quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. heller: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. heller: i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heller: thank you,

mr. president. i rise today to share my concerns with the devastating -- of the devastating impact of the cadillac tax enacted as part of the affordable care act. the cadillac tax is a 40% excise tax set to take effect in 2018 on employer-sponsored health care plans around the country. mr. president, this is precisely why i have authored the only bipartisan piece of legislation that would fully repeal this onerous tax. the reason i did so is that in nevada, 1.3 million workers who have employer-sponsored health care insurance -- plans will be hit by this cadillac tax. these are public employees in carson cities, they're service industry workers on the strip in las vegas, small business owners and, of course, retirees all across the state. hardly anyone in nevada will be shielded from the devastating effects of this cadillac tax. some of these organizations

include -- let me step back. what i am most proud of on this particular piece of legislation, mr. president, is the fact that we have 14 other cosponsors here in the senate. and it's also sponsored and supported by 75 other organizations across the country and some of these organizations, they include unions, chambers of commerce, small business owners, state and local government employees and retirees and they're all saying the same thing, mr. president, they're saying the cadillac tax needs to be fully repealed and our employees will experience -- or our employees will experience massive changes to our health care. so we're talking about reduced benefits. we're talking about increased premiums. mr. president, we're talking about higher deductibles. over 33 million americans who

use flexible spending accounts or f.s.a.'s, and 13.5 million americans who use health savings accounts, h.s.a.'s, may see these accounts vanish in the coming years as companies scramble to avoid the law's 40% excise tax. h.s.a.'s and f.s.a.'s are used for things like hospital and maternity services, they're used for dental care, physical therapy. mr. president, they're also used for mental health services. something that we badly need today. access to these lifesaving services could all be gone for tens of millions of americans if the cadillac tax is not fully repealed. i've heard from employers, from big business to unions to small businesses from all over nevada saying that they will inevitably have to eliminate services their workers currently enjoy. and they'll have to cut certain health care providers out of their networks. this goes to the heart of the

broken promises of obamacare and that is, if you like your health care, you can keep it. if you like your doctor, you can keep it. earlier this week, i held a telephone town hall meeting with thousands of nevadans from all walks of life. during the meeting, i asked the participants on the call, should the cadillac tax be repealed? one of the best parts about these tele town hall meetings is you can do these surveys and we do this weekly. but the question this week was, should the cadillac tax be repealed? almost 70% of them said yes, the cadillac tax should be fully repealed. let me repeat that. almost 70% of nevadans supported the repealing of the cadillac tax. they see this as a burdensome and costly tax that will hurt hardworking nevadans, hardworking americans. the onerous tax targets americans who already have high-quality health care. no one claims that our health

care system ever was or is perfect. the goal of health reform should be to help those who do not have health care coverage and lower costs for those who already have insurance. this tax does not achieve either one of these goals. it's very rare these days to see this much agreement in washington. organized labor, chamber of commerce, local and state governments, small businesses -- they've all come together with a bipartisan group of senators putting forth a solution to fix a problem affecting so many hardworking americans and their families. some members on both sides of the aisle have tried to make this a partisan issue for different reasons but this is not a partisan issue, which is evident by the fact that the companion legislation to my bill in the house enjoys more democratic cosponsors than republicans. fully repealing the cadillac tax is an opportunity for republicans and democrats to join forces, work together to

repeal a bad tax for just one purpose and that is to help 151 million workers keep the health care insurance that they like. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence -- oh, i'm sorry. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mrs. warren: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, for 20 years, one of the bill boards in america was next to fenway park facing the massachusetts turnpike. it had a giant number counter on it. and when i was running for the senate in 2012, i would drive past that bill board sometimes three or four times a day. ms. warren: and each time i'd look at the calendar to see how it had changed since the last trip. up 2, up, up 12. the bill board was from stop handgun violence and it shows the number of children killed by guns in the united states. when the tragedy happened at

sandy hook elementary school, my first thought was of the 20 little children who would be added to the count on that billboard. i thought about how we, the grownups, had failed to keep safe the thousands of children counted there. mass shootings, everyday shootings, drive-by shootings, random shootings, sometimes with big headlines and mostly with no headlines at all. the facts are simple -- 88 americans die every day from gun violence. seven of those people are children or teens. that's seven a day every day, young bodies piling up by the thousands year after year. what has happened to us? if seven children were dying every day from some mysterious virus, our country would pull out all the stops to figure out what had gone wrong and to fix it. well, gun violence is an

epidemic, an epidemic that kills children, kills them in schools, on playgrounds and in our neighborhoods. but day after day, month after month, tragedy after tragedy, the united states congress has done nothing. nothing. republicans in the senate have blocked even the smallest steps to protect our communities and keep our children safe. this must stop now. today, senate democrats are calling on republicans to join us in supporting three measures to reduce gun violence. first, end the gun show loophole. everyone gets a background check. second, end straw purchases. the one who gets checked has to be the true owner. and, third, close holes in the background check database and stop domestic abusers from purchasing guns, period. look, let's be frank.

these three steps won't be enough to stop all handgun violence in our communities, but these are meaningful steps in the right direction. steps that huge majorities of americans support, steps that are calm and sensible. and these three steps are a test test -- a test for every single member of congress. these three steps put the question to everyone in congress -- who do you work for? do you represent the people who have lost children or sisters or cousins to gun violence, who have stood at gravesides and sworn that we will make change? do you represent the people who don't want their loved ones to be the next victims? do you represent the people who want some sensible rules about gun safety? or do you represent the n.r.a.? it is time to make a choice

right here in congress. the american people or the n.r.a. thank you, mr. president. i yield. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i withdraw the motion to proceed to h.r. 2028. the presiding officer: the motion is withdrawn. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to calendar 252, s. 2146. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 252, s. 2146, a bill to hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for defying federal law and so forth and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar

number 252, s. 2146, a bill to hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for defying federal law and so forth and for other purposes. signed by 17 senators. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the mandatory quorum be waived and that notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the cloture vote occur at 2:15 p.m. on tuesday, october 20. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, senators will soon travel to their home states for the state work period. i would ask colleagues to consider some important questions as they meet with constituents and take time to reflect. in a time of limited federal resources and tough choices, is it fair to treat localities that cooperate with law enforcement or work hard to follow federal law no better than localities that refuse to help or actively flout the law? when a deputy sheriff puts her life on the line every day, is it fair to make her live in constant fear of being sued for simply trying to keep it safe? when felons enter our country illegally and repeatedly, is it fair to victims and families to not do what we can now to stop them? well, mr. president, the answer to all these questions is, no,

it isn't fair. it isn't fair, not to citizens and governments that do the right thing. not to law enforcement officers who risk everything for our safety. not to victims and their families. the proponen÷ -- the proponents of so-called sanctuary cities seem to callously disregard how their policies can hurt other people. that's really not right. the bill i just filed cloture on this afternoon aims to ensure more fairness on this issue. the ideas underpinning the stop sanctuary policies and protect americans act are supported by a great many americans. the bill is supported by many law enforcement organizations as well. they've had some really positive things to say about it, like one letter i'll read from now. it read -- "thank you for introducing the stop sanctuary policies and protect americans act, which will empower federal

and local law enforcement officers' cooperative efforts to better protect our communities and our citizenry. your proposal will ensure we do not dishonor the memory of kate steinly and the immeasurable grief her family is enduring." the letter went on, "miss steinly was killed in san francisco by an illegal immigrant who had previously been deported from the united states five times." five times. "and had been convicted of seven felonies. the shooter chose to live in san francisco because he knew it was a sanctuary shield that would shield him from federal immigration law. tragically, his sanctuary gambit proved fatal for the steinly family. federal officials requested that san francisco detain the shooter until immigration authorities could pick him up but san francisco officials refused to cooperate. and released sanchez three months before kate's murder.

we owe it to kate and the american citizenry to fix this critical community safety issue now." mr. president, that's what the federal law enforcement officers association had to say about the bill that we'll be voting on when we get back. groups like the national sheriffs association and the national association of police organizations have sent letters in support as well. i want to thank the sponsors of this legislation for all their hard work on this bill. i hope senators will reflect on the questions i've raised over the state work period and the senate will consider this bill when we reconvene. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. donnelly: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. denially: thank you, mr. president. mr. president -- mr. donnelly: mr. president, earlier this year i was proud to be part of the 50th anniversary in selma. 50 years ago during the marches from selma to montgomery, civil rights leaders and everyday citizens of this country put their lives at risk in a

passionate, nonviolent demonstration for more equal and justice society. the passion and courage for equality reflected in the historic marches in selma was the culmination of decades of struggle shoanl by men and women a-- shown by men and women across this country. in my home state of indiana, a place that takes great pride in high school basketball, it is fitting that 60 years ago, the civil rights movement played out on the hardwoods of indiana basketball courts. on march 19, 1955, at the butler field house, the flying tigers of crispus adducs high school became not only the first all-african-american high school athletic team to win a state championship in indiana but the first all african-american high school athletic team to win a state championship in the united

states. led by future nba hall of famer and maybe the best basketball player of all time, oscar robertson, the flying tigers finished their 1955 season with a 30-1 record capped with a 97-74 victory over gary roosevelt high school in the state final. before crispus attuck's historic 1955 season, no indianapolis basketball team had won the indiana state championship in the tournament's 45-year history attucs' win was a source of pride, particularly for the african-american community. crispus attucss high school was founded in 1927 as a segregated high school for black students. the indiana high school athletic association initially refused to

grant crispus attucks membership and the school could not play in the state tournament until 1942. even then, many of the all-white schools refused to play crispus attucs. the crispus attucs team would often have to travel dozens or even hundreds of miles to find teams willing to play against them. because the school's gym was built too small for home games, every game was an away game for the flying tigers. despite the segregation and racism, crispus attucks thrived. african-american educators could not teach in white schools so crispus attucks attracted an elite african-american community. nearly every teacher had either a doctorate or a master's degree teachers at crispus attucks included former tuskegee airmen and members of the golden 13,

the first african-american u.s. naval officers. one of those teachers was ray crowe. a native of johnson county, indiana, crowe became head coach of the basketball team in 1950. he instituted a new, fast-paced style of offense and was a coach who cared deeply about his players. crowe's coaching style brought enormous success to the team. soon the same white schools that refused to play crispus attucks wanted to schedule games with them. lacking a home court, the team would frequently play at butler field house on the campus of butler university. the flying tigers packed the house, regularly attracting 10,000 fans or more to a high school basketball game. still, the team was not treated fairly. when traveling for games, the

players were unable to stay in hotels or to eat in restaurants that only served white people. that wasn't the only challenge the flying tigers confronted. they also had to contend with bias from the referees. coach crowe used to tell the team that they had to play against seven people every game game -- the five players and the two refs. yet the flying tigers kept winning. in 1954, the team made it all the way to the state semifinals, even with several key players missing from injuries. the stage was set for the 1955 season when a junior forward named oscar robertson was ready to lead the team. and he had some of the most amazing teammates you could ever find. coach crowe and the flying tigers finished the regular season with one loss.

they breezed through the first four games of the tournament, winning by an average of 28 points per game. then they faced muncie central, another powerhouse basketball program. and the flying tigers won by a point. but all you need to win by, mr. president, is one point. over 15,000 fans came to the butler field house to watch crispus attucks beat new albany in the state semifinal and then again to witness history as crispus attucks defeated another all african-american team, gary roosevelt, 97-74, to become state champs. the trailblazing players who made it possible included johnny "mack" brown, bill brown, willy burnly, john clemens, john gibson, bill hampton, willy may

whether. sam milton, cedric mitchell, stanford patton, oscar robertson , and bill scott. it was a crowning achievement. the big "o," oscar robertson, said, "i remember that night. they called us indianapolis attucss, not crispus attu cs. "to me, that sort of men we had arrived. they just wanted you to win. they didn't care what color you were." there was a tradition in indiana that after every state championship, the winning team would climb on a firetruck and then be taken around the city of indianapolis for a victory parade. the parade route always included a stop at monument circle for pictures and celebration followed by a tour of downtown indy. but as the firetruck carrying the flying tigers approached monument circle, it didn't stop and it didn't continue through downtown.

instead, the firetruck brought the players and fans to a park in the city's african-american neighborhood. crispus attucs, a team who had just made american history, didn't receive the celebration it deserved simply because of the color of their skin. and when attucs repeated in 1956 and again won the state championship, the firetruck took the same detour. change did not come overnight. but the crispus attucks basketball team inspired many, many schools to begin recruiting african-american players along with starting to held their long-held policies of segregation. oscar robertson, mr. robertson, later said, "by us winning, it sped up the integration. i truly believe that us winning the state championship brought indianapolis together."

in march, members of the indianapolis-based family girls' youth mentoring program honored the seven living members of the 1955 championship team and the celebration included a traditional victory tour through the streets of indianapolis, an honor that they didn't give to those kids 60 years ago. and at this year's indy 500, the 1965 crispus attucks basketball team served at the grand marshals of the parade. for the first time in the parade's history, there was a stop at monument circle, where the flying tigers got the celebration they had rightfully earned so long ago. today i'm frowd joi proud to joy friend congressman adray carson in honoring the legacy of the 65

crispus attucks basketball team. on behalf of hoosiers, i want to recognize the crispus attucks team not only for their amazing accomplishments on the court but for the powerful message they always sent throughout the state of indiana and for the pride that is still present in indianapolis today, for them and for all their accomplishments and for all they mean to us. the members of the 1955 state championship crispus attucks basketball team, their coaches, the teachers who taught them, the community that supported them, and the families that loved them -- they were an inspiration in 195 5 to all of us, and they are an inspiration today. god bless all of those young players, god bless indiana, and god bless america.

mr. hatch: would the senator yield? mr. boozman: yes. mr. hatch: i graduated from high school in 1952 and i was the captain of the high school basketball team, and i followed this crispus attucks team. it was fantastic. and almost every player -- mr. boozman: extraordinary people. hatch they were extraordinary. they inspired -- mr. hatch: they were extraordinary. they inspired all of us, especially the way they conducted themselves and carried through. what a bunch of great, great athletes. mr. boozman: i'm so honored, to the leader of the senate, our speak pro tempore -- president pro tempore, for you to speak of our fine young men that way. every citizen of indiana is grateful, and they were an extraordinary group. i met them when i'm back home and as fine a people as they were when they were young, they're even more extraordinary for our state and country. mr. hatch: thank you. they were all winners. i'll tell you that.

mr. boozman: thank you. thank you, mr. president. mr. coons: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that dan codare, a legal fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the day. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. coons: mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator utah. mr. hatch: i rise today to spheek abouspeak about an imporf intellectual trade and am proud to be speaking with my colleague, senator chris coons. we introduced a bill that would create a harmonized, uniform federal standard for protecting trade secrets. trade secrets such as customer lists, formulas and manufacturing processes are an essential form of intellectual property. yet trade secrets are the only form of u.s. intellectual property where misuse does not provide the owner with a federal private right of action. instead, trade secret owners

must rely on state courts or federal prosecutors to protect their rights. the multistate procedural and jurisdictional issues that arise in such cases are costly and complicated, and the department of justice lacks the resources to prosecute many trade secret cases. these systemic issues put companies at a great disadvantage since the victims of trade secret theft need to recover information quickly before it crosses state lines or leaves the country. at a time when cyber theft of trade secrets is at an all-time high, particularly as it involves chinese competitors, it is critically important that u.s. companies have the ability to protect their trade secrets in federal court. senator coons, trade secret theft has hit some of the nation's best-known companies, including delaware-based dupont and its popular kevlar sixtsynthetic products.

how has trade secret theft impacted dupont? mr. coons: thank you, senator hatch. thank you for your leadership on this important issue. as the senator utah has mentioned, trade secrets are the only form of intellectual property not protected from theft under federal civil war, which is particular stlieking when you consider the -- striking when you consider the value of trade secrets to the economy. according to some estimates, they're worth $5 trillion to the economy, on par with i.t. protected by patents. the theft is huge, somewhere between $480 billion annually. i'd submit that there's not a state in the country that hasn't been affected by this problem, and delaware is no exception. in the 1960's dupont, one of our significant manufacturing chemistry-based companies, invented kevlar, with extraordinary strength and it is also lightweight.

it's best-known use is in body armor worn by the police officers and brave men and women in the armed forces. it's saved thousands of lives. about ten years ago you don't upon the developed the next generation of ke kevlar, which s even lighter and better-able to withstand penetrating trauma, representing a real breakthrough in safety but cost millions and millions of dollars to develop. you see, chemically, the fibers aren't that complicated but the fab bring kairks the manufacturing techniques -- the fabrication, the manufacturing techniques are incredibly difficult to develop and implement. so one day about six years ago a rogue employee of dupont took the know-how behind dupont's creation of next-generation kevlar and began work with a rival manufacturing company in korea using dupont's trade secrets.

the potential loss to dupont alone from this one instance of trade secret theft or mis-appropriation approaches $1 billion u.s. so, senator hatch, i would ask you, if you were a c.e.o. and your employees were ripping off your trade secrets, your intellectual property, and taking it to another country, would that affect your willingness to invest the resources in future r&d in the united states that are needed to make similar lifesaving technological resources? mr. hatch: of course it would. if i were a c.e.o. responsible to my shareholders, i could not, according to my fiduciary duties, make those investments if rogue employees could take off and render those investments worthless. i read recently an interesting article in the "new republic" titled "corn wars" that provides

a detailed account of how china is stealing proprietary corn seeds from america's farms. most corn in china is used as a feed for livestock. that was not a problem until the country's middle class acquired an appetite for meat. given this new demand, china is trying desperately to increase corn production amid its water shortage and lack of arable land. that's where our country's intellectual property comes in. rather than spend the time and resources to develop a hybrid corn seed of its own, china would rather steal -- literally right out of the ground -- america's high-performing seeds. experts from america's top seed producers confirm that acquiring the technology behind a specially designed line of seed is equivalent to five to eight years of research. and at least $40 million. you better believe the chinese know the value of the seeds they stealed ansteal and the numerous

they're committed while in our country. let me read an excerpt from the "new republic" article. "it was early may 2011 and mao awong and huang lee, vice-chairman of the seed company at the time, were driving roads in tama county, iowa, allegedly searching for a dupont pioneer test field. apparently uncertain if he was in the right place or unsure of what kind of seed dupont pioneer was testing, mao had huang pull to the enl of the field so they could question a farmer in the midst of spring planning. how had these two men chanced upon his field at the very day that he happened to be planting a top-secret seed under development by dupont pioneer.

the next day a dupont pioneer seed manager spotted the same car. he watched mao kneel down in the dirt and beginning digging corn seeds out of the ground. when confronted, mao grew frustratered and red-faced but before the field mearp manager d question him any further, mao fled." there is no doubt that china and other foreign competitors are, wooing furiously to steel american innovation, for all sectors of the economy. including high-tech, life sciences, aeronautics, financial services and the energy sector. that is why congress must act now to pass the bipartisan, bicameral defend trade secrets act. now, senator coons, what exactly does this bill that you and i are cosponsoring do? mr. coons: thank you, senator hatch for the opportunity to go into more detail about this terrific, bicameral defend trades secret act. it is relatively simple.

it creates a federal private right of action for miss appropriation of trade secrets. it uses an existing federal criminal law -- the economic espionage act -- to define trade secrets and it draws heavily from the uniform trade secrets act, which has been enacted by many states to define what is mis-appropriation. simply put, our bill harmonizes u.s. law. each state has a different trade secret law and they vary in a range of dim different ways. not all are major but they affect in small but real ways the definition of a trade secret, what an owner must do to keep a trade secret a secret, what constitutes mis-appropriation, and what damages are vaifnl available. so our defend trade secrets act creates a single national baseline, or a minimum level of protection, and gives trade secret owners access to both a uniform national law and our excellent federal courts, which provide nationwide service of process and ex-kooks o ex--- exf

judgment. states are free to add further protections on top of what's in this bill. the proposed legislation does one more thing and trade secret owners tell us this is a critical component of the larks not available in state -- of the law, not available in states. it creates an ex-pour ta ex pare ability. once the public learns of a trade secret, even if it does so wrongfully, the trade secret loses its protection. this bill provides a limited right of action for the owner of a trade secret to go to court ex-paexparte and get it back bee mis-appropriator -- the theft-- --the thief of the trade secret, forgive me -- has chance to share it with a competitor or the world, thus exposing it. this is a commonsense idea to hispanic address a very -- idea to help address a very serious problem. when you talk about ex parte

injunctive relief, we to be very careful to avoid think unintended consequences. senator hatch, would you address how you took concerns about unintended consequences into account as we worked together to draft this bill. mr. hatch: i want to thank you for that helpful overview. as a republican, i was initially cautious about expanding federal law to create a new private right of action for trade secret theft. after all, some have suggested that state law is sufficient. but after consulting with many in the business community, i was convinced that creating a federal trade secrets law is the right approach. soon after introduction, the heritage foundation confirmed the need for federal legislation. mr. alton abbott from the heritage foundation rights "the laclack of a federal civil remey for victims of trade secret theft precludes owners of trade

secrets from vindicating their rights under certain circumstances. in joining and sanctioning thieves across state lines is often difficult. a federal statutory remedy would make federal tribunals available to businesses that seek injunctions which is important when time is of the essence due to fright flight risk." another problem that we faced was ensuring that the ex parte seizure authority could not be used abusively or for anticompetitive purposes. when we began the drafting process last congress, we started from scratch and asked for input from all interested stakeholders, especially in regard to the ex parte provision. we received many helpful suggestions and included them in the bill. that's correct, isn't it, senator coons? mr. coons: yes, it is. after all that work together, all that consultation, when we introduced this bill last congress, we wanted to make sure

that the ex parte provision couldn't be used for abuse so we required that the party seeking ex parte review must make a rigorous showing that they owned the trade secret, that the trade secret had been stolen, and that, third, parties would not be harmed if an ex parte order were granted. w we included damages for wrongful seizure including attorneys fees. with that whole combination of, i think, important measures to ensure that the ex parte seizure capability under the statute are not misused, i think we achieved real consensus at that time, isn't that right, senator hatch? mr. hatch: that are the, senator coons. as we prepare to reintroduce our bill at this congress, we were fortunate to join forces with senator jeff plaik of arizona. he was invaluable in defining the ex parte seizure language. because of his good work i think the ex parte solutions are where they need to be: strong, fair,

and not susceptible to abuse. would you agree with that? mr. coons: yes, i would. thanks in no small part to you, senator hatch and to senator flake who insisted last congress and this congress that we put everything on the table and invite all stakeholders to come forward and share their concerns, we worked together, we did that and we found an incredible consensus. in addition to talking with industry, we've gone to think tanks and academic institutions about this bill. some people that we've spoken to raised concerns that our bill as previously drafted could harm employee mobility. so, senator hatch, i don't want to restrict employee mobility, and i don't think you want to either. is that right? mr. hatch: well, that's right, senator coons. i never thought our bill harmed employee liability -- or mobility. excuse me. when i heard these concerns, i wanted to make sure that we address this particular issue, so we included language in the bill this congress that states explicitly that a person cannot be prevented from accepting an

offer of employment because of his or her prior exposure to trade secrets. i think we struck the right balance with this bill. i'm not aware of any stakeholder opposition to this bill. those who operate businesses in the real world and have to protect their trade secrets on a regular basis are strong supporters of the defend trade secrets act. the list of companies and associations that have endorsed the act is diverse and impressive. let me read the names of some of the businesses and organizations that support this bill: adobe, american bar association, section of intellectual property and law, american intellectual property and law association, association of global auto makers, inc., biotechnology industry organization, the boeing company, boston scientific, b.s.a., the software alliance, caterpillar, corning

incorporated, dew point, eli lilly and company, general electric, honda, i.b.m., illinois tool works, inc., information technology industry council, intel, international fragrance association of north america, johnson and johnson, medical device manufacturers association, medtronic, micron, microsoft, national alliance for jobs and innovation, national association of manufacturers, the new england council, nike, pfizer, phillips, intellectual property owners association, the procter & gamble company, semiconductor industry association, s.a.s., software and information industry association, u.s. chamber of commerce, united technology corporation. let me mention one more. 3-m. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the letters of support for this organization be inserted into the "congressional

record" at this point. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. hatch: thank you. senator coons, don't you think it's time congress acted on trade secret theft? mr. coons: absolutely, senator hatch. i do. i think when you talk about an important issue like trade secret theft which poses such a great threat to american innovation and our growth and competitiveness, it is past time we act on this issue and this bill is truly bipartisan. i was the lead sponsor in the last congress. you were lead sponsor in this congress and along the way we've worked closely together and undertaken an inclusive and it are a alternative pros to make sure we heard from all stakeholder pro-- prospectives. senator hatch, you have been a big part of the reason we've been able to undertake a be constructive and successful process. i'd ask you, senator hatch, in your view, has this process produced a bill ready to move in the senate judiciary committee

on which we both serve? mr. hatch: senator coons, you have been a great partner in advancing this bill and i agree the defense trade secrets act is ready to move not just in the judiciary committee but also on the senate floor. i think this is the type of bill that could move by unanimous consent. at the same time we're not closing the door or turning a deaf ear to anyone who has thoughts on this legislation. let me say this, if any of my colleagues have concerns about this bill, come talk to me or senator coons. now is the time to resolve your concerns and we'll resolve them. if you talk to any of the companies that were initially on the fringes that are now supporters of the bill i think they'll agree you and i are willing to support all legitimate concerns. so work with us. i'm pleased with what we see with industry support and here in the senate. one way that is happening is senators on both sides of the aisle want to support this bill. to that end, mr. president, i

ask unanimous consent that senators james risch, mike crapo and roy blunt be added as cosponsors to the defend trade secrets act, s. 1890. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hatch: i'm pleased with the support we've already seen and encourage many more of my colleagues to support and help us pass this bill. help us make this happen. it's the right thing to do. and i yield the floor.

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