we've brought you unprovoked view of government everyday since 1979 and this year we are bringing you an unfettered view of the people ringing you the government in november. this election season deep, direct and unfiltered. see the biggest picture for yourself and make up your own mind with c-span campaign 2020 .-dot to you as a public service by your television provider. >> the u.s. senate is about to gavel and print members will start to beat on the bill to reset u.s. energy and environment policy. legislation combines more than 50 bills offered this year by various senators, both democrats and republicans and includes issues energy efficiency, battery storage, carbon capture, electric grid is security, building codes and the new generation of nuclear reactors. senators will vote at 5:30 p.m. eastern to advance the legislation paid off the floor

negotiations continue with the house on how much money to allocate for coronavirus response. and where that money would come from. the house is excited to consider the bill this week with the senate debate to follow shortly after. now to live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, our refuge and strength, you reminded us

in romans 8:26 that we do not even know how we should pray. or for what we should pray. you then promised that if we request it, your holy spirit will pray for us with groaning that cannot be expressed in words. we claim that promise that your spirit will pray for us. lord, guide our senators through the power of celestial intercession inspire our lawmakers to earnestly seek to fulfill your purposes.

enable them to find unity with each other because of their experiential relationship with your intervening love. we pray in your marvelous name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 2657 which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to s. 2657, the bill to support innovation and advanced geo thermal research and development and for other purposes. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask to speak for one minute as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: our u.s. dairy farmers have had a tough decade. margins are thinner than ever and new milk substitutes can be found in every grocery store. and while dairy farmers scored a major victory in the u.s.-mexico-came madian -- usmca agreement with access to canada,

there's a scary new trend that's very disturbing. hollywood jokers have called and taken a stand against racing cow -- raising cows with the so-called hash tag moo-too movement. this is utterly irresponsible. u.s. dairies produce the highest quality milk and cheese in the world under the highest standards of care. drink and eat dairy products, it's good for you, especially ice cream. help our dairy farmers. i yield the floor.

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. h- mr. schumer: are we in a quorum? thank you, mr. president now, over the weekend, cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in new york, rhode island, florida, officials in washington state have also reported that now six americans have died from coronavirus, the first fatalities from the coronavirus in the u.s. at this critical moment, we need an administration that acts with persistent and unrelenting transparency, decisiveness, and leans on the expertise of our scientists and doctors. but this administration, unfortunately, has spent years hallowing out the domestic and global health security teams in the executive branch. it has proposed cutting funding from the infectious disease

rapid response fund, the emerging infectious disease account and public health preparedness and response programs. undoubtedly, the trump administration would have been better prepared to respond to the coronavirus if the president had prioritized these programs rather than urge them to be cut. the administration's early response efforts have not instilled much qualified either. testing kits were not promptly sent to the hospitals and medical labs around the country. political personnel has overruled the recommendations of the c.d.c., and the administration was slow to appoint any single official with public health expertise to coordinate our government's response. even now, president trump seems to be spending more of his time blaming the media, blaming the democrats than being constructive. in fact, he blames everyone not named donald trump. the president is downplaying --

he is downplaying the threat of the coronavirus to dangerous degree, and his chief of staff amazing said to americans, turn off your televisions. we know the history of how these viruses spread and work. when you deny them, when you don't let people know what's happened and what to do about it, things get worse. and yet the president, being as self-interested as he is, only cares about himself and his image, and he tries, as usual, instead of solving the problem to blame somebody else. the deflection and finger-pointing, the denial must stop. president trump must take responsibility to ensure that everyone in the public health community has the authority and the resources needed. we need the president and his team to level with the american people and get a handle on the situation. now later this week, appropriators will put together an emergency supplemental

package to surge resources into the domestic and global response and help local communities quickly prepare for the coronavirus. i believe -- i have said that we need about $ 8.5 billion. and from all reports, the appropriators are very close to that number rather than the $2.5 billion the president talked about early on. and that's good. because when it comes to americans' health, when it comes to our safety, when it comes to dealing with this problem head on, skimping doesn't make any sense at all. if there was ever something that's penny wise and found foolish, that's it. i'm going to have more to say later, but at a minimum, any package needs to have provisions to ensure that the president cannot transfer these new funds to anything other than the coronavirus and american and global preparedness to combat

epidemics and infectious diseases. vaccines must be affordable and available to all who need them. yesterday i called for vaccines when developed to be fully covered by medicare because seniors, who need the vaccines most, should not have to worry if they can afford it once its available. there should be interest-free loans made available for small businesses impacted by the outbreak, and state and local governments are reimpioused -- should be reimbursed and provided new grounds for virus response activities. in the meantime, the administration needs to keep working with local communities, including schools, universitiess and local agencies on the steps they must take to prepare for an increase in coronavirus cases. specifically, the administration needs to do the following -- first, issue coherent guidance on what school districts should do in the event of virus is detected in a community.

two, establish a uniform screening policy for airports and ports of entry. our frontline transportation professionals at t.s.a. and c.b.p. need clear guidance on the coronavirus. and, three, make it clear that our federal scientists and medical experts can speak out freely and be heard by the american people. no gag rule, no downplaying this because that makes things worse when people don't know the facts. now democrats are ready to work on a bipartisan basis to make sure federal, state, and local officials are ready for whatever scenario coronavirus presents. the president and his administration -- and our colleagues in the senate -- must be ready to do the same. now, on the energy bill, tonight the senate will vote on a motion to proceed on a bill that would make changes to our nation's energy policy. ranking member manchin and i have had several discussions with chairwoman murkowski and

the republican leader about having a fair amendment process on this legislation. as a result of these conversations, i will be voting yes on the motion tonight as a show of good faith. democrats want amendments to the energy bill so we can make real progress on climate change. that's what we're hoping to achieve this week. few pieces of legislation offer more opportunity for progress on climate than those that concern our energy policy. we cannot miss this opportunity to make real substantive progress on climate change, and i am hopeful that our amendments this week, that the potential progress we can make on climate change this week can be bipartisan. for months republicans have been trying to adjust their posture on the most pressing issue facing our planet -- the climate crisis. this bill provides a real test

for senate republicans. will they join senate democrats in fighting for and passing bipartisan legislation that will address climate change in a significant way, or will our republican friends continue to do what they have done for the last several years -- do the bidding of corporate polluters and big oil and block amendments with bipartisan support. finally, on d.n.i., on friday, after dismissing acting director of national intelligence maguire and replacing him with a partisan loyalist with no experience, rick grenell, president trump proposed john ratcliffe of texas, replacing one highly operative with another does nothing to keep our country safe f at a time when vladimir putin is once again interfering in our elections, we need a nonpartisan leader with a high level of expertise and trust on both sides of the

aisle, someone who sees the world objectively, seeks truth to power at the helm of the intelligence community. neither acting director grenell nor representative ratcliffe come close to that standard. rep ratcliffe in particular false short of that high bar. john negroponte became d.n.i. after decades of working in the foreign service, whatever you think of others individually is -- and they came from both parties -- all had decades of experience and working with the intelligence community. dan coats, the president's last nominee to this position, served as a diplomat, senator, and sergeant in the army before assuming the post. representative ratcliffe, on the other hand, is a three-term teaparty congressman. he has shown extreme partisanship in the house. he lacks experience, the

experience required to lead a community of 17 intelligence agencies. because the experience, mr. ratcliffe does have in experience has been alarmingly partisan. he was a fierce critic of the mueller investigation, earned praise from deep-state conspiracy theorists. during the mueller hearings, he badgered the witnesses with lines of questioning, notal all related to passage of the he didn't seem to care. he showed little regard for the seriousness of putin's interference in our elections and the need for election security. the intelligence agency since world war ii, since o.s.s., since the formation of the c.i.a., have been i am immune from politics by and large. this president, like he does with everything else, seeks to make them the arm of his likes and dislikes, of what's good for

him and if what's not good for him, even if he comes close to denigrating these fine men and women -- not comes close, even if he denigrates these fine men and women, he doesn't seem to care that we need intelligence agencies who find the truth and tell the congress and the american people the truth. and now he a points a -- and now he athe points a rank partisan to this agency that he probably sees on fax news mouthing the conspiracy theories that only the president and his avid supporters seem to believe? it is such a decline in america when this great agency where people have risked their lives for america quietly is made into a political football. to serve one man -- donald trump. who we all know doesn't really have a pension for truth, for honor, for decency. with this nomination, president

trump has shown again a lack of respect for the rule of law. for the intelligence community that republican and democratic presidents have all shown in the past. republicans must join democrats and swiftly rejecting the nomination of the partisan mr. radcliffe. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: the new coronavirus or covid-19 continued to capture headlines. news of the first american death related to the disease confirmed this is a public health challenge upon us. the senate's immediate role is clear, we need to support the

federal, state and public health officials who are working overtime to blunt, delay, and mitigate the spread of the virus. i'm grateful that our colleagues chairman shelby and senator leahy along with their counterparts in the house worked on an agreement to provide supplemental appropriations with a coordinated response. it goes without saying that a challenge like this leaves no time for moving goalposts or performative outrage. the american people deserve for their congress to meet this subject head on with a bipartisan and collaborative approach, and i'm confident that's exactly what can and will happen. i'm glad that our prospects for supplemental appropriations rests in the hands of a bipartisan group of negotiators. i would encourage my democratic colleagues in both houses to let them do their work. it would be important to pass

this first benchmark and supply these important funds within the next two weeks. now on another matter, on saturday president trump announced a new agreement with the taliban that is designed to promote a peaceful end to the civil war in afghanistan. first and foremost, we must recognize the brave men and women of the u.s. armed forces, hundreds of thousands of u.s. troops have deployed to afghanistan since our national security compelled us in 2001 to confront the terrorist threats emanating from that failed state that afghanistan had become. more than 2,400 american service members had given their lives in afghanistan. more than 20,000 have been wounded. our coalition partners such as the united kingdom and canada sustained casualties as well. obviously the worst burden of all has fallen on the afghan people. tens of thousands of afghan

security forces and civilians have been killed during this long, long war. it's largely due to these brave, heroic and sustained efforts to keep pressure on the terrorists that afghanistan has not come roaring back as an international headquarters for terrorists. thanks to these efforts, the united states and its afghan partners are hopefully in a position to bring about a negotiated end to the conflict. after nearly 20 years, two basic principles are clear. number one, we should welcome any serious opportunity to bring greater stability to that land. but, number two, we must make certain that the progress won through great sacrifice by afghans and americans is not undermined by a precipitous rush for the exit. i do not trust the taliban, so i'm grateful for the linchpin of the agreement is a

condition-based approach that will provide our commanders with leverage to test the will and the capacity of the taliban to abide by the agreement. if all goes well, our american presence would stabilize 8,600 troops for the time being. having heard from our commanders, i agree that presence will remain an important tool as we combat the ongoing threats posed by the likes of al qaeda and isis and spowrpt -- support for the afghans' ability to fight terrorism themselves. since further drawdowns would require further progress and cooperation from the taliban, i look forward to hearing from administration officials, intelligence, analysts and military officers about how they will judge compliance and determine whether the conditions are in fact met. for my part, i believe the intra-afghan negotiations are especially critical to the

future of that country and to our own significant security interests over there. we should do what we can to help the afghans achieve a peaceful solution to their conflict. i'm glad to hear there are no secrets to this agreement which congress will be denied as there were with president obama's iran deal. the secret documents detailing implementation arrangements are available for the review of all senators in senate security, and i would encourage our colleagues to review the full details. so, mr. president, republicans spent much of the obama administration reminding our colleagues that hope, hope is not a strategy. we argued president obama's reckless withdrawal from iraq would set the stage for chaos and a resurgence of terrorism. unfortunately the rise of isis proved us correct. that's why more than a year ago i authored an amendment so the senate could confirm withdrawing

from syria or afghanistan the wrong way could strengthen the hand of terrorists and competitors such as russia and iran while weakening our own vital interests. i believe from my conversations with senior administration officials that they went into these negotiations with their eyes wide open about the taliban's duplicitous nature. i expect members of both parties will have many questions about this agreement and look forward to briefings from the administration about the path forward to protect american interests in afghanistan and ensure this war ends on terms favorable to those interests. our fight against isis, al qaeda, and other radical islamic terrorists is not over. as my colleagues and i have said for years, even if the united states were to choose to walk away from the conflict, the conflict would not walk away from us. we learned that on september 11. we relearned it with the rise of isis. i hope we never need to learn it

again. so the war is not over, but this agreement may foster the negotiations and discussions within afghanistan that would be necessary to bring it to a close. on one final matter, on friday president trump announced he intends to nominate representative john ratcliffe of texas to serve as director of national intelligence. i'm glad the president has elected to nominate a permanent d.n.i. so the senate can provide our advice and consent on this crucial position. as i mentioned last week, the men and women of the intelligence community fulfill a wide array of sensitive and critically important missions. the office of the d.n.i. is central to coordinating these efforts in a strong fashion that gives no corridor to plit advertiseation or partisan -- plitization. president trump has a strong track record of sending the senate impressive nominees for

national security post who are well prepared to protect our nation and defend our interests. the impressive leadership of secretary esper at the department of defense, director haspel at the c.i.a., general nakisone at the national security agencies and other leaders have proven president trump has an eye for talent and confirm the senate's trust in each of them was well placed. i hope congressman ratcliffe will impress senators just as did the other members of the president's team and earn a bipartisan confirmation vote. i trust chairman burr and colleagues on the intelligence committee will oversee a prompt and fair confirmation process and i look forward to meeting the nominee myself. the trump administration has worked overtime to unwind the failures of the eight years that preceded it. we've taken a big -- taken big strides to renew america's national security and our strength on the world stage.

we must keep up this crucial work. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. leahy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, you know, everybody has a story. actually everybody has a journey when you think of life. some are heartbreaking but some are uplifting. and some are hopeful.

tomorrow night during senior night the university of vermont's men's basketball team is going to celebrate a story that is all of these things, heartbreaking, uplifting, and hopeful. they'll celebrate that when senior josh bidell, takes the court for the first time in what will be the only time in his college career. josh is a native of columbus, indiana. he dreamed from a very young age of playing college basketball. at columbus north high school in indiana, josh was the basketball team's all-time lead point scorer andean indiana -- and indiana all star. just before the start of his

college, he accepted a scholarship to play for the university of vermont. here's the heartbreaking part, a few months later, in january of february 2015, josh's dream derailed after a devastating brain injury after a car crash. josh would spend the next four months in the hospital in rehab. just a few days after the accident, the university of vermont's head coach, john becker, went to indiana and visited josh there and had a simple message for him. you are still welcome at u.v.m. your scholarship will be honored and we'll help you in any way we can. that is, after all, the vermont way. and josh would eltly arrive

at -- ultimately arrive at u.v.m. in august of 2016. while he hasn't suited up with the team, he's worked with the trainers, he's improved his physical condition, and he's remained active on the court. but what is so inspiring, his team was at his side throughout. he's been a constant with the team, on the sidelines, cheering hes teammates on -- his teammates on. i've been at the games and seeing him do that. off the court josh has been working for a degree. he is being prepared to work with children through sports with a double minor in behavior changing coaching. he's been a committed student throughout his time at u.v.m. and is set to graduate this may.

after graduation, josh hopes to use both his life experience and his education to work with children. tomorrow night the university of vermont men's basketball team will celebrate senior night. they made a special arrangement with their opponent albany, josh, wearing number 32, will suit up, take the court and have the first basket after the tipoff. i so wish i could be there because when josh steps off the court, it will surely be to the standing ovation, that this young man with the personification and perseverance and dedication and hope he so richly deserves. i know my fellow vermonters who

are at these games and i know there will be very few dry eyes in the house because we are, all of us, the product of our life experiences, of the community that supports us and of the will we carry to press on. josh speidel is a remarkable young man and the gym tomorrow night will be an emotional and vibrant celebration. so, josh, from the floor of the united states senate, i congratulate you on a recognition so richly deserved. i'd ask unanimous consent to place in the record an article from the burlington free press highlighting josh's journey. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, i wanted to do this because in an

era where we hear so much bad news, it's wonderful to hear inspiring news. this is an inspiring young man and i congratulate him and the university of vermont for what they've done. madam president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. leahy: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, i note that there is somebody -- somebody else is not waiting to speak but if somebody does i will yield the floor. i just want to bring my colleagues up-to-date on where my head is as vice chairman of appropriations. all of us worked throughout the week and weekend, republicans and democrats together, along with our counterparts in the other body.

each one of us with some trepidation to the latest report on the virus attacks, including the serious ones here in the united states, the deaths that occurred around the world. and we are trying to put together an appropriations bill that will give our administration the tools they need to protect america and to help our allies, not only to protect us from having this come to our shores, but to that that is already on our shores, the coronavirus, that we be able to protect americans from it.

i want to compliment those who have been working on it in both parties. as so often the appropriations committee, we pretty well left our labels at the door. we worked together, both republicans and democrats, to get a good bill. i urge both majority leader and the democratic leader that once we have it, and as soon as the house acts, it be an appropriations bill that will go first, but that we move very quickly. frankly, looking at the dangers facing america, i'm perfectly willing to stay here throughout the weekend, if need be, as many of us did last weekend to get this passed and on the president's desk.

we're not republicans or democrats in this matter. we're americans. and we're united states senators. the senate has so often set the standards for the rest of the country. we can do it here. i hope that as soon as we can vote on this, we will. i commend senator shelby, he's the chairman of the committee. i'm the vice chairman of the committee, and we worked together. but i also commend all the other senators, both republicans and democrats who have worked with us. i hope this body will be able to vote, ideally this week. if not this week the very first part of next week. this is an important matter. cancel the weekend if need be. stay here and get it done. madam president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. cruz: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: madam president, today is text independence day. 184 years ago today the texans declared our independence,

declared our independence from mexico and fired a shot for liberty that was heard around the world. as i have done a number of years in the past, i am going to read the letter from the alamo. lieutenant colonel william barret travis wrote calling for help. it is a letter that energized the texans across our great state, that energized lovers of liberty. it is also a letter that i read the very first time i ever spoke on this senate floor and these are words to inspire everyone. command danes of the alamo owe commanddancy ever the alamo, b bexar, to the people of texas and all americans in the world. fellow citizens and compatriots.

i am besieged by a thousand or more of the mexicans under santa ana. i have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. the men my -- enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. i have answered the demand with a cannon shot and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. i shall never surrender or retreat. then i call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism and everything dear to the american character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. the enemy is receiving reenforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or 4,000

in four or five days. if this call is neglected, i am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. victory or death. signed william barret travis, lott colonel commanned commanddant. ps, the lord is on our side. when the enemy appeared in sight, we had not three bushels of corn. we have since found and decerted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head are of beeves. signed travis. the brave men and women of the alamo gave their lives for liberty. but shortly thereafter at the battle, the texans were victor

yas and the republic of texas was formed, an independent nation from 1836 to 1845 for nine years we were our own nation and then text joined the united states of america. we are proud americans but we're proud of the history of the brave texans. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senior senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i am here on the floor this afternoon, we will shortly have a vote on the motion to proceed to s. 2657. this is the vehicle for our bipartisan american energy innovation act. i'm here today to kind of kick things off and just let colleagues know some of the highlights of this measure that my colleague and the ranking member on the energy committee,

senator manchin, and i have been working on for some time. when i say some time, i think those here in the senate know that when we take up substantive energy bills, whether they're focused on energy or whether they're focused on lands, we spend a lot of time giving process, good committee process to bring these matters to the floor. and the measure that we have in front of us, the american energy innovation act -- you'll hear it referred to by its acronym, aeia -- it makes you want to do a joke about the vowels aeiou and sometimes i can give you that but i'm not going to do that today. the reality is we have been working on energy reform now for almost a dozen years, 12 years. it's a long time since we have

last refreshed and updateed our energy policies. this act contains priorities from more than 60 members of the senate. to suggest it is a bipartisan bill, it is more than bipartisan. it is republican priorities, it is democrat priorities, it is priorities from urban areas and rural areas. it is a, it is a package that really does help move the ball forward when we think about energy and energy innovation and energy security. i want to extend my thanks, my particular thanks to my good friend and ranking member on the energy committee, senator manchin of west virginia. he's going to be here on the floor in just a couple of minutes to speak as we take up

this motion to proceed. but from the start of this congress, he and i have really been focused on modernizing our nation's energy policies, and this bipartisan package that we have assembled will do just that. so again, i credit my ranking member. i also credit the great work that both of our teams have brought to this very important national discussion. it has been -- it has been a long process but one where i think members will look critically at the package that we have in front of them and realize that we have worked hard to address what more we can be doing to modernize our energy policy. so i've been framing this american energy innovation act in two buckets, if you will --

innovation and security. innovation that includes everything from the renewables to vehicle technologies to carbon capture utilize -- utilization to efficiencies. then you have the security side, the security of your supply chain and what that means to make sure that you have access to the minerals that allow you to build out your renewable energy products to give you that security from a defense perspective. how we ensure that our grids are secure and our modernizeed. and again, secure from the perspective of economic security when we ensure good jobs, good jobs for americans from alaska to arkansas. so our bill promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage. this is what so many of us have been speaking about for so long. advanced nuclear, industrial and vehicle technologies, carbon capture utilization and

storage. we renew a number of broadly supported programs, including weatherization assistance. and in so many of our communities, in our cold states is what we're thinking about right now, but also during the summer months when it is hot, weatherization assistance programs are our key for so many of the people that we work for. we also renew arpae. that is the innovation hub, if you will, within the department of energy that has build out so much of the energy innovation. we've included timely provisions to strengthen our nation's mineral security and cybersecurity as we modernize the electric grid and we bolster workforce development. what we have really worked to build are consensus policies that will help this country maintain its status as a global

energy leader, and that we are. that we are, a global energy leader. we also want to ensure that we are providing affordable energy energy, affordable energy for our families, our businesses, and knowing that all of this helps to strengthen our national security and increase our global competitiveness. these policies will also lead to the development of low and zero emissions, technologies that will help us address climate change and protect our environment. you're going to have some people who might say this measure doesn't, doesn't solve climate change. you haven't worked to reduce emissions to zero. and, mr. president, i will stand before you and acknowledge that that is the case. but what we are doing is recognizing that this necessary first step to update, to

refresh, to modernize energy policies that haven't seen an upgrade, if you will, in a dozen years, to help incent these technologies that will get us to that cleaner energy future, that will really allow for a level of transition that we seek and that will help protect the environment. so these are the steps that we're taking today to focus on innovation in the energy space and security, security of supply, economic security through workforce, and security, physical security when it comes to our energy grids. mr. president, the american energy innovation act is a good bill. you're going to hear me say that a lot this week. it is a good bill p. it was developed the right way through regular order, something that we don't see often enough around here, but it's one of those

things that the energy committee has kind of developed a reputation for using regular order. well, you're going to see that regular order demonstrated here on the floor. this measure deserves to advance through the legislative process and to become law. we have an opportunity to legislate, to legislate in a meaningful way for the american people. and i think, i think all of us have a little bit of pent-up, pent-up energy, if you will, to get to legislating. we'll have that opportunity in just a little bit here. i would strongly encourage every member to vote in favor of the motion to proceed to this important legislation. now, mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the following fellows in my office be granted floor privileges through june 30, 2020, and that is robert ivanovoskis, stephanie miller and heather

booth. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i see that my friend, the senator from west virginia has come to the floor. he is going to give more extended remarks about the measure, speaking of priorities. after we complete the vote here in about 15 minutes on the motion to proceed, i'll have an opportunity to speak more fully about some of the details. but again, i want to repeat while my friend is here with me that this opportunity to really shape legislation in a space that is so needed is one that he embraced from the minute he assumed the role as ranking member. the two of us have said what is it that we can build. we're not interested in messaging. we're not interested in having

hearings, to have hearings for hearings' sake. we are interested in making a difference when it comes to our nation's policy. and i think that we have done that, and we've done it because of a good cooperative process. so i want to thank my colleague, and with that, i yield the floor. mr. manchin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: mr. president, before my colleague leaves, i want to thank the senator from alaska and my chairman for all the hard work, because it has been a labor, and both of us have worked together because it is something our country needs very desperately. and it's something that has been worked on for 12 or 13 years, so time has come. with that i'm pleased that we've started the process and turning to the american energy and innovation act. last year chairman mur could you skill kicked off -- murkowski kicked off the congress with the

innovation. we've heard from experts who have come before the committee advancing a broad range of technologies. we have no silver bullet to solve the problems we face. namely, maintaining affordable, reliable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring that hardworking families and communities aren't left behind. it's for this reason i say we need to innovate, not eliminate. i repeat that, innovate and not eliminate. there is a misconception that all of these emissions are coming from just the power industry, just one source, that's all we hear about. that's not true the facts are this, in 2017, the power sector was responsible for 27.5% of the u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. the power industry, coal-fired power plants, natural gas plants now that have turned was responsible for 27.5%.

29% of our emissions come from transportation. how we come to work, what we use every day life. 29% coming from that. 22% comes from the industry. the jobs that we do, the industries that we have that we need, that the jobs that are provided and the products that they produce. 11.5% was commercial and residential sectors, the buildings that we're in. commercial and residential. with that in mind we focus on all the above approach. we didn't leave any rock unturned. our bill will help reduce emissions in all sectors except for agriculture. agriculture represents about 9% of the greenhouse gas emissions and that was not in our jurisdiction. innovation is a critical step to help us reliably meet tomorrow's energy needs while reducing emissions in industry, buildings and vehicles. we all know that greenhouse gas emissions are a global issue and

investing now in these technologies will position the united states as a global leader and maintain our competitive edge. it is time to seek practical solutions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and find ways to ensure that our energy sector, the environment, and workers can all benefit. once we vote to proceed to senate bill 2657, we'll be laying down the american energy innovation act of 2020 as a substitute amendment. this legislation brings together the strong bipartisan work of our committee. over the past year -- 53 bills, 39 # of those are bipartisan. and once it is enacted, it will provide the first comprehensive senate energy policy update in 13 years. this bill represents an important down payment on research and development at the department of energy for a range of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ing in fact, it would advance -- in fact, it would advance innovative technologies that would help us, reduce sectors across the economy that account for 39% of greenhouse gas emissions. this will put us on a path to reduce 90% of the current greenhouse gas emissions. that includes energy storage, renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon capture, advanced nuclear, vehicles and provisions to help get those technologies out of d.o.e. and into the market. as i said before there's no silver bullet and this will not solve climate change, but it is a critical step in the right direction, not just here in the united states but also for the rest of the world. i'm going to take a few minutes to touch on a few of these now. let me start with our existing zero carbon baseload energy nuclear. unfortunately this industry has been losing ground with

state-funded programs like china and russia. that is why i worked with senator murkowski to create a robust r&d program to develop new technologies to not only usher in a new era of nuclear but also reduce the operating cost of the new nuclear fleet that will be required to operate into the middle of this session if we, as a nation, are to meet our emission reduction objectives. we also included my effect act which researches development and looks at each aspect of the carbon capture utilization storage, this includes control, utilization, storage and atmospheric co2 removal. fossil fuels will continue a source of electric generation not just here in the united states but around the world many we need to get ahead of the

curve and invest in the technologies that will allow us to continue using them but in the cleanest way possible so we're reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. we also included provisions to target industrial emissions that are particularly hard to get to with existing technologies and with all of this, we need to continue to create quality jobs in this transmitting energy landscape. all of those provisions will protect and create jobs while addressing carbon emissions, a win-win for communities in west virginia and rural communities across this country. the american energy innovation act also covers a lot of territory when it comes to renewable energy from the skies and hill tops to the rivers and oceans. the bill includes incentives for small hydropower facilities and expansion of the department of energy's work on marine renewable energy and ex expands -- and expands

geothermal energy. and it includes packages that transformed our energy landscape in large and small ways, and that is wind and solar technologies. the bill focuses on new milts, enhanced efficiency and design and operation and their full life cycle from manufacturing to recycling. i want to make sure these clean energy technologies are aiding the grid and the communities that need distributed or micro grid connections from alaska to puerto rico. of course storage is a key enabling technology for low carbon modern grid that will help us achieve our emission reductions and address climate change while keeping energy reliable and affordable. our bill builds on the d.o.e.'s existing energy storage r&d storage and advances energy storage technologies and with a

five fold increase in authorization from current levels. the bill will also help to shore up our supply chain of critical minerals because we're currently depending on imports from other countries, namely china, for many of the mineral commodities required to manufacture everyday items like our phones, security assets like satellites and emissions-reducing technology like electric vehicles and wind turbines. it's important to strike the right balance between supply chain concerns and environmental stewardship and i appreciate senator murkowski working with me to remove a provision that was concerning to some in our caucus and outside groups and of course the energy package has a robust energy efficiency title that would promote efficiency in commercial and public buildings. energy efficiency really is a low-hanging fruit and 40% of the nation's energy is consumed in

buildings. i repeat that again. 40% of the nation's energy is consumed in buildings. the department of energy estimates that efficiency improvement can save the u.s. consumers and businesses 740 gigawatt hours which is equal to 16% of electricity used in 2025. if we can reduce the amount of demand by 16% with not enhancing the quality of life -- with not deterring the quality of life, i'm sorry. multiple studies show that it is cheaper than investing in any other type of new generation. it is truly the cheapest kilowatt. it's also readily available. there are lots of opportunities to improve efficiencies in buildings, industry, transportation. these investments and policy changes can and will have a real

positive impact in the lives of every day americans while saving both energy and money. i call that a win-win, which we don't have many of. and i hope that we have the opportunity to vote on the amendment to add voluntary building codes back into the efficiency title of this bill both to help consumers save on energy bills and to really advance carbon savings. finally, the electric grid is undergoing a rapid transformation. it's becoming more complex, more flexible and more diverse in terms of energy resources. that means that we've got to continue focusing on shoring up our you'll have necialts and -- vulnerability. we will support investments and programs vital to securing and protecting our critical energy infrastructure. as i said before, this bill represents a critical step in the right direction. i believe that this package is well balanced and with many of

my colleagues' priorities on both sides of the aisle it is truly a bipartisan bill. it represents a true effort, and i want to thank chairman murkowski as well as the other members of the energy and natural resource committee for their work over the last 14 months to provide the basis of this package. i encourage my fellow members to vote yes today and i look forward to working with you this week on the important piece of legislation. thank you, mr. president, and i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. 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 motion to proceed to calendar number 357, s. 2657, a bill to support innovation in advanced geothermal research and development and for other purposes. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived.

the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to s. 2657, a bill to support innovation in advanced geothermal research and development for other purposes shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? have all senators voted? on this vote, the yeas are 44, -- the yeas are 84. the nays are 3. the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is disagreed to. -- is agreed to. ms. murkowski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, well here we are. we have successfully voted to proceed to s. 2657 which is our vehicle for the american energy innovation act. we are now to that point that many of us have been waiting for for some time, and that is the opportunity to debate, to offer amendments, and to pass this

measure hopefully on a strong bipartisan basis. and i want to -- i want to encourage all members to look at the bill that is now before us and to ask those questions. look at how with this update to our energy policies we will be moving forward with innovation. we will be moving forward with energy security, grid modernization, cybersecurity, workforce security. so we are in a good place here this evening. as i mentioned in my very brief remarks before the vote, it has now been more than 12 years, more than a dozen years since congress enacted comprehensive legislation to update our energy laws. and when you think about what has happened in a time period of a dozen years -- 12 years --

12 years ago we didn't have ipads. 12 years ago we weren't even thinking about this shale revolution and what that would mean to america, turning us into an energy superpower. over the course of 12 years, the costs of renewable resources have come down dramatically. new technologies are emerging, but p what hasn't kept pace are our policies. our policies have not kept pace. and when they don't keep pace, we miss out on opportunities to further our energy leadership and we're failing to adequately address what i think are some very significant challenges. and that's why the innovation package that senator manchin and i have but the forward is so important at -- put forward is so important at this time. what we're seeking to do is to modernize our energy laws to ensure that we remain a global

energy leader. we seek to keep energy affordable, to strengthen our security, and to increase our competitiveness. and we do all of this -- we do all of this -- while making our energy cleaner and cleaner. to protect the environment and to reduce the impacts of climate change. so within this measure, this american energy innovation act, we have included more than 50 related measures within this package that reflect the priorities of more than 60 different senators. so what we've done is we've gone through this committee process, and it's, as i mentioned, been a very robust, very thorough committee process. we've arranged these 50-some-odd measures into two titles, with the first focused on technological innovation and the second title is focused on

security and workforce development. so just starting with the first title, and that is innovation, we really start with the first fuel. the first fuel is energy efficiency, which has tremendous potential to lower energy bills and meet growing demand. we certainly know and understand that in a place like alaska, a cold state. it helps our families, our businesses, and the environment alike when we can be more efficient in our energy consumption. i think we recognize that efficiency is often the easiest and often the cheapest option, and that's why within our bill we take steps, reasonable steps, to improve the efficiency of everything from schools to data centers. i mentioned also that we will renew vital programs like weatherization assistance, again which is so key to so many in

states that are cold or very warm in the summertime. the second subtitle in the bill is focused on renewable energy, and i think when, again, you think about what has happened in the energy sector in a 12-year period, the progress we've made with renewable energy is remarkable. we've -- with this provision, we focus on resources like wind and solar, geothermal, hydropower, marine and hydrokinetic energy, which offer potentially unlimited energy. and again, the cost of these technologies have come down in recent years. so what we aim to do with our bill is to keep that going so that, as we make our energy cleaner and more renewable, it is -- it is also more affordable.

the third subtitle in the innovation package focuses on energy storage. we talk a lot about energy storage and folks looking at that as really being the holy grail here. but it real lay is critical to overcoming the very ability of certain renewable resources. and here i want to recognize a colleague, my friend here, senator collins from the state of maine. she's been a real leader on this issue. we have taken her legislation she incorporated -- we called it the better energy storage arctic the best act. we took the best act. we included four other bipartisan bills, all focused on storage, to advance these technologies. another subtitle within the innovation space is carbon capture utilization and storage. technologies that reduce and even eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural

gas plants. so within this subtitle we reflect both the effect act that was sponsored by senator manchin as well as the leading act from senators cornyn and cassidy. this will help us build on the work that congress has done to promote ccus through the tax code. another area of great focus within the bill is nuclear energy, clearly our largest source of emissions-free energy. here in this country, we created nuclear energy. american ingenuity created nuclear energy, but conventional reactors are closing, and what has happened is we have ceded our global leadership in recent decades. so through my nuclear energy leadership act, the nela, the nuclear energy renewal act from senator coons as well as the

integrated energy assistance act from senator risch we seek to restore that from next generation reactor concepts. we support smart manufacturing for industrial and vehicle toings which will help -- technologies which will help create new jobs in america's heartland, some of the toughest sectors for emissions reduction. so in this space innovation is key. i want to thank our colleague from rhode island, senator whitehouse -- he just left the floor -- for his leadership on the clean storm -- clean industl technologies act. the third is at the heart of federal efforts to promote energy innovation and to give just a couple examples here, we renew the popular arpa-e program and improve the office of technology transitions. the second title of the bill is more broadly focused on security

and workforce development. we start off with focusing on supply chain issues as they relate to minerals themselves. i have included the american minerals security act which recognizes that our foreign mineral dependence is really our achilles' heel. right now in the united states, we import at least 50% of 46 minerals, including 100% of 17 of them. and what we've seen is a foreign dependence that has grown significantly over the recent years. so what we seek to do is to take some real steps to reverse that and rebuild our domestic supply chain. if we can do that, if we can do that everyone from our military to our manufacturers will benefit. so when we think about the security space, we also have to focus on cybersecurity. we all understand that a

successful cyberattack against our nation's critical infrastructure including the electric grid could have devastated and far-reaching consequences. to guard against that, we provide new mechanisms and incentives to protect our cybersecurity and modernize the domestic grid. and then again, when we think about security, economic security through good jobs, we recognize the importance of a well-trained, highly skilled workforce. that is essential to our ability to produce energy, to develop clean technologies, rebuild our domestic supply chain, and ultimately, ultimately remain a global energy super power. to address workforce challenges, we've incorporated several bills from colleagues that will meet the needs of companies and our national labs alike. so we're going to focus almost all of the debate on titles 1, innovation and title 2,

security. but title 3 is really my favorite. it's the last title. we call it cleaning up the code. not very fancy, but we are working to repeal a number of sections of law that are either duplicated by the american energy innovation act or simply outdated. we don't do this often enough, mr. president, taking the old stuff off the books, the reports that are no longer required that are parts of provisions of law that are just not in place. and yet somebody out there still does the reports if we haven't taken them off the books. so let's get rid of things that are redundant or outdated. so we repeal old studies. one of the items that we repeal is a requirement for motorists to purchase at least $5 worth of gas. we actually have on the books a requirement that motorists have to purchase at least $5 when you

go to the fuel tank. we're getting rid of that. we've got some other provisions in there that we believe are no longer needed. and we did this very carefully. it was not just quickly going through things. we checked with the department of energy during both the last administration and this one to assure that they agree that these are outdated or duplicative. as proud as i am of the substance of our innovation package, i am equally proud of the process that we followed to put it together. and i mentioned earlier that on the energy committee, we've developed somewhat of a reputation of doing things the old-fashioned way, through regular order, spending some time in committee, and really trying to build consensus products so that when we can come to the floor, we have measures that enjoy broad support from both sides of the aisle. i think our bill is a textbook

example of the benefits of working together across the aisle in a regular order process. it is not quick to do it this way. this is the result of a full year's worth of hearings, business meetings and bipartisan negotiations. and i think that it shows what's possible when we focus on what most of us agree on rather than those things that will serve to divide us. now i am certainly aware that even with the strong vote that we just had to move to proceed to this bill, i'm aware that not all members plan to support the measure. some, some think that it's gone too far. others think that it doesn't do enough. and i've heard from members who want to add energy tax provisions. we'll have an opportunity to have that discussion. but i will remind colleagues that when we originate here in the senate, any tax measures,

that results in a blue slip from the house and effectively kills our bill. this is too good a bill to kill. a few would like to reduce its authorization levels while others would have us multiply them by ten times. but i think by doing either of this, what you lose is the balance that we've worked very, very hard to achieve with this. the last point that i'm going to raise and just very briefly because i'm going to have plenty of time on the floor, and i see we have colleagues here. but one criticism that i find disappointing is that we're not doing enough in this bill to tackle climate change. and i think what is important for members to know is, is this package, without question, is a good step, a strong step, is a necessary step in the right direction to continue to reduce our nation's greenhouse gas

emissions. we can't get to, when you say we need to tackle climate change, you can't get there without innovation. you can't get there without technology. and that's exactly what this bill promotes. to say that perhaps we should not pass a good bill because it doesn't go far enough, in my view, is a mistake that will result in absolutely nothing happening. and that's not good for anybody. so, mr. president, i'm excited to be here. i'm proud to be managing a strong bill with my friend from west virginia, a strong bill that will benefit our economy, our security, our competitiveness and our environment. and i want to thank all the members who have contributed to it and who will help us move this forward. i think we've got a lot to be proud of. i hope that we will have a productive week in front of us

as we begin to work through possible amendments. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. promise the senator from ohio. --. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i applaud the work of senator murkowski who is perhaps uniquely qualified to find ways of doing bipartisan work. i applaud her for her efforts on this bill and other things. for too many people, mr. president, hard work isn't paying off, even people with supposedly middle-class jobs don't feel stable. wages are flat. the cost of everything is up. health care, child care, college, prescription drugs, and especially housing. when you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. you fight for dignity of work. but you can't talk about dignity of work without tackling the biggest item in most families' budget -- housing. dignity of work means living with dignity, whether you write a rent check or pay a mortgage, whether you're safing for a down

payment or just looking for a safe place to lay down your head at night, whether you live in a city or a suburb in hamilton county, where my colleague, senator portman, who is in the chamber lives; in richland city where i grew up, a medium size city or a rural area. we all want the same thing, a place that's safe, a community that we care about where we can get to work where our children have a chance, a good school with room for our family, whether that's three kids or an aging parent or a loving pet in our case our dogs franklin and walter. you should get to define what home looks like for you. you should be able to find it, ushedz be able to -- you should be able to afford it without crippling stress every single month when the rent check is due or whether your mortgage payment is due. people feel like that's out of reach, even when they work hard and do everything right. right now a quarter of renters,

one out of four renters spend more than half their income on housing. think of that. one out of four renters pay more than half their income on housing. one thing goes wrong in their life, car breaks down, child gets sick, get laid off work for one week, something happens, one thing goes wrong and their life turns upside down. seven out of the ten fastest growing jobs in this country don't pay enough for a two-bedroom apartment. we know housing is central to every aspect of families' lives. matthew desmond, author of "evicted" a book i've spoken about on this floor in the past and on people in my state and around the country, matthew desmond, i asked him to come in, i bought his book, i brought in a number of senators to listen to him. in describing his book, he wrote home equals life. if you don't have a decent, safe, clean affordable place to

live, your life is so often turned upside down. the housing crisis affects different families in different ways, but it touches pretty much everyone. a safe, stable home is the foundation for opportunity. it determines where your kids go to school. it determines how far you have to travel to get to work. it determines where you go shopping. it determines whether you feel safe walking around at night. and we know where you live, maybe most importantly, affects the quality of your health care. it affects your education. it affects your job opportunities. and where you live affects your life expectancy. housing stress affects people with all kinds of jobs in all parts of the country. it's why i'm holding roundtables all over my state beginning over the past two weeks to talk with ohioans about their struggles with housing and what we can do to make it easier for everyone to find an affordable home. so far i've done roundtables in toledo and youngstown, northwest ohio and eastern ohio.

i heard from ohioans about the challenges that too many people face. we heard about how interconnected housing is with other issues in people's lives. wages that don't keep up with the cost of living, how housing instability can affect your stress levels and your health and how hard it can be to get financing to buy a house or start a business in neighborhoods that have been left behind. we heard about the power in youngstown and toledo, heard about the power that shady landlords have over tenants and about predatory lease to own land contracts. people also talked about how upfront costs aren't just an issue. the down payment you make on buying a home to get a mortgage. to rent you often have to have the first month's rent, last month's rent and security deposit. that can be a huge obstacle to so many moderate and low-income families. 40bg% -- this number is stunning, 40% of americans say

they can't come up with $400 in an emergency. 40% of americans can't come up with $400 in an emergency. when it's that hard for so many people to save, a deposit can seem just impossible. we can't untangle many of these issues from the legacy of redlining and decades of bad public policy decisions by members, i would acknowledge from both parties at all levels of government, when we have systematically denied people of color the ability to choose where they live and build wealth through homeownership. more than half of african americans are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. more than half of people of color spend 30% or more on their housing. making them much more likely to have a high housing cost burdens than white, than white seniors have had. that means black and latino families have less to spend on health care, less to spend on food, less to spend on

transportation. and it's not just about differences in income, all very real. more than 50 years after we passed the fair housing act to prohibit discrimination in housing, african americans make up 13% of the population, but 21% of people experiencing poverty in this country, african american, and 40% of the people experiencing homelessness are african american. 21% of people experience poverty, but 40% of the people experiencing homelessness. this isn't just about income. we talked to people who are homeless and none of us gets out as much as we should, to, as president lincoln said, get your public opinion bath, we don't talk about that enough, but when you do, you learn so many people who are homeless have jobs. they don't pay much. they may be part time, they may cobble together two jobs, but they are still homeless. we look at homeownership. the african american

homeownership rate is 30% below the white homeownership rate. it has been explained through income and education but that doesn't tell the whole story. something more troubling is going on, similarly situated african americans are less likely to own a home than their similarly situated white counterparts. that's the legacy of redlining, it's the legacy of racial seclusion at work. it might have been in arkansas or ohio. from 1934 to 1962, get this, 98% of f.h.a. mortgages went to white homeowners. we were 85%, 87% white. that is not just a problem in the past. housing is how people build wealth for generations, yet with millions of families struggling to afford housing with massive disparities and access to housing, this administration is

turning its back on communities and communities of color. for three years president trump has been trying to undermine the fair housing act of 1968. i spoke with mitt romney, the senator from utah, on the floor about this last week. his father was president nixon's secretary of housing and urban development. he made a lot of progress in 1969 and 1970. so much of that progress is being scaled back. that landmark civil rights law made discrimination in the financing of housing illegal. it was supposed to set us on a path to a country where everyone could find and afford a safe, stable home regardless of gender or race with access to opportunity. instead of getting us closer, the trump administration is making things worse. they are trying to make it harder to root out policies and practice that have a hidden

discripple any effect on people by cutting the decades' old desperate impact standard. they are rolling back the h.u.d. rule that would have implemented the fair housing act's require us to fairly have -- to have fair housing throughout the country. and president trump is only making it worse for families struggling in this country. the administration would eliminate funds communities use it create and preserve affordable housing and make homeownership possible. the community block grant. the administration wants to cut the already insufficient federal rental assistance we have. they want to get rid of funding for the housing trust fund even though the funding comes from the g.s.e.'s, the government sponsored enterprises, not the federal budget, to make it still harder to build homes and apartments people can afford. to add insult to enter, the

trump administration proposed to make mortgages more expensive for working families to both reduce the deficit that they created. we that we have trillion dollar deficits because even in times of growth in the economy because of tax cut that went overwhelmingly to the rich and even though that the administration made these mortgages more expensive for working families to reduce the deficit they created and to supposedly level the playing field for wall street as if wall street doesn't have enough advantages without our continuing to shovel money to them. we need to fight back. any economic policy that doesn't put housing front and center ignores families' biggest expense and biggest need. when we see howing problems in toledo or big coastal cities or in small towns, it's clear this is a national problem, it needs a national response. i'm going to keep hosting round tables around ohio to hear directly from ohioans about the

struggles they face. i'm inviting ohioans to go to my website. i'm inviting ohioans to go to brown.senate.gov and share your experience about housing. we value these stories, we have gotten hundreds out of these two round tables and the attention around the round tables, we've gotten hundreds of many heart-wrenching stories and ideas for changes. need to hear your struggles and ideas. congress cannot ignore these challenges. we can't just let the administration take away the tools we have and we've used for years to try to make this better to make people's lives better whether they are in small towns or big cities. if we want to make this country work better for every -- everyone, we can't shrink from the challenges. when work has dignity. when people live their lives with dignity, everyone can find and afford a safe place to call home. i yield the floor.

mr. portman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. president mr. president, i'm here on the floor to talk about the legislation now before this body. we just passed the motion to proceed to the energy legislation and we just heard from my colleague from alaska, your colleague from alaska, senator murkowski, who chairs the energy and natural resources committee about that legislation. it's a good package. as she said very well, it both helps in terms of the economy and jobs and in terms of the environment. who wouldn't be for that? and it's got a whole series of proposals to do that. the one i'm going to talk about tonight are the in efficiency proposals that we talked about and in particular i'm going to talk about a concern i have that the legislation that was offered tonight took out part of our energy efficiency package which we hope to add later by amendment, but i want to talk about why it's important to add back in. the legislation on energy

efficiency is something i introduced with senator shaheen from the great state of new hampshire for nine years now, going back to 2001. some of it has gotten passed over time, but most of it has not. so we are once again bringing it up. the legislation is entitled the energy savings and industrial competitiveness act. which is why we call it -- our legislation has been voted on by this body before. back in 2016 it passed the united states senate. it also passed out of the senate energy and natural resources committee five separate times with bipartisan votes. in 2016, the vote was 85-12, and, again, it was part of a larger package at that time. there's a reason why this legislation has received such broad bipartisan support over the years. it lowers energy bills, which is a good thing, it reduces emissions, creates new jobs and does it all without putting any

new mandates on the private sector. it provides irn sentives but -- incentives bus not mandates and that is good for the working families that i represent. it accomplishes this by improving energy efficiency in key sectors, one is buildings, commercial buildings, residential buildings. second is in the manufacturing sector, industrial sector of our economy and third is with regard to our u.s. government. the residential and commercial buildings, by the way, account for 30% of total u.s. energy consumption which is why it is so important we have these sections in this legislation with regard to buildings. with regard to our industry sector, manufacturers are excited about this legislation bawtion it -- because it makes them not just more efficient in serms of energy but -- in terms of energy but more efficient. that's why many groups are strongly supportive of the legislation as well as well over

100 government businesses. the federal portion of this because guess who uses the most energy in this country, the federal government. the number one user of consumer energy. we think they are the number one consumer in the world. this may not surprise you but they are not terribly efficient. our federal government sometimes preaches to the rest of us to be efficient but our own federal government is lacking in that. this legislation focuses on those three areas and moves the needle. it makes smart improvements to energy efficiency. a recent analysis found that the bill will save consumers $51 billion on energy bills, it will result in energy savings equivalent to the total energy use of all u.s. industry in one year and it will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, co2 emissions by an equivalent of taking nearly four million cars

off the road every single year until 2050. so as senator murkowski said very well earlier today, this is about reducing emissions, and for those who are concerned about climate change and want to reduce emissions, energy efficiency is a great way to do it. and, by the way, by creating jobs, not eliminating jobs. previous studies have shown that our legislation will add more jobs to the economy, 100,000 jobs is the estimate. i must tell you i'm supportive of the package. i'm supportive of what senator murkowski said tonight. my disappointment is the underlying legislation we're debating tonight does not include two provisions in the portman-cardin legislation, and thomas are important in resulting in energy savings, the additional jobs i talked about and the savings to the taxpayers i talked about. the first one is what is known as the save act. now, the save act allows the energy savings of an energy efficient home to be considered

when determining the loan amount that is home buyer is qualified for when they go to get a mortgage. it offsets the cost to a more energy efficient costs which is often the second-most expensive expense. this bipartisan legislation was first authored by johnny isakson as well as with michael bennet. johnny championed this legislation for many years. i want to thank him for his efforts. it's in our portman-shaheen bill. i was pleased to work with senators isakson and bennet and i'm sorry it's minority part of the energy bill tonight. it's not the only important provision that missed the vote on this package. another important section of my energy efficiency legislation left out of the energy bill is known as the building code section. this section focuses on best practices to make homes more energy efficient. we know one of the most

effective ways to ensure a home is affordable is to build a home that is energy efficient to begin with. it is important to know at the outset that the building codes we're talking about tonight are and will remain under this legislation voluntary. you will hear that a lot tonight. there are no mandates in this legislation of any kind for new homes. it's up to states, local governments and tribes to adopt the building codes on their own they deem fit for their community. some states have an energy code, some states don't. some adopt part of what is the model code we'll talk about in a minute, some states have no model code that they are going to adopt. in my home state of ohio we have parts of the 2009 model building code. instead of mandates, this provision we're talking about is an incentive-based opt-in program that is open, transparent and cost effective.

and it's not that the mandates haven't been tried before. mandated building energy codes and mandated energy savings were included as part of the 2009 energy bill that passed the house of representatives and there's even legislation introduced today over in the house that would impose mandates. our legislation does not. it takes a much more commonsense approach and leaves it up to states and what codes work best for them. some may not know that these model codes for commercial and residential buildings are updated through an independent organization outside of the government. for residential it is the international code counsel or i.c.c. every three years this group conduction a process to update the residential model building energy code. so every three years they do it. during that process many stakeholders, including

industry, builders, developers, state code officials, the department of energy, they can all weigh in with proposals or amendments and then they vote to approve the inclusion of proposals in the updated code. they all have a vote, including homebuilders. today the department of energy plays a role in the code development process just like other stakeholders. it has general authorities to offer and support proposals and to vote on the proposals. it has the authority to set targets to reach a certain percentage of energy savings during a code update. and since 1992, they have had the authority to provide technical assistance and funding for states, local governments and tribes who want to update their building codes. so that's the current practice. it's not mandatory, they can set targets and provide technical assistance. however there have been concerns from some stakeholders that d.o.e. was not transparent enough or not adequately considering the costs of

targets. that's why in this legislation, in addition to codifying much of what d.o.e. was already doing, our legislation establishes a rule-making process that requires for the first time d.o.e. to work with states, tribes, local governments and other interested stakeholders to set the saving energy targets in advance of the model building code updaift. we require them to do that. the purpose of the target is to set improvement from one model code to the next. it's intended to be a benchmark to consider when voting and proposing amendments. but it's not mandatory. and in response to stakeholders' concerns, that the target might not be cost-effective, in other words, d.d.o.e. would tampa bay a target that wasn't effective for stakeholders or wasn't transparent, our bill also requires d.o.e. to accomplish its methodology and provide a return on investment analysis.

not previously required. and the estimated cost and savings as a result of the target. so we're forcing d.o.e. to do much more than they do now. to be more transparent. to look at the cost-benefit here and come up with a cost-effective analysis. and then at the end of the day, the target itself is nonbinding on the model code process. d.o.e. makes a determination on whether the target was met and then this group, the i.c.c., sends their options that they can choose to adopt in order to meet the target. they do not have to accept the changes, nor does this model code have to meet the target. so it is not mandatory even at that stage. they set a target but it's not mandatory for the i.c.c. to adopt it. it's also important to again note that the proposed model building code at the end that's ultimately published by the i.c.c. is not an automatic mandate for new buildings.

states are encouraged to take a look at the new proposed code and to let d.o.e. know that they have considered the proposed code and determined whether to adopt it or not. and again, some states adopt it, some states don't. so as you can see, this whole process is one where there are recommendations made but they are not mandated. just as in the current law today, our bill authorizes d.o.e. to provide funding and technical assistance to states to incentivize them to update their code, but ultimately the updated code, whether the states want to consider the updated model code or not, is completely nonbinding and voluntary. i have heard concerns that our legislation will make new homes unaffordable. however, d.o.e.'s analysis found that, for example, if the 2015 code was fully adopted -- so that was the 2015 code we talked about earlier that ohio has partly adopted -- if it was fully adopted, it would result in a 33% reduction in energy use for that home, and cost $2,787

per new home compared to the 2006 code. so remember, this is a recent model code, 2015, they do it every three years. if it were thriewl adopted, it would result in a 33% reduction in energy use for that family, yet only an additional cost of of $2,787 compared to the previous code. we also know that these upfront costs are typically innocence financed entirely by the energy iftion savings through -- energy savings through the life of the mortgage which is usually 30 years. the 33% reduction in energy use would more than finance the up-front costs over the time that the person owned the home. so ultimately our legislation is going to ensure that energy efficiency features of a home will continue to save homeowners money throughout the life of the building. this incentive-based approach to improving energy efficiency in new buildings has a bipartisan support from a broad group of

stakeholders. in particular, my colleagues on this side of the aisle support an incentive-based approach rather than a mandated approach. our legislation has the support of the national association of manufacturers, the american chemistry council, the u.s. chamber of commerce. it has the support of commercial and real estate developers like boma and the real estate roundtable. it has the support from efficiency advocates and the environmental community like the alliance to save energy, the a acaaa, and the blue-green alliance. there is not a lot in washington, d.c. these days that has that broad group of stakeholders. strange bedfellows, you might say, but this bill does, because what we do here makes sense. it doesn't take a heavy-handed government approach but it takes an incentive-based approach, not mandating, but providing the information so states, localities, communities can make their own decision and can help ensure that the best practices out there in energy efficiency are known and where people want to use it, they can use it.

if my colleagues are serious about both protecting the environment and growing the economy and greafg jobs, i believe that this is the right legislation for them and that the voluntary business code language in the energy bill has to be included. so i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help us with regard to an amendment we plan to offer later in this process to ensure that we do have the ability to both create jobs, improve the economy, and improve the environment. i yield back my time.

mr. portman: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 5671, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 5671, an act to award a congressional gold medal, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged, and the senate will

proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, march 3. further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 2657, and that the senate recess from 12:30 until 2:15 for the weekly conference meetings. finally, that notwithstanding rule 22, all time during recess, adjournment, morning business, and leader remarks count postcloture on the motion to proceed to s. 2657. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand

adjourned under the previous order. order. >> today senators begin debate on the bill to recent u.s. energy and environmental policy and the legislation combines more than 50 bills offer this year by various senators from democrats and republicans, and includes issues such as energy efficiency, battery storage, carbon capture, electric grid security, building codes, the new generation of nuclear reactors. it also continued funding for the federal response to the coronavirus . u.s. senate my member, always here on "c-span2". president trump holds a campaign rally in charlotte, north carolina in tomorrow's super tuesday contests. online, cspan.org or listen live on the free c-span radio app.

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