Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 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 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 Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 31, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Andeliz N. Castille, of New York, to be United States Alternate Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank, Alma L. Golden, of Texas, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and Peter M. Haymond, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Alina L. Romanowski, of Illinois, to be Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, and Leslie Meredith Tsou, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, all of the Department of State. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 31, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 31, 2019, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 31, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing following nominations: Halil Suleyman Ozerden, of Mississippi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, Steven J. Menashi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit, Jodi W. Dishman, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, Richard Earnest Myers II, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Sarah E. Pitlyk, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, Daniel Mack Traynor, to be United States District Judge for the District of North Dakota, Barbara Lagoa and Robert J. Luck, both of Florida, both to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, Sylvia Carreno-Coll, to be United States District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico, John M. Gallagher, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Sherri A. Lydon, to be United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina. Select Committee on Intelligence The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 31, 2019, at 2 p.m., to conduct a closed briefing.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for consideration of Calendar Nos. 468 through 477 and all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy; that the nominations be confirmed; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions, which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 399, S. Res. 400, and S. Res. 401.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 402, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the resolution.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that 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. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 403, submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. McCONNELL. 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. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 345.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions 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 to then convene for pro forma session only, with no business being conducted, on Monday November 4, at 1 p.m. I further ask that when the Senate adjourns on Monday, November 4, it next convene at 10 a.m., Tuesday, November 5, and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be 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 Tapp nomination; further, notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, November 5; finally, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Murkowski.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 2423, which was received from the House.

Mr. McCONNELL. 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, tomorrow the Senate will vote on funding for the national defense. It will offer a test for our Democratic colleagues: Will their party's impeachment obsession crowd out even the most basic governing responsibilities? Unfortunately, it seems we may already have our answer. The Democratic leader said at a press conference yesterday that his party intends to filibuster funding for our Armed Forces. Democrats have plenty of time and energy for their 3-year-old journey to impeach the President, but they can't get to yes on funding our servicemembers. That is about as clear a statement of priorities as you could get around here. Just a few days ago, U.S. Special Forces executed a daring mission and took out the founder of ISIS. It was the clearest possible reminder that the national security of the United States and the missions of our servicemembers do not pause for partisan politics. But less than a week later, for political purposes, Senate Democrats say that they will refuse to secure funding for those very same missions. Washington Democrats have talked up a storm in recent days, criticizing the administration's approach to Syria and the Middle East. Lots of talk--but, apparently, they are not concerned enough about the Middle East and fighting ISIS to actually vote for the funding that keeps the missions going. Consider this. If Democrats filibuster this defense funding, as they threatened to, they will literally be filibustering the exact kind of military assistance for Ukraine over which they are trying to impeach the President. Let me say that again. This legislation is what appropriates the money for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is precisely the program that Democrats are trying to impeach President Trump for supposedly slow-walking. Yet, tomorrow, right here in the Senate, they say that they are going to filibuster funding for the exact same program. Only in Washington--only in Washington will you see a show like that. They want to impeach the President for delaying assistance to Ukraine while they block funding for the program themselves. I would say it is unbelievable, except that is exactly what is happening. Look, I think it is pretty clear that our Democratic colleagues do not have a great affinity for President Trump. But the country cannot afford for Democrats in Congress to take a 1-year vacation from any productive legislation just because they would rather obsess over impeachment. ISIS and other radical terrorists are not going to hit the pause button because Democrats will not fund the U.S. military. Strategic competitors like Russia and China are not going to hit pause because Democrats would rather hurt the White House than fund our military commanders. Look, Congress needs to do its work. We need to fund our Armed Forces. Tomorrow's vote will tell us which Senators are actually ready to do it.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, speaking of impeachment, yesterday, House Democrats released their much-hyped resolution, which was advertised as bringing fairness and due process into Speaker Pelosi's and Chairman Schiff's closed-door, partisan inquiry. Unfortunately, the draft resolution that has been released does nothing of the sort. It falls way short--way short. As I have said repeatedly, an impeachment inquiry is about the most solemn and serious process the House of Representatives can embark upon. It seeks to effectively nullify Democratic elections and cancel out the American people's choice of a Commander in Chief. For that reason, any such inquiry must be conducted by the highest standards of fairness and due process. But thus far, this time around, instead of setting a high bar, House Democrats seem determined to set a new low. Speaker Pelosi has initiated a bizarre process, starting with the fact that she began it with a press conference instead of a proper vote of the House. The process seems to be treating Chairman Schiff as though he were a de facto special prosecutor, notwithstanding the fact that he is a partisan Member of Congress whose strange behavior has already included fabricating a lengthy quotation and attributing it to President Trump during an official hearing, which he was chairing. House Democrats' inquiry thus far has been conducted behind closed doors. They have denied their Republican counterparts privileges that Democrats received during the Clinton impeachment when they were in the minority. Unlike during the inquiries around both President Clinton and President Nixon, they have denied President Trump basic due process rights and are cutting his counsel out of the process in an unprecedented way. House Democrats' new resolution does not change any of that. It does not confer on President Trump the most basic rights of due process or, seemingly, alter Chairman Schiff's unfair process in the House Intelligence Committee in any way whatsoever. Chairman Schiff can continue doing this behind closed doors without the President's participation, so long as he holds at least one public hearing at some point. He is not even required to make all the evidence he obtains public. He alone gets to decide what evidence goes in his report. And the resolution doesn't even give the President any rights in the public hearing that it requires Chairman Schiff to hold. The resolution merely seems to contemplate that maybe--maybe--someday in the future, at some other phase of this, due process might--might-- finally kick in, but only if the House Judiciary Committee feels like holding hearings and calling its own witnesses--in other words, no due process now, maybe some later, but only if we feel like it. ``No due process now, maybe some later, but only if we feel like it'' is not even close to fair. ``No due process now, maybe some later, but only if we feel like it'' is not a standard that should ever be applied to any American, and it should not be applied here to the President of the United States. I understand that many House Democrats made up their minds on impeachment years ago, but our basic norms of justice do not evaporate just because Washington Democrats have already made up their minds.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. McCONNELL. In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on one final matter, our Democratic colleagues do apparently have time to push for show votes on messaging resolutions with no chance of becoming law. This week's installment is a Democratic effort to limit the flexibility that Governors of both parties have utilized to lighten the burdens of ObamaCare. States have jumped at the opportunity to use waivers to reduce the costs associated with ObamaCare's mandate. In the States that have taken advantage, premiums decreased significantly. In 2018, the Trump administration expanded this policy with an even more flexible interpretation of this part of ObamaCare. The goal was to give States even more of what they had been asking for, even more latitude to preserve consumer choice and lower premiums. But notwithstanding all the evidence that says this is the right direction for the American people, our Democratic colleagues want to roll back the Trump administration guidance and limit States' flexibility. Since this position is virtually impossible to explain on its merits, our Democratic colleagues have instead turned to a familiar talking point: the false claim that Republicans are trying to undercut protections for Americans with preexisting conditions. Sound familiar? But, of course, that is not true. As Senate Republicans have said over and over and over again, we support protections for Americans with preexisting conditions. And the administration has made it very clear that this waiver program poses no threat--no threat--to those protections. The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has stated that ``a section 1332 waiver cannot''--cannot--``undermine coverage with people with pre-existing conditions.'' What is more, as the White House has already made clear, Democrats' resolution has zero chance of becoming law. This is just another political messaging exercise with no path to making an impact. I urge my colleagues to reject this resolution, keep fighting to lower premiums for the American people, and protect those with preexisting conditions.