Wednesday Feb 13 in Congress

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Source is the daily Congressional Record

https://www.congress.gov/116/crec/2019/02/13/CREC-2019-02-13.pdf

House of Representatives

H. Res. 122, to consider H.J. Res. 37

Passed 228-193

Amendment No. 2 to H.J. Res. 37

Passed 252-177

Allows US intelligence sharing including bomb targeting, in order to reduce casualties in Yemen.

KUSTOFF Amendment to H.J. Res. 37

Passed 424-0 with 2 "present"

Crusade against antisemitism.

H.J. Res 37. [Removal of US forces from hostilities in Yemen] as amended

Passed 248-177 with 1 "present"

H.R. 995, Settlement agreement information database act of 2019

Passed 418-0

Establishes a public database of settlements involving federal government.

Senate

By Mr. MCCONNELL:

S.J. Res. 8. A joint resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal; read the first time.

Excerpts from speeches

STAND BESIDE ISRAEL. page H1527

Mr. MARSHALL.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call upon all Members of Congress to stand beside Israel and confront anti-Semitism, ethnic hatred, and prejudice-driven boycotts, whether at home, abroad, and certainly for Members of this Chamber.

We, as a country, cannot tolerate this behavior, and certainly this Chamber has no room for bigotry. Furthermore, I must warn the general public that despite the warranted outcry we saw in response to the Representative from Minnesota’s irresponsible comments, this is the new normal for the liberal base in America.

Politicians who appeal to this type of ignorance are simply shoring up a new Democratic constituency. That is the ethos that primed the Minnesota Representative’s ludicrous and insulting accusation of ‘‘bought-and-paid-for’’ politicians who stand with Israel.

It is that type of loose, cheap, anti-Semitic rhetoric that led to the rise of the Third Reich. It is clear to all of us, there are a couple of our new colleagues across the aisle that need to be reminded. In fact, they need to admit that the brutal regime of Iran continues to be the chief obstacle to peace and security in the Middle East, and thus, the root of most all terrorism that threatens our homeland.

For decades, Iran’s funding of terrorism and extremist groups in the region has fueled violence, civil war, and bloodshed. The Iranian Parliament literally burned the U.S. flag on their parliament floor and chants, ‘‘death to Israel,’’ and ‘‘death to America’’ in their streets.

Any Member of this congressional body with ties to the BDS movement should renounce them immediately. We must hold our elected officials accountable. Whether on Twitter or in the Halls of Congress, disgusting insinuations and bigotry must be condemned in all forms. Those who continue the use of anti-Semitic rhetoric should be held accountable for their actions.

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America must continue to stand together in support of Israel and in support of peace in the Middle East and the world. We must build upon our unbreakable alliance with Israel and overcome the challenges that come with building a better, safer world.

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CONFLICT IN YEMEN. H1528

Mr. BROWN of Maryland.

When the United States became involved with the Saudi-led war, this action was not covered by the Authorization for Use of Military Force issued by Congress in the wake of 9/11. The Houthis, against whom the Saudi coalition is engaged, are not affiliated with al-Qaida. But because of the 60-word 2001 AUMF, three Presidents have warped that limited authorization into enabling a global-spanning war, broad enough to cover airstrikes in the Khyber Pass and to boots on the ground in Niger. This AUMF contains no time limits, no geographic constraints, and no need for congressional consent or oversight.

In the last 17 years, the 2001 AUMF has been cited as statutory authority for unclassified military actions in more than 18 countries, and Congress has been left in the dark about many of these operations. Our men and women in uniform have deployed time and again, shouldering a heavy burden while at the same time the public is becoming more removed from the conflicts in which we are engaged.

H. RES. 122 - to consider HJ Res 27

Mr. MCGOVERN. H1534

Madam Speaker, the Constitution specifically empowers Congress with the responsibility to declare war; and for more than 4 years, there has been a Saudi-led, U.S.-supported conflict happening in Yemen that is a war by any logical definition.

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The U.S. military has supported this reign of terror with logistics, intelligence, ground support, midair refueling of bombers, and the sale of bombs and munitions dropped on Yemen.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project estimates that more than 60,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in Yemen over the last 2 years. This total is increasing by more than 2,000 people every single month.

Madam Speaker, 85,000 children under the age of 5 have died from hunger and disease; 18 million people there are food insecure; and 75 percent of Yemen’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations has said Yemen is suffering from the fastest growing cholera epidemic ever recorded, as well as the world’s biggest food emergency.

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Given all of this, Americans would be forgiven for believing that Congress actually declared our involvement in this war, but we have not. We abdicated our responsibility to the executive branch instead, across multiple Presidents, Democratic and Republican alike.

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Prior Republican Congresses have used every legislative trick in the book to prevent this debate. They even took the unprecedented step of stripping war powers resolutions related to our involvement in Yemen of their privileged status—not once but twice.

These tactics may have delayed us, but they did not deter us. Speaker Boehner may have been content ceding our constitutional duties to the executive branch. Speaker Ryan may also have been happy to do so. Thankfully, Speaker PELOSI is not. She is empowering this Congress to do its job.

Mr. COLE. H1535

In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, which is intended to give Congress and the President procedures to follow when committing U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities and to give Congress a method to instruct the President to remove U.S. forces from hostilities.

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Of course, the problem with this resolution is that, under the terms of the War Powers Resolution, American Armed Forces are not currently engaged in hostilities. Hostilities, under the War Powers Resolution, means firing weapons or dropping bombs.

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For the first time, the United States Congress would be saying that the President of the United States no

longer has the authority to provide assistance short of hostilities that we have agreed to under our security agreements with these countries. For our allies and NATO, this would put in jeopardy our commitment to the collective defense of Europe.

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Perhaps most disturbingly, it would put our ongoing security arrangements with the state of Israel in question. In 1973, shortly before the War Powers Resolution was passed, Israel was subject to a surprise attack. During the resulting Yom Kippur War, while Israel was fighting for its survival, the United States launched an effort to resupply Israel. The United States military airlifted supplies, ammunition, and vehicles to Israel, helping to ensure their continued survival. However, we were never engaged in hostilities. We never committed forces to combat.

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Ms. JACKSON LEE. H1536

Yemen is the poorest or one of the poorest countries in the world. This resolution clearly says that we should stop the hostilities against the Houthi forces. More importantly, we should stop being used by the Saudi forces.

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Stop bombing children.

Ms. CHENEY. H1537

Most Democratic Members continue to stand with Republicans in rejecting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, BDS, campaign. These Members understand, as the Republicans do, that this is a campaign that too often seeks to delegitimize and demonize Israel. So, Madam Speaker, why not hold a vote on H.R. 336 that contains a bill called the Combating BDS Act?

BDS is a campaign whose adherents have time and time again revealed their anti-Semitic motives. This is a campaign that directs its followers to avoid certain products merely because they are made in Israel. Armed with economic warfare tactics, supporters of BDS seek to isolate and punish the only Jewish state. That, Madam Speaker, is the dictionary definition of discrimination.

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Madam Speaker, we are now at a moment in this House, at a moment in this body where we are facing real anti-Semitism from the other side of the aisle. It is time that we all come together as a body in a bipartisan manner to stand against anti-Semitism, to condemn it, to ensure that everyone understands it has no place in this House, in this body, or in our public discourse.

Mr. KHANNA.

I want to just note the difference procedurally of what happened. Every time we introduced this in the last Congress, Speaker Ryan didn’t allow a vote. He tied a vote on Yemen with a vote on endangered wolves.

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I want to just address one point, because Representative COLE is one of the more thoughtful Members here and I take what he says very seriously, but on the War Powers Act, we just dis-

agree. When you read the plain reading of the War Powers, it says that the United States Armed Forces cannot be assigned to coordinate, participate, or accompany any foreign government’s military when they are in hostilities.

Mr COLE.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend for his comments. And we do; we just disagree. I do not see this as appropriate for the War Powers Resolution, because we don’t have troops in common; we have not committed anybody to hostilities. But the Commander in Chief historically has had broad authority to assist countries that we have agreements and arrangements with that he thinks are important in our own security, short of committing troops into combat. I think that is precisely what he is doing.

Mr. CICILLINE. H1539

We have become embroiled in a humanitarian nightmare and backed a flawed military engagement with no end in sight, all without proper authorization or oversight. It seems pretty obvious that it is time to exert our proper role as Congress.

Mr. ZELDIN. H1539

The House should immediately bring this [H.R. 336] legislation up, which is a bipartisan legislative package that would help others fight back against the BDS movement, protect U.S. security in the Middle East by strengthening our alliances with Israel and Jordan, and sanction bad actors like Assad.

It is okay to have a reasonable, legitimate concern with any government, including Israel, as well as our own, but, keep in mind, the founder of BDS was blatantly anti-Semitic, and, on college campuses all across our entire country, we have college students who are being targeted by blatant anti-Semitism in the name of BDS.

The founder of the BDS movement was a raging anti-Semite, who once said: ‘‘We are witnessing the rapid demise of Zionism, and nothing can be done to save it, for Zionism is intent on killing itself. I, for one, support euthanasia.’’ That is not all he has said.

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The BDS movement is designed to hurt Israel by encouraging companies to boycott Israeli goods. The BDS movement is consumed by efforts to delegitimize and demonize Israel.

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Mr. MCGOVERN. H1540

I would also say that we have an emergency right now when it comes to Yemen. It is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. I am a little bit struck by the fact that the last couple of speakers haven’t even used the word ‘‘Yemen’’ once.

Mr. COLE. H1540

We have 117 security agreements with various countries around the world. Some of those are with countries we have formal alliances with, some of them are not. They do not commit the United States to hostilities, but they do say, in certain situations, we will be there to render support.

Mr. MCGOVERN. H1540

We even made in order a Republican amendment from Congressman BUCK that I strongly oppose. That amendment would allow the President to maintain unfettered intelligence sharing with any foreign country, even when the sole objective is to help determine which targets to bomb in offensive airstrikes not authorized by Congress.

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I hope that this resolution is just our first step in responding to the humanitarian issues across the region. I look forward to the Foreign Affairs Committee holding more hearings and markups and bringing more bills to the Rules Committee.

REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES IN YEMEN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS

Mr. ENGEL. H1543

In the last few years, the Saudi-led coalition has carried out 18,000 airstrikes. A full one-third of those strikes hit nonmilitary targets. This is absolutely reckless.

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I think we will hear my friends question whether this measure would even do anything because this measure withdraws American forces engaged in hostilities, and the Pentagon says ‘‘hostilities’’ only applies to situations where American troops are firing weapons at an enemy. I have two reactions

to that.

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This body is not subject to the definitions conjured up by the Defense Department. We don’t ask permission to exercise our Article I authority. Of course, the Pentagon will try to define things in a way that consolidates the power of the executive branch, but Congress, with authority over war powers, need not accept that definition.

Mr. MCCAUL. H1544

Allow me to quote the actual War Powers Act, from Title 50 of the United States Code. This procedure applies to ‘‘the removal of United States Armed Forces engaged in hostilities outside the territory of the United States.’’

This has always meant, historically, and today, U.S. troops being directly involved in live-fire combat. As the Department of Defense has repeatedly confirmed, U.S. Armed Forces are not engaged in hostilities against the Houthi forces in Yemen.

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This could impact our assistance to Israel. It could affect our cooperation with our NATO allies. It could impact counterterrorism cooperation with African nations in the Sahel. We could recklessly undo critical security relationships that we have spent decades building.

Mr. KHANNA. H1544

Let’s put that in context: 800,000 people died in Rwanda; 100,000 in Bosnia, and 14 million face famine in Yemen. And it is not because the world doesn’t have enough food or medicine to get in there. It is because there is a systematic bombing preventing the food and medicine to get in.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. H1545

There is no doubt that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has made terrible targeting mistakes. But what would happen if the U.S. were to pull the plug on our intelligence-sharing and targeting cooperation?

Would this improve the coalition’s targeting or possibly make it worse, increasing the chances for collateral damage and civilian casualties?

I am concerned that, if we walk away now, these terrible tragedies will simply multiply.

The United States must be at the table so that we can insist on and respect international law. This does not mean that the coalition will always do the right thing, but it does mean that we will have leverage and influence to promote the right direction.

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Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. H1545

The Saudi-led war in Yemen has led to a staggering crisis, and it is happening on our watch. This bombing campaign would not be happening without the active involvement of the United States military with the Saudis.

Mr. YOHO. H1546

This bill distorts the definition of hostilities to cover non-U.S. military operations by third countries. It then reinterprets U.S. activities in support of those countries as U.S. engagement in those hostilities.

Mr. PERRY. H1546

The joint resolution improperly expands the definition of hostilities to include non-U.S. military operations by third countries. This bill then reinterprets the U.S. activities in support of those countries as U.S. engagements in said hostilities.

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The misuse of this privileged tool endangers U.S. security cooperation with over 100 partners around the world, to include Israel, NATO, and many antiterror allies.

In this body, we can choose to stand with Iran or the Houthis or, as I suggest, to stand with Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Mr. ZELDIN. H1547

What is also important is that there are a lot of freshman Members here in this Chamber, and the fact that we are rushing this to the floor so quickly without having a classified briefing for all of those Members is also deeply unfortunate. That should take place before passing this resolution.

Mr. ESPAILLAT. H1547

Trump and those opposed to this resolution have argued that our ties to Saudi Arabia are too precious and that our cooperation on counterterrorism and countering Iran would be jeopardized by this resolution. But in December, when discussing an earlier version of this resolution, Senator LINDSEY GRAHAM wrote the following: ‘‘The fear that the Saudis will stop cooperating with the U.S. on terrorism or Iran isn’t rational. Those threats pose as much of a danger to the Saudis as they do to America. Demanding better from allies isn’t downgrading the relationship; it’s a sign that Americans take our principles seriously and won’t be taken advantage of by anyone, friend or foe.’’

Mr. WATKINS. H1547

Even the resolution is misleading. Our Armed Forces are not engaged in hostilities in the Yemen conflict. Outside of Yemen, the U.S. Armed Forces support an ally, through intelligence sharing, threat analysis,and logistical support.

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Furthermore, pertinent facts relating to Yemen are classified, leaving Congressmen and women to vote blind.

Mr. TRONE. H1548

Ultimately, the question should be really simple: Did Congress authorize our military to engage in hostilities in Yemen? The answer is no.

Mr. LAMBORN. H1548

The Houthi rebels are just one part of the Iranian regime’s proxy battles around the world with the ultimate goal to destroy Israel, America, and all those who share our democratic values.

Mr. Chairman, a vote for this resolution is a vote for Iran. A vote against this resolution is a vote for Israel. I urge my colleagues to vote ‘‘no’’ on this dangerous resolution, and I urge the administration to veto this resolution, if it should somehow pass.

Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio. H1548

Fundamentally, it is about Article I and the authority of Congress as addressed in Federalist Paper No. 69.

As the President said, great powers don’t fight endless wars. I would add nor do they fight or participate in undeclared wars.

Mr. WELCH. H1549

But I have a question that this raises: If we have an ally that is engaged in violent strikes killing innocent civilians, including children, do we turn a blind eye and condone that behavior because it is ‘‘an ally’’?

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And, yes, it is true, our troops are not there, but our bombs are, our midair refuelers are, our targeting folks are.

Mr. MCCAUL. H1549

This is about the geopolitics of Iran, Houthis in Yemen, Iran and the Shia crescent in Iraq and Syria, and a direct threat to Israel by the largest state sponsored terror, Iran, that is a mortal sworn enemy to Israel, as they chant ‘‘death to Israel,’’ ‘‘death to America.’’

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Are we going to go around and second-guess every security cooperation agreement we have with 117 countries, including Israel and NATO and other partners?

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Mrs. DINGELL. H1551

The conflict has displaced millions of Yemenis, shattered the country, and triggered a famine that has 13 million men, women and children facing starvation.

Additionally, the country is facing an outbreak of cholera of unprecedented scale, with over a million cases of this disease because of the destruction of Yemen’s water and sanitation infrastructure.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. H1551

The Yemen crisis began in the Arab Spring of 2011, when an uprising forced the country’s long-time authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Mr. KUSTOFF. H1554

The Anti-Defamation League reported a 60 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States from 2016 to 2017.

The United States must remain a global leader, not only in speaking out against anti-Semitism, but in holding those who enable these vile beliefs accountable.

Our motion to recommit adds language to H.J. Res. 37 that affirms that it is in the national security interest of the United States to combat anti-Semitism around the world. It states that we must make combating anti-Semitism a priority in all of our diplomatic relationships; and we need to ensure that Jews around the world feel safe in their communities.

Text of KUSTOFF Amendment. H1554

Add at the end of section 1 the following:

(11) It is in the national security interest of the United States to combat anti-Semitism around the world because—

(A) anti-Semitism is a challenge to the basic principles of tolerance, pluralism, and democracy, and the shared values that bind Americans together;

(B) there has been a significant amount of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hatred that must be most strongly condemned; and

(C) there is an urgent need to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities, including synagogues, schools, cemeteries, and other institutions.

(12) It is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to continue to emphasize the importance of combating anti-Semitism in our bilateral and multilateral relations, including with the United Nations, European Union institutions, Arab League, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

(13) Because it is important to the national security interest of the United States to maintain strong bipartisan support for Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, all attempts to delegitimize and

deny Israel’s right to exist must be denounced and rejected.

(14) It is in the national security interest of the United States to oppose restrictive trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by any foreign country against other countries friendly to the United States or against any United States person.

REMEMBERING FLIGHT 3407 10 YEARS LATER

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. H1558

yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the flight 3407 crash that went down outside of Buffalo, New York, resulting in the untimely deaths of 49 people. I rise today with a heavy heart as we commemorate this tragedy

PROTECT BABIES BORN ALIVE

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. H1561

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, two bioethicists, Dr. Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, published an outrageous paper in the Journal of Medical Ethics justifying the deliberate, premeditated murder of newborn babies during the first hours, days, and even weeks after birth. The ethicists said:

"When circumstances occur after birth that would have justified abortion, what we call after-birth abortion should be permissible."

In other words, the same conditions that would justify the killing of a baby in utero justifies the killing of that baby even when she is born.

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The violent assault on children, Mr. Speaker, must end. Not only have 61 million unborn babies been killed since 1973 by either dismemberment—when a child is torn apart, arms, legs, and torso, literally dismembered—or by chemical poisoning, a death toll that equates with the entire population of Italy, the pro-choice crowd now is legislating to extend the violence after birth.

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Mrs. ROBY. H1561

Of course, I was stunned to hear the boisterous cheering upon the New York State Legislature’s passage of a bill that would significantly loosen restrictions on late-term abortions.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, the Democratic Governor recently threw his support behind similar legislation and made comments that served as a horrific defense of born-alive abortions.

For the purpose of tonight’s discussion, we have got to call born-alive abortion what it is, and it is infanticide.

H.R. 1

Mr. MCCONNELL. S1286

The newly partisan FEC would be handed the ability to determine what kind of speech is ‘‘campaign-related’’— growing its jurisdiction and widening its bureaucratic wingspan over more of the public discourse, including issues of the day and not just elections.

Private citizens, for example, would be required to make the government aware of times they spend even small amounts of money in engaging in First Amendment activities.

[Many William Barr speeches].

Mr. BLUNT. S1302

As has also been pointed out, this is, undoubtedly, one of the most qualified nominees to come before the Senate in his having already held the same position under President George H.W. Bush. He has also served as an intelligence analyst at the CIA, as an Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, and as Deputy Attorney General before he served as Attorney General.

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Over the past 2 years, we have had unprecedented obstruction when it comes to just trying to put a government in place, unprecedented obstruction to confirming a President’s nominees.

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The other reason, by the way, the second reason, is just to use up floor time. There are only so many things we can do here on the Senate floor. The majority leader is fond of saying that the most precious commodity in the Senate is floor time. If we are required to drag out this process, as the minority has insisted we do for the last 2 years, things don’t happen otherwise.

During the first 2 years of the Trump administration, there were 128 cloture votes right here—128 cloture votes. That is where a Democrat—usually the minority leader—insists that we are going to have to get a majority of votes to even have the debate on a candidate. Once you file that, that takes a day before you can even begin to have the debate, and then the debate is 30 hours. So half a week is gone before the week starts just trying to confirm one person for one thing. That could be as important as a Supreme Court Justice, or it could be the lowest level of confirmation in any of the Agencies of government.

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There have been 128 cloture votes. In the first 2 years of the past three Presidents, there were cloture votes a total of 24 times—24 times. That is an average of 8 compared to 128. There is a lot of difference between 8 and 128.

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When President Reagan was President, once a nominee got out of committee, it was an average of 5 days before that nominee had a vote here on the Senate floor. It was normally the same kind of voice vote that Senator GRASSLEY mentioned that Bill Barr had the last time. The average was 5 days. With President Trump, it was 55 days before a nominee could get a vote once they got out of committee.

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It won’t be long before nobody is willing to sign up if a year later, after you have put your life on hold, you find out that the Senate somehow can’t get to the job you have agreed to serve on because we have to take time that the Senate never took before.

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Mr. BOOKER. S1305

One out of every four people incarcerated on the planet Earth is right here in the United States, the land of the free. One out of every three incarcerated women on the planet Earth is right here in America, the land of the free. I say, again, that they are not the wealthy; they are not the privileged. As my friend Bryan Stevenson says: We have a nation that treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.

Since 1980, our prison population in this country alone has grown on the Federal level by 800 percent.

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What does it do when you apply a justice system to certain communities and not to others? It has a multiplier effect of impact. It affects voting rights because States still eliminate the right to vote for nonviolent drug charges. It is called felony disenfranchisement. It affects economic opportunity because if you have one criminal conviction for doing the same things that past Presidents have admitted to doing and Members of this body have admitted to doing, then you

can’t get a job, you can’t get business licenses. Doors are shut to you; opportunity is closed. When you have a justice system that disproportionately impacts certain Americans, those communities then face serious, serious consequences.

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Then, of course, we have industries, from the private prison industry to phone companies charging exorbitant fees in prisons and jails, making a profit off of these injustices, making a profit off policies that penalize and criminalize low-income communities and communities of color and that target refugees of color.

What is happening in our country’s criminal justice system today is a human rights crisis. Think about a justice system right now that has people sitting in prison for months before they even get a trial because they can’t afford bail or a lawyer. We have a human rights crisis in this country.

S. 27

Mr. MANCHIN. S1309

Right now, retired coal miners’ healthcare, pensions, and black lung benefits are on the chopping block again, and, once again, there are 1,200 new coal miners and dependents who will lose their healthcare coverage due to coal company bankruptcies. This could happen later this month if the court, as expected, allows Westmoreland to shed their Coal Act liabilities.

Mr. BROWN. S1309

Senator MANCHIN is working to fix this. I thank him for his efforts, and I thank others in this body. We know the mine workers aren’t alone. The retirement security of hundreds of thousands of teamsters, ironworkers, carpenters, bakery workers, and so many other retirees is at risk.

Mrs. CAPITO. S1310

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.

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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.

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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.

Mrs. MURRAY. S1315

Well, on behalf of the American people, I urge us all to wake up. For the past 2 years, we have had a President whose only consistent agenda items are self-preservation and self-dealing, whether that means flouting the law or disregarding ethics, acting with impunity, violating norms and destroying relationships with our allies, firing those who challenge him and bullying those he can’t, threatening jail time for political opponents, or changing Federal policy by tweet and based on his current mood.

THE GREEN NEW DEAL

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. S1316

That came out in the Wall Street Journal that morning. Then Leader MCCONNELL went out here to the Ohio Clock for his midday press conference, and guess what he said:

"I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate. That’ll give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal."