there were people on both sides of the kavanaugh nomination who had intents, strong personal feelings and used their constitutional right under the bill of rights to express that. they did it peaceably. they did it in a constructive way. as far as i'm concerned, they have a constitutional right to do it. for those who crossed the line, they need to accept whatever consequences come their way. for some, it means being arrested and maybe more. but for those who complied with this article in the bill of rights, i think we all understand -- i think we can all stand up and say, regardless of party, this is the constitution both parties swore to uphold. but to say that what happened last week, even in this chamber, even in this gallery here, is really the whole story is to ignore the obvious. my response to the gentleman -- the senator from texas when he asked about mob rule is to say three words -- lock her up.

this week in iowa, the president went and held a rally. during the course of this rally, he was critical of the senior senator from california. and as he was critical of her, the mob started chanting -- i should say, the rally started chanting, lock her up. lock her up, referring to my colleague from california. i'm sure the senator from texas heard about that. and i hope when he heard about that, he realized that an incitement to hold someone criminally liable for using their office in a legal way really steps over the line. let's be honest about this. in the last two weeks -- pardon me -- the last two years. in the last two years, we've seen a coursenning of the rhetoric of politics in america. things are being said now that have never been said before. oh, they were said in private or maybe on some website but now they're being said openly on a

regular basis. if someone speaks up at a rally, to have a presidential candidate say let the crowd take care of that and i'll pay the legal fees of whoever does it, that happened. and it suggests to me a coursenning of our rhetoric in this political world that we live in that is not conducive to a civilized and constructive democracy. we need to, as the senator from texas suggested, really reward civility and we need to show it ourselves in the things that we say and do as members of the united states senate. no, i don't think it's evidence of mob rule in america. it wasn't a mob that voted here on the floor of the senate. a hundred senators voted as the constitution requires us to do. and we did it in an orderly, democratic way regardless of whether you agree with the outcome or not. the mob didn't rule. the constitution ruled. and the constitution needs to

continue to rule. there are limits to speech. the court has talked about this for over 200 years. but let us never forget that the first 45 words of that bill of rights guarantees to us the right of free speech, peaceable assembly and the right to petition our government for redress grievances. madam president, i ask consent that the next statement i'm about to make be placed in a separate part in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you very much. on monday, two things were made clear. this last monday we came to realize that we need to take immediate action, immediate action to deal with human-caused global warming. and secondly, american innovation has already given us many of the tools to do so. i know there are those who think that climate change is an issue that will only affect us in the far distant future or that the

challenge is so big, we can't really do much about it. but the truth is that we are already dealing with the effects of climate change, and we have it within our power to address it with technology that already exists. earlier this year rain storms and melting snow caused flooding across my state of illinois. more than 20 counties throughout the state were placed under flood warning. as the water level of rivers continued to rise, several communities had to evacuate their homes for their own safety in illinois. illinois farmers know all too well the changing weather is impacting the way they farm and the crops they produce. as i speak, recovery efforts are already under way after hurricane michael left the panhandle region of florida in ruins. our hearts go out to the families who are waking up this morning and don't know whether their loved ones are safe or whether they have a home to return to.

earlier this summer in the western part of our country, we saw a vast acreage destroyed by historic wildfires, and it's been one year since hurricane harvey hit texas and hurricane maria devastated the entire island of puerto rico. it's obvious to anyone that natural disasters are becoming more powerful, more costly, and more deadly. and it's time we take climate change's role in causing them seriously or it will get worse. on monday the united nations intergovernmental panel on climate change released a report stating that we have just over a decade, less than ten years, drastically reduce our carbon emissions if we want to maintain life on earth as we know it did. it's an ominous warning but a serious one. the u.n. report states we must reduce global emissions by 45% by the year 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050 if we

want to avoid a world where deadly storms, unbreathable air, widespread famine and multiyear droughts become the norm. according to the national security community that we count on to keep america safe, failing to address climate change will inundate our military bases and installations, it will incite international conflicts, and put our military, the men and women serving our country at risk in terms of readiness, operations, and strategy. the fact is, no one can claim to be serious about our national security if we don't face the reality of climate change. now, that isn't a declaration by the sierra club or some liberal democratic senator. it's a declaration of our defense community. we will continue to face weakened states and unprecedented refugee migration in the decades to come if we ignore this reality. there's good news, though. we have the tools and the

technology to prevent this es stoppian future. and the united states can lead in this effort. america is already showing the world how to reduce emissions and grow our economy by increasing energy efficiency measures and renewable energy usage and switching to electric vehicles. think about the gains that we've made, the progress that's been made when it comes to the fuel efficiency of the cars and trucks that we drive today. there was a time in the senate not that long ago when detroit and automobile and truck manufacturers were in complete denial. there's just no way to hit these targets in terms of miles per gallons. we're doing it. and we see it every day. and it is the same american innovation that can empower us to make far-reaching transitions in energy and infrastructure we need to limit our emissions to meet the recommendations of the united nations panel. on monday the nobel prize in economics was given to two americans, william in orderhouse

and paul roamer for their work on innovation, climate, and economic growth. their work shows that addressing climate change can be an incredible opportunity for job growth and new investments in american competitiveness. new jobs can be created designing more efficient solar panels, wind turbines and batteries as well as manufacturing the components for export all over the world. madam president, if you visited down state illinois, an area which is one of our most bountiful agricultural areas, you can't help be struck by the number of wind turbines that have been built around my state. farmers love it because they were receiving monthly checks and they are generating electricity for nearby communities without polluting. between enyears ago no one would have thought -- 20 years ago no one would have thought of this as a serious alternative. today it is. it is an alternative, renewable source of energy that is not

growing to make the world worse for future generations. there was a paris agreement in terms of setting global goals that all the countries in the world would sign up for, to reduce carbon emissions and to work together to develop a worldwide clean energy economy. 195 countries, every country in the world agreed to this paris agreement and signed on, including the united states. however, last year, president trump decided that the united states would step away from the rest of the world, step away from our allies and trading partners, and leave this agreement. when i think about the decisions being made by this president trump administration, this may be one of the most long-term disastrous decisions he's made, to think that this great nation with its great economy, its

great technology and innovation would step away from an agreement that every country in the world has signed to deal with our climate challenges? it's unthinkable. i hope after this week's announcement from the united nations, at least someone in the white house will have second thoughts about this disastrous decision. we should not give up u.s. leadership and risk the world moving forward without us. if we step aside from this responsibility, others will step in to our place starting with china, leading the rest of the world outside of the united states into new technology and innovation to deal with climate change. it is clear that it's in america's best interest to take immediate action to limit our greenhouse gas emissions and face the realities of climate change head-on. will it result in a change of our lifestyle? perhaps but only on the margins. is it worth it?

this weekend i'm going to get a treat. i get to visit my grandkids. they're 7 years old. twins, a little boy, a little girl. and i have a lot of fun with them. and i think about what i do for a living and how it might impact the world that they live in in years to come. i like to let them know i'm doing my part in the senate and others are doing their part in washington to leave them a world that they can live in, one that is not compromised by selfishness and political agendas that we see today. the livelihood of people in my state, including the farmers in my home of illinois, depend on us. the presiding officer: the presiding officer: all time has expined. mr. durbin: i ask consent for -- expired. mr. durbin: i ask consent for 60 additional seconds. the farmers from depend on us preventing an endless cycle of storms, droughts causing millions of dollars in damage in

crop loss. we have a moral obligation to our kids and grandkids to leave future generations with a planet that is not plagued by catastrophic drought, famine, wildfire, hurricanes, and sea level rise. we have the tools and know how to do it. it's time we rise to the challenge. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. a senator: i ask unanimous consent to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: thank you very much. i'm here to speak on -- once again highlight the importance of aviation to my state, to the country, and to the world but to point out the significance of a five-year f.a.a. reauthorization bill the senate passed last week. i've come to this -- to the floor many times on this topic. i'm pleased to be here today and tout the many wins that are included in this legislation, and they are beneficial to the country but they're certainly beneficial to home, my home state. and i'm most pleased to highlight the fact that this legislation does not include --

