Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know the entire Senate joins me today in offering deep sympathies to the communities affected by yesterday's spate of tornadoes in east Alabama and Georgia. As first responders continue to search for survivors in the rubble, we know that at least 23 innocent lives were lost to this disaster all in Lee County, AL. Our condolences are especially with their loved ones, and our gratitude is with the emergency personnel and local officials who spearheaded evacuation and rescue efforts.

The people of Alabama are all too familiar with the pain caused by devastating storms like yesterday's. The entire region has been hit hard in recent years, seemingly by one disaster after another. They continue to brace against the threat of tornadoes and the flooding that so often impacts communities in my State of Kentucky.

At every step of the way--from response and recovery to resilient achievement--Alabama has benefitted from the devoted leadership of Senator Richard Shelby. On the specific issue of disaster recovery, his hard work and steady hand have helped to lead the charge. When supplemental funding for natural disaster relief receives floor time here in the Senate, it will be thanks to the hard work of our colleagues like Senator Perdue, Senator Isakson, and others, and, certainly, Chairman Shelby.

Of course, this is far from the only area in which Richard Shelby has delivered results for his State and for our Nation. For years, he has made a personal mission out of restoring and improving our Nation's infrastructure. He has brought wise and decisive leadership as our chief appropriator, and the State of Alabama bears countless signs of Senator Shelby's dedicated service--from supporting the missile defense and space exploration programs in Huntsville to helping to establish the National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, where researchers forecast floods and work to mitigate water-related hazards.

It is fitting today to praise Senator Shelby's continued service. It also happened that, over the weekend, the senior Senator from Alabama became the longest serving senator in the history of his State. I couldn't be happier to recognize my friend Richard Shelby on this occasion, and I know each of our colleagues will join me in congratulating him on the years of faithful service to Alabamians that have made this recognition possible. Nominations

Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, this week the Senate is considering the nominations of three more well-qualified jurists to vacancies on our Nation's Federal courts.

First is Allison Jones Rushing, of North Carolina, to serve on the Fourth Circuit. Ms. Rushing is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Duke University School of Law with high honors. In the years since, she has built a distinguished record in private practice and has held prestigious appellate clerkships on two Federal circuit courts and the U.S. Supreme Court.

I will have more to say on the state of our nominations process soon, but I hope each of our colleagues will begin the week by joining me in voting to advance Ms. Rushing's nomination later today.

The Green New Deal

Mr. President, on one final matter, like many Americans, I have spent the past several weeks watching with interest as prominent leaders in the Democratic Party have engaged in a political footrace. They are sprinting--literally, sprinting--as far left as possible, as quickly as possible, trying to outdo one another. The result is that one of our two major political parties has begun embracing one radical, half-baked socialist proposal after another. It is really a sight to see.

First came the Democratic Politician Protection Act, a sweeping Washington, DC, takeover of what Americans can say about politics and how they elect their representatives. Speaker Pelosi and her House colleagues were ready with that from day one in this new Congress. They chose it as their No. 1 ceremonial first bill of the year, H.R. 1. Let me say that this is quite a piece of legislation to hold up as the defining product--bear in mind, the defining product--of a new Democratic House majority.

House Democrats are championing an unprecedented takeover of our Nation's electoral system--one that would overhaul campaign rules and make it harder for private citizens to exercise their right to political speech.

It would replace private money in political campaigns with your tax dollars. Let me say that again. They take your private money contributed to a candidate of your choice out of the political process and replace that with your tax dollars--up to $5 million to any candidate that wants it--even, by the way, if it happens to be a candidate you disagree with. They are going to take your tax money and give it to candidates you don't agree with and swing the partisan balance of the Federal Election Commission, which has the final say in election regulations.

Oh, and it all comes under the guise of--you guessed it--this is about restoring democracy. Now, of course, this sprawling 622-page doorstop is never going to become law. I certainly don't plan to even bring it to the floor here in the Senate. There are always improvements and reforms to be made, but this certainly isn't it.

It does give us a useful signal of our Democratic colleagues' real goals--what they really want to do. Democrats look out over the landscape of America today, and everywhere they look, they see opportunity to seize money and power from American families and communities and pile it up in their own hands--you guessed it--right here in Washington. Taxing more, spending more, and Washington's seizing more power away from the people--that is the Democrat's hammer of choice. In every part of American life, they see a nail. In every part of American life, they see a nail.

Just look at the Green New Deal. From what we understand, the American people can expect a government-mandated overhaul of every four-walled structure in America--a government-mandated overhaul of every four-walled structure in America--and, if that were not enough, an end to American fossil fuel and energy production from nuclear powerplants--of course, along with all the jobs that make both of those possible.

According to background documents, there are plans for a government- guaranteed income. Listen to this: a government-guaranteed income for those unwilling to work, all at the low price of an estimated--listen to this--$93 trillion.

Of course, next came the massive one-size-fits-all government-run healthcare proposal--``Medicare for none.'' It strips everything from our seniors' Medicare Program but the name. It slaps that name on a new government-run plan, and they are so confident Americans will love their Democratic-designed insurance that they feel the need to outlaw competing private insurance altogether, just to make sure there is no competition.

Democrats want to strip existing health plans away from middle-class families, even if they are happy with their current coverage, and, inevitably, hike taxes on those very families to pay for it.

As I have said, none of these things Democrats have pulled off their far-left wish list have a chance of becoming law in 2019. A lot of it almost sounds like standup comedy, but the underlying philosophy that all of this represents is no laughing matter whatsoever.

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Mr. McCONNELL. on Tuesday, March 5; further, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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