Floor Statements

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Ohio for his outstanding comments on faith-biased security and the immigration crisis that we are facing and the solutions he suggested. We have a lot of work to do there.

Now you get to hear from the accountant.

I come to the floor today to call attention to the Federal Government's unsustainable fiscal outlook.

Yesterday in the Senate Budget Committee we had a hearing on fixing our broken budget and spending process, with a focus on securing our country's fiscal future. Our witness was the Comptroller General of the United States, the head of the Government Accountability Office.

In April of this year, GAO issued its third annual update on the nation's fiscal health. The report concluded that the Federal Government is on an unsustainable fiscal path.

A Congressional Budget Office report released this week on the long- term budget outlook painted a similarly bleak picture, noting that our surging Federal debt is putting our Nation at risk of a ``fiscal crisis.'' This is one of the charts we got to see. I know it is pretty hard for people to read. We are figuring out a way to make this bigger.

The impact will be tremendous. It shows that, in 2019, Social Security spending passed the $1 trillion mark annually. In 2021, the highway trust fund will be unable to meet all obligations. In 2022, the discretionary spending caps will expire, allowing unlimited spending. In 2025, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation multiemployer fund will be depleted. It will be insufficient to pay full benefits to insolvent pension plans. In 2025, CBO projects the net interest spending will surpass the spending on national defense. In 2026, the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund will be depleted. With some incoming revenue, it will be sufficient to pay 91 percent of hospital- related Medicare spending, which is already forced to be low.

In 2030, the net interest spending will exceed $1 trillion annually. The interest will exceed $1 trillion annually.

In 2031, mandatory spending and interest will consume all Federal revenue. It means we will not get to make any decisions on anything that isn't mandatory, which we don't get to make decisions on right now.

In 2032, the Social Security trust fund will be depleted. The amount of money coming in that will be paid out right away will only pay 77 percent of the scheduled benefits. I will cover that more later.

Those are a few of the fiscal cliffs we are facing that could be solved now, that have to be solved now. If they are solved now, they have simpler, less impactful problems than if we wait until the cliff gets here.

The Federal Government is swimming in a sea of red ink that threatens to drown America's future generations. If current laws don't change, debt as a percentage of GDP, will soar to unprecedented levels over the next 30 years. Let me repeat that. If current laws don't change, debt as a percentage of GDP--that is production--will soar to unprecedented levels over the next 30 years. By 2037, our debt-to-GDP ratio--that is debt-to-production--will surpass the historical records set in the aftermath of World War II. By 2049, debt will stand at 144 percent of

Mr. President, section 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, BBEDCA, establishes statutory limits on discretionary spending and allows for various adjustments to those limits. In addition, sections 302 and 314(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 allow the chairman of the Budget Committee to establish and make revisions to allocations, aggregates, and levels consistent with those adjustments.

The Senate will soon consider S. Amdt. 901 to H.R. 3401, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, 2019. This measure provides supplemental appropriations to address humanitarian assistance and security at the border. The measure contains spending that qualifies for cap adjustments under current statute.

This measure includes $4,586 million in budget authority that is designated as being for emergency purposes pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of BBEDCA. Of that amount, $145 million is for spending in the security category and $4,441 million is for nonsecurity spending. CBO estimates that this budget authority will result in $1,048 million in outlays in Fiscal Year 2019.

As a result of the aforementioned designations, I am revising the budget authority and outlay allocations to the Committee on Appropriations by increasing revised security budget authority by $145 million, revised nonsecurity budget authority by $4,441 million, and outlays by $1,048 million

in Fiscal Year 2019. Further, I am increasing the budgetary aggregate for Fiscal Year 2019 by $4,586 million in budget authority and $1,048 million in outlays.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustment, be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I wish submit to the Senate the budget scorekeeping report for June 2019. The report compares current-law levels of spending and revenues with the amounts the Senate agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 BBAl8. This information is necessary for the Senate Budget Committee to determine whether budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation. The Republican staff of the Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, prepared this report pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, CBA.

This is my fifth scorekeeping report this year. My last filing can be found in the Congressional Record for May 22, 2019. The information included in this report is current through June 24, 2019.

Since my last filing, Congress has cleared three pieces of legislation with significant budgetary effects. The first, the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019, P.L. 116-20, provided $19.1 billion in emergency discretionary appropriations to address recent natural disasters. The second, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, H.R. 299, increased compensation for certain veterans and modified veteran home loan programs. The final bill, the Taxpayer First Act, H.R. 3151, modified several rules that govern the organization of and operations at the Internal Revenue Service.

Budget Committee Republican staff prepared Tables A-C.

Table A gives the amount by which each Senate authorizing committee exceeds or is below its allocation for budget authority and outlays under the Fiscal Year 2019 enforceable levels filing required by BBA18. This information is used for enforcing committee allocations pursuant to section 302 of the CBA. For this reporting period, 9 of the 16 authorizing committees are not in compliance with their allocations. Over the current 10-year enforceable window, authorizing committees have increased outlays by a combined $3.6 billion. Of the bills clearing Congress this reporting period, H.R. 299 added to the Veterans' Affairs Committee's existing violations, including an increase in spending of $394 million over the 10-year window, while H.R. 3151 reduced spending scoreable to the Finance Committee by $201 million over the same time period.

Table B provides the amount by which the Senate Committee on Appropriations is below or exceeds the statutory spending limits. This information is used to determine points of order related to the spending caps found in sections 312 and 314 of the CBA. Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019, displayed in this table, show that the Appropriations Committee is compliant with spending limits for the current fiscal year. Those limits for regular discretionary spending are $647 billion for accounts in the defense category and $597 billion for accounts in the nondefense category of spending.

The Fiscal Year 2018 budget resolution contained points of order limiting the use of changes in mandatory programs in appropriations bills, CHIMP. Table C, which tracks the CHIMP limit of $15 billion for Fiscal Year 2019, shows the Appropriations Committee has enacted $15 billion worth of full-year CHIMPs for this Fiscal Year.

In addition to the tables provided by Budget Committee Republican staff, I am submitting CBO tables, which I will use to enforce budget totals approved by Congress.

For Fiscal Year 2019, CBO estimates that current-law levels are $2.9 billion above and $3.3 billion below enforceable levels for budget authority and outlays, respectively. Revenues are $426 million below the level assumed in the budget resolution. These figures remain unchanged since the May Scorekeeping Report, as the appropriation provided in P.L. 116-20 was accompanied by a concurrent and equivalent increase in aggregate spending levels pursuant to section 314 of the CBA. This adjustment can be found in the Congressional Record for May 23, 2019. Further, Social Security revenues are at the levels assumed for Fiscal

Year 2019, while Social Security outlays are $4 million above assumed levels for the budget year.

CBO's report also provides information needed to enforce the Senate pay-as-you-go, PAYGO, rule. The PAYGO scorecard shows deficit increases in Fiscal Year 2019 of $1,957 million, $427 million revenue loss, $1,530 million outlay increase; over the Fiscal Year 2018-2023 period of $3,412 million, $907 million revenue loss, $2,505 million outlay increase; and over the Fiscal Year 2018-2028 period of $800 million, $798 million revenue loss, $2 million outlay increase. During this reporting period, H.R. 3151 had the effect of reducing deficits by $37 million over both the Fiscal Year 2018-2023 and Fiscal Year 2018-2028 periods, while H.R. 299 increased deficits by $76 million and $394 million over the same periods, respectively.

This submission also includes a table tracking the Senate's budget enforcement activity on the floor since the enforcement filing on May 7, 2018. Since my last report, no new budgetary points of order were raised. On May 23, 2019, however, a Senator made a preemptive motion to waive all applicable points of order against the supplemental appropriations bill that would become P.L. 116-20.

All years in the accompanying tables are fiscal years.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at its next printing, the name of the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cruz, be added as cosponsor to S. 663 to S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

Madam President, today I wish to honor the life and legacy of the late Senator Thad Cochran.

I appreciate having this opportunity to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Senator Cochran. His loss will be deeply felt by all of us here in the Senate, not only by those of us who served with him, but also by the many staff and individuals he has worked with over time. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1972, Senator Cochran touched many lives in his 46 years faithfully serving his State of Mississippi in Congress.

As the son of a school principal and a math teacher, Senator Cochran understood the value of hard work and dedication. He emerged as a leader among his peers from a young age. He was an Eagle Scout who helped establish a new troop and valedictorian of his class in high school where he earned varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and tennis. At the University of Mississippi, Senator Cochran was a fraternity president, student body vice president, and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honorary leadership fraternity. Senator Cochran began his service to our country while at the University of Mississippi as a company commander in the Navy ROTC and, once graduated, was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and assigned to duty aboard the USS Macon.

As a fellow Eagle Scout, Senator Cochran demonstrated core scouting values like trust, loyalty, courtesy, and reverence. He displayed these values not only in his nearly five-decade-long career in Congress, but also as a father to his two children, Kate and Clayton.

Described as gentle and soft-spoken, Senator Cochran was a defender of Senate procedure and often worked across the aisle. Senator Cochran was known to hold strong opinions; yet he developed close working relationships with members of both parties. Senator Cochran was determined that, if you look hard enough, there is common ground to be found with everyone. He earned his nickname of the Quiet Persuader through a determined yet respectful approach to negotiations.

I had the honor of working with Senator Cochran in his role as chairman of the Appropriations Committee while I was chairmen of the Budget Committee. He was a hard worker and always guided by his core values. As a good statesman, he didn't let party politics get in the way and always did what he thought was right.

In a nearly five-decade-long career in Congress, it is difficult to pinpoint Senator Cochran's single greatest achievement. Following Hurricane Katrina's devastation, Senator Cochran played a central role in security relief funds for Gulf States, especially for his home State of Mississippi. During his tenure as chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Senator Cochran was a champion of the farm bill's nutrition programs. Senator Cochran served as a tireless advocate for farm families and America's agricultural industry.

Senator Cochran authored the Mississippi Wilderness Act, which was the first Federal legislation ever passed for the perpetual protection of lands in the State of Mississippi. He was greatly involved in land and wildlife conservation in Mississippi, a legacy of his that will endure for future generations to enjoy.

Senator Cochran was an effective lawmaker who was a tireless advocate for his constituents. His model of public service was that the constituents are always right. He said we are in Congress to serve, not to be served. Senator Cochran's model of public service is one to look up to and his style of leadership will serve as an inspiration for future generations to come.

Senator Cochran was a committed man of faith. A member of the Southern Baptist Church, he was always one to do what he thought was right rather than what was easiest.

My wife Diana joins me in sending our deepest condolences to his loved ones and know he will find eternal peace and happiness knowing he had a profound effect on all that knew him a colleague, as a father, and as a friend.

Mr. President, section 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, BBEDCA, establishes statutory limits on discretionary spending and allows for various adjustments to those limits. In addition, sections 302 and 314(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 allow the chairman of the Budget Committee to establish and make revisions to allocations, aggregates, and levels consistent with those adjustments.

The Senate will soon consider S. Amdt. 250 to H.R. 2157, Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019. This measure provides appropriations to address recent natural disasters and contains spending that qualifies for cap adjustments under current statute.

This measure includes $19,121 million in budget authority that is designated as being for emergency purposes pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of BBEDCA. Of that amount, $2,693 million is for spending in the security category, and $16,428 million is for nonsecurity spending. CBO estimates that this budget authority will result in $5,364 million in outlays in fiscal year 2019.

As a result of the aforementioned designations, I am revising the budget authority and outlay allocations to the Committee on Appropriations by increasing revised security budget authority by $2,693 million, revised nonsecurity budget authority by $16,428 million, and outlays by $5,364 million in fiscal year 2019. Further, I am increasing the budgetary aggregate for fiscal year 2019 by $19,121 million in budget authority and $5,364 million in outlays.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustment, be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, this year, the Cody Stampede Rodeo is celebrating its 100th anniversary. This is a milestone for the Stampede, for Cody, and for Wyoming. One hundred years of the Cody Stampede Rodeo represents 100 years of us living life the cowboy way. The cowboy and the rodeo is an integral part of our culture, and this 100th anniversary is a chance to celebrate this long standing history.

The rodeo has long been a part of Wyoming history. Wyoming is often referred to as the Cowboy State as a reference to its cowboy culture. At the heart of cowboy culture lies the rodeo. We hold rodeos all over the State in almost every single town.

Rodeo is in some ways the West's ambassador to the world. With our bucking horse license plate and visitors' conceptions of the Wild West, cowboys and rodeo are what they see and expect to see first. Through the efforts of all who participate, the sport of rodeo continues to grow. It is a part of western tradition that can be shared and enjoyed by visitors and residents alike.

The rodeo is a part of our livelihood that is unique to the Cowboy State and the West. The relationship between the rodeo and the West is much like the relationship between a cowboy and his horse. Few pairings have produced a more perfect partnership and the image of a cowboy and his horse remains an American icon. When one imagines a cowboy, he is rarely without his horse companion.

The American cowboy represents the greatest parts of the American West: our courage, honor, and hard work ethic. The cowboy way provides an ethical code for cowboys to live by. All rodeo participants embody this cowboy way when competing in the arena, providing the world with a prime example of the code all Wyomingites live by.

Cody is nicknamed the Rodeo Capitol of the World. Rodeo in Cody began over 100 years ago with William Frederick ``Buffalo Bill'' Cody and his Wild West Show. The Wild West Show was never formally held in Cody but the tryouts for the show were held right behind the Irma Hotel. In 1913, Buffalo Bill closed his Wild West Show. He hosted one last parade and rodeo in Cody for the prince of Monaco.

In 1917, Buffalo Bill passed away and with that ended a fascinating chapter in the story of the American Wild West. In 1919, Clarence Williams led the effort to establish a rodeo celebration in Cody to commemorate Buffalo Bill and the Old West he personified. Every summer since 1919, people from all over come to watch cowboys compete in the Cody Stampede Rodeo, as well as the rodeos held every night from June to Labor Day.

For its centennial year, the Cody Stampede Board is being inducted into the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. This is a great accomplishment for the town and the Stampede.

Caroline Lockhart was the founder and first president of the Cody Stampede Board. Caroline was considered a liberated, independent women ahead of her time. She was described as someone ``with a spirit as wild as the West.'' Last November, she was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote across the country, it is important to recognize Wyoming's history of women leaders, like Caroline. Caroline Lockhart is a great example of the trailblazer nature of our great State.

As a trailblazer State, women in Wyoming were voting long before the 19th Amendment was passed. Wyoming is coming up on the 150th anniversary of women's suffrage. In December 1869, Wyoming's territorial legislature became the first government in the world to grant women the right to vote. Called the Equality State, we have the distinction of having the first woman to serve as Governor and the first woman to vote in the world. Rodeo exemplifies the nature of the Equality State through its history of inclusion and acceptance.

There are many great sports, but there are probably none as demanding or difficult as Rodeo. That is why it continues to grow in popularity and participation. It requires a tremendous combination of athletic ability, concentration, and dedication from its participants. It takes a lot of courage to face the challenges of the sport and give it your very best.

Rodeo also does a lot to build character and increase the self- confidence

of those who participate in the sport. Best of all, it is something the whole family can take part in, either in the arena or in the stands, cheering family and friends on to victory.

The hard work of those who compete in rodeos represents the ``can do'' spirit of the West. It is great to see the entire community come together year after year as volunteers, participants, and fans for the Cody Stampede Rodeo. Again, I congratulate Cody on their 100th anniversary of the Cody Stampede Rodeo and wish the best for another 100 years of doing things the Cowboy way.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the remaining votes be 10 minutes in length.

Mr. President, I wish to submit to the Senate the budget scorekeeping report for May 2019. The report compares current-law levels of spending and revenues with the amounts the Senate agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, BBA18. This information is necessary for the Senate Budget Committee to determine whether budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation.

The Republican staff of the Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, prepared this report pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, CBA.

This is my fourth scorekeeping report this year. My last filing can be found in the Congressional Record for April 10, 2019. The information included in this report is current through May 20, 2019.

Since my last filing, Congress has cleared only one measure, S. 1436, a bill to make technical corrections to the computation of average pay under Public Law 110-279, with significant budgetary effects. This bill made changes to the calculation of retirement benefits for certain employees who staff the dining services for the U.S. Senate. Those services were privatized in 2008.

Budget Committee Republican staff prepared tables A-C.

Table A gives the amount by which each Senate authorizing committee exceeds or is below its allocation for budget authority and outlays under the fiscal year 2019 enforceable levels filing required by BBA18. This information is used for enforcing committee allocations pursuant to section 302 of the CBA. Over the current 10-year enforceable window, authorizing committees have increased outlays by a combined $3.4 billion. For this reporting period, 9 of the 16 authorizing committees are not in compliance with their allocations. As a result of passage of S. 1436, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is now in violation of its allocation for both budget authority and outlays over the fiscal year 2019-2028 period.

Table B provides the amount by which the Senate Committee on Appropriations is below or exceeds the statutory spending limits. This information is used to determine points of order related to the spending caps found in sections 312 and 314 of the CBA. Appropriations for fiscal year 2019, displayed in this table, show that the Appropriations Committee is compliant with spending limits for the current fiscal year. Those limits for regular discretionary spending are $647 billion for accounts in the defense category and $597 billion for accounts in the nondefense category of spending.

The fiscal year 2018 budget resolution contained points of order limiting the use of changes in mandatory programs in appropriations bills, CHIMPs. Table C, which tracks the CHIMP limit of $15 billion for fiscal year 2019, shows the Appropriations Committee has enacted $15 billion worth of full-year CHIMPs for this fiscal year.

In addition to the tables provided by Budget Committee Republican staff, I am submitting CBO tables, which I will use to enforce budget totals approved by Congress.

For fiscal year 2019, CBO estimates that current-law levels are $2.9 billion above and $3.3 billion below enforceable levels for budget authority and outlays, respectively. Revenues are $426 million below the level assumed in the budget resolution. Further, Social Security revenues are at the levels assumed for fiscal year 2019, while Social Security outlays are $4 million above assumed levels for the budget year.

CBO's report also provides information needed to enforce the Senate pay-as-you-go, PAYGO, rule. The PAYGO scorecard shows deficit increases in fiscal year 2019 of $1,957 million, $427 million revenue loss, $1,530 million outlay increase; over the fiscal year 2018-2023 period of $3,373 million, $894 million revenue loss, $2,479 million outlay increase; and over the fiscal year 2018-2028 period of $443 million, $634 million revenue loss, $191 million outlay decrease.

This submission also includes a table tracking the Senate's budget enforcement activity on the floor since the enforcement filing on May 7, 2018. Since my last report, no new budgetary points of order were raised.

All years in the accompanying tables are fiscal years.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I honor the life and legacy of the late Senator Richard Lugar.

My colleagues and I in the Senate were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear colleague and friend. His selfless service and tireless dedication to the State of Indiana and to this Nation inspired many to follow in his footsteps and govern using his principled commitment to the rule of law and desire for constructive compromise.

From an early age, Senator Lugar understood the value of hard work and dedication to what was important. He became an Eagle Scout and was the valedictorian of his classes in both high school and college. He was later a Rhodes Scholar at the prestigious University of Oxford in England. Senator Lugar's commitment to his education served him very well later in his career as a distinguished statesman.

As a fellow Eagle Scout, Senator Lugar knew that the knowledge and skills gained in Scouting always had a use and were a central part of the Boy Scout motto ``Be prepared.'' He learned early on the importance of core Scouting values, such as trust, loyalty, courtesy, reverence, and the rest. He displayed these values not only in his nearly four decades-long career in the Senate but also as a loving husband and father to Charlene, his wife, and their four sons.

These critical skills also served him well as the mayor of Indianapolis. As a former mayor myself, I know the need for every citizen to play an active role in the day-to-day lives of their towns and cities. Senator Lugar understood this, too, and the value in working together to make our cities, States, and Nation better places. As mayor, he envisioned the unification of the city of Indianapolis with the surrounding Marion County, and he did it. He ushered in steady, uninterrupted economic growth for that region.

In a nearly four decades-long career in the Senate, it is difficult to pinpoint Senator Lugar's greatest achievements. However, I think it is safe to say that some of his most important work came as chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Under his steady leadership and acute attention to detail, the committee considered critical issues at a milestone in the future of world diplomacy and democracy.

Senator Lugar's contributions were instrumental in, as its name suggests, the formation of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program in 1991, which was intended to dismantle nuclear warheads at the close of the Cold War. This program was enacted at a critical moment in the Soviet Union's dissolvent. If action had not been taken by Congress at this important juncture, dangerous nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union could have been at risk of falling into the wrong hands.

These efforts laid the groundwork for the implementation of future programs that have been responsible for dismantling hundreds of nuclear warheads, biological weapons, and dangerous missiles. Quite simply, Senator Lugar's work changed the course of history--toward a safer world for the generations that followed.

I had the honor of working with Senator Lugar when I was on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. He was instrumental in the origination and legislation of President Bush's program, named the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR for short. PEPFAR was life-changing legislation for those stricken with potentially fatal diseases like HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Unlike many foreign assistance programs that do not impact those directly on the ground, PEPFAR taught people how to avoid contracting the HIV/AIDS disease and provided countries with the ability to care for their citizens who were already infected.

Senator Lugar was also a committed man of faith. As a member of the United Methodist Church, his moral compass was guided strongly by his faith. He was always one to do what he thought was right rather than what was the easiest.

The United States is a better place because of Senator Lugar's tireless service and commitment to what is right. I and Diana, my wife, send our deepest condolences to his loved ones and know he will find eternal peace and happiness in knowing he had a profound effect on all who knew him as a colleague, as a father, and as a friend.

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, last month I came to the floor to talk about the need to confront our country's surging deficits and debt.

At the time, we had just considered a supplemental disaster appropriations bill that would spend billions of dollars beyond the statutory budget caps without any pretense of offsetting that spending, and I called for Congress to better budget for disasters.

Now, prompted by reports issued last week by Social Security and Medicare trustees that show these programs remain on an unsustainable path, I again come to the floor to sound the alarm over our country's long-term fiscal health. With trillion-dollar annual deficits expected to return soon and our national debt now topping $22 trillion, we cannot afford to keep ignoring the warning signs that we are on a dangerous fiscal course.

The trustees estimate that Social Security's combined trust funds will be insolvent by 2035. Sounds like way down the road? I don't think so. Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will become insolvent even sooner, by 2026.

Over the next 75 years, Medicare's and Social Security's combined scheduled expenditures are projected to exceed their dedicated revenues by more than $59 trillion, or 35 percent, on a present-value basis. Within 10 years, Social Security and Medicare alone will account for more than half of all Federal noninterest spending.

We are facing a strong demographic headwind. Let me say that again. We are facing a strong demographic headwind. An aging population and rising healthcare costs continue to increase the gulf between mandatory program spending and dedicated revenues.

For decades, experts have warned of the budget pressures we would face as members of the baby boom generation aged and became eligible for Medicare and Social Security. Congress hasn't paid much attention to that crisis. Every day, roughly 10,000 Americans turn 65, and they are living longer than they were when these programs were conceived. I guess that is a good thing, but it places additional strain on the program finances and the Federal budget.

Without changes to current law, all Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries will see automatic across-the-board reductions in benefits when the respective funds run out of money. Of course, the political pressure would be enormous to avoid the automatic cuts, but with our country already facing $22 trillion in debt, further raiding of the U.S. Treasury's general fund is not an option. It could cause a borrowing crisis.

First, let me focus on Social Security. At the end of last year, Social Security provided payments to 63 million beneficiaries, including 47 million retired workers and their dependents, 6 million survivors of deceased workers, and 10 million disabled workers and their dependents.

As I mentioned, Social Security's combined trust funds are slated to become depleted in 2035. That means that in 16 years' time, when today's 46-year-olds first become eligible for retirement benefits, the program will only be able to pay about 80 percent of the scheduled benefits, according to the trustees.

Think about that. Absent action from Congress, we are just 16 years away from not being able to pay full benefits, and that is full benefits to those who are retired right now, as well as those who are upcoming. It is no longer a far-off concern.

Let me turn now to the Medicare Program, which is an even more pressing problem.

The trustees estimate that in 2026, Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund--which covers inpatient hospital services, hospice care, skilled nursing facilities, and home health services--will be depleted.

Once the fund becomes insolvent, absent a change in the law, Medicare can only pay hospital benefits up to an amount of revenue that comes into the trust fund in that given year. It is the same thing for Social Security. Anticipating that money will be worth as much and that inflation will not have driven it up even more, the trustees estimate that in 2026, revenues will cover only 89 percent of program costs and by 2046, that figure will decline to 77 percent--pretty hefty cuts.

Medicare's other trust fund, which primarily pays for physician services and prescription drugs, operates differently. While it isn't in danger of insolvency because it gets money from the Treasury's general fund and the premiums it collects from beneficiaries are adjusted annually, its growing costs will put greater pressure on premium-paying beneficiaries and on Federal taxpayers. That is where the excess comes from.

Last year, general revenue transfers into the trust fund equaled 16.2 percent of all personal and corporate Federal income taxes collected by the Federal Government. By the end of the 75-year window, the trustees expect this figure to increase to more than 28 percent. That would be more than 28 percent of all personal and corporate Federal income taxes collected by the Federal Government.

For years, the trustees of Social Security and Medicare have warned that these programs are unsustainable. Let me repeat that again. For years, the trustees of Social Security and Medicare have warned that these programs are on an unsustainable path, but successive Congresses and administrations have continued a bipartisan tradition of ignoring this uncomfortable fact.

Of course, ignoring the problem will not make it go away. In this case, the opposite is true. The longer we wait to make financial repairs to Social Security and Medicare, the more severe the changes needed to ensure their insolvency will have to be.

We must work together, on a bipartisan basis, to find long-term solutions that secure the future of these programs. The earlier we do it, the less painful it is. When considering a $59 trillion problem like this, there are no quick fixes or easy choices, but the sooner we act, the easier it will be to preserve Social Security and Medicare for the millions of Americans who depend on them and who will be depending on them, while safeguarding the programs for even more future generations.

To be clear, I want to make sure Social Security and Medicare are able to

continue providing benefits to current beneficiaries, as well as those who may need these programs in the future. If we don't make changes to the way these programs currently operate, in the future, a lot of people will just be out of luck. In order to prevent that from happening, we have to work together, and we have to consider a wide variety of options to ensure their solvency in the long term.

While we may disagree on what the ideal solution might look like, I hope we can all agree on the need to put our mandatory spending programs and the broader Federal budget on a long-term, sustainable fiscal course. That means having the revenues match up with the costs. They don't now. There are deficits already, and the funds are being depleted.

I ask for everyone's help to solve this. It can only be done if both sides of the aisle agree to do something.

I thank you for your attention.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Association Health Plans Act of 2019. I have been championing association health plans, which I sometimes call small business health plans, for more than 15 years. As a small business owner, I understand firsthand the difficulties these employers face trying to provide health insurance for their employees. Small business owners want to provide comprehensive health insurance to their employees, but it can be a real struggle to afford those plans. In part due to these pressures, the number of small businesses offering coverage has dropped substantially over the years, from 47 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2017.

Few families are shielded from the rising costs of healthcare and, by extension, the rising cost of health insurance, but among the hardest hit are American small businesses.

Small businesses have limited ability to pool risk and lack coverage in the market, so they often end up paying more for health insurance than large employers who have more buying power. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, small businesses pay about 8 to 18 percent more on average than large businesses for the same health insurance policy.

To put it another way, one family shoe store probably can't get an insurance company to play ball, but 1,000 family shoe stores probably could. This is the premise of the association health plans. Let's let small businesses band together and leverage their shared power in numbers to obtain comprehensive and affordable health insurance as though they were a single large employer.

This does not mean they are allowed to cut corners. The coverage offered to association members is subject to the consumer protection requirements that apply to large employers. That includes important consumer protections established on a bipartisan basis under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPAA, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, COBRA. Association health plans also comply with the Affordable Care Act requirements for large-employer health plans.

Association health plans are not a new concept. They have long been permitted under Federal law. For example, the Wyoming Chambers Health Benefit Plan has served Wyoming's Chambers of Commerce since 2007. It currently offers comprehensive and affordable coverage to 11 local Chambers of Commerce, 52 employers, and 255 employees.

Last year, the Trump administration issued a new rule that made it easier for small businesses to band together for the purposes of offering an association health plan. Specifically, the Department of Labor created a new ``pathway'' for forming the association so that small businesses can band together by common industry or common geography. For example, flower shops across the Nation might band together to offer an association health plan, or small businesses in unrelated professions might band together just within my State of Wyoming.

The final rule also allowed self-employed Americans to receive coverage through association health plans established under the new pathway. It did not rescind the old pathway, so association health plans in existence before the final rule can continue to operate unchanged, or new ones can use that pathway to form.

The final rule also does not change existing ERISA preemption rules that authorize broad State insurance regulation of association health plans either through health insurance issuers or directly in the case of self-insured association health plans. I will repeat that again. The final rule does not change existing ERISA preemption rules that authorize broad State insurance regulation of association health plans either through health insurance issuers or directly in the case of self-insured association health plans.

Roughly 30 association health plans have formed under the new pathway since the Department of Labor finalized the rule. For example, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce formed an association health plan covering 500 small businesses and 100 sole proprietors. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce began taking steps to launch a new self-insured association health plan that could eventually enroll 800,000 people. Two Michigan small business associations joined forces to create an association health plan that has enrolled nearly 400 small businesses throughout the State.

There are likely more to come. According to the Congressional Budget Office, about 4 million people are expected to enroll in association health plans by 2023, including 400,000 who would otherwise be uninsured.

All of this is to demonstrate one simple fact: Association health plans work. They provide coverage to people who would not otherwise have it, and they provide comprehensive health benefits at an affordable price.

Unfortunately, a Federal district judge vacated the Labor Department's final rule, threatening to disrupt coverage for tens of thousands of enrollees in association health plans formed under the final rule and threatening to restrict the ability of small businesses, working families, and self-employed Americans to band together to obtain affordable and high-quality health insurance in the future.

My bill will simply codify the Labor Department's final rule to provide certainty for current enrollees and to ensure the pathway remains available for new association health plans to form. It is not intended to disrupt the State authority. That is important so we don't need to build another Washington bureaucracy, and you can be assured of better help if you need it. Our State insurance commissioners are much closer to the real problems confronted by insurance consumers and are better able to deal with those issues at a local level. It is also not intended to affect association health plans created by other means than the pathway established in the final rule.

There has been a lot of discussion in the Senate lately about protections for people with preexisting conditions. I support protecting people with preexisting conditions. Every Republican Senator I know does too. It is important to point out that robust coverage doesn't mean very much if you can't afford to buy it. Unfortunately, that has been the experience for a lot of small business owners and self-employed Americans in my State. Association health plans can help solve this problem for small businesses. The Labor Department's final rule didn't just expand eligibility for a type of health insurance that has long been available for some small business owners in the United States. It made the promise of comprehensive and affordable health insurance coverage a reality for the same Americans who have identified the cost of health insurance as the No. 1 problem facing small businesses for the last 30 years.

This is not to say there is not more that can be done. The final rule is an important step forward, but it is not a silver bullet. There is more Congress can do to advance association health plans, and there is more Congress can do to improve our healthcare system and address the issues of rising healthcare costs and rising drug prices, all while ensuring protections for people with preexisting conditions, but one thing we can do immediately to help people with preexisting conditions is to pass the bill I am introducing today. The district court judge struck down the Labor Department's final

rule and did not issue a stay, so thousands of currently covered individuals are at risk of losing their health insurance coverage. Passing this bill will ensure that they do not.

Small businesses ought to have the opportunity to band together and leverage their combined strength so they can negotiate and provide their employees with comprehensive and affordable health insurance coverage. That coverage should be subject to the same consumer protection requirements that apply to large employers offering similar coverage. Small businesses and their employees are the bedrock of our country's economy, and proper health insurance coverage is a key element of family well-being and peace of mind. This bill will strengthen those foundations so we can continue to prosper as a country.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Association Health Plans Act of 2019. I have been championing association health plans, which I sometimes call small business health plans, for more than 15 years. As a small business owner, I understand firsthand the difficulties these employers face trying to provide health insurance for their employees. Small business owners want to provide comprehensive health insurance to their employees, but it can be a real struggle to afford those plans. In part due to these pressures, the number of small businesses offering coverage has dropped substantially over the years, from 47 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2017.

Few families are shielded from the rising costs of healthcare and, by extension, the rising cost of health insurance, but among the hardest hit are American small businesses.

Small businesses have limited ability to pool risk and lack coverage in the market, so they often end up paying more for health insurance than large employers who have more buying power. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, small businesses pay about 8 to 18 percent more on average than large businesses for the same health insurance policy.

To put it another way, one family shoe store probably can't get an insurance company to play ball, but 1,000 family shoe stores probably could. This is the premise of the association health plans. Let's let small businesses band together and leverage their shared power in numbers to obtain comprehensive and affordable health insurance as though they were a single large employer.

This does not mean they are allowed to cut corners. The coverage offered to association members is subject to the consumer protection requirements that apply to large employers. That includes important consumer protections established on a bipartisan basis under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPAA, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, COBRA. Association health plans also comply with the Affordable Care Act requirements for large-employer health plans.

Association health plans are not a new concept. They have long been permitted under Federal law. For example, the Wyoming Chambers Health Benefit Plan has served Wyoming's Chambers of Commerce since 2007. It currently offers comprehensive and affordable coverage to 11 local Chambers of Commerce, 52 employers, and 255 employees.

Last year, the Trump administration issued a new rule that made it easier for small businesses to band together for the purposes of offering an association health plan. Specifically, the Department of Labor created a new ``pathway'' for forming the association so that small businesses can band together by common industry or common geography. For example, flower shops across the Nation might band together to offer an association health plan, or small businesses in unrelated professions might band together just within my State of Wyoming.

The final rule also allowed self-employed Americans to receive coverage through association health plans established under the new pathway. It did not rescind the old pathway, so association health plans in existence before the final rule can continue to operate unchanged, or new ones can use that pathway to form.

The final rule also does not change existing ERISA preemption rules that authorize broad State insurance regulation of association health plans either through health insurance issuers or directly in the case of self-insured association health plans. I will repeat that again. The final rule does not change existing ERISA preemption rules that authorize broad State insurance regulation of association health plans either through health insurance issuers or directly in the case of self-insured association health plans.

Roughly 30 association health plans have formed under the new pathway since the Department of Labor finalized the rule. For example, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce formed an association health plan covering 500 small businesses and 100 sole proprietors. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce began taking steps to launch a new self-insured association health plan that could eventually enroll 800,000 people. Two Michigan small business associations joined forces to create an association health plan that has enrolled nearly 400 small businesses throughout the State.

There are likely more to come. According to the Congressional Budget Office, about 4 million people are expected to enroll in association health plans by 2023, including 400,000 who would otherwise be uninsured.

All of this is to demonstrate one simple fact: Association health plans work. They provide coverage to people who would not otherwise have it, and they provide comprehensive health benefits at an affordable price.

Unfortunately, a Federal district judge vacated the Labor Department's final rule, threatening to disrupt coverage for tens of thousands of enrollees in association health plans formed under the final rule and threatening to restrict the ability of small businesses, working families, and self-employed Americans to band together to obtain affordable and high-quality health insurance in the future.

My bill will simply codify the Labor Department's final rule to provide certainty for current enrollees and to ensure the pathway remains available for new association health plans to form. It is not intended to disrupt the State authority. That is important so we don't need to build another Washington bureaucracy, and you can be assured of better help if you need it. Our State insurance commissioners are much closer to the real problems confronted by insurance consumers and are better able to deal with those issues at a local level. It is also not intended to affect association health plans created by other means than the pathway established in the final rule.

There has been a lot of discussion in the Senate lately about protections for people with preexisting conditions. I support protecting people with preexisting conditions. Every Republican Senator I know does too. It is important to point out that robust coverage doesn't mean very much if you can't afford to buy it. Unfortunately, that has been the experience for a lot of small business owners and self-employed Americans in my State. Association health plans can help solve this problem for small businesses. The Labor Department's final rule didn't just expand eligibility for a type of health insurance that has long been available for some small business owners in the United States. It made the promise of comprehensive and affordable health insurance coverage a reality for the same Americans who have identified the cost of health insurance as the No. 1 problem facing small businesses for the last 30 years.

This is not to say there is not more that can be done. The final rule is an important step forward, but it is not a silver bullet. There is more Congress can do to advance association health plans, and there is more Congress can do to improve our healthcare system and address the issues of rising healthcare costs and rising drug prices, all while ensuring protections for people with preexisting conditions, but one thing we can do immediately to help people with preexisting conditions is to pass the bill I am introducing today. The district court judge struck down the Labor Department's final

rule and did not issue a stay, so thousands of currently covered individuals are at risk of losing their health insurance coverage. Passing this bill will ensure that they do not.

Small businesses ought to have the opportunity to band together and leverage their combined strength so they can negotiate and provide their employees with comprehensive and affordable health insurance coverage. That coverage should be subject to the same consumer protection requirements that apply to large employers offering similar coverage. Small businesses and their employees are the bedrock of our country's economy, and proper health insurance coverage is a key element of family well-being and peace of mind. This bill will strengthen those foundations so we can continue to prosper as a country.

Mr. President, I rise to submit to the Senate the budget scorekeeping report for April 2019. The report compares current-law levels of spending and revenues with the amounts the Senate agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, BBA18. This information is necessary for the Senate Budget Committee to determine whether budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation. The Republican staff of the Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, prepared this report pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, CBA.

This is my third scorekeeping report this year. My last filing can be found in the Congressional Record for February 27, 2019. The information included in this report is current through April 8, 2019.

Since my last filing, three bills with significant budgetary effects cleared Congress, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018, P.L. 116-8; the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, P.L. 116-9; and the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019, H.R. 1839.

Budget Committee Republican staff prepared Tables 1-3.

Table 1 gives the amount by which each Senate authorizing committee exceeds or is below its allocation for budget authority and outlays under the fiscal year 2019 enforceable levels filing required by BBA18. This information is used for enforcing committee allocations pursuant to section 302 of the CBA. Over the current 10-year enforceable window, authorizing committees have increased outlays by a combined $3.4 billion. For this reporting period, as in my last report, 8 of the 16 authorizing committees are not in compliance with their allocations. One of these committees, Finance, further exacerbated its violations this work period with the passage of the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act. CBO estimates that this measure will increase mandatory spending for all enforceable periods, including an increase in outlays of $27 million over the Fiscal Year 2019-2028 period. The Agriculture Committee reduced the size of its violations with the passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act, which CBO scores as reducing outlays by $5 million in Fiscal Year 2019 and by $23 million over the Fiscal Year 2019-2023 period. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which was not in breach of its allocation for the last reporting cycle, continued to reduce spending with the passage of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. CBO estimates that this measure will reduce spending by $10 million over both the 5- and 10-year enforceable windows. This savings is credited to its allocation, as shown in the table.

Tables 2 provides the amount by which the Senate Committee on Appropriations is below or exceeds the statutory spending limits. This information is used to determine points of order related to the spending caps found in sections 312 and 314 of the CBA. Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019, displayed in this table, show that the Appropriations Committee is compliant with spending limits for Fiscal Year 2019. Those limits for regular discretionary spending are $647 billion for accounts in the defense category and $597 billion for accounts in the nondefense category of spending.

The Fiscal Year 2018 budget resolution contained points of order limiting the use of changes in mandatory programs in appropriations bills, CHIMPs. Table 3, which tracks the CHIMP limit of $15 billion for Fiscal Year 2019, shows the Appropriations Committee has enacted $15 billion worth of full-year CHIMPs for Fiscal Year 2019.

In addition to the tables provided by Budget Committee Republican staff, I am submitting CBO tables, which I will use to enforce budget totals approved by Congress.

For Fiscal Year 2019, CBO estimates that current-law levels are $2.9 billion above and $3.3 billion below enforceable levels for budget authority and outlays, respectively. Revenues are $426 million below the level assumed in the budget resolution. Further, Social Security revenues are at the levels assumed for Fiscal Year 2019, while Social Security outlays are $4 million above assumed levels for the budget year.

CBO's report also provides information needed to enforce the Senate pay-as-you-go, PAYGO, rule. The PAYGO scorecard shows deficit increases in Fiscal Year 2019 of $1,957 million--$427 million revenue loss, $1,530 million outlay increase; over the Fiscal Year 2018-2023 period of $3,373 million--$894 million revenue loss, $2,479 million outlay increase; and over the Fiscal Year 2018-2028 period of $442 million, $634 million revenue loss, $192 million outlay decrease.

This submission also includes a table tracking the Senate's budget enforcement activity on the floor since the enforcement filing on May 7, 2018. Since my last report, no new budgetary points of order were raised.

All years in the accompanying tables are fiscal years.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables be printed in the Record.