Ted Cruz

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk on behalf of myself and Senators Hawley and Graham.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. I send a question to the desk on behalf of myself and Senators Moran and Hawley. It is a question for the House managers.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about one of our most complicated areas where diplomats have to engage when brutal regimes and terror groups seize Americans and use them as hostages, hoping to extract concessions from our government. These are situations that are infuriating, and they are heartbreaking. At the same time, they are immensely complicated. There are no easy solutions when dealing with hostage-takers. We know what doesn't work. We know that paying ransom for hostages, as the Obama administration did with Iran to the tune of billions of dollars, only incentivizes more hostage-taking. It is exactly the behavior you would expect from hostage-takers, and it is exactly the behavior we have seen played out over and over. My colleagues and I, along with the Trump administration, have sought other ways of securing the release of American hostages. Sometimes what is called for is diplomatic pressure. So early in my tenure in the Senate, the very first bill that I passed into law was legislation that kept Iranian regime figures who had seized American hostages in 1979 from receiving diplomatic visas to come into the United States. I also recently joined with Senator Cotton to introduce the Global Hostage Act, a bill that would require the President to impose sanctions on foreign government officials responsible for taking Americans hostage. The Trump administration recently secured the release of Americans held hostage in Iran without the need for pallets of cash flown in the darkness of night. Nevertheless, all of these solutions are imperfect. So it is no surprise that even in countries where we enjoy successes, those successes are often heartbreakingly partial, with hostages left behind. Today, I want to talk about two countries, specifically, where Americans from my home State of Texas are languishing today. In Syria we have seen some Americans released while others remain away from their families. This summer, American Sam Goodwin and Canadian Kristian Baxter were released by captors in Syria, which were joyful developments on their own and encouraging signs of progress. But Austin Tice remains in captivity after more than 7 agonizing years. Austin is a Texan and a veteran Marine Corps captain who served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was working as a freelance journalist to inform Americans about the horror of the Syrian conflict when he was captured. I have repeatedly had the opportunity to sit down and visit with Austin's parents, Marc and Debra. Austin's picture sits on my desk in my Senate office, and I remain committed to working with President Trump, with the Trump administration, with my colleagues in Congress to bring Austin home. I joined with 51 Senators, 120 Representatives to write a letter to President Trump affirming that ``the Tice family and your own administration are confident that Austin is alive'' and calling on President Trump to redouble our country's efforts to bring him home. No one should doubt the entire U.S. Government's commitment to this task. Secondly, in Venezuela, we have also seen partial progress but partial progress of a different sort. In the case of the Citgo 6--five American citizens and one permanent American resident--they have been released from jail, which is a good thing, but they remain under house arrest. So while Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo, Gustavo Cardenas, Tomeu Vadell, and Jose Angel Pereira are no longer under the constant threat of dying from abuse and neglect, they are still very much held captive and away from their loved ones. Today, here in the gallery, are Gabriela and Alirio Rafael, the daughter and the brother of Alirio Zambrano. These five Texans and one Louisianan are now 2 years into their nightmarish journey. They had been summoned to Caracas a week shy of Thanksgiving, and upon their arrival, they were summarily detained and remained in jail on orders of the Venezuelan military. They would go days without food and months without sunlight, but the random punishments were nothing if not persistent. I have met members of the Citgo 6 families many times. Alexandra Forseth, Alirio Zambrano's daughter, shared with me haunting accounts that came from her father. He described exactly how harrowing the experience has been and the physical toll it has taken. These families have left no stones unturned in their efforts to bring back their loved ones. They have hired lawyers who have grappled with the shifting and inadequate legal institutions in Venezuela, and they have found little recourse. After years of this literal darkness, just last week the Citgo 6 were released to house arrest. This is progress. It is undeniable progress, but it is far from enough. Here, too, we must redouble our efforts to ensure their full release, to ensure that they can come home to America. Every effort must be made to bring them back to the United States, to their families, to their children, to their homes. Sergio Cardenas, the son of Gustavo Cardenas, was born with a rare disease, and at the age of 17, he is battling chronic congestive heart failure. The doctors and his family are gravely concerned that he will never see his father. Jose Toledo's mother is severely handicapped and requires constant medical attention and care. Alirio and Jose Luis both have teenage daughters currently in high school. These families are waiting for their fathers, for their sons, for their husbands to come home. Venezuela has a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. If human rights means anything, it is that citizens of all countries are entitled to speedy due process and that human rights violations must have human rights remedies. The Citgo 6 have suffered enough. It is past time for them to be released back to their families. Finally, let me say I believe that the light of truth--calling attention to these human rights atrocities--can overcome the darkness of imprisonment. The voices of the families and the voices of those who speak out on their behalf resonate and resonate loudly. Those who are keeping Americans wrongfully imprisoned, who are committing evil, should know that we will not give up. We will not rest until these Americans are set free. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I thank my colleague and friend, the Senator from New Jersey, for his powerful remarks, and I rise today and celebrate a bipartisan achievement--an achievement of the Senate; an achievement for truth; an achievement for speaking the truth to darkness, for speaking the truth to evil, for speaking the truth to murder, for speaking the truth to genocide. This journey has been a long journey. Senator Menendez has been fighting this fight a long time. I have been proud to stand by his side. This is the third week in a row we have come to the Senate floor seeking to pass this resolution. I am grateful that today we have succeeded. The Menendez-Cruz resolution affirms U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide. It has been far too long in coming. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire carried out a forced deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million were killed. It was an atrocious genocide. That it happened is a fact and undeniable reality. In fact, the very word ``genocide'' literally means the killing of an entire people, and it was coined by Raphael Lemkin to describe the horrific nature of the Ottoman Empire's calculated extermination of the Armenians. It is why we have the horrid word ``genocide'' in our English language. Over 100 years ago, the world remained silent as the Armenian people suffered and were murdered. Even today, many people are unaware of what happened. But we must never be silent in response to atrocity. We have a responsibility to stand up and speak the truth. With this resolution, the United States is now saying it is the policy of the United States of America to commemorate the Armenian genocide through official recognition and remembrance. We have a moral duty to acknowledge what happened to the 1.5 million innocent souls who were murdered. It is the right thing to do. I am grateful that, today, we have seen every Republican and every Democrat come together in support of the bipartisan Menendez-Cruz resolution. This is a moment of truth that was far too long coming. National Defense Authorization Act

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate yet another major bipartisan victory that is included as part of the National Defense Authorization Act that the House has passed and the Senate is preparing to pass. As it so happens, today is the 1-year anniversary--1 year to the very day that the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to condemn the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany. By a vote of 433 to 105, the Members of the European Parliament called for the project to be cancelled because ``It is a political project that poses a threat to European energy security and the efforts to diversify energy supply.'' In the coming days, the U.S. Congress will answer the call to stop this profoundly dangerous project. The House has acted, and the Senate will act very soon. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act, sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are included. The Cruz-Shaheen legislation-- legislation I introduced, bipartisan legislation--Senator Shaheen and I and the Foreign Relations Committee brought our legislation to a vote. We won an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote--a vote of 20 to 2--out of the Foreign Relations Committee. In the past weeks and months, there have been extended negotiations to include this legislation, these sanctions, in the National Defense Authorization Act. We have negotiated with Republicans and Democrats-- Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Armed Forces, on the Foreign Relations Committee, on the Banking Committee, in leadership, and also Republicans and Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee, Foreign Relations Committee, Banking Committee, and leadership--and we have achieved a remarkable consensus. Part of the reason we were able to achieve this bipartisan victory is that the sanctions are narrowly targeted, precisely targeted. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a pipeline from Russia to Germany to carry natural gas that, if completed, would generate billions of dollars for Putin and billions of dollars that would fund Russian military aggression. Not only that, if completed, this pipeline would make Europe even more dependent on Russian energy and even more vulnerable to Russian blackmail. Putin has demonstrated that he is more than willing to cut off the gas in the dead of winter as economic blackmail against his neighbors. This pipeline is being built this very moment. It is near completion. The legislation we are passing is designed to operate like a scalpel, specifically directed to the ships that lay in the deep sea pipeline needed to complete Nord Stream 2. There are only five companies on the face of the Earth with the technological capability to delay the deep sea pipeline. Russia does not have one of those companies. The Russian Government lacks the expertise to lay this pipeline. As a result, Russia has contracted with the Swiss company, Allseas. Right now, as we speak, Allseas has a ship called the Pioneering Spirit that is laying this pipeline. The legislation that has passed the House and that is about to pass the Senate imposes crippling sanctions on any company laying this pipeline. It is designed to operate like a scalpel so it doesn't impact anyone else, but if this legislation operates as Congress intends, as both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House intend, then it will halt construction of this pipeline overnight. The best estimates we have are that, if uninterrupted, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would be completed by the end of January. That means the window to stop the pipeline is vanishingly small. When the Senate passes the National Defense Authorization Act, which will be any day now, and the President signs it, which will be shortly thereafter, two things need to happen immediately. No. 1, the Treasury Department and the administration need to immediately begin working on implementing these sanctions. I am confident the administration will follow the directives of President Trump. He has said that Nord Stream 2 is harmful to the national security interests of the United States of America, and it is harmful to Europe. No. 2, there will be a decision made by the CEO and corporate leadership of Allseas. The instant this bill is signed into law--and we are only days away from that--if Allseas continues with construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, even for a single day after this law is signed, then Allseas risks crippling sanctions that could devastate the company. The purpose of this legislation is not to see those sanctions implemented on Allseas; the purpose of this legislation is to stop construction. The only responsible and rational decision for the corporate leadership of Allseas to make is to stop construction. My understanding is their contract with the Russians has an explicit escape path in case sanctions were passed. So the day this is signed, Allseas shareholders are at profound risk if Allseas corporate leadership does anything other than cease construction and stop the pipeline. If and when that happens, that will be an incredible victory. It will be an incredible victory for Europe, an incredible victory for Ukraine, an incredible victory for energy security, and an incredible victory for jobs in the United States of America. It is far better for Europe to be relying on energy from the United States than to be fueling Putin and Russia and dependent on Russia and subject to economic blackmail. That is why, as I noted, the European Parliament voted by a vote of 433 to 105 to condemn Nord Stream 2. Passing these Nord Stream 2 sanctions are an incredible victory for the United States and national security, but it is also an incredible loss for Vladimir Putin and Russia. I commend my Democratic cosponsor Senator Shaheen. I commend the cosponsors that this legislation has had, both Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan way, and I commend the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House for coming together. At a time when so many other issues divide us, we have united in defense of America, in defense of Europe, and in opposition to Russia's military aggression. Passing Nord Stream 2 sanctions is a big, big deal, and I commend the U.S. Congress for acting swiftly in the rapidly closing window we have to stop this project. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I am proud to join with my colleague from New Jersey today in urging the Senate to take up and pass the bipartisan Menendez-Cruz resolution affirming U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire carried out a forced deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million were killed. It was an atrocious genocide. That it happened is a fact and an undeniable reality. In fact, the very word ``genocide,'' which literally means the killing of an entire people, was coined by Raphael Lemkin to describe the horrific nature of the Ottoman Empire's calculated extermination of the Armenians. We must never be silenced in response to atrocities. Over 100 years ago, the world was silent as the Armenian people suffered and were murdered, and many people today are still unaware of what happened. With this resolution, we are saying that it is the policy of the United States of America to commemorate the Armenian genocide through official recognition and remembrance. We have a moral duty to acknowledge what happened to 1.5 million innocent souls. It is the right thing to do. I certainly understand the concerns of some of my colleagues who worry that this resolution could irreversibly poison the U.S.-Turkey relationship and push Turkey into the arms of Russia, but I don't believe those concerns have any sound basis. As my colleague from New Jersey pointed out, 12 NATO nations have similarly recognized the Armenian genocide. Yes, Turkey is a NATO ally, but allies can speak the truth to each other. We should never be afraid to tell the truth, and alliances grounded in lies are themselves unsustainable. Additionally, in the coming days, the Foreign Relations Committee will be marking up an enormous package of sanctions on Turkey. The horse has left the barn. There is no good reason for the administration to object to this resolution, and the effect of doing so is to deny recognition of this chilling moment of history. Let me close by echoing the optimism the Senator from New Jersey expressed. We may well see an objection here today, as we did when Senator Menendez and I previously came to the Senate floor and sought to pass this just a couple of weeks ago, but I believe that in the coming days and weeks, we will get this passed and that this objection, I hope, will be only temporary. I look forward to the day--hopefully very, very soon--when all 100 Senators, Democrats and Republicans, are united in simply speaking the truth, recognizing the genocide that occurred, and making perfectly clear that America stands against genocide. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I am proud to join with my friend and my colleague from New Jersey today in urging the Senate to take up and pass the resolution affirming U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire carried out a forced deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million were killed. It was an atrocious genocide. That it happened is a reality that no amount of political doublespeak can cover up. In fact, the word ``genocide,'' which literally means the killing of an entire people, was coined by Raphael Lemkin to describe the horrific nature of the Ottoman Empire's calculated extermination of the Armenians. That is the genesis of the word ``genocide.'' As America, we must never be silent in response to atrocities. Over 100 years ago, the world sat silently as the Armenian people suffered and were systemically murdered. Many people today are still unaware of what happened. With this resolution--a bipartisan resolution--we are saying it is a policy of the United States to commemorate the Armenian genocide through official recognition and remembrance. Let me echo what my colleague from New Jersey just said. Doing so is not incompatible with continuing to deal with Turkey as an ally. Just last week, I sat down with President Erdogan and President Trump in the oval office. Turkey is a NATO ally and an important one, but friends and allies can speak the truth, and we are not honoring America and who we stand for if we are afraid to speak the truth and willing to participate in covering it up. We have a moral duty to acknowledge what happened to 1.5 million innocent souls. It is the right thing to do, and it is my hope that the Senate will do so in a bipartisan manner. I yield back the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, today, brave men and women, boys and girls, are standing up and demanding that the Chinese Communist Party protect Hong Kong's autonomy, protect free speech, and defend human rights. Despite these peaceful protests, the Chinese Communist Party is fighting back with brutality and violence. The police brutality that we have seen and the Chinese Communist Party's larger assault on the people of Hong Kong has been shameful. Just this past weekend, the Hong Kong police began attacking young, innocent students who were peacefully protesting that brutality. They were attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets. These students' college campus was turned into a warzone, where no one was safe. Today, we have the opportunity to tell the world, these blatant human rights attacks and this campaign to bully Hong Kong into submission are not OK and America won't stand for it. Last month, I traveled to Hong Kong. I met with many brave men and women who were standing up. I met with the dissidents, the pro- democracy protesters who are speaking out for Hong Kong's autonomy and free speech and basic human rights. Along with them, I dressed in all black to express my solidarity with the peaceful protestors who have taken to the streets. Right now, in response to that protest, tear gas, sponge grenades, rubber bullets are being fired at university campuses in Hong Kong. In Xinjiang Province, millions of detained Uighurs and other religious minorities are languishing in concentration camps, and across China, Falun Gong practitioners are captured and murdered so that the Communist Party can harvest their organs. Freedom from this brutality and the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party is the battle cry of the dissidents in Hong Kong. What have they been waving? American flags. What have they been singing? The American National Anthem--reciting quotations from our Founding Fathers who risked everything for freedom in America. Madam President, I want to thank Senators Rubio, Cardin, Risch, Menendez, and all the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, both Republicans and Democrats who have joined together. This legislation the Senate is preparing to pass, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, is important legislation. It is bipartisan legislation. I urge the House to take it up and pass it and pass it promptly. The people in Hong Kong are engaged in an existential battle for liberty, and they should know and they will know, by our actions in just a few moments, that the people of America stand with Hong Kong. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Pennsylvania for his leadership on this issue. I think Senator Toomey's proposal is an eminently reasonable, commonsense proposal in that we take up the SECURE Act with an equal number of amendments from the Republicans and the Democrats and that we vote on the amendments on the Senate floor. Now, everyone expects, in a few minutes, we are going to see the Democrats stand up and object to that proposal and say: No, we don't want amendments. We are not willing to vote on amendments. We are going to see the Democrats hold the SECURE Act hostage because they are unwilling to vote on amendments. We are going to see the Democrats hold hostage bipartisan reform that would improve retirement savings and also hold hostage tax relief for Gold Star families that should have passed a long time ago. It is cynical for the Democrats to hold this hostage, but because they are afraid to vote, they are getting ready to object and say that Gold Star families don't get their tax relief. The Democrats are afraid to have a vote in this body, and they are willing to hold the Gold Star families hostage. One of the proposals they are afraid to vote on is that of commonsense education reform that has bipartisan support. It concerns what are called 529 savings plans, which are immensely popular tax advantage savings plans. Over 18 million Americans use them right now. The vast majority of those who use 529 savings plans are middle-class Americans. What 529 savings plans allow is for parents and grandparents to save for the educational expenses of their kids. In 2017, as part of the tax reform, I introduced an amendment to expand 529 savings plans not just to college but to K-12 education. The Senate took up that amendment, and it became the only amendment the Senate adopted on the floor of the Senate that added anything to the tax cut. It passed this body at about 1 o'clock in the morning, by a 50-50 vote, with the Vice President's having broken the tie. It has become the most far-reaching and significant Federal school choice legislation that has ever been enacted, benefiting up to 50 million school kids across this country. That legislation is already done, and it is actually not what this fight is about. That fight was about expanding 529s to K-12 education. The American people won that fight, and the Democratic opposition lost that fight. This amendment is, instead, a much more modest amendment that takes 529 savings plans and expands them to three groups of people. No. 1, it allows the parents and grandparents of kids with disabilities to use 529s to save for educational therapies for kids with disabilities and to save for the additional assistance those kids with disabilities need. That is an eminently commonsense proposition. No. 2, it allows homeschooling families to participate in 529 savings plans. In 2017, the Democrats cruelly carved out of 529s both kids with disabilities and homeschooling families. There is no reason kids with disabilities should be discriminated against by the Democrats in this body, and there is no reason homeschooling families should be discriminated against by the Democrats in this body. The third group of people it benefits is that of public school students. What this amendment says is that the parents and grandparents who have kids in public schools can use 529s to pay for additional educational expenses. That means they can use 529s to pay for standardized test preparation. That means they can use 529s to pay for tutoring costs or whatever additional educational expenses they have above and beyond their public schooling. This would potentially benefit every child in public school today. We may see the Democrats suggest that voting on this is somehow partisan or divisive. The nice thing is that we know as an absolute fact that it is not. Why do we know that? My amendment is for the expanding of 529s for kids with disabilities, for homeschoolers, and for public school students. My amendment was taken up in the House Ways and Means Committee, and it was adopted in the House Ways and Means Committee--and this is important--unanimously. That means every single Republican on Ways and Means voted for it and that every single Democrat on Ways and Means voted for it. The Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee voted for this 529 reform. It was unanimous, bipartisan, commonsense reform. Unfortunately, what happened after that is, when the bill left Ways and Means and went to the House floor, some political leaders and teachers unions got upset, and Speaker Pelosi essentially did a drive-by shooting and, on the floor, took the provision out. Here is the part that is particularly ironic. Do you know the single biggest monetary beneficiary of the 529 reform for which I am asking for a vote? The single biggest monetary beneficiary would be the public schoolteachers. Why is that? It would allow public school students and their parents to have 529 savings accounts in order to pay for tutoring. Who do you think those parents are going to hire to tutor their kids in public school? They are going to hire other public schoolteachers. We are literally talking about millions of dollars for public schoolteachers that you are about to see the Democrats block. I would speak to the members of the press corps. Just once, I would like to see the press corps ask a Democrat: Why are you blocking relief for children with disabilities and their parents? Why are you discriminating against homeschooled kids, and why are you hurting public schoolteachers and stopping public school students from being able to get tutoring and test preparation? It is worth noting that Senator Toomey's proposal is not even that this proposal be adopted. It is simply that we vote on it. Yet the cynicism of today's Democratic Party is such that we are about to see them object to even having a vote. That is unfortunate and it is wrong. I say let's go back to the bipartisan proposal for which every single Democrat on the House Ways and Means voted and every single Republican. Let's work together, and let's actually serve the people who elected us. I yield to the Senator from Pennsylvania.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today to give tribute to a great American, a great Texan, a dear friend, and a 26-year veteran of this institution who has dedicated her career to serving the needs of her fellow citizens. Her name is Shea Woodard Hall. Shea has worked as the West Texas regional director on my team for 7 years. She is now retiring. Shea started working in the Senate in 1993, when she was hired by my predecessor, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson. As West Texas regional director, Shea started with 89 counties in her region. By land area, that is bigger than some States. She could leave her office in Abilene, drive 7 hours north, and still be in her region. That is how much territory she was responsible for. Shea has always been willing to go the extra mile, literally. In her first 3 years working in the Senate, Shea put 75,000 miles on her car. In fact, she has put so many miles on her vehicles throughout the last 26 years that it is probably for the best that she married a local car dealer in Abilene. After 26 years serving 89 counties in West Texas, everyone knows Shea, and Shea knows everyone. From every mayor, to every county judge and sheriff, to every State elected official, Shea made it a point to know them all. In fact, when I traveled with Shea in West Texas, we would arrive at an event, and there was no doubt who folks were happy to see--me or Shea, and it sure wasn't me. Shea is also known in West Texas for her rural tours. They are legendary. You see, Shea's region is diverse. It spans from Amarillo, to Lubbock, to Abilene, to San Angelo, to Big Spring, to Midland- Odessa. On the last tour she planned, an ag tour, we started in Lubbock, with stops in Muleshoe, Fredonia, Dalhart, and Amarillo. If you know Texas, that is one heck of a big loop. On one of the stops, I asked Shea what we would be seeing that day, and she answered: ``Strippers.'' I was fairly puzzled with that response, and she quickly clarified: ``Cotton strippers.'' I was relieved. There are too many stories of Shea helping people in West Texas, but one of my favorite stories is about how Shea helped to bring the B-1 bomber to Texas. When the city of Abilene and Dyess Air Force Base were working to secure low-level training routes for the B-1 bomber, Shea received some questions and some concerns from local ranchers who were afraid that the noise would upset their cattle. Always the steady hand, Shea responded with some West Texas wisdom. She would tell them that the low-level training routes were good for our national security; that they would enhance Dyess Air Force Base as the premier B-1 base in the country; and finally, she would tell them that she hadn't received a single phone call from a cow protesting the noise. I am proud to say that because of her efforts and many others, those training routes remain, and today Texas is one of the homes of the B-1 bomber. Shea has become a living legend in West Texas because no problem is too big and no problem is too small. She wants to help anyone and everyone who calls her with an issue. She often helps people in stressful situations, navigating the leviathan of Big Government on behalf of fellow Texans in their time of need. Shea also doesn't take no for an answer. If she didn't get the answer she needed to help a fellow Texan, she didn't give up. She has been a tireless and effective member of our team. That is her legacy, and I know it will endure. Shea is retiring next month. While we will miss her greatly, she will remain a friend, and she will remain family. We wish her well as she begins her well-earned retirement. The Senate, the people of Texas, and the thousands of people and families whom she has helped over the course of 26 years of service will miss her too. Thank you, Shea, for your work, your determination, your passion, your patriotism, and your love for Texas. Texas says thank you. God bless you. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. On this vote, the yeas are 57, the nays are 37. The motion is agreed to.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, this week marks an extraordinary milestone in the history of humanity. Fifty years ago, on July 16, 1969, the entire world watched in awe as the Apollo 11 mission took off from Cape Canaveral. Four days later, on July 20, again the entire world held its breath as the lunar lander made its descent and as Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin both stepped onto the surface of the Moon. As Neil Armstrong famously said, ``It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'' On Saturday, 50 years will have passed since man first stepped onto the Moon. We are celebrating that as a nation, and we are celebrating that across the world--the 50 years that have passed since. We are also looking forward, with hope and optimism, to the next 50 years of space exploration and America's continued strong leadership in space. I thank my friend Senator Peters for his leadership on this legislation that we have just passed through the Senate. It is legislation that ensures that those artifacts, those footprints, made by those historic pioneers for humanity will not be disturbed, will not be violated, will not be destroyed but, rather, that they will be preserved for future generations so that decades and centuries from now those shrines to the incredible imagination and the unstoppable potential of the human spirit will be preserved for all of history. This is a time of partisan division on many, many issues. Yet I am encouraged when it comes to space and America's leadership in space that we continually see the bipartisan cooperation of Democrats and Republicans working hand in hand. I also commend NASA, in particular, for announcing the Artemis Project. Artemis, as you know, is the twin sister to Apollo in Greek mythology, and Artemis will be the next journey to the Moon that the United States will be undertaking. I am particularly grateful that the Administrator of NASA has committed that when we, once again, land on the surface of the Moon in the coming years, among those astronauts to land on the Moon will be the first woman ever to set foot on the surface of the Moon. As the father of two young daughters, after 50 years, I say it is about time that we land a woman on the Moon. I am particularly proud that it will be an American astronaut whose boots will return to the Moon and that we will continue to make history together. This is a moment to celebrate American leadership, but this is a moment, even more fundamentally, to celebrate what mankind can do--the frontier spirit of discovery and exploration. It is a spirit that should unite us all. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise to address one of the most pressing crises the American people are facing today. Our refusal to address the border crisis is inexcusable. Right now, Texas and other border States are being overwhelmed by thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants who are flooding into small communities monthly. The inaction of the U.S. Congress leaves these communities responsible for paying for where these illegal immigrants will stay, for how they will receive medical care, and for where they will go when they are released. From Brownsville to McAllen, to Laredo to Eagle Pass, to Del Rio, to El Paso, and beyond, Texas communities are at their breaking point in terms of resources and manpower in dealing with this crisis. I am hearing from elected officials throughout South Texas--Democrats and Republicans--that the crisis has reached a breaking point. Our hard-working Border Patrol agents are also struggling with the enormous influx of illegal immigrants. It has been reported that there are now more illegal immigrants in custody than Border Patrol agents on the southern border and thousands more being apprehended daily. Since last October, over half a million illegal immigrants have been apprehended at our southern border, many of them having traveled through Mexico from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Over 200,000 of these illegal immigrants were single adults, and over 56,000 of them were unaccompanied children. During this time, the Border Patrol also apprehended nearly 700 gang members trying to illegally enter the United States. In the month of May alone, the Border Patrol apprehended over 144,000 people coming through the southern border--144,000 in a single month. If that pace were to continue for a year, we would be looking at nearly 2 million apprehensions in just 1 year. That is a staggering number of illegal immigrants for Texas and other border States to take in. Instead of acknowledging that this crisis exists, instead of doing the responsible thing and taking action, congressional Democrats instead have stubbornly clung to open-border fantasies. Speaker Pelosi has called the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants coming through our border a ``manufactured crisis.'' Some of our colleagues on the Presidential trail have called it a ``fake crisis'' and ``fearmongering of the worst kind'' or have said that climate change is a more serious crisis. All I can tell them is to go to the border. The crisis at the border is very real, despite what the Democratic talking points say. Last week, I visited the Rio Grande Valley, as I have done many times in representing the State of Texas in the Senate. I have toured the Rio Grande Valley Centralized Processing Center, the largest immigration processing center in the United States. I also traveled to Rincon Village, which is ground zero for illegal border crossings near Mission, TX. What I saw there was staggering. When I was in the Rio Grande Valley, the RGV Sector Chief told me that in 2014, just 5 years ago, roughly 2 percent of single adult men crossing illegally into the Rio Grande Valley had a child with them. Today that number is roughly 50 percent. It went from 2 percent all the way up to 50 percent. The word is out among traffickers, among smugglers, among others seeking to illegally enter the United States that coming with a child is a get- out-of-jail-free pass. According to the Border Patrol, family unit apprehensions have increased by 463 percent since last year, with increases of 2,100 percent in El Paso and 1,034 percent in Del Rio. I also learned of a recent pilot program that used rapid DNA tests to discover whether these family units were real. Nearly 30 percent were found to be fraudulent in the Rio Grande Valley. In other words, the adults bringing kids into the United States illegally weren't related to the children. One of the most tragic elements of the crisis is the number of children who are being trafficked, who are being physically abused, sexually abused, and neglected. Often they are being used as pawns. That is not all. In the Rio Grande Valley, 60 percent of Border Patrol Agents are now helping to process and care for children and family units. That means only 40 percent are dedicated to border security. More than half the Border Patrol agents in our Nation's busiest crossing point for illegal immigrants are not on the border stopping narcotics traffickers and stopping human traffickers because they are instead changing diapers. Instead, they are caring for children because the volume is so massive. Just recently, the Rio Grande Valley Sector canceled their horseback patrol because they lacked the manpower because they are instead caring for the massive influx of illegal immigrants. On average, they make 30 trips to the hospital a day. On average, in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, one child is born each day to an illegal immigrant who has come over. Last week, 12 people died. This is a crisis. By refusing to address our border crisis, we invite child smuggling and child abuse. That is shameful, and that is a tragedy. We know how many illegal immigrants are being apprehended. We know more and more illegal immigrants are trying to get into our country, and we know Border Patrol doesn't have the manpower or the resources to handle a humanitarian crisis of this scale. It is a fact, and it is a reality that our Democratic colleagues need to face. Nobody who is compassionate, nobody who wants to be virtuous, nobody who cares about other human beings would want to perpetuate what is happening at the border for even a single day. We should be angry. We should be angry at politicians who say this is a made-up crisis. We should be angry at politicians who keep the loopholes in place that ensure that more and more children--more and more little boys and girls--will be abused at the hands of human smugglers. While the passage of the $4.5 billion border supplemental bill a few weeks ago was a good first step, Democrats in Congress need to finally do their job and work with Republicans and work with President Trump to secure our border. We need to build a wall. We need to enforce immigration laws already on the books. We need to reform our amnesty laws to prevent asylum abuse, and we need to support the brave men and women of the Border Patrol with all the resources they need to effectively secure the border. I have introduced legislation to secure the border using the billions from El Chapo's criminal fortune that the Department of Justice is seeking to have criminally forfeited and use El Chapo's ill-gotten goods and those of other drug lords to build the wall. The EL CHAPO Act would reserve any amounts criminally forfeited to the Federal Government as a result of criminal prosecution of El Chapo or other drug kingpins for the building of a border wall and other border security assets. I am also a cosponsor of the WALL Act, which would fully fund the border wall by closing existing loopholes that provide illegal immigrants with Federal benefits and tax credits, all without affecting the benefits and tax credits used by American citizens. These bills are just two commonsense ways to secure the border. Everyone should support taking money away from murderers, from drug smugglers, and from human traffickers such as El Chapo and using it to prevent murder, drug smuggling, and human trafficking--all without costing American taxpayers even a dime or adding anything to the Federal deficit. We also need more judges. We need to close the loopholes in our asylum system. Right now, immigration courts have a backlog of about 900,000 pending cases--nearly a million. Increasing the number of immigration judges and providing an expedited process for asylum claims is necessary so migrants who don't qualify for asylum can be quickly returned to their home countries rather than released into the United States. These reforms are necessary, and they need to happen. We know how to solve this problem. We don't have to ask theoretically because we have seen it happen specifically. In the first 6 months of 2017, right after President Trump was elected and sworn into office, illegal immigration dropped nearly 70 percent. It plummeted. I remember going back down to the valley in early 2017 and asking the Border Patrol agents: Why did the illegal crossings drop? We hadn't built a wall yet. We hadn't hired new Border Patrol agents. What changed? What those Border Patrol agents told me was the only thing that changed is the human smugglers, the traffickers, now believed there was an administration in office that would enforce the law that would deport them if they came here illegally. That one change--the traffickers believing the administration would send them home--dropped illegal immigration 70 percent. Then what happened? Why did we see this enormous deluge we are seeing right now? Well, the answer is the Congress put loopholes in the law that mandate the release of children. In a short timeframe, and under a court decision called the Flores decision, adults with a child get released as well. That process is what is known as catch and release. It means someone who is apprehended is given a court date some months or years into the future and then are let go on the hope that they will magically show up. Far too many of them don't show up. What happened in the summer of 2017 was illegal immigrants would pick up the phone and call their friends or family back home and say: The policy hasn't changed. They still let us go. We still get to stay. There are still no consequences. Come on over. Even worse than that, smugglers learned that bringing a child is the ticket to crossing illegally into this country. There was a portion of the detention facility I saw in the valley that the officers refer to as ``daddy daycare'' because it was simply filled with young single men who had little kids with them. Five years ago, 2 percent of single men had kids. Today, 50 percent of single men have kids because if you grab a little boy or a little girl, you can come over. I will tell you because of the loopholes Congress has put in place, Border Patrol has been forced to release people who are convicted murderers, forced to release people who are convicted pedophiles, forced to release adults with sexual assault convictions and children in their custody. Why? Because it is so expedited that by the time they find out about the convictions, they have been forced to release them already. This is cruel. It is inhumane. When the rapid DNA testing is showing that nearly 30 percent of the adults are not related to the kids, it explains why we are hearing more and more reports of children being rented or sold by the cartels. This has to stop--the political posturing from the Democrats who are running for President and the Democrats in Congress who are refusing to solve this problem. It is past time for those games. It is time to solve this crisis. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. CRUZ. Thank you. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I thank my friend from Virginia for his powerful and eloquent remarks decrying anti-Semitism and implore all of us to stand united with one clear bipartisan voice, Democrats and Republicans all on the same page, 100 to 0, saying that anti-Semitism has no place in the United States of America. With that, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 189.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, today, I would like to thank Senator Kaine for joining with me in introducing what should hopefully be a simple but crucially important matter for the Senate--to issue an unequivocal, direct, and clear condemnation of all forms of anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, we are living in an era where the need for a strong and clear condemnation of anti-Semitism has become acute. We are in the midst of a wave of anti-Semitism seen both here in the United States and all over the world. In just the last few years, we have seen repeated anti-Semitic comments made publicly, including insinuations questioning the loyalty and the patriotism of American Jews. We have seen physical violence against Jews, including shootings in Jewish places of worship, such as the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the Chabad of Poway. We have seen a wave of physical attacks against Jews in the streets of New York. And we have seen the growth on our college campuses of movements to aggressively boycott products made by Jews in Israel. As we have learned this week, things have gotten so bad that the New York Times has announced it will simply stop running political cartoons in their international edition after being criticized and forced to apologize for recently running a blatantly anti-Semitic cartoon. This resolution was also prompted, unfortunately, by the inability of the House of Representatives to come together and vote on a resolution straightforwardly and directly condemning anti-Semitism. Too many in political life have given in to the extremes, including the embrace of boycotts and at times outright hatred for Israel, the world's only Jewish state. So when the House tried to condemn anti-Semitism, sadly, they were instead forced to water it down into a general resolution decrying bigotry of all sorts, listing every group they could think of. There is, of course, nothing wrong with condemning bigotry and hatred in general, but anti-Semitism is a unique prejudice with a unique history that has led to unique horrors throughout history. Jews today are the most targeted religious group in the United States for hate crimes, according to the data compiled by the FBI. We need to be able to acknowledge that clearly and directly, and that is what this resolution does. This resolution outlines how ancient forms of anti-Semitism continue to live on today. It emphasizes that anti-Semitism is a unique form of prejudice stretching back millennia, and it condemns the modern form of those ancient prejudices. It talks about how, for centuries, anti- Semitism has included exactly what we are seeing here today, including physical attacks against Jews, attacks on the loyalty of Jews, accusations of dual loyalty, campaigns to boycott, to confiscate, or to destroy Jewish businesses, and accusations that Jews use money to purchase political power. These are all false and vicious slurs. This resolution also speaks to the unique prejudice Jews here in America experience, which we must acknowledge. I would like to read one clause in particular in the resolution: ``[I]n the United States, Jews have suffered from systematic discrimination in the form of exclusion from homeownership in certain neighborhoods, prohibition from staying in certain hotels, restrictions upon membership in private clubs and other associations, limitations upon admission to certain educational institutions and other barriers to equal justice under the law.'' This is a shameful legacy, and it makes it all the more incumbent that we in the Senate speak in one voice and stand resolved that the U.S. Senate condemns and commits to combating all forms of anti- Semitism. This bipartisan resolution has 56 cosponsors, including 14 Democratic Senators. I am particularly grateful to Senator Kaine for his leadership, which has been pivotal in bringing us together to speak united with one clear voice, and I am hopeful that just moments from now the Senate will come together and pass a clear denunciation of anti-Semitism, 100 to 0, so that we are clearly understood and clearly heard. With that, I yield to my friend Senator Kaine.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I am proud to recognize BG Erik H. Torring III, who is retiring after 30 years in the U.S. Army. General Torring has been a leader in not only our soldiers' health, but the health of all the service animals that support our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines on the battlefield. General Torring's career culminated in his current post as both Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the Army's Office of the Surgeon General and Chief of the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, where he oversees the recruitment, training, and equipment of almost 3,000 veterinary personnel in the U.S. Army. He spearheaded the development of the Army's electronic veterinary records program and maintained standards for food safety across the Armed Forces. For his service to the United States of America, I am proud to recognize Brigadier General Torring and welcome him home to Texas.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today to give voice to a town in Texas. It is a small town of about 14,000 people. In that town there is a high school, a school of about 1,500 students. One year ago, on May 18, a deeply disturbed and deranged student committed an unspeakable act of evil which shook Santa Fe, shook Texas, and shook the entire country. It left our Nation weeping. Just before 8 in the morning, the shooter began firing weapons into classrooms and through doors where his fellow students were taking shelter. Within minutes, the attacker senselessly murdered 8 students and 2 teachers. Their names are the following: Jared Conard Black, Christian Riley Garcia, Shana Fisher, Aaron Kyle McLeod, Glenda Ann Perkins, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Stone, Cynthia Tisdale, and Kimberly Vaughan. I would like us to pause for a moment of silence as we remember these brave souls. Their names will live on. Their killer's name will not. His name is never worth mentioning again. Thirteen others were also brutally wounded, including three substitute teachers. Flo Rice, one of the substitute teachers at the high school that day, was shot five times. I have gotten to know Flo and her husband Scott well in the weeks and months since the shooting. But that day was not merely a day of great tragedy. It was also a day of incredible bravery. Santa Fe police officers did their duty and swiftly engaged the shooter. One of those police officers, John Barnes, was critically wounded in the process. They shot back, and, ultimately, they took the coward into custody. Santa Fe students also proved themselves to be heroes. One of them, Riley Garcia, made the ultimate sacrifice. He held a door shut to give other students time to escape, and he was killed in the process. Other students tended to the wounded and to each other. In the wake of the shooting, Texans grieved with the families and friends of those we lost. We heard stories of terror and stories of hope. I was at my home in Houston that morning. Santa Fe High School is about 45 minutes away from my house. When I got the call as to what was happening, I jumped into a truck and headed down there. I spent the entire day with families who had lost their children, with first responders, with teachers, with school leaders, with a community that was grieving mightily. But in Santa Fe, I also saw a boundless spirit and hope and unity. I remember that afternoon, traveling to the hospital and visiting with a number of the students who had been shot and wounded that day. I remember meeting Clayton, a young man who had been shot just that morning. He had pins in his arm from being shot twice. Clayton described how he jumped over the fence, even after having been shot, and his friends helped to carry him to safety. This young man described how he is a bull rider and a pole vaulter. I asked him if he is a lefty or righty. He said he is a lefty, and that was the arm that was wounded. But he said with a smile: ``You know, now I gotta learn to ride a bull with my right arm.'' That is the toughness and the spirit of these students and their entire community. All across Texas and all across the country, millions of Americans lifted those children and lifted those families up in prayer. You know, it has become politically fashionable now to deride thoughts and prayers. To suggest that thoughts and prayers are not appropriate, I will say this: We should always lift up in prayer those who are victimized by violence, by brutality, by terrorism, by murder. I believe in the power of prayer, and I will tell you that the community of Santa Fe leaned on the power of prayer in the wake of that tragedy. Now, thoughts and prayers are not themselves a substitute for action. In the days and the weeks that followed, I met with mothers and fathers and teachers and students. I hosted Santa Fe students here in the Senate Dining Room. We talked with law enforcement and with first responders. I sat down with the President, and he traveled down to meet with the Santa Fe families. I participated in a roundtable with Governor Abbott, families from Santa Fe and other communities victimized by violence, and officials at the Federal, State, and local levels. We discussed how we could do a better job of protecting our schools and protecting our children. We have lost too many kids to homicidal action, and it has to stop. We have to do much more to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals and to better treat the mentally ill--all while preserving and protecting our constitutional rights. There was a universal agreement in the wake of Santa Fe that, as a State and as a Nation, we had to see justice done and to take every step to try to ensure that such an attack never occurs again. Soon after, I was gratified to hear that the Department of Education announced $1 million in Federal funds for the Santa Fe Independent School District through Project School Emergency Response to Violence, or Project SERV. It is a crucial first step in Federal funding to help the Santa Fe school community to recover and protect all its students, but the story doesn't end there. In addition to a State prosecution, most of us assumed there would be a Federal case against the Santa Fe shooter, as well, because his massive assault was on students and teachers in a public school, and, crucially, because authorities found explosive devices on the school grounds and off campus, including pipe bombs and a Molotov cocktail. To any reasonable observer, this would open the case to Federal explosives and terrorism charges. All of us were committed to seeing the attacker prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Early press reports, however, indicated that Federal authorities were not going to proceed with the Federal case. Those press reports dismayed me--dismayed many--in particular because the shooter was under 18 at the time of the massacre, which means it is likely that the maximum State sentence he would receive is 40 years, which means that, if only State charges were brought, the shooter would be potentially eligible for release at 57 years old. Releasing this mass murderer into society would not be just, and it would not be right. Thankfully, Attorney General Barr agreed, and it has been publicly reported now that Federal charges have come forward to ensure that this attacker is brought to justice and faces the full consequences for the horrific acts of that morning. (The remarks of Senator Cruz pertaining to the submission of S. 1442 are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

Mr. CRUZ. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, as we pause this week to remember the 10 people who lost their lives and the 13 people who were wounded 1 year ago, we should reflect on what has changed but also on what still needs to be done to stop this epidemic of mass shootings and school shootings, in particular. Last year I was very proud that Congress authorized nearly $1 billion in school safety funding--legislation that I was a cosponsor of. That is nearly $1 billion that schools can use to improve school safety, including hardening doors so that shooters can't shoot through the school doors anymore, shrinking the number of entrances and exits, installing metal detectors, and hiring armed police officers to keep our kids safe. That was an important first step, but we need to do more. That is why I am reintroducing this week two important bills. First, I am reintroducing legislation to authorize more funding for school safety and to enable greater targeting of the felons and fugitives who try to buy firearms illegally. If a felon or fugitive tries to purchase a firearm illegally, that felon or fugitive should be prosecuted and they should be put in Federal jail. In 2013, my first year in the Senate, I introduced legislation with my friend Senator Grassley from Iowa to create a gun crime task force at the Federal Department of Justice to ensure that Federal convictions are in the national database and to direct the Department of Justice to prosecute the felons and fugitives who try to illegally buy guns and to put them in jail before they can take the lives of more innocents. Sadly, cynically, Senate Democrats filibustered that legislation. They prevented it from passing into law by demanding a 60-vote threshold. In light of the tragedies of Santa Fe, Parkland, and Highlands Ranch High School, just last week, I urge my colleagues to join me in making this commonsense bill law in this Congress. Let's direct law enforcement resources to stop violent criminals before they commit more heinous murders. I am also reintroducing the bipartisan School Security Enhancement Act with Democratic Senator Doug Jones, which would allow local communities to utilize student support and academic enrichment grants to reinforce school safety infrastructure and technology. Installing metal detectors, bulletproof doors and windows, and establishing an efficient system for communicating important information to law enforcement and to parents are all important steps in improving school safety. I hope we can join together and pass these bills so that our students are safer, and so we can do more to prevent future mass shootings. What happened in Santa Fe a year ago was a tragedy. On the night of the shooting, there was a candlelight prayer vigil in the community at a public park in downtown Santa Fe. Even as you saw families grieving and in unspeakable agony, and their hearts breaking, you also saw people coming together. When I was at the vigil that night, as you wept and mourned with students and parents experiencing the ultimate agony, you saw at the same time students and parents in the community leaning on each other, holding each other, holding each other up, praying alongside each other, praying with each other, and giving thanks for the heroism and strength. I think that is the only way a community makes it out of a tragedy like that. The last year has been an extremely difficult year for the Santa Fe families and the community. That morning is indelibly marked onto that community. At the same time, they have been able to lean on each other, to rely on each other, to support each other, and to lift each other up in prayer. I want to conclude by saying to the families in Santa Fe: We are with you. We support you. We love you, and we are there for you. To my colleagues in Congress, we need to unite together to make our schools safer, to prosecute felons and fugitives before they commit acts of murder, and to do everything to stop this horrific mass shooting epidemic. We need to do it now. End the partisan battles. Focus on the bad guys, and stop them before more lives and innocents are taken.