Volume 164, No. 179 covering the 2nd Session of the 115th Congress (2017 - 2018) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“AMENDING THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE TRIBE WATER RIGHTS QUANTIFICATION ACT OF 2010” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S6904-S6908 on Nov. 13, 2018.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
AMENDING THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE TRIBE WATER RIGHTS QUANTIFICATION
ACT OF 2010
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will resume consideration of the House message to accompany S. 140, which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
House message to accompany S. 140, a bill to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund.
Pending:
McConnell motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the bill, with McConnell (for Thune) Modified Amendment No. 4054, in the nature of a substitute.
Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.
Midterms
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, let me say that all of our hearts go out to everyone affected by the terrible wildfires in California and, once again, express how grateful we are to the first responders and firefighters, those brave people on the scene. We continue to monitor the situation, and the Senate will do everything it can to help.
Now, let me welcome everybody back after the midterm elections.
Last week, Americans voted in record numbers to deliver an unambiguous message: They wanted a change. People across the country were disappointed in what 2 years of one-party Republican rule had delivered: rising healthcare costs and declining quality, a massive giveaway of public resources to multinational corporations and to the wealthiest few, and a Congress that failed to provide a check and balance on the President. So the American people voted for a change. They voted for a check on President Trump and a Congress that would stop trying to take away their healthcare.
After 2 long years, that is what they will get. Republican plans to rip healthcare away from Americans has been stymied.
Democrats won the House of Representatives decisively. Democrats flipped several Governors and State legislatures. Here in the Senate, Democratic candidates did extraordinarily well with a very difficult map. Overall, last Tuesday night was a very good night for Democrats. But more importantly, it was a very good night for America and for beginning to restore some normalcy to our Nation's governance.
This afternoon, let me welcome the new Republican Senators and the two new Democratic Senators, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona--the women of the West--with whom I met this morning. Both are highly accomplished. Both are tough and incredibly bright and principled but also pragmatic. I assure you that they will both make excellent, effective Senators. I could not be more pleased to welcome them to this Chamber.
But now that the hard-fought midterm campaign is over, we must turn the page and see what Democrats and Republicans can accomplish together for the American people. In the lameduck session, we will consider legislation dealing with the Coast Guard and wrap up the appropriations process. Then, in January, the House and Senate will come back with new legislators and new priorities.
One item can't wait, though, until January. Last week, President Trump asked for the resignation of his once best friend, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and announced that Matthew Whitaker, the Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, would become the Acting Attorney General. Even though Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, already confirmed by the Senate, was next in line for the title of Acting Attorney General under the Department of Justice's succession statute, President Trump took the highly unusual step of naming another person to the job, Mr. Whitaker, who has not been confirmed by the Senate for any job in the Justice Department.
First and foremost, there are serious questions about whether or not Mr. Whitaker's appointment is even constitutional, considering the requirement for Senate confirmation in article II of the Constitution. But in addition to very serious questions about the appointment itself, Americans should be very concerned about the appointee, Mr. Whitaker, and what he might mean for the special counsel's investigation.
It is amazing. Mr. Whitaker claims that Russia didn't interfere with our elections, contrary to the conclusion of 17 intelligence agencies. When someone ignores the facts and just says these things, you know they are an ideologue. They are not trying to dispense justice or anything else down the middle. They are an ideologue. Seventeen intelligence agencies say Russia interfered in our elections. This is not about collusion--just whether they interfered, and Whitaker says no. He has called for ``pulling the reins back'' on the Russia investigation. That is hardly a neutral arbiter who is going to call the shots as they should be called, down the middle. He referred to Special Counsel Mueller and his staff as a ``lynch mob.''
When I saw General Flynn in the 2016 campaign, a three-star general, screaming: ``Lock her up,'' I thought: Something is wrong. A general shouldn't do that no matter what their political views are. When the Acting Attorney General refers to Special Counsel Mueller and his staff as a ``lynch mob,'' that is way over the top in a similar way, and Whitaker has openly mused about how to grind the investigation to a halt.
There is simply no question that Mr. Whitaker enters his role as Acting Attorney General with a clear bias against the Russia investigation. Essentially, Mr. Whitaker has prejudged the outcome of an investigation he now oversees. That is awful. That is not America. That is so highly political in a bad way.
In light of this, two things must happen. First, we are demanding that Mr. Whitaker recuse himself from the Russia investigation. On Sunday, I sent a letter, along with Leader Pelosi and top Democrats from both Houses in the relevant committees, to the Department of Justice's chief ethics officer explaining why Mr. Whitaker should be recused and requesting that the chief ethics officer notify Congress of what ethics guidance Mr. Whitaker has given.
We have heard that Mr. Whitaker is meeting with the ethics officials this week, and we expect that Congress will be notified about the results of those discussions.
Second, if Whitaker does not recuse himself, we Democrats are going to attempt to add legislation to the must-pass spending bill in the lameduck session that would prevent Acting Attorney General Whitaker from interfering with the Mueller investigation in any way. Judiciary Committee Democrats have also requested that Chairman Grassley schedule a hearing with Mr. Whitaker and former Attorney General Sessions. I support that request wholeheartedly.
Now, even if you don't believe that Mr. Whitaker poses a threat to the Mueller investigation, there are serious questions about whether his appointment is lawful or whether Mr. Whitaker has the experience, temperament, independence, fidelity, and rule of law required for such a vitally important position. Given that the Senate never confirmed him for his current role in the Justice Department, now is the time to consider whether Mr. Whitaker is qualified for his new role as our Nation's chief law enforcement officer.
Let's remember one thing: Democrats and Republicans alike have said that if President Trump interferes with the Russia investigation, we would be on the brink of a constitutional crisis the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. Altering the chain of command in the Justice Department to put a partisan loyalist in charge of the investigation certainly feels like we may be heading down that road. Why not head the whole thing off at the pass? Mr. Whitaker can and should recuse himself and, regardless, the Senate should pass legislation to protect the integrity of the Russia investigation.
In conclusion, it is a far better thing to be safe than sorry when it comes to something as paramount as the rule of law and fidelity to the great Constitution of the United States of America.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
(Mr. FLAKE assumed the Chair.)
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson). Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I will just start out by saying it is good to see you. It is good to be back. I hope you had a good break.
We have business to do--serious business to do. Before we took our recess around election time, we closed off by passing, I think, a 99-
to-1 vote here and a unanimous vote over in the House. It is a major water infrastructure bill that Senator Barrasso and I and our staffs have worked on with a number of our colleagues. We are back here today to do some more good work. I am grateful to everyone who has had a part in that.
I rise in support of the Coast Guard reauthorizing bill and to urge our colleagues to vote yes on the pending cloture motion and on final passage of this legislation tomorrow. Ensuring that our Coast Guard, comprised of nearly 90,000 men and women across our country, has the resources to do its important work is incredibly important.
The Coast Guard was established at the behest of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who is known more recently for the musical, but he was actually behind the establishment of the Coast Guard all those years ago. This is one of his greatest hits, if you will. He played a crucial role in our country, and so has the Coast Guard--including in my State of Delaware--from the very birth of our Nation, and my guess is also in Wisconsin, where our Presiding Officer is from.
Today, we ask this branch of our military to track pollution at sea, to combat illicit trafficking and smuggling, and to protect maritime operations that are expanding throughout our Arctic waters, while still keeping our waters safe for recreational and cargo vessels sailing in places like the Delaware Bay.
The bill before us today will increase resources for the Coast Guard by about 10 percent so they are equipped to continue this important and oftentimes lifesaving work. This legislation also allows for multiyear funding in order to procure future national security cutters, which will reduce costs, increase predictability, and stabilize workforces. It is like a win-win-win.
For a State like mine, which is serious about its recreational boating, the bill would increase safety by implementing engine cut-off switches and alternate signaling devices.
For the Coast Guard contingent based at the Indian River Inlet in Delaware, about halfway between Rehoboth Beach and the Maryland line in Ocean City, this bill means an increase in operational and maintenance funding for personnel and boats, easier access to healthcare for crews and their families, better quality of the life through updated leave policies, extra funding for shoreside infrastructure improvements, and clarity on inspections and enforcement procedures for vessel boardings.
The impacts of this reauthorization bill are real. They will be felt in the Coast Guard contingents across our country. This bill also includes a major win with regard to our shared environment.
Many of our Senate colleagues have invested far more than I have in time and effort to bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to our Nation's management of potentially harmful ballast water discharges from vessels plying our waters. That effort has culminated in the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act--better known as VIDA, as in Vida Blue--which is contained in title IX of the amendment before us.
Specifically, the bill will go a long way toward preventing polluted ballast water discharges from entering our waterways, will minimize the risk of introduction of invasive species in the Great Lakes and other sensitive ecosystems, and will maintain important environmental protections for our waters that are enshrined in the Clean Water Act.
This past April, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on a prior version of this reauthorization bill. Many of our colleagues and I were concerned that the earlier legislation failed to maintain the appropriate roles for the Coast Guard and for EPA.
This new version makes sure that the EPA is responsible for setting vessel discharge standards while the Coast Guard is responsible for approving the technologies that can meet those standards and, thus, allow vessels to operate safely. This is the key. I want to say it again. This new version makes sure that the EPA is responsible for setting vessel discharge standards while the Coast Guard is responsible for approving the technologies that can meet those standards and, thus, allow vessels to operate safely and ultimately to operate efficiently.
As ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I am grateful for the excellent work done by the Senator from South Dakota, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, Senator Thune, and the Senator from Florida, Mr. Nelson, the ranking member, and by their able staffs, working with us on this important, bipartisan bill.
My speech here does not mention the Senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan. It is his birthday today. So I am going to give him a shout-
out and say that he and his staff worked on this as well, and we are grateful to them for being our partners.
With the support of our Commerce Committee colleagues and the active participation of many Senators--including our Pacific coast, Great Lakes, and east coast partners--we have strengthened VIDA in substantial ways since our last vote on this legislation in April.
Let me take a minute now and explain how. First of all, we have clarified that the Clean Water Act should govern this important endeavor to keep our waters clean, healthy, and productive, and that the Environmental Protection Agency should take the lead in establishing standards for the discharge of waters polluted by invasive species and other substances from vessels.
This legislation also recognizes the expertise, if you will, and the experience of the Coast Guard and their crews by ensuring that it retains responsibility for determining the best available technology necessary to meet the EPA's discharge standards, while also maintaining maritime safety. In addition, the Coast Guard would assume the primary Federal role in monitoring and enforcing these standards. So there you have it.
As a former Governor--some of my colleagues call me a recovering Governor, which is true--it was critically important to me that we ensure a robust role for States, especially given that the waters in their jurisdictions are the most at risk for invasive species and pollution coming from ships. With that in mind, we have ensured that States maintain a coenforcement responsibility to ensure that these Federal standards are met. The Coast Guard, in close coordination with the States, will establish a set of inspection and enforcement procedures that will ensure a common approach to the States' enforcement of Federal vessel discharge standards and requirements.
We have also required that Governors are consulted in the establishment of discharge standards and that they can act to drive the Federal agencies to issue emergency measures should invasive species appear off their shores.
Governors will also be able to directly petition the EPA and the Coast Guard for stronger national standard and requirements if the science says that they are necessary or the technology has evolved. The EPA and the Coast Guard will be required to respond to a Governor's petition quickly and on the merits, not sidestepping concerns that might be raised.
Should a State find that its waters are threatened despite the protection offered by the national standard, that State can petition the EPA to establish no-discharge zones to protect those vulnerable waters from any vessel discharges or force the EPA to issue emergency orders.
Under this legislation, Great Lakes Governors for the first time have a defined process to adopt stronger requirements and more protective equipment on vessels entering or traveling within the Great Lakes. In addition, a new Aquatic Nuisance Species Program is established that would address the waters of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. The bill also creates special ballast water exchange requirements to help ensure the protection of critical Pacific region environments.
Under all circumstances, no future discharge standards, regional requirements, or technology mandates can ever be weaker than the Federal requirements that are in place today. Let me say that again. Under all circumstances, no future discharge standards, regional requirements, or technology mandates can ever be weaker than the Federal requirements that are in place today. Furthermore, no State laws or regulations will be preempted unless and until the new, more proactive, more protective Federal standards and requirements are in place--meaning they are both final and enforceable by the Coast Guard and the States.
This bill contains equal measures of environmental urgency and common sense. It sets clear roles and responsibilities for the Federal agencies involved in implementing it, and it provides certainty and predictability to all who rely on our coastal waters and the Great Lakes to recreate, fish, and carry our cargos.
Many of our colleagues realize that getting to this point has been a multiyear endeavor. In the end, that is what has brought us together--a common appreciation of how important our waters are to our country. No matter how far away from the coast we may live, none of us are untouched in some way by the environment and resources extending from our shores.
Again, let me commend everyone who has helped in ways both large and small to craft the important compromise that is before us today. With its inclusion, we will have a clear path to enacting a much needed Coast Guard reauthorization bill with its strong VIDA provisions. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting it and by doing so, demonstrating that even on the heels of last week's election, the Senate is still committed to hammering out principled compromises on difficult but important issues like these.
I will close by hearkening back to my days in the U.S. House of Representatives. After I was Treasurer, I served in the House for a while. After that, I served as Governor of my State and then came here to join our colleagues in the Senate. For 10 years I served on the Coast Guard Subcommittee, which was in the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and I had the opportunity to visit Coast Guard facilities not just on the east coast but as far away as Alaska, on Kodiak Island.
I am a retired Navy captain. I spent a lot of time on airplanes and sometimes on ships to understand fairly well the important role that the Coast Guard does. We certainly see that every day on the east coast. We have a huge tourist business on the shores and the beaches of Delaware, and the Coast Guard plays a hugely important role in that endeavor.
Today, we thank and salute--the Navy salutes--the Coast Guard and all of the men and women who are out there doing their job for all of us.
Again, I want to salute especially the three Senators I mentioned earlier: Senator Thune, Senator Nelson, and Senator Sullivan, our birthday boy today, and for a job well done.
Particularly, I want to thank the folks on my staff. I will just mention a couple of names: Christophe Tulou, Andrew Rogers, and MF Repko, who is a leader and the head of our staff on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and our colleagues on the other side on EPW. It is a good team effort.
People say to me all the time back home, and I am sure they say this to our Presiding Officer back in Wisconsin: When are you guys going to get something done?
Senator John Barrasso was just on the floor and spoke briefly to the Presiding Officer. He and I, working with our colleagues, Democrats and Republicans alike, got something big done--the Water Resources Development Act, a big water infrastructure bill that we passed by a big margin, as I said earlier.
As for today's vote--I don't care if you live on the coast or live in the Great Lakes or some other place around the country--we all have a dog in this fight, not just by talking about it or pointing fingers at one another. We are doing something about it, and we are doing it by working together. I am proud of what we have done. I am grateful to everyone who has had a part in that.
With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
Thank you so much.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Tribute to Will Ruder
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I rise this evening to pay tribute to a longtime member of my staff. Will Ruder has served Kansans for 11 years and counting, including the last 2 years as legislative director in our office here in Washington. It is always difficult to say goodbye to our staff, but for many reasons, it will be uniquely difficult to replace Will.
Will grew up in a small, Western Kansas town called Plainville. If that sounds familiar to any of the folks back home, it is because Plainville is my home town as well.
Eleven years ago, I weighed two strong applicants for an internship opening in my office. As I recall, the first candidate had attended an east coast private school and was recommended by multiple individuals. The second was a young man from Plainville, whose parents ran a gas station and who was immediately approachable, down-to-earth, and eager to serve Kansans. Perhaps it goes without saying that in choosing Will 11 years ago, I made a right decision.
Will's Plainville roots and the values instilled by his family, hometown neighbors, and friends kept him grounded during his service in our Nation's Capital.
My ability to work on behalf of Kansans is greatly enhanced when dedicated individuals who care about our home State are there by my side.
I have often told my staff that I am an enabler. I enable them to do more for our State. I can think of no staffer who better epitomizes and articulates the reason I am here today as a U.S. Senator, working to preserve the rural way of life and the American dream for the next generation, than Will Ruder.
Just last week, this resonated with me in a powerful way. A short bus ride north from Hays is Plainville. My staff and I were in Hays on our staff retreat, and we made a surprise pit stop to Ruder Oil Company to visit Will's parents, John and Karla. It was a special moment for our staff to pay tribute to the Ruder family and to Will, the oldest of six Ruder children.
As a light rain fell, Will shared what it meant to come full circle back to his roots and why the work that we do in our Nation's Capital is so important to ensuring that rural America remains alive and well, particularly at a time when the American dream is seemingly becoming harder and harder to achieve.
As a policy adviser and legislative director, Will has accomplished a great deal on behalf of Kansans. A few weeks after I was sworn in as a Senator, it was Will who drafted the resolution honoring Kansas's 150th birthday.
In response to a devastating gas explosion in Hutchinson, KS, which took the lives of two Kansans and destroyed half a block of downtown businesses, Will spent years working to pass legislation to allow Kansans to restore safety inspections of underground gas storage facilities.
Will was intimately involved in numerous banking, energy and water infrastructure victories for Kansans and almost always on a bipartisan basis.
I always say that if I have to lose good staffers, I hope it is because they are returning to Kansas. For Will, perhaps that was inevitable, but for the past several months, Will has had the unfortunate existence of working States away from his wife and kids, who made the preemptive move to Overland Park, KS, when his wife Liz received an exciting job opportunity.
I am happy for Will, and I know he is ecstatic to have a chance to move home, spend time with Liz, and watch his two children, Miriam and Leo, grow up.
Today I want to thank Will Ruder of Plainville, KS. Thank you, Will, for spending 11 years of your life in our Nation's Capital, trying to make things better, and for the way you have always conducted yourself on my behalf and on behalf of Kansans back home.
Whether you believe it or not, you have left a significant mark on this place, on our office, and on me, and your presence will be sorely missed.
Nomination of Michelle Bowman
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will consider Kansan Michelle Bowman to serve on the Federal Board of Governors for the seat reserved for a community banker or a community bank regulator. To understand her qualifications, we should first look at the position for which she has been nominated.
The original Federal Reserve Act requires appointments to the Board to include a representative of the agriculture community. When Congress further defined the Fed's representation, it created a specific seat for someone with a community bank background, having either worked in or supervised a community bank. Miki Bowman has done both.
Miki's experience as both Kansas State bank commissioner and her time at Farmers and Drovers Bank in Council Grove, KS, satisfies both of those statutory requirements, and she is even more qualified with her impressive background in public service and the private sector. In total, Miki Bowman has served as bank supervisor and regulator for nearly 2 years and has been a community banker for 7 years.
Miki was nominated April 16, 2018, as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as the Community Bank Representative for the remainder of a 14-year term expiring January 31, 2020. If confirmed, she will represent Region 8, the St. Louis region of Missouri, for the Federal Reserve.
Miki will also be the first person nominated and confirmed by the Senate to hold the seat specifically reserved for one member with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks. She would be one of seven members of the Board.
Miki's early years echo that of many Kansans. She attended the University of Kansas to earn a bachelor's degree and then went on to earn a law degree from Washburn University.
After graduation, Miki was called to public service where she served in a variety of capacities, including as a staff member for Senator Dole and counsel for several House committees, Director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for FEMA, and a Deputy Assistant Secretary and Policy Adviser at the Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary Tom Ridge.
Following that, she and her husband moved to London, where Miki consulted on government and public affairs.
Like many Kansans who love and appreciate our State, Miki made her way back home. She returned to Council Grove to take the helm of the family bank for the next 7 years. Far from London and Washington, DC, Miki felt the need to return to her community to make a good life for her children and to serve her community.
Once again called to public service, Miki was nominated by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to serve as the Kansas bank commissioner, a position she has held since February 2017 and still holds to this day.
Miki's experience as both Kansas State bank commissioner and her time at Farmers and Drovers Bank in Council Grove satisfies both statutory requirements with her impressive background in public service and the private sector.
Community banks are an important part of communities and small cities across the country. They extend credit for homes, small businesses, and farm equipment, while also sponsoring Little League Baseball teams and the school band.
In addition, Miki understands the role that relationships play in the approach to business. In rural Kansas and across America, community banks act as economic engines, leveraging relationships with local community members that rely on trust and honesty.
Miki could tell story after story about the friendships and high level of trust she has built with her customers. It is a different kind of banking and one that will help make certain that rural America can thrive well into the future.
I urge my colleagues to vote tomorrow in favor of Miki Bowman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors so we can bring her experience and unique perspectives to the Federal Reserve Board.
I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
S. 140
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, we finally have the Coast Guard bill here. I want to urge our colleagues to support the passage of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018. We have worked on it and passed it through committee. We have been in intensive discussions with the House, and finally, the final product is here.
Coast Guard personnel live by the motto ``Always Ready.'' Just last month, I saw firsthand how Coast Guard efforts in protecting life and property followed Hurricane Michael up in the Panhandle of Florida. Coast Guard ships, planes, and helicopters came from across the country to help hundreds of people on the Florida coastline and inland, and the Coast Guard, as always, was there to assist--``Always Ready,'' their motto. In Panama City, the shallow-water response teams provided food, water, and oxygen and ensured the relocation of over 130 nursing home residents, 35 of whom were bedridden, and they saw them to safety and medical care as far away as Pensacola. The Coast Guard also conducted damage assessments to facilitate the reopening of the Florida waterways and ports. This isn't something new; the Coast Guard provided similar efforts to Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Irma and Maria last fall.
If there is a disaster, aside from the Federal Agency tasked--FEMA--
you can bet your boots that the Coast Guard is going to be there. During just 5 weeks of the 2017 hurricane season a year ago, the Coast Guard saved over 11,000 people and more than 1,000 pets and mobilized nearly 3,000 personnel. For Hurricane Maria alone, a year ago, the Coast Guard deployed over 500 personnel, 7 helicopters, 17 planes, and 14 cutters. And you know the devastation that Hurricane Maria did on the island of Puerto Rico.
On behalf of Floridians, I thank the Coast Guard for their hurricane response and invaluable assistance provided to storm victims. We owe the Coast Guard our gratitude for their readiness and service to the Nation. When mariners are out in their fishing boats and get stranded out in the ocean, who are they so happily contacting but the Coast Guard for rescue?
The Coast Guard does much more than just save lives; they also serve as a first line of defense against cartels and smugglers who seek to flood the United States with illegal drugs. Last year, for instance, was a banner year for Coast Guard drug enforcement. They prevented over 200 metric tons of cocaine, valued at over $6 billion, from entering the United States. In Florida, the Coast Guard cutter Mohawk, which is homeported in Key West, confiscated over 7 tons of cocaine in August. A month later, the Coast Guard cutter Tahoma offloaded 6 tons of cocaine in Port Everglades. And just last month, the Miami-based Coast Guard cutter Bernard C. Webber confiscated over 3,500 pounds of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana.
The bottom line is that the Coast Guard is an adaptable, responsive military force that maintains a persistent and comforting presence along our rivers, in our ports, on our coastal waters, and on the high seas.
I have had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with the Coast Guard. I have been in their helicopters chasing down go-fasts, showing me in a simulated chase how they would shoot out the engines from the open door of a Coast Guard helicopter. I have also done that chase in high-speed, the Coast Guard getting off the cutters into the go-fast--go-fasts that can turn on a dime. At the end of the day, the Coast Guard is going to catch even the speediest boats, and if they can't catch them with the go-fast small boats, they will catch them from the air.
I have been with the Coast Guard up in Alaska, where the Navy has pretty well ceded protection of the seas off of Alaska and up into the Arctic to the Coast Guard. We have a substantial fishing fleet up there. Of course, who do they rely on when they get into trouble? That is why we have a substantial Coast Guard presence in Alaska.
The bottom line is that the Coast Guard is an incredible force. They are especially present in the State of Florida since we have so much coastline. Nearly 40 percent of all Coast Guard personnel are in and around the State of Florida.
Down in Key West is the joint task force center--maintained by all agencies of the Federal Government--which is tracking the movements of the drug smugglers. If we had more assets in the Caribbean and the Pacific, we would be able to pick up a lot more of the drugs trying to enter and poison our children in the United States. We should do everything we can to support the Coast Guard's work. That is why we are here today.
The bipartisan bill before us will reauthorize the Coast Guard for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. It authorizes a $2 billion funding increase for the Coast Guard through fiscal year 2019. This includes new money to help the Coast Guard continue modernizing its aging fleet of cutters and aircraft. A good part of the Coast Guard's modernization of their fleet--the new offshore patrol cutters are being built by a shipbuilder in Florida.
This legislation will also better enable the Coast Guard to execute their missions, provide adequate resources and training to meet operational demands, and support servicemembers and their dependents. You should see these Coast Guard bases around the country, even on the Great Lakes. Just think--there are mariners on the Great Lakes. There is a great deal of commercial shipping on the Great Lakes. As a result, we have a substantial Coast Guard presence and Coast Guard bases on the Great Lakes.
This is a good bill, and we can be proud of it. Passing it will ensure that the Coast Guard has the tools they need to continue to carry out their many important missions, including the lifesaving and disaster response roles on which so many Americans have come to rely. When they call, they know they can depend on the Coast Guard.
I urge our colleagues to support this motion for cloture and then tomorrow to support the final passage of the bill.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Unanimous Consent Agreement--Amendment No. 4054
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, amendment No. 4054 be modified with the changes that are at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The amendment, as further modified, is printed in the November 15, 2018, Record on page S6973.)
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S6908, November 13, 2018, in the second column, the following appears:UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--AMENDMENT NO. 4054 Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, amendment No. 4054 be modified with the changes that are at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--S.J. RES. 65
The online Record has been corrected to read: UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--AMENDMENT NO. 4054 Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, amendment No. 4054 be modified with the changes that are at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. (The amendment, as further modified, is printed in the November 15, 2018, Record on page S6973.) UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--S.J. RES. 65
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Unanimous Consent Agreement--S.J. Res. 65
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, but no later than November 16, Senator Paul or his designee be recognized to make a motion to discharge S.J. Res. 65; that there be up to an hour of debate on the motion equally divided between the proponents and the opponents; and that following the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote in relation to the motion to discharge; further, that if the motion to discharge is agreed to, the joint resolution be eligible for the expedited procedures under the act.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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