harvard professor graham allison gave testimony that in many ways is reflected in an article he just published in "the atlantic" yesterday on the eve of the president of china's visit. he states in that article and in his testimony a couple months ago -- quote -- "the preeminent geostrategic challenge of this era is not violent islamic extremists or even a resurgent russia. it is the impact that china's ascendens will have on the u.s.-led international order." more specifically, professor allison writes that -- quote -- "the defining question about global order this generation is whether china and the united states can escape what he refers to as the lucidies trap." he's referencing the renown

ancient greek historian. and professor allison coined this term to describe the strategic dilemma and dangers that occur when a rising power rivals a ruling power. as when, in the example he gives, in ancient greece when athens challenged sparta which ultimate willing led to -- ultimately led to the peloponnesian war. professor allison's testimony got the impression of many, -- attention of many, including the chinese president, who a few days ago in a speech when talking about u.s.-china relations. now, professor allison and president xi in his speech both make it clear that conflict between the united states and china is -- or the united states and china is certainly not

inevitable, regardless of what he says with regard to the lucidies trap. and i certainly would agree with that. professor allison, however, does appear to draw some very sobering conclusions in his recent article that should make all of us take serious pause. he concludes in his article written yesterday -- quote -- "war between the u.s. and china is more likely than recognized at the he -- at the moment." these are his words, not mine. this is one of the most distinguished professors of international relations in the united states. and i think these words underscore the need for those of us in the u.s. senate to give due attention to the importance of the u.s.-china relationship and the attendant risks of graham allison lucidies trap. fortunately i believe we are well positioned as an

institution in the united states senate to do this. in "the federalist papers," madison talks about one of the rolls of the u.s. senate -- roles of the u.s. senate with its members having six-year terms to be able to ensure lasting relations between the united states and other nations. through the institution of the senate. perhaps more than any other part of the federal government, this institution has the opportunity to think strategically and act for the long-term interests of our country. fortunately, we also have many experts and historians and professors and practitioners, whether it's guys like bob bob zoellick or graham allison or henry kissinger or a new generation of scholars like mike greene at csis, who have been thinking about these issues, the asia-pacific, the rise of china for decades. their articles, books, speeches

are critical to devising national strategy to advance america's interests in the region. this is a long-term endeavor, mr. president, for you will aof us -- for all of us. it is imperative that it remains on our radar screens through the course of state visits, through the course of elections, through the course of changing administrations. and contrary to what some say, we as a country do have the capacity to think and act in our long-term strategic interests. as a government. our successful bipartisan strategy dealing with the soviet union started by cannon's famous ex-telegram which created the course of containment. over the course of decades, several different administrations, several different congresses. it was a successful long-term strategy for the united states.

so from my perspective, mr. president, as we look at this issue, the asia-pacific, its importance, the rise of china, i think a few key toach stones are important -- touchstones are important to remember. first, america is an asia-pacific power. my state of alaska is an asia-pacific state. the united states has strong networks of alliances throughout the asia-pacific, and we -- we -- our country have built the post-war -- post world war ii architecture you that has enabled this dynamic region of the world to thrive in terms of peace and in terms of prosperity in fact, when you look at the last 70 years of history in that region, we have been the linchpin of that peace and prosperity. for all countries in the region, whether our strongest allies, like japan and korea and

australia, or other countries, countries even like china. and we have earned the trust of our allies for our commitment. so we need to maintain that trust as we move forward and we need to listen to our allies in the region. second, mr. president, we need to understand the history of the region and our involvement there better as we think through what the strategy is moving forward. you know, i'd had the opportunity to go to the national archives a number of times already since i joined the senate and there's a statute outside the national archives and it's got a command on it. it says simply "study the past." study the past. and again, i think that's something as we're looking at our strategy in that region, how critical it is, we need to be doing that. professor allison's article,

books, is a good start and i think all of us need to continue that focus. and third, no matter what strategy we end up pursuing vis-a-vis china and the asia-pacific region, we have to be strong, again, at home. my biggest surprise as a new freshman senator -- my biggest surprise in this body is how little we, or certainly for that matter, the obama administration, talks about our economy. talks about the strength or the lack thereof our economy. perhaps because the performance of our economy has been so lack lust -- lackluster. we've even dumed down expectation. they have this term in washington called the "new normal." american growth rates have typically been in, 3%, 4% g.d.p.

growth throughout most of our history. last six years, we can't even break 2% g.d.s., 1.5%. two quarters ago we went back into recession. they're now calling this the new normal, we need to accept this. you rarely hear the president or even the treasury secretary come out to the american people and say, no, we have to grow, we have to grow at trawcial levels of american -- traditional levels of american growth, approximate. -- approximate.5% approximate.5% -- 3.5%, 4%. we have to grow at that level. we have to get back to strength at home. but a continued weak u.s. economy, the new normal, growing at 1.5% for the next five, not tin years, that will create all kinds of additional challenges for us and in my view will make trap that professor allison

talks about more likely for the u.s. and china. yes, china has certain advantages but in so many areas, so many areas, the united states holds all the cards. so many different areas. if we were in a global poker match and we were all at the table, the big countries, you would look at our hand and you would see aces. let me just name a few, mr. president. the high-tech sector, still the envy of the world. and its not just silicon valley, it's all over america. our agriculture sector -- we feed the world. universities. we have the best universities in the world by far. by far. certain states in america have better top universities than all of china. finance and commercial aspects of our economy, the best entrepreneurs. energy. we have a renaissance in energy where we're now the largest producer of oil and gas in the

world. and the largest producer of renewables. this is a huge advantage. it's creating a rebirth in manufacturing in america. seafood, we harvest more than any other countries in the world. look at our allies in asia, they're coming to the united states in terms of wanting to deepen their relationship with us. and, of course, the u.s. military, the finest in the world. right now, it is right now, mr. president. i had the opportunity to go down to the world war ii memorial this morning, saw a couple honor flights coming in, seeing those veterans of ours who fought and defended this great nation in world war ii. we've had the best military for decades and we're going to continue to do that. the key is, we have to unleash our economic might once again,

which has been so dormant during the obama administration. we have to do this. and if we do this, we can view the rise of china from a standpoint of strength and confidence and opportunity. not trepidation. as bob zoellick mentioned 10 years ago in his responsible stakeholder speech -- quote -- "you hear voices that perceive china solely through the lens of fear but america succeeds when we look to the future as an opportunity, not when we fear what the future might bring." mr. president, i've had the opportunity to view the u.s.-china relationship from a variety of lenses -- economic diplomatic and even to some degree military.

i previously served as the commissioner of natural resources of energy in alaska and was able to take a trip over there with some alaskans to look at ways to deepen our economic and trade and energy relationship between my state and china. and have them visit alaska and participate in those meetings. i served in terms of diplomacy as an assistant secretary of state and had numerous opportunities to travel to china with some of our top u.s. government leaders at the time bob zoellick or secretary of the treasury paulson, secretary of state rice, to discuss ways in which to deepen economic relationships and work on the u.s.-china relationship. and even many years ago as a u.s. marine aboard an amphibious assault ship in the east and

south china sea during the third taiwan strait vices. it was a very, very small player in an episode that once again demonstrated american resolve and commitment in the region. there's a long tradition from alaska senators in keeping a focus on the importance of the asia-pacific from both the alaska and the u.s. perspective. former senator ted stevens served in world war ii as a flying tiger flying the hump and that part of world and his subsequent focus throughout his career very much focused on the asia-pacific. as did frank murkowski's expertise and experience, particularly with regard to our relationship with taiwan. and the focus on the asia-pacific and the rise of china is certainly one that in many ways we can view as an

opportunity, certainly in my state. last year china became the number-one export market for alaska goods. $1.4 billion of goods exported from alaska to china, an 18% increase. so i believe maintaining this focus and we have this visit today with the president of china, is critically important not only to my state, not only to our country but also to our allies in the region. and we should all try to put more focus and our best thinking on these critical foreign policy and national security issues that although are not always on the front page of the papers, i believe are some of the most important long-term strategic challenges and opportunities that we face in this country. mr. president, i yield the floor.

sulaymaniyamr. sullivan: mr. pri note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quoruquorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. gardner: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. officer without objection. mr. gardner: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s.2082, introduced earlier today. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2082, a bill to

amend title 28 of the united states code for the vrntses affairs and others purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. gardner: mr. president, i thank you for this opportunity today on the senate bill 20* to complete the job in denver and finish -- and aurora the veterans hospital. this has been a longtime process. it has been a struggle. i want to thank senator mcconnell, kirk for their efforts to bring us to this point much the hospital in aurora will be a crown jewel of the v.a. system and the veterans who have worked so hard to make this a reality deserve nothing but the best. i believe that we start the process of finally building this and finishing it and getting the job done here on the senate floor today. so, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read third time afned

passed and that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

wit

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 213. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 213, designating october 30, 2015, as a national day of remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers. the presiding officer: without objection. the committee is discharged. and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 4:30 p.m. monday,

september 28. following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. finally, that following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the message to accompany h.r. 719, with the time until the cloture vote equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 4:30 p.m. monday.

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[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen, the

national anthem of the people's republic of china, followed by the national anthem of the united states. >> present arms. [military band playing]

[military band playing] [mill taken band playing national anthem] [military band playing national anthem] [military band playing

national anthem] >> order! >> right shoulder. >> forward.

>> mr. president, the honor guard of the air force band. [military band playing] [military band playing]

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[military band playing] [military band playing]

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>> thank you. thank you. i have to go make a speech. [background noise] [military band playing]

[military band playing] [military band playing]

[military band playing] [playing yankee doodle] >> present arms!

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