vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators that wish to vote or change their vote? if not on the nomination, the yeas are 93. the nays are zero. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table.

the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate will resume legislative session. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, it seems that i am coming to the floor of the senate on a more increasing basis or increasing frequency to honor the pioneering men and women who arrived in the state of alaska prior to statehood who truly have left a lasting impression on the history of the 49th state. today i rise to remember the venerable norman h. v. elliot. father elliot was an episcopal clergyman. he arrived in alaska back in 1951, and he was truly a profound spiritual force in alaska from the day that he arrived in our state until his death on friday, september 9 of

this year. father elliot passed at the age of 97 and to say that he lived his life to the fullest would be a huge understatement. father elliot lived a life as big as the state of alaska, and we reflect upon that life. it would be no overstatement to characterize norman elliot as a true alaskan icon. father elliot was born in england. he moved to detroit, michigan, when he was 4 years old. and according to the stories he decided very, very early on about middle school age that he wanted to enter the ministry. but that future was somewhat interrupted by world war ii. father elliot was drawn to military service and after considering the possibility of joining a canadian forces battalion in neighboring windsor, ontario, he chose the u.s. army instead. he was assigned to a new experimental light infantry

division which was patterned after a german light division. after training in the swamps of louisiana and california yeas mountains, -- california's mountains, he dus deployed to europe. he fought in lux himburg and -- lux emburpg and germany. he had an opportunity to come to know father elliot very well over the years. but he at several years back agreed to sit for an interview as part of our veterans spotlight series. this was an oral history project that i sponsored to capture the stories of alaskan veterans. we worked this in conjunction with the veterans history project at the library of congress. in that interview, father elliot talked about the realities of the war at the time, and he said, i remember good times. i remember bad times. i remember times where i barely escaped by the skin of my teeth. you never forget. i remember and there are things that i wish i had done or didn't

do, but i hope that as a whole, alaskans remember what we did because as a nation, we are losing our remembrance of world war ii. well, father elliot never let us forget our veterans, whether it was our veterans that fought honorably in world war ii or the returning men and women who are coming back from iraq, afghanistan. father elliot's history after the war took him to alaska. he attended the virginia theological seminary and he intended to serve as a missionary in india, but there wasn't a slot available there for him but there was one in alaska. india, alaska, father elliot ended up in alaska. his first stop was at st. mark's episcopal mission. this was a church and boarding home for native children. then he went to st. barnabas

mission in minut minto. over time his responsibilities expanded to missions throughout the gwich'in communities, like eagle, circle, arctic village, beaver and stevens village and to cover this very, very large territory, father elliot would often travel by dog sled. he became a pilot, flew his own aircraft. i think he called this yellow plane the drunken canary. but father elliot was truly as unique as alaska itself in the words of one of his parishioners. but his duties in these villages were hardly romantic. father elliot was forced to confront with the dual scourge of alcohol abuse and suicide and the loss of faith that comes with despair. as a member of the joint federal state commission on alaska natives in the 199 on's, he encouraged a shift in government

policies toward native people and instead of the government dog for native people -- doing for native people, he believed the native people themselves needed to be heard. he was an incredible advocate in so many ways. he was more than just your village priest, though. in various villages, father elliot would come in and do whatever task was needed. and in an article in our local newspaper, the alaska dispatch just a couple of days ago, it was reported this way. father elliot did every kind of task. he was a policeman, a tax collector, a schoolteacher, a thrifery person and a -- delivery person and a messenger. when he arrived in one village to do church services, he first vaccinated everyone first for typhoid. he usually carried penicillin if his sled bag giving anyone who needed it an injengs in the rump -- injection in the rump including any sick dogs on the team. that is an individual who cared

for everyone in whatever the capacity. after being in the remote interior of the state, father elliot's next assignments were in relatively urban corners of alaska. in 1958 father elliot moved to southeast alaska where he served at st. john's church in ketchikan. in 1962 he settled in his rector of all saints episcopal church, a beautiful church in downtown anchorage. father elliot officially retired in 1990 when he reached the age of 70 in accordance with the church rules. and that might be the end of the story there, but it's hardly the end of the story for father elliot. two years after his retirement, all saints needed a replacement priest and he came out of retirement as something they called priest in charge and continued to serve until earlier this year. father elliot was one of those who was everywhere. he was at every social gathering. he was at every wedding, every

funeral, baptisms, everything in between, and he would visit those in the hospital. at times he would stay all night. he had this uncanny sense of knowing when they were in the hospital because he was very often the first one to visit. father elliot ended up in the hospital earlier this year. he was down with pneumonia and he was -- it was a bit iron inning. -- bit ironic. i went to visit him and he was little grumpy. he was grumpy. he knew the hospital in and out but he didn't like being confined in the bed. he was grumpy because he had places to go and people to see. he had a funeral to go to and a wedding to ge to. when he -- to go to. when he got out of the hospital he resumed that active schedule. i remarked and have remarked often that father elliot lives every day to its fullest from the time he wakes up in the morning till the time he goes to bed at night.

and his is a life well lived. last week father elliot passed away. and that i'm afraid is the end of his story, at least the end of the story as we know it here on this earth. father elliot served his church, his nation, and his community with great distinction, and his was indeed a life that was well lived. i have so many wonderful memories of my friend, father norman elliot. and that will sustain me but i cannot help but observe that with father elliot's passing, another of alaska's great and mighty trees has fallen. i will be in alaska this weekend and on monday we'll have an opportunity to join with alaskans from around the state in paying a tribute to a man who truly lived a life of service to others, who truly cared in a way

that goes almost beyond description. so i stand with my colleagues and ask that we join in prayers for father elliot and the family of truly a great alaskan. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i wasn't expecting to be on the floor when the senator from alaska was talking about father elliot but what a great story, what a great life he lived. i'm glad i happened to be here and have a chance to listen. just a few moments ago the senate passed a piece of legislation that some might say,

well, what's the big deal? the water resources development act, what we call around here wrda by the acronym. this bill is enormously important to states like north dakota, places like texas that have experienced flooding in particular. this bill will help us maintain and expand our infrastructure related to our most precious natural resource. and that is water. like i said, that may sound a little boring or not particularly interesting, but it actually has a lot of relevance to every american. like i said last week, this legislation includes provisions that will help my constituents in texas in a number of ways from drought and flood protection to carving out deeper ports to enhance our ability to do international trade. but the passage of this bill serves as another example of what can happen when the senate actually is working the way it's

supposed to. now, i'm not going to suggest to you that just because the 2014 election gave republicans a majority in the united states senate, that that automatically made it possible for the senate to begin functioning again, but the fact is leadership does make a difference. and i know that it was absolutely key to majority leader mcconnell's agenda that we would actually work at the committees to build consensus on legislation and then they would come to the floor and people would have an opportunity to offer amendments and other constructive suggestions, and we would work until we built that consensus and accomplished our goal of passing legislation. it's worth reminding our colleagues that the senate under senator mcconnell's leadership passed the first bicameral budget that we passed since 2009

and first balanced budget since 2001. under a republican-led senate all 12 appropriations bills were approved by their respective subcommittees and by the appropriations committee itself. as the presiding officer thoughs, the only way that happen -- knows, the only way that happens is for the chair and ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee to work together on a bipartisan basis and then work with colleagues on the whole appropriations committee to come up with legislation that they will support or that a an overwhelming majority, some cases unanimously the committee supports. so this is the first time since 2009 when we've actually seen all 12 appropriation bills approved by the subcommittees and then by the entire appropriation committee. now, that's the good news. the bad news is our democratic colleagues wouldn't let us proceed with actually voting on

those appropriation bills to get them done one at a time in a transparent sort of way where we would be held accountable for what we did and it would be open to the american people to see exactly what we were doing. but the reason that we're talking about a continuing resolution this week and next is because of the filibuster of the appropriations process. it didn't have to be that way. in fact, we were on track to funding the government the way we were supposed to -- bill by bill. but in spite of these -- the filibuster on the appropriations bill, we have been able to find consensus on a number of other important pieces of legislation, legislation that will help american families, strengthen our economy, and help keep the american people secure. importantly, these bills -- these are bills that further what i believe to be the appropriate philosophy of government; that is, washington

does not always know best and that power needs to be devolved from the federal government back down to the states and back down to individual citizens. for example, we passed the first major education reform bill since no child left behind, a piece of legislation called every student succeeds act. this bill does exactly what i just described. under the chairmanship around leadership of senator alexander and the ranking member, murray, what this legislation did is transfer more power with regard to public education, k-12, back to the states and back to parents and teachers, people who actually understand best what the educational needs of their students are and how to make sure that they achieve their potential. we also passed the first multiyear highway bill since 2005. why is that important?

well, you come from a fast-growing state like mine, a big state, and the quality of highways and bridges are pretty darn important, not only important to public safety, they're important to the vierntle and they're important -- to the environment, and they're important to the economy. but this is the first time we passed a multiyear highway bill since 2005. as i said, this legislation will help us maintain and build our infrastructure so we can keep up with economic and population growth and make the most of it. and it will also provide certainty to our states and communities so they can actually plan for the future. as long as we were passing six-month or year-long transportation bills, there was no way we could do long-term planning, which is more efficient and more cost-effective. well, we also have done other important things. we passed trade promotion authority, working with the president, that defines the parameters of what congress and the white house would agree to

when it comes to trade agreements. i know trade has kind of gotten a little -- kind of become a little bit of a dirty word lately in the presidential politics. but i can tell you in my state, we see the benefits of 0 you are international trading -- of our international trading ability every day. 6 million jobs depend on"buy national" jobs with mexico. we also reauthorized the federal aviation administration. pretty darn important if you happen to flievmen fly. we passed another piece of important legislation called the police act to support our local law enforcement officials to make sure that they get the training they need to respond to an active shooter situation, something that sadly more and more police find themselves

confronted with nowdays. colloquy also have a -- we is also a vote on the victims of trafficking act. sadly, the pro-fuel of a victim of human -- the profile of a victim of human traffic something a girl of the ages 12-146789 many of whom run away from home only to find themselves living a life of literally modern day slavery. so this legislation was designed to make sure there were more resources to help rescue those victims of human trafficking and to better equip law enforcement to track down their captors. we've also passed legislation that promotes a more transparent and open government and protect intellectual property rights, just to name a few. again, these may seem like small things in ice lakers but what it -- isolation, but what it represents is a major change in the way we do business here in the united states senate. actually working together in 0

bipartisan embase -- in a bipartisan basis, to get legislation on the president's desk and have him sign t you won't read very much about that because the news covers conflict. it's just the nature of the beast. when we fight like cats and dogs, it's all over the newspapers and internet and on tv. but when we thrill are here doing -- but when we actually are here doing the work the people sent us here to do, frankly, it is not particularly newsworthy, sadly enough. we have other important work that's still outstanding as the senate continues to make progress on a conference report on the energy policy modernization act, a bill this chamber passed months ago thanks to the leadership of senator murkowski of alaska and ranking member cantwell. we also are close to finishing up our work on the national defense authorization act. this is a major defense authorization bill that's been

passed out of the senate every year for more years than we can remember. and then the work we have to complete this week and next is find a way to keep the government up and running and provide resources to communities to fight the zika virus and to prevent the horrific birth defects, which unfortunately are part of that disease. so i point out these accomplishments in an effort to just remind our colleagues and noib happened to be listen -- and anybody who happened to be listening that we do try -- not all the time but most of the time -- to put politics aside, to focus on results, and to try do things that benefits the american people. i'm thankful for the leadership of the majority leader. as i said earlier, leadership matters. and senator mcconnell has worked hard to try bring bills to the floor that did enjoy bipartisan support. and to the extent possible, to make sure that everybody had a

chance to participate in the process. and it's that sort of vision and practice ma tism that's -- pragmatism that's brought us this record of success. i hope we continue to do that, mr. president, in the time we have left between now and the election and then when we return after the election to work together. i know it's tough work. it's frustrating. but it's worthwhile and it's worth doing. mr. president, i don't see anybody ready to speak, and so i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania.

a senator: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: mr. president, i also ask consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: the senate is in morning business. the senator is recognized for up to ten minutes. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to discuss the issue of terrorism financing, especially with regard to the terrorist group isis, known by some as isil or other terminology referring to isis itself. just days ago we marked the 15th anniversary since the terrorist attack on our country, september 11, 2001. at the time the u.s. had a fundamentally different understanding of terrorist groups, their ideologies and their operations. in the years since, our national security apparatus has grown and adapted, responding to evolving threats and

prioritizing the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. for example, prior to 9/11, the department of treasury was not a significant -- was not as significant in our fight against terrorism as it is today. an act of congress established the treasury office of terrorism and financial intelligence in 2004. since then this office has grown into an essential component of our counterterrorism work. they are charged with the task of cutting off the financial resources that terrorist groups need to survive. the terrorist group isis presents new challenges, a whole new set of challenges. similar to hezbollah, isis is part terrorist group, part army and part criminal syndicate fueled by a hateful ideology and controlling communities in syria and iraq. we know that isis has sacked

banks and still profits from the illicit sale of oil, antiquities and other items through the black market while extorting the civilians under their control. isis uses this funding to conduct terror attacks and control territory in both syria and iraq. they use it to buy more weapons, ammunition and components for improvised explosive devices known as i.e.d.'s. they use it to pay salaries and buy propaganda to spread their hateful ideology. i joined with senator rubio urging the administration to prioritize stopping isis's financial support. soon after the president announced his comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat isis. already we have seen u.s. and coalition efforts including airstrikes on coal trucks and

cash storage sites have had a meaningful impact on isis's finances. for example, isis has had to reduce the salaries they pay their fighters in recent months. our airstrikes have also taken key isis leaders including their finance minister off the battlefield. just yesterday deputy secretary of the tony blanken supported significant progress on rolling back isis's control of territory. in april, major peter ger stein, deputy commander of the combined joint task force operation inherent resolve said -- and i quote -- "isis's ability to finance their war through oil refineries has been destroyed." that's what it says right here. "their ability to finance their war through oil refineries has been destroyed." this is a very significant step, since isis was heavily reliant on this source of

income. the president also recently signed into law my bill, the protect and preserve international cultural property act which help ensure that the united states is not a market for antiquities looted from syria. this is important because the report by the culture under threat task force stated that isis may try to increase -- increase -- its antiquities trafficking activity as other revenue streams such as oil sales are cut off. mr. president, isis is rewriting the rule book on how terrorist groups work. despite the loss of territory in both syria and iraq, it continues to cultivate its affiliates in northern and western africa, central asia and other parts of the middle east. it continues to sow seeds of terror in neighboring countries like turkey and saudi arabia and further afield in europe and africa and of course here in the united states.

isis has figured out how to operate outside of the international financial system, lessening of the the impact of our banking sanctions we've relied upon before. we may be able to defeat isis, but the problem of terrorist financing will stay with us. i took a trip in february to israel, qatar, saudi arabia, and turkey that confirmed this assessment. that's why i believe we need a more robust permanent international architecture for countering terrorist financial networks. so in june i introduced the stop terrorist operational resources and money act, so-called storm act, with senator johnny isakson. and this is but a first step. this bill provides a strong set of tools to compel greater cooperation from partner nations. the storm act authorizes a new designation by the president

called -- and i'm quoting -- "jurisdiction of terrorism financing concern." which can be triggered either by a lack of political will by a country or lack of capacity to take on this problem. some countries have the capacity to make meaningful progress but lack the political will to do so. i believe we should levy tough penalties that make countries reconsider their either willful ignorance or tacit acceptance of terrorist financiers carrying their country's passports or operating in their territory. the penalties under the storm act include suspension of security or development assistance, blocking of arms sales and blocking loans from the i.m.f. or the world bank. with some countries that challenge is a basic lack of capacity. the united states is well equipped to provide technical

assistance and capacity building. we've done this before on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation. the storm act authorizes the administration to do the same with countering terrorism financing. lastly, the storm act authorizes sanctions against financial institutions that do business with isis. this sends a signal that banks need to be vigilant in ensuring that they do not facilitate isis's financial operations. in the years since 9/11, terrorist groups have become evermore sophisticated in the way they finance their operations. we have to respond in kind, and it is right to expect all our partners to do the same. the bipartisan storm act sends a very clear message. if you fail to pull your weight when it comes to terrorism financing and cutting it off,

there will be consequences. if you want to improve your record, the united states is here to help you. i urge my colleagues to support the storm act as an element of our fight against isis and a step towards building a more robust international architecture to stop terrorism financing in the long run. mr. president, i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: mr. president, i believe there is a quorum call under way. if that is the case, i ask that it be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, you oftentimes draw the short straw and have to preside while i'm speaking. probably you can do some of these as well as i can. i'm going to come back and talk about something i have discussed every couple of weeks, not so much during our seven-week recess but certainly before and subsequent to that as well. what i have been doing is

providing an update for our colleagues on what -- what's going on in the part of the world that we have a lot of interest in, including iraq, kurdistan which is part of iraq, turkey to the north, syria right here to the west of iraq. iran which is over here. got the mediterranean sea right here. and i just wanted to hearken back two years ago when folks from isis were rolling through this part of the world, hellbent on getting through to baghdad. and baghdad is right -- right down there, not too far from iran. they have made extraordinary progress, killing a lot of people along the way, taking a lot of prisoners, a lot of them women. as sex prisoners. and slaughtering a lot of people, mass graves, large -- a

large amount of carnage. they were able to scare the iraqi army off. the iraqis turned tail in many cases and ran. their leadership ran, too. in fact, their leadership may actually run before the rank-and-file troops heading this way back toward baghdad. finally, when the folks at isis were knocking on the door here just west of bagged, they were slowed and stopped. -- west of baghdad, they were slowed and stopped. what's happened the last several months? there has been a big change in the momentum of the battle. now it's not just iraq on its own in this fight. iraq is joined by a coalition of roughly 16 nations, of which the united states is the leader. our job is not to provide boots on the ground here in iraq or in syria for the most part. our job is to provide intelligence, intelligence

support. our job is to provide air support, fixed wing, rotary wing, unpiloted aircraft, drones and our job is to provide the training and support and advice to the folks who are doing some of the fighting. this is a province just west of baghdad that is called anbar province. we have all heard of it. this area right here west of the triangle, this whole area is considered the sunni triangle because the lion's share of the folks who live in this part of iraq are sunni, and there's three particular cities that you live in. one is called fallujah. a member of my staff was killed -- was wounded, almost killed in fallujah a few years ago. ramadi, and a place called

tikrit, a place -- tikrit, which is the place where saddam hussein was from. and all these areas were taken over by isis a couple of years ago. they have been driven out of those -- out of those cities and out of this part of iraq. and the folks that have been doing most of it -- most of the fighting on the ground, their abbreviation is c.t.s., which as i recall stands for counter terrorism service. counterterrorism service. we're providing support for them, but they are actually the boots on the ground. the next front here in this country is -- is to the northeast. it's right on the border here with kurdistan. a town called moises. not a town. it's a city. about two million people live there. it's the second largest city behind baghdad that is still in the hands of isis. and sometimes -- sometime later

this year, early next year, we expect to see a full-scale movement by the coalition led again by the iraqi forces themselves to move on mosul. in anticipation of that, there is a town here, actually a base here about 50 miles west of mosul called kiara. an air force base, big base. that was taken a month or so ago by the iraqi forces with our support. there is not only a base there, there is a town that goes with it called kiara, and that town is now in the hands of the iraqis and the folks from isis have been driven out of kiara. it's really the last major city or town between baghdad and mosul that's in the hands of isis today. if you come across the northern part of iraq over into syria,

you get to a place called mam mambiz, and this is a really good-sized city. really close to the turkish border. there is another town on the turkish border with syria called jeropolis. these two places were in the hands of isis until very, very recently. they served almost as a gateway between -- almost a free flow of isis troops and soldiers, reinforcements coming across the border with turkey and through jeropolis down by mambiz. those cities are both in the hands of forces that are in alliance with our coalition. there is a place right here, not as big as mosul, not as big as mosul but still in the planneds -- hands of isis. it is believed -- they think of it as the spiritual center of their caliphate, and it --

sometime next year, my guess is will be after mosul has been taken, the full attention will turn to iraq -- arra came and -- araqqa and coalition forces and the folks we're fighting in the northeast and that will be the next big battle. meantime, of all the land -- the last time i spoke on this on the floor, the amount of land that isis had taken had, a lot had been retaking. it was less than 50%. now 50% or more of land that isis previously held has been retaken. and again it's not just the u.s. we're playing a role, i think a constructive role, but the coalition -- as it turns out the iraqis themselves, some who ran as you recall two years ago from isis. they don't run anymore and we're very much encouraged by the courage they're showing. among the other things that isis took aside from land, they took

oil, oil reserves and they turned that into money. they captured banks. they went right into the treasuries of the banks and the safes and the vaults and so forth, stole a lot of money, hundreds of millions of dollars. a fair amount of that money has actually been destroyed by air strikes and literally like cash on fire, if you will. i don't know if it's half of it but it's a lot of their money. and isis's ability to realize more revenues by virtue of oil and selling oil on the black market has been significantly reduced. so the idea to starve them, reduce the ability for reinforcements to come in from the north, and at the same time to take away their ability to make money and to use that money to pay their troops and to buy things that you need, that forces need to wage a successful

war. that's a little bit about what's going on in this part of the world. i want to mention a couple of other pieces. i don't think we have libya on this map. libya is over here. it's on the mediterranean, a little bit to the west and to the south. i would just imagine somewhere over here but probably over here. you get the drift. when isis is being driven out of this part of the world, out of iraq and out of syria, where do they go? about 50,000 of them have been killed. well over -- between 100 to 200 of their top leaders, including the number two guy was killed i think last week. but some of them are packing up and going home. they see the writing on the wall. others are going to new countries, different countries. one of the places that they've gone to, isis has headed often

into libya. they settled into a place called sert, a big seaport town. we've had heavy focus on working with the libyan forces to take back sert and the last portion has been recaptured. i think that's another positive development. we have care task groups here in the med and persian gulf. they support through the air and with aircraft that are assigned to the carriers providing that support. the turks have been good about giving us access to one or more of their bases. we have the ability to fly aircraft out of and provide air support for the coalition forces that we have. one of the other places that isis has been very effective in waging this war is aside from the actual fighting on the

battlefield, fighting that does not occur on a battlefield is not the kind of battle that you win with guns and bullets and rock cets and missile -- rockets and missiles but it's the find of fight take goes on through the internet and through social media. these guys are pretty good at that. they're not 12-feet tall on the battlefield as it turns out. they are capable of destroying them, degrading and destroying them as the president likes to say. but the ability to actually take them down on the internet through social media has been more challenging. i might just say before i get into that, though, i think the last time i spoke here, mr. president, i mentioned that two years ago, some 2,000 foreign fighters per month were coming into this part of the world to be part of the isis team, 2,000

a month. the last time i reported i said that number was down to 200 a month. today we know that number is down to 50 a month. part of is because manbij and other towns is pretty much cut off from the turk yirk border. i -- turkish border. i think i mempged the last time -- mentioned the last time i was on the floor, 200 was coming to fight. that is probably down to one probably every two months today. we're encouraged by that. in cyber space, i understand that there are over 360,000 pro-isis twitter accounts that have been taken off line this year. let me say that again. in cyber space over 360,000 isis twitter accounts have been taken off line over the past 12 months. for every pro-isis twitter account, there are now six antiisis accounts criticizing

and challenging isis's twisted theology. so for a while these guys continue to take -- isis fighters continue to take their hits on the battle field and have a good spanking applied to them. but they're still doing well on -- but where they were still doing well on social media, not so much anymore. when they move over to places like libya and try to set up a mini caliphate, we have shown that ain't going to work either. on balance this is going in the right direction, mr. president. it's not time to spike the football. a pretty good coalition working together, and we're starting to hit on all eight cylinders. so i would just say to our troops and to those that are part of this coalition, as we say in the navy, an old navy gay, we say bravo zulo whether people do a good job. we're not going to spike the football yet but things are very

much encouraging. we're grateful for everybody that's helped to make that possible. and with that, mr. president, i'm going to yield the floor. thank you very much. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. a senator: mr. president, today is a good day for montana and the black feet people. mr. daines: with the passage of the water resources development act, the black feet settlement act is one step closer to the president's desk. today's action marks the first time the compact has passed the senate after being introductioned four times since 2010. today for the first time this important legislation came to the senate for a vote and it passed. i along with my colleague, senator jon tester made sure it made it through this time. it is long overdue and will not only establish the tribe's water rights but will also facilitate

real tangible benefits for the black feet and surrounding communities. the bill will improve several federal water structures that are some of the oldest and in most need of repair in the country and help irrigate some of our most productive farmland in our state. the settlement act also balances the need of the state and the local community. the black feet indian reservation is located adjacent to glacier national park and is some 1.5 million acres in size. there are 17,000 enrolled tribal members, about half of whom live on the reservation. this water settlement also upholds agreements by the state that will strengthen irrigation for neighbors farmlands. we call that montana's golden triangle. in fact, it's where my great, great mother homesteaded because of its wheat production. i commend the black feet tribe, chairman henry barnes who have been diligent and patient in seeing this settlement forward. i commend our state for its commitment to the black feet tribe and indian country in

montana and to my colleague senator tester for working with me on this bill. i'm proud to get this through the senate and will continue to fight for its enactment. obamacare, it's still a train wreck of broken promises. president obama promised that the cost of premiums would go down by $2500 per family. but just yesterday montana's insurance commissioner announced an average premium increase of 58% for montana's largest provider on the exchange, and not only have premiums not gone down, the coverage that people get from it is unaffordable and it's unusable. with some deductibles at or above $9,000 per family, middle-class families are being priced out of 9 market all the

-- of the market all the while paying for a policy they simply can't use. now plans are restricting provider networks, eliminating doctors from their plans all in an attempt to remain solvent under obamacare's requirements. you know, in montana we like to fish. and sometimes when the fishing line gets really tangled up, the only thing you can do is cut the line. and it's time to cut the line with obamacare. it's time to clear this train wreck from the tracks and get our health care moving forward again. mr. president, i yield back the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. a senator: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, today i rise to honor the memory of officer tim brackcane. he was a canine police officer with the shelby police department in north carolina. mr. tillis: officer brackcane

was killed after sustaining gunshot wounds. officer brack consist cane doing what he did every day, going to work, trying to put his life in the way of others to keep them safe. he said goodbye to his wife and his family and he went to work. unfortunately on that day in the middle of the night, officer brackcane responded to a call to bring a wanted robbery suspect into custody. he attempted to arrest the suspect and the suspect resisted and opened fire. critically wounding officer brackeen. the people of north carolina and citizens from across the nation prayed for officer brackeen and his family as he received treatment. unfortunately on monday we heard the tragic news that officer brackeen, only 38 years old, had

passed away. when we lost officer brackeen, we lost more than a dedicated canine officer who served the shelby police department for 13 years. above all else, we lost a doted husband to his wife, michael, and a loving farther to his 4-year-old daughter. he was well known as a loving family man and was deeply respected and admired for his dedication he had to the department and the community which he served. mr. tillis: many got the chance to meet officer brackeen during a class or seminary he held with his canine partner called psycho. he was honored as shelby police officer of the year in 2012. for anyone in this country who has ever had a trace of doubt over the true character and motivation of the vast majority of brave men and women in law enforcement, officer tim brackeen was exactly the kind of officer who would instantly erase any of those doubts when you met him.

as officer brackeen's family, friends and colleagues mourn this tragic loss, i hope they find comfort in knowing his death was not in vain. the outpouring of love we've seen in his honor has been tremendous. on the night of officer brackeen's death, hundreds of people came together in shelby to hold a vigil outside the police department. attendees adorned his patrol car with flowers and candles. shelby police officers a you will received a standing ovation and the crowd came together to sing "amazing grace." that symbolizes profound impact that tim brackeen had on lives and how grateful they are for his service to the community. may god bless officer tim brackeen's family and friends and give them strength in these difficult times. let them know that the community of shelby, the people of north carolina, and americans from across the nation will continue

to pray for them and stand with them during this difficult time. thank you, mr. president. mr. boozman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. donnelly: mr. president, i rise today to honor the life and legacy of one of indiana's best. dr. john brademas who passed away on july 11. john brademas was an extraordinary public servant and a trail blazing leader. his achievements made a mark on indiana and on our country that can still be felt today. john was born a hoosier in 1927 in mishawaka, indiana, two a greek immigrant who ran a restaurant and to an indiana native who worked as a schoolteacher. john brademas was a star quarterback, and he was the valedictorian at south bend central high school. after high school, he served in the u.s. navy in the naval

officer's training program at the university of mississippi. he graduated from harvard university and received a rhodess scholarship to oxford university in england, where he earned his doctorate. in 1958 dr. brademas was elected to the united states house of representatives, to the then 3rd district of indiana, where he served with incredible distinction for 22 years until 1981. in congress, he was always working, always pushing to make life better for hoosiers and for all americans. as his colleague representative frank thompson said, john never stops. he's incredibly bright, works terribly hard, and is able to translate that brightness into very pragmatic legislative ability. dr. brademas w's a leading and effective legislator on issues involving school and colleges

and universities, services for the elderly and disabled, for libraries, museums, the arts, humanities. it earned him the recognition as "mr. arts" and "mr. education." he helped lead the successful charge to establish the national endowment for the arts and a national endowment for the humanities. and he served as a member of the committee on education and labor, writing federal legislation on schools at every level. he was instrumental in passing landmark legislation, including the elementary and secondary education act of 1965. this sought to increase opportunities for economically disadvantaged children and provided unprecedented federal support for education. dr. brademas was the author in 1975 of the education for all

handicapped children act, which for the first time provided federal support and guaranteed nationwide educational opportunities for students with mental and physical disabilities. additionally, dr. brademas was pivotal in efforts to improve higher education and boost grants and aid for student loans. john is also remembered for his support to advance civil rights and social justice. during his last four years in congress, dr. brad middle class served as -- brademas served as house majority whip and following his congressional service, dr. brademas served as the president of new york university, nyu, one of the largest private institutions in the country until 1992. during his tenure, he led nyu's transformation from a local commuter school into a national

and world renowned research university. after retiring from nyu, he continued dedicating himself to causes important to him, such as democracy and the arts and education. to that end, he helped establish two centers at nyu. dr. brademas founded the john brademas center at nyu to teach students will congress, to have them become more familiar with their government, the legislative process, the policies around education, and the arts, and foreign policy. the brademas center continues to educate some of the best and brightest students from around the world, and it educates them about democratic values and the need for an educated dialogue around the public policy challenges we are facing today and tomorrow. dr. brademas also launched an

served as the first president of the king juan carlos i center which promotes research and scholarship on spain and latin america. dr. brademas was awarded honorary degrees by 52 colleges and universities during his life, an incredible testament to his inspirational leadership and service to our country, which he loved so much. he also earned countless awards, served on many boards, and received numerous prestigious appointments. among those dr. brademas served as the chairman of president bill clinton's committee on the arts and humanities and on the board of the federal reserve of new york. on a personal note, i was honored to call john brademas my friend and my mentor.

i got to know him after being elected to represent many of the same north central inink in-- nh central indiana communities that he served so well in congress for so long. when i was elected to the house of representatives approximately a decade ago, it was a privilege to serve in what many still called "the brademas seat." over the years, john was a resource to me, set an example to me, an an example to so many. he was unfailingly kind and helpful and thoughtful and incredibly productive. john burned with a deep love for our country and with a desire to make the world a better place. the state of indiana, the united states, and our world are so much better off because of dr. john brademas. god bless maryellen and the

brademas family. god bless indiana and god bless america. thank you, dr. brademas. i yield back. i note the absence of -- i do not note the absence of a quorum. mrs. capito: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. president. thank you for recognizing me. and aid like to talk a -- and i'd like it talk a little bit on the floor about an issue that's cascading across the country, and is especially troubling to the state of west virginia, and that is the opioid crisis which we're seeing. many of you recently read about what's happened in the city of huntington, west virginia. it sits right on the ohio river

at the corner of west virginia, ken kernings and ohio. -- kentucky, and ohio. it is the herd of the thundering heard of marshal university. howfort, one -- however, one month ago today in just a four-hour period, this small city of huntington was the site of 28 overdoses. responding to this mass overdose occupied all the ambulances of the city and more than a shifort's worth of the police officers in huntington. of the 28 people affected, 26 were revived using naloxone, a lifesaving drug. however, the heroin that they had used was likely laced with a substance so potent that the ordinary dose of naloxone wasn't enough. responders had to use two and sometimes three doses ofal in naloxone to bring people back to

life. rasherash this is heroin that's likely laced with fentanyl or a new product called carfentanil which is a drug used to sedate elephants, of all things, and other large animals that is 150 times as potent as fentanyl. and the outcomes are -- and apparently this is happening much too frequently. persons of the chaotic scene -- of this chaotic scene are happening day after day in big cities and small towns in kentucky, new hampshire, ohio, and florida, the region and area of my friend senator portman's state of the owe in indiana i think probably two or three days after this occurred in huntington had the same thing but much larger. but what makes the recent spate of overdoses in huntington is note whrnlgy is that it is a city that knows it has a problem

and is doing all of the right thing to fight. they've really work hard to put together under the mayor's guidance a great consortium in 2014 it began to fight -- fight this scourge on their tong. the mayor started the office of drug control policy. they have staffed the office with people who have intermatter knowledge of the problem. they're not hiding their head in the sand. they know what this problem is and they're trying to hit it face-on. so they have a former police chief, a fire department captain who is also a registered nurse, a police department criminal intelligence analyst. they've created a plan which focuses on three principles: prevention, treatment, and law enforcement. the plan embraces harm reduction strategies including weekly training for citizens on how to use naloxone. i actually went to a naloxone

training seminar myself just to see, and it's real i -- if you're trained on it properly, it can be -- it can make the difference. and it can make the difference in preventing people from inflicting irreversible damage to themselves and others. huntington has expanded their adult drug court and recently received a grant to launch the women's empowerment and addiction recovery program, a specialized tract within the drug court that will expand services to address the needs of drug-addicted prostitutes and evening in the face of the overdose, they are making progress. in fact, cooperation among local agencies -- in fact, the cooperation and the sad reality that they are well-practiced and well-trained can also be accredited with the 26 lives that they have saved. and while the overdose rates in huntington has remained steadily hierks the number of deaths from yods has fallen and that's anne

courage sign. jim johnson, who is the director of the huntington mayor's office of drug control policy, has said "what we are seeing around the country is overdose deaths going up, especially with the rise of fentanyl and other substances." it's not good that our huntington overdose rate is holding, but medicare part-d to histories or -- but compared to others who are having real increases, it is encouraging sms we are happy that the death rate has come down." as i've heard from west virginians and read local and national news account accounts t this rash of overdoses, i think what have we done? and what do we need to do to help cities all across the nation? the comprehensive addiction and recovery act, cara, mark add big first step forward. it reflects some of the best practices we've seen in places like huntington. it includes reforms to help law enforcement respond to this epidemic such as the successful drug court programs that operate

in west virginia and many other states. it expands the ability -- availability of naloxone. it allows funds to be used ford follow-up services for hose who receive another chance at life. i mean, you know, when somebody comes into the emergency room in an overdose situation, is administered naloxone and then an hour or two later gets up and just walks out the door, we haven't really followed through on our public health obligation. so in this bill we've got follow-up services. so that person can be followed by a home visit or a home phone call to see what their situation might be. i proudly voted for care remarks as most of us did, and believe it is an excellent first step. but that is exactly what it is, a first step. now we must take a fresh look at this epidemic. an epidemic that to me is threatening to take an entire generation, this next generation of our best and brievment we mis-look at ways to stop the

drugs from get being to yo to or communities. one solution is the synthetics trafficking and overdose prevention or the stop act, which was recently introduced by senators portman, ayotte, and johnson. the stop act, which i recently became a cosponsor of, is designed to stop dangerous synthetic drugs like the fentanyl and carfentanil that i talked about from being shipped through our borders and address any gaps in our mail security. earlier this year, innounceed that the d.e.a. had established a tactical divergence squad in west virginia. probably doesn't sound like much, but it'll be a big help to enhancing our law enforcement efforts, to stay one step ahead of this influx of drugs. programs like the high-intensity drug trafficking area program known as hidta, these programs are critical to prevent drug

abuse. we must embrace and intensify prevention strategies in our schools, community centers, and our after-school programs. you know, our youth cannot think that this epidemic is acceptable or that it is the new normal. we must ensure when someone decides they want treatment for their drug use they have access to this treatment. we have story after story of the lists of people -- there's no list of people to admit into a, incarceration. there's no waiting list here. yet there's a waiting list for our drug treatment and prevention centers. september is national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month. today senator murphy of connecticut and i are offering a resolution which honors the significant achievements of those citizens who are now in recovery. the resolution also recognizes the nationwide need for increased access to treatment.

this is an area where we have so much more work to be done. we must have the detox beds available and the workforce trained and ready to assist those seeking treatment. we want to also make sure that we have a range of treatment options that are available. there is -- this is differently not a one-size-fits-all kind of a problem. each addict found their way to addiction in a different way and each must figure their own path out. whether through inpatient rehab, peer-to-peer rehab, medication assisted therapy, a 12-step program, or most likely a combination of these and other options. it is also essential that we remember that recovery does not end when an addict finishes treatment. services need to be available to assist with their transition back into society. and we must look at the

collateral effect substance abuse has on our communities, whether it's through increased violent crime, child neglect and abuse or disease, especially hepatitis and h.i.v. given the rise in heroin use. are there immediate solutions for all these problems? no. we found there aren't. but like the city of huntington, we must continue to come to terms with the extent of the problem in order to know what the solutions do make sense. and like huntington, progress is going to be incremental, is going to take time. we can begin to tackle some of the problems through commonsense changes in policies. one example is jesse's law, a bill named after a west virginian. she was a daughter, a sister, and an addict in recovery. following surgery from a running injury, despite her best efforts and those of her family, jesse was discharged from the hospital.

she had told the hospital that she had addiction issues. she was discharged from the hospital with a prescription of 50 oxycodone pills and later that evening fatally overdosed. by many of the privacy regulations for persons with substance abuse orders, we can ensure that those individuals receive safe, effective, coordinated care that they need and prevent other tragedies like jesse's and her family's from occurring. i recognize that these problems are also going to take additional funding. as a member of the appropriations committee, like the president of the senate, we work together, i've worked to ensure that these resources are going to programs that best meet a state's needs weather it's hidta, the d.o.d. counter drug program. in the fiscal year h.h.s. appropriations bill there is a

$120 million increase for programs fighting opioid abuse. in bills passed by the committee funding to address heroin-opioid abuse is more than double than last year's levels. however, i also know that this problem cannot be solved by simply throwing money at it. i look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop additional policies to tackle these problems. we must consider all options. the outcomes are sad. i personally know families who have been personally affected by this. i think everybody does. if you're in a town hall meeting and you ask for a show of hands, who has a story, who knows somebody, from their church, their children's friends, almost every -- every hand in the meeting will go up. we need to work with state and local officials to learn what's working and what is not. and i will keep fighting also for an additional issue, a side issue, and just as important,

our veterans who rely on the v.a. programs to help with their opioid addiction. or that newborn who is born dependent on opioids. the addict who is willing to seek treatment. and any other person, because every person practically in this country's life is touched by this disease. i will keep fighting for cities like huntington who even in their darkest hours continue to move forward and fight every day to a brighter drug-free future. thank you, and i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. quorum call:

quorum call: