present you with this. >> thank you. [applause] animate amazed that in an hour no one asked about russia. is it because everyone just realizes that it's such a mess that he's guilty, that they did, and enough everyone noticed that steve bannon is quoted in a new book coming out that don junior and the crew taking this meeting and trump tower was treasonous so, i'm glad you very set your minds that you've seen enough evidence on that they don't have any questions. thank you again for having me. >> as this event wraps up we will take you live to the u.s. senate. they are about to gavilan to start the second session of the 115th congress. lawmakers will start the day by swearing-in to new members, doug jones from alabama and minnesota tina smith, both democrats bringing it to a 57 - 41 split.

republicans hold control of the chamber. live now to the senate here on c-span2. the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. everlasting god, our light and our salvation, you are our strength and shield of our nation and world. lord, as we receive the gift of this new year, we thank you for fresh starts and new mercies. may our lawmakers seize the seeds of opportunity that reside in the soil of their tomorrows,

laboring diligently to assure an abundant harvest. teach them to number their days, as they remember that they pass this way but once. lord, remind them that your hand is on the helm of human affairs and that you still guide your world. give our legislators the integrity to strive to do all the good they can for as many as they can, for as long as they can. bless our senators who are leaving and those who are coming. we pray in your sovereign name. .amen.

the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c, january 3 , 2018, to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable thom tillis, a senator from the state of north carolina, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, presidet pro tempore. the vice president: the chair lays before the senate the certificate of election to fill

the term for the state of alabama and certificate of appoint to fill the unexpired term for the state of minnesota. the certificate the chair is advised are in the form suggested by the senate. if there be no objection, the reading of the certificates will be waived and they will be printed in full in the record. if the senator-elect and senator-designate to be sworn in will now present themselves at the desk, the chair will administer the oaths of office. the vice president: please raise your right hand.

and prepare to respond. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this oath and obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? the senators: i do. the vice president: congratulations.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. the senate will come to order. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: as we open the second session of the 115th congress, we're pleased to welcome my colleagues back to the chamber. i'd like to extend a particular welcome to our two new senators who were just sworn in. first senator doug jones of

alabama will have big shoes to fill. his state has sent some very distinguished legislators to washington, including our attorney general, jeff sessions. senator jones brings a background in law enforcement, having served as a federal prosecutor in the northern district of alabama, and we welcome him. we also welcome senator tina smith. for three years, she served the people of minnesota as their lieutenant governor. now she will join senator klobuchar in representing them here in the senate. i congratulate both of these new senators and look forward to working with them in the month ahead to make bipartisan progress and to find common ground on behalf of the american people. the senate will need to tackle a number of important issues this year. it's my sincere hope that we can do so in a renewed spirit of comity, collegiality, and bipartisanship. i note that colleagues on both sides of the aisle share the hope and it's urgent that we

make it a reality. congress must reach a spending agreement by january 19 to ensure uninterrupted funding for the federal government. among several key priorities, it is vital that our agreement provide sufficient resources for our all-volunteer armed forces. under the budget control act, america's military has been stretched thin by disproportionate cuts that have harmed our combat readiness since fiscal year 2013, defense cuts have outpaced, outpaced domestic spending cuts by $85 billion. i'm going to say that again, mr. president. since fiscal year 2013, defense cuts have outpaced domestic spending cuts by $85 billion. to fix this, we need to set aside the arbitrary notion that new defense spending be matched equally by new nondefense spending. there is no reason why funding for our national security and our service members should be limited by an arbitrary

political formula that bears no relationship to actual need. so let's come together across the aisle and construct a funding agreement that gives our men and women in uniform the tools and the training they need. on another matter, mr. president, over the last week one of the often overlooked costs of iran's regional aggression has come to light. iranians have taken to the streets in protest, demanding that supreme leader khamenei and president rouhani do more to expand the domestic economy. iran's action in yemen, syria, and iraq and its support for proxies such as hezbollah have diverted resources away from economic reform and investment. while the government has prioritized payment to the military and security elites in clerical institutions, the people throughout iran have suffered. now their discontent is fully

evident. as part of our overall strategy toward iran, we should be focused on ending iran's maligned activities across the middle east. we should hold accountable any officials behind a crackdown on these protests. the coming days will be noteworthy as we wait to see if hardliners will use these protests as an excuse to promote even more aggressive policies toward the west and tighten their grip further on the country and its economy. now, one final matter. yesterday, a very distinguished senator announced his intention to retire at the end of this congress. for more than 40 years, senator orrin hatch has served the people of utah in this body. he is not only our president pro tempore, as we celebrated last year, senator hatch is also the longest serving republican senator in the history of the united states. during this historic tenure, senator hatch has shared three

key committees, he has amassed deep expertise among all manner of policy issues, and he has built a truly remarkable resume of accomplishments on behalf of the american people. senator hatch has defended our national security and our religious freedom. he's fought to protect americans with disabilities and has shepherded fine judges onto our courts. last month, he played an integral reform in passing the most significant tax reform law in more than 30 years. senator hatch's colleagues here will be sorry to see him retire. i will miss his friendship. but i know his wife elaine and his beloved family will be glad to welcome him home. fortunately, it's not yet time to say farewell to. the institution and the american people will benefit greatly from the senator's wisdom and famous work ethic for one more year before his retirement.

