together in a way that doesn't allow us to be as competitive as weed like -- we'd like to be. there's no question that our infrastructure is not what it should be. the highway system, built under the leadership of president eisenhower, much of it is over seven decades old, a lot of it over five decades old. it is not where it should be. it's outlived the protected life, -- projected life, and that's a good thing, the construction and repair thought to be better at the time, but they are not the kind of things that will last forever. it's been reported that we have a backlog of at least $836 billion in highway and bridge infrastructure, just that part of our infrastructure. i'm the chairman of the commerce committee subcommittee on aviation. you and i serve on that committee and in that committee we believe there's at least

$100 billion of airport infrastructure projects. there are all kind of airports all over the world that can you fly into or fly out of as you come back to the united states you realize how far we're behind. location is important to us. in fact winston churchill said at one time talking about the united states, said that the united states of america was the best located country in the world. the best located country in the world. the pacific ocean on one side. the atlantic ocean on another. neighbors north and south that we have learned to cooperate with and live with. we could turn to the pacific if that's where the opportunities were. we could turn to the atlantic. winton churchill didn't point out the mississippi river that runs through the center of our country as maybe the greatest waterway in the world in terms of the system that created transportation from the very

start. the mississippi river and all the tributary valleys there were incredibly well located, but all of these things can benefit us if we make the most of them. and it's possible to make the least of them. you know, if you get to the water, if you get to the river and you can get on it and you can use it and it becomes an avenue of commerce, it's an opportunity. if you get to the water and you can't get on it, it's an ob obstacle. that's sort of what all these things are when we talk about transportation. are we going to talk about obstacles or opportunities? what are we going to do with inadequate and a deficient infrastructure that really does impact whether local communities can compete or not. you know, in our state, back to that -- thoughts about the map of america, where it's located, missouri is really at the hub of

where not only the natural infrastructure the country comes together but the number one and number two and number three biggest rail yards in america are in our state. number two is in kansas city. number three is in st. louis. the interstate highways come together there. and chairman collins and her committee on this part of this bill, a bill where all four committees have brought a product to the floor that we can vote for, that we get a chance to amend, we get a chance to talk about how this do have been made -- this could have been made better and maybe find a way to make it better and maybe find a way to, well, maybe i understand the arguments, it's a better bill than i thought. that's the importance of getting that to the floor. the bill provides a billion dollars in build grants. those were previously known as tiger grants. and at least 30% of that billion dollars is to benefit rural

areas. this particularly the kind of program that we have benefited from, the tiger grants, the champ clark bridge over the mississippi river at louisiana, missouri. the bridge at -- over the missouri river at washington, missouri, all benefited from tiger grants. there's another $49.3 billion of critical highway infrastructure, and that's an increase of $3 billion over the authorized level. we've already had from this program, we've had in our state $79 million more in funding increases, federal funding increases for roads and bridges and freight programs. highways and roads are generally still largely a state problem, but this bill encourages states to do things that they might not quite be able to do otherwise.

we have 3,000 bridges in our state. i think it's the highest number of bridges anywhere because we have more than 3,000 bridges that are structurally deficient and thousands of bridges more than that. the bill provides $175 million in discretionary spending combined with $140 million in mandatory spending for essential air service, communities can almost support their own commercial system but not quite and still have an argument that they need it. in missouri, joplin, and cape gentleman are a dough and -- jerardo and kirksville all benefit from that essential air service program. the airport in columbia is benefiting right now with rehabilitating runways from that program. the bill provides some capital investment grants that allow some help with cran sit projects

and -- transit projects and forest ag as it's concerned, we have the chairman of the ag appropriating committee on the floor right now. for ag to work, you have to have an infrastructure that works. the world price of grain is the world price of grain less than what it cost to get it there. the way you win that race, the way you win that competition is to have a transportation network that works in a way that allows you to be more competitive than anything else. if you can arrive with a quality product and get it there cheaper than anybody else can, you get that marketplace. don't want to forget broadband. as we think about rural america today, broadband is as important as the telephone was 70 years ago. when we figured out how to get telephones to people that were a long way from the nearest

telephone or until they got a telephone, a long way from the nearest telephone pole. and we figured that out. we need to figure out rural broadband just as well. if you can't get high-speed information you need, eventually you may be doing something that you don't have to go to an office to do, like commodity trading, but you do have to have instantaneous information to do and do effectively. rural missourians, we have 3% of the rural population in our state. and half of that population doesn't have access to high-speed internet. that's behind the rest of the country. our state is trying to catch up. if we can take advantage of these broadband pilot grants that encourage everybody to catch up, we'll catch up faster than we would have otherwise. distant learning and telemedicine looked at in these bills, part of rural community

development and there are rural community development facilities grants here. we've been benefiting from that and hope to see that program continue. we received rural community facilities grants for things like police facilities and road construction equipment and health care facilities in dent county and scotland county and livingston county, and schuyler county. all of those kinds of things would still be out there to compete for if we passed this bill. -- we pass this bill. it includes one in a quarter billion dollars for water and water -- water and waste development for that to be developed in rural missouri. we've got eight communities right now benefiting from that. mr. president, every level of government, local, state, and federal as well as the private sector really has to continue to

recognize the importance of infrastructure. the infrastructure we see on top of the ground, the infrastructure we don't see below the ground, the broadband infrastructure that some people have and other people don't, that's how we compete. this bill largely is a bill about competition. certainly the transportation and ag parts of this bill are about competition. we need to do what we can to strengthen our overall infrastructure, our transportation network to boost economic growth, create jobs, and be sure that we're more competitive where i live and where you live and all over our country. that's what this bill is about. mr. president, i am really pleased that for the first time in a long time, every member of the senate has a right to come to the floor and say here's how we can spend this money better.

