Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we are in the midst of quite a productive week in the Senate. Yesterday, this body did its part in fulfilling an important promise to our Nation's veterans. We passed the VA MISSION Act by a wide, bipartisan margin.

Having already passed the House, this truly landmark bill will now head to the White House where the President will soon sign it into law.

It will bring more options and greater flexibility to veterans who have spent years driving long distances to the nearest VA care facility, only to face long lines and waiting lists when they got there.

It will bring more peace of mind for veterans of all eras and their families who have faced uncertainty and limitations as their needs for care have evolved.

This legislation continues, expands, and improves the successful Veterans Choice Program that has already helped millions of veterans nationwide, including more than 23,000 Kentuckians last year alone.

Thanks to the stalwart leadership of Chairman Isakson and the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the hard-and-fast time and distance thresholds that kept too many veterans out of the Choice Program will soon be gone.

The providers we trust to provide top-notch care for our heroes will have clearer guidelines for prescribing opioids and more tools to attract and retain experienced professionals.

I have heard from Kentucky veterans exactly what this bill will mean to them. One wrote: ``Kentucky disabled veterans greatly appreciate Congress is finally taking action to correct deficiencies in the Caregiver Program.''

Another explained that the legislation ``strikes the right balance to make sure we strengthen the VA system and provide veterans with the best care possible.''

I thank my friend Chairman Isakson once more on this achievement. I am proud the Senate stepped up to the plate and showed America's veterans that, on our watch, a promise made is a promise kept.

What is more, we have already confirmed two executive branch nominees and will process two more before the end of the week. First up is Jelena McWilliams, President Trump's well- qualified pick to chair the FDIC Board of Directors.

This week, we have also seen an impressive proposal to reform the way Congress handles workplace claims, especially claims of harassment. The Democratic leader and I strongly support this proposal, as do our colleagues Senator Blunt and Senator Klobuchar.

All this comes in addition to two major Senate-passed bills that passed the House this week and are now heading to the President's desk to become law: the legislation championed by our colleague Senator Johnson, which will give terminally ill patients the right to try experimental drugs that are still making their way through the full FDA approval process, and the mainstreaming of Dodd-Frank regulations for small lenders and community banks, thanks to the leadership of Senator Crapo. This legislation will help secure access to credit for middle- class families and small businesses, and the President will sign it just a few hours from now.

There is also important activity underway at the committee level. Chairman Barrasso is leading the Environment and Public Works Committee through consideration of measures to improve and expand America's waterways infrastructure. Chairman Shelby and the Appropriations Committee today have already begun their work on the annual funding bills. Following the committee's robust discussions, I look forward to bringing the appropriations bills they craft to the Senate floor. Earlier this week, the Armed Services Committee began considering this year's Defense authorization bill. They have a solid foundation on which to build, thanks to the historic agreement reached earlier this year that delivered the highest year-on-year increase in funding for our Armed Forces in 15 years.

One bill after another, one confirmation after another, the Senate continues to produce major accomplishments that will directly improve the lives of the American people. Tax Reform

Mr. President, on that subject, yesterday brought yet another piece of exciting news for American workers and middle-class families. The U.S. manufacturer United Technologies announced new plans to invest $15 billion right here in America and hire 35,000 American workers in the next several years.

This Fortune 100 company makes a wide variety of engineered products, from jet engines to elevators. Now, because of this favorable climate for business growth, investment, and job creation, they are putting billions into research and development and capital investment and creating tens of thousands of new job openings.

To fill some of these job openings, the company is partnering with community colleges, high schools, and other workforce training programs. This all comes on the heels of the company's other recent investments, like the new 93,000-square-foot facility in Lansing, MI, and a new 80,000-square-foot facility in Foley, AL.

What is making all this possible? According to United Technologies' announcement, ``The competitive tax system resulting from U.S. tax reform is encouraging global companies, such as United Technologies, to make long-term investments in innovation in America.''

This announcement is exactly the kind of headline you would expect to see in an America that is growing again. It is exactly what you would expect to happen as Republican policies continue to get Washington, DC, out of the way of American workers and job creators, and let them do what they do best--build an economy that is the envy of the rest of the world.

Yesterday's announcement was no isolated incident. We are hearing announcements like this from job creators, large and small, from national employers to Main Street businesses in my State of Kentucky and all across the country.

Back in 2013, under the Democrats' policy agenda, more than two- thirds of U.S. manufacturers reported that a hostile business climate due to taxes and regulation was a primary obstacle in their way. That was in 2013.

Today, just 16 months into this unified Republican government, fewer than one in five say that. This comeback for American manufacturing means new job openings for American workers, more prosperity for our small towns and cities, and higher take-home pay for middle-class American families.

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