mr. president. it's a picture that is pretty obvious. americans deserve better. we can do better for them by starting from scratch with one goal in mind. if we want a middle-class tax cut, senator hatch, if we want a middle-class tax cut, don't talk about a middle-class tax cut. don't do trickle-down economics. if you want a middle-class tax cut, then darn it, give a middle-class tax cut. give a tax cut to the middle class. it's pretty simple. i yield the floor. mr. portman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: mr. president, i want to talk tonight about a once in a generation opportunity we have in this senate tonight to help middle-class families, to help grow our economy, and i'm going to talk about the facts. i'm not going to be making stuff up. i'm going to talk about the real middle-class tax cuts that are in this legislation. i'm going to show you charts that indicate not just what kind of tax relief is going to be there for you and your family, but who's g

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. merkley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: one thing's for sure this is not the people's business. this is the business of the powerful and privileged. this is really a bank heist. and how big is this bank heist? well, it's about $3 trillion being delivered to the very richest americans. let's add it up, changing the tax bracket for those who earn more than $200,000, $ $673 billion, changing the alternative minimum tax, $637 billion, changing the estate tax, $83 billion, changing the corporate tax rate, most of which goes to the advantage of the wealthiest americans, $1.35 trillion. changing the corporate a.m.t., $40 billion, and the pass-through legislation that favors the wealthiest l.l.c.'s, $414 billion. add it all up. well over $3 trillion. there it is. $3 trillion. $3 trillion, the very richest americans, that's the middle-class tax cut. now, we have -- let's say we think about how much this is per person here in the united states of america. that's about $8,00

mr. president. you for your leadership. thank you for your love for this country and the people of this country. i know in my heart, with a strong continued support of the members of congress who are , andred on these steps with god's help, you will make america great again. [applause] pres. trump: thank you, mike very much. scott,special man, tim tim i would like you to say a few words. he would solve some problems -- we were not looking good a couple times and he was a tremendous help. take you, tim. [applause] mr. president, during one of those conversations that we had, we talked about ways to improve the communities throughout the country. 52 million americans living in distressed communities. we talked about legislation that can move those communities forward. you said yes. reformrt of this tax package, the investing and opportunity act has been included which will bring trillions of dollars into pork communities.oor because of your willingness to listen. [applause] the president said i only ha

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: mr. president, i rise as a member of this great body to say thank you for our good friend from alabama for serving. it's such a shame that you have so many good people in this body and some really, really, great people in this body who are sheer for such a short -- who are here for such a short period of time. to have a person like senator strange come before us and be part and try to make a difference, i truly, truly enjoyed his speech based on bipartisanship, which is what we're all here for. and to see how we have digressed to the point where there's very little bipartisanship that goes on and in knowing that we can make that change and make a difference. and i want to thank the senator. it's always been a way to be around him. hayes such a way and such a shall he has such a way and such a demeanor about him. his congeniality and wanting to make this place the way it's supposed to work and the way they told us it did work. with that, i say, senator, i'm grateful i got to know you. i'm g

mr. president. mrs. murray: mr. resident, i come to the floor today as a voice for 800,000 young men and women who are counting on all of us to pass the dream act. we can't wait because they can't wait. every day that passes is another day they are forced to keep their lives on hold. right now hundreds of thousands of young people in this country are deferring their dreams of finishing a college degree, becoming a doctor, buying a home, raising a family, starting a small business, or serving in our military all because president trump pulled the plug on the daca program three months ago. imagine that feeling. imagine waking up day after day without any certainty about what happens next. imagine that the country you love, the country you have grown-up in where you are part of the community, where you pay your taxes, where you spend your time, your energy, and your money will not commit to uphold this promise to you. that is wrong. mr. president, dreamers were brought to this country as children. some of them so young

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: are we under a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is indeed in a quorum call. mrs. fischer: i would ask that it be vitiated, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. fischer: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to continue my tribute to nebraska's heroes, the current generation of men and women who lost their lives defending our freedom in iraq and afghanistan. each of these nebraskans has a special story to tell. today i will recall the life and service of chief warrant officer christopher allgaier, a native of omaha, nebraska. growing up chris lived a pretty typical life for a nebraska boy. during high school he played video games and he went to movies with his friends. with his family, he was a frequent visitor to big fred's pizza in omaha, the regular cheese pizza was his go-to. on friday nights he was known to go watch fellow classmates at high school football games. and on saturdays during the fall, he did what a lot of nebraskans do. he woul

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, as you know, once a week i come down to the floor when we're in session to recognize a person or group of people in my state who make it very, very special. the great state of alaska. we call them our alaskans, or alaska -- alaskan of the week. as you know, mr. president, alaska is beautiful, big, special. right now much of the state is gearing up for skiing season. the snow is out. there's nothing more beautiful and invigorating than taking to the slopes in alaska. it's also a glait time to see the -- a great time to see the northern lights dancing in the sky. so i urge everybody watching, come out to alaska winter, summer. it will be the trip of a lifetime. but of course it's much more than snow and beautiful dancing lights. our people are what make us so special. rugged, independent, generous, giving to their families, their communities, to our state, our country. and, mr. president, alaska is a patriotic state. i would argue the most patriotic state in our great nation.

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. toomey: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that there now be 30 minutes equally divided for debate only with no amendments or motions in order and with the majority leader being recognized at the conclusion of that time. mr. wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: we're going to have several of our colleagues on our side take five minutes each and we're going to start with senator sanders. mr. sanders: mr. president, as i think about what's going on here today, i think this is in many ways a historic day, a day that historians will look back on december 1, 2007. and they will conclude that today is a day of one of the great robberies act of criminal activities if you like in the modern history of this country because the federal treasury is being looted tonight. as we speak, there are lobbyists all over capitol hill writing down in handwriting amendments to this bill

mr. president. actually for all of us in following the law, working hard, and i think when anyone does that, they should know our country has their back. those who were approved for daca were given a legal status to remain here and a work permit so that they could work and contribute to our country. we made these young people a promise, and we need to keep it. i feel very strongly that whether it's our veterans, our people in the military going to war who are protecting us every day, who are serving our country, we made them a promise that they would have health care among other promises to make sure that veterans are not at the back of any line. when somebody works all their life, they work 30 years. they may into a pension and they assume that pension is going to be there. that's another kind of promise. and this is also a promise that was made to young people that if they work hard and follow the rules and stayed out of trouble and contributed to our country, either serving in the military or goin

mr. president. the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: mr. president, resuming my earlier remarks, the native american tribes unanimously oppose the action that was announced yesterday by president trump and secretary zinke to shrink the bears ears monument. they passed resolutions in support of that announcement. navajo nation's president said the administration's effort to shrink the monument demonstrates their failure to listen to the concerns of our people who have lobbied and fought for over 80 years for this designation, end of quote. even worse, the navajo nation made several attempts to meet with president trump on the issue to no avail. those requests fell on deaf ears and the administration never met with the leadership of the navajo nation or any of the other tribes who work to protect this area. the administration took these actions under the guise of protecting this area for future generations. during president trump's speech in utah, he said, quote, i don't t

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. young: mr. president, i rise today in support of the tax cut and jobs act. we know the world has changed a whole lot in the last 30 years. the way we travel, how we communicate, the way we work, our hey styles, the clothes we -- our hair styles, the clothes we wear, music we listen to, the movies we watch but one thing hasn't changed, our outdated tax code hasn't kept up. we simply can't afford to wait any longer. now is the time to act. hoosiers need a raise. working families across america need a raise. american businesses need to remain competitive in what is an increasingly global and hypercompetitive economy. and the bill we're voting on today will provide real relief to all americans, especially middle-class families and those of modest means. the tax cuts and jobs act will create a tax code that is simpler, that is fair, and that allows hoosiers to keep more of their hard-earned money. and that's what they want. this bill we'r

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. toomey: mr. president, how much time is remaining on the majority side? the presiding officer: ten and a half minutes. mr. toomey: thank you. i will be brief. let me respond briefly to my colleague from my state of pennsylvania. our bill increases the child tax credit. our bill lowers the tax burden on every category of income earners, including working families, middle-income families, every category. as my colleague from colorado demonstrated kindly, he showed in the chart, that the biggest proportional savings go to the lower-income families, and the pro-growth policy is going to create more job opportunities and higher wages. so let's see. more money in child tax credit, less taxes owed on the part of families, and more job opportunities and higher wages. i think it's a pretty safe bet that is good for kids. i think it is a pretty safe bet that when families make more money it's good for the kids. i think most of my constitu

mr. president. over the last year of roller coasters on health care, there's one thing you could count on, and that is president trump and the republican leaders making empty promises. so republicans who are comfortable voting for this awful tax bill because of promises they got from president trump who called his own trumpcare bill mean when it suited him and republican leaders who have written check after check they couldn't cash on health care are placing a bet that is more than risky. in fact, this bet is so risky, it requires house republicans voting in favor of supporting obamacare changes that they have already said that they oppose. mr. president, if you spent five minutes in this congress, you should know getting house republicans to support obamacare is as tough as a sale as it gets. the truth is if republicans are serious about not undermining families' health care, there's a very easy way for them to actually do that. step back from the brink right now. work with democrats on health care

mr. president. hillax bill comes on the of countless republican attempts to shred policies that offer protection with working families in the environment. the corporation, wealthy donors believe that these policies stand in the way of their profits. take healthcarear for example. despite president trump's campaign promise that quote we are going to have insurance for everybody unquote. when his administration attempted to deliver on that promise house republicans devise and pass a bill that would have resulted in 23 million fewer people having health insurance including those who rely on medicaid facing unprecedented public outcry republican senatorsen eventually proposed another bill that didn't repeal and replace the affordable care act out right but undermined some of its most foundational provisions. but this narrow senate bill still would've left 16 million more americans uninsured all while spiking premiums by 20% according to cbo. the american people continued to fight demanding that the sena

mr. president. mr. president, what happens when you decide to write a tax bill that changes the economy of the united states of america, you don't have adequate hearings to gauge what's going to happen, you don't bring in the experts to try to tell you what the impact will be on individuals, families, and businesses, and you stick around until 5:00 on a friday night, and you hand out the work product for all the members of the senate to take a look at before they vote on changes in the tax code that will affect the people they represent. this is what happens. 479 pages were handed to us. they tell us that some of this has been around for awhile. some of it's new. they don't tell us which part is new and which part is old. but lucky for us, on k street -- and there's nothing wrong with lobbyists. but on k street where the federal lobbyists live, they are following this really closely and they have given us basically a cheat sheet, a score card so we can figure out at least generally speaking how many chan

mr. president. k you for those kind words but more importantly thank you , for your leadership. thank you for your boundless faith in the american people. and thank you for keeping your promise to see this congress deliver the largest tax cut in american history before christmas of this year. merry christmas, america. [applause] vice-president pence: to members of our cabinet, to leader mcconnell and speaker ryan and all these members of congress, thank you. thank you for not only being here today for this special moment but thank you for your , leadership and support throughout this year. i truly do believe, mr. president, that this will be remembered as a pivotal moment in the life of our nation. a day when the congress answered your call and made history. but honestly, i would say to the american people, president trump has been making history since the first day of this administration. we have been rebuilding our military, standing with our veterans. and just last week president , trump signed on

mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to voice my strong support for the nomination of ronald batori to be the administrator of the federal railroad administration at the department of transportation, and to express my deep frustration that this noncontroversial, highly qualified nominee has been languishing in the senate for over four months due to objections by a handful of democrats over a parochial issue entirely unrelated to the qualifications. his nomination was on july 26, 2017, and reported his nomination unanimously out of committee with a unanimous voice vote on august 2, 2017. at that time not a single senator on the committee, republican or democrat, expressed any doubt about mr. batori's expertise on rail safety issues. he has over 45 years in experience in management and operational positions, and he's a respected leader in driving organizational change and advancing safety improvement. railroad age called him noncontroversial and said, i quote, he's the best federal person to be a rai

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah is recognized. mr. hatch: mr. president, the senate will soon vote on the conference report for h.r. 1, the tax cuts and jobs act. i've waited a long time to give this final statement in support of tax reform -- mr. president, i ask for -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. hatch: i ask for -- the presiding officer: the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the senator will suspend. hatch hatch he has an interesting -- mr. hatch: he has an interesting way of trying to get his point of view across. it shouldn't b done here in this august body. the senate will soon vote on h.r. 1, the tax cuts and jobs act. i've waited a long time to give this final statement in support of tax reform legislation. as you know, mr. president, i've been in the senate for a little while. i've been party to a number of major legislative achievements like the passage of the americans with disabilities act, the creation of the chip

mr. president. >> i thank the representative of egypt for his statement. now give floor to the representative of china. >> mr. president, china would to thank antonio guterres for his briefing. opposes the development by the d.p.r.k. of its nuclear and missile programs in violation of the security resolutions and urges the d.p.r.k. to abide by the resolutions of the security council. since the beginning of this year, the situation on the one ofpeninsula has been constant tension, while the d.p.r.k. continues to conduct tests and missile launching in defiance of the universal opposition by the community.al the parties concerned kept exercises andtary scaling up the show of force, on theion of tension korean peninsula to the point of risking spiraling out of control. any party's interest. mr. president, the nuclear issue peninsula has lasted for over two decades, causes andistorical grave and complex current contexts. reviewing the evolution of the nuclear issue of the korean peninsula, we can see that

mr. president. we asked for the floor prior to the vote to make two comments on procedural and one of substance. with our to the procedure, mr. president, the resolution was shared officially on saturday and yesterday we asked the presidency to [inaudible] and the vote was planned for today. without there having been any negotiation or consultations on the context of the text with the exception of the meetings that was just completed where there was no discussion either of detail on the substance. and so is on previous occasions we have criticized permanent members of the security council for similar practices. it removes transparency from the work of this organization to take a decision without the ability to participate in the drafting of the text. today once again we have to reaffirm that this is not the correct way to work in the council. with regard to substance, mr. president, we reaffirm the special status of the city of jerusalem in accordance with resolutions of the general assembly in part

mr. president, thank you. mr. blumenthal: mr. president. thank you, mr. president. i'm honored to join my colleague on the floor today. i want to thank our great and distinguished leader on this issue, senator durbin, who has devoted so many years and so much energy and really been an model to me personally of what an advocate should be in the united states senate. and most especially on this issue, which has been preeminently important to me since my arrival here almost seven years ago. and for a time, i was on the floor almost every week periodically with a photo of another dreamer, and the reason was to make this issue real in the hearts of the american people, to bring their voices and faces to this body. today i'm joined in spirit bial hand rea -- by alejandra diamari. she is one of 8,000 dreamers in connecticut. i am proud of each and every one of them. she is one of 700,000 dreamers in the united states of america. i hope that my colleagues are proud of them in their states as well, because they are absolutely incredible people. nobody's perfect. but in many

mr. president. as i told you last night, shortly after the senate vote, i know i speak on behalf of the entire cabinet and of millions of americans when i say congratulations and thank you. thank you for seeing through the course of this year an agenda that truly is restoring this country. you described it very well, mr. president, from the outset of this administration we have been rebuilding our military, putting the safety and security of the american people first. you've restored personal credibility on the world stage. we're standing with our allies. we're standing up to our enemies. but you promised economic renewal at home. you said we could make this economy great again. and you promised to roll back regulations. and you signed more bills rolling back federal red tape than any president in american history. have you unleashed american energy. you've spurred an optimism in this country that's setting records. but, you promised the american people in that campaign a year ago that you would del

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. scott: i will say to my good friend from colorado -- the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina is recognized. mr. scott: -- my friend from colorado, who we are having a spirited debate and we're diametrically opposed on the issue, we do have some common ground on other issues that we are working together on. i appreciate your passion and i know you are sincere. i will tell you that there is a truth that is truth that is perhaps missing from the conversation. and it is simply this. if you don't control spending, you can't raise enough revenue to keep up. so when you look back at the cataclysmic occurrence throughout history, one thing you'll find very quickly, is even with more ref lieu knew -- with more revenue, in your spending outpaces your revenue, you will find yourself in a challenging predicament. mr. thune: mr. president, our country has always been about opportunity. the american dream is the hope that your kids and grandkids, those that come after you, will have a

mr. president.a man who has been working very hard -- thank you, paul -- very, very hard for a long period of time and last night was a culmination. i don't know if we'll have bigger moments but we hope to. we'll try. a special guy and great friend of mine, vice president mike pence. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president. thank you for those kind words. more importantly, thank you for your leadership and boundless faith in the american people. thank you for keeping your promise to this congress, delivering the largest tax cut in american history before christmas of this year. [applause] merry christmas, america! [applause] to members of our cabinet, to leader mcconnell, speaker ryan, all of these members of congress, thank you. thank you not only for being here today, for this special moment but thank you for your leadership and support throughout this year. i truly do believe mr. president that this will be remembered as a pivotal moment in the life of our nation. a day when the congress answered

mr. president. k you for your leadership. thank you for your love of this country and the people of this country. i know in my heart with the strong continued support of the members of congress who are gathered on these steps and with god's help, you will make america great again. [applause] president trump: thank you, mike, very much. a friend of mine, a very, very special man, tim scott. tim, i would like you to say a few words. he came in and he would solve some problems that, we were not looking good -- too good a couple of times, but tim was a tremendous help. thank you, tim. [applause] senator scott: mr. president, during one of those conversations that we had, we talked about ways to improve distressed communities in this country. 52 million americans living in distressed communities and legislation that could move those communities forward. and you said yes. and as a part of this tax reform package, the investing and opportunity act, has been included, which will bring trillions of dollars in

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: thank you. mr. president, i rise to speak about an urgent crisis that congress must solve now for nearly 800,000 dreamers in this country. i am proud to represent new york state in the u.s. senate, and one of the things i'm most proud of is that my state is home to tens of thousands of dreamers, tens of thousands of young people who have never known any other country as home but this one. when president trump announced that he wanted to end the daca program, it was one of the most inhumane actions of his entire presidency. let me be clear about what ending daca will do. ending daca will force thousands of dreamers to lose their jobs. it will force them to go into hiding them. it will force them to have to make the unimaginable choice between either stay here undocumented or being forced out of the united states. so i ask my colleagues, are you really okay letting t

mr. president? >> senator from south dakota's recognized. >> thank you, mr.so president. mr. president, relief for americanun families is on the w. last week the senate passed our version of the tax cuts and jobs act, the tax reform bill that will provide immediate, direct working americans. our legislation doubles the standard deduction, it doubles the child tax credit, and it lowers rates. under our bill a family of four making $73,000 a year will see a $2200 tax cut or a reduction in taxes of about 60% over what they are paying under current law. a singley parent with one child making $41,000 will see his or her taxes drop from around $1865 today to just $488 under our bill, a reduction of nearly 75% overn what they're paying today. but, mr. president, that's just the beginning. the tax bill before us today is going to provide immediate relief to hard working families. it's going to immediately lower their tax bills. it's going to immediately mean more money in their pockets. but this bill is about much more than that. this bill isn't just about helping americans today, alt

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip is recognized. mr. cornyn: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. cornyn: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i approach this topic with a little bit of trepidation. ordinarily, when people make outrageous and outlandish and unbelievable statements, i usually think it's best just to get them go because when people make these kind of statements, i think they lose their own credibility, and maybe it doesn't bear any particular comment by anybody else or desire to or attempt to refute it, but on the subject of tax reform, there have been some incredible statements that have been made, and i'm going to mention a few of those because i think they really paint an ugly picture of the -- what's supposed to be a debate on a tax reform policy, but i think probably they bear more -- they relate more to -- for the nature of what passes for debate here in washington, d.c.

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. mr. king: this could not be a more simple resolution. it simply is hes to the conferees bring us back a bill that's deficit neutral. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the senator from maine. mr. king: this motion simply instructs the conferees to bring us back a tax bill that is deficit neutral. it can be done. it should be done. we're in a period now where we have no business adding to the federal deficit as we know this bill will add at least a trillion dollars to the deficit, probably more. if the middle-class tax cuts are extended, as everyone expects there will be. this is a burden that we're placing on our children and our grandchildren. we are giving ourselves a tax cut and letting them pay for it. and i believe that's wrong. it's bad policy. we're also utilizing whatever slack we have as far as debt goes. now when we're in relatively good times and we won't have it available when we have a problem such as a recession or some kind of heaven for bid attack -- forb

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: mr. president, i was interested to hear my colleague from north dakota, my friend from north dakota, talking about this tax bill because sadly, there's not been a lot of bipartisan work on the bill. and i really agree that there's a consensus that tax reform is long overdue, but we need tax reform that simplifies the tax code, that bolsters the middle class, and that helps small businesses create jobs. i think those principles could have been the basis for really good bipartisan work here in the senate and in congress generally to come up with a bill that would have done all of those things. but unfortunately, the legislation in front of us does none. the result is a partisan tax bill written in secret without public hearings, that adds to the national debt, that punishes the middle class and small businesses, and gives massive tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy. last week i came to the floor to share the concerns of granite staters about this legislation. they were amplified at a fo

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas is recognized. mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you very much for the recognition. i come to the floor today to speak about business that is important to kansas and important to country, but especially important to the providers of health care for children and the children and their families who receive that coverage and care, and that's the medicaid chip program. it was established back in 1997. i want to call to the attention of my colleagues the importance of us acting here in the next several days in regard to reauthorization extension of that chip program. it has helped provide coverage to children of low-income families in my state, and those are individuals who would otherwise be left without any insurance, and most likely in every case the funds necessary to cover health care costs for the well-being of those young men and women. this program is funded through a multi-year authorization that req

mr. president. mr. president, we did work hard to keep a lot of the deductions that are important to some americans. in some cases we even maipped them better. -- made them better. for people who come out ahead by itemizing their deductions, and there certainly will be some, there's another way they can keep more of their money. people who still take a deduction, they donator charity. people can still -- donate to their charity. people can save through their retirement plans. for those who have children, it has doubled to $2,000 per child. they don't have to itemize their taxes -- taxes. they don't have to itemize. it is a straight tax cut that they get under the republican plan. they still get to set up an account to save for their children's education, if they like. for people who have high medical expenses, this tax relief plan actually saves them more money on taxes than the old way. republicans understand that medical costs remain out of control in this country. there are a lot of policies that the

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that 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. ms. stabenow: thank you very much. mr. president, i'm coming to the floor again to focus on the fact that the clock is ticking for families in michigan and across the country. men and women, children, older people, younger people who use the community health centers as well as those who are having their children covered under the children's health insurance program. the funding, federal funding for those programs stopped september 30, 6 days ago. 67 days ago. we've had votes, we've had bills. we've had nominations come before us. there's been divisiveness and controversy. it would be wonderful, mr. president, if we could stop for one day and do something that has bipartisan support. you know, the fact of the matter is that chip covers nine million children and 100,000 of those are in michigan

mr. president, i spent my early years growing up in sillicog, alabama. it is about 40 miles outside of birmingham. my first town was known as the marble city for its swath of high-quality stone it sits on. 32 miles long and as much as 60. their marble is widely recognized for its pure white color and its fine texture. here in the nation's capitol, we're surrounded by it. it's set into the ceiling of the lincoln memorial, the halls of the supreme court, and it was used by a renowned sculptor to create the bust of abraham lincoln that's on display in the crypt downstairs here in the capitol. sillicog marble is used in deep history. it's used to inscribe important landmarks. it ensures that memories of the past will stand the test of time to inform the decisions of the future. in a small house in the marble city, i was raised by a family that instilled in me a deep and abiding reverence for history and tradition. my only uncle, a west point graduate, was killed in service to our country in world war ii and was ironically born on the 4th of july. so as you c

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. wyden: mr. president, my colleague has a parliamentary inquiry and then we'll go to senator bennet. durbin i submitted this page -- mr. durbin: i submitted page 257 of the record and you gave unanimous consent for that to happen. i've now been instructed the personnel cannot read this page the way it is currently written. could i have this entered in the record just at written with the handwritten notations on the side? could i enter it as a graphic or art work or something like that? i ask the president, does that mean if the amendment has this page in it that the amendment cannot be filed? the presiding officer: the amendment can be filed with handwritten changes, but the staff will have to change those later. or correct them. mr. durbin: i'd like to ask a parliamentary inquiry further. why didn't they accept page 257 after i received consent to put it in the record? the presiding officer: the amendment has not been filed yet. it was accidentally -- mr. durbin: parliamentary inquiry. this page

mr. president, this week members of the house and senate, myself included, are working on the final draft of comprehensive tax reform legislation. we hope to send a final bill to the president next week. i'm thankful to have been able to been part of this text writing effort. the bill that we are finalizing which is the product of years of work by members of both parties represents a once in a generation opportunity to profoundly change the american people's lives for the better. our tax bill will provide real, immediate, direct relief to it now. and it will give americans access to the kind of jobs, wages and opportunities they need for a secure and prosperous future. mr. president, after years of economic stagnation the bill that we are drafting will usher in a new era of economic widynamism and it sends a messae to the world that america's serious about competing and winning in the 21st century. >> we will take you live now to the senate floor as they gavel in after the weekly meetings.

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. i'd ask consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. i rise this morning to outline some ideas about our national security as we approach the end of the year. many americans are heading into the holiday season with some very reasonable fears about the threats facing our nation. in 2017, we saw an emboldened north korean regime testing missiles and nuclear weapons. terrorist groups continue to execute attacks across the globe. violent state and nonstate actors continue to destabilize syria, afghanistan, ukraine, yemen, nigeria, and others. we saw russia continue meddling in elections just as they did in ours last year. this was a year of great volatility and uncertainty. however, we also saw the united states military leading an international coalition that is loosening the stranglehold isis had on parts of iraq

mr. president, history records names and remembers things. the names by those which will stand by what is right and today we are speakers of right and peace. despite the oppression and injustice that has befallen our people, children, women, elderly affected 100 years ago to the occupation of the u.s. bank until this very day. and despite our mark for over a century we have not wavered in their will to achieve peace from we were given the chance. however colonialism lose him and peace do not meet. those who choose colonialism are the enemy we do not hide the policies and intention. the mediator has decided to take it side to acknowledge what is wrong and ignore what is right. this requires a formation of a mechanism under the united nations and the framework of the peace process and to achieve a just comprehensive peace in the region. the peace process is not the exclusive property of one party. the person of one party as a whole that would guarantee and in a manner that cannot be limited this cannot be used for maneuver out of the responsibi

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. mcconnell: today the senate will continue to full fill its important responsibility to confirm critical nominees to president trump's administration. we'll do that by investigating to advance the nomination of kirstjen nielsen the president chose to serve as secretary of homeland security. as my colleagues know, this is an incredibly important position within our government with responsibilities ranging from cyber security to protecting our borders to the continued recovery efforts from the recent natural disasters. the department of homeland security requires strong leadership to get the job done. miss nielsen is a qualified candidate with the talent and experience for succeed as chief of staff to the previous d.h.s. secretary-general john kelly she understands the daily operations of the department and shares our goals for its future. in addition, her previous tenure with the department makes her an ideal candidate to be ready to lead the agency on day one. miss nielsen is an experie

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: mr. president, i understand that my republican colleagues and president trump are busy celebrating the passage of the tax bill that was voted on at 1:30 in the morning last night. they're very excited and they're very happy about it, and i understand that. and i guess if one were a billionaire like president trump or a wealthy campaign contributor, you do have a whole lot to celebrate. and maybe if you're one of the 6,000 lobbyists here in washington, d.c. who helped write the bill, i guess they're celebrating altitude. but if you you are in the vast majority of the american people who are in the middle class, you should not be celebrating altitude. in fact, you should be pretty nervous. the passage of this legislation marks a great victory for the koch brothers and other wealthy campaign contributors who will see at a time of massive income and wealth inequality huge tax breaks for

mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i met this fall with dreamers in my home state of oregon, in meetings in eugene and portland. these young people described powerful accounts of how the trump administration has needlessly and cruelly injected fear into their lives and the lives of their families. right now these dreamers, these young people who've done nothing wrong, with terrific grades and wonderful conduct, and helping their families, they're faced with a very real threat -- that they may be ripped away from the only lives and the only country they've ever known. these young people might be little more than numbers on a page to those who spend their days waging political fights in the nation's capital, but this is not some kind of academic topic for the thousands of young people across the land who would be affected by these vicious policies. this is a real, live issue with real, live consequences and real, live dangers for many, many of our friends and neighbors. it's real for those like cynthia aguilar,

mr. president. [ applause ] >> a man who has been working very hard, thank you, paul, very, very hard for a long period of time. and last night was very much a culmination. but i don't know if we'll have bigger moments, but we hope to. we're going to try. a very special guy, and great friend of mine, vice president, mike pence. [ applause ] >> well, thank you, mr. president, thank you for those kind words. but more importantly thank you for your leadership. thank you for your bottomless faith in the american people. and thank you for keeping your promise toll see this congress deliver the largest tax cut in american history before christmas of this year. merry christmas, america. [ applause ] to members of our cabinet, to leader mcconnell, speaker rhiya all members of congress, thank you for being here for not only being here but for your leadership and support throughout this year. i truly do believe, mr. president, this will be remembered as a pivotal moment in the life of our nation. the day when

mr. president. i guess my question to the minister of defense. representative of the major defense contract and a summit at chemicals on organized on behalf of the epa and new zealand and the sailing government of industry criticizes the univer universe. the representative also made an inaccurate statement about the state the second of the contaminants in the convention. considering it is undertaking major investigation into contamination and the are double a in wales do you agree that companies who contract have a major conflict of interest in investigating contamination issues? >> thank you very much mr. president. i thank you for your question. i'm not aware of the statement the senator has been made by i'm aware of the efforts that they're making in a number of locations and almost three environmental investigations at this point which will take the investigation to a single national environment investigation in the country as you would be aware. however, further effort and i'll respond her into

president. the senator for texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, as jet fumes swirl around the halls of congress and members head to the airports to head home for the holidays, i rise to remind my colleagues that there are still hundreds of thousands of people in texas and florida and in puerto rico who

mr. president. mr. president, i rise to discuss four amendments that i have introduced to the tax cuts and jobs act that would strengthen this legislation in ways that this legislation in ways that that are important to our middle income families. i want to express my thanks to the majority leader, my colleagues, and the administration for working with me on these proposals. mr. president, the first amendment would allow taxpayers to deduct to $10,000 in state and local property taxes. in recent years more than 95% of all those who itemize on their tax forms, 2 and 20% of all federal income tax filers deducted state and local taxes, including property taxes. yet, the senate bill would eliminate this deduction altogether. mr. president, the deduction for state and local taxes has been part of our tax code since 1913, with the income tax became law. it was intended to prevent a federal tax from being imposed on a state tax. in other words, it prevents double taxation. this deduction is especially important