our goal should be to take what we've been trusted with and spend it in the way that benefits the country in the most effective way. i think that this bill goes a long way in the right direction to do that. i'm certainly looking forward to supporting it when it comes to time passage and looking carefully at every amendment anybody offers to see if that's not a better idea than those of us on the appropriating committee had. and with that, mr. president, i'd yield. i see my friend from west virginia is here. i would yield the floor. mrs. capito: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. president. i'm really pleased to be on the floor today to join my fellow senator from missouri to talk

about as a fellow member of the appropriations committee what i think are the real highlights and the good parts about the fact that the process is moving but also what's contained within the process. he did a great job, i think, of explaining some of the more detailed areas that are important to the entire country but also to his area. i'm going to do the same for my state of west virginia. i want to commend the committee leadership, both the committee chairs and the ranking members and our senate leadership, both senator mcconnell and senator schumer for moving this process forward, to make good on the promise that we're going to return the appropriations process to regular order. i tried to explain it in a radio interview today. i found myself saying well, of course, we would be doing this every year because appropriating money every year is one of the core missions of the congress. it kind of haven't worked out that way. so i think this -- the progress

we've made on these -- are making on these four bills and the three previous bills i think are an indicator that we're going to have some overwhelming bipartisan support. each of these bills was written under the budget agreement that we passed and president trump signed into law. these bills address a broad range of national concerns and priorities. they highlight areas that we found bipartisan agreement and support on. i'm also happy that many of these bills not only have national priorities but a lot of the national priorities are focused towards different states, rural america, urban america, agriculture america, highly technical jobs, et cetera. since my first days in the senate, i've been committed to doing all i can to advance the issues that help the mountain state, including improving our economy and making room for growth and development. fighting burdensome and overreaching environmental regulations that have crippled

-- crippled our coal industry. improving broadband access in our rural communities and across the states. and fighting the opioid epidemic that has disproportionately affected my state of west virginia and devastated so many families and communities in our state but across the country. the bills under consideration today include resources and directions to address each of these priorities and many others. many, many others i would add. so i'm going to call this the omnibus appropriation act -- oh, no, in our omnibus appropriation act of 2018, we made a significant investment in a pilot project at the usda to improve rural broadband in unserved and underserved areas. the state of west virginia is right in there in terms of lack of broadband deployment in our most rural areas. the agriculture appropriations bill in this minibus builds on those investments and provides an additional $400 million into that pilot program.

you know, closing the digital divide has been one of my top priorities. i started my capito connect plan and talk about the progress that can be made. but this pilot program will help us build on that progress and connect areas that previously lacked service making the highlight of the bill for me. we had a hearing today about 5g in the commerce committee about how -- how much quicker speeds and faster speeds and more advanced technology can improve the economy, can -- how it can be extrapolated to the numbers of jobs and the numbers of dollars into the economy. and so i'm a firm believer that technology is going to drive this, but for those areas that are still left behind or still on the wrong side of the digital divide, certainly the programs within the usda is going to be a big boost. i've already had several conversations with usda to make sure they understand unique challenges we face in west

virginia when it comes to connectivity and continue to keep these challenges in mind as they move forward on the pilot programs. well, you know, every senator here could make an argument on what their particular challenges are. one of the challenges we face that some of our midwesterners don't face quite as much is our terrain. we are -- we're not called the mountain state for nothing. it's hard to drive from one place to another without -- without being -- if you don't live on a hill, you live in the valley. that creates challenges for connectivity that technology is going to driemp. so i'm very -- drive. so i'm very encouraged about this, not just about the broadband part of agriculture but the rural development, water, and electricity infrastructure and opposing cuts to several programs that have been very helpful to our rural communities. west virginia also as every state has challenges and tuntsdzs -- opportunities to the transportation sector. i see the chairman of the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee here, senator collins. she's done great work on the

thud appropriations bill. some of these -- certainly the airport improvement program and the contract tower program are very important to our smaller airports. as well as our cities who receive the funding. ways to improve your community, ways to move forward with housing and development that we need and also just in a smaller sense, the rail service by ensuring we have a ticket agent in charleston for amtrak. it sounds like a small thing, but it's good for tourism and good for our city, and that our hinton railroad days are able to go on uninterrupted. one thing that has been interrupted in the last several years is our whole and energy sectors, the as a result i believe of the previous administration's never-ending war on coal. but thanks to the new administration, that war is over. this bill will help us make sure that what remains will give us a

fair and even playing field. the interior portion of this bill ensures that e.p.a. returns to its core mission of environmental cleanup. the interior bill which i should note passed the subcommittee by 31-0 -- everybody voted for it in the committee -- also emphasizes the need to fund the deferred maintenance at our national parks, something i have long advocated, something i think we're at a point we are really going to make a significant difference here. the secretary of the interior is very devoted, as is the president, and this is a very much -- very much a bipartisan effort. it restores proposed cuts to the clean water and drinking water state revolving funds and grants programs that are tremendously helpful to states and localities. some of these rates are not very large, but it makes the difference of having clean, drinkable water and water systems as opposed to having to bring your water in, which in

this day and age, in my opinion, in our country shouldn't be happening. the bill also includes funding to continue a pilot program through the abandoned mine lands fund to invest in projects that will strengthen our local economies. obviously, this is very helpful in west virginia, pennsylvania. we have a lot of abandoned mine land area that needs reclamation, that needs repurposed, and this program is very helpful to that. the final bill is the financial services and general government bill. i served as the chair of the fsgg bill in the last congress during the f.y. 2018 budget. i was pleased that the funding levels placed in f.y. 2018 have remained and some of the priorities have remained in f.y. 2019, including an historic increase for the high-intensity drug trafficking areas. it's called hidta program.

it's out of the office of drug control policy. it's where you get a coordinated effort of state, federal, and local law enforcement to stop the flow of drugs into our country, the illegal flow of drugs. it is killing, literally killing a generation, and it's killing a lot of our communities. we also have an increase in there for drug-free communities, something where it's a groundup program, where your communities get together and try to figure how do we solve this problem we have in our small community? that increase i think demonstrates a commitment to the office of national drug control policy and a rejection of the proposed elimination of the ondcp. i also was concerned, having been a member who voted for the historic tax cuts and tax relief that we passed in december, want to make sure the i.r.s. can implement this so that we don't have a glitch or a hitch while people are getting more money back and filing their new taxes, so that the i.r.s. needs these resources. it just so happens a lot of

those i.r.s. workers actually live and work in the state of west virginia, so this is a veri think in my region. so as you can see, we're doing the people's business here by taking up and debating these appropriations bills. i think the committee is functioning, the senate floor is already functioning with having three bills gone out. opportunity for everybody to weigh in, yea or nay. that's kind of what we're sent here for, aren't we? we're sent here to express an opinion, to vote, to make our thoughts of our constituents and our own thoughts known. and i'm even proud that a lot of the resources that we are going to be addressing in these bills will help to address very important west virginia priorities. so with that, i would like to say i look forward to the continuing debate on amendments, the continuing openness of the process, the continuing cooperation, and dedicateed -- dedication of spirit that -- to

do the work that we're sent here to do, to appropriate the money, to prioritize our tax dollars, to show the efficiency and care about the taxpayer that every single one of our taxpayers deserve, and that's what we're doing here today. so with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i want to just take a moment and in particular thank my colleagues from kansas and colorado, as well as my colleague from new mexico, senator udall, especially senator moran of kansas, as well as senator roberts and senator

gardner and senator bennet all for their efforts on behalf of the southwest chief line. long distance passenger rail routes like the southwest chief literally connect millions of americans from across the country who live in rural communities to the rest of the nation. they do that culturally and they do that economically. each year, the southwest chief, for example, in new mexico brings thousands of boy scouts from all across our great nation to the philmont boy scout ranch and generates economic opportunity in every community along the way, whether it's las vegas or laimie or albuquerque or you name it. in many cases, long distance routes provide the only affordable transportation alternatives to highways for rural residents, particularly the elderly and the disabled. i just want to thank all of my colleagues from these states for standing up for long distance

passenger rail, for working to reject any proposals that would suspend long distance rail service, and literally send rural residents back to the back of the bus. we have a disconnect in this country between the rural and the urban economies, between the center and the heartland and the coasts in this country, particularly economically. and if we're going to combat that, we have to invest in the transportation infrastructure and the information infrastructure that can make a difference in rural communities. this is not the time to be turning our back on rural communities with regard to passenger rail and transportation. that would be an absolute travesty for small communities all through the heartland, whether you are talking about kansas or colorado or new mexico or really from one end of the southwest chief all the way in

chicago to the west coast and arizona and california. so i want to thank all of my colleagues who have been fighting on this issue. it's incredibly important to so many of my constituents in new mexico, and i urge everyone to support the moran-udall amendment. it's absolutely critical. thank you. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the other senator from new mexico. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president, for the recognition. i ask consent to call up my amendment 3414 as modified with the changes that are at the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new mexico, mr. udall, for himself and others, proposes an amendment numbered 3414 as modified. mr. udall: ski that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: and i thank very much senator heinrich for being down here and talking about what this

