Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 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. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, July 15; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Phipps nomination; further, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture motions filed during today's session of the Senate ripen at 5:30 p.m., Monday, July 15; and finally, that the first-degree filing deadline for amendments to the treaties on which cloture motions were filed during today's session be at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. 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. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, later today, all Senators will have the opportunity to receive a classified briefing on an issue of huge national importance: the security and integrity of our elections. It is fitting that today's session be one bipartisan, all-Member briefing because, while it is a cliche to say that certain priorities ought to be above partisan squabbling, I know that every one of us shares a genuine concern in maintaining the process through which American democracy plays out. Those of my colleagues who have read the January 2017 intelligence assessment and the Mueller report will understand that it is precisely our unity and our faith in our democratic system that Vladimir Putin seeks to undermine. Along with Americans' First Amendment rights to express themselves and speak out, there are few things more fundamental to the maintenance of our Republic than the electoral process itself. Thomas Paine wrote, ``The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected.'' So preserving and protecting the elections that our State and local authorities conduct is a crucial task. From the Federal Government's perspective, States are firmly in the lead, but sometimes that means lending a hand to local authorities. Obviously, during the Civil Rights era, for example, some Federal guidelines were necessary to preserve integrity. But many other times, doing the right thing means defending against interference, be it political interference in the constitutionally protected role of the States to conduct elections by politicians and bureaucrats here in Washington or, certainly, interference from America's adversaries abroad. In 2016, Vladimir Putin sought to interfere in our elections. I have read the intelligence reports. I have read the Mueller report. I have talked with our Intelligence Committee, which has investigated this indepth and has a report coming out soon. It is important to put Putin's efforts to interfere in our democracy in context because he didn't just decide in 2016 to take such a bold step. He kind of worked up to it, undermining an array of U.S. interests slowly but surely over 8 years of the previous administration's misguided approach to Russia. Under President Obama, the U.S.-Russia relationship seemed to be defined by two constants: Putin's growing assertiveness in foreign meddling and the administration's failure to confront it. Putin's 2008 invasion of the sovereign country of Georgia was met by the so-called reset in 2009, which swept the aggression under the rug. The United States may have reset our policy to business as usual, but Putin's aggression continued full bore. There was the failure to respond to Putin's efforts to strangle democracy in his own country by shuttering western NGOs, arresting dissidents, or possibly ordering the murder of political opponent Boris Nemtsov. To the extent that the United States responded to the torture and murder by Russian authorities of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, it was due to congressional pressure. There was also President Obama's response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Do any of my colleagues believe the administration's response to that outrageous assault on the sovereignty of Ukraine was sufficiently tough to defend against Putin's outrageous assault on fundamental principles of sovereignty and the international order? There was the debacle with the President's redline in Syria, which turned out to be more like a red carpet for Russian influence in Syria and the Middle East. And there was the President telling Putin's puppet Medvedev that he could have more ``flexibility'' to treat Russia differently once he became a lameduck. All this was under a President who thought it was a clever laugh line to mock our now-colleague Senator Romney for correctly labeling Russia as a threat. The consequences of American weakness toward Russia were numerous. The more Obama gave, the more Putin took. Among those consequences, as we all know, was that Putin felt sufficiently emboldened to seek to interfere in our 2016 Presidential election. Through efforts to divide Americans on social media and to hack a political party, agents of a foreign government sought to inject division, doubt, and chaos into our democracy--a sad and embarrassing episode. President Trump has expressed an interest in a better relationship with Russia, but the actions his administration has taken--which he has authorized--demonstrate that such a relationship will not prevent America from pushing back against Russian aggression. The administration has pushed back against Russia in meaningful ways, imposing new costs on Putin and his cronies for their malign activities and improving our defenses against Russian active measures. We have adopted new national security and defense strategies that treat Russian aggression like the serious threat that it is. We have begun to rebuild our military strength, which was eroded by years of budget cuts and further damaged by sequestration. We have taken steps to provide Georgia and Ukraine with arms to defend against Russian aggression-- weapons denied to them by the previous administration despite bipartisan support from Congress. We worked to block Moscow's efforts to increase European reliance on Russian oil and gas. Secretary Mattis led efforts--continued by his successors--to reform and strengthen NATO. So important changes are underway at the strategic level. Now we are back to projecting the strength, principle, and resolve that America ought to project. In addition, the Trump administration has also punched back in very specific ways in response to the election interference that happened on the Obama administration's watch. Thanks to the work of the Special Counsel and the Department of Justice, 28 Russian nationals, intelligence officers, and corporate interests were indicted for their participation in the interference. And in 2018, the administration expelled another 60 Russian agents in response to the poisoning of a former official living in the United Kingdom. These agents are no longer free to conduct intelligence operations or active measures here in America. These are all tough, important steps that pertain to our broader foreign policy efforts to defer future threats, but there has also been significant work done specifically on our election security. The administration worked quickly to address vulnerabilities and ensure that 2018 wouldn't be a reprise of 2016. The administration directed resources through the Department of Homeland Security to help local election authorities implement stronger cybersecurity measures. Information sharing was streamlined between DHS, FBI, and State and local officials. They worked hard to gain the trust of State election officials in my State of Kentucky and around the country and provide them with valuable information through a voluntary information-sharing program that has seen participation from all 50 States and 1,400 localities. Here in Congress, we appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars in additional aid for State governments to strengthen their systems, and our efforts continue. This year's Defense and Intelligence authorization bills include provisions that will help defend ourselves and our allies against Russian aggression. The administration will brief us today in classified session about the many steps U.S. agencies have taken since 2016 to improve our defenses and bolster our deterrence against adversaries who seek to undermine our democracy. The smooth and secure execution of the 2018 election illustrates the success of these measures. This was not a coincidence. Congress has taken even further action since then, building new legislative safeguards to increase transparency and coordination with the intelligence community on election security. In short, it is abundantly clear that the administration and Congress take this issue seriously. I look forward to hearing more from the administration today about what steps have led to this greater success and what even further safeguards they are working on in advance of 2020. Of course, Congress will need to continue closely monitoring the progress and assess whether future legislative steps might be needed as well. But, as with any time when Washington politicians are clamoring to grab greater control over something this important, we need to make sure this conversation is clear-eyed and sober and serious. I remember it was President Obama's first Chief of Staff who said: ``You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.'' In other words, bad news can give politicians cover to do things they have wanted to do for a long time. Remember, it was only months ago that the new Democratic majority in the House decided their top priority for the entire Congress was a massive bill I called the Democratic politician protection act--a sprawling Federal power grab over election law and citizens' political speech. Among other provisions, it would make the FEC, the currently nonpartisan body that regulates political speech, into a partisan weapon. They also want to give Washington more power to prohibit citizens groups from weighing in on politicians' job performance. They have twice passed bills aimed at centralizing election administration decisions in the Federal Government, in part on the hope that election attorneys, not voters, will get to determine the outcome of more elections--provision after provision that would erode longstanding safeguards. That was the huge proposal just a few months ago. In light of this, it is interesting that some of our colleagues across the aisle seem to have already made up their minds before we hear from the experts later today that a brandnew, sweeping Washington intervention is just what the doctor ordered. I, for one, am looking forward to listening to the experts, to hearing more about why the Trump administration was more successful in 2018 than the Obama administration was in 2016. I look forward to ensuring that any additional Federal action actually addresses the problems at hand; that it preserve, rather than undermine, the careful checks and balances that have long been key parts of American democracy since the beginning.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I understand there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc.

Mr. McCONNELL. In order to place the measures on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceedings en bloc.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 11 a.m., Thursday, July 11, the Senate vote on the confirmation of Executive Calendar Nos. 101 and 103 in the order listed. I further ask that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; further, that if cloture is invoked on Executive Calendar No. 13, the postcloture time expire at 1:45 p.m.; finally, that the ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works control the time from 1 p.m. until 1:40 p.m.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be discharged from further consideration of S. 1811 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

Mr. McCONNELL. I know of no further debate on the bill.

