[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)] [Senate] [Pages S7534-S7540] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] DIRECTING THE REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS-- Continues The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will resume consideration of S.J. Res. 54, which the clerk will report. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 54) to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress. Pending: Young amendment No. 4080, to clarify that this resolution prohibits United States Armed Forces from refueling non- United States aircraft conducting missions as part of the ongoing civil war in Yemen. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada. Farewell to the Senate Mr. HELLER. Madam President, I rise with gratitude to address my colleagues and members of my staff to reflect on one of my life's greatest honors, and that is serving the people of the great State of Nevada. I begin by thanking them for giving me the profound honor of representing Nevada in the U.S. Congress for 12 years and then in the U.S. Senate for almost 8 years. Nevada, thank you for granting me the privilege of working every day for a State I am so proud to call my home. Of course, I thank my immediate family, especially Lynne, my wife, for being at my side for my nearly 30 years of public service. To my children Hilary, Harris, Drew, and Emmy and to their spouses Eddie, McKenzie, and Collin, thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your tolerance of this process. I would be remiss if I didn't thank Jack and Janet Heller, my parents, for setting the right example and religious tone in our home while I was growing up. To Richard Brombach, my father-in-law, and all of my wife's family, thank you for raising such a wonderful daughter, sister, cousin, and aunt. I have five brothers and sisters, and they all played a vital role in my upbringing. So thank you to Jack, Tamie, Mac, Sara, and Bryan. All of these individuals whom I have mentioned gave me their steadfast support and made my journey from the Nevada Legislature to the secretary of state's office, to the U.S. House of Representatives, and to the U.S. Senate possible. I could count on them every step of the way. We all know how important our staffs are, and I am no exception. I have been fortunate to have had two staff members with me during my whole tenure in Congress, and I would like to highlight both of them. Mac Abrams, my chief of staff, hails from North Carolina. I know more about North Carolina than I thought I ever would. Mac came to me from Senator Vitter's office. After 12 years, we muse about writing a book together because, together, we have seen and been through a lot. From the great recession's impact on Nevada to the visits from Senator Reid to my House office, to Senator Ensign's resignation, to the Governor's appointment of me to the Senate, to ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, immigration reform, tax reform, and changing the courts--just to name a few--Mac has always been there. In these Chambers, there are a lot of slings and arrows, and it takes an expert to walk through these minefields. No one does it alone. I have always had Mac Abrams by my side. So I thank him for his service to me but, more importantly, for his service to the State of Nevada. Scott Riplinger has also served the office with distinction. Those who know him and who have worked with him know that he is a problem solver. [[Page S7535]] It didn't matter which hat he was asked to wear, he wore it with pride. I will miss his hard work, his work on the Banking Committee, his loyalty, and his great sense of humor. Every office needs a Scott Riplinger. I would like to mention two more. Sarah Paul has become a dear friend of mine. She joined my staff 7\1/ 2\ years ago, and I have leaned on her heavily to help navigate some very complicated issues. From gaming issues, to mining, to technology, no one--I say no one--can grasp an issue like she can. During the last campaign, she served as my chief of staff as others were relegated to the State of Nevada. Thank you, Sarah, and congratulations. On Thanksgiving Day, she introduced Liam Milliner Paul to the world. Again, congratulations to Sarah, to Raymond, and to big brother James on the new addition. Finally, I recognize Ashley Jonkey. Ashley oversees our State operation, and she has been with us since my early days in the U.S. House of Representatives. Whether it is putting together the Tahoe Summit or keeping me up to speed on local issues, Ashley is someone I can always count on. In fact, over the past decade that I have known Ashley, she has become like family to me but, more importantly, like family to Lynne. She is based in Reno, but we are fortunate to have her here in Washington, DC, today. I recognize her, along with Mac, Scott, Sarah, and the many members of my staff, who are here today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. We have a great team. I have had a great team from top to bottom--a team that includes naturalized citizens whose families came to this country to seek better lives, professional social workers, and multiple combat veterans. Every member of my team in Reno, Elko, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC, has worked tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of Nevadans. My staff's dedication, enthusiasm, and work ethic go unmatched. I ask unanimous consent to have a list of current and former staff and their names printed in the Record for this legislative day. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: Senator Heller's List of Current and Former Staff To Be Entered Into the Congressional Record Mac Abrams, Sarah Paul (Timoney), Ashley Jonkey, Meron Bayu, Scott Riplinger, Megan Taylor, Gretchen Andersen, Annie Sedgwick, Scarlet Doyle, Andrew Williams, Joe Boddicker, Blair Bjellos, Rachel Green, Lindsey Parobeck, Jazmine Kemp, Adam Miller, Hayley Brower, William Yepez, Meagan Devlin, Elizabeth Lloyd. Michael Lienhard, Katie Pace, Rocio Meza, Lauren Morris, Eduardo Martinez, Brett Pollak, Mark Sutliff, Donna Bath, Kike De La Paz, Andrew Lingenfelter, Christy Guedry, Devyn Hartmann, Bruno Moya, Ryan Dutiel, Marcie Zajac, Andrew Thomas, Andrew Holbert, Emy Lesofski, Leeann Gibson (Walker), Josh Finestone. Hayley Douglas, Stewart `Mac' Bybee, Michawn Rich, Pat Garrett, Alli Collier, Tom Ferraro, Stephanie Beverly, Mari St. Martin (Nakashima), Corrine Gianpaolo (Zakzeski), Katie Carr, Alison Gaske, Stephanie Ferguson, Karen Paulson, Paula Carroll, Amber Heinz, Ryan McBride, Victoria Glover, Emily Wilkenson, Jeremy Harell, Kristen Elias. Kristen Pierce (Casey), Luke Burns, Spencer Armuth, Laura Hutson (Bland), Greg Facchiano, Chandler Smith, Neal Patel, Lauren Ann Rehrauer, Ryan Leavitt, Chana Elgin, Matt Morris, John Knobel, John Blum, Mallory Nersesian, Robert Jackson, Eric Duhon, Erin Collins, Christine Atchian, Daniel Giudici, Britt McManus Chapman. Veronica Charles, Josh Marin-Mora, Chloe McClintock, Sam Crampton, Glenna Smith, Lucero-Gomez Ochoa, Stephen Sifuentes, Michael Mendenhall, Margot Allen, Terri Fairfield, Leonardo Benavides, Matt Morris, Andres Moses. Veterans Mr. HELLER. Madam President, I would like to shift gears, for just a moment, to mention several topics that have demanded a lot of my time and a lot of my energy. When it comes to our legislative successes--tax reform, changes on the courts, banking reform, go down the list--I am most proud of what we have accomplished to help the 300,000 veterans who call Nevada home. I think everybody in this Chamber will agree that while we can never fully repay our debt to our Nation's heroes, we can do everything in our power to show our gratitude for their selflessness and for their sacrifice. Once these men and women return home after leaving their families to fight for our country, it is our turn to fight for them and to make sure all of Nevada's veterans receive the treatment they need, the services they need, and the skills they need to get the jobs to take care of their families. I see that responsibility as a duty and a privilege. In fact, I have said this before, and I will say it again: The greatest compliment I ever received in public office was when I overheard one veteran say to another, ``If you need help, call Senator Heller's office.'' As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I have had the opportunity to give our veterans a strong voice in Washington, DC. Under Chairman Johnny Isakson's leadership, we have made great strides in bringing greater accountability to the VA and in improving the benefits, the care, and the support our veterans have earned. For example, earlier this year, we pushed the historic VA MISSION Act over the finish line. This new law directs more than $50 billion to our VA healthcare system so the VA can hire more high-quality doctors and allow veterans to get the care they need near their homes and on their schedules. We also expanded the VA Caregivers Program, which provided a stipend to the families of severely disabled veterans who require caregivers in their homes. Previously, only post-9/11 veterans were able to apply. Now veterans from every era are eligible. This was particularly important to many veterans in Nevada who told me how critical it was that we give veterans more access to this program. These are just a couple of examples to fix a problem that came up during my discussions during my Veterans Advisory Council meetings. I established these groups of veterans in the northern and southern parts of the State in order to speak frequently and directly with them about the challenges they are facing and the problems that need to be fixed. For instance, just a few years ago, the Reno VA was one of the worst ranked offices in the Nation. This was at a time when veterans were waiting, on average, 400 days for their disability claims to be approved. This was not acceptable, so I teamed up with Senator Bob Casey, from Pennsylvania, to hold the VA's feet to the fire. As a result of the implementation of the 21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act, the backlog has been reduced by nearly 85 percent, and 500,000 of our military heroes around the country are no longer waiting for their health benefits. We also provided accountability through expedited firing authority of bad VA employees and overhauled the VA appeals process so veterans do not have to wait years for a decision. The President signed this bill into law in Reno last year. Expanding veterans' access to care has been one of my top priorities. For veterans living in Northern Nevada, I worked to authorize construction of the Reno VA hospital and delivered $33.5 million in Federal funding for it so that the veterans of the north don't have to drive 500 miles to Boulder City to access the State Veterans Home. I walked through the construction site when I was in Sparks last month, and I look forward to the completion of this state-of-the-art facility. I did the same for veterans in Southern Nevada. I worked for 10 years to secure the approval of the new larger clinic in Pahrump. For veterans who face barriers to try to get an education so that they can earn a good living, I introduced a bill that increases the education benefits for Guard Reserve members that ensures that the GI bill is available to veterans for life. After Nevada was ranked second among States with the highest rate of veteran suicides and was experiencing a doctors' shortage, I authorized a new law that gives veterans more access to mental healthcare services and treatment. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Chairman Isakson, Ranking Member Tester, Senate leadership, and this administration to enact laws that provide our veterans with the support and benefits they are owed. While we have made progress, we can and must do even better. It is my hope that the next Congress--Republicans and Democrats--can continue to work together to get things done for our veterans. [[Page S7536]] Now, on another topic--tax reform--when I delivered my maiden speech on the floor of the Senate, Nevada was struggling after being knocked down by the great recession--a time when Nevada led the Nation in home foreclosures and when we had double-digit unemployment. Today, Nevada is leading the Nation in private sector job growth, the housing market has recovered, and home prices are increasing. Now we are one of the fastest growing States in the Nation. Nevada is booming. It is because this Congress delivered tax cuts that put more money in America's paychecks, their pocketbooks, and their pensions, and we advanced pro-growth policies that have led to more jobs, higher wages, and more opportunities for Nevadans. As a Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, I am proud to have authorized and authored several provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that include, for example, not limiting but doubling the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. Since the law was enacted, tens of thousands of jobs in the State of Nevada have been created. Recently, Nevada's unemployment rate hit a new 11-year low--the lowest rate since the 2008 economic downturn. As a result of this new law, tens of thousands of Nevadans have benefited from bonuses, raises, and expanded benefits, on top of bigger paychecks and strengthened pensions. To give you a couple of examples, South Point Hotel and Casino doubled its full-time workers' bonuses. Developers of a stalled project on the Las Vegas Strip committed to creating over 10,000 jobs, and the Prospect Hotel in Ely gave its employees bonuses and raised its starting wages. All of this was a direct result of the tax reform bill. Nevada's economy is back on track, and I hope this Congress will continue to advance policies to keep us on that path to help Nevada workers and the hard-working families get ahead. Let me move on. Since coming to Washington, DC, my No. 1 focus has always been the people of Nevada and putting our State's priorities first. For example, I worked with Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico to level the playing field for the development of new, alternative energy technologies to support Nevada's energy diversification. Earlier this year, I was proud to host the bipartisan annual Lake Tahoe Summit, and I worked with Senator Feinstein throughout my career to deliver resources to protect the Tahoe Basin and to fight devastating wildfires. When Congress came together to approve a 5-year highway bill, I was able to secure my top infrastructure priority, and that was to expand Interstate 11 up to Northern Nevada. Whether it is leading the Republican charge to extend unemployment benefits in 2014, when Nevada's unemployment rate was nearly double what it is now, or breaking with my party to pass the Violence Against Women Act, I have always been willing to work with anyone who has good ideas to help move Nevada's families and Nevada's communities forward. While I am pleased that I have been able to work with my colleagues to turn these ideas into over 100 pieces of legislation that are now law, this job is about more than advancing good policies. It is about helping people, and that is what is most important. I work for Nevadans, and when someone comes to me with a problem or calls one of my offices for help, we drop everything we do and all that we do in an effort to help them. When the VA refused to pay a homeless veteran $40,000 after he won his appeal, we made sure the veteran got paid so he could get back on his feet. When a constituent had a liver transplant and was denied coverage and left without insurance, he enrolled into the marketplace exchange. When the time came to reenroll, the exchange denied him and forced him to go without insurance until my office intervened. Take, for example, a woman who came to us after being charged a Medicare penalty of about 40 percent each month. My staff worked with the local and regional offices to secure reimbursement of $1,000 and to adjust the monthly premium to save that constituent, potentially, thousands of dollars. When a constituent spent 9 months trying to get her Social Security retirement benefits, we were able to get her a resolution to properly begin receiving her payment. Finally, when a Navy veteran was in jeopardy of losing his home while he was temporarily out of work, we contacted the lender of his mortgage on his behalf and ensured that he was able to keep his home. These are just a few examples of what this job is really all about-- making life better for people you work for. I know that I am not alone. I truly believe that this is what drives all Members of Congress, and that is to serve their constituents--no matter your party, no matter your State, no matter what you did before you got here. Before I got here, I grew up with two parents and five siblings who, like Nevadans, embodied the ``battle born'' spirit. I would like to pay tribute not only to my family, friends, and mentors who have helped me along the way but to all of my constituents by talking a little bit about what makes Nevada different. Nevadans are pioneers. They are not afraid to take risks, to dream, to put in hard work, or to start from scratch. We are self-starters, we are builders, and we are trailblazers. We laid down tracks to connect railroads and mined for gold and silver in the north. We shoveled mud, drilled through rocks, and scaled concrete to construct the Hoover Dam, and in the Mojave Desert we created the Entertainment Capital of the World. One characteristic outsiders may overlook is this: We are fighters. There is no other event in our history that best serves as an example of that trait than the aftermath of the October 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas, a tragedy that truly shook our State. I have spoken before on the Senate floor about the incredible and heroic people who helped to lead concertgoers and, in turn, the whole community, out of that darkness. Whether these individuals wore uniforms or not, they stepped up to help others, and their actions helped us grieve and start to heal together. This immeasurable pain, suffering, and devastation inflicted by one man elicited a profound, innate, and immediate human response from Nevadans across the State. Like many Nevadans, I saw firsthand the strong sense of family, faith, and strength in the wake of the October 1 shooting. When I leave here, I will carry those extraordinary moments of unity and generosity with me. During the 1989 inaugural address, Former President George H. W. Bush once said: We know what works: Freedom works. We know what's right: Freedom is right. We know how to secure a more just and prosperous life for man on Earth: through free markets, free speech, free elections, and the exercise of free will unhampered by the state. Regardless of what party affiliation you have, I still think we can all agree with those words. We can all agree that we are fortunate to live in a great country defended by men and women who stand guard to defend our way of life. We can all agree we are fortunate to live in a great country in which every aspiration or dream is possible to achieve. We can all agree that this is because freedom works, and that freedom is right. No, not everything comes easy, and I would be lying if I said others didn't have to fight harder than some. But that job you want to get, that school you want to get into, that business you want to start, or that idea that you would like to see come to life is possible in America. This is a country where the son of an auto mechanic and a school cook had the opportunity to deliver the newspaper to then- Governor Michael O'Callaghan, go to Sunday school with then-Lieutenant Governor Harry Reid's sons, get his education at the same public high school as the late Senator Paul Laxalt, play basketball with Governor Brian Sandoval, and a place where that same kid can grow up and serve Nevada in the U.S. Senate. My goal always has been making Nevada a better place today than it was yesterday. It is a better place to raise a family--not only one where you can find a job but a place where you can have a long-term career. I would like to end with this. My daughter Hillary and her husband [[Page S7537]] adopted a young child from China. She was abandoned as an infant at a bus station. Her name is Ava. She was raised in an orphanage for the first 2 years of her life. When my daughter and her family first met Ava, she did not cry when she was hungry. She did not cry when she was tired. She did not cry when she needed to be changed, and she did not cry when she was hurt. Why? Because it didn't matter; she was always on someone else's time. But she did cry when they took her shoes off to put her to bed. You see, in an orphanage, kids sleep with their shoes on so they don't get lost. Ava, at 2 years of age, had never slept without her shoes on. Now, she did cry the first time when they bathed her in a tub of water. In an orphanage, you take cloth baths. So Ava had never been in a bathtub. Today, when Ava falls, someone is there to pick her up. Today, when she cries, someone is there to wipe away the tears. Today, when she is hungry, someone is there to feed her. Today, when she is tired, there is always someone there to tuck her into bed. When Ava grows up in this country, there will be plenty of doors that she can open that would otherwise have been closed. I will never forget seeing my newest granddaughter in the arms of the Vice President, knowing that her life had changed forever. This is the job at hand, to uphold this country's longstanding reputation as the land of opportunity. I an optimist, and I will remain one after leaving this great Chamber because I have seen remarkable moments here in Washington. This body has come a long way from its early days when Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun were navigating a divided nation and fighting to save our young democracy. I believe that our Nation's future is bright, and that Nevada's future is bright. My heart has been and always will be in Nevada, a State that I love and a place that I am so proud to call home. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work for you. Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip. Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I can say with great confidence that Nevada and the Senate and the country are better for Dean Heller's service to our Nation. We know Dean is a smart guy. He is so smart that when I was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2010 and was trying to get him to run for the U.S. Senate, he declined to do so, only to then run in 2012 and, obviously, he succeeded. I know there are many others who would like to speak and pay tribute to Dean, and I won't take but a moment. Of course, one of the things I remember most about Senator Heller is his optimism. I also particularly appreciate his comment about things he has done to help ordinary Nevadans that do not involve major pieces of legislation. He certainly played a part in major legislation like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but Dean's efforts to also pass legislation like the SAFER Act, which helps our law enforcement agencies reduce the rape kit backlog--Dean's efforts on the Federal level, coupled with State level reforms, played a role in making it possible for nearly 8,000 untested sexual assault kits in Nevada to be sent to labs for testing. Dean's commitment to our veterans led to his bill, the Veterans Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act. I appreciate his reminding us that sometimes the most important work we do is what we call casework. When veterans come to us and say ``I am not getting access to the healthcare that I have earned by virtue of my military service'' or when a senior says ``I am not getting my Social Security benefits'' or sometimes when people contact us and say ``I have relatives who can't enter the country because they can't get a visa''--these are the kinds of things that people will never forget. They are the sorts of acts of individual kindness and generosity that, with a true attitude of public service, people will never forget. Sometimes these efforts amount to some of the most meaningful work that we can do and that our staff can do. So I have every confidence that we will see and hear a lot more from Dean and Lynne, no matter what they do. It is clear to me that Dean has his priorities right: family first, faith, and then service to our country. Dean, we are going to miss you, but we look forward to staying in touch with you and Lynne, as friends do, and we wish you all the luck. Given your talent for working on cars, which is one of the things I think is particularly noteworthy, you will be my first call if I need my transmission fixed. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia. Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, as chairman of the Veterans Committee, for the last 4 years I have had the privilege of working with Dean Heller from Nevada. In his opening remarks in his farewell speech, he spoke about his compassion for veterans. I have seen it up close and personal. His value as a member of that committee to me is invaluable. I could not have had a better member. We had a lot of tough votes that had to be taken. A lot of times I had to count noses, and I knew I could count on him when it got to committee. This is a guy you could count on 100 percent of the time, every day. He cares about what he is doing. He knows what he is doing. He is an affable person who is fun to be with, even if you disagree on things. Dean is one of a kind, in my opinion, and someone I am very proud to have served with on the committee. I wish he were going to be there for my last 2 years as chairman so that I could count on him a little bit more. Dean is the real deal. He is the guy you can put money in the bank on. He has helped a lot. I wish him the very best. His service to the country is invaluable. I served with him in the House and in the Senate. For the whole 20 years he has been here, I have been here too. I have seen him in countless tough votes. Whether it is Part D of Medicare or whatever it might be, he has always been there to be counted on. He has stood up for the State of Nevada, whether the issue was nuclear energy, nuclear storage, nuclear waste, or nuclear bombs. Nevada is a great State. This is a great Senate, and we have a great country. One of the reason we do is we have great individuals like Dean Heller. God bless you, and I wish you the best. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota. Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I wish to associate myself with the comments of my colleague from Georgia, Senator Isakson, who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee. I have the privilege of chairing the Senate Commerce Committee. Senator Heller has been a very active and important voice on our committee on countless issues. Our committee has a very broad, wide jurisdiction. We heard him speak about his passion for veterans, and everybody knows that and how hard he has worked to make life better for veterans in the State of Nevada. But I would say, also, on issues like rural broadband and transportation, many of which, as I said, fall under the jurisdiction of the Senate Commerce Committee, I can't think of anybody who has been more passionate, more representative of his State and his people, more conscientious, more hard-working, and, frankly, just rock solid when it comes to the way he stands up for and represents the State of Nevada here in the U.S. Senate. So I, too, am going to miss him and his voice and his excellent work and that of his staff on the Senate Commerce Committee. As those who have spoken before me have said, we know that his contributions not only to the people of Nevada but also to the people of this country will continue because he is someone who not only has great talent but also tremendous character. As I think about the future that he and Lynne are going to enjoy, hopefully it will include a little more time together and more time with those grandkids, which we talk about all the time. The other thing I appreciate about Dean Heller is that no matter how tough the going was, he always had a smile on his face. People talk about his optimism. That is a virtue that, to me, really matters around here. We deal [[Page S7538]] with weighty and serious issues. It is important that we see the lighter side and that we appreciate the humor in what we do, too; that we approach it with a sense of purpose but also a sense of optimism. That is always evident whenever you encounter Dean Heller in any circumstance. The thing I think I will miss the most about him is that whenever I see him, I see that smile, and I appreciate that. I wish him and Lynne and his family the best in the days ahead. I thank him for his great work here, and I thank his family for the sacrifice they have made to enable him to be here to represent Nevadans in the U.S. Senate. So, Senator Heller, God bless you and your family in the days ahead. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, like my colleagues, I, too, want to honor and express my gratitude to my friend and colleague, Senator Dean Heller. Most people don't know that he has spent 30 years serving the great State of Nevada. I have heard everyone talk about how Dean loves Nevada. There is no doubt that if you just have an initial conversation with Dean Heller, you will learn about Nevada and his love for Nevada and why it is a wonderful place to live. He has advocated for the people of Carson City as a member of our Nevada State Assembly. He served as Nevada's secretary of state, where he made Nevada the first State in the Nation to adopt paper records for electronic voting machines. In Congress, Dean has fought tirelessly on behalf of our Nation's veterans, as we have heard, first as a Representative for Nevada's Second Congressional District and then as a United States Senator. I have watched Dean and have had the honor to work with him now across the aisle. When I first came to the Senate as a junior Senator, he warmly welcomed me. We had a conversation about how we could work together-- although we don't see eye to eye on everything, but how we could work together for the best interests of the State of Nevada. He made a commitment then, and he followed through on that commitment. So together we have worked to do so many things on behalf of the great people of the State of Nevada. We worked on critical infrastructure. He has worked to support our local law enforcement and fund programs, as you have heard, for veterans and seniors and low- income families. We also found common ground, just as Nevadans expected us to do, and introduced bipartisan legislation to protect our public lands in eastern Nevada while also prioritizing long-term economic growth in our rural communities. I have also worked with him and watched Dean as he worked on domestic violence prevention and human trafficking prevention in the State of Nevada. We have had the opportunity, not just here in Washington but in our home State, to work side by side to stop any attempts to revive Yucca Mountain. We introduced bipartisan legislation requiring the Secretary of Energy to obtain the written consent of the Governor and impacted local Tribal communities before building a nuclear waste repository. As you have heard, Dean and I also shared an unfortunate, horrific incident on October 1--the deadly shooting in Las Vegas. He and I were on the ground, along with our entire delegation, to do everything we could in our community, and Dean was everywhere. He was talking to so many people, thanking the first responders, stopping by the hospitals, talking with the families. It truly was his commitment to his home State to do everything he could to help that community heal, and he continues to do so today. The one thing I do know as a Nevadan born and raised, just like Dean, is that when it comes to our beloved State, it is about putting that State first, the people there, and uniting and coming together to make sure that we are working together. No matter the climate, no matter the partisanship that we see here in Washington, it is about what we can do every single day to work together, and I thank him for that commitment. I thank him for his willingness to bring this junior Senator in and have conversations about how we can work together to the benefit of our community. I want to thank Senator Heller for everything he has done over the years on behalf of the State of Nevada, for his decades of service, and for his friendship. I wish you and Lynne and your beautiful children and grandchildren the best in this chapter of your life. I know you are not done. We are all excited to see what is next. So I thank you, my friend, and I look forward to working with you in the future as well. Thank you for your commitment. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida. Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, before I speak on the topic that I came to the floor to speak about, which is the resolution currently before the Senate, I wanted to just echo the commentary made about our colleague Senator Heller. I have enjoyed our time working together. I spent 6 years of my childhood growing up in Las Vegas, so we have a lot of mutual friends. He knows a lot of the people I grew up with and is a part of our family. He will be sorely missed here. I am sure he will be warmly welcomed back home to the community and to his family. We all look forward to seeing the future endeavors lying ahead for him. I know he still has much to offer the Nation and the State of Nevada. S.J. Res. 54 Madam President, one of the things that makes service in the Senate meaningful is when we get to discuss big issues of great importance. I want to start by thanking the authors of this War Powers Resolution on Yemen because, while I may not agree with it--and I am going to describe why in a moment--I think it is important that the Senate have big debates about big topics and play its rightful role. The Senate and the legislative branch have an important role to play in setting the foreign policy of the United States. I actually don't think the War Powers Act is constitutional. I believe it is an unconstitutional restraint on the power of the Commander in Chief, and even if it were constitutional, I do not believe that our engagement, or what we are doing in Yemen with the Saudi UAE coalition, rises to a level of triggering it. That doesn't mean that Congress should not be involved. Frankly, the one way to be involved if you wanted to, if you wanted to pronounce yourself on a matter of this topic, you should file to cut off the money. I wouldn't support it, but that is where Congress's power really comes from. Shut off the money; say that no money can be spent on this effort. Few people are willing to do that, so we rely on these other mechanisms that exist in our law. But I want to talk more about why I think it is bad idea to vote for this and why I hope more of my colleagues will join me in opposing it. First of all, I understand what is happening. This resolution is not new; it has been discussed before. It existed for a number of months, well before Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder at the Saudi consulate in Yemen. So this is not a new issue, but it has become for many Members proxy--a vehicle by which they can express displeasure at the way the administration and the President have responded to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. I think what has happened to Mr. Khashoggi is an outrage. I don't need a smoking gun or an intelligence briefing to tell me that the Crown Prince is responsible. If you know anything about Saudi Arabia, if you know anything about how their government works, and if you know anything about the Crown Prince, you know that there is no way that 17 guys close to him get on an airplane, fly to a third country, chop up a guy in a consulate, dispose of the body, and fly back, and he didn't know anything about it. It is just not real. It is also consistent with a pattern of behavior by the Crown Prince. He literally kidnapped the Prime Minister of Lebanon about a year and a half ago. He has jailed multiple members of his family and government because they weren't in support of his being the successor to the King. This is a pattern of behavior that needs to be dealt with. I do not believe dealing with it requires us to shatter the Saudi-U.S. alliance. Foreign policy is hard because it must be infused with our values and [[Page S7539]] the defense of human rights. And I say this with humility--I hold my record up to that of anyone in this Chamber when it comes to fighting on behalf of human rights and humanitarian causes, and we have a lot of great champions of that in the U.S. Senate. But we also have to recognize that this has to be balanced sometimes with realism, and it requires us to make difficult decisions. The interesting thing about foreign policy is that it is often not a choice between a great idea and a bad idea; it is often a choice between two less-than-ideal outcomes, and you are trying to figure out which one would do the least harm and make the most sense. In many ways, that is what we are facing here in this debate about the Saudi- U.S. alliance. I have long recognized and condemned the horrifying human rights violations that occur at a systemic level in Saudi Arabia, and I will continue to do so. But I also recognize that there is a threat in the Middle East posed by Iran and their ambitions that must be confronted, and it must be confronted now, regionally, or eventually it will pull the United States into direct conflict. Saudi Arabia and our alliance is a key part of that coalition, so it would be a mistake to shatter it. In the case of Yemen, this has become a proxy issue for the broader issue of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Hopefully later today, there will be a resolution offered by the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and the majority leader--I hope others will join in--that makes very clear that the vast majority of Members in this Chamber condemn what happened to Mr. Khashoggi and hold the Crown Prince responsible for his murder. There is no disputing that what is happening in Yemen is a horrifying humanitarian tragedy. The numbers speak for themselves. Over 57,000 human beings have lost their lives. Half the country's population of 28 million people is starving to death, including many women and children, and 2.3 million people have been displaced from their homes. It is horrifying, and there is plenty of blame to go around, including Iran and their Houthi surrogates. The first question I would ask is, If this resolution passes and were to become law, would it end this conflict? If we pass this and the White House were somehow forced to do what we are asking them to do, it wouldn't end this conflict. This conflict will continue, this fight will continue, and the reason why is pretty straightforward: The Saudis view the Houthis as agents of Iran. They already see agents of Iran via Hezbollah, Syria, and Iraq obviously for a long time in Lebanon, and now, to their west and south, Yemen. They are not just agents of Iran. They have launched rockets and ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, at their civilian populations, including efforts to kill members of the Saudi royal family and government leadership. They have threatened global shipping in the region, where over 400 million barrels of oil a day transit--critical to the world's energy supplies. So they are going to have a war. There is no way Saudi Arabia or the UAE or any of these countries are going to allow themselves to be encircled by Iranian agents. This conflict will continue irrespective of what we do, and the Saudis will have no problem buying weapons. One of the sad facts about the world today is that countries have plenty of sources from which they can buy this weaponry and plenty of countries and arms dealers who are willing to sell it to them. Will this resolution, if it passes, end the suffering? The answer, sadly, is no, it will not. In fact, it is the Houthis who have blocked the two access roads that lead to the port, making it difficult to deliver aid. It is the Houthis who have placed mines at the entrance of the port. It is the Houthis, by the way, who are torturing people-- torturing people. We have seen reports of faces being smashed by batons, of people hanging from chains by their genitals and by their wrists for weeks in places, people being scorched with acid. That is the Houthis. That will continue. Will this end the warfare? It will not. It will not end the warfare. In fact, I think it has the potential to trigger broader warfare. First of all, it won't end the warfare because right now they are having peace talks. Put yourself in common sense for a moment, and ask yourself: If you are the Houthis and you just read in the newspaper that now the U.S. Senate has voted to end support for Saudi Arabia--do you know what they are thinking? We don't need a peace deal; we might be able to win this thing now. They don't know that it is not going to become law, that the House is not going to take it up. They don't know any of that. They just read that the United States is weakening in its support of Saudi Arabia, and they think, we don't need a peace deal. It is going to embolden them to not strike a peace deal. But here is where I think it really gets dangerous. The United States stops its support of Saudi Arabia. Houthis establish more control and more stability in their control in areas of Yemen. What are they going to do then? Are they then going to go and rebuild the country, build roads and bridges, and move on to an era of prosperity and peace? They are not. They are going to become what they are but in an expanded way--agents of Iranian influence and of Iranian-sponsored violence. Here is what you can expect to see if the Houthis establish control of key areas of Yemen and are able to reach a stalemate or, worse, are able to solidify their grip on power: You are going to see hundreds of ballistic missiles launched against Saudi Arabia--missiles that, by the way, in a contingency where there is a crisis between the United States and Iran, would also be able to target American service men and women serving in the region. You are going to see these explosive UAVs that they have already used in attacking Saudi Arabia. Do you know what Saudi Arabia is going to do in response? They are going to hit them back even harder. In fact, they may even hit Iran, triggering an even broader war. And it gets worse. It gets worse because you can also see them using explosive boats and anti-ship missiles to cut off shipping lanes in the Arabian Gulf. At that point, you will see the U.S. Navy called upon to go in there and reopen shipping because the global energy supply is relying upon it, and the world looks to the United States as a guarantor of the freedom of the seas. In essence, this could very well lead, in the long run, to an even broader and more dangerous conflict that could involve us and could pull us in. That is the way we need to think about these issues--not just what is before us now. You have to think two or three steps ahead, and two or three steps ahead is that this could become a broader conflict that forces us in. Imagine it for a moment. We know for a fact that Iran's plans are to use surrogates to attack the United States in instances of a crisis. That is why these Shia militias in Iraq are so dangerous. At a moment's notice, they could decide they are going to start attacking American troops in Iraq, and Iran is going to say: It wasn't us; it was the Shia militia. That is why Hezbollah in Syria is so dangerous. That is why Lebanese Hezbollah is so dangerous. That is why they have cells all over the world ready to be activated at a moment of crisis as an asymmetrical way for Iran to attack the United States without direct attribution. And now we are going to give them one more--the Houthis in Yemen to target our service men and women and our allies in the region, and then we will have to respond, and then we will be in a war involving American service men and women. Nothing we are doing now guarantees that won't happen anyway, but I am telling you that if we pull out of this effort, it makes it likely. I think it makes it likely that we will see a broader conflict in the very near future that will directly involve the United States of America. On this final point, I will say that it is important for us to think about these things pragmatically because we lose our influence over the conduct of this war. The Saudi authorities and their military do not do a good job of respecting the rules of war. In fact, they have a military culture in Saudi Arabia where you are more likely to get punished for not taking the shot than for blowing up a bus full of children or hitting a residential project. [[Page S7540]] You are more likely to be punished for not taking the shot than for taking the shot that kills innocents. That has to change, and we have some level of influence now, given the fact that we are engaged with them, to sort of steer them in that direction and explain to them what troubles our alliance here in Washington. We lose that influence if we walk away. I do sympathize with the two points behind this resolution: reasserting congressional authority on foreign policy--I agree we need to have more oversight and engagement, and I agree that the conduct of this war in Yemen is horrifying and that what is happening to civilians there is terrible. I just don't think our pulling out makes it better. I actually think it makes it worse, and I actually think that in the long run, it sucks America into a much broader and more dangerous conflict. That is why I hope more Senators here today will oppose this resolution. We do need to send a clear message to Saudi Arabia that what the Crown Prince did to Mr. Khashoggi is unacceptable, but this is the wrong way to do the right thing. I yield the floor. Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I know I was supposed to speak next, but I know the distinguished Senator from Missouri has a unanimous consent request, so I yield to him. Mr. BLUNT. I thank the Senator from Vermont. ____________________