Johnny Isakson

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I begin my remarks by commending Ranking Member Murray and Chairman Alexander on a tremendous due diligence effort to see to it that we finally answered the question that States have been asking for 7 years; that is, when are you going to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act? When are you going to end the day when 82 percent of all educational public school systems have to get waivers from Washington to teach children the way they want to teach them? When are you going to see to it that money can flow to the States and flow to the student from those States, not everything flow from Washington to the student. It is about time we fixed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In my lifetime, I have been in elected office for 38 years. I have been in every legislative body I can legally be elected to, and I have served on the Education Committee in the Georgia House, the Georgia Senate, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate. I don't know a lot about a lot of things, but I know a little bit about public education. In fact, in 1996, Zell Miller, whose seat I now hold in the Senate, called on me to take over the Georgia State Board of Education when Georgia had a major crisis. So I learned under fire. I learned the following: Children rise to expectations, and in an absence of expectations, children sink. That is why gangs attract kids from broken families, because they seek some kind of recognition, and the gang gives it to them. We need to make sure education gives them that recognition, that expectation, and that goal to reach higher and higher standards, but that happens closest to home, not in Washington, DC. It happens where the parents and the children are. The more opportunities parents have to engage with their children--the children see the expectations of their local students and their local citizens--the better off they will be, which is why in the committee I offered the amendment which is included in the body of the Alexander-Murray bill, which allows parents in States that approve it to opt out of any testing they want to opt out of--a parent's right to see to it they can opt out of a required test if the State allows them to do so. Amendment No. 2194, which is before us now, makes sure that provision is in the section of the bill that calls for the parents' right to know. So every parent has the right to know whether the State allows an opt-out. It already lets them know what their child's teacher's qualifications are, what their level of achievement in school is, notice if their child is being taught by a teacher not meeting State standards, and rights as a parent of an English language learner. The bill is specific in all of those areas, telling the parent: It is your right to know if we have an ESL Program. It is your right to know if we allow an opt-out, and if we do not allow an opt-out, it is your right as a citizen to go to the board of education and make sure we do offer one. In other words, we are opening the door for local control the way all of us planned on it being for years and for years and for years. It is time we took the shackles off public education. The Washington weight is dragging it down. It is time our school systems no longer have to come to Washington for waivers and all those types of things, but instead we said--in the case of title I, our poorest kids and among those most in need of help, our IDEA kids, where the Federal Government has a role--besides those two areas, it is time for the local system to see to it they are meeting the needs of those kids, the parents know what the system is doing, and the parents have a right to inquire. And if the parent doesn't want the kid to be tested the way the State is doing it and the State allows it, they should be able to opt out. That is the ultimate of local control. It is also the ultimate of expectations for the child through the parent and the school, not through some Washington mandate. You know the old saying: Education makes people easy to govern and impossible to enslave, easy to build and impossible to drive. Education is the power that leads our democracy to discoveries. Just today in America--or just sometime today in America--Pluto was discovered by an American satellite that was launched 9 years ago. It has been traveling hundreds of thousands of miles a second to go there. That manpower was done in the educational system of the United States of America. There is no dream that can't be realized in this country, but it has to be based on education and knowledge. It has to be based on a country that relishes education, a State that embellishes education, and a parent that is involved with their child. I commend Senator Murray and Senator Alexander for their work, for including the opt-out provision in the base of the bill. I ask and hope the Senate will adopt my amendment to require that in the parents' right to know, that provision is made available to every single parent in terms of what the State does and does not require when their kids go into the public school system. So we have a better informed parent, better local control, less Federal mandate, and a child who has expectations that are raised for them by the parents and the teachers closest to them, not by a bureaucrat in Washington, DC. We live in the greatest country on the face of this Earth. You don't find anybody trying to break out of the United States of America. They are all trying to break in. And when you ask them why, it is because it is a country of opportunity, education, hope, and promise. Today and tomorrow, the Senate has the ability to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which has languished for 7 years without a reauthorization. I hope we will do it and give local systems and local boards of education and the parents the choices they need to make the decisions that are right for their children. I encourage every Senator to vote for amendment No. 2194, the Isakson opt-out amendment and the parental right-to-know amendment. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, before I make my remarks, I would like to commend the Presiding Officer and Senator Graham and the people of the great State of South Carolina on the way they have handled the terrible tragedy that took place in their State. I know time and again we have all heard on the floor of the Senate and in conversations we have had in private the amazing mercy and grace shown by the families of the victims of the terrible tragedy that took place, but equally as well the great way in which the elected officials in the State of South Carolina, led by the Presiding Officer and Senator Graham, have caused a terrible event to be a learning experience for all of America and an example for the way in which tragedy should be dealt with. I want the Presiding Officer to know how much I personally appreciate it, but I know I speak on behalf of all of the people of Georgia as well. Mr. President, I will speak briefly about two subjects. Mr. President, I am one of the two people left in the Congress who had something to do with No Child Left Behind. The other one is John Boehner, the Speaker of the House. I will never forget that night in 2001, in the basement of the Capitol, after the conference committee finally came to an agreement on No Child Left Behind--us talking about how proud we were of what we had done but more how we knew that if we did not get it fixed by the end of the sixth year, it would go from being a positive change in education to a negative. It is now 13 years later. We have gone 7 years without a reauthorization. What became a good goal of meeting adequate yearly progress, setting standards for schools, and remediating schools that were in trouble has become a bill where 80 percent of the school systems in America have to ask for waivers to even operate. It is a bill that no longer is doing what it was intended to do for the education of our children. I commend Senator Alexander and Senator Murray for the unbelievably good work they have done to bring the new reform of the ESEA to the floor of the Senate today. I participated in all the hearings, as did the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer knows what I know: that we brought about compromise and common sense. We created a bill that is good for children, good for educators, and good for America. First and foremost, it gets us out of the national school board business, which is Chairman Alexander's favorite statement for the Department of Education. People forget that the U.S. Department of Education is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution of the United States. It is mentioned in two places. One is in title I in the Civil Rights Act of the 1960s when we provided funds for free and reduced-price lunches for poor students to give them a leg up and second in 1978 when, in the Carter administration, we passed what was known as Public Law 94-192, which created special needs children benefits or what is known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Those are the only two places in statute that the Federal Government has a role. Senator Murray and Senator Alexander have seen to it that we recognize that fact. We enhance education where we are supposed to, but we turn it back over to the States, where it belongs and where it should be. Secondly, one of the big buzzwords in bad brand labels that have taken place in education is Common Core. Common Core is a lot of things to a lot of people, but most importantly for many people it is a Federal mandate of standards, it is a homogenization of standards, and it is a mandate the American people do not like. This bill ensures there will be no Common Core mandate by the Federal Government to the States and ensures local control of curriculum from beginning to end. Then, as I said a minute ago, to ensure that it gives local control, it does away with the waiver business and puts all local school boards and State boards of education in control of their education. On the question of testing, it does away with federally mandated tests and says to systems: You develop the test and the assessment mechanism yourself. We just want you to have standards that are made good for students to improve and grow their education. But we want to make sure that every student has the access they can to be tested well and improve. For example, we have done some creative things in this bill, such as give assisted technology funding capability out of title I to handicapped children in title I qualifications so they can use assisted technology to take exams they otherwise could not take. A student with cerebral palsy, Duchenne, or many other diseases does not have the coordination ability to take a paper-and-pencil test; yet they can be bright, they can be a genius. Because of technology that has been developed in America, assisted technology can allow them to take that exam given the disabilities they have. It is only appropriate we authorize the use of title I funds to do that. Most importantly, though, we keep the parent in control of their child's life by giving them the permission to opt out of any State test that is mandated where the State allows an opt out, which means the parent is in control of the testing, the State is in control of the assessment and the type of model that takes place, and the Federal Government is saying to the local schools and State boards of education: You take our children to the next level. We will assist you, but we are not going to govern you, we are not going to ruin you. I commend Senator Alexander and Senator Murray for bringing together a bipartisan approach to education reform that works. I thank the American Federation of Teachers, the national association of educators, the National Association of School Superintendents, and the National Governors Association. Every vested organization in education in the United States of America has endorsed this bill. They have because they know it is time for education to be enhanced and improved from the local level up. They know the benefits that may have come from No Child Left Behind have long since passed. We are now disaggregating, we are now measuring, and we are doing all the things we should have been doing all along. Let's take what is a good platform and make it even better to ensure that every child learns, every child progresses, and every child succeeds. Military Cuts Mr. President, I want to make note of the announcement today by the Department of Defense on the dramatic cuts to our military--40,000 people over the next 2 years. Mr. President, I am a pretty easygoing guy, but I am really angry. I am really mad. I know it is ironic to me--and it is one of the reasons I put a hold today on an appointment--but it is ironic, on the day we all learn by reading the newspaper, not by being advised by the Department of Defense, that we are going to lose 40,000 soldiers over the next 2 years--Georgia is going to lose 4,350 soldiers over the next 2 years. Nobody did the courtesy of calling us. But on the day when they did not call us, they also send up for confirmation a legislative affairs official for the U.S. Department of Defense in the administration. I have a hold on that person for one simple reason: I want to meet with them and to see to it that if they in fact do get in control of congressional liaison and congressional affairs, they make sure we are the first to find out, not the last to find out. Our military is critically important to my State, as it is to the Presiding Officer's State. It is important that we know what the government's plans are, and it is important that we have a chance to have a say. I know the President does not like to use the legislative body very much. He would rather regulate and do Executive orders. But when you talk about our military and you talk about the investment in our military, every Member of this Senate, every Member of the House-- all of us ought to be together with all our oars in the water rowing in the same direction, not in misdirection. I want to make one note here. It is also ironic that last week the President for the first time went to the Pentagon to talk about the strategy in the Middle East, particularly with regard to ISIL. It took 18 months to go talk about a situation that has grown from being an irritant to a crisis. When we left Iraq and left all the equipment that we had there and left the Iraqis to fend for themselves, we created a vacuum. And what happened? In came ISIL. And now they are in 16 countries in the Levant and in the Middle East right now. We created a vacuum that they filled and are continuing to fill, and we are talking about reducing our manpower over the next 2 years to a point that we no longer can confront an enemy on two fronts; we are going to have a tough time doing it on one. A vulnerable and a weak American defense and military allow and encourage people who might have nefarious goals and dreams to take advantage of America's weakness. We should be very careful about diminishing our resources and our military to levels that are not in the best interest of the American people or their security. I want to ask the administration to be sure to give us information in advance rather than after the fact, to include us wherever possible in the decision, and to see to it that the Congress is once again a partner with the Commander in Chief and to see to it that we confront our enemies and have the manpower and the troops to do it. I, for one, have thought for a long time that we should be doing more to confront ISIL in the Middle East. I think that is being borne out every day. Hopefully the President is coming to that realization as well. But whatever we do, we should not be telling the world we have problems but we are going to cut some more. It is time we made an investment in the security and peace of our country and our military, and it is time we worked together--the President and Congress alike--to do what is right for America, its defense and its freedom and its liberty, which we just celebrated over the past weekend on July the 4th. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time and defer to the Senator from Ohio.

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the distinguished Senator from the State of Ohio, Mr. Brown, be recognized at the conclusion of my remarks.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on the nomination of Dr. David J. Shulkin to be the next Under Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. I was pleased that Dr. Shulkin's nomination was confirmed by the Senate last night. The Veterans Health Administration, which he will oversee, has not had a permanent leader for more than 1 year. In my view, it is important to have permanent leadership in place to address a number of ongoing issues at the Veterans Health Administration, including properly implementing the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, to give veterans the option of accessing care in their communities and ensure managers are held accountable for any lapses in customer service; improving care and support for victims of military sexual trauma; helping to eradicate homelessness among veterans; ensuring that veterans have access to timely and adequate mental health care; reducing the systemic problems with over- prescription of opioids; and providing appropriate gender-specific services for the growing population of women veterans. Dr. Shulkin has roughly 20 years of experience serving in leadership roles at hospitals and health care systems. I hope he can use that experience to provide the stability and leadership needed to start overcoming the serious challenges that the Veterans Health Administration continues to face. Providing a permanent leader is a significant step in ensuring that the Veterans Health Administration is providing our Nation's veterans with the level of care and service they have earned and they deserve. I thank my colleagues for their assistance in filling this important role at VA.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, before he leaves the floor, I thank the distinguished Senator from Wyoming, a physician himself, not just for his good remarks today but for his litany of good remarks throughout the debate on the Affordable Care Act. For 6 years he has been an outspoken voice for what is right for the American people and what the American people want, which is affordable, quality health care. I appreciate his contribution, not just to the debate today but to the debate we have had in the past and the one we are about to have in the future. He is right that we must come together--Republicans and Democrats alike--and make sure that the broken promises of the Affordable Care Act are fixed; that affordable, accessible, quality health care is available to the American people; that it is deliverable by private industry and by private and competitive free enterprise system; and that government mandates that force prices up and quality down go away. So I thank the Senator for his contribution and all the great work he does. He is not quite as old as I am, but he might like the movie I like, ``Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'' There is a great line in ``Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' where they are sitting in a cave after having robbed a bank. Butch looks over at Sundance and says: ``Boy, I just love it when a plan comes together.'' Well, 6 years later, as we look back on the Affordable Care Act, the plan is unravelling. It is costing the American people more. Health care is less accessible. Deductibles are higher. It is time that we fix it and that we fix it right. If the King v. Burwell case is decided--as it will be in the next few weeks--we have an obligation to keep the first promise the President did not keep. Do you remember? President Obama said: If you like your insurance, you can keep it? If Burwell loses and if King wins and the Court rules that the subsidies are illegal, approximately 9.5 million Americans who have gotten insurance and have it through subsidies through the Affordable Care Act would be threatened to lose their insurance immediately upon its decision. We can't let that happen. We have to see that we build a bridge from where we are today to a future of better health care, more accessible health care, and more affordable health care. So we must remember as Republicans, who have so often criticized the President for that remark that if you like your health care you can keep it, to make sure that we don't become an unwitting accomplice in this decision if King wins, by, first and foremost, assuring the 9.5 million who have coverage that we will work to see that you can keep your coverage and that you have a bridge to a better, more competitive, more affordable health care system. It is important for us to remember that. No. 2, it is important for us to remember that we can't recreate a system that the President created in terms of paying for the health care. Have you ever thought about how the Affordable Care Act is paid for? It is paid for in the following ways: higher copayments, less benefits, and higher premiums. But even worse, there is a revenue system that actually punishes free enterprise, an 85-percent medical loss-ratio mandate which cut out every private sector insurance salesperson who sold medical plans to the American people, because when you take 85 percent as the maximum loss ratio, then you only have 15 percent for administration. There is nothing left to compensate someone for selling the policy. No. 3, when we were short $19 billion, the President decided to create the HIT tax. What is the HIT tax? It is an arbitrary tax against small and medium-sized group medical companies, charging them not only on their premiums, not only on their revenues but on their percentage of market share. Where in the world has the government ever decided to take market share as an indicator of how much you pay? It makes no sense unless you were trying to find dollars to make sense. And the President did it. I can go over litany after litany after litany. The medical device tax on orthopedists deals with devices in everything that they do. The medical device tax is not a tax on net profit on medical devices. It is a 2.3 percent surcharge on the gross revenues of the device manufacturer. I tell the story about my visit to South Africa 2 years ago. I got a call from our Governor. He said: You are in Johannesburg, South Africa. Would you go to the chamber of commerce there and visit with a Georgia company from Kennesaw, GA, a small medical device manufacturer that is selling their products. Just tell them thank you for their business. I said sure. I went by that evening for a reception, found the gentleman from Kennesaw, and said: Thank you so much for doing your business in Georgia. He said: Oh, I have moved. I said: Oh, I am sorry. The Governor's office called me. He said: Well, I just announced that I am moving this week. They don't know it yet. I said: Where are you moving? He said: Madrid. I said: Madrid, Spain? He said: Yes. I said: Why? He said: Because the medical device tax is making it impossible for me to do what I need to do in terms of innovation, in terms of marketing, and in terms of distribution. So it was an ill-conceived act with the best of intentions but the worst of results. How bad? It is just like what Senator Barrasso said a minute ago. In Georgia, one plan is going up 38 percent--one plan. That is the highest we know of--not 4, not 10, not 17 but 38 percent. There are 10,796 Georgians who have that plan who now have the alternative of going to find something else or paying 38 percent more. I don't know about everybody else, but wages aren't growing by 38 percent, and opportunity is not growing by 38 percent. But the cost of your health care, which you want to have, goes up 38 percent and you have to find a way to pay it. What does that do? It hurts the economy, it hurts family, and it hurts the American people. So as we look at the results of what is going to happen with King v. Burwell, if King is ruled in favor of and the courts throw out the subsidies on the Affordable Care Act, we need, first of all, to do no harm. We need to make sure that nobody arbitrarily, immediately loses the insurance that they planned on. We need to keep the promise President Obama made and never kept. That is No. 1. No. 2, we need to get everybody in the same room--Republicans and Democrats alike, providers and beneficiaries alike. Let's build a health care system for the 21st century for America that rewards the best health care system in the world by allowing it to innovate, by encouraging it to compete, and not making arbitrary decisions on cost and taxation that drive people out of the marketplace and out of business. I am at that age where I care about my health care. I enjoy my health care. I like the policy I have. It costs me a lot more than it did before the Affordable Care Act. Health insurance is important. But there is a limit to what I can absorb. There is a limit to what the American people can absorb, and there is a limit to what government can do to try to fit a square peg in a round hole. I learned in Boy Scouts that doesn't work. The Affordable Care Act is a square peg that for 6 years we have tried to fit in a round hole, and it doesn't fit. It is time that we rounded that peg, took into consideration the American people, the taxpayers, the patients, and the physicians and did what is right for the American people. Don't break our promises. Let's keep our promises. Let's allow them to have the choice of insurance policies that, once they buy them, they can keep and a system that doesn't mandate increases but instead encourages competition, quality, and makes sure it is health care the American people want, is accessible, affordable, available, and delivered in a competitive, free enterprise market by the private sector. I yield the floor.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. I know we are about to adjourn for lunch, but I have to come to the floor and pay the Senator a great compliment. For the last 6 days, the Senator has tried to illuminate some misperceptions and, quite frankly, half-truths that have been talked about in terms of the NSA program. You have provided great information to the Senate and to the people of the United States of America, and I think it is ironic-- and I do not believe the Senator from Indiana knows this--but today in the Finance Committee at 10:30 we had a hearing before the IRS Commissioner, Mr. Koskinen, who was trying to explain what the IRS was doing with the 104,000 identities that were stolen from the IRS, which included the Social Security numbers, church contributions, home residences, rent payments, debts, obligations, the entire amount of information of 104,000 American citizens. Nobody is talking about giving the IRS to the phone companies. Nobody is talking about the amount of information the IRS has and whether the government abuses or uses it. And here we are worried about 41 individuals who have the ability to know 2 telephone numbers, the origination of a call and the duration of that call, without its association to a name, unless a judge says it is OK. I think there has been a lot of misdirection this week. The American people are starting to listen. I think the Senator from Indiana has done a great job of illuminating the truth behind this issue. We have a great country. You do not find anybody trying to break out of the United States of America. They are all trying to break in. They are because we are safe and secure. I commend the Senator for fighting for the safety, the security, and the rights of the American people. I yield back.

Mr. ISAKSON. Will the Senator from Indiana yield?

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, responding through the Chair to the Senator from Kansas, his language is precisely the language that was introduced by the committee in the Senate, which we were going to send to the House, but it got lost in the negotiations on the extension of the authorization in the House. A technical difficulty is the only reason it wasn't already a part of it. I wholeheartedly endorse everything the Senator from Kansas said and pledge to him that if for some reason the House does not adopt the language, we will take it up immediately in the Senate when we have our next markup meeting in the Veterans' Affairs Committee and take care of it. I personally wish to acknowledge Senator Bennet and Senator Gardner for all the work they have done. We went to Colorado together to visit the VA hospital, which is the genesis of where this motion comes from. They have been champions for this, and I am glad we are reaching a resolution in the motion that will be made shortly to adopt the House position on the authorization. We will see to it that the hospital in Denver remains open until we can solve the problems we have in the Denver hospital. I thank the Senator from Kansas for his cooperation, and I commend him on his language. I confirm everything he said as being accurate, true, and correct.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, as Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee in the Senate, and on the eve of Memorial Day, I think it is appropriate that we pause for a moment. We debate as Democrats and Republicans today on the floor of the Senate currency, trade, national security, fast-track, and the issues of the day in a contentious debate. We do so freely. We do so without fear of retribution. We do so when we go home tonight knowing we are at peace and comfort and knowing that we are in a safe nation. We are because of the men and women who have worn the uniform, sacrificed, and given their lives so America could exist today. I think it is only appropriate that each of us on the Senate floor take a moment to pause and give a prayer for our soldiers who risked their lives and gave their lives for our country. For me, as the Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I make an effort to go to the American cemeteries all over the world to make sure we are still taking care of them and honoring those who sacrificed the way they should be honored. I want to share with the Senate a brief story to point out how important Memorial Day really is. On Memorial Day in May of 2007, I went with Senator Burr and other Members of the Senate to the American Cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands where over 8,000 Americans are buried who fought in the Battle of the Bulge to root the Nazis out of Germany and liberate the Jews from concentration camps. They were successful, but they died. I walked down the rows of crosses and Stars of David looking at each name--ostensibly looking for Georgians so I could say a brief prayer for them. I came to the end of row H, toward the back of the cemetery, the last cross in that cemetery, and it said the following: Roy C. Irwin, New Jersey, died December 28, 1944. A tear welled up in my eye because that was the day I was born. Mr. President, 70 years later I have existed as a free person in a free society, been elected to the United States Senate, served in the military, raised a family, have had nine grandchildren, and have had all of the joys everybody in the Senate has had thanks to people like Roy C. Irwin, who on the day I was born died on the battlefield of the Battle of the Bulge in the Netherlands while fighting for democracy, freedom, the liberation of Europe, and saving the Jewish people. No matter what we debate or how contentious it gets, we must remember what Memorial Day is all about. It is about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for you and me to engage in this debate and to move our country forward. One other point. We should say a special prayer for the parents of those young Americans who fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan and the current wars today. We had a tragedy with the fall of Fallujah, and we had a tragedy with the fall of Ramadi. We need those parents to know their sons and daughters did not die in vain; they died for a cause that ultimately will prevail because we, as Senators, will see to it that America does what America always does, and that is liberate the oppressed of the world and only ask for one thing when we leave, and that is a couple of acres to bury our dead who sacrificed for democracy, freedom, and liberty. On this Memorial Day, as chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I say thank God for the American soldiers who fought and died for our country, and thank God for the United States of America. I yield back my time.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, it is an honor today to personally recognize Mr. Joe Lombardo, who will soon retire from Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, GA for his significant contributions to the aviation industry. His forethought, leadership, and commitment to improving the industry are evidenced in his 40 years of hard work. Beginning in 1975, Mr. Lombardo helped pave the way for the future of flight. He started at Douglas Aircraft, a division of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, working on the DC-10/MD-11 Trijet program Mr. Lombardo was later responsible for the MD-88/MD-90 Twinjet production operation. In 1996, after 20 years at Douglas Aircraft, Mr. Lombardo joined Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah. There he held positions as the vice president of coproduction and the chief operating officer. He also served as president from 2007 to 2011 and as the executive vice president of the Aerospace Group for General Dynamics, Gulfstream's parent company. During his tenure at Gulfstream, Mr. Lombardo was instrumental in the coproduction of the Gulfstream IV-SP and Gulfstream GV and the development of the Gulfstream G650 and the Gulfstream G280. Mr. Lombardo's contributions extend to his community where he served on the Corporate Angel Network's board of directors and as the chairman of the Board of Governors of Ocean Exchange. He is the recipient of the National Management Association's Silver Knight Award and was awarded the Cliff Henderson Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association in 2012 for his aviation leadership. It is my pleasure to join Mr. Lombardo's colleagues, family, and friends in celebrating his dedicated career and his many contributions to the aerospace industry and community.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I would like to talk about Roy Roberts from Walton County, GA. It is not often that a Senator from Georgia rises to pay tribute to a Kentucky basketball player, but Roy Roberts played for the famous Adolf Rupp in the 1960s and was an All-SEC basketball player for the University of Kentucky. He was a great player and made many all-star teams and received many awards, but he came back to Georgia to ranch and farm 1,000 acres, raise Hereford cows, and, with his two brothers, make Walton County, GA, the centerpiece of our State. He has annually participated in many things that involve politics and public involvement in Walton County and has helped to lead Walton County to be one of the leading Republican counties in the State of Georgia. Most notable is the Roy Roberts annual barbecue, which takes place next Tuesday in Walton County, GA, where over 1,000 Georgians and Presidential candidates from all over the country will come to meet at Roy Roberts' farm, enjoy a little barbecue, and enjoy the best of grassroots politics. Were it not for people like Roy Roberts, we wouldn't have the body politic we have, we wouldn't have the democracy we have, and Georgia would not be the great State it is. I am pleased to rise today and commend to everyone the work of citizen Roy Roberts, a great American, a great Georgian, and a pretty doggone good basketball player for the University of Kentucky. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. ISAKSON

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

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, it is not often that anyone comes to the floor of the Senate to praise a journalist one way or another; but in Georgia, on the 31st of May of this year, Sonny Dixon of Savannah, GA, will retire after 18 years of being the anchor at WTOC in Savannah, GA. Sonny Dixon is a rare breed indeed in terms of political reporters because he has actually been in elected office, serving for years in the Georgia Legislature, some of those years with me. I know him as a friend, I know him as a professional, and I know him as coastal Georgia's best anchorman, period. He was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Associated Press award for best anchor in Georgia. He has been recognized by everyone who can do so for his professionalism, his knowledge, his skill, and his talent. It is a privilege for me to acknowledge today on the floor of the Senate his 18 years of service as an anchor, his 10 years of service in the Georgia Legislature, and his lifetime of commitment to the greatest State of all, the State of Georgia, to the betterment of his community, to the betterment of Savannah, the first capital of the State. So as we take this moment in time to pause, I want to congratulate Sonny Dixon on a great career and a great recognition that is well earned.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. I yield back my time and the remainder of the majority time.

Mr. ISAKSON. I thank the distinguished ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and my dear friend Senator Leahy for all his help and for his kind remarks. Sally Quillian Yates would not be before us if it were not for the Senator from Vermont. He has been great in the process. I think it is fortuitous and it is a good omen that the junior Senator from Georgia is the Presiding Officer at a time when we will elect the Deputy Attorney General, Sally Quillian Yates, to her position. Sally Quillian Yates is a human being I have known for almost 40 years. For 25 years, she has been the lead prosecutor in the Northern District of Georgia. She has been an equal opportunity prosecutor--she has prosecuted Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Olympic Park bombers, anybody who violated the public trust. Any abuse of power, Sally Yates has gone after them, and she has won. She is fair. She is smart. She is intelligent. As a Georgia Bulldog--I realize the junior Senator is from Georgia Tech, so I am going to throw this in--as a Georgia Bulldog, she is what we call a double dog. She has her bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Georgia and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia Law School. Sally Quillian Yates is a great Georgian who will become a great Deputy Attorney General of the United States of America. I commend her to each of our colleagues and ask the Senators to vote and send a unanimous vote for Sally Quillian Yates to be Deputy Attorney General. The distinguished chairman of the committee is coming to the floor. Let me end my remarks by saying that Senator Grassley has been of immeasurable help in ensuring that Sally Quillian Yates gets to this position. I thank the Senator for his support. Unless he has something to say, I yield back the remainder of our time.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. I would prefer to propound the question first. Mr. Leader, as I understand it, the Africa bill and the trade enforcement bill will be in tandem together and not subject to amendment, and then we will go to TPA and TAA, which will be open to amendments; is that correct?

Mr. ISAKSON. While I do not rise with the intention of objecting, may I propound a question to the majority leader?

Mr. ISAKSON. In that case, I will not object, but I ask unanimous consent that Senator Coons and I be able to make a 1-minute statement.

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, in the committee on the AGOA Act, we put in an amendment to ensure an in-cycle and out-of-cycle review of South African trade practices vis-a-vis poultry and other issues important to the United States. We would have offered an amendment on the floor had it been possible without this UC, but with this UC coming forward and not objecting, we have gotten permission to talk to Ambassador Froman, who has assured us he is willing to instigate an out-of-cycle review immediately or whenever necessary to review the trade practices of South Africa vis-a-vis poultry. I commend him on doing that and wanted to memorialize that in the Record. I yield to Senator Coons for the purpose of confirmation.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. I object.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, Thursday a week ago I had the privilege, as a member of the Finance Committee, to serve on the markup of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, trade promotion authority, and trade adjustment and assistance. This past Saturday, I was given the opportunity to give the Republican response on the radio, and I talked about trade promotion authority. I have been privileged to be ranking member and chairman at one time of the African Affairs Subcommittee. I have traveled back and forth to the continent of Africa, seen the opportunities for trade, business, and exchange with the African people. I came to the Congress in 1999. In that year, I voted for trade promotion authority for President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Later, I voted for trade promotion authority for President Bush, a Republican. And I proudly will vote for trade promotion authority for President Obama, a Democrat, because trade is not a partisan issue. It should not be nor should it ever be a partisan issue. It should be an issue of the American people's employment opportunities and jobs in the future. Trade is the cement that holds together the diplomacy and the agreements between countries to work together, play together, and not fight together and not have armed conflict. Trade is important to the security of the United States of America and, in fact, the rest of the world. But I don't want to talk about trade promotion authority today. I want to talk about the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Africa is the continent of the 21st century for the United States of America, with 1.5 billion mouths to feed, a number of votes at the United Nations, in terms of the African countries, but most importantly, it has the rarest earth minerals and the natural resources so important to us and the rest of the world. Africa is a gold mine waiting to be mined. But it is not one that we abuse, like the Chinese are abusing it. It is one where we share in prosperity. When China goes into Africa, they bring their own workers, pay their own workers with Chinese currency, extract the rarest minerals--oil and petroleum and natural resources--and then leave. When America goes, we invest in the human capital with PEPFAR to reduce the rate of AIDS, and we invest in the Millennium Challenge Corporation to bring jobs, opportunities, and a lack of corruption to the African people. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a godsend for the continent of Africa, but it is a godsend to the country of the United States of America. In the future, Africa will become our greatest trading partner if we handle it right. The African Growth and Opportunity Act that will be before us, along with TPA, is a 10-year extension of our goal. That is important, because it gives predictability to the African countries and the United States. But, more importantly, it gives us the opportunity to file cases with the Trade Representative against those countries that are not playing by the rules. South Africa is a perfect example. They have blocked access to their market to poultry from the United States of America, with arbitrary and capricious blockades to keep our poultry from going in. Senator Coons from Delaware and I from Georgia, two big poultry States, have confronted the South Africans. We know that under the new AGOA, when it is passed and ratified by this Congress and by the African countries as well, it will give us the opportunity to file a petition to ask the Trade Representative to file a case to open up the South African practices. And if they are found to be not right--or wrong or corrupt--then we can block South Africa's participation in parts of the AGOA or all of the AGOA. In other words, the AGOA is going to have consequences, much as the Millennium Challenge account does. Today, when America makes an investment in a foreign country in Africa for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, there are consequences if they don't end corruption, if they don't have private sector participation, if they don't have the rule of law governing their project. We pull