David Perdue

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration of and the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 168.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. I further ask unanimous consent that the bills be read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc.

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1690 and the Senate proceed to its consideration and the consideration of Calendar No. 64, S. 261, and Calendar No. 65, S. 612, en bloc.

Mr. PERDUE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. 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 ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Friday, May 22; that following the prayer and pledge, 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; that following leader remarks, the Senate then resume consideration of H.R. 1314; finally, that all time during the adjournment of the Senate count postcloture on the bill.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to; the Schatz amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the preamble, as amended, 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. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 109 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. PERDUE

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

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions, which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 185, S. Res. 186, and S. Res. 187.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 81, S. 501.

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

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 115 through 122, and all nominations placed on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy; that the nominations be confirmed; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I rise to speak in favor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. First, I wish to commend my colleagues, Senator Corker and Senator Cardin, for their leadership on this important bipartisan legislation. Because of their crucial leadership, the Foreign Relations Committee recently passed this bill unanimously in a 19-to-0 vote. One thing that is so important to remember, as we debate this bill, is that without this legislation, we would not have a say at all on the President's nuclear deal with Iran. Now, I will be the first to say that an international agreement of this magnitude should have been considered the same as a treaty. But, unfortunately, the President chose to completely circumvent Congress in this process. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which I am a member, did all we could to ensure that the American people, by way of Congress, get a say in this deal. If we let the perfect become the enemy of the good, however, and fail to pass this bill, the President will be able to go ahead and implement any and all aspects of a nuclear deal with Iran. This bill prevents the President from having a total free hand with regard to this potential deal with Iran and from prematurely lifting sanctions. According to CRS, this lifting of sanctions would mean an estimated $130 billion in sanctions relief would start flowing to Iran. That is more than Iran's entire annual defense budget. Imagine what they could do with over $100 billion. They could continue to fund terrorism. They could continue to prop up Assad's regime in Syria. They could continue to fuel the Houthi rebellion in Yemen. And, yes, they could further fund development of their nuclear weapons program. Congress passed the very sanctions credited with bringing Iran to the table, and I firmly believe that Congress should play a role in any decision to lift those sanctions. While the President may be able to waive sanctions on Iran later this year, permanent sanctions relief can only come from Congress. My colleagues and I still have many questions about this deal, and we must take this opportunity to get a period of congressional review so we can get answers to these questions and prevent the President from prematurely lifting sanctions. We are truly facing a global crisis, and the world is watching. As Prime Minister Netanyahu recently said before Congress, a nuclear Iran is not just a threat to Middle East security, and it is not just a threat to U.S. security. It is a threat, indeed, to global security. There is no scenario in which a nuclear Iran would be anything but catastrophic. Indeed, a nuclear Iran would spark a wave of proliferation in the Middle East and potentially worldwide. And if we don't like Iran's behavior today, imagine what their actions will be like if they have a nuclear weapon with the missiles to deliver them. Under no circumstances can we allow Iran to become a nuclear weapon state--not now, not in 10 years, not ever. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I rise today to address for the first time this august body, the United States Senate--the greatest governing body ever conceived. Out of respect, I have waited until we passed the 100- day mark to deliver this speech, but I rise today because I believe our Republic is in grave danger. We need to create a new beginning by dealing with the very real crisis of leadership we face today. It is why I ran for the Senate in the first place--because we need a new perspective in Washington. Like many Americans, I am outraged by Washington's dysfunction, its fiscal irresponsibility, its lack of leadership in foreign policy, its intrusiveness and overreach, and its negative impact on hard-working Americans. Before being elected to the Senate, I had never been involved in politics. Simply put, I am a political outsider committed to changing the direction of our country. I grew up in a small military town in Middle Georgia, working on our family's farms. My mom and dad were public school teachers, and I grew up modestly, as did most people there. I worked my way through college and was blessed with a business career that took me from the factory floor to become a Fortune 500 CEO. My story is not unique. It is the American story. Only in America is this possible, thanks to hard work and self-reliance. It is called the American dream, and it is our job to make sure it lasts. Many people today believe that this dream no longer exists, that we need big government to provide us with more and more financial security. I disagree totally. I believe our best days lie ahead. But we have to act boldly if we are to save this dream and our very way of life. As an outsider to the political process, I am humbled by the privilege to serve my country as a U.S. Senator. I am sobered by the immense responsibility of representing the people of Georgia, and I am encouraged by the opportunity we have to solve this crisis of leadership and create a new beginning. As one of the Original Thirteen Colonies, Georgia has long been blessed with outstanding statesmen in the U.S. Senate. The first Senator to serve in this seat in the first U.S. Congress in 1789 was Senator William Few. He also signed the U.S. Constitution. As fate would have it, Sarah Few Collins, a member of the team that helped me become Georgia's 37th U.S. Senator in this seat, is a direct descendant of Senator Few. I think that is pretty special. This desk I use on the Senate floor is also very meaningful to me. It has served such distinguished leaders from Georgia such as Saxby Chambliss, Zell Miller, Sam Nunn, Herman Talmadge, and the venerable Richard B. Russell, Jr. I rise to speak about three issues creating this national crisis of leadership we experience today: the abuse of Executive power, the significant deterioration of American foreign policy, and our out-of- control debt. First, ``What we are witnessing today is one of the greatest challenges to our constitutional system in the history of this country''--not my words but the words of George Washington University constitutional law professor Dr. Jonathan Turley, who incidentally voted twice for President Obama. Unbridled use of Executive orders and regulatory mandates has basically allowed this President to run the country without Congress for the past 6 years. According to Professor Turley, this sets dangerous precedents for future courts and future Presidents. To create a new beginning, we must first get back to our founding principles articulated in our Constitution that created this miracle called America in the first place: economic opportunity, fiscal responsibility, limited government, and individual liberty. When government grows larger, individual liberty declines. I even believe that our Founders were committed to the concept of citizen legislators--people would come to Congress, do their work, and go home. I don't believe they could perceive of the potential rise of career politicians we experience today. We also face a global security crisis that is getting worse by the day. This administration has created a situation where our allies don't trust us and our enemies don't fear us. Leading from behind has failed us as a foreign policy. Right now, we face the threat of nuclear proliferation starting with Iran. As President Obama has conceded, this deal being negotiated would leave Iran with a breakout time ``almost down to zero'' in 10 to 15 years. As Prime Minister Netanyahu reminded us when he spoke before Congress, a nuclear Iran is not just a threat to Middle East security, it is not only a threat to U.S. security, it is indeed a threat to global security. A nuclear Iran whose leaders are committed to the death of Israel and America would spark an unprecedented wave of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. Under no circumstances can we allow Iran to become a nuclear weapons State--not now, not in 10 years, not ever. After battling terrorism for the past 14 years and fighting two major wars, with thousands of American lives lost and billions spent, we still face terrorist threats from jihadist Islamic groups who openly vow to do us harm. We face a tough choice, however: Deal with them over there or wait and deal with the consequences here at home. We are also witnessing the return of great power rivalries. Last year, Russia actually seized territory of a sovereign state and continues their aggression today in the Ukraine. China is also growing more aggressive, doubling its military spending and flexing its muscle in the region. New asymmetric threats, combined with traditional symmetric challenges, create unprecedented demand on our military at the very time this administration has reduced military spending to the point that we are about to have the smallest Army since World War II, the smallest Navy since World War I, and the smallest Air Force ever. This is simply unacceptable. To address this global security crisis and create a new beginning, we must have a consistent and strong foreign policy. However, to have a strong foreign policy, we must have a strong defense. Providing for the national defense is one of only 6 reasons outlined in the Constitution why 13 Colonies formed our Union in the first place. To have a strong defense, though, we have to have a strong economy, as we proved during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Our own fiscal irresponsibility jeopardizes our very ability to fund a strong military. ADM Michael Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, once said that the greatest threat to our national security is our own Federal debt. This debt crisis threatens our ability to defend our country, stand for freedom, and maintain our very way of life. It is a primary reason why we need to create a new beginning. This debt crisis affects each of us every day. While the economy lurches along, we see working middle-class Americans struggling. Many people are having difficulty finding jobs, and those with jobs are lucky to have a job. Their wages remain stagnant, making it harder and harder to get from payday to payday. Many families can't afford to buy a home or plan for the future. Moms and dads fear they can't send their kids to college or prepare them for a good job. Many college graduates today have sizable student loans and still can't find meaningful employment. A comfortable retirement is only a dream for many. Back home in Georgia, people share my outrage with Washington's fiscal irresponsibility. From what I have seen so far up here, there is not enough great sense of urgency in tackling this skyrocketing debt crisis. There are no innocent parties up here, either. Both sides have pushed us to the brink, contributing to this unsustainable level of debt we face today. In the last 6 years alone, the Federal Government has spent $21.5 trillion, but it borrowed $8 trillion, so that today we have a Federal debt of more than $18 trillion. We simply cannot afford everything we are doing as a Federal Government. We are already overtaxed and overregulated. The progressive policies of the past 100 years and particularly the egregious policies of this current administration have failed the very people they were intended to help--the working middle class. Instead, Washington has created a spiraling situation that will only take us deeper into debt. What is worse, we have over $100 trillion in future unfunded liabilities related to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Federal pensions, and the interest on the Federal debt. While developing a long-term solution to this debt crisis, we also need to protect today's seniors and save our safety net programs so they will be there for people who really need them the most, when they need them. Shockingly, Social Security and Medicare trust funds will be totally insolvent in just a few short years, and worse, this administration has no plan to deal with that. Unfortunately, we are already past the tipping point in this fiscal catastrophe. If interest rates today were at their 5.5 percent 30-year average, we would already be paying almost $1 trillion in interest. That is twice what we spend on our military, and it is totally unmanageable. People back home expect Washington to work. This fiscal irresponsibility drives people back in Georgia absolutely crazy. Doubling down on bigger government, more Federal programs, and more government spending is not the answer, as has been proven repeatedly over the last 100 years. We have to break the gridlock in Washington to solve this problem. One side wants to increase taxes; the other side wants spending cuts. The result is that we have had gridlock in Washington for a generation. The real solution, of course, is to grow our economy. Just 1 percentage point of incremental GDP growth would generate over $3 trillion of Federal tax revenues in the next decade alone. Combine that with the elimination of truly duplicative programs, and we can develop a long-term plan to solve this debt crisis, as well as get Americans back to work in meaningful, well-paying jobs. To create a new beginning, my focus in this body will be to add to the debate about how to grow our economy, rein in our outrageous spending, and solve this debt crisis. To grow our economy, three priorities should be addressed right away. First, we need to totally reinvent how we fund our Federal Government. Many States, such as Georgia, have a balanced budget law, and so should Washington. American families can't spend more than they take in, and neither should their government. Our archaic tax system is choking growth, holding back innovation, and discouraging investment. Eventually, I believe, we should transition from an income tax to a simple consumption tax, such as the fair tax, that would level the playing field with the rest of the world. While that debate will take some time, there are things we can do right now to stimulate our economy. We need to reduce our corporate tax rate and eliminate entirely our repatriation tax to be more competitive with other countries. At the same time, we need to eliminate corporate welfare and make our tax system fairer and simpler for every American. We also have to rein in our out-of-control regulators. This President has created the fourth branch of government--the regulators--which today makes more rules that affect our lives and our jobs than does Congress. Finally, we need to unlock our full energy potential to get this economy moving. We need to develop our domestic natural resources. Isn't it time we finally develop a long-term energy policy that unleashes this potential while protecting our environment? Doing these things now will also allow us to fund our infrastructure needs, improve our education process, become more competitive with the rest of the world, create well-paying, 21st-century jobs, and ignite the next economic boom for our kids and grandkids. I have used the word ``crisis'' carefully and thoughtfully today. The first step toward making the tough choices required to change our direction comes from a true realization that we indeed have a crisis. Americans respond better than anyone in history to a true crisis, but we are not always the quickest to recognize we have one. To create a truly new beginning, it is time for this eminent body, the U.S. Senate, to rise above partisan politics and do the right thing. It starts with leadership. It starts with making hard choices. It starts with telling the American people the unvarnished truth. It starts with no longer kicking the can down the road. It starts with having the courage to actually solve these problems independent of how it might affect our reelection chances. My motivation is very simple. I do not want to be a member of the first generation in American history that has to tell its kids that we are leaving them a country that is worse off than our parents left us. Ronald Reagan once said: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it along to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States when men were free. Let us fight to find common ground to create a new beginning for our country, for people back home who are struggling, and for the future of our children and our children's children. As I close, I am reminded of a seldom-quoted closing sentence of the Declaration of Independence: And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. Our Founders got it right. They would remind us of that commitment and encourage us today to put our differences aside, to work together to solve these sometimes overwhelming problems. Together, we can put our differences aside. Together, we can do the right thing. Together, we can create a new beginning. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 20 minutes each.

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, today I wish to speak on S. 1, legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, which will approve construction of the pipeline that has been under review for 6 long years. By moving this project forward, we are helping to secure America's energy future, improve our national defense, and create tens of thousands of jobs for Americans. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a commonsense jobs bill. It should never have been a political issue. It goes far beyond the labor to construct the pipeline--it will drastically increase employment across many industries as we work to develop our North American energy resources. It is disappointing that the President is threatening to veto its approval when building Keystone would create American jobs and help lower energy costs for families across the country. The American people are still struggling in today's economy, and they expect and deserve Washington to cut red tape and unleash America's energy resources. Building the Keystone XL pipeline is an important step toward meeting these goals, will help ensure America's energy security, and reinforce relations with our largest trading partner. Unleashing our Nation's full energy potential remains one of my top priorities in the U.S. Senate. I will work to advance serious policies that responsibly develop all of our energy resources, create good jobs, and make America more energy independent. It is time we start putting America's issues on the President's desk. I urge the President to reconsider his threat to veto the bipartisan Keystone jobs bill and to finally take the opportunity to work with Congress to find solutions the American people want. The Senator from Florida. Telephone Tracking Devices

Mr. PERDUE

Mr. PERDUE. I object.

Mr. PERDUE

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