James Lankford

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I started working on election security with Senator Klobuchar in 2017. At the time, I served on the Senate Intelligence Committee. We have worked together, from the beginning, to make this a bipartisan--in fact, nonpartisan--issue. Elections are an American event. They have partisan results, but the act of voting is an American event, not a partisan event. We had a hearing in the Rules Committee. We worked through the process. We continue to get feedback. In fact, she and I worked incredibly hard to be able to reach out to and have multiple meetings with secretaries of State from all over the country to be able to hear as much feedback as we could from the States, because elections are run by States. Elections are not run by the Federal Government. Each State runs their own election. Each county or precinct or parish has its own structure for doing elections. In fact, one of the strengths of our system is the diversity of how elections are actually done. So we had to do a lot of work behind the scenes with all of these different States, to meet with their leadership, to meet with Governors, and to meet with as many groups as we possibly could to get it. The basic goal from the beginning was to achieve a piece of legislation that had a couple of features in it. First, ensure timely information sharing between the Federal Government, State, and local officials because we learned in 2016 it was not timely information that was shared. The Federal Government had visibility on what Russia was doing; the States and the precincts did not. It took up to 14 months for the States to find out what the Russians were doing. That can never happen again. Second, we must expedite security clearances for the State and local election officials. Again, we had this issue in 2016 when Federal officials saw what was going on by the Russians but said that the State individuals didn't have enough security clearance. So, instead, they got a nebulous memo that said to watch out for these IP addresses, with no explanation as to why. That can never happen again. Third is a way to verify the results of our elections. That should be straightforward. Every State, every precinct should be able to verify that--to go back to the people in the area and say: This is how you voted, and this is how we verified that the number is accurate, that there aren't additional ballots showing up later that the machines didn't count, that suddenly pop up from nowhere. There are no hanging chads. There are no inconsistencies. So people can look and say: That was done efficiently and professionally. The administration is taking steps on the first two of these. In fact, we had multiple hearings with DHS to talk about what they are doing to get security clearances. Now every single State has individuals within their State who have security clearances. Every State has greater cooperation now with the Federal Government. Multiple layers of cyber security have been offered to every single State so that each State can use their own cyber protection or add an additional layer from the Federal Government. It is up to that State to choose. It is not a mandated piece that has come down on them. Almost every State has taken that, though, and has said that they want those additional layers of cyber protection because it is not just about the voting machine or the piece of paper; it is how it is counted, how it is presented, how the unofficial results go out in the States the night of the election. All of those things matter. DHS has leaned in, and they have done aggressive work on this in the last several years. That is why the 2018 election went so smoothly. DHS has done a tremendous amount of work already on this. I have been clear, though, through this process that this cannot be a way of federalizing elections and trying to run the elections or saying that every piece of election equipment has to be run through some bureaucracy here in DC, whatever it may be. This is a State responsibility that the State has to take on. Right now, there is not a way for the States that do not have an election system--pieces of hardware for their elections--to change that hardware before 2020. The first of our elections is not in November 2020; it is 8 months from now, when our primaries begin. States cannot purchase the equipment, put it into place, train the volunteers, and make that transition before the 2020 election. So the emphasis is, what can we do to assist States in cyber protection? What can we do to get information to them? How can we run this? In the days ahead, Senator Klobuchar and I completely agree that every State should have a system with backup paper ballots--every State and every precinct. Right now that is not so, but no matter how much money we throw at the States right now, they could not make it so by the 2020 Presidential election. It is not possible to get there. In the 2018 omnibus, we added $380 million to go to the States. Not all of that $380 million has even been spent yet. There is still quite a bit of it that is banked. But that has all been allocated to the States, and the States are deciding the best way to use that. In States like mine--Oklahoma--we use optical scanners and paper ballots. That money was used in my State to assist in cyber protection of the system, the transition of the information, and how the unofficial results get out to the public. It is a good way to use those funds to make sure any threats are being mitigated. My State, like 21 other States, was one of the States that the Russians tried to engage in our election systems. They came to the State election board in my State, tried to get into it, found out the door was locked, and moved on to another State. They did not get into our system. But there are other areas where we could protect it. Of the $380 million we allocated just last year, much of it has not even been spent. So I object to another $380 million on top of that when the first part of it hasn't been spent yet, and it will not make a difference in this year's election because the $380 million for last year was really preparing for the 2020 elections. Here is my concern long term. I don't want election security to become a partisan issue. It would be easy for it to become that. H.R. 1, when it came out of the House, was clearly a very partisan bill. I find myself at odds today with a partner in this, Senator Klobuchar. We have worked together in a very nonpartisan way to resolve this issue. I think we still can resolve this and we can actually get a result, but a partisan proposal will not get us an end result in which both parties come together and resolve this. I reiterate again that election security should never be a partisan issue. This is about the preservation of our democracy, and it is something that all parties--Independents, Republicans, Democrats, and all parties--agree should be a central issue. Having stated all of that, begrudgingly, in this proposal because it is not a bipartisan proposal--I look forward to working through it and getting a bipartisan proposal done in the days ahead--I must object.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about Juneteenth and the VA MISSION Act. The VA MISSION Act is a remarkable transition that is happening right now in VA centers across the country, but I need to pause for just a moment in recognition of today's date. Today, as many people here in the Senate know--and if they don't know, they should know--today is June 19. In the South today, we recognize it as Juneteenth. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, but it took 2 years for that information about the emancipation of the slaves to reach multiple areas of the South. The date that was officially recognized was June 19, and that is the day we recognize each year--June 19--as Emancipation Day. In Oklahoma, in my great State, it actually didn't reach us until June 14, 1866--almost a year after it reached Texas. That is how long communication took at the time, to get the information. It is a remarkable thing to think about. One hundred and fifty-four years after emancipation reached the Southern States and the word of that reached them and after the end of the Civil War, we still as a nation pause on June 19 every year to remember how horrible it was to treat humanity as property. May we not forget where we were so we never get close to that again.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 299.

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Thursday, June 13; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business under the previous order.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the measure.

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 248, submitted earlier today.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 249, submitted earlier today.

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, following leader remarks on Thursday, June 13, 2019, the Senate be in a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each; further, that at 10:45 a.m., Senator Paul or his designee be recognized to make motions to discharge S.J. Res. 20 and S.J. Res. 26 and that the motions to discharge be debated concurrently until 11:30 a.m., with 7 minutes reserved for the chairman and ranking member, respectively; further, that at 11:30 a.m., the Senate vote in relation to the motions to discharge in the order listed and that following disposition of the motion in relation to S.J. Res. 26, the Senate proceed to executive session and the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Crawford nomination; finally, that if cloture is invoked on the Crawford nomination, at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, the Senate vote on the confirmation of the Stilwell nomination and the Crawford nomination; further, that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider consider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, we are 8 months away from the first primary of the 2020 election. There is a false belief that the 2020 election is a year and a half away when it is 8 months away. In his May 29 speech, Robert Mueller made the statement that there were multiple systematic efforts to interfere in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American. FBI Director Chris Wray made the statement that the 2018 election was a dress rehearsal for the big show. There are a few statements that we can argue about in this body. I find absolutely no one arguing in this body that the Russians didn't try to interfere in our election of 2016. If you go all the way back in history to 2012, the Russians actively engaged in the Ukrainian election. In that election, they found multiple ways to interfere and to change the stories on social media. They found multiple ways to interfere in their election internally. That interference in 2012 was their practice run for what they launched on the United States in 2016. It is not just against us. The Russian Federation has attacked every single NATO country's election--every one of them. It just happened to come to us last. I have no doubt that this will not be the last time the Russians will try to interfere in our elections. As I walk through the entire first section of it over and over again, what is clear from the Mueller report is they repeat what they have found and how they went through the process of what the Russians were trying to do in working with social media entities to try to create fake American accounts in order to put out fake information online and in trying to find as many different places as they could in order to put out stories to create confusion and chaos. I have had multiple folks back in my State who have asked me, why would the Russians do this? It is because the Russians cannot match us militarily, economically, or culturally, so they use alternative ways of doing warfare. For them, their favorite type is just stirring up chaos. They look for every time Americans or any free democracy argues with another, and when they find democracies arguing with each other, they reach in and take both sides and try to elevate the arguments. Basically, what I have told folks at home is that it is like two kids on the playground who are fighting. There is always a third kid on the edge of the playground who screams ``fight, fight, fight'' in trying to get as many people as possible to come to the fight. Well, the Russians are that other kid on the playground. They are not actually one of the kids fighting; they are just trying to make it louder and bigger. The Russians have actively engaged in trying to stir up any kind of controversy, and elections are just one place in which a democracy has controversy. They stir up controversy just as much anywhere else they find it, but it is easier at election time when Americans are making decisions and taking sides on their own. They do this on social media, but we also know from the Senate Intelligence Committee and its excellent work in its bipartisan process, as well as from the Mueller report, of what they were trying to do in their reaching into election systems. There were 21 States that had their elections systems probed by the Russians. That means, electronically, the Russians went in to see if the doors were locked. If they found that a door was locked and they couldn't easily get into the system, they would move on to another State and see if they could find a way to get into its system. The good news in this process is that the Russians were not able to get into a single election as far as their affecting any of the votes. Through all of the investigations from every single State, from an intelligence investigation, from our intelligence community and its investigations, from the FBI and its work, and from the Mueller report, there were no votes that were changed. We know that. We also know that the Russians were looking and what they were trying to find. What they did find is access to voter databases. That tells us, for the next election, they will be looking to see if they can get to that again. This is the lesson we need to learn from this as they do their spearfishing--as they reach out to different election systems. Here is what I think we can do in the days ahead and what we can have as our basic findings. As a nation, we need to be prepared for this. There are a couple of ways we can do it, and we have made very clear proposals in order to take this on. We need to give security clearances to each and every State so that if we discover something on the Federal side and if anyone in the intelligence community identifies there is a problem, one can rapidly get to a State and ask, are you aware of this? That was not present in 2016. We didn't have points of contact between the Department of Homeland Security and every secretary of state in each State so they could also maintain rapid security, not only just normal communication but at the classified level as well. We need the DHS to voluntarily engage with every single State and ask, would you like an additional layer of cyber protection? I can't imagine a State would not choose to add an additional layer on top of its existing cyber protection. We also need to encourage States to be attentive to any vulnerabilities they have in their election systems. This is not something we can do at the Federal level. At the Federal level, we don't tell States and counties and precincts how they should do their elections; that is a State's unique responsibility. We have a different election system in Oklahoma than what they have in Louisiana and in Texas and in Kansas. Although there are border States right around us, you would think we would all share and do it exactly the same, but we don't. That is actually a strength of our system. The Russians can't get into one system, hack into it, and then get into our entire election system, because States do it differently across the country. Yet we do need to be attentive if any State has a vulnerable system. Right now, the greatest challenge we have is with the States that actually use paperless voting systems, for there is no way to verify the accuracy of those votes. If all of the votes are done electronically--and there are States that don't do it, like mine. We don't do it that way, but some States do. In fact, there are five States that do it that way. You are basically walking up to an iPad, pushing different buttons, and then walking away. That all looks very clean, and there is no threat like there was in 2000 of hanging chads because you can see it there. The problem is, if there were a problem with that software, there would be no way to verify that vote. In my State, you mark on a paper ballot, and you run it through an optical scan. At the end of election day, they count up all of the things from the optical scan, and the paper ballots are secured away. If there is a question about a machine and its count, we can go back and verify it. In other States, they have systems that are very similar to that of an iPad in which you can kind of push your way through the buttons on it, do it all electronically, and look at it. When you decide ``this is exactly how I voted'' and you push the final button, it prints a paper receipt, basically, that is kept there. Then you can verify how you voted on the paper, which is stored on the machine, and you can also look at it electronically. It is very clean and very easy. There are other places that only use paper and count it all by hand because they are in the rural areas. Any of those systems work. There is no reason for the Federal Government to tell each State how to do its local elections, but we do need to encourage those States to have systems that allow them to go back and audit and verify. We don't need to have anything at the end of election day that makes Americans doubt the strength of our democracy or the capability of our democracy to hold an election. So here are the basic recommendations that are coming from the Senate Intelligence Committee and with which I will concur: States should continue to run elections. We do not need to federalize elections, and we do not need to require that there be Federal certifications for election machines. There is no reason to play Mother May I? with someone in Washington, DC, on how it works. States need to run their elections, but the Federal Government should always be there to assist States and to say: If you have a question or if you want a second opinion, we can offer that. The DHS should continue to create clear channels of communication between the Federal Government and appropriate officials at the State and local levels. Again, in 2016, when Jeh Johnson contacted State officials and said there was a problem with the election that was coming, State election officials pushed him away and said: We don't know who you are, and we don't know why you are calling us. We can't ever have that again. The DHS should expedite security clearances for appropriate State and local officials. The intelligence community should work to declassify information quickly. The last time the warnings came out about the Russian engagement in our election, it took over a year for States to learn that it was the Russians who had been trying to reach into their systems. That can never happen again. On a national level, we should create voluntary guidelines on cyber security, best practices for public awareness campaigns, promote election security awareness, and work through the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the National Association of Secretaries of State, and the National Association of State Election Directors. All of them have a role. We should have active communication among each other and among the DHS. States should also rapidly replace outdated, vulnerable election systems. I have had some folks say to me: Do you know what? Those five States that don't have auditable systems are going to need Federal assistance because it is going to be expensive. That seems like a great argument unless you look at the 45 other States that have figured out how to do it without Federal assistance. This argument that it is going to take $1 billion to help those last five States do what the other 45 States have found a way to do without Federal assistance just doesn't wash with me. Those five States can do the same thing that the other 45 States have done and have auditable, efficient election systems. We don't want Russia, Iran, or North Korea to tamper with our elections in 2020 or, for that matter, for there to be any domestic interference. We need to be able to prove the accuracy of our elections, and it shouldn't be a challenge for us in the days ahead. We are 8 months away from these elections, and we need to complete what we have started. I do need to mention one thing. I am exceptionally proud of the DHS and the work it did in 2018. There were no grand stories about election problems in 2018 because the DHS officials worked tirelessly to help States and walk alongside them. State secretaries of state and local volunteers all around the country worked exceptionally hard to pay attention to the election issues. We cannot stop focusing on that. We need to be aware that the Russians don't just do it once; they do it over and over again, as every one of our European allies can tell us. They will keep coming with misinformation, and they will keep coming to try to destabilize. We, as well, can be clear and push back on this in the days ahead. I have a bill called the Secure Elections Act, which we worked on for a couple of years, that answers all of these questions, and I look forward to its passage. In the meantime, I am grateful that those at the DHS are paying attention to this, and I encourage them to continue to not only consider these recommendations but to apply them. I yield the floor.

Mr. LANKFORD

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

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. I rise to remind the Senate of two anniversaries that are happening this week. This week is the 75th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. It is commonly known as D-Day. One hundred sixty- thousand-plus individuals crossed the English Channel by aircraft, by boat. They moved in every way possible, starting in the middle of the night and with the major invasion that was the largest naval invasion in the history of the world. They would have crossed into France--what was the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany. The loss of lives of Americans and Allied forces was catastrophic as they pushed in. The boys, 18, 19, 20 years old, got on aircraft, got on ships, launched out into the water, knowing there was a tyrant on the other side who had to be stopped. It is entirely appropriate for the Nation to pause to remember D-Day, to know the freedom we have right now was protected by a generation that stood for that freedom. As the Nation looks toward Normandy a couple days from now, I think we should once again thank the ``greatest generation'' that guarded our freedom. 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment Mr. President, today is also a 100-year anniversary, though. One hundred years ago today, June 4, 1919, the Senate voted to pass the right for women to vote. As a son of a pretty amazing mom and as the husband of a really remarkable lady and as the dad of two daughters who are both voters now--they cannot thank the ladies enough who started in the 1800s working toward a basic human dignity and right; that is, the right for people to vote. It is astounding to us as a nation to think that it took that long, all the way up until 1919, to have a vote in the Senate to allow women to vote. That vote--with 36 Republicans and 20 Democrats that day who voted on June 4, 1919--changed the direction of how we would vote and how we would cooperate together as a nation. Now, we have a lot of other areas to fix, but that one was a big one, and my family is grateful for what was done in the past. People who come through the Rotunda of the Capitol often see a statue there that looks like it is not finished. It is a block of stone, and there are three ladies who are carved out of it, but a part of it is not carved. I often hear people say they don't understand that statue. That statue is Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott, the three ladies who led the movement of ladies all over the country to just speak out and say ladies should have the right to vote. Those three ladies are carved into stone that is in our Rotunda, but what is interesting is, the statue is unfinished because the assumption was in the days ahead, there would be more ladies in the future who would step out and would lead a nation to make sure that we allow the rights of every single individual to be honored. So, for the sake of my mom and my aunt, my grandmother, my wife, my daughters, and millions of ladies, we cannot thank those ladies enough for standing up for what was right at that time period. I think it is appropriate that we pause for just a moment in the Senate and remember June 4, 1919, 100 years later, and thank those ladies for standing up for the rights of ladies in their generation and the ladies in the generations to come. I yield the floor.

Mr. LANKFORD

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

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, just to give the Senate body a quick update of what is happening in my State right now, we have had some pretty dramatic flooding and over 15 tornadoes in the last 48 hours across the State. Thankfully, most of those tornadoes hit in open areas. They did not hit structures. There have been some structures that have been damaged, but the flooding has been far worse than the tornadoes and the high winds. Just 2 nights ago, in one of our counties, Osage County, we had severe flash flooding, where from 10 p.m. to 2:30 in the morning, over 100 different homes had to be evacuated in the middle of the night. Many of those folks had law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders arriving at their home with a boat or with a truck to get them out, literally, in their pajamas so they could escape. Many of those homes have 4 to 6 feet of water in them now. It has been intense for those folks who are in the area. In fact, it is interesting. The director of emergency management for that area spent the entire night saving homes and helping people get out. When dawn broke and they knew they had gotten everyone out, he headed back to his own house only to find out he could no longer get to his home anymore because of the floodwaters. We have had folks all over the State, whether that be in Perry, where we had two homes that were destroyed in a tornado that night that, thankfully, did not hit the center of town. We had other spots, like around Eufaula, where we had some serious flooding; Stillwater, where there has been flooding. In Dale we had a very dangerous overnight tornado that came in, literally, while everyone was sleeping. There are pockets of folks who are there who have been affected by this, literally, all over the State. For the department of transportation folks, for the folks in our police and fire departments, for the emergency management individuals-- both for the State and the counties--for mayors and city managers, for hospitals, for county workers, for city staff, for the Corps of Engineers, and, quite frankly, for just neighbors down the street, it has been a long week. There have been a lot of folks serving each other to take care of those needs, and there will be for a while. I thought this body would need a quick update because sometimes people feel a long way from the center of the country when you are in Washington, DC, but we need to understand what is happening in the center of the country right now--literally, the center of America. It is affecting all Americans.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Christian Braunlich, an Air Force defense fellow in Senator Sullivan's office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress.

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, the month of May is Military Appreciation Month. It is a time when we as a country can come together, pause, and recognize the sacrifices of those who have raised their right hands, worn the cloth of our country, and continue to serve the world's greatest military day in and day out. They have exceptionally long days and difficult tasks. Sometimes they fight the fight of boredom while hanging out and guarding a spot. Sometimes they are in exceptionally stressful full-on combat mode. They are prepared for both. Throughout the month of May, there are actually six different days of observation to honor our Nation's military and their families, who have sacrificed so much: Loyalty Day, Public Service Recognition Week, Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Armed Forces Day, and, of course, at the end of the month of May, a pause for Memorial Day. All of these observances within 1 month, in May. It is a clear sign that our military is one of the most important cornerstones of our country and that their sacrifice is unmatched. So we should honor and celebrate it. In addition to our servicemembers and veterans, I hope all Americans also recognize the service of their family members while their husband, wife, son, daughter, mom, and dad are wearing the uniform. They could be gone for months at a time on multiple deployments. I had the opportunity to meet with many family members in Oklahoma. Their spouse, mom, dad, son, or daughter has been deployed multiple times into several different theaters. While they are fully deployed, their family waits, and it is a long and difficult wait. It is tough for the family. For those who serve in our National Guard, it is tough on employers. It is tough on their personal finances. It is a stressful environment. For those folks who have done it and continue to serve--that 1 percent of our Nation that defends the other 99 percent of our Nation--we could not be more grateful for them and for their family members. To our Gold Star families, those who are left behind to continue the legacy of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we thank you for your service and for your love of country. As a nation, it is our duty to continue to support our Gold Star families, to encourage them, to check on them, and to live life with them. Just last week, I introduced legislation with Senator Carper to expand certain educational benefits to the survivors of guardsmen and reservists who have died as a result of their service. This is the least we could do as a nation to walk alongside those Gold Star families. Over 33,000 Active-Duty Guard, Reserve, and Active-Duty personnel are currently assigned in Oklahoma. We have Oklahomans serving our country and protecting our interests, literally, all over the world right now. We are home to Altus Air Force Base, Tinker Air Force Base, Vance Air Force Base, Fort Sill Fires Center of Excellence in the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, as well as countless different National Guard locations all around the State. We train and equip our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines, and I am proud of the Oklahomans who wear the uniform. As we continue this Military Appreciation Month, I hope all Americans take the time to remember that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether you are awake or asleep, someone is on guard watching our Nation right now, and someone is defending our freedoms right now. Whether you are hearing about Military Appreciation Month while you are at work, while you are at play, or while you are at rest, someone is not resting right now. They are defending your freedoms, and we are grateful. With that, I yield the floor.

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

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

Mr. LANKFORD

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, typically, when we talk about Federal employees or a Federal Agency, the story starts something like this. There was a mixup in paperwork for our constituent who had Social Security Administration retirement benefits. She ended up not having Part B Medicare coverage until later, and there was a lapse in coverage. Everyone gets frustrated over the mixup, the dropped paperwork, the problem, and they never hear the story of Amber Craft, who works in the Tulsa Social Security office. She chased the whole issue down. She did everything possible with the payment center to get inputs switched on the Medicare application and ended up getting the constituent's coverage to begin in the desired month to be able to get them taken care of. They were taken care of on their medical bills because a Federal employee saw the gap, ran to the need, and helped somebody in our State. This is Public Service Recognition Week, and I want to take a little bit of time because in this body, as with many people in the Nation, we catch ourselves at times complaining more than we praise. There are a lot of people who are scattered around the Nation right now serving their neighbors as Federal employees. We have a lot of those in Oklahoma, and there are some pretty remarkable folks who are my neighbors whom I get the opportunity to meet with. There are over 93,000 Federal employees, both active and retired, both Federal and on the Postal Service side--93,000 just in my State in Oklahoma--and that doesn't include the many teachers, firefighters, first responders, and other folks who work with public agencies on the city, State, and county levels as well. We are grateful to those folks because they make an incredible difference. There are folks like Martha Gibson, who works in the VA center in Muskogee. She works in the benefits office, taking care of trying to get benefits for our veterans when there are problems--and there have been problems at times. Martha works incredibly well with our team. As we get a call from a constituent and try to chase down the issue to be able to help figure out how we can resolve it, Martha is typically the one we call in the Muskogee office, and Martha, quite frankly, pretty often gets it solved--not just helping us but helping other Oklahomans. Alexandria Hyatt is another good one to be able to talk about. She works in the Enterprise Services Center at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center with the FAA in Oklahoma City. She is an exceptional example of a Federal employee who not only works incredibly hard--not just for the FAA but for other Agencies, as well, that the FAA serves through the Enterprise Services Center--but she is one of those folks who we are glad is our neighbor. You see, she is a Federal employee, but she also, just last year, in 2018, gave 850 hours away of her volunteer time serving with welfare agencies, working on weekends, and using her own leave. She is a licensed journeyman for HVAC. So she finds places where she can use that skill to serve other people, including putting in duct work and insulation, working on mold remediation, first aid, and teaching. After Hurricane Katrina, she spent 3 weeks roofing and providing mold remediation in the Hurricane Katrina area. In 2015, she spent 6 weeks in New York City insulating and inspecting HVAC supply vents on residency floors. After Hurricane Irma, she spent 2 weeks repairing and installing roofs. She is a Federal employee. She gives away her time, not just in her day job but in serving people on nights and weekends and taking her own vacation on this. We have Donald O'Connor, who spent 50 years as a civil servant. He also served Active Duty in the Air Force and in the Air National Guard for 30 years. He is a pretty remarkable servant with a pretty long legacy. Bryan Whittle is another FAA employee and an Oklahoma National Guardsman. He served very faithfully both for the Oklahoma National Guard and the FAA. It was last year when he walked into a restaurant in Oklahoma City and heard and saw a gunman who was opening fire in a restaurant. Bryan was one of them who actually ran toward the shots, and in a historic work and in a heroic act, he stopped a shooting at a restaurant in Oklahoma City, because this Federal employee and Guardsman actually engaged to be able to serve. We have Lieutenant Wayland Cubit. He is from the Oklahoma City Police Department. He has a program that he actually works very actively in called the Family Awareness and Community Teamwork program, or FACT. He spends a lot of time working with students trying to help to engage people with police officers, because a lot of times kids grow up in neighborhoods and communities or maybe in families where they don't hear positive things about their police departments. So he is constantly reaching out to help people. He is active in mentoring programs. This statement was written about him: On any given week, Cubit and fellow officers will work with up to 100 children. Once a week they hold a character- building night in northeast Oklahoma City. Another night they host the same program in south Oklahoma City. First-time offenders come for a juvenile intervention program one night a week. FACT hosts a youth leadership academy once a month. He is a police officer, but he is also a mentor and an activist to help the next generation of people. We have folks like Casey Farrar. He is a lead engineer on the B-2. Now, we don't think about the B-2, other than we are very grateful that we have the B-2. But here is what is interesting. Mr. Farrar was directly responsible for saving the U.S. Air Force--therefore, the U.S. taxpayers--$63 million in 2018. His work on several projects, including replacement of electrical cables on the rotary launcher system, as well as upgrades to those rotary launchers, improves the B-2 capabilities way into the future and will make an incredible difference and save the taxpayers a lot of money. At times, we hear about things that actually waste dollars, and we lose track of folks like this, an engineer, who just saved the taxpayer $63 million. Matt Lehenbauer works as an emergency management director for the city of Woodward and Woodward County. He has been very influential working through the fire seasons that we have had in northwest Oklahoma. He is one of those folks who is actually helping to protect his neighbors by working with emergency management. He has folks working alongside of him who are traveling down the roads, like Trooper Austin Ellis in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He was on a routine patrol but was shot last August--just another day for him. He was able to withstand the bullets and recover, despite a fractured rib. And, by the way--as he would want me to say to you--they got the guy. Tommie Nicholas works for USCIS, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Ms. Nicholas reviews and makes case determinations, provides technical and administrative advice, and assigns work based on priorities. She has worked for USCIS for two decades and is one of those folks who is always ready to assist. She has helped in situations where there is an individual with a pending immigration case who needs to travel to be with an ailing relative overseas or when someone who needs urgent proof of status to work for their family, and she is the one who steps up and goes above and beyond to help to take care of folks' immigration issues and needs. You see, again, folks at times push back on people dealing with immigration issues, and they forget that there are great folks who are out there serving their neighbors all the time. Jim Lyall began his tenure with the Community Service Council in 1980 as a help line program director and became associate director in 1991. He created Oklahoma's first 2-1-1 call center, which allowed Oklahoma to be the first to achieve national accreditation, and helping 2-1-1 to become a statewide service. At the Community Service Council, his leadership in the creation of Tulsa's Heat Emergency Action Plan and the Tulsa Weather Coalition air conditioner loan program has contributed significantly to the health and well-being of many Tulsans. He is another one of those folks serving every single day. We can't forget our teachers, who are out there constantly helping the kids in the next generation. Ms. Annette Cain teaches second grade at Spring Creek Elementary. On the second day of school, this past school year, she saw one of her students struggling to read. She quickly connected with the reading specialist, the principal, and the parents to discuss how to help this new second grader. Her concern was that he might need to go back to first grade or that he might be behind in second grade and was just going to need some additional help in reading. That little second grader is now caught up and has now had the ``most improved reading'' award. That is good for him, but it is good for Annette Cain, who saw the problem and who responded to the needs of that child. It reminds me of stories, day after day after day, of folks like that who are in Elgin, OK, like Don Myers, and all the crew that is there doing special education and so much work to be able to help kids with the greatest amount of need in Elgin; just like in other programs around the State, where those teachers work with the parents, work with other educators, and work with a child to help that child way behind get caught up or to help them in their own development. I am grateful that this week we get to honor public service because there are millions of public servants doing amazing work to help their neighbors all around the country. Of all States and of all places, I remind this body often that Oklahomans pause every April 19 and remember a domestic terrorist that parked a truck bomb next to the Federal building and killed 168 people out of his hatred for public servants in the Federal Government. We in Oklahoma remember that public servants get up and go to work every day to be able to serve their neighbors, and we, as individuals, still push back against those who just blindly hate government and blindly hate people who serve in government and serve each other. We don't blindly hate. We deeply appreciate and are grateful for what they do. We as a State will never forget the 168 lives that were lost 24 years ago of public servants taking care of their neighbors. We are grateful. If you are a public servant and you hear this, please accept my thank you. Well done. I am proud to be your neighbor.