Floor Statements

Mr. President, I will not object, but I reserve the right to object.

First, I want to thank the majority leader, as well as Senators Corker, Cardin, Crapo, and Brown. This is another example of how we can work together on issues we agree on. I am very proud of this bill. I think it will do a lot of good in both directions--in the Iran direction and particularly in the Russia direction. The lack of trust of Mr. Putin on both sides of the aisle here is paramount. Now this says that these sanctions will stay in place unless Congress disapproves them and adds some new sanctions--both good things. I hope the House will pass the bill without change and send it to the President's desk.

With that, I withdraw any objection and again thank the majority leader for the cooperation we have had.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, before I begin, I would like to take a moment to remember the victims of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that occurred 1 year ago today. It was the deadliest shooting by a single gunman in our Nation's history. Forty-nine Americans died that night, and 53 more were injured. They were children, parents, sisters, brothers, and friends. They went out that night to celebrate with their friends and instead came face to face with a soul twisted by an inexplicable hate.

The best way I can see to honor their memory is to honor them with action. We should redouble our efforts to make this country safer from the scourge of terrorism and gun violence to ensure that our schools and our churches, our theaters and our nightclubs are safe places where all Americans can be who they truly are. Let that be our mission as we remember the 49 victims of the Orlando attack and keep their families in our prayers.

Madam President, on Russia sanctions, soon we will move to a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the Iran sanctions legislation. The two leaders, Chairmen Corker and Crapo, the two ranking members, Brown and Cardin, continue to negotiate a package of strong Russia sanctions that can be offered as an amendment to the bill. I am hopeful we can come to an agreement soon, one that at the very least includes legislation put forward by Senators Graham and Cardin that would establish a process for Congress to review any Russia-related sanctions relief. Senator McCain, along with Senator Cardin, has also submitted an amendment for tough, new sanctions, which I very much support. Democrats feel strongly that Russia sanctions should move alongside Iran sanctions, and we are prepared to do what we can to make sure we get a vote on a good amendment and hopefully a bipartisan one.

Madam President, as we continue to grapple with last week's testimony from former Director Comey, it seems the new strategy by some on the right is now to question the credibility of Special Counsel Mueller. Already, former Speaker Gingrich and others have said negative things about Mueller just weeks after praising his selection. They know that Mr. Mueller is the man now responsible for following up on Mr. Comey's testimony so the hard right is trying to discredit him in advance. They know they can't debate the facts or the issues or defend the actions of the White House on the merits, so what do they do? They attack the referee and try to besmirch the reputation of someone like Mr. Mueller.

Mr. Mueller is a man of integrity. That is agreed to by just about everybody. He has devoted his entire career to his country. He came out of private life to do a job on behalf of his country and be right down the middle. Even Attorney General Jeff Sessions has praised Mr. Mueller for his service and credibility, saying his ``integrity is undoubted,'' as is his ``experience and love of country.'' Those are Jeff Sessions' words. Now the political right has pulled out their partisan knives to try and defame his reputation.

It is a shameful, shameful ploy. The right must be afraid of what Mr. Mueller is going to find. I would ask Speaker Gingrich a question. Is he afraid of what Mr. Mueller is going to find out? Is that why he is attacking his reputation? The baseless attacks on former Director Mueller ring hollow. Former Director Mueller has been hailed as a paragon of public service by people of all political stripes. This country comes to a low point when that kind of attack is issued.

Despite what Speaker Gingrich may try to imply, we should have every confidence that he will investigate the matters at hand with integrity and thoroughness.

I can tell you one thing, the little bit I know about him, Speaker Gingrich's attack and attacks like that will not do a thing to deter Director Mueller from finding out the truth.

Finally, Madam President, a word on healthcare.

The Republicans continue to work on their healthcare bill behind closed doors, and now it seems they are looking for a vote on a final bill before the July 4th recess.

To all of America, this should be a red alert. This is not a drill. This is a red alert. In a very short time, maybe only 2 weeks, the Republican majority may try to jam through a healthcare bill that no one in America has seen--no committee hearings, no public debate. According to some reports, the Republicans will not publicly release the text until the very last moment.

What Senate Republicans are doing on healthcare is one of the most outrageous examples of legislative malpractice in decades.

Senator McConnell, who believes in regular order, ought to think long and hard before he does this because it will not go down as a fine moment in history for him, for his party, or for the Senate. This is the party that chanted ``Read the bill, read the bill,'' when ObamaCare was being debated, and now they will not even show the bill.

Democrats spent over a year on the Affordable Care Act, the ObamaCare bill, with multiple committee hearings. We actually accepted dozens of Republican amendments. Show us the bill. Senators Grassley, Hatch, and others had amendments that were added to the bill. Show us the bill so we have the same opportunity.

Why would the majority so starkly depart from the normal legislative procedure? Why would they seek to pass in the dark of night a bill that affects one-sixth of the economy, millions of people's lives?

Leader McConnell used to stress the importance of regular order in the Senate. Why is he proceeding with the Republican healthcare bill in the most irregular way? I know why. It is because Republicans don't want the American people to see the bill. They are so ashamed of their healthcare plan, they want to pass it in the dead of night, with no hearings, no amendments--rushing it through.

It is not a bill they are proud of. If they were proud of the bill, they would say: Let's debate it. They are ashamed of the bill. They know they have the hard right on their backs saying: You have to do something. But at least have the decency, the honor, a little bit of courage to put the bill out there and let us debate it and let us amend it.

The Republicans don't want the American people to know their bill will likely gut Medicaid to finance a massive tax break for the wealthiest of Americans, hurt the healthcare of average Americans, middle-class Americans, elderly Americans, those who abuse opioids, so they can have a big tax break for people whose income is above $200,000 a year.

The Republicans don't want the American people to know their bill will make older and sicker Americans pay more for less coverage. Someone 63 or 64 could see their premiums go up three, four, five times, while millionaires and billionaires get a break on their taxes. If it were my bill, I would be ashamed of it too. Thank God it is not.

Republicans don't want the American people to know their bill will cause their costs to go up, their care to go down, while leaving millions of Americans without health insurance. Why are Republicans working so hard in secret for a bill they are clearly not proud of? Because the ideologues on the hard right are pushing them to just repeal and give a tax break to the rich.

It is because they repeated the political slogan ``repeal and replace'' to their base for 7 years without coming

up with a workable healthcare plan when the day came that they were actually in charge.

Now we have this Frankenstein bill from the House, assembled from spare parts intended to buy off different Republican constituencies, and the Republican majority in the Senate, which we thought at one point would show more honor and more courage, seems to be taking the same approach. They are working on modifying the bill so it can get 50 votes in their caucus, no matter what the impact is on the country. Most of the devastating consequences of the House bill will remain.

Mark my words, my Republican friends, the Republican Party will regret the day it passes a bill that looks anything like what is now being considered. Every independent analysis has shown that TrumpCare will devastate sicker, older Americans, folks in rural areas, the working poor, younger couples and middle-aged couples who have a parent in a nursing home. It will raise costs on middle-class families, and those struggling to get there will be left with a healthcare system that works only for the healthiest and wealthiest among us, and the Republicans will own every last shred of the responsibility. They will own it completely because there has not been a scrap of bipartisan input on the bill, not a single Democratic amendment, not a single hearing, and no one even knows exactly what the bill looks like.

A senior GOP aide said in the paper today that they weren't releasing the bill text because ``we are not stupid.'' I challenge that claim. Keeping a bill this bad holed up in secret and then forcing it down the throats of the American people is much more stupid than simply showing the bill, allowing it to be vetted and amended, and allowing it to be improved. It is much more stupid.

The Republicans are going down a dark path, down a dangerous road that will have devastating consequences for their party and of course for the American people. Believe me, this is not what Democrats want.

We Democrats are actually willing to take on some of the responsibility. We are willing to work with our Republican colleagues to make improvements to our healthcare system and to fix problems with the existing law. That involves some political risk. We are willing to take on that risk to try and help more Americans afford healthcare.

The Republicans are doing just the opposite by hiding their bill under lock and key. They are trying to avoid the risk of public backlash on a bill that, at least the polling shows, has the support of a mere sliver of the American people--18 percent. It will backfire. It will do potentially irrevocable damage to their party and more importantly to our country.

The Republicans ought to turn back before it is too late. They will rue the day they rushed this bill, in the dark of night, that does so much damage to the American people.

I yield the floor.

Will my good friend and gym mate from Texas yield for a question?

Is omniscience a comment of all-knowing, and if I don't know what the bill is all about, then I couldn't be omniscient; isn't that true?

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

Mr. President, this morning the Intelligence Committee is hearing testimony from former FBI Director James Comey. I hope and expect him to be as forthright and straightforward as he can. The Senate and, by extension, the American people deserve to know the truth about Mr. Comey's interactions with the President.

Based on the opening statement Mr. Comey submitted to the committee, we know that he will confirm much of what we have already learned about the events of the past few months through the press. That is important in and of itself. Until now, we have read these reports with a healthy dose of skepticism, waiting for Mr. Comey to confirm or to refute their veracity. It appears the bulk of what we learned from the reports about Mr. Comey's memos is true.

The President asked Mr. Comey to pledge ``loyalty'' to the President and asked him if he could ``let go'' of an investigation into one of the President's close associates, former National Security Advisor General Flynn. That conversation took place in a meeting during which the President raised the prospect of Mr. Comey not continuing in the job.

The Senate appreciates this testimony. I am sure members of the Intelligence Committee will seek answers to many of the remaining and new questions the testimony raises.

There are so many questions that Mr. Comey's testimony leaves hanging out there. Every single lead should be pursued. Let's not lose sight of the very heart of this matter: a foreign adversary interfering with our democracy. There is an open counterintelligence investigation into whether members of the Trump campaign worked with that foreign adversary to help that campaign win the White House. This issue gets to the very foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections and the rule of law.

There is no process more sacred in democracy than the people exercising their voice at the ballot box. There is no principle more enshrined in our legal system than the principle that no one--no one-- is above the law. Members of both parties should deeply care about getting the truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I hope that spirit will direct Senators in their questioning today.

Mr. President, Senators from both parties are negotiating the content of an amendment to the bill for tough, bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation.

On the Democratic side, we feel very strongly that we need a tough, effective package of Russia sanctions to move alongside Iran sanctions. I believe many of my Republican colleagues do, as well, so there is very likely an agreement to be reached.

President Putin has violated the sovereignty of Ukraine by annexing Crimea. He has committed human rights abuses, including the propping up of the brutal Assad regime in Syria, of stifling political dissent and the rights of his own people, and our intelligence community has concluded that Russia made a direct assault on our democracy by conducting a campaign to interfere in our elections.

That is why, principally, I proposed a vote on a bill put forward by my friend, the Republican Senator from South Carolina, Senator Graham. This is a bill that includes as its cosponsors Senators McCain and Rubio on the Republican side and Senators Cardin, Brown, and McCaskill on the Democratic side. It is a strong bipartisan bill.

The bill would establish a process for Congress to review any Russia- related sanctions relief. The President and administration officials have demonstrated they are willing to consider lifting sanctions on Russia in exchange for vague, yet-to-be-articulated concessions, if any concessions at all. Congress ought to have the power to review any decision made by this administration before sanctions on Russia are lifted.

Senator McCain has also introduced an amendment, along with Senator Cardin, which would impose new sanctions on Russia. Given the revelations of Russian interference in our elections, new sanctions are warranted in addition to the existing sanctions. In addition to the Graham-Cardin bill,

which should definitely be included, I hope Senator McCain's proposal is part of our consideration of Russia-related sanctions as well.

Chairman Corker, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and Ranking Member Cardin are in ongoing discussions, as are the majority leader and I, about the content of the Russia sanctions and amendment. I am hopeful that we can resolve this issue and vote to advance both measures.

Mr. President, my friends on the other side of the aisle continue to work on their healthcare bill behind closed doors. They haven't made public a shred of bill text or even considered holding a committee hearing to debate the topic. Yesterday my friend the majority leader filed a motion to bring TrumpCare directly to the floor, skipping the committee process.

This is a party that screamed from the rafters ``Read the bill, read the bill'' when Democrats were putting together the Affordable Care Act. We spent over a year debating that bill. We tried with a bipartisan group of six to come up with a solution.

Republicans are putting together their bill in secret, with no Democratic input, and then will rush their bill to the floor without a single committee hearing, all in the span of 3 short weeks. This is a bill that will alter one-sixth of the American economy and affect tens of millions of American lives. For many, it will have life-and-death consequences.

The way Republicans are crafting this legislation is pulling the wool over the eyes of the American people on one of the most crucial issues affecting their lives. Why? There is only one explanation: They don't want the American people to see their bill. They don't want to go home to townhall meetings and let people give their opinions. Keep it under wraps, rush it through? There is only one good reason: They are not very proud of the product that they have put together.

The Republicans know that even if they make some changes to the bill that came over from the House--they may increase subsidies a bit or lower the amount of tax breaks they give to millionaires--they will still wind up with a bill that is far worse than the status quo: higher costs, less care. That is because they are working from a fundamentally flawed premise, which is to take support away from healthcare programs like Medicaid to give a tax break to the wealthiest Americans. Senate Republicans can nibble around the edges, but they will not be able to excise the rotten core of their healthcare plan.

The House bill has the support of approximately 18 percent of Americans. A majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans don't like it. Don't you get the message, my Republican friends? We understand the ideologues are telling you that you must repeal. But now that people have actually looked at repeal, they realize that is not the way to go.

The right approach is not to move backward, not to undo all the progress we have made in healthcare over the past 8 years and start from scratch. The American people don't want to go back to the days when an insurance company could discriminate against you because you have a preexisting condition or jack up your rates simply because you are older. That is not the kind of healthcare system the American people want. But that seems to be what our Republican colleagues, in the dark of night, are considering.

The right approach is to keep all the good things in the existing law and work in a bipartisan way to make more progress on lowering costs for consumers and improving the quality of care.

Again, I urge my Republican colleagues to drop their repeal efforts and, instead, work with Democrats on actually improving our healthcare system.

Mr. President, I heard President Trump talk about Democrats being obstructionists yesterday--out in Ohio, Kentucky--about a healthcare bill in which they are not asking for Democratic help or input. They are tied in a knot because their own party can't agree on the tax bill. They again are not asking for Democratic input. They are tied in a knot because their own party can't agree.

Now it looks as if they are doing the same thing on infrastructure. The President is in an ``alter reality'' world. He blames Democrats, but then his Republican colleagues, often at his instruction, are told not to work on the bill with Democrats. What is going on here?

What the President tweets and talks about at his rallies and what is actually happening are two different worlds--two different worlds. That is no good. It is no good for America, no good for the American people, and, frankly, no good for the President.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, I would like to address the hearings that concluded just a few hours ago.

After hearing Mr. Comey's testimony today, America is stunned. The cloud hanging over this administration has just gotten a whole lot darker.

I commend both the chairman, Senator Burr, and the vice chairman, Senator Warner, for the way they ran this hearing. The Senate and the American people are better informed as a result of their work. Few committee hearings in the history of the Senate have produced the kind of eye-opening testimony we heard today. In its wake, I would like to make a few points.

First, for weeks, media reports indicated that the President had directly and indirectly pressured the FBI Director to end the FBI's investigation into General Flynn. Innuendos and intimations swirled around. But we now know much more of the truth. There is now no doubt that Mr. Comey understood the President's request that he let go of the investigation into General Flynn--in a meeting during which it was discussed whether Mr. Comey would keep his job as FBI Director--as a direct effort to prevent that investigation from going further that looks a lot like a quid pro quo.

During questioning from a Republican Senator, Mr. Risch, Mr. Comey told us that he took the President's conversation with him about the FBI investigation into General Flynn as a directive to scuttle that investigation.

It is clear that President Trump's legal defense is to refute Mr. Comey's account. Well, the President threatened Mr. Comey with the release of tapes of their conversations. Presumably that includes the conversation in which President Trump asked Director Comey to ``let go'' of the Flynn investigation. It is awfully curious that no one from the President's team will either confirm or deny the existence of the tapes when the tapes are the only way to prove that Mr. Comey's testimony, which came under oath, is false or misleading. If President Trump disagrees with anything the Director has said today, he should play the tapes for all of America to hear or admit that there were no tapes.

Second, Director Comey's contrasting view of the Clinton email case and the Russia case is telling. Mr. Comey did not wish to see a special counsel in the Clinton case because he looked at the facts and determined there wasn't a case for one. With respect to the Russia probe, the Director examined the facts and felt there was enough potential evidence that a special counsel was warranted. Again, the contrast is telling.

Democrats and Republicans alike and the American people as well should be pleased that the investigation is in the hands of former Director Mueller.

Third, the hearing raised serious questions about Attorney General Sessions that he and the Justice Department must answer immediately. Senators Wyden and Harris repeatedly asked Director Comey about Attorney General Sessions' involvement in the investigation before he recused himself. Director Comey didn't have direct knowledge of his involvement but made clear that he suspected that the Attorney General needed to recuse himself weeks before he actually did so and that he could not share the reasons for that in an unclassified briefing.

So we need to know the answers to a number of questions regarding the Attorney General. The Senate Intelligence Committee investigation and Special Counsel Mueller ought to get to the bottom of this matter.

In conclusion, Mr. Comey's testimony has been very enlightening, but there is much work ahead for investigators in Congress and those under the direction of Mr. Mueller.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, first on Iran and Russia: This week we will be considering bipartisan legislation to impose sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile testing, for its human rights abuses, and for its overt support of terrorism. I support this and look forward to a vote on the measure. It is important we do it.

I also understand that the majority leader will consent to an amendment vote alongside that bill on bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation. There is a broad bipartisan consensus for moving forward on tough sanctions against Russia. Russia defied the sovereignty of the Ukraine with the annexation of Crimea. It has been accused of human rights abuses including propping up the brutal Assad regime in Syria, and of course the intelligence community has confirmed that Russia interfered with our democracy.

I appreciate that the majority leader has committed to having a vote on Russia sanctions, and I thank so many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for pushing this issue. It is the right thing to do, and I appreciate them doing it.

I strongly believe that Russia's sanctions legislation needs to do three important things. First, we must codify existing sanctions on Russia; second, we need to give Congress a chance to review any decision by this administration before sanctions are lifted; and, third, we need to impose tough, new sanctions on Russia for its attack on our democracy.

Two pieces of legislation, one posted by the two lead sponsors, Senators McCain and Cardin, the other by Senators Graham and Cardin-- both bipartisan and both, I believe, with at least 10 cosponsors from each side of the aisle--do these things. What we have suggested to the leader is that we put those two bills together and combine them, tweak them a little bit, and move forward. We await the answer from the majority leader on our proposal.

It is certainly our responsibility and the responsibility of this Congress to vote on the tough Russia sanctions bill as a response to Russia's persistent violations of international norms and agreements.

If we do nothing on Russia or if we have a weak bill, we will not accomplish that goal, and Mr. Putin will continue to do everything he is doing. We know sanctions have bite with Russia. If the Russians see that this Congress, in a bipartisan way, is resolute and strong, it will make a difference, and I hope we move forward.