really means, and i know senator moran is also here on the floor. amtrak is designed to connect our communities. whether we live in ratone, new mexico, dodge city, kansas, or los angeles, california, it connects our communities. i'm pleased to offer this amendment with my friends from kansas and colorado because the southwest chief connects our communities, and we will continue to work together to support this national service. no doubt we will have a strong bipartisan vote to support our long distance rail lines. if amtrak thinks that replacing rail cars with buses will solve its problems, well, that's no way to run a railroad. i hope that amtrak's leadership appreciates that we will not back down in our support of our rail network and that we can work together to find solutions

to their problems. at this point, i would yield the floor, mr. president. ms. collins: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i just want to commend the senators who are the authors of this amendment, the senator from kansas, senator moran, has discussed this issue with me many times, as have the senators from new mexico who feel very strongly about it as well, and i know the senators from colorado are also cosponsors. as chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the funding for amtrak, i want to say that i support this

amendment. amtrak's national network is vital for the hundreds of communities across the country that it serves, particularly in the more rural areas of our country. at a hearing that i chaired last may, this past may, with the ranking senator reed, amtrak committed to not make service changes in advance of new authorizing legislation. it also committed to consult with the communities that it serves before majority making changes that would affect the residents of those communities. we fully expect amtrak to stand by the commitments that were made at our may hearing. this amendment conveys our long-standing support for long distance passenger rail service, and i would encourage my colleagues to adopt it.

the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise in support of this amendment. amtrak's long distance routes serve as critical connections in our national rail network in 39 states and the district of columbia. in fact, they are the only inner city trains in 24 states where amtrak operates. mr. many parts of the country, amtrak is the only affordable option for long distance travel, particularly for the elderly and people with disabilities. and senator collins and i worked in a very bipartisan fashion to fund amtrak's national network at record levels over the past two fiscal years. this bill provides $1.29 billion to continue those efforts. amtrak should use this funding to improve the quality of service on long distance routes around the country, and i urge my colleagues to support the amendment. thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i call up amendment number 3433. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kansas, mr. moran, proposes amendment numbered 3433 to amendment numbered 3399. mr. moran: i ask consent the reading be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, before i make remarks on this amendment, i would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues from new mexico, and senator reed, the ranking member, and senator collins, the chair, the appropriate appropriations subcommittee for working so closely with me and my colleagues in regard to rail service, the southwest chief from chicago to los angeles that transports people through kansas and through colorado and new mexico. we have had a bipartisan effort from those three states, the senators from those three states in making certain that that service continues into the future, and i'm very grateful for the support, and i would ask my colleagues, as the other

senators have, to support the amendment, the one i am now -- not the one i am about now to speak. i rise now to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to force the usda to continue honoring its existing agreement between grain-handling facilities and official inspection services. following passage of legislation reauthorizing the u.s. grain standards act, the department of agriculture amended its regulations, changing the treatment of grain facilities using inspection services located outside their defined designated geographic areas. usda's decision to alter the way it had been doing business disrupted existing agreements that were long-standing and were evidence of working relationships between grain handlers and grain inspectors. also it's been decreased -- that change has decreased the efficiency of inspections, reduced grain elevator operators' flexibility to coordinate with inspection services. this amendment would not allow the usda to revoke any

additional agreements currently in place. these grain elevators are still using -- to be clear, these grain elevators are still using usda-sanctioned official inspection agencies. the inspection agencies in question have agreed to perform inspections outside those designated geographic areas. the question we will soon be voting on is whether usda ought to honor those exceptions already made to grain facilities and their inspectors. this is a commonsense amendment to make sure usda does so, honors its commitments and the grain facilities are afforded the best possible service from the department of agriculture. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is on the moran amendment. there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the ayes are 98. the nays are zero. the amendment is agreed to. under the previous order the question now occurs on the udall amendment number 3414 as modified. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the yeas are 95. the nays are 4. and the amendment as modified is agreed to. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we are continuing to make progress on this package

of appropriations bills. and speaking for the managers on this side of the aisle, the republican chairman of the subcommittee, i would request that our colleagues to file amendments at the desk by 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i'd like to join my chairman, senator collins, in requesting that all of our colleagues file their amendments by 1:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon so we can continue to make progress as we're doing. again, i thank the chairman for her great leadership. with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama.

mr. jones: thank you, mr. president. i rise on behalf of the line workers in our alabama auto plants. i rise on behalf of our soybean and cotton farmers. and i rise on behalf of countless other alabama businesses that have contacted me because they feel threatened by proposed tariffs but are afraid to speak out publicly for fear of reprisal or in some cases they simply don't want to be seen as inflicting political damage to the president. mr. president, i came to this body to work on solutions, not to raise partisan threat levels. so i'm not one to unfairly level criticism at the president of the united states, but i have and i will continue to call it like i see it. when his actions hurt our economy in my state in particular. today i want to talk about his proposed tariffs on our allies and our trading partners. these actions have prompted retaliatory tariffs on countless

alabama goods, including cotton and soybeans. american industries overwhelmingly oppose these tariffs or really they're taxes on their products. mr. president, i share president trump's desire to see continued growth in our manufacturing sectors and to secure trade deals that benefit our country. but his tariffs are not leading to more manufacturing jobs in alabama. instead they have manufactured a crisis that threatens to permanently harm our businesses and our farms. mr. president, this is a self-inflicted wound. i am well aware that china has been a rogue actor when it comes to trade, and i support a strong response. alabama steel industry for example was hurt by the illegal dumping of chinese steel into the global market. i witnessed firsthand in my hometown of fairfield, alabama,

once home to one of the country's largest u.s. steel facilities that now sits virtually idle. globe metallurgical in selma has been hurt by the dumping of silicon metal from china. and china has time and again shown a blatant disregard for american intellectual property rights. i've spoken out against these abuses and will continue to do so when they occur in the future. but we should not sweep our friends with the same brush as we sweep china. an teague nicing allies like canada, south -- antagonizing allies like canada and south korea for no reason at all only weakens us. more than half of alabama jobs are supported by global trade meaning more than one in every four alabama jobs is tied to trade and those jobs are needlessly at risk today. mr. president, i have spoken with representatives from

industries across my state. some are already hurting from the tariffs. others are okay for the moment but are fearful of consequences down the road, such as losing suppliers or taking a direct hit from retaliatory tariffs. many of these workers or business owners tell me they support president trump. they want him to do well. they voted for him and they're hesitant to speak out because they don't want to appear to be disloyal or harm him politically. but they're confused as to why the president is taking steps that hurt their businesses and put their jobs at risk, and they won't help. they say what we in this body already know. tariffs are nothing more than tax increases. they are taxes that hurt american businesses, american workers, american consumers, and the american economy. in a cruel twist, they seem to be doing the most damage in the

places and sectors that make up the president's base of support. farmers, auto workers, truck drivers. these are the exact folks he promised to take care of. nowhere is that more prevalent and evident than in our automotive industry. but it's not just really an industry as we think of it in abstract terms. it means people and jobs and families, the ability to support that family. one of those people is a man famed john hall. john's been a maintenance worker at the hyundai motor manufacturing plant in montgomery, alabama, for nearly 14 years. he recently came to washington to tell folks about what the industry has meant to his community. at a rally last thursday he said that the transformation of montgomery and the alabama river region has been breathtaking, breathtaking since the hyundai plant arrived in our state. he went on that day to testify

at the commerce department at a hearing about whether or not imported automobiles, trucks, and parts posed a national security threat. now that bears repeating. these tariffs on automobiles, foreign automobiles and parts are being proposed because somehow some way foreign vehicles and parts are a threat to national security. i don't know how else to say it. that's just a ridiculous premise and everyone knows it. even the president implicitly acknowledged that in one of his twitter rants this week. just the other day when he threatened to raise auto tariffs in response to the antitrust fine levied against google by the european union. not only is it not a national security threat, this industry has brought untold opportunity to alabama and other states, particularly in the southeast. before the automakers came to

alabama, our manufacturing industry was still reeling from nafta. many alabama facilities like textile manufacturers were closing down and moving to other countries. but these automakers came to alabama, mercedes, honda, hyundai, toyota's engine factory and now a toyota and mazda automobile factory breaking ground soon. and they will breathe new life into our economy. and they've all announced planned expansions in the last year or so. alabama's automotive sector employs some 50,000 people and motor vehicle exports from alabama reached $11 billion in 2017. simply put, alabama is a trade state, an exporting state. it's not just cars either. we export about $170 million annually in soybeans to china, and that industry contributes about 11,000 jobs to our state. the day that china released its

list of u.s. goods that could be tariffed, soybean prices fell 40 cents that morning. stan uceri, the president of the alabama soybean and corn association and soybean farmer said, quote, if you weighed that out in dollar figures, it was in the billions what the value of the u.s. soybean crop lost in just that one day, just based on the fear of an imposed tariff. end quote. i've heard from other farmers, too. peanut contract prices have fallen flat. pork prices have fallen $18 a head since march. cotton prices dropped 10 cents in the wake of the initial round of tariffs. our cattle farmers share these concerns and are participating potential production cost increases as a result of more expensive fuel and grain. and just yesterday, just yesterday we learned that the administration is going to spend

$12 billion in taxpayer money to help offset the damage its trade war has done to american farmers. these farmers need the money. it is a self-inflicted wound but they need it. this money might help some of these farmers somewhat in the short term. but, mr. president, it is a slippery slope for the president of the united states to start down. what about the meat packers who see less work because of reduced sales or truck drivers who transport these goods across the country? these folks won't trade, not aid. and tariffs, they're not reversed soon, the damage to supply chains and markets cannot be undone. you see, mr. president, a company like harley davidson can move a plant from wisconsin overseas to avoid tariffs. our farmers in alabama just can't do that. you can't move a soybean farm. you can't move a cotton field.

you can only move plants and hardware and people. china is one of the top markets for alabama's cotton, poultry, pork, and soybeans. when china chooses to source these goods from brazil, australia, or vietnam to avoid the president's tariffs, they'll not go back to purchasing from alabama once common sense preveils and the tariffs are rescinded. by then it will be too late. a market is lost and family farms cannot recover from the loss of the business. i know some folks back home in alabama, they just don't like it when the president gets criticized. they certainly don't like it when i do, and i understand that. they don't like it even when it may hurt the policies of the administration may hurt alabama. one of my own delegation colleagues in the house went so far as to suggest that we shouldn't be worried about these automobile tariffs. that we're all getting worked up over nothing. well, i kind of like to think

he's right, but i don't think he is. and neither do the thousands of folks who work in alabama's automobile industry or their family members who have written or called my offices. nor do the industry representatives they have sent to washington to plead with their elected officials for help. nor does my good friend, the senior senator from tennessee who i'm proud to be standing here with today. i believe these tariffs are bad for alabama and bad for america. senator alexander, who is a strong supporter of the president on many issues, agrees that these tariffs represent a very real threat to the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the automotive industry, and no region in the country would be hit harder than the southeast where textiles used to be king but where automobiles now reign supreme. that's why i'm here today, to stand up for my constituents, to do what i think is right.

it's why last month senator alexander and i wrote to commerce secretary wilbur ross, urging him to reconsider the auto tariff tax proposal before it damages the automotive sector which contributes more than 200,000 jobs to our two states. it's why i have reached out to the commerce department and u.s. trade representatives on behalf of a number of alabama businesses, from textiles to heating and air conditioning companies, to businesses in the energy sector. each facing their own unique crisis because of proposed tariffs. in fact, since i was sworn in, i have invited representatives from a number of impacted industries to come to my office to share their stories, offer suggestions on what we can do, to be honest about outcomes if we fail to act. mr. president, i did not come to this body to simply sit by and watch and do nothing, especially when i see a need and i need to step up.

i said i would follow my conscience, do the right thing to make alabama and america a better place. in that spirit, a short time earlier today, senator alexander and i followed up on our letter to secretary ross to which, quite frankly, we have not yet received a response, by introducing the automotive jobs act of 2018. it's a bipartisan effort to halt president trump's proposed tax on imported cars, trucks, and auto parts that will raise the price of every automobile produced in the united states. our legislation would require the international trade commission to conduct a comprehensive study of the well-being, health, and vitality of the united states automotive industry. the i.t.c. will be required to deliver the report to congress before these tariffs could be applied. tariffs should be used to protect american jobs, not hurt them. in the coming weeks, i will be looking at other legislative

solutions to help other sectors impacted by the president's tariffs, but the president can save our auto industry today by simply calling off the 232 investigation. if we are not vigilant, hardworking alabamians are going to be the losers in this game of chicken with china, the european union, and others. the small family farmers, the line workers at our auto plants, the truck drivers who transport alabama-made products to market. our ports all stand to lose the gains that we have made in the last couple of decades. it is my hope that through this legislation, we can demonstrate beyond any doubt the positive benefits the auto industry brings to alabama, tennessee, and many other states across the country. instead of pursuing these tariffs, we should be partnering with our allies who have also been treated unfairly by countries like china to present

a united front against bad actors and their harmful trade practices. i believe in the great potential of our nation's automobile industry, and i want to empower both the american and foreign automakers who have already invested significantly in this country. this is a thriving industry, one supported by the greatest work force in the world. let's help it continue to grow and support good-paying jobs in our community. we need to stand united against these proposed tariffs. president trump, alabamaians are counting on you to do the right thing by those who stood with you. i hope you will do so. mr. president, at this time i would like to ask unanimous consent to yield to my friend, the senior senator from tennessee, senator alexander. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: thanks, mr. president. i thank the senator from alabama for his leadership and his remarks. mr. president, the president of the united states has gotten the world's attention with his

tariffs. he met today with the president of the european union. but what i think should get more attention than the tariffs is president trump's solution to the tariffs. zero tariffs, zero barriers, which as the president said at the g-7 summit in may is the way it should be. he said that again last night and today again. after his meeting with the president of the european union in the oval office, president trump said, quote, if we could have no tariffs and no barriers and no subsidies, the united states would be extremely pleased. well, so would i, mr. president. but that's not what's happening. piling tariffs on top of tariffs with no end in sight is a trade war and will hurt american workers. but the basis of the president's long-term solution is reciprocity, a word he's also used many times, which means when it comes to trade, other

countries should do for the united states what the united states does for them, taking steps in the direction of reciprocity rather than a trade war would be much better for the american worker. today i have come to the floor with senator jones to introduce legislation that would delay the administration's proposed 25% tariff on automobiles and auto parts imported from other countries into the united states until the president has the benefit of a second opinion from the international trade commission about the effect those tariffs would have on the more than seven million americans who work in the auto industry. after the president and the congress have received the international trade commission study and the president has this second opinion, then he may still continue with a section 232 investigation if he chooses to do so. i have no doubt there is a trade problem. some countries are taking advantage of us.

i also have no doubt that shooting yourself in both feet at once is not the right solution to our problem, which is what would happen if we continue these tariffs for a long time. that's not the best way to solve the problem. these tariffs are dangerous. these tariffs are going to cost us jobs. these tariffs are going to lower our family incomes. these tariffs are going to undo much of the good that the president and the congress have done during the last year and a half to create this booming economy which is booming like none of us have seen for a long, long time. we don't want to interrupt that. a better strategy is the one that the president himself has suggested and i believe would be much more effective. insist on reciprocity. say to other countries do for our country what we do for you, just as he did at the g-7 summit. no tariffs, no barriers. that's the way it should be.

just as he said today to the president of the european union. may i suggest a first step in that direction? it might be to agree on the same tariffs on light trucks and cars that are traded between the united states and the european union. currently, the european union levies a 10% tariff on light trucks that come from the united states, and the u.s. levies a 25% tariff on trucks imported from the european union. similarly, the european union levies a 10% tariff on cars imported from this country. the u.s. levies a 2.5% tariff on cars that come to us from europe. a first step toward the president's zero tariff solution would be to make these tariffs the same. now, my late friend alex haley once told me that if i begin a speech by saying let me make a speech, let me tell you a story, someone might actually listen to

what i have to say. so let me tell you a story about how tariffs affect tennessee. this is a story about a canadian company. onward manufacturing company that eight years ago had a choice between locating its new plant either in the united states or in china. the company chose dixon, tennessee, where today about 300 tennesseans have good-paying jobs making broil king gas grills, which the company then exports to canada and europe. the company decided on tennessee instead of china because nafta made it possible, the north american free trade agreement made it possible to buy materials and parts to manufacture their grills in the u.s. and canada without paying tariffs. there is the advantage of zero tariffs. broil king buys the steel and aluminum the company makes, use it is to make grills from united states producers. but in 2016, our country imposed

tariffs on steel from china that's used to manufacture grills. that increased the cost of imported steel. that had the effect of increasing the price of steel made in the u.s. then on march 23 of this year, this country imposed another 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum after the commerce department's section 232 investigation concluded that those imports were a threat to national security. this also had the effect of raising the price of steel and aluminum that broil king used to make gas grills in dixon, tennessee. so prices for u.s.-produced steel that broil king buys are up 40% since january, according to the trade publication "steel benchmark." this is called shooting yourself in one foot. now here goes the other foot. europe and canada then responded to the u.s. tariffs on steel and

aluminum by imposing tariffs on u.s. products sold in europe and canada, including gas grills. broil king exports to canada and europe. remember, they located their plant here so they could do thas the company makes in tennessee. the company told me last week they are losing money on every grill they sell in europe because of the combination of steel and aluminum tariffs and the response by europe and canada. broil king is also hurt by the march, 2018 announcement tariffs would be imposed on $50 billion by the united states on chinese goods because the company buys some parts from china that it used to make gas grills in tennessee. so now here is what's causing the owners of broil king to wonder why they ever decided to locate a plant in dixon, tennessee, instead of china. because the new u.s. tariffs do

not apply to barbeque gas grills made in china that are already assembled, which means that every one of broil king's competitors in china can import their grills into the united states without any tariff at all. so here's the bottom line. these new tariffs make it difficult to make a profit on gas grills in dixon, tennessee, and leave the u.s. market wide open for gas grills made in china. that's what happened to one small company that employs 300 tennesseans -- buys its steel and aluminum from u.s. suppliers when we begin piling tariffs on top of tariffs with no end in sight. that's what happens with a trade war. and that's why i like what the president said this morning to the president of the european union. if we could have no tariffs and no barriers and no subsidies, the president said, the united states would be extremely pleased. so would workers in tennessee.

that would be better for the 300 workers in dixon. now, here's another story. electrolux. i visited springfield, tennessee, outside of nashville a few weeks ago. the mayor and the chamber of commerce officials rushed up to me. the new tariffs on steel had been announced. the largest employer in springfield, electrolux, making home supplies, had canceled a $250 million expansion. electrolux buys all of its steel from u.s. suppliers, but of course when you raise the price on imported steel, the price of u.s. steel also goes up, and electrolux concluded that it could not be competitive in the u.s. market with exports at the higher price. of course it sounds good to say that putting a 10% tariff on chinese-made goods is good for us, but electrolux also buys some components made in china. last week, the company said the latest u.s. tariffs on chinese-made goods would cost

the company $10 million during the second half of this year if the proposed 10% tariffs go into effect after a comment period ending in late august. that's electrolux in springfield, tennessee. now, if we are moving toward a policy of reciprocity, do for us what we do for you, there would be zero tariffs, and the people of springfield would have a $250 million expansion and the jobs that come with it instead of a 25% tax on the u.s. steel that electrolux buys. so there are stories about our auto companies. we have three big tire companies in tennessee. bridgestone is one of them. 1,700 employees. i'll talk about it for just a moment. bridgestone tires all have steel core to make them stronger. none of that steel is produced in the united states. all of it is imported. now all of it has a 25% tax. who pays that? the american consumer.

the same must be true for every tire-making company. here's one more story. you probably heard of bush brothers beans. they can one-third of all the beans in the united states. their plant is in chestnut hill in the mountains of east tennessee where i live. the cans are made of tin-plated steel. that's mostly imported. there's not enough produced in the united states. bush brothers estimates the new tariff on steel will reduce its revenues and raise prices by as much as 8%. even the workers in chestnut hill who can one-third of all the beans in the u.s. would benefit from a zero-tariff policy, such as the one the president talked about today, instead of a trade war that piles tariffs on top of tariffs. then we have many more stories. we have 900 auto parts suppliers in tennessee. they're 88 of our 95 counties. they almost all use steel and arizona human number.

when the prices go up, revenues and profits go down. that has an effect on 136,000 tennesseans. that's the people who work in our auto motive industry. that's one-third of our entire manufacturing workforce. tariffs are taxes, mr. president. pure and simple. taxes we pay. existing tariffs on steel and aluminum are bad enough, but nothing could do more damage to tennessee's auto industry than the proposed tariffs on imported automobiles and automotive parts. those combined with tariffs on steel on aluminum already imposed about cost us jobs, lower our family incomes. i respectfully say to president trump, both publicly and privately, that he, with the republican congress, have accomplished an enormous amount in 18 months. i'm very proud of that. this booming economy is something that benefits so many americans.

but i am afraid that if we do not move quickly toward the president's announced long-term goal of no tariffs, and if we continue to pile tariffs on top of tariffs, that we will take this economy in exactly the opposite direction and undo much of the good that the republican president and the republican congress have already done. what would take us in the right direction is the goal of reciprocity that the president talked about today. that is why for in the meantime, until we shift gears into this long-term goal of no tariffs, no subsidies, no barriers and take steps toward it, senator jones and i have developed this bill to make sure the president has all the facts before him before he makes a decision on the proposed 25% tariff on imported cars and parts. it simply requires the commerce department's investigation to be delayed while we get more facts about the impact of the -- on

the automotive industry of these tariffs. the president is right to focus on china. china steals our intellectual property. it imposes other trade barriers. but tariffs on steel and aluminum and the uncertainty surrounding nafta threaten to destroy many more u.s. jobs than it might save. we should remember the lessons of history. presidents have tried this before. when i came came to the senate, president george w. bush imposed steel tariffs. wasn't year, he dropped the idea -- within a year, he dropped the idea because the tariffs destroyed more jobs in the automotive industry than existed in the steel industry at that time, according to the consumer industry's trade action coalition. now, let's look at today. last year u.s. steel industry employed about 139 americans, according to the congressional research service.

about 162,000 worked in the aluminum industry. that's around 300 americans who work in the steel and aluminum industry. to put this in perspective, the automotive industry employs 20 times more than that, more than 7 million. 136,000 of those, as i have said, are tennesseans. mr. president, there are only eight aluminum smelting plants operating in the united states that employ americans. they employ about 4,000. set ofen of those are actually producing -- seven of those are actually producing. alcoa, which produced about half of the aluminum produced in the united states, doesn't even want the tariffs. it makes me wonder, who does want the tariffs on aluminum? the main reason those plants, those smelting plants have closed, one of them is in my hometown, my father worked at it for 40 years, it has nothing to do with trade. it's because aluminum plants need a lot of cheap electricity

to run through the buck-side ore and they can't buy that electricity that cheap in the united states. the proposed the 10% tariff already imposed on aluminum is not nearly enough to offset the cost of electricity. the reason i have been so outspoken about this is because no state is more likely to be more damaged by tariffs on aluminum and steel and on automobiles and auto parts than tennessee. in many ways, over the last 40 years we have become the nation's number-one auto state, with our more than 136,000 tennesseans working in the automotive industry. three big assembly plants -- general motors, volkswagen, and nissan -- 929 auto suppliers in 88 of our 95 counties. as senator jones said, 35 years

ago we were the third-poorest state in textile plants -- and textile plants were moving overseas. things looked bleak for us. in came the auto industry with better-paying jobs and our family incomes have been going up ever since in many every county. i don't want to see that hurt. tennesseans who work in the auto industry would benefit, as they have under nafta, from zero tariffs instead of a trade war that piles tariffs on top of tariffs. so, mr. president, in conclusion, the president has gotten the world's attention with his tariffs. as a tactic perhaps he's wise to do that. he had the president of the european union in his office today. but what should get more attention and what i hope gets more attention also from the president is the the solution that he talked about again

today. if we could have no tariffs and no barriers and no subsidies, the president said, the united states would be extremely pleased. that's the way it should be. let's move toward that goal as rapidly as we can. piling tariffs on top of tariffs with no end in sight is a trade war. it hurts american workers. but the basis of the president's solution is reciprocity. the word he has used many times, which means when it comes to trade, other countries should do for the united states what we do for them. taking a step in that direction would be the right way to go. in the meantime, the bill that senator jones and i have introduced will make certain that president trump has before him all the facts -- in effect, a second opinion -- before he makes a decision regarding the

proposed 25% tariffs on imported automobiles and automotive parts. i thank the president, and i yield the floor. i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: