John Cornyn

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Building on the Successes of MAP-21 to Deliver Safe, Efficient and Effective Public Transportation Services and Projects.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Department of State.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 2:30 p.m. in room SR-418 of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Fulfilling the Promise to Women Veterans.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Improving Accountability and Oversight of Juvenile Justice Grants.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room SD-215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Congress and U.S. Tariff Policy.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 2:30 p.m., in room SR- 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``FAA Reauthorization: Certification and U.S. Aviation Manufacturing Competitiveness.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room SR-253 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Advancing Telehealth through Connectivity.''

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Opportunities and Challenges for Agriculture Trade with Cuba.''

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I came to the floor to talk about the work in the Senate and particularly the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. But I would say to my colleague and friend, with whom I have worked on so many important issues, that I also look forward--once we get past today's business--to working together with him on patent reform, criminal justice reform, and also to continue our very productive partnership on open government and transparency, particularly the Freedom of Information Act legislation. San Jacinto Day Mr. President, before I talk about the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, I have to note this: It is my responsibility, my duty, my honor to note that today is a very important day in Texas. This is San Jacinto Day. For those who do not know what that is, this is the official State holiday that honors Texas independence, where 910 soldiers, led by General Sam Houston, won the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. So it is not the Battle of the Alamo that gave Texas its independence. That is the one that people perhaps remember the most. Maybe it is because of the movies and books that have been written about that. Actually, the Battle of the Alamo did not turn out too well. Virtually, everybody was killed. But it gave rise to the opportunity for these 910 men, led by General Sam Houston, on San Jacinto Day, to win the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Now, almost 180 years later, I think it is only appropriate and fitting that we recognize their bravery and their sacrifices in pursuit of our dream of freedom. Mr. President, on the subject of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, this has been a strange experience, starting as we did on something that passed unanimously in the Judiciary Committee, with 30 cosponsors on a bipartisan basis, and all of a sudden to have this legislation stuck here in the Senate. I will not relitigate the reasons for that because, frankly, I think we have now found a way forward for this legislation, as the majority leader, Senator McConnell, and the Democratic leader, Senator Reid, announced this morning. It is going to take a little bit more work by the Senate. There are perhaps a handful of amendments that we will have an opportunity to vote on. I know there is a desire by everyone for us to finish this trafficking bill as soon as we can, and then we can address the concerns that the ranking member from Vermont, Senator Leahy, has about the Attorney General nomination. Senator McConnell has made very clear that once we get trafficking resolved, which it appears we are on a path to doing, then we can turn to the Lynch nomination. I have actually been somewhat surprised and more optimistic than I have been in a long time about how the Senate is beginning to work again, from passing a budget to dealing with the broken doc fix that had been the law of the land since 1997, which had required us to come back and patch--every 6 months to a year--and the reforms that actually were negotiated by Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi in the House, which we passed by an overwhelming margin here in the Senate. Then, consider what happened in the Foreign Relations Committee on the Iran sanctions issue with a unanimous vote and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, with Senator Alexander and Senator Murray announcing an agreement to move forward on the reauthorization of early childhood education. We have some very good progress that is being made on trade, for example. I just came from the Senate Finance Committee. I think there is a path forward on trade promotion authority and consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The truth is that the United States has roughly 20 percent of the world's purchasing power, which means 80 percent of the purchasing power in the world lies beyond our borders. We have 5 percent of the world's population, meaning 95 percent of the world's population lies beyond our borders. The opportunities we have to grow our economy and to help small and medium-sized businesses and the people--the middle-class families who work at those businesses--are very exciting. So the point is that after a long period of dysfunction in the Senate, we are starting to see the Senate work again the way it should work, the way it has historically worked--through the committees, to build consensus on legislation that can then come to the floor, and then to have Senators, whether they be in the majority or minority, to offer constructive suggestions about how to solve our Nation's biggest challenges, and then to work together to send these to the President and get his signature. So there are a lot of positive things happening in the Senate. I hope for even more positive things to occur in the near future. I have been focused like a laser for some time now on justice for the victims of human trafficking. When I think for a minute about the fact that the typical victim of human trafficking is a 12- to 13-year-old girl, who has been sold essentially into sex slavery and who has lost control over her life and perhaps, to her mind, to her future. I cannot think of a more compelling need for the Senate than to try to offer a lifeline to these victims of human trafficking. That is what this legislation that hopefully we will act on today--perhaps no later than tomorrow--is designed to do. It creates a fund that could be as high as $30 million--not from taxes but from fines and penalties paid by people who commit sexual offenses and basically represents the demand side of the human trafficking equation. We have found a way now, on a bipartisan basis, to move this legislation forward so we can offer a hand to rescue these victims of human trafficking, so we can give them an opportunity to heal and we can provide them some hope for a better future. I know all of us, by virtue of the privilege of the office that we serve in, have had stories from constituents about human trafficking. I remember quite clearly Brooke Axtell of Austin, TX, who now works with a number of nonprofits, and has basically turned her tragic story into serving others who have likewise become victims of human trafficking. Brooke's story is really almost beyond belief. She says that at age 7 she was sexually abused. She was literally held captive in a basement and sold to men who would pay money to have sex with her, a 7-year old child. Brooke has brought to light her pain and has begun to heal as a result of having been rescued and been given a helping hand. But she has now turned her tragic story into hope by honorably helping others find a way out of a life that she herself experienced. She founded a group called Survivor Healing and Empowerment, which is a healing community of survivors of rape, abuse, and sex trafficking. There is another horrific story that I have heard--I am sure just as all the Members of the Senate have heard coming from their States, because this is not something isolated in one State. This is a national--indeed, it is an international--phenomenon. Another woman I have had the privilege of meeting with and who has shared her story with me is Melissa Woodward from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Melissa was 12 years old when she was sold into the sex trade by a family member--unbelievable. Eventually, she was pulled out of school to be trafficked full time when she was in the sixth grade. Her life, as she describes it, became a prison. She was literally chained to a bed in a warehouse, she says, and endured regular beatings and obviously, sexual assaults. There was even once an attempt to set her on fire by one of her abusers. All the while, she says, she was forced to serve between 5 and 30 men every day. She said she wished she was dead. As heartbreaking as Melissa's story is, just as sad is the way she was treated after she escaped her captors. In one of the big changes in the way we have approached victims of human trafficking--at one point we claimed they were the criminal because they had engaged in prostitution. But the idea of a child prostitute is an oxymoron. A child cannot consent to a life of prostitution. What we find, in looking at the victims of human trafficking, is that many of them are manipulated, coerced, and forced to engage in this sex activity for the economic benefit of their johns or their pimps or their traffickers. This is all about money. This is about the face of evil that treats human beings as objects or as things, without the basic dignity and respect which all human beings are entitled to. But as I said, one of the problems with the way we used to treat victims of human trafficking is that we treated them like criminals. That was all too common an outcome for trafficking victims who were labeled as prostitutes and left with very few options but to ultimately return to a nightmare that, sadly, exists in our country. That is beginning to change. It needs to change even more, which is another reason why we need to pass this bill. This is the kind of legislation that I think in many ways is unique, because it is a nonpartisan piece of legislation. All this legislation is designed to do is to help the victims of human trafficking get rescued and then begin to heal and to get on with their lives. It is designed to provide much-needed resources for victims of human trafficking--plain and simple. It may be nothing more than a safe place to sleep, protected from the people who would continue to abuse them. It is designed to help people such as Brooke, Melissa, and so many others--the tens of thousands of victims of human trafficking. This legislation would not only provide help for those victims, but it would ensure that children such as Melissa are treated as victims and not criminals. It would also add law enforcement tools to help authorities rescue victims and to take down human traffickers and the organized criminal networks who support them. That is an important point because human trafficking is not a mom-and-pop business. This is run by organized crime and criminal networks, some of them international or transnational. I want to thank my colleagues for caring--for caring about people such as Melissa and Brooke and the many examples of human trafficking that we have all been introduced to. I want to particularly express my gratitude for all of our colleagues for working on this and not giving up until we found a pathway toward success. This body's consideration of this bill has proven that compromise and bipartisanship need not be relics of the past in today's Washington. They are very much alive and well, particularly when the need is so very great, as it is in this area. So now for the sake of these victims, let's get this important legislation passed and provide crucial help for the children trapped in modern day slavery. I want to just conclude by saying a few thank-you's. I know it is a little premature. But we would not have gotten this far if it were not for the help of organizations such as Rights4Girls, Shared Hope International, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking organization, the National Association to Protect Children, and members of our staff in the Senate who have worked so hard to get us where we are today. I want to express my gratitude to Senator Klobuchar, Senator Murray, and Senator Reid, on the other side of the aisle, who have worked so closely with us, and of course to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Grassley, and particularly I want to single out the majority leader, Senator McConnell. He said we would not move to the nomination for Attorney General of the United States until we get this done. And, indeed, today, I hope and believe that we will get this done, and then we can turn to that nomination. But there are others, perhaps too many to name: Senator Warner, Senator Heitkamp, and others on the Democratic side. There are those on the Republican side. Senator Collins comes to mind, and there are others who have worked so hard and so relentlessly and with such determination to get us where we are today. We need to get this over the finish line so we can move on to other business. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, as I understand, the distinguished Senator from Oregon is asking to amend the consent request. I would reserve the right to object to that request and make the simple point that the Kirk amendment targets online child exploitation and sex trafficking, which is rampant. Given the fact that the Internet is now one of the principal tools used, on Web sites such as backpage.com, thousands of American children and human trafficking victims are sold into slavery. It is simply unconscionable for us to stand by and allow this to continue. What Senator Kirk is asking for, which I support and believe we should do, is a simple up-or-down vote on the Kirk amendment. So I reserve the right to object and ask our colleague to allow this up-or- down vote on the Kirk amendment.

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Coats), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio).

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I would say to the distinguished majority leader that I am more optimistic than I have been at any time in the last few weeks. I just talked to the Democratic leader who told me there are active discussions taking place by all of the key people who can help us break this deadlock, and so I am more optimistic. We are not there yet, but we are in a much better place than I think we have been certainly in the last 3 weeks. So I am hopeful and somewhat more optimistic.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I am an optimistic person. As a matter of fact, I think everybody from Texas is an optimist. Can you imagine the challenges the people who founded our State had--Indians, wide-open hostile territory, tough weather. But they persevered because they were optimists. They thought the fight was worth the struggle. They thought the goal and the accomplishment--the hope for accomplishment--was worth the struggle. I still remain optimistic--despite the last few weeks that have challenged that optimism--that we will actually break through here and get to consider and vote on the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and get help to the people whom the majority leader, Senator McConnell, described, the children who cannot help themselves. I mean, for heaven's sake, if we cannot help the most vulnerable people in our country--children who cannot help themselves, who are the victims of modern-day slavery--what in the world can we do? So we have marked 100 days here in the Senate with the new Republican majority. As I look back, I do not think anybody can deny that under the majority leader's stewardship we have had some significant accomplishments in a relatively short period of time. Sure, it has been bumpy along the way. The Keystone XL Pipeline was a significant bump in the road. But we had a strong bipartisan vote. Unfortunately, the President decided to veto that legislation. After years of this Chamber being used solely for the purpose of messaging and conducting political show votes, we are actually starting to get some things done. It is pretty exciting. As somebody who has been here since 2002, it is hard to believe, when I say that, that I have actually been here during different phases and cycles of the Senate operating. I have to tell you that the last 4 years or so has been a dark period, a stain on the reputation of the Senate in terms of actually getting things done in the interests of the American people. I understand the he said-she said and the blame game. The blame game is a world-class sport here in Washington, DC. But most of our constituents couldn't care less about the blame game; they actually want to see government function in their interest. Consistent with our principles, we are going to have some disagreements, there is no doubt about it. But they hate the dysfunction. They hate the political posturing. You know what. I do, too. I dare say that the vast majority of Senators hate the dysfunction the Senate has experienced. So there is a new spirit of optimism and, yes, hope, not that the Age of Aquarius has suddenly broken out--peace, love and understanding and we are all going to hold hands and sing ``Kumbaya.'' That is not going to happen. But can we work together as Americans, as people who love our country, who have taken an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States, who owe a fiduciary duty to the people we represent? I represent 26.9 million people. That just staggers my imagination when I think about it, when I think about the responsibility associated with it. But I am encouraged when we have the chance to help people, especially those who cannot help themselves. Well, one reason for my optimism about the new Congress is that we have held a lot of votes. We had 15 votes last year, 15 rollcall votes in the Congress last year. We have had about 100 in the 100 days we have been here. As a matter of fact, I have heard some of our colleagues say: I am a little tired of voting quite as much as we have, particularly on the budget vote-arama which lasted until 4 in the morning. I understand that. But, you know, we have passed a balanced budget in the Senate without raising taxes. The Congress has not passed a budget since 2009. What more fundamental, basic function of government is there than to pass a budget? The distinguished Presiding Officer was Governor of his great State. I am absolutely confident he viewed that as one of the fundamental responsibilities of his State government and of his office in particular--to get the fiscal house in order. The way you do that is by passing a budget and determining what your priorities are--things you absolutely have to do, things you perhaps want to do but maybe have to delay, and things you simply cannot afford. Every State, every local government, and, yes, the Federal Government should pass a budget. We will in short order. The Senate has, and now we need to reconcile our differences with the House, which we will shortly. But it is not just government; every family and every business has to work on a budget. So that is progress. I am happy about that. On Tuesday night, we actually fixed a problem that had been nagging the Congress since 1997. Back in 1997, we, the Congress--we were not here; the Presiding Officer and I were not here. The Congress had this bright idea: We are going to save money on health care by whacking the payments we make to providers and hospitals. Well, after a while we found out that if we do not pay doctors and hospitals for treating Medicare patients, they will not see them. So our seniors, to whom we had made a sacred promise--we will continue to make sure Medicare provides quality service and is accessible--all of a sudden, it was not quite so accessible because people could not find a doctor who would take a new Medicare patient. That is still a problem, so we came back over the intervening years and 17 times out of the 18 times those cuts would have been imposed, Congress reversed them. We had an expression around here that unfortunately we had to use a lot; we called it the doc fix. That is an inelegant way, perhaps, of describing what we were doing, but basically what we were trying to do was preserve Medicare and access to doctors and hospitals for our seniors who are the beneficiaries of the Medicare system. That, to me, represents some progress, that we have fixed that once and for all. Then, imagine my surprise that, after the contentious issue of congressional approval of the anticipated Iranian-U.S.--along with our allies--nuclear negotiations, this deal that could be forthcoming this summer, imagine my surprise, after the President said he would veto it, when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed a bill out of the committee. All Democrats voted for it. All Republicans voted for it. Oh, by the way, when the President began to count the numbers and the support in the Senate on a bipartisan basis, he said: You know what. I think I will sign that piece of legislation when it comes to my desk. I think that represents progress. One other item that has made me somewhat optimistic on this 100th day of the new Congress is that we are very close to working out a trade deal that the President supports and I would say Republicans by and large support. Honestly, there is probably more controversy on the Democratic side than there is on the Republican side. But in a world where 80 percent of the purchasing power and 95 percent of the population exists beyond our shores, why in the world would we not want to open new markets to the stuff we grow--our farmers, our ranchers-- the livestock we raise, and the things we make? I think it makes good sense. So you can see why I, perhaps, am optimistic about this new Congress and what we have been able to do together on a bipartisan basis to make progress in the interests of the American people. The one thing that has me completely bamboozled and befuddled is the objections over this antitrafficking legislation that had 30 cosponsors--roughly an equal number of Democrats and Republicans--and passed--sailed out of the Judiciary Committee. My friend the Senator from Illinois, the Democratic whip, knows that the Judiciary Committee is no place for the faint of heart. We have a lot of disagreements. Maybe that is because we have a lot of lawyers on the Judiciary Committee. We fight a lot about things we believe in strongly. But this antitrafficking legislation sailed out of the Judiciary Committee on a unanimous basis. I hope we can work out these differences, and I have made multiple suggestions and compromises in an effort to try to get everybody to yes. I agree with the majority leader's description of the sordid, unspeakable, evil of human trafficking and the compelling reason we ought to do something to address it. I know that is where the hearts of all of our colleagues are, but somehow we have just gotten stuck. We need to get unstuck, and I hope today will be that day. Of course, human trafficking is a plague in all 50 States, and my State, unfortunately, has way too much of its share. I, like all of our colleagues, have had the chance to meet many of the brave victims of human trafficking. One victim I met last week in Austin is Brooke Axtell. Our friends at Google convened a meeting in Austin. The technology community understands that a lot of the solicitation of underage girls and victims of human trafficking occurs online. So they have come together to try to work with law enforcement, work with victims' rights groups to try to come up with a comprehensive way to combat it. At Google last week in Austin, I met Brooke Axtell, who was introduced to America when she gave a moving speech at this year's GRAMMY Awards. In Texas, she is better known for her work with a number of nonprofits that are focused on ending domestic violence and human trafficking. I can't begin to tell you how inspiring she is and her words were, particularly when you comprehend the horror, the absolute horror of what she had been through as a victim of human trafficking herself. Starting at the age of 7--7 years old--Brooke was sexually abused. She was literally put in chains and a cage--treated like an animal--in a basement. She was repeatedly sold to men who raped and abused her. Out of this horror that she experienced as a young child, Brooke has brought life to her pain, and I think her leadership in the antitrafficking effort has actually helped her heal. She is one brave, courageous, young woman. She founded a group called Survivor Healing and Empowerment, which is a healing community for the survivors of rape, abuse, and sex trafficking. That is why, today, at 11 o'clock, I hope all of our colleagues listen not only to Brooke's voice and her experience, but each one of us on the floor could tell a similar story about somebody in their State, somebody they know, they have met, who would be helped by this legislation. I hope we don't tell them no. I hope we don't shut another door in their faces. I see some of our colleagues on the floor. I want to briefly give them a chance to speak before we vote at 11 o'clock, just to say that the underlying legislation is not partisan. It would strengthen law enforcement tools and authorities to rescue victims, while taking down the human traffickers and the criminal networks that support them. The goal is to provide at least $30 million through fines and penalties paid into the public Treasury that would then go to help heal and rescue the victims of human trafficking. Now, this is not tax money, so it is deficit neutral. We are not raising taxes to do it. We are making the people who purchased these services, who were convicted and have to pay fines and penalties, pay to help rescue and heal the victims. Shortly, we will vote on another compromise I have offered. I have tried to listen to the objections of our friends across the aisle--and I don't want to relitigate those because, frankly, that is not particularly productive. They seem to be locked in. I am sure they would say we are locked in, and so we are trying to find a way forward. First, and most important, this amendment would completely replace a provision that Members on the other side have objected to regarding the application of the Hyde amendment. The amendment would replace the language or the provision negotiated by Leader Pelosi from the doc fix bill I mentioned earlier that passed the House with 392 votes; 180 House Democrats voted for this bill, including Leader Pelosi. So we have substituted that language for the original language. Of course, in the Senate we had 92 Senators vote for that same language, and our colleagues across the aisle have repeatedly voted for similar language. So the Pelosi language from this bill that my amendment includes would simply say any funds used to provide services for victims of human trafficking would be subject to the same requirements as funds of the Public Health and Services Act. The majority leader has said it well: If this language is good enough to help the doctors and the hospitals, surely it is good enough to help young 7-year-old victims of human trafficking, such as Brooke Axtell. To further clarify, to address the stated concerns of our friends across the aisle, this amendment would also clarify that all money--all the money in the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund--must be derived from the General Treasury. This is an objection I don't personally understand, but we want to make it clear--just perhaps to help our colleagues get to yes--that all of the money would be derived from the General Treasury, which, of course, is where all Federal funding comes from, and we would make clear that all of the money would be public dollars. I don't get this because tax dollars are private dollars until you give them to the government, and then they are no longer public- private, they are public. Private penalties are private until you pay it to the government, and then it is public. But we want to make clear, to eliminate any rationale for any objection, and say that explicitly these would be public dollars. The requirements placed on funds under the bill would not be placed on the fees and penalties. That seemed to be a matter of concern, and we tried to address that. As I explained, the pending amendment would do what I have tried my dead-level best to do, to try to address the concerns our Democratic colleagues, who have blocked the bill so far, have continually expressed. So the language is just the same as the doc fix, and we have made clear that none of the fines and penalties themselves--but rather funds derived from the General Treasury--would be used to pay for these services in an equivalent amount to the fines and penalties. I would add, parenthetically, when I was talking to one of our colleagues about it, they said: Well, that is money laundering. You are taking fines and penalties and you are transferring it, you are substituting it into a general fund. I mean, give me a break. What we are trying to do is find a solution. I think we have given our colleagues every opportunity to get to yes. I know, because I have talked to a lot of them--including the Senator from Illinois--people want to get to yes. I hope we have found a way to do that. So I hope we will not let the political gamesmanship continue to get in the way of a bill that would bring relief and healing to victims of human trafficking. I hope we will have that vote at 11 o'clock, and there will be broad, bipartisan support to proceed to the bill and to pass the legislation. I yield the floor.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture vote at 11 a.m. this morning.

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I will wrap up. As I have told a number of our colleagues across the aisle who believe passionately in the importance of this topic, I think this amendment we will vote on tomorrow addresses their stated concerns. It certainly addresses the concerns stated by the Democratic leader this morning. I would just say that of all the Senators on the other side of the aisle who agreed to cosponsor this legislation, who previously objected to voting on the bill and passing it--I would ask them to please take a close look at that provision. Again, page 3, lines 3 through 7 of my amendment now would provide that instead of the fines and penalties being directly appropriated into these programs for grant purposes, that money would come from a general fund of the Treasury in an equivalent amount of the fines and penalties. So, money being fungible, there is no loss of funds, but what we have done is we have tried to address their concerns, I think in a way that eliminates them. All the Senators who cosponsored this legislation, for which I am very grateful--Senator Klobuchar, Senator Wyden, Senator Coons, Senator Udall, Senator Casey, Senator Feinstein, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Heitkamp, Senator Schumer, Senator Blumenthal, Senator Peters, and Senator Durbin--I hope all of our Democratic friends who previously objected based on the original provision will take a look at this change because it does directly address their stated concerns. Let's get this done. We will vote on this tomorrow. But I would rather not wait for that time. I would rather try to get this done today if we can. We might be able to do that by agreement if everyone agrees that this provision, this change, addresses those stated concerns. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for an additional 5 minutes to speak in morning business.

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring the world famous Kilgore College Rangerettes on the occasion of their 75th anniversary. In an effort to increase female enrollment and to keep fans in their seats during halftime at football games, Kilgore College Dean of Students B.E. Masters invited Gussie Nell Davis to create an all- women's precision dance-and-drill team. On September 19, 1940, the Rangerettes performed their first halftime show during a Kilgore College football game. With their signature Western-styled red, white, and blue uniforms and cowboy hats, the Kilgore College Rangerettes brought show business to the football field. Their precise and graceful performances captured the hearts of the fans and pioneered a brandnew type of halftime show. The Rangerettes have attained national and international recognition. Dubbed ``The Sweethearts of the Gridiron,'' the Rangerettes travel across the country performing at high-profile events, including every Cotton Bowl halftime show since 1951, the 60th Pearl Harbor Memorial Commemoration, Presidential inaugural events, and multiple Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades. Their fame and prestige have spread across the globe with performances in Venezuela, the millennial St. Patrick's Day Parade in Ireland, and a 15-day tour of Romania. The Rangerettes' achievements and honors have been highlighted in cover stories in magazines including Life, Newsweek, Esquire, Texas Monthly, and Texas 24/7. Additionally, they were featured in the Cinerama movie ``The Seven Wonders of the World.'' Today, they continue to set training and performance standards to which other drill teams aspire. I am honored to congratulate the Kilgore College Rangerettes on their 75th anniversary and look forward to their continued tradition of excellence as they perform across Texas, the United States, and the world.

Mr. CORNYN

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby), and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).