Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, the Senate resume legislative session, the Judiciary Committee be discharged, and the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 212, and the Senate vote on adoption with no intervening action or debate; that if the resolution is agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; further, that following disposition of the resolution, all postcloture time on the Saul nomination be considered expired; further, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. I further ask that following the disposition of the Saul nomination, the Senate vote on the cloture motions for Calendar Nos. 224, 162, and 163; finally, that if cloture is invoked on those nominations, the confirmation votes on the nominations occur at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader on Wednesday, June 5; and that, if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Monday, of course, is Memorial Day. Americans will take time out of our ordinary routine and busy lives to remember the men and women who paid the ultimate price for the security of our Nation and the liberty we cherish. We mourn every young American whose sacrifice has furthered the cause of our founding ideals, and we acknowledge in a special way the Gold Star families they leave behind--parents, spouses, and children whose grief is only matched by the facts of a grateful Nation. As President Reagan said one Memorial Day, across the river at Arlington: ``Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again.'' So while this day is a day for honoring and remembering, in particular, our fallen heroes, it is natural that our thoughts also turn to the brave men and women who are currently serving. I am thinking of the service men and women who are defending our country overseas and especially those engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Syria, all those stationed in the Middle East who are threatened by Iran, and those holding the line in Asia against the threats from North Korea. We are tremendously grateful for our military's efforts these last 18 years to keep America safe from terrorism and their ongoing work to combat al-Qaida, fight ISIS, and to help stabilize Afghanistan. Of course, I am particularly mindful of the members of the Kentucky National Guard and the many soldiers of Kentucky-based Active-Duty units who are deployed in harm's way. In light of the recent intelligence, we are also keenly aware of the critical role our military is playing at this very moment to deter Iranian aggression. The administration engaged Members of Congress earlier this week to brief us on the growing threat and detail the steps the administration is taking to address it. I am grateful our U.S. military has already taken proven steps to improve the posture of our forces so they are ready to defend our servicemembers, military vessels, and diplomatic facilities and deter attacks by Iran or its proxies all across the region. Nobody wants a conflict with Iran. We have heard clearly from the President and his senior advisers that the administration's objective is to deter Iran from engaging in threatening acts that increase the risk of such a conflict. We all know that, particularly when dealing with hostile actors, peace is a function of strength. So it is essential that even amid other partisan political disagreements, we remain one unified Nation. America must give Iran no reason--no reason--to misjudge our resolve. Whatever disputes my colleagues may have with the administration about other issues, I hope we can avoid politicizing any differences about this particular threat and work together to keep America safe. I also want to mention the American diplomats who are also hard at work overseas. We know that many of them, too, are stationed in harm's way, as we remember from repeated Iranian-backed attacks over many years on our Embassy in Baghdad or the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi. We are grateful for the talent and the hard work they have deployed-- often, hand in hand with our military--to advance American interests, preserve peace, prevent miscalculation, and deter conflict. I know I speak for all of my colleagues when I say I hope their efforts are heeded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, earlier this week, Senator Kaine and I introduced new legislation to raise the national minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21. Now, it has generated some attention that Senators from Kentucky and Virginia--States with some connection to tobacco farming and production--are sponsoring this legislation, but, as I said Monday, Kentucky farmers don't want their children forming nicotine addictions in middle school or high school any more than anyone else. Well, it turns out a lot of people across the country feel the same way we do. We have already seen more than a dozen experts, advocates, and public health groups come to rally around our legislation. One such organization said that the proposal would ``support smoking prevention among a population that is particularly susceptible to addiction, whose brains are still developing, and among whom nicotine use can have long- term developmental harms.'' When you consider the design of our approach, it is hardly surprising that leading voices in this area are lining up with enthusiasm. It is practical, it is within our reach, and it can become law. Our legislation simply works from the foundation of existing law. We take the existing mechanisms that are in Federal statute today to enforce the 18-year minimum standard and replace ``18'' with ``21.'' It is simple, it is straightforward, and it builds on what we know works. Not only does this approach streamline implementation for addressing a widely acknowledged public health crisis, but it also preserves the freedom of individual States to go even further in their efforts to protect vulnerable youth. Yet it ensures States cannot enact anything less protective than the Federal T21 standard. As I said earlier in the week, all youth below the age of 21 deserve the same protections from the public health crisis of nicotine addiction. Anyone who actually reads our bill will see that our intentions are clear and above reproach. Partisan griping will not save lives, nor will it prevent even more middle schoolers from yielding to potentially deadly addiction. As one advocate put it, ``Every extra day it takes to put this important legislation into effect is an opportunity for thousands more kids to access a tobacco product that can damage their developing brains.'' Now is the time for us to join together in a bipartisan manner and actually get a result that our Nation's youth so obviously need. In just 3 days since introduction, I have been encouraged by the support the Tobacco-Free Youth Act has received. I look forward to working with each of our colleagues to make it a reality and fight back against the scourge of addiction among America's young people. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a different matter, as I stated, the Senate will not adjourn this week until we have voted on legislation to deliver long, overdue relief funding for communities that have been hit hard by natural disasters. None of my colleagues need to hear me recite yet again why action in this area is such an important priority and why it is so urgently needed. It is a shame that this overdue subject has been allowed to languish for so long due to extraneous questions and, frankly, partisan small-ball. Wildfire victims in the Western States don't want to hear about House Democrats' various disagreements with the White House on a variety of issues. They simply want the relief they need and have been waiting for. The same goes for the flooded Midwest, the hurricane-ravaged Southeast, and the Kentuckians I myself represent. They don't want to hear about more Washington difficulties. They want an outcome. And, of course, everyone is well aware that we have an ongoing humanitarian crisis on our southern border and that our Federal Government needs more resources to deal with it. Even the New York Times editorial board wrote a few weeks ago: As resources are strained and the system buckles, the misery grows. Something needs to be done. Soon. That is the New York Times. The editorial went on: [T]he program that deals with unaccompanied minors is expected to run dry next month. . . . Democrats need to find a way to provide money for adequate shelter. That is the New York Times. And here was the title of the editorial, believe it or not: ``Congress, Give Trump His Border Money.'' That is in the New York Times. So on all these matters, it is past time--way past time to bring these negotiations to a close. I thank Chairman Shelby and all of our colleagues whose leadership has brought a bipartisan and bicameral solution this close to the finish line--this close. I implore our counterparts in the House and my colleagues in this Chamber to quickly resolve the last few issues and produce compromise legislation today. We need to do this today because, one way or another, the Senate is not leaving without taking action. We are going to vote this week, and I sincerely hope we will be voting on a bicameral and bipartisan, negotiated solution that could become law for the American people.

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 move to proceed to Calendar No. 91, H.R. 2157.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to proceed be agreed to.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Shelby-Leahy substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to; that Senator Shelby or his designee be recognized to make a motion to waive any budget points of order; further, that if the motion to waive is agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage with no intervening action or debate.

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, all week, Chairman Shelby and a number of our colleagues worked tirelessly to get a supplemental funding agreement for disaster relief over the finish line. He has prepared one thoughtful, good-faith compromise after another. In fact, this has been going on for months now: compromise offer after compromise offer from Republicans--constant engagement and good- faith work. So I am pleased that, today, all of this hard work has at long last paid off. Thanks to the efforts from a number of our colleagues and thanks to the leadership of President Trump and his administration--and, I might add, the occupant of the Chair, who has been extremely persistent in this effort over the last weeks and months--the Senate has now passed a compromise solution for disaster funding, and we have sent it over to the House. Regretfully, they are gone. The President has indicated he supports it. So the Senate's bipartisan vote is a big step toward making law and actually delivering the relief that communities across our Nation sorely need. I am sorry that our House Democratic colleagues blocked commonsense efforts to include funding in this legislation for the ongoing humanitarian crisis down on the southern border. Despite days of negotiations, House Democrats insisted that we could not provide more funding for our overwhelmed agencies, which are running on fumes, without including other poison-pill policy riders. As a result, today's agreement omits those needed resources. This wasn't money for the wall or even law enforcement. It was money so that the Federal Government can continue to house, feed, and care for the men, women, and children showing up along our southern border-- money for agencies that are currently, literally, running on fumes. This is money that is so uncontroversial--so uncontroversial--that even the New York Times published an editorial titled, ``Congress, Give Trump His Border Money.'' Even the New York Times blasted the ``political gamesmanship [that] threatens to hold up desperately needed resources.'' That is what they called it--political gamesmanship. Well, I am sorry to say their political gamesmanship did hold up these resources. Apparently, our House Democratic colleagues heard ``President Trump'' and the word ``border'' in the same sentence and decided they preferred no action at all to the sensible compromise that even the New York Times had called for. It is too bad that partisan spite has infected even such blindingly obvious priorities as the humanitarian efforts on our own southern border. I am sorry that our Democratic friends have become so committed to ``the resistance'' that they are now to the left of the New York Times editorial board. Nevertheless, we should celebrate the progress we are making today. The Senate passage of this legislation marks a huge step forward for communities across the United States that have gone far too long without receiving this Federal assistance to help them get back on their feet. Finally, the millions of Americans who have grappled with nature's worst are closer to receiving the supplemental aid they urgently need for the western communities that are still sorting through the ashes of last year's record-breaking wildfires; our coastal states in the Southeast and Puerto Rico, where hurricane damage punched holes in homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure; the Deep South communities victimized by tornadoes; and for those still grappling with the floodwaters that have surged over farms and towns across the Midwest and in my own State of Kentucky. So I am grateful and relieved that Chairman Shelby, Senator Leahy, and colleagues of ours, including Senators Perdue, Isakson, Rick Scott, Rubio, Ernst, Thune, Blunt, Sasse, and others have brought us to this point with their tireless work on this subject. I am grateful to the President for his leadership and focus on getting an outcome. I am glad we passed this legislation and sent it to the House. I urge our colleagues over in the House to support it.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 157.

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 executive session to consider Calendar No. 224.

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 Calendar No. 78, S. 1332.

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

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. 39.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 40.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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