Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, first, I was saddened by today's news that our former colleague, the Senator from North Carolina, Kay Hagan, had passed away. During her time representing the people of North Carolina, Kay was exactly that--a gentle lady. She paired an earnest commitment to public service with a friendly and collegial approach. I know Members of both sides of the aisle will fondly remember serving alongside her in the Senate, and her perseverance in the face of serious illness these recent years was inspiring.

Today the prayers of this entire body are with Kay's husband, Chip; their children, Jeanette, Tilden, and Carrie; and with all of their family and friends at this extremely difficult time. Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Mr. President, on a completely different matter, on Sunday morning, we woke up to a better and safer world because one monster was no longer in it. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the founder and leader of ISIS. In recent years, that made him the single most important target in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism.

His band of fanatics has committed heinous crimes, shed an unimaginable amount of civilian blood, and destabilized an entire region. ISIS has been party to a civil war in Syria that has claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. They have run slave auctions of women and girls and effected a genocide of the Yazidi people.

Across a swath of Syria and Iraq, ISIS established a so-called caliphate, imprisoned entire communities, slaughtered vulnerable minority populations, destroyed priceless cultural relics, and imposed their will through brute force on anyone they deemed insufficiently pious. Across the globe, their message of hate has spurred further acts of violence--in Europe, in Africa, and even here on American soil.

So Americans applauded President Trump's announcement yesterday morning that a heroic mission had eliminated the chief instigator of all this violence. We owe a debt of thanks to the men and women of our intelligence community for taking grave risks, cultivating key partnerships in the region, and laying the groundwork for a swift and precise operation.

Of course, we are hugely grateful to the U.S. military personnel who executed the strike. Our Nation calls upon elite Special Operations units to take on missions of the utmost sensitivity. Their bravery and professionalism continue to make us all proud.

My fellow Kentuckians and I are especially proud of Lt. Gen. Scott Howell, a Cadiz, KY native, is currently leading the Joint Special Operations Command and oversaw this daring mission.

Lieutenant General Howell is a career Air Force pilot who has spent his career deploying with and commanding Special Operations forces. Our Nation is lucky to have this son of the Bluegrass serving where he is.

I commend President Trump, Secretary Esper, and the entire administration team for making the tough call to act on our intelligence and send U.S. Forces into the breach. That decision is never easy, but it was the right one. It was a total operational success.

This victory offers us an important strategic reminder about the value of our Nation's investment in advanced military capabilities, American military presence abroad, and deep relationships with foreign allies and local security partners. Without such factors, operations such as this become much more risky.

The name of this terrorist is now headed straight for the trash bin of history. There are other names I would like for us to remember today instead:

Peter Kassig, born and raised in Indianapolis, a former Army Ranger turned humanitarian worker in the Middle East. ISIS beheaded him in 2014. He was 26 years old.

Steven Sotloff, a grandson of Holocaust survivors born in Florida and a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel. He was a journalist who worked with refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. He was kidnapped by ISIS and beheaded in 2014.

James Foley grew up in New Hampshire. He spent 4 years as an embedded correspondent in Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria before his capture by ISIS. After 2 years of captivity and torture, he, too, was beheaded in 2014.

Kayla Mueller from Arizona, whom ISIS kidnapped in Aleppo in 2013. Kayla's Christian faith had led her to humanitarian work. She was brutalized by ISIS leaders and then killed in 2015, at the age of 26. This weekend's operation was code-named in Kayla's honor.

Today we remember these brave Americans and all the courageous U.S. servicemembers and DOD civilians who gave their lives to fight ISIS. In their memories, we are glad justice has been done. In their memories, we resolve not to back down but to persist in this fight until we have secured the enduring defeat of this dangerous and determined enemy. Trump Administration

Mr. President, on another matter, on Thursday, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and I introduced a resolution, which quickly gained dozens of Republican cosponsors. Our resolution states two things, which are very obvious. No. 1, any process as serious as an impeachment inquiry, which seeks to cancel out the American people's vote in a Presidential election, must adhere to the highest standards of fairness and due process, and, No. 2, what we have seen on display from House Democrats has been anything but that.

Here is the way House Democrats have conducted their inquiry so far. Committees at the center of the inquiry have denied President Trump important rights and protections that President Nixon and President Clinton enjoyed. They have impeded his right to have counsel attend hearings and depositions, call and cross-examine witnesses, and even access the evidence they are producing.

Democrats are also flouting past practices that gave minority parties basic procedural rights during past impeachments. House Republicans have not been granted subpoena power, and their participation in closed-door proceedings has been severely limited.

It is no secret that Washington Democrats have been looking for a way to remove President Trump since his inauguration, but that does not remove the basic requirements of fairness and due process.

That is what our resolution makes clear. I am proud to sponsor it, along with Chairman Graham. Appropriations

Mr. President, on a related matter, Washington Democrats have been insisting that their 3-year-old impeachment journey will not keep them from attending to the people's business. Well, we will have an opportunity to find out later this week when the Senate votes on advancing funding for our Armed Forces.

You will recall that last month, our Democratic colleagues made the stunning decision to filibuster legislation to fund our national defense. They blocked resources for our men and women in uniform. They blocked the funding our commanders need to keep us safe in this dangerous time. And that wasn't enough. They blocked a pay raise for the men and women in uniform. Democrats filibustered all of this for the sake of picking a fight with the White House. Think about that. Can our colleagues be so ruled by partisan politics that they would rather leave the U.S. military in limbo than get along with President Trump for 2 minutes--for 2 minutes?

Obviously this cannot continue. Our commanders need funding. Our men and women in military need support. Congress needs to do its job. So later this week, the Senate is going to vote again, one more time, to advance defense funding. We will complete the domestic appropriations we are currently considering, including voting on certain amendments, and then we will turn back to defense. This will present a crystal- clear test: Do our Democratic colleagues mean it when they say they want to legislate or not--there is no more important legislation than this--or is their impeachment obsession crowding out critical priorities?

Imagine the spectacle if the same Senate Democrats who give lengthy speeches criticizing the administration's actions in Syria and the Middle East literally block the funding our commanders need to keep up the missions. Imagine the embarrassment if Senate Democrats filibuster funding for our men and women in uniform just days after this past weekend's heroics, just days after the whole country was reminded that our brave servicemembers risk everything every day, and their missions do not wait for Washington politics. Imagine the supreme irony if the same Democrats who want to impeach the President for supposedly delaying military assistance for Ukraine literally themselves delay military assistance for Ukraine by blocking the funding legislation.

I urge my friends across the aisle to do the right thing. The whole country knows that Washington Democrats are not members of President Trump's fan club. We get that. We understand that. But there is no reason why money to fight ISIS, money to pay and supply our servicemembers, and, yes, money for military assistance for Ukraine ought to be used as Democrats' political pawns.

Enough is enough. We need to move forward with the Defense funding bill this week.

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Mr. McCONNELL. 948.
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