called to order by the Honorable S HEL

Full text

Congressional Record
U
N
U
M
E
P
LU
RI
B
U
S
United States
of America
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
.
S2659
Vol. 166
WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020
No. 103
House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 4, 2020, at 10 a.m.
Senate
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020
The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was
called to order by the Honorable SHEL-
LEY MOORE CAPITO, a Senator from the
State of West Virginia.
f
PRAYER
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of-
fered the following prayer:
Let us pray.
Eternal God, ruler of the universe, we
rejoice because You are near. Lord, we
are grateful we belong to You, and You
desire us to call You our Father in
good and bad times. We can face any
calamity with the knowledge that
nothing can separate us from Your
love. Death and life can’t. Our fears for
today and our worries about tomorrow
can’t. Whether we are high above the
clouds or in the deepest ocean, nothing
in all creation can separate us from
You. May this knowledge of Your abid-
ing and indestructible love inspire our
Senators to trust You with all their
hearts and depend upon Your wisdom.
We pray in Your awesome Name.
Amen.
f
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Presiding Officer led the Pledge
of Allegiance, as follows:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
United States of America, and to the Repub-
lic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
f
APPOINTMENT OF ACTING
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
clerk will please read a communication
to the Senate from the President pro
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY).
The senior assistant legislative clerk
read the following letter:
U.S. SENATE,
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE,
Washington, DC, June 3, 2020.
To the Senate:
Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3,
of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby
appoint the Honorable SHELLEY MOORE CAP-
ITO, a Senator from the State of West Vir-
ginia, to perform the duties of the Chair.
CHUCK GRASSLEY,
President pro tempore.
Mrs. CAPITO thereupon assumed the
Chair as Acting President pro tempore.
f
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY
LEADER
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. The majority leader is recog-
nized.
f
BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
our Nation is caught within a number
of grave problems at the same time.
This week, in cities all across Amer-
ica, the pain of racial injustice has
been compounded by violent riots that
have drowned out peaceful protests and
hurt innocent people. Millions of work-
ing families continue to face the his-
toric
economic
fallout
from
the
coronavirus pandemic, including unem-
ployment levels not seen in decades,
and, lest we forget, the actual pan-
demic itself is still with us. The virus
continues to claim hundreds of Amer-
ican
lives
every
day,
challenge
healthcare professionals, and paralyze
schools, universities, and employers
that are eager to reopen. Of course,
there is also the important business we
would have needed to have addressed
even before the pandemic.
So, for all of these reasons and more,
while the Democratic House of Rep-
resentatives may be absent—with no
plans to return for weeks and weeks—
the U.S. Senate is here and working for
the American people.
This week, we are filling more crit-
ical vacancies throughout our govern-
ment. Yesterday, we confirmed the
Special Inspector General for Pan-
demic Response. This is a brandnew po-
sition born of immediate necessity and
goals shared by Members of both par-
ties. Yet, though our Democratic col-
leagues said for weeks that CARES Act
oversight was a top priority, our col-
leagues chose to delay this nomination
for as long as possible. When the rubber
met the road, yet again, picking small
fights with President Trump took prec-
edence over urgent work for the com-
mon good.
At the same time, we also hear from
the very same Democratic colleagues
that they wish the Senate would spend
less time on nominations. Well, the
good news is that the Senate Demo-
crats can change that whenever they
want, but as long as they continue to
visit delays and obstruction on even
these lower level executive branch ap-
pointments, just for the sake of irri-
tating the White House, the Senate
will continue to do our job the hard
way.
Of course, in the weeks ahead, we
will also tackle significant legislation
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.000
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2660
June 3, 2020
for our country. We will turn to legis-
lation to strengthen the implementa-
tion of the Paycheck Protection Pro-
gram for the workers and small busi-
nesses that are struggling to weather
this storm. We will consider a bipar-
tisan bill from Senators DAINES and
GARDNER to safeguard America’s abun-
dant public lands. For the 60th con-
secutive year, we will also take up the
National Defense Authorization Act to
help guide the strategic and oper-
ational
priorities
of
our
Nation’s
Armed Forces in the face of evolving
threats.
f
AFGHANISTAN
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
make no mistake, the foreign actors
who seek to harm the United States
have not let up while we have attended
to other problems. For example, in Af-
ghanistan,
despite
agreeing
just
months ago to engage in further peace
negotiations with the Afghan Govern-
ment and sever its ties with al-Qaida,
the Taliban has, instead, continued its
violent campaign against the Afghan
people.
President Trump has expressed frus-
tration with the Taliban’s failures and
is reportedly considering withdrawing
from Afghanistan even more rapidly.
Yet, as we weigh our options, we must
not forget the painful lessons of the
last administration’s mistakes.
Former President Obama and Vice
President Biden were intent on beating
a hasty retreat from Iraq, conditions
on the ground notwithstanding. Just as
many of us warned at the time, their
recklessness left a vacuum that terror-
ists and Iran readily filled. ISIS flour-
ished. Tragically, the rest is history.
The resulting chaos threatened our in-
terests and drew American efforts back
into the region.
By contrast, the Trump administra-
tion has seen a number of successes in
this difficult region. The President’s
strategy has secured a territorial de-
feat of ISIS. It has put new pressure on
Iran and given the Iraqi people a fight-
ing chance, which their new govern-
ment seems inclined to take.
Yet helping Iraq stand up to Iranian
influence will not be an overnight
project. Iran wants to drive the United
States from the region. China and Rus-
sia would also be thrilled with a reduc-
tion of American presence and influ-
ence there. So, as we struggle to clean
up the broken pieces of one rushed
withdrawal, we need to avoid repeating
those mistakes somewhere else.
I applaud the Trump administration
for its approach thus far in Afghani-
stan. The President has taken con-
straints off U.S. forces. We have helped
Afghan forces go after the terrorists.
We have ratcheted up the costs on the
Taliban, bolstered the Afghan forces
that bear the brunt of the violence, and
won international support for our mis-
sion there. We have done all of this
with fewer resources and fewer per-
sonnel than during the previous two
administrations. The President’s strat-
egy and diplomacy have helped create
a path for discussions among Afghans—
the only thing that could actually se-
cure the country’s future.
If these qualified successes continue,
it would be appropriate to further re-
duce our American presence as certain
conditions are met, but we must retain
enough forces and influence to main-
tain our counterterrorism capabilities.
Given recent reports and our long-
standing experience, we cannot just
trust the Taliban will sever ties to al-
Qaida and other terrorist networks. We
need to be vigilant. We need to main-
tain enough presence to judge whether
the Taliban complies with agreements
and help the Afghan Government im-
pose consequences if it does not. We
need to maintain enough presence to
preserve our strategic foothold against
ISIS, the Haqqani Network, and al-
Qaida. We should also maintain enough
presence to help prevent a full replay
of Iraq or Syria—a bloodbath and a
human rights collapse, particularly for
generations of Afghan women.
Last year, a bipartisan supermajority
in the Senate voted for an amendment
I authored, which warned against pre-
cipitous withdrawals from Afghanistan
and Syria in ways that could jeopardize
the hard-won progress we have at-
tained, embolden Iran and Russia, and
create more pain for us and everyone
else in the future.
Our enemies would be thrilled if the
United States would grow too tired to
continue the hard work of standing
with our partners, confronting our ad-
versaries, and maintaining measured
leadership that projects our security
around the world. Our enemies would
be delighted if we would grow too
weary to act in our own long-term in-
terest. We must not give them that
satisfaction.
f
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Under the previous order, the
leadership time is reserved.
f
CONCLUSION OF MORNING
BUSINESS
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Morning business is closed.
f
EXECUTIVE SESSION
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will proceed to executive ses-
sion to resume consideration of the fol-
lowing nomination, which the clerk
will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
read the nomination of James H. An-
derson, of Virginia, to be a Deputy
Under Secretary of Defense.
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mrs.
LOEFFLER). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
Democratic leader is recognized.
PROTESTS AND BUSINESS OF THE SENATE
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President,
this has been a very difficult week
after what has been a very difficult few
months. A nation, beleaguered by dis-
ease and economic depression, has once
again come face-to-face with the racial
injustice that infects our society. The
death of George Floyd in police cus-
tody was a searing reminder of a long
list of unarmed African Americans
whose lives have been taken under
similar circumstances—Breonna Tay-
lor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many oth-
ers—a well of grief and loss and pain
too deep to express. It was a searing re-
minder of the bigotry and discrimina-
tion that African Americans encounter
as part of their daily reality.
That is why so many Americans of
all ages, colors, and faiths are out in
the streets protesting right now. They
are fed up with racial injustice in this
country and want to see some change.
Here in the Senate, Member after
Member has come to the floor to share
support for the same cause.
Yesterday, our caucus held a somber,
emotional, and very personal meeting,
during which our Members shared their
own lived experiences of racism and
spoke about what we need to do next
because the truth is, while speeches
and protests are vital, they will never
be enough.
We need greater accountability and
transparency in police departments
and reformed police practices so these
events don’t happen in the first place.
We need to reform the criminal justice
system that is still too short on justice
and begin chipping away at the racial
disparities that exist in healthcare,
housing, education, and in the econ-
omy.
These issues will not be solved in a
week or a month or in a year. Let’s
hope they can be solved in this decade.
But I will be damned if we don’t at
least try to make some progress. Al-
ready, my colleagues Senators BOOKER,
HARRIS,
CARDIN,
KLOBUCHAR,
DUCKWORTH, SCHATZ, SMITH, and others
are working with the Congressional
Black Caucus in the House to develop
legislation to address a number of
issues related to police violence and ra-
cial justice. Senate Democrats will not
wait to propose and push for bold, bold
change.
Will our Republican colleagues join
us? Leader MCCONNELL, commit to put
a law enforcement reform bill on the
floor of the Senate before July 4.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.001
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2661
June 3, 2020
I have made this request for several
days without an answer from the Re-
publican
leader.
Even
more
dis-
appointing,
the
Republican
leader
blocked a simple resolution I offered
last night that reaffirmed Americans’
constitutional rights to peaceful pro-
test, condemned the violence that is
occurring in too many places, and con-
demned the President as well for hav-
ing gas and rubber bullets used on a
peaceful protest in Lafayette Park,
where there were families and children
protesting in the grand American tra-
dition of peaceful protest.
There was no partisan rhetoric in
this resolution. It was three simple
concepts, a recitation of the facts, but
because Senate Republicans are so
afraid—shivering—at the thought of
criticizing the President, even when
they know his actions are way out of
line, Leader MCCONNELL
came and
blocked this resolution. Shame, shame,
shame.
We all know there are very few
checks on the President, especially a
President who believes he can do any-
thing he wants—and he said it. One of
the most effective checks on President
Trump could be the caucus of Repub-
lican Senators for once standing up to
him when he is way out of line. Where
are they? Where are they?
Even a columnist like George Will
has shown a disgust at the Republican
Senate, and he is a conservative, for
their failure to stand up to Donald
Trump on issues like this. All too often
on thorny issues such as gun safety, ra-
cial justice, and police reform, my Re-
publican colleagues sort of say what is
necessary to get through the day, when
there is an immediate crisis, and then
wait for public attention to fade.
Leader MCCONNELL
called us back
into session in early May during the
height of the COVID pandemic, but we
still have not considered a single piece
of legislation on the floor. Now listen
to
this.
Yesterday,
when
Leader
MCCONNELL was listing legislative pri-
orities for June, he did not mention
COVID legislation. Let me repeat for
those who may have missed it in the
swirl of news and events of the day.
When listing his June priorities to re-
porters, Leader MCCONNELL
did not
mention
COVID-related
legislation.
Other Republican Senators have said
that another relief bill might come in
late July—might, might.
This is shocking. This should be a
wake-up call to the American people.
Americans of all ages, races, creeds,
and philosophies, call your Republican
Senators. Demand action.
The recession will get deeper. It
could develop into a depression if we
don’t have relief. We have not done
enough in the eyes of every economist
I have looked at and respected. Gov-
ernors and mayors across the country
in red States are slashing budgets in
advance of the new fiscal year, which
for most States starts July 1. States
will be forced to cut millions of jobs
and critical services. These cuts mean
increased school class sizes, longer
emergency response times, fewer serv-
ices to keep the elderly at home and
out of nursing homes. These cuts not
only exacerbate the recession but the
wrath of the coronavirus itself. That is
what is happening while Senate Repub-
licans wait until July, maybe, to con-
sider another relief bill.
America, look at what our Repub-
licans are doing: not giving the relief
you need for your safety, for your
schools, for the services that local gov-
ernment provides.
The
Republican
majority
doesn’t
seem to have time to address a cas-
cading series of national crises—no
time. Why is that?
Where is President Trump? Where is
his Cabinet? They all know that we
need more. They all know we haven’t
solved the economic problem—far from
it. They all know that we have to do a
lot more on testing.
So our Republican majority doesn’t
seem to have time to address the
COVID national crisis, but do you
know what it does have time for? Chas-
ing President Trump’s wild conspiracy
theories. It sounds like the death knell
of the Republican Party as we know it.
They can’t deal with the two major cri-
ses of the day—racial justice and the
COVID crisis—and they are busy pur-
suing conspiracy theories, some of
them emanating from Russia, to go
after President Obama and Vice Presi-
dent Biden.
This makes no sense. This, again,
sounds like the death knell of the Re-
publican Party. The Republican Party
we used to know would have some prin-
ciples but not be afraid to run to every
major issue—to any major issue al-
most. But that is what they are doing.
Today, in the Judiciary Committee,
the Republican committee chairman
has called in Rod Rosenstein to dredge
up the President’s favorite conspiracy
theory related to the 2016 election. It is
an egregious misuse of the institu-
tion—the Senate.
Nearly a quarter of our workforce is
unemployed. Over 100,000 Americans
are dead from a strange and contagious
disease; Americans are in the streets
demanding racial justice; and shop-
worn, discredited conspiracy theories
are what the Republican majority is fo-
cused on? What alternative universe do
they live in? What alternative reality
are they in the midst of? One detached
from the real reality that the Amer-
ican people face: conspiracy theories to
help
President
Trump’s
reelection,
rightwing judges, many of whom have
antipathy to the civil rights we are
talking about now.
The Republican Party in the Senate
has moved so far into a corner, the cor-
ner that Donald Trump is in, that they
can’t address two of the most impor-
tant and major issues that have af-
fected this country in decades.
The American people should be furi-
ous with the Republican Senate major-
ity, and the American people and histo-
rians will record with sadness how this
once great party, even though I didn’t
agree with it, has declined so—no cour-
age, no principle, but simply cowering
for President Trump and his crazy
theories that even they know are
crazy.
The American people, of course,
should be furious with the President as
well. On Monday night, Americans
watched Federal officers, under the di-
rection of the President and the Attor-
ney General, use gas and rubber bullets
to disperse a crowd of peaceful pro-
testers in a public park so that the
President could stage a photo op in
front of a church, waving the Holy
Bible as a prop.
Last night, Americans saw an even
more haunting image on the internet
and their televisions: rows of camou-
flage troops standing at attention on
the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, like
an occupying force defending a critical
position.
When you see the image of troops
dressed for combat flanking the Lin-
coln Memorial, an altar of freedom,
you
cannot
help
but
think
of
Tiananmen Square. This administra-
tion ordered Federal officers to gas
peaceful
protesters
and
charge
on
horseback and defend our monuments
like battlefield positions.
What is President Trump doing to
this grand democracy? What is he
doing? And why are our Republican
colleagues just going along?
President Lincoln’s second inaugural
address is engraved in that building
where armed soldiers stood. During a
moment of extreme political division
and civil strife, President Lincoln
urged malice toward none, charity to-
ward all, and sought to bind up the Na-
tion’s wounds.
There could be no greater contrast
between Lincoln and this President,
this President who seems to have mal-
ice toward all and charity for none,
who seeks to deepen our Nation’s
wounds rather than bind them up. Our
Nation is crying out for leadership, for
direction, for some healing and some
unity. Will this President even try to
provide it?
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
jority whip is recognized.
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I
want to speak here in just a moment to
the issue of internet traffic and how
that
has
been
impacted
by
the
coronavirus, how it has impacted our
lives during the coronavirus. Before I
do that, though, I want to just respond
to a few things the Democratic leader
mentioned.
He again pointed out that the Repub-
lican Senate isn’t doing work here. It
is hard to fathom how he can possibly
come to that conclusion. The Demo-
crat-run House of Representatives is
out of session for the entire month—
the entire month of June. They are not
even here. The Democratic House of
Representatives isn’t even in town.
The Senate is here doing work, and
important work, I might add. He said
VerDate Sep 11 2014
09:22 Jun 05, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\RECORD20\JUNE\S03JN0.REC
S03JN0
abonner on DSK9F5VC42PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE
CORRECTION

