Floor Statements

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2282.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

I send a modification to amendment No. 2282 to the desk.

Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, we have just worked out a managers' package with Ranking Member Reed and the majority and minority leaders that includes the text of 44 bipartisan amendments in the modified substitute amendment.

Those 44 bipartisan amendments are as follows: Rounds No. 2273; Rounds No. 2275; Inhofe No. 2278; Reed No. 2283; Warner No. 2285; Fischer No. 2286; Shaheen No. 2291; Feinstein No. 2293; Peters No. 2313; Gillibrand No. 2335, as modified; Heitkamp No. 2338; Smith No. 2340; Cardin No. 2347; Wicker No. 2351; Inhofe No. 2353; Menendez No. 2360; Cortez Masto No. 2367; Hoeven No. 2368; Perdue No. 2380; Heller No. 2392; Inhofe No. 2402; Sullivan No. 2408; Nelson No. 2424; Van Hollen No. 2426; Inhofe No. 2429; Gardner No. 2430; Collins No. 2436; Young No. 2463; Cruz No. 2469; Nelson No. 2489; Wicker No. 2503; Manchin No. 2508; Roberts No. 2513; Cotton No. 2514; Udall No. 2527; Stabenow No. 2537; Donnelly No. 2542; Lankford No. 2553; Fischer No. 2554; Cardin No. 2562; Rubio No. 2564; Reed No. 2636; Schumer No. 2757; Menendez No. 2683; and Smith No. 2523.

Madam Present, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Will the Senator yield for a UC?

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of the remarks by the Senator from New Jersey, I be recognized as in morning business for as much time as I shall consume.

Mr. President, arguably, the most significant bill to be introduced and passed every year is the National Defense Authorization Act. Yesterday, the leader moved to proceed to that bill, but then there was some objection. Senator Reed and I have spent some time and have been very concerned about getting this started. We passed this out of committee in record time and share the commitment that this bill is a matter fitting for the Senate's deliberative process. We want to have an amendment process, and we proposed this, but there was some objection to it yesterday.

I think an open legislative process is one of the hallmarks of the democracy that we ask our servicemembers to protect and defend. They are out there on the line. We owe them everything that is in an annual bill. In fact, that bill has actually been passed every year. For the past 57 years, we have had a national defense authorization act. What we wanted to do this time, which would have been different from the last time, was to have had an open amendment process--heard a lot of amendments and had a lot of discussion on the floor. We intended to do that but were disappointed that there was an objection to that yesterday. That is why we have been working on satisfying those objections, and I think we have done this.

I believe, by 12 noon or after the 12:30 vote, we are going to be in a position to go ahead and ask that the majority leader restate his motion to proceed and that it will be passed without objection. I am looking forward to that. I think we need to get started. I don't need to go into the arguments, as others are waiting for the floor right now, but we want to get this bill started immediately.

It is not just to make sure we have the pay raises for our kids who are out there risking their lives, and it is not just that we have to keep up with the commitments we have made. We have gone through some dry years over the last 10 years. When I go around the country and talk to groups, there is this assumption that America has the best of everything, but that is not true anymore. That is one reason there is a sense of urgency on this.

Take artillery, for example. The two things you use to measure the artillery capability of a country are those of range and rapid fire, and we are out-ranged and out-rapid fired by both Russia and China. They have other systems that are better than ours.

Right now, one of the most modern systems is hypersonic warfare. A lot of people are not aware of this, but it allows us to go five times the speed of sound with a weapon. We have been developing this for some time. However, now we have found out that both Russia and China have been ahead of us on this. This bill is going to put us in high gear and make sure this development actually happens.

Our triad system, our nuclear triad, is also one on which we have not been doing anything for the last 8 or 10 years, and now Russia and China have gotten ahead. This is something we are not going to tolerate.

We have the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, and we are going to get to it today. I will mention that we are actually hoping for a couple of amendments to take place this afternoon. These have to be agreed to and have been agreed to by both sides. Boozman amendment No. 2276 is a study to suggest the permanent stationing of our troops in Poland. The second one is the McCain fellowship amendment, by Senator Reed, amendment No. 2284.

I, and I am sure Senator Reed--I speak for him too--would like to get

started on some amendments today instead of waiting around until Monday. Doing so will put us a lot further ahead than we otherwise would be. Our anticipation is to get this thing done by next week, and I think we can do it.

I thank those who had some objection to moving to this bill. I very much appreciate their working with us. I think it will be completed, and I anticipate that the majority leader will have a motion that he will make after the 12:30 p.m. vote today.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 5515; further, that the motion be agreed to and Senator Inhofe--myself--or his designee be recognized to offer the substitute amendment, No. 2282, which is the text of the Senate-reported bill. I further ask that it be in order for Senator Boozman or his designee to call up amendment No. 2276 and for Senator Reed or his designee to call up amendment No. 2284 and that the amendments be debated concurrently, with the time equally divided until 2 p.m.; finally, that at 2 p.m., the Senate vote in relation to the Boozman and Reed amendments, in the order listed, with no second-degree amendments in order to the amendments prior to the votes.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, first of all, I agree with Senator Paul's amendment and have agreed with his amendment, and I have made it very clear for a long period of time. Procedurally, I want to get to it, and it is my intention to have a vote on it. That will have to come after we are on the bill. We need to get on the bill first.

So I do object.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 5515. I further ask that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 5515 at 1:45 p.m. today.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Matthew Starr, a fellow in Senator McCain's office, and Daniel Glickstein, a fellow at the Armed Services Committee, be given floor privileges for the remainder of the consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Mr. President, let me just share what just happened here. I have been involved with this for a long time, including over in the House when we had our NDAA. Now, I am fully aware and everybody here knows that we have passed this NDAA for 57 consecutive years, and we are going to pass it. But one of the things I really don't like about the procedure is that one person--any one person, Democrat or Republican--can object, as this was just objected to, and cause us to have to file cloture. This is going to put this off for a period of time, and two undesirable results can result. One result can be that it can ultimately deny Members from offering their amendments, whether they are germane or not.

I will state how much I appreciate the fact that Senator Reed and I in our committee have worked very closely together, and we made a decision that we want to have an open amendment process. We had discussion of this in our committee and everyone agrees with this.

This could have the effect of ultimately closing the door to everyone who has an amendment. We don't want that, but we did everything we could to stop an objection from taking place so that we could at least move on to the bill.

We need to get on the bill, and then we can try to do all kinds of arrangements. At one time, Senator Reed and I talked about maybe coming up with 10 amendments or 15 amendments or 3 amendments each, Democrats and Republicans, so that we could at least say to the individuals on our side--and I would say to my Republican friends--that I will do everything within my power to see that you get a vote. Unfortunately you can't do that because you can't guarantee there will be a vote. So that is the thing I regret, and the other bad part of this is that it is going to put it off for about a week.

I just got back from all of our war zones, talking to our troops on the ground, telling them that this is going to happen, that we are going to be taking up the NDAA, and telling them what is in it in terms of pay raises, what is in it in terms of priorities, and how we are going to try to get modernized. Right now we have several pieces of equipment that over the last 10 years have been ignored, and we have peer competitors in Russia and in China that have better equipment than we do. An artillery piece is evaluated by rapid fire and range, and right now our rapid fire is not as fast as either Russia's or China's. We see what is happening in the China Sea. We are over there. We see that our allies are looking and thinking: You know, the Chinese are preparing for World War III. What are we doing?

By postponing this, all of our troops and all of our very valued people who are risking their lives on a daily basis are going to wonder: Why didn't we go ahead and go with this thing? It is wrong.

I do want to say this. Senator Reed and I and our committees did everything we could to try to accommodate everyone as best as our rules would allow us to do. In living with the limitations that we have, we have done everything we can do.

I do want to compliment the entire Senate Armed Services Committee. We have also worked on the House side. Between Senator Reed and me-- Democrats and Republicans--we have done everything we could to keep this from happening. Again, as long as I can remember, at the last minute, one Senator can put this off and create the damage and potential damage that has been created now. I do regret that.

Mr. President, I think it is kind of unprecedented to have, in this case, the acting chairman and the ranking member be so close together on what we have attempted to do.

I think it is worthwhile to note, as Senator Reed brought up, that we had the committee hearing on this, and it is very rare we come out as we did on that. We actually did that in 1 day. It was 1 day, and it was 9 hours total. I am not sure if that is some kind of a record or not, but it shows that we are working very well together, and I was hoping that would take care of this today.

Anyway, we are now going to start discussing this bill. Since we have lost the opportunity to move to the bill and actually start on amendments, I think it is more important now to at least talk about what we are anticipating. Today we will begin consideration--even though we are not on the bill, we can still talk about it. This is the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019. It is the most important piece of legislation we consider every year.

As I have said, this is now the 57th consecutive year that we have done this. I remember that just a few years ago we got very close to the middle of December or the end of December, which is an absolute deadline to get it done for the fiscal year. We had to go to the big four, and we got it done and got it passed. Well, we don't want to do that now. We want to do it the right way, and we want to consider all of the amendments because in that year, we got the bill, but we didn't consider any amendments.

You can talk to any of the Members. A lot of times they were in closed meetings, and we talked about the necessity of getting the amendments opened up so that anyone could offer an amendment, and, of course, they were denied doing that at that time. Now we are still in a position that we can do this, but it has put it off about a week.

Anyway, this is the most important legislation we pass every year. One more time, I want to thank Senator Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, for his work on this and for the fact that we were able to do it as rapidly as we did. I also want to thank the majority leader, Senator McConnell, not only for bringing the NDAA to the floor this week, but also for his willingness to do so under regular order. That is what we wanted, and we were able to do it.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank the committee chairman, Senator John McCain, for his strong leadership in the preparation of the NDAA this year, which he has done each year for a long period of time. Make no mistake, he may not be here today, but this is his bill. His priorities and his policy objectives are in this bill. This year's NDAA is a true embodiment of what Chairman McCain has worked to advance during his decades of service and his tenure as chairman of this committee. It deserves to bear his name, and it does bear his name.

We are all keeping Chairman McCain in our hearts and our prayers as he continues to prove that he is the fighter we all know him to be. I am sure he is watching right now. Senator McCain, we all know the fighter you are. There is no one else like you, and we want you to continue that fight, and we are anticipating that is going to be taking place.

The NDAA represents some of the finest traditions of this body. For 57 years, Congress has passed this vital legislation to authorize funding and provide the necessary authority for our military to protect this great Nation.

I am proud that the Senate Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly passed this bill. I think, at one point, we had 300 amendments. We were able to sit down, reason together, incorporate several of them into a managers' package, come to the committee, and actually pass it overwhelmingly.

This is more than just a piece of legislation, but it is a message to each and every one of our servicemembers that they are our No. 1 priority. That is why I didn't like the idea that there is an objection to moving to this bill today. I was with our servicemembers who are overseas all last week, telling them what we were going to do, why we were going to do it, and why it is a top priority. Unfortunately, this sends the wrong message to them.

This is more than just a piece of legislation; it is what we have to do to defend our Nation. After all, you have to keep in mind that the No. 1 thing we need to be doing here in the U.S. Senate, as well as in the House, is defending America. Our Founding Fathers said that; it is in the Constitution; and that is what we are about do to now.

The fiscal year 2019 NDAA keeps faith with our troops. It has a 2.6- percent pay raise--the largest in 10 years--which, in some small way, honors their enormous sacrifice.

In total, the NDAA supports $716 billion in fiscal year 2019 for national defense. It authorizes a base defense budget of $639 billion for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, as well as $69 billion in the overseas contingency fund. When it all adds up, you have $716 billion. That is what we should be doing around here. We are glad we are at the point where we can give priority to defending our Nation, as it should always have been.

This is funding an important step toward recovering from years of cuts in our defense budget under the Budget Control Act and sequestration, which harmed our military readiness and slowed down our modernization efforts. As I mentioned before, sequestration has held us back, but it has not held our adversaries back. All the time we were held back over the last 10 years, our peer competition out there-- Russia and China--haven't been holding back. That is why I said that in areas such as artillery, they are ahead of us.

