[inaudible conversations] >> the house will be in order. >> for 40 years c-span has been providing america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events from washington d.c. and around the country so you can make up your own mind. c-span is brought to you by your local salt or cable provider. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. government. >> c-span2 takes you live to the senate floor. lawmakers voting on the house

passed 2020 spending legislation, the funds the federal government passed at tonight's midnight deadline to the 20th to avert a shutdown. votes are expected at 11 a.m. eastern. they and plan to work on the nomination to the next energy secretary. live coverage of the senate right here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god, the fountain of every blessing, in this thanksgiving season, we praise your holy

name. may the lives of our lawmakers please you. inspire them to walk in your ways, keeping your precepts with such integrity that they will glorify your name. incline their hearts to your wisdom and provide them with the understanding they need to accomplish your purposes. lord god, let your mercy protect our senators from the dangers of this life, as they learn to find delight in receiving your approval.

keep them ever-mindful of life's brevity and the greatness of their work. we pray in your sacred name. amen. the president pro tempore: would you please join me in the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. and justice for all.

mr. grassley: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask to address the senate for one minute in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: probably a lot of my colleagues know i've had a quarter century interest in legislation dealing with foster care and the foster care system. so this is national adoption month. while recent data from the department of health and human services show improvement for kids in foster care, it is clear that there is still work to be done. in 2018, the average length of stay in foster care increased over 19 months. we need to take that statistic as movement in the wrong direction. less than half of the kids who exit foster care were united with their parents, and our goal

ought to be to unite with parents when it isn't harmful to the kids. but also what i learned from talking to kids that are in foster care over the last 25 years shunted from home to home in the same school year. i've heard from them, i'd like to have a mom and dad, and i'd like to have a permanent home. so i've taken that to heart in legislation that i have worked on -- and legislation that i have worked on helps with that issue. so all children deserve a permanent home, and they deserve a caring, consistent adult to nurture and guide them. as long as i serve in congress, i'll continue to work towards that goal. but also during this month of november, national adoption month, i hope people will take a

special concern about kids that are in foster care. i yield the floor and suggest -- i yield the floor.

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: well, washington and the cable news channels have spent the week fixating on house democrats' impeachment hearings. a few months ago speaker pelosi was saying she was not for impeachment unless it was bipartisan. but even after the resolution codifying house democrats' unfair process received zero republican votes, the house has plowed ahead anyway searching for a way to arrive at an outcome that many democrats

predetermined literally years ago -- years ago. meanwhile, the american people are still waiting for washington democrats to stop blocking crucial bipartisan legislation. i spoke yesterday about the usmca, the landmark trade deal that experts say would create 176,000 american jobs. for nine months, speaker pelosi has told the press every couple of weeks that she'll allow a vote soon. last winter she was optimistic. over the summer, we want to pass this bill. this fall, we're coming closer. and a couple weeks ago, i think we're close. we've had months of this stalling. now we're one week out from thanksgiving, and there's still no tangible sign -- none -- of progress from the house. if the house cannot pass the

usmca this year, there is no way they'll be able to claim the people's business has not taken a back seat to impeachment. now, on another matter, the usmca isn't the only important legislation democrats are holding up. as if neglecting the first major update to north american trade policy in a generation were not enough, they're also on track to break a nearly 60-year -- 60-year -- tradition of passing a bipartisan defense authorization bill. passing the ndaa is one of congress' most basic governing responsibilities. it authorizes and assures oversight of the ongoing missions of our armed forces and the resources the department of defense needs to carry them out. every year -- every single one since 1961 -- these goals have been enough to get members across the ideological spectrum to come together and deliver a

comprehensive, bipartisan piece of legislation. but not this year, at least not yet. house democrats are so intent on picking fights with the white house that they decided to play partisan games with our armed forces. they've passed a fully party-line ndaa. not one republican vote for their house version on the floor. i believe it's the first time ever that either chamber has passed a purely partisan ndaa. the house on a partisan basis also included many provisions that aren't even in the jurisdiction of the armed services committee. even in conference, house democrats are holding germane provisions hostage in order to secure partisan, nongermane provisions that have literally nothing whatsoever to do with national security. their demands to treat the ndaa

like a gift basket to liberal interest groups is imperilling the passage of this important legislation. we're talking about demands like a new taxpayer-funded benefit for all federal employees, burdening farmers, ranchers, small businesses, local airports and community water utilities with suspensionive new environmental liabilities, all kinds of domestic policy changes that were not in the senate's bipartisan version and have no business bringing this crucial process to a halt. the senate did things the right way, madam president -- the right way. we passed a bipartisan ndaa back in june, just like we do every year. that's a credit to chairman inhofe, senator reed and the rest of the senate armed services committee. it was a thoroughly bipartisan product, debated out in the

open. but house democrats literally went off the rails. the house rules committee afforded floor debate only on a single substantive republican amendment while they jammed through their own partisan priorities. they passed a totally partisan ndaa with zero republican votes, none. and now they're risking the entire conference committee to insist that those partisan demands wind up in the end product. madam president, enough is enough. the usmca and the ndaa could not be clearer examples of bipartisan legislation that would make our country stronger. our democratic friends say they want to do more than just impeach. they say they came to washington to do more than pick fights with the president. well, in the next days and

weeks, we'll find out if they mean it. now, i understand there's a bill at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: s. 2920, a bill to reauthorize the violence against women act of 1994 and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of energy, dan r. brouillette of texas to be secretary. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the

majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, vote no. it appears the ayes have it. the ayes do have it. the measure is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 347. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, eric ross komitee of new york to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 ross komitee of new york to be a united states district judge for the eastern district of new york, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 353. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, john l. sinatra jr. of new york to be united states district judge for the western district of new york. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. 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 john l. sinatra, jr., of new york to be united states district judge for the western district of new york, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. it appears the ayes have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 478. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. it appears the ayes have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, sarah e. pitlyk of missouri to be united states district judge for the eastern district of missouri. mr. mcconnell: i send a

cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. 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 sarah e. pitlyk of missouri to be united states district judge for the eastern district of missouri, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 3881. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, douglas russell cole

of ohio to be united states district judge for the southern district of ohio. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. 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 douglas russell cole of ohio to be united states district judge for the southern district of ohio, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 459. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the

nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, r. austin huffaker, jr., of alabama to be united states district judge for the middle district of alabama. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. 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 r. austin huffaker , jr., of alabama, to be united states district judge for the middle district of alabama, signed by 17 senators as follow- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 460. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, david b. barlow of utah to be united states district judge for the district of utah. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. 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 david b. barlow of utah to be united states district judge for the district of utah, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 4779. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye.

all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, richard earnest myersist ii -- myers ii of north carolina to be united states district judge for the eastern district of north carolina. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. 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 richard earnest myers ii of north carolina to be united states district judge for the eastern district of north carolina, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to

proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 489. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, sherri az lydon of south carolina to be united states district judge for the district of south carolina. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. 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 sherri a. lie detectoron of south carolina to be united states district judge for the district of south carolina, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived.

the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: the majority whip.

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: madam president, i'd like to comment on the hong kong legislation that we passed this week. tuesday night, the senate unanimously passed the hong kong human rights and democracy act. led by senators rubio and cardin, foreign relations chairman risch and ranking member menendez, and a supporting cast of colleagues, this bill is intended to spur hong kong officials and pro-beijing constituencies to protect hong kong's autonomy and its special relationship with the united states and to hold those committing human rights violations in hong kong accountable. it builds off of the 1992 united states-hong kong policy act which asserts that the united states has a strong interest in the continued vitality, prosperity, and stability of hong kong. i'm grateful for the leadership of the senators who worked to advance this bill. madam president, the issue at hand is hong kong's right to an independent judicial system and its unique status in a

one-country, two-system construct. the bill that spurred the june protests in hong kong, a bill pushed by the communist chinese central government that sought to impose extraditions from hong kong to mainland china would have directly undercut this judicial independence. this bill has been withdrawn, but a number of other grievances have boiled over into protests. hong kong's autonomy is under attack and china is posturing to mainland-ize their economy. recent educational reforms seek to undermine hong kong's culture and traditions through compulsory mandarin classes instead of the canton east most -- cantonese most hong kongers speak. the westerners will say westerners have the wrong impression of what's going on there, that this is strictly an internal matter. we beg to differ. there are more than 85,000 american citizens in hong kong. moreover, the human rights of the people of hong kong are directly tied to u.s. interests

in hong kong and hong kong's economic prosperity. china has threatened repercussions if the hong kong human rights and democracy act is enacted. i imagine china is fearful that attention to human rights abuses in hong kong will draw increased attention to other human rights abuses in china, such as the estimated 1.5 million muslim uighurs in forced detention in one of china's western provinces. papers leaked this week from the government of communist party general secretary xi detailed the coercive reeducation that goes on in these internment camps. christians in china also face regular persecution and imprisonment for following their faith and living out their beliefs. the hong kong human rights and democracy act will help shed increased light on beijing's aggression and on human rights abuses in hong kong. last night, the house sent this senate bill to the president's desk with a resounding 417-1

vote, a clear statement that the united states congress stands with strong. madam president, a week from today, we'll be celebrating thanksgiving. like every thanksgiving, i'll be home in south dakota, celebrating with my family, my wife, my daughters, my sons-in-law, and my four, soon to be five grandchildren. i'll be taking on my traditional job of carving the turkey and helping with the dishes afterward. i'm looking forward to a lot of good pie, apple pie allah mode, pump kin with a lot of whipped cream, and my favorite, anything in the cream pie family. i also look forward to spending a lot of time outdoors. my daughters and i traditionally go on a trail run on thanksgiving morning. it's a good way to work up an appetite for all that pie. we all enjoy throwing around a football after the meal. south dakotans are pretty resilient when it comes to being out in the cold. as long as we don't have tons of snow, we lying to be outdoors

whenever we can. i also like to squeeze in pheasant hunting whenever i can. madam president, thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. i love sitting down with my whole family, extended family and getting to spend time in the south dakota outdoors before winter really hits us. thanksgiving has a long tradition in this country. long before the united states was a nation, various colonies were celebrating days of thanksgiving. our current celebration of thanksgiving can be traced to abraham lincoln who issued a proclamation in 1865 inviting a national celebration of thanksgiving on the last thursday in november. in 1941, congress codified the thanksgiving holiday and permanently set the date as the fourth thursday in november. i don't think it's too surprising that the celebration of thanksgiving is a recurring part of our history. on thanksgiving, in my family, typically we go around the table and say what we're thankful for. in this country, that's a pretty long list. the tremendous natural riches of this country from great rivers to magnificent mountains to our wide-open access to the sea, the

tremendous freedoms that we enjoy, and the 21st century freedom of religion, press, and other freedoms like the freedom from unreasonable searches or seizures or excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. all of these freedoms that we so often simply take for granted are still unknown to too many people across the world. the united states is not perfect, and we don't always get it right, but we enjoy tremendous blessings in this country. it's important not to take them for granted. thanksgiving gives us a chance to pause and reflect on all that we have been given. i'm grateful to god for so many blessings this year. i'm thankful for the great blessing of my family, my dad harold, the world war ii naval aviator who will turn 100 next month. my brothers and sister. my wife kimberly, the best thing in my life. my beautiful daughters and my sons-in-law and our grandchildren, pretty much the most amazing grandkids ever, of course in my own unbiased

opinion. i'm thankful for the great state of south dakota, for our fresh air and wide-open spaces, from the prairies, the farm country to the rugged terrain of the black hills. south dakotans, madam president, are a resilient, kind, and gracious people. i am thankful every day i am lucky enough to call south dakota home. i'm also tremendously grateful for the work i get to do. getting to represent south dakotans in the senate is one of the great privileges of my life. while it's been a con tenuous year with a divided congress, i still had the chance to work on important issues affecting people in my state and around the country, like helping our nation's farmers and ranchers in this tough agricultural economy. i'm grateful for all the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy. our military men and women represent the very best of america, and i'm grateful every day for their service and for their sacrifice. madam president, in that 1863 proclamation of thanksgiving day i mentioned, abraham lincoln

referring to the blessings that america experienced even until e horrors of the civil war said no human counsel has devised or worked out these great things. they are the gracious gift of the most high god who while dealing with us in anger for our sins has nevertheless remembered mercy. it has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice of the american people. unquote. madam president, god has blessed us with very great gifts in this country and it is indeed fit and proper that we should dedicate a day to reverently and gratefully acknowledge that. madam president, i yield the floor. you. mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: first let me thank my friend from south dakota for his wonderful words on

thanksgiving. i was going to conclude with thanksgiving but i'll start. it's a great holiday. it's a great american holiday. i love it. my family loves it. i was born on thanksgiving day. my grandson, my new grandson was born on november 24, so he will have birthdays on thanksgiving as well. and this year for the first time the schumers will celebrate with four generations because my parents who also served in the army air force in world war ii -- my dad 96 and my mom 91 will be there with their great-grandson noah, and we are blessed. thanksgiving is family and food. what could be better than that? two great parts of the holiday. i will not carve the turkey like thune does because it will get screwed up. but i can dole out the marked potatoes -- the mashed potatoes.

but it's a great holiday and we have a lot to thank god and this country for. the wonderful thing about thanksgiving, its origins during the civil war, one of the worst, most horrible times in america with so much death, mayhem and division, people were still grateful for america. and we are today. it's an amazing place. my father was an exterminator. i'm a u.s. senator. what an amazing country this is. we should never stop trying to make it better, and i try to do that every day. but i'm thankful that i live in a country where you can try to make it better. and i'm thankful for many, many things, family, with our new addition this year, we're so happy about that, great kids, great daughter-in-law and son-in-law. and there's just a lot to be thankful for, and it's nice to take a pause amidst all the

fighting and partisanship here to be grateful. now on more topical -- not topical but more legislative and senatorial subjects, governmental subjects. yesterday the ambassador to the european union, gordon sondland, provided some of the most significant testimony in the house impeachment inquiry to death. ambassador sondland asserted a impeachment inquiry in it exchange for officials announcing an investigation into brings ma and the -- barisma and the 2016 elections. president trump tried to rebut that impeachment inquiry. donald trump is not known for telling the truth particularly when his own self-interest is at stake, so it doesn't stand up very well compared to sondland's words. sondland went on to testify to his understanding that president

trump's suspension of military aid to ukraine was also conditioned on the announcement of these same investigations. those investigations, of course, had nothing to do with national security or any other interests of the united states. on the contrary, they were solely in the personal political interests of president trump. ambassador sondland also testified that secretary pompeo, secretary perry, chief of staff mulvaney and other senior advisors to those individuals were well aware of these activities and the connection between white house policy and requests from the president to have ukraine announce investigations that would be politically advantageous to president trump. let me repeat. those individuals i just mentioned -- pompeo, perry, mulvaney, and a fewer of their senator advisors -- were identified by ambassador sondland as having information

and knowledge of the events that are central, central to this impeachment inquiry. all of them are currently refusing to testify, defying subpoenas from the house of representatives, and in some cases challenging those subpoenas in court. so this morning i would strongly urge courts with jurisdiction over these cases to quickly resolve them. the individuals named in these subpoenas are fact witnesses in the pending house impeachment inquiry. in addition, these officials and others are withholding evidence in the form of documents that are unquestionably material to the impeachment inquiry. ambassador sondland's testimony demonstrated even more pointedly why it is so essential that the witnesses who have been summoned must comply and the courts should promptly enforce house subpoenas in the pending cases. when i hear that the courts say in five weeks, in six weeks we'll have a court hearing or a

decision, i've never practiced in these washington courts -- i have a law degree but i'm not a practicing lawyer -- but i don't understand, and i think americans don't understand why the courts take so long when there's such an important issue before them. each judge has a responsibility to make a decision quickly and soon so that if they agree -- and i don't know what the decision will be -- that these people should be compelled to testify, that their testimony would be received in a timely manner. we have two groups of people at the moment. one group is testifying under oath in the house inquiry that there was a impeachment inquiry and substantial wrongdoing. another group that is denying any wrongdoing but refusing to comply with subpoenas or testify under oath. if these individuals feel that they have exculpatory evidence to provide or that testimony

provided to the house is incorrect, they should testify under oath. otherwise the american people will rightly wonder why they refuse to do so. and then just let me repeat what i said in the last few days. if donald trump tweets away at how wrong these witnesses are, let him come before the committee under oath and testify to what he tweets. speaker pelosi has said she would welcome president trump coming and testifying. president trump's not been silent on these issues. he's been tweeting away, ridiculing the witnesses, saying what they've said is wrong. well, if he's right, if he has nothing to hide, if he wants to convince the american people and the house of representatives, let him come under oath and tell his side of the story. when ep -- he doesn't come under oath -- and he can do it

tomorrow or the next few days -- the american people will say, mr. president, what are you hiding? what are you not telling the truth about? on appropriations, later today the senate is set to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through december 20, sending it to the president's desk. i'm optimistic that the passage of the continuing resolution today is something congress can build from, a sign that appropriators from both sides of the aisle are ready to work together to settle government funding by the end of the calendar year. with noarl month's time -- another month's time at our disposal the appropriations process can go down one of two paths. on the first path, president trump stays out of our way and gives congress the space to work together and find an agreement. on the second path, president trump stomps his feet, makes impossible demands, and prevents his party, the republicans, from coming to a fair arrangement.

the first path leads to a bipartisan deal on appropriations and guaranteed long-term funding for both republican and democratic priorities. the second path leads, as we all know, to another trump government shutdown. i hope the passage of the continuing resolution will be the first step down the bipartisan path that leads to successful agreement by the end of the year. on hong kong, earlier this week, yesterday in fact, the senate, by unanimous consent, passed legislation -- two days ago i believe it was, but anyway this week the senate by unanimous consent passed legislation committing the united states to stand with the citizens, the brave citizens of the hong kong who are now engaged in a fierce struggle to defend their civil and human rights. last night the house of representatives followed suit by a vote of 417-1. only a short time ago i took

part in a bipartisan signing ceremony for the legislation. now it will head straight to the president's desk. congress has just sent an unmistakable message to the chinese communist party that the united states stands with the people of hong kong. president xi, the united states government has spoken. this legislation represents what america really thinks about your policies towards hong kong, not what president trump may whisper in your ear. this legislation shows what americans think about the chinese communist party treatment of hong kong. and i would say to president xi and to the chinese leadership, the communist party leadership, you cannot be a great nation when you oppose freedom, deny civil liberties and brutally suppress your own people from one end of china to the other as the chinese communist party has

done to the people of hong kong, to the uighurs and millions of citizens whose voices are silenced and whose rights are trampled on by the chinese government. to the people of china, we stand with you in freedom. to the students and young people in hong kong, we stand with you. to the uighurs who simply want to practice their religion, we stand with you. i believe that freedom will prevail and the chinese system will either change or it will fail. history is not kind to those who peddle an autocracy and suppression. i want to thank all my colleagues. this was one of the rare, fine bipartisan moments on the floor of this senate, and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle -- the senator from florida and idaho, senators rubio and risch; the senators from maryland and new jersey, senators cardin and menendez; as well as senator merkley and senator cornyn all worked hard

to put together a very strong bill, and we came together. this has been an important bipartisan moment. it goes to show how congress is still capable of doing big things. as we enter the thanksgiving break, we should think about the other issues we could debate, other bipartisan bills we could vote on. lowering the cost of prescription drugs, securing our elections, helping our veterans, and more. passing bipartisan legislation should be the rule, not the exception. it's been several weeks since we've had a real debate and vote on any legislation in this chamber. i hope that in the final weeks of this year leader mcconnell begins to listen to pleas from both sides of the aisle to get the senate working again. happy thanksgiving to one and all. i yield the floor.

mr. cotton: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i come to the floor today with the senior senator from arkansas, senator boseman, to celebrate a great anniversary. 200 years ago this week the very first newspaper in arkansas was published. it was called "the arkansas gazette." today we know it's the arkansas

democrat gazette, the oldest paper west of the mississippi, an institution in our state and a credit to the outstanding journalists who have made it possible over two centuries. from its first issue the arkansas gazette was a pioneering newspaper published by a man named william woodruff who crossed the mississippi into new territory dragging behind him a wooden printing press and other tools of the trade. the gazette was first published from the capital. it pre-flected the bold aspirations of american settlers moving west. and it reflects these landlocked settlers' keen awareness that events far beyond our little plot of soil could shape their lives in dramatic ways. the first story in the very first edition reported on a navy ex-edition to open the pacific northwest for american traders.

with speculated excitement about the prosperity that would flow to our nation as americans followed lewis and clark west across the country. the plan may appear visionary, "the gazette" remarked, but that which is is now speculation will shortly become a fact and this country will be enriched by the overflowing of its benefit. as the arkansas territory grew, arkansas' newspaper grew with it. woodruff moved the warp to little rock in 1821 where it would continue to publish for the next 198 years with few exceptions, like a devastating fire or military occupation during the civil war. and just as arkansas kept our rough character, so, too, did arkansas' newspaper, whose staff were involved in not one but two gun battles including the last-reported you don't he -- te

last-reported duel. if william woodruff was the founding father of the gazette, the bringing the paper into maturity. high school became editor in 1902 and served in that position for an incredible 70 years until his passing in 1972. with one interruption, his tenure came in 1913 when the governor selected limb to serve as a united states senator, after the death of a sitting senator. he only served in this body for 23 days before his successor was elected and then he hurried back to little rock and to "the gazette" because the news waits for no man. over the next half-century, the gazette established itself as a world-class newspaper. it was during this period the gazette took a bold stand for truth in the finest tradition

ofdjournism by declaring its support for desegregation r the gazette and its editorial writer covered the turmoil surrounding little rock's integration with decency, firmness, insisting that arkansas fulfill its obligation to all our citizens on an equal basis without regard to race. this editorial crusade lost more than a few subscriptions, but it won "the gazette" two pulitzer prizes for demonstrating in the worses of the committee, the highest qualities of civic leadership, journalistic responsibility, and more courage. and so "the arkansas gazette" entered the modern era as a famous and award-winning publication. in 1991, after years known as the newspaper wars, the gazette's only rival, the

democrat, bought the paper and create what had we now know as "the arkansas democratic gazette." and now the "democratic gazette" is now changing with the times through the capability leadership of walter h.u.s.man and the managing editor. this time the paper is transforming from paper to screen and is even giving away free ipads to subscribers to ease the transition. so if you're not a subscriber already, consider supporting our local journalism in arkansas. it has a bright future ahead. today fortunately, many venerable newspapers have fallen on hard times. too many journalists can't be bothered to get the story right. too many local communities are losing parts of their identity. which is all the more reason to celebrate newspapers like "the stem gazette" which do get the story right and preserve their

distinctive character throughout the years. some things may change. "the democrat gazette" of the future may be heralded by the bright glow of the screen rather than the rustle of a news analyst but other, more important things stay the same like integrity, impartiality, and credibility. the "democratic gazette" holds its reporters to the highest standards of accuracy understand is ethics. walter hushman publishes these high standards that won the paper two pulitzer prizes every day on page 2 of the newspaper in its statement of correspondent values. that statement reads credibility is the greatest asset of any news medium and impartiality is the greatest source of credibility. and the "democratic gazette" practiced what it preaches. for that reason, it continues to succeed 200 years on. there's also its arkansas focus.

as ever, the "democratic gazette" pursues stories in arc for the benefit of arkansans. it's this proud local focus that has made the "democratic gazette" a beloved institution in arkansas. and that will sustain it in the years ahead. and finally, the pioneer spirit from the arkansas territory to the frontiers of digital, the arkansas gazette will travel confidently into the future. so today i join senator boozman in congratulating the h.u.s.man family, the "democratic gazette" and all of their many hardworking professionals and journalists. i yield the floor to my colleague, the senior senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you so

much. it is a pleasure to be with my friend and colleague from arkansas to talk about a tremendous state institution, something that is truly -- a true arkansas institution. we want to pay tribute to it, the men and women that made it great in the past and continue to make it great into the future. newspapers have played a vital role is in our country's history of public discourse, increasing our knowledge and awareness about what it takes placed all around us, the stories they print keep us informed while building a sense of community and regional identity. newspapers drive political debates, set the agenda, helping us make sense of the issues impacting our world. as one of the oldest continually published newspapers west of the mississippi, "the "arkansas

democrat gazette"" has been a resource of information that keeps rears connected to community, the state, and our nation for 200 years. in 1819, william e. woodruff published the first edition of the arkansas gazette. the arkansas territories' first newspaper. there is no shortage of news prints in those days. during its early years, the publication encouraged settlement of the region, shared news of national importance and promoted statehood. for generations, this publication has been a primary source of reliable and comprehensive news that has shaped the way arkansans view the world. it has constantly challenged the status quo and examined the decisions of elected leaders while pursuing transparency and accountability the work the gazette often resulted in was

positive change in the natural state. in 1957, the newspaper opposed governor orville favises decision. for its reporting on the struggles of integration, the gazette earned two pulitzer prizes, one for meritorious public service and the other awarded to his executive director -- executive editor harry ashmore for editorial writing, marking the fishes time a newspaper had won two pulitzer prizes in the same year. the newspaper, the arkansas democrat contended for readers and advertisers for decades. in 1991, the gazette was sold to the owners of the arkansas democrat who then launched the "arkansas democrat gazette." the only statewide newspaper that arkansans read today. the importance of the "arkansas

democrat gazette" in today's media landscape cannot be overstated. in some cases, it is the sole source of news for many small towns in arkansas. as local newspapers continue to cease operations, especially those serving rural areas. under the leadership of walter husman, jr., the democrat gazette is navigating the challenging landscape and creating opportunities to keep reads informed wheel keeping costs manageable. they are rethinking how and what news they deliver as well as how subscribers can and like to consume it. to cut printing and transportation costs and combat declining advertising revenue, the paper is nowaysing ipads to maintain subscribers and continue providing this valuable, not-easily-replaced service to the community.

in an interview earlier in year about efforts at the democrat gazette, husman noted his view that the print model is not sustainable. but he voiced his commitment to finding a solution that will fill the void because, as he says, society and our democracy will be impeded if we don't have newspapers. it's a simple truth. throughout periods of change, husman and the newspaper he owns continue to believe in the critical role that news-gathering and reporting plays in information the public. -- in informing the public. every day the "arkansas democrat gazette" and the other publications owned by the husman family publish a statement of core values that include, and i quote, objectivity, impartiality, integrity, and truth-he seeking, end quote. this clear, sensible mantra consistently helps guide the

work done by the reporters and editors in the paper's newsrooms. journalism is a pillar of our democracy, our founders understood the importance of a free press and included protections in the first less that safeguard and ensure the ability of reporters and the public indications they write -- publications they write to hold the powerful to account. earlier i was proud to support the freedom press resolution and recognize the sacrifice of journalists around the world making the effort to report the truth. we must continue to support a free and open press in the united states and around the world. in today's climate, we all share a responsibility for acknowledging the value and necessity of press freedom while at the same time not shrinking away from appropriate scrutiny and fair criticism. the health and well-being of our society and civic life depends

on striking the right balance in this regard. for 200 years the "arkansas democrat arkansas democrat gazette has kept us informed. i congratulate the newspaper's leaders and staff for pursuing the facts and accountabilities they have created and sustained the publication as a responsible and reliable source of information. with that, madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: madam president, i want to first say thank you to my colleague, senator mitch mcconnell, senator portman, jones, kaine, duckworth you brown, casey, warner, sinema, van hollen and reed who have cosponsored this legislation with he moo and for standing with me to protect coalminers'

protections. senator capito will be joining me on the floor today. yesterday marked the 51's anniversary of the mine disaster where 78 minors lost their lives in farmington, west virginia, which is my hometown. i lost my uncle in that mine explosion. i lost my neighbor and several of my classmates in this tragedy that rocked my hometown and it seems like only yesterday. i have always said that one life lost while on the job is one too many and it shouldn't happen. this tragedy shows the risks that our coalminers take every day to provide our country with the energy that we need, which is why i'm here today. when coal companies go bankrupt, coalminers' benefits are at the bottom of the priority list, which is how we've ended up in this situation today. that is unacceptable. it should be unacceptable to all of us. the person who earns the wage should be on the front end of a

line when the bankruptcy happens. time is is running o we need a fix now, not in a few weeks. not in 2020 but now. year after year, our coalminers risk their lives to bring america the energy needed to become the world leader that we are today. our coal miners made a commitment to our country. now it is our turn to uphold the commitment we made to them in 1946 by securing their hard-earned pensions and health care. let me tell you what the coal that we've had in our country and has been mind by our hardworking coalminers since the beginning off the 20th century. that coal -- that coal helped us win every war, help propel us to the industrial might that we are today, build our factories, has done everything for us, and all we're doing now is trying to make sure that the people who sacrificed all these years are taken care of. we have 1,000 coalminers who will lose their health care

coverage on december 31 of this years, a little over an month from now and we have 12,000 coalminers that will lose their health insurance four months from now. if you're one of those 1,000 dmierns r coalminers and -- coalminers and one of your family members are depending on life supporting health care and they think they are going to lose it at the end of this month it's unconscionable to walk out of here and not getting this piece of legislation done. with it being so bipartisan, having the majority leader from kentucky representing the coalminers in kentucky, this is something that needs to be done immediately and i know we can. if we don't pass this legislation, the fund will be insolvent by the end of this year. with the largest privately owned coal company, murray energy, filing for bankruptcy, it

accelerated a an exasperating position that we've been in and murray energy contributed 97% of the money going into the u.m.a. pension fund annually which is why its bankruptcy has accelerated the situation we're in today with the pension fund insolvency. once it would become insolvent, if we don't do something, this crisis will snowball and impact every single multipension fund in america. they will all start tumbling along with the pbgc which is the federally funded guarantee. that is why we protect the pension now, not next year or the year after that. which is why my colleagues and i introduced the coalminers act, it would transfer funds in excess of the amounts needed to

meet existing obligations under the abandoned mine land fund to the 1974 pension plan to prevent it's looming insolvency. it raises caps to $750 million so ensure there is sufficient funding for these pension funds. it also guarantees a lifetime health care for the 13,000 individuals, including the 1,000 scheduled to lose their health care on december 31 of this year. by amending the coal act to include 2018 and 2019 bankruptcies in the health care miners fix that passed. the funding is already there, it needs to be reallocated. these actions will secure the pensions of 92,000 coalminers and their families and protect health care benefits for 13 now miners. that is our goal and i am proud to be here fighting for these miners today because they surely have fought for me and given me

the great country i live in today. these miners took home less pay every day from their paycheck with expectations they would be able to retire and provide for their families. they have paid what they are trying to receive. it's not something they are asking for a handout. they are not asking for a government or taxpayer handout. they are just wanting the money they investedded and paid -- invested and paid into. workers expect the wages they contributed to be there when they retire was we promised. if we pass the bipartisan america's miners act as an amendment, we would protect coalminers' pensions and health care now before it's too late. the bipartisan americans miners act is ready to be voted on and has the support from both sides of the aisle as i just read off a list of our sponsors. the bipartisan american act is basically a piece of legislation that needs to be done

immediately. and if we don't pass it now, 1,000 miners, as i said before, will lose their health care on december 31. health care benefits will be terminated, as we've talked about and then by as early as september 2020, the pension benefits of 22,000 current pensioners and 10,000 pensioners could be reduced because of insolvency. the average pension of a coalminer is less than $600. most are widows their husbands have passed on, and they are living on this as their income. it would be tremendously harmful for them not to receive this. i believe we can and will pass this legislation before it is too late for these miners as an amendment to the c.r. that's all we're asking for. it must be done before and no later than december 20, and i'm trying to get this on now so we can move forward. can you imagine being one of the