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2662
June 3, 2020
we haven’t passed any legislation.
Well, the week before the Memorial
Day break we passed the Foreign Intel-
ligence Surveillance Act reauthoriza-
tion, a critical piece of national secu-
rity and intelligence legislation that
all our intelligence experts tell us is
critical to fighting the war against ter-
rorists. Pretty important legislation, I
would say.
He pointed out that the agenda for
the month of June doesn’t include
much. Well, that is only if you don’t
think that the National Defense Au-
thorization
Act
is
not
important.
Funding the military, authorizing the
weapons
systems,
paying
the
per-
sonnel,
the
technology,
the
intel-
ligence, all the things that go into pro-
tecting the country seem to me to be
pretty important.
So the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act is a piece of legislation that
the Senate will process during the up-
coming weeks here in the month of
June. In fact, that will probably take a
good week to move across the floor of
the Senate. It typically does. It is
something we have to do on an annual
basis, but there is nothing more impor-
tant and more critical to the national
security of the United States than the
National Defense Authorization Act.
We will be passing a major parks bill
this next week, which will help fund
the backlog in a lot of our national
parks—something that has been a pri-
ority for many Democrats here in this
Chamber for a long time. In fact, it is
a great bipartisan bill. In fact, I think,
out of the Democratic caucus, there
are somewhere on the order of 43 of the
47 Democrats who are cosponsoring the
piece of legislation that will be called
up later this week and be on the floor
most of next week.
So it is something that has been
around here for a while. It is going to
be a major legislative accomplishment.
It will be a bipartisan accomplishment
when it passes.
So I would just say that the fact that
we aren’t doing the things the Demo-
cratic leader wants to do doesn’t mean
the Senate isn’t very busy. The things
he wants to do, the things he talks
about wanting to do, are things that we
are doing. We are dealing with the
coronavirus on a daily basis around
here.
I am a member of the Senate Finance
Committee. Yesterday, the Senate Fi-
nance Committee had a hearing in
which officials from the FDA, for ex-
ample, critical agencies when it comes
particularly to pharmaceuticals in this
country, attended, and the subject of
the hearing was the pharmaceutical
supply chain and what we need to do to
shore that up, to make sure that in fu-
ture pandemics, with lessons learned
from this one, we aren’t dependent
upon unreliable supply chains in places
around the world that, frankly, may
not be dependable. That is a pretty im-
portant issue when it comes to dealing
with the effects and the impacts of the
coronavirus.
Today, in the Senate Commerce
Committee,
another
committee
on
which I serve, we are going to be exam-
ining the impact of the coronavirus on
our transportation infrastructure and
how important this transportation has
been throughout the course of the
coronavirus in ensuring that we keep
commerce going, that we keep food in
the grocery stores.
We are going to be looking at both
the highway aspect, the rail aspect—all
of those—and how they are impacted
by the coronavirus and what we might
need to do to ensure that they continue
to be able to provide the services that
they do going forward.
So we are consistently looking at, on
a daily basis, the coronavirus, the im-
pact it is having on our economy, the
impact it is having on the health of
people in this country, the health
emergency, and putting measures in
place that would deal not only with
that health emergency but also with
the economic crisis created by it.
In the meantime, we are seeing the
economy start to open up again, which
I think is a very good thing. I am hope-
ful we will see, as the economy opens
up, that people will get out, consumers
will spend, investors will invest, and
we will see that economy start to grow
again, jobs to come back.
Obviously, we have very high unem-
ployment right now—a major concern.
We also have a major unemployment
insurance piece of legislation that was
moved by this Congress earlier to pro-
vide assistance and help for those who,
through no fault of their own, have had
to go on unemployment.
To suggest for a moment that we
aren’t focused on the coronavirus is
completely missing the point—as is to
suggest, also, that we haven’t done a
lot already. We passed four major
pieces of legislation, totaling almost $3
trillion, and that is $3 trillion if you
don’t include the amount of leverage
we gave to the Federal Reserve and the
Treasury to extend credit and create li-
quidity out there. With the power of
that leverage, it is somewhere on the
order of about $6 trillion in assistance
that we have put out there through dif-
ferent legislative vehicles to the Amer-
ican people.
So you are seeing that translated
into the Paycheck Protection Pro-
gram, which is keeping people em-
ployed, keeping jobs in this country,
keeping businesses functioning and op-
erating. It has been a very successful
program.
You are seeing it in the form of di-
rect assistance to State and local gov-
ernments. And $150 billion has been put
out there, much of which hasn’t been
spent, and that is on top of a lot of
other assistance to State and local gov-
ernments, which totals somewhere on
the order of about $500 billion. Almost
half a trillion dollars, so far, sum total,
has gone out to State and local govern-
ments.
Much of that, as I said, is in the pipe-
line, hasn’t been spent yet. It can be
used, as the Treasury has pointed out,
given the States’ flexibility, for emer-
gency personnel, first responders, po-
lice, all the things that the Senator
from New York talked about. That is
flexibility the States have now to be
able to meet the needs that they have
and to work with their local govern-
ments and meet the needs of the local
governments.
So there is a lot of money in the
pipeline, not to mention, of course,
first and foremost, the money we put
out there for investment in thera-
peutics, in vaccines, in diagnostic test-
ing, and all the money that has gone
out to hospitals and nursing home pro-
viders and long-term care facilities to
help them get through this crisis in the
form of direct assistance. So there is a
lot of money in the pipeline—as I said,
about $2.9 trillion that has already
been authorized, and I think about 40
percent, maybe, has been spent. So
there is still a lot of assistance going
out there.
My friend, the Democratic leader,
would just want to put a whole bunch
more money out there without know-
ing what the need is, and I think, at a
time when we are already running a $21
trillion—now
$25
trillion—debt,
we
ought to be very circumspect and pay
attention to what is happening in our
economy, what the needs are, what we
need to keep the economy opening up
and responding, what we continue to
need to do to help people who are un-
employed, what we continue to need to
do to help families in this country who
are struggling through this crisis.
But we ought to do that based on the
need, not just somebody saying: Well,
let’s just throw a bunch more money
out there and hope that it has an im-
pact. We have done that. We have
flooded the zone with dollars. There is
a tremendous amount of resources out
there right now, a lot of which has yet
to be spent, and it strikes me, at least,
that, in the eyes of most Americans,
they would view it as pretty impor-
tant,
before
we
spend
more
tax
money—all of which, I might add, is
going to be borrowed money—that we
see how what we have done already is
working, if it has been effective and is
having the desired impact.
There is so much going on around
here dealing with the coronavirus, it
just completely defies any sort of logic
to what the Democratic leader sug-
gested was happening here in the Sen-
ate.
He made one other comment, which I
think I have to respond to. He said that
the Senate is in the process—Repub-
licans in the Senate are processing
rightwing judges who have antipathy
for the very civil rights issues that we
are dealing with right now.
I don’t know how you can make a
statement like that. I don’t know how
you can ascribe motive or intent to
judges. You don’t know who these
judges are.
We have a judge we are going to be
processing here for the DC circuit. It is
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.005
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2663
June 3, 2020
a pretty important circuit in this coun-
try. He is the district judge from Ken-
tucky. He has been rated as very ‘‘well
qualified’’ by the American Bar Asso-
ciation. The American Bar Association
isn’t a rightwing group at all. In fact,
many on our side think they certainly
drift the other direction. Yet they have
said this judge is a well-qualified judge.
Do you think they would be saying
something like that about a judge who
had antipathy for civil rights? I mean,
that is just, I would say, a reckless and
irresponsible
statement
unless
you
have something to back that up and
support it.
So I just thought it would be impor-
tant to respond to some of the things
that the Democratic leader just said
with respect to the agenda here in the
Senate, which, as I pointed out earlier,
is a very full one. If you compare it to
the agenda of our colleagues in the
Democrat-controlled House, which is
zilch because they are not here for the
entire month, it seems to me the Sen-
ate is getting a lot of work done.
5G
So, Madam President, what I came
here to talk about—I came down to the
floor a couple of weeks ago to talk
about how the coronavirus is high-
lighting
the
importance
of
strong
internet networks.
Despite the surge we have seen in
internet traffic that the coronavirus
has produced, with Americans using
the internet for everything from work
to school to family dinners, U.S. net-
works have held up tremendously well.
Americans have been able to enjoy
the same speed and streaming quality
that they typically enjoy, something
that hasn’t happened in a lot of other
countries, and that is a direct result of
the United States’ light-touch ap-
proach to internet regulation, which
has encouraged American companies to
invest in the latest communications in-
frastructure and new technologies to
make more efficient use of spectrum.
Our Nation is currently preparing for
the widespread adoption of the next
generation of internet technology—
what is known as 5G. We need to make
sure that our 5G networks will be as
strong as our current networks, but we
still have some work to do to get to
that point.
I come down here frequently to the
floor to discuss that work, which in-
cludes paving the way for the wide-
spread installation of the small cells
that are necessary for 5G networks, en-
hancing the availability of the mid-
band spectrum that is necessary for 5G
deployment, and investing in a 5G
workforce.
But there is also another aspect we
need to think about when it comes to
5G, which is sometimes not talked
about as much, and that is network se-
curity. With its incredible speed and
connectivity, 5G will usher in a new
era of innovation: advances in medical
care, the large-scale deployment of pre-
cision agriculture, safer transportation
technologies. 5G will bring all of these
things and more.
But like any new technology, 5G net-
works will present new risks and vul-
nerabilities. And because 5G will mean
a vastly greater number of connected
devices, the risks with 5G will be great-
er. That is the why a central part of de-
ploying 5G networks has to be looking
at how we can mitigate security risks.
We need to ensure that our compo-
nent parts of our devices and, criti-
cally, the component parts of tele-
communications networks, like cell
towers and the small cells that will be
required for 5G, are secure. A primary
way to do that is by ensuring that 5G
equipment comes from trusted vendors.
Currently, one of the biggest sup-
pliers of 5G equipment worldwide is a
Chinese company, Huawei, which is
supported by the Chinese Government.
China’s 2017 national intelligence law
requires Chinese companies to support
the Chinese Government’s intelligence
activities. American security officials
have raised concerns that much of
Huawei’s equipment is built with back
doors that give the Chinese Govern-
ment access to global communications
networks.
I don’t need to tell anyone that we
should be wary of China’s motives and
that China’s interests are frequently
opposed to those of the United States.
China’s handling of the coronavirus
is a striking current example of the
Chinese Government’s prioritizing its
own interests or pride over the public
good. As a New York Times article
noted in February, ‘‘The [Chinese] gov-
ernment’s initial handling of the epi-
demic allowed the virus to gain a tena-
cious hold. At critical moments, offi-
cials chose to put secrecy and order
ahead of openly confronting the grow-
ing crisis to avoid political alarm and
political embarrassment.’’
Whether it was driven by the hubris
of the Communist Party or merely the
callous indifference the Communist
state has for the well-being of its own
citizens, China was not transparent
about the grave danger of COVID–19. It
failed to release accurate information
about the nature and spread of the
virus, and it took active steps to make
sure the truth did not get out in other
ways. Whistleblowers were punished;
the centers were censored; and journal-
ists were expelled.
Despite the fact that its negligence
undoubtedly contributed to the global
spread of COVID–19, China still con-
tinues to be less than forthcoming
about the virus. Unfortunately, this is
run-of-the-mill governing in China, as
we saw with the SARS outbreak in the
early 2000s and as we have seen in
many other instances.
Not content with its role in aggra-
vating the spread of the coronavirus,
the Chinese Communist Party has also
taken advantage of the pandemic to
strip Hong Kong of its autonomy and
freedom. China’s hope is that our Na-
tion is too preoccupied with this pan-
demic to notice its efforts to under-
mine what should be Hong Kong’s au-
tonomy under the one state, two sys-
tems construct.
We have noticed. As many of my col-
leagues and I have expressed, we stand
with Hong Kong. We must carefully
consider an appropriate response, one
that will rebuke the Communist Party
of China without negatively affecting
the people of Hong Kong, their well-
being, and their democratic aspira-
tions.
We didn’t need COVID–19 or China’s
recent actions in Hong Kong to know
that giving the Chinese Government a
backdoor into American communica-
tions networks is a bad idea. But it cer-
tainly underscores the need to make
sure that 5G infrastructure is not made
by companies beholden to the Chinese
Government. The United States has
taken a number of steps to prevent
equipment from Huawei and another
suspect Chinese company, ZTE, from
being used in U.S. communications
networks, but these companies still
pose a risk to the United States.
For starters, some U.S. broadband
providers, often in rural areas, still
have equipment from Huawei and ZTE
in their communications networks. A
number of our allies and trade part-
ners—entities with whom we regularly
share information, including sensitive
national
security
information—have
used or are using technology from
Huawei and ZTE.
What can we do? An initiative is al-
ready underway to replace suspect tele-
communications components in U.S.
networks with hardware from trusted
companies.
In March, the President signed legis-
lation developed by the Commerce
Committee chairman, ROGER WICKER,
the Secure and Trusted Communica-
tions Network Act, to help speed up
this process. This legislation, which I
cosponsored,
will
help
small
tele-
communications providers with the
cost of replacing network components
that pose a security risk.
Also, In March, I introduced legisla-
tion to help address the other part of
the problem, and that is the use of
Huawei technology by our allies and
our trading partners. We regularly ex-
change
information,
including
sen-
sitive national security information,
with our allies and trading partners.
And this information can only be se-
cure if networks on both ends are se-
cure. That is why the United States
has called for other countries to reject
telecommunications technology from
Huawei and ZTE.
A number of countries have com-
mitted to using trusted companies to
build out their telecommunications
networks, but other countries are still
planning to make use of Huawei’s tech-
nology. My legislation, the Network
Security Trade Act, would make tele-
communications security a key objec-
tive when negotiating future trade
deals.
We should be using trade agreements
to push for enhanced network security
globally, which would benefit not only
our country but every country with
which we do business.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.006
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2664
June 3, 2020
We recently opened negotiations on a
new trade deal with the United King-
dom, which has been using Huawei
technology to build its 5G networks. I
am pleased that it now looks like the
UK is reconsidering its use of Huawei
components. I hope they will decide to
reject the suspect technology.
I hope the trade negotiations will
emphasize the importance of using
trusted companies to build out the
UK’s
telecommunications
networks.
The security of our communications
with our trading partners and allies—
particularly those allies like Britain—
needs to be a priority.
As we move forward into the 5G fu-
ture, we need to make sure that our
technological
advancements
are
matched with advancements and net-
work security. That starts with keep-
ing Huawei and other suspect tech-
nology out of our networks and, if at
all possible, out of the networks of our
allies.
I will continue to do everything I can
to ensure that we have not only the in-
frastructure but the security needed to
keep American networks at the fore-
front of the telecommunications revo-
lution.
Before I close, let me just say one
more word about China. As I said ear-
lier, China’s coronavirus deception is
undoubtedly partly responsible for the
fact that this virus has now spread to
every corner of the world. China’s re-
cent actions with regard to Hong Kong
underscore the hostility of the Chinese
Government to the values that free-
dom-loving countries hold dear.
China has a lot of work to do if it
ever hopes to rebuild trust with other
nations. At a bare minimum, we expect
China to uphold its recent trade com-
mitments, which are critical to Amer-
ica’s hard-hit farmers and ranchers. I
will be looking, and our entire govern-
ment will be looking, to see if China’s
word on trade agreements can be relied
upon. I hope that the Chinese Govern-
ment will live up to its commitments.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask
unanimous consent that following my
remarks, the senior Senator from Okla-
homa is recognized.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
CORONAVIRUS
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I
note with some interest that one Re-
publican colleague after another comes
to the floor—their ‘‘protect the Presi-
dent at all costs’’ colleagues, no matter
what he does, no matter what he says,
no matter how he acts, no matter how
incompetent, no matter how divisive—
and continues to point their fingers at
the Chinese for the coronavirus. God
knows, China deserves heaps of blame
for the outbreak in the early spread of
the coronavirus. There is no question
they deserve a lot of blame for the out-
break in the early spread, and they are
lying about it. But keep in mind that
we are 5 percent of the world’s popu-
lation, and 30 percent of the deaths
from the coronavirus have been Ameri-
cans. This President continues to make
excuses and point fingers. And the
compliant, always obedient, sheeplike
Members of the Republican caucus con-
ference of the Senate continue to stay
quiet, continue to do nothing about
this
President’s
behavior
and
the
105,000 deaths from coronavirus in this
country.
PROTESTS
Mr. President, the protests around
our State, throughout our country, are
an expression of fear and grief and frus-
tration and of anger. Black commu-
nities led the Nation in mourning the
killings of George Floyd and Breonna
Taylor over the last week. They are
now leading calls for justice and long-
term changes to dismantle the systems
of oppression that hold them back.
Instead of listening to those calls
from the people who built this country,
instead of offering leadership and ris-
ing to meet this moment—as every one
of his predecessors of both parties did
in times of trouble for our country—
President Trump fails yet again. In-
stead of uniting, he divides. Instead of
comforting, he stokes fear. He points
fingers. He places blame. Instead of
healing, he rubs salt in the open
wounds of Black Americans.
On Monday night, the President of
the United States turned the arm of
the state on peaceful protesters—we
saw the video—tear-gassing the citi-
zens he is supposed to serve, all so he
could walk across the street and stage
a photo op at a church he doesn’t at-
tend and hold up a Bible that he
doesn’t read. The timid—you choose
the adjective—timid, cowardly, spine-
less Republican colleagues in this Sen-
ate just remained silent. How offended
they would have been if a Democratic
President had done what this President
does and fails to do—the tear-gassing
of citizens he is supposed to serve, the
photo op at a church, the holding up of
the Bible he doesn’t read, the excuses,
the divisiveness, all of that.
People are tired. People are angry:
more Black sons and daughters and
mothers and fathers killed by police of-
ficers—the very people who are sup-
posed to protect all Americans; more
death, when many are already griev-
ing—so many in the Black community
already grieving the loss of family
members
and
friends
for
the
coronavirus, grappling with the eco-
nomic stress this pandemic has caused.
The pandemic has been the ‘‘great re-
vealer.’’ We know Black and Brown
communities have been hit hardest by
the coronavirus. They are more likely
to get sick. They have less access to
healthcare. They make up the commu-
nities hurt by Jim Crow laws and red-
lining and now the locking in of those
rules and regulations by the Trump ad-
ministration. Black and Brown com-
munities disproportionately make up
our essential workers. It is not because
they don’t work as hard. It is not be-
cause of individual choices. We all
work hard. We are all trying to do
something productive for our families
and our communities. We all want to
build a better country for our daugh-
ters and our sons. No; it is because of a
racist system that is making it harder
for their work to pay off and putting at
risk their lives for generations, long
before this virus appeared.
A grocery store worker in Cincinnati
said to me: They tell me I am essential,
but I feel expendable. I don’t feel safe
at work, and they don’t pay me very
much. I feel expendable.
Long before this pandemic, millions
of Americans knew we had a system
that treats them like they are expend-
able. Their hard work isn’t paying off.
For some, it feels like the system is
broken. For Black and Brown workers,
it never worked to begin with.
In the midst of the trauma and the
grieving, millions of those same Ameri-
cans still go to work day after day,
week after week, in grocery stores, as
delivery people, in drugstores, as bus-
drivers, and the people who do the
linen and change the beds in hospitals,
the
food
service
workers,
the
custodians, the security people, the
first responders. In the midst of the
trauma and grieving, those same Amer-
icans—millions of them—still go to
work day after day, week after week.
Our job is to show the victims of sys-
temic racism at the hands of their own
government that the same government
can and will protect them from this
pandemic. We hear them. We see them.
We fight for them. Their lives matter.
Our response to this crisis must be to
stand behind all the people who make
this country work, all workers, wheth-
er you swipe a badge or punch a clock,
whether you earn a salary or make
tips, whether you are raising children
or caring for an aging parent; all work-
ers, whether your hard work isn’t pay-
ing off now or whether it never paid off
the way it should.
Dr. King said:
One day our society will come to respect
the sanitation worker. For the person who
picks up our garbage, in the final analysis, is
as significant as the physician, for if he
doesn’t do his job, diseases are rampant. All
labor has dignity.
It is Black and Brown workers who
have too often, far too long, far too
often been robbed of their dignity on
the job. If we want to be a country
where all people have dignity, we need
to start by recognizing that all labor
has dignity. But so far, our response to
the crisis is not the response of a gov-
ernment that believes that. This Sen-
ate, this President, can always find
trillions of dollars for corporations—
for tax cuts, for bailouts. But when
hard-working families need help with
rent or to put food on the table, Presi-
dent Trump and Leader MCCONNELL
say we can’t afford it.
The President and the administra-
tion have already made racial and eco-
nomic inequality worse and undone
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.007
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2665
June 3, 2020
civil rights protections. They have
been pretty clear that they are willing
to put American workers’ lives at
risk—to reopen stockyards or just to
juice the stock market.
President Trump and his administra-
tion believe that millions of Americans
are expendable. It is not a coincidence
that many of the people they consider
expendable are Black and Brown work-
ers.
Since the President is unwilling to
protect people—whether that is pro-
tecting their lives or protecting their
financial future—we in the Senate
must fill the leadership void. As we do
that, we work for change. We need to
be clear that part of leading is listen-
ing.
The best ideas don’t come out of
Washington—the solutions we need to
fix the justice system, to address
wealth inequality, to reverse dispari-
ties in healthcare, to help communities
that have been hurt by redlining and
Jim Crow laws and so much more.
Whenever we talk about this, when-
ever people bring up the ways the sys-
tem has failed so many Americans on
the Senate floor or at a protest march,
there are always naysayers—almost al-
ways White, usually men, often pretty
well-off—who say: How can you be so
negative? Why do you want to dwell on
all the worst parts of our history?
Don’t you love our country?
My
response
to
our
country’s
naysayers and sunshine patriots is this:
How can you be so pessimistic as to be-
lieve that this is the best our country
can do? Do you really think the Amer-
ican people, with our ingenuity and our
optimism and tenacity—do you really
think the American people can’t create
a fair economy and a more just govern-
ment? Do you truly believe we can’t
have a society that works for every-
one—Black and White and Brown,
women and men—no matter who you
are, no matter what kind of work you
do? Protesting, working for change, or-
ganizing, demanding our country do
better—those are some of the most pa-
triotic things any of us can do.
I love my country. If you love this
country, you fight for the people who
make it work, all of them.
I yield the floor.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
Chair would remind Senators that
under rule XIX, it is provided that ‘‘no
Senator in debate shall, directly or in-
directly, by any form of words impute
to another Senator or to other Sen-
ators any conduct or motive unworthy
or unbecoming a Senator.’’
The Senator from Oklahoma is recog-
nized.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I
want to respond to the accusations
that were made. And I worded that
carefully not to violate any rules. I am
going to do that.
I see kind of an active desperation
that is creeping in on statements and
things that are said about other people.
And right now, we are experiencing
some things that actually are a suc-
cess.
I want to respond to some of the ac-
cusations that were made. First, I have
something else to do that is kind of an
awkward thing to be doing at this time
because I am going to go back to talk
about something that happened not
yesterday or this week but back in
1983. I think it is important that we do
this. About every 10 years I do this.
And we are going to be successful now
because I have a commitment from the
President that he is going to stay
hitched on an issue—a huge issue in
the past.
In 1983, not much was known about
Iran’s efforts to train and arm the rad-
ical proxies and to kill Americans and
to kill our partners and our allies. Peo-
ple know now. In fact, only a few years
earlier, Ayatollah Khamenei led a vio-
lent revolution in Iran. Khamenei’s re-
gime introduced himself to the world
by taking American diplomats hostage
for 444 days—444 days. We all remember
when that happened. That was some-
thing unprecedented. It was all tied
into Khamenei. Of course, he used
other people. Nothing has changed
since that time.
Nonetheless, for the next decade,
until his death in 1989, Khamenei was
the ruthless face of an Iranian regime
that applied a brutal version of reli-
gious law, murdered innocent people,
suppressed religious and ethnic minori-
ties, and supported radical Islamists.
He hated Western value, and he hated
the freedoms that we enjoy. Almost 4
years into his rule as Supreme Leader,
October 23, 1983, 241 Americans, both
U.S. marines and other service per-
sonnel serving a peace mission in Bei-
rut, were attacked at their barracks by
a truck that was carrying 2,000 pounds
of explosives by terrorists who were
armed and trained by Iran. That was in
1983. Two hundred and forty-one died.
These terrorists later became what
we know as Hezbollah. That is the first
time they surfaced and were identified
as they are today, as an arm of Iran.
Hezbollah struck.
In 2003, 20 years after the attack on
our marines, the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia
ruled in a civil suit brought by the
families of the victims—the 241 who
were
killed—that
Iran
had
used
Hezbollah as a proxy to bomb the Ma-
rine barracks in Beirut on that October
day.
Not much has changed with Iran, un-
fortunately. It is the same way they
operate now. They don’t play by the
rules. They never have. They are ter-
rorists. They are worse than terrorists.
They are the ones who are training the
terrorists. That became even more ap-
parent when we began to learn more
about their ties to Islamist terror orga-
nizations and how they use proxy orga-
nizations, with no true allegiance but
on behalf of a twisted interpretation of
Islamic religious text, to murder and
then sneak back into the shadows.
That is the way they operated, and
that is the way they operate today.
It
happened
under
Ayatollah
Khamenei, and it happens under the
current Supreme Leader as well. Noth-
ing has really changed. A lot of years
have gone by. A lot of people have died.
As I speak here on the floor, Iran is
providing weapons and cover for the
Houthi rebels, who are committing un-
thinkable atrocities in Yemen. Iran has
continued to support terrorist groups
that threaten our personnel in Iraq. It
has repeatedly attacked our partners
across the region. What is even worse
is Iran seeks a nuclear weapon capa-
bility, and President Obama’s Iran deal
would have, ultimately, let it have ex-
actly what it wanted.
Fortunately, we now have a Presi-
dent who takes a strong stance against
Iran with the imposing of sanctions
and the pulling out of the flawed Iran
nuclear deal that the previous adminis-
tration put us in.
By the way, I had a joyful conversa-
tion for a half an hour yesterday with
Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of
Israel. He was reminding me that I was
in Israel and in the Prime Minister’s
office at the very moment that Presi-
dent Trump pulled out of the Iran deal,
and I had never seen him so jubilant.
We just talked about that yesterday.
Go back now to October 23, 1983,
when 241 Americans were killed by an
Iranian-backed suicide bomber. It was
a terrible day in U.S. history, and, in
2003, a U.S. court ruled that Iran was
responsible. That suit against Iran,
brought by the victims’ families—the
families of the 241 who died—provided
punitive and compensatory relief in the
form of Iranian assets. In 2007, the dis-
trict court judge awarded just over $2.5
billion to the families of those mur-
dered in that atrocity.
Our work isn’t done now. You would
think that it would be, but it is not be-
cause there is nearly $1.7 billion in
laundered Iranian assets in a Luxem-
bourg bank named Clear Street, and we
need to make sure that it stays there.
Yet I have this gnawing feeling that,
once something is over in Luxembourg
or someplace like that, all of a sudden,
you wake up and find that Iran has $1.7
billion it is not entitled to in order to
spread terrorism throughout the world.
In last year’s NDAA—now, the NDAA
is the largest bill we do each year. I
chair the defense authorization. It is
called the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act. We pass it every year. We in-
cluded language that made those assets
available to the victims’ families, and
the President signed it. I talked to the
President, and he is anxious to do this.
We have one obstacle that we have to
get past, which is some activity by the
second circuit where it is now being
played out.
President Trump has been a firm
leader against the aggressive Iran, and
I certainly stand with him. That is why
this is a clear opportunity to continue
President Trump’s maximum pressure
campaign against the current Iranian
regime so as to ensure these assets do
not return to Iran, where they would
surely be used to help the proxy orga-
nization, such as Hezbollah.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.009
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2666
June 3, 2020
I trust our Department of Justice
with this, and I am glad we have a
President who has made this a top pri-
ority—making sure the families of
those 241 victims who were killed in
Beirut receive this money as opposed
to having the money go back.
PROTESTS
Mr. President, in responding to a
couple of things that were said a few
minutes ago, we all know this is a real-
ly trying time for our Nation. I begin
with the obvious, which is what hap-
pened to George Floyd was a crime. It
was a horrible crime, and it has caused
a groundswell of people joining to-
gether and standing against injustice
and hate, not just for George Floyd but
for so many others.
Protests are meaningful and positive
events—standing up for dignity and re-
spect for all people. Protesting is a
cherished part of our democratic soci-
ety that is enshrined in the First
Amendment. The rights of peaceful
protest should be supported and cele-
brated, period. We understand that.
Yet those protests are not the same as
the dangerous, destructive activity we
have seen in many of our cities just in
the last couple of days. Emotions are
high, and tensions are high, which is
understandable. We need law and order
if we are going to move forward, and I
think every reasonable person agrees
with that.
We are trying to have tough con-
versations about inequality, but we are
facing a lot of misinformation, espe-
cially when it comes to our military. If
we let this misinformation spread, it
will just make things worse. All of the
people out there—I am talking about
the ‘‘hate Trump’’ people—are using
this to try to lie to the American peo-
ple. So I would like to correct the
record, and I hope every American here
understands and believes these words.
This is very important. Here is what is
happening.
Right now, the National Guard has
not been federalized for response. Right
now, Active-Duty troops have not been
sent into any city, including DC. I was
here last night. I was visibly looking
around and making sure that this was
not the case, and it was not. There
were no Active-Duty troops in spite of
things you have heard to the contrary.
Right now, local and State law en-
forcement are being supported by the
National Guard but only when they are
requested by their States. The Depart-
ment of Defense believes that, and by
and large, they are doing a fine job. I
agree with that. Our military is pre-
pared to step in if the situation dete-
riorates dramatically and only if our
President finds he has to step in. To be
crystal clear, the President hasn’t done
that yet.
I ask my fellow Americans to slow
down and understand what will happen
if and only if the President does so. It
doesn’t mean that our streets will im-
mediately be flooded with uniformed
and armed troops. There is a process
that has to be followed just as it was in
1992 with the LA riots, in 1998 after
Hurricane Hugo, and at every other
time before that.
First, this is the process. What has to
happen is the President must issue a
proclamation ordering any insurgents
to disperse within a set period of time.
Now, that is really important because
that is the warning shot. He says this
is going to happen, but only you can
keep this from happening. The Presi-
dent has to issue the proclamation or-
dering any insurgents to disperse with-
in a set period of time. It will mean
that our Nation’s military and security
leaders, including our Commander in
Chief—the President—will have deter-
mined that the situation will have de-
teriorated in a way that local officials
will not have managed on their own. In
virtually every case, local officials
have agreed with that.
We are not there now. We are not
there at all, and I hope we don’t get
there. This will only be as a last resort.
If we do, I am confident this decision
will be made with the advice of the top
civilian and military officials who have
all been confirmed with wide bipar-
tisan support and margins.
GENERAL MARK A. MILLEY
Mr. President, I would like to say a
little something about simple military
relations. This is something I care a lot
about as chairman of the Senate Com-
mittee on Armed Services. In par-
ticular, I want to speak about General
Milley.
General Milley is the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this job,
General Milley is the President’s top
military
adviser.
Don’t
forget
he
doesn’t have any command authority
over the military forces. This is impor-
tant. This is not what you hear people
talking about when they misrepresent
the situation. This is very important.
He is there as the adviser to the Presi-
dent of the United States, and he
doesn’t have any command authority.
There has been a lot of criticism about
his wearing his battle dress uniform—
his BDU, as they call it—on Monday
when the President spoke. Here is an-
other area in which I want to set the
record straight.
General Milley was getting ready to
visit with troops around DC—I know
that. I was talking to him that day—
who were also in their BDUs. That was
the dress uniform for their function at
that time. Then he was called to the
White House. We all know why he was
called to the White House. He is the ad-
viser to the President. I think everyone
can agree that we want that voice at
the table in situations like this to pro-
vide the best military advice, as is his
statutory authority and responsibility.
On Monday, after General Milley
walked outside with the President, he
assessed the situation and immediately
removed himself. Now, this isn’t just
me talking. I know that he did because
I was with him shortly before that and
also after that. So that was a fact. He
also told me that he intended to honor
his oath and uphold the delicate bal-
ance between civilians and the mili-
tary. I fully believe him. He has always
done that in the past and always will
do that.
The
accusations
against
General
Milley are especially troubling to me
because I know, from working with
him, of his commitment to our Nation,
to the Constitution, and to the Amer-
ican people—of keeping them safe and
giving his best military advice. It is
striking below the belt to make these
accusations and to try to scare the
American people. It is my duty as
chairman of the Committee on Armed
Services to have strong oversight over
this issue. We have oversight over it. If
what they are saying is true, we still
have the oversight.
I assure you, right now, we are
watching what our military is doing
and what it has always done, which is
its duty within the law and constitu-
tional limits, and that is exactly what
General Milley has done and is doing
right now. We are seeing a lot of finger-
pointing and blame going around. We
owe it to ourselves and our neighbors
to believe the very best in each other,
not assume the worse. We need to rec-
ognize everyone’s inherent value and
dignity and treat each other with re-
spect and dignity as Christ calls us to
do. Only then can we listen with both
of our ears and with our hearts. That is
what I am asking the American people
to do.
Many of those in the protests are in
a group that has been referred to as
antifa. Certainly, George Floyd’s death
was a tragedy and went beyond un-
thinkable dimensions, but did any of
them know who he was? I suggest, no,
they really didn’t. So I would only say
this: I think, in answer to the accusa-
tions that were made, that I would
quote only one or two sentences out of
a speech that our President made 2
days ago in the Rose Garden. This is
very self-explanatory and does explain
the situation in response to the accusa-
tions that have been made falsely
about him.
We cannot allow the righteous cries and
peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an
angry mob. The biggest victims of the riot-
ing are peace-loving citizens in our poorest
communities. And as their President, I will
fight to keep them safe. I will fight to pro-
tect you. I am your President of law and
order and an ally of all peaceful protesters.
I yield the floor.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mr.
SASSE). The Senator from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I
first thank my friend, Senator LEAHY,
for allowing me to speak, for we are all
dealing with the Committee on the Ju-
diciary.
I ask unanimous consent that Sen-
ator LEAHY be recognized as soon as I
finish my brief remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I
want to say just a couple of things to
Tennesseans and to Americans.
All are expressing their rage and
grief over the murder of George Floyd
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.011
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2667
June 3, 2020
in Minnesota. I will tell you that this
event of May 25 cannot be written off
as a simple use of force or as being un-
fortunate or regrettable. We all know
that, on that day, George Floyd was
killed by a police officer while other of-
ficers looked on and heard his begging
for life and his cries for help. The offi-
cers responsible should be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law.
I offer my prayers and condolences to
the Floyd family, just as so many
other Members of this Chamber have
done, and I support the President’s call
for the Justice Department to inves-
tigate this death.
CENSORSHIP
Mr. President, our country was built
on the premise of dissent, and we have
seen the power that peaceful protests
have in their ability to bring change to
every level of government. Unfortu-
nately, over the past week, we have
also seen what happens when criminals
and
shadowy
professionals
exploit
these public expressions of frustration
and pain.
Every single day, Americans are
waking up to find that their neighbor-
hoods have been destroyed, and they
watch news reports that are dominated
by lawlessness. Many activists and
members of the mainstream media
have attempted to force us into choos-
ing between solidarity and maintaining
law and order. This is a false choice. It
is one that we ought to reject. Instead,
we should fight for accountability,
compassion, and understanding. At the
same time, we must condemn racism,
hatred, and the violence that has torn
apart so many neighborhoods this very
week.
We should also celebrate and defend
our right to peaceful disagreement in
the streets, in the classroom, and on-
line just as well as in this very Cham-
ber. Unfortunately, too often, this
right is not celebrated. Over the years,
we have documented Big Tech’s history
of censorship, particularly the censor-
ship of dissenting conservative voices.
During the 2018 election cycle, a series
of pro-life ads that I sponsored on so-
cial media were taken down for having
content the platform labeled as ‘‘in-
flammatory.’’
For years, conservatives have been
fighting a losing war against content
moderation policies that act as a drag-
net for dissenting opinions. Last week,
Twitter rolled out a new ‘‘fact-check-
ing’’ feature and almost immediately
botched a fact check on one of Presi-
dent Trump’s tweets. Unfortunately,
for Twitter, the President was not
afraid to point out how easy it is for
private companies to make mistakes
that turn moderation into speech polic-
ing. We know that social media compa-
nies have subjectively manipulated
their algorithms to capture conserv-
ative opinions and conservative elected
officials. They have been doing this for
too long for it to just be a mere mis-
take. These are not unintended con-
sequences.
Last week, President Trump signed
an Executive order to bring some much
needed attention to the issue, and we
thank him for that. As head of the Ju-
diciary Committee’s Tech Task Force,
I look forward to working with the
White House and the Justice Depart-
ment to preserve free speech online for
all Americans.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Vermont.
PROTESTS
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we know
that America is hurting. It is reeling
from a deadly pandemic that has taken
more than 100,000 lives and then from
witnessing the broad daylight murder—
murder—of yet another Black man by
an officer of the law. It seethes with
rage and sorrow about the racial injus-
tices that still plague our society.
America is suffering from unprece-
dented political divisions that are rou-
tinely worsened and deepened by a
President whose every utterance only
tears us further apart. In my decades
in the U.S. Senate, I have never seen
our country so in need of healing.
I was a prosecutor. So, when I first
saw the video of George Floyd’s mur-
der—a human being who was pinned
down by the neck, cried ‘‘I can’t
breathe,’’ and desperately called out
for his mother—I was shocked to my
core. For millions of Americans and for
me, that shock swiftly turned into
anger.
How could a police officer, who has
sworn an oath to protect and serve, so
casually take a human being’s life?
Why did his fellow officers who wit-
nessed the murder that we all wit-
nessed on video stand there and do
nothing to stop it? How could this hap-
pen in plain sight when multiple on-
lookers begged the officer to relent—
stop his murderous conduct—as George
fell unconscious?
I was left sickened and shaken.
I do not know and did not know
George Floyd, but imagine if he were
your neighbor or your friend. Imagine
if George Floyd were your brother,
your son, your husband, or your grand-
child. Imagine if George Floyd simply
looked like your loved one and shared
the same skin color. Imagine the con-
cern you would have for such a person
who lived in constant fear of those who
are responsible to protect us all. So it
is no surprise that protests swept our
Nation in the wake of this murder.
Communities of color and all those who
sympathize with them are fed up. They
are sick and tired of the fact that Afri-
can Americans are nearly 21⁄2 times as
likely as White Americans to be killed
by police officers. No one of good con-
science can sit idly by while African-
American lives are treated with less
worth. Our country long ago promised
equal rights and equal justice.
Now protesters are aching for real ac-
countability for officers of the law who
engage in lawless violence. It is not
simply justice for George Floyd; it is
justice for Eric Garner, Michael Brown,
Tamir Rice. The list goes on and on,
which is why the protests go on and on.
Too often, people feel the police offi-
cers who take Black lives are treated
like they are above the law. They feel
the justice system has been fueled by a
culture of impunity that shields the
same officers who abuse the public’s
trust. Too often the accountability
comes after incontrovertible evidence,
such as a damning video, happens to
surface and the public demands justice.
I can say, as one who served proudly
in law enforcement and has served
proudly in the Senate, ultimately ac-
countability will require dismantling
this culture of impunity, as well as en-
suring that law enforcement agencies
have training and policies in place to
serve to rebuild trust in communities
of color.
The protesters demand more from
our justice system. They demand more
from a nation that promises that no-
body is above the law. Well, I stand
with them, and Congress has to, too.
None of us condone, and indeed I have
strongly condemned, the looting and
violence that has sadly taken place
alongside the peaceful protests and the
extremists and opportunists who have
co-opted the peaceful process. They are
not serving justice. They are not going
to bring the change our country so
badly needs.
My hero, a dear friend who has called
me his brother, Representative JOHN
LEWIS, said just a few days ago:
[L]ooting and burning is not the way.
Organize. Demonstrate. Sit-in. Stand-up.
Vote. Be constructive, not destructive.
I hope everybody will listen to what
Representative LEWIS said. I hope our
fellow Americans will heed his wise
words. I refuse to partake in efforts
seeking to delegitimize all protesters
and create even more distrust and divi-
sion. Demonstrators demanding ac-
countability are not thugs, as Presi-
dent Trump has called them. No one
should threaten state-sanctioned vio-
lence against protesters, as this Presi-
dent and some of his allies have. I
strongly oppose any efforts to invoke
the Insurrection Act to unleash our
military against these domestic dem-
onstrations, as President Trump has
absurdly threatened.
Our military is one of our Nation’s
most sacred institutions. It serves to
safeguard our constitutional rights
against enemies abroad. They should
never be ordered to American streets
as the battlefield, which would only in-
cite further chaos and deprive Ameri-
cans of their right to peacefully assem-
ble. That is not the America we know
and love. It is not the America I know
and love.
Unfortunately, President Trump has
proven that he is incapable or perhaps
he is uninterested in healing and unit-
ing our Nation. At every turn his in-
stinct is to divide and escalate. During
every crisis he manages to manufac-
ture another of his own making. When
Americans are in desperate need of a
consoler in chief, a role that I have
seen every past President play during
my years in the Senate—every one of
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.013
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2668
June 3, 2020
those Presidents, Republican and Dem-
ocrat alike—President Trump, instead
of being consoler in chief, shows that
he knows only how to be instigator in
chief. He has revealed himself really to
be a President of his country in name
only. I never imagined I would say that
of any American President of either
party, certainly not of all the prede-
cessors I have had the honor to know.
So we must instead look to ourselves
and each other. How do we heal our
country? At the local, State, and na-
tional levels, we must carry on the
cause of criminal justice and police re-
form. We must push for systematic law
enforcement reform. We must elect
leaders who will prioritize racial jus-
tice and work tirelessly to achieve
some measure of that. We must work
to build bridges in communities so that
we better empathize with the struggles
faced
by
those
who
have
been
marginalized for decades on end.
On Monday, Terrence Floyd, George’s
brother, stood on the spot where his
brother died. He made an emotional ap-
peal to the hundreds of people watch-
ing and to the Nation. He pled for the
protests to remain peaceful. He pled for
those
who
believe
they
are
marginalized and disenfranchised not
to give up hope, that their voice mat-
ters, and he pled for justice.
His brother died because he needed a
breath. His family now asks to take a
breath for justice, a breath for peace, a
breath for our country, and a breath
for George. We should honor his mem-
ory by heeding their anguished advice.
There is so much to do. Congress
must get to work. During my years in
the Senate, I have seen America in cri-
sis. But every time, without exception,
I have seen America emerge a more
just and stronger nation. The crises
America
faces
today
feel
over-
whelming, historic—some would say
existential. But if we stay true to the
values that define our Republic—equal-
ity, justice, the rule of law—I am hope-
ful we will make it through as a slight-
ly more perfect union.
I weep for our country; I pray for our
country; and I look for better days.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Oregon.
NOMINATION OF MICHAEL PACK
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, this
week our majority leader is asking the
Senate to vote on the nomination of
Michael Pack to serve as Chief Execu-
tive of the U.S. Agency for Global
Media.
Mr. Pack’s nomination should trou-
ble all of us in this Chamber. It raises
the question of whether the U.S. Sen-
ate is committed to being the check
and balance on the qualifications of
those potentially vested with substan-
tial responsibility into positions in our
executive branch.
His nomination draws into question
the challenge we have, the responsi-
bility we have to ensure that only indi-
viduals of talent, experience, and of in-
tegrity serve America in the executive
branch. Hamilton commented on this
in the Federalist Papers. He said:
To what purpose then require the co-oper-
ation of the Senate? I answer, that the ne-
cessity of [the Senate’s] concurrence would
have a powerful though, in general, silent op-
eration. It would be an excellent check upon
the spirit of favoritism in the President, and
tend greatly to prevent the appointment of
unfit characters.
Those words should resonate in this
Chamber now. The individual who will
come before us, Michael Pack, set up a
nonprofit called Public Media Lab, or
PML, apparently for the sole purpose
to channel contracts to his for-profit
operation known as Manifold Produc-
tions. Over a period exceeding a dec-
ade, he channeled $4 million from the
nonprofit to the for-profit. Not a single
contract went anywhere else—no other
contracts.
Utilizing a nonprofit to launder for-
profit contracts, in the process of
which providing tax subsidies to your
customers and advantage over your
competitors, raises both ethical and
legal issues. The legal issues, including
potential criminal conduct, have not
been resolved. Mr. Pack is, at this mo-
ment, under investigation by the attor-
ney general of the District of Colum-
bia.
Mr. Pack, in tax filings to the IRS in
2011 through 2018, did not accurately
disclose a relationship between his
nonprofit and his for-profit. When he
was asked if, in fact, there were com-
mon officers between the two, he an-
swered no when the answer was clearly
yes. He did not disclose that his for-
profit benefited from the setup of the
nonprofit.
Mr. Pack did admit to the Committee
on Foreign Relations that he made
oversights; that is the term he used—
‘‘oversights.’’ But he has refused to
correct his tax filings.
Mr. Pack, when he was renominated
in 2020, inaccurately stated in the
records to the committee that his tax
returns were complete and accurate.
He has refused to provide critical docu-
ments to the committee and, in that
sense, to the Senate to examine these
significant issues. He has refused to
provide the agreements between PML
and Manifold, his nonprofit and his for-
profit, to examine the propriety of the
relationship. He has said simply that
those documents are confidential and
proprietary.
But we should realize that serving in
the executive branch is a privilege. We
asked for information so that we can
exercise our constitutional responsi-
bility. When an individual confronted
with substantial ethical and legal
issues simply says ‘‘I will not provide
them’’ and if the Senate committee
says ‘‘That is OK,’’ then we are failing
in our constitutional responsibility to
examine the qualifications of the indi-
vidual. This is no light responsibility
we bear in this Chamber. This is a very
significant check and balance of the
U.S. Constitution, which each and
every one of us swore to uphold when
we took our oath of office.
Mr. Pack, when he was president of
the Claremont Institute, directed sig-
nificant funds to his for-profit com-
pany for fundraising. His company is
not a fundraising company; his com-
pany is a film company. So we have
asked him to provide the details and
documents related to that work to see
if there was an inappropriate transfer
of funds from a position of responsi-
bility to the personal profit of Michael
Pack. But Mr. Pack has refused to pro-
vide details. He has refused to provide
documents related to that work.
In addition, he prematurely resigned
from his role at the Claremont Insti-
tute, and it is shrouded in mystery. We
do not know if the board found ethical
issues. We do not know if they found
criminal conduct because he has not
responded to our request for documents
related to his premature resignation.
Given the gravity of these issues, it
makes sense, when he was renomi-
nated, that he would reappear before
the committee to help clear up these
concerns and these issues. Well, we
have not had such a hearing.
To summarize, when an individual
makes false statements to the IRS and
refuses to correct them, when they
make false statements to the com-
mittee, not in the first time before the
committee but the second time before
the committee, when they refuse to
provide relevant documents to provide
significant issues of ethical conduct or
potential criminal conduct, when there
is an active investigation into that po-
tentially criminal conduct, then we
should simply say to the President:
Send us a different name.
This man may be well qualified, but
he does not wish to provide the infor-
mation necessary for the Senate to do
its responsibility as a check and bal-
ance on potentially unfit individuals.
To exercise advice and consent in ac-
cordance with responsibilities charged
to us, we must insist on upholding the
standards for records and documents
and truthfulness to the committee. We
must insist that outstanding investiga-
tions be completed when they involve
potentially criminal conduct. We must
insist that verifiably false statements
be corrected. These are not high or ex-
ceptional standards; these are funda-
mental, basic, elementary responsibil-
ities that we carry.
That is why I have written a resolu-
tion declaring that the Senate should
not vote on a nominee who has made
verifiably false statements to Congress
or the executive branch and who re-
fuses to correct those statements.
Until those statements to both the
Foreign Relations Committee and to
the IRS are corrected, Michael Pack’s
nomination should be set aside. We
should simply tell the President and
exercise our responsibility, for which
we have taken an oath of office, to send
us someone else. This individual is not
prepared to provide the information
necessary for the Senate to proceed
with his nomination. That is what we
should be saying, and we should still be
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.014
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2669
June 3, 2020
saying it at this late date. I urge my
colleagues to do the right thing by sup-
porting this resolution.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. RES. 604
Mr. President, as in legislative ses-
sion, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the immediate con-
sideration of S. Res. 604, which was
submitted earlier today. I further ask
that the 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
(Mr.
SCOTT of Florida). Is there objection?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Idaho.
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, reserving
the right to object, what you are seeing
here today is a pure, unadulterated ex-
ercise in politics—politics that are
steeped with the difference of political
philosophy between the two parties.
With relation to the complaint that
my colleague has just made that this
nomination hasn’t been adequately
vetted, this nomination was made 2
years ago tomorrow, June 4, 2018.
Mr. Pack came before the committee.
He has been before the committee
twice. He has produced numerous docu-
ments due to the complaints of the
Democrats on the committee. He has
been looked at by the White House. His
business dealings have been looked at
by the Justice Department, by the In-
ternal Revenue Service, and he has
been cleared of anything.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media is
an important agency because it is
charged with supporting international
broadcasting outlets around the world
in the face of the kinds of misinforma-
tion and things that are put out by
other countries that are untrue.
The real reason for the objection to
Mr. Pack’s nomination is that this
man is a patriot. This is a man who
makes documentary films that portray
the greatness of America.
Anyone who disagrees with that
ought to spend the time to look at the
documentary he just made, which was
run on public TV within the last 30
days, regarding Clarence Thomas and
what he had to go through to get on
the Supreme Court. It was a superb
representation of what happened in
that. If you watch that, you will see
why the Democrats are absolutely op-
posed to Mr. Pack.
But don’t take our word for this.
RealClearPolitics,
after
this
whole
thing started, did its own investigation
into this, and they noted that the busi-
ness arrangements of Mr. Pack used to
make these documentaries are very
common for documentary filmmakers
and, like Pack, filmmakers and tele-
vision producers also use nonprofits to
collect contributions from donors and
then set up a for-profit company to
make these films. This is exactly what
Senator MERKLEY was objecting to.
Having said that, they went on to
interview others, including attorneys
and everything else. Another producer
with no business ties to Pack told
RealClearPolitics ‘‘that he set up the
same two-pronged way of funding films
last year on the advice of counsel, who
told him it was standard operating pro-
cedure.’’
This has been looked at. It has been
reviewed. Look, the committee has had
this in its hands for almost 2 years. I
have been really patient. Every time
that I set this for a hearing and they
wanted more time, I let that go.
Finally, the last time, I was really,
really disappointed in the Democrats’
engagement of the political system, en-
joining it with the potential criminal
justice system, to try to stop this.
The night before the business meet-
ing, I got a letter from the attorney
general for the District of Columbia—
obviously a partisan individual—that
says that he is going to look at this
and, therefore, he is investigating it.
The Democrats then said: Well, we
can’t go ahead with this because he is
being investigated by this partisan per-
son from DC.
Look, I am on the Ethics Committee.
There are six of us. Half of us sit on the
Foreign Relations Committee. In every
instance I can think of on the Ethics
Committee where the U.S. Justice De-
partment has asked us to stand down
because they were doing a legitimate
criminal investigation, we have done
so.
In this particular case, it was a par-
tisan agency of the District of Colum-
bia that noticed that they were going
to do this investigation.
I started my career as a prosecutor. I
have always felt that the justice sys-
tem and the prosecuting system should
be above politics, but to get a partisan
individual to send a letter—after 2
years—on the eve of the business meet-
ing, that he was going to open a busi-
ness meeting again, after many delays,
was just too much.
But I did delay the business meeting
for 1 week, and after that 1 week we
had a business meeting. The Democrats
made motion after motion to delay.
Again, I was as patient as I could be.
I said during these motions that we
were only going to go on so long with
this. Finally, as was noted by some of
the attorneys in the room, had this oc-
currence happened in a court of law,
the attorneys would have been held in
contempt of court for making repet-
itive motions that were obviously
delay motions and done spuriously.
So, after the eighth motion, I de-
clared the motions out of order, and we
went to what democracies do. We went
to a vote. To no one’s surprise, it was
a straight party-line vote: 12 votes to
send Mr. Pack’s confirmation to the
floor for confirmation and 10 votes
against that.
This is a democracy. The way we do
this is we have disagreements, particu-
larly when it comes to political mat-
ters such as this, but to try to engage
the justice system in this I find just
really, really disheartening.
We are going to have a vote on Mr.
Pack, and it is very simple. If you
don’t want Mr. Pack to take this job,
then you vote no, and if you do, then
you say yes. But this has been inves-
tigated back and forth. Regardless of
the breast-beating and the rending of
garments over what an awful person he
is and how awful his businesses have
been, keep in mind, this is all politics.
If you see the kind of work that he has
done, he makes America proud when he
makes a documentary.
So I would object to the resolution
that has been proposed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
tion is heard.
The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask
to speak for up to 5 minutes before the
vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I
want to, first of all, thank Senator
MERKLEY for his leadership on the reso-
lution and for his thoughtful and sub-
stantive contributions as a member of
the Senate Foreign Relations Com-
mittee and to express our deep dis-
appointment that our Republican col-
leagues are blocking his resolution,
which basically says that we should
not move forward on a nominee—in
this case, this nominee—when there
are false statements to the IRS and to
the Foreign Relations Committee for
which he refuses to correct the record,
which would have consequences. Those
are indisputable.
It is abundantly clear that we need
to formalize some standards that apply
equally to all nominees, Democrat and
Republican alike, and we should think
of it as a floor beneath which the Sen-
ate should not fall.
Now, it is amazing to me that I know
my Republican colleagues used to care
about tax issues. As a matter of fact,
they denied a previous distinguished
majority leader of the Senate—on some
arcane issue—the opportunity to be-
come the Secretary of Health and
Human Services. They have done it a
bunch of times.
This issue is a $4 million tax issue in
which Mr. Pack took his nonprofit, to-
tally controlled by him—totally con-
trolled by him—and had all the moneys
that were solicited to the nonprofit
then sent to his for-profit company, to-
tally controlled by him—totally con-
trolled by him. And no other disburse-
ments were made from the nonprofit
for anyone else, for any other entity.
I didn’t hear until now that the Jus-
tice Department and the IRS has re-
viewed this. It should be forthcoming,
then, that they have cleared this, that
this is now in the course of business.
We can create a nonprofit; go ahead
and get moneys from people; they will
get their deductions; and then we can
send it to ourselves for profit. That is
one heck of a process.
Now, the chairman continues to say
‘‘2 years.’’ Well, 2 years ago there was
a Republican chairman of the com-
mittee—our colleague Bob Corker. He
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.015
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2670
June 3, 2020
did not move this nomination 2 years
ago. So with this constant refrain of 2
years, I guess you want to blame
former Senator Corker for not moving
it during that period of time.
At the chairman’s request, I met
with Mr. Pack. While he may not have
been my nominee, I agreed to have a
hearing, which is one of the standards
we have in the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee. There is an agree-
ment between the chair and ranking.
That has been violated for Mr. Pack.
He actually went to a vote before the
committee without my agreement, so
that comity has been violated for the
future.
At the end of the day, we have some-
one who will not ultimately—he says:
Yes, I made a ‘‘mistake’’—it is a $4 mil-
lion mistake—and, yes, I should have
answered differently.
Well, why not correct it? If it is so
simple, if it is so benign, why not cor-
rect it? The reason you don’t want to
correct it is that there are con-
sequences that flow from that correc-
tion, including probably an IRS inves-
tigation.
Finally, it is interesting that, I
guess, when Attorney General Barr
does something, it is not political, but
when the attorney general of the Dis-
trict of Columbia does it, it is political.
I didn’t know we were going to start
choosing and picking which law en-
forcement entities are political in this
country.
The attorney general of the District
of Columbia had an investigation that
was preceding before any action of the
committee—preceding before any ac-
tion of the committee or any informa-
tion brought to the attention of the at-
torney general. Evidently, he considers
it significantly serious enough—poten-
tial IRS violations on taxes.
So here are our Republican col-
leagues who, in the past, railed against
anyone who had violations of the IRS
Tax Code, saying they are not worthy
of being a nominee, to going ahead and
ramming through someone who ulti-
mately has some serious issues to the
tune of $4 million, and that is not a
problem. Under investigation—that is
not a problem.
So I urge my colleagues to consider
what you are doing here. Not only was
a precedent set at the committee, but
you will set a precedent on the floor,
and it will be very hard for you to get
up and rail about somebody’s tax li-
abilities and what they did and didn’t
do honestly with the taxes at the end
of the day.
With that, I yield the floor.
CLOTURE MOTION
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant
to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the
Senate the pending cloture motion,
which the clerk will state.
The bill clerk read as follows:
CLOTURE MOTION
We, the undersigned Senators, in ac-
cordance with the provisions of rule
XXII of the Standing Rules of the Sen-
ate, do hereby move to bring to a close
debate on the nomination of James H.
Anderson, of Virginia, to be a Deputy
Under Secretary of Defense.
Mitch McConnell, David Perdue, Jerry
Moran, Rob Portman, Michael B. Enzi,
Deb
Fischer,
Kevin
Cramer,
John
Thune, John Boozman, Shelley Moore
Capito, Marco Rubio, Todd Young,
John Barrasso, James Lankford, Tim
Scott, James E. Risch, Cindy Hyde-
Smith.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan-
imous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the
Senate that debate on the nomination
of James H. Anderson, of Virginia, to
be a Deputy Under Secretary of De-
fense, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory
under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
are necessarily absent: the Senator
from North Dakota (Mr. CRAMER), the
Senator
from
North
Dakota
(Mr.
HOEVEN), and the Senator from South
Dakota (Mr. ROUNDS).
Further, if present and voting, the
Senator
from
North
Dakota
(Mr.
HOEVEN) would have voted ‘‘yea.’’
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. MAR-
KEY), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.
SANDERS), the Senator from Hawaii
(Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator from Min-
nesota (Ms. SMITH), and the Senator
from Montana (Mr. TESTER) are nec-
essarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there
any other Senators in the Chamber de-
siring to vote or change their vote?
The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 74,
nays 18, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 108 Ex.]
YEAS—74
Alexander
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Brown
Burr
Capito
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hawley
Hirono
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Loeffler
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Stabenow
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young
NAYS—18
Baldwin
Blumenthal
Booker
Cantwell
Cardin
Gillibrand
Harris
Heinrich
Klobuchar
Leahy
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Schumer
Udall
Van Hollen
Warren
Wyden
NOT VOTING—8
Cramer
Hoeven
Markey
Rounds
Sanders
Schatz
Smith
Tester
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this
vote, the yeas are 74, the nays are 18.
The motion is agreed to.
The Senator from Illinois.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 2 weeks
ago, I came to the floor of the Senate
to ask for consent on the simple, time-
ly Senate resolution sponsored by near-
ly half of the Members of this Cham-
ber. What did the resolution call for?
Well, it urged the United States to join
global coronavirus vaccine and treat-
ment efforts. That doesn’t sound like a
radical idea, does it? In the midst of a
global pandemic that is causing so
much suffering and so many deaths, it
would seem that asking the United
States to join other countries of the
world in searching for therapies and
vaccines is just common sense.
We don’t know where or when a vac-
cine will be discovered. We don’t know
if an effective treatment will be discov-
ered in the United States or in some
other place. Certainly, with the re-
spected medical and scientific leader-
ship in the United States, you would
hope that it would be here, but let’s be
honest. If a safe and effective vaccine
against the coronavirus is discovered
in some other country, the United
States would want to be there and be
part of the discussion about its produc-
tion and distribution. Wouldn’t we?
That is all this resolution says.
Why not team up with allies around
the world since we are all looking for
the same thing—a safe and effective
vaccine.
Whether
that
vaccine
is
stamped ‘‘Made in the USA’’ or is made
in some other country is secondary. Is
it safe? Is it effective? Will it save
lives? Do we really want the American
people to be left out of such an effort?
It was a global effort to eliminate
smallpox, Ebola, polio, and so many
other deadly diseases we took for
granted. We were all in it together.
These viruses and diseases don’t
know any boundaries. People around
the world have the same fears and con-
cerns that we have in the United
States about what we are paying in
price of suffering and death until we
find a way to avoid it. This resolution
would just call on the United States to
be part of a global effort to find a ther-
apy and a vaccine, but this resolution
was blocked here in the Senate. Since
then, since the 2 weeks that have
passed, we have lost over 100,000 Amer-
ican lives. Sadly, the number still
grows. This has been 100,000 lives in
just a few months—the same number of
American casualties in the wars of
Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan
combined.
What was President Trump’s re-
sponse? Was there empathy or a mes-
sage of national unity or healing dur-
ing this tragic moment? No. Once
again, President Trump refused to take
any responsibility for leadership during
this crisis. Sadly, he has cast blame in
every direction and ignored his own re-
sponsibility amid a deadly global pan-
demic that has had devastating con-
sequences for the American people.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:20 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.018
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2671
June 3, 2020
Sadly, we lead the world in infections
and death, but President Trump has de-
cided that now is the moment in his-
tory for the United States to pull out
of the World Health Organization—the
same body that is heading the global
pandemic response. What is he think-
ing—that we would walk away from
the organization that has called to the
table countries from around the world
in an effort to find a safe and effective
vaccine? Here we are, on the 40th anni-
versary of the World Health Organiza-
tion’s historic achievement in eradi-
cating small pox, stumbling along with
a President who is more interested in
settling a score, casting blame, and
finding ways to divide us. Once again,
the majority of his party here in the
Senate is not chiming in and joining us
in this effort to pass this resolution.
While we continue to have some of
the world’s best researchers and ex-
perts, it is plausible that a vaccine will
be found and developed elsewhere. In a
rush to research and validate a vac-
cine, ramp up production, address glob-
al allocation and supply needs, ensure
affordability and access worldwide, and
make sure the United States gets its
fair share of any safe and effective vac-
cine, where will we stand if the Presi-
dent insists on being on the sidelines,
unengaged? When the United States
pursues this Trump go-it-alone ap-
proach while the rest of the world is
working together, where does that
leave us? Pride cometh before the fall.
Just as with the smallpox effort, a
global, collaborative approach makes
obvious sense, and it will save Amer-
ican lives. Joining forces with other
countries around the world will help to
speed the development and eventual
distribution of the coronavirus vaccine
we desperately seek.
Do you want to know what one Re-
publican Senator from Tennessee said
about this? He said: ‘‘I disagree with
the President’s decision.’’
Withdrawing U.S. membership from
the WHO could, among other things,
interfere with clinical trials that are
essential to the development of a vac-
cine. No one knows where this vaccine
will eventually be perfected or pro-
duced. God willing, it will be soon. Yet
why shouldn’t we be joining in this
global effort? Why? Why, at this mo-
ment in history, has President Trump
said we are stepping away from the or-
ganization that leads this effort?
Given this President’s—sadly, I hate
to use the word—‘‘obsession’’ with
blaming everyone but himself for mis-
handling this situation, maybe his
dereliction of duty should come as no
surprise, but what a bitter, bitter dis-
appointment it is.
I return to the floor to ask unani-
mous consent on a straightforward res-
olution—a
simple
resolution
that
should have passed without any fanfare
by a voice vote unanimously in the
Senate. This resolution calls on the
United States to join in the global ef-
fort to find a safe and effective vac-
cine—something that we have done
consistently throughout our history
until this President took office.
Ultimately, let’s remember that this
is a pandemic that affects the world,
and any solution has to be a worldwide
solution as well. We cannot isolate our-
selves from the international ways of
finding treatments and the develop-
ment of a vaccine. Doing so not only
wastes time but risks there being a loss
of life.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. RES. 579
Mr. President, as if in legislative ses-
sion, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Foreign Relations be
discharged from further consideration
of S. Res. 579, a resolution encouraging
the international community to re-
main committed to collaboration and
coordination to mitigate and prevent
the further spread of COVID–19 and
urging renewed United States leader-
ship and participation in any global ef-
forts on therapeutics and vaccine de-
velopment and delivery to address
COVID–19 and prevent further deaths;
that the Senate proceed to its imme-
diate consideration; that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed
to, and that the motions to reconsider
be considered made and laid upon the
table with no intervening action or de-
bate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ROM-
NEY). Is there objection?
The Senator from Idaho.
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, reserving
the right to object.
First of all, let me commend my good
friend from Illinois for bringing this. I
know he is frustrated, as all of us are,
with what has happened with this pan-
demic that came out of China and
swept the world and caused all the
grief that it has for America and for
every other country on the planet.
It is important to note, I think, as we
start, that the United States has been
the single most generous donor of glob-
al health assistance around the world.
We do hear people, from time to time,
criticize the foreign assistance that
America gives out. Probably the pan-
demic that we have just gone through,
with this COVID–19 from China, is the
best indication that there is for why
certain foreign assistance is so crucial.
This foreign assistance we give in the
healthcare area is given, amongst
other reasons, to keep those things
from spreading to the United States.
Last year alone, we, the United
States of America, we American tax-
payers, provided over $9 billion in glob-
al health assistance through the State
Department and USAID. That $9 billion
does not account for the amount that
the CDC spent in global health efforts.
So it is well over $9 billion that we
Americans have put out there.
We strengthen health systems; we
train health workers; we build supply
chains; we connect health networks; we
support cutting-edge research and in-
novation; and, yes, develop and expand
access to therapeutics and vaccines,
which is what my good friend from Illi-
nois is addressing here when it comes
to vaccines. I am going to talk about
that in a minute.
We led the international efforts to
combat AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis,
polio, Ebola, and other viruses that
came out of China. We are the single
largest donor to the Global Fund and
U.N. agencies, including UNICEF.
I hope that there isn’t a suggestion
that we are withdrawing from collabo-
rative efforts to develop a COVID–19
vaccine because we did not directly
participate in the EU pledging con-
ference. In reality, leading partners in
that effort include the Global Fund and
Gavi, where we are the major donors,
so we will be participating in the col-
laborative effort to develop vaccines
for COVID–19.
I think it is also important to note
that the President has made a his-
toric—a historic 3-year pledge and is
strongly supporting Gavi’s COVID–19
efforts. Gavi stands for the global alli-
ance for vaccines. It was essentially
the brainchild of Bill Gates. He and
Melinda, of course, in my judgment,
are on an equal level with Mother Te-
resa for what they have done with glob-
al health. We are participating with
Gavi and, like I said, the President has
made a historic 3-year pledge to that.
I appreciate the feelings the good
Senator from Illinois has about the
President of the United States, and he
did indeed put the brakes on WHO be-
cause he felt there were shortcomings
with WHO when it came to WHO’s work
with China and their failure really to
get after China at the very beginning
of this to do what it really should have
done.
I am going to object to this resolu-
tion not because the effort by the good
Senator from Illinois isn’t well-taken.
It is well-taken. We had a similar one
2 weeks ago and they came out here
and objected to it and the Senator is
frustrated because he feels we should
be doing more.
First of all, during the 2 weeks—we
obviously were gone for 1 week—but let
me tell you what was going on during
that week and the subsequent week. I
promised, at that time, that the For-
eign Relations Committee was going to
take this issue on because it is of such
importance that we don’t go through
this again, and there is a lot more that
we can do than simply pass a resolu-
tion.
It is my ambition to create a very
significant piece of legislation that
will be bipartisan, that creates a vehi-
cle to address a fast-moving virus like
this. We can all argue about the WHO
and what they did or didn’t do, their
connections to China and that sort of
thing, but that is not going to help us
as we go forward. What we do know is
that WHO has done good work in the
past. They were a really good partner
with us, as the Senator knows, when it
came to implementing PEPFAR and
doing great things in the battle against
AIDS. They were very helpful with
Ebola and very helpful with smallpox,
but this was a different virus. This was
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.021
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2672
June 3, 2020
a house on fire. WHO is simply not, at
this time, geared to be a fireman. When
the fire bell rings, we need a vehicle to
address a virus.
This is going to happen again because
in the Wuhan district, there is a vast
bat population, and they are carrying
about 2,000 different species of virus.
Unfortunately, and frighteningly, we
don’t know what all those viruses can
do. Heaven help us if we get one out of
there that is worse than COVID–19 that
we have had, but we need a fire depart-
ment that can address this.
I hope we are going to be able to en-
gage China. If not, we are going to have
to find ways of dealing with this.
Where is that vehicle going to be car-
ried? Is it going to be a new part of
WHO? Is it going to be part of the CDC?
Is it going to be a new international or-
ganization? I can’t answer that, but I
can tell you this. On a bipartisan basis,
Senator MURPHY, who is also on the
Foreign Relations Committee, and I
have introduced a bill to address a
number of these things, including the
vaccine question and including work-
ing on getting a vehicle to do what I
have described.
I think everyone is working on this
in good faith. The bill that will be in-
troduced is written on paper. It is not
written on stone. We are wide open to
suggestions as to what kind of a vehi-
cle it is that will address this like fire-
men and not in a slower fashion like
other health challenges have presented.
Senator MURPHY and I have had a
number of discussions on this. We are
both committed to reach the goals that
I know Senator DURBIN
and that I
think this whole body wants to reach.
We are going to hold a series of hear-
ings as to how to do this, how best to
do it, how it should be funded, how it
should be organized, and how the man-
agement should take place. What it is
not going to focus on is the finger-
pointing
for
what
happened
after
COVID escaped from a bat into a
human being in Wuhan, China, and
what happened after it left Wuhan,
China, and went around the world. We
have really good information on that
already.
There is going to be a lot of other in-
vestigations and hearings and that sort
of thing. We want to talk about, what
do we do when this happens in the fu-
ture? How can we create an agency
that just like the fire department,
when the bell rings, they pull their
boots on; they slide down the pole;
they get on the truck; and they go put
out the fire.
I guarantee Senator DURBIN that we
will continue to work on this. My staff
tells me—and I am glad to hear that
Mr. DURBIN’s staff is working with
them on the language on this par-
ticular resolution, and I thank the Sen-
ator for that and I invite him and com-
mit to him that we will work with him
as we develop this new legislation and
as we go through the hearings.
So, again, please don’t take this as
combative. It is not. It is intended, in
the best spirit, to help us all move for-
ward to get to a piece of very signifi-
cant legislation that will hopefully
take us forward like PEPFAR did and
as some of the other monumental
pieces of legislation did that can ad-
dress this incredibly difficult situation
and hurtful situation not only for
America but for the world.
And I state to the Senator that I in-
vite your participation, encourage your
participation, and assure you that we
will work in good faith to try to reach
these goals.
With that, I object for the reasons
stated.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
tion is heard.
The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I have
respect for my colleague and thank
him for his positive statement about
the work to be done in the Foreign Re-
lations Committee. There is nothing in
this resolution that preempts or tries
to impact on anything he mentioned.
The operative language is a few words,
‘‘urging renewed United States leader-
ship and participation in any global ef-
forts on therapeutics and vaccine de-
velopment and delivery to address
COVID–19 and prevent further death.’’
How we do that, whether we create
an agency or not, this is simply an ex-
pression of policy that I hope we can
embrace. I will be back if we don’t
move forward with alternatives. Lives
are at stake, and we should be part of
the international conversation to avoid
it.
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, would the
Senator yield for a few moments?
Mr. DURBIN. Certainly.
Mr. RISCH. Thank you. I appreciate
these comments. There is nothing that
the Senator just stated that I disagree
with. One point, in passing, and I say
this in the spirit of trying to get to the
objective that I laid out, and that is, it
is my intent to engage the second
branch of government, not only the
agencies that are responsible for this—
Health and Human Services, Homeland
Security,
the
State
Department,
USAID—but also the White House. The
President has to have a role here. He
has obviously undertaken the role. I
have already spoken to him about this.
I intend to have other lengthy con-
versations about this. I am engaging
the President to assist us. This is not a
partisan issue.
As Mr. DURBIN has pointed out, and
rightfully so, this virus doesn’t care
whether you are a Republican or Demo-
crat; it doesn’t care whether you are an
American or not an American. It
doesn’t care if you are a President of
the United States or, in the case of
some countries around the world, a
member of the highest authority there
is in that country. The virus just
doesn’t care.
In order for us to accomplish this, it
is going to be a bill—it is not going to
be a resolution—and it has to be ap-
proved by the second branch of govern-
ment. They fully understand what we
are trying to do here. They have com-
mitted their resources and their input
to this, and I am convinced they are
working in good faith, just as everyone
here is, to try to reach these goals of
doing something better in the future
than what we have experienced just re-
cently.
Senator, again, thank you for your
attention to this. Thank you for your
input, and I commend to you that we
will work together on this as we go for-
ward.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Illinois.
PROTESTS
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Monday,
President Trump stood in the Rose
Garden and called for the use of mili-
tary force against individuals who have
been gathering across the country pro-
testing racism and police brutality
against Black Americans. This historic
call for empowering the Commander in
Chief to militarize law enforcement in
our Nation pushes this President’s
reach for new Executive authority to
the most extreme level.
This follows the President’s tweets
since last week, threatening to turn
‘‘vicious
dogs’’—his
words—on
pro-
testers outside the White House and
quoting the racist phrase from the 1967
Miami police chief, stating: ‘‘When the
looting starts, the shooting starts,’’
bringing to mind, sadly, for many,
shameful moments in our Nation’s
struggle for civil rights.
President Trump said nothing to ad-
dress the anguish felt by many in this
country, particularly people of color,
and instead called on Governors to
‘‘dominate the streets,’’ as though the
Americans, who peacefully exercise
their right to protest, are an enemy
force.
Initially, Defense Secretary Esper
went even further when he referred to
cities as a ‘‘battlespace.’’ I am heart-
ened by the fact that he has made it
clear that he does not support the
President’s suggestion of militarizing
the police forces and police across
America. These calls by the President
to militarize cities across America ig-
nore that for far too long he urged law
enforcement to ‘‘dominate,’’ as the
President often says, rather than to
protect and serve, which is exactly
what is contributing to the challenge
we face today.
The other night, minutes before
Mayor Bowser’s 7 p.m. curfew came
into effect, the President used law en-
forcement personnel to use tear gas
and rubber bullets on peaceful dem-
onstrators in LaFayette Square across
the street from the White House. They
even beat these peaceful demonstrators
with batons and shields. There are con-
flicting reports as to whether the Na-
tional Guard participated in the vio-
lence. I have made a direct inquiry to
the Department of Defense, and they
have denied it.
According to press reports, the as-
sault began with law enforcement
kneeling, not to express any solidarity
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.022
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2673
June 3, 2020
with any racism efforts as we have seen
some police officers do across the coun-
try; instead, they were kneeling to put
on gas masks to protect themselves
from the weapons they were readying
to fire.
As soon as this gathering was dis-
persed, the President marched across
LaFayette Square to St. John’s Epis-
copal Church. The Attorney General,
the Secretary of Defense, and the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
all followed—only the battle that they
were witnessing was against Americans
using their voices to stop racism who
got in the way of a Presidential photo
opportunity.
I simply cannot understand what the
President and each of these senior offi-
cials were thinking, if they were con-
sciously deciding to be part of this by
taking a stroll in the aftermath of the
violence
in
Lafayette
Square
and
whether they approved of that treat-
ment of their fellow Americans.
The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the
Episcopal bishop of Washington, DC,
said she was not even given a courtesy
call by the White House ahead of the
President’s action. In fact, the bishop
was outraged by the use of physical
force and tear gas in the shadow of her
church to remove peaceful protesters
so that the church and the Bible could
be used for some photo opportunity.
President Trump has ‘‘not acknowl-
edged the agony of our country right
now,’’ she said in an interview. ‘‘Every-
thing he has said and done is to in-
flame violence.’’
President Trump’s actions violate
the sanctity of our First Amendment
freedoms and represent an abuse of his
authority. We know this President well
after more than 3 years. As shocking as
Monday night’s events were, they rep-
resent through and through who this
President really is. It is wrong.
The American people will have the
last word in November, but I am en-
couraged to see that in my home State
of Illinois officials have rejected the
use of military force and are com-
mitted to American’s right to protest.
Governor Pritzker said the President’s
call to send troops to Illinois is ‘‘ille-
gal’’ and ‘‘ridiculous.’’ Chicago Mayor
Lightfoot has called to ‘‘turn our pain
into purpose’’ and to ‘‘learn from this
moment and move forward together.’’
In my hometown of Springfield, IL,
on Tuesday, three high school stu-
dents, young African-American women,
sponsored a Black Lives Matter rally,
and 1,000 people in Springfield, IL,
gathered peacefully to demonstrate
against racism in law enforcement. No
windows were broken. No one was ar-
rested. They exercised their constitu-
tional rights, and I am damn proud of
them. They speak for me and for Amer-
ica; that we still have the right to
stand up and express ourselves, and
they did so effectively.
Right now those around the Presi-
dent should look themselves in the
mirror and ask whose agenda they are
serving and whether it is the right
agenda for America. The collective
leadership of our military, civilian and
uniformed alike, needs to decide what
kind of leaders they want to be for the
men and women in uniform they com-
mand and what legacy they want to be
associated with. Monday night was not
the legacy this country deserves.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
sent that the Washington Post article
and the statements of the Episcopal
bishop of Washington be printed in the
RECORD.
There being no objection, the mate-
rial was ordered to be printed in the
RECORD, as follows:
[From the Washington Post]
EPISCOPAL BISHOP ON PRESIDENT TRUMP: ‘EV-
ERYTHING HE HAS SAID AND DONE IS TO IN-
FLAME VIOLENCE’
(By Michelle Boorstein and Sarah Pulliam
Bailey)
The Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Epis-
copal bishop of Washington, was seething.
President Trump had just visited St.
John’s Episcopal Church, which sits across
from the White House. It was a day after a
fire was set in the basement of the historic
building amid protests over the death of
George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis
police.
Before heading to the church, where presi-
dents have worshiped since the days of
James Madison, Trump gave a speech at the
White House emphasizing the importance of
law and order. Federal officers then used
force to clear a large crowd of peaceful dem-
onstrators from the street between the
White House and the church, apparently so
Trump could make the visit.
‘‘I am outraged,’’ Budde said in a telephone
interview a short time later, pausing be-
tween words to emphasize her anger as her
voice slightly trembled.
She said she had not been given any notice
that Trump would be visiting the church and
did not approve of the manner in which the
area was secured for his appearance.
‘‘I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese
of Washington and was not given even a
courtesy call, that they would be clearing
[the area] with tear gas so they could use
one of our churches as a prop,’’ Budde said.
She excoriated the president for standing
in front of the church—its windows boarded
up with plywood—holding up a Bible, which
Budde said ‘‘declares that God is love.’’
‘‘Everything he has said and done is to in-
flame violence,’’ Budde of the president. ‘‘We
need moral leadership, and he’s done every-
thing to divide us.’’
In a written statement, Presiding Bishop
Michael Curry, head of the Episcopal de-
nomination, accused Trump of using ‘‘a
church building and the Holy Bible for par-
tisan political purposes.’’
‘‘This was done in a time of deep hurt and
pain in our country, and his action did noth-
ing to help us or to heal us,’’ Curry wrote.
‘‘The prophet Micah taught that the Lord
requires us to ‘do justice, love mercy and
walk humbly with our God,’ ’’ he continued,
calling on Trump and others in power to be
moral. ‘‘For the sake of George Floyd, for all
who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake
of us all, we need leaders to help us to be
‘one nation, under God, with liberty and jus-
tice for all.’ ’’
Budde and Curry are among the pantheon
of progressive religious leaders who have
long been critical of Trump’s political agen-
da. The Episcopal Church’s policies include
supporting abortion rights, refugee resettle-
ment, an expansion of health care and other
issues that Trump has opposed or not em-
braced. According to the Pew Research Cen-
ter, 49 percent of Episcopalians are Demo-
crats or lean Democratic, compared with 39
percent of church members who are Repub-
lican or lean Republican.
Trump’s longtime religious allies, who are
far more conservative on both domestic and
foreign policy, saw his walk to St. John’s
much differently. ‘‘What kind of church I
need PERMISSION to attend,’’ tweeted Pas-
tor Mark Burns of South Carolina after
Budde and others said Trump should have let
them know he was coming. ‘‘Jesus welcomes
All.’’
Johnnie Moore, a spokesman for several of
Trump’s
evangelical
religious
advisers,
tweeted favorably about the incident as well.
‘‘I will never forget seeing @POTUS
@realDonaldTrump slowly & in-total-com-
mand walk from the @WhiteHouse across
Lafayette Square to St. John’s Church
defying those who aim to derail our national
healing by spreading fear, hate & anarchy,’’
he wrote. ‘‘After just saying, ‘I will keep you
safe.’ ’’
Trump did not enter St. John’s on Monday
evening. No one associated with the church
was present for his visit.
Andrew
Whitehead,
a
sociologist
at
Clemson University who studies Christian
nationalism, said the president’s appearance
was an attempt to promote the idea of Amer-
ica as a distinctly Christian nation after his
Rose Garden speech.
‘‘Going to the church, not going in it, not
meeting with any clergy, holding up a Bible,
but not quoting any scripture, after an au-
thoritarian speech, was about using the reli-
gious symbolism for his ends,’’ Whitehead
said.
‘‘It was a signal to the people that embrace
the idea of a Christian nation, that he will
defend Christianity in the public sphere,’’
Whitehead said. ‘‘He said he’ll make America
safe. That raised the question, for whom? It’s
largely for white, mostly Protestant Amer-
ica.’’
Budde—who spent 18 years in as a rector in
Minneapolis before being elected bishop of
the Washington diocese—said the Episcopal
Church disassociates itself from the mes-
sages offered by the president.
‘‘We hold the teachings of our sacred texts
to be so so grounding to our lives and every-
thing we do,’’ she said. ‘‘It is about love of
neighbor and sacrificial love and justice.’’
Following a tradition set by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Trump attended a
service at St. John’s before his swearing-in
ceremony in 2017. He visited the church
again that year to mark a national day of
prayer for victims of Hurricane Harvey and
in 2019 on St. Patrick’s Day.
Budde said she learned he was headed back
to the yellow, 19th-century building on Mon-
day by watching the news.
‘‘No one knew this was happening,’’ she
said. ‘‘I don’t want President Trump speak-
ing for St. John’s.’’
The Rev. Robert W. Fisher, the church rec-
tor, said he felt blindsided by the visit. Usu-
ally, the White House gives the church at
least 30 minutes’ notice before the president
comes by.
‘‘We want St. John’s to be a space for
grace, as a place where you can breathe,’’ he
said. ‘‘Being used as a prop, it really takes
away from what we’re trying to do.’’
Earlier in the day, Fisher said, he and
other clergy were outside the church hand-
ing out water bottles and granola bars to
protesters, and expressing solidarity with
their cause. He said he left the area to be
interviewed on television about the damage
from the fire the previous night and later
watched images of the protest being disman-
tled ‘‘with disbelief.’’
Fisher, 44, became the rector of St. John’s
in June 2019 and has not yet hosted a presi-
dential visit. The church usually draws
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:20 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.024
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2674
June 3, 2020
about 400 people on a typical weekend. But it
has been closed since mid-March due to the
broad shutdown restrictions in place to com-
bat the novel coronavirus.
Damage to the building from Sunday
night’s fire and vandalism will cost at least
$20,000, Fisher said. But he said the destruc-
tion should not become the focus of what has
been happening in the streets outside the
White House.
Fisher said that when people have talked
about the church being burned, he has tried
to redirect them, saying it was likely one
person who does not represent the majority
of people protesting.
‘‘That has pulled away from the more im-
portant message that we have to address rac-
ism in this country,’’ he said.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Texas.
PROTESTS
Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise at a
time of crisis. For several months now,
our Nation has been dealing with two
simultaneous crises: a global health
pandemic that has claimed the lives of
over 100,000 Americans, over 300,000
people across the globe, and an eco-
nomic crisis that has cost over 40 mil-
lion Americans their jobs.
And in the midst of these two crises,
we are now faced with yet another cri-
sis: a crisis of anger, a crisis of racial
division, flames that are pulling this
country apart.
This crisis was precipitated by the
wrongful death of George Floyd in Min-
neapolis, MN. At this point, most, if
not all, of us have seen that horrifying
video:
Mr.
Floyd,
in
handcuffs,
facedown on the pavement, incapaci-
tated, not posing a threat to anyone,
and a police officer with his knee on
the neck of Mr. Floyd, pressing down
hard on the neck of Mr. Floyd and
keeping that knee there for 8 long min-
utes.
Mr. Floyd begs the officer, pleads
with the officer, says he can’t breathe.
He is in obvious and serious physical
distress. Other officers are standing
there, watching a defenseless, hand-
cuffed man, pinned to the ground for 8
long minutes, with a knee pressing
down on his neck.
As we all know, those actions took
the life of Mr. Floyd, and, rightly, fol-
lowing what happened, the U.S. De-
partment of Justice opened a civil
rights investigation into the police of-
ficers’ conduct. Also rightly, I believe,
the local prosecutor opened—began—a
criminal prosecution, a homicide pros-
ecution, against the officer for his con-
duct.
Now, anytime you have an officer-in-
volved shooting, it is easy for people to
let rhetoric get carried away. It is easy
to jump to conclusions. And too many
players in the political world, I think,
quickly move to demonize the police
officer and assume the officer is wrong
in every circumstance. That is not how
responsible leaders, that is not how re-
sponsible Americans should behave. We
should wait to see what the facts and
circumstances are.
But here we have a video, and we can
see what the facts and circumstances
are, and there are zero legitimate law
enforcement justifications for what
happened to George Floyd—none. We
witnessed police brutality and abuse of
power, and that is why the officers are
being prosecuted.
Those should be propositions that
bring all of us together. Watching the
death of Mr. Floyd, for so many Ameri-
cans, brought forth the long history in
this country of racial discrimination, a
history that began with centuries of
slavery in America, a history that has
seen Jim Crow laws, that has seen the
Ku Klux Klan, that has seen overt and
also implicit discrimination.
Young African Americans too often
fear interactions with law enforce-
ment, fear that their rights will not be
protected. Our Nation’s journey toward
civil rights has had many troubled
stops along the way, but I, for one,
agree with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
that the arc of history bends toward
justice. I also agree with the vision
that Dr. King put forth standing on the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial, to an
assembled crowd and an assembled pro-
test, that he wanted to live in a nation
where we would be judged—all of us
would be judged not by the color of our
skin but by the content of our char-
acter.
That is a vision that has animated
America on our journey toward justice,
and outrage at what happened to
George
Floyd
prompted
Americans
across this country to speak out, to ex-
ercise their First Amendment right to
speak out for racial justice, to speak
out against police brutality, to speak
out against abuse of power. All of that
is legitimate. All of that is protected
by the Constitution.
But then we saw things take an omi-
nous turn, a dangerous turn. What, for
some, was legitimate First Amendment
speech, speaking out for justice, be-
came co-opted, became taken over by
violent criminal radicals.
Now, let’s be clear because so much
of the news media does not like clarity
in this regard. When I say that, I am
not saying that everybody speaking is
a violent criminal radical. Indeed,
there are a great many people speaking
out whose heart cries for justice, cries
for the justice that has been the many-
centuries-long journey of this country.
But there are radicals who cynically
took advantage of these protests to
sow division, to sow fear, to engage in
murder, to engage in violent assaults,
to engage in looting, to engage in
theft, to engage in intimidation, to en-
gage in fear.
The First Amendment protects your
right to speak; the First Amendment
protects your right to peaceably pro-
test; but none of us has a right to vio-
lently assault another person. None of
us has a right to murder another per-
son. None of us has a right to burn the
cars of police officers, to shatter the
shop windows of shops throughout this
country, to engage in acts of terror,
threatening the lives of our fellow
Americans.
To those radicals who cynically tried
to co-opt these protests, I will say
their actions were profoundly racist be-
cause they were making a decision to
take what should have been a unifying
moment to say this will not stand in
our Nation. Our law protects everyone,
regardless of the color of their skin.
Every
American—African
American,
Hispanic, White, Asian American—it
doesn’t matter; our laws protect every-
one. That should have been a unifying
moment, and the cynical, violent, rad-
ical criminals decided to co-opt these
protests to turn them into, in far too
many instances, riots—violent riots,
terrorizing their fellow citizens.
George
Floyd
was
a
native
Houstonian—my hometown. I love the
city of Houston. George Floyd was ac-
tive in his church in Houston. Next
week, Mr. Floyd will be coming back to
Houston for the last time to be buried
in Houston. I am proud that last night,
in the city of Houston, thousands came
out to protest, and there wasn’t vio-
lence last night; that the people of
Houston demonstrated that you can
speak, you can speak for racial justice,
you can speak out against brutality
without engaging in violence.
But there has been too much violence
across the country and, sadly, too
many politicians who are complicit in
violence, who have made the political
judgment to turn a blind eye to rioters,
to thugs, to murderers, to those terror-
izing communities.
The riots must stop. The violence
must stop. The first responsibility of
government is to keep people safe.
Right now, in too many of our cities,
government is failing in that task.
Across the country, we see the lives
which have been taken. To date, 6 U.S.
States and 13 U.S. cities have declared
a state of emergency because of the
riots they are facing. Chicago police
superintendent David Brown said that
over the weekend, 132 police officers
were injured, there were 48 shootings,
and 699 arrests.
In Las Vegas on Monday night, riot-
ers shot a police officer who is right
now on life support. Over the past 3
days, Las Vegas police officers have ar-
rested 338 rioters.
In St. Louis, four police officers were
shot on Monday night. Fortunately,
their wounds appear not to be life-
threatening, but a beloved retired po-
lice captain, David Dorn, was shot and
killed by looters at a pawn shop that
same night.
Mr. Dorn joined the St. Louis police
force in 1969. He was a dedicated law
enforcement officer for nearly 40 years.
His wife and the St. Louis community
are grieving his loss. Mr. Dorn was also
African American.
The phrase ‘‘Black lives matter’’ has
become fraught with politics. It is ab-
solutely true that Black lives matter.
We should be horrified at what hap-
pened to George Floyd, but we should
also be horrified at what happened to
David Dorn. To those with political
agendas seeking demagogue that tear
this country apart, somehow David
Dorn—another Black man, a different
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:20 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.006
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2675
June 3, 2020
Black man—who doesn’t fit the polit-
ical story they are trying to tell, dis-
appears from their narrative.
It has become politically controver-
sial to make a statement that every
life matters. How far have we gone?
Our country was founded on that prop-
osition. The Declaration of Independ-
ence tells us we hold these truths to be
self-evident that all men—not some
men, not just White men or White
women, but all men—of every race, of
every creed, of every religion—are cre-
ated equal and are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights
that, among them, are the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Now, our country has not always de-
livered on that promise for every
American, but that is the journey we
have traveled toward that vision.
David Dorn’s life matters. For every
reporter
fanning
up
division
who
doesn’t stop to honor David Dorn,
shame on you. His life mattered, and
he didn’t need to be murdered by vio-
lent looters exploiting the tensions and
division.
In protests Monday night in Buffalo,
NY, three police officers were run over
by a car, breaking a leg and shattering
the pelvis of one of the officers.
In New York City, almost 2,000 people
have been arrested since the rioting
started, and 700 people were arrested
just on Monday night. At least two
New York City police officers were hit
by cars on Monday and nearly 50 New
York Police Department officers have
been injured since the protests began.
In Salt Lake City, 21 police officers
were injured over the weekend, includ-
ing an officer who was hit in the head
with a bat.
On Sunday, during the riot that took
place outside the White House when
the historic St. John’s Church was
burned, when arsonists burned the
church, 14 Secret Service agents were
injured.
In San Francisco over the weekend,
at least 20 fires were set, 33 people were
arrested for looting, and 2 police offi-
cers were attacked.
On
Friday
night,
David
Patrick
Underwood, an officer in the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security, was shot
and killed during protests in Oakland,
CA.
David Patrick Underwood, like David
Dorn, was African American. George
Floyd’s life matters. So does David
Dorn’s.
So
does
David
Patrick
Underwood’s. No elected leader should
sit idly by while David Patrick Under-
wood or David Dorn or George Floyd is
murdered. If Black lives matter, then
all Black lives matter, not just those
which are politically convenient for
politicians.
It has been reported that at least 25
cities in the United States have seen
deadly, destructive riots in the last
week. According to the Claims Journal,
which reports and analyzes the prop-
erty claims industry, 75 businesses in
Madison, WI, have been looted; 50 busi-
nesses in Seattle; 50 businesses in
Pittsburgh; and 45 properties in Chi-
cago have suffered damages. In New
York City, iconic stores up and down
Broadway and Fifth Avenue have been
vandalized and looted.
In Atlanta, everything from big-box
stores to small businesses have been
destroyed, looted, and damaged. In At-
lanta, a Black-owned small business, a
clothing store, was completely looted
in the wee hours of a Saturday morn-
ing. To store owner Kris Shelby, the
loss was devastating.
Mr. Shelby told the New York Times
that ‘‘as a black man, and this is a
black-owned business, it’s just sad.’’
Looting and destroying Mr. Shelby’s
business does not further the cause of
racial justice. It is the act of a cynical,
violent thief and a thief willing to be a
bigoted racist on top of it.
In Philadelphia over the weekend,
nearly 250 businesses were burglarized,
over 375 fires set ablaze. Pause and
think about that number. One city,
Philadelphia, the city of brotherly
love—370 fires.
This is wrong. This is shocking. This
is horrifying. You are not exercising
your First Amendment rights when
you are lighting a police car on fire.
You are not exercising any constitu-
tional rights when you are burning and
terrorizing and assaulting your fellow
citizens. Eighteen law enforcement of-
ficers were injured in Philadelphia—
some hit by Molotov cocktails, others
by rocks and bricks. Ross Martinson,
the owner of a small business called
the Philadelphia Runner, told the
Philadelphia Enquirer: ‘‘What is left is
mush’’ after rioters attempted to light
three fires in his store, stole clothes,
stole shoes, smashed the windows, and
left the store flooding from the sprin-
klers.
In Los Angeles, the rioting and
looting
has
brought
back
painful
memories of the 1992 Rodney King riots
that resulted in 50 deaths, thousands of
arrests, and the destruction of over
1,000 businesses and buildings.
One Santa Monica furniture store,
the owner named Roman, told the L.A.
Times that over the weekend, ‘‘we lost
everything in 10 minutes.’’ Roman said
that 10 minutes of looting resulted in
$6 million in damages.
Mind you, all of this is happening
after months of small businesses being
on the verge of bankruptcy from the
coronavirus pandemic and the eco-
nomic catastrophe we are facing.
Now we have local politicians saying:
We are not going to let police officers
protect your store. We are not going to
let police officers protect your liveli-
hood. Everything you own can be taken
and destroyed by violent criminals.
In New York, according to ABC7 New
York, businesses, such as delis, phar-
macies, beauty supply stores, were de-
stroyed and multiple fires set in Ford-
ham in the Bronx on Monday, while the
flagship Macy’s store and scores of
other retail stories were burglarized,
looted, damaged, in downtown Manhat-
tan over the weekend and Monday. And
throughout it all, New York police de-
partment officers are calling for the
politicians to take the handcuffs off
them, to let them actually protect
their city and protect their fellow citi-
zens. But too many politicians have a
different agenda.
If you are not willing to say that
what happened to George Floyd was
wrong, it was unacceptable, it was
criminal, then you should get the hell
out of public office. But if you are also
not willing to say that what has hap-
pened to these store owners, what has
happened to these police officers—the
stores that have been looted, the offi-
cers who have been murdered and as-
saulted—if you are not willing to say
that is wrong, it is criminal, it is unac-
ceptable, and it must stop, then you
need to get the hell out of public office.
This ain’t complicated. Protect peo-
ple’s lives. Protect their rights.
In Minneapolis, where George Floyd
was killed, Tiwana Jackson, an Afri-
can-American small business owner
with an eyelash extension studio, told
a Business of Fashion reporter that her
store had been looted and vandalized
during the riots. Tiwana said: ‘‘Burn-
ing stores down, stealing things—how
is that going to get justice for George
Floyd?’’
She continued: ‘‘It almost took my
focus away on why this whole thing
started in the first place, which was
racism.’’
In Richmond, VA, David Waller saw
the jewelry store that he runs—that his
grandfather founded in the year 1900—
ransacked by rioters over the weekend.
Waller and Company is one of the old-
est Black-owned businesses in Rich-
mond. How is that justice?
In Washington, DC, not only was the
historic St. John’s Church burned—
where every President we have had has
worshipped—but the Lincoln Memorial
was vandalized, as well as the World
War II Memorial was vandalized, and
the Victims of Communism Memorial
was vandalized. That is not standing up
for justice.
The
Lincoln
Memorial—Abraham
Lincoln led this Nation during the
bloodiest war we have ever encoun-
tered, the Civil War. Six hundred thou-
sand Americans died in the Civil War.
And Abraham Lincoln’s vision, restor-
ing this country and ending the abomi-
nation of slavery—I have to say, the
Lincoln Memorial is my favorite place
in all of Washington to go and stand
and read the words etched in stone, to
read the Gettysburg Address, to read
the second inaugural of the President
who signed the Emancipation Procla-
mation, the President whose leadership
through that Civil War, whose leader-
ship to end slavery cost him his life at
the hands of an assassin. Yet vandals
defaced it.
The U.S. Park Police reported that
the protests on the National Mall and
at Lafayette Park across the street
from the White House resulted in 51 in-
jured U.S. Park Police officers. Eleven
of those injured officers had to go to
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.026
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2676
June 3, 2020
the hospital for treatment, and three
had to be admitted because of their in-
juries.
In my home State of Texas, we have
seen riots in Austin, San Antonio, Dal-
las, and Houston, my hometown—the
hometown of George Floyd. In Austin,
over the weekend, protesters tried to
block a highway and destroyed mul-
tiple businesses, including a gas sta-
tion, a Food Mart, a hotel, a Target, a
Foot Locker, and other stores and busi-
nesses.
In Houston, another group of pro-
testers closed down Highway 59, and ri-
oters destroyed businesses and injured
police officers.
This must stop. There are a host of
tools that can be used to stop it. The
first lines of defense when it comes to
violent crime are the brave men and
women of our police departments who
are risking their lives every night as
they engage with rioters and violent
criminals.
Just as it is a slander to say that
every protester is a violent rioter, it is
also a slander—an absolute vicious
lie—to paint every police officer as a
racist, to paint every police officer as
someone who commits abuse of power
and police brutality, as we saw with
George Floyd.
Yes, there are some who break the
law, and that is why the officers are
being prosecuted. The rule of law ex-
tends to everyone. If a police officer
breaks the law, he or she should be
prosecuted. But when we are looking to
protect our own families, when we are
looking to protect our spouse, when we
are looking to protect our children—
the people we call on to be our first
line of defense are the men and women
in blue.
Local officials who have decided po-
litically that they are not going to let
the police officers arrest the rioters,
but they are going to release the riot-
ers; the media that turn a blind eye
and don’t report on the police officers
being murdered; the Hollywood celeb-
rities who virtue signal and raise
money to pay the bail for the people
being arrested for violent looting—
every one of them is contributing to
this problem.
We also have Federal resources. I
have spoken with U.S. attorneys in the
State of Texas who are directing Fed-
eral resources. There are Federal laws
on the books against rioting: 18 USC,
section 2101, makes it a crime to travel
in or use interstate commerce to incite
a riot or participate in a riot; 18 USC,
section 231, makes it a crime to ‘‘ob-
struct, impede, or interfere’’ with a law
enforcement officer performing his or
her duties ‘‘in any way’’ that affects
commerce; 18 USC, section 844, makes
it a crime to ‘‘maliciously [damage] or
[destroy], or [attempt] to damage or
destroy, by means of fire or an explo-
sive, any building, vehicle, or other
real or personal property used in inter-
state or foreign commerce’’; 18 USC,
section 1962, the RICO statute, makes
it a crime for anyone associated with
an enterprise to engage in a pattern of
racketeering activity where racket-
eering activity includes arson and rob-
bery; 26 USC, section 5861(d) makes it a
crime to possess a destructive device,
which is defined in a way that includes
a Molotov cocktail; and 18 USC, section
2314, makes it a crime to transport
interstate or sell goods that are stolen.
All of those are Federal laws that are
available for Federal prosecutors, that
are available to the FBI. The message
that needs to come clear—loud and
clear—from every elected official is if
you engage in violence, if you engage
in looting, if you destroy shops, if you
shatter windows, if you light police
cars on fire, if you commit acts of vio-
lence, if you physically assault your
fellow citizens, if you physically as-
sault police officers, if you kill your
fellow citizens, if you kill police offi-
cers, you will be prosecuted. You will
be prosecuted, and you will go away to
jail for a very long time.
There are organizations that are pro-
moting this, that are funding this, that
are
coordinating
this—organizations
like antifa. For 2 years, I have been
calling on the administration to des-
ignate antifa as a domestic terrorist
organization. They have engaged in
acts of violence all across this country.
But this past week has been antifa’s
most shameful act.
This week, the President rightly an-
nounced that antifa would be des-
ignated as a terrorist organization.
That means we can use law enforce-
ment resources to track down—if you
are providing funding and organizing,
you will be prosecuted. We will use the
RICO laws against you, the same laws
that take down drug dealers.
If you are handing out bricks to
young African-American men, trying
to incite them to commit acts of vio-
lence, that is a criminal activity. It is
also a cynical, bigoted activity. This
must stop.
Our first responsibility is to protect
our fellow citizens, to protect their
lives, to protect their safety, to protect
their rights. The President has that re-
sponsibility. The Attorney General has
that responsibility. Every U.S. attor-
ney in the country has that responsi-
bility. The FBI has that responsibility.
The Governors of all 50 States have
that responsibility. Mayors have that
responsibility. Police chiefs have that
responsibility.
It is time for this to stop. It is time
for us to come together. And it is time
for the demagogues who peddle the vi-
sion, who seek personal benefit in fan-
ning the flames of racial animosity, to
stop playing games with people’s lives.
If you are a Hollywood celebrity and
want to make a contribution, make a
contribution to a fund rebuilding the
small businesses, the African-American
businesses,
the
Hispanic
businesses
that have been looted and burned and
destroyed. Make a contribution to a
fund to the families of the police offi-
cers murdered. Don’t pay to bail out
the criminals assaulting those police
officers, burning those African-Amer-
ican small businesses, looting those Af-
rican-American small businesses. You
are not a social justice warrior. If you
are lining up, seeking accolades for
your support of violent criminals who
are deliberately targeting the African-
American community, I will tell you
right now, you are not advancing racial
equality if you are supporting violent
criminals who are destroying far too
many African-American communities
and Hispanic communities. That is not
helping the problem.
We need to keep America safe. We
need to protect every American, re-
gardless of race, regardless of skin
color. We need to come together and
keep America safe.
I yield the floor.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mrs.
LOEFFLER). The Senator from Iowa.
CORONAVIRUS
Ms. ERNST. Madam President, for
months, as our Nation has confronted
this pandemic together, everyone in
America—every single one of us—has
been asked to make serious sacrifices,
whether that has meant working over-
time in a hospital caring for the af-
flicted, temporarily closing a family
business, euthanizing hogs and cattle,
or forgoing important life events like a
high school prom or a college gradua-
tion. COVID–19 has brought with it
very challenging times.
While we have missed milestones and
time together, Americans across the
country have stepped up to help slow
the spread of this virus and its toll on
the lives of our fellow citizens. While
we cannot return to life as usual just
yet, we are entering a new phase. Step
by step, State by State, America is
safely reopening.
In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds has
led our State with a steady hand dur-
ing this critical time. Under Governor
Reynolds’ thoughtful plan and guid-
ance from public health officials at the
local, State, and Federal level, Iowa
communities and businesses are start-
ing to safely reopen, and many activi-
ties are carefully resuming. Iowans can
once again participate in America’s
great pastime and play golf. Places of
worship are opening for services while
taking smart precautions. And while
they will not be as crowded as they
once were, restaurants and bars are
taking the first steps in opening again,
as well as are places that we all grew
up going to in Iowa—our amusement
parks, racetracks, outdoor performance
venues, movie theaters, and museums—
all with important public health guide-
lines in mind.
All of this is contingent, of course,
upon having smaller groups of people
and
continuing
to
practice
social
distancing—simple
precautions
that
can make a big difference.
While we all yearn for life to return
back to how it was a few months ago,
we must be smart about taking the ap-
propriate steps. Certainly, we want to
see our elderly relatives, gather with
our family and friends once again, and
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.027
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2677
June 3, 2020
return to work and school. But, folks,
the pandemic is not over. Let’s take
this one step at a time and keep in
mind that while restrictions are being
loosened, they are not eliminated, and
there is a good reason for that.
As this process moves forward, Wash-
ington can make this transition more
safe and successful. Working in part-
nership with the administration, State
leaders, and the private sector, we can
continue to increase testing and ensure
those who may be infected are fol-
lowing proper guidelines and getting
the care and information they need to
limit the spread of the virus. We need
to make sure our essential workers and
others returning to the workforce have
the personal protective equipment—the
PPE—necessary to allow America to
get back to work while ensuring the
safety of our great workers.
In addition, these frontline essential
workers should absolutely be able to
keep more of their hard-earned pay-
check—something I am working on
closely with the administration and
my colleagues. Our small businesses
must be protected from predatory law-
suits
so
that
Iowa’s mom-and-pop
shops can continue to provide pay-
checks to their hard-working employ-
ees.
Of course, we must continue to sup-
port our families—our moms and dads
who are struggling to purchase diapers;
our childcare providers and workers
who have continued to look after our
kids; our family caregivers who are
helping Iowa seniors and those who are
most at risk during this pandemic—and
make sure we are prepared for what-
ever might come next.
Let’s not only focus on the imme-
diate needs but on the long-term na-
tional priority for critical medical sup-
plies and other materials to be pro-
duced right here in the United States
of America. We should never again de-
pend on a foreign nation to protect our
citizens, especially one like the Com-
munist Party of China, which has been
continually and unsurprisingly decep-
tive about this threat from the very be-
ginning.
Folks, while we still have a ways to
go before we can return to life as we
know it, we will get through this, and
when we do, we will revive the great
economy we have built together and
prepare for an even stronger future to-
gether.
I yield the floor.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mr.
PERDUE). The Senator from West Vir-
ginia.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am
very pleased to join my colleague from
Iowa to highlight the need to respon-
sibly reopen America and our economy
as we continue to fight this COVID
pandemic.
PROTESTS
Mr. President, before I talk about re-
opening America, I would like to ad-
dress a deep tragedy—the brutal death
of George Floyd.
It is clear that our entire country is
united in horror and opposition to the
violent killing. Racial discrimination
has absolutely no place in this country
whatsoever. This senseless murder is
unacceptable, and those responsible
should be held accountable. I am an-
guished at the death of George Floyd. I
am anguished at the violence we are
seeing all across our streets today.
There is no question that we must do
our part to change racist attitudes
that, unfortunately, exist today, and
this must be done in a peaceful way.
Looting and violent riots are not the
way to do this, and it is not the way to
honor George Floyd or those who are
protesting peacefully, which is the
great majority of people.
The other day, George’s brother en-
couraged all of us to peacefully protest.
He said that violence will not bring his
brother back. No, it will not bring his
brother back.
It makes me sad to see businesses
and monuments that honor some of our
bravest heroes destroyed and violence
happening in cities across the Nation.
In my State of West Virginia, there
have been protests. However, they have
been peaceful. I commend my West Vir-
ginians for peacefully protesting, and I
encourage them to continue this. In-
stead of violence, we need to come to-
gether as a nation, to listen to one an-
other, and to learn from one another.
This is how real change can happen.
President George W. Bush and Mrs.
Laura Bush published a statement yes-
terday, and I would like to read the
last paragraph because I found it really
quite moving as to how we are going to
address this issue.
The rule of law ultimately depends on the
fairness and legitimacy of the legal system.
And achieving justice for all is the duty of
all. This will require a consistent, coura-
geous, and creative effort. We serve our
neighbors best when we try to understand
their experience. We love our neighbors as
ourselves when we treat them as equals, in
both protection and compassion. There is a
better way—the way of empathy, and shared
commitment, and bold action, and a peace
rooted in justice. I am confident that to-
gether, Americans will choose the better
way.
I appreciate so much the entire state-
ment. Those last several words, as I
said, really touched me.
On the matter before us today, many
communities in our country are begin-
ning to open, including in my State of
West Virginia. As everywhere, COVID
has had a terrible impact on many of
our communities all across the coun-
try. The disease has affected every part
of our lives. More than 105,000 of our
fellow Americans have lost their lives
because of this terrible virus. That in-
cludes 78 West Virginians. The unoffi-
cial unemployment rate is 14 percent in
this country, but in my State of West
Virginia, it is a shade over 15 percent,
and we expect those numbers to rise
when the May numbers are published
later this week.
State and local officials across the
country closed much of our economy in
order to slow the disease. Our goal as a
nation was to bend the curve in order
to prevent our hospitals and other
medical providers from being overrun.
In West Virginia, as in most of the
country, we have been successful in
bending the curve and reducing the
spread of this terrible disease. It is im-
portant, as we move now to responsibly
reopening our economy, to continue to
follow the guidelines that have been
prepared by our public health experts—
washing our hands, social distancing,
avoiding touching your face, and wear-
ing your mask. Following these guide-
lines will help to make America’s re-
opening successful. It will protect your
health and the health of your commu-
nity. Hindering the spread of the dis-
ease while allowing businesses to re-
main open as they follow the guidelines
will aid in our economic recovery as
well.
Most Americans understand there is
no way to choose between public health
and a strong economy because you can-
not have one without the other. We
can’t have a strong economy if we are
not protecting people from becoming
sick, and we will not be able to make
the necessary long-term investments in
public health if we don’t have a strong
economy. That is why a responsible,
step-by-step approach to reopening the
economy that is driven by the data in
States and local communities is so
very important.
West Virginia’s cumulative percent-
age of positive tests now stands at 2
percent, which is less than one-fifth of
the national average. As of this morn-
ing, our daily positive test percentage
was 0.88 percent. This is despite the
fact that West Virginia has tested a
higher percentage of our residents than
the national average and all of our
neighboring States. Even more encour-
aging is that, even as we began reopen-
ing our businesses in May, our cumu-
lative percent of positive tests has re-
mained below 3 percent since April 25.
Yet we have faced challenges. Out-
breaks at our long-term care facilities
in Monongalia County, Wayne County,
Jackson County, and Kanawha County
have resulted in 43 deaths, but do you
know
what?
Our
State
responded
quickly and tested every resident and
every staff member in the nursing
homes in our State. We were the first
State in our Nation to do this and set
the example that many have followed.
Just last week, we had an outbreak at
one of our prisons, where we had 118
positive tests. So we know that this is
still there and that it still presents a
danger, but I am really proud of the
way we have pulled together during
this crisis and addressed these chal-
lenges.
The progress reflected by the statis-
tics is only possible because our State’s
residents have followed the guidelines.
I thank all of the medical profes-
sionals, the first responders, and the
frontline workers who have gone be-
yond the call of duty to protect public
health and keep our communities run-
ning during this most difficult time.
Opening our economy is paramount,
and opening it responsibly must be
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.029
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2678
June 3, 2020
done. Even though the COVID is still
with us, we must continue working to-
gether and following the guidelines so
we can protect both our economy and
our health.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Indiana.
RESTART ACT
Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, last
week, I traveled around the great State
of Indiana on my RESTART tour.
I visited small businesses up and
down the State—eight cities, in fact—
where we have seen so many Hoosiers
adversely impacted by this pandemic.
Like many other States, Indiana is
starting to open up our economy, and I
know so many Hoosiers welcome that.
Our Governor, Eric Holcomb, has been
implementing a five-stage plan for
safely reopening Indiana’s economy.
The cities on my tour have busi-
nesses that are in various stages of re-
opening.
Restaurants
like
Catablu
Grille in Fort Wayne, Arni’s in Lafay-
ette, and Woody’s Library in Carmel
are open at 50-percent capacity right
now. The nonprofit Terre Haute Chil-
dren’s Museum remains closed, unfor-
tunately, and is struggling to pay its
employees. I visited Zimmer Biomet
Hibbard, which is a medical device
company in Valparaiso. I enjoyed the
tour and visiting with the employees,
but I discovered that its sales had
dropped 95 percent in March. Fortu-
nately, it received a Paycheck Protec-
tion Program loan, and that enabled it
to keep all 23 of its employees on the
payroll.
It is clear that we need to continue
evaluating additional relief measures
for small businesses and Indiana’s non-
profits. My RESTART Act is a viable
approach to help keep our hardest hit
businesses and nonprofits going. The
RESTART Act is a bipartisan measure
I introduced with Senator BENNET. The
effort here is to build upon the success
of the Paycheck Protection Program.
We have seen that more than 74,000
Hoosier businesses have benefited from
PPP, with loans totaling nearly $9.4
billion in the State of Indiana. Just for
context, that is an average loan of
about $130,000. These are for small busi-
nesses like those that we see up and
down our State.
The Paycheck Protection Program
requires funds to be spent in just 8
weeks, but most restaurants, gyms,
boutiques, and so many other busi-
nesses were not permitted to be open
during part or all of that 8-week pe-
riod. So the first part of the RESTART
Act merely extends the timeframe to 16
weeks for our Nation’s hardest hit
businesses.
Secondly, we know that the PPP was
meant to be a bridge to reopening the
economy, but many small businesses
have much longer bridges to cross.
That is why our new RESTART Pro-
gram would provide loans that would
cover up to 6 months of payroll and
fixed operating expenses. That is just
for those businesses that have taken a
substantial revenue hit during this
coronavirus pandemic. My RESTART
initiative would provide needed funds
with the flexibility for employers to
pay bills and to implement social
distancing measures, like with those
Plexiglas dividers I have seen at so
many businesses. Most importantly, it
would bring employees back to work,
which is exactly where they want to
be.
Over the last several weeks, I have
spoken to more than 22,000 Hoosiers by
using Zoom teleconferencing capabili-
ties, having conference calls, and other
means. I have to say I am truly in-
spired by the way Hoosiers have come
together to help one another during
this pandemic. Everyone has done his
part. Hoosiers want to work, and busi-
ness owners are eager to pay them. The
RESTART Act can help make sure this
happens, and I hope my colleagues will
give it strong consideration in the
coming days.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that Senator
BRAUN and I be allowed to complete
our remarks prior to the rollcall votes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
CORONAVIRUS
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I
have to say that Tennesseans are en-
joying being out and about. They are
so thrilled to see the restart of our
economy. Whether you are going to
hair salons, restaurants, shopping cen-
ters, office parks, or manufacturing fa-
cilities, what we are hearing from Ten-
nesseans is: Thank goodness we can get
back to work. They are grateful that
they have had the PPP to help them
bridge from the shutdown to the re-
start. There has been $8.8 billion that
has made its way into our State
through the PPP program, and our
Governor, our Tennessee General As-
sembly, and our mayors are really
working diligently to be certain that
our economy opens up, that people are
at work safely, and that we continue to
defeat this COVID–19.
Over the past few months, we have
seen Congress push forward, putting
about $3 trillion into the economy for a
restart, and State and local govern-
ments have already put over $139 bil-
lion worth of aid to good use by sup-
porting local healthcare, helping to
rescue businesses, and keeping compa-
nies working and local payrolls going—
keeping people on the job.
Our Governor and general assembly
in Tennessee have just announced a
new program that they are doing in
conjunction
with
local
businesses.
Now, imagine for a moment what it
was like to watch the economy tumble
from the perspective of a community
that was already struggling and trying
to make ends meet. The pandemic
caused catastrophic damage to the tra-
ditional economy and also to many of
the service organizations that were
there to meet needs. In Tennessee, as
in many States, struggling commu-
nities
depend
on
these
nonprofit
groups. This is why we fought so hard
to include eligibility for nonprofits in
the rescue funding packages.
I will tell you that this is making a
difference in Tennessee for some of our
nonprofit organizations, like the East
Tennessee-based
Appalachia
Service
Project. ASP teams travel throughout
Central Appalachia. They repair homes
for low-income families. Mayors in the
communities that ASP visit are run-
ning on tight budgets, and they depend
on volunteers to fix up unsafe or un-
inhabitable homes. You can only imag-
ine how it felt to the people at ASP to
watch their funding evaporate, know-
ing that the leaky roof that needed at-
tention over in Sneedville would end up
turning into a rotten floor and a moldy
wall and would be a safety hazard for
the individuals who lived there. Fortu-
nately, ASP was able to get an SBA
loan that gave it a little bit of breath-
ing room. Although it has had to can-
cel its volunteer program, its essential
staff and contractors will be able to
continue working all through the sum-
mer.
The various rescue programs that
Congress agreed to implement were not
perfect by any means, but did they
have a positive effect? From what we
are hearing in Tennessee, they did, and
they have been put to good use.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Indiana.
Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I am a
Main Street entrepreneur. I have spent
my career building a little business
into a large one over many years in my
hometown. My wife, as well, has oper-
ated a home accessory and gift store on
Main Street, literally. I am elated to
see the American economy starting to
get off to a smart restart.
I addressed, in a couple of floor
speeches before we left in March, the
question of how to reopen our econ-
omy. I believe businesses are dis-
ciplined and ready to pay attention to
the rules—the new normal—to make
sure their employees and their cus-
tomers stay safe. Business owners will
follow the rules. It is in their own best
interests to do so. They have much to
lose
from
a
new
spike
in
the
coronavirus.
Businesses
are
always
more adept, more agile than govern-
ment, and I am heartened to see the in-
novative approaches many businesses
are taking across our country to ad-
dress this challenge.
The virus does not affect all popu-
lations, industries, and areas of our
country in the same way. So, natu-
rally, the reopening in Indianapolis
will be different from that on Main
Street in Jasper, IN.
We should remember that although
this presents challenges, a one-size-
fits-all is rarely the best policy course
of action, and decisions that affect citi-
zens are best made by the level of gov-
ernment
closest
to
them—mayors,
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.035
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2679
June 3, 2020
town councils, and State governments.
We cannot use the blanket approach
the government took in shutting down
the economy to reopen it. Instead, we
need to provide the tools to empower
local leaders and businesses who know
their communities best to reopen safe-
ly so that our country can function
again.
I believe that through the persever-
ance and innovation that American
business has always exhibited, we can
get our economy back on the path to
recent heights without yielding back
any territory to the virus.
I yield the floor.
VOTE ON ANDERSON NOMINATION
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
All
postcloture time has expired.
The question is, Will the Senate ad-
vise and consent to the Anderson nomi-
nation?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I
ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a
sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient sec-
ond.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. MAR-
KEY), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.
SANDERS), the Senator from Hawaii
(Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator from Min-
nesota (Ms. SMITH), and the Senator
from Montana (Mr. TESTER) are nec-
essarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. COT-
TON). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced—yeas 78,
nays 17, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 109 Ex.]
YEAS—78
Alexander
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Brown
Burr
Capito
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hawley
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Loeffler
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Stabenow
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young
NAYS—17
Baldwin
Blumenthal
Booker
Cantwell
Cardin
Gillibrand
Harris
Heinrich
Klobuchar
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Schumer
Udall
Van Hollen
Warren
Wyden
NOT VOTING—5
Markey
Sanders
Schatz
Smith
Tester
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
the previous order, the motion to re-
consider is considered made and laid
upon the table, and the President will
be immediately notified of the Senate’s
action.
f
CLOTURE MOTION
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant
to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the
Senate the pending cloture motion,
which the clerk will state.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
read as follows:
CLOTURE MOTION
We, the undersigned Senators, in ac-
cordance with the provisions of rule
XXII of the Standing Rules of the Sen-
ate, do hereby move to bring to a close
debate on the nomination of Drew B.
Tipton, of Texas, to be United States
District Judge for the Southern Dis-
trict of Texas.
Mitch McConnell, Deb Fischer, Steve
Daines, Cory Gardner, Tim Scott, Ted
Cruz, David Perdue, James E. Risch,
Roger F. Wicker, Pat Roberts, Lindsey
Graham, Mike Crapo, Michael B. Enzi,
John
Barrasso,
Marsha
Blackburn,
John Thune, Richard C. Shelby.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan-
imous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the
Senate that debate on the nomination
of Drew B. Tipton, of Texas, to be
United States District Judge for the
Southern District of Texas, shall be
brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory
under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. MAR-
KEY), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.
SANDERS), the Senator from Hawaii
(Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator from Min-
nesota (Ms. SMITH), and the Senator
from Montana (Mr. TESTER) are nec-
essarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there
any other Senators in the Chamber de-
siring to vote?
The result was announced—yeas 53,
nays 42, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 110 Ex.]
YEAS—53
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Loeffler
McConnell
McSally
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS—42
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Jones
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Manchin
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Stabenow
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING—5
Markey
Sanders
Schatz
Smith
Tester
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this
vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 42.
The motion is agreed to.
f
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
clerk will report the nomination.
The legislative clerk read the nomi-
nation of Drew B. Tipton, of Texas, to
be United States District Judge for the
Southern District of Texas.
Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to
consider the nomination.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
Democratic leader.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—H.R. 7010
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in a
moment I will ask unanimous consent
to pass legislation that makes urgently
needed reforms to the PPP to make the
program much more functional for
all—underline ‘‘all’’—small businesses.
Let me just name a few of the
changes. First, it expands the loan pe-
riod from 8 weeks to 24 weeks. Cur-
rently, workers may be brought back
for the 8 weeks, but what good is it if
they are again laid off after that short
period? It is unrealistic, and small
businesses need assistance that can
cover the full length of this crisis.
Second, the legislation removes the
25-percent restriction imposed by the
Trump administration on the use of
loans for fixed costs, rents, mortgages,
utilities, and replaces it with new 60–40
payroll-to-nonpayroll
expenses.
This
change will continue PPP’s support in
getting workers back on the payroll
but giving small businesses more flexi-
bility to survive in this crisis, which is
essential to the long-term employment
prospect of the workers.
For my home State of New York, we
have high rents, high utility costs.
Many businesses were frozen out when
there was 25 percent, but 40 percent
will get them in, and that applies to
the more high-cost areas throughout
the country. Even though these are
small businesses, they are struggling
under those costs.
Third, the proposal extends the pro-
gram to the end of the year and makes
December 31 the deadline to rehire
workers in order to get full forgiveness
on the loan. We have a long way to go
before the economy will come back in
real ways. This will give businesses a
more realistic timeline to get the help
they need while bringing back employ-
ees.
The bill ensures any amounts of the
loan not forgiven will have at least a 5-
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.030
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2680
June 3, 2020
year term of repayment so that small
businesses will not be saddled with the
need to be repaid within 2 years. The
impact of this crisis is long-lasting and
requires lenient terms. We have all
heard from small businesses in our
States that while they are glad there is
a program—they would have gone
under without it; it is a very good
thing—it needed some changes to make
it work for so many small businesses
that have been left out or rejected.
I say to small businesses across the
country: After this changes, apply
again even if you applied the first time
because it will be easier to meet the re-
quirements and criteria.
This is not controversial. The House
of Representatives passed this legisla-
tion with a vote of 417 to 1. We can’t
wait any longer. Businesses are really
suffering for lack of these changes, and
to wait and wait and wait—if someone
wants to make changes, let’s do it
when we get to the Heroes bill, to
COVID 4. But to delay another week or
2 weeks or 3 weeks to get this all bol-
lixed up—we can’t afford to wait. Our
small businesses cannot afford to wait.
These changes are universally agreed
to as good ones, and we shouldn’t let
someone who wants a small change
say: Let’s stop it until we go forward.
The bill has the broad support of
small
businesses
across
industries,
mom-and-pop restaurants, underserved
businesses, minority businesses, non-
profits that have been hit hard by this
pandemic. It should be passed by the
Senate right now.
These fixes will not solve every prob-
lem in PPP. Too many underserved
small businesses and minority small
businesses are still struggling to get
the help they need in these troubled
times. These will not diminish in any
way the urgency of passing legislation
like the Heroes Act, which provides ad-
ditional help not only for businesses
but for homeowners, renters, essential
workers, medical facilities, local and
State governments, and more. Our Re-
publican colleagues must come to the
table and work with us to pass future
reforms.
Nor will it divert our caucus in its
quest for police reform and racial jus-
tice. We have to do that as well.
But today we have an opportunity to
pass meaningful reforms that our small
businesses need now. We must get this
done. Businesses are going under every
day. Small businesses that have strug-
gled and sweated—my dad’s was one of
them—that need help and can’t get
help because of certain problems in
this bill will be so relieved when we
pass this legislation, which has already
passed the House.
I want to particularly thank two peo-
ple on our side who have worked long
and hard on this legislation, who will
speak now. One is Senator CARDIN from
Maryland, the ranking member of the
Committee on Small Business, and one
is Senator SHAHEEN, the senior Senator
from New Hampshire, who is also a
very active member of the Small Busi-
ness Committee. I hope that passing
this legislation in a bipartisan way as
it did in the House will give us momen-
tum to keep working on the medical,
economic, and racial crises that still
affect our Nation.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, first, let
me thank Senator SCHUMER for bring-
ing this issue to the floor at this time.
Senator SCHUMER
has been a great
leader on what we need to do to help
respond to COVID–19. He recognized
from the beginning that we needed a
balanced program to deal with the
health pandemic, with the Marshall
Plan, to deal with the help to our State
and local governments, and to deal
with the economic consequences of
COVID–19.
Senator SCHUMER helped us develop a
balanced approach to deal with the eco-
nomic challenges while, yes, helping
the individual through unemployment
insurance and direct checks from the
IRS but also helping our businesses.
For small businesses we created new
tools; for larger businesses we had
loans.
I was proud to be part of a task force
that was charged with developing the
tools for small business. I want to
thank my partner Senator SHAHEEN for
her incredible help and leadership in
crafting the programs of the Paycheck
Protection Program while also dealing
with the economic disaster loan pro-
gram, which was new and a loan for-
giveness program.
We did this working with Senators
RUBIO and COLLINS. It was truly bipar-
tisan. We did it in a matter of literally
a few days—a week or so, and we were
able to get this program crafted in a
way that it provided incredible relief
to the small businesses of our country.
So today, what is the record? There
are 4.4 million loans that have been
issued under the Paycheck Protection
Program, and $510 billion has been
made available to small businesses in
this country. It literally has been a
lifeline allowing small companies to
continue to exist. You see, with small
companies, we get more job growth
than bigger companies. We get ideas on
how to deal with economic challenges.
But in economic downturns they don’t
have the liquidity and resilience that
larger companies have. That is why we
had to pass this type of help. We did
that in March, and when we passed
those bills in March, quite frankly we
thought that by now the economy
would be in a much better shape than
it is and that small businesses would be
able to return to somewhat of a normal
economy. Well, that is not the case.
We
recognize
that
certain
busi-
nesses—such as those in the hospitality
field, health clubs, caterers, museums,
and the list goes on and on—have vir-
tually not been able to open at all yet,
and they are going to need more help
than just the 8 weeks that was planned
in the Paycheck Protection Program.
That is why the legislation that passed
the House was part of this bipartisan,
bicameral effort to give additional
flexibility for those who had the pay-
check protection plan loans. We recog-
nize now that 8 weeks is not long
enough, and that is why this legisla-
tion would change that 8 weeks to 24
weeks, giving small businesses a great-
er opportunity to qualify for a max-
imum amount of loan forgiveness and
giving small businesses more flexi-
bility on how they allocate those funds
between payroll and nonpayroll ex-
penses.
As we heard today in our first over-
sight hearing in the Small Business
and
Entrepreneurship
Committee,
small businesses are different. Maybe 8
weeks works for some, but maybe it
doesn’t work for others. Maybe 75 per-
cent of payroll works for one but
doesn’t work for another. We need a
program that can fit the vast majority
of small businesses, and the changes
represented in the House bill rep-
resents those changes that if we had
recognized in March that this pan-
demic would have continuing impact
on our economy well beyond 8 weeks,
would have certainly been considered
during that period of time.
Now is the time to pass this. I just
want to underscore this point. The 8
weeks will expire for the first loans
that were issued under the PPP pro-
gram next week. Small businesses need
predictability. They need to know
whether this is going to be the law or
not before they apply for their forgive-
ness. So we don’t have any extra time.
We need to pass this right now. It is a
bipartisan effort and is a bipartisan
bill.
What Senator SCHUMER said is abso-
lutely correct. We will have other op-
portunities to deal with other provi-
sions to help small businesses. We are
not finished. We recognize that there
are small businesses that may need ad-
ditional help, particularly those who
have seen dramatic reductions in their
revenues and the smaller of the small
businesses and those underserved com-
munities. We need to pay attention to
do something about that. But let’s get
this program working right today.
Let’s give the notices to small busi-
nesses and get this passed through the
Senate today so that small businesses
can plan on how to deal with the next
several months.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am
so pleased to be able to join Leader
SCHUMER and my colleague and rank-
ing member of the small business com-
mittee, Senator CARDIN. I am grateful
for his leadership and for the partner-
ship that we had back in March with
Senators RUBIO and COLLINS. It truly
was a bipartisan partnership to try and
address the challenges that small busi-
nesses are facing across this country.
In New Hampshire small businesses
are our lifeblood. They were going
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.037
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2681
June 3, 2020
under because of this pandemic, so the
Paycheck Protection Program has been
a lifesaver. But we know there are
things that need to change about it in
order for it to continue to help those
businesses.
In New Hampshire we have 22,000
small businesses and nonprofits that
have received over $2.5 billion in for-
givable loans under the program.
But we have also heard from many of
those businesses that there are im-
provements and fixes that are nec-
essary,
businesses
like
The
Little
Grille, a New Hampshire restaurant
with
locations
in
Littleton
and
Woodsville. They said that PPP has
been a lifesaver. But they have only 2
weeks remaining on their forgivable
term, and if the terms of the loan are
not addressed, the owners of The Little
Grille told us that they will be back in
the same position they were at the
start of the pandemic, and they may be
forced to lay off staff.
We have heard from the Portsmouth
Brewery, which received their PPP
loan, and they want to rehire their 28
employees but they need more flexi-
bility and extensions to the program to
resume operations.
Then, of course, we have heard from
Big Dave’s Bagels & Deli in North
Conway. His 32-year-old bakery was
predominantly takeout before the pan-
demic, but he was able to keep his em-
ployees on and offer hazard pay be-
cause his approval for the PPP loan
came through at the very end of April.
Now he needs flexibility and loan terms
if he is going to keep his employees on
the payroll.
I could go on and on with example
after example, but the important thing
is, as Senators SCHUMER and CARDIN
have said so eloquently, those first
loans are about to end, and if we don’t
do something to help those businesses,
they are going to be back in the same
place that they were in in March when
the shelter-at-home and the stay-at-
home orders began in New Hampshire
and across this country.
So we need to do something. This leg-
islation addresses the concerns that
people have expressed. I think we also
need to provide additional funding or
additional help over the next month
until things open back up in the econ-
omy.
But, in the short term, the legisla-
tion addresses the concerns that we
have been hearing from small busi-
nesses, and I hope we are going to see
our colleagues pass it by unanimous
consent so that there is some certainty
for those businesses as they try and
open back up in this very difficult en-
vironment.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, let
me thank my colleagues from Mary-
land and New Hampshire for their elo-
quence.
Again, we need to act now. We have
waited long enough to make these
changes. The House passed them 417 to
1. There may be changes people want to
make, but I would urge that we pass
this bill now—we pass this bill imme-
diately—because small businesses need
the certainty. In the next week or two,
many will be affected negatively if we
don’t get this legislation passed.
So I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the immediate con-
sideration of H.R. 710, which was re-
ceived from the House; that the bill be
considered read a third time and
passed; and that the motion to recon-
sider be considered made and laid upon
the table.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mrs.
BLACKBURN). Is there objection?
The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. JOHNSON. Madam President, re-
serving the right to object, I appreciate
my colleague’s desire to help small
businesses. I really don’t think there is
a stronger advocate in support of small
business in all of Congress. I think I
have proved that with my work in tax
reform, fighting for 95 percent of Amer-
ican businesses that are pass-through
entities.
I think my colleagues on the floor
here today realize that what the House
passed has one very significant flaw in
it—probably a technical drafting error
but a significant flaw—which says that
if you don’t spend 60 percent of the
PPP loan on payroll, you get no for-
giveness, which was a dramatic dif-
ference from what it was when you had
75 percent.
I am in favor of all those changes. As
Senator SHAHEEN
pointed out, there
are a lot of problems with PPP that
need to be corrected. My only objection
is, before we authorize this and put an
authorization date all the way to De-
cember 31, we need to make sure those
changes are made.
So my only objection is we should
not extend this authorization without
significant reforms that I hope my col-
leagues would all agree with; for exam-
ple, the fact that many businesses—
again, I am not denying that PPP pro-
vided very swift funding to businesses
that truly needed it. It was a real life-
line. It worked from that standpoint.
But, in our case, we all knew that we
had to do something massive, we had
to do something quick, but we also
knew it was going to be far from per-
fect. In our haste in crafting this, we
made it possible for many businesses
that didn’t need it at all to have access
to those funds, and we don’t have an
unlimited checking account.
When we give money to support busi-
nesses that don’t need it, we are going
to have less money to give to those
that truly do need it.
Unfortunately, what we are down to
here with this unanimous consent re-
quest—we have been working in good
faith with the sponsors of the House
bill, with the Republican leadership. I
reached out to the Democratic leader,
saying that we are very close; I think
we will probably be able to pass the
House bill, with assurances, by unani-
mous consent, just not at this moment.
So,
again,
I
appreciate
their
thoughts. I am really not disagreeing
with the fact that we have to do some-
thing. I want to do something as well.
I just want to make sure that if we do
put more money into this thing, it is
not going to be flowing to businesses
that don’t need it, thereby denying
those businesses that truly do need it
in a more targeted fashion.
So, Madam President, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
tion is heard.
The Democratic leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
respect the good faith and sincerity in
my colleague from Wisconsin.
I would say this: If we change this
bill and then go to conference with the
House, we risk too much delay. We
should move the bill now. We are will-
ing to, certainly, look at the changes
that my colleague from Wisconsin pro-
poses, and we can do that in a UC to-
morrow, next week, whenever—but not
hold this bill up because, even if the
Senator is right in his interpretation—
which may be right; it may be wrong—
it doesn’t affect 95 percent of the busi-
nesses in the next few weeks that need
help.
So we ought to pass this bill, help the
urgent needs that those businesses
have, and whatever corrections that
my colleague from Wisconsin wishes to
make, I am sure my colleagues from
Maryland and New Hampshire and I
would look at it. But to hold this bill
up now, which passed 417 to 1 in the
House and which does so many good
and needed things, unaffected by the
provision that he is having trouble
with, I think would be a sincere mis-
take.
So I would ask him to reconsider. We
need to pass this bill today.
Mr. JOHNSON. Will the Democratic
leader yield?
Mr. SCHUMER. I will be happy to
yield.
Mr. JOHNSON. What we are working
on is not a change to this legislation.
The way we are working this we will
still be able to pass this piece of legis-
lation unamended, unchanged, with a
letter of intent from the chairs and the
ranking members of the Small Busi-
ness Committees of both the House and
the Senate—together with a commit-
ment from the majority leader—and we
can pass this as-is.
We don’t have to delay it. We are just
this close. I am objecting at this time.
Give us a little bit more time to work
out that method, and then we will be
able to pass this measure without
amendment—no changes—pass this and
then work in good faith together to
make those changes I think we all
agree need to be changed in the future.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Will my colleague
from Wisconsin yield for a question?
Mr. JOHNSON. Sure.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Do I understand
that you think you will have some res-
olution of this by this afternoon, so
you expect at that point to come back
in with another UC request to pass this
bill?
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.038
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2682
June 3, 2020
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes. With coopera-
tion from the chairmen and the rank-
ing members of both committees, I
think we will be able to get this thing
done.
Again, our request is really very sim-
ple. I am not the only one. We don’t
want to see this program automati-
cally reauthorized until the end of De-
cember. Now, there is some dispute as
to whether the language actually does
that. It sounds like the intent was not
to do that; it was just to allow people
to spend money through the end of De-
cember, which we have no problem
with.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. That is my under-
standing of the bill; it doesn’t allow
you to apply for the loan through De-
cember.
Mr. JOHNSON. So, again, CRS actu-
ally interprets it as a full authoriza-
tion, so we just need to show what that
true intent is, put that letter into the
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD so that we are
certain that we are not reauthorizing
this or authorizing it through Decem-
ber 31; that the authorization does end
June 30 so that, if we do want to put
more funds into a program like PPP,
that new program will have the type of
directed reforms that I think we really
could gain agreement on.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
thank my colleague. I would simply
say that it seems to me he has it a lit-
tle backward.
We should pass this bill and then
work on the changes—not hold this bill
up. Who knows what can happen?
Maybe it will happen today; maybe it
will not. We have the moment to do it
now. We waited 21⁄2 days. We could have
done the UC Monday. We waited until
Wednesday afternoon. We are leaving
here tomorrow at about 1.
The House is not in session now. It
would be very, very wise and helpful to
small business—and I have talked to
many of them all across the country—
to pass this bill now, and then we will
work in good faith on the small change
that my colleague wished to have.
Mr. JOHNSON. Will the Senator
yield?
Mr. SCHUMER. I yield.
Mr. JOHNSON. The way we are work-
ing this out, there would be no change
required, just a letter for the CONGRES-
SIONAL RECORD stating what I believe
the intent was, just to allow people to
spend to the end of December. We are
just working out the details of that
language, and then we will be able to
allow this to pass by unanimous con-
sent.
By the way, I have gotten other
Members who are objecting to this to
agree to this as well.
So just give us a little bit more time;
agree to that language. Hopefully, the
ranking member would agree with that
letter for the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.
Pass this bill, unchanged. Then, in the
future—because this PPP will expire
June 30, but the need does not.
If you read my article in the Wall
Street Journal, I have a number of, I
think, innovative ideas for what we can
do to help restore capital for businesses
that are going to need it to reopen our
economy, and I would love to work
very closely.
I obviously have experience in busi-
nesses and small businesses and would
like to work with the chairman and
ranking member of the Small Business
Committee.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. If the Senator would
yield, he has mentioned several dif-
ferent issues. I appreciate the fact that
we are trying to get this done today
and that he is indicating we have a
path forward to get this completed this
afternoon and the House bill to the
President, which is our objective, so
that small business owners under-
stand—24 weeks before their loans ex-
pire and understand the additional
flexibility on how they can spend the
money because they are making those
decisions, literally, today.
The Senator mentioned several dif-
ferent issues that he is concerned
about, but it appears that the one area
in which he is seeking consensus here
deals with the authority to issue a loan
under the PPP program through June
of this year, which is what the law is,
and I don’t believe it is changed by the
House bill. Is that the issue for which
you are seeking to get consensus from
the ranking member and chairman?
Mr. JOHNSON. I believe so. Again,
there is a dispute as to what the lan-
guage actually says. Again, I have no
problem with the full $660 billion that
has already been appropriated to be
spent whenever. But I don’t want to re-
authorize the program past June 30
without the types of reforms that we
can talk about. Then we will pass it
through regular order.
What I am suggesting here is to just
wait until we have this letter of intent
for the RECORD. We are just asking the
chairman or ranking member of the
Small Business Committees of both
houses to agree to and sign, and then
we will pass this bill as-is, unchanged,
to give those small businesses the cer-
tainty we want to provide them.
Mr. CARDIN. I am just trying to fig-
ure out what I am supposed to be sign-
ing as ranking member of the com-
mittee. If I understand—because the
Senator had mentioned problems with
the 60 percent——
Mr. JOHNSON. We will deal with
those in the future.
Mr. CARDIN. I just want to make
sure we have——
Mr. JOHNSON. I have no demands
other than one—again, we are so close.
We are first working it out on our side,
and then we will consult you, and
maybe we will pass it yet tonight or
early tomorrow morning. That is my
goal as well.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
Democratic leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, if
my friend from Wisconsin is willing to
delay the other changes he wants and
try to work those out, it would make
eminent sense to delay this one, as
well, and try to work that out and pass
this bill. You never know what hap-
pens.
We should pass it today, not wait for
tomorrow. We should pass it now, not
wait a few hours. Lord knows what can
happen. Businesses are crying out.
I think our moving here will move
the process forward. It wouldn’t have
moved as quickly as if we didn’t move
the bill, but it is still a better bet to
help small businesses, even with the
concern my colleague has, to pass this
bill now.
I would make one final plea: Let’s
pass it now. If not, we should pass it
today.
Mr. JOHNSON. I am happy to come
back or let you come back and ask for
unanimous consent if we get this ham-
mered out, and I will not object. But,
at this point, I am going to object until
we get this hammered out.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
tion is heard.
Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I
rise today as the United States of
America, again, faces the enormous
challenge and responsibility of striving
to live up to the preamble of the Con-
stitution of the United States.
The preamble provides: ‘‘We the Peo-
ple of the United States, in Order to
form a more perfect Union, establish
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defense, pro-
mote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and estab-
lish this Constitution for the United
States of America.’’
I note that our Founders, who were
far from perfect when it came to racial
issues, thought that justice was more
important than domestic tranquility.
They listed justice first.
Today, America is grieving over the
brutal and unnecessary death of George
Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. Both
State and Federal law enforcement of-
ficers are moving quickly to bring the
police officers in this case to justice
and hold them accountable for their ac-
tions, as Mr. Floyd’s cries of ‘‘I can’t
breathe’’ went unanswered as the life
drained out of him.
Video taken by several witnesses
show that George Floyd—who was
Black and was unarmed—was hand-
cuffed and pinned to the ground by a
police officer who held his knee against
Mr. Floyd’s neck as he pleaded for his
life. Mr. Floyd was on the ground, re-
peatedly telling the officer that he
could not breathe. And despite the fact
that bystanders are all heard on video
begging the officer to relent, he did not
remove his knee from Mr. Floyd’s neck
until after an ambulance arrived.
Eventually Mr. Floyd lost conscious-
ness. He was pronounced dead after
being transported to a local hospital.
As leaders, regardless of party, we
cannot
stay
silent
about
George
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.040
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2683
June 3, 2020
Floyd’s death. Black lives matter.
George Floyd was a father, a son, and a
brother. His life mattered. He did not
need to die. He and his family deserve
justice. How many other Black men
and women have died at the hands of
law enforcement or vigilante civilians
due to the color of their skin but have
not been caught on video? Those vic-
tims deserve justice too.
We must act, working together, to
fundamentally reform the ways police
across this Nation interact with the
communities they serve.
On Monday night, President Trump
once again failed to lead this Nation in
a time of crisis, and he has forfeited his
moral authority as President. Spraying
tear gas at peaceful protesters to clear
a path for a photo op is opposite of
American values and basic human
rights. It violates civil and human
rights under any circumstances.
President Trump fans the flames of
racism and seeks to divide Americans
for political purposes, just as he did in
Charlottesville and far too many places
since. He seems willfully blind to the
reason people are protesting in the
first place—to end systematic racism
in the repeated and tragic targeting of
Blacks by law enforcement.
Congress, finally, must act to pass a
comprehensive plan to reform police
community relations, improve training
and hiring of police officers, and hold
police accountable for misconduct and
use of excessive force. We must rebuild
trust between the police and the com-
munities they serve.
For those who are asking ‘‘Why did it
take so long?’’ the answer is ‘‘We have
been trying.’’ It should not have taken
so long, but year after year too many
of my colleagues have put partisanship
before justice and equality.
As both the House and Senate pre-
pare to hold hearings on police reform
and racial profiling issues, I want to
bring to my colleagues’ attention two
pieces of legislation that I have filed:
The End Racial and Religious Profiling
Act and the Law Enforcement Trust
and Integrity Act. If enacted, these two
bills could make an enormous dif-
ference and constitute a giant step for-
ward in reforming police departments
in America and rebuilding trust be-
tween police officers and the commu-
nities they are sworn to protect and
serve.
The
End
Racial
and
Religious
Profiling Act is designed to enforce the
constitutional right to equal protec-
tion under the law by eliminating ra-
cial profiling at all levels of law en-
forcement by changing the policies and
procedures underlying the practice.
First, the bill provides a prohibition
on racial profiling, enforceable by de-
claratory or injunctive relief. It cre-
ates a standard definition of racial
profiling, which now includes religion,
gender, and other protected categories
for Federal, State, and local law en-
forcement, enforcing criminal, civil,
and immigration laws.
Can law enforcement still provide a
detailed description of a suspect that
includes race? The answer is yes. But
the bill prohibits blanket targeting
solely based on race or one of the other
protected categories.
This bill also mandates training on
racial profiling issues as part of Fed-
eral law enforcement training, the col-
lection of data on all routine and spon-
taneous investigatory activities, and
the creation of procedures for receiv-
ing,
investigating,
and
responding
meaningfully to complaints alleging
racial profiling by law enforcement.
Systematic racism will not disappear
overnight. We must engage all law en-
forcement in aggressive training and
then have data to show where there is
progress and where challenges remain.
Our bill authorizes the Department of
Justice grants for the development and
implementation of best policing prac-
tices.
The second bill is the Law Enforce-
ment Trust and Integrity Act that I
have filed. The Law Enforcement Trust
and Integrity Act takes a comprehen-
sive approach at addressing the issue of
police
accountability
and
building
trust between police departments and
their communities.
This legislation provides incentives
for local police organizations to volun-
tarily adopt performance-based stand-
ards to ensure that instances of mis-
conduct will be minimized through ap-
propriate management, training, and
oversight protocols. The bill provides
that if such incidents do occur, they
will be properly investigated.
The bill provides police officers—the
vast majority of whom perform their
job professionally, putting their lives
on the line daily, protecting their com-
munities—with the tools necessary to
improve community relations and en-
hance their professional growth and
education.
It authorizes $25 million for addi-
tional expenses related to the enforce-
ment of civil rights statutes, including
compliance with consent decrees or
judgments regarding police misconduct
brought by the Department of Justice.
In Baltimore City, for example, the
Baltimore Police Department volun-
tarily entered into a consent decree in
2017 with the U.S. Department of Jus-
tice to overhaul the police department.
An earlier Department of Justice re-
port had found a widespread pattern
and practice of illegal and unconstitu-
tional conduct by the Baltimore Police
Department through targeting African-
American
residents
for
dispropor-
tionate and disparate treatment.
The legislation I have authored also
authorizes
appropriations
for
addi-
tional expenses related to conflict reso-
lution, including programs managed by
the Department of Justice’s Commu-
nity Relations Services within the
Civil Rights Division.
I am pleased that, to date, the pro-
tests in Baltimore have been largely
peaceful, especially compared to 2015
after the death of Freddie Gray in Bal-
timore Police Department custody.
I do hope my fellow Americans look
to Baltimore in 2020 as an example for
how to peacefully protest and petition
the government for redress of griev-
ances,
as
Baltimore
has
willingly
agreed to work with the U.S. Depart-
ment of Justice to overhaul its entire
police force so that policing its citizens
is both fair and effective.
As many of my colleagues have said
before, ‘‘Civil Rights is still the unfin-
ished business of America.’’ Prejudice,
discrimination, and outright racism
continues to limit the lives of the large
number of our people. We must con-
tinue the struggle today in order to
make urgent progress.
As I close, I am reminded of my dear
friend, the late Representative Elijah
Cummings, who died last year. He was
a fellow Baltimorean and fellow grad-
uate of the University of Maryland
Law School. He gave the eulogy for
Freddie Gray in 2015, who died after
being arrested and taken into police
department custody.
During the church service, he closed
with a quote from the Book of Amos:
I want justice, oceans of it. I want fairness,
rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I
want.
Elijah also asked a pointed question
of those of us at the funeral that day,
as well as to the news cameras that
were broadcasting the event nationally
and around the world. Elijah asked:
‘‘Did anyone recognize Freddie when he
was alive . . . did anyone see him?’’
Elijah asked whether society had
done all that it could have done when
Gray was ‘‘struggling to simply be all
God meant for him to be?’’
Today, I ask my fellow Americans to
ask that question when it comes to the
lives of not only George Floyd but
Tony McDade, Sean Reed, Breonna
Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. I say here
today to Black Americans: I see you. I
hear you. You are men and women. You
have families. You have the same
rights as every other individual in this
country.
In a 2019 interview with ‘‘60 Min-
utes,’’ Steve Kroft noted as follows:
Cummings is not a patient man. It’s a les-
son he learned from his late grandmother,
who imparted her mindset shortly before she
died. White people, she told him, had been
telling African Americans to wait—and he
shouldn’t.
She says, ‘‘Your daddy, he been waiting
and waiting and waiting for a better day,’’
Cummings recalled. She said, ‘‘He’s going to
wait, and he’s going to die.’’ She said, ‘‘Don’t
you wait.’’
Then, in his late sixties, Elijah Cum-
mings said that when he looks into the
future, he also reflects on his life. ‘‘I
realized that with African American
people, where we’ve been blocked from
being all that God meant for us to be,
I don’t have time to be patient.’’
Yes, Elijah often said of America
that ‘‘we are better than this.’’ Let’s
prove Elijah right. I urge the Senate
not to be patient any longer and wait
for the next death of an African Amer-
ican in police custody before taking ac-
tion. Let us hold our hearings and then
expeditiously take up and pass legisla-
tion, including the two bills I have ex-
plained on the floor today, as the next
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.042
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2684
June 3, 2020
steps in establishing justice in our still
imperfect Union.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I
ask unanimous consent that I be al-
lowed to complete my remarks before
the vote occurs.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION
Mr.
CORNYN.
Madam
President,
since the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion launched the Crossfire Hurricane
counterintelligence
investigation
in
July of 2016, there has been no shortage
of media coverage of Russia’s involve-
ment in our 2016 election. For the bet-
ter part of 3 years, there has been news;
there has been speculation; there have
been rumors; there have been partisan
accusations made about that topic.
Trying to keep up with the names
and the dates, the allegations left you
feeling like an old-school detective
show—names and photos pinned to a
board, with strings of yarn connecting
all the pieces. Everyone expected the
release of the special counsel’s report
to be the moment when those dots were
finally connected and it explained what
happened and who was responsible.
It is safe to say that did not happen.
Even though the Mueller report did not
find any collusion or obstruction, there
was a lot of information that since has
been made public about its origins, its
motivation, and the means by which
that investigation occurred. In fact,
rather than settling the matter, these
revelations have prompted a whole new
range of questions about the investiga-
tion itself.
First of all, we had Rod Rosenstein in
the Judiciary Committee. He was the
Deputy Attorney General. I asked him
whether he was aware of any precedent
for what happened in 2016 when, at the
same time, both major parties’ polit-
ical nominees for President of the
United States were the subject of open
FBI investigations. He said: No, there
is no precedent for that.
First, of course, it was the Hillary
email scandal, after which Director
Comey made another unprecedented
move and had a press conference saying
that even though she had been essen-
tially grossly negligent in handling
this private email server, he thought
that no reasonable prosecutor would
bring charges against her.
As much as Secretary Clinton might
have appreciated that announcement,
or not, a few weeks later, the FBI Di-
rector wrote another letter and said:
Hey, we have some Anthony Weiner
emails that came up on his laptop, so
we need to reopen the investigation
just a few days before the general elec-
tion.
Well, you can imagine Secretary
Clinton didn’t appreciate that. Many
people have said that it is because of
the FBI’s unprecedented involvement
in the middle of a Presidential election
that it damaged, if not decided, the
election in 2016.
And then, of course, there is the
Trump-Russia influence investigation,
better known as Crossfire Hurricane,
leading up to the Mueller investigation
and where we are today. In the time
since the special counsel completed his
investigation and issued his report
more than a year ago, we have learned
more about the behind-the-scenes work
that guided the Russia probe.
Thanks to Inspector General Horo-
witz and his team at the Department of
Justice, thanks to the DNI, the Direc-
tor of National Intelligence, and others
for declassifying important informa-
tion, we have a whole lot more insight
and transparency into exactly what
happened. But these revelations have
given all of us pause for grave concern.
They have highlighted a pattern of
sloppiness and outright abuse of power
at the highest levels of the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation and beyond and
raised red flags that must be addressed.
In the Senate, it is our duty to get to
the bottom of how and why this hap-
pened. I can’t imagine any Democrat,
any Republican, any American saying
what happened in the 2016 election to
Hillary Clinton and to Donald Trump
was OK. Our law enforcement agencies
should not play a starring role in an
election leading up to the Nation’s
highest office.
This morning, the first step in our in-
vestigation into the origins, means,
and methods of the Crossfire Hurricane
investigation occurred in the Judiciary
Committee. That is where we heard
from Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein. He wasn’t the Deputy At-
torney General until the spring of 2017,
but he did play a key role in the inves-
tigation. He signed one of the applica-
tions for the Foreign Intelligence Sur-
veillance Act warrant that allowed the
FBI to essentially surveil an American
citizen. He was the one who appointed
Special Counsel Bob Mueller. He ended
up being not only an investigator but
also a witness in the process.
His account of what happened in the
Crossfire Hurricane investigation is
important to understanding both the
actions and the motivations that drove
that investigation. In fact, he said this
morning, in response to Chairman
LINDSEY
GRAHAM’s question, if you
knew then what you know now, would
you have signed, sworn to this verified
application for a warrant to surveil an
American citizen, Carter Page? He
said: No. To his credit, he said no. ‘‘If
I knew then, what I know now.’’
Some of my greatest concerns stem
from the Department of Justice Inspec-
tor General’s report about those FISA
abuses, as they are called—Foreign In-
telligence Surveillance Act. This is ex-
traordinary authority given by Con-
gress under very strict rules, and they
are supervised by the Foreign Intel-
ligence Surveillance Court, which was
established to provide oversight of
these surveillance activities, including
surveillance
of
American
citizens
under
very
narrow
and
restricted
guardrails.
If the U.S. intelligence authorities,
or law enforcement agencies, believe
surveillance is critical to a national se-
curity investigation, they submit an
application to the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Court to receive that au-
thorization. This is an important step
in protecting the rights of American
citizens and making sure that our in-
telligence and law enforcement au-
thorities perform their job consistent
with congressional intent and direc-
tion. But these verified, in other words,
sworn documents are critical, in which
accuracy is paramount. That is why
they are required to be verified—that
is, sworn to—by the top officials at the
Department of Justice.
We now know that the applications
of the former Trump campaign aide
Carter Page were riddled with errors.
In the initial Carter Page FISA appli-
cation,
Inspector
General
Horowitz
identified what he called seven mis-
takes. In the three renewals, he had
found an additional 10. These weren’t
necessarily honest mistakes. In fact,
they included significant and material
errors, including the deliberate fal-
sification, lying—lying to the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court about
Carter Page’s past service to the U.S.
Government.
To make matters worse, even as new
and exculpatory material came to
light, this information was not re-
flected in renewal applications. It was
sort of a cut-and-paste job. Those
agents who prepared those materials
that were signed by people like Rod
Rosenstein lied to deceive the court so
they could continue to surveil, or spy,
on an American citizen—something we
do not want to happen unless they are
truly an agent of a foreign power and
there is probable cause to show that
they are such.
These revelations were very trou-
bling in December of 2019, and they are
just as troubling today. It does also
raise questions about the motivations
for the investigation, in the first place.
Falsifying a FISA application is clear-
ly not an action one would take if you
were in pursuit of the truth. We need
to know why the initial application
and three renewals were riddled with
lies and omissions and how these inac-
curate applications were approved by
high-ranking officials at the Depart-
ment of Justice.
Second, this raises serious questions
about the way investigations of aver-
age Americans are being handled. If
these agents were able to break every
rule in the book to spy on a Presi-
dential candidate—who ultimately was
elected—and
are
facing
no
con-
sequences, no accountability, what pro-
tections exist for the rest of us in
America? Who is going to notice their
error-ridden FISA applications if it is
John or Jane Q. Public?
What is even more disconcerting is, if
this happened once—and it did happen
more than once—what is to stop it
from happening again? The American
people need and deserve answers to
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.044
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2685
June 3, 2020
these questions, and today’s hearing in
the Judiciary Committee was the first
step in getting the answers to those
questions and hopefully corrective ac-
tion.
Chairman GRAHAM
has been clear
that we will look at this investigation
from all angles—covering the FISA
abuses, unmasking requests, and the
origins of both Crossfire Hurricane, and
the appointment of special counsel.
The trove of declassified transcripts
that recently were released by the
House Intelligence Committee—actu-
ally, declassified by the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence—only underscores
the important need for oversight by
the Senate and by the Congress. In
reading these transcripts, which were
taken in secret, in a secure facility,
and only recently made public, I have
been shocked at some of the state-
ments made by former Obama adminis-
tration officials.
Based on the way Chairman SCHIFF
repeatedly claimed to have direct evi-
dence, you would think these officials
would provide the smoking gun to the
committee. But no—witness after wit-
ness confirmed they had no evidence of
collusion, coordination, or conspiracy
between anyone in the Trump cam-
paign and Russia. What did they do?
They walked outside of that secure fa-
cility, and they spoke to the TV cam-
eras assembled there, and they lied.
They misrepresented what was said
during that classified testimony.
This really begs the question: Why
did this investigation begin and how,
without evidence, did it last for nearly
2 years?
Additionally, I have a lot of ques-
tions about the sloppy and incomplete
investigative work surrounding Cross-
fire Hurricane when it came to the use
of something called a confidential
human source.
Christopher
Steele,
former
intel-
ligence officer from the United King-
dom, was hired by Fusion GPS to do
opposition research against the Trump
campaign for the Hillary Clinton cam-
paign. Yet, at the same time, he was
considered by the FBI as a confidential
human source.
Inspector General Horowitz’s report
makes clear Mr. Steele and his FBI
handler did not even agree on the
terms of their arrangement. Steele
said: I am a businessman collecting in-
formation. The FBI said: Well, this is
just between us, and you can’t talk to
the public, which he clearly did, and he
did so at the same time he was sup-
posed to be a confidential human
source.
The FBI background check into
Christopher Steele was so sloppy, they
didn’t even understand that his loyal-
ties were not with the FBI and the U.S.
Government, they were with his pay-
master—Fusion GPS, his employer.
That is one reason there were such in-
accuracies throughout this investiga-
tion, including in the FISA applica-
tions.
So we need answers, and we need ac-
countability. Based on what I have
seen so far, one conclusion is that
there was a coordinated effort to ma-
nipulate our intelligence community
and justice system for vindictive and
biased purposes against a Presidential
candidate and elected President of the
United States. I realize that this is a
grave and serious charge, but I think it
is one conclusion you could draw based
on what we know.
It is high time we learned the truth.
If this kind of misbehavior and decep-
tion becomes routine, it will jeopardize
important legal authorities that we
rely on to protect our national secu-
rity. It is counter to our values and is
a direct blow to the foundation of our
democracy.
I
appreciate
Chairman
GRAHAM’s
prioritizing these oversight hearings. I
know we have a lot of work to do in
order to restore public confidence in
our justice system as well as in our in-
telligence
community—the
people
charged with protecting the American
people. We need to learn what really
happened so we can make sure this
never ever, ever happens again.
I yield the floor.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
question is, Will the Senate advise and
consent to the Tipton nomination?
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I
ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a
sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient sec-
ond.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is
necessarily absent: the Senator from
North Carolina (Mr. BURR).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
Senator from Minnesota (Ms. KLO-
BUCHAR), the Senator from Massachu-
setts (Mr. MARKEY), the Senator from
Vermont (Mr. SANDERS), the Senator
from Hawaii (Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator
from Minnesota (Ms. SMITH), and the
Senator from Montana (Mr. TESTER)
are necessarily absent.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mr.
CRAMER). Are there any other Senator
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced—yeas 52,
nays 41, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 111 Ex.]
YEAS—52
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Loeffler
McConnell
McSally
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS—41
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Jones
Kaine
King
Leahy
Manchin
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Stabenow
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING—7
Burr
Klobuchar
Markey
Sanders
Schatz
Smith
Tester
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
the previous order, the motion to re-
consider is considered made and laid
upon the table, and the President will
be immediately notified of the Senate’s
actions.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
Democratic whip.
IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE HEROES
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Ameri-
cans owe a great debt of gratitude to
the healthcare heroes on the frontlines
of the fight against the COVID–19
virus.
Today I would like to spend a minute
talking about one special group of
those healthcare workers: immigrants.
Consider this: One out of every six
healthcare and social service workers
in America is an immigrant—3 million
out of 18 million immigrants. They are
playing a critical role in the battle
against the pandemic. Yet our broken
immigration laws do not allow many of
them to fulfill their dreams of actually
becoming Americans.
I have come to the floor today to tell
the story of one of our immigrant
healthcare heroes. I will continue to
highlight these stories in the coming
weeks. There has been so much nega-
tive publicity about immigrants. Yet,
when you follow what is happening in
hospitals across America—large and
small, rural and urban—and so many
times you ask ‘‘Doctor, where were you
born?’’ you find they weren’t born in
the United States, but they came here
to practice medicine, and now their
work is saving lives every day.
I invite my colleagues and others to
share stories from their own commu-
nities and their own States and to use
the social media hashtag ‘‘Immigrant
Health Heroes.’’
Thousands
of
immigrant
health
workers are suffering because of a seri-
ous problem in our immigration sys-
tem. It is called the green card back-
log. If you are not in immigrant status,
you may not know anything about it,
but trust me, they do.
This backlog puts them and their
families at risk of losing their immi-
gration status, and it hinders their
ability to join in the fight against
COVID–19. Under current law, there are
not nearly enough immigrant visas—
also known as green cards—available
each year. As a result, many immi-
grants in the United States are stuck
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.046
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2686
June 3, 2020
in crippling backlogs, not just for years
but for decades. Close to 5 million fu-
ture Americans—close to 5 million—are
in line waiting for green cards. Hun-
dreds of thousands are working in the
United States on a temporary visa
while many more are waiting abroad,
separated from their American fami-
lies.
Only 226,000 family green cards and
140,000 employment green cards are
available each year. The backlogs are a
real hardship on these families caught
in immigration limbo. For example,
children in many of these families age
out and face deportation. While their
parents are waiting for the green card,
the child reaches the age where they
are deported, at age 21.
The green card backlog includes
thousands of doctors currently working
in the United States on temporary
visas. These doctors face many restric-
tions due to their temporary status,
such as not being able to take shifts at
hospitals in COVID–19 hotspots where
they may be desperately needed.
The solution to the green card back-
log is very clear: Increase the number
of green cards.
In 2013, I joined a group of four Re-
publicans and four Democrats who au-
thored bipartisan comprehensive immi-
gration reform legislation. Our bill,
which passed the Senate on a strong bi-
partisan 68-to-32 vote, would have
eliminated this green card backlog.
Last year I introduced the RELIEF
Act, legislation based on the 2013 com-
prehensive immigration reform bill,
which would clear the backlogs for all
immigrants waiting in line for green
cards within 5 years. I will keep fight-
ing to help these immigrants here in
the United States who simply want a
chance to continue to serve this Na-
tion.
Last month I joined with my col-
leagues—Senators PERDUE of Georgia,
YOUNG of Indiana, CORNYN of Texas,
COONS
of Delaware, and LEAHY
of
Vermont—to introduce legislation to
quickly address the plight of immi-
grant doctors and nurses stuck in this
green card backlog.
This backlog poses a significant risk
to our ability to effectively respond to
this pandemic. Our bill, the Healthcare
Workforce Resilience Act, is a tem-
porary
stopgap
effort
that
will
strengthen our healthcare workforce
and improve healthcare for Americans
in the midst of this national emer-
gency.
Our bill would reallocate 25,000 un-
used immigrant visas for nurses and
15,000 unused immigrant visas for doc-
tors. These are visas that Congress has
previously authorized but were not
used.
It is important to note that our bill
requires employers to attest to a very
important fact. They have to attest
that immigrants from overseas who re-
ceive these visas will not displace an
American worker. We want to ensure
that the beneficiaries of this bill help
build our workforce but not at the ex-
pense of those already here in the
United States.
Our bill now has 13 Republican and 13
Democratic cosponsors and broad sup-
port from the medical community. As
Congress works on the next legislation
to address the COVID–19 pandemic, I
am going to join my Republican col-
leagues and push for the Healthcare
Workforce Resilience Act to be in-
cluded.
Today, let me tell you the story of
one
immigrant
healthcare
worker
stuck in this green card backlog wait-
ing indefinitely, for years, and he
would benefit from the Healthcare
Workforce Resilience Act: Dr. Parth
Mehta, born in India.
As a child, he was inspired to pursue
a career in medicine by his grand-
father, who worked as an assistant to a
physician, and by his older sister, who
is a surgeon.
Dr. Mehta came to the United States
in the year 2004. He has been here 16
years. He obtained a master’s in public
health at Saint Xavier University in
the city of Chicago. He then completed
his residency in internal medicine at
St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago.
In 2010, 10 years ago, Dr. Mehta began
working as a hospitalist at UnityPoint
Health Methodist Medical Center in
downstate Peoria, IL.
He sent me a letter, and here is what
he says about being a doctor:
I feel that it is a great privilege to help
people, comforting them, healing them, and
making them better when they are most vul-
nerable.
Dr. Mehta lives in Peoria with his
wife and his 10-year-old son and 4-year-
old daughter, and he writes, in addi-
tion:
We have called Peoria home for 10 years
now and we love our community here. We
have bought a home here, built a career here,
and we plan to stay in this community as
long as we can.
Now Dr. Mehta is on the frontlines of
the pandemic, treating COVID–19 pa-
tients. He was also selected as the prin-
cipal investigator for a COVID–19 trial
for which the hospital has applied, but
unfortunately, Dr. Mehta is one of
thousands of doctors who are stuck in
this green card backlog. He has been on
a temporary work visa for 13 years. He
has been forced to renew his visa four
times since he became a doctor. His
green card petition was filed in 2011,
but he will have to wait years and
years and years before he receives a
green card.
In the midst of this pandemic, Dr.
Mehta’s immigration status puts him
at great risk. If, God forbid, he con-
tracts COVID–19 and becomes disabled
or dies, his family would immediately
lose their immigration status and be
forced to leave the United States.
Dr. Mehta has written goodbye let-
ters to his wife and kids and prepared
an emergency binder with all the nec-
essary information for his family if he
dies. To keep his family safe, Dr.
Mehta has isolated himself by living in
the basement of his home. He is espe-
cially worried about his wife, who has
asthma. In March, she was diagnosed
with pneumonia and was hospitalized
for 10 days, including a stay in the in-
tensive care unit.
Here is what Dr. Mehta wrote to me
about this:
Seeing COVID patients, treating them,
taking care of them, and saving their lives is
part of my job, and I will never shy away
from doing my job. But how is it fair that
my family gets no protection if I die doing
my job?
Dr. Mehta’s story makes it clear why
Congress needs to pass the Healthcare
and Workforce Resilience Act. Under
our bill, Dr. Mehta and thousands of
others like him could receive their
green cards. They and their families
would get the permanent immigration
status they deserve and be able to use
their skills to serve on the frontlines of
the pandemic, where they are needed
most.
Don’t put a sign in the window say-
ing that you love healthcare workers,
don’t come out at 7 at night and beat
on a pan to show that you care for
healthcare workers and ignore the re-
ality that this man in Peoria, IL, is
risking his life every day to treat those
patients, and we have written a law
that says you are basically not wel-
come in the United States.
How can we say this to him, to thou-
sands just like him, doctors and nurses
who are really caring for the people we
love and risking their own lives in the
process?
It would be great, in these times of
political division, if we could come to-
gether in this Congress to quickly aid
these immigrant healthcare heroes.
The bill that I have introduced with
Senator PERDUE, Senator YOUNG, and
others is a step toward reality, toward
realizing that people just like these
make us a better nation and a stronger
nation.
Dr. Mehta and his family, with all
their fears, should know that there are
many here in Congress, particularly
here in the Senate, who want to move
as quickly as possible and make sure
that their lives are better because they
have done so much to make the lives of
others better.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Utah is recognized.
f
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
MORNING BUSINESS
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unani-
mous consent that the Senate be in a
period of morning business, with Sen-
ators permitted to speak therein for up
to 10 minutes each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
f
HONORING NATE LYDAY
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, it is with a
very heavy heart that I stand today in
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.050
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2687
June 3, 2020
the Senate to talk about the death of
two Americans last week. One tragedy
is tearing our communities apart. The
other may well show us a path back to-
ward unity.
We all know about the brutal, sense-
less killing of George Floyd in Min-
neapolis last Monday. There is no ex-
cuse for what the police did to Mr.
Floyd. His killers are being brought to
justice.
His death, we hope, will not be re-
membered for the senseless violence
launched falsely in his name but, rath-
er, hopefully, in the long-term reform
of policing policies across our country.
In my home State of Utah, the city
of Ogden is mourning another death,
that of Police Officer Nate Lyday.
On Thursday, May 28, a woman called
9–1–1 saying that her husband was
threatening her life. Lyday and a group
of officers arrived promptly at the
house. The man began shooting at
them from inside the home. Lyday was
mortally wounded.
He was just 24 years old. He was
about to celebrate his fifth wedding an-
niversary with his wife Ashley.
He had been on the job as a police of-
ficer for just 15 months. By all ac-
counts, he did that job honorably and
completely up to the last moment.
Nate Lyday was an officer who sought
to uphold justice and protect the inno-
cent, even making the ultimate sac-
rifice on behalf of a threatened and
fearful family.
Nate Lyday was a ‘‘son of Ogden,’’ as
Police Chief Randy Watt said. Ogden
was where he was born and raised,
where he went to high school, and
where he worked on a regular basis at
the Fresh Market on 20th Street and
where he got his degree in criminal jus-
tice from Weber State University.
And it was where he was proud to
serve and protect his community as a
sworn police officer. According to Lieu-
tenant Brian Eynon, Lyday was an offi-
cer who ‘‘worked over and above the
call of duty.’’ Eynon said that when-
ever he passed Lyday in the hallways,
the young officer would always smile
at him, even before he had a chance to
smile first.
As his colleagues, his friends, and his
classmates remember him, Nate Lyday
made everyone around him feel like a
friend, no matter how well they knew
him because they were indeed his
friends.
This Saturday, while far too many
other communities throughout our Na-
tion were tearing themselves apart,
Ogden came together. Hundreds of
Ogden residents gathered near the
front steps of the Ogden Municipal
Building to honor the memory of
George Floyd and to call for nation-
wide police reform.
But this was not a divisive event de-
signed to make everyone choose sides
between
police
and
protesters.
As
Malik Dayo, an Ogden activist and or-
ganizer, said that day:
This is a peaceful protest. . . . This is not
an anti-cop rally. This is a solidarity rally.
The protesters at the event honored
George’s memory, they condemned rac-
ism, and they called for policing re-
forms. They also thanked the officers
who were there, the same officers there
protecting them and protecting their
First Amendment rights to speak free-
ly and gather peacefully. And they
honored the memory of Officer Lyday,
who lost his life answering the call of
duty just a few days before.
‘‘I gave them my condolences for
their fallen officer—our fallen officer—
because we’re all part of the same com-
munity,’’ Dayo said of the police after
the protest.
And Dayo is right. Nate Lyday’s loss
is our loss. George Floyd’s loss is our
loss. And we ought to honor and re-
member them both.
We must all work to uphold justice
for all. Both of these tragic, horrific
deaths last week show us just how far
we still have to go to achieve this goal.
It is work that must be undertaken by
each and every one of us, each and
every day. We cannot do that work by
pitting ourselves against one another—
race versus race, police versus pro-
tester.
We will never move forward if we
continue to reduce human beings to
the color of their skin or the color of
their uniform. We are all one Nation,
and it will only be in standing and in
working together, in peaceful soli-
darity, that we can finally heal the
wounds in our Nation.
What the people of Ogden did this
weekend is an example for us all. And
it is a reason for hope.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ator from Louisiana.
f
THE GULF OF MEXICO
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want
to talk for a few minutes today about
the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security
Act, the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, the Great American Outdoors
Act, and fairness.
Let me start with the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Security Act—GOMESA, as you
know.
Louisianians started drilling off our
coast in the Gulf of Mexico in the 1930s.
They were Louisiana people, Louisiana
companies. There were some other
States represented, as well, but they
were primarily Louisiana companies.
A lot of people laughed at us, said it
can’t be done: We know you can drill
for oil and natural gas and supply the
country’s energy needs by onshore pro-
duction, but offshore, man, you are
dreaming.
We did it. Then we did it again and
we did it again and we did it again.
All of a sudden, the Federal Govern-
ment said: Huh, there is money to be
had. And the Federal Government
came in and said: Louisiana, you can’t
do that anymore. We own all the land
under the oceans and the Gulf of Mex-
ico.
Well,
predictably,
Louisiana
dis-
agreed. We went to court. After 30
years of litigation, Louisiana lost. The
courts ended up ruling that Louisiana
owns the land in the gulf from its
coastline out to 3 miles, and the Fed-
eral Government owns the rest. And
the Federal Government owns the rest.
That is a little bit of oversimplifica-
tion but not much.
I always thought that was unfair. For
example, Texas, our sister State—I
love Texas—owns from its coastline 10
miles out. We only own 3 miles out.
More oil and gas wells were drilled in
the Gulf of Mexico. It became one of
the major—if not the major—sources of
oil and natural gas for energy needs of
America up to the point that we were
producing and still are producing about
$5 billion that goes right into the
Treasury of the United States of Amer-
ica.
In 2006, Congress passed GOMESA.
Thank you, Congress, for doing this.
GOMESA said that the Federal Govern-
ment is going to start sharing some of
those oil and gas royalties. We are not
going to share all of them. We are just
going to share the oil and gas royalties
from lands under the ocean in the Gulf
of Mexico for all future leases after
2006—not
past
leases,
only
future
leases. Here is the new deal, according
to Congress. On all these new leases
drilled after 2006, the U.S. Treasury
will take 50 percent of oil and gas roy-
alties. The gulf-producing States will
take 37.5 percent. By the gulf-pro-
ducing
States,
I
mean
Louisiana,
Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. And
12.5 percent of the oil and gas royalties
from these new leases—not old leases,
these new leases—will go to the Land
and Water Conservation Fund. I will
come back to the Land and Water Con-
servation Fund in a moment.
Keep in mind, I said that under
GOMESA, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama,
and Mississippi share in 37.5 percent of
all the oil and gas royalties from the
new leases, not the old leases. But the
amount that we are entitled to receive
is capped.
To give you an idea of the money we
are talking about, in 2019, the four Gulf
producing States received about $350
million in offshore oil and gas royal-
ties. Louisiana received $155 million of
that $350 million. There is a formula
that apportions the money between
and among the four gulf-producing
States.
GOMESA caps, in a fairly com-
plicated formula, the amount the gulf-
producing States can receive under
GOMESA at $375 million. Our four
States will hit that cap in 2024. It
doesn’t matter how much drilling in-
creases in the Gulf of Mexico, the four
gulf-producing States can only receive
$375 million, split among themselves,
until, I think, 2055.
Other States not located on coast-
lines also have Federal lands on which
oil and natural gas and coal and other
minerals are produced. I am happy for
them. They, as a result of congres-
sional legislation—by ‘‘they’’ I mean
those other States, 24 of them—get 50
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.052
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2688
June 3, 2020
percent of the royalties of all the oil
and gas and coal and other minerals
produced from Federal lands in their
States. The Feds get 50 percent; the
States get 50 percent.
I am happy for them. I couldn’t be
more pleased for my sister States. I
wish we got 50 percent—‘‘we’’ meaning
the gulf-producing States. It seems un-
fair to me that we don’t. We only get
37.5 percent on certain leases. Our sis-
ter States onshore get 50 percent of all
leases. Their money isn’t capped; ours
is.
Let me talk about the Land and
Water Conservation Fund. As you
know, this is a fund that was set up in
1964. It had to be authorized every now
and then. We made it permanent 2
years ago—‘‘we’’ meaning, of course,
Congress. The purpose of the Land and
Water Conservation Fund is to take
money appropriated by Congress and
put it into that fund and use it to buy
land and water to make that land and
water public so that all Americans can
enjoy it. I am supportive of that. I
think most of us are.
The only money dedicated to the
Land and Water Conservation Fund is
that 12.5 percent I talked about dedi-
cated to the fund through GOMESA.
The other moneys that have been put
into the fund through the years, other
than the GOMESA moneys, have had to
be appropriated by Congress on a year-
to-year basis. Once again, I am sup-
portive of the concept, and I am happy
as a clam at high tide that my sister
States out west get 50 percent. I just
think it is unfair that we only get 37.5
percent.
As you know, we are going to con-
sider a bill next week called the Great
American Outdoors Act. Here is what
it would do. No. 1, it will set up a dedi-
cated automatic funding source for the
Land and Water Conservation Fund.
That dedicated source is going to come
from oil and gas royalties produced in
the Gulf of Mexico.
Remember, I told you that under
GOMESA,
the
Federal
Government
automatically gets 50 percent of the
royalties from the new leases. Hence-
forth, at least half of the 50 percent
that is going into the Federal Treasury
will now go into the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. That is No. 1—per-
manent source of funding for the fund.
Some have argued that we are—I
mean, we are not having to borrow this
money, and that is a good thing. But
this money didn’t fall from Heaven. It
is coming out of the moneys the U.S.
Treasury would receive otherwise from
oil and gas production offshore. That
means if the Land and Water Conserva-
tion Fund takes this money from the
share that goes to the Federal Govern-
ment and uses it for the fund, some-
body else is going to get screwed be-
cause the money is going to be taken
from somebody else and given to the
Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The Great American Outdoors Act
also does something else. It sets up an-
other sort of separate fund that a good
bit of the oil and gas money is going to
flow into for deferred maintenance on
public lands that we already own. Of
course, we all support that. I do. A lot
of our parks are falling apart. I mean,
they have roads that have holes big
enough for a Mack truck to fall
through. They have a backlog of de-
ferred maintenance of $12 billion. And
we are going to dedicate some money
to try to chip away at that deferred
maintenance. That is a good thing too.
Here is what we end up with. We end
up with a lot of our States getting 50
percent of all of the oil and gas and
coal produced in their State with no
cap. Now these States that have na-
tional parks—again, I am happy for
them; I love national parks—they are
going to get an extra big slug of money
from the Gulf of Mexico. In the mean-
time, the gulf-producing States—pri-
marily Louisiana, but also Texas, Ala-
bama, Mississippi—we are going to be
stuck at 37.5 percent. It is capped. It is
capped. It is capped at a weeny $375
million a year from now until 2055.
With inflation, by 2055, it will be worth
about 7 bucks and 23 cents.
That doesn’t seem fair to me. It espe-
cially doesn’t seem fair to me when
you consider that basically the Gulf of
Mexico is producing the money—actu-
ally, oil companies are. But how do the
oil companies do that? They do it with
Louisiana. Most of the leases and wells
are off Louisiana’s coast. I am not put-
ting down Mississippi, Alabama, or
Texas because there is drilling off their
coast as well. But facts are facts. Most
of the drilling is off Louisiana’s coast.
A lot of the workers are from Lou-
isiana.
Do you know what makes that drill-
ing possible? Louisiana tax dollars. We
pay for the roads that support Port
Fourchon, which is vital and located in
my State for that oil and gas produc-
tion. We pay for the schools that edu-
cate the kids of the workers. We take
all the risk.
We know what happened with the BP
oilspill. If there is another oilspill in
the Gulf, it is Louisiana and Texas and
Alabama and Mississippi that are going
to get slammed. It is not going to be
the inland States. That is where I said
I am going to talk about fairness.
Senator CASSIDY—and I don’t see
speak for Senator CASSIDY. Under-
stand, he is my senior Senator. But he
and I are working on a way to improve
the Great American Outdoors Act. It is
going to make it so much better.
I am introducing a bill tomorrow,
and I am going to offer an amendment
to the Great American Outdoors Act—
once again, I don’t speak for Senator
CASSIDY, but I think he will support
it—that is going to remove the cap on
the amount of oil and gas royalties
that the four gulf-producing States can
receive under GOMESA.
Let me say it again. Right now, no-
body else is capped. We are capped. The
most that Louisiana, Alabama, Mis-
sissippi, and Texas can receive, split
among ourselves, is $375 million. We
are going to hit that cap in 2024, and it
will remain until 2055. We all know
with inflation it is not going to be
worth $375 million in 2055. It is capped.
All I am saying and all Senator CAS-
SIDY is saying, and I think—I don’t
speak for them either, but my col-
leagues
from
the
gulf-producing
States—all we are saying is: Let’s be a
little fair here. If you don’t have a cap
onshore, let’s don’t have a cap offshore.
My little old amendment would just re-
move that cap and make the Great
American Outdoors Act even greater.
Senator CASSIDY and I and other Sen-
ators from the gulf-producing States
are also working on some other ideas
that I don’t feel comfortable talking
about today, but we have some other
ways we think we can improve the
Great American Outdoors Act.
I wanted to come here today and say,
once again, I am not criticizing any of
my sister States. I am happy as I can
be for all the States that don’t have
caps and that do get to share in 50 per-
cent of the royalties. I am just asking
for a little fairness and equity, just a
little bit for the gulf-producing States
by allowing us to remove that cap.
With that, I either yield the floor or
I suggest the absence of a quorum,
whichever the Parliamentarian tells
me to do.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to
call the roll.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unan-
imous consent that the order for the
quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
f
PROTESTS
Mr. REED. Mr. President, for the
past week, our Nation has been en-
gulfed by protests in dozens of cities
over the senseless murder of George
Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands
of police officers. Americans are angry,
frustrated, and grieving, not just for
Mr. Floyd’s and Ms. Taylor’s deaths
but for centuries of injustice and bru-
tality against African Americans. The
instances are too numerous to count.
Yet these instances of violence keep
happening while meaningful reforms
have not taken place.
The protests are set against the
backdrop
of
the
deadly
novel
coronavirus pandemic. As our country
copes with this crisis, African-Amer-
ican communities have suffered dis-
proportionately
high
infection
and
death rates. Compounding this tragedy,
we are in the midst of an economic
downturn that rivals the Great Depres-
sion, with communities of color bear-
ing the brunt of the economic fallout.
Millions of hard-working Americans
have lost their jobs through no fault of
their own. They are struggling to pro-
vide for their families, put food on
their table, and keep a roof over their
head.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.053
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2689
June 3, 2020
These protests are not isolated. They
are taking place in every State in the
Nation and in many other countries.
Protesters are of every race and eth-
nicity and run the gamut in age from
high school and college students to
parents and grandparents. The people
participating in these protests rep-
resent
the
diversity
that
is
the
strength of America.
The overwhelming majority of these
protests are emotional but nonviolent.
They embrace a fundamental tenant of
civil engagement, which is the Amer-
ican right and tradition of peacefully
protesting to make their voices heard
and to rectify injustice.
On the fringes of these peaceful pro-
tests, there are opportunists who are
sowing mistrust and division. Their
primary goal is to loot and destroy
property, that cause chaos that puts
innocent lives in harm’s way. Let me
state clearly, theft and looting are a
crime. They are unacceptable and un-
dermine the powerful message of thou-
sands demanding justice and change.
They offer an easy way out to those
who would rather turn away from this
challenge of justice and simply indulge
in their own petty objectives of vio-
lence, diversion, and destruction.
Our Nation is in pain. We need lead-
ers who bring calm, unity, empathy,
and aid. Instead, our Nation has a
President who treats it as a field of
war. He does not even attempt to bring
people together, to listen to others, or
to accept the reality that leaders in a
democracy are neither infallible nor
omnipotent.
In a tweet on May 30, President
Trump said:
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis will
never be mistaken for the late, great Doug-
las McArthur or great fighter General
George Patton. . . . Get tough and fight.
In a call with our Nation’s Gov-
ernors, Secretary of Defense Esper
said: ‘‘I think the sooner that you mass
and dominate the battlespace, the
quicker this dissipates and we can get
back to the right normal.’’
These are American city streets that
we are talking about, filled with Amer-
icans exercising their rights, not bat-
tlefields filled with the enemy.
Then, in a statement in the White
House Rose Garden on June 1, Presi-
dent Trump said: ‘‘If a city or a state
refuses to take the actions that are
necessary to defend the life and prop-
erty of their residents, then I will de-
ploy the United States military and
quickly solve the problem for them.’’
America learned shortly thereafter
what actions the President was pre-
pared to take. The U.S. Park Police
and others near Lafayette Park used
tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and rub-
ber bullets to aggressively push back a
peaceful crowd 30 minutes before the
DC curfew went into effect.
Why was this assault undertaken? It
wasn’t to step inside St. John’s Church
and offer a prayer for George Floyd, his
family, or the countless other Ameri-
cans who have been victims of police
brutality. It wasn’t to reflect on the
pain and division that is rife within our
country and contemplate what actions
he could take to heal our Nation, like
President Lincoln often did during the
Civil War. The President crossed a
street, aggressively cleared of peaceful
protesters for a photo op that was
meant to say he was strong, and he was
in charge. Unfortunately, for him, it
had the opposite effect.
President Trump’s rhetoric and some
of the events that have occurred are
not ones that many of us ever thought
we would see on American streets or
hear from an American President.
They are the words and actions that
happen in authoritarian states, words
and actions that past American Presi-
dents have condemned. They are words
and actions that violate the demo-
cratic norms our Nation has stood for
and American servicemembers have
died for.
While the President does have the au-
thority to call up military personnel
under the Insurrection Act, it does not
mean he should. It was last invoked in
1992 when California Governor Pete
Wilson requested Federal military as-
sistance from President George Herbert
Walker Bush to respond to the L.A.
riots following the acquittal of police
officers for the beating of Rodney King.
Before that instance, the act was in-
voked in the 1950s and 1960s to enforce
civil rights laws and end segregation in
the South.
The Insurrection Act serves as an ex-
ception to posse comitatus and to the
broad principle embedded deeply in
American democracy and history that
the Active Armed Forces should not be
used to enforce State laws or to exer-
cise police power reserved to the States
unless absolutely necessary as a last
resort. The act is, by design and tradi-
tion, rarely invoked.
The Insurrection Act envisions that,
when Active military forces are used to
supplement State police forces to en-
force State laws, they do so only at the
request of the Governor or legislature,
which is ultimately responsible for the
execution of the laws within the
States. In the present moment, I am
not aware of any Governor or legisla-
ture calling for the Federal Govern-
ment to step in and take control. Put
simply, if they need help, I have no
doubt they will ask for it.
The President’s ability to invoke the
Insurrection Act without the Governor
or State legislature requesting assist-
ance rests on the need to enforce or
protect Federal law, which is not the
case here. If President Trump were to
invoke the Insurrection Act today, ab-
sent a request from a State, it would
only be to further his own political in-
terests. He would be using Active mili-
tary forces as a political and propa-
ganda tool in contravention of every-
thing our military stands for.
Using the Insurrection Act on a whim
risks politicizing the military. The
military’s mission is to defend and
serve the Constitution and the Amer-
ican people regardless of who is in of-
fice. Bringing the military into domes-
tic politics risks a rupture in the sa-
cred trust between the civilian and
military leadership and undermines
fundamental American values.
As former Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff GEN Martin Dempsey
stated shortly after the 2016 Presi-
dential conventions, ‘‘If senior military
leaders—active and retired—begin to
self-identify as members or supporters
of one party or another, then the inher-
ent tension built into our system of
government
between
the
executive
branch and the legislative branch will
bleed over into suspicion of military
leaders by Congress and a further ero-
sion of civil-military relations.’’
Over the last few years, that erosion
has increased steadily as recent events
have made eminently clear. This ero-
sion is a toxic force that will under-
mine one of the most essential ethics
of the American military. Soldiers,
sailors, marines, airmen, and coast-
guardsmen serve the Constitution, not
the President. That is the oath many
of us took as young men and women.
That is the oath that defines the mili-
tary of the United States, unlike many
other countries, fortunately, for us.
According to press reports, Secretary
of Defense Esper told senior military
leaders to ‘‘stay apolitical during these
turbulent days,’’ but I would urge Sec-
retary Esper to heed his own advice.
Traditionally, the Secretary of De-
fense, while a Cabinet member and ap-
pointed by the President, has taken a
nonpolitical stand—staying away from
campaign events and avoiding even the
potential of a political photo op. As
General
Milley
discovered
Monday
evening, once the civilian leader of the
military joins the political fray, it is
difficult for the military to stay neu-
tral.
Our Nation is in crisis, but it is not
a crisis that can or should be solved by
American military force against its
own citizens. I think, if you ask any
young man or woman who took the
oath to join the forces of the United
States—whatever branch—was he or
she doing it to go fight Americans,
they would answer no. He or she is
doing everything they can to protect
Americans, to protect the system of
government, and, ultimately, the Con-
stitution. That is the oath we take.
The strength of this Nation and of
the great American experiment in rep-
resentative democracy goes far beyond
our military strength. It goes to our
civil traditions, our Constitution, our
sense of civic responsibility, and our
ability to constantly evolve and im-
prove ourselves even from our earliest
days stained with slavery. We need
leaders who will listen and commit to
change
and
then
implement
that
change. We need leaders who will not
exacerbate the problem but will seek
to solve it and bring people together as
our greatest Presidents have done
throughout history. In short, we need
leaders who are builders, not destroy-
ers, and until those leaders emerge, I
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:40 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.054
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2690
June 3, 2020
am afraid the tumult will continue. It
is my fervent hope that this Nation
finds a way to peace soon.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to
call the roll.
Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous
consent that the order for the quorum
call be rescinded.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER
(Mr.
CRAMER). Without objection, it is so or-
dered.
f
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
Mr.
MCCONNELL.
Mr.
President,
back in March, as the coronavirus pan-
demic began to grip our country, the
Senate’s historic CARES Act set up the
Paycheck Protection Program to help
protect American workers from layoffs
during the crisis.
Thanks especially to its chief archi-
tects, Senator RUBIO and Senator COL-
LINS, the PPP has literally saved tens
of millions of American jobs. Our col-
leagues’ bold policy has meant the
mailboxes of working families in all 50
States have continued to bring people
their regular paychecks instead of pink
slips.
Through the end of May, this re-
markable program has delivered more
than half a trillion dollars to keep
American workers on payroll all across
our country.
One recent survey found that more
than
three-quarters—three-quarters—
of all small business owners have ap-
plied for a PPP loan and more than 90
percent of those applicants have re-
ceived one.
The Senate has always committed to
standing behind this popular program.
Back in April when it ran low on funds,
we worked together to add more re-
sources, and today we are passing an-
other piece of legislation that makes a
few targeted changes to the program.
To help workers and small businesses
through these lengthy shutdowns that
are just now beginning to ease, we are
increasing the loan forgiveness period
from 8 weeks to 6 months.
Since keeping workers on payroll ob-
viously requires small businesses to
stay afloat in the first place, we are ex-
panding firms’ ability to use these
funds to meet obligations like their
rent, their mortgage, or their utility
bills, but we maintain the overall re-
quirement to avoid layoffs to keep the
strong protection for workers in place.
And we are providing payroll tax defer-
ral for the small businesses involved.
This is a bipartisan bill that passed
the House overwhelmingly. I am proud
the Senate is sending it on to the
President’s desk to become law.
I want to thank Senator COLLINS and
Senator RUBIO
once more for their
leadership in authoring this historic
program in the first place. They have
kept right on with their essential lead-
ership, carefully monitoring the policy
as it has taken effect.
I know they have identified further
technical fixes in addition to the issues
we are addressing today, and I hope
and anticipate the full Congress will
look at addressing those as well in the
future.
I also want to thank Senator DAINES,
Senator TILLIS, and Senator GARDNER
for their hard work on these modifica-
tions.
The Senate delivered for workers and
small businesses when we first passed
the CARES Act. We delivered again
when we added more money to this
popular program back in April, and we
are delivering again today.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
Democratic leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this is
a very good day because very much
needed improvements to the PPP pro-
gram will now pass the Senate as they
passed the House, 417 to 1. The PPP
program is desperately needed by small
business, and it was not in the original
proposal of our Republican friends or of
the President. We worked very hard
and pushed hard to get this done, and I
want to salute Senators CARDIN and
SHAHEEN for their efforts.
The program was not at all perfect.
When it first rolled out, too many of
the big shots got money and not
enough of the small businesses—the
mom and pops, the butcher, baker, and
candlestick
maker.
And
nonprofits
were not entitled. I pushed very hard
to get nonprofits, including church-re-
lated nonprofits, religious-related non-
profits, in the bill. They can now ben-
efit from the bill just like the small
businesses can.
We Democrats said, there has to be
some money set aside—not just to give
more money in COVID 3.5—to the ex-
isting businesses that had connections
with bankers but to the smaller busi-
nesses, and $125 billion was set aside.
That was a very good thing. Now it has
changed from a program that has gone
mainly to those that had good connec-
tions to bankers that were well con-
nected to many smaller businesses as
well.
In the second round, States that real-
ly needed the help got a greater per-
centage of the help, like my State of
New York. So this program has been
one that Democrats have been, ini-
tially, very positive about and helped
propose
and
write
but
constantly
worked on improving to make it bet-
ter, better, and better. That improve-
ment
continues
today.
The
House
Democrats put together a bill that
would deal with the kinds of problems
we continue to see.
Eight weeks is running out soon. Yet
small businesses may not get all the
money—may not be able to use the
money when the program runs out, and
extending it to 24 weeks is vital. In
many States, like mine in New York,
only 25 percent of the money could go
to OTPS expenses, other than per-
sonnel expenses. That wasn’t enough. A
lot of businesses didn’t want to apply.
This bill moves it up to 40. Our Re-
publican friends had resisted that. I am
glad now they have seen the light.
You will have the loan—if you go to
convert your loans and get them for-
given, it will be 5 years that you have
to pay back, not 2. Lots of small busi-
nesses said they couldn’t dare be able
to pay them back in 2. These are
among the most important changes in
the bill, as well as some others.
I am glad our Republican friends
have relented and passed the bill here
as we are about to close session for this
week. It passed the House. We Demo-
crats have been pushing to get it done.
For the last 3 days, there were some
problems on the other side, and I am
glad they have been worked out. I want
to thank Senator JOHNSON. He had
problems, but we talked on the phone
repeatedly and worked those problems
out with the help of Senator CARDIN.
And this is an improvement that is
much needed and comes at the last
minute but not too late. So many busi-
nesses—8 weeks—will expire so soon,
and now it is extended to 24 weeks.
So I am glad this bill passes. I am
glad we can do it by unanimous con-
sent. We Democrats are fully in sup-
port of this, every Democrat. We have
no problems moving it forward. I know
it will help a lot of small businesses.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
jority leader.
f
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
FLEXIBILITY ACT OF 2020
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that the Sen-
ate proceed to the immediate consider-
ation of H.R. 7010, which was received
from the House.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 7010) to amend the Small Busi-
ness Act and the CARES Act to modify cer-
tain provisions related to the forgiveness of
loans under the paycheck protection pro-
gram, to allow recipients of loan forgiveness
under the paycheck protection program to
defer payroll taxes, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate
proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I
appreciate the good faith efforts of
Senator JOHNSON
to make sure the
terms of the program and its legisla-
tive intent are properly understood. In
addition, I commend his leadership in
looking at the program overall, and
making
suggestions
about
reforms
should Congress determine that addi-
tional money is needed in the future
for the program. The program was de-
signed intentionally to get money into
the hands of small businesses quickly
as government took the extraordinary
and unprecedented step of shutting
down the economy because of the pan-
demic. However, should we need to re-
plenish the fund, he is absolutely cor-
rect that we should ensure that money
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.055
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2691
June 3, 2020
flows to small businesses and enter-
prises that truly need it. I look forward
to working with him and our col-
leagues on reforms to the program
should Congress make the decision to
extend it.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
sent that the letter I send to the desk
be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the mate-
rial was ordered to be printed in the
RECORD, as follows:
CONGRESSIONAL INTENT FOR H.R. 7010
We, the undersigned Members of Congress,
would like to clarify the congressional in-
tent for H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection
Program Flexibility Act of 2020. The Pay-
check Protection Program (PPP) was au-
thorized by Congress under the CARES Act
as a short-term solution to help businesses
make ends meet and continue to pay their
employees during the initial shocks of the
COVID–19 pandemic. Under the CARES Act,
authorized funds for the program are set to
expire on June 30, 2020, allowing for no new
loans to be issued after this date.
H.R. 7010 amends the CARES Act to pro-
vide businesses with greater flexibility for
their use of PPP loans. Section 3(a) of H.R.
7010 changes the definition of the ‘‘covered
period’’ defined by section 1102(a) of the
CARES Act to be from February 15, 2020 to
December 31, 2020 instead of from February
15, 2020 to June 30, 2020, as under current law.
We wish to clarify the congressional intent
of this extension of the covered period to De-
cember 31, 2020, and our expectations about
how the amended program will operate.
The CARES Act requires that PPP loans
may only be spent on allowable uses during
the covered period. In addition to the uses
otherwise allowed by section 7(a) of the
Small Business Act, the CARES Act author-
izes as allowable uses ‘‘payroll costs; costs
related to the continuation of group health
care benefits during periods of paid sick,
medical, or family leave, and insurance pre-
miums; employee salaries, commissions, or
similar compensations; payments of interest
on any mortgage obligation (which shall not
include any prepayment of or payment of
principal on a mortgage obligation); rent (in-
cluding rent under a lease agreement); utili-
ties; and interest on any other debt obliga-
tions that were incurred before the covered
period.’’ The intention of the extension of
the covered period in H.R. 7010 is to allow
borrowers who received PPP loans before
June 30, 2020 to continue to make expendi-
tures for allowable uses until December 31,
2020. The extension of the covered period
does not authorize the Small Business Ad-
ministration (SBA) to issue any new PPP
loans after June 30, 2020, as this date remains
fixed by section 1102(b) of the CARES Act.
The extension of the covered period defined
in section 1102(a) of the CARES Act should
not be construed so as to permit the SBA to
continue accepting applications for loans
after June 30, 2020. Our intent and under-
standing of the law is that, consistent with
the CARES Act as amended by H.R. 7010,
when the authorization of funds to guarantee
new PPP loans expires on June 30, 2020, the
SBA and participating lenders will stop ac-
cepting and approving applications for PPP
loans, regardless of whether the commitment
level enacted by the Paycheck Protection
Program and Health Care Enhancement Act
has been reached.
MIKE LEE,
United States Senator.
MARCO RUBIO,
United States Senator.
DEAN PHILLIPS,
Member of Congress.
RON JOHNSON,
United States Senator.
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN,
United States Senator.
CHIP ROY,
Member of Congress.
Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous
consent that the bill be considered read
a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill was ordered to a third read-
ing and was read the third time.
Mr. MCCONNELL. I know of no fur-
ther debate on the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
further debate?
The bill having been read the third
time, the question is, Shall the bill
pass?
The bill (H.R. 7010) was passed.
Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous
consent that the motion to reconsider
be considered made and laid upon the
table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
f
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that notwith-
standing the provisions of rule XXII,
the cloture motion with respect to the
Pack nomination ripen at 11:40 a.m. to-
morrow, with 20 minutes of debate
under the control of Senator MENENDEZ
prior to the vote; I further ask that if
cloture is invoked on the Pack nomina-
tion, the postcloture time expire at 1:30
p.m. tomorrow; finally, if confirmed,
the motion to reconsider be considered
made and laid upon the table and the
President be immediately notified of
the Senate’s action.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
f
TRIBUTE TO PIA CORONA
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, there
are so many critical jobs that go on
around the Capitol that may not al-
ways get the spotlight or appreciation
they deserve.
Today, I would like to mention one
such amazing person, Pia Corona, or as
she is affectionately known, Ms. Pia.
You see, Pia is a teacher at the Sen-
ate Employees Childcare Center, a car-
ing, nurturing, and deeply special com-
ponent of the Senate community.
Six years ago, on the 30th anniver-
sary of the center, then-Senator Tom
Harkin described the teachers and ad-
ministrators at the center as, ‘‘some of
the unsung heroes of the Senate.’’
I couldn’t agree more, and it is a
privilege to pay special tribute today
to one of those unsung heroes.
This month marks Pia’s 25 year anni-
versary teaching at the center, a mon-
umental accomplishment that has al-
lowed her the opportunity to have a
lasting impact on countless young
lives.
A number of children of my staff
were fortunate to have Ms. Pia as a
teacher and cannot say enough wonder-
ful things about her, so much so that
they still keep in touch and bring their
children by to visit years after leaving
the center. Elle, Oliver and Leo, just
three of many examples, still recognize
Ms. Pia as an impactful figure in their
early lives and in their education.
Pia, a stalwart New York Yankees
fan, started at the Senate Employees
Childcare Center in May 1995, always
working in the pre-kindergarten class
to help children prepare for the big
jump to elementary school kinder-
garten. Over the last two and half dec-
ades, she taught more than 400 chil-
dren, including many siblings.
Ms. Pia has a unique understanding
of how each child learns differently and
loving ability to meet those individual
needs at such a tender and formative
age. Not surprisingly, she is described
by her colleagues as a walking encyclo-
pedia of knowledge on child develop-
ment, and her classroom lessons and
caring style reflect these incredible
talents.
One of her special field trips was a
walk over to the late Senator John
Glenn’s office when her students were
studying space. A picture of this outing
still hangs at the center.
Pia also helped organize a visit to
this very Senate floor for her class.
They listened patiently as the Sec-
retary of the Senate gave her own pre-
K version of School House Rock. It
was, without a doubt, the most well-be-
haved gathering that the Senate floor
has seen in years.
Pia makes such an impression on
children that many of her former stu-
dents still reach out to her, including
one recent college graduate who want-
ed to say thank you all these years
later. I know children of some of my
staff have returned to the center to
read to Ms. Pia’s students during
storytime.
As we struggle with the coronavirus
pandemic, we have all been reminded
once again of the critical importance
of our teachers and schools. Ms. Pia’s
students certainly knew that was the
case from their time in her class.
We all remember a teacher or two
who made a lasting impact on our lives
growing up—challenging us, inspiring
us, nurturing us. Ms. Pia will surely be
one that many remember as just such a
special teacher.
I congratulate Pia Corona on her no-
table anniversary and deeply meaning-
ful contribution to the Senate commu-
nity. Our country and our world need
good news and kindness right now.
Simply put, that is Ms. Pia.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:20 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.008
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2692
June 3, 2020
CONGRESSIONAL POWER OF THE
PURSE ACT
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the au-
thors of our Constitution purposefully
built checks and balances into the
foundation of our democracy, and the
power of the purse is a critical part of
those checks and balances. Article 1,
section 9 of the Constitution states
‘‘No Money shall be drawn from the
Treasury, but in Consequence of Appro-
priations made by Law.’’ That means
Congress, not the executive branch, is
charged with making decisions about
how to invest and spend Federal rev-
enue. As the vice chairman of the Ap-
propriations Committee, I take this re-
sponsibility very seriously.
When Congress appropriates Federal
dollars, we expect those dollars to be
used as directed. We expect appropria-
tions laws to be upheld, and we expect
the administration to be transparent in
its actions.
But for too many years, Presidents of
both parties have encroached on the
power of the purse as they have tried
to expand their budgetary powers and,
in some cases, substitute their judge-
ment for that of Congress. This has
been acutely true under this adminis-
tration. No President has pushed the
boundaries of and contorted appropria-
tions law more than President Trump.
When Congress refused to give Presi-
dent Trump the money he requested for
a wall on the southern border, he di-
rected his administration to sidestep
Congress and take it from funding for
our military and their families. He con-
tinues to do so to this day.
The President wanted to pressure the
Government of Ukraine into inves-
tigating his political rival, so he with-
held security money for Ukraine in vio-
lation of the Impoundment Control
Act. An action that would eventually
lead to his impeachment.
Last year, the administration as-
serted to Congress that it had the
power to propose rescissions in the last
quarter of the fiscal year and further
asserted it had the power to allow the
funds to lapse if Congress did not act
on its proposal, essentially claiming
the executive branch, not Congress,
had the last word on spending. The
Government
Accountability
Office,
GAO, thankfully and rightfully, dis-
agreed. Last year, this administration
also overturned a long held precedent
that the executive branch did not need
to respond to findings by GAO of viola-
tions of the Anti-Deficiency Act. Fi-
nally, this administration has sup-
pressed OMB and executive branch
agency cooperation with GAO in inves-
tigating the execution of appropriated
funds.
The push and pull over the power of
the purse between Congress and the ex-
ecutive branch did not start with
President Trump and will not end when
he is no longer in office. Administra-
tions of both parties have clashed with
Congress over this authority. But the
actions of this President make clear
that Congress needs to reassert itself
and defend its constitutionally granted
prerogatives. This should not be a par-
tisan issue. The Founders chose to vest
the power of the purse with Congress.
It is an important part of our system of
checks and balances, and we must de-
fend it.
That is why I am introducing the
Congressional Power of the Purse Act.
This bill will restore Congress’s central
role in funding decisions, increase
transparency in the executive branch,
and add teeth to existing budget laws.
The bill strengthens the Impound-
ment Control Act, including the addi-
tion of penalties for failure to comply.
The bill strengthens administration re-
porting
requirements
and
congres-
sional oversight tools, so Congress can
better follow the money and ensure the
law is being complied with. Finally,
the bill reforms the National Emer-
gencies Act of 1974 to provide more
Congressional control over these des-
ignations and how they are used. I hope
all members can support it.
I commend Representative LOWEY
and Representative YARMUTH for intro-
ducing a similar bill in the House, and
I hope that the House will send the bill
to the Senate in July.
I ask unanimous consent that the fol-
lowing members be listed as original
cosponsors:
Senators
MURRAY,
VAN
HOLLEN, FEINSTEIN, COONS, BALDWIN,
WYDEN,
MERKLEY,
WHITEHOUSE,
SCHATZ, SANDERS, SHAHEEN, TESTER,
UDALL, CARDIN, REED, DURBIN, MURPHY
and MANCHIN. I would note that this
list of cosponsors includes every Demo-
cratic Member of the Appropriations
Committee.
(At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the
following statement was ordered to be
printed in the RECORD.)
f
VOTE EXPLANATION
∑Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I was
absent when the Senate voted on vote
No. 104 to invoke cloture on Executive
Calendar No. 655. Victor G. Mercado, of
California, to be an Assistant Sec-
retary of Defense, vote No. 105 to con-
firm Mr. Mercado, vote No. 106 to in-
voke cloture on Executive Calendar No.
652, Brian D. Miller, of Virginia, to be
Special Inspector General for Pan-
demic Recovery, and vote No. 107 to
confirm Mr. Miller. On votes Nos. 104
and 105, had I been present, I would
have voted yea on the motion to in-
voke cloture and confirm Mr. Mercado.
On votes Nos. 106 and 107, had I present,
I would have voted no on the motion to
invoke cloture and confirm Mr. Miller.
Mr. President, I was absent when the
Senate voted on vote No. 108 to invoke
cloture on Executive Calendar No. 656,
James H. Anderson, of Virginia, to be a
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. On
vote No. 108, had I been present, I
would have voted yea on the motion to
invoke cloture on Mr. Anderson.
Mr. President, I was absent when the
Senate voted on vote No. 109 to confirm
Executive Calendar No. 656, James H.
Anderson, of Virginia, to be a Deputy
Under Secretary of Defense. On vote
No. 109, had I been present, I would
have voted yea on the motion to con-
firm Mr. Anderson.
Mr. President, I was absent when the
Senate voted on vote No. 110 to invoke
cloture on Executive Calendar No. 644,
Drew B. Tipton, of Texas, to be United
States District Judge for the Southern
District of Texas. On vote No. 110, had
I been present, I would have voted no
on the motion to invoke cloture on Mr.
Tipton.
Mr. President, I was absent when the
Senate voted on vote No. 111 to confirm
Executive Calendar No. 644, Drew B.
Tipton, of Texas, to be United States
District Judge for the Southern Dis-
trict of Texas. On vote No. 111, had I
been present, I would have voted no on
the motion to confirm Mr. Tipton.∑
f
DEFENSE NOMINATIONS
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President,
after Monday’s shameful display by the
Secretary of Defense, I voted against
the President’s nominees to be Deputy
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
and Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities.
The language of war has no place on
American streets in the face of peace-
ful protests. Secretary Esper’s dan-
gerous comment that the military
needs to ‘‘dominate the battlespace’’—
referring to American cities—threat-
ened the lives of American citizens ex-
ercising their constitutional rights. His
willingness to accompany the Presi-
dent to a photo-op after gassing peace-
ful protesters underscores the moral
rot in the Department’s leadership.
At this time, I have lost confidence
that any nominee can be trusted to
stand up to the President’s attempts to
weaponize the Defense Department for
his personal and political ends. For
that reason, I voted against his nomi-
nees in the Department.
f
INTERNATIONAL
DAY
AGAINST
HOMOPHOBIA,
TRANSPHOBIA
AND BIPHOBIA
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I
rise to mark the start of LGBT Pride
Month with reflections on the recent
International
Day
against
Homophobia,
Transphobia
and
Biphobia—IDAHOBIT. For more than
50 years, Pride Month has been a re-
minder that, despite recent progress,
every day, millions of people around
the world face social stigmatization,
legal prosecution, and even violence
based on their sexual orientation or be-
cause of their gender identity. COVID–
19 is necessitating adjustments to how
this month is celebrated, with orga-
nizers moving large-scale parades from
the streets of towns and cities to the
internet, where a 24-hour online Global
Pride celebration is planned for later
this month.
Two short weeks ago was the annual
commemoration of the International
Day against Homophobia, Transphobia
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.012
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2693
June 3, 2020
and Biphobia—IDAHOBIT. Started on
May 17, 2004, IDAHOBIT was estab-
lished by LGBTQ activists in 2004 to
commemorate the World Health Orga-
nization’s historic decision in 1990 to
remove homosexuality from the Inter-
national Classification of Diseases. As
in the United States, despite the
progress we have made since 1990,
around
the
world,
homophobia,
transphobia, and biphobia continue to
flourish in many parts of the world.
The theme of this year’s Inter-
national
Day
against
Homophobia,
Transphobia and Biphobia was ‘‘Break-
ing the Silence.’’ Millions of LGBTQ
individuals around the world continue
to be forced to hide their identities be-
cause of who they are or whom they
love. They struggle to achieve the most
basic of human rights, let alone respect
and visibility. The International Les-
bian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex
Association—ILGA—lists 70 countries
in which same-sex activities are out-
lawed, and penalties range from 8
years’ imprisonment to the death pen-
alty. Even in countries that do not
criminalize homosexuality, many still
have laws on the books that make liv-
ing openly next to impossible. Only
five countries, of which the United
States is not one, ban the damaging
practice of conversion therapy.
This type of discrimination has only
been compounded by the global out-
break of COVID–19. In addition to the
widespread health and economic hard-
ship that this pandemic is creating, it
is producing new risks and forms of
persecution for the LGBTQ commu-
nity.
In Uganda, security forces stormed
an LGBTQ shelter, binding the occu-
pants’ hands with rope before marching
them to a nearby police station on
charges of disobeying social distancing
rules. In Latin America, transgender,
nonbinary,
and
queer
people
who
present as gender-nonconforming are
being detained or fined for going to the
grocery store on days designated by
the government as ‘‘men-only’’ or
‘‘women-only.’’ Hungarian Prime Min-
ister Viktor Orban has used the pan-
demic as an excuse to move legislation
that will ban the legal recognition of
transgender citizens. Meanwhile, in
South Korea, there is a disturbing rise
in online hate speech blaming the
LGBTQ community for spreading the
coronavirus. A number of religious
leaders around the world have cruelly
attributed the spread of COVID–19 to
divine retribution for recognition of
same-sex marriages.
The COVID–19 pandemic will eventu-
ally fade, but the abuse of LGBTQ peo-
ple will continue unless we come to-
gether as a global community to put an
end to it. Historically, the United
States has been a strong international
leader on issues of human rights like
this one. However, the current admin-
istration’s neglect of LGBTQ rights,
both at home and abroad, has hurt our
credibility and diminished our power to
make positive change.
Within the United States, the Trump
administration has issued rules sanc-
tioning employment, housing, medical,
and other forms of discrimination
based on gender identity. It has also re-
peatedly used religious liberty as a
shield to enable discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation. On a global
scale,
the
administration
has
at-
tempted to undermine internationally
recognized definitions of human rights
through the U.S. State Department’s
Commission on Inalienable Rights and
turned a blind eye to the persecution of
LGBTQ people in other countries. It is
said that you can measure the strength
of a democracy by the rights it affords
to marginalized communities, these ac-
tions do not reflect the strong democ-
racy that we strive to be.
Looking at the state of the world
today, it is clear that we need more
champions for LGBTQ rights on the
international stage. We need more
leaders to break the silence and speak
up for everyone’s right to live truly as
themselves. This Pride Month, I am
hopeful that the United States will
once again be one of those voices. For
my part, I will keep fighting to protect
LGBTQ rights at home and around the
globe, so that all people can pursue
happiness and love without fear.
f
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
TRIBUTE TO ART STAVENS
∑Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, I want
to honor the service and dedication of
one of North Dakota’s most dedicated
volunteer firefighters.
Art Stavens of Hatton, ND, became a
member of the Hatton Volunteer Fire
Department in 1951 and has served ever
since. Art turned 95 on May 19 and was
honored by his fellow firefighters and
community residents with a surprise
drive-by parade past his home. It ap-
propriately
included
several
fire
trucks.
His time in the department has in-
cluded being the fire chief for 6 years
and assistant fire chief for another 3
years. When Art stopped responding to
fire calls, he could be found standing
on the highway directing vehicles to
the location of a fire.
Art still attends firefighter functions
such as meetings and conventions, and
he remains as dedicated as ever to the
role of volunteers who step forward to
protect their communities.
Art Stavens may be the longest serv-
ing volunteer firefighter in the United
States. On behalf of all North Dako-
tans, I thank him for his 69 years of
service on the Hatton Volunteer Fire
Department. I congratulate him on his
95th birthday and wish him many more
years of health and happiness.∑
f
EXECUTIVE AND OTHER
COMMUNICATIONS
The following communications were
laid before the Senate, together with
accompanying papers, reports, and doc-
uments, and were referred as indicated:
EC–4638. A communication from the Sec-
retary of Defense, transmitting a report on
the approved retirement of Lieutenant Gen-
eral Charles D. Luckey, United States Army
Reserve, and his advancement to the grade of
lieutenant general on the retired list; to the
Committee on Armed Services.
EC–4639. A communication from the Sec-
retary of Defense, transmitting a report on
the approved retirement of Admiral James
G. Foggo III, United States Navy, and his ad-
vancement to the grade of admiral on the re-
tired list; to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices.
EC–4640. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to Bu-
rundi that was declared in Executive Order
13712 of November 22, 2015; to the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4641. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to per-
sons who commit, threaten to commit, or
support terrorism that was declared in Exec-
utive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001; to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs.
EC–4642. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to Iran
that was declared in Executive Order 12170 of
November 14, 1979; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4643. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to the
stabilization of Iraq that was declared in Ex-
ecutive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003; to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs.
EC–4644. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to the
Central African Republic that was declared
in Executive Order 13667 of May 12, 2014; to
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.
EC–4645. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to
Belarus that was declared in Executive Order
13405 of June 16, 2006; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4646. A communication from the Pro-
gram Specialist, Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, Department of the Treasury,
transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of
a rule entitled ‘‘Director, Shareholder, and
Member Meetings’’ (RIN1557–AE94) received
in the Office of the President of the Senate
on June 1, 2020; to the Committee on Bank-
ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4647. A communication from the Chief
Counsel, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Department of Homeland Security,
transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of
a rule entitled ‘‘Suspension of Community
Eligibility, Internal Docket ID FEMA–8629’’
((44 CFR Part 64) (Docket No. FEMA–2020–
0005)) received during adournment of the
Senate in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4648. A communication from the Chief
Counsel, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Department of Homeland Security,
transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of
a rule entitled ‘‘Suspension of Community
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\G03JN6.049
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2694
June 3, 2020
Eligibility, Internal Docket ID FEMA–8627’’
((44 CFR Part 64) (Docket No. FEMA–2020–
0005)) received during adournment of the
Senate in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4649. A communication from the Chief
Counsel, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Department of Homeland Security,
transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of
a rule entitled ‘‘Suspension of Community
Eligibility, Internal Docket ID FEMA–8625’’
((44 CFR Part 64) (Docket No. FEMA–2020–
0005)) received during adournment of the
Senate in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4650. A communication from the Direc-
tor of Legislative Affairs, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘In-
terim Final Rule - Regulatory Capital Rule:
Transitions for the Community Bank Lever-
age Ratio Framework’’ (RIN3064–AF47) re-
ceived during adjournment of the Senate in
the Office of the President of the Senate on
May 28, 2020; to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4651. A communication from the Direc-
tor of Legislative Affairs, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘In-
terim Final Rule - Liquidity Coverage Ratio
Rule: Treatment of Certain Emergency Fa-
cilities’’ (RIN3064–AF51) received during ad-
journment of the Senate in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 28, 2020; to
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.
EC–4652. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to
North Korea that was declared in Executive
Order 13466 of June 26, 2008; to the Com-
mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af-
fairs.
EC–4653. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to the
Western Balkans that was declared in Execu-
tive Order 13219 of June 26, 2001; to the Com-
mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af-
fairs.
EC–4654. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, a six-month periodic report on
the national emergency with respect to Nica-
ragua that was declared in Executive Order
13851 of November 27, 2018; to the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4655. A communication from the Direc-
tor of Legislative Affairs, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘In-
terim Final Rule - Regulatory Capital Rule:
Temporary Changes to the Community Bank
Leverage Ratio Framework’’ (RIN3064–AF45)
received during adjournment of the Senate
in the Office of the President of the Senate
on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on Bank-
ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4656. A communication from the Direc-
tor of Legislative Affairs, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, the report of a rule entitled ‘‘In-
terim Final Rule - Real Estate Appraisals’’
(RIN3064–AF48) received during adjournment
of the Senate in the Office of the President
of the Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Com-
mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af-
fairs.
EC–4657. A communication from the Sec-
retary, Division of Trading and Markets, Se-
curities and Exchange Commission, trans-
mitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule
entitled ‘‘Amendments to the National Mar-
ket System Plan Governing the Consolidated
Audit Trail’’ (RIN3235–AM60) received during
adjournment of the Senate in the Office of
the President of the Senate on May 28, 2020;
to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.
EC–4658. A communication from the Regu-
latory Specialist, Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency, Department of the Treas-
ury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the re-
port of a rule entitled ‘‘Community Rein-
vestment Act Regulations’’ (RIN1557–AE34)
received during adjournment of the Senate
in the Office of the President of the Senate
on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on Bank-
ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
EC–4659. A communication from the Sec-
retary of the Securities and Exchange Com-
mission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the
report of a rule entitled ‘‘Amendments to Fi-
nancial Disclosures about Acquired and Dis-
posed Businesses’’ (RIN3235–AL77) received
during adjournment of the Senate in the Of-
fice of the President of the Senate on May 28,
2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs.
EC–4660. A communication from the Chief
of the Regulatory Coordination Division,
Citizenship and Immigration Services, De-
partment of Homeland Security, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Implementation of the Northern Mar-
iana
Islands
U.S.
Workforce
Act
2018’’
(RIN1615–AC28) received during adjournment
of the Senate in the Office of the President
of the Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources.
EC–4661. A communication from the Chief
of Regulatory Analysis and Development,
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
Department of Agriculture, transmitting,
pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Movement of Certain Genetically Engi-
neered Organization’’ ((RIN0579–AE47) (Dock-
et No. APHIS–2018–0034)) received during ad-
journment of the Senate in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 28, 2020; to
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry.
EC–4662. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Ea peptide 91398; Exemption from the
Requirement of a Tolerance’’ (FRL No. 10007–
57–OCSPP) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on June 1, 2020; to
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry.
EC–4663. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled
‘‘Fenpyroximate;
Pesticide
Toler-
ances’’ (FRL No. 10009–14–OCSPP) received in
the Office of the President of the Senate on
June 1, 2020; to the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
EC–4664. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Washington;
Northwest Clean Air Agency’’ (FRL No.
10009–59–Region 10) received in the Office of
the President of the Senate on June 1, 2020;
to the Committee on Environment and Pub-
lic Works.
EC–4665. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality State Implementation Plans; Provo,
Utah Second 10-Year Carbon Monoxide Main-
tenance Plan’’ (FRL No. 10009–49–Region 8)
received in the Office of the President of the
Senate on June 1, 2020; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
EC–4666. A communication from the Assist-
ant Secretary, Legislative Affairs, Depart-
ment of State, transmitting, pursuant to the
Convention on Cultural Property Implemen-
tation Act, a report relative to extending
and amending the agreement between the
Government of the United States of America
and the Government of the Republic of Nica-
ragua; to the Committee on Finance.
EC–4667. A communication from the Sec-
retary of Energy, transmitting, pursuant to
law, the Department’s fiscal year 2019 annual
report relative to the Notification and Fed-
eral Employee Antidiscrimination and Re-
taliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act); to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
ernmental Affairs.
EC–4668. A communication from the Board
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Farm
Credit Administration, transmitting, pursu-
ant to law, the Administration’s Semiannual
Report of the Inspector General and the
Semiannual Management Report on the Sta-
tus of Audits for the period from October 1,
2019 through March 31, 2020; to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs.
EC–4669. A communication from the Direc-
tor, Office of Acquisition Policy, General
Services Administration, transmitting, pur-
suant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal
Acquisition Circular 2020–06, Introduction’’
((48 CFR Chapter 1) (FAC 2019–02)) received in
the Office of the President of the Senate on
May 14, 2020; to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.
EC–4670. A communication from the Direc-
tor, Office of Acquisition Policy, General
Services Administration, transmitting, pur-
suant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case
2020–001, Revocation of Executive Order on
Nondisplacement
of
Qualified
Workers’’
(RIN9000–AO03) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 14, 2020; to
the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs.
EC–4671. A communication from the Direc-
tor, Office of Acquisition Policy, General
Services Administration, transmitting, pur-
suant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case
2018–007, Applicability of Inflation Adjust-
ments of Acquisition-Related Thresholds’’
(RIN9000–AN67) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 14, 2020; to
the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs.
EC–4672. A communication from the Direc-
tor, Office of Acquisition Policy, General
Services Administration, transmitting, pur-
suant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal
Acquisition
Circular
2020–06,
Technical
Amendments’’ (FAC 2020–06) received in the
Office of the President of the Senate on May
14, 2020; to the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity and Governmental Affairs.
EC–4673. A communication from the Direc-
tor, Office of Acquisition Policy, General
Services Administration, transmitting, pur-
suant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case
2016–013, Tax on Certain Foreign Procure-
ment’’ (RIN9000–AN38) received in the Office
of the President of the Senate on May 14,
2020; to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs.
EC–4674. A communication from the Direc-
tor, Office of Acquisition Policy, General
Services Administration, transmitting, pur-
suant to law, the report of a rule entitled
‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal
Acquisition Circular 2020–06, Small Entity
Compliance Guide’’ (FAC 2020–06) received in
the Office of the President of the Senate on
May 14, 2020; to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
20:00 Oct 13, 2020
Jkt 019060
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\RECORD20\JUNE\S03JN0.REC
S03JN0
sradovich on DSKJLST7X2PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE
CORRECTION

