>> this week, live coverage from the us north korea summit between president donald trump and north korean leader ran for starting tonight and joined washington journal tuesday and wednesday morning for analysis and your comments. wac-span and cspan.org or listen using the free c-span radio app. >> the senate gambling in the work on defense programs and policy for 2019,voting at 5:31 starting formal debate on the bill. 60 , they will work on amendments during the week .

mitch mcconnell will pass bob dole as the longest-serving republican leader in senate history. tenure of 11 years, five months and 10 days. now i coverage here on c-span2. >>

for us all. god of mercy and truth, we are pilgrims in this world. through the saving power of your redeeming love, empower us to live for your glory. we pray in your merciful name. amen.

the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r.

5515, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 442, h.r. 5515, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities for the department of defense, for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strength for such physical ka year and for -- fiscal year and for other purposes.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. mcconnell: later this afternoon, mr. president, the senate will move to begin considering the john s. mccain 2019 national defense authorization act. our colleagues on the armed

services committee have spent months engaged in thorough work and bipartisan collaboration. now the whole senate will take up their legislation and vote on a plan to deliver on the most pressing needs of our armed forces. congress has passed defense authorization acts for 57 consecutive years -- 57 consecutive years. in doing so, we've taken steps to fulfill one of our most fundamental constitutional responsibilities, authorizing the funds that our men and women in uniform require to keep us safe. this year's ndaa arrives as our nation faces significant challenges. challenges like an emboldened iranian regime and its continued support of destabilizing forces in the middle class. -- middle east. challenges like a new era of great power competition as russia and china expand their

capabilities, but building on a time-honored process, this year's defense authorization will help our nation rise to meet these challenges with cutting-edge tools, top-notch training, and revitalized readiness. it's one of our most important jobs here in congress. the 2019 defense authorization is the top item on our to-do list and we'll tackle it this week. meanwhile, other important work is under way at the committee leve, chairman shelby and our colleagues on the appropriations committee are laying the foundation for a productive summer. last week, they reported out appropriation bills to fund the departments of transportation, housing and urban development and veterans' affairs as well as important military construction projects. this week they'll proceed to finalize measures for interior and environment, commerce, justice and science and the

legislative branch, and i look forward to taking up these appropriation bills right out here on the senate floor. now, on another matter, today marks another important milestone in our effort to cut back the forest of red tape the obama administration left behind. effective today, thanks to the leadership of ajit pai, the f.c.c. has rolled back unnecessary regulations that democrats imposed on the internet back in 2015. let's put this whole effort into perspective. the federal registry is the government's legal newspaper. it prints, among other documents, the regulations that federal agencies enforce and the proposed rules on deck. in 2016, under president obama, it had to print nearly 39,000 -- 39,000 pages of rules, an all-time high, and another 21,000 pages in proposed rules.

39,000 pages o rules a another 21,000 pages of proposed rules in 2016. it's hard to wrap your mind around that. 60,000 pages of rules and proposed rules to pile on american workers and job creators. well, we slashed those numbers in 2017 in that first year of our republican government, the total number of total registered pages for rules and proposed rules plummeted by more than 50% -- 50% less in 2017 than in 2016. this is a significant slowdown in the federal government's red tape factory just in our first year. this is part of what we were elected to do, get washington,

d.c., foot off the brake, let hard americans and small businesses shouldering obstacles put up by the government. this regulatory reform is on top of the historic tax reform legislation we passed last december. we overhauled our nation's tax code and voted so that businesses can expand, invest, and create jobs more easily and so middle-class families can keep more of what they earn. and this 180-degree policy turn around is helping the u.s. economy rise to its highest height in recent memory. today, thanks in large part to tax reform and regulatory reform, more small businesses are saying it's a good time to expand operations than any point in the last 44 years -- in the

last 44 years more businesses are saying it's a good time to expand operation than at any point in the last 44 years. that, mr. president, represents a 25% -- percentage point lead in the number of americans who say now is a good time to find a quality job. and 3.8% unemployment, the lowest nationwide level, in 18 years. the real roots of good news aren't here in washington. republicans understand that government does not create prosperity, but policy plays a big part in determining whether the wind is blowing in our faces, the faces of the job creators or whether it's at their backs. and on that front, the results of this republican opportunity

agenda are literally speaking for themselves. the presiding officer:mr. mccone absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president, are with near a quorum call? officer we are. mr. schumer: i ask that the quorum call be dispenses with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, this week the senate continues its consideration of the john s. mccain national defense authorization act. among important provisions related to our military readiness and operations abroad, the ndaa presents crucial opportunities to address other matters of national security.

in addition to the critical improvements to cfius we must make in this bill, one of the most concerning issues is the decision by the trump administration last week to reduce the harsh penalties previously imposed and then provide relief to the chinese telecom giant z.t.e. lifting restrictions on the company and allowing it to continue to sell its products in the united states. z.t.e. was guilty of asraeuding s. sanctions on iran and north korea and lying to u.s. officials about it afterwards. asked about the decision to relax penalties, president trump's trade advisor peter navarro said, quote, it's going to be three strikes you're out on z.t.e. why are we giving z.t.e. three strikes? if you purposely asraeud u.s. -- evade u.s. sanctions and lie about it, it's reason to bring

the hammer down. ifool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. it seems president trump was outmaneuvered by z.t.e. again. congress should reverse what the administration has done by reinstituting harsh penalties on z.t.e. and do it on the ndaa billwill t be on floor this week. now you might ask why is this related to defense? this is the defense bill. well, it's precisely related. cybersecurity experts, national security experts, principal government agencies, the republican-led f.c.c., republican-led f.b.i., republican-led pentagon have all deemed the sale of z.t.e. products in the united states a national security threat. even if they hadn't violated sanctions, even if they hadn't lied about it, they shouldn't be here. this gives the chinese government, which in many ways, many ways takes advantage of the

united states militarily, economically and spying on us by cybersecurity, it gives them a great opportunity to get right inside all of our communications. here's what dtor christopher wray, appointed by president trump, had to say. quote, we are deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any compan or entity that is beholden to foreign governments to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks. that provides the capacity to exert pressure or control over our telecommunications infrastructure. it provides the capacity to maliciously steal or modify information, and it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage. undetected espnage. the head of the f.b.i. says that's what allowing z.t.e. in america will do. that's the nation's chief law enforcement, a republican, appointed by president trump,

testifying that z.t.e.'s technology is espionage. what the heck are we doing cutting a deal with china, which is no friend of ours on economics, stealing our jobs, stealing our intellectual property, letting them into the u.s. so they can have a window on hearing what our companies, our defense department, and everyone else is doing? does that make any sense? i don't think so. that's why we've had bipartisan support and concern. i want to salute senators cornyn and rubio and senator cotton. their views and mine are not 9 same on a whole lot of issues but on american security and letting china spy on us, we are the same. i'd urge the republican leader and the leaders of the bill to include a bipartisan amendment offered by senators cotton and van hollen to reverse the

agreement made by the administration and prevent it from being able to provide z.t.e. relief for at least a ye. we have to do this. you know, if they write a book, god forbid this country declines, and if they write a book on it, this will be one of the key points. we have a chance to stand up to china, to protect our national security, to tell the chinese they can't keep taking advantage of us. and we're going to back off for no stated good reason. because clearly, secretary ross has said the deal that he's put in is a good one, forget about it. it's weak as a wet noodle. fining them $1 billion. they don't care. they're backed by the chinese government. putting some outside observer on the board. come on, they won't know what of's going on because the chinese government controls just about all the big companies in china. so i hope we'll stop this.

now alongside the consideration of the ndaa, we're told the majority intends to see the confirmation of more judicial nominations during this work period. in the next few weeks the senate's likely to take up two highly controversial nominees. thomas farr for the eastern district of north carolina and ryan bound for ninth circuit seat in oregon. thomas farr has spent a lengthy legal career defending the interests of corporations against workers. that seems to be a trademark of so many of the nominees of this administration and this republican senate. he is not once but twice defended the gerrymandering of congressional districts by north carolina's republicans. and probably worst of all, he defended north carolina's restrictive i.d., voter i.d. law which, quote, targeted african americans with almost surgical precision. and that's not some politician's

word. those are the judges of the fourth circuit court of appeals, a rather conservative court. for somebody who target african americans and say let'sake it leely they ve and give them less power is everything -- is such a grand step backward in this country. no matter what state you come from. north carolina, new york, oregon. and we're going to put this guy on the ben shame on us. shame on us. and, by the way, the only reason farr can be considered for this nomination is an obama nominee, jennifer may parker, was blocked for nearly three years via the blue slip. our republican friends used the blue slip, kept this seat vacant and now they've undone the blue slip in an act of partisanship, narrowness, and enmity in this country. and now they're going to fill it

with someone like mr. farr. again, shame. like mr. farr, mr. bound is also controversial. recently learned that bound had some rather offensive writings that he failed to disclose to the bipartisan judicial advisory committee established by senators wyden and merkley. that certainly validates their decision to withhold the blue slip. but despite the opposition of both, both home state senators, the majority is moving forward. in doing so, they will further erode the century-old blue slip tradition that they themselves used to block an unprecedented number of nominees when obama was president. net neutrality. on another matter, the republican-led f.c.c.'s repeal of net neutrality goes into effect today. the rules enacted by the obama administration to bar large internet service provides from charging customers more for

certain content are gone. the rules to bar large internet providers from slowing down certain websites are gone. the rules ensuring an open, free internet with a level playing field for small businesses, public schools, rural americans, people without a lot of money, communities of color are gone. democrats tried to forestall this day by writing and then passing a c.r.a. act through the senate, bipartisan. some republicans helped us. couldn't have passed it without them. and then as a unified senate caucus, democrats sent a letter last week urging speaker ryan to schedule a vote, which i believe would have been passed had it been put on the floor of the house of representatives. but ryan refused to bring up the companion legislation to restore net neutrality. once again, as our republican friends in the senate and house and the administration have done over and over again, siding with

the big powerful special interests -- in this case internet service providers -- over the average person, who is sort of powerless. how many of us rail against our cable bills? how many of us feel helpless when it comes to getting that cable bill? well, this increases the power of the same people. do our republican friends really want to do that? i guess so. let me put it this way. by refusing to bring up the senate-passed resolution to restore net neutrality, house republican leaders gave a green light to the big internet service provides to charge middle-class americans, small business owners, schools, rural americans, poor people, communities of color more than they did before. with the exception of three brave republicans in the senate, it should be crystal clear to the american people that republicans in congress chose to protect special interests. finally, i want to address a bit of news on health care.

on thursday evening the trump administration made a startling announcement. it would no longer p defend the constitutionality of protection for americans with preexisting conditions. the decision is a shameful capstone in the trump administration's years' long campaign of sabotaging our nation's health care system. it is the most dangerous, most potent example of sabotage to date. even as premium increases hit double digits in state after state because of republican actions. if the trump administration gets its way, our entire health care system will be thrown into chaos. a mom goes to a health insurance company. my daughter has cancer. we're not going to fund you. she goes to another one. we're not going to fund you. the mother suffers. her family suffers. their child is agonized, dying with cancer, and they can't get insurance now because the trump

administration is no longer saying we're going to protect people who apply with preexisting conditions. what is going on here? what is going on? and our republican friends do nothing. the one thing i can tell you is this health care is going to be the biggest issue in 2018. it's far more important to the vast majority of americans than any other issue. it's far more important than the tax cut they get because for most americans, whatever they got back in tax cuts, or many, many, many americans -- my guess is most -- the amount they got back in their tax cut is a lot less than the amount their premiums are increasing. and it's a killer for small businesses and others that want to insure their workers. president trump, when he ran explicitly repeatedly said he's going to protect folks with preexistingonditions. he's once again undone what he

promised. he has dropped the ball on health care, letting middle-class americans, average americans, working families pay an awful, awful price. i yield the floor. aator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, madam president. i just want to follow up on what the democratic leader was just making reference to with net neutrality. today is the day when net neutrality rules are just gone, even though there is a way in which we, the congress, can put them right back on the books. that's what happens in the senate. just three weeks ago we voted by 52-47 to put the net neutrality protections back on the books to ensure that they would be there for every american. and now, as senator schumer was

just pointing out, the ball is in the court of the house of representatives, republican-controlled house of representatives. we passed net neutrality here in the senate on a bipartisan basis. senator murkowski, senator collins, senator kennedy of louisiana, they voted for net neutrality. we know, as senator schumer just said, that if the vote was taken right now on net neutrality in the house of representatives, it would win. we would be able to put those protections back on the books. so, millions of people rose up throughout all the last six months of last year. 22 million of them contacting the f.c.c., ajit pai chairman of

the f.c.c. ignored those 22 million people and by a vote on the federal communications commission they took net neutrality off of the books. in other words, they officially stripped consumers of t protections that have allowed our economy and our democracy to flourish. now americans will have to blindly trust their cable companies, their broadband companies, their internet providers to protect them against discrimination. it's big cable's dream come true. they have already won at the f.c.c., but now the counter revolution is underway. here in the senate, it's already

happened. what we need to do now is to have this same level of energy, those millions of americans targeting the house of representatives, telling them that they want net neutrality, that they want nondiscrimination principles, that they want equal protection for the smallest voices, the smallest companies to be the law of the land. net neutrality. so we need entrepreneurs, we need job createors, we need small businesses, which are the lifeblood of the american ecto bonomy probtd againsthe natural -- to be protected against the national industry to prop up expenses. you don't have to make my word

for it. just looking back over recent history before net neutrality provisions were codified we saw in 2007 comcast was slowing down a website that allowed consumers to share video, music, and video game files. in 2007 to 2009, at&t forced apple to block skype and other competing services from using at&t's wireless network to encourage purchasers to use more voice minutes. in 2011, verizon blocked google wallet for those from developing and promoting another item. woe know it is just a matter of time before these companies

exercise their unfettered right to begin discriminating. these powerful corporations historically protect themselves and they neglect consumer issues. they prioritize profits, they disregard service, they pocket their profits and every day americans lose. there will be no eulogy for net neutrality here on the floor of the senate today. the f.c.c. will not have the last word when it comes to net neutrality. the american people will. we're going to have a tsunmai of americs contact their members of the house of representatives to demand a vote on net neutrality the same way we had that vote here on the senate floor. we know that when that vote takes place, that the american people are going to win, that net neutrality is going to win.

too many people think today that this whole idea of discrimination is back in vogue, that you can start talking about it in a way that has neen a part of o culture for a generation, but it's back. in a lot of ways net neutrality is part of that whole discussion of whether or not the american people get protected against discrimination. so we now have enhanced urgency because the rules of the f.c.c. are now final and net neutrality is no longer the law of the land. that is what happened today. the chairman of the federal communications commission, ajit pai, is today taking his victory lap. he's so proud of what has now happened that net neutrality is taken off the books despite

22 million americans saying they wanted them to stay on the books. but he's what we know. consumers don't trust their cable and internet companies to do the right things unless strict rules are in place to protect everyone in our country. we know that when you take a domestic advertised platform and you add american ingenuity, you get economic growth, you get innovation, you get democracy online, and that's what this fight is all about and this fight is far from over. we are going to intensify our efforts to ensure that there is going to be a vote on the floor of the house of representatives. conventional wisdom thought that it was all over last december, that once the f.c.c. voted 3-2, it was over.

well, they didn't in any way anticipate the 52-47 vote here on the senate floor to reinstitute net neutrality three weeks ago and they are underestimating dramatically the response of americans all across our country descending electronically on the house of representatives, on the congress that yet -- has yet -- the part of congress that has yet to vote on these issues. so we're going to see millions of teachers, students, entrepreneurs, small business owners, activists mobilize to protect the internet. they demonstrated on the streets, they wrote letters, they made calls, signed petitions, they posted on social media. that is what we are going to continue to see. already 170 members of the house of representatives have signed on to the discharge petition, which is a technical term that

says call for a vote on the floor of the house of representatives to vote on net neutrality. the momentum is building. they need18 they are at 170 right now. there are 48 members of the house of representatives short of winning over there. so the pressure is going to intensify every single day, especially since net neutrality is now, as of thisomt, taken off the books. and, by the way, this fight's being waged at the state level as well. in california, the state senate voted 25 of this 12 -- 25-12 to reinstitute net neutrality two weeks ago. in new york, massachusetts, washington, oregon, state after state, they are rising up. they are saying if the federal government won't protect us, then we will protect ourselves. so we know that influential

lobbists aren't going to go away, but the american people aren't going away either. there this is their -- either. this is their government. this is where they expect their will to be respected. when net neutrality is taken off the books, an issue that polls at 86% of all americans, the will of the american people is not being respected. there is nothing more powerful than the voice of americans working together with a common mission, and that is to restore net neutrality to the books so that today the -- so that today the campaign to restore the internet to save the internet enters a new phase. the urgency has never been higher, but the intensity level across the country has never

been higher. today is not a day for a eulogy for net neutrality. the fight has just begun and we thank every senator who has already voted for net neutrality, we thank every american who has worked toward that goal, and now let us redouble our efforts because we have to turn this into a campaign issue in 2018 that matches all of the other issues that are driving the agenda of our country. madamresident, i thank you, and i -- i yield back to you and to the chair and i question the presence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: madam president, i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: madam president, a recent study from harvard suggested that the actual death toll in puerto rico as a result of hurricane maria could be as much as 70 times higher than

what was previously reported. in fact, the study which was released two weeks ago suggests that the death toll could actually have been in a range from 800 all the way up to close to 8,000 deaths. that's compared to the official fema count of 64. recently, i was with the former governor and now father of the present governor. the former governor pedro roseo, and he shared with me that a george washington university study is under way to more accurately count the deaths resulting from the hurricane, but there's no reason why there

should be among u.s. citizens such a discrepancy in these reports, and the latest findings are just another stain on the federal government's overall response to the ongoing disaster in puerto rico, which has not been too stellar. the people of puerto rico are our fellow american citizens. they have a right to know exactly what happened on the island as a result of not just one massive storm but the second one had hit as well. they have a right to know exactly how many of their friends and neighbors lost their lives as a result of this disaster and exactly what the federal government is doing to

prevent such a tragedy from happening again. that's why senator harris of california and i have introduced a bill to create a better way to track the number of deaths caused by a disaster. the legislation would require fema to work with the national academy of medicine to develop a new uniform system for local, state, and federal officials across the country to use more quickly and accurately to be able to determine the number of deaths by a disaster like hurricane maria. not only will this bill help to provide some semblance of closure to the families affected by devastating events, but it

will also ensure that the areas that are hardest hit by these disasters are getting all of the disaster assistance that they are entitled to, including funeral assistance which can help uninsured families afford the cost of burying their loved ones. this legislation that senator harris and i have filed is just one more step in our overall effort to help folks recover from the storms from last summer, and i am urging our colleagues to work with us to get it done. but, madam president, the people of puerto rico aren't the only ones still working to recover from last year's storms. while we are now officially

already in june in the midst of this year's hurricane season, there are still too many communities in florida that have not received the hurricane recovery funds that congress passed back this past february. hurricane disaster assistance appropriations, it's june, we passed it last february, and it's still not out the door of the agencies. that's 122 days, that's about four months. folks are hurting. they would like to have the disaster assistance money that we appropriated. these communities, this is unbelievable.

they're not just waiting for money from hurricane irma from last year. they are waiting for hurricane hermine and murk matthew from two years ago. this senator has repeatedly called on the administration to do more to expedite these funds to do for those who need it most by getting the funds to them. however, our calls, our requests, they go unheated. we have fishermen and farmers whose livelihoods are being threatened, and their assistance is being slow-walked. some of whom may have to close

up their businesses if they don't see relief soon. specifically, communities in the florida keys were especially devastated. the eye of the hurricane went over about 19 miles up the chain from key west. those on the northeast quadrant of the storm got it the worst, around big pine key. they're still waiting for some of their assistance that was due for that hurricane last year. their homes that are still not repaired and there are canals that are still full of debris. and according to a recent article in the "miami herald," only $600,000 in fema reimbursements has been deposited to monroe county which

is the florida keys so far. well, that's just unacceptable. how are these communities expected to prepare for the 2018 hurricane season if they don't have the funds that they were due from a year ago? so i am again urging the trump administration toee this as the emergency it truly is and finally release the funds to those who so desperately need them. these communities can't wait any longer. congress acted and now it's time for the administration to do its part. madam president, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. a senator: i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection.

a senator: madam president, if my time in the united states senate, i tried hard to make certain that rural america, rural kansas in particular, but all of rural america has an advocate and we work hard to make certain that colleagues from across the country understand the important issues that we face in small towns across kansas and around the country. mr. moran: today i want to talk about an opportunity we have that i think will be most beneficial to those of us who come from places like you and i do. i rise today to speak in support of mickey bowman. she was nominated recently, has had a hearing in front of our banking committee to be a member of the federal reserve board of governors. tomorrow our banking committee will consider her nomination. i want to make certain that my colleagues on the committee but certainly my colleagues in the united states senate understand how valuable mickey will be as a member of the board of governors

of the federal reserve board and to uerstand her qualifications. she's a native of small town in kansas. she is a native of morris county and the beautiful part of our state. and she received a degree from the university of kansas as an undergrad and then a law degree fr the university in topeka. she is a rural american, and her talents brought her to washington, d.c. she served at the federal emergency management agency, the department of homeland security and the u.s. house of representatives transportation and infrastructure committee, the house government reform and oversight committee as a staffer as well as in the office of senator bob dole, one of my predecessors in the united states senate. like many of the kansans i've known who come here to washington, d.c. to work, have come here over the years, she found her way back home to

kansas when she returned to her hometown and became the vice president of the farmers and drovers bank in 2010. in 2017, miss bowman became the state bank commissioner for our state where she is currently responsible for overseeing hundreds of state chartered banks, trust companies, money transmitters, and other nondepository entities. miss bowman is precisely the kind of person i envision to fill the community bank representative on the board of governors. the federal reserve act now requires, and we worked hard to make sure this was the case, now requires that the president, quote, appoint at least one member with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks and those banks must have less than $10 billion in total assets. well, the farmers and drovers bank in counsel grove, kansas is

a $175 million bank, well below the $10 billion threshold. so miss bowmanot only qualifies by the cry syria -- by the criteria of the statute, she is a banker, but she's also a supervisor as exemplified by her role now as our state banking commissioner. and if that isn't enough, just those qualifications, i've come to know mickey bowman as a forthright, intelligent, quality individual with a demonstrated record of service to her state and her country and service to her community. those who know community, what i call relationship bankers, know how important their role is in a small town in kansas and across the country and the perspective she brings to the table as a banker, regulator, as a public servant, mother, community

leader is exactly the kind of perspective that i think our country needs, our economy needs, at the federal reserve board. i look forward to voting to advance miss bowman's nomination tomorrow morning in the banking committee. and i urge all my colleagues to support her confirmation when she's considered by the full senate in the near future. madam president, i yield the floor. mr. gardner: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: thank you, madam president. as the eyes of the world are fixed on singapore, i rise today to discuss another important development in our nation's diplomatic effort, in the indo pacific. tomorrow we will open a new chapter in the relationship between the united states and our long-standing friend and ally, taiwan, by opening the newcomb flex of the american -- new complex of the american institute in taiwan or a.i.s. which serves as a de facto united states embassy in taiwan. you can see the strong foundation, bright future, this

incredible new facility we have in taiwan to replace the existing facility that we have. i'm pleased that marie royce, the assistant secretary of state for economic and cultural affairs will attend the ceremony on behalf of the united states along with my colleagues senators rubio, inhofe, and cornyn. i sent a letter and have called for a cabinet-level official to attend the ceremony as well. but there's a lot of things going on in asia on the 12th of june. the opening of this state of the art complex comes at a most opportune time as a demonstration of strong u.s.ort r the people of taiwan. i join my colleagues in congress in welcoming this new facility and thanking the men and women of our foreign service in taipei and around the world for their service to our nation. the new a.i.t. facility will cultivate the relationship between the united states and taiwan and further demonstrate the united states' commitment to bolstering its friendship and commercial and defense partnership with taiwan. today i also announce that i'll

be introducing a resolution welcoming the new a.i.t. complex and i encourage my colleagues to cosponsor this resolution over -- to express our support and excitement for this new facility. taiwan is a free democratic and prosperous nation, a place of 23 million people and an important contributor to peace and stability around the world. in many ways taiwan should serves a the model for a tree and open indo pacic. the taiwan relations act of 1979 which governs our unofficial relations with taiwan calls, quote, to preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the united states and the people of taiwan. the taiwan relations act also unequivocally states that it is the policy of the united states to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of the people on taiwan. since the election of president

cy in 2016, taiwan has been under unrelenting pressure in a shameful to undermine the fragile status quo between beijing and taipei. in the last month alone, taiwan lost two diplomatic allies, the dominican republic and burr kenos for sow. they've been shut out of the world health assembly due to pressure from beijing. despite this decision, despite this treatment, taiwan has nevertheless made a very generous donation of $1 million to the health organization to help ebola-related efforts, relief efforts. it's time for the united states to aggressively push back against beijing's effort to undermine a free taiwan. two weeks ago i had an opportunity to visit taipei and meet with the president and thank her for her fridship in taiwan's valuable contributions to global peace and stability. i think that friendship can be seen in this new a.i.t. facility. i introduced two bipartisan

bills in the senate that will enhance u.s. relations with taiwan and send a very strong message to beijing that the united states will never, the united states will never abandon our friends in taipei. the first bill is the asia reassurance initiative act or aria, which is a bill that presents a new comprehensive policy framework for u.s. policy towards the en-- indo-pacific. we introduce arian 2014 with a group of bipartisan sponsors including senators markey, rubio and cardin and young. aria recognizes that taiwan ould bfront and center in our indo-pacific strategy. aria states that it is the policy of the united states to faithfully enforce all u.s. existing commitments to taiwan p. as enlined in the taiwan act of 1969.

aria also authorizes the sale of advanced weapons, weapon parts and upgrades to taiwan consistent with u.s. law and urges the president to regularize the arms sales process with congress. it authorizes high-level diplomatic contacts with taipei, consistent with the taiwan travel act which was signed into law by president trump on march 16, 2018. last week "the wall street journal" editorial board endorsed aria including writing that the bill, quote, notably encourages regular weapon sales to taipei. mr. president, i ask at this time that "the wall street journal" editorial titled "china's military escalation" dated june 4, 2018, be inserted into the record. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. a senator: i also filed tipa act with senator murphy. this act establishes it should be the policy of the united states to support taiwan's participation innate appropriate

organizations to instruct u.s. representatives in international organizations to use the voice and the vote of the united states to support taiwan's inclusion in appropriate international organizations around the globe and to direct the prendnt his representatives to raise taiwan's participation in appropriate international organizations during relevant bilateral edge gaugements with the government of the p.r.c. mr. gardner: i call on my colleagues to support both of these important pieces of resolution, efforts to show our strong support for the people of taiwan. there's much more than we should do to enhance our relationship with taiwan. i call on the administration to take owl efforts allowable to enhance our relationship with taipei. the opening of ts new facility, is this new a.i. ty complex tomorrow, is a great sign of our friendship. just a few hours from now, a great sign of friendship and commitment from the united states. and i congratulate all those that have made this possibl know senator rubio was on the floor today to talk about this

and the important support the united states continues to show for taiwan. but i'll finish on this before i yield the floor. in my conversation with president tsai, i talked about how taiwan really is a great leader that we should learn from and recognize and value their leadership around the globe. the million-dollar contribution they made to combat ebola-related issues is one -- just one small signal that they have an important role to play on the world stage. and i hope that our allies, our allies around the globe will continue to engage taiwan as appropriate and to make sure that they have that strong international voice that they currently sometimes feel to be lacking today. so i encourage our colleagues to stand up to support taiwan, congratulate a.i. ty on this new complex and look forward to engaging taiwan even more as we move forward. i yield the floor.

mr. rubio: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: i want to start by thanking the senator from colorado, who has taken real leadership on the subcommittee that involves all these matters regarding the indo-pacific region and he's here on the floor today to talk about a series of other measures in place. none of us will be able to be in taipei tomorrow to attend the ceremony. but we all want to take this opportunity-to-a pplaud the -- to applaud the opening ceremony of the compound. this building will be so much more than a new offic space. it will serve as a tangible symbol of the strong and enduring friendship between the united states and taiwan, which is a democracy and a strong ally of this country. taiwan is not just an important economic and security partner. as i said already, it is a very vibrant democracy. it has a prosperous free-enterprise economy, a shining example of what we hope the rest of the indo-pacific

region will continue to be and become. the opening of this new office comes at a critical time when both the united states and taiwan face major challenges that are posed by the communist party of coalmine, which governs -- of china, which governs that country. under the communist party, beijing has increased its efforts to undermine and erode u.s. interests, even it is a moves to isolate tie wasn't on the international stage. the chinese government, for example, has successfully blocked taiwan's meaningful participation in many international organizations. for example, the world health organization. they have, unfortunately, here in our own hemisphere been successful in pressuring certain nations to cut their diplomatic ties with taiwan and instead create new ones with beijing. by the way, that's not taiwan's position. but it is beijing's that makes

you choose. the latest, by the way, is the our coast, where in exchange for billions of dollars of assurances, they made that change -- they'll deny it. but you will see the billions coming in. they bring their own workers from china and it is all a one-way street. it's all that's right to benefit china. go look around the world at all of these countries that have taken all this money, five years, three years later, terrible terms, good for china, bad for the country that took the money. in this particular case they were successful and they're going to continue to chip away at these countries. about a year ago before then panama cut their ties with taiwan. what china has made very clear is that their intention is to continue to both pressure and entice -- and i say entice; probably the right word is bribe -- additional countries to do the exact same thing. they do if it with -- they do it

with the promise of loans. go and look at the history of these loans and enticements and investments. you'll see how bad they ultimately are for the country that accepts them. theyll come with troubling strings attached. the chinese government by the way has even been success until in bullying american companies when it comes to taiwan or other topics, for that matter, that they deem too sense stiff to the communist party. perhaps the most recent outrangous example is an american working in america -- not in china, in america for an american company, marriott hotels, was fired from his job because he accidentally liked a tweet that said something about taiwan and tibet being independent of china. so imagine, you work for a company, you go online. you accidentally retweet something or like it and you get fired because china goes to marriott and says, we'll cut you

off from doing business if you don't get rid of this g they fired an american in the united states. so if you think things that are happening halfway around the world in taiwan, they're happening to americans right here. a few weeks ago one of the clothing stores -- one of the clothing stores put otoa t-shirt -- put out a t-shirt. it had a map but didn't include taiwan. they had apologize for that and call back all the t-shirts or they were going to get kicked out. united airlines was told that unless they change their website so that it no longer referred to taiwan as an independent country, they would be punished. so they are intimidating american businesses in the united states because of taiwan and other issues which the communist party finds unacceptable. and for far too long this aggression has gone unchecked. china must not be allowed to continuing to interfere any further in taiwan's relations or standing with the rest of the world.

so earlier this year i, along with numerous colleagues, passed a law that the president has signed. it's called the taiwan travel act. and it encourages high-level visits between american officials and their taiwanese counterparts. i hope the administration will move quickly to begin implementing this and send high-level officials, including cabinet-level officials, to taipei to meet with our counterparts there. our friendship with taiwan is based on our shared ideals and the common vision of an asia that is prosperous and peaceful and free. the united states must, should, and i hope will continue to stand by taiwan, irrespective of any pressure that others, including the communist party of china, may bring to bear on this relationship. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, first of all, i comments that were -- the comments that were

made by my friend from florida are right on target. i recall -- it would have been 30 years ago, a story -- a book was written called "modernizing china" by anthony kubek. everything they said at that time that was going to happen in the future has now happened. there have been deleters in the freedoms that china has never known. then when you go and see what is happening all the way around the world right now with china seeing -- we're in the south china seas where they're building all of these islands down there. and our allies down there believe that they're preparing for world war iii. so it's really serious stuff. but, anyway, we're going to be voting in a few minutes on what -- on moving forward on the bill th arguably every year is the most significant bill of the year. year. it's passed now for 57 consecutive years. and we're anxious to get to the

john s. mccain national defense authorization act. it's our hope, as we consider the bill that week, that we can have an open amendment process, just as we did during the committee markup, where we considered 300 bipartisan amendments. i'm joined here by senator reed, who is the ranking member on the senate armed services committee, and we're all in agreement on a lot of things, one being an open amendment process. we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to offer their amendments. and, unfortunately, it's difficult sometimes with the rules of the senate because people can object to anything, then everything stops. but on this, i can't imagine this is going to happen because of the significance of this bill. we can't overstate the significance of the ndaa, legislation that prioritizes modernizing our forces. there's widespread agreement that we need this legislation. and just looking at some of the headlines just this weekend,

"the washington post" had an article about how the pentagon fears we aren't keeping pace with china and russia in the area of hypersonic weapons. hypersonic weapons are weapons that move at five times the speed of sound, and we're actually behind both china and russia in developing that capability. we can say the same thing about the triad nuclear progress. we've done virtually nothing in the last ten years while we've watched china and russia go beyond us. and of course these are the things that we are addressing. on memorial day, the "oklahoman" discussed how china and russia have artillery capabilities. artillery capabilities are generally looked at in terms of rapid-fire and range and they're ahead of us in both of these areas. so this idea that america has the best of everything is something that most people believe, and we've fallen behind and we need to not be critical

of how we got behind. that's not important now. we know where we are. woe know that -- we know that we can start with this bill and we are going to be having the motion to advance the bill. and met me say this. during the consideration of this bill in our committee, we had well-attended meetings. we've had -- we actually considered 300 amendments during the course of these -- of the consideration in conference -- on the floor to bring it to the floor out of committee. and it passed unanimously. so it's something that we worked very closely together. senator jack reed and i worked very closely. we had very few disagreements, and i think we both agree on one thing -- we've got get the bill done. we want to have an open-amendment process. if for some reason there's a lost objection to that -- a lot of objection to that, we will express ourselves and hopefully

we'll be successful at that. with that, i just would thing senator reed for the cooperation we've had from not just senator but his learship the committee so we can -- so we've come to the point where we are today. mr. reed: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. let me extend my thanks to the senator from oklahoma. his cooperation, his leadership, as he indicated very accurately, we on a bipartisan basis considered numerous amendments. we were virtually unanimous at the conclusion of the committee deliberations in terms of bringing this bill to the floor. his staff and the democratic staff were working all weekend to prepare a package of amendments which we think can be accepted unanimously as an initial step in the process, a managers' package. and then, like senator inhofe, i would like to see a process

where we have a series of amendments from both sides, adequate time to debate the amendment and then a vote on the amendment as they move forward. and then be able to do so at a -- in a very deliberate, thoughtful way and reach, we hope, in a timely mr a point where we have discussed the major concerns all of our colleagues, voted on many of them, and then asked for a final passage of a bill that is w und- and each year we've done so and la begin to set us on a path to conference with the house of representatives and then a final conference report here. once again i want to thank the senator from oklahoma and concur that we would like to see, and so far his cooperation, his leadership has engendered the cooperation so that we can have a series of andments on the floor. and with that, i would yield the

floor. mr. inhofe: and i -- the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: let me make one more commentecause it's not very often we come with a really significant piece of legislation that everyone agrees on. everyone agrees we have to have it; there is no question about that. and i would say this also has the support not just of myself with senator reed, but also with the leadership and the minority and the majority leadership in the senate. and the one thing that everyone agrees on is an open amendment process. it's frustrating, and i'd ask my friend from rhode island, if he agrees with this, that under the senate rules one person can really make it very difficult. in fact, one person can preclude us from having any votes on amendments because that's the way the senate works. and last week we experienced that on thursday. we wanted to advance the bill at

that time, to bring it forward. and because at least one individual was making a demand that his amendment be heard. and so i'm hoping it would discourage people from doing that. and i think senator reed would join me in encouraging our members to bring their amendments down, to start moving this on before something happens that obstructs the progress that we anticipate we're going to be having. mr. reed: i do concur with the senato from oklahoma. thank you. we have both in our careers here in the senate seen debates on the floor on the ndaa that were the course of several days, that produced very sound legislation. and then we see situations in which, frankly, no amendments could be offered because almost immediately we were in a position of deadlock, and the majority leader, republican or

democrat, filed the final cloture motion and suddenly were on final passage without amendments. i think the bill is gd. think there are many issues, important issues we can debate. we might disagree on the outcome of the vote, but that debate and that vote would be very critical to the national security of the united states. so i do in fact concur with the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: you know, there are se issues that, where we're going to have a partisan difference. we already pretty much know where they are. and there will be -- there are going to be some controversial votes, and that's fine. that's the way it's supposed to be and this is a good way to settle it. i recently came back from afghanistan, kuwait, and a lot of places where we have our troops. and let me tell you, if we don't go ahead and get this done when we've already announced it's in the bill being done as we speak, we have an awful lot of troops out there that are going to really wonder are we really

supporting, offering this support to them for these guys that are out, gals that are risking their lives and do the things, the heavy lifting. we are anxious to get started, and we will have the vote shortly. we'll get on the bill. i'd like to go ahead and start in on amendments. hopefully that will take place. with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: through the presiding officer, i'd like to talk to both of our leaders and thank them for the work they have done. and i too look forward to having numbers of amendments. i think many people here are aware that i have an amendment that deals with the 232 tariff issue, and i know there's a lot of interest in that amendment. we have actually strong bipartisan support from a range of very respected senators. there has been a blue slip issue that's been raised.

i was asked by senator inhofe and also senator mcconnell to solve the blue slip issue. i want you to know we talked to the parliamentarian and i do plan to ask unanimous consent after we vote to move on the bill for a very short paragraph to be consented to that would then solve the blue slip issue and then cause my amendment to be able to be heard without in any way tainting the bill should it move across the senate floor to the house. i've given that language to the well. i know they're going to talk to laura dove and gary a little bit about it. i want to make you aware as a courtesy that i do plan after we move to the bill to ask unanimous consent on something that should be totally unobjectionable and that in no way prejudices my amendment in a favorable way. it just allows us to move to it without having the blue slip issue that's been raised. mr. inhofe: let me make one comment about this. first of all, the senator from

tennessee, how much i appreciated the courtesy that he's expressed and the way you dealt with it and talked about your interest. i think you and i actually had a disagreement on the content of one of your interests, but nonetheless we talked it over and we'll have a chance to iron those things out. but i do want to thank you for not running in and objecting and making it difficult for us to get our jobs done. mr. corker: thank you. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. all time is ex peered -- expired. the question now occurs on the motion to proceed. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is -- there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: have all senators voted? any senator wish to change their vote? on this motion the yeas are 91. the nays are 4. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the bill. the clerk: calendar number 442, h.r. 5515, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities for the department of

defense, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. inhofe: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: i call up amendment number 2282. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from oklahoma mr. inhofe proposes an amendment numbered 2282. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. inhofe: i send a modification to amendment number 2282 to the desk. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. the amendment is modified. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i call up amendment number 2700 on behalf of senator toomey. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky mr. mcconnell for mr. t numbered 2700 to amendment number 23282. -- to amendment 2282. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i call up amendment 2756 to

amendment number 2700. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the cletor from rhode island mr. reed, proposes an amendment number 2756 to amendment 2700. rdrd i ask consent the reading -- mr. reed: i ask consent the reading ed of amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. a senator: i call up amendment 2366. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent further reading of the bill be dispensed with. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection.

the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, for the information of all senators, we have just worked out a managers' package with the majority and majority leaders that includes the text of 44 bipartisan amendments and the modification, and the modified substitute amendment. those 44 bipartisan amendments are as follows: rounds number 2273. rounds number 2275. inhofe number 2278. reed 2283. warner 2285. fischer 2286. shaheen 2291. feinstein 2293.

peters 2313. gillibrand, 2335 as modified. heitkamp 2338. smith 2340. cardin 2347. wicker 2351. inhofe 2353. menendez 2360. cortez masto 2367. hoeven, 2368. perdue, 2380. heller 2392. inhofe 2402. sullivan 2408. nelson 2424. and hoeven 2446. -p inhofe 2449. gardner 2430. collins 2436. young 2463. cruz 2469. nelson 2489. wicker 2503.

manchin 2508. the roberts 2513. cotton 2514. udall 2547. stabenow 2537. don fischer 2554. cardin 25262. rubio 2564. reed 2636. schumer 2757. menendez 2683, and smith 2523. mr. corker: mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. corker: mr. president, i had a conversation with senator inhofe and senator reed earlier to talk a little bit about

resolving a blue-slip issue. i think many members here are aware that i wan to offer an amendment that deals with our ability to weigh in on tariffs that are put in place under se232 ofhe tra act. national security issues. i think we may have found a resolution to that, but i don't want to offer it right now, then senator inhofe not knowing yet whether there works for him or the committee would have to object. i don't know if that would be the case. i want to continue to work on this. i'm not going to offer an amendment and a statement thereof relative to this. with that, i don't see anybody else on the floor that wishes to speak. i will also ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, june 12. further, that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the date for the two leaders be

reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. i further ask that following the leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of h.r. 5515. finally, i ask that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. corker: 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 the presiding officer: the >> the senate has been talking about the 2019 defense authorization bill. it sets defense department policy and programs for the next budget year. it allows up to $760 billion to be spent on those programs. we have live coverage when senators return here on c-span2.

>> watching c-span is starting tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern for the live coverage of the summit between president donald trump and north korean leader kim duncan. at 4:00 a.m. eastern live coverage of present am supposed summit press conference. watch live on c-span and c-span .org or listen live using the free c-span radio app. >> tonight on "the communicators" former fcc chair tom wheeler talks about the end of net neutrality. he is interviewed by david mccabe, technology reporter for x yes. >> it has shifted to legislation or there is some on the hill who would like it to. to think is possie to legislate this issue? >> well, david, it's fascinating

that the republican position was this was something that congress ought to decide in now when congress has an opportunity to decide with the congressional review act that has passed the senate in a bipartisan way and is now pending in the house that the republicans in the house and industry are saying no, congress should be separate. look, if the chairman of the fcc has the courage of his convictions that what he has done is right to for america and will stand up to a vote in the congress hehto pick up the phone, call speaker ryan and say schedule it for a vote in the house and let's see what the representatives of the american people say. >> watched "the communicators" tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2