now, mr. president, i understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the senator is correct. the clerk will read the title of the bill for a second time. the clerk: s. 2274, a bill to provide for the compensation of federal employees affected by lapses in appropriations. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. first, as we begin the second session of the 115th congress, i welcome all of my colleagues back from holiday break. i wish them a happy new year.

wish our country a wonderful 2018. i was also very gratified to see two of the best former vice presidents that we have ever had on the floor today for the ceremonies. i'm glad to see senators -- former senators mondale and biden, former vice presidents mondale and biden, as feisty and strong and giving us their opinions as they have ever been. it's also very exciting to welcome two new members of this body who will be joining the democratic caucus -- tina smith from minnesota and doug jones from alabama. in joining this esteemed body, both bring a wealth of experience and individual passions. former lieutenant governor tina smith brings with her several years of experience serving at the highest levels of state government where she focused on economic development and expanding access to rural broadband and affordable health

care, issues she will continue to fight for here in the senate. in that work, governor dayton praised her as, quote, extremely intelligent, quick to learn, and always open to hearing others' views. she was also dubbed the, quote, velvet hammer by the mayor of minneapolis for her ability to work across the aisle but also get tough when she needs to be. those are precisely the kinds of qualities that make an effective senator. the people of minnesota are lucky to have senator smith, and we look forward to welcoming her in our next caucus. we also look forward to welcoming senator doug jones, the first democrat from the state of alabama in a quarter century. he, too, represents the very best of public service, the very best of america, the things we aspire to in this country. one story from his biography stands out. as a second year law student, doug jones skipped class to

attend the trial of the klansman ringleader of the 1963 bombing of the 16th street baptist church, an event that shook the conscience of our country and helped launch a mighty movement for civil rights. that day, a young doug jones was moved by the disposition of justice, but he was left with the impression that other members of the conspiracy had escaped the reach of the law. so 24 years later, when doug jones became the u.s. attorney for the state of alabama, he pursued charges against two more klan members involved in the bombing, winning their conviction and delivering a long-delayed but righteous justice. with his work, justice rolled down like a mighty stream. he'll continue to fight for civil rights and many other issues here in the senate. i know he cares deeply about the chip program which covers

150,000 young alabamians. i hope we can get that dan for his state and his country very soon. doug jones was an excellent candidate. like senator smith, he will make an outstanding senator. she for the state of minnesota. he for the state of alabama. the voices of jones and smith will add to the diversity of energy of our caucus. i predict that both will become influential voices in this historic chamber, and each of their states had great football victories this weekend, i might add. i watched alabama win over clemson. sorry, lindsey, tim. i watched minnesota, my favorite team outside the three new york teams, come in second in the whole n.f.c. and gain a bye as we move to the play-offs. so it was a -- it was a great day for these two states in a

lot of ways this weekend, and it's very good so far in 2018 with the swearing in of these two senators. the first half of the 115th congress now, let's talk a little bit about the new direction. let the induction of these two this afternoon be the beginning of a new direction for the senate in the second half of this congress. the first half of the 115th congress was not a year to be proud of. partisan legislation emerged from the majority leader's office and was dropped on the floor of the senate sometimes merely hours before we were asked to vote on its final passage. procedural gimmicks were used to avoid the senate's long history of debate and bipartisanship. an economy wracked by unfairness and unequality was made even more unfair, more unequal by the republican majority, which almost delighted in revoking consumer protections to help big business, install the

pro-corporate supreme court, drove up health care premiums and passed a tax bill dramatically skewed to the benefit of big corporations and the very wealthy. all in all, 2017 was a great year for wealthy republican donors but a lost year for the middle class and the working men and women of this country. we democrats hope this year is different, focused on the middle class rather than the rich and powerful, focused on helping them in the ways we have done in the last decades, both democratic and republican presidents, rather than this trickle down which benefits the few at the top and very few -- and does not benefit the very many in the middle. these first few weeks, mr. president, we have a chance to start off on the right foot. we have two weeks to negotiate a budget deal that also must address a host of other issues, including chip, community health

centers, disaster aid, and of course the dreamers. democrats would also like our country to make a down payment on urging -- on urgent domestic priorities like combating the opioid epidemic, a scourge that for the first time helped cause our death rate, our life expectancy to decline because of a higher death rate from opioids. we want to improve veterans health care. they served us. we must serve them. and shore up pension plans for millions of hardworking middle-class americans who put money in every month, and because of the stock market crash and sometimes corporate misdeeds aren't getting what they put in for. these items are crucial to the middle class. take opioids, for example. 2016, a record 63,000 -- this is so sad -- 63,000 americans died of drug overdoses.

two-thirds or more were opioid related. it's a full-fledged epidemic. it strikes the rich, the middle class, and the poor alike. it strikes urban america, suburban america, and rural america alike. i have had a father cry in my arms because his son had decided to turn himself around and signed up for a treatment program, but the line was so long because the funding is so scarce that the young man died of an overdose before he could enter treatment. the opioid crisis is stealing our youth. we've known about it for years. it's not new. it's heartbreaking about how much we know about it but how little we've done about it. the americans sent us here to do their business. let's make a real investment in this budget deal and how we treat this scourge. that's the budget deal. the budget is the right place to

start. now, a few years ago we made a promise to hundreds of children -- hundreds of thousands of children who were brought to the u.s. through no fault of their own that if they registered with the government, we wouldn't deport them. we said, we want you to be americans. learn in our schools, work at our companies, serve in our military. 800,000 dreamers came forward and did that, because above all else, they want to be americans. they don't know another country. now we're faced with a deadline. in a few months protections for dreamers will evaporate. thousands of dreamers are losing protected status a week. it's time that we fix this once and for all. democrats, including myself, led by our great senator from illinois, a member of our leadership team, senator durbin, have said over and over again, we're ready to negotiate a

reasonable package of border security to pass alongside daca. we believe in border security. we want to make it real, not just symbolic, but we believe in it. if our republican colleagues and the president engage in good faith in that negotiation without unreasonable demands like an absurdly expensive, ineffective border wall that publicly many republicans oppose, and privately many more do, i don't doubt we can reach an agreement on daca that's acceptable to both sides, and i'd like to thank our senate pro tem for his active involvement in this regard as well. in contrast to a year of chaos and ineffectiveness, a year in which little was accomplished, and what was done was done for the wealthy and narrow special interest, i hope this year can be one of bipartisanship, focused on improving the stock

of the middle class. they are the ones who are hurting in america. they are the once who need help .this they are the ones who worry about the grand future for this country. we can start with health care, opioids, with children's health insurance and disaster aid, and we can resolve the fate of the dreamers and say to these hardworking kids that america has a place for them too. later today the four congressional leaders will meet with the budget director mick mulvaney to begin these negotiations in ernest, i hope, will work for their success. finally, a word on national security. the senate has a role in conducting the nation's foreign policy. but as head of state, the president of the united states represents our country to the world. that is a very serious, a very sober responsibility. it requires restraint, intelligence, sound judgment, and a respect for the moral

authority that comes with the awesome responsibility of being the world's sole remaining super power. over the course of the past year, president trump, unfortunately, has squandered and squandered the moral authority that comes with the presidency of the united states. a moral authority that this country has taken generations to build. that helps us bring a light to the world and helps us economically in every other way as the world has always looked up to america and our ideals. but, unfortunately, that moral authority is declining under president trump's leadership, and declining rapidly. it may have reached a low point yesterday when president trump in tweet after tweet after tweet offered a very poor representation of the united states to the world. more than that, president trump's foreign policy by tweet is doing serious damage to the

country. where we have serious issues to address abroad, president trump seems happy with macho boosts and belligerent threats that get us nowhere. if any one of us were in a classroom that behaved like president trump has, we would call him out .we don't hear a peep from our republican colleagues, so many of whom are hawks. we have serious issues to address abroad. president trump's foreign policy by tweet will not advance our standing in the world. it will not reassure our allies or other nations that it is better to work with us than against us. what it will do, and what it has already done, unfortunately, is unsettle our allies and embolden our adversaries. what it will do is cede

leadership to china, which is looking for every opportunity to drive a wedge between our country and other countries around the world. without a steady and reliable head at the helm, our allies may not trust us to honor our commitments and maintain a steady course. china and russia are rushing to fill the void left by an unsteady united states. president xi of china looked to be the leader in his new year's speech where he said that china, not the united states, would be the keerp of the international -- deeper of the international order in 2018. if president trump recklessly threatens other nations and showing leadership on the world stage that can only be seen as pure aisle, the world may look to beijing, not washington for

international leadership. again, i repeat, where are our friends, the republican hawks, who have been so concerned about america's leadership in the world, who decry the fact that president obama had not done enough for this leadership? my dear friend, if he were here, senator john mccain, would typically speak about this. hopefully he will be back to do so. to the rest of my republican friends, i say this withs isty -- sincerity, they should please, our republican friends, tell the president, stop tweeting, start leading. we're almost through a calendar cheer of the trump presidency. president trump can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt that comes with learning one of the most toughest jobs in the

world. our republican friends should not give him a pass if they should fail to speak out or take action. their silence unfortunately, but i have to say it, i feel it sincerely, is explicit in the degradation of the presidency and the power of this country. the american people expect our president to represent the united states with dignity and strength. that's not what we saw yesterday. it's time we all start speaking out against it. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. schumer: mr. president, before -- the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: i have a unanimous consent request. i ask unanimous consent that the letter of resignation from lieutenant governor smith to governor dayton be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the

leadership time is reserved. under the previous order the senate will be in period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes therein. the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: it has been less than two weeks since we convened in the senate and those of us who returned to the senate floor may not have noticed a change. if you take a closer look, one desk moved from this side of the aisle to this side of the aisle. there are 49 democratic senators after our swearing of doug jones of alabama. it is 49 to 51. it is almost as close as you can expect in a deliberative. there is one additional democratic senator, we are moving closer and closer to parity, closer and closer to one another and i hope closer and closer in solving problems. i think that was the message of

the alabama election, among other things. the american people want us to -- want to see us work together. the republicans have 51, the democrats have 49. i think that is a symbol to do something to solve the problems that face our great nation. i feel that as i -- when i go home. i hear my other democratic friends who have their political views, -- but the mast majority of people say, can't you do something for this nation? i believe we can. this month we must. january 19 is a deadline looming. it's only a couple of weeks away. on january 19 we have to make momentous, historic decisions about the rest of this year and beyond. one of those is where we'll spend our taxpayers' dollars, how much will be spent on the defense of our nation, how much will be spent on our agencies that, i would add, also defend our nation. that has to be decided by 60

votes. do the math. as whip on the democratic side. i said i learned basically all i needed to know about this job in first grade. i learned to count to 60. we need 60 senators to vote on the spending bill for this country, not just for the department of defense but for the department of -- the fiscal year, the operative fiscal year for the federal government starts on october 1. we're a long way from october 1 of 2017. we still don't have a budget. we still have not brought the appropriation bills to the floor of the united states senate for consideration. i'm not going to be partisan about this. we failed as democrats in bringing those appropriations to the floor in a timely manner as

well. we've got to do something about this process, but we certainly have to face the reality that we're steaming through this physical dal year without a -- fiscal year without a budget. we have taken last year's budget and continued to live by last year's budget. reflect for a moment if you did the same thing for your family. if you were determined to spend in january of 2018 exactly what you spent in 2017, you would think to yourself that makes no sense. the utility bills are different, i may have a different mortgage payment, there are a lot of things that may change. we can't do anything until we pass a budget bill. that too is facing a january deadline that will require 60 votes. there are two major issues, the caps on spending and budget for the government need to be passed by january 19 on a bipartisan basis. it is time to come together to not only face those two

overarching issues, but the long litany of issues that senator schumer raised in his opening remarks. there are so many other elements. the children's health insurance program that affects tens of thousands of kids in my state of illinois. they told me when i was home, senator, we're running out of money to provide basic medical care for kids across america. why haven't you done your job to reauthorize the program? as well as the programs for community care clinics, which is important to thousands of families in my state and across the nation. there's one issue more which i'm going to raise, as i have so many times standing in this particular moment, in this particular place on the floor, and that's the dream act. the dream act is a bill which i introduced 16 years ago -- 16 years ago to give young people brought to the united states as infants, toddlers, and children, who have grown-up in this country, have no serious

criminal issue that they have been involved in, have graduated from our schools and simply want a chance for a future in america, the only country they have ever known, the dreamers. president obama gave them a chance with an executive order called daca, they said you can come forward, submit a $500 filing fee, go through a criminal background check, and we may give you, it was our decision, two years temporary protection. you could work here and stay here without fear of deportation for two years. 780,000 young people stepped forward and did that and were approved. 780,000 of them who now are working across america. 900 of them serve in the united states military. they are undocumented by legal standards but they have sworn they are loyalty to this country and are willing to die for this country. what more could we ask of a young person to prove their loyalty to that flag and this

nation. 900 of them now protected by daca. but then president trump announced september 5 of last year he was going to eliminate that program, eliminate that protection. as of march 5 of this year. the clock is ticking. 900 in our military, 20,000 teachers across america in grade schools and elementary schools and high schools at all levels, 20,000 of them protected by daca will lose their ability to teach starting on march 5 of this year because of president trump's decision and his announcement. he challenged us. he said, congress, i don't like this executive order by the previous president. now pass a law. now pass a law and do something about it. he asked us to do that months ago and we have done nothing, nothing. i believe by january 19 we need to take this up as one of the

critical issues on our agenda. it is absolutely essential. and let me add as well, this president has been critical of immigration. i couldn't disagree with him more. he has taken an approach toward immigration which i believe denies the very basis and foundation of this great nation. i've said it before and i say it with pride, i stand here on the floor of the united states senate representing the great state of illinois, the son of an immigrant to this country. my mother was brought here at the age of 2. she was a dreamer in her era. and she grew up in america, raised a family, and had a son who was sworn into the united states senate. she lived long enough to see that. that's my story. that's my family's story. that's america's story. sometimes i wonder if the president has heard that story or made attention to it. immigration has been at the heart of who we are as americans. the diversity of this great

country when it comes together in citizenship, as a force to be reckoned with around the world throughout history, and i still believe as much this day as i ever believed it. i may not be able to convince the president, but president obama and others did plead with him to think about these young people, these dreamers, those protected by daca. and you know what president trump said about the dreamers? you know what he said in one of his famous, sometimes infamous tweets? he said we should show great heart, show great heart, president trump said, to these young people. that's why i'm here today, making this statement on the floor. not a long speech. i've spoken many times in the past. but to plead with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in this closely divided senate before january 19 to get this job done, not just for the 780,000 who took advantage of president obama's executive order but for those who were eligible and afraid.

there were many, thousands who were eligible for this program but afraid to sign up for it, to turn themselves into the government. and they held back. they're eligible. there's nothing to disqualify them otherwise. let's give them the same opportunity to be part of the future of this great nation. that's what i believe we can do and should do. 49 democrat, 51 republicans, carefully divided. can we meet in that aisle, enough of us, to create a real majority, a bipartisan majority to solve this? i am convinced we can. as senator schumer said earlier, our current presiding officer has weighed in and i thank him for his efforts, his personal efforts on this issue. we've had long meetings. sometimes we've agreed. sometimes we didn't agree. but that's the nature of the senate, the nature of compromise, and the nature of a process that the american people are begging us, democrats and republicans, to engage in, in a positive way by january 19 of this month.

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. nelson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president, before the democratic whip leaves the chamber, i want to thank him for his leadership, his perpesacity, his determination on the issue of the dreamers. it is this senator's hope that come january 19 when so many issues that were outlined by the democratic leader all come to a head and have to be decided in order for the government of the united states to stay open, that one of the issues that will be addressed will be the success of allowing the dreamers to stay in

this country legally, the only country that they have ever known. and so for senator durbin's leadership on this issue, so many of us are grateful. and we hope that in the spirit of unity that has escaped this capital of the united states that suddenly there would be a spirit of unity to do the right thing in a bipartisan way and that we would be joined by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, now down to 51 as senator durbin has pointed out, this should not be a partisan issue. this should be an issue of right and wrong for the dreamers to be able to stay in the country that they know as their own. i thank senator durbin.

mr. president, i want to speak about net neutrality. if you don't know what that means, you really do when prompted because it means that you turn on your phone. you go on the internet, and you decide what you want to see. and what you want to see or hear in the case of video, you have the right to have that access and to have it as speedily as any other content that is offered on the internet. you should also have the opportunity for entrepreneurs coming out of their garage of

their family home that have a new idea and they suddenly want to get it on the internet, that because they are financially impaired since they are just starting out, that they should have an opportunity just like the big boys do to get their ideas over. and within the obvious boundaries of what is appropriate in language, et cetera, that you have the right to get the content that you want, and to get that content unimpeded on these tablets that we carry around in our pockets. now, mr. president, that right to get this content is threatened, and it's threatened because the federal communications are on a partisan

vote of 3-2 have completely overturned the previous rules that had been set on a partisan vote the other way of 3-2. at the end of the day what it means is that those of us in this chamber led off first by the commerce committee are going to need to have a legislative solution, but in the meantime, chaos is thrown upon the system. now as a result of the previous years' rules being completely reversed, they're going to be all tangled up in federal court and we're going to go on and on and have this fight. but what i want to call to the attention of the senate today is in the process of the new rule

making that resulted in this 3-2 vote that's upended everything, the process itself was flawed. now, mind you, we come in to this on net neutrality. the public has no ambiguity on this. as reported by "the wall street journal," as reported by msnbc and, mr. president, i would ask that two articles related to the same be admitted. i ask unanimous consent. into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: and in those articles it points out that net neutrality is widely popular. 83% of the american public

support net neutrality. the other 17%, some of them say they don't. i don't know how they don't. but it's a pretty overwhelming majority, 83%. but even among republicans in the surveys that have been done, 76% of self-identified republicans say that they support net neutrality. here's the flaw in the process that the fcc used. 24 million comments came in from supposedly americans -- and i put quotations around that -- that were filed either for or against the rule making.

there's a problem in this record that was built. because two million of those comments featured stolen identities. it was not a real person. it was somebody else's identity. some of those identities were people that had long since died. half a million comments were from russian addresses. 50,000 consumer complaints were inexplicably missing from the record. now let's take the part from russian addresses. is this -- isn't this beginning

to tell us something that we know that there was russian interference in the last election? we also know by our intelligence community that there was russian entrants into the voting records of some 20 states. now we're seeing the russian influence enter into the making of law, in this case the rule making, trying to influence comments, whether it were comments for the rule making or against the rule making. it's another indication that russia indeed is intending on distorting, on influencing the daily operations at the

microscopic level, not at the level of the election of a president, but at the microscopic level of influencing the development of rules to carry out laws. in this case, a rule that the american people feel quite strongly about. 83% in favor of net neutrality, the opposite of what the republican majority on the f.c.c. has enacted. so now we have at least 19 state attorneys general that have raised concerns. they even wrote to the federal communications commission asking that the agency hold off on its vote to eliminate the net neutrality rules which the

republican chairman and the f.c.c. majority promptly ignor ignored. and the f.c.c. is refusing to even work with law enforcement to get to the bottom of this issue. shouldn't the fact that there are russian buts and people directed by the kremlin trying to influence our government processes, shouldn't that be something that we ought to be working with law enforcement? well, mr. president, i'm going to continue to raise this issue over and over, whether it's this agency's, the f.c.c.'s rule making or if it is other agencies' rule making which is chronicled in this "wall street journal" article that has been inserted in the record, this is

deadly serious business because this is our democracy. we have to have the ability to operate in good faith that information that we are getting is accurate information. and when we see this kind of evidence, we know there is a flaw in the system, and that flaw might actually have its source in the name of a person named vladimir putin. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. nelson: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president, i ask consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: mr. president, on december 28, the department of the interior and this administration sent the oil industry a belated christmas present, just three days after christmas, because they published a proposal to release offshore drilling companies from

sensible rules designed to prevent a tragedy like the one that we experienced back in 2010, the deepwater horizon oil spill. that was at a time that 11 people lost their lives, that almost five million barrels were spilled of oil spilled as a result of a defective device clause called a blowout preventer. five million barrels of oil sloshing around in the gulf of mexico, much of which is still out there. it's down at depths of 5,000 feet where the actual well pipe came out, 5,000 feet a mile underneath the surface of the gulf of mexico. and of course we know the

economic damage that that did all up and down the gulf of mexico. as a matter of fact, when the wind shifted since the explosion was some 50 or 60 miles off of louisiana, but the wind shifted and they started blowing that oil to the east, and it got as far east aspens coal a beach, and those sugary white sands were covered up with black oil, and that associated press and u.p.i. photographs went around the world. and do you know the consequence of that? even though when the winds continued and it went as far as destin and the white sands of destin, it had tar balls float as far east as the white sand

beaches of panama city beach, and then the wind shifted and brought it back the other way. but do you know what happened as a consequence of that? because people all over the world had seen that photograph. they thought oil was on the entire beaches of the gulf coast of florida and the people did not come. the tourists did not come. now, i haven't even spoken about the economic and environmental degradation that occurred throughout the entire gulf and the fishing industries, and of course the administration has proposed to do now drilling off the east coast of the united states. including off of the coast of the state of the presiding officer. there are a number of us that

have come together that don't think that that matches with what our tourism industry is. it certainly doesn't match with regard to our fishing industries, but it also does not match with our united states department of defense training and testing mission. so if you look at the gulf coast off of florida, the only place where it is off limits in law, that's the largest testing and training area for the united states military in the world. but if you go up and down the atlantic coast of the eastern seaboard, you will see training range after training range, and you get as far south as the central east coast of florida and lo and behold what is that

area of protection for not only the u.s. department of defense but for nasa and other agencies. it's because that's where we are rocketing our satellites into orbit, of which the first stages have to have a place to land. that's where when we had the space shuttle and soon we are rocketing astronauts, american astronauts to the international space station on american rockets, many of whom first stages will fall in the atlantic ocean below, just like the solid rocket boosters did on the space shuttle when it launched. and so there are reasons not to have drilling platforms out there, but let's come back to

the deepwater horizon oil spill. what happened was deep below the sea bed, miles further into the earth's crust, pressure had built up, and an explosion had occurred. the safety mechanism is right where the pipe comes out of the sea bed, and that pipe then goes up five miles to the surface to deliver oil. the safety mechanism is a blowout preventer which is like a huge set of pinsers -- pincers that comes through and cuts off the pipe. if that blowout preventer, in other words preventing the blowout of the well, if it is

defective like it was in the b.p. oil spill, five million barrels of oil spewed out five miles below the surface of the gulf into the waters of the gulf of mexico, and rendered the havoc and economic damage that it did. so in the turmoil and trauma that ensued, there was obviously a need in the department of interior in the bureau of safety , it's called bsee, to go in and change the rules to give additional safety mechanisms to make sure that this wouldn't happen again. well, lo and behold, there is

now a change, and we are starting to see the first attempts at the weakening of those rules. sometimes the issue of regulatory reform feels abstract or arbitrary. this is technical stuff. it's dry. but safety standards created after the deepwater horizon oil spill, they're not dull and boring. they're life or death. they were written specifically to make sure that families like those 11 that lost their loved ones wouldn't have to be notified again that there was a preventable death. so what are these new rules about? well, they are real estate coming in on the blowout

preventer, which is a system to control the flow of oil to seal an oil well. a blowout preventer is what stands between the enormous pressure that builds up in the oil well pipe and the ocean around it. its purpose is exactly what the name sounds like. it's to prevent the oil from blowing out into the sea. uncontrollably. and how many days did it take? it took several months to finally get that well capped 5,000 feet below the surface of the water. these are massive pieces of equipment. the blowout preventer for deepwater horizon stood 57 feet tall, and it weighed over 400 tons. that's how big this thing is.

then there is a piece of that blowout preventer 57-feet high mechanism, a device called a sheer ram. a device with two blades that seal off the well in an emergency. and that's what failed to fully close in the b.p. oil spill. now, what the interior department and this administration is trying to do is undo the updated standards for sheer rams and blowout preventers and is trying to get rid of a required third party to certify the safety mechanisms.

obviously, after what we suffered, this is a commonsense thing to do to have those safety mechanisms, and it means that for a third party to ensure the safety mechanisms by certifying that they are in place, it means that somebody, other than the oil company, needs to make sure their safety equipment is in place and functioning properly. these rules require better training for workers, real-time monitoring of deep water drilling and inspections to increase safety. these rules were also the product of a thorough and transparent discussion by scientists, engineers, industry representatives, agency officials, and the public, and

it took six years after the spill for the well-control rule to be finalized. now the trump interior department wants to pull a bait and switch, reversing the safety measures, and giving the public a mere 30 days to review a highly technical rule. it took six years to develop this rule ensuring safety devices and now they have a rule to undo it and they are going to give 30 days. that's nothing more than a free pass to the oil and gas industry at the expense of everybody else , including folks that work

on those rigs that are going to have to suffer if there's another blowout. there are a lot of other things, communities, marine life, your state's economy, my state's economy, the gulf state's economy. it's totally misguided and reckless. over the past year president trump has issued executive orders cut straight from big oil's playbook. he directed agencies to gut rules designed to protect the environment and the safety of workers. if the rules interfered with an oil company's bottom line. that's what this one does. it saves them some 90$0 million. he directed the secretary of the interior, secretary zinke, to

reconsider the well-control rule which was finalized in 2016. that rule stemmed directly from what we had learned in the investigation of the 2010b.p. spill. by the way, the agency that issued this proposed rollback, it's long name, bsee, the bureau of safety and environmental enforcement, it's separate from the bureau of oil and energy management, the agency that schedules leases in the outer continental shelf. before the 2010 spill, the folks who worked with the oil industry to, were the same people in charge of inspecting the rigs in

charge of compliance with the safety standards. talk about a cozy relationship. that's why one of the first recommendations on the b.p. spill was to split those responsibilities into two different agencies, one that schedules lease sales and the other that does the safety. that was a very important step, both to clarify the mission of each agency and to restore public trust in offshore regulators. yet, over the summer there were reports that the trump administration wanted to combine these two agencies. only one stakeholder group would benefit from that, and you can bet what it is. it's not the consumers, it's not the tourists, it's not the

scientists, it's not the environmentalists, it's the oil industry. and so now the trump administration wants to smack down more recommendations from that investigation, from marine biologists to chamber of commerce, i can tell you the people in florida understand how important it is to keep drilling off the coast and where there is drilling to make sure that the safety mechanisms that were corrected after the b.p. spill, that they stay in place, but that's not what happens happening right here in washington. when the interior department released this revised rule last week, my colleague, a republican congressman from sarasota,

florida, said, it would be a huge mistake to weaken these safety regulations. end of quote. and that if the interior department doesn't rescind the proposal, he went on to say, congress should intervene and codify the rules permanently. he's right, and i agree with congressman buchanan, my colleague in the florida delegation who has an r behind his name. mr. president, that's why i plan to subject this misguided rule to the congressional review act, a c.r.a. the congressional review act was once the option of last resort. it was meant to ensure that congress could override the administration if a rule was

widely opposed. in most cases the congressional review act wasn't necessary because congress, if it opposed a rule strongly enough, there was enough consensus to pass a law to fix it. at the beginning of this congress, the c.r.a. was a favorite tool of the party of the presiding officer today of our colleagues across the aisle. it was a favorite tool of the republicans who wanted to take a sledgehammer to obama administration's legacy through the rules that they had enacted. and in 2017, the senate took 17 votes on c.r.a. resolutions of disapproval on everything from bear hunting on national wildlife refuges in alaska to drug testing of unemployment

benefit recipients. well, i think this dangerous proposal from the interior department deserves the same level of attention. this proposal is open to public comment until january 29. you're not going to get six years this time. you're only going to get 30 days, and it ends up january 29. i hope the public understands that and starts registering some complaints, and i hope that during that time every floridian remembers what happened to us when the beaches of pensacola beach were blackened with tar and oil and we lost a whole season of our guests, our tourists who come to this extraordinary state of natural

environment, the beautiful florida beaches. i hope that every floridian will remember, whether you were a holtier, restaurantier, whether you are the dry cleaners, whether you had the taxi services, when you got hit in your pocketbook, i hope that every american who rightly has an interest in protecting our beaches, our oceans, our marine life, decides to write in and complain to secretary zinke exactly what he's putting at risk with this proposal. the interior department claims the revised proposal will lessen unnecessary regulatory burdens.

that's their words. unnecessary regulatory burdens on the oil and gas industry saving these businesses money. it's estimated saving some 9$00 million for the oil industry. but what about all the other businesses that will be hurt by a spill if that bailout preventer doesn't cut that pipe in two and seal off the well? which was the lesson learned from the b.p. horizon spill. so, we want to go back and weaken these rules. the b.p. spill devastated my state's economy. 11 people lotion their -- lost their lives. louisiana's bayous were

inundated with gooey oil. i talked to two professor recessors at louisiana state university -- researchers at louisiana state, l.s.u., they did a study of the critters where the oil went in to the critters in the bayous, a little fish, about that big, the ones, their progenies were stunted. they in mentally dwormd. they could -- deformed. they could not act like killing fish, compared to the bays and buyures where there's killie fish that grew where there was

no oil sloshing around in the waters. so for 87 days five million barrels of oil gushed, and i bet that folks don't even realize that there's a bill that's happening right now. as a matter of fact, it's been leaking for 13 years. in 2004, hurricane ivan toppled a drilling platform, and because of the way the platform fell, many of the rigs have yet to be plugged. we know there is not a question of if there will be another spill, but when. by the way, the one that's been

going on since 2004, and how catastrophic is the next one? is it going to be off of the carolinas? is it going to be off of virginia and all of our military fleet in norfolk? is it going to be off of jacksonville and may port as well as the sub base for our trident submarines. is it going to be off of canaveral where rockets are launched and where the testing for the trident submarine that is based in georgia where that testing is done with the eastern air force test range? that's why more than 41,000

businesses on the atlantic coast have expressed opposition to drilling in the atlantic ocean, and that's why nasa doesn't want drilling anywhere near the kennedy space center, and that's why the department of defense has said time and time again that we should protect and extend the moratorium on drilling in the eastern gulf. bipartisan, senator mel martinez, a republican from florida, and i in 2006 passed a moratorium for the eastern gulf of mexico off of florida because of the military as well as all of the environmental things that i've talked about. the air force just at the end of last year came to us, wants to put $60 million of new improvements for exquisite telemetry as we are testing some of our most sophisticated

weapons systems in the gulf testing range. that's the gulf of mexico off of florida. but they don't want to make that investment of $60 million to upgrade all of the telemetry unless they have the assurance that it's going to be off limits to oil drilling, not just until 2022 which is in the law, but they want it extended another five years until 2027. and yet we cannot get it up. this senator tried to get it into the defense bill, an appropriate place that the senator who is the presiding officer serves on that distinguished committee led by john mccain, the armed services committee. we couldn't get it up because of oil interest not wanting to give

the airport -- the air force the security that their $60 million investment on advanced telemetry would be protected for not five years from now but ten years from now. the only reason itself administration want -- the administration wants to spend time writing a new one is because the oil industry wants them to open up a whole lot more acreage to drilling, not just in the gulf. they want the entire outer continental shelf of the united states. on the west coast and from new jersey south, as you come down the state, including the ones i already mentioned in the southeastern united states. virginia, north carolina, south carolina, georgia, florida.

i don't think that we should expose even one acre of federal waters to drilling until we've got strong safety standards in place to protect another spill, to protect the workers that lost their lives from ever happening again, to protect the environment, to protect the coastal economies that are so dependent on the beautiful beaches, and to protect the national security interest in our testing and training ranges. it took six years to finalize these rules, and now in a matter of 30 days, comments are out

there to undo these rules. that shouldn't happen. so we'll -- so will other voices in the senate speak up? it's happening right underneath our noses. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: