including land grab victims and advocates for 
democratic reform. Chinese security agents detained him as part of the 
709 Crackdown--a sweeping, nationwide campaign against Chinese rights 
lawyers and advocates that started on July 9, 2015.
  The plight of 45-year-old Mr. Xie burst onto the international scene 
in January 2017 when his attorneys released transcripts of their 
meetings with him. The transcripts recount the threats of his 
inquisitors. They said: ``We'll torture you to death just like an 
ant.'' Another warned: ``I'm going to torment you until you go 
insane.'' He told his lawyers: ``I wanted to end their interrogation of 
me as quickly as I could, even if it meant death. . . . Later, I wrote 
down whatever they wanted.'' As if foreshadowing the fate that awaited 
him, he had earlier written a letter in detention in which he 
cautioned, ``If one day in the future I admit guilt . . . that will not 
be a true expression of my thoughts.''
  Fast-forward to last week. He was charged with ``inciting subversion 
of state power and disrupting court order'' and pled guilty in a 
recorded video released by the court and widely reported in major media 
outlets. He said: ``I want to take this opportunity to express to other 
rights lawyers my view now that we should give up using contact with 
foreign media and independent media to hype sensitive news events, 
attack judicial institutions and smear the image of the nation's party 
organs while handling cases. . . .''
  He continued in that same coerced statement: ``Everyone should take 
me as a warning to certainly stay within the framework of the law and 
avoid being exploited by Western anti-China forces.''
  Yet, despite these warnings and the Chinese Government's unyielding 
assault on human rights, there are still men and women committed to 
reporting on the government's abuses and steadfast in defending the 
powerless and the marginalized. Their courage is an inspiration, and it 
must summon our solidarity.
  I look forward to the day when the Chinese Government upholds rather 
than tramples the rights of its own citizens, abides by the rule of law 
at home, and respects the international rules-based system globally. 
However, that day has not yet arrived. Until it does, we must signal to 
the Chinese people that whatever our broader diplomatic and strategic 
aims may be as it relates to North Korea or any other issue, America is 
under no illusions about the iron-fisted leadership of President Xi and 
his utter disregard for the rights and dignity of his own people.
  As President Trump continues fulfilling his duty and appointing 
individuals to key positions, I will keep raising these issues with 
each and every relevant nominee whom I meet with both privately, as I 
did with Governor Branstad, and publicly, as I did during his 
confirmation hearing. It is critical that the United States keep human 
rights for all people as a core pillar of our foreign policy.
  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. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Rosen 
nomination?
  Mr. GARDNER. 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 legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. 
Moran).
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 56, nays 42, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 129 Ex.]

                                YEAS--56

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Warner
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--42

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley

[[Page 7805]]


     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Isakson
     Moran
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Rubio). Under the previous order, the 
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the 
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________