the Millennium Challenge Corporation out, and they don't get another grant. Look at the nation of Ghana, which is now working on its third grant, or the nation of Benin, which is working on its second. Both are improving their infrastructure and their ability to trade and produce with America because of a joint venture between our country and those countries. I urge all my colleagues in the House and the Senate to adopt the African Growth and Opportunity Act for three reasons. No. 1, it is a 10-year predictable extension of a relationship we need to grow and prosper. No. 2, it gives us the tools not to be abused, and it makes sure that if one of the African countries is abusing American access to their market, we can stop it and file a case with the Trade Representative. But No. 3, it offers hope and prosperity for America in the 21st century--with 1.5 billion mouths to feed, rare earth minerals, natural resources, the power of the people and the power of the purse of the people. Africa is the continent of the 21st century for our country. Having a trade agreement with Africa is essential to seeing to it that we have a prosperous and free future. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. First, Mr. President, to Senator Cardin, the people of Maryland and Senator Mikulski, on behalf of the people of Georgia, our prayers and sympathy go to your great State in a time of trouble. Anytime there is violence in a city in America, whether it is Atlanta or whether it is Baltimore, whether it is Washington, whether it is Los Angeles, it is a problem for all of us. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Baltimore, and we hope that peace returns as quickly as possible. My purpose in rising is to first talk about the deal that is before us in terms of the congressional review act, in terms of the Iranian deal that is being negotiated by the President. I thank the ranking member, Senator Cardin, and the previous ranking member, Senator Menendez, for their hard work, and I thank Senator Corker for his leadership as chairman. This is a most important deal. As a politician, when I travel in my State, I have two great tests that I use to understand the veracity of a deal. The first is the tear test, and second is the nod test. Sunday night, I attended a celebration of the 67th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel, which was at a synagogue in Atlanta, GA. I was asked to speak. In my speech I said: One thing you can count on for sure is that I thank God for the nation of Israel and for the fact that in 1948 it found a home. Equally, I thank God for the fact that I serve in the Senate. I will have a vote over the congressional review of any deal made with Iran, and I promise the people of Israel that no deal with the Iranians will be mentioned or agreed to as long as I have anything to say about it as long as the people of Israel are not respected, protected, and honored not only by us but the people of Iran as well. That is essential to me, and I think this congressional review act gives us the opportunity to do that. A tear came out of Rabbi Bortz's eye. She thanked me for looking out for the people of Israel and thanked me for the United States being their friend. The nod factor happened to me on the previous Sunday when I spoke to the Association of County Commissioners in Savannah, GA. When I stood up for that speech, it was supposed to be about local government, trade, zoning, and land use. Instead, I opened up by saying: I want everybody in the audience to know whether you have an interest or not in the Iranian nuclear deal that is being negotiated by the President, I, as your Senator, promise that there will be no deal unless there is congressional oversight, congressional review, and a congressional vote. The nods went all through the audience. There were farmers and county commissioners from all over the State. This is an issue you would think would be removed from them, but it is not. For the people of Georgia this is a primary issue for our country and our security, and it is so for a very good reason. The Iranians have not proven to be very trustworthy with their negotiations in the past. I thank Senator Cardin and Senator Corker for their agreement to put language in this bill that reports the sense of the Senate in terms of the value of the hostages that were held by the Iranian Government in 1979 and 1980. A lot of people have forgotten what happened in 1979. In 1979, the Iranian troops jumped on the American Embassy in downtown Tehran. They captured 52 American diplomats, held them for 444 days, beat them, tortured them, and harassed them. They finally let them go shortly before the swearing in of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States. When they did, President Carter negotiated the Algerian Accords, which said that the Iranians would release these hostages but they would not be held accountable to pay those hostages any reparations. We negotiated away from them what almost every other hostage has ever received; and that is reparations from their captives. In the committee, I introduced sense of the Senate legislation that says the Iranians should pay and the sanctions money that was paid under the previous sanctions bill that is now in place should be used to pay those hostages and their families and the survivors. Forty-four of them are left. Some have committed suicide and some have died of natural causes. But all of them were tortured, beaten, and badly abused in 1979 and 1980. We owe it to those Americans to look out for them and to make sure they are compensated, and it should come from the money that would have gone to the Iranians that was taken in the penalties for doing business with Iran under the sanctions legislation. Senator Corker and Senator Cardin have done an outstanding job. They have crafted legislation that not only represents the best interest of the country of the United States but also the best interest of our people. I want everybody to understand one thing loud and clear. You can call it an Executive order, you can call it a treaty, you can call it a wink and nod. It is the single most important vote that any Member of this Senate is going to take in a long, long time because this one is for all the marbles. A nuclear-armed Iran is a danger not just to the Middle East but to the peace and security of the entire world. Giving the Senate and House oversight on this agreement is absolutely essential to the American people so they know that they have oversight. We are the eyes, we are the ears, and we are the conscience of the people we represent. I can tell you from the winking and nodding theory that I have, and from the tears that I saw shed by the people of Israel Sunday night, this treaty is important to the United States of America, it is important to the world, and it is important to see to it that the congressional review action takes place and this bill passes. I commend Senator Corker for his leadership, and I commend Senator Cardin and Senator Menendez, the previous ranking member, for the work they did to see to it that this happens. Trade Promotion Authority Mr. President, the Senate Finance Committee met until about 11 p.m. last Thursday night. We passed TPA, trade promotion authority. Get this, the President of the United States has asked for it. The Senate Committee on Finance voted 20 to 6 to pass it, and it is coming to the Senate floor soon. It will promote trade and give the President the authority to negotiate trade deals. And the Senate has the authority to approve them up or down. It will send a signal to the rest of the world that we are open for business in America. When I first came to the Congress in 1999, one of my first votes was fast-track for President Clinton, a Democratic President. As I served in the House, I later voted for President Bush to have TPA. I will vote for TPA for President Obama because it is in America's best interest. Trade should not be, nor is it ever intended to be, a partisan issue. It is about the well-being and the jobs of the American people. A lot of us talk about managing expenses through cutting expenses and a lot of us talk about raising our revenue to pay for expenses. Raising prosperity for the American people is the best way to raise their revenue and raise their hope and opportunity. This bill does exactly that. Fast-track promotes American agriculture, American manufacturing, and American innovation. In 2007, I went to the nation of India with Mike Enzi and Lamar Alexander, two members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. We went to follow up on a book written by Tom Friedman called ``The World is Flat.'' It was all about the jobs that were being taken away from America by the Indian people because of the ability to use the computer, the change in time zones, and to fill American employment and put help desks overseas in India. A lot of people rose up against the jobs going to India, and they sent us over there to find what was happening. One of the things we did in India was visit Mr. Murthy, the president of Infosys. Infosys is the largest market cap from India on the NASDAQ in America. It is a tremendous success story. It is a high-tech engineering and technology company. In the boardroom of Infosys, we asked this question: Mr. Murthy, the American people ask us, as Members of the Senate, why is it that all of our jobs are going to India? He answered very quickly. He said: Mr. Isakson, I will tell you this. When I started my company 20 years ago, I drove an Indian car, drank an Indian soft drink, and banked with the Bank of India. Today, I drink Coca-Cola, I drive a Ford, and I bank with the Bank of America. That is what doing business with the world does. It opens up opportunities. That is what trade promotion authority is going to do for America. It will open up opportunities for the American people. It will expand trade and opportunity. It will empower us through jobs and work. We should make sure that trade never becomes a partisan issue, and that when we vote, we have a bipartisan vote to pass trade promotion authority for the President and for the best interest of our people. We should remember this. We should never choose isolation over innovation. Trade promotion is innovation. We should never fear competition. We should always see that competition is rewarded by hard work, and we should never cower in fear of those who compete with us. We should always be the leader we have always been in terms of American technology, ingenuity, and trade. Trade promotion authority is good for America, good for the world, good for this country, good for the economy of the United States, and good for middle-class America. It promotes manufacturing and jobs around this country. Lastly, there are those who fear it might prompt immigration increases. This bill gives the Congress the authority to override any change in the law that is current in the United States made by the President in any trade deal. So immigration will not be expanded, and it will not be broadened. The President will be given no more authority, but instead, America will be going to the trade table, making deals, raising prosperity, not through higher taxes but through higher engagement, more jobs, and better work. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I wish to note that my colleague from Georgia just made a great speech. In it he listed those who sat in the desk he now sits in--Nunn, Russell, Chambliss. It is obvious he has inherited that seat, and he is equal to the task of those gentlemen. I commend him on his first speech, and I am honored to serve with him in the Senate. I yield back.

Mr. ISAKSON

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I wish to honor a great Christian crusader, a great Georgian, a great American and a great friend, the Reverend Henry Holley, upon his retirement. Reverend Holley spent 45 years with the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, spreading the Gospel across the world, including in China, Japan, Brazil, and even North Korea, as international crusade director. For many years, Reverend Holley traveled an average of 150,000 miles and 200 days overseas each year. At 87 years of age, he has logged 13 million air miles in his travel over his career with the Billy Graham Evangelical Association as a result of working in Korea more than 275 times and China more than 100 times. Henry Holley's career on behalf of the Lord has more than a few ``highlights.'' Reverend Holley organized the historic 1973 crusade in Seoul, Korea, where never before had so many come to one place to hear a preacher proclaim the Gospel. On the final day, there were 1.1 million people in attendance. During the 5-day Seoul Crusade more than 3.2 million people came to hear Dr. Billy Graham face-to-face. In 1974, Holley was crusade director for another precedent shattering crusade: the Greater Rio de Janeiro Billy Graham Crusade in Brazil held at the world famous Maracana Stadium. More people attended this meeting than any other crusade ever held in North or South America, with 250,000 attending on closing day. In 1992, Holley was responsible for the diplomatic and administrative preparation work for a historic visit by Dr. Billy Graham to North Korea. Reverend Holley directed the small team that accompanied Dr. Graham to the capital city of Pyongyang. The significant mission to Pyongyang was highlighted by Dr. Graham preaching the Gospel in the two churches in North Korea. In addition, he lectured at Kim Il-Sung University--the first American to do so. Dr. Graham and Reverend Holley also had a personal meeting with President Kim Il-Sung where he brought private messages from President George Bush and Pope John Paul II. Organization and administration were drilled into Holley during his first career lasting 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including 23 years Active Duty and 7 years Reserve Duty. Reverend Holley has served our Nation and our Lord in extraordinary ways throughout his entire life. He has recently retired from Billy Graham Evangelical Association, though he continues to remain active in a consulting capacity and has worked with Franklin Graham for many years. And Reverend Holley promises not to really stop working ``until he's old.'' For nearly 45 years, Henry Holley and his wife of more than 65 years, Bettie, have made their home right near mine in Marietta, GA. Bettie has stood by his side through his career and shared in his successes and joys, including their three grown children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. I try to talk to, and visit with Henry Holley, as often as I can. I know that God put him in my life for a reason and I am honored to call Reverend Holley my friend.