1,000 coal miners, having one of your loved ones, your wife or your children needing health care attention and will not get health care after december 31. put yourself in their shoes. these are the families that need the peace of mind knowing that their pensions will be paid and the paycheck that they did not take the money will be secure. we can give them peace of mind and i look forward to passing this legislation with all of my colleagues in a bipartisan -- this is something that we had something of this magnitude being done in a bipartisan way and the good lord knows we need bipartisan efforts. and if we don't understand the working men and women of america, what is our purpose of being here. with the urgency that is needed, please take up this legislation, please take up this amendment to the c.r. and let's take care of the people that made america

great, the coalminers and hardworking americans. thank you, mr. president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. manchin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. i'd like to vitiate the quorum call. i would like to ask unanimous consent that peter staley and jordon cohn are granted privileges of the floor for the 116th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. manchin: and i yield the floor mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. president. i'm really pleased to be here with my fellow west virginia senator, senator manchin, who has been -- we've joined each

other on this topic before, but he's been a real champion for our miners and i'm really grateful to him and others who have participated. but i think it's -- we've got to talk about this every day and make sure that we underscore the urgent need to pass the bipartisan american mine rs act. i -- miners act. i appreciate senator manchin and certainly appreciate senator mcconnell and senator portman as well. back in 2017, time was running out on the health care benefits for 22,000 retired miners. i remember it well, particularly following the patriot coal bankruptcy. we came together as a bipartisan group to pass the legislation with the house that protected health care for those men and women. well, we're in a similar situation today, which we knew we were going to be here. the senate needs to act soon to save the health care of 13,000

retired miners and protect the pension benefits of 92,000 people. time is of the essence here because roughly 1,000 retirees from westmoreland and mission coal will lose their health care at the end of the year if we do not act. 12,000 more could lose their health care by next spring and the pension benefits are at risk in 2020. this is a critical, critical issue for my state and many others. i'm going to take a brief moment to explain how this legislation works. it's a bit complicated. in 2006, when we passed the last reauthorization of the abandoned mine land reclamation program, this is -- we had a capped permanent direct appropriation was created for transfer payments. that permanent direct appropriation, along with the interest on the a.m.l., the abandoned mine land trust fund, has been used to fund a.m.l.

payments to certified states and pay health care for the miners. the whole point of the a.m.l. is to do reclamation of previously mined lands all throughout our country. for those not from coal company -- let me back up here. the permanent direct appropriation has been used for the payments to the certified states and also to provide health care to our orphaned miners. well, for those who are not from coal company, what is is an orphan mine are? an orphan miner is someone who earned a invested right to retire health benefits but worked for a company that no longer exists or financially solvent. the bipartisan american miners act makes sues of the same appropriations created in 2006 to cover the health care for retirees whose health care would be loss due to the bankruptcies in 2018 and 2019. and the will would -- the bill

will provide the long hfer term solvency of the mine workers pension fund. this is critical. previous bills were able to accomplish this goal protecting the retirement beneficiaries without lifting the cap on the direct appropriation that was set in 2006. because congress has delayed action for so long, our current legislation must lift the cap in order to provide health care and pension benefits for our miners. protecting these benefits is a top priority for me because it impacts so many mining families and communities in west virginia. just last weekend i talked to three miners directly impacted, just kind of randomly ran into them in different areas of our state. but i think it's important to understand that this bill does not place other policy items in jeopardy. that's a misconception. passing this bill does not disturb the principal balance of the a.m.l. trust fund.

that means we're not jeopardizing funds to clean up abandoned mine sites and this will not cut funding for other transfer payments authorized by the law. the bill will protect retirement benefits for tens of thousands of retired miners and their families, benefits that have been worked for, that have been earned through the hard work in our mines. 25,451 west virginians received benefits from the pension fund during 2018. they were joined by more than 11,000 pennsylvanians, 8,500 kentuckians and thousands more from illinois, virginia, alabama, and ohio. the pension benefits of all the men and women are at risk if congress fails to act. the average benefit, listen to this -- the average benefit for our miners is $590 a month. so these are not lavish

benefits, but they are critical to our retirees. a retired miner from logan, west virginia, for worked for 36 years in the mine wrote me and said please keep fighting to save our pension. i receive $333.34 cents monthly. we need this badly to pay for food and other bills. a miner from richwood, west virginia, who mined coal for 17 years wrote my check is $192. it's not a lot of money but it means a lot to make ends meet. i would add to both of these, these men, these gentlemen paid for these pensions. pension benefits for mine workers plan went to individuals in all 55 of west virginia counties so this is truly an issue that impacts my entire state. but in the areas that have the largest number of pensioners, which are rally, logan, wyoming,

marion, and boone counties, cuts to the pension and health care benefits to our retired families would have significant impacts of our communities, the entire community. if these retirees face severe reductions in their pensions, it means less money spent at the local business, less money in a local restaurant, and it would cause economic -- further economic harm to the areas that cannot afford another blow. so i ask my colleagues to join me, senator manchin, leader mcconnell, senator portman, and many others by supporting the bipartisan american miners act. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the brouillette nomination occur at 1:30 p.m. today. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. paul: mr. president, i rise to present an amendment to this bill. my amendment is simple and it reflects the kind of commonsense budgeting we ought to be doing here in washington. today i offer the penny plan for infrastructure. this plan cuts one penny, 1% of all spending, and puts that money in a fund for infrastructure. my amendment would put about $12 billion per year into a fund to fix our roads and bridges. every agency would still get 99% of the spending they got the previous year. sure, they would need to trim some fat, but they would still be fine. a lot of businesses and organizations will tell you that they have to cut much greater than 1% in a year.

i visited a business recently that in the downturn of 2008-2009 had to cut 30% of their expenditures. so business men and women in america are used to having to cut expenditures. government never does. whether it's our highways, our bridges or our waterways, our infrastructure in america is falling behind. everyone knows it, but like so many things, washington can't figure out how to fix it, how to find the money to fix it. politicians on both sides of the aisle talk about $1 trillion infrastructure plans, but offer no way to pay for it. my plan is much more modest, doesn't increase taxes and doesn't increase our debt. the penny plan for infrastructure pays for this with money we've already allocated. and to be clear, we do have the money. washington just spends it in inappropriate ways. washington spends it, for

example, $233 million on a single highway in afghanistan. so we have money to pave roads in afghanistan, but they won't vote to spend the money here to pave roads. the people in afghanistan got $233 million for a road, but then they couldn't even maintain it, so we gave them another $22 million to maintain the road. we spend $326 million to pave 2,000 kilometers of dirt roads in afghanistan. so we've got enough money to spend over $300 million to pave dirt roads in afghanistan, but we can't come up with $1 billion to help our infrastructure here. even this 2,000 kilometers of dirt roads that they went after, they were supposed to pave 2,000 kilometers, it turned out they only paved 159 kilometers. they paved less than 10% of what they actually promised to do with the money. what's that equal to?

$2.7 million per mile. it's outrageous and it goes on year after year after year. i think it's time we try a new way. just in afghanistan, we have spent more than the marshall plan did to rebuild europe after the devastation of world war ii. and we're still there, spending good money after bad. so when people come up here and say that 1% cut would somehow be a disaster, we need to remind them that the money is there. they just have to listen to the people and pull the plug on this kind of crazy spending overseas. my amendment would move 1% of current spending and it would put that 1% of the current spending bill into infrastructure. supposedly republicans and democrats and independents all glea -- agree on infrastructure and yet we don't allocate more money to it because we're too busy paving roads in afghanistan. if we did this, it would be about $12 billion. it's not enough to fix

everything in the country. it's a modest sum. this is actually a modest proposal to move over a few billion dollars. but you know what it would do? $12 billion would pave up to 6 6,200 miles of new four-lane highway, resurface four-lane highways, six-lane interstates. it would pay for multiple big ticket infrastructure projects that are currently stuck without funding. in -- in my state they have been working on a bridge, eight or nine years advocating for a bridge that we can't find the money. wee got the -- we've got the money. stop building bridges and roads in afghanistan and start paving roads here. this amendment would benefit communities, eliminate government waste and help our economy. so by cutting 1% of the current

spending will force all of government to do a better job. there's at least 1% waste. there's probably 10% waste in government. but i'm asking to cut 1% waste, take that money you cut by making government more efficient and put it into infrastructure. so, mr. president, i encourage the senate to consider this amendment and i think that we have very few amendments come forward where people have is a chance to vote for infrastructure. so at this point i move to concur on the house amendment to the senate amendment -- at this point i am about ready to. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate the following message from the house. the clerk: the house agree to the amendment of the senate to the bill h.r. 3005, entitled an act making appropriations for

the departments of commerce, justice, science, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2020, and for other purposes with an amendment to the senate amendment. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i move to concur to the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3055, with a further amendment number 1,250. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. paul, moves to concur on the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3055, with an amendment numbered 1250. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. shelby: mr. president, i move to table the paul amendment. i just want to say a few words. this continuing resolution before the senate holds spending at the fiscal 2019 levels. an arbitrary 1% across the board

cut, although it sounds good, would be extremely hard to our agencies, particularly our military. the senate handedly defeated similar amendments recently and i hope we will do this today. i yield. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i'll be very brief. i agree with the distinguished senior senator from alabama. the paul amendment imposes a 1% across the board cut over last year's funding level to the vast majority of discretionary spending for the duration of this year. i hope all members, republican and democrat alike will oppose it because it would mean arbitrary cuts in defense and other national security programs, cuts to veterans' health care, education, child care, opioid programs, just to name a few. it's a simplistic tool that ignores the complexity of our federal budget. it's not a way we should govern.

we have the hard work of making hard choices to fund -- on how to fund programs each year based on reality. that's what we should do and that's what the american people deserve. i support increasing investment in our nation's infrastructure. i'd be happy to work with senator paul to ensure these programs receive the resources they require. i hope that he might be able to get some support from the trump administration which has consistently proposed cutting resources to improve our nation's infrastructure. but -- so i would hope he might be able to get that kind of support. but funding it through an across the board cut on all other programs, including veterans health care, national security, education programs is irresponsible, it's not the answer. i ask consent my full statement be part of the record. the presiding officer: weeks. -- without objection. mr. shelby: i move to table the paul amendment. i ask for the yeas and nays.

the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: