National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I was a senior in college at Georgetown University when I received a chance opportunity that literally changed my life. Paul Douglas, a great Senator from my home State of Illinois, hired me on as an intern in his office here in the U.S. Senate. I was just a kid from East Saint Louis, IL, the son of an immigrant mother, who was suddenly surrounded by Senators debating some of the most profound questions in our Nation's history.

I used to come to the Gallery of the Senate as a student and observe the proceedings of the Senate, never dreaming that there would be a day when I would actually stand on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I couldn't believe my good fortune as a visitor to watch people like Mike Mansfield, Everett Dirksen from my State, Paul Douglas from Illinois, William Fulbright, Margaret Chase Smith, and so many others come to the floor and speak in debate.

I remember sitting right there as a college student and watching. Through the door came Bobby Kennedy, and not far behind was his brother Ted Kennedy, both of them serving in the U.S. Senate in those days. It was an important occasion, I remember, on this one day because Bobby Kennedy was about to give a speech on Vietnam. His wife and Ted Kennedy's wife were seated in the Gallery just above them. I was just over here, I am sure with my mouth wide open, saying: I can't believe this moment that I am here to witness.

I remember the moment today because today is the 50th anniversary of the day an assassin's bullet ended Bobby Kennedy's too-short life.

For millions who remember him and many millions more who weren't even born in 1968, the death of Robert Kennedy remains a painful and haunting loss. What we miss is not simply the man; we miss his intelligence and wit, his compassion, his fierce commitment to justice and democracy, and his deep faith that Americans could come together to overcome difficult times and make our Nation stronger and better.

Just 2 months--2 months--before Bobby Kennedy was murdered, America lost another apostle of peace and justice. The evening that Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered, Bobby Kennedy was in Indianapolis, IN, to give a speech. Breaking the news of Dr. King's death to a stunned crowd, Bobby Kennedy begged his listeners to not resort to violence. He said:

We have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times. What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.

Listening to his words, one can hear echoes of President Lincoln's first inaugural address when he told a young nation on the knife's edge of civil war that ``we are not enemies, but friends'' and looked forward to a time when we would be guided by, in Lincoln's words, ``the better angels of our nature.''

Bobby Kennedy understood that America is great when we are guided by those better angels, not by fear.

As America's Attorney General in the early 1960s, Bobby Kennedy wrote a short book--only about 100 pages--entitled ``The Pursuit of Justice.'' It includes a short chapter entitled ``Extremism, Left and Right.'' I would like to read a short passage from it, the words of Robert Francis Kennedy--not as history but as hope and a reminder that we have the ability, each of us, to choose to overcome what divides us.

Here is what he wrote:

There have always and everywhere been those, throughout our history, and particularly in times of crisis, who have preached intolerance, who have sought to escape reality and responsibility with a slogan or a scapegoat.

Bobby Kennedy wrote:

What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents. The intolerant man . . . cannot trust democracy. . . . [H]e condemns the motives, the morals or the patriotism of all who disagree. . . . [H]e spreads selfish slogans and false fears.

The answers to these voices, Bobby Kennedy tells us, ``cannot come merely from government, no matter how conscientious or judicious. The answer must come from within American democracy. It must come from an informed national consensus which can recognize futile fervor and simple solutions for what they are, and reject them quickly. Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity.''

On this sad anniversary, the 50th anniversary of the death of Robert Kennedy, we would do well to listen to his words and heed the better angels of our nature here in the United States. It is our true source of American greatness. NATO

Mr. President, I rise today to bring attention to the troubling erosion of our strongest and most cherished transatlantic alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Over the years, I have visited some of our key NATO and European allies, including Lithuania and Poland, as well as those in the frontlines of Russian military invasions. What is the constant theme that is shared in these visits? It is the importance of our alliance, our friendship, our common purpose, the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The importance of democratic Western values and international norms and institutions are embodied in this alliance.

In 1948, a war-weary United States, Canada, and Europe decided to face the new threat from an expansionist Soviet Union. A year later, we banded together to create a collective shield against aggression so that governments could concentrate on achieving fuller, better existence for everyone. Ever since the creation of NATO, it has been essential to the national security of the United States and a vital component of the U.S.-led international order. NATO has made the world safer and more prosperous.

Underpinning the NATO treaty is a collective defense guarantee that essentially says the following: An armed attack against one of us is an attack against all of us.

There has only been one time in the history of NATO that this has been invoked. Do you know what it was? It was less than 24 hours after the terrorist attacks against the United States of America on September 11, 2001. When that happened, our allies and NATO immediately came to our defense. They fought beside us, stood beside us. They pledged to be there when we needed them. They have been there with our U.S. military forces in Afghanistan since 2001 to stop the spread of terrorism. Many of these NATO allies have paid the ultimate price, and many more have come home injured. They did it without question because it is in service to the collective defense guarantee of the NATO alliance.

The picture today is dramatically different. In the face of Russian aggression today, instead of fortifying our alliance and coming together in common cause, I am sorry to report that this Trump administration belittles the promise and commitment of NATO.

The President's lack of an appreciation for history, for this critical and stabilizing alliance, is alarming. In the process, this President has caused the world to lose faith in institutions and policies that have kept us safe for 70 years. In the process, the President has also shaken the confidence of our allies in our country, in our ability to lead, and in our ability to solve international problems in a meaningful and cooperative way with our friends and allies.

How has this administration achieved this? By repeatedly calling NATO obsolete during his political campaign; by failing to publicly commit to honor the collective defense guarantee at the first NATO summit; by threatening not to defend the Baltic NATO members--countries directly in Russia's crosshairs; and by thumbing his nose at our closest allies when he recklessly withdrew from the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal.

The United States of America is the only Nation in the world that is not a signatory to the Paris climate agreement. Every other nation on Earth acknowledges that we are facing environmental challenges that could destroy and damage the world that we leave to our children, but this President--this President--withdrew the United States from that agreement. And just days ago, he stepped away from the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement reached under the previous administration--which I know makes it unacceptable to this President--an agreement reached by China, Russia, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. To do what? To stop the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons. President Trump stepped away from that agreement. The world is not safer because of that decision.

To throw salt on the wound, the President is now in a trade war with some of these very same NATO allies, and he has threatened to levy sanctions against these same NATO allies if they do any business with Iran.

Defying all logic and American security interests, despite all of the things I have just said, the President looks the other way when it comes to Russia. Despite Russia's interference in our election--a conclusion reached by every intelligence agency in the United States-- despite repeated violations of international treaties and agreements; despite cyber attacks against the United States and Europe, especially the Baltics; despite the occupation of sovereign territory in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, President Trump has been virtually silent on Russia's aggression.

Tragically, this silence has not gone unnoticed by our closest international partners. The Pew Research Center did a poll that shows that our allies' trust in American leadership is plummeting. In 2017, only 11 percent of those who live in Germany had confidence in President Trump, and in Great Britain, only 22 percent. This is compared to 86 and 79 percent in those countries under President Obama.

Gallup also did a poll. After 2 years of this Presidency, approval of American leadership is at a new low of 30 percent, with the biggest drops in approval coming from those nations that have stood by us in alliance for seven decades.

The devastating message is clear: At a time when Russia is challenging NATO in new and more aggressive ways, our NATO allies are losing faith in America. Donald Tusk, the European Council President, went so far as to publicly say that the European Union is no longer under any illusions that the United States is a trustworthy friend.

I never expected the greatest military alliance in the world to be plagued by such uncertainty. I certainly didn't expect that uncertainty to arise as a result of our President.

Because I and many of my colleagues are so alarmed by this state of affairs, Senators Kaine, Cardin, Van Hollen, Feinstein, Brown, and Merkley have joined me to introduce a resolution to reaffirm our commitment to NATO, just in time for the NATO summit in July. I plead with my Republican colleagues to join us in making this a bipartisan commitment to the future of NATO. This resolution reaffirms what should be obvious and urges President Trump to do the same in committing to this transatlantic alliance and to stand resolute against Russian aggression.

We know hostile nations will seek to exploit the strained relationship between NATO and the United States, and we can't allow this to happen. If our President won't do it, then Congress must. We need to act to reassure that America can still be trusted to stand for the values that inspired the creation of NATO and to stand by our allies and friends who share our goal for a peaceful world.

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