Floor Statements

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, October 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, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Pai nomination, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; further, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, all postcloture time on the Pai nomination expire at 5:30 p.m.; finally, that at 5:30 p.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of the Pai nomination with no intervening action or debate and, 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.

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, I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. President, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings.

Mr. President, later today, I look forward to joining members of the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and other congressional leaders in unveiling a unified framework for fixing our Nation's broken Tax Code. It is an idea that can bring much needed relief to middle-class families and small businesses and help keep more jobs right here in America. It is the result of a lot of hard work and input from Members, committees, staffs, and the administration, to name a few, and I want to thank them again for their continued diligence on behalf of our country.

This framework is focused on supporting American jobs, while making taxes fairer, and on growing families' paychecks. It is a refreshing change from our current outdated Tax Code, which for too long hasn't worked for many Americans.

The current code forces individuals, families, and small businesses to navigate a web of schedules, deductions, and penalties. Rates are too high. Incentives often make little to no sense. Some actually encourage companies to ship American jobs overseas. Moreover, for 8 years under the Obama administration, our economy grew at a sluggish rate--never living up to its real potential. Too many Americans struggled to get ahead, many living paycheck to paycheck. It is time for a significant change in favor of families and jobs.

This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally rethink our Tax Code. We can unleash the economy--promoting growth, attracting jobs, and improving American competitiveness in the global market. Instead of sending jobs overseas, we can modernize our Tax Code to help bring strong investment and good-paying jobs home and keep them here. Through this framework, we can lower taxes for individuals and families, so hard-working Americans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money.

Later this afternoon, President Trump will bring our shared vision of tax reform to the people of Indiana and to Americans more broadly. He will explain his support for putting Americans across the country on a more level playing field, because when they are, they can win.

I thank the President and his team for their efforts to develop the framework. Together, we can continue that work to bring relief and growth to the people of our States, such as the workers, small businesses, and families of Kentucky, and promote economic growth in America.

Using the framework we will release today as a roadmap, the Senate Finance Committee, under Chairman Hatch's leadership, will continue to hold a series of hearings to discuss how to make taxes lower, simpler, and fairer for middle-class families and for small businesses. Like its counterpart in the House, the Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee will continue working to provide much needed relief to encourage jobs and investments to come back to the United States. The work of these committees will help build a stronger country.

Many of our Democratic colleagues have voiced support for overhauling our Tax Code. Throughout this process, I hope they will choose to work with us in a serious way.

A fundamental overhaul of our Tax Code is a daunting task. We have a lot of work ahead, but America deserves it--like the hard-working men and women of the middle class saving for retirement and the small businesses trying to expand and grow and the families hoping to send their kids to a good college. These Americans deserve real tax reform. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in working from this framework to deliver for them.

Here is the point: It is time to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more of it in the pockets of Americans.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 executive session for the en bloc consideration of Calendar No. 95, the nomination of Heath Tarbert to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Calendar No. 106, the nomination of Makan Delrahim to be Assistant Attorney General. I further ask that there be 5 hours of debate on the nominations, equally divided in the usual form, and that following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed, with no intervening action or debate, and that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, last night on television, we saw a stark contrast between two different visions of healthcare in our country. One is an idea that is gaining increasing currency with our friends on the other side of the aisle. Some call it single payer. Others try to dress it up with poll-tested PR labels.

No matter what you call it, at its core, here is what it is: a massive expansion of a failed idea, a quadrupling down on the failures of ObamaCare, a totally government-run system that would rip health insurance plans away from even more Americans and take away even more of their personal healthcare decisions. The costs of implementing it would be astronomical. The taxes required to pay for it would be sky high. Yet, after years of ObamaCare's failures--its higher costs, diminished choices, collapsing markets--it seems this is the best our Democratic friends can come up with--not a new idea but quadrupling down on an old one that has already failed. What a contrast with the general approach Senators Graham and Cassidy and many other Republicans have pursued.

We think the American people deserve a better way forward--like returning more power from the Federal Government to the States where Americans actually live, allowing for reforms that can actually lower costs and improve care, and actually moving beyond the growing failures of a failed law called ObamaCare.

As I said, what we saw last night reminds us of this stark contrast in vision. It is an important debate for our country. It is one that will certainly continue.

Mr. President, on another matter, we have seen all the serious problems facing the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as a result of recent hurricanes. The damage has been terrible. The latest hurricane was especially devastating.

We want the people of Puerto Rico and the islands to know that we are thinking of them, and, more importantly, we want them to know that we will continue to work with FEMA, the Department of Defense, and the rest of the administration to help in the recovery.

I expect we will hear more soon on what additional resources will be necessary in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the paths of the storms. The recovery effort is certainly not going to be easy. It is not going to be quick. But we are here to do our part.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 312, Ralph Erickson.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 251, Ajit Pai.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, by now, we all know the pain ObamaCare continues to inflict on our families, our communities, and our country. Skyrocketing prices, disappearing choices, failing markets--that is the legacy of ObamaCare. It has hurt so many already. Without reforms, it will hurt even more Americans as it continues a year-long march toward total collapse.

Across the aisle, there are two basic schools of thought on what to do about this. One is essentially nothing. Two is to quadruple down on ObamaCare with a massive expansion of a failed idea--a fully government-run system that would strip even more Americans of their healthcare plans and take away even more of their health decisions.

Neither of these options is acceptable.

If ObamaCare's failure has shown us anything, it is that we need new ideas and a better approach. That is what the Senate pursued this summer. That is what Senators Graham and Cassidy are pursuing now. I would like to thank them for all of their dedicated work.

I would also like to thank the committees that worked so hard on this legislation as well, including the Budget Committee under Chairman Enzi, the HELP Committee under Chairman Alexander, and the Finance Committee under Chairman Hatch, which just held a hearing on the bill this afternoon.

I would like to thank each of these committees, their chairs, their members, and their staffs for their hard work to provide the American people with a better way than ObamaCare and its years of failure.

Mr. President, for more than 80 years, the NLRB has been responsible for the impartial resolution of labor disputes and for ensuring stable labor relations.

Under the Board majority appointed by the Obama administration, however, the NLRB moved from fair administrator of the law to partisan activist--one that put leftwing ideology, deep-pocketed union bosses, and other special interest friends ahead of middle-class workers.

It pursued an ambush election rule that would weaken workers' rights. It implemented a joint employer mandate that would disadvantage small businesses. The list goes on, and the Obama administration pulled out every stop to get its way on the Board as well--everything from illegally appointing its Members to refusing to allow a Republican vacancy to be filled for nearly 2 years.

A new majority on the NLRB can begin to undo this severe damage and restore the Board's neutrality.

Confirming the nominee before us today, William Emanuel, is sure to mark a turning point in the NLRB's direction. His experience in labor law is deep, his credentials are impressive, and his confirmation will finally allow the NLRB to return to its important work with a full slate of Senate-confirmed Board Members--for the first time since 2015.

The National Labor Relations Board is supposed to be a neutral umpire in labor disputes. It is time it get back to that important original mission. Confirming Mr. Emanuel today will allow it to do just that.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.