period of time. people like oliver leavitt. oliver is an elder. he is certainly a legend in my time, but to have oliver here last night was extraordinarily significant. matthew rexford who lives in kaptovik. we had fenton, also from kaptovik. four or five individuals from that village. again, those who reside actually in the 1002 area. we had crawford puckatok and his wife laura also with us. richard glenn. not only here to -- to be part of -- of the -- again the culmination of this effort, but men and women who have been part of this battle for, again, decades. truly, truly decades. the number of trips that they

have made to washington, d.c., over the years. the -- the doors that they have knocked on, the efforts that they have contributed are just -- are just considerable. and you start to name names. you start thinking about tara sweeney and the folks that have been there year in and year out. those who have been supportive, either traveling back here or those who call, those who write. it really is -- it really is -- it's gratifying, it's heartwarming, and it is -- it is a -- it's a reality that you can never say thank you for the efforts that you have made over the years. so to know that as you -- as you spoke as alaskans that your

voices have been heard and that congress has finally listened is, indeed, gratifying. and, of course, we would not have reach this point without two particular alaskans, the one i'm proud to serve with here in our delegation, don young, the dean of the house, the congressman for all alaska. he has single-handedly kept this issue alive in the house for a generation. it has been 13 times that he has passed it out of the house, and to be able to recognize his really extraordinary work over there it is, indeed, a pleasure and honor and, of course, to my friend and partner here in the senate, senator dan sullivan, an incredible partner in this effort and i thank him greatly for his work. i recognize also that it's not just the delegation present that

needs to be thanked. because, as i've said, this has been a decade's-long battle. this has been a generational battle. and we're standing in the footsteps of those who have preceded us, and that includes my father, who at a point in time had advanced this only to -- to see it fail at the very end and, of course, my dear friend, my mentor, one who has really helped give me such great guidance over the years is our former senator ted stevens, and yesterday, mr. president, you may have noticed i was wearing some unusual earrings and my friend ted, former senator stevens, when he had a serious

matter in front of him, he wanted the rest of his colleagues to know he was serious today, this was an issue to be taken seriously, and he would dawn a hulk tie, which is senate legendary around here. i'm not one to wear ties, but when you find a nice pair of hulk earrings, it seems to me only appropriate to ware it on a -- wear it on a day that would acknowledge the work of extraordinary alaskans who went before me. so i think today uncle ted is smiling and happy and probably wearing his hulk tie. mr. president, this is a big moment for alaska. there is a spirit and optimism that i'm taking back home now that i think we haven't seen in years. i think it is worth noting that today is winter solstice, it is the shortest day of the year, today and tomorrow, and in

alaska it is the darkest day of the year. i mentioned that yesterday as i spoke that the effort that we have seen from the senate and hopefully we will finalize shortly is one that will bring a brightness and energy to the people of alaska, and for that i thank my colleagues and the many alaskans who have supported us in this epic battle and i thank all those who have helped to make it possible. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: mr. franken: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota is recognized. mr. franken: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: thank you, mr. president. unlike most of my colleagues, the time i have spent here in the senate represents the sum total of my experience in elected office. for most of my life, i approached politics and public policy from a very different perspective. i tried to be an educated citizen who understood how the issues being debated here in

washington affected me and my family and my neighbors and those in my state and my country. i tried to be an advocate for the values i believed in -- honesty in public discourse, for sure, but also fairness and justice in the idea that in america, we're all in this together. and i tried to be an activist, putting my voice and my energy behind candidates and causes that i cared for for and about. when i leave the senate in a few weeks, i will continue trying to be an educated citizen and an advocate and an activist, but over the last eight and a half years, as i have had the privilege of serving the people of minnesota, i have also gained a new perspective on the issues we face and the way we here in washington make decisions.

and before i go, i want to spend some time sharing what i have learned in a series of speeches focusing on the challenges i came to washington to address, the challenges that my colleagues will continue to wrestle with, challenges that will determine not just what kind of political landscape we leave for the next generation of senators but what kind of country we leave for the next generation of americans. today i want to start by talking about education. even at a time when our politics is more polarized and more poisonous than it's ever been, you would think that education is one place where democrats and republicans could come together to make progress. after all, while we do have significant differences on the details of education policy, nobody disagrees about the importance of getting it right.

we all agree that education from pre-k through college and beyond is essential in providing our economy with a skilled workforce that is ready to innovate and lead us into the future. ever since i have been here, employers np minnesota have stressed to me that they need employees with critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with teamwork, creativity, tools that we need our children to be developing long before they enter the workforce, and i'm pretty sure that's what my colleagues hear from employers in their states, too. and, of course, education isn't just about our economy. it's about the most basic responsibility we have as human beings. many of us who serve here in the senate have children or

grandchildren, and we would do anything to be able to promise them that when they grow up, they will be able to follow their dreams, take a risk on themselves to achieve more than we ever could. many of us remember just how hard our own parents worked to keep that promise to us. and all of us, democrat and republican alike, want to be able to make that promise, not just to our own children but to every child in america, no matter where they grow up or what their family life is like or what obstacles they may encounter along the way. we all want a country where every child, every child has the opportunity to fulfill his or her god-given potential, and we all understand that whether we can provide every child with a great education is the most

basic measure of whether we're keeping that promise. fortunately, the help committee which i had the honor of serving on since i first arrived in the senate has been led by public servants who share those values and a common commitment to delivering on that promise. under chairman hark inn an now now -- harkin and now under chairman murray, the help committee has often been able to, well, be an example of how democrats and republicans can work together to make progress. when i first got here, the debate was focused on no child left behind, which congress had passed and president bush had signed into law in 2002. democrats and republicans had worked together on that bill back then because they all believed that it was important that our schools be held

accountable for the results that they achieved on behalf of all students. but by 2009, it had become clear that no child left behind simply wasn't getting the job done. a couple weeks after i got to the senate, i held a roundtable with principals at a school that had been turned around in a poor neighborhood by a great principal in st. paul. one of the other principals told me that he referred to the nclb tests as autopsies. i knew exactly what he meant. the kids were taking the test in late april. the results didn't come back until late june or later. too late to let the results inform teachers' instructions of each child.

in minnesota, therefore, most school districts added computer adaptive tests in addition to the nclb tests. computer adapted. computer so the teachers could get the results right away. and adaptive so if a kid was getting all the answers right, the questions would get harder. if the kid was getting all the answers wrong, they would get easier. and that way instead of measuring whether or not the student was appropriately proficient at grade level in reading and math, educators could find out exactly what grade level each student was at in those subjects. adaptive. nclb, on the other hand, didn't allow schools to test outside of grade level. so schools and teachers were judged simply by whether a sufficient percentage of their kids met this arbitrary standard.

this became known as measuring for proficiency and it created what teachers in minnesota described to me as a race to the middle. it made them focus on kids just below and just above proficiency , so ones just below would get above and ones just above would stay above proficiency. and they would ignore the kid at the top, because the kids at the top, no matter what you did, those kids wouldn't go below proficiency. they would ignore the kids at the bottom, because no matter what you did that year, you couldn't get those kids to proficiency. so there was this race to the middle. and think about how perverse that is. think about a fifth grade teacher who takes a kid from a second grade level of reading to a fourth grade level of reading. that kid didn't get to

proficiency, so under no child left behind, that teacher was a goat, but a teacher who helps a child grow by two grade levels in a single year, that teacher is a hero. teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members, and parents all argued that it was time to stop measuring just for proficiency and start measuring for growth. or measure for just growth instead. now, this became quickly a central focus of the debate over how to reform no child left behind. and it remains a pivotal debate when it comes to the future of our education system, which is why it was so shocking when president trump picked the secretary of education, betsy devos, who turned out to have no

idea what the growth versus proficiency debate was even about. it would be as if our children's future relied on the outcome of a football game and the president nominated a head coach who didn't know how many yards it took to get a first down. it was a deeply upsetting moment, not just because of what it revealed about mrs. devos or the president who had picked her to be in charge of our nation's education system, but because these are the kinds of problems we should be able to solve. there's nothing ideological about the debate. it's simply a matter of coming together and working in good faith to make things work better. a functioning democracy should be able to get stuff like this right. and sometimes we have. for example, in the bipartisan every student succeeds act, we were able to address some of the

extensive testing -- excessive testing that was burdening educators and students alike. under the new law, schools would still have to test every year between third and eighth grade and once in high school, but each state would control the consequences of the test results, and that would almost certainly mean fewer high-stakes tests, less drilling, more time to teach and learn. meanwhile, the law included important priorities like strengthening stem education, expanding student mental health services, increasing access to courses that help high school students earn college credit, and preparing and recruiting more and better principals to lead schools. these were all things that i fought to include in that final law. it also included a long overdue investment in early childhood

education, but not enough. not enough. we know from study after study that a quality early childhood education returns between $7 anr invested, and that's because children who get a quality early childhood education are less likely to be referred to special ed, and less likely to be held back a grade. they have better health outcomes. girls are less likely to get pregnant in adolescence. they are more likely to graduate high school, go to college, get a good job, and pay taxes. and they are less likely to go to prison. if we really want to address future deficits, we would be

pouring money into training early childhood educators. instead, in his budget to congress, the trump administration proposed major cuts to early childhood education. and we could easily put more money into these programs if we weren't giving enormous tax cuts to the wealthy and to powerful corporations. we also need to make sure that as our kids get older, they can rely on quality after-school programs. last spring, i visited roosevelt high school in minneapolis. during my tour of the school's after-school program, i saw students rehearsing for a production of "the adams family" i saw students getting critical academic support like tutoring and college prep. in fact, roosevelt's successful after-school program contributed

to their graduation rate from -- going from less than 50% to over 70% in just three years. that's pretty incredible, and that's why i fought to renew the first learning center's program in their reform of no child left behind, the program that keeps schools open after school. if we all agree that education should be a priority, we should be willing to put our money where our mouths are and fund these programs. i'm proud that over the course of my time here, we have had bipartisan commitment to doing just that. we have made progress -- not enough, by any means, but progress. again, however, that risk under that administration, that after-school program was zeroed out in its proposed budget. and what's more, this administration seems to be

outright hostile to the idea that we have responsibility to provide children with a quality public education. i am proud of the work that we have done to support and improve our public schools, but the department of education is now led by a secretary with a long history of actively undermining public education. secretary devos spent millions of dollars advocating for an ideology to steal funds from public schools to fund private education. let's take a moment to talk about what that means. secretary devos ran a committee called all children matter which spent millions in campaign contributions to promote school vouchers. the argument was these vouchers would allow low-income students

to attend private schools of their family's choice. secretary devos has been pushing to expand vouchers for years even though research clearly shows that voucher programs don't work. in fact, the academic outcome for students who use voucher programs to attend private schools is abysmal. a "new york times" article from february of this year reported on three different studies of large state voucher programs in indiana, louisiana, and ohio. each study found that vouchers negatively impact results in both reading and math. in louisiana's voucher program, public elementary school students who started at the 50th percent i'll in -- percentile in math dropped to the 26th

percentile in a single year. harvard education professor martin west said that the negative effect was the largest i have ever seen in the literature. he was talking about all literature, the entire history of american education research. secretary devos is a serious threat to our public school system and a threat to the quality of education in this country overall. i have pushed as hard as i could to protect our students from what this administration has been trying to do. i have sent the secretary over a dozen letters this year on protecting students from harassment, helping defrauded students and holding for-profit schools accountable. it is my hope that my colleagues will continue to be vigilant in overseag the -- overseeing the

department of education and making sure that our public education system is not dismantled. our public education system was designed to give all kids a real clans in life, but teachers and administrators often lack the resources they need to give the kids the opportunities they deserve. every year i push appropriators to push funding for a number of critical education programs like early childhood, stem, and professional development for teachers, and i hope my colleagues will continue that fight to increase resources for these programs. in proving -- improving our education system isn't just about funding and accountability. if we want to keep the promise of opportunity to every child, we have to recognize that some kids face obstacles that others do not be that we have to do more to make sure that they are

not left behind. for example, particularly kids who tbriew up poor -- grew up poor are far more likely to suffer what is called adverse childhood experiences, not just the stress of living in poverty itself, but exposure to domestic violence, abuse, or neglect, drug and alcohol abuse, the incarceration of a parent, the death of a sibling. all of those adverse childhood experiences affect brain chemistry and the ability to learn. if we want to improve education, we need to do a better job of henning these children overcome these traumas. and a better job of addressing economic inequality so fewer have to deal with the trauma in

the first place. this shanother reason we need more high-quality early childhood programs and more training for child care providers so they can better support kids who have experienced trauma. here's another example, foster kids -- foster kids. it is not uncommon for foster children to have ten, 11, 12 sets of foster parents during their childhood. this reeks havoc -- wreaks havoc on their education. sometimes foster kids fall through the cracks of the education system. if a child's new foster parents live in a different school district, the foster child is yanked out of school and sent to one in the new school district. cala van dyke who was an

incredibly impressive high school senior from minnesota. she testified before the help committee that she had been in seven foster homes. she did fall through the cracks. she missed fourth grade entirely. for foster kids school is often the one constant in their life, mr. president. maybe they have a teacher they really like or an extracurricular activity that means everything to them or maybe -- maybe they have these things called friends, and that's why i wrote a provision in the every student succeeds act to require school districts to work with child welfare agencies to make sure that foster children who are changing homes are not forced to change schools. i like -- i'd like to think that somewhere there's a foster child

running cross country or developing a passion for history because of a great teacher or doing homework with a good friend because of legislation i worked on, legislation that passed with a strong bipartisan majority. here's yet another example, kids in indian country. when i first came to the senate, i asked for a seat on the indian affairs committee, and serving on that committee you are confronted with the tragic disparities from which native people in our country suffer. one of them is the huge dissipater in -- disparity in educational resources for native kids compared with their kids. that inequity in education plays out in many ways, but you can literally see it in the school buildings that native kids are forced to learn in. indian school buildings are

unsafe and harmful to the health of children and teachers and ultimately a barrier to the education of the students. so going back to early 2009, i've been fighting for funding to fix the the native american high school in north minnesota. when i first visited the school i saw exposed wiring, mold, roof leaking and i learned the students faced these conditions in their classrooms for years and it was deplorable and it was a terrible place to learn so i worked for the better part of a decade to rebuild that school. i sent my colleagues a series of powerful editorials as written in the "minneapolis star tribune." i have raised countless indian

affairs hearings after a lot of work from the community, the tribe, and the obama administration, we were able to secure the funding to rebuild the native american school. i was thrilled that so many bright young students will be able to feel safe and comfortable in a brand-new school which will be opening this coming march, but this is one school, one reservation, and there are hundreds of schools like this high school that are not suitable for learning and we need to do so much more for our native kids. inian country -- in indian schools, we have seen inner

generational trauma and we know it can lead to other trauma in high school. that's why when we look at the adverse childhood experiences, particularly in the native american community, we can't dismiss their effects on the children's ability to learn. children in native american country are woefully -- they report by wilder research states that this can, quote, threaten their educational success, health, and mental health and personal development. i am pleased that senator heitkamp from north dakota has been focused on addressing this issue. one more example. lgbt students deserve to learn in an environment free from discrimination, and they deserve to be treed with dignity and respect -- treated with dignity and p respect -- and respect.

far too often lgbt endure harassment and discrimination. more than 30% of lgbt kids report missing a day of school in the previous month because they fear. those students are deprived of an education. in america we have laws that guard against harassment in our schools on the basis of race, national origin, sex, and disability, but lgbt students continue to face bullying and intimidation without resource. i have a bill called the student nondiscrimination act that would merely provide lgbt students the same legal remedies available to other kids under our federal civil rights laws.

it says that schools would have to listen when a parent says my child isn't safe. the school has to do something about it. it would ensure that lgbt kids have the same protections as every other child. i worked very hard to get this provision into the final law, and i was greatly disappointed that it wasn't included even though it got 52 votes on the senate floor. it is our responsibility, not just as senators but as adults, to protect children and help them flourish, and i sincerely hope that every one of my colleagues will take up this fight and work to get this across the finish line. the last thing i want to mention on the subject of education is this: for a long time we thought

about learning as something that started when you went to kindergarten and continued until you got your high school diploma and either went off to college or went off to work. we now know that educational is a life-long pursuit, but we also know we need to do more to make it possible or to continue it long after 12th grade. college used to be an affordable and accessible step it into the middle class for so many americans. i always think-my wife franni and her family. when franni was 17 months old, her dad, a decorated world war ii veteran died in a car accident, leaving her mom widowed with five kids. neil, the brother, went into the coast guard and became an electrical engineer, but all four girls went to college and they pent on imi -- and went on

combinations of pell grants and scholarships. back then pell grants covered 80% of the cost of a college education, today it is less than 35%. so today kids have to work while they go to college. that's not new. but when i've done roundtables at colleges across minnesota, many of them tell me they are working full time in addition to going to school full time. it seems like it might make it harder to focus on your studies or to stay awake. that's why i've been working to bring down the cost of college, increase financial aid to students and make textbooks cheaper. we need to help millions of americans refinance their student loan debt at lower interest rates and we need to help low and middle-income

students go to college debt free. this is something we could easily be doing if we weren't giving giant tax cuts to the super wealthy and to powerful corporations. it is important to remember too that young people don't necessarily need to start at a four-year college to become successful in life or to build a secure middle-class lifestyle. many career and technical programs, students complete their education after they've been employed in good jobs because they've got credentials to get those jobs. good jobs with benefits that promise a secure career. part of those benefits are often that company paying for the rest of your education, finishing maybe your associate's degree or

your bachelor's degree or graduate school. we need to overcome the assumption that career and technical schools are a ceiling to future success. they are a ladder to careers with good wages and benefits that can support a comfortable lifestyle. and there is a high demand for these workers now. that's because we have what's called a skills gap in this country. every senator has it in their states. it's one of the things i hear about frequently when i travel around minnesota and especially when i talk to businesses. i hear about job positions employers can't fill because they can't find qualified workers or workers with the right skills. at the same time, i hear from students who are anxious to start a career but lack specific technical skills. to remain competitive in today's

global economy, we need a better trained workforce. that's why i introduced the community college to career fund act. the grants would help create public-private partnerships that support learning and earning on the job training programs. employers would develop a workforce with the specific skills they need to grow their businesses and everybody wins. here's how it works. you go get a credential. that credential gets you a job. then the employer would pay for you to continue your education and as you continue to work and make a living. i've seen this time and time again and it works. we also need to reauthorize the perkins career and technical education law which includes support for public-private partnership training programs in

k-12. i think some of the things we need to do to make college more affordable and successful and valuable for students are pretty clear. but let's be honest. the trump administration after nearly a year in office has been going in a very different direction. and has been working against the best interests of college students. one of the most unfortunate aspects of this is that predatory for-profit colleges have been able to get even more of a foothold in our higher education system since secretary devos took over. the good news when it comes to education is that america still has teachers and principals and school board members and superintendents who work hard every day to take responsibility for every student under their care and deliver on the promise of a great education. we still have parents and neighbors and coaches who look out for our children's

well-being and who work to equip them with the skills that they need to succeed in school and beyond. and as anyone who has spent any time in a school lately can tell you, our kids themselves still have some pretty impressive potential. once more, we still have people on both sides of the aisle here in the senate who care passionately about education and are willing to do the hard work of bipartisan legislating in order to improve our schools and keep that promise of opportunity for the next generation. but the last eight and a half years have taught me that progress on education is possible, even in a divided washington, this past year has taught me that further progress isn't inevitable and that the progress we've already made maif not be safe. -- made may not be safe. it will be up to my colleagues,

not just to address the policy challenges posed by an education system that faces a big transition and a budget that forces hard choices, but the political challenges of the moment. it is my hope and prayer that they will be up to the task. our children's future depends on it. thank you, mr. president. i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. a senator: i request that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. duckworth: mr. president, i rise today to bring to this body's attention, to the attention of all americans what can best be characterized as a modern-day slave trade, an outrage that is hard to fathom that still exists today. i was recently speaking to a group of pastors from my home state of illinois who do wonderful work advocating on behalf of human rights and human dignity. one of them, reverend walter johnson of the greater institutional church in chicago, shared his frustration that abuses and atrocities being inflicted upon migrants and froodgein libyahave not receivee

from the government and the press. that's why i have come to the senate floor to speak of this alarming human rights crisis. every american should be appalled by chilling images of modern day slave auctions. earlier this month cnn released video of an auction taking place. not an auction for a piece of art or another item one might bid on but an auction of human beings, human beings sold for the equivalent of $400. the reports were a wakeup call for the world about the gravity of this situation in north africa as migrants fleeing danger and economic hardship face new horrors on their journey to seek a better future. the wars in the middle east and instability in north africa upended huge swathes of the region displacing thousands of vulnerable men, women and children. thousands of people fleeing africa and the middle east make their way through libya hoping to cross the mediterranean. and unfortunately, many of them

face horrifying human rights abuses and danger along the way. because of libya's limited capacity to govern, its restrictive policies against migrants and inability or refusal to accommodate the migrants, conditions are ripe for abuse in detention centers. particularly horrifying have been reports from survivors about the exploitation at the hands of smugglers who are openly engaging in human slavery, preying on the most vulnerable who have surrendered everything for a shot at the future. migrants have been subject to horrible human rights abuses in blieb over the past -- libya over the past few years including sexual violence. the administration must put this issue front and center when we engage with libyan officials and demand accountability and progress. sadly, it appears the administration missed such an opportunity to address this issue during the prime

minister's visit to washington earlier this month. the united nations backed government of national accord in tripoli has taken an important step in acknowledging these abuses and is requesting international support. the european union and african union evacuation plan to repatriate detained migrants agreed upon in the ivory coast is a move in the right direction. in 2016, the u.s. provided emergency funding for the international organization of migration, the i.o.m., to help shut down migrant detention centers in libya. while the e.u. rightly picks up the majority of the funding to repatriot migrants, the u.s. should once again consider another emergency infusion to the i.o.m. to help accelerate the closure of these facilities in addition to the 31 million dollars in foreign operations funding for libya that the administration requested this year. additionally, we have a former american ambassador, william lacy swing, who is the director general of the international

organization for migration. he is on the front lines of this fight and stands ready to work with libyan authorities. the european union and african union countries to help address this crisis. the u.s. can play an important role in helping director swing and other international efforts to help these migrants from exploitation and abuse. human rights are essential to the functioning of our global community and that is threatened when migrants are forced into inhumane ex-ploy at that alternative conditions and slavery. given this country's dark history with slavery we cannot afford to remain silent in the face of such suffering. we must stand together with the help of the united nations and our other international partners to eradicate slavery and the conditions that precipitate it. thank you, and i yield back.

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: mr. president, i rise today to speak to an issue which i have spoken to many times on the floor of the senate. it is the issue of the dream act, an -- a measure which i introduced in the senate 16 years ago. 16 years ago, i tried to find a way to give young people brought into the united states who grew up here in this country but did not have legal status a chance, just a chance to earn their way to legal status, to earn their way to citizenship. we set a number of hurdles in their path. we made it clear that they had to complete their education. we made it clear that they had to pass a serious criminal background check, and we gave a timetable that they had to reach legal status and not face deportation.

that was 16 years ago, and it still is not the law of the land. unfortunately, there are hundreds of thousands of young people who fit the description that i have just given. when president obama was in the white house, i wrote him a letter and said, mr. president, can you do something to help them, and he did. he created something called daca, deferred action for childhood arrivals. it was an executive order which said to these young people if you fit that definition of the dream act, if you will come forward and pay a filing fee of $500 or more, if you will submit yourself to a criminal background check and give us all of your background information about you and your family, then we will give you temporary renewable status to stay in america, not be deported, and be allowed to work. it was a big leap for many of these young people to do it because they had grown up in families where in whispered conversations in the evening, their parents had told them be careful, be careful. if you get arrested, and they

come to see this family, many of us will be forced to leave this country. be careful. these young people decided to trust the president of the united states, to trust the government of the united states, and to run the risk of disclosing everything, giving the most sensitive personal information about themselves and their family. they trusted us and they trusted this country to treat them fairly and justly. 780,000 of them came forward. they submitted their filing fees. they paid for the expenses of the government, and they did it knowing that even with this new status, this daca status under president obama's executive order, they didn't qualify for one penny of federal government benefits. and in working, they would be forced to pay taxes, which they were glad to do. 780,000. then came the last election.

the election of a president of the united states who had made immigration a centerpiece of his election message. who had really sown doubt and even fear about immigrants into our nation of immigrants. it's not a new message in america. it's hardly a new message around the world. being suspicious and fearful and even hateful of immigrants has been part of human experience from the beginning of time. so what would happen to these daca-protected 780,000 young people? president trump announced through his attorney general jeff sessions on september 5 of this year that daca protection was ending. as of march 5 of next year, 2018, no one could sign up for daca protection. and as the protection expired for each of them, there was no renewal.

780,000. the president then challenged congress and said do something. if i believe, he said, that daca is wrong, pass a law, take care of the problem. he said that on september 5, and here we are in december just days away from the end of the year, and we have done nothing, nothing. and what has happened? across america, these young people, their families, and the people who believe in them have begged us to step up and do something. they have said in the name of justice, in the name of fairness, in the name of morality, do something. and we have done nothing, nothing. many of them have decided in desperation to bring their message here to the capitol. right now, as i stand and speak on the floor of the senate, there are thousands outside on the mall, roaming through the

corridors, trying to stop people that they believe might be congressmen or senators to beg for the passage of the dream act, to beg for the reinstatement of the daca protection. some of them have made great sacrifices. i have gone up to talk to a lot of them. they have never been to washington before. they have never been inside this capitol building. they don't know what it means to lobby. they can't afford a lawyer or a lobbyist. they're coming here to beg for their lives and to beg for their families. some people are shunning them, refuse to talk to them. others are gracious and warm and welcoming. they get on people's nerves because there are a lot of them, and they want to talk to people about solving the problem. some of them have sat in our offices, even my office, and i understand it. as awkward as it may be, as comfortable as it may be, i welcome them, because i want them to know what america's

about where people in this country have the right to speak, to assemble, to petition their government. they believe this is their government. they look at that flag and they say that's my flag, too. legally, they are wrong. they are undocumented. many have no country at all to turn to. and who are they? who are these 780,000 young people? i can tell you who 900 of them are. 900 of these undocumented young people stood up and took an oath to a country which will not legally recognize them, to serve in our military and risk their lives for each and every one of us. what greater proof can we ask about their commitment to this country? 900 of them. and if we fail, if we fail to provide daca or dream act protection to them, these 900

will be forced to leave the military of the united states of america. they will be turned away despite the fact that they have volunteered their lives for this country. and 20,000 of them teach in our classrooms around america. i have met many of them. they are teaching in inner city schools. they are in a program called teach for america which sends them to some of the poorest school districts in america. they are spending their lives as undocumented in america, trying to help the least of those in their population, those in desperate need of their assistance. and among those are thousands who are going to school now and college. let me tell you, their challenge in college is a heck of a lot harder than the challenge for most young people. they don't qualify for any federal assistance to go to college. no pell grants, no federal loans. no, they have got to go to work. work and earn the money to pay for tuition.

that's what their life's all about. so for those who would dismiss these as lazy people who really can't offer much for the future of america, take a minute to get to know them. yesterday, one of my republican colleagues looked me in the eye and said we're talking about amnesty. these are people who violated the law. you're talking about forgiving them for violating the law. some of them, by his definition, violated the law when they were carried in their mother's arms to the united states at the age of 2. does that sound right? does that sound just? does it sound fair to say that these are people who have broken the law in america? i don't think so. and let me say a word about their parents. there are some people who say okay, i won't hate the dreamers, but i get to hate their parents, right? they did break the law. technicalically, they -- technically, they probably did. i won't argue the point. but i tell you something, as a

father, i would risk breaking the law for the life and future and safety of my children. i would. and most people would. and they did. it wasn't for any selfish motive. it was so their kids had a chance. that's what it was all about, and that's why they came to this country. and they knew at any minute, it could fall apart and they would be asked to leave or worse. they risked it for their children. so i'm not going to stand in moral judgment of these parents of dreamers. in legal judgment, the case is clear, but in moral judgment, no, i just won't do it. i have done 101 or 102 times is come to this floor and just tell a story, a story about a dreamer so that people know who they are. today i'd like to tell you the story of this young lady whose name is karen reyes. karen reyes is the 104th dreamer that i have introduced on the floor of the united

states senate. brought to the united states from mexico where she grew up in san antonio. a childhood like other american kids. girl scouts, summer camp, church groups, volleyball. karen didn't even know she was undocumented until she was in junior high school. she was a good student. she graduated with honors from high school. she was a member of the marching band. here's what she said about growing up in america. i might be an undocumented american, but i am an american. i came to this country when i was 2 years old. the only recollection i have from mexico is when i visited as a young child, and i have not gone back in 20 years. i grew up here. i made a life here. i made friends here. i received my education here. after high school, karen went to san antonio college, then transferred to the university of texas-san antonio. she made the president's honors list and the dean's list. she found time to volunteer at the university health system and

the san antonio youth literacy project. she tutored second grade students in reading, and she worked with communities and schools where she mentored and tutored elementary students. in 2012, she graduated with a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies. she went on to the deaf education and hearing science program at the university of texas health science center in san antonio. in 2014, karen graduated with a master's degree in deaf education and hearing science. today she's working as a special education teacher in austin, texas. here she is with kids. she teaches 3 and 4-year-old kids who are deaf or hard of hearing. she teaches kids with disabilities. and here's what she said about daca which allows her to live in the united states and to work as a teacher. the program that was abolished by president trump. here's what she says about it.

daca made me visible. daca made it possible for me to teach children who are deaf and hard of hearing. i'm helping these students and families on their journey to being able to communicate and achieve their dreams. before i didn't think i had a voice, but now i do. i get to change lives every single day. 20,000 other daca students and recipients like karen are teachers in our schools. because daca was repealed, texas stands to lose 2,000 teachers. i ask the state of texas, are you ready to lose karen? are you ready to lose 2,000 more just like her because the united states senate and the house of representatives refuse to act, refuse to legislate, refuse to provide protection to her? as for karen, her daca expires in august of next year. this will be her last school

year. if congress doesn't step up and meet its responsibility and pass the dream act, her time teaching these deaf and hard of hearing children will come to an end. in a few weeks, we're going to go home -- make it a few days actually, i hope. in a few days, we're going to go home and celebrate christmas with our families. it's a big important time of year. my wife and i look forward to it. we get to see all the grandkids in one place. it's going to be pure bedlam, but we're going to love every second of it. christmas means that much to our families. being together means so much to our families. think for a moment about those who are protected with daca. this may be their last christmas in the united states. they don't know where they will be next christmas, because the president abolished the protection program and because congress refuses to act. you don't know where they will be and you don't know whether

they will be with family or not. that is the reality. what a reflection on our nation that we have reached this point to punish someone like karen, a giving, caring, educated professional person who is spending time helping little boys and girls who desperately need our help. there are some in this chamber, and i've seen them face-to-face, they're ready to tell her to leave. we don't need you anymore, karen. go back to wherever you came from. just get out of here. that's their attitude. it's not mine, and not the majority of americans. three out of four americans believe karen deserves a chance. over three out of four americans believe she should be allowed to stay and earn her way to legal status and citizenship. 66% of those who voted for donald trump happen to believe that same thing. but there are voices of division and fear and hatred in this administration -- i've seen

them, i've heard them. i know what they have to say. the question is will they prevail? will they define this president in terms of his treatment of people who are just asking for a chance to be part of america's future? the answer to that question, mr. president, is not in the president's hands. it's in our hands. we owe it to these young people to do the right thing. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: first, mr. president, i want to thank our distinguished leader from illinois for not only his eloquence and passion, but unfettered commitment to the young people who were brought here as children, may never have set foot in the country that their parents came from, may not know the language, they're here and a promise was made to them in our country. i spoke yesterday on the floor about two young people from michigan. we have 10,000 young people in

michigan. some serving in the military, some in jobs, some in school. and they don't know any other country, and they love our country, and they just want our country to keep its promise to them. and that's what i view it as, as keeping our promises. so thank you. mr. president, i want to speak about keeping promises to a very, very important group of americans as well, and that is our men, women an men and womene serving us as veterans and in the military. one of the best parts of the job is being able to work on behalf of michigan veterans. from the civil war to the world wars to the korean war, to vietnam, the cold war, the gulf war, to our fight against terrorism, michigan's veterans

have given us their all. our veterans have always been the first in line to defend our democracy. that's why they should never be at the back of any line for a job, for health care, housing, world-class education. unfortunately, there are times when our veterans aren't getting the benefits they deserve and have earned and have been promised. and when that happens, it's our duty to fight for them, fight for those who fought for us. that's why in 2014, congress passed something called the veterans access choice and accountability act. this is essentially being called the veterans choice program. this legislation aimed to reduce wait times and provide medical services to veterans and their communities after we had heard of horrible situations that had occurred for veterans in some

parts of our country. very serious issues. the veterans choice act was created to meet a real need, getting our veterans prompt health care in locations that are convenient for them. this program is especially critical for veterans in rural communities throughout michigan as well as throughout the country. people in rural areas who were previously required to travel long distances, hours and hours for services. however, since it was enacted, providers across my state, and i know in many parts of the country, have not been getting paid, and rural hospitals have pulled out. and this program in michigan has not been working. worst of all, too many michigan veterans, and i know veterans across the country are struggling to get the appointments and the health care they need. that's why last week i introduced something i'm calling

the veterans deserve better act. this bill will help our veterans in three ways be able to correct what is occurring right now in michigan with a private contractor, a private provider who has not been doing the job. and, by the way, i talked to the secretary of veterans affairs who understands the problem and agrees that this has got to be fixed. so my bill first will improve the scheduling process for veterans seeking health care. you shouldn't have to wait weeks or months to be able to get an appointment with the doctor. our military operates under this simple creed: leave no person behind. but far too many of our veterans in need of health care are languishing in a system that simply isn't accountable to them through this private contracting process, that certainly has been the case. my bill will require the v.a. and any outside contractors

setting up health care appointments through the veterans choice program, to provide veterans with more and better information. and if veterans are still struggling to get appointments, they will be told exactly how to file a complaint so that he can get fixed. second, my legislation will hold these third-party contractors accountable. we have excellent service through our v.a. medical facilities, but this new system that was supposed to make it better, quicker, faster has not been working, and these third-party contractors, at least in michigan, have not been held accountable. the v.a. will track all appointments made through outside contractors who must schedule appointments within five days. any appointments not scheduled within five days will be sent to the v.a. for follow-up. within 30 days of this legislation being signed, third-party contractors will be required to submit a list of the

veterans who have been waiting more than 15 days for their appointments. and i know of many waiting much longer. we don't leave soldiers on the battlefield. we shouldn't leave veterans to fighalone to get their health ce needs done. and, third, this legislation ensures that the veterans choice program makes sure that the providers require prompt payment. the providers must receive prompt payment. if payment is denied, the health care provider will need to be told why, what information they need to submit in order to get the claims processed. the v.a. will also be required to submit a report to congress on the number of unpaid claims to veterans choice program providers and to take action on those claims within 45 days. and what do i mean by providers?

i'm talking about our hospitals in northern michigan, in the upper peninsula, in northwest side of the state or northeast side of the state, that are signing up under this program to be able to provide the care for someone who is more than 40 miles away from a v.a. medical center. and then they're turning around and finding that they're not getting paid for their services, to the tune of millions and millions of dollars. veterans who have served their country and the medical providers who treat them deserve nothing less than getting this system right. appointments should be made quickly. payment should be made for service. and there has to be continual accountability. unfortunately we know they aren't always getting what they need. one of those veterans is jerry,

a former national guardsman who was stationed in greenville, michigan, on the west side of the state. he now lives in sumner township. last january, jerry received a scary diagnosis. he had a lesion on his brain. he needed to see a specialist right away. veterans choice was supposed to make an appointment for jerry to see an endocrinologist, but when he showed up for the appointment, unbelievably he discovered he was mistakenly sent to urologist. after that veterans choice sent jerry to a family practitioner who had no record that he even had an appointment. that was two days off of work and travel to visit doctors that jerry should have never been sent to in the first place. by this time jerry was understandably very upset. he reached out to my office, and i'm glad he did so we could

help. we were able to contact veterans choice on his behalf and get him the appointment that he needed with the right specialist. now this is after his spending five months, five months trying to get to the right doctor. there's no excuse for this. however, jerry's issues weren't over. when he saw the same specialisspecialista second timd that the doctor had never been reimbursed for the previous visit. as jerry said, this shouldn't take five months to see a specialist, especially with something this scary and serious. and i shouldn't have to worry about whether or not veterans choice will pay for my care that i have earned. yes, jerry, you have earned that care and been promised that care. jerry's exactly right, and he's

unfortunately not alone in michigan, and i know from talking to colleagues in other areas, particularly with this same provider. i've heard from many other michigan veterans who can't get appointments, are getting the wrong appointments, are having to travel long distances to appointments, which was this was supposed to stop veterans having to drive long distances for appointments. or whose health care providers aren't being paid for their services, and then deciding they don't want to participate in the veterans choice program. my colleagues on the veterans' affairs committee are working on comprehensive reforms to the veterans choice program, and we're staring down another funding deadline. it's important that this get changed, but we need to do it right away. we need to fix the problems the veterans are having in dealing with this on a daily basis.

and i'm looking forward to working with colleagues to be able to fix this as quickly as possible. our veterans deserve better. it's time to pass this legislation and make sure that they get it. i'd like to end with the words of a man who knew something about service and sacrifice, on behalf of our country. before he was president and before he was a member of this very chamber, john f. kennedy was a veteran who served in the u.s. navy during world war ii. on august 2, 1943, the p.t. boat he commanded was struck by a japanese destroyer in the south pacific. the entire crew ended up in the water and two of his men died. although lieutenant kennedy badly injured his back in the collision, he helped his men

find safety on an island several miles away where they were r.e.srescued a week later.kennee corps medal for his leadership. he said as we express our gratitude we must never forget the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. i believe that's our responsibility. it's not enough to praise our veterans on special days, although they have certainly earned every word of praise. instead we must uphold each and every promise we've made to them and work together to do that. veterans like jerry and so many others have always been in line, at the front of the line to defend us. it's time to make sure they are not at the back of the line when it comes to getting the health care that they need. mr. president, one other word

on a different subject, talking about keeping promises. and that is other people whorl o are counting on us to be able to act in order to get their health care. we've had 81 days since the funding lapsed, the funding ended for the children's health insurance program and community health centers. now each state is a little different, so because of the various combinations of funding, that didn't mean everyone lost care immediately right after that. some are now, there are three states this month, there are others in the first of the year and so on. but i just received, literally just a few moments ago a notice from our state saying that in january it's very likely if we don't act, that families in michigan are going to get a notice that, what we call my child, which