excluded from this legislation are any efforts to privatize our nation's air traffic control system. kansas is the air capital of the world and for good reason. kansas has built three out of four aviation aircraft since the wright brothers' first flight at kitty hawk and over 40,000 kansans make a living servicing the highest quality airplanes. i can't overstate the reauthorization and the stability it provides to the aviation community, something we're doing that we've been unable to do for years, a long-term f.a.a. in the ongoing efforts to pass the long-term bill, republicans and democrats in both claim letters of congress -- chambers of congress have found common ground and consensus among the entire aviation community on a wide range of important issues, and the chairman of the commerce committee, senator thune from south dakota and the ranking member, senator nelson from florida deserve credit for the

bipartisan manner in which they've worked through the f.a.a. reauthorization process in recent years and their efforts to negotiate a final piece of legislation with the house that was strong enough to receive 93 votes in the united states senate. i'm pleased that included in this legislation are numerous provisions that i've introduced and supported, advocated for since the reauthorization process began. and i look forward to sharing these accomplishments in short fashion and i thank the many aviation and aerospace leaders in my state for informing me of my work on this topic. first, the f.a.a. reauthorization bolsters aviation manufacturing by streamlining the aircraft certification process. with the short amount of time before our vote, i will highlight these only and submit longer praise for the record. in addition, it authorizes the f.a.a. centers of excellence for advanced materials at wichita state university.

this research has played a critical role in the evolution and integration of aircraft materials and technologies by providing valuable research to validate the safety and integrity of new aircraft to the general public. this bill helps close the skill gap for the aviation workforce. senator inhofe and i worked to provide legislation to create a pilot program within the f.a.a. through which grants would be authorized to support technical education and career development. the grants would encourage collaboration between businesses, schools, and local governments and these entities would develop innovative work programs to help close the skill gap in the aerospace industry. the f.a.a. reauthorization act reduces the regulatory barriers for educational use of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles or systems. last, congress i was colead on this legislation with senator peters of michigan to reduce the barriers for the use of small u.a.s.'s at institution, of higher education.

this bill accelerates the safe integration of innovative u.a.s. technology, another significant development. this legislation strengthens the federal contract tower program. kansas is home to eight air traffic control towers that participate in f.a.a.'s f.c.t. program which provides important safety services at small airports nationwide in a cost effective manner that saves the taxpayers $200 million annually. this fa reauthorization includes several reforms that strengthen the contract tower program and i'm pleased to be able to report that. it provides access and flexibility for additional airport construction funding. again, something that's important in all of our communities that have an airport. how do we make certain we have the latest infrastructure available for safe flight to and from our airports? it improves child safety on commercial airlines, legislation that senator schatz from hawaii and i introduced to advance the

safety of children who fly with their parents. this bill reauthorizes the f.a.a.'s essential air service program connecting rural programs to national systems, something important to many of us who represent rural states. it safeguards small airports in the sudden loss of commercial service. last congress i sponsored the small airport regulatory relief act that is included in this legislation. it is to make certain that certain airports would not lose federal airport improvement program funding due to inconsistent commercial service through no fault of their own. unfortunately, regional airlines continue to struggle because of lack of pilots, of a pilot shortage. and our airports and the traveling public ought not be damaged as a result of the inability of the airlines to hire a sufficient number of airline pilots. so it increases also the fairness and reduces regulations on general i have a reagan administration projects and

activities. this is legislation that was originally introduced -- that i am a sponsor of -- called the flight act that effectively targets a.i.p. funding to general aviation airports and provides those airports with flexibility on their use of passenger facility charges. it has a provision that fosters the exchange of aircraft through a fair regulatory treatment and regulatory joint ownership. another small but important development. and it includes provisions that preserve the contract weather observatory -- observers program, something that was at risk over the last several years. many things to highlight in this legislation. i would also point out that it has provisions to help pride talented women to the aviation workforce. women currently comprise only 6% of pilots and 26% of air traffic controllers, representing a huge untapped pool for talent in the aviation industry.

madam president, i am grateful to my colleagues for coming together and creating this compromise bill that will have a positive and immediate effect on the economy and the kansas aviation community. it is a good day for the senate, a good day for congress, a good day for the country, especially a good day for me for kansans. i thank you for the opportunity to speak. with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. a senator: i have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

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the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? seeing none, the yeas are 52, the nays are 45, and 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: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of eric s. dreiband of maryland to be an assistant attorney general, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of eric s. dreiband of maryland to be an assistant attorney general shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

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the presiding officer: is there any senator in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeas are 50. the nays are 47. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, eric s. dreiband of maryland to be an assistant attorney general.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i'm here for what i hope will be the last time to talk about a subject that i've come to the floor and discussed virtually every week we've been here since i went and visited a man who's been in a turkish prison since october 7, 2016. his name is andrew brunson. he's a presbyterian minister from north carolina that in 2016 under the emergency orders in turkey, president erdogan ended

up ordering the arrest of many people, many of probably were involved in the illegal you -- coup attempt. if evidence demonstrates they were, they should be held accountable for their actions. but unfortunately thousands of people, journalist, people of faith, a number of other people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time like a nasa scientist who already spent two and a half years in prison, they were also arrested. they were also put in prison. and in the case of pastor brunson, he spent almost 17 months in a turkish prison in a cell designed for eight people that had 21 people in it. none of the other ones even english speaking. he then about 17 months into it had an indictment against him. about a 70-page document. it's a document that i've read. and quite honestly, i don't

think a first-year law student or a magistrate anywhere would consider the allegations in this indictment as worthy of any prosecution, certainly not even enough to keep somebody in our u.s. judicial system, justice system in prison overnight. let alone now, 734 days. the two-year anniversary was just on sunday. and i called pastor brunson to speak with him sunday morning to see how he's doing, see how his wife noreen is doing. noreen has been in the country the whole time because she's afraid if she leaves the country, they wouldn't let her come back. and after the last hearing, the turkish officials did allow pastor brunson to be placed under house arrest. he can't leave his house. he has an electronic monitor. the fact of the matter is he's still incarcerated and still

worried about the very real possibility that he could get convicted up to 35 years in prison. tomorrow -- and the reason i hope this is the last speech that i have to give is tomorrow is what many of us believe may be the last time that he's in a courtroom. and i hope that president erdogan and their justice system find justice for pastor brunson. and what that justice looks like to me, regardless of whatever conclusion the turkish courts draw -- innocence or guilt -- that they simply complete the judicial process in turkey and return pastor brunson and noreen, his wife, back to the united states, most likely back to western north carolina. after i visited pastor brunson in a turkish prison about six months ago, after i heard that he was concerned once the indictment was issued against

him that the american people would read that indictment and just forget about him, it was important to me to go to turkey, go to that turkish prison just outside of izmir turkey and look him eye to eye and say, i will never forget you. since that meeting and after thattest mooing in prison, we had some 70 members of the u.s. senate, both sides of the aisle, sign on to a letter to send a very clear message to pastor brunson we're not going to forget him but also a very clear message to turkey, there will be a consequence if we have a miscarriage of justice in this case. i have -- i went back to a turkish courtroom about almost two months after i met with him in prison and i saw firsthand how the turkish justice system works. it's not like ours which is likely devoid of any political influence -- or i view, completely devoid of political influence. the president can't call a judge and tell him to put the thumb on

the scale of justice. sometimes is it looks that way in turkey. what i'm asking president erdogan, the turkish judiciary, the foreign ministers, the 0ers that i've spoken with over the -- the others that i've spoken with over the past month, please, let's have justice for pastor brunson, regardless of what the outcome is in the courts tomorrow. get him home. and i hope that that happens tomorrow or early next week. if, on the other hand, his hearing is continued again, or he's found guilty and is likely to be sentenced to 35 years, i'll have to take a different tact. it is a tact very similar to what we took putting a provision in the national defense authorization, really questioning our long-term relationship with turkey in terms of sharing technology with the joint strike fighter. but when we went through that process, we identified a number of other measures that i believe we could get strong support in the house and senate that would take our relationship with

turkey in the wrong direction. i want turkey to be a strong nato alifetime i want turkey to be a strong trading partner. i want the tushish -- turkish people to have a vibrant economy. but at the end of the day, i will have to be motivated to convince the members of congress and the president, who's been very heavily to this point, and secretary of state pompeo, that absent a just outcome, we'll have to take a look at how we continue to fight for justice, and i sincerely hope that i never have to go down that path. so over the next 24 hours, pastor brunson is scheduled to be in a courtroom, within about the next 16 hours. i hope the american people will keep him in their prayers. i hope the turkish people and the turkish leadership will do the right thing and the right thing is having pastor brunson and noreen come home. thank you, mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. flake: i'd ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the dreiband nomination expire at 2:00 p.m. today and that the senate vote on confirmation of the dreiband nomination with no intervening action or debate. further, if confidence, the -- if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. flake: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. flake: mr. president, there are no more consequential

words spoken than those spoken by the president of the united states. the word of a president reverberate around the world like no other world leaders, and as attendant as americans are to what our president says, the rest of the world is probably paying even closer attention. as often, it is their fate that hangs in the balance when our president speaks. americans can ignore certain utterances from the president. the rest of the world often has no such luxury. another audience for presidential utterances is the despot, the strongman, the authoritarian, the dictator, and from this president, that horrible focus group has received a great deal of sustenance. in fact, the oppressors of the world have taken to parroting some of their favorite lines

from the white house. anything critical of their regimes has become fake news. the press is the enemy of the people. just to name two of our president's greatest hits. as i mentioned in this chamber in january of this year, a state official in myanmar recently said, there is no such thing as rohingya. it is fake news. he was of course referring to the persecuted ethnic group. in february of last year syrian president assad brushed off a report that some 13,000 people had been murdered in his military prisons by saying, you can forge anything these days. we're living in a fake news era. in the philippines, president duterte has complained of being demonized by, quote, fake news. last year according to a news report with our president laughing at his side, duterte

called reporters spies. in july of 2017, venezuelan president nicolas maduro complained to the russian propaganda outlet that the world media had, quote, spread lots of false versions, lot oz of lies about his -- lots of lies about his country, adding, this is what we call fake news today, isn't it? and on and on. this feedback loop is appalling, mr. president. we are in an era where the authoritarian impulse is reasserting itself to challenge free people and free societies everywhere. we cannot give convenient language to authoritarians, language that is used against their own people. and now, with the apparent brutal murder of journalist jamal khashoggi, some of the real enemies of the people and

enemies of freedom seem to have taken license to eliminate a man that their regime viewed as a threat. mr. president, we need to know exactly what happened in that saudi consulate in turkey earlier this month. put bluntly, we cannot do business with the saudi government if they directed or were complicit in the murder of jamal khashoggi. mr. president, we in this body had best be very careful about who the enemies of the people are and who they are not. the free press is the guardian of democracy and the enemy of tyrants, and the man or woman who speaks from behind the presidential seal needs to remind the country and the world of this truism -- again and again, as long as the world will listen. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: mr. president, i rise today to recognize the arkansas black hall of fame class of 2018 inductees and celebrate their contributions to our state, country, and literally the world. founded in 1992 by charles stewart and patricia goodwin to recognize the gifts of africans with arkansas routes, the first induction ceremony horned six individuals including acclaimed poet and activist maya angelou and civil rights advocate in little rock -- and little rock nine mentor daisy bates. we are probably all familiar with arkansas' role in the movement for public integration.

the african american students who were threatened and intimidated by fellow classmates and community members is as they tried to enter little rock central's school quickly became icons of the civil rights movement because of their courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. these nine students known as the little rock nine were inducted into the arkansas black hall of fame in 2007. they along with other individuals were members of the arkansas black hall of fame, represent the diverse areas of advocacy, interest, and expertise. more than 150 people are part of this select group because of their contributions to american culture and arkansas history. this year six i hads have will join this distinguished -- six individuals will join this distinguished group when they are inducted and want to take a moment to recognize them.

kevin cole is a renowned artist in pine bluff, arkansas. he graduated from the university of arc with a degree in art education and continued his education earning advanced degrees from the university of illinois at urbana-champaign and northern illinois university. his artwork reflects the history of racial violence and social issues. when he was 18 years old, after cole expressed his reluctance to vote, his grandfather told him the story of african americans who were lynched by their neckties on their way to vote. that knowledge has inspired his artwork. he's well known for his abstract necktie pieces by reflect on the past and look toward a hopeful future. cole is an award-winning artist whose work has been displayed in galleries all over the world including the smithsonian's

national museum of african american history and culture. brent jennings is a native of little rock. he is an accomplished actor and academy educator. in the sixth grade he was encouraged by a teacher directing his school's annual vaudville style review to become an actor. he took acting classes and was the first african american actor to lead land the lead role in a children's theater production. he pursued an acting career that took him to new york and boston before moving to los angeles. while a student he was recognized for his acting and directing, earning the carol burnett award and the new england theater award. he's acted alongside academy award-winning actors and those who have claimed the spotlight of hollywood. you may have seen him most recently in "launch 49." in addition he shared his passion for acting a an adjunct faculty member at the american academy of dramatics.

lieutenant general andre piggee graduated from the university of arkansas at pine bluff as a student, he served rotc. he mentors his soldiers like his instructors mentored him. he has proudly served in uniform for 37 years. his career has taken him all over the world where he's commanded thousands of soldiers as well as worked to equip missions in syria and san franciscan. today he served as the -- at the pentagon as the deputy chief of staff in the u.s. army overseeing logistics. again he is an individual that i've really enjoyed getting to know and working with him. and the he's certainly somebody we can be very, very proud of. darryl religion walker's name is synonymous with arkansas basketball. he played at the university of arkansas before transferring to

play for the razorbacks for three seasons. he helped the team reach the sweet 16 in 1981 and 1983. he ranks 19th all-time on the raisesser backs scoring list. following his collegiate career, he was drafted 12 overall and named to the nba all rookie team. he played in the nba for ten years, including winning a championship with the chicago bulls in 1993. walker has continued his involvement in basketball as a coach for college teams and in the nba. earlier this year, he became head coach of the university of arkansas little rock's men's basketball team. mary-louise williams is an education advocate and political activist. she spent 42 years as an educator, 30 of those years as an administrator and music teacher in the little rock school district. she spent her life actively involved in the community as a

volunteer on numerous boards and commissions and as an elected official. sometimes as the only woman or only african american. she was the first african american chairperson of the elections commission, first african american democratic committee, and first of the -- first african american chairperson of the pulaski county committee, and first african american woman from arkansas to serve on the national association of county officials board. she's mentored numerous arkansans through her civic involvement and earned many awards for her commitment to the community. she was recently recognized by the women's foundation of arkansas as the recipient of the 2018 browny ledbetter civic engagement award for her service and her activism. at 90 years of age, she continues to be active in the

community. florence price will be posthumously inducted in the arkansas black hall of fame. she grew up in little rock where she loved to love music at a young age. her mother taught her piano and she became an accomplished musician as a youth. by the time that she graduated from high school, price was a published composer. she pursued her passion for music as a student at the new england conservatory of music. in 1932 she won the prize for her sif any in e mine or. the next year the chicago symphony orchestra performed that piece making price the first african american woman to have a composition played by a major orchestra. in 1940, price was inducted into the american society of composers, authors, and publishers. she composed more than 300 works by the time of her death in 1953. we can be very, very proud of these men and women.

their lives and legacies are important to the history of our country and the fight for equality. the honor being bestowed upon them later this month is just one more tribute to their significant contributions to arkansas and america. i congratulate each and every one of them on being inducted into the arkansas black hall of fame and extend my sincere thanks for the impact that they've had on the state that we all love and want to make better. and with that, mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. a senator: i vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection.