yet this secretary of labor, this department of labor, including from ibew workers to steelworkers to meatpacking workers, he refused to issue workplace safety requirements throughout the pandemic. he failed to get workers the protective equipment and medical supplies they need to protect themselves. he forced people back to work in meatpacking plants around the country and in south dakota we know in a company owned by the chinese communist party, 1,300 workers got sick, four have died that we know of. the trump administration fined this chinese-owned communist party-owned meatpacking plant $10 a worker. 1,300 workers got sick. osha, the government, the president, find them $10 a worker. but don't worry, he and his contributors who come for white

house tours without masks or social distancing will get to look at some sparkly ornaments. the president could crack down on corporations like smithfield. he could get every american worker the masks and protective equipment they need. he could issue an osha temporary standard as we have asked him repeatedly that would provide clear and enforceable requirements for keeping workers safe. he could stand up for workers, but he won't. that's fundamentally why he lost. 80 million americans decisively rejected this president, his total lack of empathy, his complete failure to understand the dignity of work. there are a lot of senators in this fight -- not a lot. there are some senators in this body whose mothers or fathers carried union cards and knew that was their ticket to the middle class and understood that those -- that their mothers and fathers were protected by osha, protected by the department of labor that cared about the safety of those workers in the workplace. but all that the president did

do and and -- did do to ignore workers and didn't do to protect workers, none of that is stopping him from trying to do more damage in the way out the door. the trump usda department of agriculture is trying to race through a new rule, trying to push through in the last weeks a new rule that actually speeds up chicken factory processing lines. that's right. not slow them down in the face of record infections in these plants, but speed up lines. it's the oldest trick in the book. you make more money if you speed up the line. if you speed up the line, workers are more likely to get hurt. you speed up the line in a pandemic and more workers are likely to get sick. they tried to pass the rule earlier. it was held up over concerns workers would get hurt and salmonella would spread. that's not even counting covid. but to president trump and his allies, more workplace injuries, more grandparents hospitalized by salmonella are a small price to pay if it means more

profit -- excuse me, if it means more profits for meatpacking companies. trump and his corporate lawyer secretary of labor are pushing through a new policy to ensure that companies can continue to exploit workers by classifying them as independent contractors. go back, go back to the childhood of a number of members of the senate who had parents that worked in factories, parents that worked in construction jobs, parents that carried a union card. you know -- you know what that would mean to those workers and the threat that they could get sick. trump -- and you think about now corporations love this new business model. it's a way to classify people as independent workers. it's a way to put -- pay people less for the same work, skirt labor laws, wash their hands of responsibilities for the workers who make their business successful. these workers aren't working for a big insurance company that really does have a public image

they are trying to protect. these workers aren't working for a hospital or a big bank that cares about its public image. these workers are working for an entity hired by these big banks or hired by these insurance companies to prepare the food or to provide the security or to do the custodial work. a company you have never heard of that has no public image because this company is all about being hired by a large corporation. they then can pay them lower wages. they can then protect them less on the job. they can then not provide benefits. that's what happens with contract workers, those independent contractors. we know they love this business model. they can pay workers less. they can skirt labor laws. president trump wants to make that easier, partly because he does that in his business and he has a whole lot of corporate friends, big contributors to the trump campaign who make more money by doing that. fundamentally, president trump, senator mcconnell and the corporate allies, mr. president,

they just don't understand the dignity of work. they think workers are always a cause to be -- a cost to be minimized instead of the engine behind all our country's success. think back again for those members of the senate whose parents carry union cards who cared about all this, who had a chance in a job like this, who had a chance for opportunity because those workers carried the union card and were treated decently on the job. because those workers carried a union card, their bosses couldn't think of them only as a cost to be minimized. they did think of them as the engine behind their country's success. well, the american people rejected that, thinking 80-plus million people voted for a new president. they voted against a president who treated workers as expendable. they voted for the candidate who put workers at the center of his campaign. joe biden ran the most pro-worker campaign in a generation. in january, we get to work to deliver results. the new president -- right now, the new president from january 20 could immediately issue an osha emergency

temporary standard forcing corporations to take important critical decisive steps to protect their workers from contracting -- contracting or spreading the virus in their workplaces. what's more important than protecting workers, especially essential workers that deliver our food, that prepare food, that do custodial work, that do security work, that are helping people in our country live every day? with cases rising, hospitals filling up all over the country, the end of january isn't soon enough. workers put themselves at risk in nursing homes and hospitals. they deliver packages of hospital gifts. they stock supermarket shelves with supplies for holiday meals. some of the workers are going to get sick. some of them are going to die. they're going to die because they are essential workers, but we don't treat them like essential workers. we could do something about it now. we could pass a real plan that invests in protective equipment for them. we could pass a real plan that did testing and contract

tracing. we could get money to small businesses like liz valenti's business in dayton, ohio, so they can protect their workers at her two restaurants in dayton. what is leader mcconnell doing? ramming through more nominees like mr. hawppedman and mr. waller who keep stacking the deck in favor of their wall street friends, keep trying to hold oobt the power after americans said no, we want something different. mr. mcconnell needs to stop letting donald trump sabotage the economic recovery on his way out the door and get to work for the people we serve. if you love this country, you fight for people who make it work. our workers who organize in union halls and church basements and fought for workers' rights and women's rights and civil rights. in closing, mr. president, -- i know that senator lee wants to speak -- i have learned from my time in the senate and before that, i have worn this pin on my lapel. it's a depiction of a canary in a bird cage.

you may remember the old labor story of the worker -- the coal miner that took the canary down in the mines. if the canary died from suffocation or lack of oxygen or some contaminant in the air, the mine worker got out of the mines. he had no union in those days to protect himself. he had no government that cared enough, that was strong enough to protect him, and he had no government that cared enough to protect him. he was essentially on his own. this pin was given to me at a workers' memorial day rally by a steelworker who represented -- who told me about this pin and what it stood for. he knows that the labor movement changed this country for the better. it created the greatest economy and strongest middle class on earth. it said the opposite -- what mitch mcconnell says to workers all over the country is sorry you're on your own, but this canary pin represents we're all in this together. it means we fight for the dignity of work. it means if you love your country, you fight for the people who make it work. we can do that again.

we can protect workers from this virus. we can build a better system centered on the dignity ofork. i yield the floor. mr. lee: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, nothing short of a tragedy when anyone suffers from a.l.s. this is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, one that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and of the spinal cord of its victims and eventually affects control of the muscles. even the muscles that are needed to move, speak, eat, breathe, and otherwise live. and sadly, this is a disease that is always fatal. the average life expectancy is only two to five years following diagnosis. not only are the people who

suffer from a.l.s. robbed of time but also their ability to work, imposing great hardships on them and on their families. the bill that we have had before us today to help these victims by reforming our social security disability insurance program is a good cause, and it's one that i think we all support, but i think it goes about the job in the wrong way. it sets bad precedent, and it fails to include other needed reform. mr. president, we must remember that a.l.s., lou gehrig's disease, is one of many similarly debilitating and deadly diseases that americans are suffering from today. while not as well known, all of these victims are also deserving of the same kind of special attention and accommodation in federal policy. let's review some of the background of the program. the social security disability

program or ssdi was created in part to help people who suffer from conditions like a.l.s., providing monthly cash benefits to those who become disabled and therefore unable to work. one challenge with a program like this is that the agency administering the program -- that is, the social security administration -- has to verify an applicant's eligibility for benefits before they can start sending out the checks. today eligibility determination takes an average of three and a half months for some people and for some diseases including a.l.s., three and a half months can be a dangerously long time. so in 2018, the s.s.a. established a new policy to fast-track the application process for those with serious and urgent medical conditions. under this compassionate allowance initiative, more than 200 diseez now automatically make applicants eligible for

expedited review. but while the compassionate allowance initiative shortened the determination process from an average of several months to an average of 39 days, there is still a lengthy five-month waiting period to actually start receiving the benefits. and in the case of urgent, fatal diseases, that's still too long of a wait. the bill that we have had before us today seeks to address this problem, but only for the victims of a.l.s. now, obviously, we should try and help the victims of this tragic disease to the very business of our abilities. they are not, however, the only ones who need to be helped. of the list of compassionate allowance conditions, some are just as urgent as a.l.s. and some are even worse. there are sadly several for which there is no known cure, and that have life speck tan sis

that are terribly short. i want to cite some examples here. for instance, a degenerative brain disorder is among these. this particular disease leads to dementia and most often results in death within six to 12 months. tragically, there is no cure. around 1,000 americans are diagnosed with it every single year. including a dear friend of mine in utah who a couple of years ago passed away from this ailment. another is cardiac hemaloi hemaloidtosis. this disease affects the way electrical signals move through the heart, leading to abnormal heartbeats and faulty heart signals. for those diagnosed, there is no known cure, and they typically face a life expectancy of only about six months after the onset

of congestive heart failure. about 4,000 people develop this condition each year. or take peritoneal mesophilioma. this is a disease that is a cancer that develops in the lining of the abdomen, usually leading to death within 12 months of the first signs of the illness. and around 600 cases are diagnosed every year in the united states. that's why i have been working for the past year with my colleagues to broaden the scope of this legislation so that congress doesn't waive the ssdi waiting period one disease today. it should not matter which fatal rapidly progressing and debilitating disease an american is suffering. all fatal diseases with no known cure should have access to disability benefits after their security administration determination. mr. president, the men and women

who suffer from those conditions and the family members affected by their ailments have precious little time left, and they are just as worthy of help. they are certainly no less worthy of help than those with a.l.s. there is always hope that a cure can be found for them. or that at the very least the new treatment can further extend the life of these men and women. rather than removing the waiting period for those with one specific disease, we should remove the waiting period for those who suffer from any of a small select group of conditions that have no cure and have the shortest life speck tan sis. -- life exexpectancis. there is no reason we can't help those who suffer from a.l.s. and these other conditions. we can walk and chew gum at the same time. we can protect victims of a.l.s. and these other conditions as well. the bill as written sets the

stage for only those diseases that have the most recognition and, to put it bluntly, the most fundraising backing to find bill sponsors, and it would set at a disadvantage the conditions that are far more rare and underfunded. mr. president, who will be the voice from the men and women who suffer from those diseases? who will fight for them? adding similarly cruel maladies takes nothing away from a.l.s. and it can make all the difference for americans suffering from similar disabilities. i had hoped to offer my legislation as an amendment, but after working with the social security administration and with the congressional budget office, i was unfortunately given incomplete information at the time an agreement was reached on scheduling a vote on this bill.

i appreciate senator cotton's and senator braun's patience in allowing me to work towards a fix while they remained committed to advancing their legislation, for which i commend them. additionally, while i would have hoped that my work with the social security administration and the congressional budget office could have gone more quickly, i do appreciate their efforts to address my questions and compile the necessary information and tools. while i was pleased to see senator grassley's amendment, which at least would have paid for the removal of the waiting period for a.l.s., i'll continue to work on legislation that will remove the waiting period for diseases that meet a set of criterion, no known cure with a life expectancy of less than five years while not further jeopardizing the solvency of the

disability program. it will be ready for introduction soon. mr. president, my concerns and efforts have not been about waving -- waiving the ssdi waiting period for those who tragically suffer from a.l.s. i certainly agree that we ought to improve the time that they have left. but picking and choosing favorites among those with comparable conditions it not the right way to go about it. the lives of the men and women who suffer from other very similar conditions are just as valuable and we should be a voice for them too. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be

discharged from further consideration of h.r. 1044, and the senate proceed tots immediate consideration. the priding ficer: the cle will report. the clerk: h.r. 1044, an a to amend the immigration and nationalityct to eliminate the per coury for employment-based immigrants and so forth and for her purposes. thpresidg officer: is there objection to proceeding? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. lee: i ask unanimous consent that the lee substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. lee: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: i the further debate? hearing non the question is on passage. as amended. all those in favor say aye. ose opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill, as amended, is passed.

mr. lee: i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. lee: mr. president, i rise today to honor my friend and colleague, congressman rob bishop. after 18 years of service in the united states house of representatives, he's decided that hang up his gloves and embark on his well-deserved retirement. rob bishop has served utah's first congressional district with integrity and tenacity, humility and humor, and it's my high privilege to have worked with him over the last ten years and in the process to have become his friend. born and raised in kaysville, utah, rob has been a lifelong resident of utah's first congressional district with the exception of the two-year

mission where he lived in germany while representing the church of jesus christ of ladder day saints. he graduated from high school with high honors and graduated from the university of utah with a degree in political science. the embodiment of public servant, rob began his career as a teacher at ben lomond high school, teaching in german, a.p. history, government, and debate. he had one room in the classroom. i'm never wrong. that might tell you something about rob bishop. an avid lover of musicals, he -- they met on a production of south pacific and later starred together as the prince and princess in the production of once upon a mattress.

in their relief life story they have five children with spouses melissa, christian chlise and court any as well as nine grandchildren. inspired in his public service by barry goldwater, he was also involved in local politics from a young age, working at various levels of government and of the republican party. he's gone from being a precinct chair to a member of the republican national committee, from being a vice chair of the davis county teenage republican club to the advisor to the utah teenage republicans in 1996, and starting in 1997, he served two terms as chairman of the utah republican party. at just 25, he was elected to the utah house of representatives. when he was known for always wearing sweaters and no socks. he served for the state

legislature for 16 years and during the last two years, he served having been unanimously elected to serve as speaker of the house of representatives. in 2002, after serving in the state legislature and having spent 28 years teaching, he decided to serve at the national level. as rob bishop said in one of his most popular campaign slogans, utah has plenty of bishops, send this one to washington. rob has faithfully devoted his life to representing utah's first congressional district and he's been doing that ever since making that critical decision to run for congress. i remember one of the first times when i worked with him when rob was a relatively new member of congress and i was serving at the time as general counsel to then-governor john

hantsman. at the time an organization known as private fuel storage was trying to store spent nuclear fuel rods along the front corridor, just miles from utah's major metropolitan area and just under the low-altitude flight path of fighter jets flying between hill air force base to the utah test and training range. out of all of the members of utah's of the congressional delegation, all of them, i can adhere, were similarly opposed to this proposal to store spent nuclear fuel in this particular place in this particular way, our congressional delegation was united in that regard, but rob bishop stood out as one who was particularly concerned about it and was particularly determined to prevent such a dangerous idea from taking place. congressman bishop had a full

understanding of the problem. he had a complete mastery of the scientific facts of the issue and he had detailed helpful ideas about how to address it. he also understood the significant and long-lasting potential ramifications that this plan 0 could have -- plan could have had for hill utah air force base and to the training range. thanks to rob's vision, direction, and determination, he developed a strategy and worked hard to implement that strategy and eventually worked to pass a bill designating the area in question as wilderness, creating a wilderness curtain around the designated storage area making it impossible for the storage plan to be completed. rob bishop thus successfully had had prevented nuclear waste from

being stored in utah. rob was punching way above his weight. why? well, because he's awesome and because he was willing to dive into the nitty-gritty details of an issue and put in the hard work. not knowing and frankly, not even caring who got the credit, rob bishop just wanted to get it done. that's who rob bishop is. that's how he serves, and that's why we love him. and that is also characterized, rob bishop's entire time in congress. doggedly, thoughtfully, and honestly working for utahans best interests, never caring much who got the attention. he served on the armed services committee, the powerful house rules committee, the science committee and as both compare and -- chair and ranking member of the national resources committee chairing with his white quips and rye jokes. he chaired the western caucus, served on the german caucus for

his tenure, including two years as chair and helped found the tenth amendment task force. when speaker of the house john john -- banor was speaker of the house, rob was leader of the speaker's group. he was named chair of the federalism committee. rob did all of this, in addition to being a staunch advocate for the military and in particular for hill air force base. one of his proudest achievements was getting an extension of the michael airs strip at the dougway proving ground. when he was told there was no funding for it, to be attaind at the federal -- attained at the federal level, he successfully got the state legislature to appropriate the fund to make it happen. he was instrumental in establishing arrow hill outoutside of hill air force pace and a public-private

partnership between the air force, the state of utah and private developers that was the first of its kind in the country and a model of many more like it to come. rob has also brought his love of baseball with him to washington. a huge admirer of mickey mantle and ernie banks, ron is -- rob is known to have actual dirt from the pitcher's mound at yankee's stadium in his washington, d.c., office. he's been a long-time supporter of the salt lake bees, even championing the construction. every year he leads his office in the intermural baseball league on capitol with the team name known as the raucous caucus. rob has brought the same passion he has for baseball to serving his constituents. he has for years worked with the closeup foundation to bring high

school students to washington and he's partnered with teachers and students to put on an a.p. government conference every year. he's famously led constituent and student groups on long, expert nighttime tours of the capitol building. he is known as the guy who gives the best tours in washington and consistently spent hours upon hours late into the night making personal phone calls to each constituent who writes into his office. one of my favorite things about rob bishop is precisely how understated and down to earth and self-deprecating he is. it is a true feat when you have been in congress as long as he has and accomplished as many things as he has. while he's known for his sharp three-piece suits in washington, i can't count the number of

plane rides i've taken with rob bishop where he shows up to the plane wearing gym shorts and sandals and a hoody. in fact, basically every time he gave me the advice not to torture myself wearing a suit while on a four-hour plane ride. as we were flying from salt lake city to washington, d.c., he commended me for finally have gotten the memo. at least this time i wasn't wearing a suit, although he derided me a little bit for not wearing shorts. when you have a conversation with rob bishop, you never feel that he's trying to advance his own agenda or gain attention or fanfare. as a matter of fact, it's quite the opposite. it feels like a real conversation with a real goal to fix a problem. he simply tells it like it is and all together -- an all

together rare, refreshing and much-needed quality on capitol hill. when rob ran for congress, he said it was his goal to make congress less powerful. when he left, then it was when he came. in all of his time here, he sought to put power in washington back in the hands of utahans and back in the hands of people across the country in their respective states. just so in all of his time here, he slept on either an air mattress or a futon so that he wouldn't get too comfortable, so that he'd never feel too at home in congress. rare is the person who can come to change washington but not ever be changed by washington. rob bishop has managed to do just that. he's made a real difference for the people of utah and the people of the united states of

america, it's been a distinct pleasure to call him a friend and a colleague. and i have to say i'm going to miss rob bishop's service here in washington. just the same, we have all benefited and we will all continue to benefit for many decades to come from what he's done here, who he has been here, what he has stood for here so valiantly and consistently and faithfully and with such great decency and humility. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

the presiding ficer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, there's a rather complicated issue that's out there that not many people are aware of. it's -- it emmates from -- emulates from back in 1996, the passage of something that was called the communication decency act. just a few weeks before the 2020 election, twitter did what was previously unthinkable. it suppressed a long-standing legitimate news outlet, that was "the new york post," from sharing an article, from sharing either publicly or privately, it deemed unfavorable to presidential candidate joe biden. obviously they're concerned about joe biden and they were using this act to suppress information that may not have been favorable. that's not what this thing is supposed to do. to make it worse, they suspended

an account of the "post," a major news outlet, for over 24 hours, while other big tech entities suppressed the story as well, the depths of twitter's censorship reached new heights telling users sharing the article could be potentially harmful. now, there's no criteria to determine what's potentially harmful. they just decided it's a liberal mind-set. they want to punish people who are not sharing their mind-set. you contrast that with the refusal to moderate any comments made by iran's supreme leader ayatollah khomeini who called israel a, quote, cancerous growth to be uprooted and destroyed and for the elimination of the die anness regime through firm arm resistance despite having a policy against hateful conduct and glorifying violence. that's what they did. those are the words. that's what they did.

and yet it proves what president trump has been talking about for a long period of time on the social media. look what they've done to him over the last four years. it's time to make sure that twitter and other social media platforms are held accountable for engaging in censorship by repealing section 230 of the communications decency act. now, that sounds a little complicated, the communications decency act. we know why it was started, but we know the times have changed and now it's turned into a very liberal political organization. for 20 years social media platforms have benefited from the protectionism unprecedented in the modern era, a complete liability shield protecting them for how they moderate or censor content posted for their users. to add insult to injury, there's no one to check the partisan

censorship of these social media platforms. instead they're cuddled -- coddled by section 230, a good samaritan provision which allows good-faith efforts to obstruct objectional material. they decide what's objectionable. we know the parable, the moral imperative that comes with the parable that has guided many legislative protections for those seeking to do good. doctors responding to problems with people in mid air. i can remember many times i was involved as a volunteer pilot helping to get people medical care and for people that are trying to do the right thing. and we know that that's significant, and we know that is what the history is supposed to be on this section, this section 230. it was intended to make sure that twitter could flag and

remove unquestionably harmful content, like isis, their propaganda videos. in the case of the social media platforms, however, it amounts to nothing more than the fox garden the henhouse. instead of focusing on moderation to protect users from death threats or harassment and to prevent criminal behavior, twitter is allowed to determine what is otherwise objectionable and censor it from the platform with no right to appeal and no transparency. where else can you go in america and find someone that's totally immune from that type of behavior? you can't. it doesn't exist. now, this case in point. last year they cowtowed to the chinese communist party by removing the accounts of more than a hundred dissidents ahead of the 30th anniversary of tiananmen square massacre. i remember that well. i remember where i was when that happened but they didn't want

people to know that that type of thing actually went on. that was somehow objectionable. twitter's censorship and actions over the past few years make it clear it's decided that president trump is objectionable and they decided they're just going to act accordingly. and that's not surprising when you look at the culture that they have in the -- in that media. here's the problem with section 230. according to a strict interpretation of the 1996 law, that's allowed. partisan censorship is allowed. senator ron wyden even admitted that when the section 230 wasn't about neutrality and protecting the free marketplace for ideas and platform. we need to completely overhaul section 230 of that act and the best way to do it is just repeal it. repeal the whole thing. that's what the president wants to do. then you can start over again and build up. times have changed. the argument we hear against

reforming alone or repealing would be section 230 is that any changes to it would give social media platforms like twitter greater control over content and their platforms. they're not wrong. but that argument ignores the fact that censorship is already happening for americans due to their political beliefs. in violation of the first amendment. it's supposed to protect people without any transparency or recourse. others believe that the need for reform -- reform 230 incompetent mnlly but those solutions are merely band aids on a bullet wound. we've seen the negative impact of incompetental reforms. they don't work. efforts to hold users more accountable for information by requiring a real name associated with an account has seen native

americans blocked from platforms for using their legal names. social media plas forms -- platforms, supporters of section 230's last ditch argument to dell conservative voices to create their own social media platforms since they clearly aren't welcome in those that are existing today. that's -- that sounds good except the problem is that twitter and others have de facto monopoly on social media. house democrats agree. they wrote a 400-plus page report arguing big tech constituents constitutes a monopoly. just remember the internet. what was like -- what it was like back in 1996. in 1996 they -- only 20 million americans had access to the internet. only 20 million americans in 1996. today it's 313 million america americans.

so now the -- it's a way of life. the reality is section 230 is simply outdated for today's usage and is a strong case why all laws should -- you know, one of the problems i have with laws that are passed, they can be passed, the problem is corrected that caused the law to be passed, but the law stays on the books. that's exactly what has happened with this. section 230 is outdated and needs to be changed. otherwise we'll find ourselves here time and time again forced to rectify a decades-old laws with modern technology and ideas. let me simplify. section 230 allows twitter and other liberal social media companies to be exempt from liability -- in other words, no accountability whatsoever -- exempt from liability for what their users say. for example, twitter can't be held responsible for someone who supposes a death -- posts a death threat against me and that's where we are today. but they are also protected what

they censor. and even if it's in violation of the first amendment or is protected speech, no one else has this shield. no one else in society has this, which is why president trump is right. we need a total repeal. if you look at what they had done in the -- to president trump over the last four years, you know exactly what i'm talking about. but the place for repeal is not the defense authorization bill. there's an idea that the defense authorization bill for 60 years in a row now has passed so everybody who has something that doesn't pass normally, they try to put it on as an amendment having nothing to do with the military, nothing to do with our defense system for the ensuing year. and so that's how this one was decided. they could put this on. the problem is, if you had that language, repealing it, we would not have a defense bill. so there's not a choice in this

case. so we need a place for repealing the section 230 and we need to do it. the ndaa is about making sure our troops are cared for. it's for our kids in the field. they're the ones that we are supporting. they are the ones that need us. if we don't have this defense authorization bill passed by december 31, our pilots are not going to get flight pay. the kids are not going to get hazard pay. the whole thing will fall apart. you think about the problems we're having today in the military. one of the big problems is -- and the chair recognizes this because he's on this committee. right now our big problem is how to get more pilots into the air force, into the services. and they can't do it because of the competition out there. we can't compete with the private sector. now, if we take away their flight privileges, then it could be goodbye to most of our pilots. we just need to get this thing done. it should not be on the defense bill. and i want to make this appeal

to make sure that no one has the idea that the ndaa is the place to have it. and i give the president and my colleagues my commitment that i'll do everything possible to work toward a complete repeal of section 230 through other means. it's got to happen. president trump is right. totally repeal is the only answer and we're going to make sure we get this thing done, no the on this bill, not on the defense authorization bill but any of the other vehicles that came along. got to be done, mr. president. with that i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presing officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. inhofe: ishere a quorum call in process? i ask that it be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i think it's important that we acknowledge what's going on right now. what's going on is the most significant vote of the year is taking place. it's called the defense authorization bill, the ndaa. it's passed every year for 60 years now. this will be the 60th year it's passed. nothing else has a record like that. and yet, there is always trauma at the tail end. the reason there is trauma is because everyone knows it's going to pass, and it's going to pass. and so anything they can't pass during the normal process of the year for any number of reasons, they try to put on as an amendment, and some things are not acceptable because they have the effect of killing the bill. now, we have two people that have been working with -- with

the committees putting this thing together, and i know that the presiding officer knows this, but these people have worked an entire year and many, many more than half the weekends. people have this idea that people don't work in washington on causes. they do on this one. john bonzo in my office has been the director of the support of the -- of the bill. liz king, over on the democrat side, worked hand in hand together. people talk about how democrats and republicans fight with each other. not on this bill. we all support it. we all want it. we all want to make sure it's done and it's done right. so we have a defense authorization bill. it's going to -- this will be the largest one that we have had in the history of the -- of the defense authorization bills. it's one that without it we're

not going to be able to take care of our kids in the field. we have to remember that while there are a lot of hitchhikers on this bill on causes that we determine to be worthwhile causes, but we don't do it if it's going to be something that will take down the bill, so we want to make sure that nothing would jeopardize passing a defense authorization bill. now, the key is december 31 of this year. if we don't have the bill passed by december 31 of this year, i mentioned that we have problems that any of the specialist groups and i talk about the pilots, i'm talking about those involved in -- in hazard occupations that are the seals, the individuals who are out there risking their lives to a greater extent than others do in the military, and they are out there doing it for this reason, and they want to make sure that we -- that they are willing to take these risks to make sure that we are taking good care of people.

i have run into people all the time that say you're always so concerned about our military, and yet the chief competition that we have is with who? russia and china. russia and china actually after the last administration, that was the obama administration, where in the last five years, that would be from 2010 to 2015, he knocked down the military budget by 25%. never happened before, not since world war ii anyway. and yet we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn't compete. now, they will argue with you and they will say we spend more money on defense than russia and china put together. and, you know, that's true, but there is a big difference. that is in communist countries, they don't care about taking care of their troops. our job is to make sure that our kids have a prosperous career, and they want to defend our country, but they also have families, they have to take care

of their families. housing. housing has been a huge problem in the military. and so we want to make sure that we have good housing for our troops, not just here in the united states but around the world, and we're doing that. now, in communist countries, they give them a gun and say go out and kill people. they don't care about the troops. they don't spend any of that money. so the vast -- the largest expense, the largest ticket on running a military operation is taking care of the people. and so that's why it's important that people understand that this is -- you know, there is also a document that nobody reads anymore. it's called the constitution. and you read that. it will say what are we supposed to be doing in washington? we get involved in so many different things, and yet when you read the constitution, it says that our primary concern should be to defend against an outside enemy. and then other areas, transportation, a few other areas are mentioned, but the

number one concern is that we have got to have a military that's second to none, and we want to make sure -- and i have to say this. let me say this about our president. when he first came into office, president trump recognized what had happened to our military and had recognized that there are things like hypersonic -- that's a very recent, modern technology that they are working on in china and russia and other places. and it's -- and we're actually behind them at this time. people assumed that america has better everything in the military than china has and that russia has. and that's not true. they have artillery systems that are better than the artillery systems that we currently have. so we have a job that i consider to be the most significant job, significant job for the defense of our country, and that is just that, defend our country. i want to applaud all those people who worked long hours. we are now to the point where they are -- they call it turning

the page. we are ready to pass a bill. we're in the process of getting signatures on the -- from the committees, and there are a lot of people that don't like the idea of having to sign a bill and sign on to a bill, and yet they know that in order to maintain the superior position over china and russia, we have got to do that, and we have got to show our superior city, we have got to make it last. that's what we are doing right now. it's a very significant time. i anticipate that we're going to be able to get this done. i applaud the president for the time that he had spent and the money that he had spent on rebuilding our military. you hear him say all the time that we have now the strongest military that we have ever had, and we're in great shape but we are still rebuilding. we still have areas where our adversaries have better equipment than we do. so that is what's going on today. that's what's taking place.

it's a very proud time that we can -- we can say that we're now addressing those things that are the most significant things in -- going on in washington today. are you ready for me? ay. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma.

mr. inhofe: mr. president, ask unanimous consent that the quorum call in proess be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the postcloture time on the waller nomination will expire at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow and the senate vote on comirmings of the nomination. i further ask if cloture is invoked on the hardy nomination, the postcloture time, pier at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow and the senate vote on confirmation of the nomination. if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session to be in a period of morning business with senators

permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: and, mr. president, i ask for permission for committees to meet -- i have seven requests for committees to meet during the day's session of they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. inhofe: and, mr. president, senate proceed to the immediatee consideration of calendar number 349, s. 43 the presiding officer: the clerk willeport. the clerk: calendar number 349, s. 434, a bill to provide for a report on the maintenance o federal land holdings under the jurisdiction of the secretary of the interior. prool without objection, the sena will proceed to the

measure. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment to be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be condered read a third time and passed, that the committee-rorted amendment to the title be agreed to and that the the motions to reconsider be considered made anlaid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: and, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on e.n.r. be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 3349 and immeate consideration its the presiding officer: the clerk will report. e clerk: h.r. 3349, an a to authorize the daughters of the republic of texas to establish the republic of texas a work in the district of columbia and for other purposes. the presing officer: without objection, the committee is

discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the energy committee be dischargedd from further consideration of h.r. 3465 and the senate proceed to itsmmedia consiration the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3465, an act to thorize the fallen journalists memorial foundation to establish a commemorative work inhe district of columbia and its environs and for oer purposes. the presiding ofcer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i further ask the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection.

. inhofe: mr. president, i ask the chair lay before the senate the message to accompany s. 910. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message before the house. the clerk: resolved that the bill bore the senate, s. 910, entitled an act to reawrdz and amend the national colle ogram act do pass with an amendment. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i move to concur on the house amendment and i know of no further debate on the motion. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to concur. all in favor say aye. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask the chair to lay before the senate the message to accompany

s. 1069. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message for the hse. the clerk: resolved that the bill for the senate s. 1069, entled an act to require the secretary of cmerce acting throug the ainistrator of the naonal oceanic administration to establish a digital inrmation platform and so forth and for other purposes do pass withn amendment. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i move to concur on the house amendment and ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to, that the motion be reconsider, be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the calendar number 394, s. 496. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. to preserve the nional fishing

heritage dedicated to training andssisting the next generation of commercial fishermen and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that the sullivan substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to and that the bill be -- as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i know of no further debate on the bill as amended. the presiding officer: if there's no further debate, the question is on passage of the bill as amended. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to en bloc

consideration of the following senate resolutions which were submitted earlier today. senate resolution 783, s. res. 784, s. res. 785, s. res. 786, and s. res. 7. the presiding officer: without objeion, the senate will proceed to the resolutions en bloc. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to and the preambles be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: the presiding officer: without objection -- presiding officer, without -- presiding officer without objection. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. thursday, december 3. further, following the prayer

and pledge, the morning hour 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 proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the waller nomination under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until the u.s. senate gathered and trent gobbling out for this afternoon errors on democrat mark kelly was sworn to the senate by mike pence. he is a former astronaut he defeated republican senator martha mcsally in a special election to serve out the last

two years of john mccain's term. also number farewell tributes to senator lamar alexander has retiring after three terms. you. [inaudible conversations] live senate coverage here on cspan2. sue becr watching cspan2 your unfiltered vie of gornment. created by america's cable tevision company as a public service. and brought fuchsia today by your television provider. number republican democratic republicans outgoing senator lamar alexander and his efforts to work across party lines on major pieces of legislation. center alexander chairs the senate health commiee pretty also served at tennessee's governor, education secretary, and spent time early in his career as a senate staffer. his term ends in january pretty talked but his time in e senate. >>