the first reaction was. did you know what happened next the dreamers started standing up and showing the courage that all of us hope we can muster today. they stood up and said we are dreamers and we are proud of it and we want to tell you who we are. i started going to the floor of the senate with color photographs over 100 times to tell the stories of these dreamers. each one of those stories really made the case for why we need to make sure that justice is served when it comes to daca in the dream act. i stand here with confidence that these dreamers and their courage, their families in their courage are behind us. now it is time for us, members of the house and senate, to summon the courage and to fighti for them and pass the dream act. are we ready to do that? >> we go live to the senate for four more debate and speeches and possible action on hurricane harvey release passed in the house earlier today. he

all-senators briefing. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i left montana yesterday morning to come back here to washington, d.c., to do the work of the american people. but, as always, my heart remains in big sky country. that's especially true right now as fires burn across our state. in fact, just yesterday, of the top 30 wildfires in the nation, 28 of those 30 wildfires were in montana. our crisis in montana isn't water, it's not too much water. it's not hurricanes. it's fire. it is smoke filling the air and filling our lungs. it's communities being evacuat evacuated, montanans standing on the side of the road looking at

the fires moving toward their homes. we've seen the loss of homes and many structures, and they're looking at the tons of fuel just lying on the forest floor waiting for a spark to ignite. in fact, in this year alone, over 1,600 fires have burned nearly one million acres in montana. that's nearly the size of the entire state of delaware. at my invitation, secretary of agriculture sonny purdue and secretary of interior ryan zinke, both came to montana just about two weeks ago -- in fact, two weeks ago tomorrow -- so they could see firsthand the impact wildfires are having on our great state. we went out and saw the lolo peak fire. the impact is devastating. we need to ensure that montana gets the resources it needs, first of all, to stop the fires.

i'm very grateful to the men and women who are risking their lives to fight these fires going on virtually very little sleep, living in tents, fighting these fires. the firefighters battling on the ground, they're away from their families. they're giving everything to protect our lives, our lands, and our property. tragically -- tragically, already in montana, two firefighters have lost their lives. trenton johnson, age 19, and brentwoodham, age 29. preventing wildfires is impossible, but we can do much more to lessen the severity and impact of these fires. seven million federally controlled acres in montana are at high risk for wildfire. five million acres -- five million acres have been designated for accelerated forest management due to insect

infestation disease. we're talking about dead trees. and yet since 1990, our state, montana, has lost over 40% of its forestry workforce and lost two-thirds of its mills. the remaining mills that we have are not running around the clock multiple shifts, which they could do except for the fact they can't get enough logs. we're literally bringing in logs from out of state and even out of the country to our mills in montana to keep them going. let's talk about mineral county, montana. it was founded in 1914. the counties in western montana -- the county is in western montana. it is well-known for its abundant natural resources. the invent of the sawmill came to this area around the middle of the 20th century. most of the others followed

suit. for decades the timber industry thrived. montanans worked hard, they earned good money in the timber industry. in fact, the timber industry produced tax revenues to support their schools, teachers, infrastructure, allow our counties to prosper. but in the early 1990's, things changed. across the state of montana, environmental lawsuits became a barrier to timber contracts that were awarded to montana's small businesses. a community that once thrived on the abundant resources surrounding -- surrounding them, now sits with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. today mineral county has just a single lumber mill. and folks there today are watching the very resources that supported their grandparents burn. in fact, in mineral county alo alone, over 25,000 acres have

been torched this fire season, and the fires continue to burn. in fact, the weather outlook for september continues with above-normal temperatures, below-normal precipitation. this fire season is not over. we're going to be in it for quite sometime. and the mismanagement of our federal forests and these radical environmentalists have prevented hardworking montanans from having jobs, and this just adds more fuel literally to these wildfires. our inability to act and treat these acres further deteriorates the health of our forests and the communities that desperately depend on them. i can tell you, i can speak on behalf of all of montana. we are tired of being told that others know better than we do while we watch our forests burn every summer, our mills close, our neighbors lose jobs, our

counties lay off road crews because they don't have the funds anymore to support basic infrastructure, and our communities suffer from the lack of management of our federal lands. because a safe forest, a vibrant forest, is a managed forest. a healthy forest is a managed forest. and timber jobs are good jobs. a properly managed forest is also good for wildlife habitat. we have teamed with the rocky mountain health foundation. their headquarters are in missoula, montana. if you want to see more elk, more wildlife, you need to manage the forest. it is good for wildlife habitat, good for water quality because a wildfire is devastating to the watershed. because what happens, the wildfires come three, they wipe out the trees, they wipe out the grasses and then when the spring rains come, when the snowmettlen

the snowmelt comes in the spring, you see tremendous devastation of fish habitat and losing good sources of water for our communities. and let's talk about the unspeakable amount of carbon emissions that are produced by these wildfires. i can tell you, we're done listening to radical environmentalists when they tell us otherwise. too many forest management projects have been held up in frivolous litigation at the expense of the people of montana. one such project, the stonewall project, it was halted because of the terrible cottonwood decision, which is the 21st century poster child for radical environmental activism. two fires were abelias on the very -- -- two fires were ablaze on the very lands that were set to be managed, had it not been for these radical environmentalists. this is wrong. we need litigation relief. we need to reform the process

that our land managers go through to get these projects done. the national environmental policy act -- or nepa -- was established to provide guidance for land managers to analyze all project alternatives and allow for public comment. this process has become so bogged down with additional steps and litigation that projects now at times take years to get through it. others never even make it. you see, when it takes this long to analyze whether or not to even start a project, the forests continue to get more and more overstocked, more and more loaded up with fuels. a forest is a renewable resour resource, but if you do not manage the forest, they become unhealthy, they become prone to wildfire. something needs to be -- they --

something needs to be done. we can't wait any longer we need our colleagues to come to the table because we need comprehensive forest management reform. how many more thousands of acres in montana and all over the west must burn before we act? tying the hands of the state, tying the hand of the local communities, tying the hands of the people of montana who best know how to manage these lands has not served us well. we need to change course. i will work with anyone of any party and at all levels of our government to ensure that forests are managed in a way that reduces the severity of wildfires because montanans deserve it. montanans are tired of seeing and breathing the smoke. the firefighters risking their lives out there deserve it as well, and because, quite frankly, it makes sense. because here's the bottom line:

either we are going to manage the forests or the forests are going to manage us. it is time to put the loggers of montana back to work. i urge my colleagues to join me in this effort.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the

senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. over the last several weeks, i have spent a lot of time traveling around my home state of wyoming and you may have in your home state of arkansas as well. we have talked to a lot of people. we hear a lot from people as we travel around to the rodeos, the fairs, and the parades. one of the things that i have been hearing more and more about because i'm seeing it daily in wyoming and i know senator daines has talked about it, senator tester, both the senators from montana, have been the incredible forest fires that have been raging in the west. there are more than a million acres of land burning in the west. smoke is spreading around the west. certainly in wyoming, fire as well as smoke impacting people, impacting land, impacting the soil, the air, the water, and impacting life as well as property. the damage that is happening is

dramatic, and in many ways, it's similar to the kind of comprehensive damage and destruction that we're seeing with the big storms. they are hitting hurricane harvey and irma on the way to florida. these are incredible storms. the people of wyoming want to express their sympathy and share their sympathy for the people who have lost family members, property, and the people who are still in danger. i also know in wyoming, people are wanting to volunteer, wanting to go to help out, collecting food, supplies, clothing, taking up collections, as well with the churches, communities and schools because that's the american spirit. so today i come to the floor to express my admiration for the resilience of the people of the west as well as the resilience of the people of texas and louisiana and all the americans who are today dealing with the disasters that they are facing. the other thing i heard a lot about, mr. president, this won't surprise you, the concerns are still out there regarding the

obamacare health care law. a lot of people in the media seem to think the discussion about that health care law is over. well, i can tell you that for the people of wyoming, they are still very concerned about what we're seeing in terms of a collapse of the health care system, with fewer choices and higher prices. for them, the conversation is not over, and they want to make sure that it's not over in congress either, because obamacare is still failing, the american people are certainly suffering. so we need to do something about it. we need to act. there was an article from the associated press that was in the paper on monday that really summed up the situation. the headline was this -- millions who buy health insurance brace for sharp increases. the article goes on to say millions of people who buy individual health insurance policies and get no help from the affordable care act are bracing for another year of double-digit premium increases and their frustration is boiling

over. the article says that these are mostly middle-class folks, it says, hardworking people who may be self-employed or work for small businesses that can't afford to offer health care. it goes on to say that these millions of americans bear the brunt of market problems such as high costs and diminished competition. mr. president, that's exactly the exact situation that people are facing in wyoming, and i assume you're facing in your home state of arkansas as well. the obamacare exchange for my state is only one company selling insurance, and it wasn't supposed to happen that way. you will recall democrats in congress who supported the health care law said it was going to create more competition and that it would bring down the prices and costs for them. in september of 2009, president obama said that without competition, the price of insurance goes up. he also added that the quality goes down. so what's the situation now?

all summer long, we have heard about insurers were giving up, pulling back, were dropping out. millions of americans will have less choice when it comes to their health insurances with opportunities by 2018. on august 24, the largest hospital system in new york state announced it would stop selling obamacare health insurance plan it had launched four years ago. this is the home state of the democrat leader in the senate, somebody that's come to the floor supporting the obamacare health care law. the company is blaming the flaws of that health care law and the fact that they haven't been able to do the reforms we need to do. the things that i propose and the things that make sense to me, the democratic leader won't allow us to address the many, many flaws of obamacare. meanwhile, the people of his home state of new york are losing another option to help get the coverage that obamacare requires by law for them to

have. people living in 47% of all counties will have only one option for coverage next year. millions of americans stuck in an insurance monopoly of obamacare. so yesterday was the deadline -- or monday was the deadline for insurance companies to say what they will need to charge next year. people across the country need to be very worried about how much more expensive their health insurance will be. lack of competition is one reason for the skyrocketing prices, but another big reason for the increase in prices are actually the tax increases that were put in place when obamacare was passed. the health care law included a trillion dollars, $1 trillion in new taxes. the biggest ones hitting working families is a tax on every health insurance plan that gets sold. it's called the health insurance tax. there was a new study last month that found that this tax is going to raise prices by about

$500 per family next year. the tax alone raising the cost $500 per family next year. that's to pay for one of the taxes. republicans want to get rid of the tax. that was part of our repeal and replace plan. every democrat voted no, voted no to removing the tax. so premiums are continuing to soar because the health care law is unsustainable and the taxes are unbearable to hardworking families. we have got to do something to help people, to reverse the damage caused by obamacare. i voted for the repeal legislation in july. i am going to continue to work to replace obamacare. until that happens, i'm glad to see that the committee on health, education, labor and pensions is looking into other ways that we can make changes to obamacare. the committee is working on ways to stable identifies the individual market next year. we're going to hear from governors, and state insurance commissioners about giving states more flexibility in

dealing with some of the health care law's mandates. the committee is going to be listening to doctors and patients. when i talk to doctors and patients and nurses back in wyoming, they tell me the health care system we have got now under obamacare isn't working. we see it every day, mr. president. but what i hear and what i see when i was at the hospital when i go back to my own medical office is we need to replace it with something that actually makes health care more affordable. i was a big part of the republican reform effort. let the states do what works for the states and for the people who live there. the obamacare law is still hurting americans. it's not getting better on its own. it's up to us in congress to do all that we can to help americans who have been trapped by the obamacare death spiral. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, it is no surprise that americans consistently rate jobs and the economy as a top issue of concern. a recent survey found that 50% of voters consider themselves to be living paycheck to paycheck. about one-third of voters say they are just $400 away from a financial crisis. that means that a single unexpected car repair or health care bill could easily put them in the middle of a financial emergency. too many americans have seen their american dream dimmed in recent years. hopes for a secure future have turned into worries about where the next rent or mortgage payment is coming from or whether it will be possible to save anything at all for retirement. mr. president, we don't have to resign ourselves to the status quo. we don't have to accept the long-term economic stagnation of the obama administration as our economic future. we can get our economy going again and we can set it up for

strong growth for the long term. that's going to require some work. it's going to require repealing burdensome and unnecessary government regulations that have slowed economic growth, and it's going to require reforming our complex, outdated tax code, which is increasingly strangling our economy. mr. president, the tax code might not be the first thing that people think of when they think of economic growth, but it actually plays a huge role in every aspect of our economy. it helps determine how much money americans have left over from their paycheck to save or invest or whether or not they can afford a car or a house. and when it comes to businesses, it can be the key to determining whether or not a young business gets off the ground or an existing business has the money to grow and hire new employees. unfortunately, our current tax code is not helping our economy. it's doing the opposite.

it limits americans' opportunities. it punishes their success. it discourages investment and growth. it cripples small businesses. it encourages large businesses to send jobs overseas, and it keeps our economy from reaching its full potential. reforming our tax code is an indispensable part of getting our economy back on the path to long-term health. without comprehensive tax reform, the economic stagnation of the obama years is likely to become the status quo going forward. this fall, mr. president, republicans in the house and senate are going to make comprehensive tax reform a priority, and any legislation we pass will be governed by five principles. first, any bill has to result in increased wages, jobs, and economic growth. second, it must provide tax relief for the middle class.

third, it has to keep jobs here at home. fourth, it has to increase american competitiveness in the global economy. finally, it has to simplify the tax code. republicans will be talking a lot about these principles over the coming weeks, but today i'd like to take just a few minutes to talk about the first of these principles, and that's making sure the tax reform legislation increases wages, jobs, and economic growth. flattening wage growth has been a problem in the united states for decades, and during the eight years of the obama administration, wage growth was almost nonexistent. economic growth was also weak throughout the obama administration. during the last year of the obama administration, years, i might add, after the recession ended, economic growth was averaging a dismal 1.5%. that's barely half of the growth

needed for a healthy economy. or for what we have seen historically in this country going back to the end of world war ii. and while things have been looking up a little bit lately, we still have a long ways to go to get back on the right track. things need to get better and they need to get better faster and we want things to get better for the long term. during the obama administration there were periods of economic growth but quickly followed by weak periods. that's not good enough. we need to put our economy on a strong, healthy footing for the long term. so what does the tax code have to do with all of this, mr. president? how is it discouraging wage growth, job growth and economic growth? well, mr. president, i want to talk about three big ways that it's discouraging growth. to start with, tax rates on businesses large and small are too high. our nation has the highest corporate tax rate in the

industrialized world. at least ten percentage points hiernt -- higher than competitors. tax ranges can range up to 44.6% for small businesses. it doesn't take an economist to realize that high tax rates leave businesses with less money to invest. less money to spend on wages, less money to create new jobs. and less money to put back into new property or equipment for their businesses. this situation is compounded when you're an american business with international competitors who are paying a lot less in taxes than you are. it's no surprise that u.s. businesses struggling to stay competitive in a global economy don't have a lot of resources to devote to creating new jobs and increasing wages. on top of our high business tax rates, there's another major problem with our tax code that puts american businesses in a

competitive disadvantaged globally, and that's our outdated worldwide tax system. what does it mean to have a worldwide tax system? it means that american companies pay u.s. taxes on the profit that they make here at home as well as on any profit that they make abroad once they bring that money home to the united states. the problem with this is twofold. first, these companies are already paying taxes to foreign governments on the money that they make abroad. then when they bring that money home, they end up having to pay taxes again on at least part of those profits, and at the highest tax rate in the industrialized world. this discourages them from bringing their profits back to the united states to invest in their domestic operations. instead, our tax code gives them a strong incentive to leave that money abroad and to invest in foreign workers and foreign

economies. the other problem is that most other major world economies have shifted from a worldwide tax system to what's known as a territorial tax system. mr. president, in a territorial tax system, you pay taxes on the money that you earn, where you make it and only there. you aren't taxed again when you bring money back to your home country. most of american companies' foreign competitors have been operating under a territorial system for years so they're paying a lot less taxes on the money they make abroad than american companies are, and that leaves american companies at a disadvantage. these foreign companies can underbid american companies for new business simply because they don't have to add as much in taxes into the price of their products or services. mr. president, in addition to discouraging growth with high tax rates and our outdated worldwide tax system there is

another major way our tax code discourages growth and that's by leaving small businesses with very little cash on hand. i've mentioned the high tax rates that small businesses face which already restrict their cash flow. well, the accounting rules in the tax code just compound that problem. under current law, small and medium-size corporations are often required to pay tax on income before they receive the cash and they cannot deduct all of their expenses when they pay the invoices. it can take years or even decades for them to recover the cost of their investments in equipment and facilities. for instance, right now the cost of a computer is recovered over five years. tractors over seven years during the ag sector of the economy. and commercial buildings, over 39 years. the consequences of deducting investments over so many years is that businesses can be left

extremely cash poor in the meantime, and cash-poor businesses, mr. president, don't expand. they don't hire new workers and they don't increase wages. mr. president, any bill republicans consider has to fix these elements in our tax code that are discouraging growth. it has to lower rates for businesses both large and small. it has to shift our outdated worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system so that american businesses are not at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy and so that american businesses have an incentive to invest their profits at home in american jobs and american workers instead of abroad. and any bill we consider has to address the cost recovery rules that are keeping small businesses cash poor often for years at a time. mr. president, i've already introduced legislation to help start-ups and small- to

medium-size businesses recover the size of their investments faster. it's legislation that i hope will become part of the final bill that we'll consider here in the senate. i'm looking forward to working with chairman hatch and my colleagues on the senate finance committee as we work to draft a final bill. the american people have had a rough few years, but economic worry doesn't have to become the status quo for the long term. american workers and job creators are as dynamic and creative as ever. we just need to clear the obstacles from their path. the comprehensive tax reform will allow us to do just that. mr. president, i look forward to helping to bring the american people real relief this year. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: mr. thune: mr. president, i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection.

quorum call:

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate

good afternoon, everyone. as i think you now know in a meeting at the white house the president and the senate and house democrat leadership agreed to a three month continuing resolution, and debt ceiling into december. i will be adding that as an amendment to the flood relief bill that's come over from the house on the floor.