Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 542, 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. 543, 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 immediate consideration of S. Res. 544, 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 immediate consideration of S. Res. 545, 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 immediate consideration of Calendar No. 377, H.R. 2229.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committe on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration of H. Con. Res. 111 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I further 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 when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 13; 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. 5515.

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, later this afternoon, the Senate will move to begin considering the John S. McCain 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

Our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee have spent months engaged in thorough work and in bipartisan collaboration. Now the whole Senate will take up their legislation and vote on a plan to deliver on the most pressing needs of our Armed Forces.

Congress has passed Defense Authorization Acts for 57 consecutive years--57 consecutive years. In doing so, we have taken steps to fulfill one of our most fundamental constitutional responsibilities: authorizing the funds that our men and women in uniform require to keep us safe.

This year's NDAA arrives as our Nation faces significant challenges-- challenges like an emboldened Iranian regime and its continued support of destabilizing forces in the Middle East and a new era of great power competition as Russia and China expand their capabilities.

Building on a time-honored process, this year's Defense authorization will help our Nation rise to meet these challenges with cutting-edge tools, top-notch training, and revitalized readiness. It is one of our most important jobs here in Congress. The 2019 Defense authorization is the top item on our to-do list, and we will tackle it this week.

Appropriations

Meanwhile, other important work is underway at the committee level. Chairman Shelby and our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee are laying the foundation for a productive summer. Last week, they reported out appropriations bills to fund the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs, as well as important military construction projects. This week, they will proceed to finalize measures for Interior and Environment, Commerce-Justice- Science, and the legislative branch. I look forward to taking up these appropriations bills right out here on the Senate floor.

Tax and Regulatory Reform

Now, on another matter, Mr. President, today marks another important

milestone in our efforts to cut back the forest of redtape the Obama administration left behind. Effective today, thanks to the leadership of Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC has rolled back meddlesome and unnecessary regulations that Democrats imposed on the internet back in 2015.

Let's put this whole effort into perspective. The Federal Register is the government's legal newspaper. Among other documents, it prints the regulations that Federal agencies enforce and the proposed rules on deck. In 2016, under President Obama, it had to print nearly 39,000 pages of rules--an alltime high--and another 21,000 pages of proposed rules. That is 39,000 pages of rules and 21,000 pages of proposed rules in 2016. It is hard to wrap your mind around that--60,000 pages of rules and proposed rules to pile on American workers and job creators.

We slashed those numbers in 2017. In that first year of our Republican government, the total number of Federal Register pages devoted to rules and proposed rules plummeted by more than 50 percent-- 50 percent less in 2017 than in 2016. That is a significant slowdown in the Federal Government's redtape factory just in our first year. This is part of what we were elected to do--get Washington, DC's, foot off the brake and let hard-working Americans and small businesses spend less and less time and energy hurdling obstacles put up by the Federal Government.

The regulatory reform comes on top of the historic tax reform legislation we passed last December. We overhauled our Nation's Tax Code and rewrote it so that businesses can expand, invest, and create jobs more easily and middle-class families can keep more of what they earn. This 180-degree policy turnaround is helping the U.S. economy rise to its highest heights in recent memory.

Today, thanks in large part to tax reform and regulatory reform, more small businesses are saying that it is a better time to expand operations than at any point in the last 44 years--44 years. More businesses are saying that it is a better time to expand operations than at any point in the last 44 years. That represents a 25- percentage-point leap in the number of Americans who say now is a good time to find a quality job. We have 3.8-percent unemployment--the lowest nationwide level in 18 years.

The real roots of this good news aren't here in Washington. The Republicans understand that government does not create prosperity, but public policy plays a big part in determining whether the wind is blowing in the faces of the job creators or whether it is at their backs. On that front, the results of this Republican-opportunity agenda are literally speaking for themselves.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2700 on behalf of Senator Toomey.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Madam President, today the Senate will consider the nomination of Kenneth Marcus to serve as the Department of Education's Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. His resume includes degrees from Williams College and the California Berkeley School of Law, and his career has spanned private practice and public service, with considerable experience in government. I look forward to voting to confirm Mr. Marcus later today.

Then, the Senate will resume consideration of the John S. McCain 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. It is the result of serious bipartisan work over the past several months.

Our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee have engaged in candid discussions with our Nation's top military leaders. They have heard about the pressing needs of the men and women who serve in harm's way: greater readiness, enhanced weapons capabilities in the air and on the seas, simpler processes for acquisition, and more support for military families.

This week we have already discussed the array of global challenges that face our Nation at this critical moment. This NDAA will help to equip our troops with the latest training and the best technology to confront those challenges and to keep us safe.

It is also important to reflect on all that this legislation will do for our warfighters and their families here at home. It will increase base pay for servicemembers by 2.6 percent, the largest annual raise in nearly a decade. It authorizes new resources for family housing construction, improved care for servicemembers' children with severe disabilities, and programs to better manage opioid prescriptions in the military health system.

It will authorize continued operations at military posts across our country that build up our Nation's security and form the backbone of local communities.

The servicemembers who serve at Kentucky's Army installations and in the Kentucky Air and Army National Guard are critical to our overall national defense strategy. I am proud to represent them here in the Senate.

Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division and a number of Special Operations units. In recent years, many of these servicemembers have seen a near-constant cycle of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The NDAA ensures that they are not forgotten. Fort Knox hosts the Army's Human Resources Command and Recruiting Command, where the NDAA will help to modernize officer personnel management, and this year's legislation paves the way for new construction projects at both these facilities.

In Madison County, the Blue Grass Army Depot is responsible for storing and demilitarizing conventional and legacy chemical weapons. It is a top-of-the-line facility, integral to our national security. Passing this NDAA will help to ensure that it can continue safe and effective operations.

It is my privilege to represent the men and women of the Kentucky Air and Army National Guard, including the 123rd Airlift Wing. This legislation will reaffirm our commitment to these citizen soldiers and airmen who are always ready to respond to emergencies at home or threats from abroad.

Kentucky is indeed proud of our men and women in uniform. When I vote for this Defense bill, I will be casting my vote for them.

Madam President, 16 months ago, President Trump and Republican majorities arrived in Washington with clear instructions from the American people: Get the Federal Government out of the way. A decade of Democratic control meant that taxes were too high, regulations were too burdensome, and America was too difficult a place to start a small business or hire more workers.

Republicans heard our marching orders loud and clear. We used the Congressional Review Act a record 16 times to root out invasive rules that tripped up small businesses. We uprooted key pieces of ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank that had burdened the middle class, and we delivered a long-overdue, comprehensive overhaul of America's Tax Code. It is helping to rejuvenate the economy and is letting American families keep more of what they earn.

Today, under this Republican government, the U.S. economy is healthier than it has been in a long time. We have the lowest unemployment in 18 years, and more open positions than workers seeking jobs for the first time since the Labor Department started collecting these data. There is record levels of optimism among small businesses and manufacturers. More Americans are saying that now is a good time to find a quality job than at any point in the last 17 years.

In the Obama years, prosperity was slower in coming. Opportunities were comparatively few, and what limited growth did occur flowed disproportionately into America's very biggest urban centers.

Now our economy is starting to work better for all kinds of communities. I recently heard a few inspiring stories from my friend Senator Portman. In Zanesville, OH, the owners of GKM Auto Parts spent much of the last decade watching health insurance premiums soar. By 2016 they could no longer support coverage for their employees, but as Senator Portman recently explained, one of the first things the company was able to do following the passage of historic tax reform last year was to restore that coverage.

He also shared that builders and manufacturers across his State, from Wolf Metals in Columbus to Advanced Industrial Roofing in Massillon, are increasing pay and benefits, investing in equipment, and creating jobs as a direct result of tax reform and this pro-growth economic climate.

We are hearing stories like these from every corner of our country.

American workers and job creators are turning the page on the last decade and writing brand-new success stories, and Republican policies are helping to make that happen.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 429, S. 2377.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.