mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. i yield back. the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i ask that the chair lay before the senate a message. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message from the house. the clerk: resoistled -- resolved that the bill from the senate entitled an act to develop a long-term strategic vision and comprehensive multifaceted and principled united states policy for the indo-pacific region do pass with an amendment. mr. gardner: i move to concur on the house amendment and i ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. gardner: mr. president, i rise to celebrate this bill we just passed for our nation's foreign policy. shortly we will send this legislation now, the gardner-markey, the asia reassurance initiative act. i want to thank senator markey and his staff for their incredibly hard work on this bill, efforts to get this bill over the finish line. i believe we set a

mr. boozman: we are going to miss you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to applaud my colleagues for coming together in a bipartisan fashion to pass the farm bill conference report. there is much to be excited about in the final version of this five-year reauthorization. first and foremost, the farm bill will bring much-needed certainty and predictability to farmers and ranchers over the next five years. this is especially important due to the intense pressure our agriculture producers are facing. if you look at the numbers across the nation, net farm income is approximately half of what it was when we passed the last farm bill. farm bankruptcies are up by 39% since 2014. financing has become more expensive. commodity prices have plummeted. input costs are rising. and the trade outlook is volatile and uncertain, to say the least. farmers across the country, regardless of where they call home or which crops that they grow, are hurting. the farm bill that congress approved last week delivers meaningful and real relief for our farmers

i'm proud to support this legislation introduced by my good friend, senator boozman of arkansas, and mr. andy barr of kentucky on the house side. this bill would consider the a.v. to create a tiger team that would produce a plan to ensure all g.i. bill users who are underpaid as a result of the i.t. systems not being in place are made quhole. the bill would also require -- whole. the bill would also require periodic updates on the progress of providing these underpayments to veterans. mr. speaker, this bill will ensure the v.a. does the right thing and pays student vet rabs what -- veterans what they are owed uned law. i encourage my colleagues to support senate bill 3777. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of s. 3777, the forever g.i. bill housing payment fulfillment act of 2018. this bill from senators b

boozman: thank you, mr. chairman. secretary wilkie we appreciate you being care. i have had the opportunity to serve on the house or senate v.a. committee since coming to congress and over the years, i have seen them go repeatedly through pains of implementing new programs. this congress we passed significant legislation that will bring fundamental transformation to the v.a. fails know, when the v.a. to properly implement programs, these committees become the backstop to assure that resources are searched to mitigate impact to the greatest degree possible. during a staff briefing about how the v.a. is going to fix its implementation, the forever g.i. bill monthly housing payments, the v.a. was unprepared to answer basic oversight questions about how much funding has been spent on failed attempts or efforts to react to the problem and what lessons the v.a. had learned from the situation that it can take forward to other implementation efforts in the and that are underway at the current time. these are not hard-hitting questions. these are the basics. more to the to

mr. boozman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: i ask that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: i ask that s. 3641 be vitiated. the order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: if there is 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 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

mr. boozman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on finance be discharged from further consideration of s. 3611 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3611, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. boozman: 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. boozman:

mr. boozman: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the h.r. 6602. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 6602, an act to reauthorize the new jersey coastal heritage trail route, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: if there is no further debate, the question is on the passage of the bill. all in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill is passed. mr. boozman: i ask unanimo consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: with that, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll

mr. boozman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: i ask that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the global war on terror that started 17 years ago continues. today we formally called the missions undertaken on the war on terror operations freedoms sentinel and operationinherent resolve. brave troops continue to selflessly continue their missions in defense of our country. it subpoena often an overlook or neglected news story. it doesn't make the headlines frequently, but families throughout country who have loved ones in the middle east are closely monitoring the latest developments there. their loved ones are still in harm's way in places like afghanistan, iraq, and syria. this war is being prosecuted at considerable cost, many having made the ultimate sacrifice, including army sergeant first class eman, a member of the third about a battalion specials group who called springdale home when he enlisted. he dedicated his career to the mi