John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Michael Snyder, an intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Michael is a graduate of Sturgis Brown High School in Sturgis, SD. Currently, Michael is attending South Dakota State University, where he is majoring in political science and history. Michael is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of his experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Michael Snyder for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Mansour Karim of Pierre, SD. Mr. Karim's life story is inspiring, and his contributions to his community and the State of South Dakota are worthy of commendation. Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, to a poor family, Mr. Karim dreamed of moving to the United States to pursue his higher education. That dream became a reality in November of 1950, when Mr. Karim arrived at the Port of New York and New Jersey with a limited English vocabulary and only $27 in his pocket. He had originally planned to attend the University of Michigan, but was worried that the growing Iranian immigrant population there would keep him from being immersed in the culture of the United States. He decided to study at Huron College in Huron, SD. Mr. Karim's journey to South Dakota was challenged by the barriers of an unfamiliar nation, but he had his faith and was often helped by strangers along the way. He studied at Huron College for a year before transferring to South Dakota State College, now known as South Dakota State University, from which he graduated in 1955 with a degree in civil engineering. He would later receive his master's degree in engineering from the same school. Mr. Karim served 35 years with the South Dakota Department of Transportation in South Dakota's capital city of Pierre. Though a dedicated civil servant, he found his passion doing something he never could have done in his home country of Iran. He invested in rental properties, starting modestly. Eventually, through hard work, wise investment, and trusted relationships, he achieved great success in providing affordable, quality rentals for residents in the Pierre area. Mr. Karim did not do this alone. His wife, Ruth, provided support to the enterprise as the two of them raised their seven children. Ruth Karim cofounded South Dakota Right to Life and served as its executive director for 19 years. Prior to Ruth passing away in 2013, Mr. Karim worked with the Saint Mary's Foundation in Pierre to set up the Ruth Karim Endowment that would help nursing students who value protecting the sanctity of life and fund their education at Ruth's alma mater, the University of South Dakota. When looking back on his life, Mr. Karim is quick to recognize those who helped him move to South Dakota. He also remembers how, as a young child, he gave a beggar a penny, though he wished he had been able to give more. That giving nature has continued throughout his life, with Mr. Karim having given more than $2 million to charities throughout South Dakota, with a focus on education and children's needs. He created the Mansour and Ruth Karim Scholarship Endowment in 2004 at South Dakota State University. Due to these charitable contributions Mr. Karim has been the recipient of many awards, including being named Pierre's Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year in 2011. I, like the residents of Pierre and others across South Dakota, have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Karim. His passion for the United States and the freedoms it affords and his genuine care for his community is contagious. In conversations, Mr. Karim will often say that his experience could only be possible in the United States. His story is another real-life example of the American dream as reality and what makes our Nation great, to succeed and to give back, so that others may succeed. It is for these reasons that I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mr. Karim for his generous philanthropic work and thank him for making South Dakota his home.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, over the last 20 years we have seen incredible advancements in computing, telecommunications, and information technology. The United States has led the world in this innovation thanks to our brilliant entrepreneurs, scientists, world- class universities, massive private sector capital investment, a culture that rewards risk-taking, and a favorable regulatory environment, but increasingly our lead in innovation is threatened as American businesses are forced to contend with an ever-growing number of outdated laws and regulations. While our businesses have often managed to succeed anyway, American industries deserve better from our government. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that our statutes and regulations are appropriately and narrowly tailored for today's economy and for the future. My Commerce Committee colleagues and I have been eager to do our part in ensuring our Nation's communications laws keep pace with innovation. Last week, we unanimously passed the bipartisan MOBILE NOW Act, which I introduced, along with the committee's ranking member Senator Bill Nelson. This legislation will give a boost to American innovators who are looking to make the next generation of wireless technology, known as 5G, a reality. Mr. President, 5G wireless will obviously mean things like faster movie downloads and more advanced smartphones, and it will also mean massive leaps forward in areas like technology, entertainment, public safety, and health care, as well as other economic benefits that will make American lives better. One of the best examples I have heard came from former FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker. She pointed out that right now a Smart Car communicating with 4G wireless technology takes 4\1/2\ feet to brake in response to an obstacle. By contrast, a Smart car with 5G technology would travel only 1 inch before braking, which could be the difference between life and death. In order to make 5G wireless technology a reality, we have to put the right policies in place. Policies that maximize the efficiency of the airwaves that transmit wireless broadband signals and the bands of electromagnetic spectrum that make up our Nation's airwaves are in limited supply. While we can't make more airwaves to carry additional spectrum, we can make changes to how they are used and who uses them in order to improve efficiency and to do more of what we have. The MOBILE NOW Act will require the government to make at least 255 megahertz of spectrum available for private sector broadband use by the year 2020. That is a lot of spectrum, but MOBILE NOW doesn't stop there. The bill also directs government to assess more than 12,000 megahertz of superhigh frequency spectrum for wireless broadband suitability. For technical reasons, that spectrum has seen only limited use to date, but as new technologies come online in the next few years, this spectrum will become increasingly viable. Indeed, most people expect that these superhigh bands will become critical for our 5G future. Making spectrum available is important, but freeing up spectrum does not help our digital economy unless and until we put it to good use. This is why several of MOBILE NOW's provisions focus on speeding up the deployment of the communications facilities at the heart of our Nation's broadband networks. One way to do that is by putting a shot clock on Federal agencies to force them to make speedy decisions on companies' applications to place wireless facilities on Federal property. This is critical for rural States like South Dakota and Nevada where placing wireless facilities on Federal lands could bring more high-speed Internet service to underserved communities. The MOBILE NOW Act is an example of what is possible when Members put aside their partisan differences and work together to come up with commonsense proposals to spur economic growth. In addition to the provisions Senator Nelson and I wrote, MOBILE NOW also includes all or part of six other bills which represent the work of Senators Booker, Daines, Fischer, Gardner, Klobuchar, Manchin, Moran, Rubio, Schatz, and Udall. We also adopted important amendments from Senators Heller and Peters. Even the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee--Senator Inhofe, as well as a longtime former member of the Commerce Committee, Senator Boxer--made key contributions to the bill's ``dig once'' section. The MOBILE NOW Act would not have been possible without the collaboration of these Senators. So it is my hope that this spirit of bipartisanship will also carry over to the Commerce Committee's efforts to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission. Compared to other Federal agencies, the FCC is relatively small. But as the regulator of the communications and technology industries, both of which are central to America's modern economy, the Commission has significant influence over the direction of our country. Given the importance of the FCC, my colleagues might be surprised to learn that Congress has not reauthorized it in more than a quarter of a century. You have to go back to 1990 to find the last time that the FCC, or the Federal Communications Commission, was reauthorized. The work of the FCC has continued during that period, of course, but reauthorizing this agency every 2 years ensures that Congress will be able to make sure that the FCC has all the tools it needs to keep up with our rapidly changing digital landscape. Some 26 years ago--I think it is safe to say--none of us in this Chamber knew anything about the Web, let alone about smartphones or streaming videos. Since then, the communications landscape has been fundamentally transformed by digital technology, mobile services, and the Internet. Yet the FCC in that entire time has gone unauthorized, making it the oldest expired authorization in the Commerce Committee's broad jurisdiction. I hope we can change that. On Monday I introduced the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016, which includes a handful of noncontroversial, good-government reforms to go with a 2-year reauthorization window. By restarting the FCC's regular authorization cycle, the bill will ensure that necessary congressional oversight of the FCC's budget and procedures occur routinely. As indicated by the FCC Commissioners themselves at our oversight hearing last week, a consistent legislative reauthorization process will produce a more responsible and a more productive relationship between Congress and the Commission. This will result in better outcomes for both consumers and the rapidly growing broadband-based economy. Telecom policy was once considered to be one of the least partisan issues in Congress. While the campaign for net neutrality has certainly changed the political playing field over the last decade, I believe there is still a lot of room for bipartisanship on tech and telecommunications issues. The MOBILE NOW Act and the FCC Reauthorization Act are two bills that can make a real difference. I look forward to working with colleagues on the Commerce Committee and in the full Senate to pass both of these bills in the coming months. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, with 150 days until the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, I am proud today to introduce S. 2650, the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act. This bill would ensure that America rewards the sacrifice and hard work of Team USA by exempting from Federal tax the medals and cash prizes they win at the Olympics and Paralympics. Our Olympians and Paralympians represent America with distinction because they epitomize our greatest values--determination, hard work and a competitive spirit. These athletes and their families sacrifice years of their lives for the opportunity to represent the United States on the world's greatest stage--the Olympics and Paralympics games. Most countries not only compensate their Olympic and Paralympic athletes, but also subsidize their training expenses with taxpayer dollars. Our athletes make considerable financial sacrifices to train for the Olympics and Paralympics, and as amateurs, receive no compensation for their training. Unfortunately, America's athletes are penalized with a tax burden for the medals and awards they receive at these games. That shouldn't be the case. We should be celebrating their achievements rather than taxing their success. I want to thank Senator Schumer, Senator Gardner, Senator Gillibrand, and Senator Isakson for working with me on this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the USA Olympians and Paralympians Act to protect and encourage the success of our athletes competing in the upcoming Rio Games as well as future Olympic and Paralympic Games. I look forward to watching Team USA compete and win later this year, and I wish all of our Olympians and Paralympians the best of luck.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, with 150 days until the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, I am proud today to introduce S. 2650, the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act. This bill would ensure that America rewards the sacrifice and hard work of Team USA by exempting from Federal tax the medals and cash prizes they win at the Olympics and Paralympics. Our Olympians and Paralympians represent America with distinction because they epitomize our greatest values--determination, hard work and a competitive spirit. These athletes and their families sacrifice years of their lives for the opportunity to represent the United States on the world's greatest stage--the Olympics and Paralympics games. Most countries not only compensate their Olympic and Paralympic athletes, but also subsidize their training expenses with taxpayer dollars. Our athletes make considerable financial sacrifices to train for the Olympics and Paralympics, and as amateurs, receive no compensation for their training. Unfortunately, America's athletes are penalized with a tax burden for the medals and awards they receive at these games. That shouldn't be the case. We should be celebrating their achievements rather than taxing their success. I want to thank Senator Schumer, Senator Gardner, Senator Gillibrand, and Senator Isakson for working with me on this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the USA Olympians and Paralympians Act to protect and encourage the success of our athletes competing in the upcoming Rio Games as well as future Olympic and Paralympic Games. I look forward to watching Team USA compete and win later this year, and I wish all of our Olympians and Paralympians the best of luck.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Gardner), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Roberts), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea'' and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I also want to take a few moments today to discuss the devastation drugs are bringing to too many families and communities across our Nation and also to congratulate the Presiding Officer for his great work on this issue. The bill before us today is a collaborative effort of his and Senators Ayotte, Toomey, and others who have worked very hard to address what has become an epidemic across our country. It is particularly hitting States hard, it is hitting communities hard and families hard, and it needs to be dealt with. The destructive effects of illegal drug use have been well documented, and anything we say about the problem is likely to have been said many times before, but it is still worth saying because we cannot afford to forget what is at stake in this effort. In my home State of South Dakota, methamphetamine use has hit our Indian reservations very hard over the past few years. Numerous individuals have become trapped in a cycle of meth abuse, their plans and dreams for their futures erased as their world shrinks to nothing more than their next dose. Of course, drug abuse doesn't just affect the individual using drugs; it ripples out into families and communities. Since meth abuse spiked on our reservations, there has been a significant increase in the number of babies born addicted to meth, and that is about as heartbreaking as it gets, Mr. President--a newborn baby screaming in agony as her body suffers withdrawal. The meth epidemic on our reservations has also caused a significant increase in the number of meth-related crimes, including sexual assaults, domestic violence, child neglect, car accidents, and gang violence. The meth epidemic has worsened the housing shortage facing South Dakota tribes because meth has contaminated a number of homes across our reservations. Cleaning up a house that has tested positive for meth costs thousands of dollars. Several South Dakota tribes have seen so much devastation from meth abuse that they have declared a State of public emergency to gain access to additional government resources to fight the problem. Today we are considering legislation to address another drug epidemic that has caused similar devastation--the abuse of prescription painkillers and heroin. Since 1999, drug overdose deaths from prescription opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, have quadrupled. Forty-four Americans die every single day after overdosing on prescription opioid painkillers, and the numbers on heroin abuse are similarly disturbing. Heroin abuse in the United States nearly doubled between 2002 and 2013, while overdose deaths related to heroin nearly quadrupled. Between 2013 and 2014 alone, heroin use in the United States increased nearly 35 percent. Behind those numbers are thousands of broken families, suffering children, and devastated communities. Any response to a problem as deep and complex as drug abuse has to approach the problem from a number of different angles. It has to address education and prevention. It has to target the drug supply by going after those who trade in and produce drugs. And it has to ensure that individuals trying to escape the cycle of addiction have access to the resources they need to overcome their dependence. The bill before the Senate today, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, targets all these priorities. A substantial part of the bill is focused on funding programs that provide treatment and support for individuals trying to escape painkiller or heroin dependence. The bill also provides grants for education and prevention and for local communities' anti-drug efforts. An important section of the bill focuses on developing best practices for prescribing pain medication. Right now, prescription painkillers are heavily prescribed in the United States. In fact, the United States consumes more opioids than any other country in the world. Our country accounts for almost 100 percent of hydrocodone used globally and 81 percent of oxycodone use. In 2012 doctors prescribed enough prescription opioids to give every adult in the United States a month's supply. Let me repeat that. In 2012 doctors prescribed enough prescription opioids to give every adult in the United States a month's supply. It goes without saying that prescription painkillers can be a key part of medical treatment, but it is essential that we make sure these potentially addictive drugs are being carefully prescribed and that they are only being prescribed when they are really needed. Reviewing and updating prescribing practices will help us prevent attempts to use these drugs inappropriately. One of the most important parts of preventing drug abuse is going after the people who prey upon the vulnerabilities of their fellow man by engaging in the drug trade. One significant reason for the recent spike in heroin abuse is the sharp increase in supply of affordable heroin here in the United States over the past several years. This increase has been driven by a major surge in heroin production in Mexico. Between 2013 and 2014 heroin production in Mexico increased a staggering 62 percent--62 percent, in 1 year. A large part of that production increase has ended up here in the United States. Any successful strategy to combat the heroin epidemic in the United States has to include efforts to check the flow of heroin coming across our borders. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act addresses this priority by authorizing grants to State law enforcement agencies to investigate the illegal trafficking and distribution of heroin and prescription painkillers, and Republicans will continue to look for ways to support Federal, State, and local law enforcement as they seek to stem the flow of drugs into our communities. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act is an important bill. It is supported by Senators of both parties and by a number of law enforcement and drug treatment associations. It takes the kind of comprehensive approach we need to address the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, but our efforts are not limited to this bill. Last year we passed the Protecting Our Infants Act to help prevent and treat prescription painkiller abuse in pregnant women and provide care for newborns who suffer as a result of their mothers' abuse of opioids. We also increased funding for efforts to combat painkiller abuse and provided grants to States to help them prevent and treat drug abuse. As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, I worked with my colleagues last year to provide new resources to the Coast Guard, the leading Federal agency for combating the drug trade on the high seas. The Senate Finance Committee recently held a hearing on the Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act, which establishes a Medicare Program to prevent painkiller abuse. Too many lives across our country have been wrecked by drug abuse, too many children have lost a mother or a father to addiction, and too many communities are bleeding from the violence and brokenness that accompany the drug epidemic in this country. Republicans remain committed to doing everything we can to support those fighting drug abuse, whether they serve in law enforcement agencies, emergency rooms or classrooms. We are committed to reaching a day when fewer lives are destroyed by the scourge of drugs. The legislation before us today--which Senators Portman, Ayotte, Toomey, and others have been involved with--is an important step forward in helping to address something that has become a crisis in this country and which is impacting, in a harmful and negative way, way too many families and way too many individuals and ruining the hopes and aspirations of too many young people and children across the country. Let's pass this legislation, let's get the House to pass a similar piece of legislation, and let's get something on the President's desk that can be signed into law that will bring the relief that is needed. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2016, at 10 a.m., in room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Business Meeting: To consider the Chairman's Mark on Biotechnology Labeling Solutions.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2016, at 10:30 a.m., in room SD-215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Multiemployer Pension Plan System: Recent Reforms and Current Challenges.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Airland of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2016, at 3 p.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., in room SH-219 of the Hart Senate Office Building.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 1, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``A Review of the FY 2017 State and USAID Budget Request.''

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize the hard work of my Commerce Committee intern Lachlan Forrester. Lachlan hails from Yarrawonga, Australia, where he is a student at the Australian National University, studying law, political science, and Spanish. While interning on the Commerce Committee, Lachlan has assisted the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee, as well as the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure Subcommittee. In addition to being a dedicated intern, Lachlan was also fortunate enough to see falling snow for the first time while here in the Nation's Capital. I again would like to thank Lachlan and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea'' and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the Buffalo Gals, a monthly gathering of women in the Rapid City, SD, area that are hosts of the International Women's Day celebration starting on March 4, 2016, in Rapid City. The Buffalo Gals are a motivated group of over 100 women who have gathered once a month in Rapid City over the past year. Their mission is to create a community of driven, like-minded women who share their experiences with one another and act as role models for people of all ages. This inspirational group spreads awareness of worthy causes and empowers its members to accomplish their goals, which benefits the community as a whole. This year's theme for the International Women's Day celebration is ``Celebrate our Legacy.'' This exciting 2-day event will honor the accomplishments and promising futures of the Buffalo Gals and women everywhere, and it will feature guest speakers, meals, and a live concert that will inspire women to continue to be leaders that seek to address complex community and family challenges. These remarkable women have achieved a great deal in the past year, and I am excited to see what they do in the future. I wish them continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Julia Broecher from my hometown of Murdo, SD, as she celebrates her 100th birthday. Julia was born in Kimball, SD, to Thomas and Sophia Lebeda. At the age of 3, her family moved to Murdo, where she has lived ever since. Julia is the oldest of 14 children, and five of her siblings are still living today. Julia married Carroll Broecher in 1937. The couple had four children, three girls and one boy. Today, Julia has 15 grandchildren and numerous great- and great-great-grandchildren. In her youth, Julia worked as a country school teacher for several years, and later in life, she was the head custodian for the Jones County courthouse and a well-known restaurant in Murdo. Over the years, Julia has had a significant impact on the Murdo community and has been a fixture at school and community functions. She is a charter member of the Community Bible Church where she taught Sunday school to many children. One of those children was me. She was known in the area as being a master seamstress, making many wedding and prom dresses for young women, as well as teaching young women how to sew. Julia loves to fish and play cards and dominoes with family at the Murdo Senior Center. Julia has always welcomed challenges with a loving and caring attitude and is the embodiment of the American values of faith, family, friends and freedom. Happy birthday, Julia.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I am pleased to have been one of the conferees to H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. There are many important provisions in this legislation, some of which I helped to draft. There is one such provision that I particularly want to highlight. Honey producers in my State of South Dakota as well as producers of honey, crawfish, garlic, and mushrooms around the country, have suffered for 15 years because of unfair dumping from China. Senator Wyden and I have worked together for 5 years to ensure that the trade laws were enforced in these cases. Unfortunately, the latest struggles have been more with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, than with Chinese dumpers. Duties collected on dumped imports and all interest on those duties from 2000 and 2007 were to be paid to the injured domestic producers to allow them to reinvest and rebuild. For reasons that defy simple explanation, CBP ignored the direction of the statute to pay all interest to producers and instead deducted some types of interest from payments to producers. In effect, this practice amounted to forcing South Dakota honey producers to pay for the delays caused by Chinese dumpers, the U.S. insurance companies that posted bond for the duties, and in some cases of CBP itself. This practice defies the plain language of the statute and cost domestic producers tens of millions of dollars over the years. During the Finance Committee markup of this legislation, Senator Grassley, Senator Nelson, and I offered an amendment which is included in this conference report that corrects CBP's misreading of the law. This is an important victory for honey, crawfish, garlic, and mushroom that have suffered from Chinese dumping and CBP's unfounded practice.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I rise today in strong support of the conference report to accompany the Trade Facilitation and Trade Customs conference report on which we just had a cloture vote. I was very pleased to see 73 U.S. Senators vote in favor of proceeding to and getting a final vote on the conference report. It is important because this legislation represents the most significant update to our trade enforcement policies in over a decade, and its passage today and enactment into law will demonstrate yet again that this Congress is working in a bipartisan manner. This bill is important for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, this legislation is about trade enforcement. This bill gives the U.S. Customs and Border Protection new tools to combat unfair trade practices, thus protecting American jobs and American workers. These enforcement provisions are important to a wide range of American manufacturers, which is why the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Iron and Steel Institute strongly support this bill. In fact, there are approximately 100 organizations and businesses that have expressed public support for this bill. For any Senator who has manufacturing in his or her State, supporting this conference report should be a no-brainer. These enforcement provisions are important to many other sectors of the economy as well. Take honey producers, for example, who in my home State make South Dakota one of the top honey-producing States in the Nation. Back in 2011, I was the ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee of the Finance Committee, and Senator Wyden was the chairman of that subcommittee. We held a hearing on the topic of how America can better enforce our trade laws, and we heard testimony from Richard Adee, a well-known honey producer in my home State of South Dakota about the problem of honey laundering. Simply put, honey laundering is the practice of unscrupulous honey producers in China using third-party countries to circumvent tariffs on dumped Chinese honey. Over the past decade this has been a major problem, costing U.S. honey producers hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. As one example of this practice, consider Malaysia, a nation with the capacity to produce about 45,000 pounds of honey annually. Get this: Malaysia has exported as much as 37 million pounds of honey to the United States in a year--well beyond its production capacity. Clearly this honey is not coming from Malaysia. It is Chinese honey being transshipped through that nation. The legislation we are considering today is finally going to give customs the tools it needs to help crack down on this practice. This will not only benefit honey producers in my State, it will benefit farmers all across the country whose crops depend upon bees for pollination and will benefit American consumers who can buy American honey with confidence. While this bill is about enforcing our trade laws, it is also about making it easier for American businesses to engage in trade. This is especially important to small businesses that may not always have the resources or the expertise to access foreign markets. The conference report before us includes a provision that I authored with Ranking Member Wyden that would update the so-called de minimis threshold for imports from $200 per product to $800 per product. The bill also includes an amendment that Senator Bennet and I offered at the Finance Committee, calling on our trading partners to follow our lead in this area. What this simply means is that if someone starts a small business selling goods on the Internet and he or she needs to import a component part in order to make a product, we are going to significantly reduce the paperwork and cost involved in doing so. This is the reason that online marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay, as well as express shippers like UPS and FedEx, are so supportive of this legislation. These companies understand what millions of American entrepreneurs understand: The Internet truly is the shipping lane of the 21st century. This bill will empower more Americans to engage in global commerce both through the Internet and through more traditional means. This conference report will also help to ensure that access to the Internet, which is so important for global commerce, remains unencumbered. This legislation includes a provision to make the existing ban on Internet access taxes permanent--something that Senator Wyden and I have championed and a measure that has broad bipartisan support. The Internet Tax Freedom Act has been extended eight times since it was first enacted in 1998. As I mentioned earlier, the Internet is increasingly a gateway to economic opportunity, often in the form of accessing new markets abroad. As the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, one of my top priorities is expanding access to high-speed Internet from our inner cities to our most rural communities, and keeping access to the Internet unburdened by new taxes is an important step in that direction. This Internet tax freedom provision is strongly supported by a broad spectrum of technology, cable, and telecom companies. It is also something that will benefit America's manufacturers. As the National Association of Manufacturers wrote recently in an op-ed supporting this bill: ``The Internet has become a critical piece of infrastructure for manufacturers in the United States, and permanently extending the ban on state and local taxes on Internet access will continue to foster investment in broadband networks.'' I was especially pleased that we were able to include a provision in the conference report granting States that already apply taxes on Internet access more than 4 years to adjust to the new law. I am confident this will give Congress the time necessary to address other important issues relating to Internet taxation. Enactment of the permanent ITFA provision in this bill will clear the path for consideration of legislation empowering States when it comes to collecting sales taxes that are owed. I intend to continue to support efforts to ensure that we have a level playing field when it comes to the taxation of Internet commerce--something that is very important in my home State of South Dakota. Last but certainly not least, I want to point out that this conference report includes provisions strongly in support of our ally, the State of Israel. Unfortunately, we have seen a disturbing trend in recent years where some nations are attempting to discriminate against Israeli-made goods for political reasons. This legislation creates a new principal trade-negotiating objective under trade promotion authority designed to discourage these unfair practices against Israel. Once this conference report becomes law, if a foreign nation proposes a new trade agreement with the United States, that nation will need to demonstrate that it does not have politically motivated discriminatory policies in place against our strongest ally in the Middle East. I commend Senator Cardin and others who worked diligently to update our trade laws with respect to harmful actions against the State of Israel. I am pleased that we are finally seeing these efforts come to fruition. Enactment of this legislation into law will represent a win for American manufacturers and farmers, a win for American producers, who have been harmed by unfairly traded Chinese goods, a win for small business owners looking to engage in global commerce, a win for consumers who depend upon Internet access that is accessible and affordable, and a win for those of us who want to stand up and support the State of Israel when that nation is being unfairly targeted. But all of that will be at risk if we do not pass this conference report. The House of Representatives has been very clear that it will not take up this bill again. All the good things in this bill that I mentioned will die. They will not become law if we do not pass the conference report as it is. The House approved this conference report over a month and a half ago. It is past time that we do the same. Let's get this done today and send this bill to the President for his signature. Let's continue to work together on other issues that still need to be addressed. I thank Finance Committee Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for all of their hard work in getting us to this point. I hope the Senate will go on record--and I urge my colleagues to support this important trade enforcement legislation--in what I hope will be a very big and decisive vote. This legislation is good for America. It demonstrates once again that the Senate takes seriously its responsibility to get results and get things done for the American people. It is good for our economy, it is good for jobs, and it is good for the overall health and vitality of our country. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 9, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 9, 2016, at 10 a.m., in room SD- 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. 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 10 minutes each.

Mr. THUNE

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