and you live in a big state and a very -- in a very rural part of america, it's still -- it still means that you should get the benefits that you've earned as a veteran. so, mr. president, a number of things in the bill, the v.a. mission acted that we just passed focuses on the unique elements of alaska. let me a couple of examples that are now in the law, in legislation, and it's going to be signed by the president here in a couple of days. the bill requires access to community care, non-v.a. care where the v.a. does not operate a full service facility in the state. well, there's no full service v.a. facility in alaska. so would this enables our veterans to do is to get care from other medical service providers, particularly our members, our veterans who are in some of the more rural parts of

the state. it has a specific alaska fee schedule. when there's reimbursement by providers because health care costs are structurally so much higher in my state and transportation costs, there's a fee schedule the v.a. uses in this bill that's just for alaska. it continues the ability for the v.a. to have travel-sharing agreements with members of tribal organizations that again have very far reach, provide excellent care to so many alaskans, both alaskan natives and nonnatives. by the way, alaskan natives serve at the highest rates in the military than any other ethnic group in the country. incredible patriotism from those constituents in my state that we're all very, very proud of. the bill creates the standards for timely payments to community

care providers. so one of the big challenges we had in the v.a. is that non-v.a. medical providers provide care to veterans and then the v.a. doesn't reimburse them for months. this causes enormous challenges, including collection agencies calling the very veterans that got the care and service. completely unacceptable and we're trying to change that, and this bill will do it. and finally, mr. president, a bill that i had with senator tester from montana was called the serving our rural veterans act. this is now part of the broader bill. and what this does is it creates v.a. residency programs in states like alaska, like montana that don't have medical schools, where there are very few residency programs. studies show when doctors go do their residency, well over 50% of those docs stay in the state where they do their residency

programs. so that's a great advantage if you have a lot of residency programs. well, we don't. and so what this bill does is it sets up a pilot program by the v.a. to work with native health organizations, d.o.d. health organizations, and establish residency programs through the v.a. where we can get doctors to alaska who will do service for our veterans and then stay. so those are just a few examples, mr. president, of how this bill not only helps our veterans nationwide but certainly helps the veterans in my state. of course, the implementation of this bill is going to be key. one thing that concerns me, to be frank, is that right now there's very little leadership at the highest levels of the v.a. as a matter of fact, we've had four secretaries in four years. we need to start putting established, secure leaders in

the v.a. to start implementing this important piece of legislation. we will continue the oversight role in the congress, but this is a good start. mr. president, more importantly, this bill also sends a strong message to our veterans throughout the country that the senators in this body, democrats and republicans, are focused on them, have their back as do americans all across the nation. and this is what i wanted to talk about for the remainder of my remarks this afternoon. looking at on the eve of memorial day weekend and reflecting for a little bit here on the senate floor about the ebb and flow about how we as americans have treated our veterans and memorialize their service, because that's what this weekend is all about. now, we know and we continue to

always have celebrated our world war ii veterans. and the over 400,000 americans who gave their lives defending freedom. that's who we're thinking about this weekend. during world war ii. from ticker tape parades when they came home to honor flights that continue today, this greatest generation of americans both living and dead have received the respect and honor that all of our veterans should have. and with good reason. with good reason. they literally helped -- their sacrifice saved the world from authoritarian takeovers, whether it was nazi germany, imperial japan so we've always had the greatest generation up here in terms of how we view them, how we memorialize them, the

veterans and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. then just five years later, mr. president, came the korean war. and the respect that we gave to the tens of thousands of veterans returning home from korea, it started to decline. started to decline. something akin to benign neglect. many parts of american society during that time seemed as if they didn't want to be bothered with what was going on in korea. or didn't want to thank about -- to think about the tens of thousands who were killed in action, the over 8,000 who are still declared missing in action, and the over 100,000 american service members wounded in the korean war. this is reflected even today in the name that many historians have given this conflict, the

forgotten war. the forgotten war. now, mr. president, i've never liked that phrase. i think it's actually border disrespectful. the better way to memorialize the sacrifice of our korean war veterans is in the words etched into the marble of the incredibly moving korean war memorial in washington, d.c. just a few miles from here. that memorial, memorial for those who haven't visited it, i highly recommend you do. for those visiting washington, particularly on this weekend, it's great to go down there. but there's a simple phrase there. freedom is not free. freedom is not free. and if this weekend means anything, it's the importance of that phrase on the korean war memorial. that memorial also states, quote, our nation honors her

sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met. if you want to see an example of american bravery and what it meant, just take a look at the difference between north and south korea today. there's satellite photo, it's very famous. it shows the korean peninsula at night. the north is dark, even today, dark. the south is full of light and vibrancy and energy. and the reason that happened, the reason that happened to this day is because of the bravery and the service and sacrifice of american military members. these are all powerful words on the korean war memorial in washington, d.c., and to me the rightful tribute to that war and

our veterans shouldn't be called the forgotten war. it should be called the noble war. because think about what our men and women did. as i mentioned, sent overseas to, quote, defend a country they never knew and a people they never met and to this day our troops are on a peninsula right now keeping the peace, 28,000 of them. so we had this benign neglect in the korean war, mr. president. and then what happened? well, then came the vietnam war. and we all know what happened and yet to this day, we really don't know why it happened. our country kind of went off kilter and in terms of the honor and respect, we showed our vietnam veterans and their wounded and fallen comrades, america hit rock bottom. world war ii here. korean war, benign neglect.

vietnam, disgraceful conduct. to the men and women serving in the military. we've all heard the stories. they're sad. they're tragic. we've all heard the stories of young men and women who went to serve their country and fight overseas in vietnam, come home to protesters, being spit on, called baby killers. i remember hearing about one such episode from a senior marine officer when i was a young marine, infantry lieutenant. he came home from combat. met his dad at the airport who was a world war ii veteran. he was in his service outfit, green uniform that the marines wear, sea bad over his shoulder. dad was with him.

came outside of the airport. some protesters there. someone threw red paint, paint on him and his father. think about that. a young man and his dad who just came home from fighting in vietnam, that's what he got. but, mr. president, here's the amazing thing and it's why our country owes such a debt of gratitude to our vietnam veterans. instead of being racked and incapacitated by bitterness and anger, these veterans did something amazing, something remarkable. they set out to make sure that future veterans of america's wars and their fallen comrades would receive better attention and better treatment and better respect than they did. they made it their mission in

life that we as a nation would once again honor our military like we honored the veterans coming home in world war ii at the highest level. that's what they did. and here's the amazing thing. they succeeded. they succeeded. and we need to really be thinking about our vietnam veterans and our vietnam killed in action this memorial day. again, for those who haven't been there, you want to go to a moving memorial about america's war sacrifices, war dead, there's nothing more moving than the vietnam war memorial. and i've seen this throughout my own military career. as someone who's seen what our vietnam veterans have done for the next generation of veterans,

when we've come home from doing our duty, it's the vietnam veterans who are there making sure that the current generation of american soldiers, american warriors, gets the respect and honor that these veterans never got. let me give you one example. many years ago i was commanding a marine recon unit in alaska. i had one of my soldiers, one of my sergeant, one of my marines, a great marine, who was killed. and we had a memorial service, a small memorial service for this young marine sergeant at fort richardson. it was outside. we were in our dress blues. it was a very somber service. four guys pull up on harley davidsons, motorcycles. they're older. they just pull up on their bikes

and they just sat there through the whole service. very, very powerful presence. and at the send -- and at the end of the service, they came up to me. i was a captain at the time. and they asked if i was the senior officer there. i was. and i just asked them, thanks for coming here. what are you doing here? did you know my sergeant? and they said no. we just read about the service in the paper today, and we wanted to be here to show our respect and honor for this young marine sergeant. think about that. vietnam vets who weren't treated well at all when they came home making sure one marine corps sergeant in alaska got the respect and dignity that he deserved as a veteran.

our vietnam vets use their painful experience to become our nation's guardians of military respect, honor, and dignity. so right now, where are we as a country? well, i think we're back at that high level. i think we're back at that high level of not only respecting members of the military, veterans, active duty, reserves, but certainly our wounded and fallen warriors. and, mr. president, it's in large measure because of the efforts and sacrifice and courage of our vietnam veterans. so we can't thank them enough. and as alaska's senator, i'm so honored to represent so many veterans and so many vietnam veterans. what i think is important here on the senate floor to talk about, again as we move in

memorial day weekend, let us resolve not just as a community in places like alaska but as a country, as a senate, that we will always -- always -- stay at this high level of respect for our fallen and our veterans and their families, and particularly those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and the men and women, wives, husbands, children they have left behind. i think it's also important that even though we're back as a nation at this very high level, you always hear it -- you always hear it. it's always in the background where some start to question the service and sacrifice of america's military. you've heard it a little bit when isis was running amok in iraq and syria, and you heard

some people say, geez, we took these place with a lot of blood and treasure. now they have avenue fallen to terrorist -- now they've fallen to terrorists. was that worth the cost to the young men and women who died in those battles? that our soldiers, marines, sailors die in vain? i think it's really important to answer that question right here on the senate floor, and it's something i hope we can all agree on. no american who's ever worn the uniform of our country to fight for freedom and defend our nation and die for this country, whether at valet forge, iwo jima, ramadi, fallujah has ever -- ever -- died in vain. mr. president, we always need to

remember that, particularly as we're coming upon memorial day weekend. and i just want to thank again all the members of the military, their families who protected our freedom for centuries and will continue to do so. we're working hard in the senate to make sure our veterans are taken care of. this v.a. mission act that we just passed is going to the president's deck for his signature -- desk for his signature as part of that commitment, that sacred commitment we have to our veterans and their families, and i want to thank them all as we come upon memorial day weekend. i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk should call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. warner: mr. president, i ask that the proceedings of the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. warner: mr. president, i

rise today to call attention to the important efforts made each day by our public servants. at the beginning of this month, this very body honored our public servants is by passing a resolution marking the first week of may as public service recognition week. we need to do more to continue that sentiment year-round. but on the same day the senate passed the resolution honoring our public servants, congress received a letter from the administration looking to use federal employees to solve our budget problems. with cuts to retirement and freezes in pay. is this really in the best interest of our public servants? is this really the best messaged to attract and retain the best and the brightest to work across agencies that keep our government running? that's why today i want to continue the long-stand something tradition of honoring exemplary federal employees,

tradition that was begun by my friend, senator ted kaufman from delaware. it's my hope that the stories of these five virginians will remind my colleagues and the administration that public servants go to work every day with the sole mission to make this country a better and safer place to live. first, i'd like to acknowledge steven curran. in his capacity as director of the division of resilience at the department of health and human services, he coordinated the national response to help protect public and private health care computer systems from the worst effects of wannacry, a global cyber attack that threatens patients' health and safety. his team applied existing processes for dealing with physical disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes and adapted them to prepare for a cyber attack response and they continue the critical work necessary to improve the

collaboration on cybersecurity with private health care agencies and the public. next, i'd like to share a bit about guy demater, the f.b.i.'s first ever data scientist. in his work, guy develops the technological solutions to organize the bureau's data and has helped the f.b.i. to track down child predators, identify bank-evading sanctions to assist against counterterrorist investigations, and to guard against internal threats. his innovative strategies are efficient, cost effective and have been a crucial part of increasing our national security. third i'd like to recognize the work of matt nims, the acting director of the office of food for peace at usaid. under matt's leadership last year his office distributed emergency food and nutrition assistance to 20 million people

facing severe hunger and starvation in yemen, somalia, south sudan, and northeast nigeria as a result of the drought extreme poverty and violent armed conflicts. matt's team used data from usaid's famine early warning systems network to anticipate food shortages before they became full-fledged crises and then developed innovative ways to deliver food, plan and manage food distribution and keep up with the day-to-day challenge of working under difficult and dangerous conditions saving countless lives. next i'd like to recognize andy neil. andy is the branch chief for actuarial and catastrophic modeling at fema. we have all seen the devastating effects of floods across the country, but what many don't know is that the national flood insurance program provides critical financial help to

victims of hurricanes and other storms. by the end of 2016, the program was $25 billion in debt. in response, andy led his team in an unprecedented effort to persuade private reinsurers for the first time to assume some potential flood damage liability. they were extremely successful. the government paid 25 private insurance companies $150 million in premiums in 2017 and the insurers ended up covering more than $1 billion of the $#.6 billion in claims to policyholders in the aftermath of hurricane harvey and has accrued even more coverage for 2018. last but certainly not least, i'd like to recognize david hizinga, the principal assistant deputy administrator for the defense nuclear tpho*b --

nonproliferation at the national security administration. in his everyday work david confronts some of our most pressing international threats, formulating national security policy, monitoring compliance with nuclear agreements, and working with other nations to safeguard nuclear stockpiles and reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism. in the past three years, david has worked to remove nuclear material from poland, georgia, kazakhstan, japan and ghana, relying on international counterparts to make the world more secure. here in the u.s. david and his team have also worked to reduce the amount of radio active materials used in medical and commercial applications. a federal employee for 28 years, david's work as a nonproliferation expert is widely respected in the u.s. and around the world. i hope my colleagues will join me in honoring these outstanding

individuals as well as government employees at all levels around the country for their excellent work and their commitment to public service. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk should call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are.

mr. markey: may i ask for a vitiation of the quorum call? the presiding officer: absolutely. mr. markey: thank you very much. i learned that word at my sophomore year in catholic school, latin derivatives to be used as latin. you don't get to use it as often as you like, so i'm glad i'm in the senate. as we head into memorial day weekend and the summer driving season, gas prices are up nearly 25% since president trump took office. that means american consumers are paying $350 more per year to fill up than under president trump. and here's why. number one, president trump's

incoherent foreign policy has been exacerbating the geopolitical risk premium on oil prices and driving them up. and president trump's decision to withdraw the united states from the iran deal is further roiling oil markets. because of these actions that increase risks around the world, gas prices could keep going up even more this summer. i call this the trump oil risk tax. and its impacts are being felt right now. the oil risk tax completely wipes out any tax savings from the republican tax scam for the poorest americans. the lowest 40% of earners are projected to get roughly $200 this year from the g.o.p. tax plan. that is eliminated obviously by

the $350 more that they are paying now to gas up, thanks to donald trump's policies. donald trump loves having his name on things. towers, steak, universities. now his name is associated with higher gas prices for every american family. reason number two, but while consumers are getting tipped upside down at the gasoline pumps, oil companies are benefiting from a $25 billion tax cut this year alone from the g.o.p. tax scam. that is on top of the $7 billion to $8 billion a year that they get in permanent tax breaks and also free drilling loopholes. so all of that is on top of the $25 billion of tax breaks this

year alone. and is big oil using those g.o.p. tax giveaways to help drivers across america? no. they are using it to buy back tens of billions of dollars worth of their own stock. big oil companies are using this tax windfall to pump up their own profits rather than to help consumers at the pump. reason number three, the u.s. is exporting historic amounts of american oil even while we remain dependent on opec and the middle east. exporting u.s. oil is only a further giveaway to big oil. we are now exporting more than 2.5 million barrels a day of u.s. crude overseas, even while we are still forced to import that exact same amount, 2.5

million barrels a day, from opec in the middle east. and we are sending our oil overseas to benefit foreign nations, like china, which is getting a quarter of u.s. oil exports. why would we send our oil overseas instead of keeping it here to help our consumers and our security? well, because big oil stands to see $500 billion in new revenue over the next 20 years as a result of u.s. oil exports, all because they can charge more for u.s. oil overseas. they make more money if they sell it to foreigners than if they sell it to u.s. citizens, u.s. consumers. exporting american crude means that our consumers are more vulnerable to supplies and more

closely tied to rising international prices. reason number four, opec and russia are colluding to manipulate oil markets. in response to the millions of barrels a day of u.s. oil that we are exporting, opec, russia, and other nations are working together to simply cut their production by an equal amount. you don't need to be robert mueller know that collusion is going on between russia and opec to boost oil prices and hurt american consumers at the pump as they're getting ready for the memorial day. that is why i have introduced the opec accountability act. this legislation would require president trump to negotiate with opec, with russia, and

other nations to put an end to this cartel that is manipulating markets and harming american consumers. this legislation would further direct our trade representative to take action against any country in the cartel that refuses to stop conspiring to raise prices. president trump is doing nothing to hold opec and russia accountable. it is time for him to immediately begin negotiations with this cartel to put an end to their manipulation of the oil markets of the world, but also of the united states of america. and reason number five, the trump administration is attacking fuel economy standards that help consumers and reduce our reliance on foreign oil. the historic fuel economy

emission standards are 54.5 miles a gallon by the year 2025 that are currently on the books are projected to save consumers more than $1 trillion at the pump. they will reduce our consumption of oil by 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2030. reduce our consumption of oil by 2.5 million barrels a day by 2030. that's how much oil we import from opec every single day. why would the trump administration seek to eliminate all of the increases in fuel economy standards for the vehicles which we drive if they know that it will back out all of that imported oil from the middle east? you don't have to be a detective

to figure this out. they would do it at the behest of the big oil companies, the big auto companies, and the trump administration so that they can put these fuel economy standards in their crosshairs and the trump administration is in the process of making a u-turn and putting us in this new economy standard. that will mean that consumers pay even more at the pump, and it will mean that we are even more reliant on oil from opec and other foreign nations and unstable regions around the world. president trump likes to tout american energy dominance, but thanks to his policies, it is high gasoline prices that are dominating american consumers pocketbooks. president trump says that his

poll is america first, but the policies he is pursuing is putting russia, opec, and china first and american consumers less. it is time for this to end. it is time for us, in our country, to have a debate about this oil agenda. the president always says that he wants to have an agenda which is all of the above, meaning every energy source, but when you examine it very closely, it just comes down to oil above all. and we're seeing that, and the consumers are paying the price at the pump, and we need to ensure that everyone in our country understands who is responsible -- whose name is on this price increase, and that name is donald j. trump. his his oil policies, it is his

foreign policies that is creating this problem for every consumer as we head into the memorial day weekend and as we continue into the summer and into the rest of this year and next year. and so it is a very important issue for every american. they are going to feel it in their pocketbooks because the tax break that the president is tolerating is going to be completely wiped out by the high energy prices. it will go right to the koch brothers, right to big brothers, right to opec. if the president wants to do this, he should call up his pals in middle east, and he should call his pals in the united emirates. he should call his pals and say he wants this to end. that he wants there to be lower oil prices. that he doesn't want them to

take advantage of this tight american marketplace as we export 2.5 million barrels a day. it is time for us to understand what is happening to our economy. and ultimately it's not just going to be drivers at the pump, it's going to be businesses. it's going to be large and small who are going to be impacted by this, and it's ultimately going to have a supreme, negative impact on our economy, not for the oil companies, but for anyone else who purchases oil, which is everyone. mr. president, thank you for the time. i yield back, and i question the presence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk should call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations: executive calendar 848, 851, 852, 853, 854. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nominations. the clerk: department of state, david b. cornstein of new york to be ambassador to hungary. francis r. fannon of virginia to be assistant secretary. inter-american development bank elliott padruso of florida to be united states alternate executive director. department of state, jonathan r. cohen of california to be the deputy representative of the united states of america to the united nations and the deputy representative of the united states of america in security council of the united nations,

jonathan r. cohen of california to be representative of the united states of america to the session of the general assembly of the united nations. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, that no further motions be in order and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nominations en bloc. all in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations executive calendar 898 and 899. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nominations. the clerk: department of

justice, eric h. mcdonald of minnesota to be united states attorney for the district of minnesota. scott patrick for the eastern district of louisiana. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate or debate that if the confirmed the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, the senate be immediately notified of the senate's actions and any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nominations en bloc. all in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of executive calendar 859, 860, 861, 862, and all nominations on the secretary's desk and the

coast guard, that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and no further motions be in order, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the en bloc consideration of executive calendar 870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 876, 877, 878, 879, 880, 881, 882, 883, 884, 885, 886, 887, 889, 890, and all nominations on the secretary's desk and the air force, army and

manner corps, navy, that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, 826 and 827. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nominations. the clerk: corporation for public bawfting, ruby b. cal vert, laura grass of new york to be a member of the board of droarkts. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc, the motions to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, no further motions be in order and any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nominations en bloc. all in favor say aye. all opposed, say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, executive calendar 168, 169, 404. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk: nuclear regulatory commissions, amy caputo, jeffrey martin baron of virginia to be a member. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate vote on the nominations, en bloc, if

confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, that no further motions be in order and any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nominations en bloc. all may never say aye. all opposed, say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, executive calendar 865. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: department of defense, gregory j.slavonic of oklahoma to be assistant secretary. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate vote on the nomination, if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the president be immediately notified and any

statements related to the nomination be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nomination. all in favor say aye. all opposed, say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 3 99, h.r. 4910. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4910, an act to amend title 38, united states code, to provide outer burial receptacles for remains at national parks and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and

the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on veterans' affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 3663, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3663, a bill to designate the medical center of the department of veterans' affairs in huntington west virginia assed woody -- as the woody williams medical center. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 528, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution

528, designating the week of may 20 through may 26, 2018 as national public works week. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 529 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 529, promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of national minority health month, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i know of no further debate on the measure. the presiding officer: if there is no further debate, the question is on the resolution. all in favor say aye. all opposed say nay. the ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the resolution is adopted. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 531 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 531, expressing support for the designation of may, 2018, as national brain tumor awareness month. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for a pro forma sessions only with no business being conducted on the

following dates and times, and that following each pro forma session, the senate adjourn until the next pro forma session. friday, may 25, 11:00 a.m. tuesday, may 29, 9:00 a.m. thursday, may 31, 11:30 a.m. i further ask that when the senate adjourns on thursday, may 31, it next convene at 3:00 p.m. monday, june 4, and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the wier nomination. finally, notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. monday, june 4. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come

before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. commencement speaker at the u.s. legal academy in annapolis, maryland and our coverage begins 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. a couple of events on the venezuela presidential election. first we hear from mr. cruz serving on the national security administration and

later a conversation with a former president of venezuela national assembly 11:00 a.m. eastern. on c-span3 investigating russian transnational criminal organizations starting at 930 eastern.

>> a portion of the conference that the registrars of voters for los angeles and orange county talk about voting technology safety and other election vulnerabilities. the university of california irvine host the forum. >> thank you very much and thanks for coming. now that we are all suitably freaked out, we can talk about some solutions and listen to the computer science experts and engineers c