Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon, Monday, February 13; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Mnuchin nomination as under the previous order.

Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, today I wish to remember Joe Bill Dearing, an Arkansan with a big heart who loved to tell a good story and was a legend in Hereford cattle breeding. He passed away on Monday, January 30, 2017, at the age of 88.

Joe was born in Harrison, AR. He married his high school sweetheart, Dennie, in 1947, and the couple pursued a career in farming at their Red Robin Farm.

Joe came from a family of farmers so his passion for the industry and dedication to his craft came as no surprise. He established a nationally recognized herd of Polled Hereford cattle and became an internationally recognized Hereford cattle breeder.

This success also earned them the recognition of ``Boone County Family Farm of the Year'' in 1973.

He took his expertise to Montana in 1978 to work in the cattle industry and was active on the national cattle show circuit, winning the award for national champion bull in 1994 and 1995.

After his decades of raising cattle, he could still remember in detail his prized animals. He was more than happy to share pictures and stories of his cattle.

Joe was a longtime member of the Union Baptist Church where he served as a deacon, church secretary, and treasurer.

The Dearings were so kind to my daughters when they were showing cows through 4-H. We spent countless hours with Joe and Dennie traveling all over the country, and we witnessed the great examples of integrity and character that defined their lives.

Joe Dearing left a lasting legacy. He was a beloved husband, friend, community member, and cattle rancher. I was proud to call him my friend, and in fact, he and Dennie always seemed more like family. He will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize MG Ron Chastain for his four decades of service to the State of Arkansas and to our Nation. For 32 years, he worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency and served for the last 6 years as my Agricultural Liaison in Arkansas. He has also enjoyed a distinguished military career in the Arkansas National Guard that spanned nearly four decades.

Ron was born and raised in Arkansas and graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in biology in 1972. In 1974, he began his career with the USDA. He was the supervisory program specialist in Arkansas and dealt with Federal farm programs at the county, district, and State levels. He is a recipient of the USDA Service to Agriculture Award and also received recognition for his suggestions that improved the administration of Federal farm programs.

At the same time, Major General Chastain was a dedicated member of the Army National Guard serving our State and Nation on weekends, evenings, and multiple overseas deployments. While in uniform, he honorably served as deputy commanding general for the Arkansas Army National Guard at the U.S. Army Forces Command, the adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard, as Chief of Staff, wartime, of U.S. Forces Korea, commander of the 39th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq, and commander of the 25th Rear Operations Center during Operation Desert Storm. A veteran of two wars, Major General Chastain was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and two Bronze Star medals. He has also been inducted into the distinguished Arkansas Military Veterans' Hall of Fame.

In 2010, ``the General'' retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard. Shortly thereafter, I called to congratulate him on his impressive military career, and during our conversation, he said he would be happy to help me in any way he could. I knew that he could bring his unique experience and expertise to help me represent the agriculture community in Arkansas, so I asked him to join my staff.

As a member of my team, Major General Chastain has been a professional

and tireless advocate on behalf of Arkansas' farmers and ranchers. The Arkansas Farm Bureau recently recognized his hard work and contribution to our State's agriculture community. Ron also educated thousands of young Arkansans about the history and proper care of the U.S. and Arkansas flags during his time with my office.

MG Ron Chastain dedicated his career to leading and serving others. I want to thank him for all that he has done on behalf of Arkansas, and I wish him well on his retirement. I know he will enjoy spending more time with his family and working on his farm. As a model public servant for so many years, his retirement and all the recognition he has garnered are well deserved.

Madam President, Senator Cotton and I would like to welcome Rabbi Barry Block and thank him for delivering the opening prayer to the Senate today. I am proud that he accepted our invitation to lead the Senate with his spiritual guidance.

Rabbi Block is the leader of B'nai Israel--Arkansas's largest Jewish congregation--a position he has held since 2013. I have gotten to know Rabbi Block and his dedication to his congregants through his annual visits to Washington with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He has served Reform Judaism as a member of the Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and chair of its Resolutions and Nominating Committee and as president of the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis.

Serving as the guest Chaplain is an incredible honor. Today he is joined by his sons Robert and Daniel. He wished to share this experience with his congregants as well. I enjoyed meeting yesterday with him and his confirmation students to hear about their concerns on a wide variety of social issues. I appreciate his prayer for our country and its leaders.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to former Arkansas State Senator Stanley Russ of Conway, AR.

Stanley Russ was born in Conway in 1930. He graduated from Conway High School in 1948 and went on to attend Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas State Teachers College, now the University of Central Arkansas, before earning a bachelor of science in education from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Russ also served his country in multiple ways, including in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954, where he completed officer candidate school. Later, he served as a company commander in the Arkansas National Guard. Russ was inducted into the U.S. Field Artillery OCS Hall of Fame at Fort Sill in 1995.

Senator Russ served in the Arkansas Senate from 1975 to 2000. He was the president pro tempore from 1995 to 1997 and served as the majority leader in 1997. During his time in public office, he was known as an advocate for public, private, and higher education.

Russ was named one of the Ten Outstanding State Legislators in the United States by the Assembly of State Government Employees in 1981. Four years later, he was honored for Distinguished Service by the Municipal League of Arkansas. He was elected into the Arkansas Tech University Hall of Distinction in 1994 and the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2000.

Stanley Russ was a beloved public servant who devoted his life to Arkansas. He was a leader who worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and didn't care who got the credit as long as the goal was accomplished. Stanley showed kindness and consideration to everyone who approached him. I sincerely appreciate his devotion to our State and its citizens.

He will be greatly missed by all. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time.

Mr. President, on the same week that the President released his national strategy, a pilot in the Royal Jordanian Air Force was burned alive by radical Islamists.

While the administration was putting the finishing touches on this document, the propaganda wing of ISIS was busy too. The jihadist group was pumping out a video of this latest act of horrific brutality.

ISIS represents one of the biggest threats to peace of an already unstable region. These terrorists are committed to establishing a new caliphate ruled by shari'a law where all would be forced to convert or die. They are committed to destroying all who stand in their way. If anyone embodies radical Islam, it is ISIS.

Given the severity of the threat posed by ISIS, not to mention continuing efforts of Al Qaeda to strike again, you would think a plan to take on radical Islam would be a focal part of the President's national security plan. It is not. In fact, there is no mention of radical Islam in the document at all.

What is mentioned instead is global warming. Yes, global warming is discussed in the President's national security strategy, but not radical Islamic extremism. Apparently that is not a threat to the United States. The President and his advisers have stood by this senseless narrative.

In a lengthy interview with Vox, the President essentially blamed the media for overhyping the threat of terrorism. He went on to say that terrorism sells because it is ``all about the ratings,'' and climate change is ``a hard story for the media to tell on a day-to-day basis.''

Yesterday the White House spokesman was pressed on this very issue and refused to accept the premise that terrorist groups such as ISIS pose a ``greater clear and present danger'' than global warming. So you can see the disconnect that exists within the administration. But it doesn't end with just this document.

The President's budget proposal for the Department of Homeland Security would allocate tens of millions of dollars to protect against climate change. It does so by failing to dedicate funds for communities to identify and disrupt homegrown terror, despite the fact that ISIS is recruiting foreign fighters at a clip never seen before. While the majority of them are from the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reports that upwards of 20,000 foreign fighters have joined ISIS in the past 2 years.

The group's savvy use of social media and its highly orchestrated propaganda campaign has appealed to Westerners as well, bringing thousands of jihadists with passports that allow them to travel with ease to ISIS-controlled territory. Where they will ultimately take the deadly skills they learned in Iraq and Syria remains to be seen. These foreign fighters could return home or even come to the United States, giving ISIS the ability to strike on American soil. The recent attacks in Paris serve as a vivid reminder that the reach of radical Islam extends far beyond the jihadi fighters on the ground in Iraq and in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Democrats in this Chamber, at the behest of the President, are holding up the House-passed DHS appropriations bill. Senate Democrats voted three times to filibuster the House-passed Department of Homeland Security funding bill last week. Their objection is that it withholds funding from the President's unconstitutional Executive actions on immigration. They are holding up the entire bill and threatening to shut down DHS to protect the President's priority-- not because the funding is too low or because the programs need reforms. Their complaint is that the President is not getting what he wants.

I encourage them to relent on their filibuster so we can debate the bill, make changes if the Chamber sees fit, and send it to the President. If the President truly wants immigration reform, then do it the right way and work with Congress to get it done. Don't go about it on your own unconstitutionally and then threaten to shut down a department charged with protecting Americans. It is out of touch, but it is not the first time this administration's priorities have been at odds with those of the American people.

The President once characterized ISIS as the JV team. This is no JV team. As the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee noted, ISIS is the ``largest convergence of Islamist terrorists in history'' that has created a ``pseudo-state dead set on attacking America.''

Preventing ISIS from achieving its goals takes a clear, forceful security strategy both abroad and at home. What the President has put forward is neither.

With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, on February 21, 2015, the city of Clinton, AR will gather for a memorial service for Corporal C.G. Bolden who was killed in action in Korea in 1951.

The service will coincide with the return of his remains for proper burial, over 60 years after he left Clinton to fight in the Korean war.

As a member of the Army Reserve, Corporal Bolden was called upon to serve shortly after the Korean war started. He had been in theater for only a few months when his family back in Clinton received a telegram with terrible news; Corporal Bolden was missing in action.

For the next 64 years, his wife, Geraldean Johnson, would await his return. In the days and months following that telegram, Geraldean would check the paper for news and sneak off to a quiet place to pray for her husband's return.

Corporal Bolden--a light weapons infantryman in Company C, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division--was taken prisoner by the enemy on January 5, 1951 and died as a prisoner of war on April 30, 1951.

Last month, upon learning his remains had been positively identified, Geraldean recounted to KARK news in Little Rock how her husband would often appear in her dreams over the six decades. ``Those dreams would say he is coming home this time, this is really it,'' she told the reporter.

Corporal Bolden was just 22 years old when he was captured while fighting the enemy in South Korea. He was marched to a prison camp just south of Pyongyang in what his wife told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette she heard was ``the coldest weather there ever was.''

About 15 years ago, the military asked for and obtained DNA from Corporal Bolden's remaining siblings to aid in efforts to identify his remains. Last December, the Army contacted Geraldean to notify her of a DNA match. Corporal Bolden became the fifth Arkansan who had disappeared during the Korean war to be identified.

Corporal Bolden was posthumously awarded the Prisoner of War Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

I am grateful that after all these years Corporal Bolden will finally be reunited with his wife, son, and other family members. I appreciate the work of those at the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command who helped identify Corporal Bolden. Most of all, we are grateful for Corporal Bolden's service.

Mr. President, this Saturday, February 7, 2015, members of the Hempstead County community will gather for a memorial service for MSG James William Holt of Hope, AR, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968.

The service will take place on the 47th anniversary of Master Sergeant Holt's heroic actions and will coincide with the return of his remains for proper burial.

In the early morning hours of February 7, 1968, the North Vietnamese Army launched a massive, coordinated tank and infantry assault on the Special Forces Camp at Lang Vei that created numerous casualties among the troops defending the base.

As a Special Forces medic, Master Sergeant Holt raced around the compound, while under heavy fire, to administer aid to the wounded and move them to safety. His valiant actions during the assault did not end there.

While not a weapons specialist, Master Sergeant Holt nonetheless was a professional Special Operations soldier who knew how to fire every weapon in that camp accurately and effectively. He was also a decisive leader who took charge of a silent 106 mm recoilless rifle and brought it to life, destroying three enemy tanks before running out of ammunition.

Master Sergeant Holt then supplied himself with light anti-tank weapons and charged into the face of the enemy, single-handedly attacking the tank formation, and allowing time for his brothers-in- arms to fight their way to safety. When two enemy tanks broke through the perimeter, Master Sergeant Holt delivered deadly fire on them, scoring a direct hit on one of the armored vehicles.

The Battle of Lang Vei was a short, but costly battle that could have even worse for American forces if it were not for Master Sergeant Holt's heroics. For his acts of bravery, Master Sergeant Holt was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action and the Purple Heart.

I was at the ceremony in 2013 when Master Sergeant Holt was posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame and I wish I could be onhand when the community honors him this weekend. These tributes will help ensure Master Sergeant Holt's remarkable story of bravery and selfless sacrifice forever lives on.

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

Mr. President, on March 21, 2010, Deborah Johnson of Sherwood, AR, answered a call no parent should ever receive. Her son, 23-year-old Army Private Jeremy Andrew Johnson, was dead from a drug overdose.

Private Johnson was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his deployment to Afghanistan. Deborah said she thought he was getting the proper care he needed during the transition out of the military, but when she received a goodbye text from him, she knew he needed more help.

The family made his commanders aware of his suicidal thoughts and Private Johnson was put on suicide watch. Three days later Deborah answered that horrible call.

Deborah shared her family's story with me in hopes that other families can be spared the anguish of losing a loved one to mental illness.

Deborah understands Congress has an opportunity to deliver help to veterans living with mental illness and prevent suicides by passing the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. This legislation would improve mental health care and suicide prevention resources for veterans by increasing access to mental health programs, providing incentives to recruit and retain psychiatrists to treat veterans and enhancing resources for members of the military transitioning to civilian life.

The VA estimates 22 veterans commit suicide every day. This trend is tragic and it is unacceptable. We need to provide the VA with the personnel, services, and proper tools to help veterans facing mental illness struggles. These invisible injuries are why we struggle to identify at-risk individuals.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, my colleagues and I are working to fully understand the scope of mental illness in our veteran community. In the meantime, we are paving the way for improvements.

Two weeks ago the Veterans' Affairs Committee met for its first order of business in the 114th Congress--approving the Clay Hunt SAV Act. I am proud to say the committee approved this bill with a bipartisan vote of 15 to 0. Our veterans deserve this care.

The VA needs to evaluate its mental health programs using metrics common to mental health practitioners to determine the success of its programs. This legislation will do that. It will help the VA more efficiently use the taxpayer funding it receives to support the programs most effective for our veterans.

The House approved this bill in January and I am confident the Senate will follow its lead. Deborah Johnson says she wishes Congress would have taken up legislation to improve mental health services years ago. As the President of the Arkansas chapter of Gold Star Mothers, Deborah hears similarities from other families who have suffered a loss because of suicide. She admits that a one-size-fits-all approach

will not adequately address mental health struggles, but she is hopeful the Clay Hunt SAV Act will help prevent other families from suffering the pain hers lives with.

We owe it to Deborah and others like her who have lost loved ones to this battle, as well as servicemembers and veterans coping with mental health issues, to make this one of the first bills the 114th Congress sends to President Obama to sign.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

No, No. I thank the Senator. Everything is fine. We appreciate the Senator, as always.

Mr. President, I wish to take a few moments to honor a true champion of veterans, retired Lt. Col. Steve Gray, who is set to retire from public service at the end of this month after nearly 16 years of helping his fellow veterans in Arkansas.

Since I came to Washington 13 years ago, Steve has served on my staff advocating for the needs of servicemembers and veterans across the Nation.

He has been a trusted aide whose reputation in Arkansas's veterans community is second to none. His passion and advocacy has resulted in better service offerings at veterans facilities across Arkansas. It is reflected in the lives that he has helped make better by solving an individual's problems at the VA.

If Steve was able to track down military medals a veteran earned but never received, those medals weren't just dropped in the mail. Steve would crisscross the State, personally delivering them, dressed in his Air Force blues, and present them with the stories of the veteran's time in service.

A veteran himself, Steve served honorably in the Air Force as a tactical air controller, with assignments as director of operations and commander in Virginia, Vietnam, California, Utah, Florida, Colorado, Kansas, and Iceland.

He also served as national director for the National Guard recruiting, retention, and advertising at the Pentagon. His final assignment before retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel was in Germany where he served as an adviser to the commander and chief of the Air Force in Europe.

Along with the work he does in an official capacity, Steve is active in a number of veterans service organizations, including the American Legion and the Wounded Warrior Program.

He has served as vice president of the Arkansas Council of Military Officers Association of America.

I am excited for Steve as he embarks on the next chapter of his life, but we are losing a fantastic advocate for Arkansas veterans. However, I know that my staff will continue to provide the best possible service to Arkansas's veterans as we have the blueprint on how to do it right, thanks to Steve. He has literally set the gold standard on how to deliver for veterans.

I know also that in retirement Steve does not mean to fade from sight. Steve is not the slowing-down type of personality. Certainly he will take some time to travel with his wife Sharon in their retired life. But along with the relaxation, Steve has grand plans to travel the country singing at veterans retirement homes, and he intends to stay active with the Arkansas Veterans Coalition. This is his calling, his passion, and I am quite certain Steve will continue to work with the veterans community for years to come.

Thank you, Steve, for your service in uniform, your dedication to your fellow veterans, and most of all thank you for your friendship.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Senate passed a resolution that I was proud to cosponsor recognizing this week as National School Choice Week.

As a former school board member, I understand that State and local governments are best equipped to make education decisions for their communities--not Washington. Students and parents deserve to choose the education that meets their needs. I am committed to empowering parents with the ability to choose the best education options for their children.

I asked Arkansans to share with me why school choice is important to them. Crystal Holland of Beebe wrote to me about her son, Hunter, who has high-functioning autism. She wrote that he was misdiagnosed with ADHD when he was 4 years old and diagnosed with autism when he was 11 years old. ``He missed out on some very important critical skills because of all the discipline problems he was having due to anxiety,'' Holland wrote. ``School choice allows me to homeschool him as a result and I am very thankful for the opportunity.''

Bob and Mary Anne Fielder of Hot Springs included competition in their email to me. ``Competition is always good. You would see a much improved public school system,'' they wrote.

I agree with the Fielders. Competition among schools improves the standards for everybody. This Congress

we will take important steps to improve education nationwide by fixing No Child Left Behind. This is a key vehicle to providing flexibility to States and to families so they can make the choices about education opportunities for their children.

This week I skyped with students at public charter schools across Arkansas. The students said having educational options was important to them because it allows them to be better prepared for their interests beyond high school graduation.

I am proud to support National School Choice Week and the outstanding educational choices that Arkansas offers. When it comes to education, it is important that we get the job done right. Allowing the freedom to choose between educational options for children is one way we can help parents make the best decision for their children's futures.

Mr. President, I wish to honor the life and legacy of Rogers Police Chief James Allen, who passed away on Thursday after a long battle with cancer.

After more than three decades of public service, Chief Allen was well respected in the law enforcement community across Arkansas. He was a dedicated leader who devoted his life to law enforcement.

Chief Allen graduated from Arkansas State University with a degree in criminal justice. Following graduation he joined the Jacksonville Police Department and within a few short years was named the captain of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office. Chief Allen was the youngest police chief to serve on the Bentonville Police Force, a position which he held for 22 years. During his time at the helm of the Bentonville Police Department, Chief Allen graduated from the FBI National Academy. In 2011, he became the Rogers police chief.

I am greatly appreciative for Chief Allen's continued service over the years to Arkansas and Rogers, the community I call home. Chief Allen was a man of the law, and he was always looking for opportunities to improve the resources for his staff and the community by applying for grants. I was happy to help support his endeavors.

I pray for his family and friends during this trying time, and I hope they find comfort knowing that Chief Allen touched so many lives in the State. He will be missed but leaves a lasting legacy.

Mr. President, tonight we will gather in the House Chamber to listen to the President's State of the Union Address. This will be the first time in Barack Obama's Presidency that he delivers a State of the Union Address to a Republican-led House and Senate. Some see this as a prescription for gridlock. Others, including myself, see this as an opportunity for the executive branch and the legislative branch to work together to actually get some things done. There is recent precedent that shows this arrangement can work. In fact, it is a period of our history where an Arkansan played a huge role.

During the final 6 years of Bill Clinton's Presidency, he faced the same situation as our current President. He worked with Republicans to reform the welfare system. He worked with Republicans to balance the budget--an accomplishment that hasn't been repeated since. He worked with Congress--not tried to go around them.

Now, I don't expect us to always agree. There are stark ideological differences between President Obama and our Republican majority for which there is really no agreement to be had without one side or the other abandoning their principles, and certainly I do not intend to do that. I don't see the President doing that either. What I do hope is that the President will find common ground with not only Congress but the American people. When that happens, work gets done here.

Even in the last Congress, with a Democratic majority in the Senate blocking almost everything in an effort to protect President Obama, we still had flashes of bipartisan agreement. We agreed on the new farm bill, which

ensures the continued safety, affordability, and reliability of our food supply while achieving real savings in Federal spending. We reformed the VA to address the horrific wait times our veterans face while trying to receive the health care they earned. And we passed a spending agreement that brings discretionary spending to its lowest level in almost a decade and has a number of provisions that adhere to conservative principles.

Both parties did not get everything they wanted in any of these instances, but the final product was the result of individuals coming from different starting points and arriving at the same finish line. That is what the American people want, but that takes an honest commitment from all parties involved.

One way the President can show he is really ready to work with Congress is to abandon his misguided plan to circumvent Congress and grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. I anticipate that President Obama will try tonight, once again, to defend his actions by blaming Congress for not passing immigration reform. The truth is everyone in this Chamber is eager to tackle immigration reform.

The President is acting unilaterally because he knows Congress does not support his amnesty proposal. He knows the final product of our work will not include that provision. So he intends to go around Congress to get his way. Now the President seems intent to dig his heels in deeper by threatening to veto our efforts to defund his actions. This is just one of the veto threats President Obama has already issued just weeks into the new Congress. This start doesn't bode well for bipartisanship.

I hope tonight's speech is light on the veto threats and heavy on the areas where we can find common agreement. I think those are plentiful, and I sincerely believe it is possible.

A fair and simple tax system, creating jobs, and making Washington more efficient, effective and accountable--these are the issues that Americans want us to address and areas where compromise is possible. That is where our focus should be and what the country wants--not just what the President wants.

If everyone comes to the table ready to work, I think we can surprise everyone with what we can achieve. But it will take Presidential leadership. An Arkansan showed it can be done. President Obama should look to the example of President Clinton for how to move forward and to work with a Republican Congress.

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