Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

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

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. 2101 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Donnelly amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion 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 immediate consideration of H.R. 2345, which was received from the House.

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the House message to accompany S. 770. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 770) entitled ``An Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to disseminate resources to help reduce small business cybersecurity risks, and for other purposes.'', do pass with amendments.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendments, and I ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, before we adjourn this week, the Senate will also finalize the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. Once we pass the conference report this week, this important legislation will head to the President's desk to become law, and we will have fulfilled one of this body's most solemn responsibilities. The NDAA builds on the progress we made earlier this year in the bipartisan budget agreement, which provided for the largest year-on- year increase in funding for American Armed Forces in 15 years. This legislation authorizes programs that will contribute to the combat readiness of America's military to meet emerging and persistent global threats. It helps to ensure that our servicemembers and their families will receive the full support of a grateful Nation. When we pass the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Appropriations Act, which funds these programs, we will have gone yet further in meeting our commitments to an all-volunteer force. The NDAA has global and nationwide significance, but it also has tremendous local importance. In representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I know just how significant an impact this legislation will have on some of our Nation's finest. At Fort Campbell, members of the 101st Airborne Division and a number of Special Operations units will benefit from the authorization of new investments in their training facilities. At Fort Knox, the Army's Human Resources Command and Recruiting Command will receive the support they need to modernize officer personnel management, and the post will receive much needed certainty and authority for its energy savings program. At the Blue Grass Army Depot, critical work to support chemical weapons demilitarization will continue because this bill authorizes the resources necessary to conduct safe operations. Servicemembers will benefit from a well-deserved raise in military pay and expanded authority for military family housing and education. So none of my colleagues need to look far to find examples of how the needs of our servicemembers will be met by the legislation before us. Our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee carefully developed it. It reflects more than 300 amendments, and it rightly bears the name of our colleague and friend John McCain. I know he is proud of all this legislation accomplishes for our men and women in uniform. I also thank the senior Senator from Oklahoma and the ranking member from Rhode Island for steering this bill through conference. I look forward to sending it to the President's desk this week.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for more than a week, the Senate has carefully considered a set of four appropriations bills. Together, they will account for about one-eighth of the discretionary spending for the next fiscal year. They allocate funds for a variety of pressing needs in communities around the country, and they represent four more steps toward the goal this Senate has set to fund the government through regular appropriations and to steer clear of another omnibus. A lot of attention has rightly been paid to huge priorities where this legislation will bring major progress: our mission to renew America's infrastructure and the ongoing fight against opioid addiction and abuse. Both are urgent challenges. In one survey last year, 81 percent of Americans said the opioid epidemic is either a major problem or a full- blown emergency, and more than half said infrastructure investment was a ``very important'' or ``extremely important'' priority. These are two priorities we share throughout this Congress--both parties, both Houses, and with the President. Here are just a few of the provisions in this legislation: billions of dollars of investment in rural communities for everything from electric and telephone infrastructure to water infrastructure, to broadband internet, to small business loans; a $10 billion overall increase from 2017 for infrastructure needs; and tens of millions for opioid prevention, including grants for distance learning and telemedicine so rural America is better equipped to strike back against the scourge of addiction. Of course, infrastructure and fighting opioids are only part of what these bills encompass. They will fully fund the Federal Government's efforts in agriculture, transportation, housing and urban development, the interior, environment, financial services, and general government. That includes essential routine services, from the Forest Service to food safety inspections. It includes many targeted programs that have an outsized impact on local communities. My fellow Kentuckians and I are glad this legislation will help us expand rural internet access, invest in new highways and bridges, reclaim abandoned mines, and contain the invasive Asian carp that threaten our waterways. The list goes on and on. I know every community and every State could write its own list. This legislation matters to every Senator. It matters to all Americans. I am grateful to Chairman Shelby, Senator Leahy, and subcommittee Chairmen Murkowski, Collins, Hoeven, and Lankford for all of their hard work. We have considered these bills carefully. We have voted on a number of amendments. This morning, we will consider more amendments and then pass this bill. Now, this appropriations package is not the only important business the Senate has been working on this week. Yesterday, we passed an important extension of the National Flood Insurance Program and sent it to the White House for the President's signature. We confirmed the 24th circuit court nominee already in this Congress, and we voted to proceed to conference with the House on the farm bill. I understand this year marks the earliest, since at least 1965, that both the House and the Senate have passed a farm bill. Here in the Senate, it passed with the widest margin of any recorded vote in the history of this legislation. So Chairman Roberts and Senator Stabenow deserve our congratulations and appreciation. I look forward to serving as a conferee myself and to finishing up the farm bill prior to its expiration.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on one final matter, the U.S. economy continues to receive a lot of attention. In June, from the New York Times: ``New milestones in jobs report signal a bustling economy.'' In July: ``Sales of small businesses are going through the roof.'' Just yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal: ``U.S. workers get biggest pay increase in nearly a decade.'' Let's explore the last headline. According to data from the Department of Labor, employee compensation grew by 2.8 percent over the past 12 months. That is the fastest employers have increased what they spend on employee pay and benefits in any 12-month period since the one that ended in September of 2008. Given what we know about the labor market, this is hardly surprising. From Main Street businesses to manufacturers, job creators are faced with heightened demand. That means more Americans can come off the sidelines and find a quality job, and that means that businesses compete to hire and retain workers. Every week--practically every day--yields more impressive headlines, more testimony from middle-class families and small businesses about how this economy has improved their lives. It has been little more than 7 months since a united Republican government passed historic tax reform, and it has been about as long since the House Democratic leader predicted our policies would bring about ``Armageddon,'' and about 7 months since my friend the Democratic leader, here in the Senate, predicted that no part of tax reform would turn out to suit the needs of the American worker--none of it. But Republicans saw past the scare tactics and did what we knew to be right for the country. We pursued a pro-growth agenda to get Washington's foot off the brakes that were restraining job creators, to take Washington's hand out of the pockets of working families, and to help create the conditions for communities across the country to succeed. Any one of these goals could have been a bipartisan priority, just like all of the other good work I have discussed this morning. Tax reform, historically, had been bipartisan, but this time, our colleagues listened to the far left and decided to stand in complete partisan opposition to letting Americans keep more of their own money. Now the American people are reaping the benefits of a pro-growth, pro- opportunity agenda. Now they see whose policies benefit them.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today it is my privilege to recognize a prominent member of Kentucky's agricultural community, David Beck. During his four decades with the Kentucky Farm Bureau, KFB, David has been an effective advocate for our farm families and rural communities. Now, after great success with KFB, he has decided to leave the bureau for a new challenge. David has accepted the role of president and CEO of Kentucky Venues, an organization responsible for many of the Commonwealth's most beloved traditions like the annual State fair. Graduating from Murray State University in Calloway County with a degree in agriculture, David set out to dedicate his career to promoting farm communities in Kentucky. Since joining KFB in 1977 as a field service director in Central Kentucky, David has worn a lot of hats within the organization. Advocating in Frankfort and in Washington and working to implement KFB programs at all levels, he has also done a lot of good. In my work on the Senate Agriculture Committee, David has provided me with many valuable insights helping me better represent Kentucky farm families. Through multiple fly-ins and Farm Bills, we worked closely to develop policy to help support our agriculture communities. I would like to note one important project in particular we collaborated on: the 2004 Tobacco buyout. This landmark legislation not only reoriented our Depression-era Federal tobacco program toward the free market, but it also provided much-needed relief to some of the hardest hit farming communities in our State. With David's assistance, I championed this major legislation and worked with my colleagues in Congress to bring it to the President's desk. In his role as KFB executive vice president, David has time and again proven his leadership to benefit the organization's members and farmers throughout the country. Through seminars, conferences, and workshops he led with the American Farm Bureau Federation, AFBF, David helped build the farm economy nationwide. One clear measure of his success is the growth in our Nation's farm communities during David's time advocating for American agriculture. The AFBF cites a growth of more than 3 million member families across the Nation in the last four decades. He has led a remarkable career and has so much to be proud of. David's dedication to the Commonwealth has extended beyond the farm, helping families throughout Kentucky thrive. His work with our State's council on postsecondary education has helped students gain the skills they need to succeed in the workforce. By serving in leadership roles for the Kentuckians for Better Transportation, David helped encourage economic development with a safe and reliable infrastructure network. His passion for service runs deep, and David's experience continues to be an asset to the Commonwealth. On behalf of the many men and women from our home State who have benefited from his leadership, I would like to express our gratitude to David for his career at the KFB. As he leaves the bureau to take the next steps in his career, I wish him the best and look forward to his great accomplishments to come.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on behalf of myself and the distinguished Democratic leader, Mr. Schumer, I send to the desk a resolution on documentary production by the Select Committee on Intelligence, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Select Committee on Intelligence has received requests from the Department of Justice and from the defendant in a pending criminal case for copies of a transcript of an interview that the Committee staff conducted of the defendant in April 2018 for use in preparation for trial. This resolution would authorize the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, acting jointly, to provide copies of the interview transcript, under appropriate security procedures, to both parties in response to this request.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I want to take a few moments to discuss the brave men and women who serve in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I had the privilege of visiting the ICE office in my hometown of Louisville this past Friday and of meeting with these agents in person. This is a Federal agency that was created following the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is responsible for several key aspects of our homeland security: enforcing our immigration laws, combating terrorism, and preventing people and goods from moving illegally throughout our country. Its record on these vital missions is staggering. In fiscal year 2017, ICE recorded more than 105,000 arrests of aliens with known criminal convictions on their records--nearly 4,600 convictions for robbery, more than 3,700 for sexual assault, and more than 1,500 for homicide. We are talking about the men and women in law enforcement who confront all of this in order to keep all of us safe. This is hardly a controversial mission; it is essential. We are lucky these agents are willing to serve. The Nation is better off for it. So I wanted to pay these agents a visit in Louisville and thank them firsthand for their work. Recently, they have fallen into the crosshairs of some extremely vocal, far-left special interest groups, groups that explicitly say-- now get this; this is what they say--that our Nation would be better off with no borders and no immigration laws of any kind. That is what these people advocate. They are slandering ICE agents. They are calling the agency ``an unaccountable strike force executing a campaign of ethnic cleansing'' and even ``a genuine threat to democracy.'' That is what they are calling ICE agents. According to these leftwing groups, the threat to democracy is not the violent criminals who are illegally present in our country but, rather, the brave law enforcement officers who volunteer to take them on. Well, fringe political movements are nothing new. You can find a few Americans who will argue almost any side of any issue. What is new-- what does get my attention--is when prominent, leading Democratic politicians, including a number of our colleagues right here in the Senate, adopt some of these extremist views wholesale and let the far- left talking points form the basis of their own policy positions. The junior Senator from New York said recently that if Democrats regain the House and Senate, the first thing they should do is ``get rid of ICE.'' The senior Senator from Massachusetts pointed to ``replacing ICE'' as the first priority of a top-to-bottom rebuild of America's immigration system. The mayor of New York City calls the agency ``no longer acceptable.'' A Member of the U.S. House of Representatives likened it to--get this--``the Gestapo of the United States.'' The gestapo of the United States? I am really not sure where to begin in responding to this foaming hysteria. It is one thing for a few protesters and Socialist hecklers who want open borders and the elimination of all immigration laws to adopt a slogan as silly and ill-considered as ``abolish ICE,'' but it is something else entirely when U.S. Senators are so eager to please these leftwing extremists that they join that chorus--join in denigrating the men and women of U.S. law enforcement. This is the moment we are in-- that of leading Democrats' taking cues from the open-borders Socialist crowd and proposing to eliminate the very agency that enforces Federal immigration laws within the interior of our country. Talk about a political stunt. The American people want nothing to do with these dangerous antics. My neighbors and constituents in Kentucky certainly don't. So my fellow Republicans and I will continue to proudly stand with ICE, stand with the rule of law, and stand with all of the American families who would rather have fewer drugs and less crime in the communities in which they are raising their children.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now on another matter, we learned last week that second-quarter real GDP growth exceeded 4 percent. That is the best quarterly growth rate in 4 years and one of the strongest reports since the great recession. Earlier this month, we learned that new claims for unemployment insurance recently reached the lowest level since--listen to this--1969 and that the number of continuing claims, week to week, is lower than it has been at any point since 1973. Let me say that another way. Notwithstanding almost half a century of population growth, fewer Americans are applying for new unemployment benefits today than has ever been the case since just a few months after Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. The last time this few number of Americans continued to receive unemployment week to week was when Richard Nixon was President. No wonder analysts are heaping praise on this economy. The Wall Street Journal noted last week that recent reports indicate ``underlying strength that could tee up one of the best years in the current expansion.'' Back in March, my home State of Kentucky joined a list of 14 States that have reached the lowest unemployment rates in recorded history since this united Republican government has been in office. Never before on record has Kentucky's unemployment rate dropped as low as 4 percent. Already in 2018, an estimated 14,000 Kentuckians have found jobs at businesses of all shapes and sizes. Glier's Meats, in Covington, announced that the company was planning to add new positions and invest in new equipment to meet growing demand. In the words of the company's president, ``We had a number of projects that were seen as something we could consider doing down the road, but because of tax reform, it's possible to reinvest in the plant and in new equipment now.'' In Ashland, Braidy Industries expects to support 1,000 construction jobs as it constructs a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and then 600 permanent jobs. It broke ground in June. Not a single one of our colleagues across the aisle voted in support of this historic tax reform that is helping to make these developments possible. For them, these data are telling an inconvenient truth, and the inconvenient truth is this: The rest of America is not hiding from these numbers. Americans are benefiting from these numbers. We are celebrating them and all of the life-changing job opportunities, wage growth, and small business expansions they represent. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we will finish up the set of appropriations measures we have been considering for several days and take four more big steps toward our goal of completing a regular appropriations process and funding the government in a timely and orderly manner. We will authorize vital resources for our Nation's Armed Forces. We will attend to several other priorities as well, including an extension of flood insurance and sending the bipartisan farm bill to a conference with the House.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, first, later today, the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of Britt Cagle Grant, the President's selection to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. This Stanford Law graduate has served the people of Georgia for 6 years, most recently as a justice on the State's supreme court. All eight of her fellow justices had this to say about Justice Grant in a letter to Chairman Grassley and Senator Feinstein: She is highly intelligent, [with] a breadth and depth of legal experience. . . . Her first focus is always to get the law right. They go on to write: Justice Grant's character and integrity is unquestioned. She has an excellent reputation in the legal community [and] a well-balanced judicial temperament. In sum, they write: Justice Grant displays all the qualities of an excellent judge. . . . Our loss would be the Eleventh Circuit's gain. Justice Grant's colleagues on the Georgia Supreme Court include appointees of Republican Governors and Democratic Governors. They have seen her work up close. They have seen her legal expertise and her commitment to the rule of law. They have seen her conviction that--in her own words--``the role of judges is to interpret the law rather than make it.'' Her reputation reaches beyond State lines. In another letter to our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, current and former State solicitors general from across the country testify to her ``congeniality,'' ``integrity and work ethic,'' and say that Justice Grant ``has treated colleagues, opposing counsel, and the litigants appearing before her with respect.'' The understanding of a judge's role and the temperament to execute it is precisely the approach our constitutional order requires of our judges. I look forward to voting to advance Justice Grant's nomination later today, and I urge each of my colleagues to join me.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a final matter, on Friday, the Commerce Department reported some outstanding news. In the second quarter of 2018, the real gross domestic product of the United States grew by 4.1 percent. This number is just the latest point in a long series of evidence that shows the American economy is thriving. As I have pointed out, it is a mistake to view this growth--and the new prosperity for American families that it entails--primarily as an achievement of government. It is the American worker, the American job creator, and the American entrepreneur who has grown our economy faster than 4 percent this quarter, who has driven the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits to its lowest level in over 48 years and created 3.7 million jobs since the 2016 election, and who has repatriated more than $300 billion from overseas in the first quarter of this year alone, according to the Commerce Department, bringing that money home to our country. This is what free enterprise can achieve when Washington, DC, stops raising taxes, stops micromanaging the economy through the sprawling regulatory State, and stops presuming it is better to funnel money and power to bureaucrats than to trust hard-working families and small business owners to live their own lives. So it is the American people who deserve the credit for the successes of their economy. Here is what this united Republican government is doing: cutting their taxes, rolling back the redtape, and mowing down one hurdle after another that has held our country back. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I am proud to recognize Fort Knox, an important asset of our national defense infrastructure in my home State, as it celebrates its centennial anniversary. Located in Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade Counties, the installation was established by Congress in 1918 and has taken an active role in the defense of our Nation ever since. Today Fort Knox is a source of pride for the community and our Commonwealth, and I would like to take a look back at its century of accomplishment. Named in honor of the Revolutionary War major general and the first U.S. Secretary of War, Henry Knox, the site began as a field artillery training range for Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville. Congress purchased 40,000 acres of land in Kentucky to accommodate approximately 60,000 soldiers. Construction began in July 1918 under the supervision of quartermaster W. H. Radcliffe, and Camp Knox served as a facility to support troops returning home at the conclusion of the Great War. In subsequent years, Camp Knox became a training facility for thousands of troops from the National Guard, Reserve Officers Training Corps, and Citizens Military Training Camps. One of the citizens who trained there was author Robert Penn Warren of Guthrie, KY. Before he gained enduring fame for writing ``All the King's Men,'' Warren's first published poem ``Prophecy'' appeared in the ``Camp Knox Mess Kit'' in 1922. In 1931, the Army revolutionized our Nation's Armed Forces and formed a mechanized cavalry regiment at the facility. The next year, Congress gave the installation the name we call it today. Fort Knox was at the center of the mechanization of the cavalry, and it can proudly take credit for developing many of the tactics that helped win World War II. As a vital contributor to our national security, Fort Knox has served wide-ranging roles throughout its 100 years. For instance, in 1937, it became the home of the U.S. bullion depository and the guardian of our Nation's most valuable assets and, at times, some of the world's most precious possessions. During the darkest days of the Second World War, the depository guarded the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Fort Knox is also the proud home of the General George Patton Museum and Center of Leadership, a tourist destination honoring one of the giants of American military history. While we celebrate the installation's remarkable history, we also recognize that Fort Knox continues to play a dynamic and integral role in our conventional force structure and our State's economy. In 2009, the Army Human Resources Command relocated to Fort Knox and led to the construction of the Army Human Resources Center, the largest project in the base's history. It's also the home to the Army's Recruiting Command and Cadet Command, which hosts thousands of Army cadets each year for Cadet Summer Training. Most recently, the First Theater Sustainment Command moved to Fort Knox in 2017. These units add an indispensable benefit to our national security, and I am proud to have each one of them in Kentucky. Further, the installation has been recognized on numerous occasions in the Army's Communities of Excellence program and has developed a highly recognized energy savings program. At the same time, the surrounding community has established a number of supportive initiatives to help military families and transitioning Army personnel pursue regional employment opportunities. From its origin as a camp with 40,000 acres, this multifunctional military installation has grown to cover approximately 109,000 acres and is the sixth largest urban area in Kentucky. The centennial celebration is bigger than the Army, involving a passionate community that supports the installation and the men and women serving there. It is my utmost privilege to join each of them in sending my congratulations to Fort Knox and to all of the Army personnel there for reaching this milestone. During the many events planned to mark the occasion, I wish them all the very best and would like to once again thank them for all they do to keep our nation safe. I urge all of my Senate colleagues to join me.

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 Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 599, submitted earlier today.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I further 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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture motion with respect to the House message to accompany S. 1182 be withdrawn, and the motion to refer and the motion to concur with amendment be withdrawn, and the Senate vote on the motion to concur without further intervening action or debate at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, July 31.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the confirmation vote on the Grant nomination occur at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow, July 31; 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; further, that following disposition of the nomination, there be up to 5 minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form, and that following the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Shelby amendment to H.R. 6147.