Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240711

Flags were on the Capitol Building and at the white house are being flown at half staff in members of pearl harbor. Now live coverage of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. The senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Great redeemer, guide our lawmakers along the best path to fulfill your purposes on earth. May they submit to your wisdom and providential leading, believing that you will supply all of their needs. Remind them that your unfailing love accompanies those who put their trust in you. Give our senators an attitude of reverential awe that will keep them from evil. Inspire them to rejoice and be glad, as they strive to live lives of purity and obedience. And lord, as we remember pearl harbor on this december 7th, thank you for your loving and prevailing providence. May we show our gratitude by facing the future without fear. We pray in your majestic name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Grassley mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley one minute for morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley i want to visit with my colleagues about something that hasnt happened in iowa for over 100 years. Over the weekend the Iowa State Football Team completed their regular season play. The cyclones are having a noteworthy season. They secured the first place rank in the big 12 conference regular season after winning five consecutive Conference Games and eight overall conference wins this season. The good news doesnt stop there for the iowa state football program. The cyclones finished first place in the league play for the First Time Since 1912, when they won the Missouri Valley conference. This has earned the cyclones their welldeserved spot in the big 12 title game on december 19. The first ever big 12 championship appearance in iowa state universitys history. I want to applaud the cyclones for their historic season. So many fans, including me, will be rooting them on for the big 12 championship game. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Leahy mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , i ask consent the equal of the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, Steven Sidney swaforts, of virginia, to be a judge for the court of federal claims. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , speaking both as the senator from vermont and as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee, and speaking with a concern about whats happening in the senate. Its been 321 days since the first covid19 case was reported in the United States. 321 days. Its been 282 days since the first covid19 death was reported in the United States. The bureau of labor and statistics reports that the Unemployment Rate in november was 6. 7 , nearly double the rate in november of last year. Hundreds of thousands of smawshes across the country have Small Businesses across the country have closed permanently all due to covid. As of today, there are more than 14,000,00800,000 reported cases of covid19 in the United States. To put that in perspective, thats one million more than just a week ago. More than 282,000 americans have died. And its been 256 days since the Senate Passed the cares act. 256 days since the senate acted in a comprehensive, meaningful way to address the real and mounting concerns and needs of our constituents. My state of vermont is like everywhere else, health care workers, caregivers, Business Owners, employees, teachers, and students all in need of support in these difficult and uncertain times. We have families wrestling with heightened food insecurity. People for the first time in their life they cant feed their children, they cant feed themselves. They have the threat of eviction hanging over them. We have states that are strapped by budget shortfalls that are forced to lay off thousands of employees, people who worked so hard for the people of their state. Its been 205 days since the house first passed the heroes act and its been 65 days since they stepped forward to offer a substantial compromise on the heroes act and pass it again. And where does it sit . It sits on my friend, the Republican Leaders desk. It is the largest single bill in the mcconnell legislative graveyard. Why arent we voting . Look what happens. We cant bring ourselves to vote on something to help americans, help the people of our own state. They are being thrown out of their houses. And we come in for a few days and get on an airplane, fly back home, taxpayers paying for it. Taxpayers paying our our salaries and all and nothing happens. Now, like millions of americans, im encouraged by the news in recent weeks that pharmaceutical companies are making significant progress in vaccine development. Im encouraged some of these vaccines may be available as early as later this month. But lets not forget why we were able to develop vaccines so quickly. Its because of longstanding federal investment and cuttingedge research at the National Institutes of health. Research that has been backed by so many of us of both parties for years in this body. N. I. H. Funded reserve in genetic and genomic sequencing and enabled the research for the covid19 that led to the vaccine. This is the power of federal dollars when its targeted to solve a national a national problem. We need more of that today. The development of several promised vaccines is great news, but if you dont have a comprehensive plan in place and the resources to implement it, how can we ensure that the vaccination is safe, effective, widely available and free . Can anybody stand up and say, every part of their state will have vaccination . No. The mo scenario not there yet the money is not there yet. Its a complete abdication of our responsibility as elected representatives that we simply fail to being a. Now, i know that my friends across the aisle will probably rush to the floor and will blame democrats for stalling their inadequate facesaving proposal that they went through the motion to bring before the elections. Remember what it was. It was a giveaway to Insurance Companies and didnt even have the courage to allow amendments where people would actually have to vote up or down. It was easier to make a facesaving gesture knowing it wouldnt go anywhere. Sure, it made some investment in Small Businesses. It provided some employment relief. Albeit a significantly reduced level. But it also tied educational relief to forcing kids back into the classroom, even if it is in an area where it wasnt safe to accommodate those children. It failed to deliver relief to safe and local governments to state and local governments which are struggling to provide essential services to their countries, as our government is in vermont. It included nothing for lowincome energy assistance, liheap. It was knowing in our state it was snowing in our state and other northern states in weekend. Can you imagine whats going on, no funding for Mental Health services . Theres no funding for nutrition assistance. There wasnt a dime for n. I. H. Research. And it didnt have a plan, a vigorous plan or investment in vaccination production and distribution. Its one thing to say, oh, we have those supercold things on an airplane. Wonderful. When are you going to be able to bring it to our factories, our schools, our hospitals, our Senior Citizens and actually vaccinate them . So what was the legislation so when was the legislation brought up here . It created a shield for corporate misconduct. And my friends, the republicans, are more keen to shield corporate cronies. Thats a sham. Its a shame. Especially when you find that at least one of those corporations, they want a shield, they were betting on who would get covid first, the managers were. Now, in my home state of vermont, our governor, our state legislature, our mayors, our town leaders across the state have taken bold moves to slow the spread of covid. Our governor is a republican. Im a democrat. I praise him for what he did. I talked with him again today for the steps hes taken, difficult steps, hard steps, but steps to keep vermonters safe. And these moves taken in my state of vermont, they resulted in lower instances of the virus than anywhere else in the country. But as the governor said and ive said is and everybody else sated, theyve come with a cost. Weve kept people safe but not without a cost. Unemployment remains, Small Businesses continue to struggle, even theyre even able to stay in existence. And that says nothing of the personal hardship families are facing across our small state. One elderly woman called my office. She expressed frustration with the president. She told my staff that shes only been able to visit her husband, who is in a medical rehab facility, a couple times during this pandemic due to covid restrictions. Now, thats not an anecdote. Thats a personal tragedy. Inempt have, the state and in vermont, the state and local governments are worried about how to clear the roads this winter if covid hits the plow crews. Snow removal is a necessity. We sometimes have seven, eight, nine, ten inches of snow overnight but we expect our businesses and schools to open that day. I dont know how many times at home on a snowy night i am a. Awakened at 4 30 in the night hearing the snowplows going down the road. And weve had nearly a foot of snow. My staff spoke with one vermont mother, not unusual. Shes raising a son with autism. With School Systems strained to their limits, special Education Services have been sharply reduced. Thats going to have a Lasting Impact on these students, both educationally and socially. For those who are facing challenges like addiction, depression, or Mental Health issues and that can be any one of our states who were simply down on their luck before covid earlier in year access to vital resorrieses, counseling, intervention has been made more complicated by covid restrictions, obvious with tragic often with tragic results. I heard of one vermonter who passed away alone in a motel room in rutland in october. Battling Mental Health issues, he had become homeless just as covid struck earlier this year. And due to the risks of the virus, family and friends were unable to take him into their homes. This isnt just a story. Its a mans life. And there are so many more people out there facing the same struggles. Were seeing images of were seeing images of car lines stretching for miles. In our state, my state alone, one in every four vermonters now foodinsecure. Before this pandemic, it was already an unacceptable one in ten. Were asking children to learn how to provide the necessary resources their teachers and families to pay rent without their job and people dealing with their chronic illnesses while our hospitals are still stretched to capacity. All this while an unacceptable amount of people are unsure how thisll put food on the table. At the end of the week in the wealthiest nation on earth, thats unconscionable. The leadership across the aisle, theyve got to bring up these bills. Stop stalling. You know, they say we only need a targeted approach and they point to the stock market as proof. These people are out of their jobs. These people who cant feed their children arent looking at the stock market. These people whose rent has come due and they cant pay it, to them thats nonsense. The economy is not going to recover until we vanquish the virus. Its that simple. And people are suffering now. Thats the cost of inaction. Inaction on real comprehensive, bold covid relief legislation. And so now, with our backs against the wall, with a funding deadline looming, were racing to accomplish what should have been done months ago annual Appropriations Bills to keep our government running. We were ready on this side. Aisle to vote on those back in june. I have a couple of amendment have a couple of amendments up or down. Republicans are in the majority. If they didnt like a democratic amendment, they could vote it down. We could have done it back then. Now the deadline is this week, months later. We have to pass these bills before Congress Adjourns this year so theres no disruption in our Government Services during this difficult time in our country. Itll only exacerbate the growing problems facing Many Americans today. But our annual Appropriations Bills are now substitute for the significant investment we need to confront this national and international emergency. We need a comprehensive covid relief bill. Its time to take to get serious. Instead of flying off every weekend, stay here, vote these things up or down. Bring up amendments on both side of the aisle. Have time agreements on amendments and vote them up or down because time is wasting. How many hours have we spent racing to confirm nomination after nomination at the expense of Everything Else, including dealing with the emergency of this pandemic while covid cases soar and more and more people succumb to the virus. How many more time will the senate waste while American Communities and families suffer . It is time for us to do our job. We are elected for sixyear terms. Lets stay here for six days during the week if need be. Lets get it done. The American People are suffering enough. We shouldnt be adding to that strain by playing politics with these essential priorities. Madam president , im hearing from vermonters every day worried about unemployment benefits, their childrens education, their health, or that of their loved ones, about food security, about keeping their homes and paying their bills. The senate, when its been at its best, has been the conscience of the nation. Its long past time that we started acting like the conscience of the nation. 256 days since the senate took meaningful action on this covid epidemic. We shouldnt wait a day longer. Lets set Everything Else aside. Lets have votes on these programs. Lets vote up or down. This senator is ready to do that. And i see the distinguished leader on the floor, and i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Hawley madam president , in recognition of his Outstanding Service to my office this last year, i ask unanimous consent that captain ryan albin, the defense fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hawley i yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer majority. The majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell weve reached the time of year when the senate has more business than we have days to complete it. Delivering for the American People will take focus, dexterity, and genuine bipartisanship. On government funding, as ive said for weeks, its my hope that our committees work are bear fruit and a fullyear funding package will come to the floor in both chambers. I anticipate that the senate will take up a oneweek extension this week so the government does not disclose on december 11 close on december 11 and work can continue through the end of next week. The nation needs our democratic colleagues to resist the temptation to play brinksmanship with longsettled policy issues or push poison pill riders that they know would tank the process. We also expect to receive and pass a conference report on the annual Defense Authorization and we need to continue confirmation impressive nominees to vacancies in the nearby and the executive branch. We senators are no strangers to endofyear drama. By this time this time, the stakes are far higher. Were up against another even steeper surge in covid19 than we saw back in the spring. Workers and Small Businesses are once again struggling to make ends meet, as states and localities step up precautions. And while the latest news on vaccine trials suggest that victory over the virus may soon be within reach, our work in that area is far from complete. As one recent article put it, state and local officials plead for Vaccine Distribution funds. Our nations historic sprint to victory through vaccines seems poised to succeed in record time, but the critical last step getting hundreds of millions of doses out to the American People is nil in is still in front of us. So congress cannot stay on the sidelines. Yesterday our colleague from illinois, the democratic whip, gave an interview in he named three examples of urgent matters that need to be addressed right now. This is the democratic whip of the u. S. Senate. Here are the three things senator durbin mentioned as flashing red urgent priorities. The millions of people who are going to lose their Unemployment Insurance the day after christmas, the businesses that are trying to decide whether or not they can continue, and the vaccine logistics to make sure that vaccine is on the road and vaccinating people across america as quickly as possible. Those are the three things he mentioned. Those are the three urgent issues he named as examples ending,ing extending Unemployment Insurance, funding vaccines and ensuring distribution. These comments illustrate perfectly a point that republicans have been making for weeks. For weeks. These three urgent issues are issues where there is almost total bipartisan consensus. No real disagreement whatsoever. In fact, the framework for a small a relief package that i put forward last week, something which democrats quickly attacked, would have resolved all three of those subjects, all three of them. The targeted republican framework extends Unemployment Insurance programs that will otherwise expire. It creates an entire second round of the Paycheck Protection Program for the hardest hit Small Businesses, and it lays the groundwork to distribute the vaccines that appear to be on the horizon. Check, check, check. The democrs right to recognize these three subjects are especially urgent because they are especially urgent. Thats why republicans have been trying over and over to get them passed. Thats why republicans have been saying for months that Speaker Pelosi and the democratic leader should let congress get outcomes in all the places where we already agree, where we already agree rather than Holding Everything hostage over their most controversial partisan demands. But month after month after month it is the Democratic Leaders who have said that no relief whatsoever can pass, no consensus items can become law unless multiple controversial areas where we dont agree are resolved to the democrats liking. Thats why the democratic leader had every single Senate Democrat vote to filibuster a targeted covid19 relief package back in september and again in october. That bill would have taken care of Small Businesses, Unemployment Insurance, and Vaccine Distribution months ago. Months ago. Senate democrats blocked it. I think if the Senate Democratic leader would allow it, the three things that the democratic whip mentioned just yesterday Small Business aid, reupping unemployment aid, and setting up Vaccine Distribution would pass the senate in a landslide. In a landslide. A targeted compromise on the most urgent items would pass by a massive bipartisan margin. We could easily put together a whole slew of commonsense policies, including those three and other things like Legal Protections at universities and the American Council on education have been pleading for, bring it to the floor and pass it. Everyone knows why this hasnt happened. One reason, the speaker of the house and the democratic leader have spent months trying the most bipartisan tying the most bipartisan commonsense policies to their most controversial requests. Im saying the country cant get the former unless it gets the latter. Their strategy has been all or nothing. And so struggling americans have of course got nothing. Well, were down to the wire, madam president. Were down to the wire. The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Operation warp speed seems poised to deliver vaccines on an historic, almost miraculous timetable. We have seen some hopeful signs of engagement from our democratic colleagues, but we have no reason to think the underlying disagreements about policy are going to evaporate overnight. Republicans and democrats do not need to resolve every one of our differences to get badly needed relief out the door. We just need both sides to finally do what members of congress do when theyre serious, when theyre serious about wanting an outcome. Drop the allornothing tactics tactics, drop the hostage taking, and make law in the many places where we have common ground. Thats what the country is counting on. Thats how we can do right by the American People before christmas. So lets get it done. Madam president , i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 912. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. The presiding officer all in favor say aye. The presiding officer all opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, federal Election Commission, Allen Dickerson of the District Of Columbia to be a member. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of thing standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close dbilitn dickerson signed by 17 senators as follows. Mr. Mcconnell i ask the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. The question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 913. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, federal Election Commission. Shana m. Broussard to be a member. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Shana Broussard of louisiana to be a member of the federal Election Commission signed by 17 senators as follows. Mr. Mcconnell i ask the reading of the names be wavered. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to legislative session session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 914. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. The presiding officer all in favor say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. And the motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination. Federal Election Commission. Sean j. Cooksey of missouri to be a member. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motions to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Sean J Cooksey of missouri to be a member of the federal Election Commission. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer wowment. Mr. Mcconnell i ask the senate resume consideration of the schwartz nomination. The presiding officer wotion. Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, madam president , last night, we received the sad news that a former colleague of ours, one of our finest, paul sarbanes, has passed away. While our time in the senate only overlapped for one term, senator sarbanes made a deep impression. Known as the stealth senator, he was low key but extremely effective. A leader on a wideranging group of issues from Environmental Stewardship to Consumer Privacy to anything having to do with his home state of maryland. He was very softspoken, but he had determination like iron and worked and worked and worked on issue after issue until he achieved his goals. We mourn the passing of this beloved former colleague and this consummate senator. Now on covid. Everyone knows were entering the worst stretch of the covid19 pandemic. As the winter months force more americans indoors, infections are up, hospitalizations are up, and the number of americans dying from covid is steadily and tragically increasing. The economic fallout from the latest wave of the virus will also be a huge challenge. According to one study, nearly 12 million renters will owe an average of nearly 6,000 in back rents and utilities in january. Even the conservative u. S. Chamber of commerce is sounding the alarm about a doubledip recession if congress does not pass another round of emergency federal relief before the end of the year. Unfortunately, our efforts to pass another emergency relief bill through the senate have been stalled until now for one reason the republican leader has refused to compromise. Again today, we heard the same old song from the republican leader. His position has not budged since march. First he put the senate on pause while the spread of the virus got worse and worse. Then after pressure mounted, the republican leader finally decided to put forward a series of bills that compromised only the things that the republicans want. While the nation has been clamoring for a bipartisan solution, the senate, under the leadership of the republican leader, has only been allowed to vote on partisan republican proposals, each of which has been sorely inadequate, and each of which has contained poison pills designed to ensure the bills failure. The republican leader never mentions those poison pills in his speeches to this chamber where he excoriates democrats for refusing to pass, quote, Bipartisan Legislation that everyone agrees on, but bipartisan does not mean democrats must agree to whatever the republican leader wants or whatever issues he picks. Bipartisan means both sides sitting down, finding an agreement. We all know thats the case. We have a democratic house. Theyre going to need democratic votes in the senate. So Senate Democrats are simply asking the republican leader to do one thing sit down and negotiate. Now since march, since secretary mnuchin and i negotiated the cares bill, the republican leader has constantly refused to sit down with republicans and negotiate a bipartisan solution. He puts his bill with no democratic input on the floor and says take it or leave it. That is no way, no way to get things done. It wasnt in april or may or june or july or august or september or november, and it isnt now. We want the leader to sit down and negotiate so we can come up with a bipartisan proposal that can pass both the house and the senate. And Speaker Pelosi and i have modified our proposal several times in an effort to meet our republican counterparts in the middle. Last week, Speaker Pelosi and i went even further and agreed to use a bipartisan bill crafted by moderate senators from both sides of the aisle as a framework for the negotiations. We have not heard the same willingness from the republican leader. However, there are some encouraging signs. A Bipartisan Group of senators and house members working on this latest proposal continues to make progress. I was encouraged to see the senator from louisiana this weekend say he was hopeful the president would sign such an agreement. Lets use the work of the gang of eight as the basis for bipartisan negotiations and compromise. The bottom line we have to get something done for the American People before the end of the year. We democrats have been trying since the spring back when republicans were saying, quote, they did not feel the urgency of acting. I believe those were the leaders words. Well, its going to take a sense of urgency now, mr. Leader, and its going to take a willingness to give a little, not just to put your bill on the floor and say take it or leave it. As i said, its encouraging that some republicans are already on that path. Hopefully the republican leader can catch up with the more fairminded members of his caucus. Now on nominations, another matter. The Incoming Biden Administration continues to name candidates it will tap to lead cabinet agencies and other key positions in the federal government. Today president elect biden introduced his health care team, including dr. Fauci who will stay on, thank god, as medical advise or, dr. Lewenski to head the c. D. C. And and the secretary of health and Human Services. Like of president elect bidens nominations, mr. Basar would be the first latino to ever run the department of health and Human Services. Now, these nominees, once confirmed, will face a monumental task. President elect biden will inherit a health care crisis, a crisis made worse by the trump administrations lack of focus, competency, and consistency over the past year. Of by naming a deeply experienced and tested team of Senior Health care advisors, president elect biden is getting ready to right the ship and execute a whole of government approach to crush the virus and providing Affordable Health care to all americans as safe and effective vaccines become available over the next year, president elect bidens teams will have to work with states and Health Care Providers to get americans vaccinated. To state the obvious, health care is going to be the number one challenge when the new Administration Takes office. Were in the middle of a once in a Century Public Health crisis. Accordingly, president elect bidens team should be confirmed qiftly to ensure that swiftly to ensure no sometime is no time is loss. There is a split screen between the seriousness of the Biden Administration and the activities of the republican majority here in the senate. On tuesday the republic chairman and Homeland Security invited jane orient, is a member of the association of assistance and surgeons, a benign sounding name that obscures policies. According to the new york times, the association, quote, opposes government involvement in medicine and views federal Vaccine Mandates as a violation of human rights. Unquote. Dr. Orie has expressed sceptlecism about skepticism about coronavirus vaccines and follows the lead of President Trump who boosted the drug. While President Biden is nominating experienced Public Servants to lead the next Administrations Health Care policy, the republican majority is inviting prominent antivaxers to Senate Committee hearings, a stud any in contrast. As one of the most difficult years in memory, we have a light at the end of the tunnel and discovery of safe and effective vaccines. They are the best chance we have of ending the terrible scourge of this disease and getting our lives back to normal. Yet, the effectiveness of the vaccine only matters insofar as the number of americans willing to take it. The more Senate Republicans dip their toes into the water of these antiscience, antivax conspiracy theories, the more damage it does. We should be building up confidence in a vaccine, not giving a platform to those who would undermine it. The senator from wisconsin, the chairman of the Homeland Security committee, should revoke his invitation to dr. Orient. I yield the floor. Mr. Cornyn mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn madam president , i came to the floor to talk about some other things, but i just cant to say in response to our friend, the democratic leader, it sounds to me that hes got a case of do as i say, not as i do, when it comes to covid19 relief bills. My if my memory serves me correctly, he has led the effort to block the senates consideration of five different covid19 relief bills. Speaker pelosi made the incredible statement that nothing is better than something when it comes to covid19 relief. Thats easy to say when youre still getting a paycheck when youve got a job you can go do and you can provide for your family and have access to health care. But for the millions of americans who suffered through this pandemic, it those are words that sound a lot like marie aatt ionette, let them eat cake. Unless you tell people the whole story, too often they believe the talking points and the half story, the incomplete story, like we heard from the democratic leader. It is shameful that after passing four separate covid19 relief bills, including the cares act through the end of march on virtually a unanimous basis, that Speaker Pelosi chose to pass a partisan bill out of the house, the heroes bill, for another 3 trillion, including things like tax breaks for billionaires and millionaires in new york and san francisco, unrelated to the covid19 relief bill that we needed. So i applaud the group of bipartisan senators who have been working now after the election to try to come up with a releefl rather than kicking this can down the road and leaving people in the lurch during the Christmas Holiday season. And then when it comes to the vaccine, i have no doubt that the Incoming Administration is going to claim complete credit for producing a vaccine and getting this virus in the rearview mirror. I understand why they would be tempted to do so, but it is because of the bipartisan action that congress is taking with this administration through operation warp speed that weve seen our worldclass scientists come up with safe and effective, i hope, soontobecertified drugs and vaccines to the American People and people can begin to get vaccinated by the end of this month. That is a modernday miracle. We should all be proud of it, but it should not be part of a partisan campaign now after weve had an election on november 3. I wish our friends would get out of the Campaign Mode and get into the governing mode. Weve got important work we need to do here. Part of that, madam president , is the jenna quinn law. This bipartisan piece of legislation that i introduced with senator hassan over a year and a half ago to help identify and stop child sexual abuse in communities across our country has passed the Senate Unanimously but stuck in the house of representatives. Nationwide there are more than 42,000 survivors of child sexual abuse, adults now. 42 million adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Sadly these victims victims often stay silent for days, months, years, even a lifetime. As a result, they and countless other victims continue to be abused. We need to stop this cycle as quickly as possible and thats why the jenna quinn law is so important. It is modeled after 2009 texas law which requires teachers and caregivers and other adults who work with children receive training on how to identify and report child sexual abuse. After the texas law passed in 2009, one study found educators reported child sexual abuse at a rate almost four times greater after the training than they got during their pretrairning ka pretraining career. Jenna quinn herself tells the story of her own mother if i had just known you were showing the signs of child sexual abuse, i would have intervened sooner. The texas law is one of the first to mandate this training and now almost half of all the states have adopted jennas law. You may ask why do we need a federal law . Well, the states dont have the funding for the training. Thats what the jenna quinn law provides, it allows the department of health and Human Services funds to be used for specialized training. This bill has received the support of every member of the senate help committee, republicans and democrats, not surprisingly, and it passed the Senate Unanimously. Its been months and were still waiting for the house of representatives to act. This last week house democrats, under Speaker Pelosi, did find time to act on a bill that decriminalized marijuana, on a bill to deal with large cats, the tiger king bill, but did they have it time to provide assistance to Small Businesses . Did they find time to pass bipartisan covid19 relief . Did they find time to pass the jenna quinn law, which im sure if put their their suspension calendar, it would pass the house quickly. Bobby scott is blocking blocking the jenna quinn law. He voted to decriminalize marijuana, he voted to deny the private ownership of big cats but wont allow the jenna quinn law to receive an upordown vote on the in the house of representatives. If youre confused by the logic of this move, youre not alone, especially because the urgency for this legislation is only has only grown during the pandemic. As families have stayed at home as part of the mitigation efforts, their lives have been filled with a range of new stressors, loss of income, isolation, Health Anxiety and the stress of teaching children at home can test even the healthiest families and relationships. But they also put children at a higher risk for abuse and neglect. In april this year nationwide reports of abuse or neglect dropped an average of 40 compared to the same time last year. Now, ordinarily you would say, well, thats good news, but the reason why the reports of abuse and neglect have dropped is because children have not been going to their classrooms where the teachers who train and identify these signs and symptoms can see them and help them by intervening. In 2018, twothirds of the reports of child abuse were submitted by people who came in contact with children as part of their jobs. I mentioned teachers, counselors, caregivers, but also police officers, lawyers, social services. But predominately teachers who see these children at school. Teachers, education professionals, and other support staff at schools like bus drivers are responsible for most than half of the reports of child abuse. But, as i said with Children Home during the pandemic, out of sight from their teachers and other adults they would otherwise see on a routine basis, abuse is becoming more difficult to identify and report, not because its not happening but because these children are having to suffer silently living with perhaps locked down with their abuser. As the stressors of the pandemic and lack of reporting take a violent toll on our children across the country, it is time for action, not excuses, not decriminalizing marijuana, not a tiger king bill but passing legislation that will actually make their lives better, give them some hope. Not action sometime in the future, but now, and theres one person in the house of representatives thats holding that up right now and thats chairman scott. Children are suffering every day, madam president. They are not worried about politics or whether chairman scott has the leverage he needs to advance a larger partisan bill later on next year. These victims are worried about their own safety. They are worried about how long how much longer will it be to some adult until some adult identifies my abuse and gets me out of this abusive relationship, gets me out of a living nightmare. Well, the sort of mindless obstruction were seeing from chairman scott in the house exemplifies everything people loathe about congress. Holding up a bill to prevent child sexual abuse as a means to gain political leverage for a bigger partisan bill. Its just shameful. Lets call it what it is shameful. Its time for chairman scott to stop blocking the jenna quinn law so we can provide the lifesaving training to the men and women most likely to stop the cycle of child sexual abuse. And finally, madam president , last week here on the senate floor i spoke briefly about our retiring colleague, senator mike enzi from wyoming, and some wisdom he imparted to me shortly after i arrived in the senate, something he called the 8020 rule. As our friend from wyoming told me, youre never going to agree or disagree with somebody 100 of the time. But that doesnt mean you cant get important work done. So instead of just focusing on the 20 you can agree on, look at the 80 you can agree on. I hope all of our colleagues will remember this formula for success in the coming days as we work to deliver another round of Coronavirus Relief forethe American People. For the American People. Its clear were never going to agree 100 of the time on what that bill should look like. But i bet we can agree on 80 and we ought to get that 80 done. We all believe that additional funding for schools is necessary to keep our students and teachers healthy and kids on track for a good education. That American Workers who had the rug pulled out from under them earlier this year deserve additional support. That a second round of jobsaving Paycheck Protection Program funds would help even more workers and Small Businesses. And that another investment in Vaccine Distribution is essential to bringing this pandemic to an end. Last week leader mcconnell announced progress in the negotiations to pass another bill by the end of the year. He has spoken with the president s team and speaker, and there are hopeful signs. There appears to be a path forward on this legislation that could clear both chambers and receive the signature of the president , and i hope we will follow that path. To a constructive conclusion. As i said last week, the best Christmas Present we could give the American People would be to Work Together in a bipartisan way to provide that relief. We need an outcome, and to get there, its going to take compromise. Its going to take the 80 20 rule. This process requires input and agreement from our colleagues in the senate, the house, and the white house, as does all legislation. But my constituents and i dare say, all americans are fed up with the dysfunction they see and the partisanship that is for no real purpose that has delayed this covid19 relief bill for months. Its time to reach an agreement and deliver yet another round of Coronavirus Relief for the American People. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from idaho. Mr. Crapo thank you, madam president. I rise today to highlight some meaningful progress under way on the nez perce Clear Water National Forest to improve the health of these forests. These collaborative efforts are showing progress and are an example of where we could go nationally. Collaboration brings results. Ive been a longtime champion of collaboration to address public Lands Management disputes. As collaborative processes are good for the environment and good for Natural Resourcebased economies. Collaborative problemsolve something a key way to ensure that all voices are heard and longterm solutions are crafted. Working together through crag Reagan Administration does not require a sacrifice through collaboration does not require a sacrifice of principles but it does require ernest negotiations with respect for ideas and a willingness to work to understand each others objectives. Inestably, at several points along the path, there are strong disagreements. However, participants refusal to quit is a key attribute of successful collaborative efforts. One of the greatest benefits of collaboration is that it enables the achievement of solutions that are better than the status quo. For all stakeholders. Such solutions are better for the environment and the economy. Through collaboration, participants can actually achieve their objectives and in ways that benefit the entire community. The work on the nez perce clear water forest National Forest is a great example of the benefits of collaborative efforts. The clear water basin collaborative or c. B. C. , as we call it it which was officially launched 12 years ago, has had an Important Role in furthering discussions about the management of the nez perce forests. The nez perce tribal representatives, representatives of federal and state agencies, county commissioners, local communities, timber companies, conservation groups, and other stakeholders make up the c. B. C. S Working Group that accommodates a diverse array of viewpoints and objectives. I met with members of the Predecessor Group called the congress l bill collaborative and welcomed the opportunity to be a part of the c. B. C. s official launch in 200. I tracked the groups progress by dedicating a member of my staff to being a part of its discussions focused on resolving longstanding concerns and achieving Land Management decisions and forestering communication among different interest groups. Beaver the remarkable landscape it works to enhance encompasses forestlands for treasured wildlife and fish species. Resources for local communities including timber, livestock, grazing, and mining and natural carbon sinks that help our planet. The nez perce Clear Water National Forest span four million acres. Three rivers flow through the forests improving important water resources, outstanding fishing, and other recreational opportunities. It is truly a remarkable place. And the groups work is far from easy, as there is a lot at stake. The good news is that were hearing reports of remarkable achievements being made on the forests. The nez perce Clear Water National Forests have received three recognitions this year alone that highlight cooperative restoration work, an award for forestering partnership and volunteerism, a chiefs award for delivering benefits to the public, and an under secretaries award for Customer Service for forests historic routes projects. Through the historiccruits project, the nez perce Clear Water National Forest dedicated 1 million of retained receipt from stewardship contracts to improve Water Quality through historically sensitive maintenance along three historic roadways, the lolo motor way, the elk city road and the mcgruder road a tract visitors from all over the country. Project leaders recognizing the importance of these routes to the local economy and historical significance have partnered with local groups and the university of idaho to include digital interpretation that is accessible even in locations without internet service. The project has also been supported through the secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee to assist with the maintenance. Stewardship contracts have also been used on the nez perce clear water forest to enable the Forest Service to accomplish vegetation and watershed restoration. By leveraging this program with other partnerships the forests are able to are a truly innovative program. Stewardship contracts have enabled fuels and weed treatment, watershed protection and restoration, road maintenance, and enhancements such as the removal of wire fencing to help wildlife. A tempt of 536 miles of streams have been restored on the nez perce Clear Water National Forest resulting in the forest being ranked fourth nationwide in miles of streams restored. The forests have a Strong Partnership with the nez perce tribe which contributes greatly to its watershed restoration accomplishments. At the same time, priorities of muchneeded restoration of landscapes including Water Quality improvements are also providing a supply of Raw Materials to our local mills. In fact, the forests are the fifth in the nation in providing Wood Products for purchase. More work is under way to address significant challenges, but this is the direction we need to continue to go in delivering longterm results. I commend all those involved in this effort for their hard and exemplary work in improving our treasured landscapes. Also, a Good Neighbor Authority Program coordinated by the nez perce Clear Water National Forest and the Idaho Department of lands was recognized with the 2017 regional forester awards. Through the program, Forest Management has supported fuels reduction and watershed restoration. Further, the nez perce Clear Water National Forest recentry signed a Good Neighbor with the idaho fish and game. This will enable the department to work more seamlessly as they collaborate on projects to enhance Wildlife Habitat such as aspen restoration. Statewide the Idaho Department of lands reports the agency is utilizing Good Neighbor authority to partner with National Forests in idaho to expedite projects focused on fuels reduction, Forrest Health improvements and watershed help. According to an eidl summer summary, through 350 service crates at a total value of over 3 million to the private sector to treat weed infestation, reduce fuels, complete road repairs and support project planning and monitoring. Behalf beaver bay other collaborative efforts have laid strong groundwork or follow on the footsteps of collaborative work such as this. In idaho we have succeeded with public lands projects such as the awaie initiative and the payette coalition, the boise coalition and others including our governors shared Stewardship Task force. And i also look forward to the soontobecompleted recommendation of the Salmon Work Group s federal policy must empower collaboration and Forest Health. As senators and shared stewards of these Natural Resources we must continue usually work to ensure federal statute and policy empowers collaborative efforts and Forest Health projects. In 2003 i was proud to work with my Congressional Colleagues including senator ron wyden of oregon and many others, to enact the healthy Forest Restoration act or hfra. To help provide the u. S. Forest service with the tools needed to do the necessary work on the ground to row store our forests to help and reduce the threat of a catastrophic wildfire to our communities and ecosystems. The hfra was designed to encourage fuel reduction efforts, protect oldgrowth forests, promote communitybased Land Management and public involvement in Forest Management, and address insect and disease problems. The hfra has promoted stewardship contracting projects which incorporate publicprivate partnerships emphasizing more localized Forest Management. In the years since the enactment of the hfra, congress has enacted additional legislation to advance Forest Health. For example, in the 2014 farm bill, we included Permanent Authority for stewardship contracting and the authorization of Good Neighbor authority. Good Neighbor Authority expanded the federal governments ability to partner with state foresters on Restoration Projects including bark beetle treatments. The 2018 farm bill included and expansion of Good Neighbor authority. It credited the increasing it credited with increasing the pace in scale of Forest Restoration projects across idaho. The 2018 farm bill also importantly included a tenyear reauthorization of the collaborative forestland scape restoration program. Which has enabledless expansion of active collaboration and land use groups in idaho. The Program Encourages largescale thats 50,000plus acres collaborative sciencebased Forest Restoration pro edges in a way that encourages environmental and economic sustainability. The u. S. Forest service reported that in the first ten years of the program, the cflrp brought together more organizations to engage in local collabo ratives and cflrap projects treated 3 million acres to reduce wildfire risk. The cflrp supported collaborative work of the clear water basin collaborative and nez perce clear water forests to restore conditions within the 1. 4 million acres. Through stream improvements the replacement of culverts preventing fish passage, road and trail maintenance and the reduction of wildfire fuel loads. Also the authorized Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program has two newly approved projects in idaho. Region one encompasses the panhandle National Forest. Region four it includes the payett and boise National Forests. We cant let up in making progress on wildfires. This severely smoke the severely smoke clogged skies this fire season made the impacts of the fires that have decimated wild lands and communities for years nearly inescapable. As we think about the lives and livelihoods lost to wildfires we must continue to work to enact bipartisan Forest Management reform to build on the progress made in recent years to ensure federal land agencies have the tools they need to protect communities from Deadly Wildfires by improving the health of our forests. Bipartisan legislation pending in this senate would increase the active management of federal forests, cut red tape, reduce frivolous litigation and advance fire risk reduction. Senator steve daines of montana and Dianne Feinstein of california worked across party lines for months to negotiate the details of the bipartisan emergency wildfire and Public Safety act. Enactment of sensible Bipartisan Legislation such as this, which is also cosponsored by myself and my colleague from idaho jim risch can better enable land managers to reduce wildfire risk and respond effectively to a virulent wildfire reality. This will build on the successful enactment of Bipartisan Legislation to enable federal agencies to respond to wildfires as they would to other natural disasters and end the practice of fire borrowing. Forests make up 39 of the land in my home state of idaho. They are key to air and Water Quality and sustained Wildlife Habitat and recreational opportunities. They support communities through wood and paper product jobs and recreation dollars. They are the backdrop and the means for unparalleled quality of life. Their vitality hinges on their effective management. Im encouraged by the achievements on the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forests and i urge continued collaborative efforts to address often contentious but necessary Natural Resource challenges and the enactment of federal law that bolsters these collaborative efforts for the betterment of all of our communities. Thank you, madam president , and i yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, madam president. Over the past few months there are many of us in this chamber that have taken big tech to task over their shady and biased Business Practices in more than one hearing weve grilled them on the privacy, censorship and antitrust concerns that have allowed us to keep these c. E. O. s in the hot seat. And that grilling has taken place by those of us on either side of the aisle. And these are big, big problems, and they are not going to disappear at the end of this congress. These are problems that are going to be around. But one of the advantages of having these Companies Like facebook and twitter and google living in our phones and in our homes is that its much harder for oppressive governments and global bad actors to hide their crimes from the rest of the world. Just last year about this time the Freedom Fighters in hong kong and this is a poster that i used on the floor just about this time of year. December 9, 2019. And it shows the Freedom Fighters in hong kong, shows how they were making their case. We do not want to become like china. These Freedom Fighters in hong kong captured our attention when they filled the streets and demanded an end to the Chinese Communist partys terrible crackdowns on free speech and expression. And while the coverage and the 24hour news cycle definitely made an impact, it was the millions of tweets and facebook posts and videos and blog posts that turned their movement into a collective global outcry for an end to violence and terror in hong kong. You see, people saw what was happening there. They saw it in real time. And even if they didnt fully understand the politics behind these protests, they knew that the disproportionate response by the Chinese Government to stamp out these protests was wrong. As those posts flowed out of hong kong, support flowed right back in, and having spoken with many of these brave activists, it really meant the world to them that they were hearing from us. But while all of this was happening, something else, some counter messaging, if you will, was flowing from beijing. It was a message of total capitulation sent by corporations, sports organizations, the mainstream media, and even powerful national and world leaders. They were all trying to keep the peace on behalf of their own selfinterest. But as the days and weeks passed by, their blinders became more and more obvious. By that time the online activist community had put the Chinese Communist partys crimes on full display. What started as a debate on free speech and political autonomy morphed into a full indictment of the Chinese Communist partys crimes against humanity, against the uighurs in xinjiang and tibet and Inner Mongolia and all across Mainland China. Thanks to Internet Freedom efforts made possible by the open technology fund, tweets and videos describing the Chinese Communist partys intolerance of dissent escaped the great fire wall and made its way into western news feeds. The spread of the coronavirus tore away the veil covering beijings corrupt relationship with the World Health Organization and other international organizations, and revealed their scandalous coverup of the virus origins. All that truth right on our phones, right on our ipads and computer screens. On every screen in the house. But unfortunately, for the millions suffering under the horrors of communism, truth didnt win the day. The people with the most responsibilities speak up stayed silent because they were fearful of retaliation. It was too politically charged, too economically risky. Someone might take their criticisms the wrong way. And, well, we cant have that now, can we . I know from personal experience what its like to have the Chinese Communist party and their allies retaliate against you. Once you speak up, youre going to get it from all sides. Just last week a member of the Chinese State media, so for all intents and purposes, i would suggest this is a propaganda minister for the Chinese Communist party. Well, he decided that he had had enough of what were doing here in washington to expose chinese aggression and fired off a seers of vile sexist tweets while conspicuously avoiding the issue at hand. Sounds fairly familiar. Attack the person. Attack the messenger. But the thing is, madam president , he was just mirroring the tactics used by his government. Beijing is all too happy to prey upon the ignorance of their massive online audience and encourage accusations of racism or xenophobia as the only acceptable response to evidence documenting their own racist, repressive politics. And that right there is how you end up with repressive regimes like the one in china gaining so much power on the global stage. When those who should know better allow their adversaries to cow them into silence. Madam president , i appreciate the importance of diplomacy, but diplomacy is meaningless without consequences. Activists, by their very nature, rise and fall based on their willingness to speak truth to power when the most influential among us allow evil regimes to escape those consequences. Today i call on my colleagues to follow their example and use their work nblg chamber to is in this chamber to speak truth to power about the crimes of the Chinese Communist party. We no longer have any excuse not to. If you want proof, pull out your phones and listen to what activists in hong kong and taiwan, in Mainland China are telling you. Or better yet, listen to what some of your colleagues are telling you. Hong kong activist joshua wong l currently sits in jail for the crime of criticizing his government. Madam president , i repeat this. Hong kong activist, a young freedom fighter, joshua wong, is in jail because he criticized the Chinese Communist party. He criticized his government. His sentencing barely managed a blip on the radar here. Another hong kong activist jimmy lye was denied bail during prosecution specifically because his online newspaper revealed the truths of the Chinese Communist partys choke hold on their people. The c. C. P. Cut off access to his Corporate Accounts and those of his employees. So much for hong kongs free press. Jimmy lye and joshua wong live in hong kong. In june, the Senate Passed a resolution condemning the c. C. P. s repression of speech and expression in hong kong. These protests are still happening. Authoritarian crackdowns are still happening. We must keep speaking about this. In xinjiang, c. C. P. Forces are systematically targeting and eliminating the uighur Muslim Population through mass surveillance, population control and incarceration and internment camps. Yes, you heard me internment camps. It should make your skin crawl to hear that today, in 2020, this is happening. Last month i joined my colleagues, senator cornyn and senator menendez, inning supporting a bipartisan in supporting a bipartisan resolution to finally recognize that the Chinese Government is doing in xinjiang constitutes a genocide. If youre looking for a reason to start speaking out, i cant think of a better way to get started. Speak up on that. Support this resolution which would not only urge the white house to take action against beijing, but also urge National Governments and organizations to get their heads out of the sand and tear away piece by piece chinas disastrous influence over the Global Political economy which is highlighted by the success of the communist partys belt and road initiative. I will add, madam president , i was thrilled today with secretary pompeos tweet regarding that he is once again reupping the countries of concern under the International Religious freedom act of 1998. China is on this list, as well they should be, as they continue to infringe on religious liberty, and they do engage in systemic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations. Theyre doing it every day, and the world is watching. I would i tell you, i could monopolize this floor for the next week and lay out every opportunity we have to stand up for the cause of freedom and speak truth to power about the crimes of the Chinese Communist party. Here is a white paper that i unveiled earlier this year, and there are over 100 specific paths toward how we as a nation unravel the relationship that we have right now with china. The paper is only 52 pages long. Its a short version. I would encourage one and all to take a look at it and to think about how it is that we got to this point, where an influential government acted in many Major International bodies, including as of next year china will be in the u. N. Human rights council, how can this government perpetrate a genocide against minorities and get away with it because of the appalling cowardice of those who bear witness and choose to do nothing. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Enzi mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming is recognized. Mr. Enzi i ask would that the quorum call be waived and i would ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum also be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Enzi i would ask unanimous consent to start the vote now. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion. We, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Stephen Sidney schwartz of virginia to be a judge of the United States court of federal claims, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quarrel has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Stephen Sidney schwartz of virginia to be a judge of the United States court of federal claims shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer has any senator not voted . Does any senator wish to change their vote . The yeas are 48, the nays are 46. The motion is agreed to. The presiding officer the senator from kansas is recognized. Mr. Moran mr. President , thank you. Two weeks ago, i stood in this same position and gave remarks to my colleagues about the importance of, even though we cant do everything, could we do something . It seems to be tobacco often the way the senate has operated is unless we can do everything that everyone wants, we do nothing. I have encouraged us to try to figure out what it is we can agree on and address that legislatively and save the issues that we dont agree on for later. And the challenge that i presented was the circumstance of the consequences of covid19, the difficulties that americans, kansans are facing, and the importance of us completing our work in regard to an additional response to try to help the economy and to make sure people are healthy and know that they are healthy. We seem to be making progress in regard to that desire to address the needs of americans, and so while my complaint or concern two weeks ago was we dont have to do everything, we can do something, it appears that were going to do something, which is really important, now i would raise the issue of timing. Its very discouraging to return to washington, d. C. , to learn that the continuing resolution which expired on friday will be extended until next friday at a time when americans have little ability to wait at least to know what they are going to be able to expect. Small businesses, individual employees, employers all need the certainty and every day that we are unable to accomplish what we can agree on is another day in which those americans, those workers, those Business Owners dont know, dont know what they face. Christmas ought to be a time, the Holiday Season ought to be a time for expectations and joy and comfort, and yet what we are doing here by this continued delay is creating uncertainty which creates great challenges. The Mental Health and wellbeing of kansans of americans is at stake here and, again, my guess is that whatever we could debris agree on could agree on next week we could agree on this week. I would encourage my colleagues and me to redouble our efforts not only to do what we can do but to do it in a timely enough fashion that people get the benefit. I think of those who work in hospitals in kansas, those who care for people who are suffering from the symptoms of covid, we need to make certain that we provide them the necessary personal Protection Equipment that we need to have the necessary testing that every hospital, every clinic, every doctor has the resources necessary to care for those who are ill today. Thats something that cant wait. And when it comes to the economy, too many businesses, retail establishments, motels, restaurants, venues, theaters, the uncertainty that were creating that every day goes by in which they dont know whether congress is going to respond to their needs is a day in which we may lose another business, we may lose another persons employment and so the request is that we move more quickly than what we have done to date now that we seem to be zeroing in on a compromise agreement, a bipartisan agreement. Thats a piece of good news, but every day that we delay the outcome, the vote, the support the American People, kansans need is a day in which more harm is done. It is a time in which uncertainty exists and while we continue to have our debates and discussions that uncertainty is creating not only economic problems but potentially loss of life as well. This place is slow to respond and i would encourage us to be quicker in our response than what we have been to date. People are struggling and they need our help. Mr. President , i also would say that too many kansans have died, people that i know, have died from covid. This is a very damaging disease. I would encourage kansasians and americans to do the personally responsible things to wear the mask to socially distance. We do not and cannot afford another shown. Every shut down. Every day that we dont allow employees to be employed, particularly in rural america, the places, mr. President , that you and i come from, we lose a business to covid, that business is unlikely to return. If we dont provide the necessary support for hospitals and Health Care Delivery system, there isnt a hospital in kansas if it closes its doors day because of covid is going to open tomorrow when covid is behind us. And the deaths that i mentioned in many instances have been the community leaders, the people who have made a difference in communities across kansas and every life has value, every life has meaning. We want this death to end and for purposes of our economy and purposes of life and death, its time for the United States senate to act. Not another week delay, not another two weeks of unknowing, but lets reach our conclusion, lets come together and find solutions and provide hope to my constituents in kansas, yours in arkansas, and the people of america. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Snool. The presiding officer the senator from alabama is recognized. Mr. Jones thank you, mr. President. One year ago yesterday on december 6, 2019, a terrorist attack on the Naval Air Station in pensacola killed three American Service men. While it is appropriate and it has been doned to honor each of these men, i rise today with a solemn purpose of honoring and commemorating the life, service, and patriotism of one in particular, navy ensign walash, of alabama, whose life was tragically cut short in a terrorist attack a year ago. Caleb received posthumously the purple heart in pensacola. I regret that i was not able to join his family. But there was also a wreath laying ceremony at building 633 where caleb was shot and the canadaledlight candlelight vigil there last night. I know that all were solemn occasions for the navy, for the family, and for america. Caleb was a rising star. A recent graduate of the Naval Academy, caleb had dreamed of becoming a navy pilot and reported to pensacola for Flight Training the week of veterans day. Caleb was described as a natural leader, a person who put others first and have it riefed to bring out the best of them. At the Naval Academy caleb was a small arms instructor, wrestling coach. And under his leadership, much to the chagrin of a couple of folks in this body, like senator reed, their team beat army for the first time in a decade. Ben watson, calebs father said to me once that calebs mission was to confront evil, to bring the fight to wherever it took him. He was willing to risk his life for his country. And caleb did confront evil that day. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Unfortunately, that was not how caleb intended to serve his country. It was not what calebs parents expected when he joined the navy. Calebs father put it rather bluntly, we never thought he would die in florida. Caleb watson was the officer on deck on that morning. Con constituently he was one of the first people the shooter encountered. Caleb was shot at least five times that day. But heavily wounded, he made his way out to flag down first responders, gave them an accurate description of the shooter that ultimately led to the shooter being killed. Unfortunately later that day caleb died of his wounds while in the hospital. The navy conducted an investigation into the incident and concluded that the primary cause of the attack was the saudi shooters selfradicalization, however, the report also goes on to note numerous deficiencies in many areas, some of which contributed to the attack and others which could have deterred the attack or mitigated the consequences. In other words, things could have been different that day. Things should have been different that day. We lost two other young men, airmen mo makeman from florida and joe from florida. 11 more individuals were wounded. Mr. President , that has happened far too many times. Too Many Americans have lost their lives to shooters on u. S. Bases on u. S. Soil. The pensacola attack was the second ashooting at a military base in three days. On december 3, 2019, a shooting at the Pearl Harbor Naval shipyard in hawaii left two people dead and a third wounded. There have been several other shootings at u. S. Military installations, including a mass shooting in 2009 at fort hood and in texas. That shooting claimed 13 lives and left another 30 injured. Five years later another shooting at fort hood base when a gunman went on a shooting spree, killing three peopling and injuring 13 before killing himself. 2013 workers here at the navy yard here in washington, d. C. , were killed by a military contractor who was later killed by military officials of in 2015, two military installations in chattanooga, tennessee, were attacked by a gunman who killed four people before he was shot by police. There have been investigative reports about all of those shootings and there have been recommendations after each one of those reports in each one of the reports and everybody shook their head and said, weve got to do better. We cant continue to allow this to happen. But what we see from the pensacola report that we just received just recently is that many of those relations were never followed, especially with regard to planning, training, and assessment of response plans for situations just like the one that occurred in pensacola, florida. That is simply inexcusable inexcusable. We have young men and women every year, every day, every week, every month that volunteer to put their lives on the line for this country never dreaming that there life may be put on the line within the security of a confine of a United States military base on u. S. Soil, not overseas, not as part of some overseas terrorist attack but right here where they should be most secure. Ben watt sorn and his watson and his wife sheila have made it their mission to do everything they can to prevent losing more of our sons and daughters in this way. I think this body ought to do the same. Every year we have nominations, we send young men and women, we make nominations and get appointments back sending those young men and women to the academies that will then go to these bases. We have a responsibility for that as well as our overall responsibility to the men and women in uniform. This year i asked for and the Conference Committee included in the final version of the ndaa language requiring the secretary of defense to implement within 90 days all applicable security and Emergency Response recommendations to protect our military installations and language requiring the secretary of defense to ensure that each installation conduction and develops a plan to conduct live Emergency Response training with first responders. At a couple of hearings, including one just last week, i asked Navy Leadership that Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing that took place last week, i asked for their commitment. Its not the first time i brought it up, but i knew it was going to be the last hearing and i knew that this ndaa was hopefully going to include this language. Sometimes language is just not enough so i asked for their commitment to ensure that these long overdue steps are taken and accomplished. They, of course, gave me those assurances and that commitment. You know, there are thousands of important provisions in the ndaa that hopefully will come to the floor very soon but none more none none, none of those provisions more important than those that ensure that we do everything we can to keep our Service Members and their families who live and work on our bases safe from attacks like these. As the navy itself said in the pensacola report, talking about security manning, and i quote from the report. The department of the navy must abandon minimum manning thresholds designed to protect physical assets and to meet ineffective response times. Instead installations must be manned to rapidly respond with a preponderance of force at any time to preserve our most precious asset, our personnel. Increase Security Force manning allows presence, deterrence, assurance an enhanced response. Our most precious asset our personnel. Well, mr. President , as a father of three, a grandfather of two, i understand how precious our children are to our families. As a member of the Armed Services committee for the past two years, ive seen firstshand how precious firsthand our precious our men and women are to our country. Ive seen this body rise to it the occasion to understand our fiduciary responsibilities that we have to those men and women who protect and defend us every day. I had the privilege of visiting with some of the folks in afghanistan and iraq and working with many more here in the United States. Wherever they are serving, we owe them our best because we owe them our freedom. I want to thank the watson family, ben, sheilah, their son adam, for their patriotism in supporting caleb and his dream to become a navy pilot. I want to extend again my serious condolences for his untimely death. With the watsons, however, i want to encourage this body to hold the navy to the commitments that they made to me last week and to insist that the entire department of defense follow its recommendations for protecting our military installations from within, protect them from future attacks from within. Although ill be leaving this body in a few weeks, i urge all of my colleagues to take up the baton, to do our congressional oversight duty like our lives depend on it, because they are lives that depend on it. And if their lives depend on it our lives depend on it. Everyone should take up that mantle. Everyone should do all that they can to preserve and protect the American Service men and women that protect us. They are our most precious asset, our personnel. For their sakes and for their families, lets do this thing. Lets get this ndaa passed and then hold them to it in this next congress. Mr. President , thank you. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the simington nomination at noon tomorrow. I further ask that postcloture time with respect to the schwartz and simington nominations expire at 4 00 p. M. Tomorrow. And the senate vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed. Finally, if any of the nominations are confirmed, the the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up it ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 795 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 795, relating to the death of the honorable Roger William jepsen, former United States senator for state of iowa. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed tow the measure. Will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that at resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 502, h. R. 4761. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 502, h. R. 4761, an act to ensure u. S. Customs and Border Protection officers, antiquities, and other personnel have adequate synthetic opioid detection equipment. The presiding officer without objection. The senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that at bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 530, h. R. 5273. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 530, h. R. 5273, an act to require the secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan to increase to 100 the rates of scanning of commercial and Passenger Vehicles entering the United States and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the committeereported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the committeereported amendment to the title be agreed to understand at the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the committee on help be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 12503 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 1503 an act to amend the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the subcommittee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the alexander substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, december 8. Further, that l ting the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the simington nomination under the previous order. Finally you i ask that the Senate Recess following the cloture vote on the simington nomination until 2 15 to allow for the Weekly Conference meetings. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of s. Res. 759 as a further rash of respect for the late William Roger jepsen, former senator from iowa. The presiding officer under the previous order, and pursuant to senate res. 795 the Senate Stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. On tuesday, december 8, and does so as a further mark of respect to the lateRoger William jepsen, former senator william jepsen, former senator will discuss policy issues that impact you. Coming up Tuesday Morning breath republican congressman don bacon discussed the 2021 defensive policy bill to forge a compromise on covid19 relief legislation. In Texas Democratic congressman henry member the House Speaker Appropriations Committee on the upcoming government funding deadline which to settle on covid19 relief legislation and other news of the day. And restaurateur tom on efforts to Lobby Congress for additional federal aid to help support the restaurant industry. Watch cspans washington journal five at seven eastern Tuesday Morning. And be sure to join the discussion with your phone lls, facebook comments, text and tweets. Up next to discuio