we know they consistently used it to destabilized perceived enemies and managing this is a long-term priority for the u.k. we continue to work not just at the u.k., but our international partners on efforts to counter this. >> prime minister made statements on the alleged russian poisoning of a former spy in salisbury england later on the c-span networks. questions time next week live at 8 eastern and see this sunday night's edition at 9:00. the previous question timed statements from the british house of commons are available at c-span.org. the u.s. senate is coming into session now to continue work on a banking deregulation bill with a vote to limit debate at 3:45 p.m. eastern. a final passage vote is possible later tonight and tomorrow, and recess at 4:30 p.m. for an all senators briefing. live coverage here on c-span2.

the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. our father in heaven, increase our faith until we are no longer awed by life's challenging seasons. direct our senators in their work, using them to fulfill your divine purposes. lord, remind them that all things are possible to those who believe in

your prevailing providence. we acknowledge this day our great need of your sustaining power, so that we can walk without stumbling or slipping along life's pilgrim pathway. help us to remember that faith without works is dead. we pray in your merciful 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, march 14, 2018, to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable rand paul, a senator from the commonwealth of kentucky to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, presidet pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, hearts are heavy in kentucky this morning. last night officer scottie hamilton, a 12 year veteran of the pipo police department was shot and killed in the line of duty. the investigation is ongoing.

my kentucky staff and i are monitoring the situation closely. but for now our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends, and colleagues at the pipo police department. officer hamilton leaves behind a wife, a young daughter, and a community that is safer for his service. now on an entirely different matter, mr. president, this will be a busy day for the senate. today senator thune and our colleagues on the commerce committee will continue their hearings on rebuilding america's infrastructure. notably five cabinet secretaries will testify. secretaries of labor and commerce, energy, agriculture and transportation will all share the administration's ideas for cutting red tape, streamlining permitting and aligning federal resources with local needs. i'm grateful for the trump

administration's commitment to this issue. and i hope this week's hearings along with the ongoing work of our colleagues on environment and public works, appropriations and other committees will keep building momentum. bipartisan results are achievable this year starting with billions in added funding for infrastructure improvement in the budget agreement and extending to the work of many committees in the months ahead. so, mr. president, today we'll also finish considering the bipartisan banking reform bill championed by senator crapo, the economic growth, regulatory relief, and consumer protection act is cosponsored by a quarter of the senate, split down the middle between republicans and democrats and was advanced earlier this week by two-thirds of our colleagues. that's because this modest but essential bill tackles a problem that hurts communities in red states and in blue states. it hurts rural areas, farm

towns, suburbs and urban neighborhoods. the problem is this, the dodd-frank act has proven to be far too blunt an instrument for regulating our financial system. regulations meant for wall street are crushing main street. community banks and credit unions play a vital role in our economy. smaller lenders provide more than 50% of small business loans and nearly 80% of agricultural loans. but they're struggling to keep their heads above the tide of complicated regulations and compliance costs. many are going under. and when they do, research shows that access to capital for small businesses, farmers and ranchers shrinks. senator crapo's legislation helps fix this. it tailors the regulation so small businesses aren't caught up in the web aimed at the biggest banks. senators have and still have a

wide diversity of views on dodd-frank but all of us should at least agree that wall street and main street are very different and that one size fits all is a poor way to address this issue. i look forward to voting to pass this bill later on today. and now one final matter, this afternoon president trump will visit a boeing production facility in st. louis. he'll hear from local business leaders about how tax reform is giving them room to invest more and hire more. missouri's senior senator tried to block tax reform on a party-line vote. fortunately there was a republican senator who voted to help them realize this possibility. for months the headlines have been filled with businesses large and small using tax reform to give workers bonuses, pay raises and new benefits. raises and bonuses aren't the only ways tax reform will help hardworking families. thanks to the efforts of senator heller and others in committee,

tax reform doubled the child tax credit and extended it to more middle-class families. when they file their taxes next year, families will be able to take $2,000 off their tax bill for every qualifying child. my friend, the democratic leader, said repeatedly that tax reform would do nothing to help american workers. the democratic leader in the house said the law would bring about, quote, armageddon. well, i'm not sure where they got their predictions, but i don't think they'll catch -- i don't think they'll carry much water with middle-class families in missouri or indiana or west virginia or certainly in kentucky. for brand-new parents facing one expense after another, that $2,000 credit will more than cover the cost of a brand-new washer and dryer. for a middle-class family of four that credit is more than $4,000, that more than costs the standard down payment on a used

car priced at the national average. or it could kick off a college savings fund. just crumbs, really? maybe adding thousands of dollars to family budgets looks like crumbs in new york or san francisco, but to most americans, around most kitchen tables, that's real money. so is the adoption tax credit which keeps the i.r.s.'s hands off more of the hard-earned money that adoptive families need to cover expenses. last autumn i met a wonderful family from franklin, kentucky, who adopted their son from ethiopia in the face of many hurdles and difficulties. his mother wrote my office. she told me, quote, our sweet boy is worth every dime and tear. but they were counting on that tax credit. so were many other families. republicans made sure this credit was preserved. here's how that kentucky mother described the impact. she said the tax credit we will

receive has allowed us to pay off the last remaining debt we owed. such a weight lifted off our shoulders. new profamily tax cuts, new profamily tax credits, all while protecting existing profamily provisions that americans rely on. that's what every democrat voted against, but fortunately it's what every senate republican voted for. so the american people won in the end. 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 s. 2155, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 287, s. 2155, a bill to promote economic growth, and so forth,

and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, at this moment, all across the country, students are walking out of school for 17 minutes in memory of the 17 americans who died at marjory stoneman douglas high school one month ago today. here on the floor of the senate,

i join with those students in remembering the fallen students and teachers of stoneman douglas. i join with them in remembering the beautiful children who died at the elementary school in newtown. i join with them in remembering the long line of american children who have perished in the slow-moving tidal wave of gun violence that's consuming our country. all the unopened presents, uncelebrated birthdays, the empty chairs, at dinner table, at graduation, at holidays. these kids had their whole lives ahead of them. this has gone on for too long. when a disease plagues our people, we seek a cure. when we see drug addiction stealing the lives of our youth,

we get together here in congress and try to do something about it. why is it that when it comes to gun violence, which is responsible for just as many if not more deaths, we throw up our hands, we pretend there is no solution? we know these are commonsense things we could do. close the dangerous loopholes in the background check system, ensure that anyone with a criminal history or history of mental illness can't get their hands on a gun. and yes, we should debate the assault weapons ban because weapons of war have no place on our streets, no place in our schools. while so many students today are mourning their friends and classmates, we in congress are in a unique position. we alone have the ability to change our laws to make america safer, and god willing prevent another one of these massacres, these horrible, horrible massacres. what will we do with that

awesome responsibility? i was here on the floor of the senate when this body failed to advance any legislation in the wake of sandy hook. the shame we all felt and america felt at this body unable to act because of a powerful special interest that seems to have its grip on too many of our colleagues. well, let this time be different. let this time be different. in a moment, i'll read the names of 17 americans, 14 children who were killed in the horrific attack at stoneman douglas high school, and i'm joined by a good number of my colleagues who wish to read the names of children and other victims who died at the hands of voons in their states. may their memories, may their memories inspire us to act.

alyssa alhadeff, martin idianal, scott biegel, aaron feiss, jamie guttenberg, christopher hickson, luke hoyer, kara lawford, gina montelfo, joaquin oliver, elaina petty, meadow pollack, helena ram see, alex schacter, carmen shentrup, peter wang. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: mr. president, i'm joining my colleagues today to give the country a sense of the scope of this epidemic. we have tried every means to move our colleagues to action, but in remembering the names of people that have been lost, there is a reminder that there is a human face behind every single one of these numbers and behind that victim, there is a trail of trauma of family members, friends, classmates that is difficult to unwind. on december 14, 2012, a gunman armed with a tactical semiautomatic weapon with clips of 30 bullets walked into sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut, and killed 20 children, six adults and himself. among them were rachel devino,

29, a teacher's aide, dawn hocksprung, 47, a principal. anna murphy was a teacher's aide. lauren russo, 30 years old, a teacher. mary sherlock was 56 years old, the school psychologist. victoria soto, a 27-year-old teacher. the students -- charlotte bacon, 6 years old, daniel barden, 7 years old. olivia engel, 6 years old. dylan hockley, 6 years old. madeleine su, 6 years old. katherine hubbard, 6 years old. chase kowalski, 7 years old. jesse lewis, 6 years old. anna marquez green, 6 years old. james matioli, 6 years old.

grace macdonald, 7 years old. emily parker, 6 years old. jack pinto, 6 years old. noah posner, 6 years old. jessica racos, 6 years old. aviel richmond, 6 years old. benjamin wheeler, 6 years old. allison wyatt, 6 years old. i have a 6-year-old. yesterday, he and 24 of his classmates were locked in a tiny bathroom for several minutes for an active shooter drill. when he came home last night, he says daddy, i didn't like it. since sandy hook in connecticut, hundreds more. lisa infante, 52, of shelton. antoine heath, 29, new haven. jonathan aronda, 19 of new

haven. miguel argueles, 22 of bridgeport. cameron chapman, 22 of waterbury. ebony swabby, 22. daniel karin, michael watt continues, kion hough, dion rodney, calley davis, noris jackson, edwardo hanna, guy moore, 26 in waterbury. that's just the tip of the iceberg as to what has happened since sandy hook just in my state of connecticut representing only 1% of the population. my 6-year-old shouldn't be locked inside a bathroom, smushed together with 24 of his classmates, preparing for the

day when a shooter potentially walks into his public elementary school. we have a duty to act. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: thank you. i rise along with my colleagues today to address what has become unfortunately the norm for our kids in schools and across this country. october 1 in las vegas, we saw the worst mass shooting in the history of this country. innocent concertgoers attending an entertainment venue outdoors. 58 whether killed, 500 injured at the hands of a madman with an assault weapon. in the past five years, we have lost an average of ten children each year to gun violence in nevada alone, and today i speak in memory of the 50 children from my home state who will never get the chance to grow up

and graduate high school, pursue their dream job, or even have children of their own. the names i am about to read aloud were beloved sons and daughters, friends and classmates whose lives were cut tragically short in the last three years. clemente, 17 years old from las vegas. jovanni, 16 years old from las vegas. terry, 17-year-old from reno. tyra, 17 years old, lived in las vegas. marcus, 3 weeks old, lived in las vegas. anthony, 17 years old from laughlin. john, 11 months old from las vegas. anthony, 16 years old, las vegas. bradley, 4 years old, living in las vegas. young male victim 16 years old from reno. giovanni, 14 years old, las vegas. another young victim 16 years

old lived in las vegas. louie, 16 years old, las vegas. another young victim, 15 years old from west wendover. cincalia, 12 years old from las vegas. ethan, 17 years old, las vegas. angelo, 15-year-old living in las vegas. benjamin, 17 years old, lived in las vegas. a young female victim, 3 years old from las vegas. another male victim, 4 years old living in las vegas. duran, 17 years old, las vegas. joshua, 17 years old from las vegas. zonika, 14 years old from las vegas. anarok, 9 years old from las vegas. dolavana, 15 years old from las vegas. robert, 17 years old from las

vegas. another young female victim, 17 years old from reno. and rodriccio, 13 years old from las vegas. across the country, students are saying never again to another child lost to gun violence. mr. president, i ask that this congress do the same thing. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, i join my colleagues today to remind all of us of those who have been lost from gun violence. from washington state, kerry parsons, sam strand, michelle b brough, shayla martin, chuck eagan, beatrice dotson, joe albanese, kimberly layfield, donald largin, gloria lee in

orderis, lee in order newes, jake long, will cramer, zoey galosso, gia soriano, andrea fryberg, nate hatch, christina rexroad, lyla bush, kara goldman, dana klein, tammy keiser, leroy launch, wayne anderson, judy anderson, scott anderson, erica anderson, olivia anderson, nathan anderson, paul lee, sara williams, maxine harrison, samantha harrison, jamie harrison, heather harrison, james harrison, george brown, jeffrey hicks, alex kelly, wesley jennings, and the list goes on. i ask unanimous consent to put the remainder in the record and to remind all of us,

mr. president, that this is just a fraction of those we know that have been lost. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, mr. president. i join my colleagues in recognizing that we must take action to protect safety in our community. senator van hollen are on the floor, proud of maryland students that are here today to speak in solidarity with the students from parkland, florida, and recognizing and remembering the 17 victims of that tragic episode but also to point out many others who have lost their lives to gun violence. in the state of maryland we have not been spared. just monday night ten people, including two teenage boys, were wounded in five separate shootings in baltimore. they are the lucky ones who will likely survive their injuries. two men killed in separate shootings monday were montral rivers age 20 and ronald preston

age 30, both from east baltimore. on march 5, 23-year-old devante rhodes was lost to gun violence. one day earlier to sean ivory, also of baltimore, fatal victim of a shooting. in february 28-year-old jasmine chandler and her pregnant friend maya robinson who was also 28 were shot as they sat in parked cars in northwest baltimore. last month off-duty prince george county corporal lost his life to gun violence. fatal victims of gun violence in maryland include young people like trequan bullock, age 18. the first of seven students of excel academy in west baltimore shot and killed since october 2016. levard douglas, age 18. brian beverly age 18. james martin, age 55.

sunny buchanan, age 39. bukumar age 54. sarah ramos, age 34. laura ann rivera, age 35. and the list goes on and on and on. in memory of all those who have lost their lives through gun violence, it's imperative that we speak out and act. mr. sanders: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: mr. president, i want to thank the young people throughout this country who have the courage to do what the united states congress is not doing, and that is to lead us forward in a way to lower the slaughter that we are seeing from coast to coast in terms of gun violence. the bad news is that people

continue to be killed every day. the good news is that the american people have come together around commonsense solutions to lower the level of gun violence that we are experiencing. the american people know that we need to expand and improve background checks, that we need to do away with the gun show loophole, that we need to do away with the straw man provision. and more and more americans understand that we should ban the sale and distribution of military-style weapons. in my small state of vermont, between 2011 and 2016, 42 people were killed by guns. and some of them are lara sobel, julie feranzo, regina herring, rhonda herring, molly mcclean, kevin veiro, rhonda gray, marcus

austin, obee fami odepo. these are some who lost their lives to gun violence in vermont. with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. van hollen: mr. president, today many of us will join with maryland students and other students from throughout this region to demand that this senate and the house of representatives take commonsense action to reduce gun violence in america. gun violence that has resulted in massacres at concerts, slaughters in churches, and of course mass deaths at schools throughout the country. and the death toll every day we see in the streets of america. mr. president, i'm going to read the names of 17 maryland young

people, people under 20 who have died just in the last year as a result of gun violence in maryland. andre galloway, 16 years old. levander edwards, 16. deshane woodson, 17. chican trusty, 16. thomas johnson, 16. anthony cheeks, 17. travice davis, 15. jeffrey quick, 15. xavier cole young, 14. kamichi brown, 17. larry aaron, 19. terry joseph bosley, 17.

yanni nuchay watkins, 13. chadi adinajar, 17. atem zabarov, 18. dustin kourey, 17. layla goodwin, 4 years old. and that is not the entire list of people under 20 who were shot and killed in maryland. in the state of maryland, in 2017, 481 souls were lost to homicide, and in 2016, 436 marylanders were lost to homicide, all cases by gun violence. mr. president, the time to act has long passed.

but for goodness sakes, let's join with the students and americans crying out throughout this country to say enough is enough and enact commonsense gun safety legislation. ms. klobuchar: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, these are the names of 17 children who were killed with guns in my state. i read their first names only because it makes us remember they could be anyone's children. lisa marie, age 15. william robert, age 15. anthony, age 16. jacob alexander, age 14. joseph anthony, age 17. terrell, age 3. joshua albert, age 15.

alyssa, age 17. jesse, age 18. cedric, age 18. darion geoff, age 15. justin daniel, age 17. jennifer allen, age 17. david andre, age 17. tibeba lee, age 16. terrance, age 16. anthony michael, age 3. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. ms. warren: mr. president, congress does not have the courage to act on gun violence, but young people across this country are showing the way. they are speaking up and they

are demanding action. i honor them and i commit to fight alongside them. i'm going to read the names of some of those lost from massachusetts. they didn't get a chance to join this fight before they died from gun violence, so i take this opportunity to join them to the young people who are fighting today for sensible gun reforms. jared brown, 16 years old. anthony skarita, 6 years old. angel swazzo, 16 years old. al hando laurente, 11 years old. tenzin kakian, 16 years old. marcos pena, 9 years old. chantelle matiosis, 16 years old. latoy graham, 15 years old. brian croyle, 12 years old.

lacare jefferson, 8 years old. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. today is a momentous one in the capitol because the students of america are giving us a real-life lesson in the american constitution. their energy and passion is a civics lesson for america, and what a proud and wonderful moment today is for our

democracy. sad, indeed tragic that this lesson must concern gun violence that has taken such a devastating toll, most recently in parkland, florida. but literally that toll is true of america in 90 deaths every day. we can never become numb to the costs, the catastrophic costs of gun violence in america today. i have the honor to read the names of some of those victims of gun violence. indeed, the sandy hook victims.

their deaths still are in our hearts. their lives are still with us. their memories are alive today. and my friendships with their loved ones, particularly their parents, inspire me to continue this fight against gun violence in america. their courage and strength has inspired so many of us in this country, and their names deserve to be remembered and read again in this chamber. noah posner, age 6. charlotte bacon, age 6. jack pinto, age 6. olivia engel, age 6.

dylan hockley, age 6. katherine hubbard, age 6. abielle richmond, age 6. jessica ricos, age 6. james madioli, age 6. josephine gaye, age 7. caroline prevetty, age 6. benjamin wheeler, age 6. chase kowalski, age 6. anamar green, age 6. grace mcdonald, age 7. emily parker, age 6. madeleine su, age 6. allison wyatt, age 6. daniel barden, age 7. jesse lewis, age 6. and their teachers, victor i don't soto, age 27.

lauren russo, age 30. ann marie murphy, age 52. rachel devino, age 29. mary sherlock, their psychologist, age 56. dawn hockspring, the principal of the school, age 47. all of them died in december of 2012. all of them will be remembered, not only on this day but forever. not only in connecticut but around the world, and we must always keep them in our hearts as a reason to keep this fight

against gun violence going. in a hearing presently under way in the judiciary committee, there is testimony as i speak from members of the government investigative agencies that have responsibility for stopping gun violence. my fear is that this hearing will be an excuse for inaction, continued complicity by congress in the failure to act. the complicity in those deaths is on our hands in this body by failing to take action. there are actions we can take that will help to save lives. commonsense, sensible action that congress has failed to take.

universal background checks, ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, a red flag statute that will prevent people who are dangerous to themselves or others from having or buying a gun. many of these measures are bipartisan, and we can come together with the lesson from the students and young people who are in the streets coming to the capitol today. that lesson should be a reminder that the right side of history is in favor of preventing gun violence. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. coons: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: are we currently in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. coons: i ask that the proceedings under the quorum call being vitiated. officer without objection. mr. coons: today is one month to the day when 17 high school students lost their lives. as many of my colleagues have do i come to the floor to remember them, to honor their loss, to speak to their classmates, colleagues, and families, and to share from the experience of my own home state of delaware. there are this morning today high school students across our country, across my home state of

delaware who are walking out of class to try and draw the attention of those of us here in washington to the urgent need that we work across the aisle to tackle the plague of gun violence that affects families all over this country. that's why we see young people not just across the country but including in my home state of delaware demanding we take action. we need to answer their call. let me speak to my hometown of wilmington, delaware. just last month, five people, five people last month under the age of 21 were shot in wilmington. 2017 ended as one of the worst years ever for gun violence and homicides. 197 individuals shot, 32 wounded fatally. if i could, i just wanted to read the names of 31 individuals who were victims of gun violence in the city of wilmington in 2017. we are working federal, state, and local officials, police departments, community and civic

leaders to try and tackle these challenges, but some of the core causes can only be addressed here. we need to find a way to work together, to respect each other, to compromise, and to tackle the very real epidemic of gun violence in our country. these 31 delawareans lost their lives in the city of wilmington to gun violence in the year 2017. dereberto velazquez mendez, 32. jermaine francois, 34. charles maze, age 66. jemier harris, age 21. kaden young, age 21. ingley cumberach, age 23, keven hale, age 38, richard crosby,

age 30, jasim powell, age 18. tyrene robinson, age 23. brian brooks, age 29. tanisha sifus, age 16. joaqan coverdale, age 22. darius jackson hall, age 23. sherman pride, age 22. shimar lindsey, age 25. cyree watson, age 22. david bailey, age 23. asiri mills, age 23. camel emels, age 20. barry white, age 19. allen melton, age 28. albert hazard, age 23. duane grimes, age 19. justin mcdermott, age 18. andrew penowell, age 25.

sean lockhart, age 29. keenan samuels, age 20. the facts of all of these different episodes of violence and loss vary widely, but the conclusion must be the same. we have to find ways to listen to each other, to work across the aisle, and to stop deadly shootings in our country. i'm encouraged that many of my colleagues here today have introduced legislation that would take meaningful steps to tackle gun violence and make all of us safer. we must act. we must listen to the voices of young americans demanding that we do our job and make our country safer. thank you. mr. president, with that, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. a senator: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. welms. cantwell: mr. president, today across my state, countless students are taking part in a walkout in common support of reforms to combat gun violence. i stand in solidarity with these students who are trying to provide an example of why we must make progress on this issue. no student should fear for their live while attending school, and i will continue to work on solutions here to curb gun violence. we in washington have been able to make progress by passing initiatives to close gun show

loopholes and to move forward on extreme person legislation. i should say that was passed by the citizens of our state. we should look at the example of washington's initiatives and the success we've made in our state in curbing gun violence as commonsense solutions that should be considered here in washington, d.c. when we look at these issue, i'm reminded of the tragic shootings in our state, sam sta strahan fm spokane who was killed and individuals who were killed in washington at merriesville shooting when a 15-year-old opened fire killing julianna, andrew, zoey, and wounding nathan hatch. these tragedies are more than we can take at our schools.

these tragedies are something that we need to address here in washington. and i stand with the solidarity of our students who are trying to address these issues and address our nation's need to come together and provide better solutions to protect our students. i thank the president and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from washington ms. cantwell: i omitted one of the names of the victims. we are still heart broken about this shooting in the sense it's an example of the challenges we

face. a young man who took his father's gun who never should have had the gun to begin with because he was on a domestic violence restraining order but yet was still labeled to go to a store and get the gun, keep the gun in the home, and then when the young student was able to take that to school and gather his friends, but shaleee trickle anostik was also one of those victims along with zoey and andrew fryberg and zoey who i mentioned before. i just want all of those families to know that we still think of them and that we are still mourning the loss of those individuals and that we are working very hard with our colleagues to come to some resolution. thank you and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: i come to the floor today to talk about the legislation before us, the

banking legislation that's -- the report out of the banking committee on a bipartisan vote like my colleague from washington state, i also want to speak briefly to the issue that's being raised in states across american schools across america where students are demonstrating their support, their solidarity with folks at parkland in florida who lost 17 kids earlier this year. the -- my dad was a hunter, grew up in west extra va, born in west virginia, grew up in virginia. bought my first bb gun when i was 10 years old. i still have the shotgun my grandfather gave me. he died when he was just a pup of a teenager. we're big believers in my family of second-amendment rights. big advocate for using common sense with respect to weapons. my dad was not only just a hunter, but he was also a gun collector. he would buy and sell guns to

other people that he knew. my dad was from the time my sister and i were little kids, he would always say, just use some common sense. he said a lot to us growing up. he said it very often. my dad would say -- somebody who has -- shares mental health problems or somebody that is like a felony record, to be able to go into a gun show and buy a weapon, that doesn't make a lot of sense. the idea people who can't fly in an airplane because they are on a terrorist watch list, to be able to go and buy guns, my dad would say that didn't make a whole lot of sense. i would hope at the end of the day, what's happening across the country, kids are leading us. a child shall lead them, a verse in the bible. i think that's what's going on here. i think states are already starting to address this issue in a more constructive way than we have thus far. my hope is that states -- the chairman will lead us, the states will lead us as well and

maybe we'll be able to come to agreement on some of these issues. i'm respectful of second amendment rights and the constitution, but also are consistent with the kind of common sense my dad always talked about, with respect to everything, including the buying and selling of weapons. mr. president, i remember standing on this floor, i think it was about eight years ago, when we debated the affordable care act. i -- that was a time when we were spending about 18% of g.d.p. for health care in this country, 18%. japanese were spending 8. they had better results in japan for their health care than we did. and they covered everybody. think about that. we're spending 18%. they got better results in health care. long longevity for adults, lower rates of infant mortality.

they covered everybody. when people were going to bed in this country at that time, 40 million people went to bed at night without any health care coverage. i think most of us realized at the time that's not a good thing. i used to say japanese can't be -- we can't be that dumb. and we passed the affordable care act with a lot of debate, a lot of amendments offered in committee, including the finance committee where i serve, democratic members, republican members. the final vote on the floor, it was not a bipartisan vote as we know. a huge issue that we're trying to address, the delivery of health care to 300 million americans. and there was not -- even for those who supported the legislation, we realized it was not perfect and that we're going to have to come back at some point of time and make changes to it. democrat, felt that way. republicans, independents felt that way as well. we ended up not coming back and making modest amendments or tweaks to the legislation but at the end of the day we ended up with a battle here over repeal,

initially repeal the a.c.a. and later on repeal and replace. but i -- i felt proud of the work we'd done on the a.c.a. knowing it's not perfect. i always look forward to coming back shortly after we adopted it actually and do some tweaks. i felt the same way about dodd-frank, the banking legislation that we passed after the great recession, again, about seven or eight years ago. the -- i would just remind everybody, especially our young pages here today, they were probably about seven or eight years old at the time. and what happened is we fell not into a burning ring of fire but we fell off a cliff. the unemployment rate shot up to 10%, banks stopped lending money to send kids to school. a lot of people to buy a car or house, credit was shut off for businesses as well. unemployment rates skyrocketed. our economy was like locked up and we felt we had to do

something and what we tried to do was figure out how we ended up in that mess in the first place and what had gone on is that people who wanted to buy a house were not creditworthy, ended up being loaned money by banks across the country to buy houses. in many cases the appraisals for the house weren't worth the paper they were written on. the folks, the borrowers, were not worth the paper it was written on as well. we add unqualified people trying to buy property they were unable realistically to repay their loans. it all worked just fine until we went into a slump and unemployment rates started to go up. people found it more and more difficult to make their paymen payments. in the olden day, i remember the first houses -- where we lived when i was a kid, my parents borrowed money for a mortgage from a bank. they paid it off to that bank. i remember thi when they paid of

the mortgage of the house. my sister and i grew up as little kids in danville, virginia. it was a big deal. i remember my dad took the mortgage and burned it up outside, not inside our house. by seven or eight years ago, a lot of people, whenever they borrowed their money from a bank, the bank sold that mortgage to somebody else, oftentimes to fannie mae or freddie mac. fannie mae and freddie mac would package those mortgages into a security that could be sold to investors in this country, investors around the world. as long as housing prices continued to rise, everything worked fine. when they stopped rising and started falling, a number of those mortgage-backed securities were riddled almost like swiss cheese with bad mortgages. and as more and more people failed to be able to pay their mortgages, the mortgage-backed

securities lost their value, and those investors around the world who invested seriously in mortgage-backed securities got scared and it started to spiral down from there. that was really -- not the only reason we got into burning ring of fire all those years ago but it was a big reason. part of what we saw with dodd-frank is to make sure that didn't happen again. we'll make other mistakes. we're not going to make that mistake again. and the legislation was passed, again not everybody was for it. i voted for it, helped to write some of the provisions in the bill. but i knew at the time -- and i think we all did -- that anything that big, a massive change in our banking regulatory approach in this country was going to have to be tweaked and revisited just like the affordable care act. and it's taken a while, our republican friends for the most part, they were interested -- not all, probably not including the presiding officer -- were interested in repealing

dodd-frank. i was interested. i think the majority of the folks on our side were interested in fixing the provisions that needed to be fixed but not to throw the baby out with the bath water. i -- the legislation before us today was reported out of the banking committee not unanimously, reported out i think last fall. and the chairman of the committee, mike crapo from idaho, his name is on the bill. i'm going so spend some time here today to talk about what it does and what it doesn't do. if the bipartisan bill before us today becomes law, 90% of dodd-frank will remain unchang unchanged. let me say that again. if the banking bill before us today becomes law, 90% of

dodd-frank would remain unchanged. the legislation authored by senator crapo and a number of others does not touch o some of dodd-frank's most important reforms, and some of those most important reforms include the consumer financial protection bureau remains. financial stability oversight council, the financial stability oversight council which works to identify and to address overarching threats to the financial system remains. the regulations cracking down on risky derivative trading remain. and the ability of the fdic to wind down failing complex institutions through liquidation authority remain. under this legislation, the federal reserve would retain the

authority to apply enhanced standards to any bank over $100 billion in assets. in addition, banks over $100 billion would still be subject to numerous regulatory requirements. among those requirements included one meaningful stress test, to increase capital requirements to provide a cushion in tough times and bad times. and third to leverage liquidity standards. i have a number of charts. i have more charts here today than i think i have ever brought to the senate floor, mr. president. i promise we'll be done by sundown. it will seem that long, but in reality it won't be. i want to start with claims made about the bill and then talk about the reality. in one of the claims is that

this bill would gut wall street reform, which was passed after the national crisis to prevent another global meltdown. that's the claim. here's the reality. this bipartisan bill makes targeted commonsense fixes that will provide tangible relief to community banks and credit unions while leaving in place the rules and regulations that will keep wall street accountable. before we look at the next claim, mr. president, like you, i do customer calls all over my state. you have a big state, i have a little state. i visit businesses large and small. you maim it, hospitals. i -- you name it, hospitals. i make customer calls every week, clufg -- colluding the -- including the credit unions. for years during those customer calls, visiting credit unions, for years visiting community

banks, especially in the central and southern part of our state, they say to us, we didn't create the financial meltdown that led us to the great recession yet we bear the burden of the regulatory reform for that meltdown. it wasn't our fault, and we need -- you know, we need a lot of the regulation that was adopt in dodd-frank, but keep in mind, credit unions, community banks didn't cause the problem, yet they beared part of the burden fixing it. let's see. another claim. this bill rolls back stress test requirements for all big banks. i'll say it again. this bill rolls back stress test requirements for all big banks. that's the claim. here's the reality. this bill continues to require stress tests for all banks over $100 billion in assets. that would be the largest financial institutions. that's the reality.

claim. this bill does nothing to protect consumers. that's the claim, the bill does nothing to protect consumers. here's the reality. this bill actually creates new protections. it provides free credit freezes and allows year-long fraud reports. it allows parents to turn credit reporting on and off for minors. it provides free credit monitoring for all active-duty service members. i'm was -- i was a navy captain, the presiding officer was a colonel. one thing that senator coons and i insisted on was free credit monitoring for allative-duty service members. another reality is that this bill encourages banks to report suspicious behavior that they become aware of. now, that's a little bit of

claim and reality. i could go on that, but i won't. i'm going to actually turn to the words of other people, not my own. starting off with questions from senator jon tester of montana, who is a senior member of the banking committee. the first question he is asking is, it was asked last november and he asked the person who would be nominated to the federal reserve. it was james powell. he was nominated with 80 or 90 votes. but he asked then governor -- not a governor of the state but within the federal reserve system. he asked jay powell, this bill is eliminating the volcker rule compliance for community banks that have less than $10 pl in

assets as long as they have less than 5% in trading assets and liability. any sensor? now he asked now federal chairman james powell, do you have any concerns? and james powell said, literally two or three months ago, none. none. senator tester went on to ask federal reserve chairman, i think it was february of last year, and he asked -- senator tester is a farmer and in montana. he says to jay powell who is not yet chairman of the federal reserve but is now. senator tester says, but i'm a dirt farmer. i read things as they are and don't read a lot of extra stuff into it. you're the man in the fed so i need to know your opinion and senator tester goes on to say to jay powell, does this bill,

senate 2155, does it require the federal reserve to weaken any of the dodd-frank enhanced prudential standards for the f.b.o. such as deutsche bank, u.b.s. or barclays? jay powell said it does not according to the text -- i would say the text of the bill. next. senator crapo, who has put together this bipartisan legislation that led the way with a lot of help from senator tester and others. senator crapo asked, this is a hearing from last july. he is asking, the woman who is the chairman of the federal reserve. i think janet yellen did a great job. senator crapo asked chairman yellen, there appears to be

growing consensus that congress should consider changing the $50 billion sifi threshold ; also, changing the volcker rule, exempting certain institutions from company-run stress testing requirements and reducing the burdens on community banks and credit unions. he went on to ask her. do you agree that it would be appropriate for congress to act in each of those areas? that's what he asked her. do you agree that it would be appropriate for congress to act in each of those areas, changing the volcker rule, and reducing the burdens on the community banks and credit unions. do you believe it would be appropriate for congress to act? what did she say? she said four words. i do. i do.

who do we have? and again in february of last year, federal reserve chairman janet yellen on the volcker rule. she said, yes, let me reiterate what i said there. it is important to look for every way we can to mitigate the regulatory burden. what we've suggested previously and i would reiterate with respect to dodd-frank is that congress might want to consider exempting community banks from the volcker rule. that's what she said last february. the person who was in the federal reserve, governor daniel tarullo. this was dan last april who also we are indebted to for the job he did at the federal reserve.

governor tarullo said that we have found that the $50 billion in assets threshold established in the dodd-frank act for banks to be systematically important, and thursday subject to a range of stricter regulations, wags set too low. he said the fact that community banks are subject to all of the dodd-frank act seems unnecessary to protect safety and soundless, and quite burdensome on the very limited compliance capabilities of these small banks. dan tarullo's words. here are the words from former federal reserve chairman paul volcker who i got to know when he was in the house of representatives. he was on the federal reserve and i was in the banking committee. here is what he said.

these are his words of february 21 of this year. he said, i'm pleased that the senate banking committee has forged ahead with meaningful bipartisan financial reform to ease the unnecessary regulatory strain on small banks, helping them to flourish as an engine of economic prosperity. he doesn't agree with every single word of the legislation before us, but he concluded by saying, i thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important piece -- this is a letter to senator brown, i believe -- i thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important piece of legislation and look forward to its swift passage. let me read that again. did i read that right? i thank you again in a letter to senator brown. i thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important piece of legislation and look forward to its swift passage. that doesn't mean he agreed with

every single sentence and paragraph, but he looks forward to its swift passage. we need to keep that in mind. former banking committee chairman, barney frank, on whether dodd-frank needs reforms. this is a year ago. he said, quote, of course. on the $50 billion cinch fi threshold, he said i think it should be changed. he believed it was too low. again, from former congressman barney frank, former chairman of the banking committee. this is november of last year. if this bill became law tomorrow, well over 90% of the wall street reform bill would be unchanged. he goes on to say the consumer financial protection bureau, the strict regulation of derivative trading, the orderly liquidation

authority, the risk retention requirements on securitizations and most other provisions would remain in full force. we're almost done here. i thank my colleague from vermont for his patience. former chairman barney frank on relief for community banks. this is in an interview on cnbc. with regard to banks under $10 billion, some of them are spending more money than they should complying with provisions that were never really intended to apply to them and i understand that. the volcker rule which says that large banks should do more to lending and less der derivative trading, which i think is a wholly good thing, a number of the -- small banks which never did and i would agree to raise the $10 billion threshold. this is one from the bipartisan

policy center recently. the words of -- to the folks from there. as u.s. politics descends ever further into politics, there is signs that old-fashioned legislating is not dead. this week, the senate banking committee will mark up one of the first significant pieces of financial regulatory legislation in years with real bipartisan support. these are not major changes. yet, taken together they are constructive and should provide greater incentives to extend credit particularly on main street and small businesses make the financial system safer. this is from the president and c.e.o. of the independent community bankers of america. the markup of this bill, s.2155, is a rare opening for real and impactful relief that will pg strengthen economic growth and creation and consumer

protection. it is the culmination of years of collaborative efforts to achieve consensus among members of congress and all members are encouraged to vote yes. finally, this is the bill from the leader and present c.e.o. of the national credit union association. in his words, this bill includes credit union-specific provisions that provide meaningful regulatory relief, a sign that policymakers are paying close attention to the needs of the credit union members. we thank senator crapo and his colleagues for working across party lines to advance regulatory relief legislation that benefits community financial institutions and look forward to continuing to work closely with them as this legislation works through the legislative process. i look forward to taking up this important legislation. i am a