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2695
June 3, 2020
EC–4675. A communication from the Chief
of the Regulatory Coordination Division,
Citizenship and Immigration Services, De-
partment of Homeland Security, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Temporary Changes to Requirements
Affecting H–2A Nonimmigrants due to the
COVID–19 National Emergency’’ (RIN1615–
AC55) received during adjournment of the
Senate in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on
the Judiciary.
EC–4676. A communication from the Chief
of the Regulatory Coordination Division,
Citizenship and Immigration Services, De-
partment of Homeland Security, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Temporary Changes to Requirements
Affecting H–2B Nonimmigrants due to the
COVID–19 National Emergency’’ (RIN1615–
AC58) received during adjournment of the
Senate in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 28, 2020; to the Committee on
the Judiciary.
EC–4677. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Defini-
tion for Permitting’’ (FRL No. 10009–10–Re-
gion 4) received in the Office of the President
of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the Com-
mittee on Environment and Public Works.
EC–4678. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Redesig-
nation of the Lemont and Pekin Sulfur Diox-
ide Nonattainment Areas’’ (FRL No. 10009–
08–Region 5) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the
Committee
on
Environment
and
Public
Works.
EC–4679. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Oklahoma; Up-
dates to the General SIP and New Source Re-
view Permitting Requirements; Correction’’
(FRL No. 10009–05–Region 6) received in the
Office of the President of the Senate on May
4, 2020; to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works.
EC–4680. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Acequinocyl; Pesticide Tolerances’’
(FRL No. 10007–38–OCSPP) received in the Of-
fice of the President of the Senate on May 4,
2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition, and Forestry.
EC–4681. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Iowa; State Im-
plementation Plan and Operating Permits
Program’’ (FRL No. 10009–33–Region 7) re-
ceived in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 7, 2020; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
EC–4682. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Louisiana; With-
drawal of Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems
Requirements’’ (FRL No. 10008–75–Region 6)
received in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 7, 2020; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
EC–4683. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Massachusetts;
Infrastructure State Implementation Plan
Requirements for the 2015 Ozone Standard;
Withdrawal of Direct Final Rule’’ (FRL No.
10009–41–Region 1) received in the Office of
the President of the Senate on May 7, 2020; to
the Committee on Environment and Public
Works.
EC–4684. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Clean Air Plans; 2008 8-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Area Requirements; Phoe-
nix-Mesa, Arizona’’ (FRL No. 10009–19–Region
9) received in the Office of the President of
the Senate on May 7, 2020; to the Committee
on Environment and Public Works.
EC–4685. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Louisiana; Final Approval of State
Underground Storage Tank Program Revi-
sions and Incorporation by Reference’’ (FRL
No. 10008–89–Region 6) received in the Office
of the President of the Senate on May 7, 2020;
to the Committee on Environment and Pub-
lic Works.
EC–4686. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘National Emission Standards for Haz-
ardous Air Pollutants; Integrated Iron and
Steel
Manufacturing
Facilities
Residual
Risk and Technology Review’’ (FRL No.
10008–45–OAR) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 7, 2020; to the
Committee
on
Environment
and
Public
Works.
EC–4687. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Missouri; Control
of Emissions from Aerospace Manufacture
and Rework Facilities’’ (FRL No. 10007–12–
Region 7) received in the Office of the Presi-
dent of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the
Committee
on
Environment
and
Public
Works.
EC–4688. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Oklahoma; Infra-
structure for the 2015 Ozone National Ambi-
ent Air Quality Standards’’ (FRL No. 10006–
43–Region 6) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the
Committee
on
Environment
and
Public
Works.
EC–4689. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Chat-
tanooga NSR Reform’’ (FRL No. 10007–17–Re-
gion 4) received in the Office of the President
of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the Com-
mittee on Environment and Public Works.
EC–4690. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Texas; Dallas-
Fort Worth Area Redesignation and Mainte-
nance Plan for Revoked Ozone National Am-
bient Air Quality Standards’’ (FRL No.
10006–97–Region 6) received in the Office of
the President of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to
the Committee on Environment and Public
Works.
EC–4691. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Chat-
tanooga Miscellaneous Revisions’’ (FRL No.
10007–15–Region 4) received in the Office of
the President of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to
the Committee on Environment and Public
Works.
EC–4692. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Vola-
tile Organic Compounds Definition Rule Re-
vision for Chattanooga’’ (FRL No. 10006–95–
Region 4) received in the Office of the Presi-
dent of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the
Committee
on
Environment
and
Public
Works.
EC–4693. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Air Quality Plans; Florida; Infra-
structure Requirements for the 2015 8-Hour
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Stand-
ard’’ (FRL No. 10007–04–Region 4) received in
the Office of the President of the Senate on
May 4, 2020; to the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works.
EC–4694. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality
Implementation
Plans;
Pennsyl-
vania; Allegheny County Administrative Re-
visions to Definitions, Remedies, and En-
forcement Orders Sections and Incorporation
by Reference of National Ambient Air Qual-
ity Standards’’ (FRL No. 10005–16–Region 3)
received in the Office of the President of the
Senate on May 4, 2020; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
EC–4695. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Approval and Promulgation of State
Air Quality Plans for Designated Facilities
and
Pollutants;
New
Mexico
and
Alburquerque-Bernalillo County, New Mex-
ico; Control of Emissions from Existing
Other Solid Waste Incineration Units’’ (FRL
No. 10006–30–Region 6) received in the Office
of the President of the Senate on May 4, 2020;
to the Committee on Environment and Pub-
lic Works.
EC–4696. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Approval and Promulgation of State
Plan (Negative Declaration) for Designated
Facilities and Pollutants: Vermont’’ (FRL
No. 10006–58–Region 1) received in the Office
of the President of the Senate on May 4, 2020;
to the Committee on Environment and Pub-
lic Works.
EC–4697. A communication from the Direc-
tor of the Regulatory Management Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, transmit-
ting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule en-
titled ‘‘Significant New Use Rules on Certain
Chemical Substances (19–1.B)’’ (FRL No.
10005–30–OCSPP) received in the Office of the
President of the Senate on May 4, 2020; to the
Committee
on
Environment
and
Public
Works.
f
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The following reports of committees
were submitted:
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute and with an
amended preamble:
S. Res. 148. A resolution supporting efforts
by the Government of Colombia to pursue
peace and regional stability.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.015
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2696
June 3, 2020
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute:
H.R. 192. An act to establish an inter-
agency program to assist countries in North
and West Africa to improve immediate and
long-term capabilities to counter terrorist
threats, and for other purposes.
S. 238. A bill to amend the State Depart-
ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to mon-
itor and combat anti-Semitism globally, and
for other purposes.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute and with an
amended preamble:
S. Res. 392. A resolution recognizing the
importance of the Young Southeast Asian
Leaders Initiative to the relationship be-
tween the United States and the member
states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations and to advancing the policy of the
United States in the Indo-Pacific region.
S. Res. 406. A resolution recognizing that
for 50 years, the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its ten mem-
bers, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Ma-
laysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam, have worked with
the United States toward stability, pros-
perity, and peace in Southeast Asia, and ex-
pressing the sense of the Senate that the
United States will continue to remain a
strong, reliable, and active partner in the
ASEAN region.
S. Res. 454. A resolution calling for the im-
mediate release of Cuban democracy activist
Jose Daniel Ferrer and commending the ef-
forts of Jose Daniel Ferrer to promote
human rights and fundamental freedoms in
Cuba.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, without amendment and
with a preamble:
S. Res. 502. A resolution recognizing the
75th anniversary of the amphibious landing
on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during
World War II and the raisings of the flag of
the United States on Mount Suribachi.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute and with an
amended preamble:
S. Res. 511. A resolution supporting the
role of the United States in helping save the
lives of children and protecting the health of
people in developing countries with vaccines
and immunization through GAVI, the Vac-
cine Alliance.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, without amendment and
with a preamble:
S. Res. 523. A resolution recognizing the
199th anniversary of the independence of
Greece and celebrating democracy in Greece
and the United States.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with amendments and
with an amended preamble:
S. Res. 525. A resolution expressing the
sense of the Senate that the United States
should continue to support the people of
Nicaragua in their peaceful efforts to pro-
mote the restoration of democracy and the
defense of human rights, and use the tools
under United States law to increase political
and economic pressure on the government of
Daniel Ortega.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute and with an
amended preamble:
S. Res. 533. A resolution supporting the
goals of International Women’s Day.
S. Res. 542. A resolution commemorating
the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the
Dachau concentration camp during World
War II.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, without amendment and
with a preamble:
S. Res. 567. A resolution commending ca-
reer professionals at the Department of
State for their extensive efforts to repatriate
United States citizens and legal permanent
residents during the COVID–19 pandemic.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute and an amendment
to the title:
S. 712. A bill to provide assistance for
United States citizens and nationals taken
hostage or unlawfully or wrongfully detained
abroad, and for other purposes.
By Mr. RISCH, from the Committee on
Foreign Relations, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute:
S. 3176. A bill to amend the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 and the United States-Israel
Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 to make
improvements to certain defense and secu-
rity assistance provisions and to authorize
the appropriations of funds to Israel, and for
other purposes.
f
EXECUTIVE REPORTS OF
COMMITTEE
The following executive reports of
nominations were submitted:
By Mr. ALEXANDER for the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
* Sethuraman Panchanathan, of Arizona,
to be Director of the National Science Foun-
dation for a term of six years.
* Julie Elizabeth Hocker, of Pennsylvania,
to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor.
* Richard Giacolone, of Virginia, to be
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Director.
* Marvin Kaplan, of Kansas, to be a Mem-
ber of the National Labor Relations Board
for the term of five years expiring August 27,
2025.
* Andrea R. Lucas, of Virginia, to be a
Member of the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission for a term expiring July
1, 2025.
* Lauren McGarity McFerran, of the Dis-
trict of Columbia, to be a Member of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board for the term of
five years expiring December 16, 2024.
* Jocelyn Samuels, of Maryland, to be a
Member of the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission for a term expiring July
1, 2021.
* Keith E. Sonderling, of Florida, to be a
Member of the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission for a term expiring July
1, 2024.
* Nomination was reported with rec-
ommendation that it be confirmed sub-
ject to the nominee’s commitment to
respond to requests to appear and tes-
tify before any duly constituted com-
mittee of the Senate.
f
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND
JOINT RESOLUTIONS
The following bills and joint resolu-
tions were introduced, read the first
and second times by unanimous con-
sent, and referred as indicated:
By Mr. ROUNDS (for himself and Mrs.
SHAHEEN):
S. 3869. A bill to amend title 10, United
States Code, to provide for the expansion of
the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps,
to expand the Cyber Institutes Program, and
for other purposes; to the Committee on
Armed Services.
By Mr. ROUNDS:
S. 3870. A bill to require the Secretary of
Defense to recommend a minimum number
of bomber aircraft; to the Committee on
Armed Services.
By Mr. ROUNDS:
S. 3871. A bill to facilitate the performance
of funeral honors details for veterans; to the
Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Ms. MUR-
KOWSKI, and Ms. MCSALLY):
S. 3872. A bill to amend the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a time-
limited provisional approval pathway, sub-
ject to specific obligations, for certain drugs
and biological products, and for other pur-
poses; to the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for
himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. ERNST,
Mr. LANKFORD, and Mr. CRAMER):
S. 3873. A bill to require law enforcement
agencies to report the use of lethal force, and
for other purposes; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms.
SMITH, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CASEY, Mrs.
GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. KAINE,
Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALD-
WIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr.
REED, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. BOOKER, Mr.
WYDEN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MERKLEY,
and Mr. JONES):
S. 3874. A bill making additional supple-
mental appropriations for disaster relief re-
quirements for the fiscal year ending Sep-
tember 30, 2020, and for other purposes; to
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions.
By Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. SCOTT
of Florida, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. WICKER,
and Mrs. FEINSTEIN):
S. 3875. A bill to amend the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 to provide bonus deprecia-
tion for certain space launch expenditures,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on
Finance.
By Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina:
S. 3876. A bill to make a technical correc-
tion relating to the treatment of refunds of
merchandise
processing
fees
under
the
United
States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement
Implementation Act; to the Committee on
Finance.
By Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. BEN-
NET, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. DURBIN, Ms.
WARREN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN,
Ms. HARRIS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr.
SANDERS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Ms.
BALDWIN):
S. 3877. A bill to establish or expand pro-
grams to improve health equity regarding
COVID–19 and reduce or eliminate inequities
in the prevalence and health outcomes of
COVID–19; to the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. BOOKER:
S. 3878. A bill to protect employees from
discrimination based on family caregiver re-
sponsibilities, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions.
By Mr. PAUL:
S. 3879. A bill to preserve the constitu-
tional authority of Congress and ensure ac-
countability and transparency in legislation;
to the Committee on Rules and Administra-
tion.
By
Mr.
CASEY
(for
himself,
Ms.
DUCKWORTH, Mr. COONS, and Mr. DUR-
BIN):
S. 3880. A bill to establish the Office of
International Disability Rights, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign
Relations.
By Mr. CASEY:
S. 3881. A bill to increase support for State
Children’s Health Insurance programs during
the COVID–19 emergency, and for other pur-
poses; to the Committee on Finance.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.030
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2697
June 3, 2020
By Mr. ROUNDS:
S. 3882. A bill to establish the National
Technology Industrial Base Quadrilateral
Council; to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices.
By Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr.
SCHUMER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WAR-
REN, Mr. SANDERS, and Mrs. GILLI-
BRAND):
S. 3883. A bill to amend the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 to make the earned income
tax credit available to residents of posses-
sions of the United States; to the Committee
on Finance.
By Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself,
Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. MARKEY):
S. 3884. A bill to require the Secretary of
Transportation to support the efforts of
State and local governments to provide for
priority testing of certain transportation
workers with respect to the Coronavirus Dis-
ease 2019 (COVID–19) and require the owners
and operators of equipment and facilities
used by passenger or freight transportation
employers to clean, disinfect, and sanitize
that equipment and provide personal protec-
tive equipment to certain employees, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation.
By Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr.
PORTMAN):
S. 3885. A bill to direct the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to notify Congress regularly
of reported cases of burn pit exposure by vet-
erans, and for other purposes; to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs.
By Mr. MERKLEY (for Mr. MARKEY
(for
himself,
Mr.
SCHUMER,
Mr.
MERKLEY,
Mrs.
GILLIBRAND,
Mrs.
FEINSTEIN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WARREN,
Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr.
SANDERS, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. SMITH, Ms.
BALDWIN,
Mr.
MURPHY,
and
Ms.
HIRONO)):
S. 3886. A bill to prohibit the use of funds
for an explosive nuclear weapons test; to the
Committee on Armed Services.
By Mrs. SHAHEEN:
S. 3887. A bill to defer action regarding cer-
tain debts arising from benefits under laws
administered by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs for a period of time including the
COVID–19 emergency period, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs.
By Mrs. SHAHEEN:
S. 3888. A bill to ensure that veterans re-
ceive timely and effective health care under
the Veterans Community Care Program and
Veterans
Care
Agreements
during
the
COVID–19 emergency, and for other purposes;
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
f
SUBMISSION OF CONCURRENT AND
SENATE RESOLUTIONS
The following concurrent resolutions
and Senate resolutions were read, and
referred (or acted upon), as indicated:
By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr.
MENENDEZ, and Mr. DURBIN):
S. Res. 604. A resolution expressing the
sense of the Senate that the Senate should
not vote on the nomination of Michael Pack
to be Chief Executive Officer of the United
States Agency for Global Media unless and
until Michael Pack corrects his false state-
ments to the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions of the Senate and the Internal Revenue
Service; to the Committee on Rules and Ad-
ministration.
By Mr. PAUL:
S. Res. 605. A resolution providing for suffi-
cient time for legislation to be read; to the
Committee on Rules and Administration.
By Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr.
TESTER, Mr. HOEVEN, Ms. WARREN,
Mr.
CRAMER,
Mr.
WYDEN,
Mr.
LANKFORD, Mr. UDALL, Mr. CRAPO,
Ms. MCSALLY, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and
Mr. RISCH):
S. Res. 606. A resolution designating May 5,
2020, as the ‘‘National Day of Awareness for
Missing and Murdered Native Women and
Girls’’; considered and agreed to.
f
ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS
S. 525
At the request of Mr. PAUL, the name
of the Senator from Indiana (Mr.
BRAUN) was added as a cosponsor of S.
525, a bill to preserve and protect the
free choice of individual employees to
form, join, or assist labor organiza-
tions, or to refrain from such activi-
ties.
S. 633
At the request of Mr. MORAN, the
name of the Senator from New Hamp-
shire (Ms. HASSAN) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 633, a bill to award a Con-
gressional Gold Medal to the members
of the Women’s Army Corps who were
assigned to the 6888th Central Postal
Directory Battalion, known as the ‘‘Six
Triple Eight’’.
S. 815
At the request of Mr. BOOZMAN, the
name of the Senator from Minnesota
(Ms. KLOBUCHAR) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 815, a bill to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow
a refundable tax credit against income
tax for the purchase of qualified access
technology for the blind.
S. 892
At the request of Mr. CASEY, the
name of the Senator from New York
(Mr. SCHUMER) was added as a cospon-
sor of S. 892, a bill to award a Congres-
sional Gold Medal, collectively, to the
women in the United States who joined
the workforce during World War II,
providing the aircraft, vehicles, weap-
onry, ammunition, and other materials
to win the war, that were referred to as
‘‘Rosie the Riveter’’, in recognition of
their
contributions
to
the
United
States and the inspiration they have
provided to ensuing generations.
S. 932
At the request of Mr. YOUNG, the
name of the Senator from South Caro-
lina (Mr. GRAHAM) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 932, a bill to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to pro-
vide for the tax-exempt financing of
certain government-owned buildings.
S. 948
At the request of Ms. KLOBUCHAR, the
names of the Senator from Minnesota
(Ms. SMITH) and the Senator from Kan-
sas (Mr. MORAN) were added as cospon-
sors of S. 948, a bill to provide incen-
tives to physicians to practice in rural
and medically underserved commu-
nities, and for other purposes.
S. 1200
At the request of Mr. MERKLEY, the
name of the Senator from New Mexico
(Mr. HEINRICH) was added as a cospon-
sor of S. 1200, a bill to create protec-
tions for depository institutions that
provide financial services to cannabis-
related legitimate businesses and serv-
ice providers for such businesses, and
for other purposes.
S. 1652
At the request of Mr. CASEY, the
names of the Senator from Nevada (Ms.
ROSEN) and the Senator from Ten-
nessee (Mrs. BLACKBURN) were added as
cosponsors of S. 1652, a bill to amend
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
provide for a refundable adoption tax
credit.
S. 1919
At the request of Mr. YOUNG, the
name of the Senator from Arkansas
(Mr. COTTON) was added as a cosponsor
of S. 1919, a bill to require certain
grantees under title I of the Housing
and Community Development Act of
1974 to submit a plan to track discrimi-
natory land use policies, and for other
purposes.
S. 1938
At the request of Ms. DUCKWORTH,
the names of the Senator from Mary-
land (Mr. VAN HOLLEN), the Senator
from Minnesota (Ms. SMITH), the Sen-
ator from Oregon (Mr. WYDEN), the
Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. WAR-
REN), the Senator from Connecticut
(Mr. BLUMENTHAL), the Senator from
Alabama (Mr. JONES), the Senator from
Wisconsin (Ms. BALDWIN), the Senator
from Oregon (Mr. MERKLEY), the Sen-
ator from Ohio (Mr. BROWN) and the
Senator from Minnesota (Ms. KLO-
BUCHAR) were added as cosponsors of S.
1938, a bill to provide for grants for
States that require fair and impartial
police training for law enforcement of-
ficers of that State and to incentivize
States to enact laws requiring the
independent investigation and prosecu-
tion of the use of deadly force by law
enforcement officers, and for other pur-
poses.
S. 2161
At the request of Mr. CRUZ, the name
of the Senator from Iowa (Ms. ERNST)
was added as a cosponsor of S. 2161, a
bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act to provide for recip-
rocal marketing approval of certain
drugs, biological products, and devices
that are authorized to be lawfully mar-
keted abroad, and for other purposes.
S. 2163
At the request of Mr. RUBIO, the
names of the Senator from Maine (Ms.
COLLINS), the Senator from South
Carolina (Mr. SCOTT), the Senator from
Kansas (Mr. ROBERTS), the Senator
from North Dakota (Mr. CRAMER) and
the Senator from Alaska (Ms. MUR-
KOWSKI) were added as cosponsors of S.
2163, a bill to establish the Commission
on the Social Status of Black Men and
Boys, to study and make recommenda-
tions to address social problems affect-
ing Black men and boys, and for other
purposes.
S. 2327
At the request of Mr. BLUMENTHAL,
the names of the Senator from Mary-
land (Mr. VAN HOLLEN) and the Senator
from Hawaii (Ms. HIRONO) were added
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.028
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2698
June 3, 2020
as cosponsors of S. 2327, a bill to amend
title 38, United States Code, to modify
the eligibility requirements for trans-
fer of unused entitlement to Post-9/11
Educational Assistance, and for other
purposes.
S. 2621
At the request of Mr. RUBIO, the
name of the Senator from Georgia
(Mrs. LOEFFLER) was added as a cospon-
sor of S. 2621, a bill to provide for the
restoration of legal rights for claim-
ants under holocaust-era insurance
policies.
S. 2733
At the request of Mr. ROMNEY, the
name of the Senator from Texas (Mr.
CORNYN) was added as a cosponsor of S.
2733, a bill to save and strengthen crit-
ical social contract programs of the
Federal Government.
S. 3003
At the request of Mr. CRUZ, the name
of the Senator from North Dakota (Mr.
CRAMER) was added as a cosponsor of S.
3003, a bill to provide requirements for
the appropriate Federal banking agen-
cies when requesting or ordering a de-
pository institution to terminate a spe-
cific customer account, to provide for
additional requirements related to sub-
poenas issued under the Financial In-
stitutions Reform, Recovery, and En-
forcement Act of 1989, and for other
purposes.
S. 3103
At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the
name of the Senator from Mississippi
(Mrs. HYDE-SMITH) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 3103, a bill to amend title
XVIII of the Social Security Act to re-
store State authority to waive for cer-
tain facilities the 35-mile rule for des-
ignating critical access hospitals under
the Medicare program.
S. 3221
At the request of Mr. BOOKER, the
name of the Senator from Massachu-
setts (Ms. WARREN) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 3221, a bill to place a mor-
atorium on large concentrated animal
feeding operations, to strengthen the
Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, to
require country of origin labeling on
beef, pork, and dairy products, and for
other purposes.
S. 3485
At the request of Mr. WHITEHOUSE,
the names of the Senator from Con-
necticut (Mr. BLUMENTHAL), the Sen-
ator from Hawaii (Ms. HIRONO), the
Senator from Alabama (Mr. JONES), the
Senator from Hawaii (Mr. SCHATZ), the
Senator from California (Mrs. FEIN-
STEIN), the Senator from Maryland (Mr.
CARDIN), the Senator from Rhode Is-
land (Mr. REED), the Senator from
Delaware (Mr. CARPER) and the Senator
from New Hampshire (Mrs. SHAHEEN)
were added as cosponsors of S. 3485, a
bill to expand the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act to expand revenue
sharing for offshore wind, to reauthor-
ize the National Oceans and Coastal
Security Act, and for other purposes.
S. 3597
At the request of Mr. HOEVEN, the
name of the Senator from Oklahoma
(Mr. LANKFORD) was added as a cospon-
sor of S. 3597, a bill to appropriate
funds for the SPR Petroleum Account.
S. 3611
At the request of Mr. MERKLEY, the
name of the Senator from Maryland
(Mr. VAN HOLLEN) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 3611, a bill to amend the
Mineral Leasing Act and the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit
the authority of the Secretary of the
Interior to reduce certain royalties, to
amend the CARES Act to limit the pro-
vision of assistance to certain busi-
nesses, to impose a moratorium on cer-
tain oil and natural gas lease sales, the
issuance of coal leases, and modifica-
tions to certain regulations, to extend
certain public comment periods, and
for other purposes.
S. 3612
At the request of Mr. CORNYN, the
names of the Senator from Nebraska
(Mrs. FISCHER) and the Senator from
Colorado (Mr. GARDNER) were added as
cosponsors of S. 3612, a bill to clarify
for purposes of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 that receipt of coronavirus
assistance does not affect the tax
treatment of ordinary business ex-
penses.
S. 3659
At the request of Mrs. GILLIBRAND,
her name was added as a cosponsor of
S. 3659, a bill to provide State and local
workforce and career and technical
education systems the support to re-
spond to the COVID–19 national emer-
gency.
S. 3660
At the request of Mr. CASEY, the
names of the Senator from New York
(Mrs. GILLIBRAND) and the Senator
from Nevada (Ms. ROSEN) were added as
cosponsors of S. 3660, a bill to provide
emergency funding for caseworkers and
child protective services.
S. 3703
At the request of Ms. COLLINS, the
names of the Senator from North Caro-
lina (Mr. TILLIS), the Senator from
Massachusetts (Mr. MARKEY), the Sen-
ator from Nevada (Ms. ROSEN) and the
Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs.
SHAHEEN) were added as cosponsors of
S. 3703, a bill to amend the Elder Abuse
Prevention and Prosecution Act to im-
prove the prevention of elder abuse and
exploitation of individuals with Alz-
heimer’s disease and related demen-
tias.
S. 3750
At the request of Mrs. SHAHEEN, the
name of the Senator from Maine (Mr.
KING) was added as a cosponsor of S.
3750, a bill to amend title XVIII of the
Social Security Act to modify the ac-
celerated and advance payment pro-
grams under parts A and B of the Medi-
care program during the COVID–19
emergency.
S. 3753
At the request of Mr. BRAUN, the
name of the Senator from New Hamp-
shire (Ms. HASSAN) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 3753, a bill to direct the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure
that certain medical facilities of the
Department of Veterans Affairs have
physical locations for the disposal of
controlled substances medications.
S. 3755
At the request of Ms. DUCKWORTH,
the name of the Senator from Oregon
(Mr. MERKLEY) was added as a cospon-
sor of S. 3755, a bill to provide for the
establishment of a COVID–19 Com-
pensation Fund, and for other pur-
poses.
S. 3756
At the request of Mr. GRASSLEY, the
names of the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
DURBIN), the Senator from South Da-
kota (Mr. THUNE) and the Senator from
Minnesota (Ms. SMITH) were added as
cosponsors of S. 3756, a bill to direct
the Secretary of Agriculture to estab-
lish a renewable fuel feedstock reim-
bursement program.
S. 3763
At the request of Mr. CASEY, the
names of the Senator from Rhode Is-
land (Mr. WHITEHOUSE), the Senator
from Alabama (Mr. JONES), the Senator
from Michigan (Ms. STABENOW) and the
Senator from Nevada (Ms. CORTEZ
MASTO) were added as cosponsors of S.
3763, a bill to establish the Pandemic
Responder Service Award program to
express our gratitude to front-line
health care workers.
S. 3861
At the request of Ms. CANTWELL, the
name of the Senator from Minnesota
(Ms. KLOBUCHAR) was added as a co-
sponsor of S. 3861, a bill to establish
privacy requirements for operators of
infectious disease exposure notification
services.
f
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
SENATE
RESOLUTION
604—EX-
PRESSING THE SENSE OF THE
SENATE
THAT
THE
SENATE
SHOULD NOT VOTE ON THE NOM-
INATION OF MICHAEL PACK TO
BE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY
FOR
GLOBAL
MEDIA
UNLESS
AND UNTIL MICHAEL PACK COR-
RECTS HIS FALSE STATEMENTS
TO THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN
RELATIONS OF THE SENATE AND
THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERV-
ICE
Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr.
MENENDEZ, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted
the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Rules and
Administration:
S. RES. 604
Whereas the Constitution of the United
States requires, and the people of the United
States expect and deserve, that the Senate
provide advice and consent only to those ex-
ecutive branch nominees who are fit to hold
positions of public trust in the United States
Government;
Whereas Michael Pack is the nominee to
be Chief Executive Officer of the United
States Agency for Global Media, which is
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00040
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.024
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2699
June 3, 2020
comprised of the Voice of America, Radio
Free Europe, Radio and TV Marti, Radio
Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting
Network;
Whereas Michael Pack created and con-
trols both Public Media Lab, a nonprofit
company, and Manifold Productions LLC, a
for-profit company which he owns;
Whereas, since the creation of Public
Media Lab, Michael Pack transferred 100 per-
cent of the tax-exempt grants that Public
Media Lab received to his for-profit com-
pany, Manifold Productions;
Whereas, for several years, in documenta-
tion submitted to the Internal Revenue Serv-
ice that asked whether Public Media Lab had
provided grants to any entity controlled by
an officer of the nonprofit, Michael Pack re-
sponded ‘‘no’’ when the true answer was
‘‘yes’’;
Whereas, for several years, in documenta-
tion submitted to the Internal Revenue Serv-
ice that asked whether Public Media Lab
conducted business with any entity with
which it shared officers or directors, Michael
Pack responded ‘‘no’’ when the true answer
was ‘‘yes’’;
Whereas, in 2019, when the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate raised the
subject of the false statements that Michael
Pack had made to the Internal Revenue
Service, Mr. Pack claimed, in response to a
question for the record, that the false state-
ments were ‘‘an oversight’’;
Whereas Michael Pack has refused to cor-
rect the false statements that he made to
the Internal Revenue Service; and
Whereas, in early 2020, Michael Pack pro-
vided false information to the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate with regard
to his taxes; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) should provide advice and consent to ex-
ecutive branch nominees only if those nomi-
nees have been truthful in their dealings
with Congress and the executive branch;
(2) should not vote on any nominee who
has made verifiably false statements to Con-
gress or the executive branch and who re-
fuses to correct those statements; and
(3) should not vote on the nomination of
Michael Pack to be Chief Executive Officer
of the United States Agency for Global
Media unless and until Michael Pack cor-
rects his false statements to the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Internal Revenue Service.
f
SENATE
RESOLUTION
605—PRO-
VIDING FOR SUFFICIENT TIME
FOR LEGISLATION TO BE READ
Mr. PAUL submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Rules and Administra-
tion:
S. RES. 605
Resolved,
SECTION 1. TIME FOR READING OF LEGISLATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order
for the Senate to consider any bill, resolu-
tion, message, conference report, amend-
ment between the Houses, amendment, trea-
ty, or other measure or matter until 1 ses-
sion day has passed since introduction for
every 20 pages included in the measure or
matter in the usual form plus 1 session day
for any number of remaining pages less than
20 in the usual form.
(b) POINT OF ORDER.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any Senator may raise a
point of order that consideration of any bill,
resolution,
message,
conference
report,
amendment, treaty, or other measure or
matter is not in order under subsection (a).
A motion to table the point of order shall
not be in order.
(2) WAIVER.—Paragraph (1) may be waived
or suspended only by an affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and
sworn. All motions to waive under this para-
graph shall be debatable collectively for not
to exceed 3 hours equally divided between
the Senator raising the point of order and
the Senator moving to waive the point of
order or their designees. A motion to waive
the point of order shall not be amendable.
(c) CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.—This reso-
lution is adopted pursuant to the power
granted to each House of Congress to deter-
mine the Rules of its Proceedings in article
I, section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution of
the United States.
f
SENATE RESOLUTION 606—DESIG-
NATING MAY 5, 2020, AS THE
‘‘NATIONAL DAY OF AWARENESS
FOR MISSING AND MURDERED
NATIVE WOMEN AND GIRLS’’
Mr.
DAINES
(for
himself,
Mr.
TESTER, Mr. HOEVEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr.
CRAMER, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. LANKFORD,
Mr. UDALL, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. MCSALLY,
Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. RISCH) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which
was considered and agreed to:
S. RES. 606
Whereas, according to a study commis-
sioned by the Department of Justice, in some
Tribal
communities,
American
Indian
women face murder rates that are more than
10 times the national average murder rate;
Whereas, according to the most recently
available data from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, in 2017, homicide
was the sixth leading cause of death for
American Indian and Alaska Native females
between 1 and 44 years of age;
Whereas little data exist on the number of
missing American Indian and Alaska Native
women in the United States;
Whereas, on July 5, 2013, Hanna Harris, a
member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe,
was reported missing by her family in Lame
Deer, Montana;
Whereas the body of Hanna Harris was
found 5 days after she went missing;
Whereas Hanna Harris was determined to
have been raped and murdered, and the indi-
viduals accused of committing those crimes
were convicted;
Whereas the case of Hanna Harris is an ex-
ample of many similar cases; and
Whereas Hanna Harris was born on May 5,
1992: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) designates May 5, 2020, as the ‘‘National
Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered
Native Women and Girls’’; and
(2) calls on the people of the United States
and interested groups—
(A) to commemorate the lives of missing
and murdered American Indian and Alaska
Native women whose cases are documented
and undocumented in public records and the
media; and
(B) to demonstrate solidarity with the
families of victims in light of those trage-
dies.
f
NOTICE OF INTENT TO OBJECT TO
PROCEEDING
I, Senator RON WYDEN, intend to ob-
ject to proceeding to S. 482, a bill to
strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, to combat international
cybercrime, and to impose additional
sanctions with respect to the Russian
Federation, and for other purposes,
dated June 3, 2020 for the reasons as
stated in the RECORD.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise
today to give notice of my intent to ob-
ject to any unanimous consent agree-
ment regarding S. 482, the Defending
American Security from Kremlin Ag-
gression Act.
I want to first start by making my-
self clear: I support the vast majority
of the provisions in this bill. It has now
been over three years since Russia
meddled in our last presidential elec-
tion, and Congress has yet to hold
Vladimir Putin accountable for it. I
commend the bill’s sponsors for coming
together, on a bipartisan basis, with
legislation that would take real steps
to address Moscow’s aggression.
Unfortunately, the bill is burdened
by one extremely problematic, unre-
lated section, Title IV, or what was
previously known as the International
Cybercrime Prevention Act. This is
now the fourth time my colleagues
have
attempted
to
jam
that
bill
through this very chamber. In fact, the
same exact language was first floated
in 2015, only to be defeated. It was
brought up again in 2016, and was,
again, defeated. Once more, in 2018,
this bill was introduced as a standalone
bill and, again, defeated.
The authors of this problematic leg-
islation are giving it one more try, this
time by attempting to bury it within a
largely unrelated 100-page, bipartisan
legislative vehicle. And, by adding this
language onto an extraneous foreign
relations bill, my colleagues have been
able to bypass the jurisdictional scru-
tiny of the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee altogether.
Title IV of the bill is, at best, an ex-
tremely misguided piece of legislation.
While its proponents claim the lan-
guage is meant to fight botnets and
other malicious cybercrime in a lim-
ited context, its effects would be far
more broad-reaching. What this bill
would do, in reality, is significantly ex-
pand the badly outdated Computer
Fraud and Abuse Act, or the CFAA—a
law that the Department of Justice
(DOJ) has time and time again abused
against cybersecurity researchers and
activists, including the late Aaron
Swartz.
Mr. President, advocates and legal
experts have long warned that the
CFAA chills legitimate speech and re-
search. DOJ has adopted an interpreta-
tion of the CFAA so extreme that it
has argued in federal court that it is il-
legal merely for someone to violate a
website’s terms of service, such as by
lying about their height, weight, or age
in an online dating profile. While I
take a back seat to no one when it
comes to protecting Americans from
hackers and improving our nation’s cy-
bersecurity, DOJ has stretched this
Reagan-era hacking law to absurdity.
The
last
time
the
International
Cybercrime Prevention Act was pro-
posed in this chamber, I voted against
it because I believed then, as I do now,
that the draconian CFAA must be mod-
ernized. I have sought to reform the
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.022
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE
S2700
June 3, 2020
CFAA, and rather than addressing its
many serious flaws, Title IV of DASKA
expands it, creating broad new prohibi-
tions and harsh penalties.
Mr. President, I’ve said it before and
I’ll say it again. The bill before us is a
resoundingly good bill—but it is one
that is held back by one small and un-
related section. My hope is that, work-
ing in a bipartisan way, we can resolve
this glaring problem with DASKA.
However, until that happens, I will ob-
ject to any unanimous consent request
to proceed to the legislation.
f
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO
MEET
Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, I have 7
requests for committees to meet during
today’s session of the Senate. They
have the approval of the Majority and
Minority leaders.
Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph
5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Sen-
ate, the following committees are au-
thorized to meet during today’s session
of the Senate:
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION
The
Committee
on
Commerce,
Science, and Transportation is author-
ized to meet during the session of the
Senate on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at
2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR,
AND PENSIONS
The Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions is author-
ized to meet during the session of the
Senate on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at
9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on
nominations.
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
The Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs is au-
thorized to meet during the session of
the Senate on Wednesday, June 3, 2020,
at 9 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the
following
nominations:
Donald
L.
Moak and William Zollars to be Gov-
ernors, U.S. Postal Service, and Hon.
Mark A. Robbins, Carl E. Ross, and
Elizabeth J. Shapiro to be Associate
Judges, Superior Court of the District
of Columbia.
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
The Committee on the Judiciary is
authorized to meet during the session
of the Senate on Wednesday, June 3,
2020, a 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship is authorized to
meet during the session of the Senate
on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at 10 a.m.,
to conduct a hearing.
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
is authorized to meet during the ses-
sion of the Senate on Wednesday, June
3, 2020, at 3 p.m., to conduct a hearing.
SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
The
Select
Committee
on
Intel-
ligence is authorized to meet during
the session of the Senate on Wednes-
day, June 3, 2020, at 2 p.m., to conduct
a hearing.
f
NATIONAL
DAY
OF
AWARENESS
FOR MISSING AND MURDERED
NATIVE WOMEN AND GIRLS
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that Senate
proceed to the immediate consider-
ation of S. Res. 606, submitted earlier
today.
The
PRESIDING
OFFICER.
The
clerk will report the resolution by
title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 606) designating May
5, 2020, as the ‘‘National Day of Awareness
for Missing and Murdered Native Women and
Girls’’.
There being no objection, the Senate
proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. MCCONNELL. I know of no fur-
ther debate on the measure.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
further debate?
If not, the question is on agreeing to
the resolution.
The resolution (S. Res. 606) was
agreed to.
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that the pre-
amble be agreed to and the motions to
reconsider be considered made and laid
upon the table with no intervening ac-
tion or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
The preamble was agreed to.
(The resolution, with its preamble, is
printed in today’s RECORD under ‘‘Sub-
mitted Resolutions.’’)
f
ORDERS FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 4,
2020
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that when the
Senate completes its business today, it
adjourn until 10 a.m., Thursday, June
4; further, that following the prayer
and pledge, the morning hour be
deemed expired, the Journal of pro-
ceedings be approved to date, the time
for the two leaders be reserved for their
use later in the day, and morning busi-
ness be closed; further, that following
leader remarks, the Senate proceed to
executive session to resume consider-
ation of the Pack nomination, under
the previous order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
objection, it is so ordered.
f
ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 10 A.M.
TOMORROW
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, if
there is no further business to come be-
fore the Senate, I ask unanimous con-
sent that it stand adjourned under the
previous order.
There being no objection, the Senate,
at 7:08 p.m., adjourned until Thursday,
June 4, 2020, at 10 a.m.
f
CONFIRMATIONS
Executive nominations confirmed by
the Senate June 03, 2020:
THE JUDICIARY
DREW B. TIPTON, OF TEXAS, TO BE UNITED STATES
DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF
TEXAS.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
JAMES H. ANDERSON, OF VIRGINIA, TO BE A DEPUTY
UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:21 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4637
Sfmt 9801
E:\CR\FM\A03JN6.020
S03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE

EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks
E509
June 3, 2020
SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Title IV of Senate Resolution 4,
agreed to by the Senate of February 4,
1977, calls for establishment of a sys-
tem for a computerized schedule of all
meetings and hearings of Senate com-
mittees, subcommittees, joint commit-
tees, and committees of conference.
This title requires all such committees
to notify the Office of the Senate Daily
Digest—designated by the Rules Com-
mittee—of the time, place and purpose
of the meetings, when scheduled and
any cancellations or changes in the
meetings as they occur.
As an additional procedure along
with the computerization of this infor-
mation, the Office of the Senate Daily
Digest will prepare this information for
printing in the Extensions of Remarks
section of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
on Monday and Wednesday of each
week.
Meetings scheduled for Thursday,
June 4, 2020 may be found in the Daily
Digest of today’s RECORD.
MEETINGS SCHEDULED
JUNE 8
2:30 p.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Readiness and Manage-
ment Support
Closed business meeting to markup those
provisions which fall under the sub-
committee’s jurisdiction of the pro-
posed National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2021.
SR–232A
4 p.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Closed business meeting to markup those
provisions which fall under the sub-
committee’s jurisdiction of the pro-
posed National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2021.
SR–232A
JUNE 9
9:30 a.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and
Capabilities
Closed business meeting to markup those
provisions which fall under the sub-
committee’s jurisdiction of the pro-
posed National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2021.
SR–232A
10 a.m.
Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs
To hold an oversight hearing to examine
housing regulators.
SD–G50
Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources
To hold hearings to examine wildfire
management in the midst of the
COVID–19 pandemic.
SD–366
Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
To hold hearings to examine the Federal
government’s procurement and dis-
tribution strategies in response to the
COVID–19 pandemic.
VTC
Committee on the Judiciary
To hold hearings to examine COVID–19
fraud, focusing on law enforcement’s
response to those exploiting the pan-
demic.
SD–106
11 a.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Airland
Closed business meeting to markup those
provisions which fall under the sub-
committee’s jurisdiction of the pro-
posed National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2021.
SR–232A
2 p.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Personnel
Business meeting to markup those provi-
sions which fall under the subcommit-
tee’s jurisdiction of the proposed Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for
fiscal year 2021.
SD–G50
2:30 p.m.
Committee on Finance
To hold hearings to examine unemploy-
ment insurance during COVID–19, fo-
cusing on The CARES Act and the roles
of unemployment insurance during the
pandemic.
SD–106
3:30 p.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on SeaPower
Closed business meeting to markup those
provisions which fall under the sub-
committee’s jurisdiction of the pro-
posed National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2021.
SR–232A
5:30 p.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity
Closed business meeting to markup those
provisions which fall under the sub-
committee’s jurisdiction of the pro-
posed National Defense Authorization
Act for fiscal year 2021.
SR–232A
JUNE 10
9 a.m.
Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
Business meeting to consider the nomi-
nations of Russell Vought, of Virginia,
to be Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, Donald Lee Moak, of
Florida, and William Zollars, of Kan-
sas, both to be a Governor, United
States Postal Service, Craig Edward
Leen, of the District of Columbia, to be
Inspector General, Office of Personnel
Management, Mark A. Robbins, Carl
Ezekiel Ross, and Elizabeth J. Shapiro,
all to be an Associate Judge of the Su-
perior Court of the District of Colum-
bia, Catherine Bird, of Texas, to be
General Counsel of the Federal Labor
Relations Authority, and John Chase
Johnson, of Oklahoma, to be Inspector
General,
Federal
Communications
Commission.
SR–325
9:30 a.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Closed business meeting to markup the
proposed National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for fiscal year 2021.
SD–106
10 a.m.
Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions
To hold hearings to examine COVID–19,
focusing on going back to school safe-
ly.
SD–430
Committee on the Judiciary
To hold hearings to examine pending
nominations.
SD–226
Committee on Small Business and Entre-
preneurship
To hold hearings to examine implemen-
tation of Title I of the CARES Act.
SR–301
JUNE 11
9:30 a.m.
Committee on Armed Services
Closed business meeting to continue to
markup the proposed National Defense
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021.
SD–106
JUNE 17
10 a.m.
Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions
To hold hearings to examine telehealth,
focusing on lessons learned from the
COVID–19 pandemic.
SD–430
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:32 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 0626
Sfmt 0634
E:\CR\FM\M03JN8.000
E03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with REMARKS

D462
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Daily Digest
Senate
Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S2659–S2700
Measures Introduced: Twenty bills and three reso-
lutions were introduced, as follows: S. 3869–3888,
and S. Res. 604–606.                                       Pages S2696–97
Measures Reported:
H.R. 192, to establish an interagency program to
assist countries in North and West Africa to im-
prove immediate and long-term capabilities to
counter terrorist threats, with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute.
S. Res. 148, supporting efforts by the Government
of Colombia to pursue peace and regional stability,
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and
with an amended preamble.
S. Res. 392, recognizing the importance of the
Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative to the rela-
tionship between the United States and the member
states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
and to advancing the policy of the United States in
the Indo-Pacific region, with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute and with an amended pre-
amble.
S. Res. 406, recognizing that for 50 years, the As-
sociation of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and
its ten members, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam, have worked with the
United States toward stability, prosperity, and peace
in Southeast Asia, and expressing the sense of the
Senate that the United States will continue to re-
main a strong, reliable, and active partner in the
ASEAN region, with an amendment in the nature of
a substitute and with an amended preamble.
S. Res. 454, calling for the immediate release of
Cuban democracy activist Jose Daniel Ferrer and
commending the efforts of Jose Daniel Ferrer to pro-
mote human rights and fundamental freedoms in
Cuba, with an amendment in the nature of a sub-
stitute and with an amended preamble.
S. Res. 502, recognizing the 75th anniversary of
the amphibious landing on the Japanese island of
Iwo Jima during World War II and the raisings of
the flag of the United States on Mount Suribachi.
S. Res. 511, supporting the role of the United
States in helping save the lives of children and pro-
tecting the health of people in developing countries
with vaccines and immunization through GAVI, the
Vaccine Alliance, with an amendment in the nature
of a substitute and with an amended preamble.
S. Res. 523, recognizing the 199th anniversary of
the independence of Greece and celebrating democ-
racy in Greece and the United States.
S. Res. 525, expressing the sense of the Senate
that the United States should continue to support
the people of Nicaragua in their peaceful efforts to
promote the restoration of democracy and the de-
fense of human rights, and use the tools under
United States law to increase political and economic
pressure on the government of Daniel Ortega, with
amendments and with an amended preamble.
S. Res. 533, supporting the goals of International
Women’s Day, with an amendment in the nature of
a substitute and with an amended preamble.
S. Res. 542, commemorating the 75th anniversary
of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp
during World War II, with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute and with an amended pre-
amble.
S. Res. 567, commending career professionals at
the Department of State for their extensive efforts to
repatriate United States citizens and legal permanent
residents during the COVID–19 pandemic.
S. 238, to amend the State Department Basic Au-
thorities Act of 1956 to monitor and combat anti-
Semitism globally, with an amendment in the nature
of a substitute.
S. 712, to provide assistance for United States
citizens and nationals taken hostage or unlawfully or
wrongfully detained abroad, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute.
S. 3176, to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 and the United States-Israel Strategic Partner-
ship Act of 2014 to make improvements to certain
defense and security assistance provisions and to au-
thorize the appropriations of funds to Israel, with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
                                                                                    Pages S2695–96
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:56 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 0627
Sfmt 0627
E:\CR\FM\D03JN0.REC
D03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with DIGEST

