Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 452.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

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 up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 743 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I have 5 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Select Committee on Intelligence The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 2 p.m., to conduct a closed hearing. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The Subcommittee on Communication, Technology, Innovation, and The Internet of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues The Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues of the Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, December 9; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Bumatay nomination; and finally, that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on Sunday, as we Americans savored the holiday weekend and gave thanks for our liberty, the people of Hong Kong took to the streets to demand their own. Many waved American flags. Hongkongers are continuing to speak up for the freedoms and the autonomy that Beijing has slowly tried to erode. As long as Beijing does not relent, it looks like the people of Hong Kong are not going to relent either. In local elections last week that were largely symbolic, pro-democracy candidates literally blew away the candidates the Chinese Communist Party would have preferred in a literal landslide. Not even Beijing's propagandists can credibly blame this massive display of popular revulsion at their authoritarianism on the ``black hand'' of the West. In spite of China's propaganda, the West should not stay silent as Beijing sneaks to snuff out dissent in Hong Kong. Just a few days prior, the Congress and President Trump had sent our clearest signal yet that, yes, the United States of America stands with Hong Kong. The Senate unanimously passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, and the President signed it into law. It delivered important updates to the original U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act, which I authored back in 1992. Preserving freedom and promoting democracy has required constant vigilance with Hongkongers since Communist China assumed control of the region. I have been proud to stand with that effort. With my original legislation, we paved the way for cooperation between Hong Kong and the United States, codifying and strengthening economic ties and facilitating the robust exchange of ideas and support of greater democracy in the autonomous region. We have laid the foundation for a U.S.-Hong Kong relationship that has strengthened both their society and ours and created leverage to hold Beijing accountable. Back in 1992, I observed that democracy was ``finally gaining a tenuous foothold in Hong Kong.'' Recent months certainly have reminded us just how tenuous that foothold can be when an authoritarian country flexes its muscles. They reminded us just how intent Beijing remains on exporting its oppressive surveillance state not just within mainland China but also into Hong Kong and, frankly, all around the world. The unanimous Senate vote for expanded oversight and firm responses to Beijing was welcomed news on the streets of Hong Kong, not because the U.S. Senate or international nonprofits or anybody else is ginning up these protests, as Beijing wants people to believe, but because those speaking out for freedom recognize a friend of freedom when they see one. It has been funny to see how invested Beijing is in these conspiracy theories that this organic protest movement is actually the work of shadowy puppeteers. Just a few days ago, the Chinese Communist Party's Foreign Ministry took the panicked and laughable step of ``sanctioning'' several American nonprofits and NGOs, such as the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and the National Endowment for Democracy. Like I said, it is laughable. I admire the heck out of these organizations, but they aren't exactly in the business of commanding millions of people from Hong Kong to Beirut, to Baghdad, to Tehran to take to the streets. They are not that good. Here is the business they are in: speaking up for the timeless and universal principles of basic human freedom. They help keep the torch lit. It is the brave souls around the world who want better lives for themselves and their children who pick up the ball and run with it for themselves. The junior varsity tantrum that Beijing is throwing against these U.S.-based organizations is literally comical. It puts the Communist Party's hypersensitivity on full display. It is the same flailing that we see from other regimes from Moscow to Tehran, driven by the same aggressive, authoritarian instincts that push social media propaganda, street corner surveillance, police violence, and the modern-day gulags where China is imprisoning and brutalizing the Uighur people. These are the forces history never judges kindly. I am proud of the people of Hong Kong. I am proud of the Senate's latest action to support them, and I am proud to continue standing alongside them in their journey to true self-determination.

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, this week, House Democrats are continuing their 3-year-long quest to impeach the President and are continuing to obstruct urgent bipartisan legislation. This has been the Democrats' strategy for months now--obsess over impeachment and obstruct everything else. Take the USMCA, which would create 176,000 new American jobs. Speaker Pelosi has been stalling it for months, constantly saying she is optimistic or getting close or almost there. For months, it has been this broken record. I understand, this very week, while the Speaker of the House has apparently flown to Madrid to discuss climate change, she keeps offering the same empty rhetoric that is no different than what she was saying 10 months ago. American workers have waited and waited and waited. House Democrats keep stalling. Consider the appropriations process. Even after signing a bipartisan agreement to forgo poison pills, Democrats ignored it and thrust other policy disagreements back into the appropriations process. They voted twice to filibuster funding for our Armed Forces. Well, last week, Chairman Shelby and Chairwoman Lowey reached an important agreement to address allocations at the subcommittee level. This was an essential step. It will take a lot of work and cooperation to move the appropriations process forward in the short time ahead of us. Our Democratic colleagues will finally need to rediscover that our men and women in uniform are more important than their partisan fights. Speaking of our Armed Forces, let's talk about the NDAA. Congress has passed an annual defense authorization bill every year since 1961. Every year, after some jousting and jostling, the Congress has put aside all of our extraneous disagreements to fulfill one of our most basic responsibilities and reauthorize our Armed Forces, but remember the Democrats' new playbook: Obsess over impeachment, obstruct everything else, including, apparently, even our troops and national security. Imagine being so far left that even the routine annual bill to reauthorize the U.S. military is some controversial thing you have to be goaded into supporting. House Democrats abandoned longstanding traditions of compromise and larded up the NDAA with partisan policy riders. For what appears to be the first time ever in either Chamber, they passed an NDAA on a pure party-line vote--the first purely partisan NDAA in 58 years. In the Senate, by contrast, Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed collaborated on a bill that passed the Senate 86 to 8. We certainly did our part to stick with an annual tradition. Now my colleague, the Democratic leader, is moving the goalpost and enabling Speaker Pelosi's reckless strategy. Longstanding bipartisan precedent says that in order for any subject outside the Armed Services Committees' jurisdiction to travel in the final NDAA, the chairmen and ranking members of the actual committee of jurisdiction need to give bipartisan signoff. This basic test protects the Senate; it protects our committees; and it protects the NDAA from being held hostage for specific partisan ends. Every year, dozens, if not hundreds, of provisions meet that bar. Those that don't end up on the cutting room floor. Thus far, in the Senate, Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed have worked hard to respect those norms, but this year, the Speaker of the House and my colleague the Democratic leader want to scrap this precedent, undermine the committees, and demand special treatment for partisan priorities that have no business being crammed into this essential legislation for our Armed Forces. We are talking about a new taxpayer-funded benefit for all Federal employees and sweeping changes to U.S. foreign policy. This is what they are trying to shoehorn into the NDAA. It is not good-faith policymaking, not when these demands pour in at the eleventh hour over must-pass legislation for our servicemembers. It is just political theater that is taking precedence over our Armed Forces. So, right on cue, I am sure we will hear made-for-TV histrionics about all of the new provisions the Speaker and the Democratic leader want to shove into this bill--bypassing hearings, markups, and negotiations between chairmen and ranking members. We will probably keep hearing the dishonest myth that the Republicans are soft on Russia--never mind that a few years ago, President Obama was mocking the Republicans for being too tough on Russia; never mind that this administration has aggressively pursued sanctions, expelled Russian operatives, provided lethal defensive weapons to Georgia and Ukraine, taken major steps to protect our elections, and more. It is just more bluster and histrionics to distract from the core fact that is crystal clear to the entire country: There is no legislation, no matter how crucial, that the Democrats will not obstruct in order to pick fights with this President. The very bills the Democrats are resisting are essential for our national defense strategy--for our needed investments in cutting-edge weapons, in the European Defense Initiative, in modernizing our nuclear force. They are all critical for competing with, deterring, and defending against Russia and China. If the Democrats divide Congress over nondefense issues and kill these bills, they will have played right into our adversaries' hands. If we jettison the longstanding bipartisan process for negotiating the NDAA, they will have made this basic national security requirement far more difficult in the future. Our Democratic colleagues must understand that national security comes before ``the resistance.'' The country cannot afford this new tactic of obsessing over impeachment and obstructing everything else. I hope this changes soon.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on a totally different matter, the Senate has set aside today to honor our distinguished colleague, the senior Senator from Georgia, Johnny Isakson. It has been about 3 months since Johnny announced he would retire at the end of December. Since then, I think we have all been taking stock of everything our dear friend has accomplished and everything he means to so many people. I have long said, if the Senate were to hold a secret ballot popularity contest, Johnny Isakson would win in a bipartisan landslide--quite possibly in a unanimous vote. He commands bipartisan respect and affection to a degree that is truly remarkable. Yet, if you think about it, it makes sense for a man whose personal mantra goes like this: ``There are only two kinds of people: friends and future friends.'' For most people, that might be a noble aspiration but unrealistic. For Johnny Isakson, it is a statement of fact. Nobody is an enemy, and nobody is a stranger--just a friend and future friend. That is it. With a motto like that, it is no wonder that Johnny's first career was a successful stint in real estate--a field in which relationships are everything. It strikes me there could be two ways you could thrive in a business in which friendships and connections matter so much. You could be either good at faking a smile, at feigning interest in others, or you could genuinely love meeting everybody and learning how you might be able to help people. That second kind of person is exactly who Ed and Julie Isakson brought up in Atlanta, GA--warm, honest, forthright, incredibly kind. No wonder Johnny's neighbors jumped at the chance to hire him to be their State representative, then their State Senator, then their Congressman, and then their U.S. Senator. So his retirement this month will cap a 45-year career in public service, packed with one significant accomplishment after another. First and foremost in Johnny's long legacy is his work for our Nation's veterans. He spent 6 years in the Georgia Air National Guard as a young man, and he has spent the half century since then as one of his fellow veterans' best friends at any level of government. Under Johnny's chairmanship, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs has passed literally scores of bills: more accountability at the VA, more education benefits, better community care programs, better procedures for when veterans appeal determinations, an updated GI bill with no more expiration date, and, of course, Johnny's landmark bill--the VA MISSION Act. It is now law. It provides many of the most significant reforms in the history of the VA by taking power away from bureaucrats and giving it back to the veterans and their doctors. Yet, somehow, in the midst of compiling this singular record for our Nation's veterans, Johnny racked up countless more legislative successes that impact literally every American--from securing pension protections to reforming education policy, from regional infrastructure projects like the Savannah Harbor Expansion to combating hunger worldwide. One look at the list of laws bearing Johnny's fingerprints and you would be forgiven for thinking he never met a problem he could not solve. But alas, every Senator sometimes encounters requests from back home on which he cannot deliver. Sometimes you have constituents on both sides of an issue. Sometimes a request might conflict with your principles. Whatever the reason, everybody in office eventually disappoints somebody. Yet Johnny's staff marvels at the fact that even when Georgians come up here to meet with him and, unfortunately, go away disappointed, they still walk out of the meetings, beaming with praise for their Senator: ``Can you believe Johnny? He is the greatest guy ever. What a Senator''--and these are the people he just said no to. The same traits explain why Johnny is just as popular under this dome as he is back home, and I don't just mean with his fellow Members. Johnny Isakson is practically an honorary member of every other Member's staff and an honorary elevator operator and an honorary Capitol Police Officer and an honorary member of Chaplain Black's team and on and on. He knows and values absolutely everybody. I can't count how many times I would hear a peal of laughter from out in my staff bullpen and realize that Johnny Isakson had dropped by, not to see me but to chat with my team, to ask after their families, and to maybe check up on a couple of Georgia's priorities while he was there. There is one classic story that really distills this man's character. Most people who have hung around Johnny and his team long enough know the famous tale of the ``gin and tonic in the laundry room.'' Here is the deal: Back in 2006, Johnny was still a new Senator. We were tackling some thorny pension issues, and thousands of Georgians stood to be affected if things didn't get hammered out. So this freshman Senator dove in. He went toe to toe with big players like Ted Kennedy and Bill Young over in the House. He didn't get a seat on the conference committee, but he basically appointed himself an honorary member. Johnny worked it like crazy. He sleuthed out where they would be meeting, and he spoke to everyone. Because it is Johnny we are talking about, we know how this ends: He delivered for Georgia. Afterward, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wanted to hear how this freshman Senator had pulled off this victory. Among other things, the reporter asked how Johnny had celebrated. Did he clear out the champagne at some beltway steakhouse? Here is what he said: Isakson said that after the vote, he went straight back to his Capitol Hill area apartment and celebrated--by doing his laundry. He did not want to leave dirty clothes behind for a month. He said further: ``So as I was putting coins in the machine, I had a gin and tonic in the laundry room.'' This anecdote is almost the perfect encapsulation of Johnny Isakson. It starts with tenacity and a can-do spirit, propelled forward by charisma, smarts, and stubborn patience. It ends with a win for Georgians and one celebratory cocktail while being wrist-deep in laundry detergent. Yet there is one other story, I think, that reflects this remarkable leader even more perfectly. It starts with one name--Kate Puzey. In 2009, Johnny was reading his local paper and found an obituary for a young lady from northern Georgia who had been in Africa with the Peace Corps. She was just 24. Johnny didn't know Kate and didn't know her family, but he felt called to attend her funeral. He sat quietly in the very back and listened to her friends, her family, ministers, and Peace Corps colleagues. Unassumingly, he invited the family to stay in touch if there was anything he could ever do. Only later, did they relate what wasn't in the obituary. Kate had been murdered in the dark of night after sounding the alarm on child abuse in her village in the African country of Benin. Johnny Isakson was on the case from that day forward. Not only was he a fixture on the Foreign Relations Committee, but he was actually the ranking member on the Africa Subcommittee. So he put a framed photo of Kate on his desk and leapt into action. Senator Isakson flew to Benin to personally lean on its President. He met with Peace Corps officials. He built a legislative coalition for reforms to better protect volunteers. As I said earlier, because this is Johnny Isakson we are talking about, we know how the story ends--with results. He helped Kate's parents pursue justice, and just a couple of years after Johnny sat down in that pew, the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act was law. Now, that is Johnny Isakson in one story. He starts out trying to do good for his neighbors and winds up literally changing the world. Of course, changing the world can be grueling work. We all know Johnny's health has made his tireless service more and more challenging in recent months. As much as the other 99 of us hate to hear it, he has decided it is time to find new ways to serve that don't involve twice weekly air travel or winding trips through the Capitol Complex. But we know our friend is not riding off into the sunset or kicking up his heels. I know he is bound and determined to keep putting his expertise and institutional knowledge to work on behalf of Georgians who need him. I have no doubt that he will keep on advocating for Georgians with a pen and a phone, more friends across the country than anyone can count up, and maybe a few of his eight grandchildren by his side. It sounds like a pretty enviable work arrangement, and no doubt Johnny has earned it. He has earned the right to a little less late night voting and a little more time with his lovely wife Dianne. So on behalf of all of his colleagues, I will tell Johnny to go ahead and relax just a little and maybe find something to drink, but, this time around, he should enjoy it on the front porch with Dianne and leave the laundry until later. We are savoring our last few weeks alongside our good friend here in the Senate. We are so lucky to have called him our colleague.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Washington and the cable news channels have spent the week fixated on House Democrats' impeachment hearings. A few months ago, Speaker Pelosi was saying she was not ``for impeachment'' unless it was ``bipartisan.'' But even after the resolution codifying the Democrats' unfair process received zero Republican votes, the House plowed ahead anyway, searching for a way to arrive at an outcome the Democrats literally predetermined years ago. Meanwhile, the American people are still waiting for Washington Democrats to stop blocking crucial bipartisan legislation. I spoke yesterday about the USMCA, the landmark trade deal that experts say would create 176,000 American jobs. For 9 months, Speaker Pelosi has told the press every couple of weeks that she will allow a vote soon. Last winter, she was ``optimistic''; over the summer, ``We want to pass this bill''; this fall, ``becoming closer''; and a couple of weeks ago, ``I think we are close.'' We have had months of this stalling. Now we are 1 week out from Thanksgiving, and there is still no tangible sign--none--of progress from the House. If the House cannot pass the USMCA this year, there is no way they will be able to claim that the people's business has not taken a back seat to impeachment.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on another matter, the USMCA is not the only important legislation Democrats are holding up. As if neglecting the first major update to North American trade policy in a generation were not enough, they are also on track to break a nearly 60-year tradition of passing a bipartisan Defense authorization bill. Passing the NDAA is one of Congress's most basic governing responsibilities. It authorizes and assures the ongoing missions of our Armed Forces and the resources the Department of Defense needs to carry them out. Every year since 1961, these goals have been enough to get Members across the ideological spectrum to come together and deliver a comprehensive, bipartisan piece of legislation--but not this year, at least not yet. House Democrats are so intent on picking fights with the White House that they decided to play partisan games with our Armed Forces. They passed a fully party-line NDAA--not one Republican vote--for their House version on the floor. I believe it is the first time ever that either Chamber has passed a purely partisan NDAA. The House, on a partisan basis, also included many provisions that aren't even in the jurisdiction of their Armed Services Committee. Even in conference, House Democrats are holding germane provisions hostage in order to secure partisan, nongermane provisions that literally have nothing whatsoever to do with our national security. Their demands to treat the NDAA like a gift basket to liberal interest groups is imperiling the passage of this important legislation. We are talking about demands like a new taxpayer-funded benefit for all Federal employees and burdening farmers, ranchers, small businesses, local airports, and community water utilities with expensive new environmental liabilities--all kinds of domestic policy changes that were not in the Senate's bipartisan version and have no business bringing this crucial process to a halt. The Senate did things the right way. We passed a bipartisan NDAA back in June, just as we do every year. That is a credit to Chairman Inhofe, Ranking Member Reed, and the rest of the Senate Armed Services Committee. It was a thoroughly bipartisan product, debated out in the open. But House Democrats literally went off the rails. The House Rules Committee afforded floor debate only on a single substantive Republican amendment while they jammed through their own partisan priorities. They passed a totally partisan NDAA with zero Republican votes--none. Now they are risking the entire conference committee to insist those partisan demands wind up in the end product. Enough is enough. The USMCA and NDAA cannot be clearer examples of bipartisan legislation that would make our country stronger. Our Democratic friends said that they want to do more than just impeach. They say they came to Washington to do more than pick fights with the President. Well, in the next days and weeks, we will find out if they mean it.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 478.