Floor Statements

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Senator Blunt, for your leadership.

I am excited about what we are talking about today. I am excited for my State of West Virginia. The main thing that people in West Virginia want is a good job. A good job, with more take-home pay and a higher wage, is exceedingly important to the families I represent, so tax reform and any other policies Congress could support will enhance growth and create more job opportunities around the country.

Let me focus on my State of West Virginia. According to the Economic Innovation Group, more than 34 percent of West Virginians are living in distressed communities. Unfortunately, that number is the third highest of any State in the country. At the same time, only 3.4 percent of West Virginians are living in prosperous communities.

There are States that are prosperous and have done very well, but the vast majority of our States have really struggled. Only two in five communities have seen any job growth in the past 5 years during our so- called recovery. That is not the definition of a recovery. Since 2010, fully 50 percent of U.S. job growth has occurred in just 2 percent of our country's counties. Think about that. Economic growth has only occurred in 2 percent of the counties across this great country.

The truth is that most of our country has been mired in economic stagnation. We have been standing still. I saw Lou Holtz give a speech one time, and he said: If you are standing still, you are going backward. If you are not moving forward, you are going backward. There has been a slow recovery, but for many West Virginians, there has been no recovery at all.

But it isn't all doom and gloom in our State because we have an opportunity for change--the change we really need that helps our struggling, working-class families, that changes and revitalizes our distressed communities, changes that lead to economic growth and creates opportunity for future generations.

In fact, West Virginia, in the first quarter, grew by 3 percent. We were the second fastest in growth in the entire Nation. To be sure, one quarter of growth is not a trend, but it does demonstrate the potential that we have if we do it right here for our citizens. The potential of capital growth is there, but one of the biggest drags on our economy in recent years has been excessive regulations, which we have addressed quite a bit here in the first 9 months of President Trump's term. We have worked hard to bring reason into the regulatory environment and also our burdensome Tax Code.

What can we do? We can reduce taxes that impede our growth. Let's think about our small businesses. In many States, they are the major economic driver of our economy. In my State of West Virginia, 95.6 percent of the businesses are small businesses. They employ nearly half of the West Virginia private sector workforce, so nearly half of West Virginians are working in what is defined as a small business. Yet they can face a tax rate as high as 39.6 percent. Think about that. If you own a bakery or an accounting firm, in a 5-day workweek, you have to work Monday and Tuesday just to pay the government. It is no wonder that small businesses have found it difficult to open, let alone succeed, in many parts of our country.

The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. A lot of people are asking, how does that influence me? It is influencing the working American because the working American is bearing the brunt of that tax. Because of our outdated Tax Code, real wages for most workers have barely increased over the years. West Virginians understand that, as hard as they work, the government is taking more money from them. It costs them more money every time they go to the grocery store, every time they buy clothing for their children, every time they try to buy a new car. It is just more expensive with no growth in their wages to be able to bear that expense. It feels impossible to get ahead.

We see that all around our States and localities. We see people thinking, I can't get ahead, and I haven't been able to over the last 5 to 10 years. I am starting to think it is impossible.

But we can fix this. It is not impossible. We can create an environment in which there is more opportunity available and wages are higher by modifying our Tax Code. We can have a simpler system with lower rates, and families can see relief from the complexity of our Tax Code. I have seen it stacked up before. If you haven't, I am 5 feet 3 inches, and I think it is taller than I am when stacked up page to page.

Along with the complexities, people need to keep more of their hard- earned money. It will help our companies grow. When our companies grow, what happens? We have more jobs, fairer taxes, and best of all, besides more jobs, we have higher paychecks. With more earnings, companies can hire new workers, increase wages, and invest in new developments. These are changes that I think West Virginians are hungry for.

The time is now. The stagnation we have felt over the last decade has worn us down, has made us lose our optimism about being able to have a better life than our parents had or our children thinking they could have a better life than we had. You know, the American dream is sort of fading for a lot of people, so comprehensive tax reform can provide that kind of relief.

I am excited that we can create that environment of optimism, that environment of confidence in not just our companies and our ability to create more jobs and raise our paychecks, but that confidence that we need as a country that, yes, we can live in our communities in rural America, like West Virginia or North Carolina or Missouri, that we can live in those communities, have a great chance to move ahead, have a good retirement when we decide we are at the end of the line in terms of our working career, and also pass on to the next generation a competitive environment that can compete financially anywhere in the world.

We know we can compete anywhere in the world in a lot of different areas. Right now, we are on an uneven playing field. When we change this and when we fix this--because we can fix this--that will change the playing field for every single American who gets up in the morning or goes to work in the evening, to have the confidence that things are going to be better for them.

I thank the Senator from Missouri, and I look forward to talking about this over the next several weeks.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize a prolific philanthropist, successful businesswoman, and extraordinary friend to the people of West Virginia, Betty Frank Schoenbaum, on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Countless West Virginians, Americans, and people all over the world have benefited and continue to benefit from the endeavors of Betty and her late husband, Alex Schoenbaum.

Betty received her degree in commerce from the Ohio State University in 1939; it was there that she met Alex, and the two would begin their lifelong proclivity toward helping the underprivileged. They would marry and move to Charleston, WV, soon after, beginning a successful business career that would increase the impact of their generosity.

Starting with the Parkette Drive-In on Charleston's West Side, the Schoenbaums built a prosperous restaurant chain that would eventually be known as Shoney's. The chain grew into over 1,000 locations across dozens of States, employing many West Virginians as it became an iconic American brand. Not content to rest on their success, Betty and Alex sought to share their good fortune with the world.

The philanthropic gifts made by the Schoenbaums are too numerous to list individually. During Alex's lifetime, he and Betty established the Schoenbaum Fund at the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation in Charleston, which was used to purchase sports and recreation equipment for over 200 public schools in the Kanawha Valley. They also established the Schoenbaum Scholarship Foundation and the Schoenbaum Family Foundation, which continues to give to numerous organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, the Children's Home Society of West Virginia, Mountaineer Food Bank, Mountaineer Habitat for Humanity, and the United Way of Kanawha Valley.

Since Alex's passing, Betty has continued to give, establishing the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center, funding the construction of a Library at the University of Charleston and an undergraduate college of business building at the Ohio State University, and endowing scholarships at West Virginia University and the Ohio State University.

Betty may be celebrating her 100th birthday, but age has not slowed her down. She continues to serve as the president of the Schoenbaum Family Foundation and as a board member for several foundations, committees, and organizations. She is also an active member of the Sarasota, FL, community. According to Betty, there is great joy and purpose to be had from a life of giving to your fellow man. I believe I speak for many when I say we can all benefit from her example. I wish her many more years of health and happiness.

Mr. President, I would like to recognize the service of the first ship named for our Nation's 35th State--our only State born of war--the armored cruiser USS West Virginia. She was commissioned on February 23, 1905, and served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. On two occasions, she deployed to Mexico to enforce U.S. diplomacy. In 1916, she was renamed the USS Huntington, in order to permit the assignment of her old name to a new battleship.

That new battleship--the second USS West Virginia--was commissioned in December 1923 and affectionately nicknamed the ``Wee Vee.'' In 1940, she moved to Hawaii and became part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. She was the youngest of all the battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS West Virginia was moored outboard the USS Tennessee; as a result, the Tennessee was not hit by a single torpedo, while the West Virginia was hit by nine torpedoes.

Despite being mortally wounded by shrapnel, the ship's captain, Mervyn S. Bennion, remained on the bridge ordering counterflooding of starboard compartments to prevent capsizing; for his actions, Captain Bennion posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Captain Bennion's actions are regularly cited as the epitome of proper command under fire.

Displaying a resilience befitting the people of her namesake, the USS West Virginia refused to stay sunk. She was pumped out and refloated on May 17, 1942, and sailed to Puget Sound Navy Yard for repairs. After being fully modernized, she saw action in the invasion of the Philippines, the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa, among others. She was present in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, for the formal Japanese surrender.

The USS West Virginia was decommissioned on January 9, 1947; her awards included the American Defense Service Medal with ``Fleet'' clasp; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with five battle stars; the World War II Victory Medal; and the Navy Occupation Medal with ``Asia'' clasp. An antiaircraft gun remains at City Park in Parkersburg, WV; the ship's wheel and binnacle are on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Her mast sits in front of Oglebay Hall at West Virginia University, and Interstate 470 in West Virginia is named the ``USS West Virginia Memorial Highway.''

The U.S. Navy resurrected the proud history of the 35th State's moniker with a 1983 contract to build a Ship, Submarine, Ballistic, Nuclear, SSBN, the 11th of an eventual 18 Ohio-class submarines, otherwise to be known as the USS West Virginia, SSBN 736. She was launched on October 14, 1989, sponsored by Mrs. Erma Byrd, wife--and high school sweetheart--of the now late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, of West Virginia--the longest serving Senator and the longest serving Member in the history of the U.S. Congress--and commissioned on October 20, 1990.

The USS West Virginia, SSBN 736 conducts a sacred mission. It has often been said that, if the U.S. Navy could only send one platform to sea, it is the SSBN that executes the most important mission: the mission of strategic deterrence.

Always at the tip of the spear, the USS West Virginia conducts operations in order to exploit the advantages of undersea operation. It can be deployed up to 15 months at a time. As the submariner identity states: ``We are elite, selective and high performing. We operate forward at the tip of the spear. This is the only survivable nuclear deterrent. Last bastion of master and commander.''

West Virginia is proud of the honor, courage, and commitment of the brave sailors who crew and have crewed the USS West Virginia, and we are eternally grateful for the sacrifices that you and your families make in service to the United States of America.

``Montani Semper Liberi.''

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from North Dakota. She has been a champion of building this bipartisan coalition. When we announced this yesterday, we had a very large board that showed quite a broad array of groups from around the country that are very much in support of this concept. So, I thank Senator Heitkamp for her great leadership.

It is terrific to be on the floor with Senator Whitehouse. We both serve on the EPW Committee together, and many times we are totally opposite. Sometimes we feel as if we are on opposite planets, I think, but definitely on different sides of this issue. It is great to be on the same side of an issue such as this, which really helps fortify not just our country but our regions and our beliefs as well.

As Senator Heitkamp said, we have 25 cosponsors. Some of them are utilities, environmental groups, oil and gas companies, Governors, labor unions, so it is a great array of the country interested in carbon capture utilization and storage. We have done a lot of research in this area, but we haven't been able to scale it up to a point where it is economically viable, and that is where I think the tax credits will be not just welcomed and used, but it will be very important to see that scalability--which we have seen coming in small bits and pieces--maybe come in much greater amounts.

We obviously have a very robust coal industry in the State of West Virginia. We have lost thousands of jobs. Senator Whitehouse and I have talked about his stay in West Virginia. He has great empathy for the coal miner and for those families that have lost jobs, but he is very concerned, as I think we all are, about what it is doing to our environment and how can we improve this.

That is what this legislation, I think, will help do. It will spur domestic investment in the technologies. It will also help us, I think, bring energy security because it goes to the baseload fuels, whether it is coal or natural gas, that we have to have.

I mean, in Washington, DC, today, it is hot out there, and I can guarantee you there are a lot of air-conditioners that are running at maximum speed. If we do not have this baseload power, which is coal and natural gas in areas--and I see my fellow Senator from West Virginia. We know, in coal country, how important that is and also what smiles on people's faces these air-conditioners can bring, as these hot days go, because we are running at full capacity.

We want to make sure that by capturing the carbon stream, we prevent any waste emissions and we provide a possible valuable resource for industry. I remarked yesterday for industry to extract oil, which is very important, obviously, to the Senator from North Dakota and also in our Marcellus shale region.

I believe that with this research and with the spurring of this technology, CO2 is going to have another use out there. There are all kinds of utilization possibilities, but if we just turn our backs on it or try to shut it down and make it unviable financially to invest in these technologies, we are never going to find that next best use of CO2.

So we tweaked the bill a little bit. The Senators have had this bill out for at least a couple of years. There is a companion bill in the House with a lot of cosponsors as well. I think it has, with 25 cosponsors on the Senate floor, bipartisan but very different philosophical beliefs, maybe. Maybe that is not the best way to put it. There are very different regional approaches to this, I guess would be a better way to state that.

We have our universities, such as West Virginia University and Marshall University, that are working on this. We have the National Energy Technology Lab in Morgantown, where Secretary Perry joined both Senator Manchin and me to talk about the technologies that are in front of us and the challenge for researchers.

I feel like financing and the economic model is where we are trying to go, in order to spur investment, to provide the regulatory certainty but also the investment certainty in that this is a keeper; that this is something that is here to stay, that it is doable, that it is economically feasible, that it is scalable, and it provides us with a lot of energy security at the same time. I think its greatest benefit of all is to keep our air clean and get it cleaner and meet the challenges of the next several decades.

With that, I turn it over to the Senator from Rhode Island.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from West Virginia who is fighting hard on a lot of different fronts to meet the challenge of this opioid and drug abuse epidemic that is sweeping across the country, and it is really hitting us in the rural areas in West Virginia. I always say our State is just one big small town, and both Senator Manchin and I have personal experience with families who have been deeply affected by this. It is destroying families, lives, and futures.

Chances are we all know someone, as I said, who has been affected, but we have been especially hard-hit in the State of West Virginia, and we have seen more than our fair share of devastating consequences: babies born exposed to drugs, families torn apart, children ripped from their parents because of their parents' habits and lifestyle, grandparents raising children when they had no real intention or didn't know that is what was going to happen.

We have the unfortunate distinction as a State of leading the Nation in drug overdose deaths per capita. Ninety-one Americans die each day because of this crisis, and far too many of them are our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and our children. No community is immune. That is why this all-hands-on-deck, community-oriented, coordinated, community-focused effort must move forward.

Fortunately, many individuals and organizations--and I get to meet with them regularly. It is inspiring to hear how people in the community are pulling together. They are already working hard educating--as Senator Manchin said, you can't start too early educating--treating, and rehabilitating people who are struggling with abuse within their families, helping them and those who are at risk of becoming addicted. From healthcare to law enforcement, we are working to tackle this crisis from all angles.

Drug courts play an important role in that fight. In order to get at the root

of the problem, we must have more recovery and treatment services, and incarceration is not always the right answer. Sometimes treatment, not the criminal justice system, is the answer.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting an incredible young woman-- inspirational, really--who knows all of this very well. Her name is Chelsea Carter, and she is from Logan, WV. When she met me yesterday, she said: We met. We met 10 years ago.

I said: Really? Where did we meet?

She said: I did your nails at Spa Bliss.

I said: Oh, well, thank you for that.

But along that journey, Chelsea has had a rough, rough go. At one point, Chelsea was charged with 17 felonies due to her drug habit. She told me her drug habit began when she was 12 years old. She said she was able to continue life through high school. It appeared as though she had a normal life. She was a cheerleader, participated in school, and all the time she was getting deeper and crawling deeper into a drug-addicted hole.

After she faced the criminal justice system, she became committed to getting off drugs and getting clean the very first night she spent in jail, and she has been clean ever since. She went through the drug court system, and, basically, it has saved her life. But that is not the end of the story for Chelsea. She has a bright future ahead of her, and she has moved forward.

She was in town for the annual conference of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. She has committed her life to helping people like her who have had this situation and who have been at the bottom of the pit of hopelessness, bad health, and bad decisionmaking. She is committed to helping her fellow West Virginians crawl out of that pit, like she did, and become productive individuals. This is the world's largest conference on treatment courts and criminal justice reform.

Back home in Logan, Chelsea is the program director at Appalachian Health Services. She just got her master's degree. One of the things that struck me is that, even in a management position, she continues to counsel and treat a full load of patients, and she told me she will always do so.

Chelsea's story is an example of the progress that can be made by fully committing to fighting the drug epidemic. There are victories and programs that work. Drug court is not the only one, but it is one in the spectrum of solutions.

I am committed to the fight and to working with all of our colleagues who are speaking out today. I know many of us are committed to this. It doesn't leave a family or community untouched. I am really inspired by West Virginians like Chelsea Carter who are on the frontlines.

With that, I yield for my colleague from Nevada.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize and honor the sacrifice of West Virginia's veterans and to welcome them to Washington DC, as a part of the Always Free Honor Flight. West Virginia has a proud tradition of military service, and I am privileged to be able to recognize these brave men and women who put their lives on the line to preserve our freedoms during our Nation's most critical hours of need.

The Always Free Honor Flight program, run by the Denver Foundation, is dedicated to bringing our veterans to Washington, DC, to thank them for their bravery and selflessness. As a daughter of a World War II veteran, this is something that is very close to my heart, and I am so thankful for the folks at Always Free Honor Flight who have dedicated their time to making sure our veterans feel our immense gratitude and pride. This year, we have the privilege of being joined by 25 veterans, including veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

These courageous individuals embody the very best of our Nation's values and have endeavored, through unimaginable hardship and danger, to ensure that all Americans may continue to live in the freedom and safety that we all cherish. Their courage, through some of the greatest conflicts of the 20th century, will not go unnoticed, and we must strive to show our appreciation every day.

On this Always Free Honor Flight, we will be joined by two World War II veterans: Storekeeper Second Class William ``Ray'' Calvin Sexton, USN, Tazewell, VA; and Motor Machinist's Mate Third Class Marion Grey Noel, USN, Roanoke, VA.

In addition to our World War II veterans, we will also be joined by Korean

war veteran Gerald Marreese Richmond, North Tazewell, VA; and two veterans who served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars: Johnie Lewis Gordon, Sr., USA, Princeton, WV; and MSgt Reese Williamson Moore, USAF, Bluefield, WV.

The Vietnam veterans participating are Samuel ``Sam'' J. Connor, USN, Princeton, WV; CPL William ``Bill'' Cox, USA, Bluefield, WV; Sergeant Marion ``Mario'' E. Deskins, USAF, Iaeger, WV; CPL Donald R. Dinger, USMC, Bluefield, WV; SGT James ``Jim'' W. England, USA, Bluefield, VA; Jackie W. Estep, USMC, Yukon, WV; SPC Carl A. Lane, USA, Pineville, WV; Sergeant Marshal G. Mann, USAF, Princeton, WV; SGT Owen C. Neff, USA, Summersville, WV; PO3 Donald ``Donnie'' W. Noel, USN, Salem, VA; CPL Raymond C. Palmer, USA, Mabscott, WV; SGT Ronald Pennington, USA, Princeton, WV; PFC Jackson Phillip Thompson, USA, Bluefield, WV; SPC Larry Malone Saunders, USA, Madison, WV; PO1 Alan Brett Sexton, USN, Princeton, WV; SPC James Buck Tunnell, USA, Bandy, VA; CPL Ricky D. Williams, USMC, Beckley, WV; and CPT Jerry Sheffield, USA, Lavelette,

Madam President, today is a glorious day. It is a great day for this country because we and my colleagues, I believe, will confirm Heather Wilson to be Secretary of the Air Force.

There are many reasons why it is appropriate for Heather Wilson to be Secretary of the Air Force. She has Air Force in her DNA. Her father Doug was an Air Force veteran and commercial pilot. Her grandfather flew for Britain's Royal Flying Corps in World War I before coming to the United States and serving as a courier pilot during World War II.

Heather was to be no different. She was a junior in high school when the Air Force Academy started accepting women. She applied and was appointed there to be part of the Academy's third class with women. She also became the first woman to command basic training and the first woman vice wing commander.

After college she thought she was going to flight school, but those plans changed because she answered the call and was awarded the very prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. It was only the sixth year that women were permitted to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship, and she was a collegiate rower there and earned a master's degree and a doctorate in international relations.

Heather's assignments and accomplishments are many. During her service she was a negotiator and political adviser to the U.S. Air Force in England and a planning officer for NATO in Belgium, where she worked on arms control negotiations.

Heather left the Air Force because she heeded another call to serve as the Director of European Defense Policy and Arms Control on the staff of the National Security Council. I know she worked very closely with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact.

Heather has always been on an upward trajectory. She left government and started her own company advising defense and scientific corporations, but public service has always called Heather back. In 1995 she was asked to be the cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, where she oversaw foster care, adoption, early childhood education, children's mental health, and the juvenile justice system. From there, again, public service kept calling her, and she was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, becoming the first woman to represent New Mexico since the 1940s and the first female veteran elected to a full term in the U.S. Congress.

I met Heather Wilson in the House of Representatives. Her time on the Hill included service on the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. I was lucky enough to serve with Heather, to learn from her and from her incredible depth of knowledge, her certainty--Heather is so certain--and her ability to cut through the politics to do what is right for the country. I heard Heather give many speeches on the House floor, and they were always through the frame of what is in the best interests of the United States.

So after she left Congress she founded another company before she was selected as president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and she is there now serving as the school's first female President. My condolences go to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology because duty is calling Heather Wilson back to Washington to be our Secretary of the Air Force.

There are a lot of firsts in Heather's life. Senator Pete Domenici, to whom Heather felt very close, once called Heather ``the most brilliantly qualified House candidate anywhere in the country.''

I say Heather is a brilliantly qualified designee to be Secretary of the Air Force. She has always been not only an incredible intellectual and a strong leader, but she is also a very warm, welcoming, and kind person. We became good friends and remain so to this day. She is a leader. She is a spouse. She is a mother of two wonderful children, a pilot, and a veteran. So I am excited about the prospect of Heather's returning to Washington to become our Secretary of the Air Force.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, earlier today, the Senate voted to pass the Omnibus appropriations bill for 2017.

This bill is a product of bipartisan negotiations and hard work on the part of our Appropriations Committee, of which I am proud to be a member, and the leadership of both of our parties.

I am encouraged by the overwhelming support for this important legislation that reflects our Nation's priorities and funds the government in a responsible way. I am very pleased--and I can't emphasize this enough; very pleased--that the bill includes a bipartisan provision that keeps the promise of lifetime healthcare benefits for 22,000 coal miners and their families, including 8,500 West Virginians--my home State.

Bankruptcies in the coal industry meant that these miners would have lost their critical health insurance coverage at the end of last year. We passed that little, short-term extension for 4 months, and it was set to expire this coming week.

This appropriations bill provides certainty to these coal mining families. Because of this bill, they will keep the healthcare they earned through their years of hard work.

I worked closely with my West Virginia colleague, Senator Joe Manchin, as well as our Representatives--Representatives David McKinley, Evan Jenkins, and Alex Mooney--to get this permanent miners' healthcare fix included in the bill.

I also want to particularly thank our majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, for his leadership on behalf of the miners in West Virginia and in his home State of Kentucky, and the rest of Appalachia. I would also like to thank my fellow Republican from the State of Ohio, Senator Rob Portman, who was a champion for those miners as well.

But, most importantly, I would like to thank the miners from across coal country who came to Washington to advocate for their healthcare benefits. I met with dozens--probably hundreds, over the course of the years--of West Virginia miners in my office over the last several years.

Last September, miners came by the thousands to the west front of the Capitol and stood for hours in just excruciatingly hot conditions. These miners and their families put a human face on the issue. They are the reason--they are the reason--that we have a successful result today.

Many of these miners have shared their stories with me through letters and emails and personal stories and visits, and I want to share just a few of their thoughts.

Brenda, a coal miner's widow from West Virginia, wrote that continued healthcare coverage presented a life or death situation for her. She wrote:

I have medical problems, which require monthly doctor

visits and prescriptions and I will no longer be able to see

my doctors--nor afford the prescriptions should our health

insurance be taken away.

Alfred, a retired West Virginia coal miner wrote:

We were not given our health benefits as a gift. We worked

hard in the mines every day for a long time, and it was

backbreaking, year-to-year.

Howard, another retiree, wrote that he worked in the West Virginia coal mines for 41 years to earn this promise of healthcare benefits.

William, also a retired West Virginia miner, wrote that he has had several surgeries, including one on New Year's Day, 2017. The possible expiration of health benefits and the thought of temporary benefit extensions left him worried about whether he would be able to access necessary followup medical care for his surgery.

After learning that permanent healthcare would be included in this bill, Gisele wrote:

Tonight I will rest soundly knowing that we will be able to

afford our medicines.

For Brenda, Alfred, William, Howard, Gisele, and thousands of other miners and widows across West Virginia, this bill keeps the promise of lifetime healthcare.

There is more work to be done to protect the pension benefits of our retired miners and to bring jobs back to coal country, to areas that have been hit hard by the previous administration's policies. But the permanent healthcare in this bill is a critical victory for our coal mining families and the communities where they live.

I would also like to quote a young man who sent me an email. I met him at a Chick-fil-A on a Saturday--not a Sunday, of course, on a Saturday. We struck up a little friendship, and the day he learned that this was in the bill, he texted me and said:

Senator, I met you in the Chick-fil-A. Thank you, you have

now secured the benefits for my Paw Paw.

I thought it was such a heartfelt message that he sent to me--a new friend of mine who had been struggling along trying to figure out a way to help his grandfather.

There are a number of other important priorities in this bill as well. Mining communities will also be helped by tens of millions of dollars across different agencies to help us retrain our miners who have lost their jobs.

This bill also includes a significant investment in new fossil energy research, including carbon capture and sequestration. These funds will help spur the development of new markets for coal to keep coal mining jobs for years to come.

The appropriations bill also includes funding increases for rural broadband deployment, something I have been very concerned about, as well as continued funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission. Access to broadband is absolutely critical for economic development and improved access to health and education opportunities in our rural communities, and we are sadly underserved. There is much work to be done to bring access to high-speed internet to many communities, but this bill is a positive step.

As chairman of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, I am glad that we included increased funding for the Drug-Free Communities Support Program and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, or the HITDA Program. Unfortunately, cascading across this country is the devastating problem of prescription drug abuse, opioid abuse, and heroin addiction. The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education portion of the bill includes an $800 million increase to combat opioid addiction. This includes the $500 million authorized for the 21st Century Cures Act to help States with their response to the crisis. It also includes an increase for medication-assisted treatment programs and for other programs outlined by the CARA bill that we passed last summer.

In addition to these important treatment resources, we have also funded important enforcement and prevention aspects of the problem as well, including $50 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs for opioid and substance abuse for the treatment of our veterans. This is a real problem for our returning veterans who have addiction issues. There are funds to implement the Jason Simcakoski act that Senator Baldwin and I introduced.

Unfortunately, West Virginia is the epicenter of the opioid crisis that has struck communities across the country. Passage of this appropriations bill will make a difference--a big difference--for people who are struggling to overcome addiction and to help our States that are financially strapped and our local communities combat this terrible problem.

Another area of significance to a lot of people in my State and across the country is the increase in the funding for the National Institutes of Health. There is a $400 million increase for Alzheimer's research--something important to me, as I lost both of my parents who suffered from Alzheimer's, this terrible disease. We need to find not just treatments, but we need to find a cure, and I think NIH is where we are going to find it.

There are many other reasons to support this bill. It has additional flood relief for our devastated flood areas. I know the Presiding Officer has major floods in Louisiana, and we had them in West Virginia, and we have had them across the country.

Just to mention a few other things, this bill includes a pay increase for our troops, which is so important. They are on the frontlines.

The bill also works on scientific research for our educational institutions, something important to our universities in West Virginia.

But, most of all, I just want to voice my appreciation for the bipartisan work by the members of the appropriations committees, who worked hard to get this bill where we are. It is a responsible bill. It is a commonsense bill. It sets our priorities. Today, because of the fact that we passed it with support from both parties, I believe it will achieve a positive result for our country.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I certainly appreciate the kind comments from my friend and fellow Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Manchin, who has been a champion of this issue. It has been a pleasure to work together and to have it all work out. We have worked closely together for the past several years to advance a permanent solution for the retirement benefits of thousands of miners in our State and across the Nation. I appreciate Senator Manchin's hard work and leadership on this; I really do.

I would be happy to discuss what I believe is our shared understanding of the intent behind miners' healthcare language in the omnibus bill that originated in the Miners Protection Act.

I wholly share Senator Manchin's understanding of this key provision of the legislation.

By adopting the language from the Miners Protection Act that is included in the Omnibus appropriations bill, we intended to cover any miners, survivors, and dependents who would have received or continued to receive Federal retiree healthcare benefits from one of these bankrupt employers had it not gone through the bankruptcy process, without regard to the 1993 plan's usual eligibility rules.

I understand that these individuals are eligible under the rules as applied by the Patriot VEBA, and I expect that these rules will continue to be applied in the same manner by the 1993 plan.

There is nothing like seeing the faces of our miners as we did in our offices the other day and I have seen in my office throughout this time--or when it was at the 100-degree rally out on the lawn last fall--to realize the human faces behind what we are talking about.

Senator Manchin is right. It is a bipartisan issue, and it is the right and fair thing to do.

It has been a pleasure to work with Senator Manchin and with the UMWA and our other colleagues to see this legislation through.

I thank my colleagues.

Mr. President, it is my honor today to recognize Dr. George E. Keller II for his outstanding achievements in the areas of engineering, innovation, and leadership. Dr. Keller was born and raised in Charleston, WV, and has a bachelor's degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Keller's wisdom is evidenced in his personal life as he has been married to his wife, Judy Keller, for decades, allowing for his legacy to live on through his many children and grandchildren.

Dr. Keller served as a lecturer in President Eisenhower's ``Atoms for Peace Program'' in Chemical and Nuclear Engineering from 1958 to 1959. He went on to have an illustrious and highly accomplished 36-year career at the Union Carbide Corporation in research and development at the South Charleston Technical Center and achieved national and international accolades for pioneering contribution in separation science, reaction engineering, catalysis, and novel process technology development.

After retiring from the Union Carbide Corporation, Dr. Keller became the cofounder and vice president of New Carbon, LLC, with the purpose of commercializing various aspects of the WVU Chemical Engineering Department's coal to advanced carbon products programs. Dr. Keller also inspired leadership under the BIDCO organization for local economic development, which ultimately led to the birth of the Mid-Atlantic Technology Research & Innovation Center, MATRIC, Inc., in 2003. Dr. Keller served as MATRIC vice chairman until 2014, as well as MATRIC's chief engineer. He currently serves on the MATRIC board of directors and continues service as the company's chief engineer.

In 1988, Dr. Keller was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, NARE, for his invention and insightful analysis of novel separation processes. Recently, Dr. Keller was recognized as ``one of the nation's top 100 chemical engineers of the modern era'' by the premier industry association, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, AIChE.

He is a recipient of many prestigious awards including the Chemical Pioneer Award by the American Institute of Chemists for his breakthrough work in long-range hydrocarbon technology, as well as the Institute Lecture Award, the Clarence Gerhold Award, and the Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology, all awarded by the AIChE. The Chemical Engineering Magazine awarded Dr. Keller's team with the Kirkpatrick Honor Award for the most innovative chemical technology successfully commercialized in the world: development of highly efficient pressure-swing parametric pumping for gas-gas separations. Pennsylvania State University also awarded Dr. Keller with the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus Award in 1989.

Dr. George Keller has coauthored and edited more than 35 publications in refereed journals and is the coauthor of two major books in the area of industrial separations. He also holds 21 U.S. patents in key technologies. Dr. Keller has lectured at more than 30 universities around the world and has served as chairman for many prestigious international conferences. At West Virginia University, Dr. Keller serves as chair of the visiting committee of the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, as well as a longtime member of the visiting committees of several chemical engineering departments at WVU, Virginia Tech, Penn State, University of Wisconsin, University of Texas, and University of Virginia. He has also served on the National Research Council's board on chemical science and technology, BCST, and as an adjunct professor of chemical engineering at WVU and Virginia Tech.

In addition to Dr. George Keller's many awards, honors, and service, he also has an abundance of major technical accomplishments. Dr. Keller was a pioneer in discovering ways for converting methane to hydrocarbon feedstock for the chemical industry and was awarded by the American Institute of Chemists for doing so.

When Dr. Keller joined Union Carbide in 1961, he was a trailblazer in implementing amongst the first computer-controlled pilot plants in the industry worldwide. Under his leadership, the separations and process fundamentals skill center developed such disparate processes as the most advanced technology for producing oxygen via miniature adsorption units in the homes of people with severe lung problems in the 1970s, creating a better and longer life for countless millions around the world, and the world's largest commercial pervaporation facility in the 1990s.

Dr. Keller's personal expertise in membranes, adsorption, distillation, and extraction operations has resulted in reducing the generation of process wastes, developing more cost-effective ways to treat industrial waste streams, and, in some cases, resulted in recovery of valuable coproducts from traditional waste streams. In addition to his Carbide contributions, Dr. Keller has also worked on several next-generation technologies for carbon capture from fossil fuel combustion. His work in this area will be impactful for years to come, especially in industries touched by the development of shale gas in the United States.

Dr. Keller has recruited exceptional, diverse talent to WV and to Union Carbide, including over 100 of the world's premier doctoral-level engineers and scientists. He has served and continues to serve as an excellent mentor to countless individuals. In turn, this aspect of Dr. Keller's efforts paid exceptionally rich dividends to Union Carbide and West Virginia in developing and sustaining a world-class, market- driven, R&D technical center at South Charleston for many decades. This culture still lives on today at MATRIC. The company is a growing multidivisional company with long-term strategy levering both market opportunity and its own internal expertise. It is noteworthy that MATRIC has delivered more than $95 million to the West Virginia economy that would never have existed without exceptional leaders like George Keller.

It is with great respect that I ask my colleagues in the U.S. Senate to recognize the accomplishments and dedication of Dr. George E. Keller II. Dr. Keller is an excellent example of perseverance and commitment to innovation, enhancing the lives of others and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

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

Mr. President, I rise today, as I have on a number of occasions in the past, to express the urgent need for action to protect the retirement security of our Nation's coal miners. Because of bankruptcies that have decimated the coal industry, we have lost over 22,000 jobs in our State, but more than 22,000 retired coal miners and their spouses are at risk of losing their healthcare benefits at the end of April.

I have visited with retired miners from all across West Virginia to discuss this situation. During the February congressional recess, I visited the Cabin Creek Health Center in West Virginia. The Cabin Creek Health Center serves hundreds of coal miners and their families. They provide pulmonary rehabilitation services for miners suffering from black lung. They also provide primary care services for miners and other members of their community. During my visit, I met with several retired miners who would lose their health insurance coverage if Congress fails to act. These individuals are suffering from serious medical conditions and were unsure how they would afford their healthcare if they were to lose their current coverage.

Just 2 weeks ago, I met with about a dozen retired miners from West Virginia who came to Washington to support the Miners Protection Act and to stand up for their hard-earned retirement benefits. Other groups of West Virginia miners have come to Washington over the past few months. All have carried one message to Congress: Keep the promise of our lifetime health benefits. On March 1, thousands of miners received notice that their health insurance would be terminated in 60 days. Most of these same people received that very same message just last October. As I listen to their stories, it is hard to imagine the worry these notices cause for miners and their families.

In December 2016, Congress included language in the continuing appropriations legislation that preserved health coverage for these retired miners for just 4 months. While that provision kept mining families from losing their health coverage--which is good--at the end of last year, a permanent solution is critically needed.

The 4-month provision from the December CR expires at the end of this month. It is vital--vital--that Congress take action within the next few weeks to provide healthcare and peace of mind for these miners in West Virginia and across coal country. Our retired miners deserve their promised healthcare coverage and should not have to receive another cancellation notice or another Band-Aid solution. We have a bipartisan vehicle for action. I have worked closely with Senator Joe Manchin, Senator Rob Portman, and others to introduce and promote the bipartisan Miners Protection Act, which would preserve healthcare and pension benefits for our miners. Our bill passed the Senate Finance Committee last year by a bipartisan vote of 18 to 8. I also would like to thank the majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, because he has introduced legislation that would provide a permanent healthcare solution for our miners.

With all of us pulling together and with us working together, I am confident the Senate will act before the end of this month to continue these critical healthcare benefits for our miners. I ask my colleagues for their support in addressing this important issue for our working families.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to express my strong support for the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to be the next Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Few individuals over the last century have impacted the American legal discourse as profoundly as the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

In the wake of his untimely passing last February, Justice Scalia left behind a legacy of faithfully applying the law and upholding the principles of our Constitution. Judge Neil Gorsuch is a worthy successor to Judge Antonin Scalia.

Judge Gorsuch understands the protections granted in the Constitution, including the separation of powers, federalism, and the Bill of Rights. He knows that the Constitution provides Americans with an indispensable safeguard against government overreach.

His past opinions demonstrate that he will honor constitutional protections afforded through due process, the right to bear arms, equal protection under the law, and religious freedom.

Legal experts from across the political spectrum are very much in agreement with the Gorsuch nomination. The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously gave Judge Gorsuch the highest possible rating of ``well qualified'' for the Supreme Court. I couldn't agree more.

One of Judge Gorsuch's associates, the chief judge of the Tenth Circuit who served with Judge Gorsuch, has said about him:

Judge Gorsuch brings to the bench a powerful intellect

combined with a probing and analytical approach to every

issue. He brings to each case a strong commitment to limit

his analysis to that case--its facts, the record, and the law

cited and applicable. He does not use his judicial role as a

vehicle for anything other than deciding the case before him.

President Obama's former Solicitor General Neal Katyal penned an op- ed in the New York Times supporting Judge Gorsuch and wrote:

I have no doubt that if confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would help

restore confidence in the rule of law.

His years on the bench reveal a commitment to judicial

independence--a record that should give the American people

confidence

that he will not compromise principle to favor the president

who appointed him.

Those are the words of the Solicitor General who argued on behalf of President Obama's administration in front of the Supreme Court.

Judge Gorsuch has been through the confirmation process before--as we have heard many times on this floor--when Senators, some of them in this body today, approved his nomination to the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit without opposition.

I was privileged to meet with Judge Gorsuch several weeks ago, and it was clear to me through our conversation, a thorough examination of his record, and watching last week's hearing in the Judiciary Committee that Judge Gorsuch will decide cases fairly, based on our Constitution and laws. Isn't that the way it should be? This is what West Virginians expect from a Supreme Court Justice.

Newspapers in my State have recognized this nominee's strong qualifications of independence and respect for the rule of law. The Charleston Daily Mail editorialized:

Gorsuch has strong legal credentials and deserves to be

confirmed.

He is the kind of pick that any president should make,

Democrat or Republican, because of his proven qualities

necessary for any justice: a strong understanding and respect

for the nation's founding document, the U.S. Constitution.

The Wheeling Intelligencer and News Register wrote:

During hearings last week, Gorsuch's suitability for a high

court post was made abundantly clear.

He is precisely the type of judge--faithful to the

Constitution not ideology on specific issues--the nation

needs.

And the Martinsburg Journal said:

Gorsuch seems to believe in using the plain language of the

Constitution to decide cases, regardless of his own

preferences.

That--someone who believes only the people not the courts

can change the Constitution--is precisely the type of Supreme

Court justice we Americans need.

The American people benefited from an open and transparent Supreme Court process that led to Judge Gorsuch being nominated.

During the 2016 Presidential election, both candidates were transparent about the type of Supreme Court Justice they would appoint if elected. President Trump released a list of 21 names, a list that included Judge Gorsuch, and promised voters that he would fill this Supreme Court vacancy with someone from that list. Voters paid attention.

According to an NBC News exit poll, 70 percent of voters said the selection of a Supreme Court Justice was either the most important factor in their vote for President or an important factor. Let me state that again--70 percent.

The American people weighed in, and President Trump acted wisely in selecting Judge Gorsuch. He is a mainstream judge who is well qualified for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, the Democratic leader has indicated that his party intends to engage in an unprecedented partisan filibuster of this nomination. A filibuster of a nominee of this caliber would be a tremendous mistake, I believe, that would harm the Senate as an institution. There has never been a Supreme Court nomination that has been defeated by a partisan filibuster of the type that the Senate Democrats are telegraphing. It is one thing to vote against a nominee on whatever grounds a Senator may wish, but it is quite another to filibuster in an effort to block a nomination that has been submitted by a duly elected President who has the support of the majority of the Senate.

Senators have always enjoyed the ability to filibuster nominations. That ability has remained available because Senators have shown restraint in applying the power that comes along with requiring unlimited debate. The clear tradition of the Senate--and this is a body of tradition, I have learned--over the course of its 230 years of history is a confirmation by a majority vote. That tradition has been demonstrated in recent Supreme Court nominations.

President Obama nominated both Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Neither Justice Sotomayor nor Justice Kagan faced a filibuster in the Senate.

President George W. Bush nominated John Roberts as Chief Justice. There was no filibuster attempt against that nomination.

President Bill Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court. Neither faced a filibuster.

President George H.W. Bush nominated David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Neither Justice faced a filibuster even though 48 Senators voted against the Thomas nomination.

One recent Supreme Court nomination did require a cloture vote when a group of Democrat Senators attempted to block a vote on the nomination of Justice Alito's nomination, but a large majority of Senators--72, in fact--invoked cloture, which preserved the bipartisan practice of rejecting filibusters against Supreme Court nominees. Among those who rejected the Alito filibuster in 2006 were the two Democratic Senators from my State--Senator Robert C. Byrd and Senator Jay Rockefeller. There were 72 Senators who voted to invoke cloture on Justice Alito's nomination, but only 58 ended up voting for the final confirmation.

The Senate has a very clear history of rejecting the use of the filibuster on Supreme Court nominations, but there is no justification for a filibuster on the Gorsuch nomination. Neil Gorsuch is a mainstream judge with the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association. He was confirmed by the Senate, without objection, in the year 2006. His service on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has earned him the respect of his judicial colleagues, and he has demonstrated the independence and respect for the law that the American people expect from a Supreme Court Justice. I hope that at least eight of my Democratic colleagues will join us regardless of how they, ultimately, will vote on Judge Gorsuch's confirmation. I hope they will recognize the need to invoke cloture on this nomination.

The Senate will confirm Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. For the good of the Nation and for the good of the Senate, there should be no filibuster of this well-qualified nominee.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I am here to address an issue that I think is of great importance to this country and to this administration; that is, the nomination of Scott Pruitt to be the new EPA Administrator.

We are nearly 8 years removed now from what we consider--many of us, I think, particularly as we look back--the great recession. However, many American workers, their families, and their communities have yet to feel the benefits of any kind of a recovery. A key component to a slow recovery--the

slowest recovery since World War I--is the regulatory overreach coming out of this city--Washington, DC.

Since the end of the recession in June 2009, Federal agencies have burdened a weakened economy with thousands of pages of new rules, costing consumers billions of dollars. Tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs. The EPA has perhaps become the poster child for this overreach, from restricting carbon emissions without the direction of Congress--and according to the clean air direction of Congress of what is important--to federalizing every stream, every pond, every wetland under the waters of the United States rule, to unilaterally banning virtually Appalachian coal mining by obstructing the permitting process and pursuing ozone standards that the vast majority of the country cannot meet. The vast majority of the country is still trying to meet the ozone standards that were established under the last regulation.

I support the mission of the EPA in protecting human health, in protecting our air and our water, but there has to be a balance. There has to be a balance between growing the economy and preserving the environment. Over the last several years, we have seen that balance very disrupted. This disruption is at odds with the law and the well- being of many of our working families.

This has been acutely felt in my State of West Virginia where we have lost more than 35 percent of our coal jobs since the year 2011. That is more than 7,000 jobs eliminated in a relatively small State like West Virginia, and many of these jobs are very high-paying jobs.

As a nation, we have lost more than 60,000 coal miners in the same timeframe. This has hurt our workers, our families, our communities, and our State.

The loss of good-paying jobs means less commercial activity. It means less tax revenue to support our education, our county school systems, our county ambulances, our county sheriff's departments, and our law enforcement. For example, little old Wayne County in West Virginia has lost 88 percent of its coal severance taxes between 2013 and 2016. This year, our Governor and our legislature are struggling right now with a $500 million budget deficit, largely due to the loss of our coal jobs.

Patching that shortfall could mean significant tax increases, painful cuts in public services, or both, which could further hurt and cripple our local economy. It will be a long road undoing the legal and economic damages suffered over the last several years.

Voters in my State and across the country have made it clear that fixing Washington includes meaningful reforms for the way that the EPA operates and has been operating.

So what do we have before us? We have a great nominee for EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, who is presently the attorney general of another energy-producing State--Oklahoma. Scott is committed to returning the Agency to its core mission of protecting our air, our water, and our land without undercutting the economy. At least, we know that he will listen to the other side and try to be reasonable.

He will ensure that the EPA abides by congressional intent, and he will be an active partner with State and local stakeholders in the rulemaking process.

Going back to the stream buffer rule and the reason that fell apart-- and I am so pleased that the President is going to be signing the CRA on that today--the EPA invited States to come in and speak about the rulemaking process. Within months, it became very apparent to the States that are charged with protecting the water that this is just window dressing. They realized: They are not listening to us, and they don't really want us to buy in. Eight of those States left.

So as the attorney general for the State of Oklahoma, he has held industry to account as well protected lakes and streams in his State. I asked him in the committee: If the State or local government doesn't intervene in what looks to be an environmental issue--not just a crisis, but if they are not doing their job in protecting the air and the water--what would you do as the EPA Administrator? He said: That is where we should be stepping in. That is where we should be helping those States meet those standards, helping those States get the right information.

So I think he is going to be unafraid to take on the EPA when it is set to ignore a State's sovereignty.

Mr. Pruitt is the most thoroughly vetted candidate for this position in history. He fielded 6 hours' worth of questioning before the Committee on Environment and Public Works, where I serve. During that hearing, he assured me that he will engage directly with the State of West Virginia and visit our State. We could never get the EPA Administrator to visit our State and listen to our side. He will visit our State, listen to our side, and reform the rulemaking process to prevent another open assault on our economy by unelected bureaucrats.

He also committed to me that he would pursue full implementation of the bipartisan Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, a bill on which we joined together--Republicans and Democrats, both sides of the aisle, with President Obama--to modernize our toxic chemical regulations in terms of water.

This is important to me. I was talking to my colleague from Michigan about this issue. We had a water crisis in West Virginia where we had a large chemical spill. This bill, under Scott Pruitt's leadership and my pressing for the implementation, as others will be, will help us in situations like this.

Beyond the over 200 questions he answered in the hearing, he answered more than 1,000 followup questions. He is the most thoroughly vetted nominee for Administrator in the history of the EPA. I am confident-- very confident--as he assured me in committee and in personal meetings, and I have watched him in action in terms of questioning the overreach in the court systems. He has worked with our attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, to be the leader in this.

I have confidence that he embodies the leadership that we need to restore the balance and accountability to the EPA in a way that will benefit the public health and benefit environmental preservation, as well as restore much-needed economic growth that needs to be a part of the balance that we want to see restored back to the EPA.

With that, I yield the floor.