defense department programs and policy for 2019. amendments have been stalled over which amendments should get a vote. so, a final vote, which was projected to happen by the end of this week, is now likely next wednesday. unless senators can reach an agreement on the amendments. live senate coverage now here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. loving and ever-present god, we thank you for being our helper in the present and our hope for the future. we trust you to direct our steps with your providential power. forgive our slowness to

understand and our haste to question your purposes. guide our lawmakers. where there is perplexity, provide clarity. where there is sickness, bring healing. where there is doubt, give faith. where there is despair, bestow hope. hasten the day when the earth will be filled with your glory as the waters cover the sea. we pray in your loving name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance

to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., june 13, 2018. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i here by appoint the honorable rand paul, a senator from the commonwealth of kentucky, who will perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, my colleagues and i on the agriculture committee will mark up the farm bill today. it's a landmark piece of legislation that will benefit farmers and communities throughout our country. i'll have much more to say on the subject in the days and

weeks ahead, particularly when it arrives here on the floor. i'm particularly excited that the legislation being considered today includes provision from the hemp farming act of 23018 of which the -- 2018 of which the occupant of the chair is an original cosponsor which i introduced earlier this year. this will empower farmers to realize the potential for industrial hemp. i thank chairman roberts for his leadership and con frat late him and all of our colleagues on the committee for their bipartisan collaboration and the impressive bill that it has produced. now, on another matter, last week secretary of defense mattis met with our nato allies in brussels. he offered an important reminder. quote, threats to our collective security have not waned. in other words, it remains a challenging time to defend our nation, our interests, and our

values. secretary mattis has been consistent, our new national defense strategy makes this clear. though we face a constant threat from international terrorism, our nation must also enhance our capabilities for a renewed era of international competition between great powers. he, along with our senior military commanders, have shared this with congress time and time again. they have detailed our service member's pressing needs and explained the importance of steady resources in the face of evolving threats. we heard them loud and clear. earlier this year our bipartisan spending -- defense spending and delivered the largest year-on-year increase in funding for our military in 15 years. now it's time to build on this progress and pass our 58th annual defense authorization bill. this year's ndaa is rightly named for our friend and colleague, senator mccain.

it would authorize $716 billion to equip and train america's 21st century forces to meet and overcome today's challenges. as the iranian regime continues its aggressive efforts to expand its influence through -- throughout the middle east this power will help us in the region. as china continues to test the boundaries of its power in the pacific region the ndaa will extend the authority of the indo-pacific security mission and extend the reach of naval and air forces within the u.s. pacific command. and as russia persists in its efforts to destabilize western democracies and sow doubt into nato, this would enhance multilateral security cooperation throughout the alliance and give u.s. cyber command to disrupt, deter, and defeat cyberaggression. the legislation before us sends a clear message it our men and

women in uniform and tells them that this we have their backs. after years of uncertain funding and arbitrary spending limits, we have their backs. in the face of diverse and evolving threats, we have their backs. when i vote, i'll do it to tell the brave kentuckians serving at home and abroad that we have their backs. i would hope that each of our colleagues does the same. this bill was crafted in a thorough, bipartisan committee process and includes 40 amendments. i look forward to concluding this and passing this ndaa very soon. and on another matter, there's been no shortage of recent report og and the economic progress flooding across our country. take a "new york times" headline from earlier this month. we ran out of words to describe how good the jobs numbers are. let me say that again, mr. president. this is from "the new york times". we ran out of words to describe

how good the jobs numbers are. or this from the "wall street journal" editorial, the u.s. economy is picking up speed and paying dividends in an expanding job market. president trump's tax reform and deregulation agenda appears to be working. here's a welcomed development for america's parents. quote, workers aged 25 to 34 made up 1 point04 million of the 2.58 million jobs added over the last year. job and wage growth may finally be inducing young people out of their parents' basement. more jobs, more wage growth, more opportunities for middle-class americans. it's good news, plain and simple. it is not so simple for our friends across the aisle. while republicans and the rest of the country are cheering on this new prosperity for working families, our democratic friends are trying to pretend that the facts don't matter and things

aren't actually getting better. here's how the leader of the house democrats from san francisco tried to sarcastically brush away the facts a few days ago. quote, hip, hip hoo -- hoorah, what does unemployment mean to me? i couldn't make this up. hip, hip, hoorah, unemployment at a new low and the fewest on unemployment insurance since 1973 and democratic leadership can't fathom why this wouldn't matter to families and small business owners. i know plenty of families who would be happy to explain. texas roadhouse is in louisville and employs more than 2,500 kentuckians. they will be able to invest in their companies and customers and employees because of the tax reform. and they plan to hope 30 new

locations across the country next year. maybe the new cooks and wait staff at 30 new restaur uld explain to the house democratic leader why a falling unemployment rate is a victory for american families. just today bleyers meat in kentucky is sharing similar good news. tax reform is enabling this business, famous for its german-inspired sausage, to plant deeper roots in kent county. since the tax reform, bliers has been able to purchase new machinery. they've been able to resume and offer comprehensive health benefits which it had to give up six years ago as costs soared under obamacare. they've been able to

significantly increase employees' wages and mire workers. our kentucky state treasurer had it just right in a recent column, quote, kentuckians have immediately benefited from federal tax reform. and these immediate benefits are only the beginning. more and more stories like these are being writtenle all the time as -- written all the time as tax reform, regulatory reform, and the rest of republicans' opportunity agenda helps job creators and american woarntion. transformative new equipment purchases for main street, small businesses, pay raises for hardworking middle-class employees, new job openings all over the country so that new workers just starting out have more opportunities and mid-career professionals on the sidelines have the opportunity to clock back in. unlike leading democrats, apparently republicans don't need it explained to us why this news matters to workers and

families. it's exactly what we hoped to achieve. it's exactly the result our policies were meant to produce. the distinction could not be more clear. on one side of the aisle are those who mock multithousand tax reform bonuses as crumbs, who can't grasp why an 18-year low in unemployment would matter to american families. on the other side of the aisle are those of us who helped make it happen. mr. president, i understand there's a bill at the desk due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the leader is correct. the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 5515 an act making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2018,

and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: are we in a quorum call, mr. president? the presiding officer: yes. mr. kennedy: i ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kennedy: mr. president, i rise today briefly to thank president trump. i want to thank him for our summit with north korea in

singapore. mr. president, you know, only nixon could go to china, and i think only trump could go to north korea. i understand he went to singapore, but you get the point. it's a beginning, mr. president. it's a baby step, but it was an important step. i want to thank president trump for taking it. certainly, mr. president, there is nothing in the history of kim jong-un or his father or his grandfather that would cause us to be optimistic. so i think the president and all americans are entering into this discourse with eyes wide open. we also know that kim jong-un is not coming to the table out of the goodness of his heart.

president trump and the united states congress has hit him with sanctions. we have hit him so hard, he is coughing up bones. i hate to do that to the people of north korea, but we had no choice. i think kim jong-un is coming to the table also because he understands that for the first time in a long time, america means what it says and that a military option is on the table. he saw what happened to assad in syria, not once, but twice. so we enter into this discourse with north korea as i see it with eyes wide open. an old comedian once said, mr. president, that sincerity is everything. fake that, and you got it made. well, we don't know whether kim jong-un is sincere yet. we will probably find out when

the president asks for authority to send in inspectors from america to inventory kim jong-un's nuclear arsenal, his nuclear technology, and his missile technology. if the answer is no, we can't do that or kim jong-un takes evasive measures to try to hide his weaponry, then we will know, but we will have tried. and i want to thank president trump today on behalf of all americans who believe in peace for the successful start of what i hope will be a successful summit and relationship with north korea. thank you. thank you, president trump. mr. president, i yield the floor.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democrat leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, talks between president trump and chairman kim in singapore, as we all know, concluded yesterday. certainly, we are all heartened to see the two leaders engage in a dialogue. we feel much better when both president trump and chairman kim are talking rather than trading insults and military threats. we all want this diplomacy to succeed. but now that the dust is settling after the singapore summit, three things are clear. first, chairman kim achieved far more than president trump did. second, our adversaries, russia and china, have gained while our allies like south korea and japan have lost footing and some degree of faith in america's reliability. and third, the summit was much more show than sub stance, what

the texans call all cattle, no hat. let me elaborate. in past agreements with north korea, the united states won far stronger language on denuclearization, and we won specific measures to ensure that north korea was taking steps in that direction. of course, even with the stronger language, the north korean regime repeatedly backtracked from previous american-led agreements. the joint statement in singapore includes none of the concrete details that could make an ambitious goal like complete denuclearization close to meaningful. chairman kim did not even mention his ambiguous comment to denuclearize when he returned home to north korea. it was absent. in all the north korean press. often you can tell how a leader feels by what they tell their people, not what they say publicly to the world. in this case, denuclearization

was not even mentioned. still, president trump tweeted this morning there is no longer a nuclear threat from north korea. what planet is the president on? saying it doesn't make it so. north korea still has nuclear weapons. it still has icbm's. it still has the united states in danger. somehow president trump thinks when he says something, it becomes reality. if it were only that easy, only that simple. and that's what stood in the way of making this meeting more meaningful. it's not show. it's not verbiage. it's action. president trump in his actions did things that president kim wanted. i don't know what president kim has done that we want other than show up, which was a benefit for

him. and president trump agreed to freeze joint military exercises with south korea, and he called them provegations. right out of the north korean -- provocations. right out of the north korean propaganda play book. without the knowledge of south korea or our military, i guarantee our military men and women were squirming when president trump called our joint military exercises provocations. these exercises and others that the military conduct around the world are designed to ensure that our service members are fully trained and ready for action. they are not a provocation, president trump. adopting the north korean view on american military exercises, which president trump did, is nothing short of a public relations coup for chairman kim.

and it seems president trump didn't even think it through or consult with anybody. you cannot do this stuff on the fly. just like saying the danger from north korea is over doesn't make it so. saying that these are provegations makes things worse. you cannot do it on the fly. you need serious thought because it has consequences. and if president kim walked away from these negotiations thinking it's easy to deal with president trump, kim might think he can get what he -- i get what i want and i don't have to give him anything. that doesn't bode well for the future. in final tabulation, after all the pomp and circumstance have faded, it seems clear that chairman kim walked away the victor, unfortunately. what president trump achieved on behalf of the united states is unclear and difficult to certify. what chairman kim achieved from

north korea is tangible and lasting. no doubt, our republican friends would be up in arms if a democratic president walked away from a summit with so little to show for it. but of course while we haven't heard full-throated praise from our republican side, the reactions have been kind of lukewarm, it's not close to the criticism they launched at president obama in similar situations. in the weeks and months ahead, president trump and his team need to focus on securing real and enduring concessions from the north koreans. on plutonium, uranium enrichment, on the destruction of nuclear infrastructure, on an anywhere, any time inspections regime, and the unambiguous end of missile testing. these are the things that make a strong nuclear agreement.

unfortunately, the singapore summit produced none of them and even talked about none of them. we hope in the future that changes for the safety of america. but again, the emphasis on showmanship as opposed to substance will not serve america or the prospects for peace well in the long run. one final point. congressional oversight and involvement is critical to this process. secretary pompeo needs to make clear what the process moving forward includes and what, if any, additional agreements were made in singapore. congress needs to learn the terms for any sanctions relief, whether u.s. troop presence in korea was discussed and whether any agreement will include a halt to north korea's key missile programs. now, on health care, even as north korea dominates the headlines, democrats are going to continue to focus on the

number one issue on the minds of most americans, health care. insurers in state after state are announcing double-digit premium increases and blaming republican health care policies for the increase. now, amazingly, the trump administration is refusing to defend the constitutionality of protections for americans with preexisting conditions, turning its back on the most popular and most humane advancement in our health care system. imagine the return of the days when a mother with a child who has cancer can no longer find affordable care for her daughter. the days when hardworking americans who fall on hard times are made to suffer, deny health care coverage precisely because they need it so desperately. how wrong, how backward, how immoral that system was. that's where president trump

wants to take us again. so we democrats are going to spend the next few months, including the august work period, focusing on the nation's health care system, the critical issue, trying to get premiums down, costs down, better health care, not the deterioration we have seen under president trump and the republican congressional leadership. we're going to focus on all that our republican friends have done to drive up the costs of health care to orphanage americans and what we should be doing to reverse that awful trend. finally, mr. president, the i.g. report. tomorrow, the inspector general with the justice department will release a report about the department's handling of an investigation of secretary clinton in 2016. we look forward to the report and learning what it has to say. now, we hope our republican colleagues don't take the

cynical track of trying to spin the report's contents to somehow sully the completely separate and ongoing investigation into putin's meddling in the 2016 election. the d.o.j. inspector general report is likely to focus on the conduct of the justice department and the f.b.i. in handling the clinton e-mail investigation in the runup to 2016. mueller was not appointed at that point. he wasn't a gleam in anyone's eye. what he's doing is totally independent of what happened here. and furthermore, when the president says witch hunt, somehow blames democrats for this, well, whatever comey did hurt hillary clinton. and he didn't do the same thing to president trump which would have hurt him. he released the details of hillary's investigation. many of us thought he did that wrongly. but didn't release any details

of the investigation into possible collusion of the trump campaign with the russians. so this idea that somehow what comey did and what mueller is doing was designed to hurt president trump and republicans at democrats' behest is like alice in wonderland. it's the opposite of the facts. the investigation of putin meddling in our elections and any potential associations with russian intelligence and the trump campaign is an entirely separate investigation from what happened with hillary clinton. it would be erroneous to try and use the information in the i.g. report to discredit the special counsel but we hear rumblings that some of these very partisan republicans led by chairman nunes may try to go down that road. we hope they wouldn't be so cynical or so willing to twist

the facts inside out and turn truth on its head all for political gain. it's crucial, critical that special counsel mueller's investigation get to the bottom of what happened and who was involved in russia's efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. mr. president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. hatch: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: i ask that the quorum call be sis spenced with -- be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without

objection. under the previous order, the leadership time is reserve. morning business is closed. and under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 5515, the clerk will report. the clerk: an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities for the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, i rise today to address a public health issue that has left in its wake a trail of tragedy and shattered life. the suicide epidemic has touched all sectors of our society, but the problem is particularly acute among lgbt youth who experience bullying and discrimination at every turn. in the most devastating cases, these teenagers even face estrangement from their own

families. that's why today, in honor of pride month, i wish to devote a significant portion of my remarks to them, my young friends in the lgbt. mr. president, the prevalence of suicide, especially among lgbt teens, is a serious problem that requires national attention. no one should feel less because of their orientation. they deserve our unwavering love and support. they deserve our validation and the assurance that not only is there a place for them in this society but that it is far better off because of them. these young people need us and we desperately need them. we need their light to illuminate the richness of god's creations. we need the grace, beauty and brilliance they bring to the world. that's why as we commemorate

pride month, my message today is one of love for my lgbt brothers and sisters. it is also a call for action to americans of all political stripes. regardless of where you stand on the cultural issues of the day, whether you are a religious conservative, a secular liberal, or somewhere in between, we all have a special duty to each other. that duty is to treat one another with dignity and respect. it is not simply to tolerate but to love. the first tenant of my faith is to love one another. the same men who taught this principle also lived it by his example in an era characterized by ridged -- rigid social religions. he broke down barriers property

up by centuries of cultural belief. in his teachings, he made no difference between man or woman or jew or jen -- gentile. he saw beyond this to the inherent worth of the individual. he taught that we were all equal because we are all children of the same god and partakers of the same human condition. this man loved radically and he challenged all of us to do the same. mr. president, if there were ever a time to show our lgbt friends just how much we love them, it is now in a world where millions suffer in silence. we oweto each other to love loudly. that's why i'm a strong supporter of the utah love loud festival to combat suicide and

improve mental health in the lgbt community which is afflicted by these problems. these young men and women deserve to feel young, cared for, and accepted for who they are. i don't think they chose to be who they are, they are born to be who they are, and we out to understand that. they deserve to understand that they belong and that our society is stronger because of that. mr. president, ensuring that our lgbt friends are loved and accepted is not a political issue. we all have a stake in this. we all have family or loved ones who feel marginalized because of gender identity or sexual orientation, and we need to be there for them. on a much broader scale, we need to be there for anyone struggling with feelings of isolation, especially those experiencing suicidal thoughts. by no means is suicide a problem

exclusive to the lgbt community. in one way or another this public health crisis has affected all americans regardless of color, class, or creed. over the last two decades, the suicide epidemic has taken tens of thousands of lives with suicide rates rising by as much as 30% across the country. the severity of this public health crisis was thrown into sharp relief last week with the tragic deaths of kate spade and anthony bourdain. in utah, the statistics are particularly alarming, every 14 there is a suicide resulting in an average of 630 deaths each year. the problem is so acute that utah now has the fifth highest suicide rate in the nation.

in addressing this topic today, my heart is both heavy and hopeful. heavy because suicide has already taken so many lives, hopeful because i believe we are on the cusp of a major legislative breakthrough that could turn the tide in the campaign against this epidemic. as some of you may recall, i joined senator joe donnelly last year in introducing the national suicide hotline improvement act, a bipartisan proposal that makes it easier for americans of all ages to get the help and treatment they need when they are experiencing suicidal thoughts. our bill requires the f.c.c. to recommend that easy to remember three- -- an easy to remember three-digit number for the national suicide hotline. i believe by making the national suicide lifeline system more friendly and accuraciesible,

we -- accessible, we can save thousands of lives by helping people find the help they need when they need it most. the senate passed our bill with overwhelming bipartisan support in november. now it's time for the house to do its part. while i was pleased to learn that our legislation is slowly making its way through the house by a committed process, i am kawg today for more urgent action. every minute we wait, we have helpless hundreds of americans who are struggling with suicidal thoughts. there are literally lives on the line here. leaving them on hold is not an option. that's why i call on my colleagues in the house to pass our suicide hotline bill without further delay. by doing so, we can be prevent countless tragedies and help thousands of men and women get the help they need, they so desperately need. now, mr. president, before i conclude, i wish to express my heartfelt belief that we can win

the battle against suicide, but i would also remind my colleagues that no amount of legislation could fix this problem. no public policy is a panacea for an issue as deep and intractable as the suicide epidemic. beyond legislation, however, there are steps we can take to create a society that is kinder, more civil, and understanding, a society, in other words, where suicide is less of a problem. it doesn't take a social scientist to tell you that the coursening of our culture has negatively affected our communities. as the political discourse breaks down, so, too, do the social ties that bind us together. the grad open rule dissolution of civil society has led to unprecedented levels of loneliness, depression, and

despair. in this sense, suicide is merely a symptom of a much larger problem. but even though there is hopelessness, there is still reason to hope. i firmly believe that by restoring civility to its proper place in our society, we can fight the despair that has seized hold of so many. civility starts with the words we use, whether in person or online. we can be softer in our language, kinder in our actions, and stronger in our love. we can combat courseness with -- coarseness with come passion, -- compassion, choosing empathy instead of anger. civility entails a fundamental shift in how we view our political opponents. no longer should we see each other as adversaries in a zero-sum game but as allies in

preserving the american experiment for future generations. mr. president, restoring civility and respect to the public square cannot be achieved through legislation. ultimately, this is a change that must take place in the hearts of every american. but here in the senate, we can lead by example, which is why i urge all of my colleagues to join me today in recommitting to civility and working to bring people together and to help solve these very serious problems that are keeping us apart and hurting our society. there are people out there who really suffer, who didn't choose to be the way they are, but who who -- who are and we have to be

intelligent enough and compassionate enough to help them. so i hope that we will, and i hope that our wonderful country will take these things to heart. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. a senator: thank you. i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. i want to talk about a couple of issues that are wrapped up in ndaa. first of all, a national guard issue. the men and women as we all know who have served our nation in the armed forces are among the absolute best of us. i thing the presiding officer for his service. when you and your fellow citizens volunteered to serve, they did so committing themselves to defending our families, our nation, and our

way of life. through their service and sacrifice, they earn our respect and our honor. as a grateful nation, we strive to demonstrate that respect to them. we should demonstrate our appreciation of the military certainly on memorial day and veterans day, but every day we understand that we can never truly repay the sacrifice that many americans made, the ultimate sacrifice. our customary and powerful demonstration, one of those ways is when we pay our respects during a service member's funeral with a display of military honors. these honors include an honor detail which presents an american flag to the family of the deceased and a bugler who ceremoniously plays taps and puts a lump in everyone's throat and a tear in our eyes. unfortunately, an army audit found that in 2014, 88 deserving

veteran funerals did not receive those military honors as they should have. one service without deserved honors is one too many. even more disappointing, we learned that the national guard bureau now has a plan to eliminate military funeral honors coordinating position in eight states based upon a recommendation from that audit. the national guard bureau is claiming marginal cost savings as the excuse to eliminate these coordinator positions. however, cost savings is an unacceptable justification, especially if losing these positions leads to more service members not receiving military honors as our final demonstration of response for their service. a coordinator position is a vital link between the military and the veteran's surviving family. their primary responsibility is to determine the eligibility and appropriate honors for deceased veterans, but they also train service members who perform

military honors, coordinate with units and veteran service organizations within the state, and provide immediate attention to families in need of assistance. common sense would tell you that if military honors are not being rendered when they should be, as this audit found, the n.g.b., the national guard bureau should do everything possible to make certain to reverse that terrible outcome. instead, they are seeking to eliminate positions responsible for handling the care and coordination of military honors. even if the national guard bureau reverses course, the military honors program deserves protection and preservation for all those who served. therefore, i want to draw attention to an amendment i offered in this year's ndaa amendment 2575 would protect military funeral honors program in the army national guard. this is a bipartisan amendment cosponsored by senators manchin, crapo, and capito. if passed, my amendment would

ensure that each state maintains at least one military funeral honors coordinator which we hope will reduce the chances that these honors are not skipped in the future. i urge my colleagues and the committee to support amendment 2575 for inclusion in the managers' package and allow this amendment to move swiftly in the senate to help fulfill our promises to our veterans and to make sure they receive appropriate honors earned at the time of their passing. mr. president, i also want to speak about a topic i spoke about last week, and that's another of my amendments, amendment 2269 that i am proves upon the army's force structure stationing process and is sponsored by senators roberts as well as senator gillibrand and the minority leader, the democrat leader, senator schumer of new york. i again want to express my appreciation to the senate armed services committee for their diligence in authorizing appropriations for our armed

forces in a thoughtful and deliberative manner. this amendment attempts to take the same approach, that approach the committee is taking, deliberate, as the armed services committee is doing today. we want the army to perform that in a diligent way, their eternal process on force process to thoughtfully deliberate how and where they make smart investments, including stationing decisions of soldiers and families that have an impact on costs for decades to come. simply put, the amendment 2229 is to increase the rigor, transparency, and congressional oversight of the army's stationing process regarding changes or growth in force structure. both the department of defense and the army are experiencing a much-needed period of growth. our armed forces are modernizing and increasing their readiness to be in a position to deter, confront, and defeat potential adversaries in an environment more complex and more volatile than we have experienced in recent history. after months of speaking to army

leaders such as secretary esper, general milley, general abrams on this topic, i'm convinced the army's most senior leaders agree their current process needs improvement to become more accurate and comprehensive. as the army grows and modernizes, more stationing decisions will be made in the future, and the army ought not miss the opportunity to conduct the due diligence in all of their decisions and invest wisely to pay down the costs in the future. with the army's focus on reform, transparency and using every dollar wisely, and i believe this amendment 2269 helps the army maximize the value of every dollar, operate transparently with congress and wisely-used resources entrusted to them by the american taxpayer. once again, my amendment seeks to codify the transparency they are seeking and update the army's stationing process that will ensure the army is making better, more cost effective, long-term decisions. the instructions to the army in

this amendment have either already been prescribed by the g.a.o. and the army's own regulations or based on army testimony and correspondence where it has been made clear that the army wants to improve their process. for example, with regard to how contiguous and noncontiguous training areas are measure, general milly testified and said, quote, it is my believe that they are raided differently because it seems to pass a commonsense test, unquote. given the geography distance, nature of the training area off post. the fact that the army's analysis currently considers these training areas as one in the same alluded many of the army's senior leaders when we first began this process. in addition, this amendment codifies secretary esper's february 23, 2018 commitment to improving the quality of life for soldiers and their families by considering, quote, community schools around the installations and the professional licensure

reciprocity, unquote, in future stationing decisions. the army has not incorporated information regarding tax credits, license reciprocity, education and employment in their basing so this amendment follows through on the secretary's intent and guidance to address these factors that are critically important to soldier, and their families. it also encourages this amendment, its presence in the criteria would encourage states to further support military men, women, and their families. it is a rruitment a retention factor. we say tt the army recriewts individuals but retains families and the quality of life, those families experience when they move from installation to installation is paramount to each soldier's personal decision to continue serving. our intent with this amendment is to support the army in making decisions based upon fair, open, an comprehensive data, particularly long-term cost factors that will help the army save in the future years. those savings can be put toward

training, supporting soldiers, and their families, sustaining our weapons and increasing the army's readiness and lethality. i ask for support on amendment 2269. i'm convinced these changes will make certain the army's stations process is transparent and help the army maximize the value of every dollar and operate with communications with congress and wisely use resources entrusted by the american taxpayer. this will pay off in the long term for the army, for army families and for the taxpayers. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor to mark a very unfortunate date. we are recognizing the two-year anniversary of the shooting at pulse nightclub on june 12 and on sunday june 17, we're going to mark the three-year

anniversary of the shooting at a church in charleston. the killer in charleston murdered nine people who were attending a bible study. the killer in orlando murdered 49 people who were at a nightclub. i just came from my office meeting with one of the survivors of the pulse nightclub shooting. about 93 people are killed every day from guns. that's a mixture of suicides and homicides, accidental shootings. that means that in the 731 days since the pulse nightclub shooting, we've had somewhere around 70,000 people having been killed by guns in this country. that's a statistic that has no comparison anywhere else in the world. here in the united states we have about 20 times the number of people on a per capita basis

who are being killed by a gun than the average oecd competitor nation. something is going on here that's different than what is happening anywhere else. as my colleagues know, i try to come to the floor every few weeks to talk about who these victims are, so give you a little bit of sense of the lives that are cut short. all of the promise that is erased from this earth every single day 93 times because of what is happening inside the epidemic of gun violence and try to relate to people how furious this mounting -- we have done virtually nothing meaningful since the tragedy in my state in sandy hook. and, thus, the slaughter continues. melvin graham's sister, cynthia

graham, she was murdered in charleston as part of that shooting. and earlier this year he talked about how angry he is, that congress has done nothing meaningful to try to effect the reality of gun violence in this nation. he said, quote, you would think that this would be the time. each time something happens you think this is the time we're going to get some action, some movement, some unity in washington to do something. and each time they have let me down. they have failed me. they've shown me that they simply do not care. on the evening of june 17, 2015, dill dillon roof walked into the episcopal church in charleston and killed nine people. he had a criminal record. he shouldn't have been able to buy a gun, but because of a loophole in the background check s law that allows for a gun seller to transfer a weapon to

someone if the background check takes a long time, he was able to get a weapon, immediately go to this church, and kill nine people. the reality is that f.b.i. data indicates that over the last five years 15,000 people have been sold weapons who shouldn't have gotten weapons under this loophole. that means 15,000 people are walking around the united states today with firearms with criminal records because their background check took three or four or five days. the reason background checks take a long time -- most of them take about ten minutes -- is because some people have complicated criminal histories like dylan roof did. so if you give someone a gun because they have a criminal background that takes a few days to sort out, an example of a crime that may not have been committed had our laws been

different. until october 2017, the pulse nightclub shooting which happened on june 12, two years ago was the deadliest in u.s. history. these massacres that reached that tragic landmark of being the worst in u.s. history don't last for long given the increasing pace of gun homicides in this country. this was an individual who was known to law enforcement, who had been in the system because of activity online with his connection to terrorist groups. had we had a comprehensive no fly ban in this country that gives the attorney general the power to put people who are having conversations with terrorist groups on the list of those that can't buy guns, is also very possible that omar mar tine, the shooter, wouldn't

have killed 49 people and injuring 53 others, another example of our laws being inadequate to meet the moment. but unfortunately, this country tends to only pay attention to the issue of gun violence when these mass shootings happen. and they are soul crushing, community-changing events. newtown, connecticut is never ever going to recover from what happened there. but every single day, whether or not you see something scroll across the bottom of your cable news screen about a shooting, there are still upwards of almost 100 people dying every single day. people like malakai fryer who was 6 years old when he walked into a room with a hand handgun that was left unattended on a table. he took the gun back into his bedroom to lay with it and accidentally shot himself. he was 6 years old and he had

just finished first grade in elizabethtown, kentucky. his school principal said, malakai was special in many ways. he had a smile that warmed your heart, a contagious laugh and a positive attitude. he was a little comedian in his classroom. he loved people and he never met a stranger. bass cet ball was his pleasure and joy and our heartsreea because a piece of our family is gone. age 6. one of the victims of the many accidental shootings that happen in this country. in my state, antonio robinson was recently ready to graduate from stanford academy. and he was the former cocaptain of the stanford high school football team. he was standing? an overpass and he was shot to death. his sister said that he never bothered anybody and so he never thought that he had to dodge or hide from bullets. he was on his cell phone standing on the overpass. he wasn't even aware that he was

about to be shot. his former coach and sixth grade teacher said that he wasn't the biggest kid out there on the basketball court but he played with a lot of heart and soul. he gave it everything he got. another one of his football coaches said that he was very respectful. he was just an awesome, awesome kid, 18 years old, antonio robinson is gone. ryan de la cruz was 17 years old. seattle, washington, he was a senior at franklin high school. he dreamed of a career in the marine corps. he and his friends went to a local park one recent friday night. they encountered another group. some words were exchanged. shots were fired. ryan de la cruz isn't living any longer. he was described by his high school principal as a sweet, thoughtful, inquisitive and compassionate young man. he was determined to commit his

life to the service of others. his father didn't want him to go into the marines. his father was worried about the safety of his son. but increasingly, you couldn't change ryan's mind. he was committed to serve this country. and what he said to his father sticks with his dad. because when he raised these issues to ryan about his safety, ryan said to his father, papa, wherever you are, it's god's will. if you die, you die. ryan de la cruz died at age 17. bob stone, 64 years old when he died from illinois. he was a community pillar, long-time member of the city council. police and fire commissioner. he and his wife were known throughout the community because they put together a festival every year in town. they were the organizers of it.

they started it with rebecca's parents back in 2006 and they kept it up, something to bring the community together. this story is particularly hard to hear because it's a murder-suicide involving his son vito. the two of them were in a tent in the backyard. they were spending the night with vito's two young children. something happened inside that tent. vito shot his father, shot himself. luckily the children were unharmed. but for the rest of their life, they are going to have to deal with the trauma, the unspeakable, undescribable trauma of that murder-suicide taking their father and their grandfather right in front of their eyes. the young woman i met with today who has gone through one of these traumas herself having survived the pulse shooting from two years ago speaks about that same kind of trauma. her life is fundamentally

changed from that day. relations with her family members have been ruptured. she lost her cousin inside the nightclub that night. it's a reminder that researchers tell us every time one person is shot, there are likely 20 other people who experience some kind of trauma based off of that one shooting. so take the 93 people every single day, multiply that times 20, and you get the sense of just over a 24-hour period the catastrophe that happens in families and communities because of gun violence. while today i won't go into the details about all the things we can do to solve this let me just share with you a statistic that i came upon the other day. my head is full of statistics to try to explain what is happening. but again, i come to the floor to tell the stories of these victims. here's an interesting one. i've heard some of my friends say to me, well, america is just a more violent place and, sure, we have more guns than other

places have, but there's a lot of things happening in the united states, different cultures living side by side. people with different backgrounds that may lead to more episodes of violence. here's a really interesting statistic. let's go back to the oecd countries which are sort of what you would consider to be the most advanced 20 or so countries in the world. if you look at rates of gun violence, the chart tells only one story. the united states has a rate of gun violence about ten people per 100,000 in terms of gun deaths. and there's no comparison. the next highest country is finland, which has rate of about three per 100,000. the average country is down around one per is 00,000. so -- per 100,000. so you're talking about a rate that's ten times higher in this country than in other countries. but let's go to another measure

of violence. because some people will say, we're just a much more violent country. that is not true. we are fuelly by other measures a less -- we are actually by other measures a less violent country. let's take a look at assaults. there is a statistic that measures reported assaults in these same countries. when you look at reported assaults, the united states is actually almost last. we aren't the country with the most assaults. we are close to the country with the lowest number of assaults. belgium has more, israel has more, portugal has more, switzerland, finland, new zealand, south korea and the united kingdom. only japan and canada report fewer assaults per person per capita than the united states. so it's not that we are a more violent nation. it is that we are in particular

a nation plagued by one type of violence -- gun violence, which tends, of course, to be the most lethal kind, the kind that comes with the greatest degree of cascading trauma. and so i know we have important business to do today, mr. president, with respect to the defense authorization bill, and i and my state have some important equities in that bill that i hope can advance. but i still think it is worthwhile every now and again to come down to the floor and remind my completion that even if you don't -- my colleagues that even if you don't read about an episode of mass violence today, there will still be about 100 people who lose their lives. it is an epidemic that only happens here in the united states, not explained by the united states being a more violent nation in general; simply explained by a nation that has more guns per capita and a congress that is unwilling to make sure that only the right people get theired hands on those weapons. i yield the floor.

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i'm honored to follow my colleague from connecticut on the topic that has bedeviled and baffled us together almost since the time we became united states senators, and it is a topic that is heartrending and gut-wrenching for both of us. i thank him for his leadership and partnership on this effort. i'm going to begin by asking unanimous consent that my law clerk, charlotte schwartz, be granted floor privileges for the length of my remarks here in today's session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we are here on the two-year anniversary of the tragic orlando nightclub attack on june

12, 2016. a man armed with an an assault rival and a pistol with hatred in his heart stormed the pulse nightclub and murdered 49 people. this man turned a safe haven, a place of joy and celebration, into an unimaginable nightmare. and on that day and on so many other days -- in fact, virtually every day -- all of us who lived through firsthand the sandy hook massacre relive the terrible tragedy of that day in our state. in fact, today, sandy hook promise, a group that was formed in the wake of that tragedy and

has done so much good work around the country to make our nation safer, is having its annual dinner. i will be attending and speaking there with many who were involved in seeking to make sense of that tragedy and accomplish specific, tangible, commonsense measures since then. the orlando nightclub attack remains the deadliest incident of violence against lgbtq people in our history. and we ought to take particular time today to commemorate the national tragedy but also the epidemics of gun violence like sandy hook and hate crimes generally across the country, which may not involve gun violence, that plague our nation

literally daily -- in this nation, the greatest in the history of the world. this scourge of hate crime and gun violence -- and often the two go together -- is a continuing plague. in an average year, more than 10,300 hate crimes are committed involving a firearm. that's more than 28 every single day. and meanwhile the f.b.i. tells us that for the second year in a row, hate crime offenses are on the rise in this country, an increase of 6.3% from 2015 to 2016, and that increase itself follows a 7% increase from 2014 to 20 is a. these statistics are -- to 2015. these statistics are stunning. they are particularly

staggering, giving the dramatic underreporting of hate crimes -- we know that many hate crimes are never reported because of the embarrassment and fear of retaliation. the real incidence of bias-motivated crimes is likely much higher than even these intolerable numbers tell us. we know that lgbt people are more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other minority group. i'm heartbroken to report that lgbt people are introduced to these instances of violence at a very, very young age. there's no preparing children for it, but the youth experience of this kind of bias and bigotry

and hatred is extraordinarily high, and it often is manifested in violence and physical harassment in school. students report being severely beaten and robbed by their peers. one young man recounted being beaten, driven five miles out of town, stripped naked and left to walk home alone. when we hear these stories, we should not be surprised that more than half of lgbt youth feel unsafe in their schools. we should not be surprised, but we should be outraged. we should be angry that this kind of bias, bigotry, harassment continues to affect lgbt people, because in this great nation it is intolerable. and schools should be places where young people learn, grow,

build friendships -- free of fear of being assaulted by their peers and becoming the next victim of this unspeakable crime . and apart from the bias and bigotry and hate crimes that are the result of this kind of unacceptable prejudice, gun violence continues to plague our schools as well as churches, theaters, and other public places. but the plague of gun violence is not only in the mass shooting, which attract the most attention, it is the one-by-one or smaller groups that account for 30,000 deaths every year.

these numbers have become so familiar as to be banal in. the banality of this evil is itself an insidious disease. it eats away at the moral core of our country. it continues to make us a lesser nation. our failure to act makes this chamber complicit in those deaths. this body cannot avoid its moral culpability for hose -- culpability for those deaths. the senate of the united states and the entire congress are, in effect, aiding and abetting this epidemic of gun violence, which is probably the most deadly public health crisis that plagues our nation right now.

imagine if a communicable disease -- say, ebola -- took 90 lives every day. there would be marches in the streets and demonstrations. the country would react. but it has become so inured to this public health epidemic of gun violence that there is no reaction unless there is a massive incident like the parkland high school shooting. the marjory stoneman douglas high school became a turning point for this country on gun violence, when young people demonstrated, marched, held vigils, and walked out of schools in richfield -- i attended one of those walkouts, a profoundly moving and important event.

and i believe it can provide a turning point that will move this country into a new social change era, a new movement of social change comparable to the civil rights movement and the antiwar movement and marriage equality and women's health care, a movement that can truly transform this nation, raise its consciousness but also illicit action. we need not only more words and speeches and rhetoric, but more action. on the common sense measures that this -- on the commonsense measures that this body has failed to enact. background checks applied to all gun purchases, tighten the information that goes into the

database used in those background checks, even beyond the fix nics bill which was a minor change adopted earlier this year. a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity clips, a closing of the 72-hour loophole involved in the background check system for purchasing a gun, and of course a hate crimes or red flag statute that enables police and family to go to a court, to seek a warrant, to make sure that someone who is dangerous to himself or others not be permitted to buy or possess these weapons. these commonsense reforms have been before us for years, and since sandy hook, nothing has

changed. this body has been inert and reprehensibly unresponsive. we know these measures work. we know from connecticut's experience that they reduce crime and homicides. we know from our state's adoption of these reforms that we can lessen the number of shootings as well as deaths and injuries. we know what doesn't work -- arming teachers in school, a proposal rejected by the law enforcement community, by the education community, by ordinary citizens in communities around the country. but connecticut has shown by our experience that these commonsense, sensible measures

do work, but they cannot protect connecticut citizens alone because our borders are porous. even a state like connecticut with the strongest gun laws in the country is at the mercy of states with the weakest because guns are trafficked across state borders. so we need national laws that will protect us in connecticut and all around the country who are at risk. and the new social change movement powered and fueled by young people can break the vice-like grip that the gun lobby has held over this congress for so many years, indeed decades. i have worked on this issue literally for two and a half decades or more when i was attorney general of the state of

connecticut, i championed and we passed a measure to ban assault weapons, among other reforms. it was challenged in the court. all of the same arguments raised then legally that were raised now. we defeated them. in fact, i tried the case and argued it in the supreme court, and those arguments are as invalid today as they were then based on the second amendment, a void for vagueness or equal protection. and they will fail in the courts just as they did in our courts then. i have never felt nearer than we are now to meaningful reform because of those students, because of those young people, because of the outpouring that is rivetting america and moving us forward. but it has to be translated and

galvanized into votes in this coming election and in elections to come. so that the will of the people is heard here and the vice-like grip of the gun lobby is broken. not only walking out of schools, but walking into polling places is what's required. and these young people are showing us the path to do it. and even while we work in that arena, organizations like sandy hook promise are showing us how to educate in a totally bipartisan way and raise awareness in our schools and bring people together so that we solve our conflicts peacefully with words, not conflict. scarlet lewis, whose son jesse was killed at sandy hook, has worked hard on social and emotional learning, another way

to bring us together at the earliest of ages, social and emotional learning has been her mission since jesse's death. and she has formed a foundation to choose love, to enhance that ethos of teaching young people that they can solve their disagreements and conflicts with the words and the caring, that they can be taught in school. but first of course teachers need to be taught and trained how to do that teaching. and that is why i sought an amendment to the reauthorization of the secondary -- elementary and secondary education, with

her inspiration to build that movement. there will always be hateful people who want to lash out and destroy. but on this anniversary of the orlando nightclub massacre, we cannot concede defeat. we cannot relent or relax our efforts. we need to commit to action, not just reflection or rhetoric. every child who goes to school should do it without fear. every person who goes to church should have no doubt about the

safety of that sacred place or any other house of worship. anyone who goes to a movie theater, to any other public place should do it without the apprehension that a person with a gun may be in wait. and for our lgbt community, we need a statute like the no hate measure that i have proposed. i introduced it last year, that would address the bigotry and bias that continues to playing them not just in the hateful words, but the violence and harassment that they suffer. enforcement of the laws that exist now is absolutely essential. in fact, enhanced enforcement, devoting more resources to the

police and f.b.i. and prosecutors who pursue these crimes ought to be a challenge that we meet without question. on all these fronts, we should be united. it should be bipartisan. there should be no political division to make america safer, to make sure that we fulfill the vision of our great country, that we will live peacefully together and enjoy equally the opportunities that are entitled by all of us. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: