Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, September 10, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, September 14; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, at 5:30 p.m., the cloture motion with respect to the Byrne nomination ripen; finally, notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 423, H.R. 3633 ripen on Tuesday, September 15, at 2:15 p.m.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar No. 877 and all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Marine Corps; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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

Mr. President, today I recognize Nathan Fairholm, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Nathan is a graduate of Vermillion High School in Vermillion, SD. Currently, he is attending Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, where he is pursuing a degree in political science. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Nathan for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Tyler Groen, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Tyler is a graduate of Brandon Valley High School in Brandon, SD, and a recent graduate of South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, having earned a degree in human biology. Next year, Tyler plans to attend medical school. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Tyler for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Walker Larson, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Walker is a graduate of Aberdeen Christian School in Aberdeen, SD. Currently, he is attending Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, where he is pursuing a degree in history. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Walker for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, the Senate resume legislative session and proceed to consideration of H.R. 5334; further, that the only amendments in order be the following to be offered by the sponsor or their designee and with 2 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to each vote and up to 5 minutes under the control of Senator Graham prior to the vote on passage: Graham-Blumenthal No. 6711, Graham No. 6712, and Paul No. 6715; further, that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote in relation to the Paul amendment, if offered, and upon disposition of the Paul amendment, the Graham-Blumenthal amendment, as amended, if amended, be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage; finally, if passed, the Graham amendment to title No. 6712 be agreed to; that the title, as amended, be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; further, following disposition of H.R. 5334, the Senate resume executive session and vote on confirmation of the nominations en bloc; finally, that the cloture motion with respect to amendment No. 6732 to H.R. 6500 ripen following disposition of the nominations en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, the Senate resume legislative session and proceed to consideration of H.R. 5334; further, that the only amendments in order be the following to be offered by the sponsor or their designee and with 2 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to each vote and up to 5 minutes under the control of Senator Graham prior to the vote on passage: Graham-Blumenthal No. 6711, Graham No. 6712, and Paul No. 6715; further, that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote in relation to the Paul amendment, if offered, and upon disposition of the Paul amendment, the Graham-Blumenthal amendment, as amended, if amended, be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage; finally, if passed, the Graham amendment to title No. 6712 be agreed to; that the title, as amended, be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; further, following disposition of H.R. 5334, the Senate resume executive session and vote on confirmation of the nominations en bloc; finally, that the cloture motion with respect to amendment No. 6732 to H.R. 6500 ripen following disposition of the nominations en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions which are at the desk: S. Res. 836, S. Res. 837, S. Res. 838, S. Res. 839, and S. Res 840.

Mr. President, this resolution concerns a request for evidence related to an investigation of an individual who made a threat against Senator Elizabeth Warren in a communication sent to the Senator's office. The U.S. attorney's office investigating the matter is seeking employee testimony from Senator Warren's office for use in its investigation and in any future legal proceedings arising in this matter. The Senator would like to cooperate with this request by providing relevant employee testimony from her office.

This resolution would authorize employees in the office of Senator Warren to provide relevant testimony in this investigation and any future legal proceedings in this matter, with representation by the Senate legal counsel.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Friday, August 7; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the nominations en bloc pursuant to S. Res. 817 postcloture; further, notwithstanding rule XXII, at 11:30 a.m. the Senate proceed to legislative session and execute the order in relation to H.R. 5334; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Friday's session of the Senate, that the motions to reconsider be made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

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

Mr. President, America's farmers and ranchers got some good news at the end of last week. After a lot of hard work from members of the Agriculture Committee, Chairman Boozman released the text of a 5-year farm bill, which is slated for a markup tomorrow, and it will, I hope, be headed soon to the floor.

As someone who hails from an ag State who has been part of the drafting of now five farm bills, I know how important the farm bill is and how much work goes into getting it right. As I made clear at the start of this Congress, America's farmers and ranchers are a priority for this Senate majority. That started last year with the Working Families Tax Cuts, which strengthened the farm safety net, bolstered critical farm programs, and delivered tax relief to America's agriculture producers, including relief from the unfair death tax and making the 199A deduction permanent. It continues this year with this farm bill, which builds on the important measures in the Working Families Tax Cuts in order to give farmers and ranchers certainty into the future.

After the Working Families Tax Cuts raised reference prices last year, this farm bill makes further improvements to commodity programs as well as crop insurance--cornerstones of the farm safety net. It modernizes farm loan programs to get America's next generation of farmers and ranchers off to a strong start, and it strengthens other programs that producers depend on. It improves the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program, so it covers the cost of hauling feed or water and opens the program to producers dealing with

drought or other adverse weather conditions.

It includes my CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act, which will make the Conservation Reserve Program a more working lands-oriented option for producers. CRP plays a very significant role in South Dakota's economy by helping to provide habitat for pheasants, but producers in my State have been frustrated for years with how the program is managed--in particular by the fact that its restrictions on land use can be excessive. That is why I introduced the CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act.

My bill allows grazing options, including fencing and water distribution, on all CRP acres. On top of that, it increases the annual CRP payment limits for the first time in the program's 40-year history. This bill will make CRP an attractive option for more producers and open up access for livestock forage in drought conditions.

The farm bill also includes a number of bills I have worked on that make it easier for producers to do business and get their products to market.

It includes a bill that I worked on with Senators Grassley, Klobuchar, and Baldwin that establishes reporting requirements on fertilizer prices, which will bring more transparency to the fertilizer marketplace by helping producers to make more informed and cost- effective choices for their operations.

Another bill of my mine, the Promoting Precision Agriculture Act, will facilitate the creation of industry-led, voluntary standards for precision ag technology that will help more farmers adopt this promising tool.

My Strengthening Local Processing Act gives smaller processors access to critical information and allows more meat products approved by a State inspector to be sold across State lines.

The farm bill is about more than just what happens on a farm or a ranch; it also supports America's rural communities. That includes water infrastructure, rural development, and healthcare, among other critical services. It also includes our continued effort to provide broadband in unserved communities, and I am pleased that this bill will help ensure that broadband dollars are going to communities that need it in places where 90 percent or more of the residents lack access to basic internet services.

There is a lot more I could talk about with this bill--a lot more. This is a bill that will provide real support and certainty for America's farmers and ranchers. That is good news for all Americans who depend on our hard-working producers for food, fuel, and fiber.

Fuel is the final thing I want to discuss this morning. For decades, the seasonal sale of E15 has been a win-win for America's farmers and for the American people. It has strengthened the agriculture economy while providing the American people with an affordable source of homegrown energy.

For many years, it has been a priority for me and for many of my colleagues here to allow E15 to be sold all year. It has taken a lot of work to get here, but I am very proud that this farm bill delivers permanent--permanent--year-round E15. This is something that is going to further help producers and help bring down fuel costs for all Americans.

I want to thank Chairman Boozman as well as Senators Daines, Capito, and Fischer for all of their hard work on this issue. I am looking forward to getting it across the finish line.

I spend a lot of time with farmers and ranchers back home in South Dakota, and they have talked to me about the uncertainty and the headwinds they face. I have listened to their priorities and made them my own. As I said, America's farmers and ranchers are a priority for this Senate majority, and with the Working Families Tax Cuts and now this farm bill, we are making real progress on the challenges facing our producers. But, of course, our work is never finished. There will be more to do in the future to support and strengthen American agriculture, and America's producers can be confident that their needs will always be at the top of my list.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the motion to proceed.

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 6732.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk to amendment No. 6732.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I have an amendment to the underlying bill at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I move to commit the bill to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be dispensed with.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to commit with instructions.

Mr. President, I have an amendment to the instructions.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be waived.

I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.

Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask consent that the reading be waived.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk with respect to amendment No. 6732.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk with respect to Calendar No. 320, H.R. 6500.