Orrin Hatch

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I rise in support of an amendment I have offered along with my friend, the junior Senator from Massachusetts. This amendment advances an important priority: protecting student privacy in an era of vast data collection and tenuous security protections. Advances in education technology are revolutionizing the way students learn in today's classroom. Going forward, it is important to balance the need for innovation to allow students to take advantage of the new learning tools with the need to make sure children's private information is protected. We must also ensure continuing to improve education through research, while not necessarily allowing researchers and their employers access to sensitive data. To this end, our amendment sets up a commission to come back with recommendations for how to update our outdated Federal education privacy law. The commission's membership consists of experts, parents, teachers, technology professionals, researchers, and State officials--a broad array of leaders capable of providing diverse perspectives on these issues. Within 270 days, the commission is required to report to Congress on the current mechanisms for transparency, parental involvement, research usage, and third-party vendor usage as well as provide recommendations on how to improve the law to better protect students. As we seek to identify the best ways of protecting student data, this commission will serve to outline some commonsense and effective options for reform that we ought to consider. This amendment has received support from a wide variety of organizations from Microsoft to the National PTA to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, demonstrating how this is a commonsense, bipartisan idea that we can all support. I urge my colleagues to support this important innovation. I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the memory of President Boyd K. Packer--a man of integrity, kindness, courage, and candor whose commitment to Christ defined a lifetime of service. President Packer passed away peacefully in his home last week with his loving wife and children gathered at his bedside. Along with his family, I join millions of Christians worldwide in mourning the loss of a man who served faithfully for many years as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. As an apostle, President Packer's teachings brought strength to the weary and hope to the hopeless. For those of us who mourn, we turn to these teachings to find peace amid the sadness of his passing. Even as we grieve the loss of a leader, we celebrate the life of a friend. President Packer was a man whose selfless nature often masked his greatness, but not even his humility could hide a lifetime of achievement. From humble beginnings in Brigham City, UT, President Packer developed as a teacher and later as a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Packer's upbringing was modest to say the least---his father was a service station operator and his mother was a homemaker. Raised against the backdrop of the Great Depression, he learned from an early age never to take anything for granted, especially the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. President Packer would later defend those freedoms when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II. As a pilot serving in the Pacific Theater, President Packer flew dozens of dangerous missions and continued to serve after the war when he and his fellow soldiers worked to rebuild the shattered nation of Japan. Although President Packer dreamed of flying planes as a young boy, it was during his military service that he discovered his true life calling: to become a teacher. When he returned to the United States, President Packer pursued that goal through his studies, eventually earning a doctorate in education administration from Brigham Young University. He quickly distinguished himself as an LDS Seminary teacher and later became the chief supervisor over the Church's seminary programs and Institutes of Religion. When President Packer was just 45 years old, he became an apostle--a calling he would serve in and magnify until the day he died. Even as an apostle, President Packer still saw himself as a teacher, and he endeavored to expound truth in simple ways that all could understand. The candor and clarity of his teachings touched the hearts of millions, as did President Packer's genuine love for those he served. As a soldier and an educator, an administrator and an apostle, President Packer served in many different capacities throughout his life. But first and foremost, he served as a husband and a father. For President Packer, fatherhood was a sacred responsibility that took precedence over everything else. He was a father of 10, a grandfather of 60, and a great-grandfather of 103. Neither work nor church service could keep him from caring for those he loved most. President Packer always set aside time for his family, and at every opportunity, he sought to educate his children and instill in them the anchor of faith--the same enduring faith that inspired all who heard his teachings. President Packer's devotion to God was steady and unwavering, but just as sure and steadfast as his faith was his wife, Donna, his constant companion and able helpmeet who stood by his side for more than 67 years. In his final address to members of the LDS Church, President Packer expressed tender feelings for Donna: When it comes to my wife, the mother of our children, I am without words. The feeling is so deep and the gratitude so powerful that I am left almost without expression . . . I am grateful for each moment I am with her side by side and for the promise the Lord has given that there will be no end. I know Donna finds peace in that promise, and I pray that her family does too. May God's love might abide with them at this difficult time, and may His love be with all of us who mourn the passing of President Boyd K. Packer.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to talk about an issue that will have serious negative consequences on the lives and the livelihoods of millions of Americans and threaten our already muddled and beleaguered health care system. Ever since the partisan and rushed passage of the so-called Affordable Care Act, I have come to the floor dozens of times to shine a light on the problems associated with this law and to call for a swift repeal and replacement. I have not been alone. Many of my colleagues have been working to make this case as well. Truth be told, this has not been an altogether difficult case to make. Indeed, the data has repeatedly shown that ObamaCare, despite the many claims of its proponents, simply is not working. We have seen more evidence of this in just the past few days. For example, in a recent New York Times article, we all read about the dramatic proposed increases in health insurance premiums due to ObamaCare's expensive mandates and regulations. Now, many plans are proposing rate increases that average 23 percent in Illinois, 25 percent in North Carolina, 31 percent in Oklahoma, 36 percent in Tennessee, and 54 percent in Minnesota. I don't know about the Presiding Officer, but my constituents find this unnerving. After all, one of the President's chief justifications for his health care law was that it would actually bring down the cost of health care. Once again, we are seeing that this is just another one of the many empty ObamaCare promises. But even more frightening than these proposed rate increases are the root causes of the increases. In the recent New York Times article, Nathan T. Johns, the chief financial officer of Arches Health Plan, which operates in my home State of Utah, was quoted as saying: ``Our enrollees generated 24 percent more claims than we thought they would when we set our 2014 rates.'' This, according to Mr. Johns, led to a collection of just under $40 million in premiums, while the company had to pay out more than $56 million in claims for 2014. As a result, Arches Health Plan has proposed rate increases averaging 45 percent for 2016 in order to remain viable. Now, I know this was not at all the intention of my Democratic colleagues who voted for this bill, but it is because of this and a myriad of other unintended consequences that ObamaCare has consistently polled below 50 percent approval since the day it was signed into law. Indeed, according to a compilation by Real Clear Politics, of the 405 polls collected since the law passed in March of 2010, 391 reported a majority of Americans opposing or having negative views toward ObamaCare. Unfortunately, President Obama seems to be disconnected from this reality. In a recent trip to Tennessee, the President called for consumers to put pressure on State insurance regulators to scrutinize the proposed rate increases. He then suggested that if commissioners do their job and actively review the rates, his ``expectation is that they'll come in significantly lower than what's being requested.'' But as Roy Vaughn, vice president of the Tennessee BlueCross plan stated: There's not a lot of mystery to it. We lost a significant amount of money in the marketplace, $141 million, because we were not very accurate in predicting the utilization of health care. Yet President Obama fails to grasp the simple mathematics of the problem. He is not alone. In response to the President's call for scrutiny, the Tennessee insurance commissioner was quoted as saying she would ask ``hard questions of companies we regulate to protect consumers.'' Forgive me, but I fail to understand what hard questions there are to ask. If I own a business that takes in $100 million in revenue but pays out $120 million in expenses, I will not be solvent for very long. What is perhaps most disconcerting to me in all of this are the responses these patients get from officials in the Obama administration. For example, in response to concerns about those premium hikes, Health and Human Services Secretary Burwell recently argued that patients should not worry because there are tax subsidies available to help cover the cost. She also said they could simply shop for cheaper plans on the exchanges during the next open enrollment period. Of course, in a world where insurance plans across the country are requesting rate increases of 26--well, 20, 30, 40, or even 50 percent or more, one has to wonder just how many cheaper plans will be available and how many sacrifices patients will have to make in their care in order to get significant savings. While many seem to believe the Affordable Care Act received a reprieve from the Supreme Court, I think we are actually witnessing a downward spiral of ObamaCare. I cannot help but question what supposed solutions my friends on the other side of the aisle will come up with next. Anyone who is being honest and who is listening to the American people should recognize that ObamaCare needs to be replaced with real, patient-centered reforms that are designed not to control the marketplace but to actually reduce the costs for hard-working patients and taxpayers. I am a coauthor of such a plan, which we have called the Patient CARE Act. This legislative proposal, which I have put forward along with Senator Burr and Chairman Fred Upton in the House, will reduce the cost of health care in this country without all of the expensive mandates and regulations that are causing these major increases in health insurance premiums. I have talked about our proposal many times on the floor. I will continue to do so. I know there are other ideas out there, and I think we should consider and evaluate those as well. Put simply, I am willing to work with anyone on either side of the aisle to fix our Nation's health care system and to protect the American people from the negative consequences of this misguided law. My hope is that more of our colleagues on the other side will eventually see what the majority of the American people have seen for more than 5 years: The problems with ObamaCare are not minor flaws that can be fixed with a little regulatory tinkering. They are fundamental flaws. The only answer is real reform, which addresses the skyrocketing costs of health care in America. With that, you can see that I am very, very concerned about ObamaCare and the fact that it is breaking America. It is not working. Costs are going up in a rapid basis. People are not being well served. The emergency rooms, which were supposed to be spared from all of this, are just full of Medicaid and Medicare patients who cannot find doctors now. Doctors are leaving the profession because of ObamaCare, in large measure, and we can't get help to those who really need the help because of the many restrictions in ObamaCare. All I can say is that sooner or later we have to get off of our high horse, look at this, and look at it in a very effective, nonpartisan way, and either change it or get rid of it and replace it with something that will work much better and will be something the American people can live with. There were approximately 35 million people who did not have health insurance before ObamaCare. That was a big issue. The President has cited that many times. Guess how many don't have insurance now with ObamaCare--how about 30, 35 million people. So has this just been a big boondoggle so the President can take credit for something that doesn't work or are we going to do the thing that we all should as Members of Congress in the best interests of our citizens and change this bill and get one that really does work? With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the U.S. Secret Service and to commemorate its 150th anniversary. In 1865, Congress created the Secret Service to combat the production and distribution of counterfeit currency in post-Civil War America. At the time, currency counterfeiting was a fast-growing and serious threat to our Nation's financial and economic stability. In 1901, following the assassination of President William McKinley, Congress further directed the Secret Service to take responsibility for the protection and safety of the President of the United States. Today, 150 years after the Secret Service's founding, the men and women of the Secret Service continue to serve with quiet confidence across the United States and around the world as they protect our Nation against threats both foreign and domestic. From ensuring the security of the President, other senior government officials, and events of national significance, to protecting the integrity of our currency and investigating crimes against our financial system, the U.S. Secret Service plays a critical role in our Nation's safety and continued success. The contributions, sacrifices, and achievements of the Secret Service over the last 150 years have made the agency an indelible part of our Nation's identity. The five points of the Secret Service star represent the Service's core values of duty, justice, courage, honesty, and loyalty. These values have been the Secret Service's foundation for the past century and one-half and will continue to be the foundation on which the Service's next 150 years--and the Nation's security--are grounded. On this, the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Secret Service, I call upon my colleagues and upon all Americans to recognize the tremendous contributions the Secret Service has made to our Nation's safety and well-being. I also express my thanks to the thousands of dedicated Secret Service agents and employees who devote their time and energy to keeping our Nation, and our leaders, safe and secure.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I rise today as the Senate begins its consideration of the Every Child Achieves Act under the leadership of Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray--two great leaders who have done a great job on this bill. The HELP Committee, under their leadership, has produced a truly bipartisan effort to find solutions to the seemingly intractable problems facing our educational system. I commend our distinguished chairman and ranking member for their leadership and their commitment to prioritizing concrete results over partisan grandstanding. While the nature of compromise means that this bill may not be perfect in each Senator's eyes, it represents an opportunity for meaningful reform for America's schools, and I urge my colleagues to support its swift passage. Ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality education is a top priority shared by all Republicans and Democrats alike. In 2001, I joined 86 of my colleagues in supporting No Child Left Behind to address the shortcomings of our educational system. Despite the best of intentions, No Child Left Behind fell short of true success. Its testing requirements hamper learning by compelling students to take test after test to satisfy the law's various requirements. Its focus on metrics incentivizes schools to report higher graduation rates even if that means pushing out failing students unprepared for the working world. Because of these and other unintended consequences, of course, the current law is in desperate need of reform. With the Every Child Achieves Act, Congress now has an opportunity to correct the shortcomings of No Child Left Behind. Instead of setting artificial and unattainable requirements, the new legislation allows States to set their own standards for success. It defers to local leaders to formulate goals that are realistic and effective for their districts. It puts parents and teachers in the driver's seat, not Washington bureaucrats. For years, States have sought relief from burdensome Federal mandates in education, and many States find themselves in untenable positions thanks to Federal law. For example, my home State of Utah has struggled in the past few years with an impossible decision--either ask for a continuation of Department of Education waiver mandates or fall back on unattainable No Child Left Behind requirements and risk losing crucial Federal funding all together. Under this new bill, States will continue to develop their own standards and will establish their own accountability systems linked to these standards. States will also be able to say what they want their accountability systems to measure and will be able to determine how well their students are doing based on a variety of important metrics. Maintaining the Federal requirement for statewide annual testing is necessary to ensure transparency on school performance and to set a bar by which States can measure themselves in a comparable fashion. My colleagues and I were able to make significant improvements to this legislation through the committee and the committee's process. I was especially pleased to see two amendments I care deeply about adopted by voice vote during the committee markup: the Innovative Technology Expands Children's Horizons--or I-TECH--Program and the Education Innovation and Research Program. Senator Baldwin and I worked closely to develop I-TECH to ensure that technology in the classroom is coupled with teacher support to give students access to a wide range of personalized learning opportunities. By intertwining technology and traditional teaching methods, we can tailor each student's educational journey to his or her individual needs and learning style to boost achievement. With the Education Innovation and Research Program, Senator Bennet and I created a flexible funding stream that would allow schools, districts, nonprofits, and small businesses to develop proposals based on the specific needs of students and the community. Funding for that program will be awarded based on an initial evidence-based proposal, with continued funding tied to demonstrated successful outcomes flowing from the project. It is time we start looking at new ways of investing in education, much like we do in other realms. Money should not be tied to what the U.S. Senate or the Federal Department of Education thinks is a good prescriptive idea. It should be tied to local innovation and clear outcomes. Senator Bennet and I have expounded on that idea by pushing for Pay for Success Initiatives in the underlying bill, as well as in the amendment process on the floor. Pay for Success allows the government to pay only for programs that actually achieve meaningful results. I have offered an amendment to allow funding from the early childhood program to be used in this manner. My home State of Utah has the first-ever Pay for Success Program designed to expand access to early childhood education for at-risk children. The Utah High Quality Preschool Program delivers a high-impact, targeted curriculum that increases school readiness and academic performance among 3- and 4-year-olds. As children enter kindergarten better prepared, fewer students will need to use special education and remedial services in kindergarten through 12th grade, allowing schools and States to save money. We should build on this success and empower other States to do the same. In addition to these cost-saving programs, technology will also improve the quality of education in our country, but advancements in technology must come side-by-side with a conversation on how best to protect our children's privacy. Education technology is a multibillion dollar industry, and it is important to balance the needs for innovation and expansion in schools with reasonable privacy safeguards. To that end, I joined with the senior Senator from Massachusetts in filing an amendment to this legislation to create a structured commission to study important aspects of the convoluted world of student privacy. The primary law governing this realm--the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act--was last updated in 2001. Since Congress last acted in this area, there have been significant changes in the way student information is stored and how outside parties use that information. These changes have led to the introduction of numerous proposals to update this outdated law. The amendment Senator Markey and I have introduced strengthens student privacy by requiring a commission to report to Congress on the current mechanisms for transparency, parental involvement, research usage, and third-party vendor usage of student information. The Commission will also be tasked with providing suggestions for improvement. This process will allow privacy experts, parents, school leaders, and the technology industry to provide us with a clear consensus on how best to protect personal data while not hampering development in schools or access to the important data we garner from aggregated student information. In addition to protecting student privacy, I have introduced another amendment crucial to ensuring success in all schools nationwide. The Every Child Achieves Act asks States to identify low-performing schools and to allow localities to intervene in these schools. One of the greatest tools Congress could give localities in this process would be the power to renegotiate contracts and to reallocate money and policies in more effective ways. Under my amendment, many failing schools would be permitted to ask relief from contracts from vendors and unions, among others. These schools would also be able to renegotiate the terms of these contracts. Currently, school funding is trapped in a cobweb of unwieldy and complicated vendor contracts and collective bargaining agreements. Old, automatically renewing contracts with janitorial services, transportation vendors, teachers unions, and testing companies represent massive locked-in expenditures. Education leaders need flexibility to enable failing schools to get a fresh start--the same opportunity available to successful charter and private schools. Right now, local leaders' budgets and staffing decisions are largely shaped by forces beyond their control. My amendment will encourage more commonsense change from the Federal level to empower localities to act in the best interest of the students they serve. The bill we are now considering will make significant improvements to the quality of education in this country and the ability of our students to compete in a global economy once they enter the workforce. I strongly urge my colleagues to support these efforts, and I again express my congratulations and my support to the distinguished chairman and ranking member on this committee, Senator Alexander and Senator Murray, who have done a really good job in the best interests of children all over this society. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, earlier today the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in King v. Burwell. As we now know, the Court has once again decided to rule against common sense and the plain meaning of statutory language in order to uphold the poorly drafted Affordable Care Act--which, by the way, Justice Roberts says has a lot of ambiguity and poor draftsmanship. Even worse, with today's decision, the Court's ruling failed to hold the Obama administration accountable for its reckless execution of its own law. The plain text of the Affordable Care Act authorizes subsidies only through State exchanges, not the Federal exchange. This decision will allow the administration to continue to ignore the law in order to implement its own preferred policies. (Mrs. FISCHER assumed the Chair.) As Justice Scalia said in his dissent, ``We should start calling this law SCOTUScare.'' Only Justice Scalia would come up with something like that, which I find extremely humorous. Justice Scalia continued, saying: Perhaps the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will attain the enduring status of the Social Security Act or the Taft-Hartley Act; perhaps not. But this Court's two decisions on the Act will surely be remembered through the years. The somersaults of statutory interpretation . . . they have performed will be cited by litigants endlessly, to the confusion of honest jurisprudence. And the cases publish forever the discouraging truth that the Supreme Court of the United States favors some laws over others, and is prepared to do whatever it takes to assist its favorites. I couldn't have said it any better myself. Needless to say, I am disappointed at this decision, as I know many throughout the country are, but at the same time I am undeterred. As I said on the floor last week, ObamaCare has been nothing but a long series of broken promises that include skyrocketing costs, reduced access to care, and more government mandates hanging over our health care system. Today's ruling changes none of that. Just because the Court decided to misinterpret, in my opinion, the statute doesn't mean that the law suddenly works and that all is now right with the world. For the good of our health care system and hardworking taxpayers throughout our country, we still need to chart a new course on health care policy. Unfortunately, with the current occupant of the White House, those kinds of reforms are not currently possible. But make no mistake, Republicans in Congress have a plan to help the American people by repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with reforms that will put patients--not Washington bureaucrats--in charge of their own health care decisions. I am coauthor of the Patient CARE Act, a legislative proposal that would replace ObamaCare with real reforms that would actually reduce health costs without all the burdensome mandates that have come part and parcel with the so-called Affordable Care Act--which is anything but affordable. Moving forward, I, along with the coauthors of this proposal, Senator Burr and Chairman Upton over in the House, will continue to seek input from experts and stakeholders and use every opportunity to give States more freedom and flexibility. Once again, any workable reform must lower costs and put patients first. That is the only way we will end the negative consequences of ObamaCare and help the American people move past this misguided attempt at health care reform. The American people deserve better, and Republicans in Congress are united in our commitment to make sure we do better on health care reform in the future. Now, I had suspected that this is the way the court would decide and it is a big enough bill that extremely clever judges could find a way to rule how they did today. And there are few justices as clever as the Chief Justice. I have tremendous respect for him. And though he used his talents to uphold this law, he did it with aplomb and unparalleled legal skill. I have had colleagues bad-mouth the Chief Justice for this case and especially the Sebelius case. What few of my colleagues remember, however, is that in the Sebelius decision, the Chief Justice led the way to preserve for States the right to make their own decisions with regard to whether to undertake a Medicaid expansion or not. Under Obamacare, the Democrats wanted to force the hands of the States--either expand the program, or you would lose all access to Medicaid funds. That was coercion, pure and simple, and the Court ruled accordingly. And Justice Roberts wrote the opinion, which was joined, at least with regard to the Medicaid expansion, by all conservative justices on the Court. The Court's decision preserved a real and meaningful choice for the States, and States have used that ability to choose in different ways. Some have expanded Medicaid. Some have not. Some have tried to use waiver authority to craft solutions that work for them. This flexibility is how it should work. All I can say is that the Chief Justice is a remarkable judge. He is a tremendous human being. I have a tremendous confidence in him and I believe in him. I differ with him on this opinion though. This ruling will not solve any of the problems inherent in Obamacare, as we can see from the continually sky-rocketing costs of health care and insurance coverage. As I have said, clever judges can find ambiguities where none exist. Clever judges can find ambiguities that others may not be able to find. And despite the Chief Justice's brilliance and integrity of character, we need to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something better. I believe, with Chairman Upton in the House, and Senator Burr, that the Patient CARE Act is one of the best solutions out there. I urge all of my colleagues to read through our proposal and offer constructive criticism. We need an off-ramp from Obamacare to an actually affordable, and privatized, health care system. Only then can we give every day Americans the economic growth and prosperity they deserve. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have been interested in how the Democrats are constantly pushing to get moneys for the Federal highway system. All of us are. Every one of us in this body wants to do everything we can for the highway system. However, they are talking in such big terms that the only way you could possibly reach those kinds of moneys would be with further tax increases. Now, my experience here is that when our friends on the other side call for tax increases, it is so they can spend. Frankly, I would tell you, if we raised the amount of money they are asking for in tax increases, I could tell you all of the projects that are going to be done, and many of them are not the crucial projects in this country. All I can say is that we are going to try to find the moneys, but we don't want to raise taxes, and we certainly don't want to raise the gas tax at this time. We will find enough moneys to do, hopefully, a multiyear approach toward the highway plan. I am dedicated to try to find that way. The other committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, is, I believe, the committee that has passed a bill calling for a 6-year highway program. I hope that it would meet my highest goal, if we could do that, but I don't think we would be able to do that under the current monetary and economic systems that we have today. But, nevertheless, I am going to do my best to try to help to get the highway bill through and to do it the right way.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the progress of the Senate under the new Republican leadership. In the first 6 months of this Congress, we have passed bipartisan, commonsense legislation that has delivered meaningful results to the American people. As we work to return the Senate to regular order--and that has not been an easy thing--we are rebuilding this institution's reputation as the world's greatest deliberative body, something that it has not been over the last number of years. To that end, we have renewed our commitment to the open amendment process and the committee system, which give all Members--from the most seasoned chairman to the freshman--a hand in drafting and improving legislation. The progress we have made is remarkable, especially considering the difficult situation we inherited. At the end of the 113th Congress, partisan grandstanding and festering dysfunction had tarnished this body's reputation. This Senate was beset by gridlock and weak leadership more focused on political messaging than constructive legislation. At the end of the 2014, Congress had a historically low approval rating of only 9 percent and, in many respects, the way the Congress was being run, we deserved it. Americans had every reason to disapprove of what was going on. These persistent low approval ratings reflected the American people's frustration with their Federal Government and the direction of our country under the failed policies and leadership of the President and his party. Under our new leadership, we are working to regain the trust of the American people. Already, the Senate has taken up and passed nearly 40 pieces of bipartisan legislation, and our extensive efforts to restore confidence in the legislative branch are beginning to bear fruit. Consider our legislative accomplishments thus far. At the beginning of this Congress, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the Hoeven-Manchin bill to authorize the unreasonably delayed Keystone XL Pipeline. We also passed my Amy and Vicky act, a bill I authored to create an effective, balanced restitution process for victims of child pornography. Others deserve lots of credit on that bill. In a bipartisan manner, Republican leaders cooperated with Democrats to repeal and replace Medicare's sustainable growth rate. Instead of resorting to patch after patch, year after year--that is what we had been doing here for so long; that is really a tremendous achievement-- we came together to work out a balanced package that both protects seniors and includes important cost controls. It demonstrated the scope of what Congress can do when Members work together, and it represented an important step forward in reforming our Nation's entitlement programs. With regard to that, we paired it with the CHIP bill, which was the Hatch-Kennedy bill for young children who were left out of the health care system, and that passed too. We built on this positive momentum when the Senate passed the Cornyn- Klobuchar human trafficking bill--a very important bill. With this legislation, Congress established a special fund providing victims of human trafficking the resources they need to repair their shattered lives. This bill suffered a number of hiccups along the way. Yet ultimately we were able to come together in a collaborative fashion to overcome our differences. We again bridged the partisan divide when we passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act--a monumental piece of legislation. This legislation ensures Congress's right to oversee any agreement the President reaches with Iranian leaders and reasserts the Senate's valuable role in approving international treaties. Despite our divergent opinions on the Obama administration's negotiation efforts, we were able to devise a compromise that earned the support of nearly every Senator. These are not small achievements. It is amazing we have been able to do so many in these first 6 months. Just last week, we worked together, yet again, in a bipartisan fashion to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, reauthorizing important defense programs critical to our national security--a complex and very difficult bill to handle. And no less than our wonderful Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, handled that matter on the floor, along with the help of a lot of others. In passing this legislation, our new majority did not run roughshod over the minority. Rather, we collaborated with our colleagues in the minority to draft legislation agreeable to both sides. Our bipartisan work hasn't been limited to this Chamber. We have also worked closely with the White House to pass trade legislation critical to our country's economic future. In fact, just a short while ago, the President called me and thanked me. His top Chief of Staff Denis McDonough called me yesterday and thanked me--something that, frankly, I was very grateful for. In fact, yesterday's passage of trade promotion authority might be the strongest evidence to date that the Senate is back to work on behalf of the American people. This bipartisan piece of legislation is one of the President's highest trade priorities because it supports U.S. job growth, boosts American exports, enhances our ability to negotiate trade agreements, and makes our goods and services more competitive globally. TPA will give the United States viable pathways to enter into critical trade agreements with our international partners to level the playing field for American exporters, creating and sustaining more and better paying American jobs. Beyond the content of our legislation, the Senate's return to regular order and an open amendment process is remarkable. At times, it has been difficult to make progress in restoring the Senate as an institution, and the consideration of complex legislation can be a slow and arduous process. Nonetheless, this body has been deliberate and thoughtful in our consideration of legislation. Often, these bills have been considered for several weeks and occupied many hours of valuable floor time. These bills have required dozens of amendments to be considered before they were ultimately put before the Senate for a vote on final passage. Though this process is difficult and often laborious, it is the way things should be done. I have had friends on the other side of the floor come to me and say: This is wonderful. We are able to have amendments again. We are able to do the work of the Senate again. We feel good about it, and they feel good about doing the bipartisan work that we have done. The Presiding Officer did an awful lot of good bringing the Hoeven bill through, and we can name so many others. There are great people on the other side who have cooperated. With regard to that, I think of Senator Wyden, who has worked very hard and very closely with me on a number of bills but especially the trade promotion authority bill, which is the key bill to enable this administration to enter into good agreements with foreign countries that are important to us. Without that bill, we wouldn't have these agreements. We may still not have them, unless they are done right, but at least we can say we have given the administration the opportunity to do it right. Now, in spite of our successes so far in this Congress, there are still many who oppose and criticize our efforts to restore the Senate to its proper function. The minority leader might be foremost among these detractors. I wish to take just a moment to respond to some of his sharp criticisms. In recent remarks, the Democratic leader has willfully ignored the significant achievements of the current Congress, even arguing the Republican-led Senate has done nothing to help the American people. The minority leader's accusation is patently false. He lobs these criticisms to distract the American people from his failed leadership in the last Congress. I happen to like the minority leader. He is my friend. I care for him. But there is no excuse for that kind of language on the floor of the Senate. I have to say he has cooperated and helped do some of these bills. He ought to be taking credit for it rather than lobbing jabs from across the aisle. Contrary to the claims of the minority leader, the current Republican leadership has been remarkably successful at doing exactly what Leader McConnell promised we would do: pass legislation that improves the economy, makes it easier for Americans to get jobs, and helps restore Americans' confidence in their country and government. Importantly, the majority leader has kept his promise of restoring the proper role of the Senate by enhancing deliberation on legislation through an open and robust committee and floor amendment process. To appreciate fully the success of the new Congress, we need only to review the failures of the past. As we all remember too well, under the tight-fisted control of the Democratic leader, the Senate, in all of 2014, was only allowed to take a total of 17 rollcall votes on amendments--17 rollcall votes on amendments in an entire year. Some of the Democratic Senators who were defeated had never brought up an amendment on the floor of the Senate. They didn't have that privilege. They didn't have that remarkable experience. The Democratic leader shut down the amendment process by abusing procedural mechanisms and dismantled the rights of the minority in this Chamber. This dysfunction lies in stark contrast to the way Leader McConnell is leading the Senate today. Under the new majority leader, we have made progress that is tangible, even measurable. Just look at the facts: In the 6 months of 2015, the Senate has taken over 130 rollcall votes on amendments. In other words, the Senate has taken more than seven times as many rollcall votes on amendments in the first 6 months of this year than the current majority leader allowed in all of last year. It is worth noting that a majority of the rollcall votes taken this year have been on amendments introduced by Democrats. A majority of the rollcall votes taken this year have been on amendments by our friends on the other side. They haven't been blocked. This is powerful evidence that the Republican-led Senate is committed to working in a manner respectful of the minority's voice. Additionally, we have considered and agreed to 183 amendments this year. That means we have agreed to nearly four times as many amendments in the first 6 months of this year than we did in the first 6 months of the last Congress. I am pleased the Senate has largely returned to operating under regular order with increased deliberation and an open and robust floor consideration process. The bottom line is that this increased transparency and deliberation has greatly benefited the work of Senators on both sides of the aisle. That said, I think we can all agree the Senate has a lot more work to do. I am hopeful we can capitalize on our recent success by continuing to tackle difficult issues, such as sustaining the highway trust fund, working toward comprehensive tax reform, and improving our Nation's cyber security. These are important bills and we have to work on them. As we work together to find solutions to these problems, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to practice the principle of mutual restraint. Senator Mike Mansfield, the longtime Democratic Senate majority leader, and a wonderful man whom I knew, counseled that the remedy to partisan gridlock in the Senate ``lies not in the seeking of shortcuts, not in the cracking of nonexistent whips, not in wheeling and dealing, but in an honest facing of the situation and a resolution of it by the Senate itself, by accommodation, by respect for one another, [and] by mutual restraint.'' Now, both parties must make certain sacrifices in order for the Senate to function. The majority leadership must generally refrain from bringing divisive and partisan messaging bills before the Senate for consideration and should seek to gather bipartisan support through a consensus. Mutual restraint also requires in most cases the majority leadership to allow legislation to be thoroughly vetted by the committee of jurisdiction and to allow for an open amendment process, which provides an opportunity for all Senators to contribute to the Chamber's work. I remember how the ObamaCare bill was formulated. It was formulated not in the committee of jurisdiction, where we had all those people with all that experience; it was done with the White House, in a small room with just a few Senators who decided this monumental bill--passed only with Democratic support--that we are now all subject to. That bill has been anything but a success. Now, I have to say, all Senators should be able to contribute to the Chamber's work. This duty is not incumbent upon the majority alone. The minority also has to practice restraint, including resisting impulses to filibuster routine unanimous consent requests and insisting on poison pill amendments. The minority in the Senate has powerful rights that can be used to grind the work of the Senate to a halt, but the minority should not abuse those rights. At times, it can be appropriate for the minority to utilize all of the procedural mechanisms at their disposal to legitimately and judiciously disagree with a serious policy being considered by the Senate. However, when the minority deliberately frustrates the operation of the Senate for partisan gain, it is an offense to the institution--and I say that with regard to both sides. My friend the majority leader has been committed to conducting the Senate's consideration of legislation in a deliberate manner, with prudence and restraint. He has renewed and enhanced deliberation and open consideration of serious policy proposals. We have not made a point of pushing Republican messaging bills, but rather we have worked hard to find broad bipartisan consensus. Although it has not been easy by any means, I feel confident the American people are beginning to regain confidence in the legislative branch as it is being led today under Republican leadership. We still have a long way to go before we can restore the full confidence and trust of the American people--at least that is my viewpoint--but we are really once again moving the country in the right direction. This Senate is a dramatic improvement from the way business has been conducted over the past several years. We are not focused on scoring cheap political points but are deliberating serious policy and legislation aimed at meaningful reform. The Senate, under Republican leadership, has passed bipartisan legislation that will improve the lives of all Americans. We are doing the right kind of work, and we are doing it the right way. We are not focused on political gimmicks and pageantry; rather, we are interested in real, substantive policy aimed at strengthening the Nation, our economy, and our national security. We have made significant progress, and we continue to work together to restore our reputation as the world's greatest deliberative body. In the Finance Committee alone, as of yesterday we have passed 36 bipartisan bills out of that committee, which wasn't really allowed to function during the last number of years. It was so bad that Senator Coburn left it. He said we are not getting anything done. Frankly, we weren't. A lot of that was because of the way the Senate was being led at that particular time. I am pleased to say I think the Finance Committee is restoring itself as the greatest deliberative committee on Capitol Hill, certainly in the Senate. In that regard, it has been a privilege to work with Paul Ryan over in the House. In all of our meetings, there has never been any real push to be partisan. It is to get the job done, to do it the best way we possibly can, to involve our brethren and sisters on the other side, and to make sure our side does what really ought to be done in our respective bodies. We are going to have tie-ups in the future, I know, but it was getting so it was in every way. And I suspect there were sincere motives in doing that, in trying to protect the then-majority's side before this year. I understand that. But it went way too far, and it was not the way to run the Senate. We all know Senator McConnell is a strong, tough, intelligent, complete Senator and certainly majority leader. That can irritate some people who don't look at the real facts and don't look at what he really stands for and what he is really trying to do. But I have found him to be fair. I have found him to be fair and deliberate and somebody you can work with as long as you are working in good faith. I would like to see both of our leaders work in good faith so we can do things for our country first and quit worrying so much about who is going to run the Senate for the next couple of years or who is going to win or who is going to get the big headline. Let's worry about running the country in the proper way. To do that, it takes both sides, not just one side, and it takes a deliberative process that elevates the Senate again to the greatest deliberative body in the world. We can do it. I caution both leaders to do everything in their power to see that we do work together as much as we can. When we fight, let's have real good fights, but let's do it over substantive things, not just deliberated procedural matters. But the fact is that we have done quite a bit in these first 6 months. The leader has done a great job in getting us there, and we have had a lot of help from our friends on the other side. I want to keep that system going so we can do even better. I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, we are now one vote away from final passage of our bill to renew trade promotion authority. One more vote and we can finally, and at long last, send this important bill to the President's desk. That vote is expected to take place within the next 25 minutes. This is a critical day for our country. In fact, I would call it a historic day. It has taken us a while to get there, longer than many of us would have liked. But we all know that anything worth doing takes effort. Believe me, this bill has been worth the effort. This is, I believe, the most important bill we will pass in the Senate this year. It will help reassert Congress's role over the U.S. trade negotiations and reestablish the United States as a strong player in international trade. Renewing TPA has been a top priority for me for many years, and as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I am pleased that with the help of Ranking Member Wyden, we have been able to deliver a robust and bipartisan bill. It has also been a high priority for the Senate majority leader. Thanks to his strong support and leadership, we are one step away from completing this important task. This bill will help farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and our entrepreneurs throughout our country get better access to foreign markets and allow them to compete on a level playing field. This bill will help give these job creators and the workers they employ greater opportunities to grow their businesses, which will help create a healthier American economy. The business and agricultural communities understand the importance of strong trade agreements. That is why they came together in strong support of this important legislation. We have heard from all of them throughout this debate. I appreciate their enthusiasm and support. This has, from the outset, been a bipartisan effort, and I am glad that it has remained that way. Throughout this entire debate--here in the Senate and over in the House and here in the Senate again--we have been able to maintain a bipartisan coalition in support of TPA, fair trade, and expanded market access to U.S. exporters. This is no small feat. I am appreciative of everyone who has worked so hard to make this possible. With this final vote, we can complete the work we began so many years ago. But let's be clear. Passing TPA is not the end of the story; it is just the beginning. As chairman of the Finance Committee, I intend to remain vigilant in our oversight as the administration pursues the negotiating objectives that Congress has set with this legislation. If they fall short, I will be among the first to hold them accountable. But that is for another day. Today, I urge my colleagues to help us finalize this historic achievement and join me in voting in favor of this bipartisan TPA bill. If the vote moves the way I think it will, today will be remembered as a good day for the Senate, the President, and the American people. Once we vote to pass TPA, we will then be voting to invoke cloture on the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. This bill will reauthorize and improve three of our trade preference programs: the Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP; the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA; and tariff preferences for Haiti. I want to take some time to reiterate why each of these programs is important. First, the GSP promotes trade with developing nations by providing duty-free tariff treatment of certain products originating in those countries. The program helps beneficiary countries advance their economic development and move toward more open economies. It also helps manufacturers and importers in the United States to receive inputs and raw materials at lower costs. Approximately three-quarters of U.S. imports under the GSP are raw materials, parts and components, or machinery and equipment used by U.S. companies to manufacture goods here at home. The program expired in 2013. As a result, businesses that would typically benefit from this program have had to deal with high tariffs on these imports for the last 2 years. Last year alone, American companies paid over $600 million in tariffs that would otherwise have been eliminated with the GSP in place. Once we finally pass this bill, we will take a long overdue step toward solving these problems. The preferences bill also includes a long-term renewal of the AGOA Program, which lowers U.S. tariffs on the exports of qualified sub- Saharan African countries, encouraging them to further develop their economy. Since AGOA was enacted in 2000, trade with beneficiary countries has more than tripled, with U.S. direct investment in beneficiary countries growing more than sixfold during that time. The program has also helped to create more than 1 million jobs in those countries. The AGOA authorization in this preferences bill will improve on this past success. Some of our colleagues here in the Congress have voiced concerns about the AGOA Program and the failure of some beneficiary countries to live up to their commitments. I share many of these concerns. We tried to address them with this bill. Most notably, the bill creates a mechanism under the AGOA Program to allow for benefits to be scaled back if a country is found not to be making good faith progress on eligibility criteria. We expect the administration to use this new tool aggressively. Finally, the preferences bill will also extend preferential access to the U.S. market for Haiti. As we all know, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The Haiti preference programs support the creation of jobs and stability in a country dealing with debilitating poverty and unemployment. I hope this extension will encourage continued economic development and democracy in Haiti. It is easy to see why these programs have all received bipartisan support. I expect that support to continue. In addition to those preferences programs, the bill we will be voting on includes legislation introduced by Senators Portman and Brown to strengthen the enforcement and administration of our antidumping and countervailing duty laws. As I have noted in the past, antidumping and countervailing duty laws are among the most important trade tools we have to protect U.S. companies from unfair foreign trade practices. A number of Utah companies do benefit from these laws, which allow them to compete against imports that unfairly benefit from the support of foreign governments. I am pleased we were able to include this legislation in the preferences bill. Finally, also included in this bill is an extension of the trade adjustment assistance, or TAA, Program. I think I have said enough about my opposition to this program here on the floor over the past several weeks. I will not delve too deeply into that issue here. However, I do understand that for many of my colleagues who want to support TPA and free trade, passage of TAA is a prerequisite. From the outset of this debate over trade promotion authority, I have committed to my colleagues to working to ensure that both TAA and TPA move on parallel tracks. I plan to make good on this commitment, and today will show that. That is why, despite my misgivings about TAA, and with the entire picture in view, I plan to vote for this latest version of the trade preferences bill. Back in April, the Senate Finance Committee reported four separate trade bills. All of these bills have enjoyed bipartisan support and are priorities for many Members of Congress. I committed to doing all that I could to get all of these bills through Congress and onto the President's desk. While the path has taken some unexpected turns, I think the light at the end of the tunnel at this point is very visible. Once again, we will shortly be voting to pass our TPA bill and send it to the President. Shortly thereafter, I expect that we will pass our trade preferences bill, which includes TAA, and send it to the House, where I think it will pass, hopefully, without much difficulty. Then we expect to appoint conferees on the Customs bill, which will get us closer to the finish line on that important legislation. Needless to say, I am pleased with these developments. I think they speak well of what Congress is able to do when Members work together to address important issues and solve real problems. Once again, I thank my colleagues for working with us on the bipartisan effort to update and improve U.S. trade policy. Most notably, I once again thank Senator Wyden for his assistance and support throughout this effort and on all of these trade bills. He has been a great partner and deserves much of the credit for getting us this far. I also thank our distinguished majority leader for his unwavering support, even in the most difficult times. I also need to thank Chairman Ryan of the House Ways and Means Committee, who has been a coauthor and a key partner in this endeavor. Of course, I thank Speaker Boehner and the House Republican leadership for their efforts in getting us through all the twists and turns we have had to take to get to this point. We also need to give credit to President Obama and Ambassador Froman for their work in building and maintaining a coalition of support for this entire undertaking. Ultimately, I need to thank everyone who supported our work on these bills in the Senate, in the House, in the administration, and elsewhere, but that list is too long for me to go through on the floor. I just hope everyone who had a hand in today's success knows I am grateful for the work they have put in. I hope we can build on this success and that we can find more ways to work together to help the American people solve our Nation's problems. I also praise my chief trade counsel on this matter, Everett Eissenstat, who with his vast foreign policy experience and trade experience has been nothing but a tremendous help to me. Chris Campbell, who is our chief of staff on the Finance Committee, has played another role; Jay Khosla, who is one of my chief policy advisers; and the rest of my staff: Mark Prater, Jeff Wrase, Bryan Hickman, Shane Warren, Rebecca Eubank, Kevin Rosenbaum. I compliment Senator Wyden's staff as well: Joshua Sheinkman, Jayme White, Elissa Alben, Greta Peisch, Anderson Heiman, and Michael Evans. They have worked long and hard and, really, we have had a lot of good days together and a lot of tough days together, but hopefully it will come out all right. I can say without reservation that I look forward to tackling the bipartisan challenges that lie ahead. I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I rise to commend my colleagues on passage of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. This legislation provides timely extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, Program, and preferential treatment for products from Haiti. And, this legislation finally reauthorizes the Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, Program which has languished since July of 2013. I am very pleased we have been successful in this effort. Trade preference programs are vitally important to the economies of the beneficiary countries, supporting economic and social development. And, these programs support production here in the U.S. as many of the goods eligible under preference programs are raw materials and inputs that fuel American manufacturing. These programs build a trading relationship that is the first stepping stone towards developing a full, bilateral trading relationship that will further grow and support the U.S. economy. Particularly for some of our trading partners benefiting under the AGOA Program, we look forward to our trading relationship developing to the next phase, full bilateral trade agreements, during this authorization of the program. But none of this would have been possible without the dedicated work of many people. I would like to recognize the staff of the Senate Finance Committee. I would like to recognize Senator Wyden and his staff, especially Joshua Sheinkman, Jayme White, Elissa Alben, Greta Peisch, and Anderson Heiman. Our work was supported by the outstanding efforts of the International Trade Commission and the Office of the United States Trade Representative. I would like to particularly thank Florie Liser, Constance Hamilton, Behnaz Kibria, Bill Jackson, and Ben Kostrzewa from the Office of the USTR. I would like to especially thank my staff for all their dedicated work on this legislation. Our international trade staff has worked tirelessly on this legislation and I thank them for their efforts: Everett Eissenstat, Shane Warren, and Rebecca Eubank. We have had the excellent support of detailees from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Kevin Rosenbaum, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Andrew Rollo, as well as Sahra Park Su and Kenneth Schmidt. I would like to thank my senior staff: Chris Campbell, Mark Prater, Jay Khosla, Jeff Wrase, and Bryan Hickman. We can all be proud of the broad support this bill has received in both Houses of Congress. This legislation demonstrates that trade is a bipartisan issue. I look forward to President Obama signing this legislation into law as soon as possible.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I would like to take a few minutes to underscore the importance of trade and trade promotion authority to the American manufacturing industry. Despite some claims to the contrary, U.S. manufacturers have been among the principal beneficiaries of our existing free-trade agreements. One in four U.S. manufacturing jobs depends on exports. On average, the wages of those in export-supported manufacturing jobs are 18 percent higher than those of other factory workers. Furthermore, since the last TPA bill passed through the Congress in 2002, U.S. goods exports have more than doubled, reaching $1.6 trillion in 2013 alone. While we hear a constant drumbeat decrying our trade deficits, the United States enjoys a nearly $60 billion yearly manufacturing surplus with our 20 existing partners to the free-trade agreements. Consumers and businesses in those 20 countries purchased $658 billion of U.S. manufactured goods in 2013 alone, which represents nearly 48 percent of all exports produced by the 12 million Americans employed in manufacturing. Clearly, in places where we have free-trade agreements, where our manufacturers can compete on a level playing field, they are winning. We need to build on that track record of success and enact more high- standard, 21st-century free-trade agreements. That is yet another reason why we need TPA. It is no wonder, then, that our TPA bill is supported by manufacturers throughout the country. We have received letters or statements of support from groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the American Forest and Paper Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates, the National Council of Textile Organizations, and many others. On top of that, a number of iconic individual manufacturing companies have weighed in publicly in support of our bill, including Boeing, Cummins, Dow Chemical, Honeywell, Intel, Texas Instruments, Xerox, and, of course, many others. Caterpillar, which is based in Peoria, IL, is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel engines, and gas turbines. Caterpillar knows the value of trade to a healthy economy, having exported nearly $88 billion in goods and services over the past 5 years. They know that if we pass TPA, they can do even better. Upon introduction of our bill, the company issued a statement saying, ``Passage of TPA will provide the United States with the strongest possible hand when negotiating future trade agreements and will help eliminate the current high tariffs and trade barriers that companies like Caterpillar currently face.'' It is not just big companies that benefit. Ninety-eight percent of nearly 300,000 American exporters are small and medium-sized businesses. Let me say that again. Ninety-eight percent of all U.S. exporters are small and medium-sized businesses. There are 300,000 of them. That fact escapes many people. Let me give an example of one of those small businesses from my home State of Utah. Kimber Kable is owned and operated by Ray Kimber. Ray's story is emblematic of the American dream. In the late 1970s, Ray figured out a way to weave audio cables to reduce unwanted noise and improve fidelity. The company he started in his garage over 35 years ago is now a driver of economic growth and a source of jobs. Today, he employs 30 people in Ogden, UT. He sells his cables to the world. Two- thirds of Ray's cables are shipped to customers overseas. Ray is not only a friend of mine, he is also an outstanding example of a larger truth: The U.S. manufacturing sector is the most innovative in the world, and American workers are unsurpassed in manufacturing productivity. Because of U.S. innovation and productivity, where U.S. manufacturing competes on an equal footing, it always succeeds. We can help people like Ray reach more markets and maintain healthy small businesses across America--businesses that will grow our economy and create more jobs--but we can only do that if our trade negotiators have the tools to set fair trade rules for our exporters. That is what our TPA bill provides. For example, a big part of the ability of small companies like Kimber Kable to sell around the world is digital trade. That is why the TPA bill that is again before us directs our trade negotiators to ensure that electronically delivered goods and services are classified with the most liberal trade treatment possible and that our trading partners allow the free flow of data across borders. Using the Internet to market, sell, and transmit digital products is only part of the story. Companies like Ray's are also innovators, and their innovations must be protected. Too many small businesses have experienced firsthand the destructive impact of intellectual property theft. Companies like Kimber Kable have to contend with counterfeiters stealing their company name to sell inferior products. This TPA bill, therefore, will also ensure that U.S. trade agreements reflect a standard of intellectual property rights protection similar to that found in our own U.S. law. The bill calls for an end to the theft of U.S. intellectual property by foreign governments, including piracy and the theft of trade secrets, and for the elimination of measures that require U.S. companies to locate their intellectual property abroad in return for market access. These are strong provisions that will help U.S. manufacturing compete and sell their products around the world. Companies from Caterpillar to Kimber Kable recognize the importance of trade and trade agreements to the future of American manufacturing. They recognize that 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside of the United States and that if we want to sell American-made products to these customers, we need strong agreements to break down barriers and level the playing field. We simply cannot do that without the TPA. We can do better and we must do better for American manufacturers. If we really want to support the American manufacturing industry, then we should vote today to pass this TPA legislation once and for all. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I wish to take a few minutes to talk about the importance of international trade to my home State of Utah and how Utahns will benefit from the passage of the TPA bill. Despite having a relatively small population, the State of Utah is a very significant player in international trade. In 2014 alone, Utah exported more than $12 billion in goods. That number has more than doubled over the past decade, despite the economic downturn that took place during that time. Goods exports account for more than 11 percent of Utah's GDP. More than 50,000 Utah jobs are directly tied to goods exports, as more than 3,400 Utah-based companies export goods to countries around the world. By the way, nearly 86 percent of those exporting companies are small or medium-sized businesses. These Utah exports include a number of key manufacturing exports, including primary metal products, computer and electronics products, chemicals, processed foods, and transportation equipment, just to mention a few. There are a number of Utah companies that I could single out here today. As I said, there are more than 3,400 Utah-based exporters, but let me talk about one in particular--Albion Laboratories, which is based in Clearfield, UT. Albion is a leading, global manufacturer of chelated minerals for human and plant nutritional applications. The company is incredibly innovative, owning more than 100 patents from manufacturing processes to food applications. Over the years, Albion has enjoyed strong growth in large part because of its expanded exports. Today, Albion exports to more than 100 different countries, which has allowed the company to regularly add new jobs to accommodate its increased output. As of right now, the company employs approximately 150 people. This is just one example of the many unique and innovative Utah companies that have benefited from international trade and will benefit even more from expanded access to foreign markets in the future. Now, there has been a lot of talk about the potential benefits of our pending trade agreements with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the European Union. As of right now, more than half of Utah's exports already go to these two markets. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that Utah- based exporters will benefit greatly from the expanded market access they will undoubtedly see if we can get both the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership over the finish line. Of course, without TPA, these two important trade agreements, which are among the largest and most ambitious agreements in our Nation's history, don't stand a chance. TPA gives our negotiators the tools they need to get the best deals possible. TPA gives Congress and our constituents a strong voice in the negotiating process, and, of course, TPA assures that once an agreement is reached, our country will be able to deliver on the deal. Utahns depend on international trade. Utah's job creators, like those throughout the country, need greater access to foreign markets in order to compete. Put simply, they are not going to get that access without TPA. So for the sake of the thousands of Utah companies that export goods around the world and the tens of thousands of Utahns whose jobs depend on those exports--and for the hundreds of thousands of companies all over this country and more--I urge my colleagues to join me one more time in supporting our TPA legislation. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I, as chairman of the Committee on Finance along with Ranking Member Wyden, recognize Thomas Parrott, a distinguished executive at the Social Security Administration--or, SSA. Tom is currently the Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at SSA. He is a dedicated public servant who has served his country for more than 40 years. Tom began his career at SSA in January 1975 as a claims representative in the Midtown Manhattan district office, before being assigned to district offices in Rochester, NY, and later in Redding, CA. He returned to his hometown of Baltimore in 1980 as a policy analyst in the predecessor office of what is currently called the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs. Since that time, he has been in the same component office at SSA serving as the Associate Commissioner for Legislative Development and Operations, as Acting Deputy Commissioner, and in his current position as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner. Tom is a 1972 graduate of Denison University in Ohio, and he completed the Federal Executive Institute's Leadership for a Democratic Society program in 2005. He was appointed in 2008, by then-SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue, to the Senior Executive Service. As testimony to Tom's devotion to public service, prior to joining SSA, he was a VISTA volunteer and a field health inspector in western New York working with migrant farm workers in the potato and apple growing regions of the State. Sequences of staffers in the Finance Committee have had the pleasure of working with Tom on many issues relating to Social Security during his tenure at SSA. He has always been resourceful, insightful, and forthcoming. Tom will retire from the Social Security Administration on July 3, 2015. He will be sorely missed by his colleagues and his many friends on the Hill. He will leave behind the numerous individuals he has mentored and encouraged over the years and who will now carry on this work. Both Ranking Member Wyden and I feel that it is important that we in Congress recognize those who devote their working lives to improving the lives of others. Career civil servants often do their work in quiet anonymity behind the scenes providing vital service to the American people. They are rarely recognized for their many contributions. Tom Parrott is one of those people. His record of leadership at the Social Security Administration and his commitment to providing the American people with effective and compassionate service is a record of which he can be justly proud. Ranking Member Wyden and I wish Tom all the best in his retirement from Federal service and thank him for his many years of dedicated service. Tom will continue in many ways to serve people in his community, and we are all grateful for his efforts. We wish him all the very best in his future endeavors.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, later today the Senate will once again have an opportunity to vote on whether to renew trade promotion authority. The Senate has already considered this issue once and the House has voted on it twice, each time demonstrating strong bipartisan support for TPA. My hope is that we can get to a similar result with today's vote in the Senate. We need to be clear about what is at stake. The United States is currently negotiating a number of trade agreements with some of our most important trading partners in the world. If the Senate fails to approve this bill, neither Congress nor the American people will have a strong voice during these negotiations. As a result, our Nation will not be able to get the best trade agreements possible, if we are able to advance any trade agreements at all. Some people, including some of our colleagues, may be fine with that result. They do not think we need trade agreements to promote a healthy economy. But nothing could be further from the truth. As we all know, most of the world's consumers live outside our borders--95 percent of them. In addition, the vast majority of economic growth in the world is likely to occur outside of the United States over the next decade. If our workers, farmers, ranchers, and service providers are going to be able to compete in these growing markets, we must have open access to these markets and fair trade rules to boot. Without strong trade agreements, neither of these is possible. When it comes to international trade, we cannot stand still. If we don't lead and set the rules of the game, other nations will and our economy will be left behind. The United States continues to be a leader in agricultural exports throughout the world. In fact, we still export more agricultural goods than any other country. In addition, the United States continues to boast an enormous manufacturing base that supplies consumers in every corner of the globe. We also lead the world in technology, digital services, and innovation. Indeed, not only do we lead the world in creation of intellectual property, America essentially created the modern digital landscape. The United States also continues to lead in trade in services, exporting more than $700 billion in services in 2014 alone. That is more than twice as much as the United Kingdom, the world's second highest services exporter. I ask that the Parliamentarian let me know when my 10 minutes has expired.

Mr. HATCH. In other words, we know we can compete on the world stage when the rules are fair and the playing field is level. That is why I am such a strong proponent of this TPA legislation. This bill, which is the product of a great deal of work and a lot of bipartisan cooperation, will have a powerful and positive impact on industries throughout our economy, on consumers, and, of course, on American workers as well. In an America that embraces international trade, I believe even those individuals who encounter a temporary setback can find new opportunities, can out-work, out-produce, out-think, and out-innovate our global competition so long as the groundwork has been laid to give them those opportunities. That is why we need strong trade agreements, and that is why we need TPA. As you can surely tell, I feel very passionately about free trade, and I know many of my colleagues are just as passionate in their opposition. But as Congress has considered this legislation, I think we have had a full and fair debate on these issues. We have been transparent on the substance of the bill and in the way things have moved forward. Both sides have been able to make their case to the American people. It is at times such as these when working in Congress is the most rewarding. We have the opportunity to hear so many different accounts, sift through mountains of data and research, meet with hundreds of interested parties representing thousands of our constituents, and work through hotly contested differences. Then, after all of that work, when circumstances are right, we are able to come up with bipartisan legislation that addresses the needs of our country, our constituents, and our economy. That is what we have been able to do with this TPA debate, which is a debate that has been going on for many years now. I still want to work with those who may not share all my views on all these issues. One way we have agreed to do that is to help ensure that trade adjustment assistance, or TAA, will be extended. As you know, TAA has been included in the trade preferences bill the Senate will hopefully vote on later this week after we pass TPA. I have said many times that I am not a fan of TAA. Personally, I think the program is redundant and ineffective. However, after 38 years here in the Senate, believe me, I am well aware that everything is not about me. I understand TAA is a priority for a number of my colleagues and that it continues to be the price of admission for many who want to support TPA. The Senate majority leader recognizes this as well, which is why he has committed to ensuring that TAA gets a fair vote here in the Senate and a fair opportunity to pass. Throughout this process, we have done all we can, within reason, to accommodate the concerns of Senators. I am very appreciative of all the support we have received from Members on both sides of the aisle. We couldn't have gotten this far without that support. Now it is time to finish the work--to pass this bill and get it to the President's desk. We need this bill to ensure that our constituents' voices are heard in the trade negotiating process. We need this bill to give our trade negotiators the tools they need to get a good deal. And we need this bill to expand access to foreign markets so that we can grow our economy and create new and high-paying jobs here at home. That is what this bill is all about and why we have been working on this process for so long. We are very close to the finish line, and we need just one more burst of energy and a few more steps to get us there. I urge all my colleagues who support free trade, open markets, and the advancement of American values and interests abroad to join me once again in supporting TPA and working with me and with my colleague Senator Wyden to get all the pending trade bills passed in the Senate and signed into law. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I now shift to a different threat we face. Time and again--time and time again--the Islamic Republic of Iran has lied to the international community. The latest evidence emerged in the June 2 publication by the United Nations Security Council of a scathing report on Iranian noncompliance with the Joint Plan of Action. Written by a diverse panel of international experts, the report catalogs a growing list of Iran's violations of multiple U.N. mandates. It deserves to be read widely by all those who care deeply, as I do, about the ongoing P5+1 negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. The lesson to draw from the Security Council report is clear: If Iran continues to violate its current agreements with impunity, how can we expect that Tehran would adhere to a new deal to suspend its nuclear program? This is a matter of plain common sense. The specifics of the report paint a profoundly troubling picture. Iranian arms transfer activities have continued uninterrupted, despite the sanctions imposed by the unified international community. These arms have found their way into a number of regional conflicts, fuelling instability in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere. Hezbollah and Hamas-- Iran's perennial terrorist allies--continue to turn these weapons against Israel and our other allies in the region. Regional violence has been and continues to be Iran's export of choice. According to this report, not only does Iran illegally export weapons and oil, it has also imported prohibited materials and technology, circumventing sanctions. The Iranians have long maintained a robust illicit procurement infrastructure. They have accomplished this through intermediaries controlled by Iranian and pro-Iranian interests, often involving false documentation, shell corporations, and foreign nationals. For these and other reasons, our French allies have now declared that a rigorous inspection regime that includes military installations should be a prerequisite to any agreement. This should have been our position from the start. Additionally, the report describes violations of foreign travel restrictions of high-ranking Iranian Government officials. One particularly noteworthy violation is the case of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Special Forces Quds Force. Earlier this year, General Soleimani met with the Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Just last month, photographs surfaced of General Soleimani surrounded by Shiite militia fighters in Iraq's embattled Anbar Province. I am disappointed to hear some try to minimize these Iranian violations of Security Council resolutions because some Iranian arms and personnel are currently being used against the heinous Islamic State. We must not turn a blind eye to Iranian malfeasance. We must not fall into the trap of accepting Iran's transgressions simply because they are fighting a common foe. In this case, the enemy of our enemy is not our friend. Some of the armed Shia groups fighting the Islamic State are the same groups that were killing U.S. troops just a few short years ago. They might very well try to do so again. A nuclear-armed Iran would be a disaster for the region and the wider world--not only for our Israel allies but also for our Saudi, Egyptian, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Qatari, and Emirati allies as well. With the continuing turmoil in the region and the threat posed by the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups, the world cannot afford a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Considering the hand-in-hand history between Iran and Hezbollah, one could easily translate a nuclear Iran into a nuclear Hezbollah. It is therefore highly distressing that Iran has, to quote the Security Council, ``continued certain nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment and some work at Arak.'' If Iran has failed to sufficiently address even the core cause of the sanctions against them, what confidence do we have in them in moving forward? It is particularly telling that the U.N. expert panel assessed that a decline in reports by member states of Iranian violations results from one of two factors: either Iran has decreased its prohibitive activities significantly or member states have refrained from reporting noncompliance so as not to interrupt the negotiations process. In light of the revelations contained in this report, the latter appears far more likely. As the President continues to push for a permanent deal with Iran's leadership, this report is as alarming as it is timely. Past performance may not universally predict future behavior, but it certainly should be part of the consideration. Moreover, this report is far from the only sign of Iranian malfeasance. As recently as yesterday, the Iranian Parliament voted to prohibit international inspections of military sites, casting into serious doubt its commitment to a workable nuclear deal. Given these troubling moves, the President should explain to the American people what level of confidence he has negotiating with Iran given how it repeatedly violates the international community's mandates with impunity. The stakes are too high to act as if Iran were a trustworthy partner. I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the distinguished Senator from Florida be given 5 minutes and that I immediately follow him with my remarks.