David Perdue

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture vote occur at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 289, S. 2232.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 332, 333, 383, 424, 432, and 438.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote en bloc without intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed; that following disposition of the nominations, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the junior Senator from Arkansas and the junior Senator from West Virginia be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions on Friday, December 18, 2015, through Monday, January 11, 2016.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 303, S. 1115.

Mr. PERDUE. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn; that the Fischer substitute amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; that the committee-reported title amendment be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Chair lay before the Senate H. Con. Res. 104, which was received from the House.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming adjournment of the Senate, the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore, and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two Houses, or by order of the Senate.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 342, submitted earlier today.

Mr. PERDUE. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Murkowski amendment and the Lee amendment, which are at the desk, be agreed to; that the substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on this measure.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 4188, which was received from the House.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Thune substitute amendment be agreed to and the bill, as amended, be read a third time.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned pursuant to the provisions of H. Con. Res. 104 until January 4, 2016, and pursuant to the terms of H.J. Res. 76, and that on January 4, the Senate convene at noon for a pro forma session only with no business conducted; further, that when the Senate adjourns on January 4, 2016, pursuant to the provisions of H. Con. Res. 104, it stand adjourned until 2 p.m., Monday, January 11, 2016; that following the prayer and pledge on January 11, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each until 5 p.m.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I have spoken at length about how our debt crisis and our global crisis are interconnected. Before I speak today, though, I want to thank the Senator from Texas for his leadership this year, as we did get the Senate back to regular order. I know we have much to do, but I appreciate his leadership as whip and as a fellow colleague. Thank you. Today I rise to speak about how this overlap between our debt crisis and our global security crisis impacts the future of a vital Air Force asset: the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or JSTARS, as they call it. I visited with Team JSTARS to hear about their critical role. We made a visit. We talked about how their role affects our national security and our national defense and countering the global security crisis we face. I have also seen in Iraq and Afghanistan firsthand how this platform is absolutely vital to protect our forces on the ground in harm's way. The global security crisis facing our Nation continues to grow. First, we face our traditional rivals--China and Russia--as they become ever more aggressive. The persistent threat of nuclear proliferation is now exaggerated and increasing every day with Iran's efforts and, of course, we see what is going on in North Korea as well. Finally, we face threats from radical jihadist terror groups, not just in the Middle East but here at home, unfortunately--and not just from ISIS. AQAP, Boko Haram, and al-Shabaab, to mention a few, are all thinking about how to do harm here in our homeland. As a result, we know that the need for American leadership in the world isn't going to go away any time soon. Team JSTARS plays a critical role in our response to these threats. JSTARS is an Air Force platform that provides critical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR, and ground targeting capabilities in service to all branches of our military. Over the past 25 years, they have flown over 125,000 combat hours in 5 different combatant commands. As a matter of fact, they have flown every day since 9/11. The ``J'' in JSTARS stands for ``joint.'' Team JSTARS is a blended unit. The Air Force, Army, and National Guardsmen who work on the team, eat, sleep, and deploy together. These men and women leave for days, weeks, and sometimes they deploy for months to protect our men in uniform around the world. Not only are they a joint mission with the Army, but JSTARS also does several mission sets. JSTARS does command and control as well as providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. From stakeout to shoot-out, JSTARS is capable of supporting all missions in all phases, with full spectrum capability from low to high intensity conflict. In the words of General Kelly, SOUTHCOM's commander, JSTARS is quite unique, ``a true force-multiplier, working seamlessly with both the DOD and interagency assets, generating impressive results in our asset- austere environment.'' What makes JSTARS unique from other intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms is that on each JSTARS plane, we have unique manpower at the tactical edge to talk to our servicemembers on the ground with 22 radios, 7 data links, 3 Internets, and a secure telephone system. These are things we cannot take for granted. Our men and women on the ground talk about this incessantly. As I saw it in Iraq and Afghanistan, we could not fulfill our mission without this type of capability in the air, overseeing our men and women every day. As we see threats around us from an increasingly aggressive Russia and China, the threat of electronic warfare is also a growing concern. If satellite communication radios are targeted--if these systems are degraded by the enemy in any way--JSTARS can in turn provide the same critical capability in theater. This is a redundant capability we cannot do without. This platform has proven itself to be invaluable and indispensable to our Armed Forces--not just in the Air Force and Army but in every service--the Marines, the Navy, the Coast Guard, and even in some counter-drug missions. In the Pacific, JSTARS has been a key part of the Asia rebalance, helping to maintain stability and assure allies by providing vital insight to maritime forces as they push back against an expansive China. In fact, as China continues to challenge freedom of navigation and asserts itself in the Asia-Pacific region, PACOM is asking for more and more JSTARS presence at a very time when their capability is declining. Also in Asia, U.S. Forces Korea commander General Scaparrotti calls JSTARS ``very important to us'' as he deters an unpredictable North Korea. Here in this atmosphere, JSTARS has flown in support of homeland defense, doing drug interdiction missions. General John Kelly, the SOUTHCOM commander, said: ``JSTARS is especially important, providing a detailed maritime surveillance capability that is unsurpassed.'' To give you a comparison, a single JSTARS sortie--a single plane--can cover the same search area as 10 maritime patrol aircraft sorties. But the future of this platform is in jeopardy. As threats against our Nation have evolved, JSTARS has too. But there are only 16 of these planes covering our needs worldwide over the last 25 years. We have relied on JSTARS for 25 years to protect our men and women whom we put in harm's way--to protect them while other people are trying to do them harm. Unfortunately, in the last 25 years, these planes are beginning to wear out. They are reaching the end of their service life. These planes have been in service since the early 90s. But even then, these planes weren't new when the Air Force acquired them. Each plane on average had over 50,000 hours when we bought them. The average age of the fleet is 47 years. If you look at just one example in the JSTARS fleet, there is one aircraft that had 16 different owners or lessors over that time before it became a JSTARS, including Pakistani International Airlines and Afghan Airlines. I think it is very ironic that today that very plane flies oversight missions over those two countries. As these planes near the end of their service life, they are spending more and more time in depot maintenance. More maintains is more costly. Dramatically increased maintenance time is threatening aircraft availability and mission readiness. This in turn impacts the number of JSTARS that can be put into mission at any one time and be out in the combatant commands while doing their job, while day by day the demand from combatant commanders for JSTARS grows. What is more concerning is that as JSTARS near the end of their service life, as you can see on this chart, there is a gap. If we do nothing, we will have a gap of 10 years. The best we could do starting today is to shorten that gap to 4 years. This is a gap we cannot allow to happen. This chart shows the declining availability of the current fleet down to zero by 2023. It also shows that under the current plan--pending DOD approval and funding--the replacement fleet does not even come online until 2023, meaning we will have a 10-year gap. They don't get back to full strength until around 2027--again, the 10-year gap. Due to the increased maintenance requirements of this aging fleet, JSTARS is already at a point where we only have about half the fleet available to fly at any point in time. Even if we extend the service life of JSTARS and accelerate the replacement, we can only narrow the gap to 4 years. This is unacceptable. I have talked about the planes. Let me talk about the men and women who man those planes, who service those planes, who keep those planes in the air. These are talented professionals. I have met with them. They are dedicated professionals, protecting our soldiers on the ground. They are committed to this mission, but they have to have our help. The men and women on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world deserve our help. But when it happens to have a gap like this, our irresponsibility as a Congress and as military leadership shows up. We cannot allow this to happen. Recapitalization for the JSTARS fleet needs to happen, and it needs to happen right now. As these aircraft age, depot maintenance is not only more costly but also keeps these aircraft, which are in high demand for every combatant commander, from fulfilling their mission fully and putting our soldiers on the ground in mortal danger. This is precisely where we see the debt crisis and global security crisis intersect. In the last 6 years, I have spoken about this before, but we borrowed 40 percent of what we have spent as a Federal Government. This puts our ability to support a strong foreign policy backed up by a strong military in jeopardy. As Admiral Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, once said, the greatest threat to our national security is our own national debt. The JSTARS Program is an example of how our debt crisis is impacting our ability to fulfill our mission requirements. JSTARS recapitalization, which would replace these planes over time, is the No. 4 priority within the Air Force. The other three priorities ahead of it are very valid, but very expensive platforms. Just last month, the Air Force acquisition chief, Assistant Secretary LaPlante, said that the JSTARS recap might get scrapped thanks to sequester and tight budget constraints. Again, this is a result of our fiscal intransigence and poor planning by military leaders. This prohibits us from meeting the very basic needs of our men and women on the ground who depend on this critical platform to protect them and provide overarching eyes and ears in the battle space. This should not have happened. The intransigence of Congress over the last decade and the intransigence of our military leadership and procurement planning are all at fault. We can fix this. This week I am joining Senator Isakson and at least 11 other Senators in writing to Secretary of Defense Carter about the importance of funding for the next fleet of JSTARS in next year's budget request. I wish to thank the defense appropriators as well as the Armed Services Committee for their support for this critical platform and mission. I look forward to continuing to work with them to support JSTARS. Not only do we need to ensure the new JSTARS fleet is funded, but this needs to be done fast. As I said, if we do nothing today, we have at best a 4-year gap, not to mention the problem with the planes. What do we do with these professional military men and women who are irreplaceable--pilots, navigators, engineers, technicians, mechanics, schedulers, and computer experts. This is a capability we cannot do without. Not only do we need to ensure that the new JSTARS fleet is funded, but again this has to happen immediately if we are going to manage this gap. This gap in capability that we see on this chart will become a reality if the pace of recap doesn't change. We need a faster solution. This chart shows why this recap needs to be a rapid acquisition program and we need to get on that immediately. We need to ensure that this critical platform stays in theater. Our combative commanders demand it, our troops on the ground depend on it, and they certainly deserve it. We cannot allow Washington's dysfunction to put our men and women in combat theaters in further danger. This needs to get fixed, and it needs to get fixed right now. I yield my time. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a massive expansion of government that was fundamentally flawed from the start: the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare. In the past 100 years, we have had three supermajorities, all Democratic. The first gave us the New Deal; the second, the Great Society; and the third gave us ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank. In many ways, these progressive, sweeping government spending programs have failed the very people they claim to champion: the working men and women of America. Together, they come at a massive expense to taxpayers and still continue to add to the Nation's debt crisis. Right now, this law is saddling Americans with more than $1.2 trillion of new taxes over the next 10 years. In my State alone, ObamaCare is costing taxpayers over $2.7 billion over the next decade. The Senate's actions this week will help reverse the harmful effects of ObamaCare and remove the law's burdensome taxes on American families. When I am back home in Georgia, one of the most frequent and sobering concerns I hear about is the insidious, negative impact of ObamaCare-- whether it is reduced hours, increased premiums, increased deductibles, or just the mere fact that they can't get the doctor they want. I hear this more than any other complaint about what is going on in Washington today. By enacting this law, President Obama and Washington put our health care system--almost one-sixth of our total economy--under government control, and the consequences are disastrous. ObamaCare has driven up the cost of health care. In addition, premium costs and deductible costs are also up, precluding many Americans from even applying for coverage. The law has eliminated health care choices, forced rural hospitals out of business, created a doctor shortage, and failed to live up to the expectations promised to the American people by the Obama administration. First, Georgians are seeing their health care costs double. Just this week a headline on the front page of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution read ``Health care costs on the rise in 2016'' and ``Some Affordable Care Act plans seeing double-digit hikes.'' The article went on to describe the peril of a Georgia family who plans to cancel their insurance plan because it is no longer affordable for them. And this family is not alone. As we just heard in the prior speech, deductibles have risen to a point now where people can't afford the health care plan that was picked for them. In Georgia, premium increases are expected to range from 27 to 29 percent for Alliant Health individual policyholders, and the problem could only get worse as more insurance companies exit the ObamaCare exchange program. And deductibles are increasing seven times as fast as wages are increasing. Last week, UnitedHealth Group--the largest health insurance company in the country--announced it is considering dropping out of ObamaCare because it is losing so much money and the marketplace doesn't appear to be sustaining itself. As a matter of fact, yesterday, UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley even admitted that joining the ObamaCare exchange was ``for us a bad decision.'' He went on to say, ``We did not believe it would form this slowly, be this porous, or become this severe.'' Washington cannot overlook this warning. Like my wife Bonnie and me, many people have already had their plans canceled--no matter what the administration said. They said: If you like your policy, you can keep your policy; if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. I can personally tell you that did not happen. A lot of people have lost access to their preferred doctors or were forced into insurance plans that cost more, not less--dramatically more. If UnitedHealth Group--the largest player in this space--exits, Americans will only have less choice, not more. Aside from driving up health care costs and limiting insurance options, ObamaCare is forcing rural hospitals out of business as well. Since 2010 alone, five rural hospitals in Georgia have closed, and there is a possibility for more in the immediate future. Across the country, more than 50 rural hospitals--this is incredible--have closed just since 2010, and more than 280 are in danger of shutting down. Each closure eliminates local jobs and Americans' access to health care. Additionally, given the growing aging population, ObamaCare is contributing to a dangerous doctor shortage. The Association of American Medical Colleges is predicting a shortage of as many as 90,000 doctors by 2025. Another survey by the Physicians Foundation found that 81 percent of doctors describe themselves as either overextended or at full capacity, and 44 percent have said they plan to cut back on the number of patients they see. They may even retire and/or work part time. This further reduces access for people who need medical care. Finally, the Obama administration's promise of greater access to health insurance has proven to be totally misleading. In fact, now almost half of health insurance co-ops created under ObamaCare have collapsed due to their failing financial performance. This has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Americans scrambling to find sustainable health insurance for their families, and the ones who do find it can't afford the deductibles that, as we said, have risen dramatically. President Obama promised that his massive restructuring of the health care industry would give more people insurance. In reality, the law continues to disrupt Americans' health care at every turn, while failing to cover anywhere near as many people as its supporters predicted. I am counted as one who signed up for ObamaCare. I didn't have a choice. My plan was canceled. My access to my doctor was eliminated. I had no choice. But I am counted, as a statistic, as one who signed up for it. Make no mistake--our health care system needs to change. But one thing is clear: ObamaCare is ill-conceived law and is hurting people and our economy. It must be fully repealed and replaced. Georgians and Americans want access to affordable health care options and transportability across State lines. People want to keep their health care decisions between themselves and their doctors and not have to go through a bureaucrat. These are commonsense health care policies we can debate now that would lower costs, increase accessibility and transportability, and restore the sacred doctor-patient relationship. It won't be easy, but it is achievable. We need to start debating replacement plans now. There are alternatives to Washington taking over our health care system, almost 17 percent of our economy. Today, for the sake of our kids and our grandkids, we are taking a very important step to repeal ObamaCare and stop government-mandated insurance. We are also removing Washington's tax on the very medical devices patients and doctors rely on to deliver quality care. It is quite clear that this law was flawed from the very beginning. The Web site failed, access went down, deductibles went up, and premiums are still skyrocketing. The Obama administration is in total denial, and they misled the American people and failed to live up to the promises made during campaigns and afterward. What further evidence do we need to realize this law--this sweeping expansion of the Federal Government that pushes more tax dollars to Washington--is not working? In order to solve our debt crisis, we absolutely must fix this health care crisis, which is why the Senate is eliminating ObamaCare's fines on individuals and businesses and finally sending this broken law back to the President's desk. Today is a momentous day. This week we will actually have this vote. I urge my colleagues to put partisanship aside and do what is right for the people of America. I yield the floor.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I would like to offer congratulations to Ms. Beatriz R. Perez, chief sustainability officer and vice president of the Coca-Cola Company and the winner of the Canadian-American Business Achievement Award. For more than 20 years, the Canadian American Business Achievement award has highlighted the deep relationship between the United States and Canada, the importance of free trade between the countries, and recognized individuals who have been leaders in their fields of enterprise. Ms. Perez has served in her current role at Coca-Cola since 2011. Previously, she helped direct major marking operations for the Atlanta- based beverage giant. In addition to her work at Coke, Ms. Perez spends a great deal of time giving back to the Atlanta community as a trustee for the Save the Children Foundation and a board member for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. At Coca-Cola, working with the company's top leaders and nonprofits from around the world, Ms. Perez directs efforts that seek to build cooperation in the ``golden triangle of government, business and civil society.'' Ms. Perez is working with local governments around the world to continue the company's stewardship of natural resources through the development of water projects in nearly 100 countries, working with communities to advance and empower economic opportunities for women, and continuing the company's efforts in the distribution of more than 10 billion fully recyclable PlantBottleTM packages across 24 countries, which eliminates the need for the equivalent of more than 200,000 barrels of oil. In 2014, Ms. Perez was named as one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in Sustainability by Green Building & Design magazine. She has been featured as one of the 25 Most Powerful Latinas on CNN en Espanol and in People en Espanol, and is a member of the American Advertising Hall of Achievement and the Sports Business Journal's Hall of Fame. Ms. Perez earned her bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Maryland and currently resides in Atlanta, GA. I applaud Ms. Perez's efforts and am proud to have her and the Coca- Cola Company call Georgia home.