Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the House message accompanying H.R. 2810.

The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives:

Resolved, That the House disagree to the amendment of the

Senate to the bill (H.R. 2810) entitled ``An Act to authorize

appropriations for fiscal year 2018 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,'' and ask a conference with the

Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon.

Compound Motion

Mr. President, I move that the Senate insist on its amendment, agree to the request by the House for a conference, and the Presiding Officer appoint the following conferees: Senators McCain, Inhofe, Wicker, Fischer, Cotton, Rounds, Ernst, Tillis, Sullivan, Perdue, Cruz, Graham, Sasse, Strange, Reed, Nelson, McCaskill, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Donnelly, Hirono, Kaine, King, Heinrich, Warren, and Peters.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to H. Con. Res. 71.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, as I discussed with the President and the Vice President at our working lunch today, the Senate has a full schedule of important work ahead of us.

The Senate's fall agenda includes confirming more nominees to the judiciary, administration, and other important positions. Later today we will resume consideration of another nominee, Callista Gingrich, who has been nominated to serve as our Ambassador to the Vatican. That agenda includes providing continued assistance to communities affected by the recent hurricanes, and we will process the President's supplemental funding request to do just that. The Senate's agenda also includes completing work on the budget resolution and advancing tax reform--two things that are critical to helping our economy finally realize its true potential after the stagnation of the last decade.

This budget will be the next step to spurring growth in our economy. It provides a pathway to balance, it reins in Federal spending, and it honors our commitments to Social Security and provides for the national defense.

In addition to these important aspects of this budget, it will also provide the legislative tools to advance tax reform. As I have said before, tax reform is the single most important thing we can do today to get our economy moving again.

We think taxes should be lower, simpler, and fairer for middle-class workers so that Americans can keep more of their own hard-earned money in their paychecks. We think taxes should be reformed to end the perverse incentives that help keep American jobs and profits offshore and so it is easier to make and keep American jobs where they belong-- right here at home.

We think it is time to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more money in the pockets of the American middle class. That is why we know it is time for tax reform.

The tax reform goals I just mentioned are shared by many, including the President, his team, Chairman Orrin Hatch, and Chairman Mike Enzi. As I said, to get there, we first need to pass the budget before us. I want to thank Chairman Enzi and the members of the Senate Budget Committee for all of their work in getting us to this point. As we advance that budget on the Senate floor this week, Senators on both sides of the aisle will have the opportunity to offer their input.

I look forward to putting our finances on a better path with this budget, just as I look forward to continuing with the other important initiatives on the Senate's fall agenda.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 164.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 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 Armed Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 99 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 the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 292, 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. Con. Res. 26, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion 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. 218, S. 705.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 695 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Hatch substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, the title amendment be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, October 17; 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; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Trachtenberg nomination under the previous order; finally, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

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, during the Obama years, many of the hard-working men and women of America's middle class felt completely forgotten. Paychecks often did not keep pace with rising costs. Opportunities for work could often seem bleak. For those men and women, the promise of a hard-earned retirement seemed to drift further and further away. For so many middle-class Americans, the last decade meant a weak economy and a decline of opportunities. People of this Nation deserve better. They deserve larger paychecks, more jobs, and better opportunities to get ahead.

This Congress is committed to helping the economy live up to its full potential once again, which is exactly why we are committed to passing tax reform. This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to overhaul a broken tax code that holds us back and replace it with something that actually works for the hard-working people of our country. It represents the single most important thing we can do today to get our economy back on the right track.

Working together, President Trump, his team, and the tax-writing committees in Congress have developed the framework that will help us get there. Here is what it envisions:

For American workers, we want to make your taxes lower, simpler, and fairer. We want to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more in yours.

Helping individuals and families succeed is the first aim of tax reform. Helping businesses succeed is the second aim, so we can help create more jobs and keep them right here in America.

American businesses, both large and small, face an increasingly competitive global economy. We want to put American businesses and workers on a level playing field because when they are, they can win.

We want to help bring jobs and profits back home, and once they are here, we want to give businesses the right incentives to keep them right here in America.

We want to unleash the potential of the American economy--helping you keep more of the money in your paycheck, helping businesses grow and workers succeed, helping move the economy into high gear so we can sustain real prosperity into the future for America's middle class.

These are the kinds of ideas that should be shared by everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike. Our friends across the aisle supported the need for tax reform for many years. They used to advocate it loudly. But the tone seems to be different now. What changed? The President, or so it would seem.

We know that our Democratic friends are under immense pressure from the hard left to oppose everything this President touches, but I hope they can resist that pressure and do what they know is right. After all, shouldn't we all support cutting middle-class taxes, helping small businesses, and bringing jobs and investments back to our country?

I was always under the impression that Democrats wanted to end corporate offshoring, eliminate loopholes for the wealthy, and cut middle-class taxes. Well, these are all aspects of the current tax reform framework. So there is no need for our friends to invent reasons to justify opposing tax reform. There is no reason to launch attacks on the tax reform framework based on made-up details that aren't actually in it. Tax reform has been a bipartisan effort in the past. It can be, and it should be, again now.

It is up to our Democratic friends to decide if they would like to engage in a serious way. I personally hope they will join us in advancing this important initiative for our country. I think we owe at least that much to the millions of Americans who felt forgotten over the last decade.

Tax reform can help move our economy into high gear. It can help deliver more jobs, higher wages, and increased opportunities for the American people. The men and women of this country deserve it, which is why I am committed

to keeping up the work to get tax reform accomplished.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks on Tuesday, October 17, the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 191, the nomination of David Trachtenberg to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. I further ask that there be 10 minutes of debate on the nomination equally divided in the usual form; that following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on confirmation with no intervening action or debate; 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.