faith that i i find has special resonance at this moment. his name was john jocks, and as a young missionary in england he contemplated the question, what is truth. search was expressed in poetry and ultimately in a him i grew up with entitled oh, say, what is truth. it is as follows. then say what is truth is the last and the first. for the limits of time it steps for, though the heavens depart and the earthth fountains burst, truth, the sum of existence,, will weather the worst. eternal, unchanged, evermore. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. >> u.s. senate is about to gavel and to start the day after leader remarks, lawmakers will fini to be on a secure extension of the foreign intelligence surveillance act, fisa section 702 and then the

senate will wait for the house to complete work on a a tempory government funding bill. live to the senate. cleanse us from anything that hinders the knowing and doing of your will. give our lawmakers clean hands and pure hearts which will fit them to serve you and all people. liberate them from forces that keep them from moving toward consensus. as they seek to bring unity to our nation and world, teach them how to best serve the common welfare, to assure personal freedoms, and to fulfill the purposes of your kingdom.

lord, bless them beyond their expectations. we pray in your holy name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance 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 18, 2018. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john boozman, a senator from

the state of arkansas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: in just a short while, the senate will vote to reauthorize important provisions of the fisa amendments act. section 702 remains one of the most important tools that o nation security professionals use to combat terrorism and to keep americans safe. let's be clear about what section 702 does. it enables our intelligence community to collect communications from foreign terrorists on foreign soil who threaten america and our allies.

that's what it does. make no mistake, section 702 does not allow the targeting of american citizens, nor does it permit the targeting of anyone no matter their nationality who is known to be located here in the u.s. the men and women we trust to protect this country say this capability is essential to their missions. they tell us that it has saved american lives. that is why we cannot let this capability lapse. the world remains dangerous. we need our armed forces and intelligence community to protect us, and they need us to give them the tools to do it. i look forward to renewing this important provision on a bipartisan basis in a short while. now, on another matter, saturday will mark one year since president trump's inauguration. a year spent working with republicans to roll back runaway

regulations, stand up for veterans, fund our troops, strengthen national security, and pass once in a general oncen tax reform. today unemployment is at its lowest level in over a decade. according to gallop, the american people are more optimistic about their job prospects than they have in 17 years. and just yesterday the dow jones closed above 26000 for the first time in history. the engine of american free enterprise is the american people. and when government gets out of the way and helps provide the conditions for growth, good things happen. just yesterday apple, the highest valued public company in the world, announced plans to create more than 20,000 new jobs and invest $30 billion in new capital right here in our

country. and as a direct result of tax reform, apple will pay special bonuses worth $2,500 to employees and begin to repatriate the $250 billion in cash they've been holding overseas. let me repeat that. billions and billions of dollars are coming back to america because republicans passed historic tax reform and gave us a1st century tax ce. this will have an impact not just in silicon valley but all across the country. in harrisburg, kentucky, corning employs hurns of people -- hundreds of people in a high-tech facility. it partners with apple to manufacture the special glass used in iphones and ipads. this glass is made in kentucky. republicans in the house and senate passed tax reform without a single democratic vote.

i certainly hope our friends across the aisle will celebrate the new jobs in their states and the new opportunities that are already created for their constituents. we know that when washington gets out of the way, american workers and job creators can do what they do best. the results are speaking for themselves. now, mr. president, on an urgent matter, congress is fast approaching our friday deadline to fund the government. the choice before us is quite simple. we can pass a noncontroversial bipartisan bill to keep the government open or democrats in congress can manufacture a crisis and force a government shutdown over the entirely unrelated issue, the entirely unrelated issue of illegal immigration, which we have until march at the very least to

resolve. leaders in both parties have engaged in constructive talks on the best solution for those who fall under the obama administration's illegally established daca program. along with other important immigration issues. the president has made it clear that any immigration bill must not only treat the symptoms of illegal immigration but also address the conditions that cause it. his four pillars for reform are increasing border security, reforming chain migration, resolving the daca issue, and addressing the visa lottery. those are the four pillars. my position is straightforward. when negotiators produce a compromise that the president supports, it will receive a vote here in the senate. no such solution yet exists.

so the negotiations continue. the daca issue does not face urgent deadlines until march at the very earliest. our deadline to fund the government is tomorrow. one is an emergency. one is not. later today we anticipate the house will pass a bill that continues government funding and also attends to another urgent bipartisan concern. it will reauthorize the state children's health insurance program for a full six years giving needed security to the families of the nine million american children who depend on the program for coverage. a continuing resolution plus a six-year s chip extension is a commonsense package that every member of this body should support. now, mr. president, just

consider my democratic colleagues on -- colleagues' words on this very subject of the children's health insurance plan. just last month the senior senator from pennsylvania said, quote, any uncertainty about the children's health insurance program is an insult to the country. that's the senior senator from pennsylvania. he represents 342,000 children enrolled in s-chip. no he'll have a chance to end that uncertainty. our newest colleague, the junior senator from alabama, made s-chip a central issue in his campaign. he presented himself as a champion of vulnerable kids. he said the senate had to, quote, stop playing political football with the health care of our children. now he represents 150,000 of those children. will he help us put a stop to the political games?

the senior senator from ohio said health care for our kids shouldn't be controversial. it shouldn't be partisan. it should be easy. the junior senator from maine called a potential lap in s-chip an abdication of our responsibility. the junior senator from oregon said, quote, struggling families would like to have some stability, not have their children be a bargaining chip in some broader vision. all of these democratic senators represent tens of thousands of children who depend on s-chip. i'm more than puzzled why they would threaten to turn their backs on those children and shut down the government while they're at it over the entirely

unrelated issue of illegal immigration. why anyone would suggest it's a good idea to not fund s-chip for six years, to fund the government because they're upset over illegal immigration, an issue we have until march to address. last year the senate finance committee unanimously agreed on a proposal to extend s-chip by five years. the continuing resolution we expect to take up will extend it for six with no partisan attachments. it shouldn't be a difficult vote. there's nothing, nothing in such a continuing resolution that my democratic friends actually oppose. surely they do not oppose

continuing to fund programs for opioid treatment and prevention. even as negotiations continue on additional funding. surely they do not oppose continuing to fund our military and our national security, even as negotiations continue on additional funding. they couldn't possibly want to cut off existing funding for veterans, the v.a. system and america's seniors simply because we're still negotiati additional funding. my friends on the other side of e aisle do not oppose a single thing in this bill, nothing. they know they can't possibly explain to our war fighters and veterans, to our seniors, to our opioid treatment centers, to the millions of vulnerable children and their families who depend on s-chip for coverage. how do you explain this? or to all americans who rely on the federal government for critical service, like food

inspections and social security checks. why would they filibuster government funding and shut down vital programs for americans because we have not yet agreed on the best way to settle an unrelated issue, an unrelated issue that we have at least until march to resolve? mr. president, let's fund the government, extend s-chip, and do right by the millions of americans who elected us to serve them. that is how we can continue serious discussions on issues facing our nation. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum, mr. president? the presiding officer: yes. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, before i move to the bulk of my remarks, let me respond to the majority leader's comments on chi good friend of leader mcconnell. we're getting along quite nicely. i know what a difficult job he has. but sometimes he says things that are just way over the top, and i have to respond, as this morning to his remarks on chip. of course democrats support

chip, leader mcconnell. you know that darn well. if we were in charge of this chamber, we would have never, never let it expire. but your majority did, leader mcconnell. your majority let health insurance for nine million children expire, even though there were bipartisan majorities in both houses of congress that would have extended it. now it's placed on the c.r., and that's a bad idea for so many reasons that i'll get to shortly, and republicans pretend that democrats are against chip, it's outrageous. we're leaders of our parties, and we say certain things, but it seems the lack of straightforwardness, the lack of relying on any facts that is endemic at that end of pennsylvania avenue is seeping over to the majority leader's desk, and i regret that because what he said this morning about chip is outrageous. now, so to -- to suggest that

democrats are standing in the way of chip is drawing, leader mcconnell, on a deep well of bad faith. now let's get to the issue at hand. government funding expires at midnight tomorrow, and still the house republican majority is moving forward with a continuing resolution that is very likely to be unacceptable to the senate and may well be unacceptable to house republicans. the c.r. prepared by the speaker is not an honest attempt to govern. as typical of this republican majority, it was done with zero, zero negotiations with democrats. they could get away with that strategy on the tax bill when they forced it through reconciliation. they can't here. when are our republican leaders going to learn that the best way

to govern, the best way to accomplish things is by talking to us, not dropping ultimatums on us that bear none of our input? that's what happened with the fisa bill. it nearly went down. that had divisions on both sides of the aisle. that's what's happening here, and it doesn't look good for the c.r. coming over from the house fo that vy reason. furthermore, the c.r. leaves out so many priorities that the american people want and demand. opioids, cens, pensions -- veterans, pensions. it doesn't resolve the fate of the dreamers. it doesn't include an increase in military funding that members from both sides of the aisle would support. it's just another kick of the can down the road because the republicans both in the senate and the house and the white house can't get their act

together. even president trump tweeted this morning that he opposed including chip on this bill. does that mean he's against the c.r.? who knows? it's a mess. we can't keep careening from short-term c.r. to short-term c.r. if this bill passes, there will be no incentive to negotiate and we will be right back here in a month with the same problems at our feet. eventually, we need to make progress on the biggest of issues before us. don't ask me. ask secretary mattis. when you talk to him, he knows how bad it is to continue c.r.'s on the defense side. why would our republican colleagues go along with that? why? so this c.r. can't get the job done. house republicans don't even know if they can pass it. some senate republicans like my

friends from south carolina and south dakota have said they don't want to vote for it. we're going to have to go in a different direction. ideally, we would all roll up our sleeves and try to reach an agreement on all of the issues we need to resolve. we can resolve the issues of caps for defense and nondefense spending. we can resolve disaster relief. we can resolve the health care issues. we did re-- we can resolve immigration issues, and we can do all of this in a rather short time because work has already been done on each of them for a while. we could easily sit down and find a cosmic agreement that would get the support of the majority on both sides in both houses and keep the government open. despite all the rhetoric around here, i genuinely believe that. the one thing standingn our

way ishe unrelenting flow of chaos from the other end of pennsylvania avenue. it has reduced the republicans to shambles. we barely know who to negotiate with. the president on national television tells congress to bring him something and he'll sign it. the majority leader says he needs the president's imprimatur before we cut any deal. the -- the president is like abbott, leader mcconnell is like costello. you do it. they point at each other, and nothing gets done. of course the principal reason that republicans are in such disarray is that the president and his team have been agents of chaos in these negotiations since day one. after all, president trump was the one who said last year we

need a good shutdown to fix this the president said we need a government shutdown. mr. president, 95% of all americans, i would guess, do not agree with you. i would guess in their hearts 95% of all senators and congressmen, democrat and republican, don't agree with you president trump when you say we need a good shutdown. now, don't just ask me. here's "politico." they are a rather down-the-middle publication. no one thinks they are left wing or right wing. no one thinks they are fox or msnbc. here's the headline -- negotiators on hill find trump an unreliable partner. lawmakers find it difficult or impossible to negotiate when the president can't seem to stick to

a position for more than a few hours. the first paragraph of this article, let me read it. donald trump ran for president as a bipartisan deal maker, but if there is one thing he's proved after a year in office, he's better at killing bipartisan deals than clinching them. again, that's in this paper, first paragraph. i'm going to read it again so the american people hear it loud and clear. and i know some of the rivals of this publication don't like it too much, but c'est la vie. negotiators on hill fin trump an unreliable partner. the first paragraph -- donald trump ran for president as a bipartisan deal maker, but if there is one thing he's proved after a year in office, he's better at killing bipartisan deals than clinching them. no truer words were ever

written. that's not fake news, mr. president. we all know it to be true. exhibit a. yesterday, regarding the discussions on daca, the majority leader said i'm looking for something that president trump is going to support, and he has not yet indicated what measure he is willing to sign. he said, mitch mcconnell did, he said that he still has to, quote, figure out what the president is for. how can you negotiate when the president, who has to sign legislation, is like a sphinx on this issue or at least like saying one thing one day and one the next? the president rescinded daca four or five months ago. had he not rescinded daca, we wouldn't be here today. and remember, the vast majority of the american people, even a narrow majority of trump supporters, support keeping the

kids here, not sending them home. the president rescinded that daca four or five months ago and told congress to fix it, and yet the majority leader of his party seemed to have no firm idea what policy the president would support to get tt done. at this late hour, that's astonishing. exhibit b, the president's chief of staff has insisted that senator cotton and representative goodlatte be in the room for negotiations on daca. i have great respect for each of them as individuals. the respect every senator gives to every other senator and congress member, although i so objected to what senator cotton did to senator durbin the other day. but having said that, there is no deal that senator cotton or representative goodlatte could forge that would earn the support of a majority in either

house, in either the house or the senate. if senator cotton and representative goodlatte would have opposed daca all along, basically been strongly anti-immigration, if senator cotton and goodlatte hat veto power over an agreement, everyone knows there wouldn't be an agreement. general kelly must know that. then just this morning, exhibit c -- or exhibit b prime, just this morning president trump rebuked general kelly, his own chief of staff, on twitter, for saying that he's fighting for a wall different than the one he campaigned on. so exhibit b, on the incompetence of the republicans on both sides of pennsylvania avenue. mixed messages, conflicting signals, chaos. and exhibit c, president trump

today, with government shutdown one day away, is off campaigning in pennsylvania instead of staying in washington to help close a deal. we are one day away from a government shutdown, and there's no one home at the white house. the president should be here negotiating. there is no better evidence that the president doesn't give a hoot if the government shuts down than the fact that he's away campaigning today, one day before the shutdown looms. we spent the last few months negotiating in good faith with our republican counterparts, trying desperately to find a deal we could all live with. but it's been nearly impossible to reach final agreement with this president. he has oscillated between completely opposing positions in a matter of days, sometimes hours. he's signaled an openness to a deal only to have his staff pull

him back. he's given only vague indications of what he wants even at this late house of representatives. mitch mcconnell was right, he doesn't know what the president stands for. now mitch mcconnell ought to have the strength and courage to start negotiating on his own for the good of the country, but that hasn't happened yet either. the white house has done nothing but sow chaos and confusion, division and disarray, and it may just lead to a government shutdown that no one wants, that all of us here have been striving to avoid. the fact remains there's a bipartisan deem on -- deal on te table led by senators graham and durbin. seven democrats and seven republicans are on the deal right now. i hope and suspect more will join. it includes significant concessions from democrats and almost every item the president requested including his full budget request on border,

changes to family reunification which he calls chain migration, and an end, an end to the diversity lottery system. there is no other alternative on the table. i repeat, there is no other alternative on the table. if my republican friends want to protect the dreamers, like over 70% of america says we should, this is the deal. the white house is not going to help us. we know that. we have to do it ourselves. and once we do, we can solve all of our other problems. on defense and domestic spending, on health care, including chip, community health centers, extenders, on disaster relief, and more. let's roll up our sleeves and get to work on both sides of the aisle, regardless of the dithering, indecision and the contradictory statements of the white house. i yield the floor.

i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. the senate will resume consideration on the motion -- of the motion to concur in the house amendment to s. 139 which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany s. 139, an act to implement the use of rapid d.n.a. instruments and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 12:15 p.m. will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, when we complete our work today on this issue of fisa, we will be consumed by the issue of a continuing resolution, the need for continued appropriations to keep government functions available to the american people. and i come with a suggestion,

which i think is based not on politics about you upon common sense a phaps just good business aspect of getting our work done. and my suggestion to my colleagues is that we do not shut down government. i think the outcome of this is not good, and i can list the reasons. i've had constituents from time to time tell me shut her down. wouldn't matter to me but i can list the circumstances in which it really does matter to everyday folks in kansas and across the country. and at the same time force us to do work that we seem -- seemingly are unwilling or unable to complete. there is a whole list of things that are pending and they've been pending a long time. you and i serve on the appropriations committee. one of the things i think we share is the desire to see that the appropriations process works and that means that we would do a budget. the budget committee would do a budget. the senate and house would approve the budget. we would do 12 appropriation bills that fill in the budget space, and we would then be able to prioritize spending.

we could increase, reduce, or eliminate spending, and we could again send a message to agencies, departments, and cabinets that we have the ability to determine how much money they have to spend and, therefore, have the opportunity to influence decisions that are made that affect the american people through the bureaucracy, through the administration in such significant ways. mr. moran: the goal here is to keep government functioning. no shut down. but also to have the discipline necessary to put an appropriations process in place, get us out of a c.r. immigration from daca to border security is certainly a topic of conversation in congress and negotiations apparently are ongoing. an issue that needs to be resolved. if we're going to make fixes to our immigration system, now is better than later. if border security is important, now is better than later to improve border security. if certainty in people's lives is important, now is better than later. many of us have a concern that we are not adequately funding

defense side. we face many threats from china in the pacific to russia and its intrusion from cyber issues that affect our national security to terrorism and the middle east. if additional money is necessary for our intelligence capabilities and for our national defense, now is better than later. and what may happen here is that we will pass a continuing resolution that takes us weeks into the future and operate under a continuing resolution or if that's not possible, nothing may pass for several days and the so-called government shutdown would occur. here's what i would ask us to do. let us do a continuing resolution for a day or so at a time keeping government open and while we do that, that puts the pressure on negotiations to occur to resolve the variety of issues that are out there today

that in all likelihood will be attached to a final resolution. and the question is, do we do it now? do we force those negotiations to occur and resolution of those issues to happen? do we force that today by being in a continuing resolution that is a very short period of time or do we give ourselves another month to allow the conversations to continue in which in all likelihood, if history is any indication, a month from now we will be talking about well, we need another c.r. while we continue. the issues are important that are before us. and congress has the habit of delaying resolutions of issues until the moment of crisis arrives. my point, keep the pressure on us today. do not let us walk away from here now without keeping government open but do not let us leave the senate and the congress until we have resolved the issues in front of us from

health care to immigration, from funding, from national defense, to domestic spending, to issues related to disaster. the senator who presides today is a senator from florida. whether or not we do disaster assistance that is in need as a result of the hurricanes that have caused tremendous damage in texas and florida and puerto rico, if we need -- if that disaster relief is needed, it's needed now, not later. so, mr. president, i raise this topic. if' had this conversation eowe i've had this conversation with -- i've had this conversation with many of my colleagues and i encourage us to continue to resolve our differences today. they will not be easier tomorrow. and make certain that we have an opportunity for us to then deal with the important issues that are still ahead of us, outside of any agreement that might be reached in the next several days. deal with issues that are important. what i describe is we will be dealing with the issues that are normally important to us in may and june. may and june will be occupied by the things that we should have

resolved now. may and june we will be doing the things we could have done today and will not be taking care of the july issues. common sense tells me we can find a solution to the problems if we work at it, but if we allow ourselves to escape from the process today, tomorrow, if we return home, we'll be back in the same position next week and the week after and the week after that and the week after that that we're in today. mr. president, it is just a simple plea that the united states senatexhibit some common sense, some good business practices, resolve our differces now, and then let's take on the next issues that are so important to the country. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor, and i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

bar mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank urks mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, later this week we're going to reach one year since president trump was sworn into office as president of the united states. from what i've seen and what i heard, visiting with people at home, all around the state of wyoming, the first year has been a huge success. people are telling me and telling their friends and telling their neighbors that america is finally headed in the

right direction again. people tell me that they feel optimistic, optimistic because of the policies republicans have put in place over this past year. the polling company gallop says it's not just happening in wyoming. it's happening all across the country. they had a report the other day that said that americans' confidence in our economy was positive in 2017, and they say this was the first positive annual average since they started tracking these numbers back in 2008. first time ever. as soon as donald trump was elected president, economic confidence began to soar. it has stayed positive every single month since election day of 2016. gallop has said this is the exact opposite of what they'd seen for the previous eight years. in another poll last week, gallop said that people are also more optimistic about the job market. they found that americans' confidence about finding a job,

a quality job, was the highest it had been in 17 years since they'd been asking that question as well. they said that there was a sharp increase, as they define it, a sharp increase over the years before in 2016 when president obama was in charge. a sharp increase in people's feelings about being able to find a quality job. people are confident. they're much more optimistic about the future. and you see the signs of it everywhere you turn. stores had their biggest holiday sales sin 2008. when people are feeling confident, well, they feel like it's okay to go shopping, that they feel that there's going to be the income to cover the things they're interested in having for christmas and the gifts they can give. they can relax. it's the kind of optimism that we're seeing now. and it's because they see that president trump and republicans in congress are serious about improving america's economy. they see that we're serious

about giving relief to americans who have been getting buried under an avalanche of red tape. now, the president has cut through massive amounts of regulations. congress has rolled back 15 different major regulations from the obama administration. now that's going to save americans as much as $36 billion over time because of the regulatory burden that's been relieved. these are regulations that hammered americans, wiped out american jobs. now those regulations are gone. when people see that washington is finally taking the right approach to regulation, it gives them confidence, makes them more optimistic about the future. a lot of the regulations that democrats wrote had to do with their war on american energy. democrats shut down a lot of energy exploration and nfl development in -- and energy development in america. they shut down attempts to export american energy. en wro rules to put the

united states at a competitive disadvantage when we tried to develop energy resources overseas. republicans have stopped washington's war on american energy. we're opening up more areas to responsible energy production off our coasts a in part of alaska. our goal should be to make american energy as clean as we can, as fast as we can without raising costs on american families. now, republicans have put policies in place to restore that balance to america's energy policy. now people are talking about not just energy security, energy independence. america energy dominance. when people see that washington is finally taking the right approach to energy, it gives them confidence. people see that republicans are delivering on other promises as well, like giving american families serious tax relief. this tax law, mr. president, that passed at the end of last

year is giving back more than a trillion dollars to americans over time. it's letting people keep more of their hard earned money. it's spurring economic growth. it's going to make it a lot simpler for a lot of families to fill out their taxes -- taxes. when people see that washington is finally taking the right approach to taxes, it gives them more confidence, more optimism. they are confident because they are already seeing the direct result in their paychecks. at least 166 companies have said that they're going to give raises, give out bonuses, invest more in their workers because of the tax law. more than 2,200,000 workers across this country are getting more money in their pockets as a result of these raises and bonuses. some of the folks who are getting bonuses are people who work at walmart. that's one of the biggest employers in my state in wyoming. people who work there are getting bonuses, they are getting higher wages, they are

getting expanded maternity leave benefits. one advantage after another as a result of the tax law that was passed by a republican house, a republican senate, and signed by president trump. these workers are noticing the extra money. it's going to make a difference to them, to their families. it's not just a one-time bump to people. economists say that this tax relief legislation is going to boost the economy for years to come. there was a story on cnbc on monday that quoted an official from one european bank. he said that president trump has, quote, changed the perception of what's possible in washington. changed the perception of what's possible in washington. madam president, the american economy has roared back to life. we are finally, finally having the economic recovery that we should have had eight years ago. that's because we finally got

the policies that allow our economy to grow like it should. madam president, we had a big recession in this country. democrats used that as an excuse, an excuse to pile a bunch of regulations on the american people. well, that had a lot to do with keeping the economy from recovering at the pace that it should have. you know, during the obama administration, there was talk about the new normal. people said that maybe it was just the way things were going to be in america from now on -- slow, tepid economic growth. weak recovery. wages that didn't grow. people out of work for years at a time. that's what we saw in that administration. well, now, madam president, now we know that that was never normal, it was never acceptable. it was never the way things had to be. things could be different, and the american people voted to make it different. sai chan in 2016.or a and republicans are showing that

the economy can grow faster once we get the right policies in place. america can be a greater place for all of us. we head into president trump's second year with a much stronger economy than the day he took office. we have more americans at work. we have businesses and families confident that the economy will be even better this year. i think that's the kind of thing that people mean when they tell me that they feel confident and optimistic in the direction of our country again. i see that confidence in wyoming, we see it on wall street, and we see it all across the united states. democrats might miss the obama economy of higher taxes and more regulation. republicans are fighting to continue the policies that are giving americans confidence and optimism and hope. republicans know that this is just the beginning.

madam president, i ask that the remainder of my remarks appear in the record in an appropriate place. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. madam president, i'd like to speak today about legislation that i have introduced to spur american energy development on federal land. this is the opportunities for the nation and states to harness onshore resources for energy act, also known as the onshore act. it's a commonsense approach that streamlines the permitting process for oil and gas development. oil and gas production has increased dramatically on nonfederal land in recent years. production -- while production on federal land has fallen behind. that's because energy producers face costly delays when they have to deal with outdated and inefficient regulations from washington, d.c. the legislation that we're offering reduces these

unnecessary delays by giving authority to states that have established regulatory programs. let's let the states make those decisions. these are the states that have a proven track record of managing oil and gas development efficiently and effectively. at the same time, they protect the public health and the environment. that's the balance we all want, madam president, and these states are doing it without washington adding another unnecessary layer of red tape. in 2016, it took an average of more than 250 days for the federal bureau of land management to issue permits to drill for oil on public land. it took state agencies an average of 30 days. look at the difference. states 30 days, federal 250 days. and that's the difference. what happens when washington gets involved?

the delays cost jobs, they slow down economic growth. communities lose important tax revenue. in my home state of wyoming, we are america's largest producer of natural gas, and we're the second largest producer of oil on federal lands. well, wyoming has a long history of managing oil and gas development on federal lands. we know how to do it, we do it safely, we do it responsibly. wyoming continues to be the place people from all over the world want to see because of how beautiful the scenery and the environment is. this legislation strips away that needless layer of washington regulation and it lets states like wyoming manage oil and gas development the way that we know how to do it. madam president, our legislation also eliminates the administrative fee that gets taken out of states' share o revenues from oil and gas production. washington takes money that has been created locally, sends it to money -- sends the money out

of the community and back to washington. it's millions of dollars that states and local communities need to fund vital public services. our bill ends this unfair redistribution. the on shore act also -- onshore act also stops washington from imposing extra permitting burdens and environmental reviews on energy development that take place on nonfederal lands. these requirements are a classic example of washington overreach. they don't help the environment. they just keep oil and gas in the ground and keep hardworking americans out of work. this legislation will create jobs and expand our economy by creating an environment where american energy can dominate. i want to thank the cosponsors of this legislation for their support, senators hoeven, enzi, lee, and hatch. i also want to thank my colleagues in the house for starting this conversation with their bill called the secure american energy act.

madam president, i look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation as quickly as possible. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. thpresing officer: t clerk will call theoll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. the senate is in a quorum call. mr. warner: i ask the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. warner: madam president, i rise today very briefly to thank my friend, the chairman of the intelligence committee, and one more time urge all of our colleagues to vote for s. 139 which will be coming up in a very few moments. this is a critical tool that our intelligence community uses on a regular basis to keep america

safe. it is a tool that as someone who has more perhaps observance of this program than most, i do not believe it has been abused or will be abused, but this legislation includes meaningful reforms on furthering civil liberties protections, making sure that questions that many members have asked over the year, particularly the bureau, a ye from now we'll be able to have those answers. so i think this legislation needs to pass. it needs to pass with an overwhelming majority. i want to thank the chairman for his good work. we had a 12-3 vote. we had a 12-3 vote that of moved forward on the cloture motion. and my hope is that many other colleagues who care deeply about national security will join us in final passage on this legislation. mr. burr: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. burr: madam president, i

thank the vice chairman of the committee. i think what we have seen is trying to take into account concerns that not just members but themerica people have had with programs thatperate in a degree of secrecy. and i think most americans understand why. and the assurance that i've tried to make and the vice chairman has tried to make to our colleagues and we make to the american people is that we are a vigilant and rigorous oversight of not just this program but the entire complex of intelligence in the united states. it's our job as committee members, and we do it without the calculator -- without the clarity that most members would like to have on issues. i respect the fact that some still disagree with us, though the number is small. but i also feel extremely proud today that we're getting ready

to reauthorize in the next few minutes the single most important intelligence tool that exists for us to keep the american people safe. and i think we will look back on this as a needed tool. today the threat landscape looks worse than probably it ever has. and the reason that americans can safely go to bed at night is because there are a lot of dedicated folks who we provide tools with to keep them safe. and it starts with a vote in this body. and i encourage all of my colleagues, when given the opportunity shortly, to vote to reauthorize the 702 program. madam president, at this time i move to table the motion to concur with an amendment. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed, nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it, and the motion to table is agreed to.

the question now occurs on the motion to concur. mr. burr: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: if not, the yeas are 65, the nays are 34. the motion is agreed to. the senator from ohio. mr. portman: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of h. con. res. 98 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 99, directing the secretary of the senate to make a correction in the enrollment of the bill s. 139. the presiding officer: there objection to proceeding to the measure?

without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. portman: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered mandate laid upon the table witho intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. portman: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator ohio. mr. portman: i move to proceed to calendar number 165, s. 1519. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of s. 1519, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. mr. portman: madam president ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein up to ten minutes each until 7:00 p.m. with the time equally divided and that all quorum calls during that time also be equally divided. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. portman: 347, i have nine requests for meets to meet

during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted.