Doug Jones

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. I thank my friend and colleague Chairman Inhofe, and let me say I know where he has been on this issue. I have seen his speeches from years past on this issue, and I do appreciate that, and I appreciate the fact that he is a cosponsor. I also know this has been put on an NDAA before in this body without a pay-for, without an offset, in order to have a sense of the Senate and to go on record, and that is what I think we should do. I understand we are not there this year for whatever reason. I still believe, in part, that it is a procedural issue that ought to be put aside for this, but that is an argument for another day. I do so very much appreciate the chairman's remarks. I have enjoyed working with him, Senator Reed, and others on the NDAA. That has been an effort. I told folks back home and across the country where I have spoken that I wish people could have actually seen what happened in that markup behind closed doors and the bipartisanship that the chairman showed and the other Senators showed. I wish people could have seen it because we don't get to see it. I don't think if we opened it up that we would have seen it, but it was remarkable. So we are where we are in the Senate. I understand that, and I knew that coming in here. I will simply say this. The House of Representatives is also going to take up the NDAA, and I hope my colleagues on the other side of the wonderful Capitol are listening. Put it in. It is not in the committee bill. Put it in. Bring it to conference because, if it gets to conference, I am going to continue to have this in this NDAA, and let's get this done, once and for all. Thank you, Chairman Inhofe, and thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I want to echo what my colleague and friend, the Senator from Maine, has said about the elimination of the widow's tax and rise today to urge this body to bring the Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act of 2019 to the Senate floor for a vote this week as an amendment to the NDAA. I introduced this bipartisan legislation with my friend and colleague Senator Collins this year. It has been introduced numerous times. Legislation that is designed to right a terrible wrong has been introduced numerous times over the last 18 years but without success. Today, we are at an alltime high for cosponsorship. Seventy-five Members of this body, Republicans and Democrats, support this legislation and have signed on as cosponsors. The only other major bill with support in this Congress like that was the one we recently passed by unanimous consent to crack down on robocalls, which I know is something we can all agree needed to be done, and just like that, this legislation is needed as well. As Senator Collins talked about, the military widow's tax bill has earned overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle and from groups like TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the Military Officers Association of America, and the VFW. Support out there is overwhelming because it is simply the right thing to do. The law currently prohibits military widows from receiving their full survivor benefits from both the VA and the additional Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan that they paid into voluntarily. These Gold Star families--as many as, I think, 65,000 across the country and as many as 2,000 in my home State of Alabama--are being ripped off. It is just that plain and simple. To add insult to injury, they are being ripped off by the very U.S. Government that their loved ones swore to protect. That is absolutely shameful, that we would treat our military families in such a way. We obviously--obviously--can never repay these families for their loss and the sacrifices they have made, but it is our duty, I submit--our duty-- to try to do all we can. And we can dang sure stop the government from robbing them of the benefits they have paid for and earned. At the end of the day, this is a cost of war. It is a cost of freedom, more importantly. It is a cost of freedom. So for folks to say that this fix is too expensive or that there is not an obvious pay-for in our budgets that we have today, I would remind my colleagues that this bill has made it into the NDAA several times before, and we have waived--this body has waived the pay-go rules for it several times in the past because Members of this body have recognized that there are more important issues at play here. Many of my colleagues have supported this bill without a pay-for in the past. This week, we will be considering the NDAA, and I am very grateful to Senator Inhofe, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who is responsible for shepherding this defense authorization on the floor this week. The committee, of which I am a member, has done just incredible bipartisan work to get the NDAA to the floor this week. Senator Inhofe is a cosponsor of this bill. In 2008, when the bill came to the floor of the Senate as an NDAA amendment earlier, also without a pay-for, he noted that an effort to eliminate the widow's tax had been in the works for 8 years at that point, since 2000. He urged his colleagues to right this wrong. He spoke on the floor, stating: It is time we give back these benefits to those families of those who have served bravely in defense of our Nation. I think it is an insult to their honor and their memory to do anything else. I couldn't agree more, and I hope that our colleagues today will, too, and will continue their support for our veterans and widows and will work with our leaders to ensure that this amendment gets a vote during the NDAA deliberations. This is our chance to right this wrong once and for all. This is not a partisan issue. It is an issue of common ground and, significantly, of common purpose. That is precisely why 75 Members of this body have signed on as cosponsors, to say that it is their fundamental belief that we should honor our promise to the families of the best and bravest among us who have given their lives in service to our Nation. I thank my Republican colleague, Senator Collins of Maine, for her leadership on this important issue and for being a great partner in the fight to finally get this legislation passed once and for all. Like she did a few moments ago, I urge all the rest of my colleagues in this body to call for this amendment to be brought to the floor for a vote this week as an amendment to the NDAA. Let our votes speak louder than our words. Let's finally right this wrong. I yield the floor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, today I rise to talk about a matter that is very close to my heart and rooted in my faith and belief that we are all God's children created in God's image. It is an issue of fundamental equality, of basic human dignity, and it is consistent with the values we strive to embody as American citizens. I stand today to honor the contributions of LGBTQ Americans--the contributions they have given so selflessly to our Nation--and to remind all of my colleagues of the great risks these Americans still face simply because of who they love and who they are. It was 50 years ago this month that the gay community finally rose up. The Stonewall riots were a product of a brutal police force cracking down on the gay community. They found a voice that others had in the previous years. This Pride Month, June, we celebrate that 50 years of a rise in the voice of people to be treated just basically as everyone else. It is an important issue for me. It is an important issue for a number of reasons--first and foremost, because I am a father, but also, I am a product of the Deep South in which I was raised. As a kid, I came of age during a very tumultuous time in our Nation's history, a very tumultuous time in Alabama. When I was a kid, our schools remained segregated for years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and my Black peers faced very difficult and different prospects for their future in life, which was a direct result of the Jim Crow laws that were still on the books in my childhood. Men, women, and children were regularly targeted for violent attacks simply because of the color of their skin, the way they were born, and their audacity--their audacity to yearn for freedom and love and acceptance and respect. The wounds of those years left scars that are still visible in many places today--many places not just in Alabama but across the country. The inequality and divisive rhetoric of the time and the tensions it fomented fueled the violence and tragedy that were wrought upon so many innocent people, especially in the 1950s and in the 1960s in Alabama, in the Deep South, and so many other places across this land. I raise this because history has shown us time and again that when our government sanctions discrimination or merely turns a blind eye to it, we cause irreparable harm to those people. In doing so, we also turn our backs on the fundamental promise of this great country--that we are all endowed with certain unalienable rights, ``all'' being the key word in that phrase. We are all endowed with certain unalienable rights. Without exception, policies of legalized discrimination that are fueled by fear always become a black mark on our Nation's history. Today, we can reflect on those incidents from the civil rights movement with more clarity and take pride in the significant progress we have made over time, but what we cannot do is delude ourselves into thinking this work is nearly concluded. There is still work to be done with regard to gay rights. There is still work to be done when you consider that LGBTQ people in this country are still not guaranteed permanent Federal protection against discrimination--they are still not. There is still work to be done when we see that the LGBTQ community youth are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers--five times more likely to commit suicide. And we know there is still work to be done when LGBTQ youth are more likely to become homeless and to face physical and sexual exploitation. Our former colleague in this body who was here for such a long time-- he was here when I worked in the Senate in 1979 and 1980--Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah spoke passionately on this floor last year, making an important point about the scope of the challenge we still face. He said: Ensuring that our LGBT friends feel loved and accepted is not a political issue; we all have a stake in this. We all have family or loved ones who have felt marginalized in one way or another because of gender identity or sexual orientation, and we need to be there for them. Senator Hatch. I miss him, even though I am glad my friend from Utah is here. Instead of love and acceptance, however, too often the LGBTQ community still faces hate, violence, and discrimination in the workplace, in the classroom, in the housing market, and, more and more, in our society. In fact, today we remember the lives of 49 innocent people who were senselessly murdered in Orlando, FL, 3 years ago at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub. Just last week, a Detroit man was charged with first-degree murder for killing three LGBTQ people in an apparent hate crime. In my home State of Alabama, a local mayor recently made headlines around the country for advocating the killing of LGBTQ people, claiming it was the only way to ``fix'' the problem. In Washington, DC, over the weekend, a panic ensued and thousands fled for their lives when it was believed there was an active shooter targeting the city's annual Pride parade. In Alabama, young Nigel Shelby, a high school freshman from Huntsville, ended his life this past spring after enduring bullying from his peers and struggling through bouts of depression. Mourning her son, his heartbroken mother called him the ``sweetest child.'' She said Nigel was ``always full of joy, full of light.'' As a father, I cannot begin to imagine the pain she and her family have experienced at this sudden loss. But I will tell you, as the father of a gay son, I have had to imagine the pain and uncertainty her child must have felt in a world in which he didn't feel fully accepted. These incidents are just a few of the most recent examples I could share. Quite frankly, I have hesitated to even mention incidents in Alabama because we sometimes have the stigma of discrimination in my State. Most recently in Alabama, the Alabama Legislature passed a most restrictive law dealing with abortion and women's rights. It was a callous law, and once again people are looking at Alabama and saying: What is going on? They look at this smalltown mayor and say: What is going on? But let me tell you, folks, for anybody who is listening to this, that is not Alabama. That is not the people of Alabama. That may be a gerrymandered legislature that represents only a small segment, but that is not the good people I know across the State of Alabama. Regardless of their political persuasion, regardless of their age, regardless of their religion, those instances do not represent the great State of Alabama. Those are the most recent examples, but it is clear that the fear LGBTQ people can feel is by no means unfounded. In this Pride Month, while we celebrate the LGBT community and the right for everyone to live and love as they choose, we cannot forget that for this community, there is still much work to be done. That is why I have cosponsored and I am so proud to cosponsor the Equality Act, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Our colleagues in the House of Representatives have already passed this legislation, which fills a gap in our Nation's Federal civil rights laws by providing permanent protections for the LGBTQ community regardless of where they live. This act is an important step. It is not a silver bullet, but it is an incredible, important step forward in what we can do to recognize the dignity of all people in this country. Right now, these protections are simply a patchwork of State laws and other regulations. In 30 States, including Alabama, LGBTQ people are at risk of being fired, evicted, or denied other services because of their sexual orientation or gender. I urge my colleagues to look at who is supporting the Equality Act. This is not a bipartisan issue; this is a nonpartisan issue. If you look at the over 500 organizations, a couple of hundred major corporations--the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed this bill and is urging its passage because so many across the country recognize the importance of these protections. How many times have you seen businesses and how many times have you seen the chamber--and I mean no disrespect to them--endorse a law that bans discrimination when they know it puts certain burdens on their members? This is a historic opportunity that we have here--a historic opportunity--and we need to take advantage of it. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, a majority of people in every State support a law like this, including a majority of the folks in Alabama. Those majorities extend across party lines, religion, and demographics, but despite most Americans being on the same page about this, the minority in opposition to this bill and in opposition to the LGBTQ community in general seems to be firm. It seems to be solid. It seems to be vocal. Opposition to such expansions of civil rights protections usually is. From where I sit, this is not a zero-sum game. My view on this is informed by my experience. Most of what we do here is informed by experience, and my view on this issue is informed by my own experience as a father, as someone who loves his son very much--as any parent loves their son. It is informed by my experience as a lawyer, having spent my career working for justice. No matter where the downtrodden might be, I have spent my career working to make sure people are treated the same under the law, knowing that if you can change those laws and you can get treated the same under the law, hearts and minds will follow. We have seen it happen time and again. My view is informed by my religion, my religion as a Christian and my belief that we are called upon to love one another. It is the same and similar view expressed by our colleague Orrin Hatch in his floor speech last year. We are called to stand up and fight for equal treatment and dignity of our fellow human beings--dignity and respect--to fight for people like my talented and compassionate son Carson and for all other sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandsons, granddaughters, friends, and neighbors, all out there who deserve to pursue a full, free, joyous, and loving life. Today the Senate has an opportunity to stand up and make a very clear statement that we will not allow State government-sanctioned discrimination of LGBTQ people. We will not continue to allow that discrimination to continue, but we have to make that stand, and that stand can start right here. It has already started in the House. The time is now to send a message. The time is now to send a message to all people--to all people across this country--that we in the U.S Senate believe that all people deserve to live with dignity, free from the fear of discrimination. As I prepared these remarks and I read through them and made changes, I thought about my old boss whose seat I now fill, Howell Heflin. It was in the 1990s that Howell Heflin from Alabama, a son of the South whose relatives fought in the Civil War, stood before this body and said that it was time to remove the Confederate battle flag from all Federal Government-sanctioned emblems. It was a bold statement. Now we have a son of the South standing up for what in the Bible Belt is that love and respect, a son of the South who is now talking about his family, talking about discrimination, and reaching out to people across the aisle and within my own party to say that it is time; it is time to make that move. So I ask my colleagues to take this step with me, to do the right thing by calling on Leader McConnell to bring this legislation to a vote in the U.S. Senate. Let all 100 Senators stand up and be counted one way or another. Every voice counts. Let every U.S. Senator say where they are by a vote on the Equality Act and to do it sooner rather than later. This is a matter of civil rights, this is a matter of human rights, and this is a matter of being on the right side of history. We have an important opportunity right now to get it right. It is right now. It is the right time. Thank you. I yield the floor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Madam President, before I get into my initial remarks, let me commend my colleague, the Senator from Wyoming. I didn't know about all of the Wyoming women having been first in women's issues. I congratulate that State, and I hope that, given the record number of women we have in this body and in the Congress of the United States, we will continue that march toward progress that Wyoming started over 150 years ago.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. I yield the floor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, the second bill I have introduced today would create a one-time refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 for homeowners to build or purchase a storm shelter for their home. It would ensure that people won't have to travel dangerous distances to seek shelter in the event of sudden severe weather. Alabamians know all too well that extreme weather can strike at any time, especially now as we move from the spring tornado season into the summer hurricane season. That is why I want to use this opportunity today to urge every single one of my colleagues to support these bills and these efforts so that all of our communities can be better prepared when natural disasters strike, and they will. In Lee County, I have been discussing with local officials these two bills, which are just a step. They are obvious steps to me. Not everybody can afford to buy a storm shelter, so the tax credit would not be available. So, working with the Lee County M.A. and officials on the ground, we are trying to learn best practices. What can we better do to harden those areas where people live in the rural communities so they will not lose their lives, much less all of their possessions? That is what we are planning to do, and the two bills today are first steps. I sincerely hope going forward that helping fellow Americans who have suffered disasters will no longer be the partisan issue that it suddenly became this year and that we can get back to the business of taking care of our citizens and those who have sent us here to represent them.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, while it is critical that communities get the disaster relief they need after the fact, it is also important that folks can better prepare for natural disasters and help make our communities safer so that we can reduce the impact and costs of the inevitable severe weather we will have in this country. The 2019 hurricane season is upon us. It started just last Saturday. Folks in my neck of the woods and especially down in South Alabama know that means storms can come at any time. Fortunately with hurricanes, they can get some warning, but for tornadoes like the ones that hit Lee County, it is just minutes. It is not a question of whether severe weather will happen; it is a question of when and where. It is also a question of whether we will be prepared when it strikes again. That is why today I am introducing two bills. The first is cosponsored by my Louisiana colleagues, Senators Kennedy and Cassidy. It would establish a new grant program through the U.S. Department of Transportation that would award up to $100 million for projects to improve emergency evacuation routes in small and rural communities. Generally in our State and in a lot of the coastal States, there is only one or two major evacuation routes, which is just not enough to handle the situation should another hurricane hit the gulf. This grant money would help expand those routes. The grants would be used for two purposes: to build State and local connector roads that would improve access to the broader thoroughfares and to expand existing roads and bridges so that folks can evacuate safely during extreme weather events. These infrastructure investments would also have the additional benefit of serving rural Alabama communities year-round and expanding and improving some of our aging roadways. With expanding and improving aging roadways and giving better access to rural communities, economic expansion will follow.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, while it is critical that communities get the disaster relief they need after the fact, it is also important that folks can better prepare for natural disasters and help make our communities safer so that we can reduce the impact and costs of the inevitable severe weather we will have in this country. The 2019 hurricane season is upon us. It started just last Saturday. Folks in my neck of the woods and especially down in South Alabama know that means storms can come at any time. Fortunately with hurricanes, they can get some warning, but for tornadoes like the ones that hit Lee County, it is just minutes. It is not a question of whether severe weather will happen; it is a question of when and where. It is also a question of whether we will be prepared when it strikes again. That is why today I am introducing two bills. The first is cosponsored by my Louisiana colleagues, Senators Kennedy and Cassidy. It would establish a new grant program through the U.S. Department of Transportation that would award up to $100 million for projects to improve emergency evacuation routes in small and rural communities. Generally in our State and in a lot of the coastal States, there is only one or two major evacuation routes, which is just not enough to handle the situation should another hurricane hit the gulf. This grant money would help expand those routes. The grants would be used for two purposes: to build State and local connector roads that would improve access to the broader thoroughfares and to expand existing roads and bridges so that folks can evacuate safely during extreme weather events. These infrastructure investments would also have the additional benefit of serving rural Alabama communities year-round and expanding and improving some of our aging roadways. With expanding and improving aging roadways and giving better access to rural communities, economic expansion will follow.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, the second bill I have introduced today would create a one-time refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 for homeowners to build or purchase a storm shelter for their home. It would ensure that people won't have to travel dangerous distances to seek shelter in the event of sudden severe weather. Alabamians know all too well that extreme weather can strike at any time, especially now as we move from the spring tornado season into the summer hurricane season. That is why I want to use this opportunity today to urge every single one of my colleagues to support these bills and these efforts so that all of our communities can be better prepared when natural disasters strike, and they will. In Lee County, I have been discussing with local officials these two bills, which are just a step. They are obvious steps to me. Not everybody can afford to buy a storm shelter, so the tax credit would not be available. So, working with the Lee County M.A. and officials on the ground, we are trying to learn best practices. What can we better do to harden those areas where people live in the rural communities so they will not lose their lives, much less all of their possessions? That is what we are planning to do, and the two bills today are first steps. I sincerely hope going forward that helping fellow Americans who have suffered disasters will no longer be the partisan issue that it suddenly became this year and that we can get back to the business of taking care of our citizens and those who have sent us here to represent them.

Mr. JONES

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

Mr. JONES. I yield the floor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise because I am deeply concerned about what is happening across the country to our farmers as a result of the President's trade war with China. Let me first say, I agree with the President 100 percent that we need fair trade deals and that we have to make sure American workers and consumers are not being taken for a ride by other countries, especially rogue countries and bad actors like China. Yet, since this trade war began last year, these tariffs are having the complete opposite effect on the people they are supposed to help. That is because tariffs are taxes, plain and simple. Tariffs are taxes, and they are being raised every day by the administration. The President insists that tariffs force China to pay money to the U.S. Treasury, which is just not true. It is just not factually accurate at all. It is also misleading to the American people. When a tariff is placed on a Chinese good, it is the American company that is importing that product, in addition to the American consumer who ultimately buys it, that pays that additional price. It is just like adding a sales tax to any consumer good or to any commodity on which a tariff has been levied. From businesses to farmers, to consumers, these taxes are being paid for by Americans. That is not politics; that is economics. The President thinks these tariffs will somehow punish China for its bad behavior, but it is our people who are suffering right now. Last week, we saw a report that showed that the cost of these tariffs had fallen entirely on U.S. businesses and on U.S. households. Just yesterday, China announced it is planning on retaliating, once again, with increased tariffs on $60 billion worth of American-made goods, which sent the stock market into a tailspin. Unemployment is incredibly low today, and the economy is doing well today, but across the country, there are so many people who don't always feel the effects of that booming economy. Yes, they have jobs, but they also have families, healthcare costs, and other costs, so they don't always feel the economy is doing as well for them as it is for others whom they see on the news, on TV, and in Washington, DC. Working folks aren't going to feel the true benefits from this economic growth and from the tax cuts of 2017 if they are paying higher taxes on the products they are buying every single day. Just yesterday, the President was talking about the tariffs and feeling a little bit of pain but about how great a deal this is going to be and how our government will be happy. The President said: ``[O]ur government is happy because we're taking in tens of billions of dollars.'' Yet that money is being brought into the Treasury on the backs of working people--hard-working American taxpayers. It is not the Chinese companies; it is not the Chinese people; it is not the Mexican people; and it is not the Canadian people. It is the American public that is paying that money into the U.S. Treasury. Tariffs are taxes, and we are all going to pay because of this trade war. Call them whatever you want, but that is the effect they are going to have on the wallets of American taxpayers. Even the President's own economic advisers admitted this week that it will be the Americans who will suffer as a result of this trade war, with the increased taxes being placed on them every day through the consumer goods they are purchasing. In Alabama, our farmers, in particular, are hurting, and that is an understatement. Tariffs are affecting a cross-section of our manufacturing workforce. It has our automobile dealers concerned because of the threat of foreign automobile tariffs. Yet, even in the best of times, it is the farmers who are at the most risk. Farming is a risky business, and their margins are very tight. Many farmers in Alabama have already suffered devastating losses from natural disasters, like Hurricane Michael. Quite frankly, they are suffering another congressional disaster right now--in the words of my colleague and friend Senator Isakson from Georgia--because we can't put politics aside quickly enough to get disaster aid to farmers in the South, to folks who have suffered from flooding, or to folks who have suffered from wildfires. We can't do this because of politics, so now they are suffering. The farmers whom I visited back in South Alabama after Hurricane Michael are suffering now from the congressional disaster. The last thing in the world they need is another administration disaster that is being manufactured because of the Chinese tariffs on their crops. In particular, soybeans are being hit. Soybean farming supports more than 11,000 jobs in Alabama, but soybean prices are at the lowest they have been in a decade. You can see from this chart how they started up. It was over $10 just in April of 2018--over $10. Now it is just above $8, and it is continuing to slide. The longer this goes on, the more it hurts. Cotton farmers have been hit. Cotton has had an almost 25-percent reduction in the market price since these tariffs took effect. We have record low unemployment in the country right now; yet we have a growing number of bankruptcies in farm country. I was looking at reports just today that showed the rise in the number of bankruptcies, the point being that these are hitting people now. We all want a great deal. We all want to make sure the President gets a good deal for the American public, for the American consumer, but this is hurting people right now, and they will not be able to recover if this does not end soon. Unless the President can reach a deal soon, we can expect prices to continue to deteriorate and for the economic conditions in farm country to get even worse, which will put in jeopardy generations of farmers who may get run out of business. This is a dire situation. I am not trying to just light fire somewhere. This is really serious for these folks. You only have to watch the news every day. These are people who have supported the President of the United States and who voted for the President of the United States. They want a good deal, and they want a fair deal, but this has been going on for a long time, and there does not seem to be any end in sight. Many of my State's farmers--probably most of my State's farmers--support the President, as do others around the country. They have had his back over the last 2 or 3 years, even during the campaign. Yet, in return, these trade policies have taken money out of their pockets. When this first started over a year ago, they believed they would get a good deal soon. They believed they could get crops in the field, that they could get their loans paid, and that they could recover from the disasters that had hit them, but it has just dragged on and on. Every time we see a new round of tweets or a new press conference, we talk about what a great deal this is going to be. Yet, when you look behind the curtain, everything is different, and the trade war goes on and on and on. I fear he is not listening to these farmers or to the Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle--like our Finance chairman--who are telling him that these policies are hurting farmers, that they are devastating farmers. I am not sure how much longer they can hang on in this trade war. Many will. Many can hang on. Yet others cannot. Whether the next generation of farmers will take up the mantle of farming remains to be seen. This is one reason I am introducing a bill today to update the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, which was originally created by my colleague Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, to provide help for farmers and producers who have been hurt by these retaliatory tariffs. TAA was originally created to help provide assistance to workers who were impacted by trade, but it was updated in 2002 to include assistance to growers, producers, and fishermen. This bill that I introduce today, as well as a companion bill that has been introduced in the House, would, once again, update the program to help folks who are hurting because of trade actions that have been carried out by our government--not by another government but by ours. Look, the fact is, no matter how many legislative stopgaps my colleagues and I propose or bailouts the President offers, the massive losses from which farmers and producers suffer are not going to end until the President calls off this trade war. We all want better trade deals, and farmers want access to global markets. China has, without a doubt, been a bad actor on many trade issues--a rogue country on trade issues. We should be working with our allies in Europe and elsewhere to hold China accountable. Instead, the administration has decided to go it alone. We are picking fights with friends over our own trade issues with them rather than working through diplomacy to try to work those deals. We are picking fights with them, and we are going it alone against China when we so desperately need our friends to help us. China is a growing concern around the world, and we need global partners to help us with our trade issues to try to make sure the global economy stays stable. I will be absolutely thrilled if the President of the United States negotiates a great deal. I hope he negotiates the best deal ever--the one that he says he is going to negotiate. I hope and pray we get that great deal and that we can do a trade deal with China that is fair and better for America than it has ever been in the history of this country. For all of our sakes, I hope it happens. I really do. This is not a partisan issue. This is about where we are as a country. I hope for the best for him, but, right now, these tariffs are having the opposite effect, and it is hurting so many people. What many of us fear is going to happen in the cynical world we live in today--and we all get caught up in it, including Members of this body--is that when the President finally wakes up and realizes he has done irreparable harm and irreparable damage to so many of his own supporters with these tariffs and when he wakes up and approaches 2020 and understands that his support may be eroding among those who form the core backbone of his support, he will scramble to make a deal regardless of whether it will be a good deal or not but a deal nonetheless and regardless of whether America will come out on top. When all is said and done, we can claim victory, but it may be a very hollow victory because, in going forward, we may have a little bit better deal or we may have a much better deal, but it will not change what is happening today or what has happened over the last year. Even if a deal is struck, we have already lost. Farmers will still have to be digging themselves out of this financial hole for a very long time. Many will have to declare bankruptcy and lose their farms because they couldn't wait out the President's trade gamble and his tough talk. To mitigate the tariffs' harmful impacts, the administration is providing some aid to help farmers who are struggling as a result of the trade war. They did so last year, and they need it, but those government bailouts--and that is what they are, they are bailouts--are being paid by other American taxpayers in order to alleviate the pain inflicted by the administration's policies. That is right. Working families across the country are being asked to step up. We do those things. We are charitable people. If somebody is in pain, we want to do that and help, but when the pain is being caused by the very person who is causing us to then step up, that makes no sense. Folks, these handouts will not come close to making up for the losses these farmers have suffered, and it is sure not a long-term solution for a healthy trade market. The biggest problem for these farmers is that they don't want handouts. They don't want government subsidies. They don't want handouts to them for the problems they are facing because of these trade policies. They want their markets. They want to go to China. They want to go to places around the world and share their products. They are proud of their products. We should be proud of those products. We should not be just simply telling farmers: Do not worry because we will pay for you to grow your product. We are not worried about your markets because we will buy your soybeans. We will buy the cotton. We will buy those things if China doesn't do it. That is not what these farmers want. They don't want that charity. They want their markets. They work hard for those markets. So how much more can our farmers take? How much more? How long can they go on like this? At what point will they be forced to cut their losses and find another way to support their families while we negotiate with China, while we tweet the fact that a good deal is coming? At what point will Members of this body and the House of Representatives who ignore the math and the suffering of their constituents--at what point will those in this body and the House of Representatives who ignore the suffering of their constituents by supporting these harmful trade policies, at what point do they stand up? There are so many people I have talked to who do not support these trade policies, but yet they are silent, and they say: Give the President time. He is going to get a good deal. At what point does it come where they recognize the suffering of the farmers of the United States and my State of Alabama? At what point do they finally stand up and say enough is enough? Over the years, the Congress of the United States has ceded a lot of authority to the executive branch of government, and now it is coming home to roost. We can't do much of anything except give speeches like this. We can try to introduce bills that probably will never get to the Senate floor. We can go home and listen to the pain, listen to the suffering, listen to people who so badly want to support the President and what he is doing, as all of us do for these new trade deals, but the fact is, we have ceded so much power to the executive branch of government. It is time for Congress to stand up. It is time for people to speak out to help their farmers, to let the administration know that this cannot go on much longer. We have to stand up and stop this pain as quickly as we can. We can do it. The President can do it. He has smart people surrounding him. They need to explain to him again that these tariffs are being paid by the American people, not another country. Let's get this negotiated, and let's stop the bleeding for the American farmer as soon as we possibly can.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise because I am deeply concerned about what is happening across the country to our farmers as a result of the President's trade war with China. Let me first say, I agree with the President 100 percent that we need fair trade deals and that we have to make sure American workers and consumers are not being taken for a ride by other countries, especially rogue countries and bad actors like China. Yet, since this trade war began last year, these tariffs are having the complete opposite effect on the people they are supposed to help. That is because tariffs are taxes, plain and simple. Tariffs are taxes, and they are being raised every day by the administration. The President insists that tariffs force China to pay money to the U.S. Treasury, which is just not true. It is just not factually accurate at all. It is also misleading to the American people. When a tariff is placed on a Chinese good, it is the American company that is importing that product, in addition to the American consumer who ultimately buys it, that pays that additional price. It is just like adding a sales tax to any consumer good or to any commodity on which a tariff has been levied. From businesses to farmers, to consumers, these taxes are being paid for by Americans. That is not politics; that is economics. The President thinks these tariffs will somehow punish China for its bad behavior, but it is our people who are suffering right now. Last week, we saw a report that showed that the cost of these tariffs had fallen entirely on U.S. businesses and on U.S. households. Just yesterday, China announced it is planning on retaliating, once again, with increased tariffs on $60 billion worth of American-made goods, which sent the stock market into a tailspin. Unemployment is incredibly low today, and the economy is doing well today, but across the country, there are so many people who don't always feel the effects of that booming economy. Yes, they have jobs, but they also have families, healthcare costs, and other costs, so they don't always feel the economy is doing as well for them as it is for others whom they see on the news, on TV, and in Washington, DC. Working folks aren't going to feel the true benefits from this economic growth and from the tax cuts of 2017 if they are paying higher taxes on the products they are buying every single day. Just yesterday, the President was talking about the tariffs and feeling a little bit of pain but about how great a deal this is going to be and how our government will be happy. The President said: ``[O]ur government is happy because we're taking in tens of billions of dollars.'' Yet that money is being brought into the Treasury on the backs of working people--hard-working American taxpayers. It is not the Chinese companies; it is not the Chinese people; it is not the Mexican people; and it is not the Canadian people. It is the American public that is paying that money into the U.S. Treasury. Tariffs are taxes, and we are all going to pay because of this trade war. Call them whatever you want, but that is the effect they are going to have on the wallets of American taxpayers. Even the President's own economic advisers admitted this week that it will be the Americans who will suffer as a result of this trade war, with the increased taxes being placed on them every day through the consumer goods they are purchasing. In Alabama, our farmers, in particular, are hurting, and that is an understatement. Tariffs are affecting a cross-section of our manufacturing workforce. It has our automobile dealers concerned because of the threat of foreign automobile tariffs. Yet, even in the best of times, it is the farmers who are at the most risk. Farming is a risky business, and their margins are very tight. Many farmers in Alabama have already suffered devastating losses from natural disasters, like Hurricane Michael. Quite frankly, they are suffering another congressional disaster right now--in the words of my colleague and friend Senator Isakson from Georgia--because we can't put politics aside quickly enough to get disaster aid to farmers in the South, to folks who have suffered from flooding, or to folks who have suffered from wildfires. We can't do this because of politics, so now they are suffering. The farmers whom I visited back in South Alabama after Hurricane Michael are suffering now from the congressional disaster. The last thing in the world they need is another administration disaster that is being manufactured because of the Chinese tariffs on their crops. In particular, soybeans are being hit. Soybean farming supports more than 11,000 jobs in Alabama, but soybean prices are at the lowest they have been in a decade. You can see from this chart how they started up. It was over $10 just in April of 2018--over $10. Now it is just above $8, and it is continuing to slide. The longer this goes on, the more it hurts. Cotton farmers have been hit. Cotton has had an almost 25-percent reduction in the market price since these tariffs took effect. We have record low unemployment in the country right now; yet we have a growing number of bankruptcies in farm country. I was looking at reports just today that showed the rise in the number of bankruptcies, the point being that these are hitting people now. We all want a great deal. We all want to make sure the President gets a good deal for the American public, for the American consumer, but this is hurting people right now, and they will not be able to recover if this does not end soon. Unless the President can reach a deal soon, we can expect prices to continue to deteriorate and for the economic conditions in farm country to get even worse, which will put in jeopardy generations of farmers who may get run out of business. This is a dire situation. I am not trying to just light fire somewhere. This is really serious for these folks. You only have to watch the news every day. These are people who have supported the President of the United States and who voted for the President of the United States. They want a good deal, and they want a fair deal, but this has been going on for a long time, and there does not seem to be any end in sight. Many of my State's farmers--probably most of my State's farmers--support the President, as do others around the country. They have had his back over the last 2 or 3 years, even during the campaign. Yet, in return, these trade policies have taken money out of their pockets. When this first started over a year ago, they believed they would get a good deal soon. They believed they could get crops in the field, that they could get their loans paid, and that they could recover from the disasters that had hit them, but it has just dragged on and on. Every time we see a new round of tweets or a new press conference, we talk about what a great deal this is going to be. Yet, when you look behind the curtain, everything is different, and the trade war goes on and on and on. I fear he is not listening to these farmers or to the Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle--like our Finance chairman--who are telling him that these policies are hurting farmers, that they are devastating farmers. I am not sure how much longer they can hang on in this trade war. Many will. Many can hang on. Yet others cannot. Whether the next generation of farmers will take up the mantle of farming remains to be seen. This is one reason I am introducing a bill today to update the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, which was originally created by my colleague Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, to provide help for farmers and producers who have been hurt by these retaliatory tariffs. TAA was originally created to help provide assistance to workers who were impacted by trade, but it was updated in 2002 to include assistance to growers, producers, and fishermen. This bill that I introduce today, as well as a companion bill that has been introduced in the House, would, once again, update the program to help folks who are hurting because of trade actions that have been carried out by our government--not by another government but by ours. Look, the fact is, no matter how many legislative stopgaps my colleagues and I propose or bailouts the President offers, the massive losses from which farmers and producers suffer are not going to end until the President calls off this trade war. We all want better trade deals, and farmers want access to global markets. China has, without a doubt, been a bad actor on many trade issues--a rogue country on trade issues. We should be working with our allies in Europe and elsewhere to hold China accountable. Instead, the administration has decided to go it alone. We are picking fights with friends over our own trade issues with them rather than working through diplomacy to try to work those deals. We are picking fights with them, and we are going it alone against China when we so desperately need our friends to help us. China is a growing concern around the world, and we need global partners to help us with our trade issues to try to make sure the global economy stays stable. I will be absolutely thrilled if the President of the United States negotiates a great deal. I hope he negotiates the best deal ever--the one that he says he is going to negotiate. I hope and pray we get that great deal and that we can do a trade deal with China that is fair and better for America than it has ever been in the history of this country. For all of our sakes, I hope it happens. I really do. This is not a partisan issue. This is about where we are as a country. I hope for the best for him, but, right now, these tariffs are having the opposite effect, and it is hurting so many people. What many of us fear is going to happen in the cynical world we live in today--and we all get caught up in it, including Members of this body--is that when the President finally wakes up and realizes he has done irreparable harm and irreparable damage to so many of his own supporters with these tariffs and when he wakes up and approaches 2020 and understands that his support may be eroding among those who form the core backbone of his support, he will scramble to make a deal regardless of whether it will be a good deal or not but a deal nonetheless and regardless of whether America will come out on top. When all is said and done, we can claim victory, but it may be a very hollow victory because, in going forward, we may have a little bit better deal or we may have a much better deal, but it will not change what is happening today or what has happened over the last year. Even if a deal is struck, we have already lost. Farmers will still have to be digging themselves out of this financial hole for a very long time. Many will have to declare bankruptcy and lose their farms because they couldn't wait out the President's trade gamble and his tough talk. To mitigate the tariffs' harmful impacts, the administration is providing some aid to help farmers who are struggling as a result of the trade war. They did so last year, and they need it, but those government bailouts--and that is what they are, they are bailouts--are being paid by other American taxpayers in order to alleviate the pain inflicted by the administration's policies. That is right. Working families across the country are being asked to step up. We do those things. We are charitable people. If somebody is in pain, we want to do that and help, but when the pain is being caused by the very person who is causing us to then step up, that makes no sense. Folks, these handouts will not come close to making up for the losses these farmers have suffered, and it is sure not a long-term solution for a healthy trade market. The biggest problem for these farmers is that they don't want handouts. They don't want government subsidies. They don't want handouts to them for the problems they are facing because of these trade policies. They want their markets. They want to go to China. They want to go to places around the world and share their products. They are proud of their products. We should be proud of those products. We should not be just simply telling farmers: Do not worry because we will pay for you to grow your product. We are not worried about your markets because we will buy your soybeans. We will buy the cotton. We will buy those things if China doesn't do it. That is not what these farmers want. They don't want that charity. They want their markets. They work hard for those markets. So how much more can our farmers take? How much more? How long can they go on like this? At what point will they be forced to cut their losses and find another way to support their families while we negotiate with China, while we tweet the fact that a good deal is coming? At what point will Members of this body and the House of Representatives who ignore the math and the suffering of their constituents--at what point will those in this body and the House of Representatives who ignore the suffering of their constituents by supporting these harmful trade policies, at what point do they stand up? There are so many people I have talked to who do not support these trade policies, but yet they are silent, and they say: Give the President time. He is going to get a good deal. At what point does it come where they recognize the suffering of the farmers of the United States and my State of Alabama? At what point do they finally stand up and say enough is enough? Over the years, the Congress of the United States has ceded a lot of authority to the executive branch of government, and now it is coming home to roost. We can't do much of anything except give speeches like this. We can try to introduce bills that probably will never get to the Senate floor. We can go home and listen to the pain, listen to the suffering, listen to people who so badly want to support the President and what he is doing, as all of us do for these new trade deals, but the fact is, we have ceded so much power to the executive branch of government. It is time for Congress to stand up. It is time for people to speak out to help their farmers, to let the administration know that this cannot go on much longer. We have to stand up and stop this pain as quickly as we can. We can do it. The President can do it. He has smart people surrounding him. They need to explain to him again that these tariffs are being paid by the American people, not another country. Let's get this negotiated, and let's stop the bleeding for the American farmer as soon as we possibly can.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, today I wish to offer a resolution recognizing the critical contributions the laboratories of the Department of Defense make to the national security of this country. The 63 Laboratories, Warfare Centers, and Engineering Centers of the Department of Defense spread across 22 states and the District of Columbia are important components of the U.S. warfighting establishment and are instrumental in maintaining the technological edge of our military forces. My resolution would highlight the contributions of these laboratories by designating April 25, 2019, as ``Department of Defense Laboratory Day 2019'' in order to celebrate the work and accomplishments of the men and women in those defense labs. Many of the technological advantages upon which our military rests are rooted in the diligent, dedicated work and innovative mindset of the scientists and engineers in our defense labs. Their work drives not only the near- term, tactical innovations needed to support our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in the wars of the past century, but they are critical foundations of research that will fuel the processes and technologies needed for the next century and beyond. In addition to the cutting-edge research and development of new technologies, our defense laboratories are a resource to the national economy and innovation ecosystem of the nation--providing the people, facilities, experience, operational problems, and capabilities for technology transfer that support the warfighter, industry, academia, other parts of federal government, and even many of our allies and partners throughout the world. The nearly 76,000 scientists and engineers employed by the Department of Defense labs are exemplars of public service, and the outstanding dedication, qualifications, service, and accomplishments of these scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff of the defense laboratories should make all Americans proud. In recognizing the men and women of the defense labs, I am especially proud of the contributions Alabama makes. As the home to multiple Army laboratories--including the Aviation and Missile Center, Space and Missile Defense Technical Center, and the Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory--Alabama punches far above its weight in terms of contributions of people, facilities and resources to the defense laboratory network. This results in one of the highest per capita concentrations of scientists and engineers in the country, with an extraordinary economic impact on the State. Not only do these labs provide thousands of jobs in Alabama, they bring in billions of dollars in investments and return those dollars back into the communities in which they reside. The network of Department of Defense laboratories is not just an asset for the Department, but is a national asset as well. With over a hundred DoD-funded Nobel prizes, and thousands of patents and publications, defense laboratories are technological and economic engines on par with any industry or university laboratory. I applaud the work of the defense labs, and all of the scientists and engineers that make them successful, especially those in Alabama. I urge my colleagues to support the contributions of the labs by supporting the proclamation of April 25th as the 2019 Laboratory Day.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Madam President, I rise today to honor a great American, an American whose words lit a flame of hope in the hearts of those souls who had become weary with the weight of injustice, an American whose struggles, ideals--and, yes, his dreams--are etched in the foundation of our Nation. On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested in my hometown of Birmingham, AL. His crime? Leading a peaceful march to protest the indignity suffered by the Black community in the Jim Crow era. He had violated Birmingham public safety commissioner ``Bull'' Connor's ban on public demonstrations, which targeted the growing resistance of African Americans to the injustices they were suffering. While in solitary confinement in Birmingham, Dr. King wrote what became known as the ``Letter from Birmingham Jail''--a stinging response to a group of White clergy in Alabama who had denounced his tactics and questioned the wisdom and timing of his arrival in Birmingham. They insisted that he was an outside agitator coming to Alabama to instigate trouble. Dr. King responded famously: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'' In his letter, he rejected the idea that African Americans should be more patient for change in the face of the daily indignities inflicted by segregation and in the face of violence and threats and intimidation. He wrote: ``There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over.'' While I did not experience this struggle as a young child--a young White child growing up in the nearby Birmingham suburb--I spent much of my adult life and career as a lawyer and former U.S. attorney examining the history and absorbing its lessons. I have often returned to Dr. King's letter to understand the forces at play at the height of the civil rights struggle. Each time I read his words, I am in awe of his courage and resolve in the face of such incredible personal risk. While we have come so far and while we have made great progress in loosening the binds of racial injustice that have constrained and suffocated our Nation for so many years, we have not yet fully relieved the weight of our country's abominable history of slavery, segregation, and racial discrimination. That is why I rise today. It is our civic duty and I believe our moral obligation to remember Dr. King's words and his deeds, to tell his story, to appreciate that 1963 was not all that long ago, and to reflect on how many things have changed and how many have not. Our obligation is to honor Dr. King's legacy by joining him in envisioning the mountaintop and working to make real his famous dream that our Nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed: ``We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal.'' That is why we rise today. Dr. King saw an America that had the potential to live up to its lofty ideals, where every man, woman, and child had an equal opportunity to succeed and to live a life free from discrimination. He saw the good in our country when it would have been easier for him to see the bad. It is that positive spirit and clarity of vision that made his legacy so enduring. Today, we will honor that legacy by reading the letter from the Birmingham jail in its entirety in the Senate Chamber. I am honored to be joined today by Martin Luther King III, who is in the Gallery--the oldest son of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King--as well as my old friend Charles Steele, the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a reverend. Together, they are at the forefront of the modern civil rights movement and personally carry on the legacy that Dr. King bequeathed us. I am also very grateful that several of my colleagues on both sides of the political aisle will stand with me to read portions of the letter today. I want to thank Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Ted Cruz of Texas, Kamala Harris of California, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for participating in this historic reading today. I urge the rest of our colleagues, anyone in the Gallery, and anyone watching at home on television to consider what we might still learn today from this powerful message about justice and freedom from oppression and the indifference of people who stand idly by when their fellow Americans are persecuted. To begin the reading of the letter, I would like to yield to my colleague from Tennessee, my friend Senator Alexander.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, Dr. King continues: Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation--and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping ``order'' and ``preventing violence.'' I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department. It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather ``nonviolently'' in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett in Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice. As T. S. Eliot has said: ``The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.'' I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride the segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: ``My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest.'' They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts, and pray long prayers? If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me. I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergymen and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty. Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood,

Mr. JONES

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

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Madam President, today I pay tribute to a great leader and an exceptional officer of the U.S. Army, COL Thomas von Eschenbach, now serving as the director, Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, AL, as he prepares to retire from military service on May 31, 2019. COL Thomas von Eschenbach has served our Army and our Nation for more than 28 years. He has been a true professional; a dedicated soldier, leader, and officer. Throughout his career he has commanded our great soldiers at many levels; he has deployed to combat numerous times in defense of the Nation; and he has been assigned critical positions in our military. Colonel von Eschenbach has provided outstanding leadership, advice, and sound professional judgment on numerous issues of enduring importance to the Army, Congress, and this Nation. A native of Alabama, Colonel von Eschenbach was commissioned a second lieutenant of aviation upon graduating from Auburn University ROTC as a Distinguished Military Graduate. His first assignment after flight school was at Fort Bragg, NC, where he served as a platoon leader, company executive officer, and battalion staff officer. He next served in Germany as a troop commander and division staff officer. Upon his return from Germany, Colonel von Eschenbach served as a small group leader and later company commander in the Aviation Branch Captains' Career Course and Warrant Officer Advanced Courses at Fort Rucker, AL. As a field-grade officer he returned to Fort Bragg and served as the battalion executive officer and operations officer for an attack battalion, and later brigade operation officer in the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade to include a deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom. After an assignment in Army Human Resources Command, Colonel von Eschenbach commanded an Air Cavalry Squadron Task Force during a deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. After this command, he served on the Army staff as the Deputy Director for Army Aviation. For the past 4 years, Colonel von Eschenbach has served as the director of the Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. In this role he was responsible to the development of future doctrine and concepts, force structure, and capability requirements for Army aviation to ensure our aviation forces and soldiers have the right concepts and equipment to prevail in future conflicts. On behalf of the State of Alabama, the 116th Congress, and the United States of America, I thank COL Thomas von Eschenbach, U.S. Army, and his entire family for their commitment, sacrifice, and contributions to this great Nation. I join my colleagues in wishing Colonel von Eschenbach future success as he transitions to other opportunities to serve the Army and our country.

Mr. JONES

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

Mr. JONES. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about something that, quite frankly, I find to be completely abhorrent, and that is the short- changing of our Nation's military widows when it comes to survivor benefits they paid for and earned. It is something that I was dismayed to learn is happening to some 65,000 surviving spouses of American military servicemembers--including more than 2,000 Alabamians--who were killed in action or died as a result of service-connected causes. After suffering the loss of a loved one, military widows and their families can find themselves unexpectedly losing out on vital survivor benefits they had planned to receive in these tragic circumstances. That is because, under current law, surviving spouses are entitled to receive VA dependency and indemnity compensation benefits, or what is known as DIC. Some families go a step further. Like many families in the private sector, many go a step further by voluntarily paying into the Defense Department's Survivor Benefits Plan, which acts like an additional life insurance policy. Again, they are entitled to the DIC benefits, but they pay for additional coverage should there be a tragic accident or tragic death, which acts like an additional life insurance policy. That policy is something these families voluntarily pay into, and like any other life insurance plan you or I might buy, they expect to get the benefits they have paid for. For those who are entitled to receive these benefits from both programs, they are subject to what has been known as the widow's tax. Again, this is only for those folks who are getting benefits from both programs--the DIC and the survivor's benefit programs. That is because our law prohibits widows from receiving their full benefits from both programs. That is the widow's tax. Instead, their SBP annuity is prorated because their DIC payment is subtracted from it. They don't get the full benefit of both programs when one gets subtracted from the other. Simply put, it is really a way for the Federal Government to save a few bucks by simply ripping off military widows whose family paid extra to receive these additional benefits. They voluntarily paid extra to receive these benefits. This isn't just a problem facing Active-Duty families. It is far bigger, folks, because it impacts anyone who has a service-connected death. To put that in context, in Alabama alone, there are over 60,000 Department of Defense retirees whose families could be impacted by the widow's tax if the veteran were to pass from a service-connected cause. Now, I understand that we have to be careful stewards of taxpayer dollars. I am fully aware of that. But give me a break when it comes to military spouses and widows. This is a benefit that families paid for out of their own pockets. If they are not getting the money, then, it begs the question: Who is? No surviving spouse should be faced with this kind of unexpected and completely unfair cut to the benefits they ought to be able to count on in these heartbreaking circumstances. No surviving spouse should have to fight for what their families are owed--in the wake of family tragedy, no less. Again, this is what they are owed. This is the thing they have paid for in more ways than one. No surviving spouse should have to mount a massive lobbying effort in the Capitol of the United States, of this great country, to get folks to understand that this is wrong and we need to fix it. Every year, there is a campaign to fix this program. Yet, it doesn't get done. Instead, these families should be focusing on helping their families begin to heal and find strength. They should be given the space and time to breathe. It is an absolute shame that this is even a problem we need to address. That is why I have introduced bipartisan legislation with several of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle--Senators Collins, Tester, Crapo, and 31 others--to repeal the law that prevents these families from receiving their just due. The Military Widows Tax Elimination Act of 2019 reflects our belief that people who put their lives on the line for our country deserve to know their families will be taken care of if something, God forbid, ever happens to them. Our bill has support from the Gold Star Wives of America, the VFW, the Military Officers Association of America, the National Military Family Association, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and so many others. In fact, some of the most dedicated activists from the Gold Star Wives are watching today from the Gallery right now, including Crystal Wenum, Harriet Boyden, and Donna Eldridge. I thank them all for their leadership and for their continued contributions to our country. This legislation has been introduced in previous sessions of Congress, but it has yet to pass--in large part because of concerns about the cost. As I said, while I certainly understand that there is going to be a cost associated with this, we are talking about a benefits plan that these families paid for on their own accord. It is their money that went into this fund, not taxpayer money and not money that is appropriated every year. It is their money, and they deserve to get it back. I think we can all agree that ending the widow's tax is the right thing to do for our military families. Why don't we finally get it done in this, the 116th Congress? Let's show our troops and their families that we support them not just in word but in deed. Let's show these surviving spouses and their children that we stand with them long after their loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country and long after we know that they, too, have made a sacrifice in the name of this country. Let's right this wrong and finally pass the Military Widows Tax Elimination Act. I urge my colleagues to do the right thing. It is never ever too late to do it. Even though this has been tried before, it is never ever too late to do the right thing and support this bill. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, people across the country and around the world today have seen the images of the terrible devastation left by tornadoes that touched down in Lee County, AL. Lee County is home to Auburn University, and so many of the wonderful constituents there have suffered mightily over the last 24 hours. As of right now, we know 23 people have lost their lives--23--and as we speak, rescue teams and first responders are still out searching for others who may have been hurt. We pray that we have seen the last of the loss of life, but that is to be determined. Already, this is one of the deadliest storms in our State's history, and Louise and I want to offer our most sincere condolences to all of those who have been affected by this horrible event. The youngest victim we know of was only 6 years old. My heart goes out to all the folks who have lost loved ones, who suffered damage to their homes and their businesses, and I ask that everyone pray for their comfort and healing. I also thank the courageous first responders who put their lives on the line time and again to help folks in need. Our rescue crews are working around the clock, and we are so grateful to them for the work they do every day but especially on days like today and yesterday after tragedies like these strike. These are our friends and neighbors who step up in the wake of disaster to help their community, sometimes-- sometimes--while struggling with the tragedy on a very personal level themselves. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-familiar sight in Alabama. We have seen our fair share of natural disasters. On a single day in 2011, an estimated 60 tornadoes devastated so many towns and cities, including Cullman, Hackleburg, Pratt City, and Tuscaloosa, killing over 200 people. All of these have a way of being personal. That day was especially personal for my wife, Louise, who is from Cullman. I was out of town that day attending a judicial conference and called her as she was watching on television how her town was being destroyed, debris flying everywhere, and she could barely speak. She can still barely speak about it today. As U.S. attorney, in April of 1998, I saw firsthand the devastating damage to the Oak Grove and Edgewater communities, where 32 people lost their lives. That destruction in Edgewater was especially personal to me because that is where my grandparents lived for so many years and where my parents lived when I was first born. I can remember walking that day across the slab that was left of the little church my parents attended when I was born, walking across with President Clinton. It is unbelievable to witness that kind of damage. Jacksonville, AL, is still rebuilding after a tornado severely damaged their city last year, including the campus of Jacksonville State University. Last fall, Hurricane Michael ravaged our farmlands in the Wiregrass in South Alabama, destroying cotton crops that were ready for harvest and 30-year-old timber. Yesterday's tornadoes touched down at a time when North Alabama is already dealing with historic flooding in Cherokee County. I mentioned, it just seems all too often these have a personal note. As I checked in with my staff last night, I realized that two of my staffers who are with me on the floor today, Garrett and Michael, also are from that area. They also are concerned. It is a horrible situation to be this far away, knowing what is going on in your hometown and not knowing whether your loved ones are in the path of that destruction. Alabama, however, is a resilient place, and we have an incredibly capable disaster preparedness and response agency, one that works around the clock when needed, but given all we have faced over the past year, we will still need help. While there is much yet to be done in the immediate aftermath of this storm, we know a full recovery will take a great deal of time and resources. So I am here tonight to ask my colleagues in the Senate to stand ready to help Lee County rebuild and heal. Disasters will strike all of our communities at some point or another, and that makes it all the more important that we work together when they do. To the folks in Lee County, AL, who have lost everything and who have lost loved ones in this disaster, I am in this with you for the long haul. I promise you that. I know things will never be the same for many folks, but I do promise that I will do everything I can to help. I have already been working with Senators Perdue, Isakson, and others to secure disaster funding for the 2018 storms that hit the Southeast last year. We are hoping that we can get an agreement on that bill very soon and get it onto the President's desk so those farmers can be ready for the next planting season that they are about to go into. In the days ahead, I am going to be working closely with colleagues here in the Senate to secure Federal disaster funding that includes Lee County, AL, because, despite the fact that we are in the early stages, it is easy to see from the photographs and the videos of the devastation that they will need it. We have been in touch with Governor Ivey and other local officials about how we in the Senate can best help. As the dust settles, we will be down there to try to make sure that our offices do what is necessary to help those fine people. In the face of all of these terrible tragedies, the thing that gives me hope is the strength of my fellow Alabamians. They are an amazing-- amazing--citizenry. From one end of the State to the other, they are amazing people who see tragedy, but they build on that tragedy. Yet they never lose hope. Even though an event like this can be incredibly difficult, I have seen the resolve of the people of Alabama, and I know that we will be able to rise and rebuild. Thank you.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, first, I would like to thank my colleague from Wyoming for his work today and for his work on this very, very important issue of chronic wasting disease and prevention. This is an issue of great importance not only to Alabama but to 26 other States-- from Wyoming to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. This is an issue which, if we fail to act, will result in an environmental and economic crisis. Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is truly a terrible, contagious neurological illness that affects all deer, elk, and moose populations nationwide. It is a disease that is as bad as it sounds. It functions much like mad cow disease. Senator Barrasso gave all of the scientific words. He has a little bit more training in that than I do. So I will just call it what it is--mad cow disease and neurological disorders. It attacks an animal's nervous system and, over time, renders the animal weak and emaciated, with little control over its body. The disease has a fatality rate of 100 percent. Every single animal that contracts this disease dies. It is highly communicable, spreading not only through physical contact but also through contaminated environments where infected animals have been. The jury is still out on whether chronic wasting disease may be transmitted to humans, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend against consuming animals contaminated with the disease. In 2017, a Canadian study documented transmission through consumption of contaminated meat to a nonhuman primate. Clearly, this is something to be very concerned and cautious about because of the clear and concrete evidence that it could be transmitted to humans. The fact is, the disease is spreading, and it is spreading fast. Even if it does not pose an immediate health threat to humans or at least a documented health threat right now, it poses a serious significant financial threat to Alabama and many other States. The total annual economic contribution of deer hunting to the U.S. economy is close to $40 billion. In fact, as a hunting company, if it were a publicly-traded company, it would fall in the top 100 on the Fortune 500 list. The hunting industry in Alabama generates $2.6 billion every year for the State's economy, and according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, deer hunting alone generates nearly $2 billion or roughly 80 percent of that amount. Obviously, this makes deer hunting sound like a very big business, and it is. It is a big business in Alabama, and it is a big business across the country. But make no mistake. It is more than just that. It is more than just an economy. It is more than money that comes into our community. Any hunter in Alabama will tell you that hunting is not only a time-honored tradition and a recreational pastime. It is in our State and in so many others a way of life. Hunters in Alabama will also tell you about the devastating effect that CWD can have in the State of Alabama. They use the word ``disaster,'' and they are not exaggerating. Chronic wasting disease is spreading throughout the country, and it is closing in on Alabama. Cases have already been confirmed in southern Tennessee and northeastern Mississippi. A study out of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on the projected impacts of chronic wasting disease in Tennessee has predicted a nearly $100 million total loss to that State alone. We are thankful currently that no deer in Alabama have yet tested positive for CWD, which is a testament to the hard work being done by groups like the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, but State agencies alone cannot address this problem. Their budgets are already strained by the activities that they currently undertake to monitor and manage the disease as well as the many other fine programs they manage in my State and elsewhere. Adequate resources must be devoted to studying the transmission of this disease and developing strategies for its containment. If it doesn't happen, then CWD, or chronic wasting disease, in Alabama and in other States not yet affected becomes not a question of if but when. That is why today, along with Senator Barrasso from Wyoming and Senator Bennet from Colorado, we are proud to introduce the Chronic Wasting Disease Transmission in Cervidae Study Act. Once again, I want to commend Senator Barrasso, in particular, as the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee for his leadership in this space. I know he cares deeply about Wyoming's wildlife population, but clearly he cares about the population and conservation efforts throughout the country. Despite its widespread prevalence, very little is known about CWD and how it is transmitted. Our bipartisan legislation tasks the USDA and the Department of the Interior to work with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a review of the existing science, how it is spread, and current best-management practices in order to get a better handle on what we already know about the disease and its transmission. More specifically, this legislation will allow us to identify the most effective techniques for prevention, surveillance, and management of the disease. It will also enable us to get a better understanding of the total economic cost of CWD to our State economies, to wildlife agencies, to landowners, and to hunters. A review conducted under this legislation will allow us to gather essential data that will enable us to conduct better research into the future and to better formulate our policy goals in order to mitigate and manage this devastating disease. Like many Alabamians, I love spending time outdoors, taking in the breathtaking nature and wildlife of my State. Alabama is a gorgeous State with an incredibly diverse array of fauna and wildlife. It is an amazing place. I am also a pretty avid hunter, and, in fact, this weekend is the last weekend for deer season in my State, and I am hoping to get out there this Sunday, the very last day, for the last deer hunt of the season as this season comes to a close. This has really been a cherished pastime for me and my youngest child, my son Christopher, for many, many years. Taking action to find a solution to stop the spread of CWD will help to ensure that countless other outdoors men and women--because women are a big part of the hunting population in the State of Alabama--can continue to enjoy this tradition. We have to do everything we can to combat what is truly an existential threat to the deer hunting industry in my State and around the country. Our legislation is an essential step forward in protecting the health of our wildlife, protecting the health of our environment, and, ultimately, protecting the way of life for millions of hunting Americans. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, first, I would like to thank my colleague from Wyoming for his work today and for his work on this very, very important issue of chronic wasting disease and prevention. This is an issue of great importance not only to Alabama but to 26 other States-- from Wyoming to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. This is an issue which, if we fail to act, will result in an environmental and economic crisis. Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is truly a terrible, contagious neurological illness that affects all deer, elk, and moose populations nationwide. It is a disease that is as bad as it sounds. It functions much like mad cow disease. Senator Barrasso gave all of the scientific words. He has a little bit more training in that than I do. So I will just call it what it is--mad cow disease and neurological disorders. It attacks an animal's nervous system and, over time, renders the animal weak and emaciated, with little control over its body. The disease has a fatality rate of 100 percent. Every single animal that contracts this disease dies. It is highly communicable, spreading not only through physical contact but also through contaminated environments where infected animals have been. The jury is still out on whether chronic wasting disease may be transmitted to humans, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend against consuming animals contaminated with the disease. In 2017, a Canadian study documented transmission through consumption of contaminated meat to a nonhuman primate. Clearly, this is something to be very concerned and cautious about because of the clear and concrete evidence that it could be transmitted to humans. The fact is, the disease is spreading, and it is spreading fast. Even if it does not pose an immediate health threat to humans or at least a documented health threat right now, it poses a serious significant financial threat to Alabama and many other States. The total annual economic contribution of deer hunting to the U.S. economy is close to $40 billion. In fact, as a hunting company, if it were a publicly-traded company, it would fall in the top 100 on the Fortune 500 list. The hunting industry in Alabama generates $2.6 billion every year for the State's economy, and according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, deer hunting alone generates nearly $2 billion or roughly 80 percent of that amount. Obviously, this makes deer hunting sound like a very big business, and it is. It is a big business in Alabama, and it is a big business across the country. But make no mistake. It is more than just that. It is more than just an economy. It is more than money that comes into our community. Any hunter in Alabama will tell you that hunting is not only a time-honored tradition and a recreational pastime. It is in our State and in so many others a way of life. Hunters in Alabama will also tell you about the devastating effect that CWD can have in the State of Alabama. They use the word ``disaster,'' and they are not exaggerating. Chronic wasting disease is spreading throughout the country, and it is closing in on Alabama. Cases have already been confirmed in southern Tennessee and northeastern Mississippi. A study out of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on the projected impacts of chronic wasting disease in Tennessee has predicted a nearly $100 million total loss to that State alone. We are thankful currently that no deer in Alabama have yet tested positive for CWD, which is a testament to the hard work being done by groups like the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, but State agencies alone cannot address this problem. Their budgets are already strained by the activities that they currently undertake to monitor and manage the disease as well as the many other fine programs they manage in my State and elsewhere. Adequate resources must be devoted to studying the transmission of this disease and developing strategies for its containment. If it doesn't happen, then CWD, or chronic wasting disease, in Alabama and in other States not yet affected becomes not a question of if but when. That is why today, along with Senator Barrasso from Wyoming and Senator Bennet from Colorado, we are proud to introduce the Chronic Wasting Disease Transmission in Cervidae Study Act. Once again, I want to commend Senator Barrasso, in particular, as the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee for his leadership in this space. I know he cares deeply about Wyoming's wildlife population, but clearly he cares about the population and conservation efforts throughout the country. Despite its widespread prevalence, very little is known about CWD and how it is transmitted. Our bipartisan legislation tasks the USDA and the Department of the Interior to work with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a review of the existing science, how it is spread, and current best-management practices in order to get a better handle on what we already know about the disease and its transmission. More specifically, this legislation will allow us to identify the most effective techniques for prevention, surveillance, and management of the disease. It will also enable us to get a better understanding of the total economic cost of CWD to our State economies, to wildlife agencies, to landowners, and to hunters. A review conducted under this legislation will allow us to gather essential data that will enable us to conduct better research into the future and to better formulate our policy goals in order to mitigate and manage this devastating disease. Like many Alabamians, I love spending time outdoors, taking in the breathtaking nature and wildlife of my State. Alabama is a gorgeous State with an incredibly diverse array of fauna and wildlife. It is an amazing place. I am also a pretty avid hunter, and, in fact, this weekend is the last weekend for deer season in my State, and I am hoping to get out there this Sunday, the very last day, for the last deer hunt of the season as this season comes to a close. This has really been a cherished pastime for me and my youngest child, my son Christopher, for many, many years. Taking action to find a solution to stop the spread of CWD will help to ensure that countless other outdoors men and women--because women are a big part of the hunting population in the State of Alabama--can continue to enjoy this tradition. We have to do everything we can to combat what is truly an existential threat to the deer hunting industry in my State and around the country. Our legislation is an essential step forward in protecting the health of our wildlife, protecting the health of our environment, and, ultimately, protecting the way of life for millions of hunting Americans. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the issues of fairness, of equality, and of basic dignity. In the greatest Nation on Earth and the leader of the free world, women are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men--80 cents for every dollar. That disparity is starker yet for women of color. Black women are paid 61 cents on the dollar. Latina women are paid just 53 cents on the dollar. Alabama, my home State, has the fourth biggest gender wage gap of any State in the country. That is just inexcusable. Those cents add up to real money, about $10,000 on average for every woman working a full-time year-round job. That is a total of about $900 million lost each year for American women--every single year, a total of $900 million. That is real money, and that is increasing. This gap persists regardless of education status and across different jobs, opportunities, and industries. It persists despite laudable efforts here in Congress over the past 50 years to start chipping away at this problem. Most importantly, these lost wages impact women's ability to pay their rent or mortgages, to save for their children's college tuition, or to pay off existing debt. Think about this. This disparity can have lifelong consequences for the quality of life of women and their families. Fortunately, there are steps we can take that have already had tremendous support. I want to bring this home a little bit because we were looking at some statistics recently. If you factor in the fact that women are making so much less--a total of $900 million; think about this--this is not just a matter of discrimination. It is a matter of economics. According to a 2015 Center for American Progress report, 42 percent of mothers were the sole or primary breadwinners for their families in 2015, bringing in at least--at least--half of their family's incomes. Black and Latina mothers are more likely to be the breadwinners than White mothers. In fact, 70.7 percent of Black mothers and 40.5 percent of Latina mothers were the primary or sole breadwinners in 2015, compared with 37.4 percent of White mothers. Not all of those women are going to be the subject of pay discrimination. We know that. But the fact is that there is likely to be a huge percentage. If there is $900 million, that is a pretty big percentage. By equalizing the pay for men and women--equal pay for equal work, which we all talk about but which in theory and in practice just doesn't happen--we can raise the standard of living for families across this country, and we can raise the standard of living for families in a State like Alabama, where it is desperately needed. These disparities, as I said, can have lifelong consequences for the quality of life of women and their families. Fortunately, there are steps that have already been taken. Just yesterday, I was proud to join my colleague Senator Murray and a host of others--in fact, I think it is almost all Democrats in the Senate, all Democrats in the House, and one Republican in the House--to reintroduce the Paycheck Fairness Act, a modest, commonsense solution to the problem of pay inequity which persists despite the existence of Federal and State equal pay laws. Introduction of the Paycheck Fairness Act also just so happened to fall on the day after the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The group who introduced this bill yesterday was joined here in Washington by Ms. Ledbetter herself. Lilly Ledbetter, from Alabama, is a great friend of mine and a native Alabamian. She was born in Jacksonville, AL, about an hour and a half hour from where I grew up, just outside of Birmingham, in Fairfield. She married her husband Charles after graduating from high school, and they had two children, Vicky and Phillip. After almost 20 years working at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant in Gadsden, AL, just as she was nearing retirement, Ms. Ledbetter learned she was making thousands of dollars a year less than the men in her same position. She decided to take some action. She sued to try to get her backpay and to try to end that discrimination. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the Court found that her claims were time-barred because she hadn't filed a lawsuit 180 days from the day of her first paycheck, 20 years earlier, even though she was totally unaware of the discrimination that existed for that 20-year period. Because of her fight--which, again, she took all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States--Congress ultimately passed in 2009 the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restarts the 180-day clock every time a discriminatory paycheck is issued. Now, for the 12th time, Congress has introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, which ensures robust protection against sex-based pay discrimination. This vital legislation has been introduced in every single congressional session since 1997. It is absolutely inexcusable that versions of this very commonsense bill have had to be introduced 12 times and that it has yet to become law. The Paycheck Fairness Act would require employers to prove that disparities in pay are job-related and necessary and not based on sex. It would make it illegal to retaliate against workers for discussing their wages. It doesn't require employers to make wages public, unlike all of us who work for the government. It doesn't require that. It doesn't make them public, but it does make it illegal to retaliate against workers who simply discuss how much money they are making. It would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 so that wronged workers can participate in class-action lawsuits challenging systemic--systemic-- pay discrimination. It would also prohibit employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay so that pay discrimination doesn't follow women from job to job. Finally, this legislation would help businesses to facilitate equal pay practices. Earlier this month, a historic number of women were sworn in to the 116th Congress--a historic number. Women are increasingly the primary breadwinner or the cobreadwinner in their families. Statistics are showing that every year those numbers increase. They cannot afford to get shortchanged. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was an essential step forward in the fight for equal pay. I am proud, as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to once again be a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will continue the fight started by my friend Ms. Ledbetter more than 20 years ago and provide employees and employers--employees and employers--with new tools to battle pay gaps and pay discrimination. Yesterday, Ms. Ledbetter came by to visit the office, as she always does. She comes by to see me. We were talking about this. My wife Louise was there, and we were having a discussion about how she was doing and how the bill 10 years ago affected her and so many others, and she made a really interesting statement. She said: You know, I really don't want to be here, Senator. Actually, she called me Doug. That is what she does, and she should. She said: I don't want to be here. I shouldn't have to be here. I shouldn't have to come up to the Congress of the United States every year simply to advocate for equal pay for women who are doing the same job as the men. I would prefer to be home, back in Alabama, playing with the family and the grandkids. I don't need to be here. It really struck me: Why are we doing this every year? What could be the possible reason? Then, this morning, I was doing a media call with some folks back in Alabama, and I was asked about this. There was a recent editorial in one of our media and in our newspapers. As is it always with all of the comments online, which these days I just refuse to read because they get so crazy, there were so many that talked about the fact that this is just fake news--that women really aren't treated differently and that their pay is not below. I couldn't believe it. Every statistic shows that. My response to that is, also, this: If that is the case, then no one should be afraid of this bill. If every business is treating their women employees as fair as their men, they shouldn't worry about this. They should encourage it, because we know there will be some out there that are not doing it. So if this is fake news, all the better. Let's pass this bill. Let's make sure we have in law the opportunity for women to get those equal wages. I have a daughter who is getting into the workforce after getting a Ph.D. She deserves the same pay as the Ph.D.s with similar experience wherever she ends up in colleges or universities. I have two granddaughters, Ever and Ollie, whom I want to grow up in a world where they don't have to worry about this, where they don't have to come to Congress in 30 years or 40 years--just like Ms. Lily Ledbetter has to do each year--to advocate for women and their rights, to make sure their families are taken care of in the same manner as their male counterparts' families. It is the least we can do for the women in our country who work so hard, who represent the backbone of the American way with their families, who raise their children, who work hard and do all of those things we need to be proud of. It is the least we can do to simply say: The Congress of the United States acknowledges you, we appreciate you, and we want to make sure you are treated fairly. I would urge all of my colleagues--particularly my colleagues on the other side of the aisle--to get behind this legislation, and let's get this passed this year so that we don't have to worry about it again. I yield the floor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, today is a bittersweet day. I am assuming we are going to vote along with this deal--as I am--to reopen this government, to end the 35-day-old hostage crisis, and that truly is the best way to describe it. It is a bittersweet day. It is sweet because our dedicated and committed Federal workers and contractors will be going back to work. It is bitter because, as I think everyone in this body who has spoken today has said, it should never have happened. I believe we have an obligation to those folks to do a better job, to make it even sweeter. Last week, Congress passed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which would require that all impacted Federal employees receive compensation for wages lost during the government shutdown--35 days' worth of government wages paid back. While that is an important step, the shutdown has forced many of our Federal workers to incur additional costs associated with loans, late bill payments, and other effects of their missing paychecks--paychecks they depended on for their daily living. That is why today, along with Senators Baldwin, Cardin, Hirono, Van Hollen, Kaine, Klobuchar, Shaheen, Warner, and Wyden, I have introduced the Back Pay Fairness Act. If the Federal Government can charge you interest for being late on your taxes, then we should be paying interest to those employees from whom we have borrowed hard-earned dollars over the last 35 days. That is only fair. I am requesting in this bill that all interest be paid to the Federal workers whose paychecks were withheld. The more than 5,500 Federal workers in Alabama did not ask for this shutdown and should not be punished for it. It is only fair that the government pay them back with interest for putting them out of work indefinitely or forcing them to work without pay. Federal law often recognizes the importance of timely payments when it benefits the Federal Government. When it is the government's money, we demand that people pay on time. For example, if you don't pay your taxes on time, you can count on a notice letter from the Internal Revenue Service--at least when they are open--demanding that you pay interest, interest for the lateness of your payments. It doesn't matter when it is. If you go past a certain date, they tack on a penalty on top of that--not just interest. Well, when the Federal Government owes its Federal workers money, it is only reasonable, responsible, and fair that interest accrues as well. The interest rate in this legislation would be equivalent to the rate that Federal Agencies must pay vendors when they are late. The rate, known as the Treasury prompt payment rate, is currently 3.625 percent. Again, it is only fair. As David Cox, the American Federation of Government Employees' National President said: Federal workers are experiencing serious financial hardship from the shutdown. When it ends, employees will not only have to pay more than a month's worth of overdue bills, they will also have to pay late fees and penalties, overdraft fees and interest charges. The AFGE supports the Back Pay Fairness Act with interest. Again, it is only the right thing to do. This shutdown, which has lasted for 35 days, could have been avoided. The deal we got today is going to reopen the government through February 15, and it will go to a conference. We are going to do what the Presiding Officer said to do the other day: Do what we do. I heard his remarks a few minutes ago, and I absolutely agree with them. This government functions best when this body does what the Founders of the Constitution said we should do: Go to regular order; go to conference. As Senator Bennet said on the floor yesterday, our Founders contemplated the fact that we are going to have disagreements. That is why we have 100 people here. That is why there are 435. That is why there are nine members of the Supreme Court. We are going to have disagreements, but we don't have to shut down the government over those disagreements, especially when they are political disagreements and not truly substantive disagreements. This shutdown has had many costs, some that we will never be able to quantify. Some of the losses from the President's misguided shutdown we just can't put a cost on, and it is unfortunate that a while back, back in December, the President of the United States said that he wanted to shut down this government; he would own this shutdown. It is unfortunate that we had 35 days for which he really didn't take that responsibility, and he still didn't do it today. But the fact is, he could have avoided it. We have more than a million contractors. Senator Warner and others were talking about the contractors that have millions of dollars--tens of millions of dollars--of contracts with the Federal Government, many of those in my State of Alabama. I was in Huntsville, AL, today for the groundbreaking of a Blue Origin plant that is going to build the engines for some of the new, manned spacecraft that the United States will send into orbit. At a time when we were shutting down the U.S. Government, China was putting a spacecraft on the dark side of the Moon. We should be so embarrassed about that. NASA is such an important part of Alabama and our history in this country for what we can accomplish and for what we can do that is good--the leaders in the country--and while we were shut down and those poor NASA employees laid off and the contractors dealing with NASA, China--China--was jumping ahead. Well, I was so proud today when we started and we broke ground, because we are going to reclaim that right. We are going to get this government open, and we are going to reclaim America's role in space and technology and the human imagination that will take us beyond our borders here, beyond where we are. I visited a number of folks in Huntsville this past weekend and heard firsthand their stories of families, and it was heartbreaking. Members of our Coast Guard missed paychecks. For the first time in our Nation's history, members of our Armed Forces were not paid due to a government shutdown. The Coast Guard has boats next to the Navy in places all around the world. The Coast Guard defends this country just like the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Merchant Marines; yet they didn't get paid. They also do other work. They do wonderful work in disaster relief. They do wonderful work around the country in rescue operations. Members of the Coast Guard missed their paychecks, and I talked to members of the Coast Guard to hear their stories about how their men and women were suffering. We should be ashamed of that. It is not just the Coast Guard. Yesterday I took five dozen doughnuts to the TSA workers at the airport in Birmingham. You would have thought it was Christmas, they were so happy. In airports yesterday and today, those TSA agents say: Thank you for doing what you can do. We are here. We are working. That is why they deserve not only their paychecks, but they deserve it with interest. The S&P estimated the economic cost of this shutdown was $7.1 billion. We have been arguing over 5.7, and it has already cost this country 7.1. Bloomberg said businesses with contractors tied to the Federal Government would lose a cumulative $200 million a day. The chamber of commerce says small government contractors have lost more than $2.3 billion in revenue so far. The administration has admitted economic growth this quarter will likely be zero because of the shutdown. Payments to farmers hurt by the President's tariffs were delayed because the Department of Agriculture was closed. Now think about that. Farmers in Alabama and elsewhere got a double whammy. They got hurt because of the tariffs and the fact that China started retaliating and dried up their markets, and soybean farmers couldn't send their crops anywhere. So the President, in something I supported, even though it was a bandaid, decided they would give these farmers $12 billion in relief. Farmers don't like bailouts. These are hard-working, conservative folks who don't like bailouts. They don't want handouts; they wanted their markets back. Then, with this shutdown, half of that money couldn't be disbursed. At a time when those farmers were trying to get their loans in order and were trying to get ready for spring planting, they couldn't get any money from the Department of Agriculture. That is shameful. That is shameful. The tariff exclusion request for businesses has not been processed, all the while our Commerce Secretary was saying he just couldn't understand why people had to go to food banks. He should be ashamed. We should all be ashamed that a representative of the U.S. Government would say such a thing, when it was the administration that caused the shutdown. When the economy slows and there is less money to spend in our communities, hiring slows or stops and wages can decline, leaving our communities even more vulnerable. That is something that hasn't been talked about enough here; that is, in the last 35 days, the security of the United States, not just on the southern border but the entire United States has been at risk because of this government shutdown-- cyber security threats from Russia, China, North Korea, you name it. While we may have a crisis on the border--and there are many who might dispute that it is a crisis on our southern border as opposed to chaos. Everyone understands there is chaos. Everyone understands our border is not as secure as it should be. There are things we can do to secure that border, and they should be done to secure that border. Everybody--there is no one in this body who says they are for open borders. Last year, when the President nominated an individual who used to work with Customs and Border Patrol to be head of ICE, I asked him, in his entire career, has he ever heard of anyone who was in the public sector who was for open borders. He said: No, sir. It was an important question because we hear so much, and we see so many allegations coming from the other side that we are all for open borders. That is not true. We want to make sure we have secure borders. Let me tell you something, folks. I also want to have a heart. I want to make sure the United States is the moral leader of the world. There are people coming across, and they are fleeing violence, destruction, and their families are being put in danger in their home countries. We at least can try to figure out a way to help them; that we don't gas children on the border; that we don't separate families and put little children in jail; and that we don't charge people $11 for a tube of toothpaste in what amounts to a private prison; that we at least can recognize that we have an element of humanity about us; that when people flee and seek refuge in the United States of America, they do so for a reason. It is because we don't have to make this America great again. We are great. That is why they are coming here, to get away. We have to make sure we understand and recognize that. What I want to see is that good-faith effort. What I have said from the very beginning is, that good faith the President talked about today, I want to make sure--I wanted to open this government in December. We are doing today essentially what this body did on December 19--35 days ago, 37 days ago. We voted unanimously to keep this government open and let people talk about the border security; let folks talk about whether we have a threat of a national security emergency. That is what we do, as Senator Alexander said on the floor earlier. I agree with him, and I agree with Senator Murkowski and Senator Warner and all those who spoke before me whom I heard. Senator Alexander said that two things went wrong in December; one, we should never have a shutdown as an option. Our Federal workers should never be held hostage. Yes, people have said this is a hostage crisis because that is what it was. Those poor workers have been held hostage, and now we have a threat again. If we don't do something in 3 weeks, they will do it again. The sad thing is, unlike a hostage crisis that you might see on television on the news or on television in TV shows, it is the same hostages every time. Every time this government shuts down, it is the same hostages who are taken, and we cannot let that happen. Senator Alexander said the other thing that we didn't do is we didn't do what we were supposed to do. We didn't have that regular order. We saw all of the political fights play out on TV between this side or the other side, and we didn't get back to what this body does best, why I came to this body, why I am so proud to be a part of this body, why I am so proud to be here with Senator Patrick Leahy, who was in the U.S. Senate when I was just a staffer for Senator Heflin. We need to be doing those things for the American people and for the people in my State. That is what we need to be doing. As I listened to the President today, I appreciated the fact that he is signing this bill that I think will pass both Houses. I feel confident it will. As I listened to him today, I am thinking to myself: Mr. President, you talk about good faith, and you want people to have good-faith dialogue. They will in this body, but good faith is a two- way street--a two-way street. It is not just one side or the other, but it is a two-way street. I worry sometimes that the President of the United States doesn't always do that. We saw last year, when we had a bill for $25 billion that he decided he didn't like, after he initially said it was one of the areas he wanted to do. We saw it in December, when this body came to the floor and passed unanimously a measure to keep the government open, that I know would not have come to this floor by Senator McConnell had the President not indicated he would sign it and changed in 24 hours. So good faith, Mr. President, is a two-way street. I am willing to do that. I have always said that. I heard a lot of people on both sides of this aisle who are ready, willing, and able to try to do the things we need to do to secure our borders, but we have to have good faith coming out of the administration as well. We have to make sure the administration takes care of those families who are trying to get away; that we will look to maybe try to provide some help to those countries so they can stem the tide of that violence and try to do some things to move these asylum seekers along and not just build walls to stop them. Let's be humanitarians as well as security agents. We can do that. That is not inconsistent with the American way. That is not inconsistent at all. I appreciate the time on the floor today. I urge all my colleagues to vote for this compromise to open this government back up. Importantly, I urge my colleagues and in the House--let's not give these Federal workers just their backpay, as we passed before, let's do what is right. If we mean what we say about how we appreciate our Federal workers, if we mean what we say when we call and say how patriotic they are, let's do to them what the government would do otherwise. Let's give them the interest on these 35 days of backpay. Then we will truly fulfill our obligations as best we can. Importantly, let's not let this happen again. For God's sake, do our duty. Let's not let this happen again in 3 weeks and go through this process once more. Let's get to work. Let's knuckle down. Let's secure the borders, but let's also let this crisis within our borders that has been created over the last 35 days end forever. Let that crisis go away and never come back. Thank you. I yield the floor.