today, but you're only forecasting a moderate overshoot on the fed funds rate beyond your longer run value. how are you going to get the unemployment 3.5% up to that 4.5% rate. >> i would just emphasize that a couple of things. first, we're learning about the real location of the natural rate of unemployment as we go. so, it's moved down by more than a full percentage point since 2012. so it's not so simple as thinking, boy, we've got to go ahead and get that rate up. if you look at the forecast, two years from now, end of 2020 you're still saying inflation close to target. no sense in our models or our projections forecast that inflation will take off. >> you can see the rest of the fed chair's comments at c-span.org. the senate is about to meet now and will continue work on defense department programs and policy for 2019. a number of amendments are awaiting action, including one

this morning at 10:30 eastern, senators will vote on moving forward on requiring congressional review of foreign investment regulations. a final vote on the bill is expected next week. also, next week, the senate begins work on federal spending for the next budget year. live senate coverage now here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. holy one, who prompts us to conform to your will, continue to shine in the hearts of our lawmakers, providing them with

your wisdom. purify the desires of their hearts, leading them beside the still waters of contemplation and thanksgiving. lord, embolden them to become instruments of your saving power that comforts, challenges, and refreshes. remove from them anything that hinders them from bringing glory to your name, as you keep them faithful in these sometimes confusing and challenging times. we pray in your holy 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.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i was pleased to join my colleagues on the senate agriculture committee to approve and landmark farm bill. under the fair and bipartisan leadership of chairman pat roberts, our committee has produced a bill that will bolster struggling agriculture communities across our current. speaking for my home state of kentucky, agriculture is part of who we are. kentucky farm families produce everything from poultry to soybeans. this legislation will assist them, encourage economic growth and increase investment in rural communities.

this farm bill also includes a bipartisan provision i crafted with senator wyden to legalize industrial hemp. at present, with just a few limited exceptions, our federal government bans domestic hemp production. never mind that this is a completely different plan than its illicit cousin, never mind that american consumers are already buying hemp products, everything from clothing to auto parts, they are just produced by foreign countries. it subpoena time to remove the roadblocks and let american farmers explore this growing market. this has long been a priority of mine. i championed hemp pilot programs in the 2014 farm bill that have shown success, it's time to take the next step. again, i'd like to thank the

chairman and ranking member of the committee for their leadership on this subject. i was pleased to join the overwhelming bipartisan majority that voted the farm bill out of committee yesterday morning and i look forward to taking it up here on rt floor in the next -- here on the floor in the next few weeks. mr. president, on another subject, for the past week the senate has been considering the john s. mccain national defense authorization act. it is a bipartisan bill. the armed services committee has had hearing after hearing and gathered testimony from the top military leaders and heard straight from the experts about the gaps between the current capabilities and current challenges and taking this into account in the committee, they considered and included 3 o o amendments -- 3 o o in the version they reported to the senate. for days we have discussed and

debate it here on the floor. senators inhofe and reed modified the bill to include 40 additional amendments from members on both sides. i'm confident no senator sees this as a perfect bill. i'm sure we all have further issues we would like to tackle. some pertain to the substance of defense authorization, others have concerns on different topics. personally, i would have liked to have seen more votes on amendments this week, but one of the realities of this body is that any senator on either side can object to setting up amendment votes. the good news is what we -- what we already have in hand, an excellent defense authorization bill that will fulfill one of this body's most important responsibilities and empower the men and women who volunteer to protect us.

we fulfilled that responsibility for 57 consecutive years. when this bill passes, it will be 58 consecutive years. you might call that a routine, but in this body, as we know, what can seem like the most important routine activities are often among the very most important. this defense authorization bill is right at the top of the senate's to-do list so we can do right by our men and women serving in uniform around the world. today is the 243rd birthday of our united states army. i'm glad we'll have the opportunity to vote to keep advancing this bill in just a few minutes. as i discussed all week this legislation is critical to implementing secretary mattis' new national defense strategy. it's critical for supporting our allies and regional partners around the world. it's critical for keeping america safe in a world that confronts us with everything

from terrorist threats from non-state actors to great-power competition. so one way or another the senate will pass this bill. we'll fulfill our solemn responsibility to our military and then we'll proceed to other important business for our constituents. now, mr. president, on one final matter, day after day, week after week more evidence piles up that republicans overhaul of the u.s. tax code is igniting new growth and increasing opportunity all across our country. here's what tax reform means to middle-class floridians. it means thousand dollar bonuses for 26 employees at a software company in tampa, it means an increase in the base wage at a bank at more than 6 o o locations across florida and at a miami brewery, it meant to invest in $4 o o,000.

for the customers of florida power and light it meant a lower monthly bill. the utility had planned to implement a new surge charge after rebuilding after hurricane irma. but tax reform let them cover the rebuilding themselves and kept that added burden off the shoulders of floridians. just a few of the ways that tax reform is helping jump-start prosperity up and down the state of florida. senator rubio voted to pass this once-in-a-generation law. it's too bad that his colleague stood with every single democrat senator in the senate and every democrat in the house. he apparently preferred that the money remain with the i.r.s. i call that a curious decision. perhaps our democratic

colleagues quite don't understand the importance of a thriving economy. we recently heard that some revealing comments from the house democratic leader. here's what she said. hip, hip hoorah, she said. unemployment is down. what does that mean to me and my life, she said. unemployment, as low as it's been since 1969. -- the lowest its been since 1969. soaring confidence by consumers and small businesses, more job openings than americans looking for work for the first name at least 20 years. no big deal say our democratic colleagues, nothing to see here. they really think an outstanding job market doesn't matter to american families? that might have explained their voting record on tax reform and other issues, but i suspect this

is just pure partisanship because it's republican policies that are helping generate this success. our friends across the aisle want to deny reality and ignore the obvious improvement for workers, families, and job creators. fortunately, mr. president, the facts are the facts. americans know success when they see it, and republicans will keep fighting to unleash more prosperity for the middle class. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to calendar number 449, h.r. 5895. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 449, h.r. 5896, an act making appropriations for energy and water development and so forth and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk on the motion to proceed. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 449, h.r. 5895, an act making appropriations for energy and water development, and so forth and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: it's now been two days since the singapore summit between president trump and chairman kim concluded. america remains troubled by the lack of detail on the joint statement signed by both parties as well as some of the remarkable concessions made by president trump, especially the

freeze of joint military exercises with south korea. in the wake of this first meeting, it's becoming clearer and clearer that chairman kim secured far more concessions than president trump. and yet, despite all the evidence, president trump is acting like he just secured world peace. the president is conducting an alternative reality presidency. and the recent summit with north korea reveals it better than ever. president trump says we're no longer on the brink of war with north korea after president trump himself was the one who brought us there in the first place, through bellicose rhetoric and brinkmanship on twitter. now the president takes a victory lap for undoing a problem he created in the first place. he pats himself on the back, saying we're now at peace. we were on the brink of war. he forgets that he brought us

there. what kind of presidency is this? again, president trump tweeted yesterday, quote, there is no longer a nuclear threat from north korea. saying it, mr. president trump, does not make it so. once again, an alternative reality presidency. despite what the president says, chairman kim has not agreed to dismantle north korea's nuclear infrastructure. he has not agreed to stop enriching plutonium and uranium. he has not agreed to any sort of inspections regime. when chairman kim went home to north korea, he did not even mention his vague commitment to completely denuclearize. to say there is no longer a nuclear threats from north korea after one meeting, after signing one sheet of paper is living in

an alternative reality, and that's where it seems president trump lives these days more than ever before. finally, in place of serious, arduous negotiations, president trump preferred signing ceremonies and proclamations. it's a pattern in this presidency. flash over substance. signed documents in front of cameras, but skip out on the hard work behind the scenes. the idea is to make it look as if the president is getting stuff done but not tweaght doing the hard work and getting it done. we can't have a president who is interested only in playing the role of president. he's got to do the job of president. on a matter as serious as negotiations with north korea, there is no substitute for the hard work of real diplomacy. only in president trump's alternative reality presidency do photo-ops and handshakes

suffice. especially, especially when north korea still presents such a great danger to us. if tomorrow morning kim jong-un did a 180-degree reversal, having gotten what he wants, the handshake, the summit, the reduction of sanctions, we would be in real danger, and president trump acts like it's all over. an alternative reality presidency, but when it comes to something as serious and dangerous as north korea, it's not a joke. it's serious stuff. the hard details, the concrete concessions, the diplomatic gains for the united states, safety from a dangerous, still-dangerous north korea, those simply have to wait in president trump's world, and it doesn't even seem to matter if they never happen.

we hope sincerely that those hard details do come. we hope sincerely that the singapore summit was only the first step rather than the final result, because we all wish to see a diplomatic resolution to the conflict on the korean peninsula. 99% of all americans don't just want a photo-op. and we're glad that president trump is actually trying at least to channel diplomacy, but he needs to stop behaving like all the hard work is behind him and open his eyes to the reality that bringing an end to a nuclear north korea is not as easy, simple, or as quick as a few days of photo-ops. now, on another subject, this afternoon, we expect to receive the report of the department of justice inspector general who has been reviewing the conduct

of the department of justice and the f.b.i. in the runup to the 2016 election. although we have not yet seen the inspector general's report, there is no reason, no reason to believe it will provide any basis to call the special counsel's work into question. the illini i.g.'s report contains an entirely separate investigation from the russia probe that special counsel mueller is conducting. the i.g. report contains issues that started long before the special counsel mueller was even appointed and concluded before he began his investigation. furthermore, the one thing we do know about what happened in late 2016 is that certain actions taken by the f.b.i. intentionally or not helped the trump campaign and hurt the clinton campaign. is the release that candidate

clinton was under investigation, the release of comments on what she had or had not done hurt her. it will take an awful lot of spin, an awful lot of stretching for republicans to twist that around and portray the president as some kind of victim. but regrettably, people like chairman nunes, like fox news, like some of the republican supporters of the president in congress, and even like the president himself have been running a cynical campaign to undermine the russia investigation. it seems the only limits to the wild conspiracies they have cooked up is their imaginations. this hurts america. we've heard new reports that russia's looking to meddle in our 2018 elections. if farn powers can meddle in our elections with impunity, this

democracy's in trouble, in trouble. both in what the important important -- foreign powers may do and the lack of faith it instills in democracies here and around the world. and our republican colleagues who use this, our president who uses this as a political whipping boy are hurting our democracy. so almost regardless of what the i.g. report says, you can probably expect the president, mr. nunes, some of the fox news commentators and others to invent new conspiracy theories and new calls for more special counsels to investigate the investigators. americans of all stripes are beginning to see these theories for what they are. distortions meant to undermine or distract from special counsel

mueller's investigation into the very serious efforts of russia to influence the outcome of our elections. well-meaning members of both parties, both parties should call them out for what they are. we're waiting to hear from some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle on this. too few voices. too few voices on something so significant. on another matter, and this one of some bipartisanship, i'm happy to say. the senate continues to process the john s. mccain national defense authorization act in a bipartisan way to give our military the support and certainty it needs and to make crucial updates to our national security policy, and one strong bipartisan action in this bill is dealing with the chinese telecom giant z.t.e. let me remind this body, z.t.e. has violated u.s. sanctions, lied about it, but even more

importantly, its technology has been deemed a national security threat. a national security threat to these great united states by the f.b.i., the pentagon, and the f.c.c., all appointed republicans -- by republicans. president trump was flat-out wrong when he decided to go easy on z.t.e. and allow it to start selling its technology in the united states. if you believe some reports, he did it once again on a whim. a phone call from president xi, president xi, our enemy on economic matters who is robbing american jobs and stealing our technology, calls him up and says let's undo this. president trump, seemingly without preparation, without briefings by the military or intelligence agencies or our law enforcement agencies, just does it, hurting america.

the good news -- bipartisan efforts in this body and in the house to undo what the president did and reimpose the penalties on z.t.e. that they deserve. president trump was flat-out wrong when he decided to go easy on z.t.e. and allow it to start selling its technology in the u.s. again. that puts america at severe risk, the risk of a china-backed company spying on americans' private information, spying on businesses, spying on our military. z.t.e. is allowed to come in here -- if z.t.e. is allowed to come in here, every american should be worried when they talk on their iphone that china's spying on them. every american business should be worried that china's spying on the businesses and their intellectual property. and most of all, our military leaders should be worried that china is purloining secrets that

help keep us safe. that's why we've included a bipartisan amendment. i want to salute senators cotton and van hollen for leading the charge. i want to absolute folks -- salute folks like senator rubio who have been so strong on this issue, putting country first. i want to salute the many on our side who have agreed with that. it's the right thing to do to not allow z.t.e. to be here, for both national security interests, as well as the economic importance of being tough on china. yesterday, it was reported, of course, that the white house will oppose the amendment and may seek to strip it out of the bill. we hope cooler heads in the administration, secretary mattis, chief of staff kelly, and others who have had a military background can inform the president how ill-advised his actions are.

both parties in congress must be resolute in blocking the president's bad pro-china z.t.e. deal. protecting america's national and economic security is paramount, and any deal that jeopardizes them should be stopped in its tracks. senator corker made a point this week. he's freed of the political constraints and can say what he thinks. he made a point passionately that this body does not have to assent to every whim of the president. it's not easy when you're of the same party as the president. i know that. but as everyone in this chamber knows, on some major issues, i opposed president obama because i thought he was wrong. and i know how difficult it is. i know how difficult it is. but sometimes duty and country and patriotism require it. on a matter as vital as this one, having to do with america's national and economic security, we cannot back off.

i urge my colleagues, particularly my friends, senators cotton, rubio, and cornyn, who have been so strong and right on this issue, hang tough. especially when we get to congress. and i want to thank our chair -- our acting chair, is it? acting chair of the armed services committee for understanding the security risks america has and for working in a bipartisan way to do it. now finally, mr. president, indulge me a few more words. they are personal but they are meaningful. today's flag day. it's also my father's 95th birthday. it is this upcoming weekend on father's day. my father is a world war ii vet. over in burma. when he came back to brooklyn after the war, he took over a

small exterminating business from his father, my grandpa. i often joked we're the only family who associates the smell of d.d.t. with love, because my dad would come home from the office smelling of all those chemicals. my father hated his job. he would pace the floor sunday nights, 2:00 a.m., unable to sleep, dreading to go to work on monday. but there was great honor in what he did. he never complained. he was supporting a family, even if it was in a job he was stuck with after getting back from world war ii. and his passion and his idea of serving without complaining is something his children, grandchildren, and, god willing in november, his soon-to-be first great grandchild -- my daughter's pregnant -- he gave us the idea that we could follow

our dreams, standing on his strong and weary shoulders. mine led me here. i will never stop being grateful to my dad for that. so, mr. president, allow me to wish my father a happy birthday today and to say i look forward to seeing him and my mom selma who turned 90 just on d-day, as well as my wife and two daughters this weekend for father's day, and i wish all americans the same joy in celebrating father's day this weekend. i yield the floor.. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 5515 which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 442, h.r. 5515, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the department of defense and so

forth and for other purposes. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, first of all, let me make sure that we get into the record and accurately as i'm saying it right now that -- to abe schumer that his little boys' most predictable adversary wishes him today a happy birthday. all right. you're very welcome. mr. schumer: i thank the senator. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i want to start today by giving an update as to where we are in the process for the ndaa. at 10:30 which is coming up shortly here, we're going to have a cloture vote on toomey's amendment that applies to the

cfius rule-making process. i think we all know what that is. we all know there's a lot of opposition on the democrat side on that. if that vote fails, we'll immediately roll into a cloture vote on the substitute amendment. that's our amendment that we'll be considering as the bill. then we hope to invoke cloture on the underlying bill this afternoon before we head out of town. if we're able to do that, we'll have a final passage vote on monday when we return. now, we're also working diligently as we speak to clear additional managers' package. one of the things we've been talking about here and i've been somewhat critical of some of my fellow members, the fact that we have operating under rules and we've gone through this in years past, it's almost predictable that one individual will try to use this bill as a must-pass bill. everybody knows it's going to pass. it's passed for the last 57 years. and so that's logically where

you'd put an amendment that's very difficult to pass. i don't blame them for that. i'd do the same thing. but nonetheless, i wouldn't do it if it caused all other amendments to not be considered. what i'm hoping what will happen is we'll be able to have a managers' package and i have reason to believe, i'm optimistic about that. it would be a great thing to have. because these amendments, i don't know how many would be ultimately in the managers' package. we're talking about a lot of amendments. and we've already cleared many amendments. and anyone who criticizes the process that we're going through right now is not aware that we have done how many amendments we have considered in our work on in in committee. we're talking about some 300 amendments. we have since that time had countless amendments that had been agreed to on both sides and that's where we are today. so it would be a great victory for all of us in this chamber if

we could get the managers' amendment agreed to and hopefully that will be true. i can't neglect that today is the army's 243rd birthday. i can remember i actually attended a birthday party for the united states army quite a while before a lot of you guys were even born. that was when i was in fort lee, virginia, in the united states army. this would have been the 100 -- 180th birthday we were celebrating then. back whether we were celebrating the 180th birthday and i never dreamed i would be around to celebrate the 243rd birthday of the united states army. the army is actually older than this country is, 1775 brave americans joined the cause to fight for the life and liberty that we hold so dear now. it's my same motivation that still inspires the service of the men and women who joined the

army and, indeed, all of the service branches today. it's for those men and women that we are here today. that's what this is all about, the ndaa that we're considering today. it's -- it's the provisions for them, individuals. it has specific provisions for our men and women on the ground in harm's way. a pay raise that's the largest in ten years, that modernizes the office of personnel system. it means more opportunities for qualified service members to receive promotions throughout their career. and i think it's a recognition that this is a time that this is taking place where there's a new emphasis on defending america. i don't say this critically but the last administration had a policy that said we can't put in any more money in sequestration in the military unless we do the same thing for the nondefense spending. a lots of people agree with -- a lot of people agree with that. i don't agree with that. we are at the point where we've

broken parity. i say to those individuals making career decision, help is on its way. this is a good time to do it. part of that is because of the modernization of the personnel system that is in this legislation. it also has -- authorizes $40 million for supplemental impact aid support. in my state of oklahoma, when you have an expansion of military activity, then of course you -- those military activity, individuals who are involved, they don't -- they're exempt from the taxes that support our schools. that's the problem we v. every state has a problem. it's probably more severe in oklahoma than i think elsewhere. i would like this statement to let those individuals know, those individuals throughout my state of oklahoma in five different military installations that help is on its way and we're going to try to do a better job with supplemental

impact aid than we've done in the past. this bill does that. it increases funding for military personnel, improving the quality of life for the families. and most importantly, it increases end strength. not as much as i'd like to see but it does grow the force so service members can have sufficient time to be with their families and train before redeploying. and that's what we're doing right now. it's going to take a lot -- it's going to take a lot of additional funding. we are authorizing that finishing, and we're going to be rebuilding. i have to remind people on the outside world, the people who are not here in washington, that we do have a problem, this assumption that america has the best of everything. at one time it was true but it's not now. i always document that because that's a pretty strong statement. if you look at artillery, artillery is measured in terms of rapid fire and range. and right now both russia and china have better range and

raped fire than we have -- and rapid fire than we have in the united states. we have done nothing with the nuclear arsenal the last ten years. at the same time our triad system has been steady and yet russia and china have improved theirs. they're ahead of us in that area. there is another area that is a new type of defense system that actually has a defense mechanism that goes five times the speed of sound. and it's still in the experimental stage but both china and russia are ahead of us. this bill that we're considering now ironically on the birthday of the united states army is going to correct that. it's going to take a little while, but it is ultimately going to correct that. i'm hoping that any individuals, we have 20 more minutes before we cast the two very significant votes that i just mentioned. this is an opportunity to be heard. and i'm hoping, i really believe that some of the individuals who

have really been somewhat of an obstacle in the past are cooperating at a new level and i'm very excited about that. and i'm hoping that we'll be able to stay on the schedule i just articulated a few minutes for. with that, i yield the floor and ask for a quorum call. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma.

mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: madam president, we're going to have two votes coming up. the first vote is going to be one that i strongly support. it's in the -- the -- senator toomey is looking in this amendment to do something that has been very successful, and that is to give a little more opportunity for us to be overseeing the -- some of the overregulations that are out there. i was very pleased to be -- to have the first c.r.a. that was mine that i authored to be enacted into law, and we've now had 16 c.r.a.'s, that's congressional review act. it's interesting because we went 20 years without having any of them that were taken and now we've been successful in doing that. it's just a stronger position for those of us in the senate to be able to get some things done. we can safeguard the importance

of deregulation, especially for the future, by passing this legislation today. senator toomey's amendment would simply give congressional oversight over the cfius rulemaking process, which everyone here knows needs to be done. it would not slow down the implement process and still grant cfius. after that, we are going to have the vote to is going to allow us to move to a package, i'm hoping that we'll be able to do it because there's been a lot of talk about not being able to get an open amendment process. we have not had one, and that's unfortunate. but if we can just get this package of amendments put together, it's going to be quite a few of them, all of them will be cleared on both sides. it will be one that people are going to be very anxious to get son. it's going to give voice many of the members, probably some 40

members who otherwise would not have the opportunity to have their amendment agreed to, or at least heard. so i think we'll have that opportunity. it's very important that we do it now and i think that's -- hopefully that package of amendments is going to be one that will be favorably approved. with that, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the presiding officer: quorum call: -- quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to one minute. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, i appreciate the broad support that we've seen for plugging the holes in our ability to evaluate foreign investment for national security risks here in the united states. we know that china, for example,

has been quite explicit about what it's trying to do to surpass the united states economically and militarily, and there have been very aggressive and -- and they have been very aggressive and very strategic in the way they have tried to acquire intellectual property and know-how for foreign investment in the united states. that's why this legislation is so important. i admire the senator from pennsylvania as one of the most principled conservatives in this body and in congress, but he and i differ over whether the reins act, which would require up-or-down votes on implementing regulations should be a part of this implementation of this national security legislation. i never dreamed that we would do that in a national security context as opposed to economic and environmental legislation. so reluctantly, i oppose the senator from pennsylvania's amendment and would encourage all of our colleagues to do the same. i would just conclude by saying

that i share his concerns when it comes to using national security as a pretext on economic legislation and trade issues, and i look forward to continuing to work with him and all of my other colleagues outside of the national security context to make sure that we -- we support free and fair trade, one that protects the united states interest as well as overstepping the regulatory bounds by the executive branch on occasion. i'm all for rolling that back where we can but not in the national security context like this. i yield the floor. i have suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. toomey: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. toomey: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. toomey: i ask unanimous consent to address the body for one minute. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. toomey: thank you, madam president. i simply want to make the case that this amendment we're about to vote on is a simple question of whether we think that we ought to be accountable, that we ought to take responsibility for the legislative authority that we delegate. rule making is a legislative function, and in this bill, the cfius reform bill that is in the ndaa, as in many other occasions, we delegate a portion of that authority, we delegate that rule making to the executive branch, which is fine. but we have got a responsibility to make sure that they get it right. this administration and future administrations. and so this amendment has a simple mechanism that requires a simple up-or-down vote. it can't be filibustered, it can't be delayed. it's a simple majority vote to

affirm that the rulemaking actually will achieve the legislative attempt. anything -- a no vote is really a vote to shirk our own responsibility, our constitutional responsibility since all legislative authority is invested in the congress of the united states. i urge a yes vote. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on senate amendment numbered 2700 to amendment numbered 2282 to h.r. 5515, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019, and so forth and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on amendment numbered 2700, offered by the senator from kentucky,

mr. mcconnell, for the senator from pennsylvania, mr. toomey, to h.r. 5515, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the department of defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the department of energy to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeas are 35, the nays are 62. the motion is not agreed to. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on senate amendment number 2282 assed toified to h.r. 5515 an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 23019 and so forth and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense

of the senate that debate on amendment number 2282, as modified, offered by the senator from oklahoma, mr. inhofe, to h.r. 5515, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the department of defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the department of energy to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: