Floor Statements

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Kate for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Kate is a native of Virginia. She is a student at American University, where she is studying justice and law. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Kate for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Elisa for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Elisa is a native of California. She is a student at Cerritos College, where she is studying graphic design. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Elisa for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.

Mr. President, I rise today in celebration of Kay Bjorklund, Wyoming AARP's 2018 Andrus Award honoree.

Since 2001, the Wyoming chapter of AARP continues to make a positive difference in the lives of senior citizens

and their communities, serving out their vision of ``a society in which all people live with dignity and purpose, and fulfill their goals and dreams.'' The Andrus Award, named after AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, is awarded each year to one person or couple in every State. This award recognizes outstanding individuals who share their experience, talents, and skills to enrich the lives of others.

On November 8, 2018, the AARP of Wyoming hosted its Annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet in Casper, honoring Kay Bjorklund of Thermopolis. Kay is an ideal choice for this award. She dedicates her life to serving her family, friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County.

Kay grew up in Newcastle, WY, where she met her husband, Guy Bjorklund. Before they could marry, Guy left to serve our country in WWII as a U.S. marine. Kay eagerly waited for Guy's return. Once Guy was home, the two moved to Billings, MT, to marry and start a family. Guy began a career at JC Penney, and in 1955, a company transfer took the family to Thermopolis. Kay had the demanding job of full-time mother to their three children. Gary and Kay were active members of the Community Church where Kay continues to serve on the visitation committee.

Once her children started school, Kay worked in banking and became more involved in service to others. Kay raised her family with the strong principal of giving back to the community. Through her own example, she taught her family to put others first, to ask what they might do to help their friends and neighbors.

Guy continued to work for JC Penney until he was presented with the opportunity to open the Thermopolis Hardware store. Guy and Kay successfully ran the store until retirement in 1986. They sold Thermopolis Hardware to their daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Dennis Sinclair, who continue to run the business today. Retirement in 1986 allowed Guy and Kay to do what they enjoyed doing together: serving others.

Kay will tell you how important it is to stay active if you want to be healthy and happy. Taking her own advice to heart, Kay is an active member of the Kiwanis club and chamber of commerce. Every Wednesday, she volunteers at the hospital gift shop. Kay turns 95 next month and drives for Meals on Wheels, delivering dozens of meals and hugs to community seniors. Kay volunteers at the Pioneer Home, an assisted living facility and also plays bridge. She is the highest selling fundraiser for the PEO chapter in Thermopolis.

Kay Bjorklund truly represents the Wyoming values of generosity and selflessness. She is a devoted volunteer, loving mother, and generous friend to all. Kay and her late husband, Guy, have three children, Gary and his wife Dorothy Bjorklund, Karen and her husband Dennis Sinclair, and Eric and his wife Terrie Bjorklund, along with eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Thermopolis is blessed to have this amazing woman and her family call Hot Springs County home.

It is with great honor that I recognize this exceptional Wyoming lady. My wife, Bobbi, joins me in extending our congratulations to Kay Bjorklund for receiving this special award from the AARP of Wyoming.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my brief statement before the rollcall is taken.

Mr. President, it is time to vote on America's Water Infrastructure Act.

I thank my friend and colleague from Delaware, the senior Senator, Mr. Carper, for his great contributions to this piece of legislation.

It is an important bill that has broad bipartisan, bicameral support. There are 95 groups that have endorsed it. They represent a broad cross-section of stakeholders from a wide variety of backgrounds. From the Sierra Club to the American Petroleum Institute to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they all agree that this important infrastructure legislation is good for our country, good for our communities, good for our economy, and good for our environment. The Wyoming Wool Growers Association, the Arkansas Rural Water Association, and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District have all united in praise for a bill that will help all 50 States.

The water infrastructure bill passed our committee 21 to nothing, and it passed the House with a unanimous voice vote. It is time to send it to the President for his signature. I would just ask our Members to join us in supporting this important bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Mr. President, along with Ranking Member Carper, I ask unanimous consent to have an explanatory statement to accompany S. 3021, America's Water Infrastructure Act, printed in the Record.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my brief remarks before the rollcall vote.

Mr. President, first I wish to thank my colleague and friend from Delaware, Senator Carper, for his friendship, leadership, and advocacy on this important piece of legislation. We worked closely together.

I rise in support of S. 2031, America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.

Every day, Americans depend on our Nation's water infrastructure systems. Clean water, flood control structures, working irrigation systems are all necessary for health, safety, and prosperity for our communities.

This legislation is going to authorize important water projects. It will maintain the navigability of inland waterways and coastal ports, increase water storage, and fix aging irrigation systems across the country.

It will create jobs. It will spur economic growth and give local leaders an increased say in the projects and the way the projects are prioritized. It will rebuild flood control systems.

This is the most significant drinking water legislation in decades. America's Water Infrastructure Act will cut Washington redtape; it will help grow the economy; and it will keep communities safe.

The legislation is good for all 50 States. It is bipartisan. It is bicameral. The legislation passed the Environment and Public Works Committee by a vote of 21 to 0. It passed the House by unanimous consent on a voice vote.

It has the support of a broad array of stakeholders, from the American Farm Bureau to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to the National Association of Manufacturers, to the Family Farm Alliance. As a testament to just how broad the support is for this bill, both the American Petroleum Institute and the Sierra Club have endorsed its passage. We don't see that every day.

It is time to pass this important legislation and send it to President Trump for his signature. I encourage all Senators to support cloture on this bill.

I yield the floor.

Cloture Motion

THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.

Mr. President, water infrastructure, a bill that we have just moved to a positive cloture vote, 96 to 3--water infrastructure is important to every State, as we see by this vote-- every territory, every community, and every Tribe in this country. These systems support America's economic growth and our competitiveness. They deliver drinking water and treat wastewater. They provide water for crops, cattle, and small businesses. They are used to ship American-made goods from the heartland to the coasts and around the world. They keep homes safe from dangerous flood waters; they store water for times of drought.

These systems are vital to our country. We must maintain, upgrade, and, where necessary, build them.

During the State of the Union Address this year, President Trump called on Congress to act on infrastructure. He said we will build America's infrastructure ``with American heart, American hands, and American grit.''

Water infrastructure is a major part of the President's call. That is why I introduced America's Water Infrastructure Act, along with my fellow leaders of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senators Carper, Inhofe, and Cardin. Several other committee members were also cosponsors, including Senators Capito, Wicker, Van Hollen, Boozman, Whitehouse, and Sullivan.

Politico called America's Water Infrastructure Act the most significant infrastructure legislation to be taken up under the Trump administration so far. This legislation passed the Environment and Public Works Committee in the Senate unanimously, 21 to 0.

Last month, the same leaders from our committee and the leadership of the committees in the House of Representatives reached a deal on historic comprehensive water infrastructure legislation. America's Water Infrastructure Act now has broad bicameral and bipartisan support.

Our bill will help grow the economy, will cut Washington redtape, and will keep communities safe.

Authorizing important water projects will create jobs that will spur economic growth. The legislation will help deepen nationally significant ports and maintain the navigability of inland waterways. It is going to increase storage in the West and build new flood management infrastructure.

This bill will fix aging dams and irrigation systems across the country. Upgrading these systems will ensure that ranchers and farmers will get the water that they rely on.

It will also help communities recover from devastating storms like Hurricane Florence and the damage it left along the east coast, especially in North and South Carolina.

America's Water Infrastructure Act also cuts Washington redtape. As chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I have heard time and again how State and local leaders know better than Washington which projects would have the most positive impact on their community. Our bill will give local experts an increased role in prioritizing which Army Corps projects get built.

When a local partner takes over an Army Corps of Engineer's flood control project, they will no longer need to worry about obtaining brandnew permits. The Army Corps will simply transfer its authority to the local partner so that new permits are no longer necessary.

The government will also provide technical assistance to smaller communities to make it simpler for them to comply with environmental laws.

Leveraging Federal dollars is an important element of President Trump's infrastructure plan. We included language to help smaller rural communities leverage their resources so that they can build water infrastructure projects. Federal leveraging programs, particularly the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act, allow taxpayers to get the most bang for their buck.

In the past, smaller rural communities have had trouble accessing these dollars. The language in our consensus bill will give these rural communities the chance to compete for these funds and the ability to participate in these successful programs.

Cutting redtape and increasing access to these leveraging programs will help us get projects done faster, better, cheaper, and smarter. That is just common sense.

America's Water Infrastructure Act is also about safety. In recent years, we have seen the damage that floods and droughts can cause. We must maintain and improve our dams, our beach fronts, our levies, and our reservoirs.

Our bill takes steps to address the backlog of maintenance needs of these infrastructure systems. It also creates a permanent program to find solutions for floods caused by ice jams.

In the spring, and certainly in Wyoming, thawing ice and snow create jams in rivers and can cause them to overflow their banks. In my home State of Wyoming, ice jam floods have been devastating for the towns of Greybull and Worland. America's Water Infrastructure Act authorizes important programs to find permanent ways to prevent these types of floods.

This bill is about more than just flood prevention. It is the most significant drinking water legislation in decades. The bill authorizes funds to repair aging drinking water systems.

For the first time since 1996--that is 22 years ago--Congress will be authorizing the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. These funds give States certainty--certainty that they can meet their drinking water needs. That is a big deal.

There is a line that people say in Wyoming. It was originally attributed to Mark Twain. The line is this: Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over. That is not the case with America's Water Infrastructure Act.

That is not the case with America's Water Infrastructure Act. Democrats and Republicans are working together in a bipartisan way. The House of Representatives and the Senate are working together in a bicameral way. The House of Representatives passed this consensus bill unanimously by voice vote. Now it is the Senate's turn. We all know how important this legislation is for our country, for our States, and for our constituents. The bill is bipartisan and is fiscally responsible. America's Water Infrastructure Act actually reduces the deficit.

I thank Ranking Member Carper and Subcommittee Chairman Inhofe and Subcommittee Ranking Member Cardin and their staffs for their leadership in working through this process. They have been wonderful partners in writing legislation that will have a real impact all across America. This bill is for all of America. It will have a real impact in our rural areas and in our big cities. It will help communities in the heartland and communities on the coasts.

It is now time to pass this legislation. Let's pass the American Water Infrastructure Act and send it to President Trump for his signature.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to sincerely thank my ranking member and partner in this bipartisan bill, Senator Carper. You could not have asked for a better colead moving this legislation forward. I agree with exactly the sentiments expressed by the senior Senator from Delaware that America's Water Infrastructure Act could not have happened without a lot of hard work from a number of dedicated legislators, as well as dedicated staff.

I also thank the chairman and ranking member of our Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Chairman Inhofe, Ranking Member Cardin, and their staffs for their important contributions and their strong support.

As Senator Carper mentioned the House, I thank our colleagues there and partners in this effort, Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee, along with their staff. They did a significant amount of heavy lifting to get this important water infrastructure bill to the finish line.

Finally, I thank the staff of the Environment and Public Works Committee for their tireless work on the legislation. Senator Carper mentioned them from both sides of the aisle.

On my staff, I thank Richard Russell, Brian Clifford, Andrew Harding, Lizzy Olsen, Pauline Thorndike, Craig Thomas, and Mike Danlak, and my chief of staff, Dan Coonsman.

On the minority staff, I thank Mary Frances Repko, John Kane, Andrew Rogers, Christina Baysinger, Skylar Bayer, Ashley Morgan, and Avery Mulligan. It would not have happened without all of their hard work, dedication, and commitment to this piece of legislation.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today I wish to submit for the Record a column written by Mr. Dennis Sun, a Wyoming journalist and rancher, entitled ``The Act is Broken.'' The article was published in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup on August 29, 2018.

Since its passage in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has contributed to the recovery of iconic species like the bald eagle. It has been an important conservation tool, but it is in need of an update.

Wyoming has invested more than $50 million for the recovery of the grizzly bear alone. Twice in the last decade, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that the grizzly bear met all recovery targets and no longer should be protected as ``threatened'' under the Endangered Species Act. Courts have twice overturned the delisting decisions and, in so doing, undermined the expert opinion of wildlife biologists who set, approved, and met recovery goals.

Mr. Sun's article highlights the case of the grizzly bear as a prime example for why my efforts to give states more opportunities to engage in conservation under the act have merit. The successful recovery of the grizzly bear took decades, but I am hopeful we will be able to improve the act and improve conservation much faster.

Mr. President, I rise, as well, to speak about the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated on July 9--86 days ago today.

Even before he was nominated, a number of Members of this body stood and said they would oppose the nomination to the Supreme Court with their not even knowing who he or she might be. After the name came out that evening, other Members of the Senate

said they opposed him. Chuck Schumer, the Democrat minority leader, said he would oppose the nomination with everything he had. It used to be that we could just disregard language like this as empty rhetoric-- not anymore. Now we know exactly what the Democrats had in mind from the very start. We have seen the kind of smear campaign they had planned from the very beginning.

What I have heard from people at home, in Wyoming, is that they didn't think things could get any lower in Washington, DC, until they saw this. The Democrats have done everything under the Sun to delay Judge Kavanaugh's nomination and to tarnish his reputation. It began with misrepresenting Judge Kavanaugh's sterling judicial record. Well, that didn't work.

Then they unfairly complained that they didn't have enough documents by Judge Kavanaugh. When that didn't work, they shifted to surprise attacks on his character.

The only thing they have accomplished is to set a new low for how the Democrats treat people in Washington, DC.

There is a way we do things in the Senate to make sure we can fairly and fully investigate nominees for important jobs. What we have seen is that the Democrats have absolutely rejected this bipartisan tradition. They hid information for more than 2 months. Then, after Judge Kavanaugh had gone through 4 days of confirmation hearings, the Democrats leaked that information to the press--information that they had been sitting on and hiding from the American people, hiding from the Republicans on the committee, hiding from the judge himself.

This isn't the first time we have seen the Democrats try to change the rules when it comes to judicial nominees. The Democrats really do have a double standard. They do it time and again. They want one set of rules for when there is a Democratic President and then a totally different set of rules for when there is a Republican President.

The Democrats have had for years something known as the Biden rule, which was named after then-Senator Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden. This Biden rule says you shouldn't confirm a Supreme Court nominee once a Presidential election is in full swing. The Democrats wanted that rule in place when George Bush was President. Once President Obama was in office, the Democrats wanted to pretend they had never said it, never heard of it, and that it no longer applied. They wanted a totally different set of rules for considering nominees for a Democratic President than those for a Republican President.

Then they had what we saw here in the Senate as the Reid nuclear option. That is when the Democrats decided and voted overwhelmingly to get rid of the filibuster for confirming judges and other nominees. The Democrats set the rule when they were in the majority, when there was a Democrat in the White House, and they wanted to confirm people who were nominated by President Obama. As soon as a Republican got into the White House, the Democrats who voted to change the rule now complained when the rule they changed was applied to them. The Democrats have a double standard.

Now what we see is the Schumer rule. The Democrats took the normal process for how we review nominees, and they threw it out the window. The Democrats' new rule is this: Defeat the nominee no matter what. The Democrats are willing to do whatever it takes to delay, disrupt, intimidate, and obstruct this Republican nominee. The Democrats haven't just thrown out the standards for how we do our work here; they have absolutely trampled on common human decency.

It was bad enough when Democrats were just trying to delay things. They demanded reams of paperwork. Well, Senators have been given access to 500,000 pages of records--one-half million pages of records--from the judge's time as a judge and throughout his career in public service. That is triple the amount of information they have ever gotten about any other Supreme Court nominee.

After Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, he responded to nearly 1,300 written questions from Senators. Those are more questions than we have had for every other Supreme Court nominee in history, combined-- combined.

Judge Kavanaugh has served on the circuit court in the District of Columbia--the second highest court in the land--for 12 years. He has written opinions in 300 cases. If anyone wants to know how he will act as a judge, they should look at how he has already acted as a judge for the past dozen years. These are the documents that matter. These are the ones that tell you how he approaches being a judge.

People can look at the 13 cases where the Supreme Court adopted Judge Kavanaugh's reasoning. That is how much respect other judges and Justices have for his careful and compelling decisions.

Washington Democrats don't seem to care about any of this. Democrats got the documents they asked for so they just changed their demands.

You can see how transparent Democrats have been by looking at what they said last week. As late as last Friday morning, Democrats were saying we should pause for a week. That is what Senator Schumer, Senator Feinstein, and other members of the Judiciary Committee said. They said: Let's pause for 1 week.

As soon as Republicans said we would do that, the Democrats said that is not good enough. They said it doesn't matter what happens in that week, they are still voting no. For them, it was never about finding the truth. For many, it was never even about the name of the nominee because they came out opposing him before his name was even placed in nomination by the President.

This has always been about the far-left wing of the Democratic Party doing--as they have described it--whatever it takes to push their talking points.

It is now all about the politics of personal destruction. They don't seem to care much about what they do and how they damage the people involved. They don't care about the damage they are doing to the Senate and the damage they are doing to the Supreme Court.

The American people deserve better than this. It is time for the Democrats to end their charade before they do more harm to the Senate, to the Supreme Court, and to the United States of America.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today I wish to share my appreciation for Governor Matt Mead. He will complete his second term as Wyoming's commander in chief this year. It is an honor to recognize his devotion to our servicemen and women.

Here in Wyoming, we rely on the cowboy code. The Code of the West was adopted as the State's official code of ethics. It reminds us to ``live each day with courage'' and ``be tough, but fair.'' It also reminds us to ``take pride in our work.''

Governor Mead can certainly take pride in his role as a champion and advocate for Wyoming's military members and their families. Since 2008, Matt attended 22 deployment ceremonies for members of the Wyoming Air and Army National Guards. In 8 years, exactly 2,235 airmen and soldiers have been deployed to fight the war on terror and protect our Nation.

Matt knows the importance of supporting our troops, both at home and overseas. He visited deployed troops on six separate occasions to bring words of support and encouragement from home. Similarly, he was on the ground with families and friends at 22 homecoming events, greeting returning men and women with a smile on his face.

Governor Mead is also dedicated to thanking those who have already served. During his tenure, he attended 53 Veterans Day and welcome home events. These welcome home ceremonies began as a way to honor veterans of the Korean conflict and the Vietnam war who returned home without receiving proper recognition of their service and sacrifice.

In addition, he signed legislation designating Interstate 25, which runs north to south from Buffalo, Wyoming, to the Colorado border, as the Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Highway.

Finally, under his direction, the Wyoming Veterans Commission assisted over 8,000 veterans and family members with problems or requests for information. Matt's determination to provide high-quality care and support to Wyoming's veterans is unparalleled.

Matt does not stop at honoring veterans and supporting Active-Duty servicemembers. In 2011, he saw a need to recognize those just beginning their service. Now, he regularly hosts enlistment ceremonies for young men and women who commit to joining the Armed Forces.

At these special events, Governor Mead takes time to share his appreciation for their bravery, patriotism, and desire to serve our Nation. His warm words of inspiration provide reassurance to these young people and their families as they embark on this momentous journey. Since the first ceremony, a total of 3,035 enlistees have been recognized for answering the call of duty.

Governor Mead is not alone in his efforts to celebrate their selfless sacrifice. He is aided by the Hon. Gary Hartman, who serves as Mead's military and veteran policy analyst. Judge Hartman is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam. Judge Hartman coordinates each ceremony and plays a vital role in ensuring each and every one of these talented individuals is celebrated.

In addition to his military service, Judge Hartman served for 25 years on the Fifth Judicial District Court. His extensive knowledge of the law, along with his passion for veterans' affairs, allowed him to help bring a veterans treatment court to Laramie County. The program's unique approach aims to add much-needed mental health and mentoring services to veterans facing criminal charges. His experiences, both in the Air Force and on the bench, make him a proud advocate who never hesitates to uphold, encourage, and defend veteran causes.

Wyoming holds two enlistment ceremonies each year. On November 12, Matt, with Judge Hartman's assistance, will host his final ceremony as Governor. Addressing a new group of enlistees, he will impart wisdom and speak about Wyoming's legacy of service. I have been honored to attend many of these ceremonies. It will again be my honor to stand beside my friend as we commend these fine young folks.

President Teddy Roosevelt famously said, ``People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.'' Time and time again, Governor Matt Mead demonstrates his respect and gratitude for our servicemembers. He leads with honor, integrity, and pride, and our State and Nation are better because of his dedication.

Mr. President, this weekend we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the day that Green River, WY, became an incorporated municipality.

Green River's history is rich and full of national significance. The founding of Green River predates Wyoming's statehood by 22 years. Green River was founded when the area was still a part of the Dakota Territory in 1868.

Like many other towns across Southern Wyoming, Green River was founded during the race to unite the world's first transcontinental railroad. The railroad had the power to create a town along the route; 2,000 people resided in Green River when it was incorporated in 1868. Today, 2,000 people is still a good-sized town by Wyoming standards.

The railroad also had the power to destroy a town. There were many ghost towns left in Wyoming as the railroad moved on. Green River shrank to just 101 residents when the railroad moved its junction 12 miles west forming Bryan, WY, on the banks of the Blacks Fork River. Green River was on the verge of becoming a ghost town when a drought caused the Blacks Fork to run dry. Dependent on a water source, the railroad moved the junction back to Green River. Bryan became the ghost town while Green River became the Sweetwater County seat.

The junction turned out to be a major stopover point for passenger traffic on the railroad. Movie stars would stop in Green River to change trains on their way from Hollywood to Sun Valley, ID. Even today, every few minutes, a train rumbles through Green River, connecting one side of the United States to the other.

The ideal of Manifest Destiny is one we hold dear as Americans. That ideal and the spirit of exploration is rooted in the history of Green River. Major John Wesley Powell came to Green River in May of 1869 to launch an exploration trip. The goal was to map the entire Green and Colorado River basin for the first time. This voyage would end up being one of the most significant in American history. Major Powell lost his right arm serving his country as an Army officer during the Civil War. That did not stop him from leading nine men and four boats down the river in 1869 and again in 1871.

Previous to Powell's voyage, the area he would map was regarded as the last area of land in the continental United States that was unexplored. This all started in the town of Green River, which was less than a year old when the major departed on this first trip.

Major John Wesley Powell spoke passionately before he embarked. He spoke directly about the massive voyage he was about to undertake into the unknown. ``We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not, what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, Well! We may conjecture many things.'' His words live on today, not only to describe the voyage he was on, but to describe the voyage that the town of Green River was just beginning.

After the railroad helped establish Green River, other industries flourished. Sweetwater County became a major producer of coal and oil. A few years later, a mineral named trona would be discovered just outside Green River. The process and technology to refine trona into soda ash would drastically change the economy of Green River. The Green River Basin is now known as the Trona Capital of the World. It is a fact that the natural resources we have in Wyoming are a blessing.

Like Major John Wesley Powell said, ``We have an unknown river to explore and an unknown distance to cover.'' Over the past 150 years, the city of Green River has covered an impressive amount of distance down that unknown river.

As Green River marks 150 years of incorporation, I encourage my colleagues to join me in celebrating Green River's rich heritage and history that provides a truly wonderful experience to those who call it home.

Mr. President, as the Presiding Officer knows, President Trump has called on Congress to take up major infrastructure legislation. Passing an infrastructure bill would create jobs, grow our economy, and help keep families safe. Water infrastructure is a key part of the President's call.

Drinking water systems, dams, levees, ports, reservoirs, and waste water systems matter to just about every community in the country. Infrastructure is an essential part of everyday life. Infrastructure brings water into our homes and protects us from flooding caused by catastrophic storms, like the one we had this past week on the east coast.

Many of these aging water systems are in need of significant attention. Several need to be repaired or fully replaced, while other, long-awaited projects need to get started. The time to upgrade our water infrastructure is now.

Last week, committee leaders from the Senate and the House of Representatives reached a deal of historic proportion on comprehensive water infrastructure legislation--now passed in the House and awaiting passage in the Senate. The name of the consensus bill is ``America's Water Infrastructure Act.'' As the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I worked closely with Ranking Member Carper, Infrastructure Subcommittee Chairman Inhofe, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Cardin to reach this deal with the House. This is by far the most significant water infrastructure bill of this Congress and the most significant water infrastructure bill in decades. It is bipartisan, and it helps all 50 States.

The legislation does three big things: It grows the economy, it cuts Washington redtape, and it keeps communities safe. America's Water Infrastructure Act spurs economic growth by creating jobs and authorizing vital projects. This bill authorizes projects that deepen nationally significant ports, maintain inland shipping lanes, upgrade aging dams, and increase water storage in the arid West. These projects ensure that American-made goods can be shipped from the heartland to the coast and around the world.

Access to a consistent water supply is key for America's ranchers and farmers. They expect that their water will be delivered when they need it. Ranchers and farmers will directly benefit from this legislation, as crumbling irrigation systems will receive badly needed maintenance.

In my home State of Wyoming and across the West, water storage is a serious issue. This consensus bill will increase storage capacity and expand water reservoirs, such as the Fontenelle Reservoir in Wyoming.

The legislation cuts redtape by making it easier to get projects through the Army Corps of Engineers' process. It will give State and local leaders an increased role in prioritizing which Army Corps projects are built. When a local partner takes over an Army Corps of Engineers flood control project, that non-Federal partner will no longer need to worry about obtaining new permits. The bill mandates that the Army Corps transfer its authority to the local partner so new permits--and the time required to get them--will no longer be necessary.

We have also included important language to help smaller rural communities leverage Federal dollars so they can complete needed infrastructure projects. Leveraging Federal resources is an important component of President Trump's infrastructure plan. Federal programs, such as the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act, can give taxpayers the most bang for the buck. In the past, smaller rural communities have had trouble accessing these dollars. The language in our consensus bill will give these rural areas the chance to compete for these funds and be able to participate in this very successful program. Cutting redtape and increasing access to leveraging programs will help us get projects done faster, better, cheaper, and smarter.

Finally, the bipartisan agreement will help keep communities safe. The critical infrastructure projects included in this package will help prevent damaging flood waters by maintaining dams, levees, and beach fronts. It will also create a permanent program to prevent floods caused by ice jams like we saw in Worland, WY.

The legislation allows the Army Corps of Engineers to more effectively assist communities recovering from devastating storms and surging rivers.

This bill isn't just about flood prevention. It is the most significant drinking water legislation in decades. This bill invests in repairing aging drinking water systems. For the first time since 1996, Congress will authorize the Drinking Water State Revolving

Funds. These funds give States certainty that they can meet their drinking water needs.

The bill is also fiscally responsible. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said America's Water Infrastructure Act will authorize these important projects and reduce the deficit at the same time. America's Water Infrastructure Act has received broad bipartisan support from Democrats, Republicans, local governments, and stakeholders. It originally passed out of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee unanimously, by a vote of 21 to 0. After reaching this consensus agreement, the House of Representatives passed the updated bill unanimously by voice vote. Simply put, America's Water Infrastructure Act is good for the entire Nation.

President Trump called on Congress to pass major infrastructure legislation. America's Water Infrastructure Act answers that call. By reaching this bipartisan agreement, my home State of Wyoming and the Nation will see upgrades, reforms, and new initiatives that deliver on the President's commitment to rebuild our aging water system. Now is the time for the Senate to take up this important bill and send it to the President for his signature.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I also come to speak on this important piece of legislation and in favor of this important piece of legislation.

I just visited with Senator Collins, who knows--as so many Members of this body do--that I practiced medicine for a long time before coming to the Senate. I took care of a lot of Wyoming families as a practicing physician.

As a doctor, I often prescribed medication to help my patients fight disease and to improve their quality of life, so I know the importance of prescription medication. I also know the importance that pharmacists play in the lives of their patients as well because the same patients I am taking care of, the pharmacist is also caring for. In so many ways, the pharmacist has to be able to speak freely to their patients about information about their medications. Pharmacists are often that last line of defense when they place a call to the doctor's office to say: Mrs. Jones is here. By the way, you prescribed this, but don't forget that she is allergic to this medication, and there might be some interaction, or she is already on this medicine, or this patient is on that medicine.

Pharmacists provide vital and important roles to patients on a daily basis. It happens all around the country. They need to be able to speak freely about those things. They need to be able to speak freely about the things that can save a patient's life and also things that can save a patient money, and that is what this whole piece of legislation is about.

I know many patients fail to take medications that their doctors might prescribe because of the cost involved, the expense of the medicines. That is why I am so glad to see President Trump make it a priority to find ways to lower the costs that people pay for their medicine. The administration actually put out a blueprint for ways we could address drug costs.

Part of the plan was to eliminate the so-called pharmacy gag clauses. Pharmacists should not be gagged. They need to be able to talk with the patients, whether it is about drug interaction, the drug use, how to take it, how to use it properly, and the costs. These are important things for a pharmacist to be able to discuss.

These gag clauses are clauses that are sometimes included in contracts that are not between the patient and the pharmacist. They are contracts between a drug company and an insurance company. This needs to be stopped.

The gag clause says that if a patient brings a prescription to the drugstore to be filled, the pharmacist cannot talk about the cash price of the drug. It is not allowed. It is wrong.

Maybe someone had an insurance plan where their copay for the medicine, let's say, was $10, and the prescription they are filling actually cost them $5 if they paid in cash, but under the gag clause, the pharmacist is not allowed to say anything about it. Pharmacists need to be able to speak up. It

is important. It is important for the patient. It is important for the integrity of the process.

Right now, the pharmacist can't tell the patient: You know, you can save a little money if you just paid cash and you didn't bother to use the insurance along the way. The way things are now, the insurance company would collect its $10 copayment from the patient. They only have to pay $5 to the drug company and keep the rest, and the patient doesn't know anything about it. The patient is left in the dark because the pharmacist cannot share this important information with the patient. I believe it is wrong, and that is why I cosponsored the legislation that is on the floor right now.

The Trump administration has taken a close look at the situation, and they completely agreed. They said people should know if there is a simple way they can save money. As we vote on this legislation today, I am hoping Congress agrees.

Earlier this month, the Senate passed legislation that prohibits the gag clauses for Medicare plans, and that was the right thing to do. It passed unanimously, and I am so happy to see that. Today we are taking the next step. We are going beyond Medicare.

This legislation we are about to vote on eliminates the gag clauses in insurance plans that people get through their employer, through their work, or plans they buy on their own. It is not just Medicare that we took care of before, this takes it to the next step, giving the pharmacists the freedom to speak.

We are saying with a clear voice today that patients should be able to talk with their pharmacists and pharmacists should be able to talk with their patients to know if they are paying the lowest price for their medications.

I support this bill. I thank the Members who led this bipartisan effort. It was a privilege to work with Senator Collins, Senator Stabenow, Senator Cassidy, and Senator McCaskill, who was just on the floor, to get this done.

I appreciate your attention, Madam President, to this important piece of legislation. I look forward to voting to support it and getting it passed today and getting it down to the President for his signature.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, the Senate recently completed what was easily the most productive August in memory. We passed six appropriations bills with full debate on the Senate floor. We passed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. We confirmed 25 appointees to important jobs in the administration. We confirmed 17 Federal judges to the bench, and we set up votes for another 8 earlier this month.

When I was home in Wyoming, I talked to a number of people around the State, and they were pleased to see how much we are actually getting done. I can state that they absolutely think we should keep up this pace.

Maybe the most important thing that people expect us to deal with quickly is confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. I believe we are off to a good start with confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh, which were held last week in the Judiciary Committee.

What people who watched the hearings learned was that Judge Kavanaugh is well respected, mainstream, and a highly qualified individual for this important job. What people also saw is that some Members of the opposite party--the Democrats in the Senate--are totally unwilling to give him fair consideration.

Senators have been given access to more than 500,000 pages of records from his time as a judge and throughout his career in public service. That is three times the amount of information that any other Supreme Court nominee has ever produced. For some nominees of the Supreme Court, these kinds of documents are very important. They can tell us a lot about how a nominee thinks and about how he or she might approach the job of being a Justice. It is especially important when that person under consideration has never served as a judge before, and sometimes that is all we have to look at. But that is not the case with Judge Kavanaugh.

Judge Kavanaugh has served on the circuit court of appeals for 12 years, and he has written opinions in over 300 cases. If anyone wants to know what he will act like as a judge, then they can just look at how he has already acted as a judge for the past dozen years.

These documents, these opinions he wrote in the 300 cases on the court in which he is serving, are the documents that matter. They are the ones that tell us how he approaches being a judge. Senators have had access to these court opinions since the day Judge Kavanaugh was nominated 8 weeks ago. If Democrats would just take the time to read through these opinions, they would see that Judge Kavanaugh is extremely thoughtful and is independent. He is absolutely devoted to preserving the rule of law and protecting the separation of powers that is the basis of our Constitution. If Democrats don't want to read through all these documents and these decisions, well, they can focus on the 13 cases where the Supreme Court adopted Judge Kavanaugh's reasoning. That is how much respect other judges and Justices have for the careful and compelling decisions he has written.

One case dealt with a regulation put out by the Environmental Protection Agency. Judge Kavanaugh found that the Agency had exceeded its authority under the law when they wrote the regulation. Judge Kavanaugh wrote that ``it is not our job to make the policy choices and set the statutory boundaries, but it is emphatically our job to carefully but firmly enforce the statutory boundaries.''

The Supreme Court agreed with Judge Kavanaugh's reasoning.

One constitutional scholar pointed out that ``Judge Kavanaugh commands wide and deep respect among scholars, lawyers, judges, and justices.''

Another legal scholar said that Judge Kavanaugh is ``one of the most learned judges in America on a variety of issues, ranging from theories of statutory interpretation to separation of powers.''

A third law professor agreed. He called Judge Kavanaugh ``a true intellectual--a leading thinker and writer on the subjects of statutory interpretation and federal courts.''

Finally, if it is even too much for some Democratic Senators to read through all the glowing reviews of Judge Kavanaugh's career, they could just look at what he has actually said. Look at his own simple, straightforward summary of his judging philosophy. In a speech last year, he made it very clear. He said: ``The judge's job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or make policy.''

This view--that the judge's job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or make policy--and every example I have seen from Judge Kavanaugh's record is squarely in the mainstream of America's thinking today.

Despite all of this information being available, some Democrats are trying to say that they still want even more documents. They are hoping against hope that if they request another 500,000 pages, they can delay things a little longer. Well, let me assure you, it is not going to happen.

I think that most Democrats who have been making the most noise really don't want more documents. That is because so many of the Democrats complaining the loudest are the same ones who said that they have already made up their minds and made announcements that they are planning to vote against the nominee. Some were saying it before the nomination was even announced.

From the very beginning, liberal activists called on Senator Schumer to do everything in his power to keep this seat empty for as long as possible. There are several Senators on the other side of the aisle who have gladly taken up this challenge from the far left corners of their base.

I hope that more reasonable Democrats will reject the calls for needless delays and dangerous obstruction. I hope there are Democrats in the Senate who are willing to listen to what Judge Kavanaugh actually said during his hearing. I hope there are Democrats who are willing to read some of the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. I hope there are some Democrats who are willing to listen to the experts who are describing Judge Kavanaugh as ``one of the most learned judges'' in our country.

It is clear that Judge Kavanaugh has the right approach to being a judge. It is clear that he is a person of solid character and that he has a strong intellect. It is clear that America needs Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and that it is time for Democrats to give up this pointless obstruction.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.