mr. perdue: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. perdue: i don't disagree that we need to send a str message to people doing business with the united states. however, the commerce department has imposed severe fines -- in th in the z.t.e. case, a $1.7 billion fine, in addition to penalties and compliance measures on z.t.e., including the firing of its entire board and all senior executive leadership. now, mr. president, that's not dissimilar to a commerce violation right here inunited s. if someone violates the rules and laws of our land, there are fines, pes, and compliance measures that go along with that. in rards to these harsh penalties, senator ross has just said, and i quote, the strictest and largest settlement fine that has ever been brought by the commerce department against a violator of export controls, end quote. the commerce department has leveled a harsh but justified penalty. i agree. we need to send a strong message, and i think this does just that. however, the current ndaa managers' package would trample on the sep

mr. perdue: yes, i ask unanimous consent that -- rry, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that it be in order to call up amendment 2870 to amendment 2282. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. van -- mr. van hollen: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from inn *eup. a senator: i heard my colleague from maryland and arkansas. therefore i object. 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 defen

mr. perdue: thank you, madam president. i rise today to comment on something that is somewhat misunderstood in many parts of our country. that's the farm bill. i have the privilege to sit in a seat in the united states senate once held by saxby chambliss, a former chairman of this agriculture committee. i'm fortunate to be from a state where agriculture is our largest industry. i'm fortunate to sit on a committee that as we just heard from two people, two leaders, ranking member senator stabenow from michigan, my good friend, and my good friend, senator pat roberts, the chairman, this is a bipartisan committee. people sent me up here three years ago, madam president, and they said look, we need to go there and get something done. i said okay, fine. you know we have two opposing views in washington, so that means you're going to have to compromise. i made the comment that no one gets everything they want. i reminded people, i am married. this is something that is the american way. i come from the american business community.

mr. perdue: mr. president, one of the great honors in this body is to bring a contrasting point of view to the topic of the day. i hope to do that today. many of my colleagues in this body have voiced concerns on both sides of the aisle, frankly,bout president ump -- what president trump is doing to try to create a more level playing field for our workers and businesses. they're nervous about his negotiating style, about things he says, what he's trying to do with our allies, our adversaries, and all that around the world. people in this body worry sometimes it's going to create a trade war. well, colleagues, i have worked in the trade environment internationally most of my clear. i have sourced products all over the world. i have shipped products all over the world. i can tell you for a fact that in the last 40 years, we have been in a trade war. in that time, america has helped develop the third world and reduce global poverty largely becausef an imbalanced trade agreement that we made with pretty

mr. chairman? >> senator perdue? i'd like to offer my amendment perdue 2 to title 10, i won't be asking for a vote. i think there is some opposition and the conversation should continue. i want to highlight the importance of this potential amendment and look forward to working with the committee on it the purpose of my amendment is to codify the exclusive role of state lead agencies, not political subdivisions as pesticide co-regulators with the epa. while congress clearly intended to states regulate sale distribution and use, courts have interpreted otherwise, this amendment would make sure each state has one set of regulations in pesticides, for pesticides, rather than a patchwork of different standards in 89,000 cities and towns in the pests aren't constrained by arbitrarily drawn borders or political subdivision. restricting pesticide use in one low calty jeopardizes public health as well as surrounding areas. this amendment does not prevent a state lead agency prosecute prescribing how pesticides are used within

mr. chairman? >> senator perdue. >> i'd like to offer my amendment perdue 2 to title 10, but i will not be asking for a vote today, there is some opposition i think that the conversation should continue, but i do want to highlight the importance importance of this potential amendment and look forward to working with the committee on it. the purpose of the amendment is to simply codify the exclusive role of state lead agencies not political subdivisions as pesticide co-regulators with the epa. while congress clearly intended that states regulate pesticide sale, distribution and use courts have interpreted otherwise. this amendment would make sure each state has one set of regulations and pesticide -- for pesticides rather than a patchwork of different standards in each of the more than 89,000 cities and towns of the united states. pests that transmit dangerous and deadly diseases like the zika virus, west nile virus and lyme disease aren't constrained by arbitrarily drawn borders. restricting pesticide use without justification in one locality jeopardizes the public health of citizens in that locality

perdue. senator blumenthal? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i join my colleagues in thanking you and your family for your service and expressing my appreciation for your very candid visit with me recently. when i asked you the question about what the end game is in afghanistan, you very articulately made the point that we need to protect our nation and our national security from the use of that part of the world and specifically afghanistan as a safe haven for terrorists to attack us. and perhaps for this committee and in a sense for the american people, you could express that view. because i think it would help in a sense further the understanding among members of this body and the american people, about what our goals are there. >> senator, thank you for that. and very clearly stated, this is about protecting u.s. citizens. when you go right to the heart of the issue, u.s. citizens, and other international partners are threatened by terrorism that emanates from afghanistan. i look at these groups with my current capacity. so today i'm thinki