mr. donnelly's comments we will jump into a q and a. we'll have a staff member provide you with a mic. with that, let's go ahead and get started. >> thank you, philip. i was asked to provide some context for today's discussion of theing about the view regional competition from the perspective of beijing. trained sically chinologist, i will attempt to do that. to go back almost 100 years ago to the founding of the communist party of china in 1921. mission oftime the c, and virtually every other political movement in china since the late 1960's, has been what is called the rejuvenation of the chinese nation. which means the restoration of china to its historical status as one of the most powerful, wealthy, and advanced nations in the world. if not the most powerful, wealthy, and advanced nation in the world. in 1949,ing over china had a couple of what we could politely call false starts. since the late 1970's, china has sustained growth on a scale that is unprecedented in human history. result of that is china's economy is now the second largest in the world, at least. by some measures l

mr. donnelly: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. a nator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. the presiding officer: i rise to discuss my efforts on senate armed services committee on behalf of of the people of indiana for a defense bill that supports indiana's role in our nation's defse, that protects america's security interests and defense-related jobs. mr. donnelly: before i get to that, though, i want to take a moment to acknowledge the chairman of our committee, my frnd senator john mccain. he's an american hero. i hope as he watches the senate do its bipartisan work on this year's ndaa, the john s. mccain national defense authorization act, that he knows all of us here are thinking of him back in arizona, wishing him the best in his battle. when you think about john mccain, you think about a fighter. you think about the epitome of a man who defends ourreom every single day. i'm proud he's our chairman. i'm proud he's friend. and i want to talk about provisions i secured in a national defense bill that we're considering. e

mr. donnelly: thank you, mr. speaker -- mr. donovan: thank you, mr. speaker. i urge all members to join me in supporting the shielding public spaces from vehicular terrorism act, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from rhode island is recognized. mr. langevin: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 4627, the shielding public spaces from vehicular terrorism act, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. langevin: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the tactics and targets of terrorist organizations are ever-changing. most recently isil-inspired groups have called for jihadists to use vehicles to carry out attacks on so-called soft targets like shopping malls, mass transit senters and other places where pete -- centers and other places where people gather. isil has claimed credit for 21 vehicular terrorist attacks in major cities like berlin, nice, london and barcelona. these attacks have also hit cl

mr. donnelly. just because we did discuss how president xi jinping is dictator for life. >> if you could introduce yourself. >> alec bickerstaff, d.c. can you transfer that model of bourbon, france, to the presidency itself? and if yes, is president xi jinping, is he more louie xiv or is he more like napoleon? [ laughter ] >> well, from a british perspective, it was really hard to tell the difference between the louis. some louises were more efficient than others. but, look, i do think the fact that -- first of all, it's not like the chinese government was a model of democracy and representation to begin with, but it does -- the fact that he is, you know, going to be there, solidifying his hold on power in beijing and i think most importantly what's chip mentioned he's asserted this robust, masculine nationalism. and he's put a whole host of markers on the wall, that at least for the time being, seem to have a, you know, help to bring people -- chinese people together, to rally them around that. bu

mr. donnelly: before i get to

joe donnelly of indiana, heidi heitkamp of north dakota, and joe manchin of west virginia. mr.anton said thursday that he was keeping an open mind about the nomination. a current senior democratic senate aide says the party sees a public pressure campaign around abortion rights its best about voting for mr. trump's nominee as unpalatable as possible. people with insight into the white house's decision-making process having knowledge concerns about ms. collins and -- presti -- mr. perkowski mr. murkowski, as well as potential defections by senators such as jeff flake of arizona and rand paul of kentucky. and the president yesterday met at the white house yesterday senators for filling this vacancy to discuss it. they were senator chuck grassley, who chairs the judiciary committee, susan collins of maine, lisa murkowski of alaska, who will be the pivotal vote for the republicans, senators joe manchin, donnelly, and high camp, all of -- heidi heitkamp, all up for reelection. delma in ohio, democrat. caller: hi, how are you? host: hi, how are you? caller: good morning, i am fine. m

mr. chairman, for all of your leadership. >> i thank the senator. senator donnelly. >> thank you chairman roberts and ranking member stabenow in the run-up to this committee developing the farm bill, ivied farms across the state and held meetings with stakeholders from nearly every segment of indiana's agricultural community. a students and researchers and anti-hunger advocates. i view myself as a hired help for hoosiers, i'm committed to writing a farm bill that works well for farmers in rural communities and addresses food insecurity. i heard repeatedly over the last year about the need to write a farm bill that helps manage the uncontrollable risks of farming, including protecting crop insurance and developing commodity programs that reflect market conditions. i heard about the importance of developing new market opportunities, particularly through supporting exports to markets around the world. i heard the strong passion of many hoosiers to promote voluntary conservation efforts, to improve soil health and water quality. i listened to hoosier who is care deeply

mr. donnelly: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i'm here to talk about the bipartisan commonsense farm bill that we're working on in the senate this week. agriculture is an essential part of the fabric that defines my home state of indiana. hoosier farmers are growing the food that feeds our families. biofuel producers are making the ethanol and biodiesel that drives our economy. students and researchers are developing the technologies of tomorrow. together they represent the best of hoosier values, and right now hoosier families in our communities are navigating significant challenges. they need us to work together to help provide solutions. our farmers are dealing with turmoil on the international marketplace, uncertainty in federal policies like the r.f.s., and low commodity prices that in many cases are below the cost of production. this farm bill can provide our ag community with some stability, and we need to ensure we do our part to get it across the finish line. here's how indiana farm bureau president randy cron