Every time I go--and I am sure the Chair finds the same thing to be true--back home where the real people are, they assume we have the best of everything. That was the kind of standard we had set in World War II, and, of course, we backed away from that. We have areas--not just artillery, but triad and hypersonic--in which we were not able to keep that up, and all the time that we were doing nothing for the last 10 years in the triad system, the Chinese and the Russians were advancing, and they are ahead of us now.

Hypersonic is something not many people know about. It is a weapons system that moves at five times the speed of sound, and this is something that is

going to be where future wars are going to be fought. Yet China and Russia are both ahead of us right now.

So with this bill, we are going back and are advancing in some areas where we have been very, very slow. The goal, as always, is to provide our warfighters with the resources and capabilities they need and to do so on time, on schedule, and at a reasonable cost.

Now I am going to run over this because I think it is important that people out there know--and even some Members in this body, if they are not on the committee, might not be aware--that the legislation authorizes starting $23 billion for shipbuilding to fund 10 new construction battle force ships. It also provides for the procurement of 117 naval aviation aircraft. It has $7.6 billion to procure 75 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

I think we all recognize the mistake we made back when we had the F- 22. We should have, at that time, stayed with the original amount, and now we regret we didn't do it. We don't want to make that mistake with the F-35s, so we have that provision in there.

We have $2.3 billion to procure 14 KC-46s. This is kind of interesting because that is ultimately going to replace the KC-135s, which have been around for 58 years now. I can remember, in the last administration, the Secretary of the Air Force was having an event, and I remember commenting at Altus Air Force Base that in 1959 two wonderful things had happened. No. 1, I got married and, No. 2, we delivered our first KC-135. She said: Well, I guess that offers security for you here at Altus for the next 59 years, and I think it does. That is how important that is. Our KC-46s are necessary, and this has the procurement of 14 of these.

We have $350 million to procure Air Force light attack aircraft; procurement of 117 Army helicopters; $70 million to prototype the next- generation combat vehicle; and $100 million each for the U.S. Marine Corps light attack aircraft and Group 5 Unmanned Aerial System; and lastly, $10 billion for the Missile Defense Agency.

That is finally getting us up to where we had fallen behind during the last administration. We might as well say it as it is. We now have everyone agreeing. This is good. This bill has been unnecessarily postponed for another week. Someone is making a point there.

Along the way, the NDAA makes adjustments to the administration's budget request to ensure programs are sustainable and accountable and protecting American taxpayer dollars. It also takes steps to ensure we are prepared for a world defined by strategic competition with China and Russia, addressing China's militarization of the South China Sea, and deterring Russia's military aggression and cyber attacks.

We know that is happening right now. Several of us, including the Presiding Officer, just about a month ago, were in the South China Sea. You see what the Chinese are doing, which is totally illegal. It is not land they own. They talk about reclaiming land. They are not reclaiming land. It wasn't previously claimed by anybody. They have seven islands now out there. We are talking about over 33,000 acres out there where they created huge military formations. All of our allies in that part of the world are assuming they now have to take sides in what might be World War III. You see that what they are putting on these islands is all military, 100 percent, just as if they are preparing for World War III. It is a huge thing happening right now. We saw it there.

By the way, it is not just the South China Sea. We just got back from Djibouti. The first time in the history of China, they have military bases that are not within the confines of China. This supports the implementation of the Nuclear Posture Review by authorizing $65 million to develop a low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile. I know that is controversial, and there will be amendments on there. We look forward to that.

The ranking member and I don't agree on everything. This is one area that probably we don't agree on. We want to have amendments. We want to have an open debate. That is what we are going to have. Unfortunately, that is going to be delayed for a period of time that I believe is unnecessary.

Finally, the NDAA supports our allies and partners around the world. It authorizes $5.2 billion for the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund.

We just got back from Afghanistan. Things are going well there. We had a chance to talk to General Nicholson and the rest over there. Some good things are happening, despite what an unfriendly press sometimes wants to lead you to believe.

For the fight against terrorism, it authorizes $1.2 billion for the counter-ISIS efforts via the Train and Equip Programs in Iraq and Syria. The Train and Equip Program is one we all agree--at least in the committee--that it is very important to continue. It authorizes $6.3 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative and $200 million for security assistance to Ukraine, including defensive lethal assistance.

This is something we should have done a long time ago. I happened to be in Ukraine when they had their last election--well, actually about 3 years ago. That was a time when, for the first time in 96 years, Ukraine didn't have one Communist in its Parliament. They did that because they love us. Of course, people came in and started killing them. We know what happened there. It was well publicized.

We had the opportunity to send some lethal defensive equipment over there to help them since they have this love for the West. At that time, the administration wouldn't allow that to take place.

Anyway, we offer $500 million for Israeli cooperative missile defense programs. By the way, I always like to say, when talking about Israel, there is kind of an assumption out there that they are dormant, and we are providing this. They actually have developed some systems over there that are superior to ours. There is no better relationship anywhere in the world than between the United States and Israel. Good things are happening there. The President is strongly in support of that. Of course, we have a great guy over there who looks to us as their closest friend.

It also includes the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act that was adopted by the Senate Banking Committee, which will give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States the authority it needs to address some of the national security concerns.

As we move forward to considering the fiscal year 2019 NDAA, we have to remember our primary constitutional responsibility is to provide for the common defense of our great Nation. We forget that. People go back home and never talk about defending America. They kind of play on this assumption that we already have all we need and that it is no longer a mission that is worth fighting for. We have to face the facts that this is the most dangerous world we have ever faced. The military advantage we once enjoyed has eroded, and we cannot delay modernizing our capabilities and restoring readiness.

You don't have to go any further than looking at some of these countries like North Korea. Right now, some good things are happening. I believe, 6 days from now, a meeting will take place between Kim Jong- un and our President. It is unprecedented, and I am very excited about it. Nonetheless, in this world today, you can have one small country that has the capability of wiping out an American State, and it is something we haven't been dealing with in the past. That is all part of this bill we are talking about now that we are going to be passing and going to conference with the House.

Today, our Nation commemorates the 74th anniversary of D-day. The brave Americans who stormed the beaches of Normandy embodied the spirit that continues to inspire the service and sacrifice of so many-- fighting, sometimes against unsurmountable odds, in the name of freedom, and we won.

I urge my colleagues to keep in mind the meaning of this day throughout consideration of this legislation, the John S. McCain National Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. It will help assert the quantitative and qualitative military advantage we will have. I would almost say reassert that because we have lost it. General Dunford made the statement that we are falling behind in our ways. It has always been our qualitative and quantitative advantage over the enemy.

I hope the ranking member agrees we can move forward with an open amendment process. This is very important. This is one we all agreed on, and we were hoping we would be in that process right now, but it didn't happen. Unfortunately, sometimes it is going to be lost.

We are committed to working with everyone here as soon as possible and get the amendments rolling.

I want to yield to Senator Reed, but before I do, I want to make sure we get on the record that I have never seen, in the years I have been here, more cooperation than we have between the Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize my former staffer, Ms. Annie Caputo, as she is finally confirmed by the Senate as a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Annie has over 20 years of experience handling nuclear energy issues, which will serve her well in her new role at the NRC.

Annie worked as senior policy adviser on my EPW committee staff from 2007 through 2012 and again in 2015 through 2016. Her experience and expertise is so well known and well regarded that staff and Senators on both sides of the aisle seek her input when it comes to nuclear issues. During her career, Annie also worked for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Exelon Corporation, which operates more nuclear plants than any other company.

Her expertise was invaluable to me during the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident, in my work to ensure the NRC issued timely decisions on new nuclear plant licenses, and most recently, she has been central in developing the bipartisan Nuclear Energy Innovation Act.

I want to congratulate Annie Caputo on this well-deserved confirmation and wish her well in her new role at the NRC.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize my good friend and former staffer, Mr. Frank Fannon, who has been confirmed to lead the State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources.

We have seen how expanding U.S. energy exports to Eastern Europe has supported our allies and curbed Russia's influence in the region. As Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Frank can use his leadership

and expertise effectively to advance American energy dominance and enforce energy sanctions, like those against Russia and Iran.

Frank served as energy counsel to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works from 2003 to 2007. While at EPW, his knowledge on energy issues was vital. He drafted key provisions of the bipartisan Energy Policy Act of 2005, legislation that helped to unleash American innovation and set the conditions for today's energy abundance.

I want to congratulate Frank Fannon on this well-deserved confirmation and wish him well in his new role at the State Department.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize my good friend and fellow Oklahoman, Mr. Gregory Slavonic, for his Senate confirmation as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs at the Department of Defense.

Greg was raised in Oklahoma City, OK. He graduated with a bachelor of science from Oklahoma State University and then enlisted in the Navy. After completing boot camp and signalman ``A'' school he received orders to the aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CVA 64) and completed two western Pacific deployments in support of combat operations in Vietnam. In 1976, he earned a master's degree from the University of Central Oklahoma.

His military awards include the Legion of Merit Medal; Bronze Star Medal, two awards; Meritorious Service Medal, three awards; Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two awards; Combat Action Ribbon; Presidential Unit Citation; and numerous other campaign and service medals.

Throughout his 34-year career in the Navy and as chief of staff to Senator James Lankford, Greg has served his country and his home State of Oklahoma with great honor and distinction. He will bring those experiences of success to this position and continue the excellence that has been the trademark of the U.S. military.

I want to congratulate Greg Slavonic on this well-deserved confirmation and wish him well in his new role at the DOD.

Mr. President, I have 6 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing.

Committee on Indian Affairs

The Committee on Indian Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing on the nomination of Tara Sweeney, of Alaska, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Committee on the Judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: David James Porter, of Pennsylvania, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, Holly A. Brady, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Indiana, Andrew Lynn Brasher, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama, James Patrick Hanlon, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana, David Steven Morales, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, and Lance E. Walker, of Maine, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maine.

Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness

The Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 3 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Examining the Future of the International Space Station: Stakeholder Perspectives.''

Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management

The Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``War Powers and the Effects of Unauthorized Military Engagements on Federal Spending.''

Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration

The Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration of the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 2:45 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Student Visa Integrity: Protecting Educational Opportunity and National Security.''

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize my good friend Mr. Vaughn Graham as he nears the end of his term as the 113th chairman of the Nation's largest insurance association, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, also known as the Big ``I.'' He was installed as chairman of the Big ``I'' in September 2017 in Chicago, IL, and over the past year, he has done an amazing job of piloting the association as a strong and thoughtful leader for independent insurance agents across the country.

Vaughn graduated from the University of Oklahoma and is currently the president of Rich & Cartmill, Inc., headquartered in Tulsa, OK, and with offices in Oklahoma City; Ozark, MO; Olathe, KS; and Greeley, CO. He is a past chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, IIAO, and has served as the Oklahoma director to the Big ``I'' national board of directors. He was recognized in 2012 with IIAO's highest honor, the Eagle of Excellence Award.

On the national association level, Graham has chaired the Membership Services, Inc., board and has served on several Big ``I'' committees and boards including the Big ``I'' advantage board, InsurPac board of trustees, and the Large Agents and Brokers Council. In addition, he has been engaged as a member of several insurance companies' agent advisory councils.

I would also like to recognize Candace Graham, Vaughn's esteemed

wife. Vaughn has been married to his wife, Candace, for more than 40 years. Together, they reside in Tulsa, OK, and they have two adult children, Hayden and Vaughn, Jr., and five grandchildren. Graham is also active in his community with charitable and civic organizations. He is a member of Leadership Tulsa, the Rotary Club of Tulsa, and is a volunteer mentor to students of Celia Clinton Elementary School.

The State of Oklahoma is proud of Vaughn Graham and wishes him and Candace well following his successful year as chairman of the Big ``I.''

Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a unanimous consent request?

Will the Senator yield for a moment for a unanimous consent request?

Mr. President, I ask to propound a unanimous consent request.

Mr. President, I ask that I be recognized for 1 minute. No, I don't. I ask that I be recognized at the conclusion of this vote to explain why the Paul amendment would be damaging to our national security. That is my unanimous consent request.

Mr. President, would it be appropriate at this time for me to ask for 1 minute prior to the vote?

Thank you very much.

I know the intentions are good; we have voted on the same thing for the last 5 years. I can tell you right now what the vote result is going to be because it has been the same for the last 5 years.

No one has had a more consistently conservative record than I have, but I would have to say that this would undo a lot of what we have accomplished with the last vote to allow us to start rebuilding our systems. We got in a position where we didn't have brigade combat teams that were adequately prepared to go to battle. Sixty percent of our F- 18s were not flying. We are trying to recover from all of these things. We have now started that recovery.

My concern is--and I think Senator Graham said it very well--in the event that we pass this--if it did pass; it won't, but if it did--that is going to be a problem and a problem that we can't overcome.

Right now, our No. 1 concern should be defending this Nation. This is the opportunity to at least let people know that there is a legitimate vote for conservatives to vote for a strong national defense.

I don't want to send a signal to our kids overseas--our kids in battles and in harm's way--that we are not going to take care of their needs, as we just started just a year ago to do. We have to continue that.

For the sake of our national security, I suggest that we vote against the Paul proposal.

Madam President, will the Senator yield?

Madam President, I thank the Senator, and I appreciate that very much.

I just want to make a brief statement about the vote that just took place. I tried to communicate this, and there wasn't time before the vote. Right now, we have more threats than we have ever had in the history of this country. I think we all realize that.

General Dunford said that we are losing our qualitative and quantitative advantage over our adversaries. He was talking about Russia and China, in this case. We have adversaries out there that are actually ahead of us in terms of their capabilities in artillery and other areas.

Here we are, and, quite frankly, we knew how this vote was going to come out. I have a list of the same vote that has taken place for the last 5 years, and it came out the same way it did before. The point here is that even though it wasn't going to pass, the problem is, it is sending a message to our kids who are out there in harm's way.

We look and we see that we have started our road to recovery, and it has been an exciting thing because we came so close to being in a position where one-third of our brigade combat teams didn't work. The F-35s in the field--the Marines could use less than half of them. All of these things were going on because of what has happened to our military.

Finally, we turned the corner. We turned the corner on the last vote--not the one we took today but the one we took a few months ago-- and we now are rebuilding our military.

I had breakfast this morning with the Secretary of the Army and with the Chief of the Army, and really good things are happening. I can't think of anything worse than to send a message to our kids in the field that we are going to go back and undo the positive things that have pulled us up into a competitive position.

For the sake of our military, for the sake of defending America, the vote there was to vote against sending the wrong message to our kids in harm's way.

I thank Senator Warner for yielding.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, today I would like to recognize Rohan Rajeev, of Edmond, OK, a young man of exemplary character and talent. Rohan made history as the runner-up at the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee. In his first appearance at the bee, Rohan earned his position by qualifying from a pool of over 11 million students from around the world. In 2016, Rohan earned the distinction as the first speller from Oklahoma to win the Association of Christian Schools International Spelling Bee.

Rohan has used his skills to help and teach others. He has served as the first grand marshal of the Eastern Oklahoma State Spelling Bee, a nonprofit competition whose mission is to help students develop spelling and vocabulary skills. He has contributed to the community by volunteering and taking leadership positions in programs and organizations, including Oklahoma Student Voices and Youth and Government.

While his honors are many, I am most impressed by Rohan's humility and courage. He attributes his success to his faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that He has brought him thus far in life. Despite enduring the loss of his sister, Raina, to a severe neurological condition, Rohan continues to honor her memory by dedicating his performances to Raina, and she continues to inspire Rohan to pursue his dreams.

Congratulations, Rohan. I wish you well in your future endeavors, and I know your future is bright.