political courage to do something that we knew we were buying trouble
because we knew that this can be such an emotional issue and so easy to
mislead people about what the facts are, that we knew that there would
be a political price to be paid in order to take on this challenge.
  But one of the things that I think, as we are talking about the harm
of a young person who is suffering from mental illness or with a
criminal record, a juvenile record of that--I am sure you are aware of
this, but I just happened to double-check. The Pew Poll says that 62
percent of the gun deaths in America are suicide.
  These are people--perhaps a disturbed young person--
  Mr. TILLIS. Purchased later.
  Mr. CORNYN.--suffering mental problems who got--who actually then
used that gun to kill themselves or harm themselves.
  Has that been your--
  Mr. TILLIS. That is exactly right.
  Mr. CORNYN.--your experience?
  Mr. TILLIS. You take a look at the--I spend a lot of time and focus
on behavioral health, Senator Cornyn, and the data is compelling.
  There is no question in my mind--just the sheer number here--there is
no question in my mind that we saved the life of somebody who is buying
a gun for that purpose. There is no doubt in my mind the numbers
stipulate that.
  Mr. CORNYN. And one of the things that I learned back, years ago,
when I had a protective detail and I was the whip, is my Capital Police
officer said there is this phenomenon, which I never fully appreciated
before. If you think about it, some of these mass shootings are
actually an act of suicide themselves because these shooters go into
these situations, knowing--or likely knowing--that they will never make
their way out of it. But they don't have the courage to take their own
life. They need to take other people down with them, and there is a
phenomenon called death by cop, where they know that by engaging a law
enforcement officer, that they ultimately will be killed of necessity
by the law enforcement officer to prevent causing more harm.
  But I want to ask just one last question. Are you aware, has anybody
contacted your office, or have you read anything in the press or seen
anything on broadcast media that would indicate that a single law-
abiding American has been denied access to their Second Amendment
rights because of this law?
  Mr. TILLIS. No, quite the contrary. That is why I am saying--look, I
love saying I told you so, and I believed that that was going to be the
case here.
  But, Senator Cornyn, let me just say it for anybody--for the 20
people watching on C-SPAN--and, hopefully, some will cover our
statements--I defy anybody--anyone--who opposed this bill, who scored
it, who threatened Members to vote against it, I defy them to come to
my office and find one example of what they were telling people to
oppose this bill that actually came to pass--one.

  Here it is: Public challenge. Guys, you who so--you were out there.
You were emailing. You were raising money. You were saying the world is
going to end, guns are going to be confiscated, that straw purchases
were going to destroy--you know, that we weren't going after
trafficking, that we were going after law-abiding officers, and their
licenses were going to be--all these things, all this noise.
  I will dedicate an hour to somebody who wants to come into my office
and prove to me that one--one--negative behavior by any State or local
government or Federal Government has occurred. This is what happened,
folks.
  But you want to come to my office, I will guarantee you, you refer to
this C-SPAN segment and you want to come to my office and prove that
something bad happened, I will take that. My guess is, I will get that
hour back, and that is what I mean.
  You know, at some point on these tough issues, we keep kicking the
can down the road because we let people off the hook for saying things
that are patently untrue and then not hold them to account a year or
two later. Well, I am here to tell you: I am here for the next 173 days
before I retire. Anybody who wants to come in and prove one bad outcome
from this bill, give me a call.
  And, Senator Cornyn, again, you and I are both--we are both here for
another 173 days. We got--and I say that not because I am counting the
days to leave, but I am counting the days that we have to make an
impact. And I hope I can continue to work with you on this and other
bills to even make it better.
  We are, unabashedly, unapologetically, pro-Second Amendment
Republicans. But we are smart about it, and we have the courage to step
up when we see a change can be made that will keep us true to those
values but also keep our communities safer. And I appreciate your
leadership on this.
  Mr. CORNYN. As I do yours.
  We yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.

                       Remembering Lindsey Graham

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I rise, as so many others have, to give
tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham.
  Lindsey was effective as a Senator, in large part, because he was so
well-liked by colleagues and because he liked them in return.
  He was affable, always willing to work with others, regardless of how
different backgrounds, beliefs, and positions were. He just focused on
getting things done and had the courage to take on issues that others
would not.
  We collaborated on something called Graham-Cassidy, a bill which
would have replaced Obamacare with coverage for everyone--literally
everyone--but at a lower cost than the Affordable Care Act. I always
chuckle when I say the Affordable Care Act.
  And we were a good team because we complemented each other. I was a
doctor, always thinking about healthcare. He was the politician's
politician.
  He told me: Bill, you are good at policy, but you are a terrible
politician.
  And I would say that many people knew exactly what he was talking
about. At one point, I was talking to him about healthcare. He said:
Oh, Bill, don't talk to me about policy. It gives me headaches. But he
said he would fight to get it passed. We came up short but not because
he did not and I did not fight.
  Once he said: I am going to go on ``FOX Morning.'' If I go on ``FOX
Morning,'' I know the President is watching. And if the President is
watching the ``FOX Morning'' show and I say we should be fighting to
replace Obamacare, it will get the President engaged.
  He just knew how to find that audience that was important. He knew
how to speak to them. He had a great sense of humor, and, again, he
knew how to get things done.
  Ultimately, that is why somebody comes to Washington. Some people
come to Washington to be a Senator. Others come to Washington to do
something as a Senator. Lindsey was someone who came to Washington to
do something as a Senator.
  I speak for myself, but I echo what colleagues have said. Lindsey
Graham shall be missed.

                               Healthcare

  Mr. President, we have got to do something about healthcare. Now, I
am a physician. You might think I--of course, Bill cares about it. I
can tell you who cares about it is the American people.
  I was with an Uber driver last night: What do you think--you know, if
you were the President, Uber driver, what would you be talking about
right now?
  She said: I can't afford things. I can't afford my gas. I can't
afford my groceries, my housing. I can't afford my healthcare.
  Now, that has been echoed.
  And, in fact, what we are seeing is that the inability to afford
healthcare is impacting the ability of small businesses to provide
health insurance for their employees. The employer-based health
insurance system is the most dominant form of providing health
insurance for those less than 65, and it is crumbling. The percentage
of working-age adults getting health coverage from a job has decreased
from 67 percent--oh, about 25 years ago--to about 60 percent now. And
the reason why is that premiums are going up so much, particularly for
those 62 percent of Americans who get their insurance from a small
business.
  There is a recent article in STAT which, based upon Federal
Government information, if you look at inflation since about 1985,
premiums should have