Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an issue that, quite frankly, I do not think gets enough attention on the floor of the Senate or on the floor of the House of Representatives, and that is the state of historically Black colleges and universities, or, as they are commonly known, HBCUs.

Alabama is home to 14 of these institutions, the most of any State in the country. With all due respect to my colleagues, we don't just have the most HBCUs. I believe we have the best.

Tuskegee University is the only HBCU with a college of veterinary medicine. The school produces over 75 percent of African-American veterinarians in the world. It has also just hired its first female university president, Dr. Lily McNair.

Alabama A&M University is the only 1890 land grant university offering four Ph.D. programs. It is also the leading producer of African Americans with Ph.Ds in physics.

Oakwood University is the Nation's fifth highest producer of undergraduate African-American applicants to our country's medical schools.

Alabama State University, whose president, my friend Dr. Quinton Ross, has joined us in the Gallery today, is home to the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture. ASU is currently doing preservation work on some never-before-seen documents, such as court pleadings, bond documents, and other official papers that are connected to the Montgomery bus boycott.

Lawson State Community College was also named a Champion of Change in 2011 by then-President Barack Obama.

There are over 100 accredited HBCUs today across the country, both public and private. They are in 19 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They enroll approximately 300,000 students--80 percent of whom are African American and 70 percent of whom are from low-income families.

While HBCUs only make up 3 percent of the country's colleges and universities today, they produce nearly 20 percent of all African- American graduates. Among HBCU graduates, there are countless trailblazing Americans who have, quite literally, changed the course of our Nation's history: Dr. Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Marian Wright Edelman, Langston Hughes, Katherine Johnson, amongst so many others.

According to the National Science Foundation, between 2002 and 2011, the top eight institutions at which African-American Ph.Ds in science and engineering earned their bachelor's degrees were all HBCUs. HBCUs annually generate $14.8 billion in economic impact and add more than 134,000 jobs for local and regional economies, and 2014 Alabama HBCU graduates can expect total earnings of $130 billion over their lifetimes.

I could go on and on with these remarkable statistics for these remarkable colleges and universities. For all of these incredible achievements, though--for every achievement I have

just named--HBCUs in Alabama and across the country are working against the strong headwinds of serious financial struggles.

The Government Accountability Office recently investigated the capital finance needs of HBCUs at the request of my colleagues Senator Patty Murray and Senator Casey, also of Congressman Bobby Scott and Congressman G.K. Butterfield. The report estimates that 46 percent of all HBCU buildings are in need of replacement or repair. This is due to deferred maintenance, the evolution of higher education and technology, and the fact that many of these buildings are State or federally registered historic places. For example, Tuskegee University is designated as a National Historic Site by Congress. That is a remarkable figure--46 percent--of all buildings in need of repair or replacement. It is one that, I hope, all of my colleagues will agree is wholly unacceptable.

This is not a surprise, though, for those who understand the challenges these institutions have long faced. HBCUs lack a plethora of revenue sources. Public HBCUs rely heavily on State and Federal grants, appropriations, and bonds. Private HBCUs have to rely on private or alumni giving and tuition and fees. On top of that, the GAO found that an HBCU's average endowment is half the size of a similarly sized non- HBCU. That is half the size not of all non-HBCUs but half the size of similarly situated non-HBCUs.

None of the 90 institutions of higher education in this country with endowments greater than $1 billion is an HBCU. This results in an endless cycle for these schools that have contributed so greatly to our country and the talented students they serve. With their limited revenue resources and the discrimination they face in the bond market, it is difficult to maintain campus buildings that attract higher enrollment. Lower enrollment just leads to even less tuition and fewer fees that are collected by each institution. Thus, the cycle continues.

I didn't just come to talk about the problems our HBCUs face without offering some type of solution. I introduce today the Strengthening Minority-Serving Institutions Act, which will permanently extend and increase Federal funds to all minority-serving institutions. These Federal funds are currently set to expire after fiscal year 2019.

My bill goes beyond just supporting HBCUs and is inclusive of other minority-serving schools, like those that primarily admit Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans, among others. With this legislation, we will increase mandatory funding from $255 million to $300 million for each of these institutions. They will be able to put that money to good use for infrastructure improvements, technology upgrades, and other critical needs that have gone unfulfilled.

While I had hoped we could make this a bipartisan effort, I haven't yet heard back from any of my Republican colleagues. My Republican colleagues represent a fair share of these institutions, and I hope we will still gain some support from across the aisle and move this bill through the Senate.

This bill will not solve all of the challenges HBCUs face--all of the challenges they are working so hard to overcome. Yet I submit it is a step in the right direction. More importantly, it is the right thing to do for these schools that are part of the very foundation of our higher education system in Alabama and across the country.

Mr. President, I would like to take a few moments to remember and honor Maryon Pittman Allen, a former Member of this body, who passed away on July 23, 2018. Maryon Allen was one of only two women ever to represent the State of Alabama in the U.S. Senate.

Born in Meridian, MS, in 1925, Maryon Pittman and her family moved to Alabama in 1926 in order for her father to open a Caterpillar tractor franchise. She grew up in Birmingham, attending Avondale School and Ramsay High School, before matriculating at the University of Alabama, where she planned to major in journalism. While in college, she met and married her first husband, attorney Joshua Mullins, and they had three children. After the marriage ended in divorce in 1959, Maryon entered the workforce, first as a secretary, then in insurance sales, and eventually putting her journalism training to use writing for the ``Shades Valley Sun'' as society editor.

In the 1960s, Maryon joined the Birmingham News as women's editor. Two weeks into her new job, she drove to Montgomery to interview then- Lieutenant Governor James B. Allen in

connection with a speech he had delivered to the Alabama Federation of Women's Clubs. She and Allen, a widower with two children, were instantly attracted to each other and married in August 1964, after a whirlwind, 4-month courtship.

When Alabama Senator Lister Hill chose not to seek reelection to the U.S. Senate in 1968, Jim Allen sought and won election to his seat. In January of 1969, Maryon and Jim moved to Washington, D.C., as Jim began his term in the 91st Congress. From Washington, Maryon began writing a new column called Reflections of a News Hen, which was regionally syndicated in several southeastern newspapers and won Alabama Press Association awards for ``best original column.'' She also served as chair of the Blair House Fine Arts Commission in 1974, appointed to the position by President Gerald Ford.

Jim Allen died suddenly, of a heart attack, on June 1, 1978. One week later, Alabama Governor George Wallace appointed Maryon to fill her husband's seat until the special election, which was scheduled to take place in November. Mrs. Allen pledged to ``continue to espouse the great principles of government to which Senator Allen dedicated his life. When I cast a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate, it will reflect the philosophy he expressed so eloquently and strongly during his almost 10 years of service.''

Mrs. Allen served 5 months in the Senate. She was the first woman to serve on the Judiciary Committee, and she presided over the Senate on several occasions, but even as a Senator, she stayed true to her roots and continued writing her ``Reflections'' newspaper column.

Shortly after Mrs. Allen left the Senate in 1978, Washington Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee invited her to write a weekly social column about life and events inside the Beltway. Until 1981, Allen remained in Washington, writing ``Maryon Allen's Washington'' and entertaining Post readers with her trademark wit and style. Eventually, however, Maryon returned to Birmingham to be near her family and friends. Back home, she began yet another career as one of America's finest restorers of antique wedding dresses, christening gowns, and other heirloom textiles, using skills she had learned from her grandmother. Allen and her extraordinary artistry were featured in several national magazines.

My wife, Louise, and I wish to extend our gratitude for Mrs. Allen's service, as well as our condolences for her loss to her children Joshua Sanford Mullins, III, and his wife Eugenia; John Pittman Mullins and his wife, Alison; and Maryon Allen Allen, widow of the late Stephen Allen; to her stepson James Browning Allen, Jr., and to her six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Maryon Allen was independent, intelligent, and charismatic, with a self-described ``penchant for being irreverent.'' She faced life's challenges fearlessly, refusing to be defeated by adversity. She can now rest in peace after a life well-lived.

Mr. President, it is my honor today to celebrate the life and service of Judge Helen Shores Lee of Alabama, who died on July 2, 2018. The daughter of respected civil rights attorney Arthur Shores, Judge Lee was a civil rights advocate and pioneer in her own right. She was the first African-American woman to serve as judge in the civil division of the circuit court in Jefferson County, AL, and she devoted her life to making sure that all people are cared for, concerned about, and spoken up for.

Helen Shores Lee lived a life of exemplary courage, dedication, and generosity, and I am fortunate to have known her. I am even more blessed to have called her my friend.

Helen developed courage as a young girl growing up in the Smithfield area of Birmingham. The Shores family home was on ``Dynamite Hill,'' so named because of the dozens of unsolved bombings there during the civil rights struggles that convulsed the Birmingham area from the late 1940s to the 1960s. In the summer of 1963, Helen's own home was bombed twice, just weeks before a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church nearby, killing four little girls who were her friends. Two years later, another bomb was discovered in the Shores' yard, but fortunately, that one was defused before it exploded. Despite the damage they caused and the terror they were intended to inspire, those bombs did not deter or displace the Shores family, nor did they dissuade the rest of the African-American community from the patient pursuit of equality.

Though her father was small in stature, Judge Lee described him as a ``giant in life.'' Helen used to tell a story about one time, when a car full of White men was driving around her neighborhood pointing a gun out the window. Frustrated and frightened, young Helen ran in the house and got a gun of her own. Her father followed her out onto the porch, took the gun from her hands, and taught her the importance of fighting ``the right way.''

Judge Lee's courage was bolstered by her faith, which she also learned from her father. Recalling the threats and the bombings, Judge Lee said, ``It was our Christian faith that got us through this ordeal. My dad prayed constantly. We witnessed that.'' The Shores home was directly across the street from the First Congregational Church, where Shores was Sunday school superintendent, deacon, and trustee. Even at the end of his life, his daughters pushed him across Center Street in a wheelchair so he could get to church. Arthur Shores died in that house on Dynamite Hill, now an unofficial landmark of the civil rights movement.

With her sister Barbara and author Denise George, in 2012, Judge Lee published ``The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill,'' a biography of her father that tells how Shores, a former high school principal, became one of the Nation's top civil rights attorneys. Shores handled a number of high-profile cases, including representing Autherine Lucy, the first Black student to attend the University of Alabama. Shores also represented the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., when he was indicted for leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

From 1971 to 1987, Judge Lee worked as a clinical psychologist, serving her patients and the community with dedication and compassion. In 1986, she dedicated herself to a new kind of service, becoming a magistrate for the city of Birmingham. After graduating from the Cumberland School of Law in 1987, she joined her father to form Shores & Lee, where she practiced law until she was appointed circuit judge of the Tenth Judicial Court of Alabama and assumed the bench in January 2003. She was twice reelected by the citizens of Jefferson County. Although she retired in 2015, Judge Lee continued to give generously of her time and talent to a number of organizations.

Judge Lee's commitment to her community included serving as a member of the Alabama State Ethics Commission from 1996-2000 and as its chairwoman from 1999-2000. She also chaired the community advisory board of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Minority Health and Research Center, she was a trustee for Leadership Birmingham, she was a member of the Cumberland School of Law advisory board, and she served on the boards of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Campfire, Inc., the Civil Rights Institute, the Young Women's Christian Association, and many more. In 2013, the Young Women's Christian Association of Central Alabama honored Judge Lee with the Jeana P.

Hosch Woman of Valor award for her decades of commitment to civil rights and community service. Samford University named her Alumnus of the Year in 2014.

In addition, Judge Lee was often called on to speak about her experiences in the civil rights movement and the role her family played in moving the country to a better place. I was fortunate to share the stage with her many times and always marveled at how she would share her story with grace, compassion, and a sense of justice, not hatred or bitterness.

My wife, Louise, and I extend our sincere and deep condolences to Judge Lee's family. The city of Birmingham and the State of Alabama are better for her having lived and served there and so am I.

Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of the line workers at our Alabama auto plants. I rise on behalf of our soybean and cotton farmers. I rise on behalf of countless other Alabama businesses that have contacted me because they feel threatened by proposed tariffs but are afraid to speak out publicly for fear of reprisal. In some cases they simply don't want to be seen as inflicting political damage on the President.

I came to this body to work on solutions, not to raise partisan threat levels. I am not one to unfairly level criticism at the President of the United States, but I have called it as I see it when his actions hurt our economy and my State, in particular, and I will continue to do so.

Today, I want to talk about his proposed tariffs on our allies and our trading partners. These actions have prompted retaliatory tariffs on countless Alabama goods, including cotton and soybeans. American industries overwhelmingly oppose these tariffs or, really, they are taxes on their products.

I share President Trump's desire to see continued growth in our manufacturing sector and to secure trade deals that benefit our country. His tariffs are not leading to more manufacturing jobs in Alabama. Instead, they have manufactured a crisis that threatens to permanently harm our businesses and our farms. This is a self-inflicted wound.

I am well aware that China has been a rogue actor when it comes to trade, and I support a strong response. Alabama's steel industry, for example, was hurt by the illegal dumping of Chinese steel into the global market. I witnessed it firsthand in my hometown of Fairfield, AL, once home to one of the country's largest U.S. steel facilities, which now sits virtually idle. Globe Metallurgical in Selma has been hit by the dumping of silicon metal from China. China has time and again shown a blatant disregard for American intellectual property rights. I have spoken out against these abuses and will continue to do so when they occur in the future.

We should not sweep our friends with the same brush with which we sweep China. Antagonizing allies like Canada, South Korea, and Germany for no reason at all only weakens us. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than half a million Alabama jobs are supported by global trade, meaning more than one in every four Alabama jobs are tied to trade. Those jobs are needlessly at risk to date.

I have spoken with representatives from industries across my State. Some are already hurting from the tariffs; others are OK for the moment but are fearful of consequences down the road, such as losing suppliers or taking a direct hit from retaliatory tariffs.

Many of these workers or business owners tell me they support President Trump. They want him to do well. They voted for him, and they are hesitant to speak out because they don't want to appear to be disloyal or harm him politically. They are confused as to why the President is taking steps that hurt their businesses and put their jobs at risk. They want help.

They say what we in this body already know: Tariffs are nothing more than tax increases. They are taxes that hurt American businesses, American workers, American consumers, and the American economy. In a cruel twist, they seem to be doing the most damage in the places and sectors that make up the President's base of support: farmers, autoworkers, truck drivers. These are the exact folks he promised to take care of. Nowhere is that more prevalent and evident than in our automotive industry. It is not just really an ``industry'' as we think of it in abstract terms. It means people, jobs, families, and the ability to support a family.

One of those people is a man named John Hall. John has been a maintenance worker at the Hyundai Motor manufacturing plant in Montgomery, AL, for nearly 14 years. He recently came to Washington to tell folks about what the industry has meant to his community.

At a rally last Thursday, he said that the transformation of Montgomery and the Alabama River Region has been breathtaking-- breathtaking--since the Hyundai plant arrived in our State. He went on that day to testify at the Commerce Department at a hearing about whether or not imported automobiles, trucks, and parts posed a national security threat.

That bears repeating. These tariffs on automobiles--foreign automobiles and parts--are being proposed because somehow, some way foreign vehicles and parts are a threat to national security.

I don't know how else to say it, but that is a ridiculous premise, and everyone knows it. Even the President implicitly acknowledged that in one of his Twitter rants the other day when he threatened to raise auto tariffs in response to the antitrust fine levied against Google by the European Union. Not only is it not a national security threat, this industry has brought untold opportunity to Alabama and other States, particularly in the Southeast.

Before the automakers came to Alabama, our manufacturing industry was still reeling from NAFTA. Many Alabama facilities, like textile manufacturers, were closing down and moving to other countries. These automakers came to Alabama--Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota's engine factory, which is now a Toyota and Mazda automobile factory, breaking ground soon, and they have breathed new life into our economy. They have all announced planned expansions in the last year or so.

Alabama's automotive sector employs some 50,000 people, and motor vehicle exports from Alabama reached $11 billion in 2017. Simply put, Alabama is a trade State, an exporting State. It is not just cars, either. We export about $170 million annually in soybeans to China, and that industry contributes 11,000 jobs to our State.

The day China released its list of U.S. goods that could be tariffed, soybean prices fell 40 cents that morning. Stan Usery, the president of the Alabama Soybean & Corn Association and soybean farmer, said:

If you weighed that out in dollar figures, it was in the

billions of what the value of the U.S. soybean crop lost in

just that one day. Just based on the fear of an imposed

tariff.

I have heard from other farmers too. Peanut contract prices have fallen flat. Pork prices have fallen $18 a head since March. Cotton prices dropped 10 cents in the wake of the initial round of tariffs. Our cattle farmers share these concerns and are anticipating potential production cost increases as a result of more expensive fuel and grain.

Just yesterday, we learned that the administration is going to spend $12 billion in taxpayer money to help offset the damage its trade war has done to American farmers. These farmers need the money. It is a self-inflicted wound, but they need it. This money might help some of the farmers somewhat in the short term, but it is a slippery slope for the President of the United States to start down.

What about the meatpackers who see less work because of reduced sales or truckdrivers who transport these goods across the country? These folks want trade, not aid. If tariffs are not reversed soon, the damage to supply chains and markets cannot be undone.

A company like Harley-Davidson can move a plant from Wisconsin overseas to avoid tariffs. My farmers in Alabama can't do that. You can't move a soybean farm. You can't move a cotton field. You can only move plants, hardware, and people.

China is one of the top markets for Alabama's cotton, poultry, pork, and soybeans. When China chooses to source these goods from Brazil, Australia, or Vietnam to avoid the President's tariffs, they will not go back to purchasing from Alabama once common sense prevails and the tariffs are rescinded. By then, it will be too late. A market will be lost, and family farms cannot recover from the loss of a business.

I know some folks back home in Alabama don't like it when the President gets criticized. They certainly don't like it when I do, and I understand that. They don't like it even when the policies of the administration may hurt Alabama.

One of my own delegation colleagues in the House went so far as to suggest that we shouldn't be worried about these automobile tariffs; we are all getting worked up over nothing. I like to think he is right, but I don't think he is, and neither do the thousands of folks who work in Alabama's automobile industry or their family members who have written or called my offices, nor do the industry representatives they have sent to Washington to plead with their elected officials for help, nor does my good friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, with whom I am proud to be standing here today.

I believe these tariffs are bad for Alabama and bad for America.

Senator Alexander, who is a strong supporter of the President on many issues, agrees that these tariffs represent a very real threat to the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the automotive industry. No region in the country would be hit harder than the Southeast, where textiles used to be king but where automobiles now reign supreme.

That is why I am here today, to stand up for my constituents and to do what I think is right. It is why, last month, Senator Alexander and I wrote to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, urging him to reconsider the auto tariff tax proposal before it damages the automotive sector, which contributes more than 200,000 jobs to our two States. It is why I have reached out to the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representatives on behalf of a number of Alabama businesses, from textiles to heating and air conditioning companies, to businesses in the energy sector, each facing their own unique crisis because of the proposed tariffs.

In fact, since I was sworn in, I have invited representatives from a number of impacted industries to come to my office to share their stores, to offer suggestions on what we can do, and to be honest about outcomes if we fail to act.

I did not come to this body to simply sit by and watch and do nothing, especially when I see a need and I need to step up. I said I would follow my conscience and do the right thing to make Alabama and America a better place. In that spirit, a short time earlier today, Senator Alexander and I followed up on our letter to Secretary Ross--to which, quite frankly, we have not yet received a response--by introducing the Automotive Jobs Act of 2018. It is a bipartisan effort to halt President Trump's proposed tax on imported cars, trucks, and auto parts, which would raise the price of every automobile produced in the United States.

Our legislation would require the International Trade Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of the well-being, health, and vitality of the U.S. automotive industry. The ITC will be required to deliver the report to Congress before these tariffs could be applied.

Tariffs should be used to protect American jobs, not hurt them. In the coming weeks, I will be looking at other legislative solutions to help other sectors impacted by the President's tariffs, but the President can save our auto industry today by simply calling off the 232 investigation.

If we are not vigilant, hard-working Alabamians are going to be the losers in this game of chicken with China, the European Union, and others. The small family farmers, the line workers at our auto plants, the truckdrivers who transport Alabama-made products to market, and our port, all stand to lose the gains that we have made in the last couple of decades.

It is my hope that through this legislation we can demonstrate beyond any doubt the positive benefits the auto industry brings to Alabama, Tennessee, and many other States across the country.

Instead of pursuing these tariffs, we should be partnering with our allies who have also been treated unfairly by countries like China and present a united front against bad actors and their harmful trade practices.

I believe in the great potential of our Nation's automobile industry, and I want to empower both the American and foreign automakers who have already invested significantly in this country. This is a thriving industry and one supported by the greatest workforce in the world. Let's help it to continue to grow and support good-paying jobs in our communities. We need to stand united against these proposed tariffs.

President Trump, Alabamians are counting on you to do the right thing by those who stood with you. I hope you will do so.

I yield for my friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander.

Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of the line workers at our Alabama auto plants. I rise on behalf of our soybean and cotton farmers. I rise on behalf of countless other Alabama businesses that have contacted me because they feel threatened by proposed tariffs but are afraid to speak out publicly for fear of reprisal. In some cases they simply don't want to be seen as inflicting political damage on the President.

I came to this body to work on solutions, not to raise partisan threat levels. I am not one to unfairly level criticism at the President of the United States, but I have called it as I see it when his actions hurt our economy and my State, in particular, and I will continue to do so.

Today, I want to talk about his proposed tariffs on our allies and our trading partners. These actions have prompted retaliatory tariffs on countless Alabama goods, including cotton and soybeans. American industries overwhelmingly oppose these tariffs or, really, they are taxes on their products.

I share President Trump's desire to see continued growth in our manufacturing sector and to secure trade deals that benefit our country. His tariffs are not leading to more manufacturing jobs in Alabama. Instead, they have manufactured a crisis that threatens to permanently harm our businesses and our farms. This is a self-inflicted wound.

I am well aware that China has been a rogue actor when it comes to trade, and I support a strong response. Alabama's steel industry, for example, was hurt by the illegal dumping of Chinese steel into the global market. I witnessed it firsthand in my hometown of Fairfield, AL, once home to one of the country's largest U.S. steel facilities, which now sits virtually idle. Globe Metallurgical in Selma has been hit by the dumping of silicon metal from China. China has time and again shown a blatant disregard for American intellectual property rights. I have spoken out against these abuses and will continue to do so when they occur in the future.

We should not sweep our friends with the same brush with which we sweep China. Antagonizing allies like Canada, South Korea, and Germany for no reason at all only weakens us. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than half a million Alabama jobs are supported by global trade, meaning more than one in every four Alabama jobs are tied to trade. Those jobs are needlessly at risk to date.

I have spoken with representatives from industries across my State. Some are already hurting from the tariffs; others are OK for the moment but are fearful of consequences down the road, such as losing suppliers or taking a direct hit from retaliatory tariffs.

Many of these workers or business owners tell me they support President Trump. They want him to do well. They voted for him, and they are hesitant to speak out because they don't want to appear to be disloyal or harm him politically. They are confused as to why the President is taking steps that hurt their businesses and put their jobs at risk. They want help.

They say what we in this body already know: Tariffs are nothing more than tax increases. They are taxes that hurt American businesses, American workers, American consumers, and the American economy. In a cruel twist, they seem to be doing the most damage in the places and sectors that make up the President's base of support: farmers, autoworkers, truck drivers. These are the exact folks he promised to take care of. Nowhere is that more prevalent and evident than in our automotive industry. It is not just really an ``industry'' as we think of it in abstract terms. It means people, jobs, families, and the ability to support a family.

One of those people is a man named John Hall. John has been a maintenance worker at the Hyundai Motor manufacturing plant in Montgomery, AL, for nearly 14 years. He recently came to Washington to tell folks about what the industry has meant to his community.

At a rally last Thursday, he said that the transformation of Montgomery and the Alabama River Region has been breathtaking-- breathtaking--since the Hyundai plant arrived in our State. He went on that day to testify at the Commerce Department at a hearing about whether or not imported automobiles, trucks, and parts posed a national security threat.

That bears repeating. These tariffs on automobiles--foreign automobiles and parts--are being proposed because somehow, some way foreign vehicles and parts are a threat to national security.

I don't know how else to say it, but that is a ridiculous premise, and everyone knows it. Even the President implicitly acknowledged that in one of his Twitter rants the other day when he threatened to raise auto tariffs in response to the antitrust fine levied against Google by the European Union. Not only is it not a national security threat, this industry has brought untold opportunity to Alabama and other States, particularly in the Southeast.

Before the automakers came to Alabama, our manufacturing industry was still reeling from NAFTA. Many Alabama facilities, like textile manufacturers, were closing down and moving to other countries. These automakers came to Alabama--Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota's engine factory, which is now a Toyota and Mazda automobile factory, breaking ground soon, and they have breathed new life into our economy. They have all announced planned expansions in the last year or so.

Alabama's automotive sector employs some 50,000 people, and motor vehicle exports from Alabama reached $11 billion in 2017. Simply put, Alabama is a trade State, an exporting State. It is not just cars, either. We export about $170 million annually in soybeans to China, and that industry contributes 11,000 jobs to our State.

The day China released its list of U.S. goods that could be tariffed, soybean prices fell 40 cents that morning. Stan Usery, the president of the Alabama Soybean & Corn Association and soybean farmer, said:

If you weighed that out in dollar figures, it was in the

billions of what the value of the U.S. soybean crop lost in

just that one day. Just based on the fear of an imposed

tariff.

I have heard from other farmers too. Peanut contract prices have fallen flat. Pork prices have fallen $18 a head since March. Cotton prices dropped 10 cents in the wake of the initial round of tariffs. Our cattle farmers share these concerns and are anticipating potential production cost increases as a result of more expensive fuel and grain.

Just yesterday, we learned that the administration is going to spend $12 billion in taxpayer money to help offset the damage its trade war has done to American farmers. These farmers need the money. It is a self-inflicted wound, but they need it. This money might help some of the farmers somewhat in the short term, but it is a slippery slope for the President of the United States to start down.

What about the meatpackers who see less work because of reduced sales or truckdrivers who transport these goods across the country? These folks want trade, not aid. If tariffs are not reversed soon, the damage to supply chains and markets cannot be undone.

A company like Harley-Davidson can move a plant from Wisconsin overseas to avoid tariffs. My farmers in Alabama can't do that. You can't move a soybean farm. You can't move a cotton field. You can only move plants, hardware, and people.

China is one of the top markets for Alabama's cotton, poultry, pork, and soybeans. When China chooses to source these goods from Brazil, Australia, or Vietnam to avoid the President's tariffs, they will not go back to purchasing from Alabama once common sense prevails and the tariffs are rescinded. By then, it will be too late. A market will be lost, and family farms cannot recover from the loss of a business.

I know some folks back home in Alabama don't like it when the President gets criticized. They certainly don't like it when I do, and I understand that. They don't like it even when the policies of the administration may hurt Alabama.

One of my own delegation colleagues in the House went so far as to suggest that we shouldn't be worried about these automobile tariffs; we are all getting worked up over nothing. I like to think he is right, but I don't think he is, and neither do the thousands of folks who work in Alabama's automobile industry or their family members who have written or called my offices, nor do the industry representatives they have sent to Washington to plead with their elected officials for help, nor does my good friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, with whom I am proud to be standing here today.

I believe these tariffs are bad for Alabama and bad for America.

Senator Alexander, who is a strong supporter of the President on many issues, agrees that these tariffs represent a very real threat to the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the automotive industry. No region in the country would be hit harder than the Southeast, where textiles used to be king but where automobiles now reign supreme.

That is why I am here today, to stand up for my constituents and to do what I think is right. It is why, last month, Senator Alexander and I wrote to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, urging him to reconsider the auto tariff tax proposal before it damages the automotive sector, which contributes more than 200,000 jobs to our two States. It is why I have reached out to the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representatives on behalf of a number of Alabama businesses, from textiles to heating and air conditioning companies, to businesses in the energy sector, each facing their own unique crisis because of the proposed tariffs.

In fact, since I was sworn in, I have invited representatives from a number of impacted industries to come to my office to share their stores, to offer suggestions on what we can do, and to be honest about outcomes if we fail to act.

I did not come to this body to simply sit by and watch and do nothing, especially when I see a need and I need to step up. I said I would follow my conscience and do the right thing to make Alabama and America a better place. In that spirit, a short time earlier today, Senator Alexander and I followed up on our letter to Secretary Ross--to which, quite frankly, we have not yet received a response--by introducing the Automotive Jobs Act of 2018. It is a bipartisan effort to halt President Trump's proposed tax on imported cars, trucks, and auto parts, which would raise the price of every automobile produced in the United States.

Our legislation would require the International Trade Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of the well-being, health, and vitality of the U.S. automotive industry. The ITC will be required to deliver the report to Congress before these tariffs could be applied.

Tariffs should be used to protect American jobs, not hurt them. In the coming weeks, I will be looking at other legislative solutions to help other sectors impacted by the President's tariffs, but the President can save our auto industry today by simply calling off the 232 investigation.

If we are not vigilant, hard-working Alabamians are going to be the losers in this game of chicken with China, the European Union, and others. The small family farmers, the line workers at our auto plants, the truckdrivers who transport Alabama-made products to market, and our port, all stand to lose the gains that we have made in the last couple of decades.

It is my hope that through this legislation we can demonstrate beyond any doubt the positive benefits the auto industry brings to Alabama, Tennessee, and many other States across the country.

Instead of pursuing these tariffs, we should be partnering with our allies who have also been treated unfairly by countries like China and present a united front against bad actors and their harmful trade practices.

I believe in the great potential of our Nation's automobile industry, and I want to empower both the American and foreign automakers who have already invested significantly in this country. This is a thriving industry and one supported by the greatest workforce in the world. Let's help it to continue to grow and support good-paying jobs in our communities. We need to stand united against these proposed tariffs.

President Trump, Alabamians are counting on you to do the right thing by those who stood with you. I hope you will do so.

I yield for my friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander.

Mr. President, I rise today with deep sadness, but also with reverence to remember Jack Powell, who died on May 12, 2018. Jack Powell was a beloved coach and educator in Alabama. He was revered by his students and players and often regarded as a second father to many. Until his 95th birthday, regular reunions were held by former high school players to honor Coach Powell and reminisce with former teammates. His accomplishments on and off the course touched thousands of lives.

Coach Powell was born on March 20, 1922, in Andalusia. He was one of 10 children born to George Bennie and Lilla Lawson Powell. He played basketball in the State tournament for 3 years as a student at Pleasant Home High School. They went undefeated during the regular season of his senior year. Coach Powell went on to Auburn University to play for coaches Bob Evans, Ralph ``Shug'' Jordan, and V.J. Edney. While at Auburn, he was a letterman 2 years in a row and cocaptain of the team in 1946.

After his college career, he served as an educator for approximately 40 years. He worked at Lockhart and Eufaula high schools from 1947 to 1966, then Livingston University, now the University of West Alabama, from 1966 to 1972, and finally at Sparks State Technical College in Eufaula until his retirement.

During his time as a high school coach, he received several Coach of the Year Awards and won district, area, regional, and State championships. He coached three Alabama All-Star Games, including the inaugural game in 1963. He served as coach to 11 All-State players. While at Eufaula High School, his team went to the State tournament nine times, finishing in the top four positions. During his 20-year tenure, he amassed an impressive winning record of 406-193.

When he entered the college coaching scene in 1966, he led Livingston University to its first Alabama Collegiate Conference championship and two consecutive ACC Tournament Championships. In 1969, he was named ACC Coach of the Year and in 1971 was again named ACC Coach of the Year, in addition to Alabama Small Colleges Coach of the Year and NAIA District 27 Coach of the Year.

In 1992, after decades of hard work and commitment to teams, he became one of the first inductees in the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. One of his greatest honors was having a gymnasium named after him in Eufaula, where it served as the home to Eufaula's youth basketball leagues for many years. He also established a Tri-State basketball tryout clinic where players came from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. As a result, more than 60 young athletes earned scholarships to play in college.

Aside from teaching and coaching, Coach Powell was an avid outdoorsmen who loved to fish, hunt, and garden. He also served in his churches in both Eufaula and Livingston. He was a Sunday school teacher for more than 50 years in addition to serving as a deacon and chairman of the board for more than 12 years.

My wife, Louise, and I extend our sincerest condolences to Coach Powell's two sons, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and the entire extended community of athletes and fans on whom he made a positive impact. His legacy lives on in each of us.

Mr. President, I rise to discuss an issue that is of great importance to my constituents in Alabama and to many other people across the country. At issue is the health of our automotive industry.

Unfortunately, the health of my State's automobile industry is being threatened not by unfair competition or illegal practices but by significant tariffs proposed by the President. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than a half a million Alabama jobs are supported by global trade, meaning more than one in every four Alabama jobs is tied to trade.

One of the key reasons Alabama has such a robust trade posture is due to our automotive manufacturing industry. I am old enough to remember what it was like before auto companies came to Alabama in the 1990s, starting with Mercedes. At the time that Mercedes came, many of Alabama's manufacturing facilities were closing down and moving to other countries. Yet, one by one--from Mercedes, to Honda, to Hyundai, and now to Toyota and Mazda, which are breaking ground on a new plant very soon--these automakers came to Alabama and breathed new life into our State's economy. They support, today, some 57,000 Alabama jobs, and our auto exports topped $11 billion in 2017. That doesn't even include the new Toyota-Mazda plant in Huntsville, which is going to add another 4,000 jobs and $1.6 billion in economic development.

After having no automobile industry 30 years ago, Alabama has become the third largest exporter of automobiles in this country. In only the past 15 months, every major automobile manufacturer in Alabama has announced an expansion to total 5,400 jobs and $3.3 billion in investments. This industry has been a phenomenal success in Alabama and, more importantly, for the men and women who rely on these very good-paying jobs to support their families and to build better lives.

That is why it is a priority for me and colleagues like my friend, Senator Alexander from Tennessee, to keep our States' automotive industry thriving. Yet, recently, this industry has come under attack. In May, President Trump threatened a 25-percent tariff

on imported cars, trucks, and auto parts under the pretext that these products somehow threaten our national security.

Let me be clear. While the United States faces any number of threats from adversaries on any number of fronts, foreign automobiles and auto parts are not threats to our national security. Do you know what is a threat? It is a 25-percent tax on the prices of these imported goods. The President's proposed auto tariffs have the potential to inflict serious damage on a booming industry in my State and in other leading auto-producing States, like Tennessee. We might call it a tariff, but we all know exactly what it is--a tax.

By definition, a tariff is a tax on a particular class of imports or exports. Any tariffs placed on products that come into the United States are taxes that increase the cost of those goods to American consumers. When other countries place additional tariffs, or new taxes, on American goods, it raises the purchase prices of American products overseas and hurts our ability to sustain competitive markets in those countries. So it is deeply troubling that the recent proposal from the President will threaten tens of thousands of jobs in Alabama and increase costs for American consumers.

Shortly after this tariff threat was issued, Senator Alexander joined me in writing to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and we urged him to reconsider the auto tariff tax proposal. Between our two States, the automotive sector contributes more than 200,000 jobs to our economies. Numbers of autoworkers from our States are in town this week to tell their stories, firsthand, to the Commerce Department, and I commend them for their efforts in doing so.

Senator Alexander and I understand the devastating blow these tariffs will represent to an industry that has literally rebuilt our respective States' economies from the ground up. Automakers and their suppliers can be found in every corner and in nearly every county of each of our States. We have found common cause in fighting these tariffs and protecting our constituents from the devastating impacts they will have.

There are already a few legislative solutions out there, including Senator Corker's solution regarding tariffs. I know Senator Portman is also doing a lot of good work in this space. Senator Alexander and I are working together to propose a solution of our own as a complementary measure to halt these tariffs. We hope to introduce that proposal as early as next week after consulting with our automotive manufacturers and working with our colleagues to grow bipartisan support for this legislation.

I realize that folks who have been affected by these proposed tariffs are looking for a silver bullet to stop them dead in their tracks. Right now, the only silver bullet in this case is for the President to change his mind and recognize how many jobs are at risk because of these proposed tariffs. Until that happens, we are going to fight to protect what our States and our workers have earned.

I want to thank my colleague Senator Alexander, who is here today, for his continued partnership in this effort. I look forward to working with more of our colleagues to stop the urgent threat to American jobs.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to speak on a matter of both personal and national importance.

As many folks know by now, a defining moment in my career as a prosecutor was bringing to justice two former Ku Klux Klansmen for the bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. That act of domestic terrorism, and that is exactly what it was, killed four innocent, beautiful little girls. As one of their mothers, Miss Alpha Robertson, described, ``It sounded like the whole world was shaking.''

There is no doubt it did. The whole world shook as people asked: How could this happen in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave? Despite the feeling that the whole world shook--and indeed the horrific crime did add momentum to the civil rights movement--the criminals responsible for the murder of those four little girls were not brought to justice for decades.

The first came in 1977, 14 years after the fact, by my friend and former Alabama attorney general, Bill Baxley. It would be 24 and 25 years later, in 2001 and 2002, that my team of Robert Posey, Jeff Wallace, Don Cochran, Bill Fleming, Ben Herren, and I completed that journey. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was but one of many civil rights-era crimes that have gone unsolved.

Solving and successfully prosecuting an almost 40-year-old case was no easy task, and the effort involved a team of both Federal and State law enforcement. Media coverage also contributed to some key breaks in that case. In fact, it was through the dedicated efforts of my friend Jerry Mitchell, an award-winning journalist at the Jackson, MS, Clarion Ledger, that these unsolved civil rights cases even got a second look. It was when the State of Mississippi opened closed files of a Jim Crow- era State commission that Jerry discovered it might be possible to reopen several unsolved cases, including the cases of Medgar Evers and Vernon Dahmer. When those cases resulted in convictions, law enforcement officers and communities around the South began to reexamine so many of the unsolved crimes, including the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Today there are more than 100 unsolved civil rights criminal cases out there. Many of them are 50 years old or older. Some were investigated a little, some were investigated a lot, but because these were State not Federal crimes most were never really investigated at all.

While it is certainly never too late for justice, years of delays can create serious and sometimes insurmountable obstacles: Memories fade or are lost to death, evidence disappears. Potential defendants also die, taking the details of their crimes to their graves.

Justice can take many forms. It doesn't always have to be a criminal conviction. One measure of justice--not a full measure but a measure nonetheless--can be achieved through a public examination of the facts and determination of the truth about what happened and why, but because these were criminal cases, the records and files relating to these unsolved cases are often classified or shielded from public view, and sometimes they are literally scattered among various agencies and hard to find.

Yet the victims of these crimes and their families have no less right to justice than they did at the time the crimes were committed, and the American people have a right to know this part of our Nation's history. As has often been said, if we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them. In today's climate, I believe we need to be more than ever vigilant and knowledgeable about the mistakes of the crimes of the civil rights era.

Eleven years ago, nearly to the day, I testified as a lawyer before the House Judiciary Committee in support of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act. That act created the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Cold Case Division to focus exclusively on solving these unsolved civil rights cases. Since the bill's passage, the Civil Rights Division has reexamined a number of these cases. I certainly applaud their efforts in doing so, but often, as was my experience, these cases end up being solved with the help of journalists, historians, private investigators, and local law enforcement, but that requires having access to the files. It is not an easy task getting access to these kinds of files. However, by ensuring public access to the files and records relating to these cases, we can expand the universe of people who can help these victims receive the justice they have long since been denied. If we are going to find the truth, it has to start with transparency.

That is why today I am introducing the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018, which will require the assembly, collection, and public disclosure of government cold case records about unsolved civil rights cases.

This legislation would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of students at Hightstown High School in Hightstown, NJ, and their teacher Stuart Wexler, who have joined me in the Gallery today.

It was a couple of years ago, long before becoming a U.S. Senator was really on my radar, that I received a call from Mr. Wexler explaining that he and his students had been stymied in efforts to obtain documents through the Freedom of Information Act about some of these cases. They wanted my support and others for legislation they were drafting to open these files to the public. Since I had already made that suggestion to folks at the Justice Department and others, I enthusiastically endorsed their project. Who would have imagined that 2 or 3 years ago we would be here today?

I thank them for reminding me of our conversations and our shared commitment and for working with me and my staff to make the introduction of this legislation possible today. It means a lot that these young people from New Jersey, who were not even born when these crimes were committed, care so much about this issue.

I also thank a few other folks. I thank John Hamilton and Jay Bosanko at the National Archives for working with the staff, and Professor Hank Klibanoff, who is also with us in the Gallery today, a former journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner for the book ``The Race Beat'' that examined the role of the journalist during the civil rights movement.

I thank them for their help in drafting this legislation and others who dedicated their lives to working on these cold cases--people like Andrew Sheldon in Atlanta and Alvin Sykes, who worked so hard on the Emmett Till bill and the Emmett Till case; Margaret Burnham, a law professor from Northeast Eastern University Law School; and Paula Johnson from Syracuse University Law School have all done remarkable work in trying to reexamine these cases.

While prosecuting the church bombing cases, I learned how deeply important this work is to anyone who lost a loved one just because someone else hated the color of their skin. It is also important to the communities where these crimes occurred.

It is impossible to express the emotion and satisfaction our team felt at the conclusion of those trials and the guilty verdicts we obtained. It was a privilege to work on cases that meant so much to so many. We have come a long way since 1963, but justice delayed does not have to mean justice denied.

When I testified at the House Judiciary Committee 11 years ago, I noted that we could never prosecute all of these cases but that as a country of compassion, we should find other ways to heal these old wounds. Reconciliation can be the most potent medicine for healing. After all this time, we might not solve every one of these cold cases, but my hope is, our efforts today will, at the very least, help us find some long overdue healing and understanding of the truth.

Each civil rights crime, each victim of that era deserves as much attention and effort as Carol Robertson, Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, and Cynthia Morris Wesley, the young girls who lost their lives that Sunday morning in 1963.

Thank you.

Mr. President, I rise to speak on a matter of both personal and national importance.

As many folks know by now, a defining moment in my career as a prosecutor was bringing to justice two former Ku Klux Klansmen for the bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. That act of domestic terrorism, and that is exactly what it was, killed four innocent, beautiful little girls. As one of their mothers, Miss Alpha Robertson, described, ``It sounded like the whole world was shaking.''

There is no doubt it did. The whole world shook as people asked: How could this happen in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave? Despite the feeling that the whole world shook--and indeed the horrific crime did add momentum to the civil rights movement--the criminals responsible for the murder of those four little girls were not brought to justice for decades.

The first came in 1977, 14 years after the fact, by my friend and former Alabama attorney general, Bill Baxley. It would be 24 and 25 years later, in 2001 and 2002, that my team of Robert Posey, Jeff Wallace, Don Cochran, Bill Fleming, Ben Herren, and I completed that journey. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was but one of many civil rights-era crimes that have gone unsolved.

Solving and successfully prosecuting an almost 40-year-old case was no easy task, and the effort involved a team of both Federal and State law enforcement. Media coverage also contributed to some key breaks in that case. In fact, it was through the dedicated efforts of my friend Jerry Mitchell, an award-winning journalist at the Jackson, MS, Clarion Ledger, that these unsolved civil rights cases even got a second look. It was when the State of Mississippi opened closed files of a Jim Crow- era State commission that Jerry discovered it might be possible to reopen several unsolved cases, including the cases of Medgar Evers and Vernon Dahmer. When those cases resulted in convictions, law enforcement officers and communities around the South began to reexamine so many of the unsolved crimes, including the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Today there are more than 100 unsolved civil rights criminal cases out there. Many of them are 50 years old or older. Some were investigated a little, some were investigated a lot, but because these were State not Federal crimes most were never really investigated at all.

While it is certainly never too late for justice, years of delays can create serious and sometimes insurmountable obstacles: Memories fade or are lost to death, evidence disappears. Potential defendants also die, taking the details of their crimes to their graves.

Justice can take many forms. It doesn't always have to be a criminal conviction. One measure of justice--not a full measure but a measure nonetheless--can be achieved through a public examination of the facts and determination of the truth about what happened and why, but because these were criminal cases, the records and files relating to these unsolved cases are often classified or shielded from public view, and sometimes they are literally scattered among various agencies and hard to find.

Yet the victims of these crimes and their families have no less right to justice than they did at the time the crimes were committed, and the American people have a right to know this part of our Nation's history. As has often been said, if we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them. In today's climate, I believe we need to be more than ever vigilant and knowledgeable about the mistakes of the crimes of the civil rights era.

Eleven years ago, nearly to the day, I testified as a lawyer before the House Judiciary Committee in support of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act. That act created the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Cold Case Division to focus exclusively on solving these unsolved civil rights cases. Since the bill's passage, the Civil Rights Division has reexamined a number of these cases. I certainly applaud their efforts in doing so, but often, as was my experience, these cases end up being solved with the help of journalists, historians, private investigators, and local law enforcement, but that requires having access to the files. It is not an easy task getting access to these kinds of files. However, by ensuring public access to the files and records relating to these cases, we can expand the universe of people who can help these victims receive the justice they have long since been denied. If we are going to find the truth, it has to start with transparency.

That is why today I am introducing the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018, which will require the assembly, collection, and public disclosure of government cold case records about unsolved civil rights cases.

This legislation would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of students at Hightstown High School in Hightstown, NJ, and their teacher Stuart Wexler, who have joined me in the Gallery today.

It was a couple of years ago, long before becoming a U.S. Senator was really on my radar, that I received a call from Mr. Wexler explaining that he and his students had been stymied in efforts to obtain documents through the Freedom of Information Act about some of these cases. They wanted my support and others for legislation they were drafting to open these files to the public. Since I had already made that suggestion to folks at the Justice Department and others, I enthusiastically endorsed their project. Who would have imagined that 2 or 3 years ago we would be here today?

I thank them for reminding me of our conversations and our shared commitment and for working with me and my staff to make the introduction of this legislation possible today. It means a lot that these young people from New Jersey, who were not even born when these crimes were committed, care so much about this issue.

I also thank a few other folks. I thank John Hamilton and Jay Bosanko at the National Archives for working with the staff, and Professor Hank Klibanoff, who is also with us in the Gallery today, a former journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner for the book ``The Race Beat'' that examined the role of the journalist during the civil rights movement.

I thank them for their help in drafting this legislation and others who dedicated their lives to working on these cold cases--people like Andrew Sheldon in Atlanta and Alvin Sykes, who worked so hard on the Emmett Till bill and the Emmett Till case; Margaret Burnham, a law professor from Northeast Eastern University Law School; and Paula Johnson from Syracuse University Law School have all done remarkable work in trying to reexamine these cases.

While prosecuting the church bombing cases, I learned how deeply important this work is to anyone who lost a loved one just because someone else hated the color of their skin. It is also important to the communities where these crimes occurred.

It is impossible to express the emotion and satisfaction our team felt at the conclusion of those trials and the guilty verdicts we obtained. It was a privilege to work on cases that meant so much to so many. We have come a long way since 1963, but justice delayed does not have to mean justice denied.

When I testified at the House Judiciary Committee 11 years ago, I noted that we could never prosecute all of these cases but that as a country of compassion, we should find other ways to heal these old wounds. Reconciliation can be the most potent medicine for healing. After all this time, we might not solve every one of these cold cases, but my hope is, our efforts today will, at the very least, help us find some long overdue healing and understanding of the truth.

Each civil rights crime, each victim of that era deserves as much attention and effort as Carol Robertson, Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, and Cynthia Morris Wesley, the young girls who lost their lives that Sunday morning in 1963.

Thank you.

Mr. President, today with deep sadness, but also with reverence, I wish to remember Charles Martin ``C.M.'' Newton, who died on Monday, June 4, 2018. C.M. Newton was one of the most influential coaches in college sports, whose skills I was fortunate to witness firsthand during my time as an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama. Coach Newton integrated the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team in 1969 and led them to three Southeastern Conference, SEC, titles from 1974-1976. He also led the Vanderbilt University Commodores to the Sweet Sixteen in the 1988 NCAA Tournament before leaving to lead the athletic department at the University of Kentucky, his alma mater. At Kentucky, he not only continued the Wildcat tradition of winning NCAA men's basketball championships, he once again broke down barriers by hiring the first Black women's and men's coaches in UK history.

C.M. Newton was born in Rockwood, TN, on February 2, 1930. As a student at the University of Kentucky, he played on the baseball team, as well as the 1951 championship-winning men's basketball team. He began his coaching career at Transylvania University before moving to Alabama and, later, Vanderbilt. In addition to coaching, he served as an assistant SEC commissioner. After leading Alabama to three conference titles and six postseason visits, he headed to Vanderbilt in 1981, before returning to Kentucky in 1989. His success as a basketball coach and as an athletic director led him to oversee the 1992 and 1996 Olympic men's basketball team rosters, which included the famous 1992 ``Dream Team'' led by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, as well as Charles Barkley, an Alabama native.

On a personal note, I have looked up to Coach Newton since before I ever set foot on campus at the University of Alabama. In May 1972, he spoke at a Birmingham Kiwanis Club luncheon where I received the Youth of the Year Award during my senior year of high school. He spoke of leadership, of integrity, and of the need to fulfill the promise of America. He challenged all of the students in attendance that day to be the best we could be for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Forty-six years later, I can remember his advice just as clearly as the day he gave it. I hope, in some way, we have each lived up to his challenge.

Years later, Coach Newton went on to receive the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, an annual award given to an individual who has contributed significantly to the sport of basketball, and was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

My wife, Louise, and I extend our sincerest condolences to Coach Newton's wife, Nancy, his three children, and the entire extended community of athletes and fans on whom he made a positive impact. His legacy lives on in each of us.

Madam President, I rise today to talk about an issue of deep importance to our country and my fellow Alabamians, and I follow my colleague, Senator Lankford, who spoke with such eloquence on national security.

This week, we are debating the National Defense Authorization Act, which funds our Nation's defense programs for the coming year. Like Senator Lankford, I want to thank Chairman McCain and Ranking Member Reed for their work on this incredible and important legislation, as well as Senator Inhofe. He has done such yeoman's work in Senator McCain's absence.

This bill has tremendous implications for our country, both abroad and here at home. In Alabama, we know all too well about the need for national security and a good economy. From Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville to Fort Rucker, from Maxwell Air Force Base to the Anniston Army Depot and all of our Reserve and National Guard men and women in the State of Alabama--they are on the frontlines. In addition to the tens of thousands of civilians who support their work--Alabama is home to a first-class workforce that supports our national security mission every single day. So it only makes sense that this legislation continues to support the work of Alabamians and includes a well- deserved 2.6-percent pay raise for our troops.

Just as important, it also includes funds for the Missile Defense Agency at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. It increases space defense funding, which is so important to our Air Force. It authorizes 75 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, some of which will be stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. It provides what Senator Lankford talked about a moment ago--14 KC-46 refueling aircraft. I hope the Air Force will put a few of those in Birmingham for our fantastic Alabama Air National Guard, which supports so many missions around the world.

There are many more resources to ensure that our Nation's defenders are always mission-ready, and we could go on and on.

I am pleased that this legislation takes care of so many of the priorities for our military, our defense, and Alabama. I certainly plan to vote for this bill, and I commend all of those who have worked so hard to make it happen. That doesn't mean there aren't still ways we can improve this bill.

As some may know, Alabama is also home to thousands of talented welders, mechanics, and other trades men and women who build the helicopters and ships that carry our troops around the world to defend the United States and our interests. Not only are these vehicles important for an effective and responsive military, but they also support good American jobs.

One of those ships is the littoral combat ship, many of which are built in Mobile, AL, including the USS Manchester, which was delivered to the Navy just last month. The LCS continues to prove its value to our Nation's defense and our military, which is why I am a little disappointed that the bill we are debating this week includes only a single LCS, which is pictured here behind me. Many of them are made in Mobile, AL. Not only did the President reiterate just last week at the Naval Academy his goal of growing our Navy to 355 ships, this program also puts to work about 1,000 different suppliers across 41 States. That translates into countless American jobs.

I have seen these ships being built firsthand, and it is a tremendous production, state-of-the-art. During my first recess State work period back home in February, I went aboard the Manchester just before its commission, and I saw firsthand how these ships are being made and the incredible opportunities down there. To build ships like the Manchester, it takes 4,000 skilled workers to support the effort each day. That is 4,000 American jobs.

Right now, back home in Mobile, they are hard at work on the production lines to build littoral combat ships and the expeditionary fast transport ships, such as the USNS Trenton, which recently gave assistance to mariners in distress in the Mediterranean.

By not recognizing the importance of the LCS to our Nation's security, we hurt the long-term viability of the workforce in Alabama and all of the suppliers across 41 other States. To some extent, we don't recognize their importance to our national security, and we are not doing all we can as a Congress to support our national security efforts.

The Navy's future frigate, which Alabama stands ready to support, won't come online for a few more years, so those 4,000 workers in South Alabama need to keep working, not just sit tight and wait to be employed again in 2021. They need to work now. They need to continue the lines to make sure we have seamless transition.

Alabama, American jobs, national security--these are just a few of the reasons I sponsored an amendment to add a single LCS ship to this extremely important piece of legislation.

I would strongly urge my colleagues who will be in conference on this bill to increase the resources for the LCS program in the final package that will come before this body. The House version actually contains three LCS ships. So, as I have said so many times on this floor and in other places throughout this city and in these offices, I hope we can find common ground to build at least one, maybe two, more ships that are so important to our security and the Navy.

Let me be clear. This isn't just about ships; this needs to be considered in terms of long-term goals for our military. We need to build the ships that the Navy needs to do its job, we need to keep our production lines ready to go for future products, and we need to maintain the American jobs that make these efforts possible.

This really isn't rocket science. Our national security strategy and the economic stability of our country go hand in hand. Alabamians are proof-positive of that, given our long history of supplying military personnel and other aspects of our national security to help our military throughout the years.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and maintain a robust LCS production posture that supports our national security and economic interests.

I thank the Presiding Officer.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, it is with deep sadness that I rise today to remember Chief Justice Clement Clay ``Bo'' Torbert, Jr., who died on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Bo Torbert was a good friend and a wise and thoughtful jurist whose leadership in the bench and bar will not soon be equaled or forgotten. Indeed, the significance of Justice Torbert's legacy was apparent way back in 1994 when the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery was named in honor of Justice Torbert and Senator and former Chief Justice Howell Heflin, another friend, mentor, and Alabama legal icon.

Justice Torbert was born on August 31, 1929, and he was proud to call Opelika home. An active member of the First United Methodist Church, he was also a lifelong hunter, conservationist, historian, and outdoorsman. Educated in the public schools of Opelika, after high school, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated from Auburn University in 1951, where he was a collegiate swimmer. He served in the U.S. Air Force, attaining the rank of captain. Following his graduation from the University of Alabama Law School in 1954, Justice Torbert began practicing law in Opelika, first with Bill Dickinson, who later became an Alabama Congressman, and later with Yetta Samford. In 1958, he was elected to represent Lee County in the State legislature.

Only 30 years old in 1959, Torbert was voted ``Outstanding Freshman'' in the Alabama State House. In 1966, he was elected to the Alabama Senate, where he proposed a number of legislative initiatives that would set the stage for significant reforms to Alabama's courts and legal system. After his return to private practice in 1970, Torbert continued to support then-Chief Justice Howell Heflin's efforts to effect court reform through constitutional amendment 328, which was finally ratified in December of 1973. Returning to the State senate in 1974, Torbert shepherded through the legislature the bills necessary to implement the reforms mandated in the amendment, and after he was elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1976, Justice Torbert oversaw the transition to the streamlined system, which was subsequently ranked as one of the best court systems in the Nation.

During his tenure as chief justice, Torbert was also active in national and international judicial organizations, serving as president of the Conference of Chief Justices, chairman of the National Center for State Courts, and chairman of the State Justice Institute. In 1979, he was elected to the Alabama Academy of Honor. After leaving the court, Justice Torbert taught at both the University of Alabama School of Law and Cumberland School of Law before joining the law firm of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., where he practiced until his retirement several years ago.

My wife Louise and I extend our sincere condolences to Bo's wife, Gene Hurt Torbert and to his three children, my longtime friend Dixie Alton and her husband, Mitch; Shealy Cook and her husband, Penn; and Clay Torbert and his wife, Cindy, as well as his five grandchildren, Rebecca Cook Davis and her husband, William; Elizabeth Cook; Clay Cook; Bo Torbert IV; James Torbert; and two great-grandchildren, Penton Davis and Celia Davis.

Justice Torbert was a great Christian, husband, father, lawyer, statesman, and judge, and while Alabama will surely miss him, his legacy will live on for generations.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today and rise to speak on a challenge that our rural health communities face both in Alabama and across the country. People living in rural areas often face difficulty in finding healthcare providers. The challenges of consistent, quality healthcare for rural America are exponentially more difficult than in any other area in the country. These persistent gaps in healthcare inevitably lead to poor health outcomes.

As a result, life expectancy for rural Alabamans is approximately 6 months lower than for those who reside in

urban areas and 3\1/2\ years lower than for people living in the rest of the country. In some parts of my State, the outlook is even worse. In Wilcox County, for example, life expectancy is 9 years lower than the national average. That is unacceptable. The county of your birth or where you choose to live should not dictate the quality of your life, much less your life expectancy.

Despite the prosperity some pockets of the country feel today, outcomes don't seem to be improving in many areas in rural America. Alabama's rural hospitals are at risk, and many are in immediate danger of closing. Sadly, some already have. Just last week, yet another hospital--this one in Jacksonville, AL--announced that they would close; it is about the 12th, I think, since 2011. It has become an all- too-familiar pattern in Alabama and in other rural areas in America. That means the quality and number of treatment options in these rural areas and in Alabama continue to decline. Fifty-two of Alabama's rural counties are facing primary care shortages, and those numbers get worse for specialty practitioners like dentistry and obstetrics.

Having spent nearly my entire life in Alabama--the only exception being 1 year in Washington, DC, working for this body on the Senate Judiciary Committee--I am acutely aware of the unique difficulties we face in keeping folks healthy. As I have traveled across Alabama over the last year, I have heard from folks who struggle to access medical care. I have heard from expectant mothers who didn't know if they would be able to make it to a hospital in time for delivery because the closest one was more than an hour away. I have heard from people who are impacted by the growing opioid epidemic and the lack of substance abuse and mental health treatment options in their communities.

When I came to the Senate, I knew I needed and wanted to make increasing access to quality, affordable healthcare one of my first priorities. I also knew that finding the Holy Grail of true healthcare reform in today's world of partisan politics is a difficult and complex task. I am proud to say that we have made some progress since I got here in January. For instance, through bipartisan efforts, the expired Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, which provides coverage to 150,000 Alabama kids as well as community health centers that serve 350,000 Alabamans, was funded for an additional 10 years in the future. I am proud that we secured an additional 3 years of funding for community health centers in that bill, which provides the primary source of healthcare in many underserved communities.

I was also a cosponsor of the Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act, which was signed into law as part of the bipartisan budget deal. That legislation is critical for folks in my State, both in the training it provides to doctors in community health centers and in rural health clinics, but also because it ensures that talented individuals who choose to stay in the healthcare professions stay and practice in their community.

Bipartisan legislation like that bill is one of the many ways that we can improve how folks receive healthcare in the United States. There is, of course, another option, which leaders in Alabama have failed to take, and that is to expand Medicaid. By failing to expand Medicaid, many of Alabama's most vulnerable citizens have been denied access to basic care, and we turned away literally billions of our own taxpayer dollars in the process. That decision just doesn't make sense. While I remain hopeful that my State's leadership will reconsider the shortsighted decision made solely for political reasons, I am going to continue to work to find ways to help. For example, I will continue to advocate for changes in the Medicaid wage index, which has been unfairly hurting Alabama healthcare providers and has been doing so for years.

For my part, today, taking one additional step, I am proud to say that my very first piece of original legislation will focus on improving rural healthcare through making government more efficient. Today, along with my colleagues Senators Mike Rounds and Tina Smith, I am introducing the Rural Health Liaison Act. I wish to thank and acknowledge Congresswoman Cheri Bustos for her leadership on this issue in the House and her offer to partner in this important effort.

The bipartisan Rural Health Liaison Act will streamline Federal investment in rural healthcare and improve coordination between Federal agencies and other healthcare stakeholders by creating a Rural Health Liaison within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

I believe the USDA is an appropriate spot for such a position because the Department plays a major role in rural development efforts. For instance, the USDA has the capability to finance the construction of hospitals, to implement telemedicine programs, and to carry out health education initiatives. We want to make sure that these efforts are fully coordinated and leveraged with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal agencies, as well as other important healthcare stakeholders.

Among other things, the Rural Health Liaison would consult with HHS on rural health issues and improve communication with all Federal agencies. It will provide expertise on rural healthcare issues. It will lead and coordinate strategic planning on rural health activities within the USDA, and it would advocate on behalf of the healthcare and relevant infrastructure needs in rural areas.

I thank Senators Rounds and Smith for their support on this important legislation, and I look forward to working together with them and other colleagues to move this bill forward. This is a great example of how Senators from both sides of the aisle can come together to propose commonsense legislation to make government work better and more efficiently. It is exactly the kind of work that I hoped to do when I arrived here just a few months ago.

But this is just another step in a very complicated process. In the months ahead, I hope to have the opportunity to continue to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in this body to lower healthcare costs, to increase access to quality healthcare, and to improve the health and well-being of people living in rural Alabama, in rural America, and, in fact, for people all across this great Nation.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Absolutely, yes.

I say thank you to Senator Nelson. I appreciate that. Although our numbers are not as staggering in our State of Alabama, they are still significant for the State of

Alabama with regard to Medicaid. So I will state that I appreciate the Senators comments very much, and I look forward to working with him on this bill and helping to move it forward.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor the life and legacy of Jim Manasco, who passed away at his home on Smith Lake in Alabama on April 12, 2018.

Jim was a self-taught artist and sign painter who entered the trade as an apprentice when he was just 16 years old. He was a successful commercial artist for 65 years and possessed the rare ability to letter and paint freehand. He was also a gifted creative artist in multiple mediums, from carving to pottery to painting.

In the early 1970s, Jim, his wife, Ruth, and a small group of naturalists were leaders in the fight to preserve and protect the land along the Sipsey fork of the Black Warrior River in northwest Alabama. Because of his

dedication, Jim was chosen to testify before Congress in support of the Eastern Wilderness Act, which was signed into law in 1975, and the Sipsey Wilderness, in the Bankhead National Forest, became the first wilderness designated in the act. Thanks to Jim and that determined group, generations to come will continue to enjoy pristine, undeveloped lands east of the Mississippi River. Since passage of the act, more than 140 Wilderness Areas and nearly 1.5 million acres have been protected in the eastern United States.

Like FDR, who, following in the footsteps of his ``uncle'' Teddy Roosevelt, left a great conservation legacy, Jim saw ``an America whose rivers and valleys and lakes--hills and streams and plains--the mountains over our land and nature's wealth deep under the earth--are protected as the rightful heritage of all the people.'' Thanks to men like Jim Manasco, more than half of the people who live in Alabama enjoy outdoor recreation every year in the most biologically diverse State east of the Mississippi River and one of the most biologically diverse States in the entire country. Alabama boasts forests, woodlands, wetlands, caves, glades, beaches, and prairies, not to mention more than 4,500 documented species.

The importance of protecting and wisely managing this natural wealth cannot be overstated. In Alabama, outdoor recreation generates 135,000 direct jobs--that is more than twice the number of auto manufacturing jobs--it generates $3.9 billion in wages and salaries and $857 million in State and local taxes.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Jim Manasco's other important legacy, that of Cherokee wisdomkeeper. The Cherokee played a significant role in the history of Alabama, and many Alabamians proudly claim Cherokee ancestry. Jim was long honored as a Tribal elder for his teachings about carvings on beech trees, native symbols, ceremonial knowledge, and Tribal history and for his intimate knowledge of the plants and animals that inhabit the landscape of the South. Some of this wisdom was captured in his popular book, ``Walking Sipsey,'' published in 1992.

Jim always downplayed his accomplishments, often saying, ``Raw talent's got nothing over dogged determination.'' Well, Jim Manasco was right, and America needs more men with dogged determination to do the right thing. I hope to be one of them.