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 11; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the King nomination.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. 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. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, the Senate has continued to make headway in the personnel business. This week, we are confirming a number of President Trump's thoroughly qualified nominees to important vacancies in the Federal courts and in the administration. As I have said, it is unfortunate for this institution that our Democratic colleagues have made it their routine practice to require not just rollcall votes but cloture votes as well on noncontroversial nominees for lower profile positions--regular cloture votes on district judges, cloture votes on Assistant Secretaries, and, later this week, a cloture vote on an Assistant EPA Administrator. These are the sorts of important but lower profile positions the Senate used to quickly process on a voice vote. When these sorts of people were qualified, they were voice-voted by Senates of both parties for Presidents of both parties. That was the norm. New partisan hurdles will not deter the Senate from doing our job. We will continue to spend the time it takes to put impressive, impartial men and women on the Federal judiciary and give the President--more than 2 years into his administration--finally, more of his team in place in the executive branch. Yesterday afternoon, we voted to advance the nomination of Daniel Bress to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Bress comes with strong credentials, the academic pedigree, the legal experience, and, most importantly, a demonstrated commitment to the rule of law. I am glad we voted to advance his nomination yesterday, and I urge our colleagues to confirm him later today. Next, we will consider three district court nominees: T. Kent Wetherell to the Northern District of Florida, Damon Leichty to the Northern District of Indiana, and Nicholas Ranjan to the Western District of Pennsylvania. After them, we will confirm several nominees to serve in the administration: Robert King to be Assistant Secretary of Education, John Pallasch to be Assistant Secretary of Labor, and Peter Wright to be Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. In each of these cases, the President has presented us with thoroughly well-qualified individuals to serve the Nation in these very important roles. This week, the Senate will give them the straightforward consideration and confirmations they deserve.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on another matter, Fourth of July celebrations weren't the only thing for American families to smile about last week. We received even more positive news about the strong U.S. economy that American workers and job creators are building with a big assist from Republican policies. More than 200,000 new jobs were created in June alone. The economy is overflowing with opportunities. American workers are in high demand and more and more previously sidelined individuals are getting to clock back in. The last administration's so-called recovery disproportionately helped a few major metropolitan areas, but it left whole communities and whole regions of our country more or less in the dust. Not these days. The results have been very different under Republicans' pro- growth, pro-opportunity policy agenda. Now we are seeing a real all- American recovery. As the New York Times reported last week, ``Only recently have the economic gains filtered down to Black and Hispanic workers, those with less education, and others who face discrimination or other barriers to employment.'' So it is all kinds of American workers, all kinds of families, all kinds of small towns and farm counties and smaller cities and suburbs. This all-American recovery is benefiting our whole country with job opportunities, wage growth, net investment, and new optimism. Two and a half years ago, Republicans started out with a pretty simple philosophy. It goes like this: The American people can accomplish great things and build prosperity for their families if Washington mostly stays out of the way. We needed the Federal Government to stop creating so many economic headwinds and start creating a few tailwinds. So we achieved historic tax reform, major regulatory reform, and all kinds of economic policies geared toward helping workers and middle-class families earn more and then send less to the IRS. The way Republicans see it, these ideas are actually no-brainers. So as long as you believe in the promise and potential of American workers and small businesses, this is clearly the way to go, and the results continue to speak for themselves.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it is always a privilege to honor the men and women of America's Greatest Generation. They defended our national values both at home and abroad, and we owe each one of them a tremendous debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice. Today, I would like to recognize one of these intrepid Americans from my home State of Kentucky. Mary Somers Ballard volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II, providing healing care to wounded soldiers across the European theatre. This month, Mary will enjoy her 100th birthday at a celebration with friends and family, and I would like to add my voice to the chorus of those praising her lifetime of achievement. When war broke out, Mary lived in Boston working as a nurse and attending school. Hearing stories from the front, she was called to leave her studies and put her talents to work for the war effort. At the age of 23, she joined the Army's 811th Air Evacuation Unit and sailed from New York City for Europe. Mary was deployed at a hospital in Manchester, England, where she cared for wounded soldiers flown back from France and Germany. In the aftermath of the invasion of Normandy, Mary traveled to the continent to support the Battle of the Bulge, one of Hitler's last-ditch efforts to stop the Allied advance. After the liberation of Paris, Mary was sent to the city to care for troops there. In her many posts, Mary delivered lifesaving care to many Allied soldiers, often in challenging surroundings. More than 59,000 Americans joined the Army Nurse Corps during the Second World War, many serving under enemy fire. Their service supported the recovery of countless wounded soldiers at evacuation hospitals like Mary's. After the war, Mary was stationed in Indiana where she met Al Ballard, a young surgical resident. The couple married and moved to Al's native Kentucky, where Mary has lived ever since. Together, they raised eight children and, like so many other members of the Greatest Generation, continued to contribute to their community and our country. Through the years, Mary has been honored for her brave service. To celebrate her 95th birthday, for example, she threw out the first pitch at a Lexington Legends minor league baseball game. I am glad to join her family and friends in marking Mary's 100th birthday. With her lifesaving work in the Army and a longtime commitment to Kentucky, Mary has made a lasting impression on the lives of countless many. With all of them, I would like to wish her a happy birthday and thank her for her remarkable service to the United States. I urge my Senate colleagues to join me in honoring this Kentucky hero.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I hope all of our colleagues had a productive State work period and an enjoyable Fourth of July. On Thursday, hundreds of millions of proud Americans joined together all across our country in town squares, parks, and backyards to cohost our Nation's 243rd birthday party. As always, the parades and fireworks and picnics commemorated something serious: our proud national legacy of liberty. It began in Philadelphia in 1776, and we continue working to make it manifest to this day. Celebrating our freedoms also means remembering the great sacrifices that so many have given in order to protect and preserve them. It is fitting that here in our Nation's Capital, the fireworks display lights up our war memorials and the tombs of fallen warriors across the river. And, of course, we remember also all the men and women currently serving today. We Americans have so much to be proud of. Just yesterday, we were given yet another reason. Instead of taking the weekend off, the U.S. women's national soccer team finished their time in France by winning the World Cup. Earlier last week, the U.S. women commemorated Independence Day early by beating England, and then yesterday, they defeated the Netherlands--two to nothing--to take first place. Through grit, teamwork, and dazzling talent, the American women have now raised the World Cup trophy four times. A billion viewers around the world tuned in to watch the tournament. All told, they saw the United States outscore our opponents collectively by 26 to 3 and follow our victory in the last tournament in 2015 with a back-to-back win this time as well. I know my colleagues join me in offering the Senate's congratulations to the U.S. women's national soccer team for bringing this honor home.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on another matter, this week, the Senate will continue to make headway and confirm the President's highly qualified nominees for important Federal offices. We will begin by considering Daniel Bress, who has been nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Bress is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Clerkships after law school included time at the Supreme Court clerking for the late Justice Scalia. Since then, he has built an impressive reputation in private practice. I look forward to continuing the work of our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, who favorably recommended Mr. Bress to the floor, when we vote to advance his nomination later today and vote on his confirmation later this week. After him, the Senate will weigh three nominees for district court vacancies in Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. After them, we will continue to staff up the executive branch with nominees for important posts in the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the EPA. As I have said continually, I am sorry that it is necessary to file cloture on uncontroversial district court and Assistant Secretary nominees, but notwithstanding that hurdle, I am pleased that the Senate's modest rules change from several months back is proving successful and will enable us to get through this whole list of impressive professionals this very week. I look forward to getting these amply-qualified nominees on the job so they can go to work for the country and the American people can be governed by the government they elected. I suggest the absence of a quorum.