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — DAILY DIGEST
D463
June 3, 2020
Measures Passed:
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act:
Senate passed H.R. 7010, to amend the Small Busi-
ness Act and the CARES Act to modify certain pro-
visions related to the forgiveness of loans under the
paycheck protection program, to allow recipients of
loan forgiveness under the paycheck protection pro-
gram to defer payroll taxes.                          Pages S2690–91
National Day of Awareness for Missing and
Murdered Native Women and Girls: Senate agreed
to S. Res. 606, designating May 5, 2020, as the
‘‘National Day of Awareness for Missing and Mur-
dered Native Women and Girls’’.                     Page S2700
Pack Nomination—Agreement: A unanimous-con-
sent-time agreement was reached providing that not-
withstanding the provisions of Rule XXII, the mo-
tion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Michael
Pack, of Maryland, to be Chief Executive Officer of
the Broadcasting Board of Governors, ripen at 11:40
a.m., on Thursday, June 4, 2020, with 20 minutes
of debate under the control of Senator Menendez
prior to the vote; that if cloture is invoked on the
nomination, the post-cloture time expire at 1:30
p.m., on Thursday, June 4, 2020.                     Page S2691
A unanimous-consent agreement was reached pro-
viding that at approximately 10 a.m., on Thursday,
June 4, 2020, Senate resume consideration of the
nomination.                                                                   Page S2700
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the fol-
lowing nominations:
By 78 yeas to 17 nays (Vote No. EX. 109), James
H. Anderson, of Virginia, to be a Deputy Under
Secretary of Defense.                                         Pages S2660–79
During consideration of this nomination today,
Senate also took the following action:
By 74 yeas to 18 nays (Vote No. EX. 108), Senate
agreed to the motion to close further debate on the
nomination.                                                                   Page S2670
By 52 yeas to 41 nays (Vote No. EX. 111), Drew
B. Tipton, of Texas, to be United States District
Judge for the Southern District of Texas.
                                                                                    Pages S2679–85
During consideration of this nomination today,
Senate also took the following action:
By 53 yeas to 42 nays (Vote No. EX. 110), Senate
agreed to the motion to close further debate on the
nomination.                                                                   Page S2679
Executive Communications:                     Pages S2693–95
Executive Reports of Committees:               Page S2696
Additional Cosponsors:                               Pages S2697–98
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
                                                                                    Pages S2698–99
Additional Statements:                                        Page S2693
Authorities for Committees to Meet:         Page S2700
Record Votes: Four record votes were taken today.
(Total—111)                                    Pages S2670, S2679, S2685
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10 a.m. and ad-
journed at 7:08 p.m., until 10 a.m. on Thursday,
June 4, 2020. (For Senate’s program, see the remarks
of the Majority Leader in today’s Record on page
S2700.)
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hear-
ing examine the nomination of Russell Vought, of
Virginia, to be Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, after the nominee testified and answered
questions in his own behalf.
COVID–19, TRANSPORTATION, AND
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:
Committee concluded a hearing to examine the state
of transportation and critical infrastructure, focusing
on the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic, after re-
ceiving testimony from John Bozzella, Alliance for
Automotive Innovation, Randy Guillot, American
Trucking Associations, Ian N. Jefferies, Association
of American Railroads, Alex Oehler, Interstate Nat-
ural Gas Association of America, and Larry I. Willis,
Transportation Trades Department, AFL–CIO, all of
Washington, D.C.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Donald Lee Moak, of Florida, and
William Zollars, of Kansas, both to be a Governor
of the United States Postal Service, and Mark A.
Robbins, Carl Ezekiel Ross, and Elizabeth J. Shapiro,
each to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court
of the District of Columbia, after the nominees testi-
fied and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
Committee ordered favorably reported the nomina-
tions of Keith E. Sonderling, of Florida, Andrea R.
Lucas, of Virginia, and Jocelyn Samuels, of Mary-
land, each to be a Member of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, Marvin Kaplan, of Kan-
sas, and Lauren McGarity McFerran, of the District
of Columbia, both to be a Member of the National
Labor Relations Board, Sethuraman Panchanathan, of
Arizona, to be Director of the National Science
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:56 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 0627
Sfmt 0627
E:\CR\FM\D03JN0.REC
D03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with DIGEST

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — DAILY DIGEST
D464
June 3, 2020
Foundation, Julie Elizabeth Hocker, of Pennsylvania,
to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor, and Richard
Giacolone, of Virginia, to be Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Director.
CROSSFIRE HURRICANE INVESTIGATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded an
oversight hearing to examine the Crossfire Hurricane
investigation, after receiving testimony from Rod J.
Rosenstein, former Deputy Attorney General, De-
partment of Justice.
COVID–19 AND SMALL BUSINESS
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Com-
mittee concluded a hearing to examine COVID–19’s
impact on small business, focusing on perspectives
from Main Street, including S. 3782, to modify the
amount authorized for commitments for 7(a) loans,
S. 996, to modify the microloan program of the
Small Business Administration, S. 3814, to establish
a loan program for businesses affected by COVID–19
and to extend the loan forgiveness period for pay-
check protection program loans made to the hardest
hit businesses, and S. 3548, to provide emergency
assistance and health care response for individuals,
families, and businesses affected by the 2020
coronavirus pandemic, after receiving testimony from
Joseph Shamess, Flags of Valor, Ashburn, Virginia;
Connie Evans, Association for Enterprise Oppor-
tunity, and Michael Strain, American Enterprise In-
stitute, both of Washington, D.C.; and Nicholas Ru-
dolph, Maryland Capital Enterprises, Inc., Salisbury.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
BUDGET
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the President’s proposed budget
request for fiscal year 2021, advance appropriations
requests for fiscal year 2022, and fiscal year 2020 en-
acted CARES Act supplemental appropriations for
the Department of Veterans Affairs, after receiving
testimony from Robert L. Wilkie, Secretary, Richard
Stone, Executive in Charge of the Veterans Health
Administration, Paul Lawrence, Under Secretary for
Benefits, and Jon Rychalski, Assistant Secretary for
Management and Chief Financial Officer, all of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee ordered fa-
vorably reported an original bill entitled, ‘‘Intel-
ligence Authorization Act of 2021’’.
h
House of Representatives
Chamber Action
The House was not in session today. The House
is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June
4, 2020.
Committee Meetings
ADDRESSING THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF
COVID–19: VIEWS FROM TWO FORMER CBO
DIRECTORS
Committee on the Budget: Full Committee held a hear-
ing entitled ‘‘Addressing the Economic Impacts of
COVID–19: Views from Two Former CBO Direc-
tors’’. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
PROMOTING INCLUSIVE LENDING
DURING THE PANDEMIC: COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
AND MINORITY DEPOSITORY
INSTITUTIONS
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Con-
sumer Protection and Financial Institutions held a
hearing entitled ‘‘Promoting Inclusive Lending Dur-
ing the Pandemic: Community Development Finan-
cial Institutions and Minority Depository Institu-
tions’’. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO VOTE
DURING THE COVID–19 PANDEMIC
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Con-
stitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a
hearing entitled ‘‘Protecting the Right to Vote Dur-
ing the COVID–19 Pandemic’’. Testimony was
heard from Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State,
Michigan; and public witnesses.
MISSION READINESS: VA’S PREPAREDNESS
FOR NATURAL DISASTERS DURING A
PANDEMIC
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs: Subcommittee on
Health held a hearing entitled ‘‘Mission Readiness:
VA’s Preparedness for Natural Disasters During a
Pandemic’’. Testimony was heard from Daniel
Sitterly, Assistant Secretary for Human Resources
and Administration/Operations, Security, and Pre-
paredness, Department of Veterans Affairs.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:56 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 0627
Sfmt 0627
E:\CR\FM\D03JN0.REC
D03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with DIGEST

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — DAILY DIGEST
D465
June 3, 2020
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
f
COMMITTEE MEETINGS FOR THURSDAY,
JUNE 4, 2020
(Committee meetings are open unless otherwise indicated)
Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: to
hold hearings to examine the crisis in Hong Kong, focus-
ing on a review of United States policy tools, 11 a.m.,
WEBEX.
Committee on Environment and Public Works: to hold hear-
ings to examine infrastructure, focusing on the road to re-
covery, 10 a.m., SD–G50.
Committee on Foreign Relations: to hold hearings to exam-
ine the nominations of J. Steven Dowd, of Florida, to be
United States Director of the European Bank for Recon-
struction and Development, Richard M. Mills, Jr., of
Texas, to be the Deputy Representative of the United
States of America to the United Nations, with the rank
and status of Ambassador and the Deputy Representative
of the United States of America in the Security Council
of the United Nations, and to be Representative of the
United States of America to the Sessions of the General
Assembly of the United Nations, during his tenure of
service as Deputy Representative of the United States of
America to the United Nations, and Joseph Manso, of
New York, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure
of service as United States Representative to the Organi-
zation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, both of
the Department of State, Jason Myung-lk Chung, of Vir-
ginia, to be United States Director of the Asian Develop-
ment Bank, with the rank of Ambassador, Jenny A.
McGee, of Texas, to be an Associate Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, and
other pending nominations, 10 a.m., VTC.
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: to
hold hearings to examine COVID–19, focusing on going
back to college safely, 10 a.m., SD–430.
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
business meeting to consider a motion to authorize the
Chairman to issue subpoenas for records and testimony to
U.S. Government agencies and to individuals relating to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane
Investigation, the DOJ Inspector General’s review of that
investigation, and the ‘‘unmasking’’ of U.S. persons affili-
ated with the Trump campaign, transition teams, and
Trump Administration, as described in Schedule A, 10
a.m., SR–325.
Committee on the Judiciary: business meeting to consider
S. 685, to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 rel-
ative to the powers of the Department of Justice Inspec-
tor General, the nominations of Justin Reed Walker, of
Kentucky, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Dis-
trict of Columbia Circuit, and Cory T. Wilson, of Mis-
sissippi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth
Circuit, and an authorization for subpoenas relating to
the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, 10 a.m., SD–106.
House
Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the De-
partments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Edu-
cation,
and
Related
Agencies,
hearing
entitled
‘‘COVID–19 Response’’, 11 a.m., 1324 Longworth.
Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Seapower
and Projection Forces, hearing entitled, ‘‘Future Force
Structure Requirements for the United States Navy’’, 10
a.m., 2118 Rayburn.
Committee on House Administration, Subcommittee on
Elections, hearing entitled ‘‘The Impact of COVID–19 on
Voting Rights and Election Administration: Ensuring
Safe and Fair Elections’’, 1 p.m., Webex.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:56 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 0627
Sfmt 0627
E:\CR\FM\D03JN0.REC
D03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with DIGEST

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — DAILY DIGEST
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record (USPS 087–390). The Periodicals postage
is paid at Washington, D.C. The public proceedings of each House
of Congress, as reported by the Official Reporters thereof, are
printed pursuant to directions of the Joint Committee on Printing as authorized by appropriate provisions of Title 44, United
States Code, and published for each day that one or both Houses are in session, excepting very infrequent instances when
two or more unusually small consecutive issues are printed one time. ¶ Public access to the Congressional Record is available online through
the U.S. Government Publishing Office, at www.govinfo.gov, free of charge to the user. The information is updated online each day the
Congressional Record is published. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center, U.S. Government Publishing Office.
Phone 202–512–1800, or 866–512–1800 (toll-free). E-Mail, contactcenter@gpo.gov. ¶ To place an order for any of these products, visit the U.S.
Government Online Bookstore at: bookstore.gpo.gov. Mail orders to: Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 979050, St. Louis, MO
63197–9000, or phone orders to 866–512–1800 (toll-free), 202–512–1800 (D.C. area), or fax to 202–512–2104. Remit check or money order, made
payable to the Superintendent of Documents, or use VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or GPO Deposit Account. ¶ Following
each session of Congress, the daily Congressional Record is revised, printed, permanently bound and sold by the Superintendent of Documents
in individual parts or by sets. ¶ With the exception of copyrighted articles, there are no restrictions on the republication of material from
the Congressional Record.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Record, U.S. Government Publishing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402, along with the entire mailing label from the last issue received.
U
N
U
M
E
P
LU
RI
B
U
S
D466
June 3, 2020
Next Meeting of the SENATE
10 a.m., Thursday, June 4
Senate Chamber
Program for Thursday: Senate will resume consideration
of the nomination of Michael Pack, of Maryland, to be
Chief Executive Officer of the Broadcasting Board of
Governors, with a vote on the motion to invoke cloture
thereon at 11:40 a.m. If cloture is invoked, Senate will
vote on confirmation of the nomination at 1:30 p.m.
Next Meeting of the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
10 a.m., Thursday, June 4
House Chamber
Program for Thursday: House will meet in Pro Forma
session at 10 a.m.
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:56 Jun 04, 2020
Jkt 099060
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 0664
Sfmt 0664
E:\CR\FM\D03JN0.REC
D03JNPT1
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with DIGEST

File and source

File

CREC-2020-06-03.pdf

Size

928,712 bytes

SHA-256

54577c559fca8c6d39f998e316b1aee807cf6bdd47a153ff26efce9c0abd0c5a

Our copy

CREC-2020-06-03.pdf

Original

No public link identified.