Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, this week is National Police Week--a time to honor the sacrifices and the service of our Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers.

I want to take this opportunity as a Senator from West Virginia to thank the officers who keep our communities across our country safe.

I especially want to thank the State troopers, the sheriffs, the deputy sheriffs of all 55 of our counties, and our city police officers across West Virginia who serve and protect the Mountain State.

Tomorrow, the 38th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service--a somber service--will honor 158 law enforcement heroes from across this Nation who were killed in the line of duty in the year 2018. We all mourn the loss of these brave men and women.

Last night, I joined thousands, I believe, of officers on the National Mall for their candlelight vigil in preparation for the Peace Officers Memorial Service. What I saw there was really astounding. I struck up conversations with a lot of different people. I saw sheriffs from Florida. I saw the motorcycle police officers from Texas. We saw the mounted officers from all over the country on beautiful equestrian horses. We saw city police officers from big cities and small cities, men and women, young and old, serving our country as our law enforcement officers.

As we did yesterday evening during the candlelight vigil, we continue to stand with not just the fallen heroes' families but those who are serving us now. Our country will never forget the sacrifices our fallen law enforcement officers and their families have made.

In the coming days, I hope that we will further honor our police officers by passing several pieces of bipartisan legislation.

One of these bills is the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis Act. It was introduced by Senator Hawley. The bill will reauthorize and improve family support grants for law enforcement officers to better address mental health and suicide prevention.

Our law enforcement officers have to deal with difficult and often tragic situations. They are the first to respond to a difficult accident or the first to view up close and personal the devastation of child abuse and other terrible incidents. Responding to tragedy and helping individuals through the worst days of their lives would take a toll on anybody. We need to be there for the officers who are there for us by providing mental health services when they are needed.

I also support passage of the Debbie Smith Act, which was introduced by Senator Cornyn. This will extend funding for DNA testing to reduce the rape kit backlog, which has been historically quite large.

The West Virginia State Police and Marshall University have partnered to utilize some of this funding in my State. It is important that we continue providing resources to help our law enforcement officers bring justice to the victims of rape and other violent crimes.

Senator Leahy's bill to continue the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program, which we participate in, again, in West Virginia, is also critical to protecting the lives of our police officers.

All of these bills enjoy broad support and should be passed soon.

The work of our police officers do influence so many aspects of our lives. In West Virginia, where the opioid epidemic continues to devastate families and communities across the State, our police play a vital role. They help others to stop bringing the drugs into our towns to begin with. They assist with those who are caught in the cycle of addiction. By going to schools and being school resource officers, they prevent that next generation from going down that path.

This week is also National Drug Prevention Week, and the Martinsburg Initiative in West Virginia is a great example of how our police can play such a positive role in our children's lives.

This initiative is spearheaded by the Martinsburg Police Department, the Berkeley County Schools, and Shepard University, as well as a wide array of local partners, most especially the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. Its goal is to stem the opioid addiction problem by identifying and trying to determine the basic causes of drug abuse in at-risk families. The effort is actually based on a CDC study that shows when children have adverse childhood experiences like exposure to drugs and alcohol, it can have a major impact on their physical and mental developmental health.

The work these officers are doing, led by Martinsburg chief of police Maury Richards, is incredible. I have seen it firsthand. Whether they are playing basketball with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle or spending times in West Virginia in Berkeley County Schools playing interactive learning games and helping students with their work, or simply lending a hand and a smile whenever one is needed, they are making such a difference and letting kids know that their police department is part of the solution, and they are there and available to help.

I saw other prevention efforts underway last year when I visited John Adams Middle School in Charleston. I went with Chad Napier, who is from the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force to meet with students. He was explaining to them just the proliferation of drugs, the damage drugs can do, and doing it in a way that could relate to the middle schoolers.

So during National Drug Prevention Week, I want to recognize those who use their time and talent to help prevent addiction in our communities. During National Police Week, I want to thank our police officers again and their loved ones for their service and their sacrifice on behalf of our communities.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, as we begin the month of May, which we are just 2 days in now, and our Nation's observance of Older Americans' Month, I come to the floor to speak on a topic that is very close to my heart, and that is Alzheimer's disease.

Like so many Americans, I have felt the impact of this disease. I lost both of my parents to Alzheimer's disease pretty close to the same time. Our family--my brother and my sister and I--helped to care for them. I understand the difficulties that caregivers and families have as they are trying to figure out how to face this difficult challenge because this disease is devastating, especially to the patients and their loved ones.

My father passed away in January of 2015, just 1 day after I was sworn in as a U.S. Senator. My mother, Shelley, passed away just a few months beforehand, in September of 2014.

There is not a book that has yet been written that can tell you what to do when a loved one is diagnosed because each case is different, and there is no magic formula, but I feel strongly that we can do much more to help our caregivers, to ease the pain of those who suffer from this disease, and, most importantly, to find a cure.

The statistics surrounding Alzheimer's are staggering. Over 5 million Americans are living with the disease, and it is estimated that as many as 16 million will have the disease by 2050 if medical breakthroughs do not slow or, better yet, cure this disease.

In my home State of West Virginia, over 38,000 West Virginians are currently living with the disease, and these are just the ones we know about. A lot of these cases go undiagnosed or are unreported.

Across the country, nearly one in every three seniors who dies each year has Alzheimer's or another type of dementia. The cost of caring-- and this is not the emotional cost; this is the actual dollar cost--for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias is also notable--an estimated $277 billion in 2018, increasing to $1.1 trillion by the year 2050.

These numbers make it clear that we have much work we need to do for those living with the disease, for those caring for them, and for the many who face a future diagnosis.

Over the past few months, I have taken some first steps to address needs facing each of these groups. Fortunately, this is not a task I am working on alone--as I said, almost everybody is touched by this disease--and I have great bipartisan partners to work with.

Last month, I joined Senators Stabenow, Wicker, and Menendez to introduce the CHANGE Act. This bipartisan legislation encourages early assessment and diagnosis of Alzheimer's. It seeks to better utilize the ``Welcome to Medicare'' initial exam and annual Medicare wellness visits to screen, detect, and diagnose Alzheimer's and related dementias in their earliest stages. It also establishes payment measures to incentivize detection, diagnosis, and discussion of appropriate care planning services, including the potential for clinical trial participation. Let's be honest. A conversation along these lines on this topic is very difficult.

Early assessment and diagnosis offer the important possibility for the patient to be able to be involved in decisions regarding their own care--involve the people before they can no longer make that decision for themselves. I wish I had been able to do that. I tried, but I wasn't able to kind of get that answer that I was hoping for.

That is a goal that Senators Stabenow, Collins, Markey, Menendez, and I had when we championed the HOPE for Alzheimer's Act back in the 114th Congress. It is a goal we achieved in 2016, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that Medicare would begin to pay for an individual care plan for newly diagnosed Alzheimer's patients, effectively implementing our legislation.

This new benefit went into effect in the year 2017. It encourages doctors to give a clear diagnosis to patients with Alzheimer's disease. That includes information about treatment options and what medical and community services are available.

Here is the rub. Unfortunately, in 2017, less than 1 percent of seniors living with Alzheimer's actually received the care planning benefit that was created in the HOPE for Alzheimer's Act. So our bipartisan team regathered--as I mentioned, these are not easy conversations. They are not easy for families, and they are not easy for medical professionals. In late March, we introduced the Improving HOPE Act.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct outreach, to make sure our healthcare providers are aware of this important benefit, and to report back on rates of utilization and barriers we need to know about. Hopefully, this will help ensure more Alzheimer's patients and their families actually receive this benefit, as well as the information it is intended to provide.

It is also important to remember that while many living with Alzheimer's are in their later years, like my parents were, there are also more than 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 who are living with Alzheimer's. I have met several who are in their early stages. It is a difficult disease at any time, but for a younger person, it is tremendously sad.

These individuals and their families also need access to support services that most their age don't require and don't need. To make sure they have access, I recently joined Senators Collins, Casey, and Jones to introduce the Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Act. This bill will amend the Older Americans Act to allow individuals under the age of 60, who are diagnosed with younger onset Alzheimer's disease, to access its support programs. Under current law, only those over the age of 60 are eligible for Older Americans Act programs, leaving Americans with younger onset Alzheimer's without access to vital programs and services. The Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Act would address this disparity, and it would ensure that these individuals have access to things like nutritional services, supportive services, and respite care through the National Family Caregiver Support Program.

Of course, it is also essential that we continue to work toward a cure for this heartbreaking disease. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have worked with Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Chairman Blunt and others to provide resources for crucial Alzheimer's research.

In fact, with the passage of the Labor-H bill last year, we surpassed the $2 billion milestone when it comes to Alzheimer's research. That means we are making sure NIH has the funding it needs to continue its work and to help to support the work of others.

I was recently very proud to welcome to West Virginia Dr. Marie Bernard. She is the Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging at NIH. She came to West Virginia University, where we visited the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, which will be opening soon-- actually, I think in about 10 days.

We spent the day learning more about the innovative and groundbreaking work being done there. Dr. Bernard shared with the Institutes' faculty students and staff the opportunities this increased funding can offer to this field of research at West Virginia University.

It is easy to get discouraged when you hear about a once-promising clinical trial not moving forward--which

was the news just 2 weeks ago. They were moving forward with the clinical trial medication, and they had to stop the trial because they weren't getting satisfactory results--or when we learn that another person we know was diagnosed with the disease or when a cure really does seem so far away.

Hearing the passion in Dr. Bernard's voice for the work she has dedicated her life to and seeing the excitement and hope in the eyes of the students who listened to her, the young researchers, well, that was proof to me that we are making progress and an illustration of the will and determination that exists to continue making process.

I share that will and determination, and I will continue to work for the day when a patient and their families can more easily receive an early assessment and diagnosis, for the day when, following such a diagnosis, they routinely receive an individual care plan to help guide them, for the day when Alzheimer's patients of all ages are able to access the Older Americans Act support services but best yet, of course, the day when we can celebrate the first person cured of Alzheimer's disease.

I think this is a mission for me in loving memory of both of my parents who fought hard through the diagnosis, but in the end, for those of you who have been exposed to this through your own families, it is a losing battle, a sad battle, a tough battle, and an emotionally and financially draining battle.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to make all of this and so much more a reality of those living with Alzheimer's and those who care and love them.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President.

Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina. I am going to talk a little bit about our visit later, but our visit was really tremendous in West Virginia.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Brasher nomination expire at 3 p.m. today and 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.

I further ask that following disposition of the Brasher nomination, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Ruiz II, Arias- Marxuach, and Wolson nominations in the order listed, and that if cloture is invoked on the nominations, the postcloture time on the nominations expire at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 2, and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order in which cloture was invoked; and finally, if confirmed, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I am here to join my colleagues today to speak about what I believe is one of the most significant parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that we passed a little over a year ago, and that is the opportunity zones.

Senator Scott is the author and the brains behind this concept that he has been working on for years, and I was really proud to be a cosponsor of that bill and am excited to see what is going to happen.

Ever since that historic legislation that we passed and became law in 2017, I have heard from many individuals, families, and small businesses back in West Virginia about all the ways that they have benefited from this. I have met with families who have been able to save for their children, whether it is to increase their children's education or to actually get some things done around the house that they hadn't been able to afford before.

I have spoken with small businesses that have been able to expand their operations and create new jobs. I have heard from individuals who have been able to give back to their churches and to their communities. I have seen--which, I think, may even be the most significant--a renewed sense of optimism and hope about where our economy is going, not just in our State but across the country.

Many critics of the tax cut legislation said folks like those living in West Virginia wouldn't feel the positive effects, but I can tell you that we have experienced that in West Virginia. Those same critics then said that the benefits would only be temporary.

I heard Senator Scott talk about the growth figures over the last quarter. It is phenomenal. I have seen figures in West Virginia of how wage growth is increasing and how our annual salaries are increasing.

Our unemployment still remains a little bit high, but it is still moving down over the last month.

As recently as last week, I met a small business owner in South Charleston who is currently creating new jobs because of that tax reform.

But thanks to a specific provision in the tax reform bill--a provision, as I said, that Senator Scott sponsored and that several of our colleagues joined in--I am positive that the new tax law will continue to drive economic growth and optimism through opportunity zones.

Now there is no State better made for an opportunity zone investment than our State. I am going to sell it right here.

As my colleagues before me have explained, the idea is quite simple. It is to incentivize private investment in communities that need it the most--communities that, for one reason or another, have struggled more than others economically and that have been hit hard and are in need of not just a little but a major jump start. They are communities full of great people--people with great ideas and strong ambition--but they are in need of the capital to get those ideas off the ground, to start and expand their businesses, and to drive that growth and development.

That is something that is really not easy to do in a small State, particularly a small rural State. It is very difficult.

The New York Times actually reported recently that the rural areas around our country accounted for just 3 percent of America's job growth between the years of 2010 and 2014.

But with the creation of the opportunity zones, enthusiasm is growing across the Mountain State when it comes to our economic potential.

Senator Scott talked about his visit to Huntington, and he did remark on the enthusiasm that he saw firsthand when he visited with me and we toured 3 of our State's 55 opportunity zones. During that visit, we met with a lot of businesses. We met with local and government leaders, and we met with education officials and city officials about how opportunity zones can shape growth in that community, as well as in others across our State.

I think Senator Scott would agree that the optimism was there and the excitement was palpable.

The mayor of Huntington, Mayor Steve Williams, actually put it best when he characterized the trip as an opportunity to show not only what the community has been able to do to attract investment but, better yet, what the community aspires to do and become in the next generations or the next decades.

That is really what opportunity zones are all about--not only driving investments today but building those foundations of growth and development for the future.

I think we can all think of an area we either live near or we have driven through in our respective States that maybe used to be vibrant communities, whether in, say, Wheeling, where they had a big steel industry at some point, or in Weston, where there was a glass industry at some point. The downtowns have begun to shrink, but they are almost like sleeping bears. They are ready to wake up, and that is what I think opportunity zones are going to do.

Today, a little less than a year ago, the Governor made the appointments of 55 areas in our State. Law firms, accounting firms, investors, and several others are working in our State to use this new tax provision to bring jobs and growth to parts of our country that need it the most.

Communities are developing pitch books--I have seen a couple on the internet--to market their projects and proposals. Our city of Parkersburg is a great example of that. A nonprofit put together a pitch book that shows where the investments can occur in and around those opportunity zones surrounding Parkersburg.

We have also seen the establishment of our first opportunity fund, called the Savage Grant.

So we have some great momentum. We are working to build on it. My staff has just done an outreach in almost every single county, and we just finished a 3-day educational tour in partnership with West Virginia Forward, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the West Virginia Department of Commerce, and the Benedum Foundation to spread the word.

Also, nonprofits are really interested in seeing this work. It takes some of the pressure off of them. If the private investor can come in, then the nonprofits can come in and provide some of the alternative services and additional services that would be needed.

So we are going to keep at it, and with Treasury's release of the most recent opportunity zone regulations, the program will be a viable tool that will be more viable than ever for investments in our operating businesses.

I am confident that West Virginians and others will make the most of it, and we should make the most of it because this is a great idea and a great opportunity. It is a way to transform our communities and to improve our communities and to lift up individuals and businesses that contribute, and to

build that bigger and greater foundation for a brighter future.

So these are the kinds of opportunities that, as Republicans, when we voted for this bill, we knew that this was a core part of our mission in terms of being able to deliver that firm foundation, and we are going to continue to deliver for West Virginians and for all Americans.

I wish to thank the Senator from Iowa as well.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor Sergeant Russell Herman Sines of Goshen, WV. Sergeant Sines bravely served in the 80th Division, 317th Infantry of the United States Army from 1942 to 1945, during the height of American intervention in World War II. Known as the Blue Ridge Division, Sergeant Sines and his comrades from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and our home State of West Virginia were ordered into action on July 15, 1942, and eventually set sail for Europe on Independence Day of 1944.

The 80th Division fought valiantly on the Allied front, first landing on Utah Beach in Normandy and then quickly moving to Saint-Jores, France. Later that fall, the 317th Infantry was forced to cross the Moselle River to Pont-a-Mousson in the face of heavy Axis opposition. During the ensuing battle at Mousson, Sergeant Sines was wounded by shrapnel in his calf and ankle and taken to receive treatment at a Paris hospital. Sergeant Sines would later receive a Purple Heart for his wounds received during combat.

However, this injury would not stop Sergeant Sines from serving his country. By the time the Axis forces began their Ardennes Offensive, Sergeant Sines was already back with the 317th Infantry. His regiment continued to move toward the southeast lines of Bastonge, where fighting would continue for several months. While on the streets of Bastonge, Sergeant Sines happened to run into his brother, Junior Sines, proving how small the world is that we West Virginians enjoy.

Sergeant Sines and the 80th Division, 317th Infantry would go on to capture the cities of Kassel, Erfurt, Wierman, Jena, and Gera. It was during the fighting between Kassel and Erfurt that Sergeant Sines would receive a bronze medal for his heroic and meritorious service on the battlefield. By the end of the war, the Blue Ridge Division captured over 200,000 enemy soldiers and endured 289 days of combat, fighting courageously in places such as Ardennes, Luxembourg, and Argentan to name a few.

I hold stories like that of Sergeant Russell Herman Sines close to my heart, as my father, Governor Arch Moore, also fought in World War II. As Americans, we have a duty to honor and remember the collective sacrifice of all the men and women of the Greatest Generation. Because of their service, America has continued to prosper and flourish, serving as a pillar of hope and freedom for people across the world.

West Virginians understand the importance of community, patriotism, and liberty. These values are alive in the Appalachian foothills due to the service of brave men and woman like Sergeant Russell Herman Sines. Again, I thank Sergeant Sines for his duty to his country, and it is an honor to call him a fellow West Virginian.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize a friend and colleague, Mary Skeens, who has been a tireless advocate for affordable housing for West Virginians. Mary is retiring as the executive director of Community Works where she has spent the last 12 of her 40-year housing career.

A native of Kentucky, Mary realized at an early age that not every family in a warm, secure home. Her pressing concern for the living conditions of her classmates and peers led her into a career in housing. In 1990, her husband, Jim, had a desire to return to his family farm in Roane County, WV. This allowed Jim to return to his Mountaineer roots, and Mary embraced her new adopted home State and entered the housing profession.

Mary started her housing career as manager at a senior living high- rise apartment complex in Dunbar. She was later offered a position at the West Virginia Housing Development Fund as the head of the community development office overseeing the newly-created HOME Program during President Clinton's Administration. Mary worked with nonprofit housing agencies all over West Virginia in an effort to qualify as them as community Housing Development Organizations, also known as a CHDOs. Over the next 10 years, Mary worked with numerous housing providers to develop many worthwhile projects that serve West Virginians to this day, creating domestic violence shelters, affordable multifamily rental complexes, and affordable housing subdivisions in underserved areas of our State. Mary is well known throughout West Virginia for her housing finance skills and her ability to provide much-needed technical assistance.

In 2007, Mary became executive director of Community Works in West Virginia. This agency was newly created and in its early years of operation. Community Works is a licensed mortgage lender providing home ownership loans, owner occupied rehabilitation loans, and a commercial loan program to its nonprofit housing member organizations. Mary stepped in and grew the agency by expanding its reach. This agency's work can be seen in most every housing development in the State through its loan programs and outreach. In addition to providing affordable financing opportunities, Mary has overseen many initiatives to improve housing policy and awareness that will affect this industry for years to come. She has also dedicated much time serving on many housing related boards of directors, and, as a result of her work, was inducted into the West Virginia Affordable Housing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Mary has accomplished so much in her years of service to West Virginia's housing community. I would like to thank Mary for aiding our State and its residents by providing safe, decent, and affordable housing to so many citizens who could not have afforded it otherwise.

Thank you for working with me and my staff over the years to serve as a resource on housing policy. I wish you well in your retirement. It is truly an honor to call you a friend and fellow West Virginian.

Mr. President, it is my honor to be here with my fellow woman Senator from the State of Iowa. I enjoy learning more about Iowa and about the strength of Iowan women and in our Nation.

I join my colleague to highlight and celebrate not only the women leaders in the Senate but the millions of women throughout history and across the country who have made and continue to make a difference in their homes, in their communities, and in society in general.

I am very proud to represent the State of West Virginia--a State with a long and rich history of female trailblazers. It is a State that respects and celebrates those women. Maybe you have heard that phrase ``mountain mamas.'' Well, Mother's Day was actually originated in West Virginia by Grafton resident Anna Jarvis in 1908. President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in the year 1914, and it is an annual reminder today to cherish and thank one of the, if not the, most influential women in many people's lives--their mothers.

I miss my mother every day. I know my mother, who was the First Lady of West Virginia, was an incredible role model for me and an inspiration. Seeing all she did for our State and for our fellow West Virginians through her public service was a driving force throughout my life. Not only that, she was a great and loving mother, and as I said, I still miss her every day.

Another West Virginia woman who has been an incredible inspiration is Katherine Johnson. Katherine was born in White Sulpher Springs, WV, in 1918. In her being brilliant with numbers, she attended West Virginia State College and was later one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia University's graduate school in 1939. That is pretty notable in and of itself, but Katherine didn't stop there.

In 1953, she took a job at NASA and began working as a human computer. She literally calculated how to get men into space. Remember, with the launch of the Soviets' satellite Sputnik in 1957, the space race was on. America needed a win, and Katherine Johnson played a major role in facilitating that win. Her work put John Glenn into space and into history. The success of that mission marked a turning point in the space race altogether, and it made a significant impact in the future of space travel and exploration. Some may better recognize Katherine's name from the movie ``Hidden Figures.''

I am proud to say that in tribute to Katherine and her incredible legacy at NASA, I introduced legislation to rename West Virginia's only NASA facility after her. President Trump signed that bill into law last year, and Fairmont, WV, is now the home of the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility. At 100 years young, Katherine still serves as a tremendous role model to me and to women everywhere.

Of course, all of our States are home to brilliant women. My home of West Virginia is home to numerous amazing women who have made significant contributions, and we are proud to claim them all.

I don't know if one remembers America's sweetheart of 1984, Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, who is a native of West Virginia; Mother Jones, who is a champion of the working class and a labor organizer who campaigned for the United Mine Workers; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck; the host of the ``TODAY'' show, Hoda Kotb; actress and advocate Jennifer Garner; and Saira Blair. Many of you have never heard of Saira Blair. Several years ago, at the age of 18, she became the youngest person ever--male or female--to get elected to a State or Federal office. She served in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

These incredible women and so many others have helped to shape history and society, and they have paved the way for the next generation of leaders--girls and young women who might not yet have realized or achieved their full potential.

In 2015, I was sworn in as West Virginia's first female Senator. This distinction is a privilege for me, and it is an honor. It is certainly nothing I take lightly. I may well be the very first female Senator from West Virginia, but I am very confident that I will not be the last--certainly, not if I can help it.

So, shortly after I came to the Senate, I started an initiative called West Virginia Girls Rise Up because I want to inspire the next generation of leaders. Through that program, I visit fifth grade girls across the State. We talk about their dreams, what they can be when they grow up, and how they can be the best versions of themselves.

As a matter of fact, the Senator from Iowa mentioned the astronaut, Peggy Whitson. She was with me when I did two Girls Rise Up in West Virginia, and we talked about three different accomplishments that girls can do to reach their full potential--education, physical fitness, and self-confidence. I believe these are the building blocks for a successful future for whatever you want to do.

Then we set goals. Maybe it is reading more. Maybe it is eating healthier. Maybe it is raising your hand more in class. Most importantly, I challenged these girls to achieve these goals.

What I hope the girls get out of this is that you can reach a goal you set for yourself now--or at least really work hard to--and you can reach your next goal when you get older. Then you can reach your next goal and your next goal and your next goal, until you find yourself doing groundbreaking research in a lab, being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, designing a skyscraper at an architectural firm, or working to make our country a better place from the floor of the U.S. Senate or, I will add, as President of the United States.

The possibilities are endless, but the common thread is this: Think about what it is you want, work hard to make your dreams a reality, and have confidence to never back down.

As I travel across West Virginia with my West Virginia Girls Rise Up Program, I am constantly amazed at the

potential of the young women I see. I know the same is true in States across this country.

I hope those girls are watching us here in this Chamber today. I hope they are hearing the stories of the incredible women and trailblazers who have come before us. I hope they are thinking to themselves: That could be me one day.

I am incredibly proud to be a part of what female leaders are doing right now, but I am more incredibly optimistic to see what our future female leaders will do in the years ahead.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I wish to recognize a dedicated public servant and proud West Virginian, Tony Bazzie, on the occasion of his retirement from the Raleigh County Housing Authority. Innumerable West Virginians have benefited from his tireless efforts to improve access to affordable housing in our great State and his advocacy for increased Housing and Urban Development funding. Tony has been a vocal champion for encouraging investment in section 8 housing and an advocate for a regulatory framework that balances the interests of tenants and property owners.

Tony started with the housing authority at its inception in 1979 and since then has worked hard to dispel the negative stereotypes regarding housing assistance. Currently, his office assists over 1,200 families in Raleigh County, as well as Braxton, Summers, Nicholas, Fayette, and Webster Counties. In fact, demand has been so high that the housing authority has had to implement a waiting list to serve additional West Virginians.

Beyond the critical assistance that the housing authority provides to West Virginians in need, it also has a positive effect on the economy. Through section 8 subsidies, Tony and his staff have contributed over $4.5 million in rental payments to local property owners. Supporting local economies is something I have worked for in the Senate and knowing that I have allies such as Tony in the State has made this journey all the more successful.

Tony has come before Congress to testify about the importance of housing authorities across West Virginia, and his insight informed the discourse regarding the Section Eight Housing Choice Voucher Reform Act, SEVRA. In his testimony, Tony highlighted the need for providing decent, safe, and sanitary housing to low-income families. His passion for and knowledge of housing policy were of great help to my colleagues, and I thank him for his service.

I would like to thank Tony for all his insight and advice over the years. His yearly visits to my DC office were always a highlight, and his input was invaluable when discussing housing issues, particularly in West Virginia. On a personal level, he was kind and helpful not only to me, but to my staff as well. They spoke highly of how attentive, patient, and nice he was to everyone he worked with. I am honored to call Tony my friend and fellow West Virginian, and I wish him well in this new phase of life. I wish him the very best during his well- deserved retirement, and I hope he can enjoy more time with loved ones. West Virginia owes Tony our gratitude, and I thank him for all his excellent work for so many years.

Mr. President, last week, I joined several of my colleagues to highlight the unrealistic and unreasonable and impractical ideas of the Green New Deal--the staggering cost, which is more than the Federal Government has spent in our history; the misguided assumptions about what it

would take to decarbonize the U.S. economy on such an aggressive timeline; and the sorts of social programs that fundamentally change the United States, and, I would add, not in a good way, in my opinion.

But the worst part that has been talked about is a point I made last week. This resolution, this green deal resolution, dismisses or ignores the realistic and pragmatic environmental solutions that this Congress and past Congresses have already been working on.

I serve on the Environment and Public Works Committee with Chairman Barrasso, who just spoke, and we have been working together in many different areas to get the same sorts of ends.

The supporters of the Green New Deal actually claim Congress has done nothing. Unfortunately, some in the media and some others seem to be reiterating that same message.

As in so many policy arenas, the latest shiny object distracts from the great bipartisan work that is being done in these Halls--work that sometimes just doesn't get noticed--and that is exactly what is happening here.

Well, today I would like to highlight some of the practical, realistic, bipartisan efforts that will put us on the right path without killing jobs or overburdening Americans with government spending and higher costs.

Just yesterday, President Trump signed into law the bipartisan lands package we passed in the Senate last month, and it was an overwhelming vote. As part of that legislation, we permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is a critical resource for protecting and preserving some of our country's most beautiful public lands, including those in my State of West Virginia.

Another example of the legislative solutions that we have advanced is the FUTURE Act, which I led with my Democratic colleagues, former Senator Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota and Senator Whitehouse from Rhode Island, along with Chairman Barrasso. That legislation had a bipartisan group of 25 cosponsors and the support of an incredibly diverse and broad coalition of supporters: environmental groups, oil and gas companies, Governors from around the country, and labor unions.

What cause could bring these diverse stakeholders together? Carbon capture utilization and storage--CCUS.

The FUTURE Act reauthorized and improved the section 45Q tax credit for CCUS, and it requires the certainty that the carbon stays captured for good and is used in real products for market potential.

It is not about research and development. There are other Federal programs that are reserved for that important endeavor. It is about establishing real incentives for the commercial deployment of CCUS technologies and establishing a national market for carbon.

Only a market-based solution like the FUTURE Act can lead to broad adoption of CCUS. And CCUS is something that the International Panel on Climate Change at the U.N. and several other climate and scientific organizations say must be a part of the international solution to this global challenge.

The FUTURE Act also includes support for direct-air capture projects, and that means not just from a power source or some other manufacturing source. It is actually capturing it in the free air in the environment, which can literally pull CO2 out of the atmosphere for storage or use in marketable products. That can work to make new industries carbon-negative and carbon-neutral.

The United States can be a leader in this space because the environment is a global concern, and we can't control other countries' industrial and environmental policies, nor do we want them controlling ours.

With CCUS and direct-air capture, not only can we cut our emissions while maintaining high-paying coal, gas, oil, and manufacturing jobs, but we can also capture emissions emitted abroad and use them in value- added products.

The FUTURE Act was passed as part of the bipartisan Budget Act last Congress, and we are already seeing new projects being proposed to benefit from this policy. Even more will be coming forward as we build on this success, and that is where the USE IT Act comes in.

We introduced that legislation with the same group of cosponsors with Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Carper stepping in for Senator Heitkamp. We have a similar coalition of supporters across industry, environmental groups, State governments, and labor.

The USE IT Act will direct an interagency council to review the guidelines and create a playbook for permitting CCUS projects and associated carbon dioxide pipelines. This certainty from Federal Agencies is essential so that those seeking to utilize the 45Q tax credit that I talked about previously in the FUTURE Act can do so before it expires.

I look forward to advancing this legislation in Congress. We have already had a hearing on it--a very great bipartisan hearing on this-- and I look forward to furthering our achievements in the CCUS space.

The FUTURE Act also includes seed money for breakthrough innovations in carbon capture. This expands on the good work that is already being done in CCUS research and development, primarily through the funding of the Fossil Energy Research and Development Office.

Congress has invested more than $4 billion in CCUS through that program alone, in addition to several other programs to make more efficient and environmentally sound use of our fossil resources. Some of these breakthroughs are being developed at the National Energy Technology Lab in Morgantown, WV, in conjunction with outside partners like West Virginia University.

I will continue to advocate for this kind of robust funding for these sorts of innovative energy programs, and I will support improving energy efficiency and ensuring that the United States remains a leader in carbon-free nuclear energy.

Doing the hard-nosed legislating and coalition building to achieve these goals is tough enough without all of the noise around a Green New Deal. Despite this distraction, I am confident we can continue to notch wins in this arena. We have to because there is simply too much riding on it for our economy and for our environment.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today in support of Dr. John Fleming's nomination to be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, otherwise known as the Administrator of the Economic Development Administration, or EDA.

I view this as an opportunity not only to speak about the qualifications of a former colleague of mine--we served in the House together--but also to highlight the EDA's work in my home State of West Virginia.

The EDA did not always play an active role in West Virginia, which is really odd when you consider that we have no shortage of economic development and infrastructure needs and challenges in our State. Yet, at my insistence and through the collaboration of my staff, we have turned a corner. Today, we are beginning to see real investments that will make a lasting difference in West Virginia.

To highlight the insignificant amount West Virginia received before I became a Senator, in the 2 years prior to my swearing in--2013 and 2014--the State received a total of $200,000 from EDA outside of normal planning grants. These were mostly for technical assistance.

When I came to the Senate and realized this, I made it a top priority of mine to ensure that West Virginia secured more Federal dollars to develop our economy and create new opportunities. I made it clear to EDA at the time that the status quo was absolutely unacceptable.

I am glad to say we are now achieving results, as evidenced by the close to $30 million that EDA has invested in West Virginia since 2015. By bringing everyone to the table and working with State and local economic development officials, we were able to foster a renewed focus on West Virginia needs to the benefit of these local projects.

In addition to EDA's bringing on a State representative, which was crucial--a State representative to focus just on our State, to directly interface with our communities--we are ensuring dollars will go toward projects that will contribute to the future of West Virginia.

At a time when my State and other parts of the country are seeking to reorient their economies toward industries of the future--like technology and advanced manufacturing--these are the kinds of projects that the Federal Government should be prioritizing.

Let me give you a few examples. Just last month, I joined local officials in Greenbrier County to announce $1.5 million in EDA funding to bring potable water to 50 homes and a new business that will employ over 200 people. Keep in mind, these are projects that are collaborative projects. It is not just solely Federal dollars that go into it. There are city, county, and private dollars as well.

In November of last year, EDA announced that it would invest $1 million in the city of Bluefield for the Exit 1 project, a 15-acre development that will serve as a catalyst for business growth and create almost 250 jobs. And 1 year ago in March, the EDA invested close to $5 million in just 1 day to make infrastructure improvements at three separate sites across the State. This funding will promote job growth and retention of jobs in these three counties through added efficiencies in essential infrastructure.

One of these projects I will talk about is in northern West Virginia, where I am originally from, and it will be to rehabilitate the Wheeling Corrugating steel plant complex in Brooke County, all the way near the top of the northern panhandle. This project will, at a minimum, create 95 new jobs, retain 45 jobs, and attract private capital beyond an initial investment of more than $1 million. This isn't funding for a conference of stakeholders or another study just to sit on a shelf and collect dust. These are real dollars going toward real projects. Our local leaders know what they need, and many of the local economic development officials tell me they have been ``studied to death.''

I am happy to say that through our efforts, local and State officials are getting the help they have been asking for. Dr. Fleming and I spoke at length about these efforts when he visited my office and during his nomination hearing before the EPW Committee. He assured me of his commitment to follow Congress's intent to continue the programs under EDA, as evidenced by the increased in funding EDA received through the appropriations process.

As a successful businessman and former Member of Congress from Louisiana--and as he has made clear in his conversations with me and through his testimony--I trust that Dr. Fleming understands the needs of communities like those in West Virginia. I look forward to working with him after he is confirmed, and I invite him, as I have before, to come to my home State to see the great work that is being done with the investments that the EDA has chosen to make in West Virginia.

When the Federal Government serves as a willing partner for all parts of the country, regardless of whether they are urban or rural, we can promote economic growth and opportunities for all Americans. As chair of the EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee and as a member of the Appropriations and Commerce Committees, I will continue to advocate for programs that contribute not just to a brighter future for my State of West Virginia but also for the entire country.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague from Iowa for organizing this discussion on the Green New Deal resolution.

The public doesn't usually pay a whole lot of attention to nonbinding resolutions here in the Congress, but that is not the case with this one. The sponsors of the Green New Deal in the House and the Senate certainly deserve recognition for the profile they managed to create so quickly. Of course, that is a double-edged sword because now people are beginning to pay attention to what is actually in the Green New Deal.

Leader McConnell has proposed bringing the resolution to the floor, which has created, in my view, sort of a baffling response. The planned sponsors are claiming that a vote is ``cynical'' and meant to ``disrupt'' their ``movement.'' You and I both know that every Member of this body would clamor to have their bills brought up for floor consideration. Most of us here live in the land of realistic and practical solutions.

The Green New Deal is very vague, but it does include enough detail to know that it proposes radical solutions that, in my view, are neither practical nor realistic. It is a wish list dressed up as environmental policy.

We knew it was going to be expensive. We knew the goal was to eliminate coal and gas industries, along with a lot of other good- paying jobs that they support in energy States like mine. This isn't the first salvo in the war on coal, for sure. We knew all the economic harm they would be proposing, but this is a massive shift to the left that goes far beyond anything the Democrats have proposed before. This plan doesn't stop at eliminating the use of coal and natural gas for electricity. The plan also ends nuclear electricity and severely curtails the commercial air industry.

The environmental and energy components of this proposal are estimated to cost $8.3 to $12.3 trillion over the next decade, which averages out to about $52,000 to $71,000 for every American household.

We will be left with possibly an energy grid that lacks affordability and reliability to make the American manufacturers competitive around the globe and meet the basic needs of our families. Right now, coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy account for 83 percent of all the electricity produced in the United States. It is neither practical nor realistic to believe that we could phase all of that capacity out without some catastrophic consequences.

Unbelievably, this is just one piece of the Green New Deal. The sticker shock continues with tens of trillions of dollars to fund guaranteed jobs for people unwilling to work, eliminate private healthcare for 170 Americans in favor of a government-run system, replace or retrofit all housing stock for environmental compliance, and guaranteeing it to every American and putting food on everyone's table. Altogether, it could cost possibly $93 trillion over a 10-year period of time. We could liquidate all the wealth in the entire country and maybe just cover that tab, but we wouldn't have anything left.

The Green New Deal sponsors claim the government will be making investments. They claim that the returns will pay for everything and make a profit for the people. Is this realistic or practical?

I think not. And if it fails, then what do we do?

Some say the Green New Deal, even if it is a disaster of a policy that would destroy our economy, at least has Congress finally talking about climate change. This is what we heard from my colleague. We serve on the EPW Committee together. It is a huge disservice, I think, to us. We have been working in a bipartisan fashion to deliver real solutions since before anyone had ever heard of the Green New Deal.

In the EPW Committee, Senators from coal States, such as Senator Barrasso from Wyoming, who is here, and Senator Whitehouse from Rhode Island, and Senator Carper, and myself have been working for market- driven solutions to the challenge of atmospheric CO2.

Members of both parties have worked and will continue to work on these important policies to meaningfully address carbon challenges while also protecting and creating jobs. We do not need a $93 trillion turn that fundamentally alters the foundations of this country. We are capable of making investments in technology and infrastructure to address our Nation's challenges in a commonsense and bipartisan way.

The Green New Deal is not practical. It is not realistic, and it is a bit scary that so many Democrats are embracing it. The American people deserve to know where each of us stands on this policy. That is why we are going to have a vote. I am glad that we will have the opportunity to take a vote on this resolution in the coming months, and I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in opposing this utterly unfathomable and unworkable resolution.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, before I begin with my remarks, I would like to take a moment, as I think everybody here in the country should, to remember and honor all the lives lost 1 year ago today during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. It was a horrible act, as the Presiding Officer of the Senate is well aware, and its reverberations are still felt deeply today, especially among those who lost friends and loved ones, many of whom work day in and day out to keep their memory alive.

We have before us on the floor today a bipartisan government funding measure, and as the chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I rise in support of the conference agreement to secure our border and fund our government and end any possibility of a shutdown at the same time. This agreement is a compromise between Republicans and Democrats, between the House and the Senate, and because it is a compromise, none of us really got everything we wanted.

When you are working to reach an agreement, whether you are in government or in a family, it is important to understand the difference between compromising on details and compromising on your principles. While this agreement may compromise on some of the specifics, it does not compromise on our commitment to our Nation and to secure our Nation. That commitment is also shared by our President, who has been unwavering in his promise to strengthen our border. It is a goal we must achieve in a smart and informed way to address the real and ever- changing challenges we face as a nation.

On the border itself, I have been very clear that our agreement had to include three critical elements, three legs of the stool: physical barriers, technology, and personnel.

There were a few sticking points with our Democratic colleagues. We did hear from the Speaker of the House that there would be no wall or there would not be $1 for the wall. Instead, this agreement provides almost triple the money for new wall construction that we appropriated last year. In fact, we will pay for 55 new miles of wall in the Rio Grande Valley where Customs and Border Protection has told us it is desperately needed. This agreement will build twice as many miles of new wall as last year's appropriations, despite the fact that we were negotiating with those who didn't want to have any wall.

Would I have preferred more money for the wall? Of course. But this bill provides the most money ever in a single appropriations bill for a barrier. I drafted legislation--passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee last June--that would have fully funded the President's budget request for the wall. I would have voted for higher amounts--and did, actually, in committee--of funding for the wall. That is

because I believe strongly that physical barriers are a vital part of securing our border. I saw it myself when I toured the borders in California and Texas. I saw the need. I saw how the walls work. And I will stand side by side with the President as he works to secure additional money to construct a border wall in the future.

We got $1.375 billion, and that is a long way from $1. It is a critical downpayment on the President's ultimate border security goal. The best path forward to secure our border today is to pass this agreement.

The bill also stands with the men and women of ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A statutory cap on the number of ICE detention beds would have required dangerous criminals to be released from ICE custody. It would have posed a threat to families and communities across the country, and it would have compromised an important principle. This agreement rejects that anti-ICE proposal.

I have said many times that I support the men and women of ICE and their important work to secure our Nation, and that is why the agreement before us gives ICE the operational flexibility it needs to accomplish its goals. Taking advantage of the flexibility this bill provides, ICE can utilize 18 percent more detention beds than they are currently using. That means ICE can continue interior enforcement efforts and be ready to respond to any surges on the border, so it gives ICE the flexibility they need.

I say to my friends who, like me, want more money for the wall: This agreement is better for the wall and better for ICE than any other alternative. Rejecting this agreement will cost dozens of miles of new wall and jeopardize ICE's ability to detain dangerous criminals.

Another government shutdown cannot and should not be allowed to happen. We need to provide certainty to our Federal workers and the American people whom we serve. I also think we need to restore trust in our ability to work across the aisle, to work across party lines to reach settlement, negotiated settlement that moves us forward, because if we are in a stalemate, we are standing still. In my opinion, if you are standing still, you are actually going backward, and we don't want to do that as a nation.

The work done by the men and women in our Federal workforce during the shutdown should continue to be applauded. Without pay and in a period of great uncertainty, thousands of men and women did their jobs at the highest level. We should be thankful for their service, and we are.

One of the things I am proud of in this bill is a 1.9-percent pay increase for the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security. This is ICE. This is Border Patrol. To the Coast Guard, Secret Service, FEMA, we salute you.

Under this agreement, we will also hire 200 new Border Patrol agents over the fiscal year 2018 funded level to defend and police our border, and we will add $600 million for nonintrusive inspection technology.

As I have said before, border wall, personnel, and technology are all vital parts of securing our border. They are very critical in addressing the drug epidemic that has plagued my State of West Virginia and many other parts of this country.

This bill includes the highest level of funding ever in a homeland security appropriations bill to combat the opioid epidemic--more than $700 million--and it has funds for investigations when it comes to human trafficking, looking into the dark web, and other crimes.

The homeland security portion of this agreement also takes a major step forward in advancing our Nation's Coast Guard by building a new polar security cutter to help address operational needs in the Arctic. This is critical to our homeland security. We also address the needs of the TSA, the Secret Service, and FEMA--to name just a few of the other entities within this title.

This bill is not the bill I would have written alone. I don't get to do that. It is the product of give-and-take that is necessary to forge a bipartisan consensus. It is a strong compromise that will help secure our border and make America safer.

Senator Jon Tester, the ranking member of our subcommittee and the Senator from Montana, has been an excellent partner as we have worked to deliver a bill worthy of the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security. So I thank him for his efforts throughout this process. We have worked very well together.

I also want to thank Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy for their work in guiding the Appropriations Committee to a deal. These are seasoned appropriators who know how to get the job done. Their leadership has demonstrated that the Appropriations Committee can come together and forge bipartisan consensus in the national interest.

The leaders of the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Nita Lowey, whom I know very well; and Ranking Member Kay Granger, who is a good friend of mine from my service in the House; as well as my counterpart in the House and chairman of Homeland Security, Lucille Roybal-Allard; and Ranking Member Chuck Fleischmann, of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. They deserve our gratitude for forging ahead with a willingness to negotiate.

I also appreciate the contributions of all the members of our conference committee, and I would like to thank a group of individuals who have dedicated a lot of nights, weekends, and family time to this effort. Their knowledge of the facts and their commitment to the cause never waned, even though their time to sleep did wane. Shannon Hines, who is Chairman Shelby's right-hand woman on the committee, was fantastic. Thank you to Adam Telle, Peter Babb, Christian Lee, Chris Cook, and Thompson Moore of the Homeland Security Subcommittee staff, which I chair, as well as to my own appropriations staffer, J.T. Jezierski. I say thank you--a big thank you.

I have spent the majority of my time today and the last several weeks on my bill--our bill. My thanks and congratulations also go to my fellow chairmen who have titles in this package. They have produced legislation that will help West Virginia expand access to broadband, combat the opioid epidemic, enhance our transportation, foster economic development, and advance scientific research and discovery. They, too, faced similar challenges to draft bipartisan legislation, and they too got it done.

In closing, although conferees compromised on details, we did not compromise our principles. Passing this conference agreement is in our national security interest. It will provide the resources, the direction, and the support that the President has said many times he needs to protect our Nation.

I am very proud to have been a part of this process, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in a bipartisan fashion in passing this bill later this afternoon.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I am really pleased to be here to join in the colloquy with my fellow Senators, Mr. Manchin, Senator Brown from Ohio, and Senator Warner from Virginia.

This is important. This is really important. I could say I look around the room, and it is important to us, but it is important even more granularly to some other folks who are right here watching what we are doing.

Many of us have worked together previously in order to save retiree health benefits for 22,000 retired miners in 2017, following the bankruptcies of Patriot, Alpha, and Walter Resources. Today we are back together to advocate for another over 1,000 retirees and beneficiaries whose healthcare is impacted by the Westmoreland Coal bankruptcy, as Senator Manchin described.

It is also critical that we redouble our efforts to find a solution to the 1974 UMWA Pension Fund. If we do nothing--if we do nothing, which I don't believe is an option--this pension fund, which provides 83,000 current beneficiaries with their pensions, will be insolvent by 2022. That is getting close, and insolvency can come even sooner, depending on market conditions.

So combined with the 20,000 people who have a vested right to future benefits, more than 100,000 people are covered by this pension plan. As Senator Manchin said, these are hard-working people who were promised and who, in the course of their working lives, gave up something so they could have a better peace of mind later on. They worked hard day in and day out. They powered our communities and industries and helped our country achieve greatness, even in the toughest times, and they did that with the promise of healthcare and a pension that would allow them to live with dignity in retirement.

We are not talking about lavish pensions. I think this is an important point. The average benefit paid by this fund is $560 per month. These retirees are not getting rich on their pension plans, and they are not taking lavish expenditures, but without this monthly benefit, many of them would be living on the edge of poverty, if they are not already.

One miner from Logan, WV, who worked in the mines for 36 years wrote:

Please keep fighting for our pension. I receive $303.34

monthly. We need this badly to help pay for food, medicine,

and other bills.

Another retired miner from Richwood, WV, who worked in the mines for 17 years, wrote that his monthly check of $192 ``is not a lot of money, but it means a lot,'' and on top of that, he earned it. It helps him make his ends meet.

Another miner from Kistler, WV, who mined for over 35 years, expressed concern that he might not be able to pay his expenses or help his daughter in college without that monthly pension check.

Failing to fix the pension fund would have a terrible impact on communities where many of these miners live. More than 25,000 pension fund beneficiaries live in the State of West Virginia, and they received $200 million in benefits last year. If they didn't spend that money in their community supporting businesses and other jobs in our coalfield communities--if you subtract those funds out of the community, you would have a significant economic blow.

We have a solution that will prevent the insolvency of the pension fund and protect our retired miners, their families, and their communities. We should pass legislation that expands the use of the same transfer of payments used to support retiree healthcare to make the pension fund solvent. I have supported various forms of that kind of legislation over the years, but as we come closer to the time-- 2022--when the pension fund will become insolvent, we must redouble our efforts. That is why I appreciate Senator Manchin's advocacy. I appreciate his sense of urgency, and I share that.

At the same time, our West Virginia representatives, along with representatives from the States--David McKinley, Alex Mooney, and Carol Miller--are leading a bipartisan effort in the House to fix this problem as well.

I will keep fighting alongside all of you and all of them and others I see until we enact a solution that keeps the promise of our hard- working coal miners.

Thank you.

I yield back.