quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to legislative session. the house lays before the senate the conference report to h.r. 2810. the clerk: the committee of conference of disagreeing votes on the amendment to the bill h.r. 2810 to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities for the department of defense, for military construction, and for defense activity at the department of energy, to provide personnel strength for such

year, and that the house agree to the same with an amendment and the senate agree to the same signed by a majority of the conferees on the part of both houses. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: i ask unanimous consent that all time be considered yielded back. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question occurs on the conference report. all those in favor say aye. although opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it, the ayes do have it, the conference report is agreed to. under the previous order all postcloture time on the coggins and freedrirch c nomination is yielded back. the question somebody0 the coggins -- the question is on the coggins nomination. is there a second?

there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the ayes are 96, the nays are zero. the knoll nomination is confirmed. -- the nomination is confidence. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be notified immediately of the senate's action. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 481, gregory katsas. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination.

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, gregory g. katsas of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of gregory g. kafsas of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, just a moment ago the senate acted to send the president one of the most important policy bills we consider each year -- the national defense authorization act. not only will this legislation authorize the resources, capabilities, pay, and benefits

that our men and women in uniform need to perform their missions, but this year's bill also goes further. it takes a notable step toward authorizing the resources needed to start rebuilding our military and restoring combat readiness. it will help improve our missile defense capabilities and better prepare us to deal with cyber threats. it will authorize a well-deserved pay raise for our men and women in uniform while providing for continued reform of the benefits that they and their families rely upon. and it will support the thousands of military service members and families serving at military installations in kentucky and in the kentucky national guard. further, this bill strives to bring reform to the pentagon. as senator mccain said of the ndaa a few months ago, it will build on the sweeping reforms that congress has passed in recent years. he's right.

and none of this would have been possible without him, without his leadership. i think i can speak for everyone in this chamber when i say that our friend senator mccain has served with distinction as chairman of the armed services committee. i know the ranking member on his committee, senator reed, thinks so as well. i know a lot of members on both sides of the aisle do, too. senator mccain's commitment to our men and women in uniform is obvious, and it is unwavering. he respects these brave americans immensely. he cares about them deeply. and he understands better than just about anyone how important a bill like this is to them. not only on a policy level but on a personal level as well. the ndaa he worked so hard to pass is now -- has no cleared both chambers. it is headed to the president's desk. soon it will become law, and when it does, it will stand as yet another testament to the hard work, dedication, and

unflappable determination of our colleague and friend, senator john mccain, truly an american hero. now, mr. president, on an entirely different matter, i'd like to say a few words today about brian forest, a key member of my legislative office team who is leaving the senate after several years of outstanding work here in the senate. throughout his time in my office, brian has been an invaluable asset taking on the daily challenges and countless responsibilities that comes with the territory for my staff. but brian didn't just handle it all; he excelled. regardless of the pressures, the deadlines, or the obstacles -- and believe me there were many -- brian always calm through. -- came through. and now, regretful lurks he's

decided to take on a whole new set of challenges. i'm confident that he will continue to show the same skill, friendship, and good humor that endeared him to many here in the senate because that's who brian is. i know i speak for all of those on my staff when i say that i'm really sorry to see him go. i wish brian well in his new adventures, and i'd like to thank him for his service to our nation, to the senate, and to me. i yield the floor. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent i be recognized as if in morning business for such time as i shall consume. mr. president, this week, after

three years of planning and construction, we now will be dedicating tomorrow officially opening the museum of the bible. it is led by steve green of hobby lobby. you all remember hobby lobby. that's in oklahoma. he's been a friend of mine, his parents have been friends of mine for a long period of time. he's the chairman of the board of directors for this long awaited museum and will allow visitors from all over, not just the country here, but all over the world. they'll be coming here for that purpose to see what is -- what really it's all about and how this plays the pivotal role in our country's, in our country's history. there is no better place than washington, d.c. to be our nation's capital to remind us of the scope of the bible, the impact on our history and our narrative.

it's been a long-awaited. indeed, one of our founding fathers, patrick henry, was renowned for his readings of the bible, and he said at the end of his life -- this is kind of significant. people don't realize this. he said -- this is a quote. he said this book is worth all of the books that ever were printed, and it has been my misfortune that i never found time to read it without proper attention until lately. you know, he's the one, if you remember, not many people are aware, the historians are relooking at the history of this country and they're saying we could not have won that war. you have to sometimes close your eyes and just envision the greatest army on the face of this earth coming down with thundering marches, going through boston and then going up to lexington and concord. you know, there is no way in the world that a handful of

trappers and hunters could have won that thing. and yet, we know why and he knew why. when you're talking about patrick henry, he said -- if you're not strong enough, it can't be done. but there's one thing they overlooked and that is the strength that comes from god that we have and they didn't have. he said we're not weak if you make the proper use of the power of god in our power armed in the holy cause of liberty and such a country we possess are visible that any four star army could send against us. we do not fight battles alone. there is a just god who will raise up friends and fight our battles with us. and he did and they fired that shot heard around the world. i think that's really important today to think about, because people come 0 to this country and they want to know what makes america work. you know, i've been privileged to sponsor the african dinner every february, and people come

in from all over africa and they're always surprised when they come and they find out walking through the capitol what real significance that god and the bible have to the history of this country. and now we're the home to the largest christian community in the world. we cannot and should not deny the role that our judeo-christian values played in the formation of this country. our first president, george washington, was steadfast in his belief, his law and the liberty and god's gift. washington's leadership was based on the conviction that americans are entrusted by god to preserve basic freedoms established in the constitution. in a letter, washington wrote, he said, quote, we should be very cautious of violating the rights of conscience in others. ever considering that god alone is the judge of hearts of men, and to him only in this case

they are answerable. and it's our clear founding fathers recognized and enshrined the importance of the religious liberty, one of the most precious and foundational religious freedoms that were allowed to live their lives according to the teachings of the bible. the bible's role in founding america is just one remarkable example of how the bible has profoundly shaped world history. it has influenced cultures in every corner of the globe. and the museum of the bible, which is going to be opening tomorrow, plays tribute to its impact and intersection of the world religions. now whether considering the bible through a secular or faith-based lens, it's important to deny its impact -- impossible to deny its impact on individuals, countries and indeed all world history. the museum of the bible is the

first educational experience that i have encountered that truly appreciates the full magnitude of the bible's role throughout history. the six exhibits curated by a panel of faith leaders that span religious and geographic divides truly bring the word of god to life in a way that positively educates, informs and encourages people of all faiths and beliefs to learn more about the bible. general washington reminded us in his farewell address, he said let us with caution indulge these suppositions that morality can be maintained -- cannot be maintained without religion. steve green's father david founded hobby lobby. you know, i remember this so well because i was in the state legislature at the time this happened. they started in their garage making frames for pictures.

and it turned out to be this giant worldwide corporation, the largest arts and crafts retailer in the history of america currently or in the past. and you remember hobby lobby when the obamacare required that all employers provide free access to the pills that terminate pregnancies. and david clearly recognized this as a violation of his faith. that's what america is all about. if you believe in something, you do it and take your risk. he was risking millions of dollars. but the morality was so significant from the teachings of the bible that he went ahead and did it. he took the challenge all the way to the united states supreme court. won on a split decision. he excessively argued the importance to maintaining the fundamental freedoms of religion to apply his faith convictions to how he operates his business. now david won his case, but his

family understood that we need to do more. and so he started the museum of the bible. and that institution is -- i actually was there last june. it was under construction at that time. as you walk through and you visualize what it's going to look like later on, this thing is just magnificent. they have a stage that you live in the stage. they're going to have performances there. i'm so anxious to be there tonight, the night before the official opening, to see now what it looks like. so i'm so grateful that david's son steve and his entire family are leading this effort to make the bible and its impact more accessible to the whole world. i'm especially honored that the museum will open on my birthday, tomorrow. so i'm not sure they are knew that when they made the decision. but somebody knew it. let me turn to another topic.

i think it's very important right now. and that is our energy independence. it's a huge issue and some things are happening that people are not even aware of. while we may have talked about the importance of the budget reconciliation process to set up the, and to pass the historic and much-needed tax cuts for individuals and small businesses, the process also allows the senate to use reconciliation for something equally as valuable, to allow energy exploration in alaska. yesterday the senate energy and natural resources committee met with, to consider legislation to open up a very small part of the arctic national wildlife refuge for responsible energy development. this bill was successfully passed by the committee, and i look forward to helping it to continue to move through congress. i've been an advocate for a long period of time for this to happen. it's interesting, the people in alaska, they all want it to

happen. the polling is something like 90-something to the people really want this to happen. they know all the benefits that will come to alaska, the money that will be there. and they know also, you know, people talk about the arctic national wildlife refuge as if this is some great big thing. it's the size of south carolina. it's a very small thing. right now we're going to be able to go up there and do it and to create jobs and opportunities and authorizing the leases in alaska will also increase revenue to the united states. you've got to think about this because it's estimated that energy production in alaska can lead to over $1 trillion in revenue, responsible management that will have a be positive impact -- have a positive impact on reducing our national debt and most significantly, opening anwr is allowing alaska to do what they want to do.

we're so good in this body here thinking we know more about what's good for alaska, what's good for oklahoma, what's good for georgia than they do in those countries. one of the few things we do right around this place is how we do our highway bills. the highway bills, we get the priorities of the states when they come in, and they decide what it is that they want to do in their states. you remember this thing about the bridge to nowhere and everyone was all concerned about this and all the talk shows jumped on it, without even realizing until it was too late and they had already gotten committed that here's something that happened right for a change. i was chairman of the committee at that time. the bridge to nowhere in alaska didn't go nowhere. it went somewhere. the problem is there aren't any people there once you get there. and the reason is you can't get there. and so on their list of 100 priorities, they had number four was to build to bridge.

but we in our inif i night wisdom said -- infinite wisdom said you can't do that because the public doesn't know what they're talking about. we have something in alaska that is a number one priority to develop and for years and years we've stopped them from being able to do with their land what they want to do with their land. so the federal government has been keeping alaskans from acting in their best interest and finally increasing energy production in alaska is a key part of making the united states not only energy independent, but energy dominant. we are on the verge of doing just that. earlier this week the executive director of the international energy agency, faith breaux, and this is a quote said the united states will become the undisputed global oil and gas leader for decades to come. and that growth in production is unprecedented, exceeding all historic levels.

anwr could be and should be a part of that story. energy independence is vital to our national security. how many of these countries over there that have been a part of the old soviet union who want their allegiance to us, and yet they're forced to buy their oil and gas from russia and from iran, and they don't want to do it? now we're taking them off the hook. i had a great experience not long ago. i was invited by the president of lithuania to come and open their terminal, their first terminal. and now we're changing all that. you know, we had a guy named harold hamm. he happens to be in oklahoma. and he he is the chairman and c.e.o. of the continental resources in oklahoma. he announced that they would begin exporting to china. exporting to china, that's kind of a big deal. and he's the one who talks about how we are going to become undeniably -- we're going to be heading it up so we control

enough energy to have that same impact on the rest of the world. so president trump has been clear. he intends to make the united states a net energy exporter, something we haven't been since 1953. we're going to now. opening up the arctic national wildlife refuge which just took place this last week would be a big step towards this initiative. and i applaud the senate energy and natural resources committee for helping the administration make this happen. you know, the leader here in the senate a few minutes ago talked about the ndaa and john mccain's role in that. john mccain, of course, has been and is an american hero. everybody knows his past. they know what he did, the suffering that he went through. and he was very instrumental. sure we had some disagreements on some of the finer parts of the bill, but this is one that had to be done. and all of a sudden we're changing what has happened,

unfortunately, in the past. now i can remember about three years ago we got all the way to december before we voted this thing out. we've now voted -- this is the 55th year in a row that we have passed a dwes -- defense authorization bill. if we didn't by the end of december, our kids wouldn't be getting hazard pay, pilots wouldn't be getting flight pay. it would be an absolute disaster. of course it didn't happen because we're now doing it. i have to say this. one thing that hasn't been said enough is what senator mccain and a lot of his supporters on the committee were able to do, and that is reprioritize what defending america is. if you read the constitution or if you look at the history of this country, the number-one -- i always say the people should sometimes get out that old document that nobody reads anymore -- the constitution -- and see what we're supposed to be doing around here. you no he what we're supposed -- you know what we're

supposed to be doing in this body primarily is defending america, number one. they called them post roads, back then, building roads and transportation. that's what we're supposed to be doing. what's happened in our military is something that the people don't know about. i applaud our military in uniform now because they're saying it for the first time in my memory that we are in the most threatened position this country has ever been in. we have adversaries out there, some are somewhat mental healthily deranged -- mentally deranged, they have the capability of hitting an american city with a weapon. you know, as tragic it was a when we went through 9/11, what a lot of people don't realize is that if that happened, a whole city could be wiped out. so the problem is we've gotten away from prioritizing the fact that the number one concern -- mission should be for us is

defend america. i'll give you an example. up through the 1960's we spent over 50% of all the revenues that came into the federal government on defending america. you know what it is today, mr. president? it's 15%. we have gone from 50% down to 15%. what does it tell you? it tells you that the priorities aren't right. we've looked at this and this is the first step, this mccain-led ndaa is the first step. if you look at the obama administration when we tried to recover under sequestration. he said that for every dollar that we put in we'll have to put an equal amount in social programs. that tells you the lack of priority and all of that is being changed. 10 minutes ago when i started, i quoted patrick henry, and you

stop and think about the courage it took at one time to get to the point that we're going to be progressing to starting with this bill, but he said there's a just god that reigns over the destiny, not to the strong alone, but to the vigilant, active, and brave. gentleman may call it peace, why stand idol. -- idle. that's what it used to be. that was the priority and this bill re-establishes that priority as the number one priority as our history reflects we should be doing, as our constitution has charged us with doing and we're doing with the passage of the national defense authorization bill. we're on the road to recovery. i'm very excited about it, mr. president. with that, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: mr. president, i rise -- i move unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. peters: mr. president, i rise today to make a simple request of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. when it comes to the tax legislation that republican colleagues are rushing through congress, please stop, slow down, and let's start over together. we need real tax reform with clear policy goals that will make our nation more competitive, not a partisan attempt to pass something, anything that can get 51 republican votes here in the senate. our shared policy goals should be making the tax code fair, simpler and fiscally responsible. if we can achieve these goals,

that would be real tax reform. if we work together we could take long overdue steps and build a tax code that lets working families in michigan and across the country keep more of their hard-earned money, levels the playing field for our small businesses and keeps good jobs here, home in the united states. fair, championship pler, responsible. -- fair, simpler, responsible. those are three key codes making a tax code that works. mr. president, if we don't start over, i'm afraid the current legislation will fail on all three accounts. first, this tax legislation is not fair. it dramatically moves towards benefiting the wealthiest people in this nation with only a little sliver of benefits going to working-class families. the republican tax bill was clearly written to cut rates for c.e.o.'s and large corporations

and treats the middle class like an afterthought. i would argue that working americans who are struggling with stagnant wages while the cost of prescription drugs, college, and housing continues to rise need tax cuts that are built around them. instead we're looking at a republican tax plan that repeals the alternative minimum tax, a fail-safe designed specifically to make sure that wealthy americans cannot deduct their way to paying nothing in taxes. from what little we have seen of president trump's tax returns, we know that the a.m.t., the alternative minimum tax, is the only reason he paid income taxes at all. the republican bill will eliminate the a.m.t. and president trump and folks like him will receive a huge windfall and may may not have to pay any taxes at all. zero. wall street loves this bill too because hedge funds will

continue to be taxed at lower rates than small businesses in our local communities. this means many hedge fund managers making millions of dollars will have a lower tax rate than an office assistant working at their firm. simply put, this proposal fails on the test of making the tax code fair. i also believe this effort fails on the test of making the code simpler. for small business owners back in michigan, they want to spend their time doing what they know best, which is running their business. not spending days or weeks trying to figure out the taxes that they owe. but as many of my colleagues in the finance committee have pointed out throughout this week, the provisions for a small business pass-through only serves to make a complicated tax code even more complicated. yes, even more complicated. expert analysis says that the pass-through provisions will require years of rulemakings and

thousands, thousands of pages of additional rules and regulations. as a small business owner, unless your hobby is studying the internal revenue code, this bill is going to make your life a whole lot more difficult. and finally, on the last test, the test of whether or not this bill is responsible, well, this proposal fails miserably. writing responsible tax legislation means making hard choices, closing loopholes and balancing out the pros and cons of every action. congress has a responsibility to take seriously the threat of a growing national debt, and we have to think about this when changing our tax code. but instead of working to reduce our debt that we are passing on to our children and grandchildren, this proposal actually adds more than $1 trillion to our deficit. and it would be even more

expensive but in a haphazard attempt to limit the cost the majority put forward a bill where hundreds of millions of dollars worth of provisions that middle-class families could use to reduce their taxes, they expire and they expire at random times over the next few years. when you add it up and factor in the additional interest costs to carry this new debt, you have a proposal that adds over $2 trillion to the federal debt according to the nonpartisan center for responsible federal budget. it is widely -- it is widely irresponsible to pile on this debt to finance a tax break for the wealthiest people in this country. but it doesn't have to be that way. tax reform can be bipartisan. the goal of tax reform must be fair, simpler and responsible. this is not just idealism or wishful thinking. we've seen it happen before. when ronald reagan worked with

congress to pass tax reform in 1986, the bill received 97 votes in the united states senate. yes, 97 votes. that is the sort of bipartisan approach we need, and we need to start working on that now. michiganders and all americans deserve a tax code that is fairer, simpler and more responsible. not more multinational corporate giveaways and more debt. i won't stop fighting for hardworking american families and small businesses who deserve to see more take-home pay. and i hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join me. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: