mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i'd like to address the senate as if in morning business for one minute. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: before i read, i want to apologize to the small business women of america because october is national women's small business month, and my apologies because this speech should be given on october 1 rather than the end of the month. october is national women's small business month, and i want to recognize the many women-owned businesses. they really help make our economy stronger. in iowa, we work hard to inspire women to start businesses and support them in their entrepreneurial journey. according to the american express, iowa ranks eighth out of 50 states for the growth in the number of women-owned businesses as well as in their own growth in employment and revenues. the network growth for women's entrepreneur and access to resources have helped make the difference in these women's lives and our com

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i would like to echo what i just heard from my colleague, the senator from texas, about this senate joint resolution 50 that we're being asked to vote on this afternoon, congressional disapproval resolution. i agree with the senator from texas. this is a mistake. it is wrong. i think he used some wrongs, ironic, mistaken and duplicity, and i would call it the height of democracy, and i am planning to oppose it. i come to the floor to just tell you that republicans two years ago passed major tax reform from this country and what we wanted to do was make the tax code simpler, fairer, people pay less, and that's what we've seen. and to do it, we also eliminated some tax deduction for the wealthy. one, the state and local tax, it was a deduction specifically aimed for the wealthy and we eliminated tvment that's what our goal -- eliminated it. that's what our goal was, to eliminate those deductions to p

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, thank you very much, and i want to add my voice to recognizing what an important day it is here. i want to thank the senator from alabama and mississippi, of course my good friend senator murkowski, and many or senatorsm california, iowa, all came down to the floor already today to talk about this great american, this great alaskan. mr. president, i try to come down to the floor about once a week, and i do a speech, what i call the alaskan of the week to talk about an alaskan who's done great stuff for our state, their community, the country. but as senator murkowski just mentioned in her remarks, i'm literally able to now talk about the alaskaan of the century. that's right, mr. president, the state of alaska legislature voted that ted stevens was the alaskan of the century for reasons that we're all talking about today. so i just want to add a few more words about this legendary u.s. senator whose portrait we are unveiling today. let me say, mr. president, it's more than f

mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, i had hoped to talk today about the efforts made by my country, the kingdom of saudi arabia, a founding member of the united nations, to fulfill the purposes of the united nations charter in preserving peace and security for the peoples around the world, its role in achieving prosperity, growth and stability in our region, as well as its development and humanitarian efforts worldwide. i would have liked also to social the economic and challenges facing our world, such as poverty, disease, climate change and weapons of mass destruction, among others. while highlighting the kingdom's position and perspective on these issues. i wanted to talk about the country's ongoing economic development and reforms in various fields that takes us back to our true islamic faith that rejects all forms of extremism, a position that aims at achieving an advanced society in all areas, a connected society that is engaged with its surroundings and the world. however, the aggressive act of september 14 on the kingdom's oil facilities violated the principles of this organizat

mr. president. mr. thune: mr. president, before i begin, i want to say i was very sad to hear of the death of former senator kay hagan yesterday. kay represented the state of north carolina here in the united states senate. she was a very dedicated public servant, i think someone that all of us here who were here at the time enjoyed working with and always was a very bright presence, and as i said tremendously dedicated to the people that she represented and the issues that she cared so deeply about. our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family today, and just ask that all members here continue to lift her family up. mr. president, i want to also congratulate the senator from maine on the work that she is doing in the appropriations process as it's moving forward. she shares a very important subcommittee on the appropriations committee and also is involved in so many other issues. one thing when she was speaking, i certainly wanted to mention was just the work that she does to protect seniors acr

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: mr. president, it has been over one year since the united states-mexico-canada agreement was signed by president trump and the leaders of canada and mexico. this landmark trade agreement is expected to create 176,000 new american jobs. it's expected to grow american businesses all over our country and help give a jump-start to our hardworking farmers and ranchers. with 95% of the world's population outside of the united states, montana produces the access to these global markets. agriculture drives our economy in montana. in fact, it's our number one economic driver in our state. and canada and mexico both are in high demand for our products like wheat, like barley, like beef. in fact, in 2018 alone, montana had $731 million in total exports to canada and mexico. for our producers in montana, the usmca would be a positive step forward in providing certainty and alleviating the challenges and obstacles they faced virtually every single day this season. when i travel across montana, i have h

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senate majority whip. mr. thune: mr. president, there are some members who object to this who can't be here to object on their own behalf of. i object on their behalf of. and i would just say to the senator from minnesota that like her, i also want to do everything we can to ensure that our elections are fair and transparent in this country, and i think there are a number of solutions, as she pointed out, that are out there. i think there is a lot of good work that will continue to be done hopefully on a bipartisan basis. and as a former chairman of the senate commerce committee, i have worked with the senator from minnesota on a number of issues where we've been able to fashion solutions that are bipartisan in nature. and so i suspect that the work on this will continue. but as i mentioned, we have a couple of members on our side who do have objections at least to the bill in its current form, or at least in the process of trying to do it this way. but i do

mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, we have known this regime for 40 years. it is good at nothing but masterminding explosions, destruction and assassinations, not only in our region but throughout the world. this is the same regime which, ever since its inception, carried out terrorist attacks inside the kingdom of saudi arabia, bahrain, kuwait, lebanon, as well as european countries and beyond. it is the same regime which assassinated a number of saudi diplomats in thailand in 1980 and 1990 and is responsible for the assassination in 2011 of a saudi diplomat in karachi. may they all rest in peace. also in that same year, the regime tried to assassinate the kingdom's ambassador to the united states. it is that regime which in 2005 slayed the prime minister of lebanon in the heart of beirut. this approach, unfortunately, continues, as we witnessed in recent years when this regime tried to conduct terrorism in france and then to mark, and -- france and denmark, and not a day goes by without witnessing its terror in yemen, lebanon and other countries in this re

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i would ask i ask unanimous consent that the -- i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: i understand that several of our colleagues today have been on the senate floor calling for an immediate vote on the president's new north american free trade agreement. setting aside the fact that there have not yet been the hearings or the markups necessary to allow that to happen, it would be a major mistake for the trump administration to seek a vote on a trade deal until it is a good deal. while the new north american free trade agreement includes some improvement to the existing agreement, there is still work to be done to get the best deal for american workers and consumers. updating nafta, for example, means con fronting the areas where older trade agreements continually have fallen short. fighting to protect labor rights in the interest of working families, preventing a race to the bottom when it comes to th

mr. president. thank you very much both for awardery fine award, and which i will cherish obviously forever. it also for the kind words you gave. and when you mentioned particularly for the privilege of being with you and having my family here to meet you and also to listen to this particular ceremony. it is just a great privilege that i appreciate very much and appreciate all that you have done to make us welcome here and as i say, for the kind words. i am also very grateful to the vice president for being here, mr. vice president, you and i have been friends since you were here in congress not so many years ago and it was great to have known you and followed your career also. and i think you and the president make one of the finest teams in our country and i am very grateful to have this a word coming particularly from the two of you. and so i thank you. [applause] mr. meese: i also want to mention bill barr and i thank this.r we started work together in the first term of ronald reagan. you were i

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for utah. mr. lee: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i thank and commend my friend and distinguished colleague, the senator from wisconsin, for her work on this effort. i'm not familiar with this legislation. i don't serve on the committee on help, education, labor and pensions. i have friends who do and friends who couldn't be here today but who have asked me to voice objection on their behalf. so on behalf of the senior senator from tennessee, senator alexander, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. ms. baldwin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for wisconsin. ms. baldwin: my message to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle today is simple. if you will continue to object to my proposal to help shore up the pbgc and the proposals from me and other democratic colleagues to put failing multiemployer pensions back on solid ground, then please bring up your own plans, bring your ideas to the table and let's work together to solve this pension crisis and prot

mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for virginia. mr. warner: thank you, mr. president. i've come to the floor to speak on a different subject, but i do want to acknowledge this is an issue that i follow as well. i actually cosponsored senator lee's bill. i do hope that what my friend, the senator from illinois, proposed in terms of a process, that that process will take place and that we can get this legislation or vacationer -- or variation thereof passed through the senate, that we can deal with this issue. this is something i hear a lot from my constituents in virginia, particularly northern virginia. and again, while no piece of legislation is perfect, i think the direction that senator lee put forward is one that i carefully considered before i cosponsored the legislation. the only way this is going to get resolved is if we go through this process. there is nobody in the senate that works harder on immigration issues with more passion and willingness to get to yes on issue after issue than the senator from illinois. i thank him for

the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. esident, i come to the floor today because our nation is at a crossroads that strikes at the heart of our democracy -- the increasingly outrageous actions of this president and his administration have brought us to this moment. where we as a nation must make a decision about who we are, what we stand for, and what kind of behavior we will allow at the highest levels of our government. and as we continue down this road paved by the president's reckless actions and his complete disregard for our nation's laws and democratic norms, i want to take a moment to step back and talk about how we got here and how much is truly at stake for our country and our democracy if we don't get this right. let's start by considering what we know for sure. the president has repeatedly sought foreign interference in our elections, which we should all find appalling. we know president trump and his associates president president n government to meddle in our democratic process, pushing them to launch an inve

mr. president. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator for indiana. mr. braun: i rise today because i just finished up visiting all counties in my home state. every one of them have backed about what we've been doing here, especially following the lead of president trump. when it comes to the particular issue of syria, i think it begs the question, when people say it green-lighted what occurred there, what would the reaction have been had we not gotten out of harm's way? i'm guessing it would have been a bigger fiasco in many different dimensions. the minority leader indicated that rand's idea was horrible. i want to make the point that collectively over the last 40 to 50 years, we've been engaged in -- all the way back to the vietnam war, where we've been add venge toursome, done it, where we've not paid for it and we're noe now in a pickle and that's why i was for what the president decided to do. you cannot continue being engaged like this when you're running trillion-dollar deficits, $22 trillion in debt. hoosiers understand that. most americans do as

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask to speak as if in morning business for 90 seconds. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: today is halloween. this may sound a little candy corny, but this iowan wants to talk about the scary prices of prescription drugs. since january i've joined with bipartisan forces to drive a stake in the heart of ghoulish price gouging. senator wyden and i working to shut down the pranks, poisoning the drug supply chain, we need our fellow lawmakers to step up and nail the coffin shut on monstrous drug price increases. one example that can't masquerade as a next-generation drug is the 500% increase for insulin which helps americans with diabetes regulate blood sugar. this medicine was discovered 100 years ago at the time the first horror movie debuted. there's no rhyme or reason for the terrifying price hikes spooking americans. the real horror story this halloween is what's preventing congress from doing its job. big pharma is spending a frightening amount of mon

mr. president. mr. esident, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with and that i be permitted to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the passing of former senator kay hagan was sad news to all of us who were privileged to serve with her and counted her as a friend. in her final address to the senate five years ago, senator kay hagan reminded us of our obligation to work together on behalf of the american people with these words. to whom much is given much is expected. kay hagan was given much. she had energy, intelligence, dedication, and compassion. and she gave back to her home state over many years of public service. as a person of deep faith, she fully understood the new testament parable of the talents. its message that gifts must be put to use in service of others guided her life. in this time of sorrow, i offer my deep condolences to kay's family. i hope that they will find comfort in

mr. president, the world today is not a peaceful place. unilateralism and protectionism are posing major threats to the international order. at a time when the future of the world is at stake, china has never been and will never be an onlooker. as a founding member of the u.n. , we will work with other countries to build a new -- for international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind. we will be resolute in upholding the role of the u.n., the international system underpinned by the u.n., and the international order anchored a pon upon international law. the headwinds of protectionism, we should not just stand idly by. walls will not resolve global challenges and blaming others for one's own problems does not work. the lessons of the great depression should not be forgotten. provocations of trade disputes upset global industrial and supply chains and serve to undermine the trading regime and global economic and trade orders. they maty even launch the world into recession. regarding economic and trade differences, china

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: madam president, i yield the floor. mr. barrasso: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. mr. president madam president, i come to the floor today to discuss last week's 20 democratic debate and to discuss the topic of health care. despite all the political posturing, here's the key takeaways -- number once the democrats still want to take work-earned health insurance away from 180 million americans. and, number two, the democrats want to raise taxes on the middle class and on all americans to pay for it. under the democrats' plan, people will lose forever the health coverage that they earned at work. that means union workers, their hard-fought health benefits, they'll disappear. it means that nevada food service workers, michigan autoworkers -- all will lose their earned health care. elizabeth warren and bernie sanders want to replace work-based insurance with a one-size-fits-all government-run scheme. at the same time, the 2020 democrats want to give free,

mr. president and mr. lighthizer mentioned, we have, mr. president -- unfortunately, we are outnumbered by other people. you are here in the states. we are in washington. but nonetheless, we have three gentlemen from japan from our association in washington, d.c., including from the toshiba corporation and the mitsubishi corporation. these are the guys who are good enough to join us. as i told you, we are unfortunately slightly outnumbered. what they are kind enough to come over to see this signing ceremony because of the importance for the japanese community and all japan. thank you, mr. president, and thank you, everybody. [applause] >> i'm not doing this until you tell me. [laughter] pres. trump: look at these five gentlemen right here. central casting. tough negotiators. [applause] [applause] pres. trump: it's a very big one and i would like to introduce some of the folks here. as you know, the ambassadors have been introduced. great job, fellows. bruce, the director of the indiana state department of agriculture. eddie, chairman of the

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: are we in a quorum call? i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. manchin: mr. president, fellow west virginians, i rise today in strong support in nomination of frank w. volk to be u.s. district court judge for the southern district of west virginia. i want to thank my colleagues in the senate for putting partisanship aside and recognizing the importance of confirming qualified judges to our federal court. frank volk's cloture vote earlier today cleared this body by a 90-0 vote without a single dissenting vote. let me repeat that. 90-0. how many times have we seen that happen in this body? that's a testament to judge volk's judicial experience and stellar record and his qualifications to become a u.s. district court judge. i would also like to acknowledge frank's work in west virginia as a tireless public servant to both our state and the nation. he has conveyed time and time again his love and desire to serve our nation and partic

mr. president, it is wonderful to host you want to get in washington. we have gotten to know each other over the last period of time and it has been a great experience. the president and i just concluded very productive discussions on a number of exciting opportunities for our nations. before going further want to express our deep condolences over the horrific stabbing attack that took place yesterday at a college in finland. america is praying for the victims and their families. we send our unwavering love and support. pres. niinisto: thank you. pres. trump: the american and finnish people are linked to a commitment to self-government, individual rights, democracy and the rule of law. this past may, our countries celebrated the 100th anniversary of america's recognition of the independent nation of finland in 1919. as president wilson wrote at the time, "i recognition was prompted by this empathy's for a cause similar to that which caused our own declaration of independence in 1776." united states and finland remain united by those same cherished values

mr. president, you have here a great democracy. keep it going on. we had a very good discussion with the president. like you mentioned, our diplomatic relations are hundreds of years old. during that time, we have developed our cooperation, not only in official meetings like this, but american and finnish people, scientists, for example, need each other, cooperating together. we have a lot of operation in the security sector, also in defense, because i think that we share a feeling that the most important thing for the nation is to guarantee security to its citizens. and that is the starting point for finland also, to this cooperation. i wanted to take up with the president the importance of transatlantic cooperation. well, we all know europe needs the usa. but i say that the usa needs also europe. we know the price of everything. we should recognize the value of everything. we share the same values -- democracy, human rights, order -- and in that, we are very -- europe has, in a way, awakened during the couple last years, to understand also more abo

mr. president -- madam president, excuse me. the strategic gains of our adversaries in tehran, moscow and damascus and most troubling, the potential resurgence of is isis. the president has failed to articulate any strategy at all. we have asked to have secretary pompeo, secretary esper, director haspel come before us. they've canceled again today because they don't have a plan. now, this is america at risk. we in new york know better than anybody else how a small group of people, thousands of miles away, evil people can cause terrorism and hurt us. and there is no strategy about what to do with the tens of thousands of isis prisoners and their fellow travelers who had been locked up and guarded by the kurds. no one believes -- and i've talked to the top military and intelligence people that either syria or turkey has the interest in preventing isis from escaping that we do. erdogan in fact hates the cirdz far more than -- kurds far more than he hates isis. so every day that this lack of policy, this lack of just common sense fr

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i thank my colleagues. mr. president, at the end of the fiscal year for the united states government came and went without a new funding bill mr. place. it was a big disappointment because this summer i thought we had reached an agreement on a two-year budget package designed to make the appropriations process much simpler and eliminate the uncertainty that comes from continuing resolutions and stop-start funding for government agencies. we agreed to to top line funding for defense and nondefense spending. it was a big deal. there was also a promise not to derail the process with poison policy pill riders and we got it done in plenty of time to spare. i remember at the time thinking that hey, maybe we can help restore some regular order and put the function back in congress rather than the dysfunction. but unfortunately politics got in the way. when the time came last month to make good on the promises that were made during that two-year budget cap deal, senate democrats blo

mr. president, i want to conclude with a quote from president xi jinping. "we should not give up our dreams just because the reality around us is to public. 80 ,e should not stop -- is too located. we should not stop pursuing our ideals because they seem out of reach. let us work tirelessly to about the u.n. charter and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind." thank you. [applause] language]ng foreign >> i thank his excellency.

mr. president -- >> mr. houghts when you hear of people saying perhaps you should resign or be impeached. >> well, i'm glad we don't take the vote of this room, let me say. >> mr. president -- >> at the risk of re-opening an obvious wound, what is it about the television coverage of you that has so aroused your anger? >> gentlemen of the press, one can only be angry with those he respects. as a matter of fact, i have never heard such outrageous vicious reporting in 27 years of public life. but regardless of what people see and hear on television night after night, the tougher it gets, the cooler i get. i have what it takes. >> mr. president -- >> mr. president -- >> most interesting. well, as you can see, the president has decided to end this news conference himself. >> good evening. the matter of the president's white house tape recordings took an unexpected turn today. it is now said by the president's lawyer that two of the requested tape recordings do not exist. >> do you think the public will believe thi

mr. president, i will yield the floor. >> mr. president, senator from iowa. >> mr. president i write today to call attention to the dire situation which continues to unfold in northern syria. turkey embarked on a reckless and brutal intervention on october 9th, 2019, offensively to clear northern syria of terrorist elements. they have ironically dubbed this operation piece. the departure of u.s. forces just stayed prior to this incursion, left nothing between turkish militaryh forces in a predominantly kurdish militia known is the syrian t democratic forces are fts. up until the cease-fire agreement announced today the fdf or, the brunt of the turkish assault. the kurds are deeply stunned by what they see is america abandoning them. this after a long hard and successful fight against isis. at the height of its power, isis controlled territory larger than the united kingdom. is monday americans know, isis directed and inspired terrorist attacks on our homeland communities across the united states, and staged numerous attacks against our troops overseas. isis branches

mr. president, i want to conclude with a quote from president xi jinping. "we should not give up our dreams just because the reality around us is to public. 80 ,e should not stop -- is too located. we should not stop pursuing our ideals because they seem out of reach. let us work tirelessly to about the u.n. charter and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind." thank you. [applause] language]ng foreign >> i thank his excellency. the minister for foreign affairs of china. foreigner in the week, ministers from israel and saudi arabia address the general assembly. the israeli, minister leads off with remarks directed primarily to representatives from gulf states iran.threats posed by [voice of translator] >> i now introduce israel katz, foreign minister of israel. [applause] minister katz: excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, i, israel katz, stand

mr. president, mr. president, mr. vice president, [applause] madame secretary, arch bishop, members of the clergy, distinguished guests, for o

mr. president.se] just real quickly, i would like to say that agent morales and all the other nominees, i think that they embody the law enforcement spirit. they represent who we are as a profession and what we stand for, that we get up every single day doing something greater than ourselves. and thank you to i.c.p., for your leadership and everything you do. thank you to you, the leaders of law enforcement for supporting the men and women who get up every day, put the badge on their chest and safeguard this country. thank you for what you do. [applause] and, mr. president, thank you, mr. president, for your support. i know this man personally and , when he says he loves us, it is sincere, heartfelt and he , means it. thank you, mr. president. because of our president's support as a law enforcement for -- profession, we are stronger for it. thank you. [applause] trump: thank you, both. two great people. thank you both. to all of the law enforcement partners across the western hemisphere, thank you f

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: tomorrow the senate will vote on funding for the national defense. it will offer a test for our democratic colleagues. will their party's impeachment obsession crowd out even the most basic governing responsibilities? unfortunately, it seems we already have our answer. the democratic leader said at a press conference yesterday that his party intends to filibuster funding for our armed forces. democrats have plenty of time and energy for their three-year-old journey to impeach the president, but they can't get to yes on funding our service members. that's about as clear a statement of priorities as you can get around here. just a few days ago u.s. special forces executed a daring mission and took out the founder of isis. it was the clearest possible reminder that the national security of the united states and the missions of our service members do not pause for partisan politics. but less than a week later, for political purpose

mr. president. and also to attorney general barr for the recognition of our police officers. the six brief police officers that acted decisively, swiftly, ending a mass shooting in dayton, ohio, on august the 4th. they represent the highest of ideals and performance of our profession. we are deeply proud of them. i have with me lieutenant colonel. [applause] he was the acting police chief in my absence when i was in washington, d.c., before i could return back to dayton, ohio. he was the senior commander on the scene. in the very early hours of august the fourth, helping to coordinate the response. the initial response of more than 100 police officers regionally to respond to that seen and performed the very vast duties required of that time. i am deeply grateful to him and his leadership, the dayton community is grateful for his leadership, and for all of those dedicated law enforcement personnel that responded in the early morning hours to do the very duty they are required to do, and in such a pr

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. cassidy: i request that we vitiate the work. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of barbara mcconnell barrett of arizona to be secretary of the air force signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of barbara mcconnell barrett of arizona to be secretary of the air force shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeas are 84, the nays are 7. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: madam president, i want to first say thank you to my colleague, senators warners and senator casey for joining me on the floor today and also to the senators jones, senator brown, senator kaine, and yourself, madam president, for standing with all of us to protect the coal miners pensions. when coal companies go bankrupt, coal miners are at the bottom of the priority list which is why we're here to introduce the mini -- at this time i want to yield my time to my good friend from virginia, senator warner, and i will come back later. senator warner. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. warner: madam president, first of all, i have done this a number of times. i know you care, i know my colleague from pennsylvania care, but nobody's kept this issue alive more often and more consistently than joe manchin from west virginia. so i'm only going to take a minute or two. i will step off and i appreciate our leader on this issue giving me a little bit of time. last nigh

mr. president, i would yield the floor. ms. ernst: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. ms. ernst: mr. president, i rise today to call attention to the dire situation which continues to unfold in northern syria. turkey embarked on a reckless and brutal intervention on october 9, 2019, ostensibly to clear northern syria of terrorist elements. they have ironically dubbed this operation "peace spring." the departure of u.s. forces just days prior to this incursion left nothing between turkish military forces and the predominantly kurdish militia known as the syrian democratic forces, or s.d.f. up until the cease-fire agreement announced today, the s.d.f. bore the brunt of the turkish assault. the kurds are deeply stung by what they see as america abandoning them. this after a long, hard, and successful fight against isis. at the height of its power, isis controlled territory larger than the united kingdom. as many americans know, isis directed and inspired terrorist attacks on our homeland, communities across the united states,

mr. president. i would like to thank you for helping us get this agreement across the finish line, but more importantly, thank you for reorienting trade policy in the united states in the direction of america's workers, farmers, and ranchers. for too long, we had lost our way, frankly. during the last almost three years, you brought us back, and i am grateful for that. i can, a fewnk, if people on my team. we have a huge group involved. jeff and greg, two of my deputies. michael beeman, sharon -- and there are lots of other people. a lot of credit for doing this. let me quickly make the point that the president has already made. this is a very big trade deal. this is about $55 billion worth of trade. with this, we will have more than 95% of the gdp that would have been in tpp. it is very important for farmers. it is also important for digital trade. japan is the biggest market for the united states in beef, pork, wheat. and it is a substantial market in a variety of other things, including potatoes,

mr. president, do you like terrace? president trump: i do like tariffs. >> [inaudible] >> president trump: we will have a deal that is a great deal beyond tariffs. it is an important deal for china and an important deal for the world and an important deal for the united states. this is a deal beyond tariffs. i really mean that. i think that world peace. there was a lot of friction between the united states and china. and now, it is a love fest. that is a good thing. that is good for china, and it is good for us but it's good for the world. the vice-premier said the same thing. he said it better than anybody could have said. he said this is a great thing for the world. he didn't say china or us, he said it's a great thing for the world. he's absolutely right. perhaps you would like to comment. >> the whole world is watching. >> president trump: the whole world is watching. it is amazing. >> but we want to provide peace and prosperity for the whole world. it is very, very much peace and prosperity. >> president trump: it'

mr. president. it was headlines all over the place. trump gets sued by this do-nothing governor in california. it was big. here is what happened. yesterday i won the case. very convincingly. a very tough, smart, highly respected judge, not a trump person at all, not appointed by trump. appointed by someone you would call the opposition. came out with a scathing and tough opinion. i won the case. i did not see one story that i won the case from the fake news. i did not see steve write it. i did not see you write it. let me just tell you to finish. nancy pelosi and shifty schift, who should resign, and jerry nadler, it's a disgrace what is going on. we should be focused on making america great again and keeping america great because that is what we have to do. when i look at that parade with military and millions of people, we better get smart. we better start focusing on the right thing. what they did was nonsense. you have a perfect -- i mean perfect conversation whether president of another country, ukraine in this case. they try and

mr president and the more than 10 years of your presidency some harsh dramatic developments have taken place in the middle east and the statehood of several countries has been undermined namely iran . in libya we see that this could be the fate of other states as well when we see what happened in the syrian arab republic what catastrophic events took place there now many members of the arab public think that russia can really bolster its role in the region you surely know that are never a guarantee arabic covers russia's foreign policy as well many our viewers have been asking straightforwardly as russia taken such a harsh stance in the case of syria but the position regarding libyan rug was perhaps not as hard to replace what it is that we can look at. first of all during the crises in iraq and libya i was not in office but this is not the main reason the thing is that sound as is commonly known in the case of iraq the united states circumvented the united nations security council the u.s. has no mandate to use force against iraq and actually i was present at that moment so anyway rus

the presiding officer: we are. mr. rubio: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rubio: it's interesting when we come here, we seem to think that everybody in america is reading the blogs and all the major newspapers of the morning. a lot of people do, but some people have lives to live. they get up early, they go to work. they listen to the news from time to time but they don't follow it closely. that's what they hire us to do and deal with as policymakers. on this issue of syria, it strikes me, it did earlier this week when i frequent a gas station close to my house, a little convenience store with a coffee stand inside. a gentleman comes up to me and basically starts saying why do we care about stuff that's happening there? it's thousands of miles away. these people having fighting forever. let them figure out. i tell you there's appeal to that argument, and i understand why americans feel that way. since september of 2001 we've lost countless young men and

mr. president. [applause] just real quickly i would like to say that agent morales and all the other nominees i think that they embody the law enforcement spirit. they represent who we are as a profession and what we stand for, that we get up every single day doing something greater than ourselves. and thank you to i.c.e., for your leadership comfort of a thing do. thank you to you, the leaders of law enforcement for supporting and doing what you do best, supporting the men and women get up every single day, but the badge on their chest and safeguard this country. thank you for what you do. [applause] and, mr. president, thank you, mr. president, for your support. i know this meant personally and when he says he loves us, sincere, it's heartfelt and he means it. thank you, mr. president. [applause] because, because of our presidents support as a law enforcement for fashion, we are stronger for it. thank you. [applause] >> thank thank you, both. two great people. thank you both. to all of the law enf

mr. penske: no longer. president trump: they have better than that now. that was old stuff, right? mr. penske: right. president trump: the pushrod engine he developed became known as "the beast" and delivered over 150 horsepower more than the competition. team penske roared to victory at the 1994 indianapolis 500, leading 193 out of 200 laps. incredible. n total, team penske has won nearly 550 major races, 35 ational championships, two daytona 500s, 18 indianapolis 500s. i think that's just an incredible achievement. 18 indianapolis 500s. and secured over 600 pole positions. in other words, he knows what he's doing. incredibly, team penske won more than one out every three indy 500 championships in which he competed. so every third year, he'd win, essentially. it's not even conceivable when you see all of the tremendous talent, money, rich people, rich men, rich countries with a lot of talent. they can't beat him. for nearly five decades, it has dominated the greatest spectacle n racing, and in recent years, has become a growing force in nascar, where i really got to realize how many ti

mr. president. >> thank you very much mr. president. the wto, the world trade organization as everyone knows we just won $7.5 billion because of unfair trade practices. that'll be distributed in a fairway various countries in europe and we are talking to the president about that as it pertains to italy. he thought we were a little bit harsh on italy. we'll never do that. we'll look at that strongly. that was one of the requests made and we'll be taking a look at that. please. >> thank you, mr. president, i want to ask about turkey. did president erdogan's decision surprise you? and if it did not surprise you, would you make the same decision as you made before in moving u.s. forces. uiw and gm may have been working on deals, if i can get your reaction on that. mr. president if i can ask you about the digital tax. did you two discuss a dejigital tax, as it relates to amazon and google. what progress were you able to make? >> president erdogan did not surprise me. he's been wanting to do that for a long time. he's been building up troops