Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I rise to discuss the positive impact the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on Iowa farmers.

Of course, our Iowa agricultural economy is really important, and those men and women who are serving as farmers, ranchers, and growers in the State of Iowa mean the world to me, coming from a farm my family had in Southwest Iowa.

We all understand this has been a very challenging time for farmers in our rural communities. The community I come from in Southwest Iowa has just 10,000 people in our county. Many of them have faced the challenges of the economic downturn. Since their peaks in 2012, corn prices have declined by 60 percent and soybean prices have declined by 47 percent. My neighbors are hurting, folks. Farm income has nearly been cut in half since 2013.

A lot of our producers are hurting, especially our young and beginning farmers who have gotten their start just in maybe the last 10 years or so, but, fortunately for our farmers, our ranchers, and our growers, tax relief is on its way. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will provide sweeping tax cuts for farmers and rural communities, allowing our producers to keep more of those hard-earned dollars.

About 95 percent of farms are organized as passthrough businesses, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corps. These businesses are taxed under individual tax rules and will benefit from lower tax rates for every income bracket. On top of that, they will see significant relief through a new 20-percent deduction on passthrough business income. The law also provides relief from the costly individual mandate which forced many farmers to choose between buying an expensive ObamaCare plan through their State exchange or being fined.

Now, just a couple of years ago, I remember a very intense conversation I had with a beginning farmer in Northeast Iowa. When he was purchasing his insurance through the State exchange, the cost had more than doubled. He was shaking he was so upset about it, and he explained to me the additional cost of that individual policy was his truck payment. There was no room in his budget for the additional cost of that insurance policy so he had to make that choice: Do I purchase through the individual exchange or do I make my truck payment? Fortunately, within this bill, we have that relief. He can make that choice, and the choice is his on whether he makes that truck payment and forgoes the insurance or whether now he can do without that type of insurance and not be fined because he was too poor to afford it.

In addition, the bill dramatically expands section 179 expensing and allows 5 years of 100 bonus depreciation. Both of these changes will foster much needed investment in farms throughout Iowa.

The law also preserves a number of important tax provisions for farmers, including the interest deduction, cash accounting, and the use of like-kind exchanges for property.

Last, but certainly not least, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubles the Federal estate tax exemption while preserving the stepped-up basis. The death tax can have a devastating impact on family farms. Over 90 percent of farm assets cannot be sold easily without losing value. Especially as we continue to experience a downturn in that ag economy, family farmers are sometimes left with no choice but to sell land or the equipment they use to farm that land when they are forced to pay that tax.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a big step in the right direction for agriculture. I am thankful to the President for his leadership and to my colleagues in the Senate and the House for helping get this long- needed bill done. On behalf of agriculture, thank you.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, thank you very much.

Mr. President, I appreciate the point made by the Senator from South Dakota, and I am glad to join in this conversation this afternoon.

About a decade ago, the worst economic recession since the Great Depression devastated our middle class households and families across the country. In its aftermath, our economy consistently underachieved.

Last year, the United States saw less than a 2-percent increase in the amount of goods and services we produce. The reason is our stagnant economy, which suffers from an outdated tax system that stifles economic growth through high tax rates and an unreasonable compliance burden. Small businesses, which I am partial to because they make up about 97 percent of employers in Iowa, are taxed as much as 44.6 percent on their profits. Every year, these job creators spend over $18 billion just to comply with Federal tax laws and regulations.

Middle-class families and individuals around this country need some relief. By streamlining our cumbersome tax system and eliminating loopholes that primarily benefit the wealthy, Congress has an opportunity to lower tax rates for middle and lower income wage earners. Likewise, by creating a more competitive tax system for businesses, we can foster greater growth and investment in the United States and boost wages for more Iowans.

Tax reform also provides Congress with an opportunity to lead by example and offer up its own unnecessary tax break. That is why I introduced the Stop Questionable, Unnecessary, and Excessive Allowances for Legislators Act, also known as the SQUEAL Act. This legislation would eliminate a provision of the Tax Code that allows Members of Congress to deduct up to $3,000 annually in living expenses that they incur while in Washington, DC. As we seek to achieve the ultimate goal of lowering rates for families and small businesses, Congress should start by eliminating handouts to our politicians.

It is long overdue for our country to pursue a simpler tax code that provides much needed relief for hard-working Iowans and that puts our economy back on track. I look forward to working with my colleagues on a path forward that reduces the burden of a complicated tax system--the burden that is placed upon our families, our hard-working individuals, and our small businesses.

With that, I will turn the floor back over to the distinguished Member from South Dakota, and I thank him for accommodating the Members of our class. We are hopeful that we will be able to move forward with smart, effective tax reform.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor an Iowan who served bravely during the Vietnam war as an Active-Duty nurse and spent nearly three decades in the Army Reserves.

LTC Marta Ford grew up in the small town of Killduff in Iowa's Jasper County. Her father was a World War II veteran who served as a bombardier, flying missions over Europe. She decided to join the Army Nurse Corps at the age of 19, while still in nursing school. Ford underwent basic training in 1966 at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Then, she was stationed at Fort Lee in Virginia. Ford served as an Active Duty member of the Army Nurse Corps until 1969 and remained in the Army Reserves until 1975. She rejoined the Reserves in 1980 and served until retirement in 2004.

Currently, Ford serves her local community as chair of the Jasper County Commission of Veterans Affairs. In 2013, Ford became the first female commander at the American Legion Post 111 in Newton, IA.

She is just one of the many women and Iowans who served our Nation during the Vietnam war era. All those who honorably served deserve our thanks for their service to our country. I ask my colleagues to join me as I proudly recognize LTC Marta Ford, an Iowan who dedicated her life to service and sacrifice on behalf of this great Nation.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor a living example of an American hero. MSG Owen Lawler has spent a lifetime in service, committing nearly three decades to defending U.S. national security at home and abroad.

Owen began his military service as an infantryman with the Iowa National Guard in 1990 and attended basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia. He entered Active service in 1993 and served in the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, among other roles. In 1999, Owen was selected for special forces training, and in 2001 he was assigned 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Shortly after the 9/ 11 attacks, Owen participated in the invasion of Afghanistan and went on to serve four more tours in Iraq. In 2009, Owen was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, where he served as a team sergeant for a special forces A-team. During his assignment as the senior sergeant on a special forces detachment, Owen led his team on three tours to Afghanistan until being seriously wounded. In 2013, Owen was selected to serve as first sergeant for the headquarters company of the advanced skills training battalion at Fort Bragg. After an extremely admirable career serving his country, Owen will retire on October 30, 2017.

Owen received multiple awards during his 27 years with the Armed Forces, including the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Korea Service Medal.

I ask my colleagues to join me as I proudly recognize the service and the sacrifice of MSG Owen Lawler, a dear friend, patriot, and American hero.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be up to 20 minutes of debate, equally divided, under the control of Senators McCain and Reed, following the first vote this evening.

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

Mr. President, throughout my time as a Senator, I have heard our Service Chiefs testify time and again to the hollowing of America's military as a result of insufficient and unpredictable funding. Simultaneously, external dangers have grown in size and scope.

Sadly, for the first time in decades, we are forced to confront not one but multiple existential threats to the American way of life. An expressive Russia, expanding China, nuclear North Korea, nefarious Iran, and relentless global terror networks put our lives and the lives of future generations at risk.

America is once again in crisis. Inaction, obstruction, or partial commitment are not options. This year's National Defense Authorization Act provides us an opportunity to fulfill our duty--to provide America's soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardsmen the tools they need to accomplish all we demand.

I find it particularly fitting that this bill came to the floor the week of September 11, an anniversary of unparalleled adversity but also one of national unity. On that day, and the days that followed 16 years ago, the best of America eclipsed the evil of terror. We came together for the sake of our security, demonstrating to the world America's resilience.

There is no greater symbol of that resilience than those who serve in uniform. Secretary Mattis reminded us of that on Monday when he said: ``The men and women of America's armed forces have signed a blank check to protect the American people and to defend the constitution, a check payable with their lives.''

The least the Senate can do in return is authorize and prioritize congressional efforts to keep faith with that promise. At the same time, we are under no obligation to fund overbudget, behind-timeline defense programs with a blank check of their own. To the contrary, we have an oversight obligation to the American taxpayers, those in and out of uniform, to ensure proper stewardship of their hard-earned dollars.

That is why I, along with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee, crafted and passed unanimously the bill before you. In it, we have prescribed a clear and comprehensive plan to rebuild our military to decisively deter or defeat any adversary. However, we are also holding the Department accountable for each dollar it spends.

For my part, as a member of the Armed Services Committee and chair

of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, I focused on three priorities.

First, I supported our troops and their families by making senior enlisted pay scales commensurate with job requirements, by combating sexual assault and retaliation, and by facilitating Federal direct hiring authority for military spouses. I extended that support to the battlefield by promoting enhanced standards for things like parachutes, aircraft life support systems, and counterdrone technologies.

Second, I advanced policy initiatives to increase cooperation with international partners, to codify a more comprehensive counterterror strategy, and to reaffirm America's support for our European friends by putting Russia on notice for its aggression in Ukraine and Crimea.

Finally, I included measures to optimize existing institutions, such as our National Guard's cyber capabilities, and to ease regulatory burdens, so the best ideas and products from our universities and private companies can bolster national security at a lower cost. I have led important efforts to hold DOD accountable by requiring enhanced program management standards and by joining Senators Grassley and Perdue in demanding that the Department finally meet its 26-year overdue statutory obligation to complete a clean audit.

Colleagues, let's be clear--no one wants America's military to be our first or only option, but we must also acknowledge this truth: It is fundamental to our security that a ready military remains an option. The fiscal year 2018 NDAA is a vital step toward providing that security. Seeing it through to fruition as part of a larger effort to reassert our ``power of the purse'' is the next step. There will be time to debate nondefense policies and budgets later, and as legislators, our job is to have these very debates.

Let's take the first step now. I urge all of my colleagues to support the NDAA. Follow through in the months ahead. Fulfill our obligation to realize its goal. We can do no less.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Ken Hockycko, a fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the year.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the distinguished accomplishment of Mr. Zane Hehnke of Winterset, IA, a 2017 finalist for the NFIB Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Mr. Hehnke, of Winterset, IA, is the founder and owner of Inspired Finds, an interior design company which specializes in designing and creating accents using vintage and antique items.

I ask my colleagues to join me as I proudly recognize Mr. Hehnke on his outstanding achievements. We wish him nothing but the best in his future entrepreneurial and academic pursuits.

Mr. President, no choice and a proposed 43-percent increase in premiums--that is what ObamaCare and its harmful impact will bring to Iowa in 2018. This year, it brought premium increases up to 42 percent. Last year, it brought increases up to 29 percent. ObamaCare is not sustainable and not affordable for Iowans.

To anybody who has studied healthcare reform, this should come as no surprise. In the past, many States have tried to reform their individual market. Twenty-seven years ago, Kentucky made an attempt and implemented the Kentucky Health Care Reform Act of 1994. This bill was similar to ObamaCare in many respects. It contained more taxes, more regulations, and more mandates. Within 3 years--3 years--insurers fled the individual market and the State was hit with skyrocketing premiums.

What happened in Kentucky then is eerily similar to what is happening in Iowa today as a result of ObamaCare. When it comes to affordability and choice, my home State of Iowa has been hit particularly hard.

While traveling across the State, I hear from Iowans who are looking for affordable coverage. Far too often, I hear that high monthly premiums are squeezing pocketbooks and that soaring out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles and copays, make coverage unaffordable to use for those who do have it. That is not what ObamaCare promised, but that is what it has brought.

One Iowan who works at a small business in Hinton wrote to me and said:

Over the past seven years, prices have jumped considerably

and the coverage employees are getting for the amount of

money spent is substantially less! We have tried to help our

employees by minimizing the changes in premiums, but these

last two years we had to start passing on some of the

increases in order to survive.

We can no longer absorb the constant rate increases, nor

can we not offer a health plan to our employees. Therefore,

we find ourselves between the proverbial rock and the hard

place. We certainly are not the only small business facing

the same dilemma.

Employees at this small business can breathe a small sigh of relief because their employer still has the ability to offer coverage, even if they are forced to pay more and more because of ObamaCare. Other Iowans are on the edge because their options for coverage are shrinking.

In 2016, UnitedHealthcare left the individual market in Iowa. A few months ago, Wellmark and Aetna both announced they would be leaving the individual market in 2018. Medica is the only remaining statewide carrier, and while they appear to be staying for the next year, it will take a massive rate increase on Iowans for them to do so.

The Iowa insurance commissioner said:

Iowa has hit a point within our market's collapse that a 43

percent rate increase will drive healthier, younger, and

middle aged individuals out of the market. Iowa's individual

market remains unsustainable.

If Medica leaves after next year, there is a very real possibility that tens of thousands of Iowans will have nothing to purchase on the individual market.

To put this issue into perspective and show why it matters so much, I want to share concerns I received from a constituent in Ames, IA. This constituent is the parent of a child with a rare disease. The family purchased a plan from Wellmark to cover the child for 2017, but now that Wellmark plans to leave, the parents are unsure whether they will be able to find a plan for their child. They find this whole experience ``disruptive and anxiety provoking.''

Disruption and anxiety are not being felt just in Iowa; all across the country, premiums are skyrocketing and choices are limited and in some places, nonexistent. Recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows that 2.4 million people in 1,200 counties across the country will have one option for insurance in 2018. That is not an option at all. A recent report by HHS found that between 2013 and 2017, premiums more than doubled on the exchange--more than doubled on the exchange. In some States, premiums tripled.

Across the country and in my home State of Iowa, we don't have the option to continue with the status quo when it comes to our healthcare. The reality is, the status quo is truly unsustainable.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that if the Branstad nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support Iowa Governor Terry Branstad's nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. The position of U.S. Ambassador to China is one of the most important ambassadorial positions in the world. I am confident that my friend and Governor, Terry Branstad, is the right person for the job.

Having worked alongside the Governor for many years, I know he will exemplify the same leadership, thoughtfulness, and dedication in his role as Ambassador to China on behalf of the United States as he did for the people of Iowa. Importantly, Governor Branstad also knows China and its leaders well. He first met President Xi Jinping while he was visiting Iowa on an agricultural research trip in 1985.

They have kept in touch over the years, and Governor Branstad has visited China a number of times on behalf of the State of Iowa. Iowa's extensive trade relationship with China has given Governor Branstad a front-seat view of the complexities of our country's broader trade and economic relationship with China and will provide him with the foundation to effectively advocate for U.S. interests, as evidenced by his successful confirmation before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which approved his nomination by voice vote.

Governor Branstad will not only work tirelessly to foster our trade and economic interests with China, but he is also prepared to tackle the many other complex, bilateral issues we have with China, from North Korea to the South China Sea to human rights. It has been an honor to serve the people of Iowa alongside Governor Branstad, the longest serving Governor in U.S. history, and I am thrilled to continue to work with him in his new role serving the American people.

I thank Governor Branstad for his service to Iowa, and I wish him and his family the best as they prepare to depart for Beijing.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I have 7 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders.

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

Committee on Armed Services

The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 18, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. in open session to consider nominations.

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Domestic and International Policy Update.''

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to hold an Executive Session during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 18, 2017, at 10 a.m. in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to hold a hearing on Thursday, May 18, 2017, at 10:15 a.m. in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nomination of Mr. David Bernhardt, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

Committee on Finance

The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 18, 2017, at 10:30 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to consider favorably reporting the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017.

Committee on Foreign Relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``Nominations.''

Committee on the Judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on May 18, 2017, at 10 a.m., in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate

Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize the city of Urbandale, IA, which was founded 100 years ago.

The city of Urbandale was incorporated on April 16, 1917. Early denizens worked primarily in local coal mines, many of which closed by the late 1940s. Urbandale was also a so-called street car suburb, where residents could commute to their jobs in the city--Des Moines--via a street car on the Urbandale Line until they were replaced by buses in the early 1950s. Over the years, the community saw homes go up, restaurants and business flourish, and people from all corners of the world pass through, from Presidential candidates to Pope John Paul II, who held mass at Living History Farms in 1979. Urbandale is one of those quintessential Iowa towns where you would want to raise a family. Though the community had only 298 residents in the 1920s, today over 40,000 people call Urbandale home.

I would like to congratulate the city of Urbandale on their centennial year, and I ask that my colleagues in the U.S. Senate join me in congratulating them and wishing them another prosperous century.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor a living example of the American dream. At 101 years of age, Mr. John Massick of Davenport, IA, has spent a lifetime in service--as a husband, father, soldier, and hero of World War II.

John was born on Veterans Day 1915, which proved to be symbolic in his life to come. He enlisted in the Army in 1941 and rose to the rank of sergeant, leading soldiers in combat across Europe as a member of Patton's 3rd Army. On his 29th birthday, while securing a bridge in Thionville, France, his unit suffered a perilous German attack, but John survived. It is a day Sergeant Massick describes as ``a birthday he'll never forget.'' He continued to serve through the end of the war in Europe, earning the French Croix de Guerre, Presidential Unit Commendation, and two Bronze Star Medals, among other accolades.

After the war, John returned to Davenport, married his now-late wife, Velma, and raised two sons while working as a carpet salesman and installer. He finally retired just 6 years ago at the ripe age of 94.

Today Iowans who visit ``Popcorn Charley's'' in northwest Davenport will hear John tell stories from the war. Some recall the harsh realities of combat, others remind us of our humanity, like the one he tells of how he caught a pig to fry porkchops for his men, bringing a bit of Iowa to the battlefields of Europe. John's stories, like his life's experiences, seem to strike the right balance between honor, humility, and a sense of humor.

I ask my colleagues to join me as I proudly recognize the service and the

sacrifice of SGT John Massick, an American patriot who epitomizes what is rightly referred to as America's Greatest Generation.

Mr. President, I rise to thank my colleagues for their support of my legislation to overturn President Obama's eleventh hour rule that revokes States' rights to determine the best eligible subgrantees for title X family planning funding. It should be the right of our States to allocate subgrants under the title X program in the way that best fits the needs of the people living there. Unfortunately, like many other rules that were issued during the Obama administration, this rule attempted to empower Federal bureaucrats in Washington and silence our States.

As we all know, States are closer to and more familiar with the healthcare providers and patients within their borders and should be able to make their own decisions about the best eligible title X subgrantees, be they hospitals, federally qualified community health centers, or other types of providers. A number of States have acted in recent years to prioritize title X subgrants to more comprehensive providers, where women can receive greater preventive and primary care than they can with providers like Planned Parenthood.

The Obama administration's rule attempted to claim that providers like Planned Parenthood can ``accomplish title X programmatic objectives more effectively.'' This rhetoric does not match the reality. In fact, after Representative Diane Black and I led more than 100 of our colleagues in pointing that out to the Obama administration, HHS acknowledged the challenge of measuring effectiveness across all types of title X recipients and subrecipients and therefore removed the word ``effectively'' from the final rule.

So why was this rule implemented in the first place? It is because the Obama administration wanted to do everything it could to secure Federal funding streams for Planned Parenthood before they turned over the keys to the Trump administration. With our vote today, we prevented that from happening.

But let me be clear. Although it is no secret that I do not believe Planned Parenthood--the Nation's single largest provider of abortion services--is deserving of Federal taxpayer dollars, this legislation does not prevent Planned Parenthood or any other specific entity from receiving title X funds. If States like Washington or Massachusetts want to distribute title X subgrants to Planned Parenthood, this legislation to overturn the Obama administration's rule will not prevent them from doing so, nor does overturning the rule reduce overall funding levels for the Title X Family Planning Program.

In fact, this legislation does not in any way decrease women's healthcare

funding. Rather, overturning the rule merely empowers States over a Washington-knows-best mentality and assures that States have the ability to identify the best eligible title X subgrantees. It restores local control and ensures that States aren't forced by the Federal Government to provide abortion providers like Planned Parenthood with taxpayer dollars.

I appreciate my colleagues' support of this legislation, and I look forward to President Trump signing it and scrapping the Obama administration's overreaching eleventh-hour rule.

I yield the floor.