STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, as the Trump shutdown drags on, more and more Americans are getting hurt. Public servants have been working without pay, critical Agencies are unable to perform the functions they are supposed to perform for the American people--whether that is inspecting food supply, protecting our airports and prisons, or helping farmers and small businesses get loans. We are now approaching tax season with the IRS under severe limitations.

When will the President's ridiculous manufactured crisis come to an end?

I have three words for President Trump, Leader McConnell, and our Republican Senators: Open the government.

We can debate border security. We have debated it for a month and a half. We haven't come to a conclusion. Open the government, and we can debate border security while the government is open.

Now, for weeks, as I said, we have been at a standstill. We have offered the President several ways to uncouple his demand for a border wall from a government shutdown. The President has been obstinate, insisting on a $5.7 billion wall he promised that Mexico would pay for.

The few times that his deputies--the Vice President and the Chief of Staff--have made proposals to Democrats, the President contradicted them soon thereafter. Just yesterday, the President flatly refused to consider a proposal from his close ally in the Senate, Senator Graham, to open the government temporarily while we debate border security.

Sadly, neither Republicans in Congress nor the President's own staff seem willing to tell him what everyone else already knows: The President does not have the votes in either House of Congress for his expensive, ineffective wall.

The reason we have been unable to make any progress is that President Trump is not yet interested in making progress.

So there is only one person who can help America break through this gridlock: Leader Mitch McConnell. For the past month, Leader McConnell has been content to hide behind the President, essentially giving him a veto over what comes to the floor of the Senate. It has put him in the ridiculous position of refusing to consider legislation to reopen the government that nearly every Senate Republican has voted for-- legislation that leader McConnell has proudly voted for; legislation that the American people favor by a 2-to-1 margin, including nearly 40 percent of Republicans.

The American people suffering the dire consequences of this shutdown can no longer afford to wait for the President to come around. The President must be shown the will of the Congress, and I believe that if Leader McConnell were to put the House-passed bills on the floor, they would receive a significant majority in the Senate, a veto-proof majority.

So I would appeal to Leader McConnell: Do what is right for the country. Do what is right for hundreds of thousands of Federal employees laboring without pay. Do what is right for our farmers and small businesses, homeowners, and taxpayers. Do what is right for America.

President Trump may not care about the harm he is doing to all of these people, but our Republican Senators, including Leader McConnell, should.

A few years ago, Leader McConnell remarked: Remember me? I am the guy that gets us out of shutdowns.

Well, Leader McConnell, now is the time. Leader McConnell, allow a vote on legislation and reopen the government.

In a short time, a few of my Democratic colleagues will ask the Senate for that chance. Will Leader McConnell help us reopen the government? Will some of our Republican Senators actually join us, not in nice words but in actually voting to reopen the government? Or will Leader McConnell block it yet again, aiding and abetting President Trump's desire to extend his government shutdown?

One final point here, President Trump thinks if he holds out long enough, he will win the fight with the American people. Every day he is losing. The Gallup poll today had him at a near-record low of 37 percent popularity. Even some of his base is losing face.

President Trump, you are not going to win this fight with the American people. Every day it drags on, you are less popular. Every day it drags on, people blame you and the Republicans, not the Democrats. You are not winning the fight. You may be in your own untruth bubble, but you are not winning the fight. Everyone knows that. We certainly do.

Nomination of William Barr

Madam President, on another matter, as we speak, the Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting its hearing on the nomination of William Barr to be the next Attorney General of the United States. It is an august position that demands the highest degree of credibility, transparency, and fidelity to rule of law, even during a normal Presidency.

But given President Trump's actions, his disdain for rule of law, his derision of the rulings of an independent judiciary, his public contempt for law enforcement procedures of the Justice Department, the burden of proof for William Barr is higher than it would be for other Presidents.

This is not a normal Presidency. We don't need an Attorney General who will just comply with this President. That is a danger to the Republic.

The Senate should expect unequivocal and explicit commitments from Mr. Barr to resist President Trump. Mr. Barr cannot merely give perfunctory, boilerplate assurances. Saying ``I am for transparency'' is not good enough.

Will he release Mueller's report--yes or no? If he can't answer ``yes,'' he doesn't deserve the position. Will he not interfere in any way with Mueller's investigation as opposed to saying he likes Mueller and thinks he is doing a good job? If Mr. Barr can't say ``yes,'' that he will not interfere in any way with the Mueller investigation, he doesn't deserve the job, particularly in light of his writings.

We should expect unequivocal commitments from Barr to defend the integrity of the FBI and our Federal law enforcement officers, not vague statements that give him plenty of wiggle room to do President Trump's dirty work if he gets to be Attorney General, and we should expect an unequivocal commitment from Mr. Barr to allow the special investigation to proceed and conclude without any--underline ``any''-- interference.

One last point, the expectations for Mr. Barr are even more demanding given the recent revelation that he wrote a detailed, unsolicited memo to the Justice Department criticizing the Mueller investigation, despite having no knowledge of its workings. The memo revealed that Barr holds an astonishingly broad--almost imperial--view of executive power. That should also be a serious line of inquiry for our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee.

The next Attorney General will take charge of a Justice Department that has been embroiled in near-constant chaos for 2 years at a critical moment for our democracy. The Senate should only approve an Attorney General of unimpeachable integrity and unimpeachable fidelity to the rule of law, with the strength and conviction to resist the worst impulses of this President, who, probably, when it comes to the Justice Department, has the worst impulses of any President we have ever had. Russian Sanctions

Madam President, finally, on Russia sanctions, later this afternoon the Senate will move to consider a motion to proceed to a resolution of disapproval on the Treasury Department's proposal to relax sanctions on three companies owned and controlled by sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The case against the Treasury Department's proposal is strong. It fails to sufficiently limit Deripaska's stake in the three companies. It merely reduces his ownership to 45 percent. Many U.S. companies are heavily influenced by an owner who controls much less than a 45-percent share. Why didn't they reduce it to 10 or 15? But they didn't.

Treasury's plan also allows for Russian shareholders with family and business ties to Deripaska to retain shareholder interest. Considering that Deripaska's ex-wife and father-in-law control 7 percent of the company, add that to the 45, and he has total control. So Treasury does not come close to going far enough.

Beyond the weak terms of the deal, the Senate must consider that Deripaska has deep ties to President Putin and his intelligence apparatus, organized crime, and Mr. Paul Manafort, a subject of the special counsel's investigation.

It is deeply suspect that the Trump administration would propose sanctions relief for Deripaska's companies before the special counsel finished his work. We should not allow any sanction relief for President Putin's trusted agents or the companies they control before the conclusion of the investigation.

Finally--and maybe most seriously of all--there is a foreign policy issue here at stake. President Putin's government, one of Russia's largest banks, and the Russian economy have a direct interest in sanction relief for Deripaska's companies. Why is the Trump administration proposing sanctions relief when President Putin has not yet made any move to curtail or constrain his maligned activities around the globe?

Now, this morning, my friend from Kentucky called this a political stunt and a farce. That is appalling. After all Putin has done, this is a stunt and a farce? And why are we doing it now?

He said: Why are Democrats doing it?

Because the underlying law that allows for this resolution has a 30- day alarm clock on it. The alarm clock goes off Thursday. Democrats are not forcing this vote; the law is.

I would say to the leader, Democrats were not the ones who decided to relax sanctions on Putin's cronies just before the Christmas holiday, hoping no one would notice. That was the Trump administration. If Leader McConnell wants to know why we are voting on Russian sanctions this afternoon, he should go talk to the White House.

So allow me to appeal directly to my Republican colleagues. Whatever your view on this issue, there are enough questions--enough questions-- that we should vote for the motion to proceed so that you can hear the debate. It is an important debate. Putin is laughing with the damage he is doing to America. We cannot go along.

In the past, one of the finer moments of this Senate, which Leader McConnell talks about all the time, was when we joined in a bipartisan way to impose sanctions on Russia. Well, we should not relax that view. We should not relax that vigilance. The details here are complex. The Senate and the American people ought to have a real understanding of the facts before voting. If that debate is allowed to proceed, I believe my Senate colleagues will see the wisdom of keeping the current sanctions in place.

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