Floor Statements

Mr. President, in recent years the American people have lost trust in the Federal government to keep our personally identifiable information, or PII, secure. In June of 2015 the Office of Personnel Management was infiltrated with a major cyber breach, affecting more than 22 million current and former federal employees,

including myself. In January of 2016, another nearly half a million Americans had their social security numbers stolen when the Internal Revenue Service was hacked.

I spent 28 years in the private sector, 12 years with a global cloud computing company. We faced cyber threats daily, and our customers expected security of their data. We delivered and not once was our data compromised. And we certainly did not give it out voluntarily. When there is an opportunity to protect our PII, we need to act on it and begin to rebuild trust with the American people.

In 1984, the public disclosure of certain manifest information was required of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The original intent was to increase competition, to facilitate better public analysis of import trends, and to allow port authorities and transportation companies to more easily identify potential customers and changes in their industries. However, in recent years, PII of relocating individuals, bringing their home goods back to the United States, has been released, enabling identity theft, credit card fraud, and unwanted solicitations.

CBP does offer a process for consumers of shipping services to make their information confidential. However, these forms typical take two months to process and are often processed after the individual has moved.

That is why I am introducing the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act. This legislation will simply require CBP to remove personally identifiable information from vessel manifest sheets before making them available for public disclosure. I believe the default should be to protect peoples' privacy and automatically remove this personal information, rather than requiring citizens to make a request and hope the paperwork is processed in time.

I want to thank Senator Peters for being an original cosponsor of this bill. I ask my Senate colleagues to join us in support of this important legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, in recent years the American people have lost trust in the Federal government to keep our personally identifiable information, or PII, secure. In June of 2015 the Office of Personnel Management was infiltrated with a major cyber breach, affecting more than 22 million current and former federal employees,

including myself. In January of 2016, another nearly half a million Americans had their social security numbers stolen when the Internal Revenue Service was hacked.

I spent 28 years in the private sector, 12 years with a global cloud computing company. We faced cyber threats daily, and our customers expected security of their data. We delivered and not once was our data compromised. And we certainly did not give it out voluntarily. When there is an opportunity to protect our PII, we need to act on it and begin to rebuild trust with the American people.

In 1984, the public disclosure of certain manifest information was required of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The original intent was to increase competition, to facilitate better public analysis of import trends, and to allow port authorities and transportation companies to more easily identify potential customers and changes in their industries. However, in recent years, PII of relocating individuals, bringing their home goods back to the United States, has been released, enabling identity theft, credit card fraud, and unwanted solicitations.

CBP does offer a process for consumers of shipping services to make their information confidential. However, these forms typical take two months to process and are often processed after the individual has moved.

That is why I am introducing the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act. This legislation will simply require CBP to remove personally identifiable information from vessel manifest sheets before making them available for public disclosure. I believe the default should be to protect peoples' privacy and automatically remove this personal information, rather than requiring citizens to make a request and hope the paperwork is processed in time.

I want to thank Senator Peters for being an original cosponsor of this bill. I ask my Senate colleagues to join us in support of this important legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, this week, I have the distinct honor of recognizing Emma Homer of Ashland for the many years she has helped children in eastern Montana. Her generosity and compassion is commendable.

Emma began fostering children in 1979. For nearly 38 years, she has opened her home, and her heart in order to help the local community. The longevity of her noble accomplishment is truly remarkable. Over the years, Emma has directly helped to improve the lives of over 40 children through her service as foster parent. The children she has cared for have varied in age from infants just a few months old to teenagers in high school.

In addition to her contributions as a foster parent, since 1981, Emma has worked in the food service department at St. Labre Indian School. During that time, she has helped prepare hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals for the students and staff.

A loving home and a warm meal are essential elements in every Montana community. Emma has helped provide both of these essentials to many children for well over a generation. Thank you, Emma, for the outstanding example you have set for the next generation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the Indian coal production tax credit be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the Indian coal production tax credit be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor the life of Shawn Gilbert. Shawn was a prominent member of Montana's Little Shell Tribal community who tragically lost his battle with cancer this past January. Even in his final days, Shawn maintained a positive attitude, and all who knew him fondly remember the constant smile on his face. As is the Montana way, Shawn loved the great outdoors. He enjoyed snowmobiling, four-wheeling, and hunting with his family, as well as reloading his own ammunition and target practice with his pistols. Shawn served his people as a member of the tribal council and dreamt of the day his nation, Little Shell Nation, would be formally recognized. It is our duty and my honor to keep that dream alive as my colleague, Senator Tester, and I work to enact into law legislation to do just that. I had the pleasure of meeting Shawn while he was in office at the Little Shell Tribal headquarters. Along with his fellow tribal leaders, Shawn presented me with a beautiful beaded bolo tie which sits on display in my office. It serves as a daily reminder of the Little Shell people and of Shawn. May God watch over his soul as his light lives on through the memories of his loved ones.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am joining my colleagues on the floor with a bit of confusion, a bit of disappointment, and, frankly, a lot of questions. I am referring to the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court Justice.

As a Senator, one of the most consequential votes I will cast is a vote to confirm a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. It is a lifetime appointment to our Nation's highest Court.

I recently spoke with some students back in Montana, some FFA students. The average age 17, 18 years old. God willing, Neil Gorsuch may serve on the Court for 30 or more years. These FFA students' children and perhaps even grandchildren will be part of Neil Gorsuch's time on the Court, given that he likely will serve for three decades or more.

As it stands today, the Senate is on the precipice of confirming Neil Gorsuch to be our next U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice. However, as the news has been reporting, as our Twitter feeds are overflowing with information, it looks as though my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are caving to the pressures of the far left, and they are set to unleash an unprecedented filibuster.

I have met with Judge Gorsuch. I watched his confirmation hearings. What I have seen and what most Americans agree--Judge Neil Gorsuch has been incredibly transparent, he has been accessible, and he is the right man for the position. He is mainstream. He is a westerner. He is committed to judicial independence. He has a brilliant legal mind--that is without dispute. He is exceptionally qualified. In fact, the American Bar Association unanimously rated Judge Gorsuch as ``well qualified.'' That is its highest rating.

He has met with nearly 80 Senators. Prior to his hearing, he provided the Judiciary Committee over 70 pages of written answers about his personal record. He provided 75,000-plus pages of documents, including speeches, case briefs, opinions, and written works going as far back as his college days. The White House archives produced over 180,000 pages of email and paper records related to Judge Gorsuch's time at the Department of Justice.

Judge Gorsuch sat for three rounds of questioning, totaling nearly 20 hours, in committee. As the American people watched Judge Gorsuch before that committee, they saw an exceptionally qualified nominee for the highest Court in the land, someone who was bright, who was kind. I would argue that Judge Gorsuch's mind, his intellectual capacity, is only exceeded by his heart. This is a kind and independent jurist.

When he came before the Judiciary Committee, this was the longest hearing of any 21st-century nominee. He answered nearly 1,200 questions during his hearing, which is nearly twice as many questions posed to Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, or Ginsburg. He was given 299 questions for the record by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee--the most in recent history of any Supreme Court nominee. Judge Gorsuch did all of this with the utmost integrity and with transparency and humility. Yet here we are, with Democrats engaged in unprecedented obstruction, refusing to give Neil Gorsuch an up-or-down vote.

The Senate has only ever employed a cloture motion for a Supreme Court nominee four times in modern history. We voted on cloture when Justice Alito was nominated in 2006. We did the same in 1968, 1971, and 1986. In 1991, Clarence Thomas was confirmed on a 52-to-48 vote, and in 2006, Samuel Alito was confirmed on a 58-to-42 vote. In fact, when President Obama was in the White House, Republicans did not filibuster a nominee. This body confirmed Sonya Sotomayor in 2009 by a vote of 68- to-31 and confirmed Justice Kagan by a rollcall vote of 63-to-37 in 2010. We did not filibuster.

Let me remind folks that cloture is in place to stop debate, not to stop a vote. Cloture was put in place to speed the Senate up, end debate, and move to a vote, not to stop a vote. It was never intended to be a stall tactic or something to obstruct this body.

This bears repeating. Cloture was put in place to speed up the process, to prevent obstruction.

This Chamber has never had a partisan filibuster to a Supreme Court nominee. Let me say that again. This Chamber has never had a partisan filibuster to a Supreme Court nominee.

So here we are today, with no other option but to invoke this so- called nuclear option to put an eminently qualified individual on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch is the definition of a mainstream judge. In more than 2,700 cases in which he has participated in the Tenth Circuit, 97 percent of them have been decided unanimously; in fact, he was in the majority 99 percent of the time. Yet Senate Democrats would rather play politics and place the demands of extreme liberal interests over ensuring regular order.

Let's talk about what we are and what we are not doing. We are in the Senate, a Chamber I am honored to serve in, representing more than 1 million Montanans. We operate on a set of Parliamentary criteria based on things that have happened before. Therefore, we are going to establish a new precedent; we aren't changing the rules. This isn't happening for the first time. Let us remember that in November of 2013, Senate majority leader Harry Reid established a new precedent of how many votes are necessary on executive branch nominees, with the exclusion of Supreme Court picks.

What is even more shocking to me is that over the past few weeks, through the hearing process, through the debate and discussions about Judge Gorsuch on the floor, and with support from across my State of Montana--let me just name some of those organizations and people in support of Judge Gorsuch: the Montana Chamber of Commerce; four of Montana's Tribes--the CSKT, the Crow Tribe, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck; the Montana Farm Bureau, Judge Russell Fagg of the 13th judicial district, Judge Jeffrey Langton of the 21st judicial district, Judge John Larson of the 4th judicial district, State senator Nels Swandal, retired judge of the 6th Judicial District; the Montana NRA members; the Montana Grain Growers Association and the Montana Wool Growers Association; the Montana Stockgrowers Association; our attorney general in Montana, our auditor in Montana, our speaker of the Montana House. This is a very mainstream group of Montanans, leaders back home who are in support of Judge Gorsuch. Yet my colleagues are rejecting the will of the American people, rejecting the will of Montanans, filibustering this nomination, and not even allowing for an up-or-down vote.

The American people deserve a Supreme Court Justice who upholds the rule of law and will follow the Constitution. The American people deserve a Supreme Court Justice who doesn't legislate from the bench. The American people deserve Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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

Mr. President, today I have the honor and privilege of recognizing the faculty, administrators, staff, and students of Flathead Valley Community College for their service to the people of northwest Montana--2017 marks the school's 50-year anniversary. FVCC serves thousands of students of every age and background. In its five decades of existence, the college and its faculty have won numerous awards for providing a high-quality and low- cost education in Kalispell, MT.

The college provides more than 50 career and technical programs, while also giving students a cheaper and more convenient option for their first 2 years of college. FVCC also has developed programs that can help high school students get a ``Running Start'' on their college careers. FVCC has given generations of students the tools they need to succeed. The college also serves a vital role in supplying the region's employers with a skilled workforce.

The idea for a community college in northwest Montana began in 1960 when Kalispell School Board chairman Owen Sowerwine noted a study that 80 percent of local high school graduates were receiving no higher education whatsoever. Sowerwine worked with other local educational leaders such as Bill McClaren, Thelma Hetland, Les Stirling, and Norm Beyer to create a new community college. The college opened its doors in 1967, and today we celebrate their legacy.

FVCC continues to grow and find new and better ways to serve the community. Its Kalispell campus has grown to eight buildings, with new on-campus housing opening this year. FVCC also has an extension campus in Libby, MT.

I look forward to seeing what the next 50 years will hold, and I congratulate all involved in the success of FVCC on reaching this milestone.

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

Mr. President, as a fifth-generation Montanan who grew up just a short drive from our Nation's first national park, Yellowstone National Park, and as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, the resolution before us is critically important to reassure the public that the U.S. Senate recognizes the remarkable value our national parks bring to our national heritage.

I especially want to thank my good friend from Hawaii, Senator Hirono, who serves as ranking member of our subcommittee, for her partnership on bringing this resolution to the floor here this evening. She has been invaluable in working together to bring us to this moment.

In fact, 33 of our colleagues joined us in submitting this resolution--nearly half Republican and half Democrat--including Alaska, Washington, Tennessee, New Mexico, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Missouri, Minnesota, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, Virginia, Louisiana, Ohio, California, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Maine, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire. There are small States and large States, States that boast vast landscapes and big game like Alaska and Montana, diverse ecosystems like the oceans of Hawaii or the Florida Everglades. Other States boast historic and cultural treasures, like our hallowed battlefields in Virginia.

At a time when our country and Congress seem to be torn, it is only fitting that tonight our national parks are going to bring us together for a moment, to bridge this political divide, to bring remarkable opportunities for cultural education, outdoor recreation for

our families and for people around the world to enjoy, and, frankly, to bring us together as family and friends.

As the National Park System begins its second century this year, we have seen record visitation, with 331 million visits in 2016, but record visitation also brings additional strain to our national parks and strain to our infrastructure.

I am hopeful that with the adoption of this resolution, we can all be reminded of the importance of continued investment in our national parks to ensure their legacy truly endures for our children, grandchildren, and for generations to come.

Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 117, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

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