Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I also want to thank all of my colleagues who are coming down to speak about this today. Families in my home State of Washington are scared. They are frustrated. They are angry. And so am I. New reporting now makes it clear that even after researchers in Seattle raised serious concerns about the possibility of community spread in Washington State and tried to work with Federal agencies to conduct testing, the administration didn't work with them to let the public know how serious the coronavirus was. You can be sure I am going to get to the bottom of this and make sure it will never happen again. I am furious that instead of acting with urgency, they did nothing; instead of acting with transparency, they kept quiet; instead of working to keep families safe, they wasted valuable time. And now in my State, 24 people have died. Over 1,000 across the country are confirmed to be infected, and experts are telling us that many more are likely to be ill. I am hearing from people in my home State of Washington who are worried about their older relatives who are dying alone; worried about having to miss work and being unable to pay their rent; worried about how to keep their children safe at school and how to care for them and make sure they get a nutritious meal if their schools cancel. I am hearing from small business owners who are worried because no one is now coming through their door and they are unsure how to support the workers going forward. I am hearing from communities that are worried about how they protect people who are experiencing homelessness. I have seen a lot in my years as a Senator, but I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most trying times I have ever seen in my State experience. I am absolutely going to be holding this administration accountable for missing so many opportunities to get ahead of this, but I am also going to be doing everything in my power to make sure we do not miss significant opportunities. We still have time to slow this down and manage it as best we can. Our primary goal right now for people in my home State and across the country needs to be slowing the spread of the virus in areas where there are outbreaks so that areas where it has not hit so hard yet have the time to prepare. One of the best ways we can do this is by allowing workers who feel sick or who need to stay home with a child whose school is closed to do so without losing a paycheck or their job. Workers and their families want to do the right things for themselves and for their communities, but for many of our workers--restaurant workers, truckdrivers, service industry workers--they may not have an option to take a day off without losing their pay or losing their job. That leaves them with the impossible choice between putting food on their table and paying the bills or the rent and protecting themselves and others. That is not a choice we should be asking anyone to make in the United States of America in the 21st century. Yet 32 million people in our country today--or about one out of every four private sector workers--are faced with this impossible choice every time they get sick. Right now, this choice has unique and potentially dire consequences. I have been advocating for legislation to allow workers to earn paid sick days since 2004, along with my colleague Congressman Rosa DeLauro in the House. Time and again, we have been told no even though that simple step is critical, as we now see, for public health and gives workers the flexibility they need. In fact, we last introduced our bill in March of 2019, and here we are almost a year later to the day without the very policies in place that would have now helped millions of our workers and bolstered our resilience in the face of this exact kind of public healthcare crisis that paid sick days are intended to prevent and to mitigate. We now have another opportunity to get this right. I am here to ask my colleagues to support our new emergency paid sick days legislation, which would ensure workers would have 14 days of paid sick leave immediately in response to public health emergencies like the one we face today in addition to allowing workers to gradually earn their 7 days of paid sick leave. It would mean you would not lose a paycheck if, like so many parents in my home State of Washington and across the country are facing, your child's school has to close in the coming weeks because of this health outbreak. It would mean you would not lose a paycheck if your family member were quarantined and you needed to stay home to take care of him so that you would not spread the virus. Also, if you could not go to work because you were sick or your workplace were shut down, as we are seeing in so many places, you wouldn't lose pay. These are the real challenges people are now facing and will continue to face. Our bill would help these workers immediately, the minute it becomes law. We have enough delay when it comes to paid sick days, so let's get this done. Let's keep working, as we need to do, on a comprehensive, coordinated response that focuses squarely on what our families and our workers and our small businesses need in the weeks and months ahead. The Democrats on this side have a lot of ideas that we are laying out in response to this, including how to make sure these tests are affordable, that we support our most vulnerable communities, and that we reckon with the economic impact this crisis is having on our communities and Nation. There is a lot we need to do in the weeks and months ahead, but I urge us to start today with this simple, really important issue. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of S. 3415, a bill to allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families; that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; 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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I do appreciate the fact that the Senator from Tennessee has been a great partner with me on many issues. I will keep talking to him about this. Let me just say, without doing this, the cost to businesses is going to grow exponentially. We have already seen it on Wall Street, and we are seeing it in our communities. Because people are not getting paid, they are going to work and are spreading this virus. We are seeing the impact and will continue to see it in our communities as fewer people go to their stores or as fewer people go to their businesses. We either do this now or we are going to continue to pay for it in the future. I am sorry it has been objected to today, because I think it is such a critical step with regard to this public health crisis we are having. We need to get this done.

Mrs. MURRAY

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

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, later today the Senate will be taking up the borrower defense CRA vote and likely voting on it tomorrow. Each and every Senator will have a choice. They can side with working students, or they can side with predatory, for-profit colleges. It should not be a hard choice, and that choice certainly should not be partisan. Students who were cheated and defrauded by predatory, for-profit colleges are often left with crushing debt and no path forward. That is why President Obama issued the borrower defense rule--to help students move forward with their lives and education and to get the debt relief they so urgently need. Since taking office, Secretary DeVos has put up roadblock after roadblock for students and borrowers. First, she refused to implement the borrower defense rule that was on the books, until a court forced her to. She stalled on debt relief for hundreds of thousands of borrowers who were left waiting for an answer, with tens of thousands of them falling into default and collections. Once again, the Federal courts were forced to step in. Now Secretary DeVos is trying to deny full relief to students who were clearly cheated by predatory colleges. For so many people, getting relief on your student debt means the difference between making ends meet or not, the difference between paying your rent or not, and the difference between getting back on your feet or not. Now, to make matters even worse, Secretary DeVos has gone further than just delaying and limiting the relief. She has issued a disastrous new borrower defense rule intentionally designed to make it harder for defrauded borrowers--defrauded borrowers--to get relief even when predatory colleges clearly violated the law. It will prevent students from getting their day in court and let predatory colleges off the hook financially. This rule says, in the fine print, that students will be stuck repaying 97 percent of their fraudulent debt. The Department even admitted that students will be cheated out of $2.5 billion per year, and students will only get 3 cents back for every dollar of fraud they experience. That is cruel and wrong. The Congressional Review Act, or CRA, would immediately halt Secretary DeVos's rule in its tracks and prevent it from going into effect. It is time to put an end to the nonstop efforts by this administration to prioritize the interests of predatory, for-profit schools over the interests of our students. It is time for Senators to decide, once and for all, if they will support our student loan borrowers who have been cheated out of a quality education or help corrupt institutions with their bottom line. I want to personally thank Senator Durbin for his tireless efforts to push this important issue forward. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, reserving the right to object, we have a serious public health crisis on our hands right now, and we expect it to get much worse. Right now, families across this country are actually looking to Congress to put partisanship aside and put their needs first and are counting on us to listen to experts and make decisions that are guided by science, not by ideology. They need to know that our No. 1 priority and what we should be talking about is public health today. Instead of discussing this harmful bill that will gut reproductive rights, put unnecessary restrictions on medical providers, and undermine medical research, which is an absolute nonstarter and the absolute last thing we should be doing right now, I think we should be focused on what families actually need us to be focused on, which is the coronavirus outbreak and what it means for them and what we are doing about it. The news of this virus is spreading throughout the country. The deaths, the illness, and the confusion it has caused in my home State of Washington and elsewhere are beyond alarming. The Trump administration has fallen far short of its responsibilities to Washington State and to communities nationwide. I am pleased Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to put partisanship aside to hammer out the robust emergency supplemental funding agreement that was announced earlier today. It is an agreement that goes well beyond President Trump's totally inadequate request in order to actually meet the needs we are hearing about from the officials on the frontlines of this crisis, like reimbursing States and local governments that have shouldered the cost of this response so far or the need to support research so we can develop new treatments and diagnostic tests and vaccines and the need to make sure those are available to everyone. This agreement helps us prepare for what is next by providing funding to shore up our store of medical supplies, support medical community health centers in underserved areas, and bolster global health and public health preparedness programs. I am working to make sure we get that bill signed into law as soon as possible, and I will continue to follow it closely because experts have already made it very clear this is not going to be over soon. While the funding is a great first step, we need to make sure it is not the last one. It is very critical that we continue listening to our health experts, providing needed resources, and preparing for what is next, including what this will mean for families' day-to-day lives and for people who can't take a day off work without losing a paycheck or don't have affordable childcare if a school closes or don't have health insurance or are experiencing homelessness. I hope my Republican colleagues will think long and hard about what their priorities are in the midst of this and choose to refocus their energy on working with us to address the urgent issues of the day instead of distracting us from serious work and wasting time we don't have. I object.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, it must be a day that ends in ``Y'' because, once again, Republican Senators are pushing for backward, ideological bills to restrict a women's constitutional right to abortion. Once again, Republicans are peddling a ban that is blatantly unconstitutional. Once again, they are pretending we don't already have laws on the books that protect infants and are using that as a pretext to drum up fear and misunderstanding about one of the most heartbreaking situations a family can face, and are pushing for anti- doctor, anti-women, anti-family legislation. Once again, I am here on behalf of women and men across the country to deliver the same message we have already made clear countless times: not on our watch. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he wants to pivot to legislating, which makes these two atrocious bills an interesting choice because all 100 Senators know they are going absolutely nowhere. The truth is, Republicans' charade today is not actually about passing laws any more than it is about people's health or medical science or what is best for patients. It is really about Republicans' crass political calculation that they can fire up their far-right base with an all-out war against the constitutionally protected right to safe, legal abortion. The two bills differ in some significant ways, but they have the same consequences. They would criminalize--criminalize--abortion, take deeply personal, often painful decisions out of the hands of parents and use scare tactics and misinformation to try to weaken strong public support for Roe. Another thing they have in common? They have already been panned by leading medical groups. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has called one of these bills ``an unconstitutional attempt to intimidate health care providers and prevent them from providing the safe care their patients want and need.'' And they have said the other is ``a gross legislative interference into the practice of medicine.'' It is not just medical experts. Families across the country have actually faced these decisions, have spoken out to make clear politicians should have no part in them. Pressing for these awful bills year after year may be nothing more than a cynical political tactic for Republicans, but passing them would be an unconscionable exercise in cruelty to the people who would actually be affected: People like Judy, who is from my home State of Washington. Judy learned over 20 weeks into her pregnancy that her son's organs were not developing properly. One lung was 20 percent formed. The other was missing entirely. People like Kate, whose doctor informed her that if her daughter survived birth, she would not be able to walk, talk, or swallow and likely would not even be comfortable enough to sleep. People like Lindsay, who learned her daughter had a fast-growing, inoperable tumor growing into her brain and heart and lungs, wrapping around her neck and eyes and chest, and making her odds of survival incredibly slim. People like Darla, who was pregnant with twins when she got the unthinkable news that one of her twins had serious medical complications. Not terminating that pregnancy could put her other twin's healthcare at risk. Those are just a few of many stories. There are more families across the country who have struggled with the painful reality that the child they have hoped for cannot survive. Each of them has spoken out to underscore that in those wrenching moments, they wanted to make the decision that was best for their child and their family, with their healthcare provider. But each of these bills would take the ability to make the decision best for that child and family away from women like Judy, Kate, Lindsay, and Darla. Those bills would prevent doctors from offering the best medical advice, all because extreme politicians are more concerned with spreading misinformation and firing up their base than they are with actual women's lives. In other words, in the most private moments of personal tragedy, these bills would take precedence over a family's wishes as they grieve. To the politicians supporting these bills, I have to ask: How dare you think your opinion is more important here than the knowledge of medical experts and the wishes of the family who is affected? I don't understand how anyone can think, instead of letting patients make their own very personal decisions, that they should have that decision made for them by President Trump and Vice President Pence. That is exactly what we are talking about today. Why? Even though Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land for almost a half a century, even though a large majority of people do not want to see that landmark decision overturned, Republicans think somehow they can benefit politically and fire up the most ideological elements of their base by using every tool imaginable to chip away at the right to safe--safe-- legal abortion. I am here to say they can try, but women, medical experts, and those of us elected officials who trust them are not going to stop calling these bills what they are: anti-women, anti-doctor, and anti-family. We are going to make clear we oppose every single one of their efforts to further chip away at access to safe, legal abortion under Roe: every extreme, cruel abortion ban, every fearmongering effort to gin up controversy and pretend we don't already protect infants, every far- right judge they try to pack onto the courts to chip away at Roe v. Wade, every barrier to care and information like President Trump's title X gag rule, and every new shameful scheme they concoct in their all-out war on access to reproductive healthcare. Whatever Republicans try next, Democrats are going to continue fighting alongside women and men across the country to protect their ability to make their own decisions about their own families, continue standing up for doctors' ability to practice medicine without politicians getting in the way, and lifting up the stories of real people, like Judy and Kate and Lindsey, Darla, and many others--so Republicans can't ignore them. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am here today to recognize a loss for the Murray office and a major victory for Wisconsin and that is the return of Beth Burke, a longtime and deeply trusted aide of mine, to her home State after 8 years with my office. Over her time with us, Beth saw me through office move after office move, countless hectic days of running to and from the Capitol all without missing a vote, I should say and more rebooked flights back to Washington State than sure she would like to remember. All of that would be enough to keep a team of ordinary people busy, but it doesn't even scratch the surface of what Beth has meant to me, to our team, and to our country because, during those same years of Beth's service, she helped lead our team as we grew from scrappy and small to still scrappy, but spanning three different office buildings in the Senate, in addition to our two coast, as I negotiated a bipartisan budget agreement no one thought we could get done and through the negotiations between Chairman Alexander and me on reforming K-12 education to end No Child Left Behind. She was up at all hours, all week, every week, doing everything she could to advance our efforts to fight for patients' healthcare, for women's reproductive rights and equality, and always, always for our servicemembers, veterans, and their families. It is a bit of a truism that the loudest voice in the room is not always the one having the biggest impact. Now, Beth will be the first to admit that she has a loud voice. But she used it and her expertise at navigating every logistic and obstacle imaginable to ensure we were in the best possible position to succeed in whatever we set out to do. She is a true public servant with the biggest heart you can imagine, and I know families and communities in Washington State and nationwide are better for her time here. I would also be remiss if I didn't note that Beth met her wonderful husband Dan, got married, and had her adorable, fierce baby girl Lillian all while she worked in our office. It has been a true joy seeing her family grow, so before I close I want to thank Beth's family--Dan, Lillian, their dog Karl--the most important Burke and everyone who's excited to welcome her home to Wisconsin, for sharing Beth with us. I know it is not always easy having a Senate staffer as a spouse or a family member or a close friend, especially one who works as hard and cares as much as Beth, so I want to recognize all your loved ones for their service as well. Beth, thank you again from my State and my family to yours. We are so deeply grateful for you and so excited to hear about everything you have in store.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I come to the floor today to strongly urge all of my colleagues to join Senator Kaine, and I want to thank him for his extremely thoughtful and amazing approach to this. I think it is so important that we reassert Congress's authority in decisions concerning our Nation's security and curbing this administration's ability to put our troops in harm's way without consulting the American people. Following the early January attack on U.S. troops deployed in Iraq triggered by President Trump's decision to launch a drone strike that killed Iran's Qasem Soleimani, I know that many Americans were frightened, as I was, to then watch tensions with Iran escalate so rapidly in realtime. I am glad the President has backed down and decided not to further escalate those tensions in recent weeks--as a voice for my home State of Washington, including all of our servicemembers and military families and communities. But we are not off the hook, and we have every reason to believe that Iran may retaliate again, which is why I remain deeply disturbed by President Trump's rush to incite conflict in ways that could have significant negative impacts on our strategic goals in the region and, more importantly, the long-term safety and security of Americans at home and abroad. To date, neither President Trump nor his administration has provided any evidence to us here in Congress to justify his actions, and despite reports from the administration shortly after the attack that there were no U.S. casualties, we are now learning more than 100 servicemembers--100--have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following that attack--serious injuries that President Trump dismissed as simply ``headaches.'' The American people expect their representatives--us--to have a say in decisions that may put their lives or the lives of a loved one at risk. As the daughter of a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient, here in the Senate I make decisions about our national security with deep concern for our brave servicemembers and their families, with a personal understanding of the sacrifices they make for all of us and our Nation and an unwavering commitment to ensuring that they have the support they need while they serve and when they come home. That is exactly why our Constitution mandates that the power to declare war rests with Congress--not the Commander in Chief--because those decisions weren't meant to be made by one person alone. That is why I am glad that my friend from Virginia, Senator Kaine, is offering this War Powers Resolution, of which I am very proud to be a cosponsor. Passing this resolution is a first step toward protecting our servicemembers and our interests in the region by removing our troops from hostilities in or against Iran unless there is a declaration of war or a congressional authorization for the use of force. This isn't just an issue for Democrats. I am very proud that this resolution has bipartisan support because, no matter what side of the aisle you are on, we should all agree that Congress must play a role in our Nation's foreign policy, as well as matters related to the health and safety of our servicemembers. I am grateful for all of those who are serving in the Middle East and around the world, and that is why I refuse to stand by and accept that they could be put in jeopardy or that our Nation's foreign policy and safety could be upended by an impulsive, late-night tweet. So I will continue to demand that the President provide his legal justification for the drone strike in Iraq, commit to coming before Congress in advance of any further escalating steps, and explain to us how he will move forward in the region with the goal of protecting Americans, our allies, and our interests. In the meantime, considering the unique recklessness of this administration, it is urgently important for Congress to pass this resolution to block President Trump's ability to start a war with Iran and ensure that Congress is guaranteed the opportunity to hear whatever case the President may have before taking a vote to determine the path that we want our Nation to go down. In 2002 I voted against the war in Iraq because I felt the administration was asking us to send our men and women into harm's way without a clear plan or a goal. Last week the House passed legislation to repeal that 2002 AUMF, which is a step in the right direction toward bringing our brave troops home. The Senate should stand up and assert our authority to represent our constituents on this critical issue, too, because, as Senators, they are the people to whom we are all accountable. We have to be able to go home and look them in the eye and say that we gave questions as grave as decisions concerning war and peace the deliberation that they warrant and that we have done everything we can to protect our Nation and our servicemembers. You simply can't do that if you allow this President--or any President--to continue conducting foreign policy-- especially by tweet--unchecked. So Congress has an obligation to ensure a debate. We have an obligation to press this administration for a strategy and check its power if it doesn't present a compelling one, which so far it hasn't. Passing this War Powers Resolution will help us--us--do exactly that, so I strongly urge our colleagues to support this resolution. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I have been in the Senate now for two Presidential impeachment trials, and I can tell you that this is never a situation I want to find our country in--not back then and certainly not today--when the odds of bipartisan cooperation, even on responsibilities as solemn as these, are brutally low. In spite of this, I called for impeachment proceedings to begin in the House in July of this past year, and I did so because of the gravity of the threats to our democracy that has been outlined in Mueller's report. At the time, I felt, if we did not fully explore those threats, we would fall short of our constitutional duty and set a precedent of congressional indifference to potentially flagrant violations of our Constitution--ones that could jeopardize our core democratic institutions. After hearing both sides' presentations and after reviewing every available source of information and testimony, I believe it is painfully clear that the President of the United States has abused his power and obstructed Congress and that he should be removed from office. I want to talk about how I reached this conclusion, which I did not do lightly, and take a few minutes to reflect on the consequence of the decision each of us is individually about to make. Throughout the trial, the contrast between the presentations by the House managers and the President's defense team could not have been starker or more damning for the President. The House managers built an ironclad case that shows the President abused his power and obstructed Congress in ways that present grave, urgent threats to our national security and to the rule of law. Over the course of their arguments, it became undeniably clear: The corruption we have learned so much about in recent months starts at the very top--with the President of the United States. President Trump demanded a foreign government to intervene in our elections for his own political gain, and he did so by withholding American taxpayer dollars and by ignoring congressional authority. The President's associates acted with his full knowledge and consent, and he himself pressured Ukraine's leader, knowing how much Ukraine depended on United States support. These actions have already made us less secure as a nation. By delaying vital military aid to Ukraine--a key partner--President Trump has emboldened Russia, one of our chief adversaries, and he has undermined our credibility with other allies worldwide. Critically, the President has also given every indication he will continue to put his own interests ahead of American interests, including in our upcoming elections, and he has, time and again, refused to recognize Congress's constitutional authority to oversee the executive branch. In addition, information continues to come out that further implicates the President and demonstrates not only his intent to abuse the power of our highest office but his direct personal engagement and efforts to do so. To summarize, the House's arguments made it impossible to ignore a reality our Founders deeply feared--a President who betrays our national security for his own personal benefit and disregards the system of checks and balances on which our democratic institutions depend, who believes he is above the law--contrary to the most fundamental American principles. The President's defense did not directly refute those charges against the President or the thorough case that the House presented. In fact, the President's defense only served to illustrate how indefensible the President's actions were. We heard complaints from the President's defense about the House's process, which the President refused to engage in. We heard a debunked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian election interference even though the President's own advisers repeatedly explained to him that Russia, not Ukraine, interfered in our 2016 election. We heard the denial of a quid pro quo that, as the House managers laid out in excruciating detail, was borne out not only on the President's July 25 call with President Zelensky but in hundreds of documents from before and after that call. We did not, however, hear any substantive defense of the President's actions. Tellingly, the President's defense vehemently opposed commonsense requests for the President's own key aides to testify and for the consideration of his aides' documents as part of this trial. If the President were as innocent as he claims, surely, his aides and his administration's materials would bear those claims out, and he would want them considered. He and his team do not. In 1999, I said that, if we were to remove a sitting President, none of us should have any doubts. Based on the facts we have heard today and the distraction and obfuscation that has been offered in response, none of us should have any doubts that the President committed the impeachable offenses of which he is accused. What we now know is the President of the United States demanded that a foreign government interfere in our elections to help him win his upcoming campaign. That truth is indisputable. The question is, What does each of us as an individual do with that information? In sitting here, I have been reminded that this trial is so much larger than any one of us--larger than any political party and much larger than President Trump. It is fundamentally about whether we will stand up for the institutions that secure our autonomy as a people-- institutions we hope to leave stronger for our children and grandchildren. To go a step further, really, this trial is about freedom in our country because, if the President feels he owes his office to a foreign government, not to Americans, then whom does the President truly serve? How can he be trusted? If foreign governments can skew our elections in their favor, if they interfere with Americans at the ballot box this November, then are Americans truly represented in the White House? Is there any American who is really free if a President can owe his election to an entity outside and aside from the American people and if foreign governments can help to decide who is in our highest office? These questions and their chilling answers have led me to my final decision, and I hope others consider them carefully as they make their own. I also want to speak for a minute about fear. There are really two different kinds at work in this moment. One is the fear of political consequences. I remember how many Members of Congress felt compelled to vote for the war in Iraq. The political pressure was palpable. That kind of political fear is palpable again today, but fear of political consequences must never supersede concern for our country, and we should be fearful for our country today. We should be fearful for our future, for our safety, and the rule of law if the evidence we have heard cannot persuade this body to act on the painful truth before us. Our President has betrayed the public trust, flagrantly violated our laws, and proved himself a threat to our national security. So I ask my colleagues how they want to feel not in this moment here today but in the years ahead and as part of our Nation's history as more information continues to come out about this administration--and it will--as we get closer to an election we still have a unique opportunity to help protect, and as we explain this difficult but pivotal time to our grandchildren. Looking back, whom or what will you want to have stood for--this President or our country? I believe, as Representative Schiff said so simply and powerfully, that in America, ``right matters.'' But I also note right matters only because so many people have, throughout our history, stood up for what is right, even when-- especially when--it may be difficult. Today each U.S. Senator is called to do the same. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. Chief Justice.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk for the House managers.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. Chief Justice.

Mrs. MURRAY. Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. I send a question to the desk for the House managers.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a close friend, ally, and devoted public servant, Mr. Carl Adrian, as he retires from a 16-year career supporting our national security, environmental cleanup, economic growth, job creation, and furthering the ever-expanding missions of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL, as well as advancements in innovation and more tied to each of these in my home State of Washington. Mr. Adrian, retiring president and CEO of Tri-Cities Development Council--TRIDEC--began his service to the Pasco, Richland, West Richland, and Kennewick cities, also known as the TriCities, on September 1, 2003. Mr. Adrian arrived in the Tri-Cities as a transplant, being born and raised in Omaha, NE, where he graduated from Westside High School. Mr. Adrian then obtained his bachelor of arts in political science, geography, and later a masters of administration in urban and economic geography from the University of Iowa. Prior to Mr. Adrian's tenure with TRIDEC, he spent significant time supporting economic development throughout the central region of the United States through his work with multiple organizations. He served communities in Casper, WY, the Quad-City area of both Iowa and Illinois, and Cedar Valley located in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, IA, before embarking upon his last enterprise in the Tri-Cities. Mr. Adrian has devoted his life to supporting commerce and new innovation in the region. In his role at TRIDEC, Mr. Adrian has been one of the Tri-Cities most effective advocates to Congress, frequently working to ensure members of Washington State's congressional delegation were abreast of the concerns and needs of the community while also helping to strengthen federal support for Central Washington priorities, including working to successfully expand Washington State's wine industry, signing vital MOUs with Hong Kong to bolster the local economy, and more. Mr. Adrian's dedication to inclusive collaboration ensures important stakeholders are never left uninformed on the needs of the Tri-Cities area, and through his robust advocacy, the region has seen significant population and economic growth as well as industry expansion, offering many Tri-Citians a new path to the American Dream. As TRIDEC's longest-serving president, Mr. Adrian has successfully led efforts to help expand the Tri-Cities airport and offer nonstop daily flights to key regional airports; create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in 2015; promote services to attract, retain, and improve commerce and economic development throughout the region, which led to significant job growth, population growth, and the development of several new business ventures in the TriCities. It is clear to me that Washington State has benefited greatly from Mr. Adrian's vision and passion for promoting what the Tri-Cities community, its workforce, the Hanford Site, and PNNL have to offer, as I have seen firsthand both at home and in the other Washington. His work is evident in the progress that has been made on environmental cleanup at Hanford, as well as his work to help plan a future for the Tri-Cities that looks past cleanup operations towards preserving the region's rich history through designations of the B Reactor as a National Historic Landmark and Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and seeking out new, emerging opportunities like small modular reactors to help grow additional economic opportunities in the region and boost Washington State's leadership role in cutting-edge energy technologies to combat climate change. Through all of this, he has remained as committed as they come. Last August, when I had the good fortune to get one more visit with Mr. Adrian at PNNL, I was unsurprised that he still carried the same enthusiasm and pride for his work as he did during his first visit with me in 2003. Mr. Adrian has been critical to my work in the U.S. Senate to ensure the Federal Government is keeping its commitments to central Washington, and he has made a tremendous impact on the Tri-Cities community, Washington State, and our Nation. Today, I join with others throughout the State of Washington in thanking him for his many years of service. I congratulate Mr. Carl Adrian on his retirement and wish him and his wife Rheta the best of luck as they write their next chapter together.

Mrs. MURRAY

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

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I first want to say how relieved I am by reports that no lives were lost in last night's missile strikes in Iraq and how grateful I am for all those serving in the region and around the world. The fact remains, however, that this is a volatile and frightening moment for our country. In a matter of days, the President of the United States has, without any authorization or notice, taken steps that have sent tensions soaring with Iran, threatened the fight against ISIS, jeopardized relationships with key allies, risked the safety of U.S. servicemembers and civilians, and brought us perilously close to war. I have heard from so many people in my home State of Washington, and I know my colleagues have as well, about just how scary and uncertain this feels and the many questions it raises. While there is no question Qasem Soleimani was a sworn enemy of the United States, people want to know whether the President's initial order was truly necessary to our safety and why right now in this time of already heightened tensions in the Middle East. They want to know elected officials here in the Nation's capital are prioritizing their safety and our country's safety. Most of all, they want to know what comes next and what can be done to prevent things from getting worse. Like so many Americans, I have watched these events unfold with increasing concern. As the daughter of a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient, I make decisions about the safety and security of our Nation with deep concern for our brave servicemembers and their families, a personal understanding of the sacrifices they make for all of us and our Nation, and an unwavering commitment to ensuring they have the support they need while they serve and when they come home. To that end, while I firmly believe we must do everything possible to keep America safe and go after terrorists wherever they are, I also believe that, except in the most dire of circumstances, we should do everything possible to exhaust all of our diplomatic avenues and coordinate with our allies and our partners before taking military action all on our own. I believe we should not enter a conflict without a very strong understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and what it will cost and that while America has every right to defend itself, striking another country preemptively, without the strongest evidence of immediate danger, is a dramatic step with significant long-term implications that should not be done without a full debate and congressional support. Madam President, based on what we know now, the administration's actions in Iraq failed on each of these counts. It has not made us safer, and our allies feel blindsided, especially because this strike puts them at risk too. There is no clear goal or clear-eyed understanding of the risks we have assumed. There was absolutely zero debate in this Congress and-- unless you happened to be on the golf course with the President-- absolutely no notification that he planned to massively escalate tensions with a foreign power overnight. While, unfortunately, this is exactly the type of scenario many of us feared would arise from this President, I can't say it is surprising. President Trump's repeated reckless actions in the region, beginning with his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, have jeopardized critical objectives, leaving us without any clear strategy for restoring peace or protecting our troops and allies. We cannot assume Iran is done retaliating, and we must assume ISIS or other terrorists will take full advantage of the increased instability in the region. In the face of challenges as serious as these, none of us in Congress, regardless of party, should be willing to just stand by and accept that our Nation's foreign policy and safety could be up-ended by an impulsive late-night tweet. I certainly won't. Instead, I will continue to demand that the President provide us his legal justification for his order, commit to coming before Congress in advance of any further escalating steps as this now plays out, and explain how he will manage the consequences of his decision, with the goal of protecting Americans, our allies, and our interests. I will continue to advocate for strategies that lead us toward safety and security rather than fan the flames. In the coming weeks, I look forward to voting in support of my colleague from Virginia, Senator Kaine's War Powers Resolution, and I am very glad to be a cosponsor. This resolution would reassert congressional authority, block President Trump's ability to start a war with Iran, and allow us to hear whatever case he may have before taking a vote on whether this is really the path we want our Nation to go down. I hope every one of our colleagues listens to the people across this country who do not want to find themselves in an avoidable war and who sent us here to act as an independent branch of government, not a rubberstamp for an increasingly volatile administration. I hope they join us and support this resolution. Madam President, finally, I will say that I voted against the war in Iraq because I felt the administration was asking us to send our brave men and women into harm's way without clear plans or goals. Today, this President isn't even asking. The goals and plans are even less clear, and the path ahead of us is very uncertain. Congress has the power to ensure a debate, press this administration for a strategy, and check their power if they do not present a compelling one. It is well past time we used it. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.