Floor Statements

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

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 180, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 181, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the measure.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Thursday, May 2; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Ruiz nomination under the previous order.

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

Madam President, the Senate is in the midst of considering several more well-qualified nominees for service in the executive branch and on our Nation's Federal courts. We are doing so in a more reasonable, efficient manner--more in line with this body's tradition--thanks to the modest reform the Senate passed just a few weeks ago.

Until recently, our colleagues across the aisle had succeeded in subjecting even the least controversial nominees to day after day of so-called debate.

Countless hours of valuable floor time were spent on individuals who passed through committees of jurisdiction without any opposition and for individuals whose final confirmation votes frequently cleared 90 votes, but now the Senate has begun to clear the backlog and put more public servants to work on behalf of the American people.

Last evening we voted to advance the nomination of William Cooper of Maryland to serve as general counsel at the Department of Energy. Mr. Cooper's nomination first arrived in the Senate 9 months ago. It has twice been reported favorably by our colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Mr. Cooper of Florida has waited even longer to begin his service as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, and the story is not much different for the jurists waiting to finally be confirmed to Federal district courts either.

So I look forward to the swift consideration of this week's slate of nominees, and I would urge each of my colleagues to join me in voting for their confirmation.

Healthcare

On another matter, lest there be any doubt that my Democratic colleagues here in the Congress are serious about their party's radical left turn, the House Rules Committee is actually holding a hearing today on their proposal to outlaw private health insurance and force every American into a new government-run system.

As I have said, this grand scheme ought to be called Medicare for None. Democrats want to drain the popular program that seniors have relied on for more than 50 years and slap its name on a brand-new, untried, untested government-run system, and this thing they have cooked up would become the only option--the only option--available to American families.

Democrats are so confident that Americans will love their one-size- fits-all government plan that they feel the need to ban the private sector from competing with it.

This is a fantasy pulled from the farthest corners of the left, but now leading Democrats are proudly embracing it.

Here is the chairman of the House Rules Committee: ``It's a serious proposal that deserves serious consideration.''

Well, it certainly is a serious proposal for more than 180 million Americans who would be unceremoniously kicked off of their private insurance plans. It certainly is a serious proposal for the tens of millions of Americans who paid into Medicare so it would actually be there now when they needed

it--not distorted into something totally different.

This is a particularly important point, given the serious challenges that Medicare is already facing. The Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently explained that ``the program's main trust fund for hospital services can only pay full benefits for seven more years,'' and she noted the particular irony that this ``sobering dose of reality'' is being delivered as ``some are calling for a complete government takeover of the American healthcare system.''

On our current trajectory, as soon as 7 years from now, in 2026, ``doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes would not receive their full compensation from the program and patients could face more of the financial burden.'' That is from the New York Times.

In other words, this is a time for shoring up the existing health insurance that our seniors like and rely on, not a time to risk it-- risk it all--by packing millions and millions more--the whole rest of the Nation--into that very system for the sake of a snappy campaign promise.

The last time Democrats had unified control of the House, the Senate, and the White House, of course, they implemented sweeping changes that the American people were assured would keep healthcare costs down. Lots of promises were made. Lots of promises were broken.

Many families are now saddled with sky-high premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs, not to mention dwindling choices, and now Democrats are back for another, even bigger bite of the apple.

The last thing American families need is even more top-down, one- size-fits-all social engineering. We need to take practical steps to address what really matters most to American families--healthcare costs. We need to preserve what works, fix what doesn't, bring costs down, and preserve Medicare. That is the sensible approach that American families deserve. That is the practical solutions-oriented approach that Republicans are committed to.

But as we have already seen across the Capitol this week, our Democratic friends want to wheel out the drawing board yet again and take another big whack at the healthcare plans Americans already rely on.

Tribute to John Abegg

Madam President, on one final matter, one of the most bittersweet subjects that Senators discuss on the floor is the departure of trusted staff. On one hand, I am certainly glad for any opportunity to highlight members of my all-star team, especially someone as diligent and tireless as the subject of my remarks today. The vast majority of the late-night hours and weekend projects that go on around here are repaid with much private gratitude but little to no public fanfare. So I am glad I can devote some time today to a longtime adviser who has earned my complete trust and thrown himself heart, mind, and soul into serving Kentucky and our Nation for nearly two decades.

But I am very unhappy that the occasion for this is that John Abegg is taking leave of the Senate to pursue the next chapter for himself and his family. John, you see, is my chief counsel. He arrived on our team before I was whip and before I was leader. President Clinton was still in office, and it was one of the more fortunate days of my career when this bright, young lawyer walked into my office. He brought an outsized share of shrewd judgment, sharp wit, and an eagle eye for detail along with him.

Some 19 years later, nearly all of that is still the case. There might be a little more seasoning. The reading glasses might be a little thicker. But every ounce of the talent and dedication that were so evident back then have remained part of my operation ever since.

John has literally flourished. He has become an institution in his own right here in the Senate and in the legal community, and I feel so fortunate to have had him by my side.

Now, today, it may all sound quite impressive--the chief counsel who advises the Senate majority leader on judicial nominations and countless important policy matters. But John can attest that the original job description 19 years ago wasn't so glamorous.

It was the beginning of the 107th Congress. I secured a temporary seat on the Judiciary Committee. It was an important assignment, but it came with some caveats. Namely, I would be last on the docket to speak at hearings. So most often, as a courtesy, I would yield my speaking time and avoid holding up the proceedings.

But this will give you a picture of how unbelievably industrious and meticulous John is, because my bright, young counsel saw this as a zero license to slack off or let up on the comprehensive briefing books he would prepare for me.

No matter how many times I opted only to listen and cast my vote, the painstaking, encyclopedic preparations came pouring in--just in case. I may have been the new guy on the block, but John made sure that every week I showed up loaded for bear, with extensive background information, potential amendments, and suggested questions, because, you see, John Abegg is never, ever caught flat-footed--not ever, and if you are around him, he will not let you be caught flat-footed either. For John, a job worth doing is a job worth doing to perfection--or as close to perfection as possible.

The man literally handled everything from nominations to policy matters to his own colleagues' questions about Senate ethics. Now, all of that was in a half-day's work, by the way, and yet every one of these subjects, every single time, was handled with total commitment, stunning professionalism, and the utmost care. Zero stones were left unturned, zero angles left unconsidered--a true ``lawyer's lawyer'' from dawn until well after dusk, and then all over again.

We are talking about a mindset that you would think even a top professional might reserve for one marquee project every couple of months. John brought that high standard to 14 different things before lunchtime, and he did it every day for almost 20 years.

Now, I realize that the picture I have painted so far may sound like an incredible team asset but not necessarily the most warm and fuzzy individual. It is true that John was never afraid to state his views directly to his peers or his chief of staff or to me. Now, I am not sure anyone on my staff has been able to deliver hard news, when necessary, with more clarity or greater courage, but he has been equally reliable for the best laugh line in most meetings, the perfectly timed joke. He literally lifts everyone up by bringing the house down.

And for all of the priorities he juggles, anybody who has seen John in the presence of his lovely wife and their three girls knows exactly what his real top priority is.

During his tenure, John has offered me peerless advice and analysis on countless judicial nominations. A majority of the sitting Supreme Court was confirmed while John has been on this job. He takes the judiciary as seriously as it deserves. The third branch and our Nation are better for his service.

Then, there is a lengthy catalog of legislative work that John has steered and helped me to shape. Some of his legacy is what you might expect from a no-nonsense lawyer for a Republican Member of this body-- work on causes like class action reform or medical liability reform.

But anyone who spent time around John would be equally unsurprised by the long nights he put in to help bring about comprehensive legislation to address the opioid crisis or crack down on the scourge of human trafficking or to help local law enforcement care for fallen officers' families and search for missing children. In every single case, John was on the case--rock-solid legal advice, keen strategy. Before an issue even popped up, he would have his finger on the pulse of the Senate.

Once we were in the thick of it, he was often our field general and backbone, and after our work was done, but only then, it was time for a well-earned smile.

But John's smile is widest when he is talking about his beautiful wife Heidi and their three lovely daughters, Abigail, Ingrid, and Erika.

So while his friends and colleagues here in the Senate are sad to see John go, we know he does nothing rashly, and so we are confident that he has thought this calculus through as completely as he has everything else.

Fewer full-day hearings and more bedtime stories. Fewer dinners cracking up his colleagues over takeout food

during some all-night session and more times at his own kitchen table.

Well, after nearly two decades, I suppose we can let this slacker head for the hills, and we will know that he has made the right call because John Abegg is the one who made it.

So I really can't thank him enough for his loyal friendship, wise counsel, and exceptionally well done job.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that if cloture is invoked, the postcloture time on the R. Clarke Cooper nomination expire at 2:15 p.m. today. I further ask that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. Finally, I ask that following the cloture vote on the R. Clarke Cooper nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. today.

Madam President, every American has the solemn responsibility to show our gratitude to the brave men and women who have answered the call to serve our Nation in uniform. We have an obligation to honor the values for which they fought and praise their efforts to preserve the freedom of this great country and the world.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. With every step onto the European continent, the forces of freedom moved closer to ending the reign of tyranny. Kentucky's World War II veteran community also marks another important milestone this year. Fifteen years ago, Sandy Hart, of Wickliffe, organized a groundbreaking project to honor the service of Kentucky's veterans. Because of Sandy's remarkable leadership, more than 500 World War II veterans traveled to our Nation's Capital in 2004 to visit the new memorial dedicated in their honor.

It is my privilege to recognize Sandy for her many years of dedicated service to American veterans, whom she calls true heroes. For many of the members of the Greatest Generation, a visit to the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, simply wouldn't have been possible without her. Through more than a year and a half of hard work, Sandy, the daughter of a World War II veteran, collected the necessary donations to fill 17 busloads and give every veteran the chance to visit their memorial free of charge. Although shy by nature, she is animated by her passion for honoring veterans.

To foster greater understanding and appreciation of the sacrifice veterans made for this county, Sandy and her husband Ray established the Kentucky Veteran and Patriot Museum. With donations of both funds and memorabilia, Sandy hopes the museum can be a meaningful place of engagement and remembrance both for current veterans and for future generations. With focuses on each of the modern American military engagements, Sandy's museum pays tribute to the heroes who defended our Nation.

I am not the only one who admires Sandy for her tireless work in Kentucky. In his series of books entitled ``Kentucky's Everyday Heroes: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things,'' Steve Flairty profiled inspirational men and women throughout the Commonwealth who, in his words, ``go quietly about their daily living, making others' lives better, with little or no thoughts of personal benefit.'' Sandy's remarkable servant leadership clearly belongs among the ranks of these Kentuckians. Her inclusion in the book is a well-earned tribute to her lifetime spent in service to others.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary, the Wickliffe community will host a parade and a ceremony. They will also unveil new memorials to brave American veterans. This anniversary gathering is the latest opportunity for Kentuckians to honor our heroes that would be impossible without Sandy's committed vision. I am sure she would try to avoid the praise I am offering, but she deserves this and so much more. Sandy is an inspirational woman who has dedicated her life to the benefit of those around her, especially our veterans. So I hope my Senate colleagues will join me in marking this important anniversary and in thanking Sandy Hart for her extraordinary leadership honoring America's heroes.

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 Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Admiral William F. Moran, USN, for reappointment to the grade of admiral and to be Chief of Naval Operations, and Lieutenant General David H. Berger, USMC, to be general and to be Commandant of the Marine Corps, both of the Department of Defense.

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 Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Committee on the Judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Ada E. Brown, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Steven D. Grimberg, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, David John Novak, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Matthew H. Solomson, of Maryland, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Select Committee on Intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a closed briefing

Subcommittee on Security

The Subcommittee on Security of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

Subcommittee on Intellectual Property

The Subcommittee on Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

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

Madam President, on Saturday, on the final day of Passover, our Nation once again came face to face with the violent hatred of anti-Semitism--barely 6 months since the murders at the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, and, again, gunfire in a synagogue. Again, a place of reverent worship for our Jewish brothers and sisters was thrown into deadly chaos--this time at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California.

Three people--the synagogue's founding rabbi, an 8-year old girl, and her uncle visiting from Israel--were injured by gunfire. Lori Kaye, who attended the service with her husband and 22-year-old daughter to deliver a prayer of mourning for her own late mother, was killed when she threw herself between the rabbi and the shooter. Ms. Kaye has been described as ``the example of kindness to the fullest extent,'' and now, in the words of the rabbi who oversees Chabad of San Diego County, she has ``lost her life solely for living as a Jew.''

According to some reports, that 8-year-old girl, in her young life, has already had to flee incoming rocket attacks in Gaza and then, here in America, has seen her family home subjected to anti-Semitic graffiti, and now she has been shot--shot at her synagogue.

Here is what she said yesterday:

I never thought that was going to happen to me . . . it's a

safe place; you're supposed to feel safe.

Well, in an abhorrent way, it may be fitting that our Nation will spend the week of Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day observed in Israel and worldwide, keenly focused on the disturbing rise in anti- Semitism within our own borders and around the globe.

Recent attacks on Muslims in New Zealand and Christians in Sri Lanka remind us that religious hatred exists in many forms, but, of course, the Jewish people have long been subjected to a unique degree of disgusting prejudice, and it is paired too often with indifference from others.

Just in the last few days, the New York Times published a transparently anti-Semitic political cartoon in its international edition--not just online. It ran in print. The Times compounded the error by issuing an initial correction that failed to accurately apologize for the blatant anti-Semitic tropes in which the cartoon trafficked. Fortunately, the Times has since finally published what appears to be a genuine apology.

This episode, as one of the New York Times own columnists explained, ``was an astonishing act of ignorance of anti-Semitism . . . at a publication that is otherwise hyperalert to nearly every conceivable expression of prejudice.''

In other words, even important institutions that strive to meet progressive sensibilities can often be blind to anti-Jewish prejudice and attitudes in a way that would never be tolerated for a second where most other vulnerable groups are concerned.

Combined with all the troubling statistics I have discussed on the floor in the past, it could just not be clearer that rising anti- Semitism requires swift action. Here is just one example. We know that anti-Semitism often masquerades as political opposition to Israel in an attempt to appear--to appear--more legitimate. But today, as hate for the Jewish people makes headlines with alarming frequency, this charade is being seen for what it is, and the Senate recently took action to condemn it flat out. Included in the S. 1 legislation the Senate passed earlier this year was a provision to help State and local governments push back against the influence of the BDS movement and to enable communities to shut off the flow of taxpayer dollars to entities that support these anti-Israel boycotters. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in the House have not seen fit to take up this straightforward measure. Even as they have struggled to swiftly and clearly condemn instances of anti-Semitism within their own ranks, they have also let this important provision in S. 1 languish. It is still sitting over in the House.

The infectious threat of anti-Semitism is serious. Much more must be done the world over to ensure that it finds no home in modern society.

I just want to close with the inspiring comments from the rabbi in the San Diego Chabad. He said:

In the face of senseless hate, we commit to live proudly as

Jews in this glorious country. We strongly believe that love

is exponentially more powerful than hate.

Nominations

Madam President, on a totally different matter, when I last spoke here on the floor, the Senate had taken an important step toward restoring the sort of comity and efficiency that once governed our consideration of uncontroversial nominations. In the face of across- the-board, systematic opposition and delaying tactics for even the most politically uncontroversial of the President's nominees, the Senate took action and brought this chapter of pure partisan calculation to an end.

Subsequently, we began doing business at a more normal, more reasonable pace. We confirmed a number of qualified public servants who still went on to receive bipartisan support for confirmation and did so in a fraction of the time it had been taking.

So today we will continue yet another slate of well-qualified candidates for service in the executive branch and on the Federal courts. We will consider three individuals to join the President's team, beginning with William Cooper of Maryland to serve as General Counsel to the Department of Energy. Then, we will consider five nominees to fill Federal district court vacancies in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Pennsylvania.

There is still so much work to be done. Two years of unprecedented obstruction can't be reversed overnight, but we have taken some important steps in the right direction, and this week we will take several more.

Remembering Richard Lugar

Madam President, on one final matter, I know many of our colleagues were as sad as I was to learn yesterday that our esteemed former colleague, Senator Dick Lugar, had died at the age of 87.

Many Members, past and present, knew Dick Lugar as a senior peer who always seemed to have the perfect advice or the exact perspective you needed to hear. More recently, others got to know Dick as a wise mentor. He felt a personal responsibility to help newcomers on both sides of the aisle learn the ropes and make an impact.

As I was reflecting yesterday on Dick's towering legacy, I found myself admiring all the ways he was really the consummate U.S. Senator. He was a total patriot who put principle first but also a highly talented politician and a savvy deal maker. Yet somehow his personal reputation and character managed to be even more impressive than those achievements. I literally don't think anybody on Capitol Hill had a bad word to say about Senator Dick Lugar. His intellect, his commitment, his prudence, his kindness, and his deliberate focus on mentoring the next generation of leaders--this man was the complete package--a total gentleman, thoroughly impressive.

So a lot of Dick's legacy lies in all the people he mentored and encouraged. Here I can testify firsthand. Dick was running the senatorial committee back in 1984 when I decided to try to run for the Senate. As you can imagine, as a local official, I had not exactly built a national profile, and I didn't have a whole lot of people in my corner. But Dick, thankfully, saw some potential. That was an unusual lapse of judgment, I would add, but he thought he saw potential and took a chance on a young Kentuckian.

Of course, the rest of the world knows Dick Lugar best for his towering impact on U.S. foreign policy and world affairs. His interest in international affairs dated back to his and his brother's success at drumming up more export business to turn around the family factory, and it blossomed into something remarkable.

For years, he represented one of our Nation's most listened to and most respected voices when it came to our role in the world. Whether he happened to be chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee or ranking member at a given time, the respect for his expertise was universal.

His most famous accomplishments, for good reason, involved his work on arms control. The 1991 Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threats Reduction Program stepped into the breach at a critical moment as the Soviet Union was dissolving. It took action to dismantle and decommission nuclear weapons before they could disappear or fall into the wrong hands. Those efforts, which were expanded after September 11 into the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, have neutralized literally thousands of warheads, hundreds of missiles, and other deadly chemical and biological weapons. Nations which once ranked in the global top 10 largest nuclear arsenals were certified as nuclear-free. The entire world is safer as a result.

These early efforts helped set a new tone right from the start of the post-Cold War era. Dick understood it was time to turn the page on Cold War competition. America would extend our hand and seek to work together with Russia and former Soviet states to build a safer world.

Consistent with Dick's leadership and guidance, Republicans and Democrats alike took a deliberately magnanimous approach. For decades, we sought to work with Moscow, instead of against it, to welcome Russia back into the community of sovereign nations.

As an aside, the general foreign policy consensus about Dick's approach to the former Soviet Union is especially worth remembering today. It demonstrates that Putin's hostility toward the West and our interests is not the result of American hostility toward Russia. The source of this hostility emanates from the Kremlin.

``Deliberately magnanimous'' is really the Lugar doctrine in a nutshell, from friendship to foreign policy.

Dick also built a formidable legacy on agriculture and food security as chairman and ranking member of the Agriculture Committee--everything from working on the farm bill and fighting for Hoosier families to international questions of aid and development.

The good news is, on these and other subjects, Dick's legacy did not end with his Senate retirement, and it will not even end now. The Lugar Center--which has thrived under not only his name but his active leadership since retiring from the Senate--will continue

to serve as a home to thoughtful research and an important voice in national policy conversations.

Of course, that Center isn't even the finest part of the ongoing Lugar legacy. That would be the family Dick and his beloved wife Char built together. They have been an inseparable team since their days as coclass presidents at Denison University. Today that team includes their four sons, Mark, Bob, John, and David, 13 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.

So we mourn Dick's passing, but we celebrate this life he lived so well and so fully. Our friend left us at 87 years old with the affection and gratitude of his colleagues, with the respect of his country and leaders around the world, with the love of his beautiful family, and with a world that is measurably safer for his work--a remarkable legacy that suits a remarkable man.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the postcloture time on the William Cooper nomination expire at 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30; further, that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following treaty transmitted to the Senate on April 29, 2019, by the President of the United States: Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia (Treaty Document No. 116-1).

I further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the first time; that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the President's message be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar Nos. 207, 208, 210 through 213, and all nominations placed on the Secretary's desk; that the nominations be confirmed; 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; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

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