america's capital now that he's recognized jerusalem as israel's capital. [applaus [applause] >> thank you, president trump for that historic decision. [applaus [applause] >> thank you for announcing another decision, to move the american embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem this independence day. [applaus [applause] >> as the first ambassador to have the honor of working from that embassy in jerusalem is a great american ambassador, david friedman. [applause] >> you can watch the rest of

benjamin netanyahu's speech, the american-israel public affairs committee on our website, c-span.org. taking you live to the u.s. senate about to gavel in, a confirmation vote scheduled for western louisiana today and also on the senate agenda, a financial deregulation bill to repeal parts of the 2010 dodd-frank financial regulation law. the chaplain: let us pray. provide our lawmakers with power and insight to accomplish your will on earth, as they look to you for help.

please become for them their shade by day and defense by night. as they acknowledge that you alone are the source of their with the shield of your favor and direct their steps. lord, we also ask you to bring a spiritual awakening to our nation and world, prompting people to experience the transformative power of your mercy and grace. arise, o god, and defend your times. we pray in your great name. amen.

the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the 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., march 6, 2018. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable ben sasse, a senator from the state of nebraska, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 2155 which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of s. 2155, a bill to promote economic growth, provide tailored regulatory relief, and enhance consumer protections and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 11:00 a.m. will be equally divided between the two leaders

religious and secular --

mr. mcconnell: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday, the senate learned that its quiet persuader will be leaving us after a long and distinguished career. senator thaad cochran's retiermd will mark -- retirement will mark a tenure marked by a steady, honorable leadership. from the day he arrived in this chamber, his focus has been squarely on serving the people of mississippi with integrity. for nearly four decades, he did exactly that. and he earned the admiration and gratitude of countless friends and colleagues along the way. those of us here today are proud to have had the privilege of working with senator cochran. his expertise as chairman of the appropriations committee will be sorely missed.

so, too, will the collegiality, warmth, and grace that is so characteristic of the senior senator from mississippi. but the senate's loss is thad's family's gain. as we say our farewells over the next few weeks, i know all of our colleagues will join me in wishing him every happiness in his next chapter. now, on another matter, mr. president, today the senate will vote to begin consideration of s. 2155, the economic growth regulatory relief and consumer protection act. this bill recognizes a simple truth. small community banks and main street credit unions are not in the same -- are not the same as a multitrillion dollar bank -- as multitrillion dollar banks on wall street. a simple enough observation i might add but at present our laws fail to account for it.

since washington imposed the dodd-frank financial regulations back in 2010, small-scale lenders have been subjected to a litany of new regulatory, compliance, and examiner demands that were designed with the country's largest banks in mind. dodd-frank's enormous regulatory burden has been inefficient and unhelpful for financial institutions of all sizes, but it has hit main street lenders especially hard. many small banks have had to hire additional staff and exbe pend additional resources solely to deal with the staggering compliance burden. according to a survey conducted last year, community bank compliance costs have risen to an average of 24% of net income. let me say that again. community bank compliance costs have risen to an average of 24% of net income.

this regulatory burden crowds out the capital that is available to american families and small business, especially in rural communities. according to researchers at the harvard kennedy school, community banks provide over 50% of all small business loans and nearly 80% of agricultural loans. in kentucky, for example, there are more than 100 community banks and more than 20 credit unions. many of them are the only financial institutions present in rural and underserved communities. but while dodd-frank supposedly took aim at too big to fail, in the first four years after it passed, the share of u.s. deposits in small banks shrunk by nearly a quarter. deposits in small banks shrunk by a quarter in the first four years of dodd-frank. that means less access to capital for young couples

looking to purchase their first home. less credit for aspiring small business owners who needed help turning dreams into reality. fewer options for farmers and ranchers hoping to expand. the bill before us this week will continue to unwind the damage caused by an administration and a democrat-run congress that kept its foot firmly on the brake of the american economy. this is a modest but critical bill. by streamlining regulations, it will bring relief to the small financial institutions who have been hurt by dodd-frank's one-size-fits-all approach. in a certain respect, this bill is a perfect complement to tax reform. further expanding opportunities for american families, communities, and small businesses. it is the product of years of work and a robust committee process. it is also a truly bipartisan

bill cosponsored by an equal number of republicans and democrats or independents. senators had and still have a wide diversity of views on dodd-frank, but there is a widening agreement that we should not continue allowing this unintended consequence to wreak havoc on community banks and small credit unions. i hope that soon we can turn that consensus into law. now, mr. president, on one final matter, every day we hear more ways that tax reform is immediately helping american workers, job creators, and middle-class families across our country, but this generational reform is not designed to be a flash in the pan. we're already seeing ways that will continue to benefit hardworking americans even decades down the road. along with bonuses and wage increases, many of the 400-plus companies that have announced enhanced employee benefits are also significantly expanding

their contributions to workers' retirement savings accounts. in recent years, tight budgets have forced too many families to forgo investing for the future in order to cover today's expenses. recent estimates suggest that two-thirds of americans do not, do not contribute to a 401(k). a lack of retirement savings can seem like an abstract concept for young workers, but for some senior citizens, it becomes a harsh reality. while the poverty rate for americans under 65 has decreased since 2015, it has increased among those 65 and older. tax reform is already helping remedy a part of the problem. many companies and small businesses alike have announced plans to reinvest tax reform savings in their employees' retirement accounts. significant in -- cigna is addig $30 million to its employee

401(k) program. after lack is doubling its 401(k) match for -- aflac is doubling its 401(k) match for its employees. in kentucky, workers will benefit from increased or accelerated retirement contributions by major employers such as u.p.s., brown foreman, anthem, and fedex. as employers of all sizes continue following suit, more american families will have more flexibility as they plan for the future. and at the same time, of course, lower tax rates are increasing take-home pay, making it a little easier to cover today's expenses. more money in workers' pockets for today and more money in their retirement plans for tomorrow all, mr. president, thanks to tax reform. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: i would ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: ever since trump signed the tax cuts and jobs act on december 22, we have seen how one law can literally transform the economic landscape across the country. "the new york times" has reported that there is a wage of optimism surging among job creators, and let me just footnote that the "new york times" was certainly a skeptic as to what the impact of the tax cuts and jobs act would be, but

they now report a wave of optimism surging among job creators. since january, 2017, 2.3 million jobs have been added in the united states, and unemployment is at a 17-year low. u.s. weekly jobless claims are at their lowest since 1969. many people who thought that stagnant growth and flat wages were the new normal have been surprised, and maybe a better word is gratified to see what the impact of this policy has been on their take-home pay, on their confidence in their future, on investments in new jobs. it's pretty exciting. in 2017, average unemployment rates decreased in 32 states, according to the bureau of labor statistics. 186,000 manufacturing jobs have been added over the last 12

months, and i know the president and all of us are concerned about manufacturing moving offshore because the cost of doing business in some places around the world is much lower than it is in the united states, but we should all be excited about the fact that 186,000 manufacturing jobs have been added in the last 12 months. as i mentioned, consumer confidence is now at the highest level since november, 2000, and real disposable incomes have seen their biggest gains since april, 2015. according to the national federation of independent business, more small businesses than ever now believe it's a good time to expand. this is a very important part of the equation, and i'll say more about small businesses in just a moment. in texas where i'm from, a survey of houston businesses found that two out of three companies there will increase hiring and wages while nearly

nine out of ten said they expected to see an increase in their revenue. the head economist of the bank that conducted the survey didn't waste any words, saying that something real is happening in the economy. i agree. the positive gains from the tax cuts and jobs act are real and undeniable. recently, my office heard from one of my constituents by the name of judy patton. judy lives in texas roughly an hour from dallas down u.s. highway 67. judy owns a plumbing company called p & p. she said that her plumbing company will be giving both raises and bonuses to all of its employees this year because of the tax cuts and jobs act. and she just wanted to let us know that she appreciates what we're doing. well, all of us who have the honor of representing constituents here in the senate hear from our constituents from

time to time, and they don't always give us an at a boy or words -- attaboy or words of encouragement. frequently, they say can't you all do better, or you have done this and i don't like that much, so it's niece to hear from people like judy, the encouragement that she has given us for the tax cuts and jobs act. i can say for my part to judy that we're thrilled you have decided to pay the savings forward to other folks in the clyburn area. plumbers are a good example of the untold stories on tax reform. here in washington, we're not always conscious of the ripple effect, the way in which the changes we have enacted affect small businesses and individual lives. but judy shows us and reminds us, really, of the positive impacts that are felt all over. it's not just the big players, the fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees and operations around the world. it's small businesses like p & p

in clyburn, too, that are busy helping out those small communities and making lives better. those examples are just as important as those in the fortune 500. mr. president, on another issue, i will continue to be focused on concerns a bill that i have cosponsored with the junior senator from connecticut, senator murphy, called fix nics. the president when we were over at the white house last week said maybe you need a better name for the bill. i had to explain that nics was the national instant background check, and we believed it was broken and it had to be fixed, hence the name fix nics. i take the president's point. maybe we ought to do a better job branding what we are selling here. what we are selling is something vitally important that will save lives.

the fix nics bill will fix holes in the background check system that's utilized when firearms are purchased by individuals in the united states. as we know, when you go buy a gun at a gun store, there is a background check that has to be conducted. that's current law. when federally licensed firearm dealers like mcbride's gun shop in austin, texas, where -- that i patronize, when you go in and buy a new shotgun to go bird hunting or something like that, they will run a background check. of course they ask you to answer the questions, but the problem we discovered in sutherland springs is that not everybody is performing their responsibility and uploading the information that would show that people who are purchasing guns are lying on their background check and are legally disqualified from purchasing those firearms.

for many of the aftereffects of the shooting last monday at stoneman douglas high school in florida still resonate. i know that's true for all of us, and the pain and frustration aren't going away. i always worry, though, after one of these events occurs that given the relentless carpet bombing of news and other information this we all sustain here in washington in the nation's capital, that it's too easy to begin to lose sight of our objective to make things different and to improve outcomes when it comes to terrible events like this. and sometimes we get distracted and we move on to other topics. but we can't allow ourselves to do that. we know we have heard from stoneman douglas students themselves who are angry and deserve to be so. last week, the junior senator from florida, senator rubio, and i met with andrew pollock, the father of one of those victims who lost her life in -- at

stoneman douglas. now, mr. pollock's daughter isn't coming back, sadly, but the least we can do is to prevent others like her from losing their lives from similar incidents in the future. i wanted to tell andrew that steps have already begun to be taken. i wanted to say this will not happen again. your daughter and other future victims have pushed us finally to change, but i couldn't do that, not with a straight face, and i still can't. here we are almost a week after the meeting and we have taken zero steps forward. even though the fix nics bill is now cosponsored by 50 united states senators on a bipartisan basis. the majority leader, a republican, and minority leader, a democrat, are cosponsors of the bill. senator murphy from connecticut, senator cornyn from texas, we are the principal cosponsors of

the bill. we agree with very little in other areas of public policy, but we agree in this case that this is simply too important of be an issue that we really need to demonstrate our competence and to try to regain the public's confidence in our ability to actually function in a way that will save lives in the future. well, unfortunately, much like the daca debate, people want to make this bill a christmas tree, trying to decorate it with other legislative ornaments that look nice to their political base but stand no chance of passing this body or the house. i think we have to call that what it is. it's political posturing. it's not about getting a result. it's not about passing a bill which will actually improve the

background check system to praoefpb people like -- prevent people like the shooter at suggest the land spreupbgdz -- from suggest the land -- sutherland springs. he is focused on school safety and i support that. i know my colleague, senator hatch, has introduced a bill that is bipartisan and widely supported by all sides, which i support. but another reform that's achievable today if we were allowed to vote on it is fix nics, to fix our broken background check system. we should start with what's achievable and what will actually save lives, and that describes the fix nics bill. it will help prevent dangerous individuals with criminal convictions and history of mental illness from buying

firearms. this bill could easily pass the senate. it's already passed the house. and the president would sign it, as he told me when he called me last thursday night. he said he supports the fix nics bill. there are other things that he would like to do. there are other suggestions that people have made. but we need to do what's achievable and we need to do that as soon as we possibly can. several publications endorsed the fix nics bill saying it's a commonsense proposal that is a test, they call it, of democrats' sincerity. do our colleagues really want to work together on preventing future shootings at churches and schools? voting on this bill would be one way to do it. "the new york times" calls fix nics a rare piece of gun legislation that has no meaningful opposition and has bipartisan support.

that's one of the most maddening things about working here in washington, d.c. when there are bills that have no meaningful opposition and have bipartisan support and they still don't go anywhere. the "dallas morning news" says the bill keeps deadly weapons from people already prohibited from owning them. the "san antonio express news" called fix nics a relatively easy place to start. that would be wonderful if it were true in the senate. the express news calls the bill narrow and necessary. i'm not suggesting it's a panacea, but why wouldn't we want to take the first step in the direction of passing legislation which essentially enforces existing law and one

that will save lives? if the shooter at sutherland springs had run into the f.b.i. background check system and run into his felony conviction as well as his conviction for domestic violence where he fractured the skull of his infant stepson, if they had uploaded that information into the background check system he would not have been able to legally purchase a firearm. but he did purchase those firearms, and he used it to walk around a little baptist church in sutherland springs one sunday morning when people were worshipping inside. and he didn't go inside at first. he shot through the wall. it wasn't a stone building. it wasn't a brick building. it was made out of wood. a simple limb baptist church in sutherland springs. people were gathered to worship

and were gunned down, 26 of them. the people he didn't kill immediately he walked into the church after he shot dozens of rounds through the building, and he went inside and shot them and killed them, the ones that were still living. 26 people. 20 more were wounded; fortunately did not die from their wounds. i believe with all my heart that those people would be alive today, the 26, if we made sure that our broken background check system worked by enforcing current law and passing a bill like fix nics. that would save, that would have saved their life, i believe. and it would have stopped the change that the 20 who were wounded are now going to experience as a result of their injuries.

life-altering injuries. i told myself at that time that i'm not going to come back to that small community and look those families in the face unless i've done everything humanly possible to change the outcome in the future. how can any of us in good conscience look our constituents in the face who lose their loved ones to incidents like this? how can we look them in the face in good conscience and say we've done our duty when we have failed to act where we could on an achievable bill with no opposition and broad bipartisan support? the "waco tribune" said second amendment advocates who regularly insist on enforcing existing gun laws rather than new laws should welcome the

bill. this bill is supported by the whole political spectrum when it comes to guns and the second amendment, from the n.r.a. to people who say, well, they don'e reservations about law-abiding citizens owning guns, even for their own defense or for recreation or hunting purposes. that whole political spectrum agrees that this is a commonsense, achievable bill. so do 49 colleagues here in the senate, both republicans and democrats. so i've said it before, but i'm here to say it again. let's pass fix nics now. andrew pollack and the rest of the nation are waiting for a sign that we're serious about preventing wanton acts of violence that should not and cannot continue. mr. president, i yield the

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

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, when the republican majority forced through a $1.5 trillion tax cut to big corporations and the richest americans, a big question was what will those companies do with the money? roughly $1 trillion of that $1.5 trillion was aimed at the biggest corporations. republicans promised that corporations would reinvest the savings from the tax bill, stimulating jobs and economic growth. we democrats warned that corporations would do what's best for themselves, not necessarily what's best for

workers or the economy. there's often a dichotomy, as we've learned, over the years. it's been only a few months since the republican tax cut was signed into law, and while a few corporations here and there announced annual bonuses, a lot of hoopla from the president and the republicans, we don't hear a peep now that they have been announcing an avalanche of corporate stock buy backs, an absolute bonanza for corporate leaders and wealthy shareholders. over $200 billion -- $200 billion in corporate buy backs have been announced since january, putting corporations on pace to spend over $1 trillion this year buying back their own stock. this morning the oil and gas giant chevron announced it expects to restart its share repurchasing program since halting it in 2015. why? because they just reaped $2

billion in savings from the republican tax bill. chevron told the "houston chronicle" last week that it was planning no major changes or benefits given to its workers. let me repeat that. chevron, no major benefits to its workers but huge stock buy-backs. huge. is that what america wants? no. but that's what's happening, as we predicted with this tax bill. and the chevron example is not alone, unfortunately, my fellow americans. an analysis by just capital found that 6% of the savings companies got from the tax bill are going to employees while 58% are going to shareholders in the form of dividends, share buy-backs, retained earnings. the problem is that buy-backs

don't really help workers or average americans. they don't really grow the economy. in fact, the money corporations spend on buy-backs crowds out investment in the things that do help workers and help our economy. research, development, new equipment, new hires, better pay for employees. but those things, the benefits, are in the long term. the corporate c.e.o., the board, the leaders of the corporation, the big ones get an immediate benefit when they buy back stock. stock goes up. shareholders are happy. workers in america get no benefit. what buybacks accomplish is the funneling of even more money to corporate executives and wealthy shareholders. buybacks don't help the american workers. they don't grow the economy. by taking stock off the market, corporations inflate the value of their stockholdings.

who holds all this stock? not average americans. the richest 10% of america own 80% of the stocks. that's including pension funds and everything else. so when corporations goose their stock, those benefits are going to a tiny piece of the pie, the upper crust. this is the legacy of the tax bill. further benefits to the wealthy, incentives to raise corporate pay and stocks, no real help, minimal real help for workers just as democrats predicted. the republican bill has unleashed its tsunami of corporate backslapping while working americans get left behind. now, on an entirely different matter, yesterday washington became the first state to institute its own net neutrality requirements after the

republican-led f.c.c. voted to repeal net neutrality in december helping the big i.s.p.'s, hurting the average consumer. typical of what this senate on the republican side and what our president has been doing. now, over half the states have similar legislation pending in their legislatures. the states are rightly concerned about what the end of net neutrality may mean for their residents. when republican -- when the republican-led f.c.c. repealed net neutrality, they handed the large internet service provide providers, your cable company, all the cards. they said do what you will with the internet. i.s.p.'s could charge consumers more for faster service or start segmenting the internet into packages forcing consumers to purchase faster times for their favorite websites. big companies could pay to get faster internet service while

start-ups, small businesses, and average americans are left in the slow lane. high demand websites that offer streaming television, sports and movies could be slower if you don't pay up. public schools who don't pay for premium service could be put at a significant disadvantage. in rural america where there's less competition, i.s.p.'s will wield even greater power to raise the price on consumers without fear of losing business. an internet without net neutrality is a tale of two internets where the best internet goes to the highest bidder, those with the money, and everyone else loses. democrats want to keep the internet free and open, like our highways. accessible and affordable to all americans, regardless of your ability to pay where you live or the size of your business. no slow lanes, no paying for internet packages like cable, no one set of rules for big

corporations and another for everyone else. every american should be able to affordably and easily access the internet. that's what democrats believe. i'm glad washington state has already taken action to reinstitute net neutrality, but we need to do it across the country. democrats have put together a c.r.a. that would undo the f.c.c.'s decision and put net neutrality back on the backs. as you know, mr. president, we will be able to bring that to the floor. every democrat has signed on but only one republican, susan collins. i'd say to the other 50 republicans who are in this chamber, whose side are you on? whose side are you on? the big cable providers or the average consumer who depends on the internet? this vote will determine that. i urge all americans, particularly our younger people,

to contact their senators and demand they sign up to save the internet. and one final point, mr. president, president trump can retain his pop laws but what he has been doing and our republican colleagues have been doing over and over again, whether it's what they tried to do on health care, whether it's the tax bill, whether it's net neutrality or anything else, they want to help the wealthiest and the most powerful. they're the ones who back them and fund their campaigns. that's wropg. that's not -- wrong. that's not what americans want. and the only good i see out of this and americans are rrmsing this, only 70% people believe donald trump faces the wealthy over the middle class despite how he campaigns and despite his occasional rhetoric and tweets. the democrats, whether we have the presidency or the majority in house or senate were able to

block these things until now. now -- now the wealthy and powerful are getting far too much and i believe my republican colleagues will reap the whirlwind. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. a senator: mr. president, i rise today to discuss s. 2155, the economic growth regulatory relief and consumer protection act and to urge my colleagues to support its passage. mr. crapo: in just the few -- just a few minutes we'll vote on cloture, cloture on the motion to proceed, a very critical vote. again, i encourage all of my

colleagues to support bringing this bill forward to the floor for full debate and vote. first, let me thank each of the cosponsors of this bill, including the many members of the banking committee for their interest and involvement in the many discussions, hearings, and personal negotiations and conversation, we've had to get to this point. originally introduced by ten republicans and ten democrat, this package of commonsense reforms now has 26 senate cosponsor, including 16 members of the banking committee. community banks and credit unions across the country have long struggled to keep up with ever increasing regulatory compliance and examiner demands coming out of washington. in local economies, this places a strain on small businesses looking to open or to grow. in fact, when the dodd-frank legislation was initially proposed and we were debating it on the floor of this senate, i held a news conference in hide

hoe on main street in one of our cities and said that this bill was not targeted at wall street as it was being marketed. instead, it was targeted at main street, our small financial institutions and communities. and that has turned out to be exactly the case. since the passage of dodd-frank, our big banks have profited wonderfully, but our small bank, our small financial institution, credit unions and community banks have suffered terribly. s. 2155 is aimed at right sizing the regulation for financial institutions primarily community banks and credit unions, which makes it easier for consumers to get mortgages or obtain credit. it also increases important consumer protections for veterans, senior citizens, victims of fraud, and those who fall on tough financial times. congress has held numerous hearings in prior years,

exploring many of these issues, and the product before us today is the result of a year's long process and careful investigating -- careful vetting. this bill has received widespread support from commentator, regulator, businesses, and institutions representing millions of hardworking americans and consumers, including over 10,000 community bankers, more than 100 million credit union consumer members, and thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs among others. the reforms in this bipartisan bill helped tailor the current regulatory landscape while ensuring safety and soundness and relieving the burden on american businesses that are unfairly being treated like the largest companies in our economy. the passage of this legislation holds real promise for local economies across america. and i encourage all of my colleagues to support its passage.

mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to dispense of the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thanks, mr. president. i would like to have been here today to offer -- to offer strong bipartisan support to a bill that would help with rules and regulations for the smallest banks and credit unions in the country. there's a real effort on the part of a lot of us to come to terms -- to come to agreement, particularly aimed at those banks, the community banks and the regional banks. my state, senator portman's and my state are the only ones in

the country that have three regional banks, the banks that will be -- that are 50, 100, $150 billion, huntington, key corp. and fifth third. unfortunately, this bill started off that way but it's gotten to be something else. the something else is that this bill seems to me and many of us more concerned with the largest banks in wall street than it does with community banks. and there are lots of things that can come out of this bill. the bill gives regulators way too much flexibility. regulators like mulvaney and quarles and others. it vests more power in f stock, something the republicans didn't want to do until they got regulators like mnuchin and mulvaney and people like that that are much more mikely to side with wall street. the white house has increasingly looked like a retreat for wall street executives. and these are the people that

are going to be doing the regulations in this bill. but republicans and democrats alike who believe in the need for regulation are concerned about this bill or oppose this bill. people like dan terillo, used to be the governor at the federal reserve in charge of regulation. paul walker, a federal reserve chair selected by a republican and a democratic president. sarah bloom raskin, sheila bear, president bush's nominee at the fdic, phil angelitas who did a good analysis of what actually happened when ten years ago, the wall street almost collapsed our economy. this body, this body seems to have experienced sort of a collective amnesia. ten years ago, look at what happened to the economy and today we're giving relief to the -- many of the largest banks in this country. relief that these things on the stress test -- a weaker stress

test, a less regular stress test which will mean many of the larger banks simply -- simply won't be under the intense examination that we've done in the past. what does that mean? what that means is that those banks are more likely to jeopardize the safety and soundness of the banking system. again, we know what happened ten years ago when we had to bail them out. mr. president, there is a "washington post" article that came out today. the headline is "senate banking bill likely to boost chances of bank bailouts." from the congressional budget office. senate banking bill likely to boost chances of bank bailouts. c.b.o. says why would we do that, mr. president? why when banks are doing very well, banks of all sizes are very profitable these days. we just did a tax bill that gives the largest banks, the financial services industry overall but especially the wall street bank, gave them huge tax breaks. so we are going to pass a bill that the congressional budget

office, a neutral scorer here, the referee, congressional budget office says this will cost taxpayers $672 billion and it will increase the chances of a bailout. why would we pass a bill to give the banks breaks and then give them $672 billion of taxpayer dollars? mr. president, i just don't understand why we as a senate would want to do such a thing. nobody in ohio, except for some bank executives, are clamoring for this bill. nobody is saying oh, we have to deregulate the banks. we have to help the biggest banks. we have got to help these banks that drove us into the ditch ten years ago. mr. president, it simply doesn't make sense. i ask for a no vote on the motion to proceed.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 287, s. 2155, a bill to promote economic growth, provide tailored regulatory relief, enhance consumer protections, and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense

of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to s. 2155, a bill to promote economic growth, provide tailored regulatory relief, and enhanced consumer protections, and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there

any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, on this vote the yeas are 67, the nays are 32. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, terry a. doughty of louisiana to be united states district judge for the western district of louisiana. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 98, the nays are zero. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the

motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be notified immediately of the senate's action. under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session and consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 2155.

mr. kennedy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, sometimes, not always, but sometimes congress operates under the principle of anything worth doing is worth

overdoing. and that to some extent is what happened with dodd-frank. it's been almost eight years since dodd-frank took effect, and in that time, as you know, mr. president, well over 1,700 community banks have consolidated, merged, or shut their doors forever. we're going backwards. that's an average of one every three days. i was reading this morning, mr. president, in the last three years, only 13 new banks have been formed in america. that's not 13 per year. that's 13 total. before dodd-frank, we averaged about 100 a year. across america, banks of all sizes have closed more than

10,000 branches. acknowledging the damage that dodd-frank has wrought for our local economies is long overdue, and it's high time we did something about it. in my state of louisiana, out-of-control compliance costs have led to banks boarding up their windows as well. that means that at this point in time in at least 15 communities in my state, folks do not have access to a bank or to a credit union. for louisianians living in these banking deserts, getting a check or a savings account may be little more than a pipe dream. now, i'm not suggesting to you, mr. president, that everything in dodd-frank was misguided. i think we had a handful of institutions that precipitated

in part the meltdown in 2008, and dodd-frank regulates those institutions, but not every institution is a financial institution, particularly a community bank and a small credit union should be lumped in with the larger financial institutions. to return to my point, even an ordinary act of cashing a paycheck, something that goes sight unseen for most americans, is next to impossible without paying high fees at a convenience store, a pawnshop, or a payday lender, and every day, because of the shrinkage in the banking community in louisiana, every day, ordinary louisianians are being told to participate in the economy, manage their finances, save for their kids' future, and plan for their retirements when, thanks

to dodd-frank and its overregulation of medium-sized and community banks and bruins, too many louisianians don't even have a bank branch in their community. i think it's time to swing the pendulum back towards simple, sensible regulations, and we have legislation that will be on the floor this week in the senate that will do that. it's called the economic growth regulatory relief and consumer protection act. i call it the dodd-frank fix bill, or the dodd-frank reform bill. it doesn't destroy dodd-frank, it doesn't eliminate it entirely. it just brings some common sense to the legislation. i think it's a vital step in the right direction. dodd-frank, to some extent, particularly for medium-sized and smaller financial

institutions, was like using a sledgehammer to kill a gnat. all our reform bill does is suggest that we ought to try using a fly swatter instead of a sledgehammer. the changes made in our bill, mr. president, will not mean that the banks that are given relief will go unregulated. far from it. they will still be heavily regulated. they just won't be overall regulated as a result of the dodd-frank bill. everybody in america snows that community banks and credit unions, which i refer to as relationship bankers, played no role, none, zero, zilch, in the 2008 financial crisis. when former chair of the federal reserve yell intestified during her -- yellen testified, i asked

her point-blank, what did the community banks do wrong to contribute to the economic meltdown in 2008, and she responded nothing. the businesses of these small institutions revolve around lending, and i'm talking about community banks and credit unions. they lend arms, mom and pop businesses, and only owners. they are not hedge fund managers. they are not playing the margins. and yet, the small banks are the ones that are suffocating under the weight of dodd-frank's 20,000 pages of regulations. let me say that again. dodd-frank is about a 900-page bill, and it is 20,000 pages of regulations. ultimately, our communities pay

the price for the costs that have been imposed upon small and medium-sized banks to comply with dodd-frank when these banks did nothing wrong in 2008. studies show, mr. president, that when a bank branch shuts its doors, on average the number of small business loans made in that community falls by 13%, and that's certainly been the case in louisiana. the experts say that neighborhoods can take more than eight years to recover. you multiply that by 10,000 branches that have closed across this country, and the figure is breathtaking. it doesn't take an economist to see that the ultimate costs of dodd-frank on our communities, in louisiana and in texas and elsewhere, have been job losses and economic decline. fortunately, i think we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, at least if our dodd-frank reform bill passes.

dodd-frank, as you know, mr. president, said that all banks are created with equal risk and should be subject to the same regulations. from the largest bank to the smallest bank. if they all create equal risk for the american financial system, then they should be subject to the same regulations. whoever came up with that rule must have parachuted in from another planet. i am cosponsoring the dodd-frank reform bill because i believe that an international bank -- and i think common sense tells us this -- i believe that an international bank with $50 billion in assets poses a different risk to our economy than a community bank in boser city with 30 employees. the dodd-frank reform bill acknowledges that banks come in all different shapes and sizes and purposes, and it treats them

accordingly. we had eight years under dodd-frank, mr. president, to see what this level of government regulation means for our economy, and it is time we find some balance. dodd-frank's purpose was to prevent another financial crisis, yet in practice banks across this country are able to offer fewer products, fewer services, and fewer loans at much, much higher prices as a result of the overregulation of dodd-frank. and if we want to get our economy back on track for working and middle-class americans, it has got to stop. i've been working closely with my colleague, senator schatz, on a bipartisan amendment to our dodd-frank reform legislation to protect consumers. americans shouldn't have to spend months fighting to correct inaccurate information on their

credit report when they didn't consent to have it collected in the first place. they shouldn't be penalized because the credit reporting agency, like exwhich fax -- our legislation would require that the three credit agencies work together to create an online portal that gives consumers access to their -- their credit report and their credit score. this website, mr. president, will allow folks allow to see what information has been collected about them, see who has viewed their credit report and why, and opt-out of having their information packaged and sold to third parties. it would make it simple for people to dispute inaccuracies on their credit reports. in short, it would give consumers control over their financial information once

again. and i respectfully urge my colleagues in the senate to support this necessary amendment. to conclude, mr. president, the economic growth regulatory relief and consumer protection act, the dodd-frank reform bill that i've been talking about, will help promote stability in our financial markets, it will protect american consumers, and it will give breathing room for some of our smaller banks and our credit unions. it will ensure that consumers and small businesses will continue to have access to mortgage credit and to capital. and, mr. president, i respectfully submit that it will help to make sure that our relationship bankers, the 95% of bankers in america, the ones on whose back this country was built, it will help to ensure that our relationship bankers can afford to keep their doors

open and continue lending to the middle-class drivers of our economy. thank you, mr. president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i have six requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to seven minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, the steady stream of good news for american workers continues. just take a look at the

headlines. craft brewers putting tax savings towards expansions and new job. grocery chain investing in employees in brand after -- and brand after tax reform. quad graphic to give $22 million in stock to employees. intergi has plan to give tax cuts to customers. taco john shares tax reform benefits with employees in surrounding communities. largest health insurer in new jersey says it will use tax refund for employees. carters is giving bonuses, boasting retirement funds, tax reform positive for farmers, ranchers, express scripts, giving employees bonuses following impact from tax law,

franklin savings bank to give employees a $1,000 bonus, cites tax reform, sprouts will give tax reform bonuses, north carolina blue cross, tax cut will hold down rate increases, workers to gets dz 1,000 bone -- $1,000 bonuses. hormel is to give employees stocks. i could go on. these are heedlines from around the country -- headlines that are highlighting the ways in which tax reform is benefiting american workers. businesses large and small are seeing the benefits of tax reform and they are passing them on. more than 400 companies and counting have announced good news from wage increases to

increased retirement benefits. utility companies in 39 states are passing tax savings on to consumers. cnbc reports that small business confidence has hit a record high in 2018 driven by small business owners optimisim about tax reform. in other words, tax reform is working exactly the way it is supposed to. it is putting more money in americans' pockets and giving them access to more jobs, higher wages, and increase opportunity. i don't need to tell anyone that americans had a tough time during the last administration or that our economy had stagnated. all you have to do is look at the numbers. the chief priority of the republican majority has been to turn things around for the american families. that's why we took up tax reform. the tax code might not be the first thing people think of when they think of economic prosperity, but it actually

plays a key role in determining the success of individual families and our economy as a whole. the more money that the federal government takes from you in taxes, the less money you have to save money or pay for a car. the more money the federal government has, the less money it has to grow the business and invest in its workers. if businesses are struggling to grow and succeed, that's a big problem for american workers. in order for american workers to thrive, american businesses have to thrive. it's pretty hard for a small business to hire a new worker or to raise wages if the owner can barely pay the tax bill. it's unlikely that an american company is going to have a lot of spare cash to invest in its workforce if it is dealing with foreign companies, and it is unlikely that companies will

invest in the united states if they face a tax penalty for bringing foreign earnings back home. mr. president, when it came time to reform the tax bill, republicans knew that it had to do two things. first, it had to lower the tax burden on american families and put more money in americans pockets right away, and it had to create the kind of economy that would give american families access to security and prosperity for the long term. to achieve the first goal, we lowered tax rates across the board for american families. we nearly doubled the standard deduction and we doubled the child tax credit. and to meet the second goal, we lowered our nation's massive corporate tax rate which up until january 1 was the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world many we lowered tax rates across the board for owners of small and medium-sized businesses, farms and ranches,

we allowed business owners to recover the money they make in their businesses which they can reinvest in -- in their workers. we brought the tax code into the 21st century with a modernized territorial tax system so american businesses are not operating at a disadvantage next to their foreign counterparts, and it's working. in less than three months we've seen lower tax burdens for american families. pay increases, bonuses, new jobs, increased investment in the american economy, better employee benefits and other kinds of benefits like lower utility bills. all of that means more money, mr. president, in americans' pockets. more money to put toward a child's education, more money to save for a house or a car, more

money to save for retirement. mr. president, tax reform is accomplishing our goal of making life better for american families and the benefits have just begun. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate >> the u.s. senate is recessed until 2:15 p.m. eastern time for their weekly party lunches. just before recessing, the senate confirmed a judge to serve on the u.s. district court in western louisiana and voted to move forward with debate on a financial deregulation bill that would repeal parts of the 2010 dodd-frank financial reform law. here's some of the debate on the financial der