Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, June 25; 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, and morning business be closed. I further ask that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 5895 under the previous order. Finally, I ask that the cloture motion filed during today's session ripen following disposition of H.R. 5895.

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

Mr. President, as I discussed on the floor yesterday, returning to regular order in the appropriations process is at the forefront of the Senate's agenda.

Thanks to the bipartisan work of the Appropriations Committee, led by Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member Leahy, and the subcommittee chairmen, it is actually becoming a reality. Their efforts have already produced thoughtful legislation for the full Senate to consider, beginning this week with the combined measures for the Legislative Branch, for Energy and Water, and for Military Construction and the Veterans Administration. It is those last components I would like to discuss this morning.

This year, 2018, has already brought significant legislative progress for America's men and women in uniform. Earlier this year, Congress and the President did away with arbitrary funding limits that had eroded our forces' comparative advantage. We delivered the largest year-on- year increase in funding for our troops in 15 years. Now, with the Military Construction-VA funding bill before us this week, the Senate can keep the ball rolling.

The committee's package would deliver mission-critical maintenance and improvements that are needed on installations both at home and abroad. It would support Active-Duty personnel, as well as National Guard and Reserve units. It would allocate significant resources for projects that reinforce key alliances and extend our influence around the world.

In my home State of Kentucky, it would mean major improvements to training facilities at both Fort Knox--home of the Army Cadet, Human Resources, and Recruiting Commands--and at Fort Campbell, where the 101st Airborne Division and Special Operations forces prepare for evolving missions.

But while underpinning the ongoing missions of our Active Forces, the legislation before us would also take critical steps to meet the individual needs of America's warfighters and their families here at home. It would allocate over $1.5 billion to operate and maintain military family housing facilities. It would provide for vital safety updates at overseas American military schools, part of a system that serves more than 66,000 children. Hundreds of millions in additional funding would go to build and improve the network of military medical facilities, which provide care to nearly 10 million servicemembers and military families.

Finally, within the Military Construction legislation is important funding to support our veterans. In addition to funding the maintenance and upkeep of VA health facilities, it goes further in allocating targeted resources to address the system's shortcomings.

Especially when we talk about access to prompt, quality care, the status quo is simply not good enough for America's veterans. For the more than 300,000 Kentucky veterans and for the millions of veterans nationwide, we can and we must do better. That is why this bill includes billions of dollars to improve claims processing and to cut down on backlogs. There is funding for treatment, mental health services, and preventing opioid misuse.

There are plenty of good reasons to support this appropriations package, but one of the most compelling is the support it will deliver to our all-volunteer military and those who have served our country in uniform. So let's keep this legislation moving this week.

Rescissions Bill

On another matter, Mr. President, speaking of government spending, we will soon have an opportunity to save some of the money taxpayers entrust to us. Thanks to the hard work of Members, including Senator Lee and Chairman Enzi, we will soon turn to a House-passed bill that acts on the President's request to rescind nearly $15 billion in previously appropriated money that has gone unspent. This modest belt- tightening would in no way infringe on the bipartisan spending deal that Senators on both sides agreed to earlier this year. This savings package is 100 percent unrelated to that agreement.

Let me say that again. This savings package is 100 percent unrelated to the bipartisan agreement we reached earlier this year. It is totally separate. It simply pulls back a small amount of unspent funds from a variety of government accounts. If we, the people's elected representatives, want to speak seriously about stewarding taxpayer money, surely we can vote to recapture these unspent funds that are not even currently in use.

The President's modest rescissions request is entirely reasonable. It should be without controversy. I look forward to voting for it myself, and I urge my fellow Members to do the same.

Tax Reform

Now, on one final matter, Mr. President, today marks 6 months since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed Congress. On Friday, it will be 6 months since the President signed it into law. What a 6 months it has been.

Already, Americans have seen their paychecks grow as the IRS withholds less of what they earned. Already, families are reaping the fruits of a new business tax code that gives American employers more ability to increase pay and create jobs. Six months in, these tax cuts have already led employers to issue tax reform bonuses, raises, and new benefits to 4 million workers and counting. That is welcome relief for middle-class families. But what about the long term?

Republicans know that enduring prosperity needs thriving businesses competing to hire American workers. So we designed tax reform to flip the Obama-era script and make America a more attractive place to invest, expand, and create jobs.

For large companies, capital investment might mean breaking ground on new locations or purchasing state-of-the-art technology. If you are a midsized employer, it might mean filling your factory floor with new equipment. If you are a Main Street family business, it could mean expanding into the vacant storefront next door or buying new tools that will transform your day-to-day operations.

In every case, you are placing a bet on your community and on your country. You are betting on American land, American equipment, and, most importantly, the future of the American workforce. You are putting down roots here instead of shipping jobs overseas. This is precisely what we have seen in the past 6 months.

Earlier this year, Apple announced plans to make $30 billion in capital investments over the next 5 years--new facilities, new data centers, and more than 20,000 new jobs.

Chipotle Mexican Grill announced a $50 million investment in upgrading and refurbishing their restaurants.

Carpenter Technology is using tax reform to speed up a new $100 million facility in Redding, PA. Their new state-of-the-art mill will allow them to compete in precision electronics manufacturing. New equipment can't be easily outsourced; neither can the jobs it will create. Sure enough, Carpenter is partnering with a local community college to train a 21st century workforce.

Remember, these businesses aren't just creating new opportunities themselves. These projects also mean prosperity for American contractors and construction crews, and it is not just the big guys.

In West Palm Beach, FL, tax reform means new kitchen appliances for the Don Ramon Restaurant. In my home State of Kentucky, at Glier's Meats, tax reform meant a new quarter-million-dollar machine to speed up production of their famous sausages. For a small business with fewer than 30 employees, that is a noteworthy opportunity. Everywhere you turn, businesses large and small are going all in on the future of the United States.

There is one more interesting thing the last 6 months have revealed: just how impossible it is for our Democratic colleagues to set aside their outdated, tax-and-spend ideology. Every Democrat in the House and in the Senate voted on party lines to block tax reform. They insisted the law wouldn't help American workers one bit. They said that it would be a disaster. Of course, the facts have debunked those predictions. But are our Democratic friends admitting they were wrong? No. They are doubling down on this silliness.

By now, we are all familiar with the House Democratic leader's comments from January. She laughed at the four-figure bonuses that working families were celebrating and called them ``crumbs.'' Earlier this month, she doubled down:

Hip, hip hooray, unemployment is down. But what does that

mean for me?

Well, my Democratic friends seem hopeful they can convince Americans that tax cuts, bonuses, and a stellar job market are nothing to celebrate. Talk about a tall order.

But while those rhetorical gymnastics keep them busy, Republicans will keep up the fight for middle-class families.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk for amendment No. 2910.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk for the bill H.R. 5895.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls be waived.

Mr. President, here is where we are. I filed cloture, but we anticipate that will not actually be necessary and we will be able to vitiate the cloture motions tomorrow because we anticipate being able to process additional amendments throughout the day and wrap the bill up sometime tomorrow afternoon. But there will be an opportunity during the day to continue to process amendments, and we should be able to finish the bill this week without resorting to cloture.

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.

Mr. President, I understand that there are two bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading en bloc.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions, which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 553, S. Res. 554, and S. Res. 555.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 770 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Murphy amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

I know of no further debate on the bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:45 a.m., Thursday, June 21; 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, and morning business be closed. Finally, I ask that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 5895.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of our Democratic colleagues.

Madam President, one of the top goals for the Senate this year was to recover a regular appropriations process. It has been a long time since the system worked as intended.

The spending agreement we passed in March achieved several critical objectives. It broke the arbitrary limits on funding for our Armed Forces. It delivered the largest year-on-year increase in resources for our troops in more than a decade. It provided record levels of veterans funding, with increased oversight and modernization. It secured major resources for infrastructure improvements. It took steps to prevent school violence. It scaled up research, treatment, and prevention funding to fight opioid addiction. It was a product of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations with the White House.

But while the spending agreement achieved a lot, it wasn't anybody's best case scenario. No Senator on either side of the aisle was thrilled with the process, nor was the President, nor were the American people.

We all agreed that we owe Americans a more functional process for allocating their hard-earned money. So here in the Senate, we made it a top bipartisan priority to bring some regular order back into the process.

Led by Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member Leahy, and all the subcommittee leadership, our Appropriations Committee has engaged in precisely the kind of thorough, considered committee work that ought to define the appropriations process. Thanks to their hard work, the full Senate can now take up this package, which includes appropriations for Energy and Water Development, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and the legislative branch. We will be considering it on the floor this week.

Keeping families and communities safe, defending our Nation, and upgrading our economic foundation, the Energy and Water components in this legislation address each of these national priorities. For example, they provide for critical improvements in the safety, security, and readiness of our Nation's nuclear arsenal. Today, as the Nation enters a period of renewed global competition among great powers, it is vital that we maintain a robust and well-maintained nuclear deterrent. This legislation puts forward the funds to continue safeguarding our stockpile and prepare the Nation for existing and future nuclear threats.

It also includes record funding for the Department of Energy's Office of Science for research into subjects like new energy technologies and advanced computing. There are also funds for fossil fuel research, particularly for coal carbon capture.

In addition to our energy future, the legislation bolsters infrastructure initiatives. It provides ample support for the future of America's water resources. It directs nearly $7 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers for maintaining our ports and inland waterways, protecting our shores, and reducing the damage caused by flooding.

These funds will keep us on track to meet national priorities, but I can also testify to the impact this legislation will have on communities across the country, including in my home State of Kentucky. Earlier this year I asked Secretary Perry to take a visit with me to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in western Kentucky. I was glad he took me up on the offer. At the plant, Secretary Perry noted that we ``have a moral responsibility'' to properly decommission the site. The legislation before us is an important step to fulfill that responsibility to the community and to the thousand-plus workers dedicated to environmental cleanup.

This legislation also provides funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission to help deliver infrastructure improvements to distressed counties in Kentucky and the region. It funds important civil works projects like the Olmsted Locks and Dam and the Kentucky Lock. These are critical to the free flow of commerce along Kentucky's 1,900-plus miles of inland waterways and the 13,000 maritime jobs they support.

These are just a few examples from my State. The reality is that this legislation supplies needed support to communities all across our country.

Energy matters to all Americans. Water infrastructure matters to all Americans. I urge everyone to join me in supporting this bill.

On another matter, Madam President, yesterday Gallup reported that the percentage of Americans who are satisfied with the way things are going in our country is as high as it has been since 2005. That is a nearly 13-year high. It is no wonder, with an ongoing economic expansion creating jobs across the Nation and our unemployment rate at its lowest level since the year 2000. Consumers are confident. Manufacturers are confident. Small businesses are optimistic.

As I have said many times, Washington doesn't deserve all the credit for this. The government does not create prosperity. American workers and job creators do. But public policy does set the stage. Bad policy can make job creation, wage growth, and capital investment much more difficult. Good policy can make these things easier. Take the historic tax reform that Republicans passed just last year.

In addition to immediate tax relief for middle-class families and small businesses, we also sought to improve our long-term foundation by making America a more attractive place to start a business, expand a business, and invest for the future. That is why tax reform allowed for full and immediate expensing of capital investments and made corporate rates more competitive. We are starting to see signs that businesses, large and small, are taking notice.

A few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that ``U.S. companies are ramping up spending on their businesses at the fastest pace in years.'' One recent analysis projected that the S&P 500 businesses' spending on new factories, equipment, and other capital investments in the first quarter of 2018 would be nearly 25 percent more than they spent in the first quarter of just last year.

What about small business? Just a few weeks ago, a leading industry survey showed 62 percent of owners reporting recent capital outlays, on the heels of the most positive sales trends since 1995.

Major, business-changing equipment is being purchased. Ribbons are being cut on new facilities. The long-term foundations for a stronger economy are literally being poured. Republicans are proud that we helped make this happen. We are getting Washington out of the way so American prosperity can take flight.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that H.R. 5515, as amended, be printed as passed.

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

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.