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vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the yeas are 32. the nays are 65. and the amendment is not agreed to.

ms. collins: madam president? the presiding officer: senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. madam president, i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for not longer than ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to introduce the clean cook stoves and fuels support act. this bill addresses a serious global public health and environmental issue, and i'm very pleased to be joined in this effort by my friend and colleague, senator durbin. nearly half of the world's people cook over open fires or

inefficient, polluting and unsafe cook stoves using agricultural waste, coal, dung, wood or other solid fuels. smoke from these traditional cook stoves and open fires is associated with chronic and acute diseases that affect women and children disproportionately. the black carbon from these traditional cook stoves is also a significant driver of air pollution and climate change. alarmingly the world health organization found that in 2012, this type of air pollution claimed 4.3 million lives. millions more are sickened from the toxic fumes and thousands

suffered burns annually from open fires or unsafe cook stoves. the global burden of disease study of 2010 doubled the mortality estimates for exposure to smoke from cook stoves referred to household air pollution from two million to four million deaths annually. madam president, that is more than the deaths from malaria, tuberculosis and hiv-aids combined. this same study ranks household air pollution as the fourth-worst overall health risk factor in the world and is the second-worst health risk factor in the world for women and girls. traditional cook stoves also create serious environmental problems. recent studies show that the

emissions of black carbon or common soot from these cook stoves significantly contribute to regional air pollution and climate change. in fact, black carbon emissions from residential cook stoves in developing countries are responsible for as much as 25% of black carbon emissions. moreover, each family can require up to two tons of cooking fuel and where the demand for fuel outstrips the natural regrowth of resources, local environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity can result. madam president, the collection of this fuel is also a burden that is shouldered disproportionately by women and children. in some areas women and girls risk rape and other violence

during the up to 20 hours per week that they spend away from their families just gathering fuel. this often means that these women and girls have far less time to pursue an education, to generate an income or to participate in other community activities, and this marginalizes their role in society. a new report by mackenzie global institute estimates that the world economy would increase by between $12 trillion and $28 trillion over ten years if the participation of women were to equal that of men. madam president, replacing these cook stoves with modern alternatives would help reverse these alarming health, environmental and economic

trends. and it would be relatively inexpensive. in fact, there are stoves that are coming on to the market that cost as little as $20, that are 50% more efficient than the traditional cooking methods. it could also be done quickly. it is what scientists call the low-hanging fruit of environmental and health fixes. in 2010, the global alliance for clean cook stoves was formed to help support the adoption of clean cook stoves in 100 million households in the developing world by the year 2020. recognizing the serious health and environmental issues posed by traditional cook stoves, the alliance aims to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower

women and combat pollution by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking stoves. alliance partners are working together to help overcome the market barriers that currently impede the production, development, and distribution of clean cook stoves in developing countries. during the first five years of the alliance, the u.s. government played a key role in supporting this important endeavor, including through financial assistance that surpassed the original funding commitments. led by the department of state, 11 federal agencies have invested more than $114 million in clean cook stoves and fuel initiatives to date. for the next five years of the alliance our government has announced anticipated

commitments of another $175 million. to date our government has focused its efforts on applied research and development, diplomatic engagement to encourage a market for clean cook stoves and to improve access to them, international development projects to support clean cook stove businesses, engaging women entrepreneurs, and supporting the adoption of clean and efficient cooking solution by providing some financial assistance. the legislation senator durbin and i are introducing today strengthens these important commitments by requiring the secretary of the in consultation with the relevant federal agencies and in coordination with international n.g.o.'s and private and other governmental entities to advance the goal and

work of the alliance. in addition, the bill would formally authorize the funding commitments already made by our government for the next five years through the year 2020 to ensure that these important pledges toward preventing unnecessary illness and reducing pollution around the globe are met. by supporting the work of the alliance and the commitment of the u.s. government to replace traditional cook stoves with modern versions that emit far less soot, this bill aims to benefit directly some of the world's poorest people and to reduce the harmful pollution that affects all of us. it offers a way for us to address the second-largest contributor to climate change in

a way that is inexpensive, not burdensome to the people of our country and that will benefit poor people living in developing nations. madam president, there is lots of disagreement on many proposals that have been advanced to address climate change, but this is one that should unite all of us. it will help to improve the health of women and children in particular who bear the burden of working over these dirty cook stoves in developing countries, and it will reduce carbon soot in our atmosphere, the second-biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emission emissio. and it will do so without

requiring those of us in our country to change our ways. i urge my colleagues to join senator durbin and me in supporting the clean cook stoves and fuel supports act. thank you, madam president. i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

almost every american household. mr. merkley: now, this is all about the question of whether when a bill comes due for previous spending, whether we're going to pay the bill on time or not. this is all about whether or not when interest comes due on treasury bills, we are going to pay the interest on time or not. well, great nations don't pay their bills late. they're expected to be organized

and competent and have their act together. but there's also a tremendous incentive to pay on time because when you pay late, the interest rate on your debt goes up because you become less creditworthy. now, many folks in this chamber say we should operate like a family and we should think about family values when it comes to finance. well, here's the connection with how families operate. they know that if they don't pay their mortgage on time, if they don't pay their insurance on time, if they don't pay their target bill on time, then their cost of credit is going to go up. their credit score will go down, their cost of credit will go up. now, sometimes families simply don't have any possible way of paying a bill when it comes and they struggle to get the funds together knowing that the more cases in which they fail, the

worse their credit score is going to go, which means they're going to, if they borrow a car -- to buy a car in the future, they borrow to buy a house, if they borrow for any reason, the interest rate's going to be much higher, they're going to pay a lot more and get nothing more than they would have gotten before. so families understand that you pay your bills on time. that's fiscal responsibility. but some may have forgotten that this lesson is not just anchored in theory. this is in practice. in 2011 when we difficulty dalaied overpaying -- when we dilly-dallied, our credit rating, the united states credit rating was taken down a notch, which meant we'd pay higher interest. or how about 2013, just two years ago when we failed to act responsibly and the government shut down and it cost us 120,000 jobs but it also cost us, by our

best estimates, about $70 million more in interest that we wouldn't have otherwise had to pay because interest rates went up. not paying your bills on time is fiscally irresponsible and to put it more directly, it's a dumb and dumber tax on every american family. so i'm not sure why it is that advocates in the house and advocates in the senate are advocating for a dumb and dumber tax. the worst tax is when you cost money and you buy nothing. but that's what you do when you don't pay your bills on time. now, we know that it isn't just the cost to the u.s. government of paying more on treasury bonds. we know it's also that the treasury bond rate is used as an index for things like home mortgages. it's used as an index for things

like car loans. so our families have to pay more because of the irresponsibility of the republican dumb and dumber tax on america. that is irresponsible and that is damaging to our country and to our families. now, it's not often that i turn to ronald reagan for insight. but in this case, he had it absolutely right. ronald reagan said fiscal responsibility is paying your bills on time, and he had a number of times he spoke to congress and said, don't do a dumb and dumber tax. or to put it in his own words when he was at a radio address in 1987, he said, "this brinksmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on social security and veterans benefits. interest markets would skyrocket instability would occur in

financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar." and he continued, he said, "the united states has a special responsibility to itself and to the world to meet its obligations." or at another time, he wrote this to the majority leader of the u.s. senate. he said, "the full consequences of a default or even the serious prospect of a default by the united states are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate." and he continued, "denigration of the full faith and credit of the united states would have substantial effects," as we note here. "substantial effects." and he said on the domestic financial markets, and the value of the dollar on exchange markets. and he continued, "the nation can ill afford to allow such a result. the risks, the costs, the disruptions and incalculable damage lead me" and this is president reagan speaking, "to

but one conclusion -- the senate must pass this legislation before congress adjourns." so let us listen to the voice of reason on fiscal responsibility to pay our debts on time. let us not adopt the republican dumb and dumber tax of failing to pay our bills that extracts huge costs, as president reagan recognized, both on our nation and on our families. thank you, madam president.

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. a senator: i have five unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: madam president? in the 1800's, colorado found itself at the center of a nation. mr. gardner: gold rushes and silver rushes, cattle barons and sheep barons, ranch warrers pitting war against the sheep farmers, it's a state that has a little something for everyone. a whole lot of space, breathtaking vistas and pioneer dreams abound. the 1860's ushered in the land rush across the country, extending to colorado a few years later by the 1880's. people from the east looking for that relief valve of western expansion drawn to places like the high plains of colorado, fertile valleys, peaks and plateaus, places where the rain

supposedly followed the plow and the land men knew no limit to the sale of heredity. it was in the 1880's that one raymond vaughan horensham, a wealthy baron was moving his belongings from east to west when the trail he was riding on derailed in a small eastern colorado town. detecting divine providence at work, or most likely scared to get back on the train, he decided to stay put, declaring that the site of the derailment is where god intended him to be. he went on to build the first multistory brick buildings in that town. before the town fathers decided against naming him the mayor. that the town council would subject such a man of possession to the humility of an election was too much for baron shram, prompting causing him to move his brick buildings to a more aptly named town of, you guessed it, shram, just down the road.

100 years later, there are no brick buildings in his namesake town, just a nice feedlot bearing his name that everybody called today just shram. but in the town he left behind, hard scrap he willed businesses continued, squeaking just enough moisture out of the ground to feed the cows. thus began colorado's long romaine with high plains farming. it surely wasn't easy. families crammed into tar paper houses, staking their claim on a patch of ground that knows only shades of brown and green. it was around 1915 when three men came together to start an implement business, roy chillcott, jack trivott and another partner. tilling sandhills whose only previous disruption were antelope, bison and the crossing paths of the plains indians. it was no easy feat to be a

pioneer in agriculture. there is an old saying at the coffee shop in that small town. how do you make a large -- a small fortune in agriculture? start with a -- i skewed the line up here. there's an old shaig in that coffee shop. how do you make a small fortune in agriculture? start with a large one. living in sod houses, getting ice from ponds over the winter to store over the summer, if there was enough moisture for that pond. sandstorms and dust bowls described in books and movies for generations to come. these hearty men and women, they didn't leave when the hard times continued because they had made this their home. to survive was to succeed and to succeed was something that every american aspired to. their wealth is measured in friends and family and the miles of prairie and in the consistency of the windmill churning the lifebloofd the plains, their -- life bloofd the plains, their water. perhaps nothing else has changed the face of colorado or our western states more than the

application of water to dry land. they are what make colorado today the boundless spirits of pioneers driven to succeed. during the great depression, it was devastating for everyone. neighbors saw neighbors soil drive unrelenting across the darkened country sky carried by the wind borne atop a rain deprived land. people like chillcot and trivott knew they had to survive, for themselves, their families and their small struggling community. they had to survive so that others in the community could survive too. so they found ways to do it. diversifying the business, trading wheat for tractors, giving a price for the wheat that was at two or three times the wheat was worth to keep families on their farms, storing the wheat hoping it would be worth more than the loss they incurred. they gave tractors to poor farmers knowing they couldn't pay it, knowing someday or holding hope above fear their neighbor would make good on it

and pay what they could. businesses in these small towns went through the depression on to world war ii when sons and daughters left to fight for freedom in lands many never heard of before. rationing, sacrificing and dedicating new faces to the workforce forever changing the landscape of small and big towns. businesses like roy's and jack's and their partners would pass on to a new generation. howard croley and a new partner. that business still stands today, farmers implement company. chillcot were joined by my great-grandfather who would sell the tris to my grandfather and my father. i spent time there trying to learn values about the business but learning more about relationships, people and the way of life than selling parts. in fact, based on how many of the wrong parts i sold, i'm pretty sure that was one of the least things i learned about. but i watched as generations of

customers came to the door. i watched my granddad refuse to sell something that granddad could make money on at the dealership but he knew the person who wanted to buy it couldn't afford it. why did he do it? he wanted them to survive. a new generation of survivors continuing their fight to make a living on the wind-swept plains of eastern colorado. tomorrow farmers implement will celebrate its 100th anniversary as a family owned farm implement business. i'm proud of the values that dealership represents and honored to be part of a great family heritage in our little town. congratulations and i yield the floor. madam chair, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. the senate is in a quorum call. mrs. fischer: i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. fischer: thank you, madam president. last friday, the house transportation and infrastructure committee released a bipartisan six-year highway bill proposal. if everything goes as expected, the house transportation committee will mark up its legislation this week. from what i understand, house leadership is committed to taking up this crucial legislation in the coming weeks. as many of you know, passing a long-term transportation bill has been one of my goals as a member of this body.

in fact, since my time in the nebraska unicameral, i've made transportation infrastructure funding a top priority. two of my signature accomplishments in the unicameral led to increased investment for nebraska's infrastructure and helped local communities move forward with starting and completing vital transportation projects. this august, i welcomed our united states transportation secretary anthony fox to lincoln, nebraska, and we had convened a roundtable at the university of nebraska lincoln's transportation research center. we were joined by local transportation stakeholders representing railroad, highway construction, trucking, passenger automobiles and the aviation industries. at this important meeting as well as at my listening sessions

this summer throughout the state, the message from nebraskans was loud and clear -- our businesses, consumers, workers, families all want a long-term highway bill. throughout the process of developing this bill, i have worked with local stakeholders in nebraska, including our state department of roads, highway builders and project managers and transportation and community leaders. infrastructure is a wise investment. it keeps our country competitive in today's global marketplace. the safety of our traveling public depends on robust and reliable transportation infrastructure. that's why we passed a bipartisan multiyear highway bill here in the senate. the drive act provides states and communities with six years

of certainty for that highway funding without, without raising taxes on middle-class families. as an active member of the environment and public works committee and the commerce, science and transportation committee, i am proud of the work that we have accomplished together. our bill enhances safety, it proposes much-needed regulatory reforms and it increases investment in our nation's frost. the drive act also includes significant reforms to accelerate highway project construction. the bill does so by advancing key provisions that ensure local infrastructure projects in nebraska and all across this country will move forward with a better and a more defined process from the very onset.

the meaningful changes that i championed will provide better coordination between the federal highway administration and states by streamlining environmental permitting and reviews as well as programmatic agreement templates when initiating new infrastructure projects. specifically, the bill will establish new procedures based on a template developed by the secretary of the department of transportation. this will allow our states in addition to the federal government to determine which state or federal agency must be consulted prior to beginning, beginning that infrastructure project. in addition, the bill provides technical assistance to states that want to assume responsibility for the reviews of categorical exclusion projects which are a category of

projects that don't have the significant impact on the environment, triggering a less arduous level of environmental review. rather than wasting time and taxpayer dollars waiting on the federal government to provide an assessment, my provisions would help states provide their own categorical certification regarding that appropriate level of environmental review on certain projects. given nebraska's challenges with starting and completing infrastructure projects, these elements of the drive act offer a major step forward for transportation projects in my state. the drive act also includes major components of a bill that i introduced earlier this year called the truck safety reform act. the legislation offers serious

regulatory reforms to the federal motor carrier safety administration. dishly, the bill encourages stronger regulatory analysis, more transparency and a wider public participation in the regulatory process. the bill also provides regulatory relief to agricultural producers in nebraska, reforms research at the department of transportation to reduce that duplication across the modal administrations, and it addresses the challenges of the compliance safety and accountability truck scoring program. i am pleased that the drive act establishes a new freight program that will prioritize, increase efficiency and lower the costs for moving freight imports and exports throughout our nation. the drive act's freight program will designate a national

freight system and provide guaranteed dollars to nebraska to enhance freight movement throughout our state, on our railways and highways. the freight program will also help america's transportation system continue to facilitate expanding the u.s. trade flows. the freight program is crucial to our nation's economic competitiveness, especially as international trade continues to increase. the drive act further incorporates performance-based regulations into our nation's transportation system. performance-based measures will offer states more flexibility in meeting the goals of infrastructure that's related to the regulations and that is something that i have strongly advocated for as chairman of the

surface transportation subcommittee. in totality, i believe the senate produced a thoughtful, comprehensive and well-drafted highway bill. i greatly appreciate the house moving forward with the long-term highway bill, and i am eager to see passage of this vital legislation so we can move to a joint conference committee. i'm also pleased to see that the house bill offers several critical provisions, including regulatory reform of the fmcsa and the c.s.a. program, hair testing for commercial drivers, a freight program and streamlined permitting to initiate local highway projects at a faster pace. ultimately, the house's legislative activity this week surrounding the highway bill is a strong step toward achieving a

multiyear highway bill, one that will move our economy forward, create jobs and strengthen safety on our roads, highways and bridges all across america. in the coming weeks, i look forward to working with chairman inhofe, chairman thune, senator boxer and chairman shuster to produce a reform-oriented compromise that enhances efficiency, reliability and safety of our nation's transportation system. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor, and i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be set aside with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: madam president, on october 15, 2015, senators dianne feinstein and patrick leahy released the following statement marking the five-year anniversary of the arrest of lui xa, the wife of chinese democracy activist and nobel peas prize winner. this week marks the five-year anniversary that liu xa was

placed under arrest in china. she has never been charged with a crime and remains confined to her apartment because her husband, respected democracy activist liu chabot won the nobel peace prize in 2010. over the past five years, lui xa's health has severely deteriorated. she suffers from back pain and had a heart attack last year. her repeated requests for medical treatment have been denied. we urgently request that the chinese government allow liu xa to seek medical treatment abroad and release liu chabot, the world's only jailed peace prize laureate. such action would be a welcome humanitarian gesture. i could not agree more. with the very wise sentiments expressed by senator feinstein and senator leahy. that is exactly right the united

states should speak with one voice in support of human rights and against the disgrace that china has jailed this nobel peace laureate. my resolution following in the tradition of the resolution that renamed the street in front of the soviet embassy in honor of the heroic russian dissident and nobel laureate andre sakharov in 1984 would do the same. it would rename the street in front of the people's republic of china embassy to be liu xiaobo plaza after the equally noble chinese dissident and nobel laureate who had been brutally imprisoned by the p.r.c. since 2009 for advocating for basic political freedom. i would note that the original legislation naming the street in front of the soviet embassy in honor of mr. sakharov was introduced by my colleague, the

senior senator from iowa, senator grassley, who is here with me today to support me in this request. as i noted when i first asked for unanimous consent for this legislation on september 24, on the eve of president xi's visit to washington, i for one think as americans we should not be troubled by embarrassing communist oppressors, and this issue is not abstract to me. my family, like dr. liu, has been imprisoned biopressive regimes. my father as a teenager was imprisoned and tortured in cuba. he had his nose broken. he had his teeth shattered. he lay in the blood and grime of a prison cell. in cuba, my aunt, my theosonia,

was a few years later imprisoned and tortured by castro. my father by bautista, my aunt by castro. imprisoned and tortured by an oppressive regime. the united states has a long history of standing with dissidents and speaking out for human rights. when this body acted to rename the street in front of the soviet embassy sakharov plaza, that was a powerful statement that helped bring condemnation of the world on the soviet union's repressive human rights record. we should show the same bipartisan unanimity with regard to communist china. standing together with a wrongfully imprisoned nobel peace laureate, we should say to the wrongfully imprisoned dissidents across the world, america hears you and we stand

with you. some years ago, i visited with natance juranski in jerusalem. he described how the prisoners in the soviet gulag would pass from cell to cell notes, did you hear what president reagan said? evil empire. ash heap of history. tear down this wall. what this body does makes a difference. what this country does makes a difference. and we should not forget our core values. i therefore ask unanimous consent that the homeland security and government affairs committee be discharged from further consideration and that the senate now proceed to s. res. 224. i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection?

mrs. feinstein: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. feinstein: thank you. reserving the right to object, i'd like to make a couple of remarks as to why. senator cruz, believe it or not, i have actually played a role, particularly in the 1990's, in helping dissidents to be released by the government of china and had some success, and we did that by talking to the government. i think to do this in this way will set back the cause and actually be deleterious to the release of this -- of these people. so i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. cruz: madam president? the presiding officer: will the senator suspend? the senate will receive a message from the house of representatives.

the messenger: madam president, a message from the house of representatives. the messenger: madam president? the presiding officer: madam clerk. the messenger: i have been directed by the house of representatives to inform the senate the house has passed h.r. 10, the opportunity for -- the bill for opportunities and results act, in which the concurrence of the senate is requested. the presiding officer: the message will be received. the senator from texas. mr. cruz: madam president, i intend to continue pressing this resolution because i believe we have a moral imperative to speak for freedom. it's one thing to put out press releases. it's another thing to act. i agree with every word in the press release that was issued by senator feinstein and senator leahy, and my request is simply

putting action to those words. i tell you, when i visit with chinese americans in my state of texas, i don't want to have to look them in the eyes and tell them i stood with the chinese communist government, the oppressors instead of standing with dr. liu, instead of standing with a nobel peace laureate. for fear of embarrassing their oppressors, madam president, there are a few things more powerful than embarrassment, than public sunshine. when ronald reagan stood before the brandenberg gate and said tear down this wall, he didn't listen to the voice of timidity saying well, that's going to embarrass the soviets. i would note in the white house the staffers repeatedly crossed that line out of his speech. they said no, no, no, that will upset the soviets. that will set us back diplomatically. the exact same argument, sadly the senior senator from

california just presented, and each time president reagan wrote that line back in with his own hand, explaining to those staffers you don't understand. that is the entire point of giving the speech. that's why i'm there, because when we speak the truth, the truth has power, and this body, democratic senators in this body and republican senators in this body, should not be aiding and abetting the oppression of the chinese government. we should be standing and speaking for truth and for freedom. and we should be following the pattern that was successfully demonstrated by senator grassley in introducing the resolution naming sakharov plaza in front of the soviet union, and with that, i will yield to my colleague, the senior senator from iowa.

mr. grassley: i appreciate bringing up the history of the andre sakharov plaza. a lot of people wonder whether this makes much of a difference, what you're trying to attempt in the case of chinese embassy. i can tell you, it made a big, big difference, and all you have to do is measure opposition as we were considering the one that i introduced several years ago when the state department fights hard, hard, don't embarrass the russians. when the city of washington, d.c., says -- the presiding officer: senator -- mr. grassley: -- fights really hard not to rename a street, then you know you're on the right track when you have those type of people in opposition to you. the presiding officer: the senate has an toured proceed to executive session. under the previous order, the senate will be proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations,

department of state, julie ferota toy of wyoming to be ambassador of equatorial begin me. dennis b.hincens to be ambassador of new guinea. robert porter jackson of virginia to be ambassador to the republic of guantanamo in a. -- of g. ana. -- guana. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll on the toy nomination. vote: