give federal resources away to these states and put a hole in our federal deficit to the tune of $7 billion. in giving away the coastal states the first three nautical miles of the continental shelf, congress made it clear, though, clear at that time that it was retaining for the nation as a whole the outer continental shelf, the rest of the continental shelf. so the out continental shelf lands act enacted just three minutes after the lease giveaway gave the federal government exclusive ownership and control over the mineral and wealth of the outer continental shelf. so we're here because states not satisfied with the generous gifts, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, texas, they persuaded congress to give them even more revenue in 2006, 37.5% of the federal government royalties. again, some of my colleagues may have supported this, but also added to our federal deficit in

blue a big hole into what were federal revenues at that time. so senator castity's bill -- cassidy's bill would compound this huge loss to the federal treasury. it begins by raising $500 million annual cap on the payment of federal royalties to the gulf states, from $500 million to $835 million from 2027 through 2036, and then in addition, a $750 million from 2037 through 2055. but this bill doesn't stop just there. it extends the payment of royalties to of five more coastl states -- alaska, georgia, north carolina, south carolina and virginia -- and gives 37.5% of the federal revenues from oil and gas leases on the outer continental shelf to the coast of alaska, and it gives 37.5% of federal revenue from the outer

continental shelf to the atlantic coasts -- virginia, north carolina, south carolina and georgia. so i get that my colleagues would like this money grab out of the federal treasury. i'm sure that many of our colleagues would write federal legislation that would also give their states revenue. but all of these amounts, in addition to the state royalties by the coastal states for oil and gas lease on the outer continental shelf is in contrast, i believe, to our national interests. this may be a great deal for the nine states and the senators who represent them, but it is a terrible, terrible deal for the nation as a whole, and the other 41 states who will not have the revenue, and what will they do about the raid to the federal budget of over $7 billion that will be absent from the federal treasury? are my colleagues going to raise taxes on the other side to supplant the revenue? that $7 billion lost? again, those revenues which belong to the nation as a whole,

to our citizens, not just the nine coastal states. as president truman said when he voted on an earlier version of the oil giveaway bill, -- quote -- the vast quanities of oil and gas in the submerged oceans belongs to the people of the united states. they represent a priceless national heritage. this national wealth like our lands owned by the united states is held for trust by every citizen of the united states and it should be used for the welfare and security of the nation as a whole, end quote, from then president truman. so i ask my colleagues, please do not blow a $7 billion hole in the federal treasury and give it to a few states when these lands and resources belong to all of us. if we want to help our coastal states in some other economic way or some way, let's discuss that, but blowing a hole of $7 billion in the federal budget and then trying to make it up later on the backs of the rest

of our constituents is an unfair deal for the american taxpayer. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this proposition. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the rules of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar 543, s. 3110. a bill to provide for reforms of the administration of the outer continental shelf of the united states to provide for the development of geo thermal solar and wind energy on public land signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to h.r. 5293, an act making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2017, and for other purposes

shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote: vote:

vote: the presiding officer: are there any 0 senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? seeing none, on this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 47. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.

the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. coats: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: madam president, i request the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. peters: thank you, madam president. madam president, the united states of america has a number of defining character sticks. our diversity, our commitment to free enterprise, our ingenuity,

and our creativity. american ingenuity has given us phones, automobiles, airplanes, and the internet. our creativity has made us the world's biggest exporters of culture, movies, television, and music ranging from motown, to nashville and beyond. while these characteristics are central to who we are as a nation, i believe it is our democratic system of republican government that truly defiance who -- defines who we are. the american experiment began with the casting o casting off e british monarchy. i'm proud to be standing here today as a member of the sons of american revolution and that one of my ancestors served with general george washington at valley forge. our ancestors learned firsthand that freedom is not free.

and it is not easy. if you survey the systems of government in place across the planet since the advent of democracy in greece over 2500 years ago, t.s.a. it is clear that -- it is clear that democracy is the exception and not the rule. we live in a world that in 2016 has theocracie theocracy. the creation of a mono crasscy requires revolution. we must hold onto this commitment if we want to keep our democracy healthy. we have worked toward the more perfect union envisioned by the framers of the constitution. we have abolished slavery and expanded the franchise to make sure that americans can vote and have an equal say in our future. we have also welcomed new generations of americans from every corner of the globe. just as i'm proud to be the son

of the american revolution, i'm also proud to be the son of an immigrant. my father served in world war ii and met my mother in france. she immigrate th im-- she emigre united states and found opportunity working as a nurses aide. my parents are part of the greatest generation, a generation of americans who defeated nationalcyism -- naziism in europe, struggled to advance equality here at home during the civil rights movement, and saw women move from home to the factory floor to the company boardloom. our memories -- boardroom. our memories can be short as we can be consumed by recent tour mail. but we cannot -- we cannot forget the challenges and successes of the past. we are fortunate to still have living veterans who liberated german concentration camps and millions of americans still remember the horrors of crow

laws. as martin luther king jr. famously said, the arc of the moral universe is long but it bengdzs towards justice. we have made progress in fits and starts and we have done so in significant parter due to our constitutional democracy. every democracy is different, and our country continues to evolve, but successful democracies share two common tax traits. one, they have fair, vigorous, and participanttory elections where citizens support candidates of their choosing and, two, when the election is over, all parties accept the outcome and facilitate a peaceful, orderly transition of power. as long as these traits per circumstance we will remain a successful democracy. and while i'm deeply disappointed by the outcome of last week's presidential

election, i accept it, and so do president obama and secretary clinton. i hope americans of all political stripes can acknowledge president obama's commitment to putting president-elect trump in a position where he can begin working for the good of the country. and i also hope that all americans are able to appreciate senator -- or, excuse me, secretary clinton's strength and resolve since the election and her acceptance of the electoral college result, once again showing that a person who receives the most votes does not necessarily win, even though she received well over one million more votes than president-elect trump nationally. the weeks after elections generally are a time for healing. and while president obama and secretary clinton have done their part, we remain a very

polarized country. this has been particularly contentious, an be a normal election. i have never seen anything like it in my life. during a campaign season, we need to engage in vigorous debates about the future of our country and vigorously advocate for our preefortd candidates d. preferred candidates. but whits all said and done, the election is over, we must come together as a country and do what is right for america. we must seek a common good, especially at a time when the country is near equally divided. we need to think about the dreams that unite us and not the nightmares that could tear us apart. michiganders from across the ideological spectrum wanted same things: a job that pays a fair wage, chance to send their children to good schools and live in safe neighborhoods,

affordable, quality health care, and after they have worked their whole life, the ability to retire with dignity. while our economy continues to grow and create jobs, too many families find themselves unable to get ahead. we need to take a step back and ask some serious questions about whether our policies are helping everyone. are american trade deals working? are we doing enough to support american manufacturing? and while he tapped into some of these legitimate concerns over the past two years, it is no secret that president-elect trump, unfortunately, ran a divisive campaign that stoked deep-seeded fears and anxieties in many americans. much of the rhetoric of the trump campaign far exceeded the acceptable norms of political discourse. we cannot have a mainstream political dialogue that demeans

women and disabled americans or that advocates for conversion therapy for lgbt americans. it is dangerous, it is unacceptable, and it is not normal. and it must never, ever be normal. we can never accept or normalize hatred, trafficking, and racism, misogyny, xenophobia, islamophobia) and anti-semitism is dangerous, it is unacceptable, and it is simply not normal. and again be, it must never be normal. what is now happening with the appointment of a white house chief strategist withize to the -- with ties to the white nationalist movement is dangerous. it is unacceptable, and i certainly not normal, and it must never be normal. i am deeply alarmed that president-elect trump has appointed mr. bannon to such an important position, and i urge him to reconsider this decision.

you know, i am proud that michigan is a diverse state. i have heard from over 1,000 michiganders about mr. bannon's appointment. yes, some are angry. but more are scared, scared that the america that had welcomed them and welcomed my mother is at risk of disappearing. i have heard from mothers and fathers and sons and daughters, muslim-americans, jewish-americans, african-americans, and latino americans. they are asking, what is their play -- what will their place be in president trump's america as our american experiment enters into an unprecedented new era? as our nation continues to move forward, i would urge president-elect trump to look back and consult the namesake of the city in which he will soon being living -- soon be living: president george washington. in a letter written in 17 20e9 the new -- in 1790 to the new

port hebrew congregation, at the time the largest group of jewish-american families in america, president washington addressed their fears. "the government of the united states which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens." and he added, "everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid." well, president-elect trump won, and the people are afraid. it is now his job to bring our nation together. it is his job to give bigotry no sanction and persecution no assistance. the appointment of mr. bannon is clearly a large step in the wrong direction. if this is indicative of how the

president-elect is going to run his administration, he can expect me and my fellow democratic colleagues to fight him every step of the way. on the other hand, if president-elect is prepared to be a president for all americans and to bind the wounds of division, as he's pledged in his victory speech just last week, i certainly hope that we can find common ground. whether it is making trade policy work for american manufacturers, supporting small businesses, bolstering cybersecurity, establishing meaningful paid and parental leave policies, or investing in infrastructure, if the president-elect is ready to roll up his sleeves and do what is right by american workers and american families, i will work with him. we don't have democratic bridges or republican roads. we don't have democratic courts and republican railroad tracks. they are truly nonpartisan.

improving our country's infrastructure is something that we can come together on and show americans that we are ready, that we are ready to do the people's work. mr. president, democracy is a wonderful thing, but history shows us that it can also be fragile. we must preserve our democratic institutions and show the people of america that these institutions and their elected officials are working for all americans. i intend to spend the next four years working for what is right for our country and what is right for michigan, and i hope our president-elect joins me. madam president, i yield the floor. mr. tillis: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. tillis: thank you, madam president. madam president, i come to the chamber to talk about a devastating event we've experienced in north carolina. last month hurricane matthew skirted along the atlantic coast, and then in plowed right through north carolina with devastating results. matthew was the worst storm we've experienced in almost 20 years and it's already responsible for taking some 28 lives. millions of people in north carolina and across the country watched this storm make landfall. but after a few day, many of them turned their attention back to their daily lives. i don't fault them for doing this because unless you're there and you see it firsthand, it's really easy to think it was just a lot of rain and a storm that came and went, but it's far worse than that. thousands of adults and children will take years to recover from the devastation that they've experienced over the last month.

first current i had to survey the damage was just two days after the hurricane made landfall. i traveled across the state in a helicopter with the commissioner of agriculture, and it was remarkable what i saw. in fact, it was after the rain had occurred but before the floods began almost a week later. in fact, it was the next week that i spent a day with many of my staff and volunteers doing volunteer work down in one of the areas that was hit hard by the flood. we worked with the american red cross, the baptist men, and the salvation army who were trying to prepare food and provide shelter for so many people who were displaced. and then last week i was back in the area, and i had an opportunity to witness firs fird the farm damage at one of our major areas, just outside of fort bragg, an urban area that was hit very, very hard. over the course of the last three weeks, i've literally seen long stretches of interstate

highways under water. i've seen major roads completely washed out. i've seen entire communities under water. i've seen a couple of towns that have been completely washed away. some of them were washed away just 20 years ago. and i've seen farms where -- that were either under water for a period of time where the crops are rothing in the field -- rotting in the field now. in another case farmers had var vested their -- had harvested their crops,ed the fields ready for the next season. now they're covered with sand and debris. i've heard from rescue workers and volunteers and i'm going to share some of those stories with you but also heard some heart warming stories about the responsiveness of our local and state and federal agencies and the kindness of neighbors and volunteers. madam president, i want to thank the state and local officials in fema and the first responders who are doing an excellent job in some of the most difficult

circumstances, but the death and destruction caused by hurricane matthew is really impossible to comprehend. the 28 lives we lost are a cross-section of the state. there are parents and grandparents, sons and daughters, leaders of our community and young people who had their entire life ahead of them. one of the victims was charles ivy. he was a resident of lumberton, one of the areas hardest hit, some 19 inches of rain over 24 hours. he was a pillar of his community. charles served as a deacon at the sunday school and sunday school director at the baptist church. he was an active member of the lumberton lions club, jaycees and the community watch. he was a loving father of two daughter, four grandchildren, and he leaves behind his wife, wanda. another victim who perished as a result of the storms was isabel rolls of r.

she was a resilient woman. she survived cancer, triple bypass surgery and kidney failure. she devoted her life to others spending years in the peace corps. she was a sunday schoolteacher and the church's historian at spring hills baptist church. her family and friend ses always remember her as a phenomenal woman who was a role model and an inspiration and her faith in god. madam president, these are just a couple of the stories about the victims of hurricane matthew. they were all probably people i could tell stories about. they were mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, loving friends. 28 precious lives lost in total. i hope the family and friends of the victims know that millions of north carolinians and people across the nation are praying for them and for their recovery. but a loss of life alone was devastating but it's really not the total story. in fact, we have years left to

recover. hurricane matthew was a massive storm. to give you an idea, it's what's referred to as a thousand-year flood event. in other words, for this area statistically speaking it will be another thousand years before they see the amount of water dumped in the period of time. it was a 500-year flood event for a massive part of eastern north carolina. thousands of people were forced out of their homes and moved to shelters. many are still in temporary housing, and thousands of the homes are not habitable. the storm flooded as that were well jowlt side the -- jowlt side -- outside the hundred-year flood plain so many of them didn't have flood insurance. last week, i visited one of those communities. it's a habitat for humanity community. it has some 90 homes built over the last is a, 16 years. 60 of them are under water. 60 of them are not habitable. 60 families are displaced. the pain is, as i said before, just hard to imagine. it's immeasurable. to give you an idea, we talked

to a couple -- or we have reports of several victims but i've summarized some. ann is from a county -- -- county hard hit. she had to live in a shelter. as she was waiting in a shelter, she told a reporter i him at a loss for words. you kind of feel like you don't have anything and you're just starting all over again. another victim, perry harris in johnston county south of raleigh sustained more than a million dollars in damage to his small business that he's had for some 15 years. he said it's very emotional. i've been trying to do the best i can. i have four kids that work for me. it's been very hard on my family. we just don't know what tomorrow brings. and another victim, charlie mitchell who's a farmer in wayne county, lost his home he's lived in for 49 years. he's got a 2,000 acre farm that was submerged under water.

he said, i've been in floods or around floods all my life, but i've never seen anything like this. hurricane matthew has been especially difficult for children as well. in fact, in one of our county, cumberland county, teachers asked the teachers and school counselors asked the students to write down their experience to kind of help them begin to cope and recover from the traumatic experience. there was one-sixth grade student who wrote, i heard a loud crack followed by three loud thuds. when my family got out of bed, i saw three big trees and one of them destroyed our kitchen. not even five minutes after we left, the ceiling collapsed in all rooms except the bathroom and my mom's room. matthew has been a life changing event for many north carolinians. relatives and friends who lost a loved one in the flooding, families who lost their homes, small businesses and owners who can no longer find a place to work and employ others, farmers who have watched their once

fertile land become unproductive, madam president, i share these stories because north carolina will need help. like west virginia, like louisiana, south carolina, georgia, and florida, all that have been damaged in this storm season or in the flood season. many others lost their lives in those states. they need help. north carolina needs help. my team is working with senator burr and my house colleagues to really try and quantify exactly what that is. we'll be working over the next couple of weeks to make sure that we work with our colleagues in other states who need assistance to get the assistance they desperately need before we leave at the end of the year. but more than anything else, i want to make sure that the victims of it storm know that they've got people working for them. and we're going to make sure that this great body and this nation comes to their aid in their time of crisis. thank you, madam president. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

cote d'ivoire mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. coats: mr. president, looks like we're in a quorum, so i ask unanimous consent that that quorum call be vitiated.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coats: mr. president, after a long district work period and a national election, i'm returning to the senate floor to reassume my weekly "waste of the week." the presiding officer and my colleagues have watched me come down to the floor 53 times in the 114th congress to talk about documented waste, fraud, and abuse. the expenditure of funds that -- of taxpayer dollars on something that produces no positive effect. regardless of which party is controlling any branch of government -- and we've had a significant change here in just the last couple of weeks -- it's imperative that our focus remain on governing for the benefit of the american people. and this includes from my

perspective rooting out any kind of waste, fraud, and abuse found within the federal government. the taxpayer should demand an effective, efficient government that spends money on -- their money on the behalf of the future of this country and on behalf of their future, our constituents' future. when they read about waste, fraud, and abuse, it is perspectively natural that they would call ons to address the problem and not spend a dime more than is necessary to run the federal government and to pull us out of this ever-spiraling deficit spending and deep entrance into debt which may not be able to be repaid. so that's why today i'm taking a low-income at yet another "waste of the week," and that one is called identity theft tax refund fraud, which over the past two

years has accounted for $23 billion in stolen taxpayer money. that's right, $23 billion of stolen taxpayer money. how does this happen? well, the theft occurs when criminals gain access to someone else's personal information, like their name and their social security number. in order to essentially steal the tax refund that might be due -- owed to them for the tax returns that have been interrupted and sent before the victim's tax return goes in. often criminals file someone else's tax returns before the victim does, and so the i.r.s. ends up sending tax refund money to criminals instead of the workers that earn the money. and when such abuses happen, not only is the i.r.s. unknowingly paying criminals, but the real tax refunds are denied or seriously delayed to the millions of hardworking americans who are counting on

those refunds. so for families that struggle to make ends meet, annual tax refunds are often seen as a lifeline. but when those families had their tax returns stolen, it can take up to a year or more to rectify this mess. and sadly, many of these criminals prey on senior citizens and low-income individuals because they know it's more likely that to receive a tax refund and less likely to pursue the lengthy and often complicated process of getting the tax return that's due them. some hacking has even been targeted against children under the age of 14. often because parents do not think it's necessary to monitor their children's credit. unfortunately, this makes children easy targets. within the past decade identity theft-related tax fraud has just exploded.

in fact, from 2011 to 2014, the government accountability office and the treasury inspector general for tax administration estimates that the i.r.s. paid out $23 billion in tax refunds to identity thieves instead of to the taxpayer that is due the money. let that sink in. $23 billion paid out by the federal government to criminals in just a four-year period of time. and that's just the fraud that the i.r.s. has discovered. we don't know the number of returns that have not been identified and discovered over that period of time. of course this is year 2016, and this is ever increasing, an ever-increasing amount of money and fraud that is occurring. the continued success of those who are able to hack in and get

social security numbers and names of individuals and use that to steal their tax refunds is drawing ever more criminal activity in this regard. these criminals are getting more sophisticated, making it much harder for the i.r.s. to track down and next to impossible for the government to recover those funds. now there's no silver bullet for addressing identity tax fraud. the i.r.s. has detected and prevented numerous attempts of i.d. theft-related tax fraud. however, there is more that can and should be done. first, the i.r.s. data security system needs to be updated to comply with federal government's own security standards. according to the tax information people that i mentioned before, three different federal agencies have data security requirements for the federal government, and the i.r.s. data system doesn't fully comply with either one of them.

this can be fixed, should be fixed. it can be fixed immediately. coordinating between agencies is something i've been talking about over and over and over. the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. social security disability doesn't understand what social security retirement payments and the unemployment insurance disability is paid for. so there's all kinds of lack of communication between agencies here within the federal government. the government accountability office, the g.a.o., testified at a senate finance committee hearing in april that there are nearly 100 recommendations that the g.a.o., government accountability office, has made to the i.r.s. to improve their data security. so a government agency charged with looking at how efficiency or inefficiency an agency is has the opportunity to make

recommendations to that agency and hopefully they'll be complied with. but because of our lack of oversight here in the united states congress, we are not following up with enough pressure on those agencies to actually employ those recommendations. and as a consequence, we stand down here on the floor and talk about this waste as it goes on and on and on, and yet we don't go after the agencies to try to get those recommendations in place. we have learned from g.a.o. that these nearly 100 recommendations, only half have been implemented. even more disturbing, over half of those left are unimplemented recommendations over a year old. now we can imagine how the american people would react if a private company had so many persistent holes in its data system where it wrongfully paid criminals $23 billion of their money. another obvious way to prevent

fraud suggested by government watchdogs is for the i.r.s. to first receive employment w-2 forms before issuing refunds. here's what happens. employers issue w-2's. that's how much you earn, what the tax reductions, and other payments were worth. and we attach those to our tax returns. the problem is that the returns that go to the government and the returns that come in from the taxpayer are not coordinated, and so there's a gap that potentially exists. the 2017 tax filing season will be the first year of an accelerated system implemented to address this particular issue, because the legislation that was passed in 2015, which i supported, has accelerated the i issuance of w-2's to the

i.r.s. so the i.r.s. can verify the validity of the return. in the meantime i will continue to work with my colleagues in the senate, as long as i'm here, to keep the pressure on the i.r.s. to ensure it meets federal data security requirements and fulfills the otherun -- the unimplemented security recommendations. to our chart, we might be able to reach $100 billion. we weren't sure, but it just keeps coming on, folks. it just keeps pouring in record after record, examination after examination, by certified, nonpartisan government organizations. and we add this week 23 more billion dollars to the waste of the week thermometer, reaching now well over

$350 billion of waste, fraud and abuse. to those who say there are no more cuts we can make in spending to reduce our deficits and ever-increasing federal debt or to those who say we need to find ways to address critical needs like funds to address the spread of the zika virus, like money for cancer research or money to help strengthen our military during this type -- tie much conflict and threats to our homeland, i say to them let's at least start with what we know our tax dollars that are lost to waste, fraud and abuse. we owe that to the taxpayer. we owe that to future generations. we owe that to our children and grandchildren who will be saddled with this debt. we owe that to our nation to run an effective, efficient government, to retain the trust of the american people that the tax dollars they sent to washington are wisely spent for necessary purposes that only the federal government can

accomplish. we have a duty. we have a duty that rises above politics. we have a duty to make every effort we can to make government efficient and effective on behalf of the taxpayer. so i'm calling on my colleagues to say, yes, we need to look at the long-term impact of our debt. it is critical. it could have negative implications for the future of america. but can't we sleeft until we get to that point -- and we made several attempts to do that under this administration, each one to be shut down before it gets to the white house, or rejected by the white house. can't we at least look at the $350 billion of waste, fraud, and abuse that is documented? can't we at least do that and start there? and so that's what i'm calling on my colleagues to do. we don't have many weeks left in

this session, but you can count on me being here for each week that we have talking yet again about yet another waste, fraud, and abuse. mr. president, with that i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: