oil drilling. in the 1985 piece, "heritage today" titled offshore oil drilling good for the economy, great for fish. it lays out that the fear of the damage from oil spills is absurd. because, and i quote, snore disaster like santa barbara channel spill in 1969 when up to two million gallons of sepia colored oil bubbled up from the ocean floor covering hundreds of square miles of sea were not justified. fears about another disaster were not justified. and why? they said because offshore oil and gas production is carefully regulated. it went on to say every offshore operation plus include three blowout preventers and casings for drills, drills must be cemented into the surrounding earth, and they said oil companies must submit an oil spill continue juancy plan and that frequent safety

inspections, scheduled and unscheduled, further reduces the risk. tell all that to the crew of the deepwater horizon. what we learned when we investigated what happened at deepwater horizon and what happened at other drilling platforms all around the gulf was the exact opposite of what the heritage foundation put forward on behalf of the koch brothers and the fossil fuel business. what we really found out is that the blowout preventers were poorly designed and that they failed, an explosion sunk the rig, a sea floor gusher flowed for 87 days. that is three months, flowed for three months. and the associated press found in the leadup to the accident, the deepwater horizon wasn't carefully regulated. instead, a quarter of the required inspections were never carried out. it said the rig was allowed to operate without safety documentation that was required, that they had received five or six safety citations, the most serious of which in 2002

occurred when the rig was shut down because required pressure tests had not been conducted on the blowout preventer, the device, the very device that was supposed to stop the oil from gushing if things went wrong. now, the gulf coast is still trying to recover from this disaster. 48 million harvestable oysters killed. 50,000 to 80,000 birds killed. 56,000 to 166 sea turtles killed. a 51% decrease in the dolphin population. an estimated two trillion to five trillion newly hatched fish killed. and the list goes on and on and on, hardly the vision that the heritage foundation wanted to put forward. how does this web of deceit

work? just follow the money. since 1998, they have received a huge amount of support from the fossil fuel industry. $780,000 in donations just from one company, exxonmobil. over the course of a number of years, the koch foundation gave $7.1 million to fund their work. there was an additional nearly $5 million received from the claude r.lamm foundation, which happens to be one of the koch family foundations. heritage is also a member of the state policy network, a web of right-wing think tanks across the country that the koch brothers fund. koch money coming from every direction. this is the puppet, the heritage foundation is a puppet of the koch cartel enterprise. that's n only the tip of the iceberg of how this system works. you can trace back all the

pieces of the fossil fuel effort to mislead the american public, to lie to the american public, to spread doubts on actual scientific work. and we see ther connections all through the trump administration when the koch brothers say jump, the president of the united states says how high and does whatever they ask. they want scott pruitt as head of the e.p.a., well, that's who they are going to get. they want the congressman they championed throughout his career to be his chief diplomat, that is what they get. the presiding officer: the democrat's time has expired. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. if i can wrap-up in two sentences, i will say this web of deceit is enormously damaging to our nation. let's call it out. let's have an actual debate based on the science, not let the koch brothers do what the tobacco industry did and mislead the american public decade after

decade after decade to the great damage of the citizens of this great country. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that alex abdra webb be granted floor privileges prsm. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i spent time with several business leaders. we had a lively and informtive discussion about the economic growth in arkansas. much of our conversation was focused on forward-thinking ways to continue these positive trends. there was also a frank and

candid discussion about an issue holding our communities back, the opioid crisis. policymakers have been struggling to address the heroin and opioid epidemic. our state has been particularly hard by the national crisis. retail data collected from pharmacies shows that arkansas has one of the highest opioid consumption rate. we have the second highest prescribing rate in the country, enough for each arkansan to have one opioid prescription in his or her name. it's an issue that all of us, is it city leaders to lawmakers in little rock to our congressional delegation in washington, continue to work tirelessly to confront because we've seen how

pervasive this crisis is and how devastating its affects are. i know everyone who serves in this chamber is working just as feverishly with their state and local leaders to confront the crisis. that's why it was so important that we included substantial resources for a wide-ranging strategy to counter the epidemic, nearly $4 billion in the omnibus bill. this funding will be used to provide additional resources for law enforcement, continue important grant programs that help state and local governments offset the cost of opioid abuse, and also support research into opioid addiction and alternative treatments. we must ensure we are all doing all we can do to supplement state and local efforts to combat the spread of opioid abuse. unfortunately this is currently

not happening. the department of justice is hurting our community's efforts to get a handle on the crisis by withholding critical funds. the burn jag grant program was created more than a decade ago and local law enforcement agencies purchased essential equipment and support drug treatment and enforcement activities. it's the largest source of federal justice funding to help provide law enforcement officers with the tools and training to protect our communities. currently, d.o.j. is denying every state access to those funds because some communities and states are violating federal immigration law. this leaves states like arkansas scrambling to continue funding crucial safety programs. arkansas law enforcement agencies have received millions of dollars through this program to support training, personnel,

equipment, supplies, and information sharing. arkansas is eligible for more than $2 million in funding from fiscal year 2017 to help fund multijurisdictional programs like drug task forces. earlier this year i met with arkansas drug director kirk lane to discuss how crucial the program is to our state's efforts to combat opioid abuse. he stressed that limited funds stretches the task forces. matching funds from the state are running dry. so unless d.o.j. releases burn jag funds, the critical work done by officers that are part of these task forces to fight the opioid epidemic will be seriously compromised.

that's why earlier this year i led a bipartisan effort to express these concerns to attorney general sessions. we relayed to the attorney general that withholding these vital funds will have long-term, negative consequences for our communities. since we have not received a response with d.o.j., i raised the issue again with the attorney general at yesterday's appropriations subcommittee hearing. as i said to the attorney general when i speak with local law enforcement and county sheriffs back in arkansas, they all inquire about when these funds will be released and made available. while it may not seem like a whole lot of money, these grants make a huge difference. it subpoena often the sole reason that police departments in small opportunities are able to stand up a drug task force.

they are determined to get the money out and it is a high priority for him personally. it simply has to get done. i ask d.o.j. to rectify the situation quickly. with each passing day that local law enforcement is denied these resources, lives that could be saved are lost. while we look at new ways to tackle this problem, one step washington took years ago continues to help, the national prescription drug take-back initiative, spearheaded by the eda, -- d.e.a. has helped remove expired and unnecessary opioids from homes. research has found that the majority of opioid abusers get their drugs from friends and family, often lifting pills from a familiar medicine cabinet. removing them from homes helps reduce experimentation and overdoses. in early 2010, a coalition of federal and state law

enforcement officials, prevention professionals and private organizations launched an ongoing education program to encourage arkansans to monitor, to secure and dispose of their prescription medications. the coalition organized arkansas' participation in the national prescription take-back initiative and hosted arkansas take-back day collection events for eight years. despite our state's modest population, arkansas ranks 13th in the nation of total weight collected over a 14-statewide take-back effort events. that's a testament to the coalition's efforts. these events have produced the return of almost 132 tons of unlead in -- unneeded

medications, which amounts to over 400 million pills. this campaign gets unnecessary prescription drugs out of circulation and helping break the cycle of addiction in our communities. besides that, it is so important in getting rid of these prescriptions in the right way as opposed to just flushing them in the toilet where they get in our water supply. the next take-back event is saturday, april 28. there are more than 130 permanent dropoff sites across arkansas, and many law enforcement agencies hoes dropoff sites as well. i encourage arkansans once again to participate in this worthwhile event in full force this year. events like this, along with local, state, and national

efforts, to combat the opioid crisis need to be supported and strengthened if we are serious about ending this crisis. with that, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. corker: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: i think we're voting in two minutes. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. corker: i ask unanimous consent that it be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. corker: mr. grenell has a deep background in diplomacy and strategic communications, he received his master's degree in public administration from harvard university at the j.f.k. school of government. he spent eight years as pokesman -- spokesman to the united nations mission in new york and worked for every u.n.

ambassador appointed by president george w. bush. the german chancellor is scheduled to arrive tomorrow for a one-day working trip to meet with president trump. her visit comes at a time of heightened importance with a number of critical items on the agenda including transatlantic trade, the iran nuclear deal, and i think it is important to vote on this ambassadorship today. i hope that he will be quickly sworn in. thank you, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the preeches order, the question -- previous order the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote: vote:

vote:

vote vote: vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeas are 56. the nays are 42. 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 immediately notified of the senate's action. majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 673. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no.

ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, kurt d. engelhardt of louisiana to be united states district judge. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion 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 nomination of kurt d. engelhardt of louisiana to be united states circuit judge for the fifth circuit signed by 17 senators. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 690. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, michael b. brennan of wisconsin to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. 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 nomination of michael b. brennan to be united states sir cut judge. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 729. the presiding officer: the clerk is on the quo. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to the

clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, jewel m. carson iii of new mexico to be united states circuit judge for the tenth circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the dank rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of jewel m. carson of new mexico to be united states circuit judge signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 777. the presiding officer: the question on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the

nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, john b. nalbandian of kentucky to be united states circuit judge for the sixth circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. 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 nomination of john b. nalbandian of kentucky to be united states circuit judge for the sixth circuit sierched by 17 senators. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading of the names be waived and proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 780. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, michael y. scudder of

illinois to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion 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 nomination of michael scudder of illinois to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit signed by 17 senators. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading. names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar -- consider called 781. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. the ayes appear to have t. the motion is agreed to the clerk will report the nomination. the presidin.the clerk: nominate

judiciary. amy j. saint eve of illinois to be innocence circuit judge for the seventh circuit. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. 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 nomination of amendment j. st. eve of illinois to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit. mr. mcconnell: i ask condescenconsentthe reading of e waived. i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you. i ask unanimous consent the senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of a bill which is at the desk that provides alternative minimum funding rules for certain single employer plans maintained by a community newspaper. the bill be considered read a

third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. hatch: mr. president, reserving the right to object. the legislation in question makes a significant change to the pension funding rule that is narrowly written to only address issues considering a single retirement plan. there are a number of companies that have similar funding issues which are not addressed by my cool league -- colleague's proposal. i appreciate the work my colleague, senator murray has done and know there's ongoing bipartisan work on issues that her legislation addresses as well as other issues surrounding retirement plans. the committee with jurisdiction over these issues including the finance committee continue to work on bipartisan solutions but have not fully vetted the matter that my friend, senator murray, is putting forth today.

until they do so, it is not appropriate to move this measure forward. therefore, mr. president, i respectfully object to this unanimous consent request. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. hatch: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: