tv U.S. Senate U.S. Senate CSPAN July 17, 2018 9:59am-1:08pm EDT
9:59 am
new guy. [laughter] >> so, look, we've been really focused on millennials in a couple of different ways. i think the clubs have done a phenomenal job based on information that we've developed, that they've developed, of actually altering or offering an alternative experience in most ball parks that is more tailored to the millennial tastes. it begins with how you buy a ticket. probably the biggest change has been the ballpark pass. you buy 30 days, you go when you want to go. you don't necessarily have a seat, but there's a stand-up bar or a general admission area when you get in the ballpark. we then hope you're using the ballpark app which gives you an opportunity to buy up into a seat or find an area that is to your liking. >> you can see the rest of this conversation on our website, c-span.org.
10:00 am
search for major league baseball in the search bar. we go to the united states senate and considering nominee for the jobs education department and the federal reserve board of governor. live coverage of the u.s. senate. 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. eternal god, send your peace into our hearts today, providing
10:01 am
us with contentment that comes from your abiding presence. bless our lawmakers. use them to give hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless, and freedom to the captives. preserve our senators from hurt remind our senators that evil will triumph will good people do nothing. give them the courage to stand for right though the heavens fall. may they totally depend on you, acknowledging you as the author and finisher of their faith. we pray in your great name.
10:02 am
amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.
10:05 am
10:06 am
not. mr. mcconnell: madam president, last night the internal revenue service made an aimportant announcement. it's particularly welcomed news to those of us who intently are focused on defending the first amendment, for those of us who over the years have raised concerns over the last administration about activist regulators punishing free speech and free association. it's a straightforward, commonsense policy decision. the internal revenue service is cutting back on the amount of non -- nonpublic information it collects and stockpiles about americans who donate to nonprofit causes. the i.r.s. will no longer pointlessly demand private contribution lists from whole categories of tax-exempt organizations. i say pointlessly, madam president, because the identity of nonprofit donors serve no
10:07 am
compelling purpose under sections 501c4 and 501c6 of our tax code. contributions to these organizations are not tax deductible so the i.r.s. does not need to see this data for accounting purposes, and these organizations are not required -- not required to release that information under the public inspection and availability requirements. so let me repeat. the identity of the donors to this these organizations is not necessary for accounting and does not require public inspection by the internal revenue code. it raises the question if the i.r.s. isn't permit to do anything with this set of americans' private information, why collect it in the first place? unfortunately we know exactly what happens when the government stockpiles private data about
10:08 am
the donation through which -- donations through which americans participate in the public discourse many we know exactly why many on the left are key into bureaucrats having this key, confidential information. where it leads, madam president, is americans being bullied for exercising their first amendment rights. this bullying is established by bureaucrats, and in some cases, by elected officials. sometimes the government itself does the bullying. case in point, the obama administration's i.r.s. scandal, the agency slow-walked the application of groups that appeared conservative, including some of my own constituents. donors an groups faced unusually aggressive questioning, unreasonable deadlines followed by unreasonable delays. this was federal authorities using the weaponry of government
10:09 am
to punish americans for supporting speech they didn't like. other times government simply enables the harassment. if fails to protect this private information from leaking to the army of left-wing activists who stand eager to harass and bully anyone who's contributing to national conversations with political views with which they disagree. back in 2014, the i.r.s. had to settle a lawsuit on this very issue. an i.r.s. worker broke the law and leaked an unredacted copy of a group's confidential tax forms which ended up in the hands of a liberal organization on the opposite side of the issue. needless to say private information about americans' political speech was quickly weaponized for political purposes. in one case the c.e.o. of a technology organization was founded -- hounded by his job by liberal activists for daring to
10:10 am
see this subject differently than they did. some state governments began demanding their own copies of the information the i.r.s. was gathering. and there were similarly troubling results. in 2012, california, which had promised nonprofits that the donor list would only be seen by the state's list of treasury trusts accidentally published the donor list of hundreds of nonprofits from kras the political spectrum. and more states like new york have sought to copy california allowing more activists regulators to access this information. so the pattern is unmistakable. the political movement wants to -- this particular political movement wants to erase our age-old tradition that citizens should be able to keep their private views and the causes they privately support private. back in the 1950's it was the
10:11 am
naacp who took on the state of alabama over precisely this issue. the state government tried to get their hands on the nacc -- naacp donor list. the issue went all the way to the u.s. supreme court where the naacp won a big victory for the first amendment. here's what justice harlan wrote in that opinion. inle val ability may in many circumstances be indispensable to a preservation to freedom of association, particularly where a group espouses dissident beliefs. he said that forcing private organizations to disclose their donors was not so different from forcing people with certain views to wear arm bands or other clothing advertising their beliefs to the world. in both cases the government's action would be inviting harassment and intimidation upon
10:12 am
americans, those whose beliefs were either unusual or unpopular. or in today's culture of intimidation those whose beliefs to the left disagrees with. the result is more speakers stay silent. fewer americans choose to exercise their right of free association. it's bad enough to wield government power to chill political speech and invite harassment of citizens based on what an angry mob assumes their opinions are based on their private financial records. it is even more egregious to seek that political goal while calling it, believe it or not, good government. in this country good government means protecting citizens' first amendment rights to participate in the competition of ideas, not trying to shut down that competition. we persuade. we don't intimidate.
10:13 am
so i welcome this announcement and applaud the leadership of secretary mnuchin and acting i.r.s. agent david carter. i'm glad this step will make the rights of americans to freely advocate for their strongly held beliefs, less vulnerable to the malice of some in government and to the proven failures of bureaucracies. and i urge continued vigilance for all of us who cherish the first amendment. now, on a different matter, madam president, it's what's becoming an historic year for favorable economic news. there are plenty of ways to measure how american workers job creators and entrepreneurs are writing a new chapter. after nearly a decade of stagnating pay and vanishing opportunities, recent months have brought remarkable
10:14 am
milestones. optimism among american small businesses has reached its highest level since president reagan's first term. 67% of americans believe now is a good time to find a quality job in the u.s., the highest percentage in 17 years of gallup polling. and just last month, a manufacturing industry measure reported growth in 17 out of 18 sectors, from textiles to precision technologies. it's no surprise then that the national association of manufacturers found last month that a record high 95.1% of manufacturers have a positive view of their company's outlook. what does this mean to real workers on the floor of american factories? well, at mack molding, an injection-month-older and contract -- injection molder with companies in arlington,
10:15 am
vermont it means an investment in facilities with preparations to hire 100 new workers. in a steel company based in montgomery, alabama, it means pay raises for the company's 230 employees and new more efficient equipment at both companies in the south. they helped to make their 2018 success possible with the tax reform law. our democratic co÷ -- colleagues can talk all they like about repealing historic tax cuts and sending that money back to washington instead, but this united republican government is proud of the new prosperity we're building. we will not let the democrats take away their tax cuts.
10:20 am
10:21 am
helsinki, finland. i'm disappointed as well by the stunning silence of some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in response to it. when each of us is elected to serve in congress, the house and the senate, we are asked to take an oath and a very serious oath. in it, we swear to support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. the president of the united states similarly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. madam president, yesterday in helsinki, finland, the president of the united states was engaged in an appalling display. what we saw at that press conference, standing just several feet away from vladimir putin, the leader of russia, was the president's decision to turn
10:22 am
his back on the organizations and agencies of the united states government. to question their credibility and to affirm incredibly that mr. putin had given a powerful denial to what they have found when it comes to the russian interference in our last election. just days after bullying our key nato allies and failing to publicly accept that russia attacked our country, attacked our democracy, this administration and its enablers here in congress are failing that oath. president trump refuses to accept the findings of american intelligence professionals, the department of justice, the department of defense, and virtually every agency of our government that is tasked with keeping us safe, and instead accepts vladimir putin's absurd self-serving denials.
10:23 am
many of my colleagues here in congress refuse to even speak up to denounce the president's actions. consider what happened months before the 2016 election, what our nation's top intelligence -- when our nation's top intelligence officials came and told key congressional leaders about this russian cyber attack on the united states. the administration at that time under president obama was deeply concerned. president obama was looking for a bipartisan response condemning putin's efforts in the closing days of the election so as to avoid any hint of partisanship in the public announcement and to present a unified deterrent. what was the response of majority leader mitch mcconnell after hearing this alarming revelation? that vladimir putin was actively interfering in our elections and trying to undermine our democracy? senator mcconnell's response -- no thanks, we're not going to help.
10:24 am
incredibly, neither the senator for his party did. madam president, is there anyone in the senate, anyone who took the oath to protect our nation against enemies foreign and domestic who thinks any of us, regardless of political party, should receive help from a foreign adversary to get elected? i hope we all agree that country must come before party. so then why do so many of my republican colleagues remain silent in light of president trump's open denial of the reality of the russian involvement in our election? yesterday, we watched in disbelief as the president not only refused to even acknowledge the act of cyber war against the united states, but incredibly blamed america first for our poor relationship with russia. we watched our american president refuse to stand up to vladimir putin, a former k.g.b. official, who executed one of
10:25 am
the most breathtaking cyber attacks in history aimed at the united states and aimed at undermining the western security alliance and our country's democracy. an american president who stood on the world stage next to a tyrant, a tyrant who denies that he attacked us. and then the president of the united states repeatedly agreed with that adversary and dismissed criminal indictments of russian government officials responsible for the attack. the president closed with a rambling preening about his great election victory. we have an american president who seems to be utterly incapable of saying the obvious to vladimir putin. the president should say don't ever interfere in u.s. elections again. i don't want your help, and i don't believe your absurd denials. he refused to say that. now compare his bizarre and dangerous comments in helsinki
10:26 am
with what president ronald reagan said before the 1988 nato summit. instead of bullying our closest allies, ronald reagan said our first priority is to maintain a strong and healthy partnership between north america and europe, for this is the foundation on which the cause of freedom so crucially depends. our first priority is to maintain a strong and healthy partnership between north america and europe, for this is the foundation on which the cause of freedom so crucially depends. there is one republican senator who is not silent. my friend, the great american patriot john mccain, said yesterday, and i quote, about the helsinki press conference. he said today's press conference in helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an american president in memory. the damage inflicted by president trump's naivete,
10:27 am
egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. president trump proved not only unable but unwilling to stand up to putin. he and putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of free press and to grant putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world. i could not agree more. it is obvious. we, all of us, democrats and republicans, should agree with what john mccain said. madam president, despite president trump's shameful denials of russian interference at yesterday's press conference, the evidence is clear -- russia did interfere in the 2016 election. our intelligence agencies and the bipartisan senate
10:28 am
intelligence committee have concluded that not only did russia interfere with our elections through cyber attacks, but they did so to harm hillary clinton, help elect donald trump, and undermine our democratic process. when donald trump hears those words, it sends him into a rage. he denies any russian interference for fear that it might reflect on his victory in the election. madam president, there is no evidence that has been produced to date that shows that russian interference changed the outcome of that election. i'm not questioning whether donald trump won the electoral college and became president, but i don't think he should question whether the russians were trying to undermine that process. during his ongoing investigation into russian meddling, special counsel mueller has so far indicted 32 individuals and three companies on a total of 191 criminal charges. this includes the february indictment of 13 russian trolls who engaged in a multiyear
10:29 am
effort to influence our election , to support the election of donald trump by sew sewing -- sowing discord and inflaming tensions online. and the mueller investigation includes 12 members of the russian military intelligence, specifically named, who were indicted last friday for engaging in a sustained operation to hack in e-mails, accounts, and computer networks in the democratic national committee, the democratic national campaign committee, and hillary clinton's presidential campaign. these russians also created online personas and worked with wikileaks to publish the stolen documents. to cover their tracks, they committed identity theft, engaged in money laundering, and at one point leased a computer in my home state of illinois to store and move the stolen documents through encrypted channels. additionally, the russians hacked into the computer networks of election officials and vendors in order to steal
10:30 am
voter data and other information. the indictment produced by the mueller special counsel, mentions that the russians, quote, hacked the website of the state board of elections, stole information relating to approximately 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial security numbers, dates of birth, and driver's license numbers. this is presumably the illinois state board of elections which we already knew was one of the first victims of a successful russian cyber attack. a russian cyber attack which president donald trump refuses to believe ever happened. we know russia meddled in the 2016 election, and we know we should be gearing up for the russians to interfere with the 2018 mid term election as well. director of national intelligence dan coats, former republican senate colleague from the state of indiana and a man i
10:31 am
voted for for this position and respect very much reiterated the ongoing threat that russia presents saying, quote, in regard to state actions, russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor. no question. and they continue their efforts to undermine our democracy. end of quote. what a departure from what president trump said in hill sink can i -- helsinki yesterday. his own director of intelligence refuted the statement he made to the world yesterday agreeing with the powerful statement of vladimir putin that he had nothing to do with an attack on our election. our president, cozying up to vladimir putin at the expense of the credibility of his own director of national intelligence. why is this happening? instead of condemning president trump and supporting the special counsel's efforts to get to the bottom of this, sadly the vast majority of congressional republicans are actively working to undermine the investigation.
10:32 am
just last week senate republicans confirmed the nomination of brian benczkowski to serve as assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division of the department of justice. they voted for mr. benczkowski to be in charge of 600 federal prosecutors despite the fact that mr. benczkowski has never, never as a lawyer been at a trial, never. never been in a courtroom. never been in a trial. was named by president trump to head up the criminal division of the department of justice. that may not be the worst part. mr. benczkowski also chose in his private law practice in washington to represent a russian bank, the alfa bank with deep ties to vladimir putin. and despite the fact that when he was called on, he said he would not recuse himself from this russian investigation despite his involvement with this bank. furthermore, this vote occurred as president trump and house
10:33 am
republicans had been looking for an excuse to fire attorney general -- deputy attorney general rosenstein who is overseeing the mueller investigation. should rosenstein be fired? mr. benczkowski easily could be tasked by the president with overseeing the russian investigation. that would be an unmitigated legal disaster. enough is enough. today is the day. i hope my colleagues, democrat and republican alike, will step forward and speak up. the world is still reeling from the comments made yesterday by the president of the united states of america at helsinki. they're serious questions from our long time allies, nato allies, those who count on the united states for the safety and security of their republics, serious questions in their mind about who we are, what we stand for, the relationship between this president and vladimir putin, a relationship which is
10:34 am
absolutely inexplicable, that president trump would refuse to concede the obvious, that lad vladimir putin is setting out to undermine our values in the world. president trump should stand with the brave men and women in law enforcement, intelligence, and the department of defense who have warned him about vladimir putin and not be so easily swept away with these meetings he has. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:
10:44 am
mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: democratic leader. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: we are. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, yesterday's summit was one of the most disgraceful performances by an american president in memory. the damage inflicted by president trump's naivety, egotism, false equivalence and symphony for autocrats is difficult to calculate. president trump proved not only
10:45 am
unable but unwilling to stand up to putin. he and putin seem to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscience choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press and to grant putin, an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world. coming close on the heels of president trump's bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in brussels and britain, today's press conference -- yesterday's press conference actually, marks a recent low point in the history of the american presidency. not only did president trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary, but speaking for america to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are, a
10:46 am
republic, free people dedicated to liberty at home and abroad. americans must be champions of that cause if it's to succeed. americans are waiting and hoping for president trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. one can only hope they are not waiting in vain. those, madam president, are very strong words and people would say, well, chuck schumer's the democratic leader, of course he's going to criticize president trump. but those strong, biting, and effective words are not mine. those three paragraphs i quoted come from senator john mccain, probably the leading republican expert on military security, national security, and foreign policy. when senator mccain says that, it should be a clarion call to every republican to not just
10:47 am
speak up but to take action because the national security of america is endangered. so i would request, madam president, that senator mccain's statement, in it's entirety, be entered into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now my words, madam president. it's still difficult to comprehend what transpired yesterday in helsinki. it was one of the worst days for any president of the united states and his actions in recent memory. on foreign soil president trump said the united states was to blame for the state of the relationship between russia and america. he trashed american intelligence. took the word of the k.g.b. over the word of the men and women of the c.i.a. can you believe it? can you believe it? saying russia's intelligence
10:48 am
agency which murders, steals, lies, and cheats is per than -- is better than ours? there is no rational explanation for an american president to do such a thing. it was a man -- it was the act of a man who seems incapable of distinguishing between his own narrow personal interests and the interests of american national security. can you imagine if president kennedy believed cr -- kruszcev. can you imagine if president reagan believed gorbachev without verifying that the soviet union would lessen its stockpile. thank god president kennedy and president reagan showed strength in the face of tyrants.
10:49 am
let me explain to the president why he's being so strongly criticized when he embraced putin's strong and powerful denial. the reason, president trump, that you're being so criticized when you accept putin's word is that putin is a trained liar. he lies brazenly, shamelessly, repeatedly about big things and small. putin lied about the presence of russian troops in crimea, he lied about the malaysian airplane shot down by a russian rocket, he lied about russian behavior in eastern ukraine, lied about outside use of chemical weapons, lied about interference in the bez ic vote and lied about a recent nerve agent attack in the united
10:50 am
kingdom. when president putin gives president trump a strong and powerful denial, quote, unquote, that he didn't meddle in our elections, president trump accepts putin's word over the considered judgment of america's dedicated intelligence professionals. it's almost as if donald trump is embracing putin's needs. i'm ashamed of it. every american should be. no previous president would be that naive or that weak. no serious leader would allow themselves to be taken in so easily. the -- the only person with cause to celebrate is vladimir putin. putin got top stand on the -- got to stand on the stage with an american president who refused to hold him accountable for anything. he watched president trump careen through europe torching
10:51 am
old alliances, tint fearing in the domestic affairs of the united kingdom, weakening nato and american power. putin skated through a bilateral summit and press conference without facing any consequences for deliberately meddling in our elections. putin couldn't have scripted it better himself. i'm from brooklyn. i learned one thing, when there's a bully around, you show strength but president trump showed abject weakness. you know what that means? the bully will continue to take advantage of him. if donald trump was such an easy mark in helsinki, president putin will realize he's an easy mark elsewhere. the behavior of the president is just inexplicable. everyone in the united states is scratching their heads. there seems to be no rational
10:52 am
explanation for president trump's behavior and so millions of americans are left wondering if putin, indeed, has something over the president. that is the most logical explanation of the president's bizarre and weak behavior. if there's another credible explanation for why president trump behaved the way he did, it would behoof the president to let the american people in on it, otherwise we're going to continue -- so many americans are going to continue to wonder, does president putin have something over president trump that makes the president behave in such a way that hurts our country so? we know the president doesn't like to prepare much, but even the most basic preparation would lead the president away from the
10:53 am
erratic behavior we saw yesterday. the truth, madam president -- the truth is the summit yesterday was like an x-ray machine revealing that america first is really just trump first no matter what it means for the country he's sworn to defend from enemies foreign and domestic. so the question looms. what will the senate do in response? what will my republican colleagues do in response? a few of them have echoed senator mccain's sentiments. they deserve recognition of that. but those senators who are not john mccain, who are here in the senate wielding an immense power to shape events, i say to them, words are not enough. our response to the debasement of american interests before a foreign adversary demands a
10:54 am
response not just in word, but, indeed -- in deed. our republican colleagues cannot just talk the talk. some of them have done that, most haven't. but our republican colleagues, as a body, need to walk the walk. the american people are demanding it. our country needs to see republicans in the senate and the republican party stand up and show through action that, unlike our president, they will not tolerate russian aggression or accept putin's lies. they need to act in the spirit of ronald reagan, not in the spirit of donald trump. too often when the president goes off the reservation, the republican party has lightly rebuked his behavior and waited for everyone to move on. given the crisis, given trump's horrible actions, that's not good enough. our republican colleagues cannot
10:55 am
just go tsk, tisk, they must act if they want to help america. yesterday i outlined four things we could do immediately in response to the president's disastrous summit. let me repeat them and add a fifth. first, ratchet up sanctions on russia, not water them down. the sanctions we passed 98-2 have not even been fully implemented. so now i -- some want to reduce those sanctions in the house. we need to strengthen them. second, and very importantly, probably most importantly, our republican colleagues need to join us in demanding testimony from the president's national security team that was in helsinki, and we need to do that immediately. we need hearings as soon as possible to assess what
10:56 am
president trump might have committed to president putin in secret. president trump's public statements were alarming enough. the senate needs to know what happened behind closed doors. does anyone believe he was tougher on putin in secret? you can't assume anything but that as weak as he was in public before president putin he was even worse in private. why else did he not want anyone else in the room? president trump and president putin met one-on-one behind closed doors for nearly two hours. where are the notes from the meeting? what did the president agree to? was secretary pompeo briefed afterwards on what happened? were any other members of the president's team? the american people need to know what has happened. the american people deserve to know what's happened.
10:57 am
it's our security at risk. so i'm calling on leader mcconnell and his leadership team to immediately request a hearing with secretary of state pompeo and the rest of the president's national security team from helsinki so we can find out what the heck happened there, the explanation for what happened openly, and even more importantly, what happened in that meeting behind closed doors. third, our republican friends must end the attacks on the department of justice, the f.b.i., and the special counsel. those have mainly emanated from a small group in the house. given the indictments, given the indictment yesterday, not from mueller but from mainline justice, we have to let this investigation go forward. president trump's actions yesterday lead many more
10:58 am
americans to suspect that something was amiss. that there may have been collusion. what else -- what else would explain president trump's actions and protests in a foreign country? we need to end these attacks and let the investigation proceed unimpeded, encourage the president to sit down for an interview with mueller. fourth, the president must insist on the extradition of the 12 russians recently indicted for election interference. in one of the more by czar of many -- by czar of many by bizarre incident, putin insisted -- as russian agents interviewed the russians in russia. is russia known for a free
10:59 am
judicial system? is russia known for the rule of law? no. any other president would have rejected it out of hand. we need to bring them here, and the president to represent the honor and strength of the united states, something he has failed to do thus far needs to demand it. finally, election security. our elections are at risk. we've now had indictments of russians interfering in the 2016 elections, everyone except donald trump in america admits that's happened, democrats and republicans, speaker ryan, leader mcconnell that russia tried to interfere, and interfere, most everyone believes, on president trump's behalf. why? well, we heard putin's explanation. now, we can't have that happen
11:00 am
again. we must move election security legislation immediately. too it's credit, in a bipartisan way, this chamber and the other put $380 million in the last omnibus for election security, but there's very fine legislation, one sponsored by senator klobuchar and she's worked with some of the republicans on that, another sponsored by senator chris van hollen. i believe senator rubio is a cosponsor of that. we need to move that legislation, hopefully with bipartisan support quickly. these are five simple things we could do together, democrat and republican. now, yesterday, i saw my good friend -- i see him sitting here, senator cornyn, say that we have done most of these things already. i wish it were so. we haven't done any of them. leader mcconnell has not called for hearings to bring
11:01 am
pompeo and others here. we have not increased sanctions, which we should do. in fact, there is a move in the house to decrease them. we have not asked the president to demand extradition of the russians, and we have not urged some of those republicans, particularly in the house, to stop interfering with the mueller investigation. we haven't done any of the four i mentioned yesterday nor the fifth i have mentioned today. i hope senator cornyn and others will lead the charge and help us get those done in a bipartisan way for the sake of this wonderful and great country. the bottom line -- we need to act. a few statements will not change president trump's behavior, will not stop president putin from continuing to make a mess of our
11:02 am
alliances around the world and our elections here in america. action is required. the eyes of america are on republicans in the senate to join us in the actions i have outlined or other actions they might feel appropriate. i ask unanimous consent -- i have a statement on the supreme court as well. well, i think i will give it since senator cornyn just walked off the floor for a minute. so on scotus, i conclude by adding at this very delegate time senators from both parties should carefully scrutinize nominee brett kavanaugh. not only has trump promised to select nominees that would over u-turn roe v. wade and undo the health care law, judge kavanaugh has some troubling views on executive power and accountability. we have all witnessed the behavior of a reckless president who has shown he is willing to
11:03 am
test the bounds of executive authority at home just as he is willing to deport from all wisdom and sense on foreign soil. judge kavanaugh has demonstrated in several writings he believes the president should be above civil and criminal indictment while in office, that the president should be granted broad deference to enforce or not enforce laws he, quote, deems unconstitutional. consider for a moment what it would mean for the supreme court to rule that this president is immune from indictment or that he should be allowed to exercise his authority so wantonly as to decide which laws to enforce or not. yesterday, all the more reason, given what judge kavanaugh has written that he get careful and rigorous scrutiny before we move on any vote. i yield the floor.
11:04 am
the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the property, the senate will proceed to executive consideration to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of education, james blew of california, to be assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 11:45 a.m. will be equally divided in the usual form. mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i came to the floor to talk about the apolish i.c.e. movement and the reasons why that is a misconceived idea by some on the left, but i feel compelled to respond just briefly to some of the comments made by our friend
11:05 am
from new york, the democratic leader. first of all, the democratic leader says we need to have hearings on the matter of russian interference with our elections. i would remind the democratic leader that we have been doing that for a long time, ever since the intelligence community assessment was released at the end of the obama administration, documenting the russian meddling in the election. and that was released on a nonclassified, unclassified basis, so it's on the director of national intelligence web site, if anybody wants to read it. also i would submit to him the indictment, the 29-page indictment that robert mueller had issued by a grand jury against 12 russian intelligence officers, lays out in minute
11:06 am
detail what the russians were doing to try to cause confusion and undermine public confidence in our elections. and as a matter of fact this afternoon, the senate intelligence, select committee on intelligence is hearing from some obama administration officials on why they didn't do more to stop it back when president obama was in office when they knew very clearly what was going on but did not do -- well, virtually did nothing to stop it. so i would say to my friend from new york, the democratic leader, there have been a lot of hearings and the hearings are ongoing, and obviously security council mueller has issued this indictment. i only wish that it was more than a name and shame exercise because there is no chance the russians will extradite these intelligence officers over here for a trial, but i think it does serve a useful educational
11:07 am
purpose by pointing out in minute detail what the russians have been up to. they have upped their game in a way that is surprising to many people, using everything from propaganda to social media to cyber theft of information like the clinton e-mails and the d.n.c. e-mails during the course of the last election, and it's gotten very sophisticated, and we better be about fixing it and getting ready for the next election. rather than coming down here on the floor and engaging in the favorite washington past time, which is the blame game. senator schumer says we need to issue sanctions against russia. well, i have in front of me a -- about to be single-spaced pages of actions that we have taken since the beginning of the trump administration to support our
11:08 am
allies against russian aggression and to punish russian misconduct, whether it's in the elections or otherwise, and i would entertain. i understand the senator from colorado has some additional sanctions that he thinks would be appropriate, and i think that would be something that would sting rather than just send a press releases or try to prejudice -- press release or try to message this, let's consider additional sanctions that will actually discourage and hold accountable the russians for their election meddling and deter them hopefully from doing it again. but then i understand the fourth thing that my friend from new york said is we need to stop criticizing the comey f.b.i. and the department of justice under the obama administration. well, it's pretty clear from the investigations that have occurred that something rotten
11:09 am
was happening at the leadership of the f.b.i., and just to listen to mr. strok and his protestations that there was no bias associated with those investigations, it's patently unbelievable, unbelievable, not credible. so i understand that the democratic leader wants to focus his attention on the president, and that's his prerogative, and indeed he has been the leader of the antitrump resistance since president trump was elected. and many of us do disagree with the president's assessment on -- of the intelligence, as i suggested. i firmly believe that there is solid evidence of russian meddling in the election. i think that president putin misrepresented the facts. i'm not surprised at that, given who he is and how he operates.
11:10 am
as the democratic leader said, a former k.g.b. colonel. he's accustomed to dissembling and distorting, manipulating information in a way that serves his purpose. but i do think we should be absolutely clear. we all support the men and women who are the professionals who make up the intelligence community in this country, whom of many expose themselves to great danger and indeed many have lost their lives trying to protect this company against at v.r.e.sayeries around the world. i do think the findings of the intelligence community assessment during the end of the obama administration provides a road map to what the russians did, as did the indictment of the 12 russian g.r.u.
11:11 am
intelligence officials. we better wake up. rather than the blame game and pointing fingers, we better get ready for the next midterm election in 2018. so i think there is a lot we can do together, but as long as this becomes a political partisan stop trump at all costs effort, i don't think we're going to make much progress. so i just want to conclude this part of my remarks by saying i trust our intelligence community. i trust their assessment that there was russian meddling in the election, but i also trust the investigation so far which has shown absolutely no collusion with the trump campaign and russian intelligence activity leading up to the election. that's what i think has got the president so spun up, is because he feels like this is an attack on him personally. and i wish we could separate those two, but indeed our democratic colleagues don't want
11:12 am
to separate those, because they realize that this is the best way to keep this story going for as long as they can through the next election and who knows, through the next presidential election as well. mr. president, i just want to say a few words about this misguided effort to abolish i.c.e., immigration and customs enforcement. this is the operation component of the department of homeland security. we have seen this movement on hashtags, on intragrams, on t-shirts. we have watched protesters that showed newspaper california when i.c.e. agents were trying to investigate the trafficking of children. can you imagine these protesters interfering with an investigation into the crime of human trafficking of children? but that's not all. some of the house democrats have introduced legislation to
11:13 am
eliminate i.c.e. of course, any sensible person would tell you that eliminating i.c.e. is reckless, which is why i recently introduced a resolution with 14 of our colleagues denouncing these radical calls in the strongest of terms. this is just reckless and naive, this aboll iesh i.c.e. -- this abollish i.c.e. movement. this is a movement that is fundamentally irresponsible and based on one recent poll more than 70% of the american people when asked about it opposed the idea, and for good reason. i.c.e. was created, after all, in 2003, in response to the discovery that many of the 9/11 hijackers had exploited our holes in our immigration enforcement by -- and overstayed their tourist visas and attended flight schools without a proper visa. we know what happened there on that terrible day, 9/11/2001.
11:14 am
we know that hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals overstayed their -- overstay their visas every year illegally, and without i.c.e., those unlawfully residing in our country in violation of their visas would be allowed to stay indefinitely. is that what the abolish i.c.e. movement is about, is eliminating enforcement of our immigration laws and allow people who flout those laws to succeed in staying here in the united states in violation of those immigration laws? of course, abolishing i.c.e. would mean ending all of the agencies' programs and functions. it would mean allowing dangerous criminals, including potential terrorists who are in our country to remain here. it would mean scrapping the i.c.e. cyber crime center's investigation of child exploitation online. it would mean ending the i.c.e. blue campaign to rescue human trafficking victims and provide
11:15 am
them with a safe place to stay and other services. the blue campaign was just authorized by congress, by the way, unanimously this year and abolishing i.c.e. would eliminate it. abolishing i.c.e. would mean doing away with the unit that focuses on human rights violators and war crimes that is currently pursuing close to 2,000 leads. it would eliminate initiatives like operation community shield that combats the proliferation of transnational criminal gangs. so i hope our colleagues understand what they are encouraging when they say we should abolish i.c.e. i think they are -- it's incumbent on them to explain their rationale to the hardworking officials on the front lining fighting against illegal immigration. what do they have to say for
11:16 am
those people who risk their safety, perhaps even their life to enforce those important laws. much less to them whose jobs would be on the line. there's some important statistics relating to homeland security investigations which is a critical part of i.c.e. that our democratic friends who are encouraging the abolition of i.c.e. that they should know about. 8,887, that's the number of visa applications that homeland security investigations refuse based on terrorist connections or other derogatory information. 904, that's the number of sexually exploited children identified and/or rescued by homeland security in 2017. 3,945, that's the number of cases initiated based on human smuggling last year.
11:17 am
4,735, that's the number of transnational gang members arrested in the united states in 2017. and 980,000 which is the number of pounds of narcotics homeland security investigations seized in 2017, which included thousands of pounds of deadly drugs like fentanyl that help fuel the opioid crisis. i.c.e. plays a leading role in all of these areas. if the critics get their wish and i.c.e. were abolished, the numbers for all of these items would be zero because homeland security investigations could not exist without i.c.e. there's more. think about close to 33,000 criminal arrests made by homeland security investigations made last year. 90 criminal arrests each day. without i.c.e., these criminals would still be on the streets endangering our communities.
11:18 am
and the 524 -- $524 million in illicit currency that was seized, it would be back in circulation being used in illegal transactions. and 7,000 pounds of heroin, 57,000 pounds of methamphetamines and 260,000 pounds of cocaine were impounded last year. that would all be back on the market and being sold, poison being sold in our communities. so i hope our colleagues who are calling for the abolition of i.c.e. are prepared to explain their reasoning for abolishing an agency that combat, illegal drug sales and online exploitation and helps protect our nation's borders. my respectful suggestion would be they need to spend a little more time thanking these public servants for the critical role i.c.e. plaifs in keeping all of -- plays in keeping all of us
11:19 am
safe. maybe they should spend a little time getting to know them, the i.c.e. officers who go to work every day and do their duty protecting our country. earlier this month vice president pence talked about this. he reiterated president trump's words of support that the men and women of i.c.e. are incredible people. these include more than 20,000 investigators, field officers, special agents, and analysts who the vice president said stand up for the rule of law in our nation. every day i.c.e. confronts criminal illegal immigrants who endanger our communities. they fight vicious gangs like ms-13 and stop human smugglers and child traffickers. and as i said earlier, sometimes endangering their own safety. in 2017, the vice president pointed out attacks on customs and border protection agents increased by nearly 75%. deliberately fostering resentment and anger and
11:20 am
contempt for i.c.e. and our other law enforcement officials obviously puts our officers in additional danger. and this is reckless, not to mention again dangerous. the i.c.e. critics try to justify their calls by pointing out the situation at the border, to certain families that are separated but are now in the process of being reunited. well, we all agree that these families should be united, and i know the presiding officer has authored important legislation to change the law to make sure that families are kept together when they come across the border and claim asylum. but then there are cases processed on an expedited fashion in front of an immigration judge. so if they have some legitimate claim to asylum or some immigration benefit, they can get that heard. but also one of the objectives of course is to eliminate the
11:21 am
failed catch and release policies of the past which have done nothing but encourage additional illegal immigration and awarded the criminal organizations for whom this is their business model, exploiting gaps in our immigration laws and unfortunately when we have members of congress that resist fixing those gaps, filling those gaps, solving the problem, it does nothing but enrich these criminal organizations for whom this is gold. so, mr. president, it's clear that the situation at our border is a crisis. president obama in 2014 called it a humanitarian crisis when tens of thousands of unaccompanied children came across the border. and that continues today because we haven't fixed the problem on
11:22 am
a bipartisan basis, even though solutions are readily available. those who have criticized the enforcement of our immigration laws, the so-called zero tolerance policy, have focused on separating families. so what we have tried to do since we all agree families should not be separated is to provide a means for them to stay together and those that once separated should be reunited and detained in appropriate facilities and have their case heard on an expedited basis before an immigration judge. not doing that, not fixing the problem will just simply encourage more of the same. and unfortunately, as i said, our colleagues who refuse to be part of the solution actually are part of the problem. because we know who wins in this game. it's the criminal organizations
11:23 am
that are, as one pundit said, one expert i should say, said their commodity agnostic. they'll traffic in children. they'll traffic in guns. they'll traffic in drugs. anything that makes them a buck. and this is a very, very lucrative business model for them. and unfortunately, when we don't fix the problem by plugging the holes, we are unwittingly helping to support that business model. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. hatch: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, i rise today to speak on the administration's recent actions. i particularly enjoyed the remarks of my distinguished friend from texas, a good man. and he -- he's making a real difference around here. i rise today to speak on the administration's recent actions regarding global tariff policy. i want to begin by saying that i
11:24 am
am one of the president's strongest supporters in most matters. i've been steadfast in working with the president with president trump on our shared economic agenda, especially passage of the most important piece of tax reform legislation in a generation. tax reform has already providing significant relief to families and businesses, large and small. businesses across the country are now more globally competitive and are investing in their workforce, their workforce through wage hike, bonuses and increased 401(k) contributions that are benefiting american workers, their families, and their communities. but this roaring economy that we worked together to build for american workers and businesses is at risk because of the president's trade policies. tariffs against our allies and
11:25 am
partners in europe, canada, mexico, and around the world are already harming american farmers and manufacturers and raising costs for american families. if this continues, our economy will suffer. i have long advocated for implementing enforceable international rules that level the playing field for american businesses, innovators and entrepreneurs. and i've consistently fought to protect u.s. intellectual property. or should i say intellectual property rights around the globe. i've also been committed to advancing a trade agenda that serves the american people, but the administration's recent actions are misguided and will harm rather than protect the american people. the administration has implemented or threatened global tariffs at approximately $500
11:26 am
billion of goods, global tariffs on approximately $500 billion of goods. pure and simple, tariffs are attacks on american businesses and consumers. these actions put american families and businesses at risk and threaten to undermine the success of tax reform. furthermore, they are closing off international markets that our farmers, ranchers and other exporters depend on. i have heard from businesses from my home state of utah that have already been hurt by the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs. utah manufacturers are struggling with higher steel and aluminum costs and as a result are struggling to compete with foreign manufacturers. i've also been hearing from u.s. auto manufactures and share their deep concerns about the consequences of raising tariffs on cars, trucks, and automotive parts. a decision to raise auto tariffs would lead to a net job loss and
11:27 am
lower capital investment in the united states, auto sector. by increasing costs and reducing choice. the result would be lower demand for cars in the united states and lower auto sales and production. while i share the administration's goal of strengthening american manufacturing, tariffs on cars and auto parts would directly injure one of our country's most important manufacturing sectors. one of my colleagues or some of my colleagues have been pressing the need for legislation to restrict the trade authorities that congress has delegated to the president. and i have been sympathetic to their efforts. if the administration continues forward with its misguided and reckless reliance on tariffs, i will work to advance trade legislation to curtail presidential trade authority. i'm discussing legislative options with colleagues both on and off the finance committee, and i will continue to do so.
11:28 am
however, i would much rather work with the administration to advance a trade agenda that serves the interest of the american people and job creators. i want the president, our president to hold our trading partners accountable. i want him to negotiate strong deals that help the united states and help our united states companies and workers compete around the globe. in particular, i agreed with the president that china utilizes mercantile trade policies to benefit state-owned and communist-controlled firms harming american companies and workers. we have to help u.s. businesses and innovators, farmers and ranchers compete globally and that means we have to confront the challenges posed by china. that is why i have recommended to the president that it is time to engage in negotiations with
11:29 am
china using a targeted strategy to address their unfair trade practices. while those efforts are under way, the administration should not impose further tariffs on our allies and partners, particularly on autos and auto parts. in that way, the president can safeguard the economic growth we have worked so hard to achieve and give himself a strong negotiating position with china. the administration's acting on trade or actions on trade have hurt american manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, and families. the president has asked all of those groups to endure losses so that he can negotiate winning trade agreements. all are watching to see what the president will achieve at the negotiating table in return for their sacrifice. however, now is the time for the
11:30 am
president to undertake that effort. and i'm concerned that he should do that. i believe that i will support him if he does undertake that effort, and i hope he will. i care a great deal for the president. i want him for a success. these approaches are not successful. they're not the way to go. and i want to help the president to get around those and do the things that he ought to be doing to strengthen our economy and to strengthen our workers and our businesses. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:
11:37 am
mrs. murray: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. i have come to the floor to oppose the nomination of james blew as the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development at the department of education. i'm opposing this nomination on behalf of the millions of papers, students, and teachers who made it clear during secretary devos' confirmation
11:38 am
process that they believe the department of education's top priorities should be helping to educate our students and supporting our public schools. they made it clear when they posted on social media voicing concerns about secretary devos' lack of experience and knowledge during her hearing in front of our help committee, when they overwhelmed the senate switchboard urging their senators to vote against her nomination, and when they took to the streets to protest her nomination and her ideological agenda. they made if clear they believed every student has the trite a high-quality public education no matter where they live or how they learn or how much money their parents make. and despite an unprecedented tie-breaking vote by vice president pence, secretary devos has ignored the public's overwhelming rejection to her extreme ideology and instead she continues to promote her privatization agenda, trying to
11:39 am
shift taxpayer funds away from our public schools. she's ignoring key parts of our nation's k-12 law by refusing to hold states accountable for the success of our most vulnerable students. she's making it easier for predatory for-profit colleges and corporations to take advantage of students, rolling back protections for students, and dismantling the unit that investigates claims of fraud and abuse. and time and time again, she is failing our students and her duty to protect their civil rights. she has tried to shrink the office for civil rights, rescinded guidance for schools on how to investigate claims of campus sexual assault, and rolled back rules that protect transgender students, students of color and students with disabilities. mr. president, all of those students and parents and teachers who voiced their concern about secretary devos during her nomination have not gone away.
11:40 am
they are still making their voices heard, demanding the department of education start standing up for students. unfortunately, mr. blew, whose nomination is before us, has made it clear he is cut from the same cloth. during his career, mr. blew has advocateed for vouchers. he's failed to adequately support teachers with the tools they need to help our students succeed. he has even worked closely with and helped fund secretary devos' privatization efforts. the office of planning, evaluation, and policy development advises the secretary in developing and implementing policy, which impacts every student in our country. it is a critical position. given the actions and decisions by secretary devos, it is very clear we need an independent voice in this position. unfortunately, mr. blew has proven he is not up for that challenge. so for that reason, i will vote against his nomination. i ask my colleagues to do the same. thank you, mr. president.
11:41 am
11:42 am
the presiding officer: the senator from ten. the senate? a quorum call. mr. alexander: i ask this the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: today the senate is debating the nomination of james blew. he is well-qualified to lead that office. pour years in various roles he's advocated for improving educational opportunities by overseeing grants to
11:43 am
low-low-income, high-risk schedules. he has an m.b.a. from yale university. he will be in charge of helping managing the department of management and budget. mr. blew's sin according to colleagues on the other side is that he is in favor of public charter schools, which give teachers more freedom to teach and parents more freedom to choose a school for their child. no one should be surprised that a republican president would nominate such an assistant secretary of education. every republican president has nominated assistant secretaries of education and secretaries of education -- i was one of them -- who support giving low-income children more choices of good schools, the same choices that wealthier children have and public charter schools. as far as one charter schools go, every democratic president since 1990, when charter schools were formed, have supported public charter schools. so mr. blew did not deserve to be subject to the unreasonable delay and obstruction that
11:44 am
democrats have given to his nomination. he was nominated on september 28, 2017, 292 days ago. we held a hearing on november 15, 244 days ago. going back to the clinton administration, there had been in requirement for a hearing on this position, but i held one as a courtesy to democrats. then democrats forced his nomination to be returned to the president at the end of the last year, at the end of the congressional session. now, let's see how that compares to how president obama's first assistant secretary for the same job was treated, carmel martin. she was confirmed by a voice vote, got a hearing on may 1, 2009, 44 days later. so, mr. president, it's one thing to vote against a presidential nominee. that's appropriate. any of us can do that.
11:45 am
i think it's wrong always to vote against a presidential nominee just because you disagree with that nominee's point of view. i mean, who could not expect a republican president -- why would you not expect a republican president to nominate an assistant secretary who favors giving poor children choices of good schools and supporting public charter schools that were invented by the democratic farmer labor party in minnesota and supported by every democratic president since 1990 when they were invented? so this unreasonable delay of a well-qualified assistant secretary is not good for the senate, not good for the country, and not good for children who need that the sort of leadership. i urge a vote for mr. blew, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the
11:46 am
12:27 pm
the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to change their vote? if no, the yeas are 50. the nays are 49. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of randal quarles of colorado to be a member of the board of governors *ft federal reserve system. the presiding officer: the question is is it the sense of the senate that nomination of randal quarles of colorado to be a member of the board of
12:28 pm
1:03 pm
1:04 pm
a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: i have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, all postcloture time on executive calendar 595 be considered expired at 2:25 p.m. and the senate immediately vote on the nomination. if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately tphoeufld of the senate's -- notified of the senate's action and following disposition of the nomination the senate vote on cloture on the oldham nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until senate stands in recess until
52 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CSPAN2 Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on