Congressional Record, Senate, July 21, 2020 — National Defense Authorization Act Amendment Votes
Summary
Page S4321 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for July 21, 2020, from a very long page of the National Defense Authorization Act debate, in interleaved columns. Mr. Schatz asks unanimous consent to start the vote on his amendment No. 2252, and the yeas and nays are ordered. Amendment text adds respect for the rights of citizens under the Constitution and de-escalation of force to a property transfer program, and makes certain property not transferrable. A tribute remembers a man as a passionate mental health advocate for veterans, and a speaker urges more effective use of OSHA.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
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“Congressional Record, Senate, July 21, 2020 — National Defense Authorization Act Amendment Votes.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-07-21-crec-2020-07-21-pt1-pgs4321-2-4c6122fd12/
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4321
Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, I States Code, is amended by inserting before bled when called to order by the Pre-
ask unanimous consent that we start the period at the end the following: ‘‘, in- siding Officer (Mrs. CAPITO).
the vote now. cluding respect for the rights of citizens
f
under the Constitution of the United States
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
and de-escalation of force’’. NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA-
objection? (b) CERTAIN PROPERTY NOT
Without objection, it is so ordered. TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR
TRANSFERRABLE.—Such section is further 2021—Continued
Under the previous order, the ques- amended—
tion occurs on agreeing to the Schatz (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
amendment No. 2252. as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and ator from Wyoming.
The yeas and nays were ordered. (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol- BUDGET
The clerk will call the roll. lowing new subsection (e): Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I rise
The bill clerk called the roll. ‘‘(d) PROPERTY NOT TRANSFERRABLE.—The
today to discuss our Federal finances
Secretary may not transfer to a Tribal,
The result was announced—yeas 51, and the need to address our
State, or local law enforcement agency
nays 49, as follows: under this section the following: unsustainable fiscal debt and deficit.
[Rollcall Vote No. 132 Leg.] ‘‘(1) Bayonets. The Federal budget has already been
YEAS—51 ‘‘(2) Grenades (other than stun and flash- on an unsustainable path before
Baldwin Harris Peters bang grenades). COVID–19 reached our shores and be-
Bennet Hassan Reed ‘‘(3) Weaponized tracked combat vehicles. fore the pandemic and our govern-
Blumenthal Heinrich Rosen ‘‘(4) Weaponized drones.’’. ment’s response to it, which has accel-
Booker Hirono Sanders VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2411
Brown Jones Schatz
erated what I believe is a coming day
Cantwell Kaine Schumer The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under of reckoning.
Cardin King Shaheen the previous order, the question occurs I recognize the unprecedented crisis
Carper Klobuchar Sinema on Inhofe amendment No. 2411. presented by COVID–19. I support the
Casey Leahy Smith
Coons Manchin Stabenow Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask for necessary response. Together, Congress
Cortez Masto Markey Tester the yeas and nays. has passed and the President has
Daines Menendez Udall The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a signed five separate pieces of legisla-
Duckworth Merkley Van Hollen
Durbin Murkowski Warner
sufficient second? tion responding to the pandemic and
Feinstein Murphy Warren There appears to be a sufficient sec- its economic fallout that together will
Gardner Murray Whitehouse ond. cost more than $2 trillion.
Gillibrand Paul Wyden The clerk will call the roll. I never would have supported tril-
NAYS—49 The senior assistant legislative clerk lions in new spending unless I truly be-
Alexander Fischer Risch called the roll. lieved that it was necessary to combat
Barrasso Graham Roberts The result was announced—yeas 90, the virus and prevent economic catas-
Blackburn Grassley Romney nays 10, as follows: trophe resulting from the government
Blunt Hawley Rounds
Boozman Hoeven [Rollcall Vote No. 133 Leg.] shuttering the economy. I know many
Rubio
Braun Hyde-Smith Sasse YEAS—90 of my colleagues feel that same way.
Burr Inhofe Scott (FL) Alexander Gardner Portman
When this crisis abates—and it will—
Capito Johnson Scott (SC) the Federal Government cannot afford
Baldwin Gillibrand Reed
Cassidy Kennedy
Collins Lankford
Shelby Barrasso Graham Risch to return to the status quo of
Sullivan Bennet Grassley Roberts unsustainable budgets and surging debt
Cornyn Lee
Thune Blumenthal Hassan Romney
Cotton Loeffler
Tillis Blunt Heinrich Rosen that jeopardizes the prosperity of fu-
Cramer McConnell
Crapo McSally Toomey Boozman Hirono Rounds ture generations. We have to start seri-
Wicker Braun Hoeven Rubio ous conversation about how we are
Cruz Moran
Young Brown Hyde-Smith Sasse
Enzi Perdue
Burr Inhofe Schatz
going to pay our bills and put our fi-
Ernst Portman nances on a more sustainable path. We
Cantwell Johnson Schumer
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Capito Jones Scott (FL) can justify aggressive borrowing and
Cardin Kaine Scott (SC) spending as necessary during times of
CRUZ). On this vote, the yeas are 51, the Carper King Shaheen
nays are 49. Casey Klobuchar Shelby crisis, but that can’t be the default.
Under the previous order, the 60-vote Cassidy Lankford Sinema So far this fiscal year, we have al-
threshold having not been achieved, Collins Leahy Smith ready run up a deficit of $2.7 trillion in
Coons Lee Stabenow
the amendment is not agreed to. Cornyn Manchin Sullivan
1 year, more than triple the size of the
The Senator from Oklahoma. Cortez Masto McConnell Tester deficit we ran at the same time last
AMENDMENT NO. 2411 Cramer McSally Thune year. The Congressional Budget Office
Crapo Menendez Tillis says that we are on track to spend $3.7
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I call up Cruz Merkley Toomey
my amendment No. 2411 and ask that it Daines Moran Udall trillion more than we take in this year,
be reported by number. Duckworth Murkowski Van Hollen and that is assuming we don’t pass new
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Durbin Murphy Warner COVID legislation. By the end of the
Enzi Murray Whitehouse
clerk will report the amendment by Ernst Paul Wicker
fiscal year, our publicly held debt will
number. Feinstein Perdue Wyden exceed the size of our economy and, by
The senior assistant legislative clerk Fischer Peters Young the end of next year, debt as a percent-
read as follows: NAYS—10 age of the economy will be higher than
The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. INHOFE] Blackburn Hawley Sanders
it has ever been in our history. I have
proposes an amendment numbered 2411 to Booker Kennedy Warren a little chart here that demonstrates
amendment No. 2301. Cotton Loeffler that.
Harris Markey We have been fortunate the interest
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To impose additional conditions The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this rates on our debt are currently low,
and limitations on the transfer of Depart- vote, the yeas are 90, the nays are 10. and the government has been able to
ment of Defense property for law enforce- Under the previous order requiring 60 borrow the funds necessary to address
ment activities) votes for adoption of this amendment, the crisis caused by the pandemic. The
At the end of subtitle E of title X, insert the amendment is agreed to. dollar has remained relatively strong,
helping to keep inflation low. The U.S.
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the following: f
SEC. 1052. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS AND LIMITA- dollar remains the world’s reserve cur-
TIONS ON THE TRANSFER OF DE- RECESS rency and the safe haven for invest-
PARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROPERTY The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVI-
ments in the current time of crisis.
TIES. the previous order, the Senate stands But how long will that be the case if
(a) ADDITIONAL TRAINING OF RECIPIENT in recess until 2:15 p.m. we continue to run trillion-dollar defi-
AGENCY PERSONNEL REQUIRED.—Subsection Thereupon, the Senate, at 12:59 p.m., cits each year? Future Congresses will
(b)(6) of section 2576a of title 10, United recessed until 2:15 p.m., and reassem- not have the same flexibility to deal
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S4322 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
with their own crises if we leave them autopilot without ever being voted on will find that all of their money has
saddled with an enormous national or ever being evaluated again. Nobody been spent, and all they can do is pay
debt. They will not be able to fund new runs a business like that. Even though more taxes.
emergency programs without cutting these programs are allowed to bypass I am frustrated that we are spending
other spending or raising revenues. the annual appropriations process, billions without so much as a discus-
That is why it is so critical that we most of them don’t have any dedicated sion about how to pay for things. Yes,
get a hold of our debt and deficits once revenue to pay for the spending. And we needed a strong response to the
we emerge from this pandemic. Regard- those that do collect their own revenue COVID virus, but I am disappointed
less of what some people far outside of often spend more than they take in— that we can’t work together on respon-
the economic mainstream are saying, with no vote. It just happens. Even be- sible solutions, even modest efforts
there are constraints on how much fore the pandemic, the Congressional like a paid-for fix for our parks and
government can borrow and spend Budget Office projected that Social Se- public lands maintenance that I men-
without triggering higher interest curity spending over the next 10 years tioned would already be paid for by for-
rates or inflation. If we just start would total $15.2 trillion. But listen to eign visitors. I am dismayed that we
printing money to pay for over- this: The program’s dedicated tax reve- keep digging the hole deeper for future
spending, our country could face the nues would only cover $12.5 trillion of generations. We all owe it to them to
curse of stagflation, a combination of that—$15.2 trillion cost; $12.5 trillion do better, and I hope we start to do it
high inflation and low to no economic revenue. Medicare’s taxes and pre- soon.
growth. We haven’t had to think about miums were projected to cover only I yield the floor.
this type of devastating combination half of the program’s $12.6 trillion I suggest the absence of a quorum.
since the late seventies, and that is spending over the next 10 years. We put The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
economic history we should not repeat. the rest of it on the Nation’s credit clerk will call the roll.
Even if we have the capacity for sig- card left to be paid for by future gen- The senior assistant legislative clerk
nificant, one-time emergency spending, erations. What kind of a crisis are they proceeded to call the roll.
we should bear in mind the fact that going to have? Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I
the Federal Government doesn’t have a This chart shows again that this is ask unanimous consent that the order
good track record of reducing spending the revenue coming in for Social Secu- for the quorum call be rescinded.
after it has ratcheted it up during a rity, and this is the additional we have The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
crisis. to borrow. This is the money coming in objection, it is so ordered.
I would remind my colleagues of the from Medicare, and this is the addi- S. 4049
old adage: There is nothing so perma- tional we have to borrow. Medicaid, we Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I
nent as a temporary government pro- borrow every bit of it. The total rev- come to the floor today to speak in
gram. We are already hearing calls to enue that we receive will not cover support of Senate amendment No. 1729,
extend or make permanent many of the these deficits, so everything else that which I hope will be added today to the
temporary entitlement expansions en- we do we will have to borrow for it. National Defense Authorization Act.
acted in previous bills. If the interest rate were to go up to The goal of this amendment is to fin-
More legislation may be needed to its norm of 5 percent, we wouldn’t be ish—what I hope is to finish a public
combat the virus and help the econ- able to do defense; we wouldn’t be able health study that we began with legis-
omy, but we cannot use the crisis to to do education; we wouldn’t be able to lation in 2017 to address the contami-
justify opening the spending floodgates do anything else, infrastructure or oth- nant known as PFAS. I know the Pre-
and borrowing from future generations erwise, that we expect the Federal Gov- siding Officer knows about this because
to fund nonemergency priorities. Low ernment to do for us. We have to start she has that chemical in her State as
interest rates do not mean that govern- getting control of it. It isn’t an unlim- well.
ment spending is free or that we don’t ited source of money. We are putting it I want to begin by commending the
need to spend it wisely. on the Nation’s credit card, and the fu- work of the Armed Services Com-
The House of Representatives has ture generations will have to pay for it. mittee—both Chairman INHOFE and
passed a bill that the Congressional There are a couple of ways you can Ranking Member REED for working
Budget Office says will cost nearly $3.5 pay for it. One is to eliminate the serv- with me to establish the first ever
trillion. That is more than the cost of ices. The other one is to increase reve- human health study of PFAS and to in-
all the COVID–19 legislation we have nues. Another one, of course, is to stitute policies that will phase out the
already enacted combined. Are we to eliminate a lot of duplication that we Defense Department’s use of these
believe every penny of that is abso- have, but we don’t even have an appe- chemicals over the next several years.
lutely necessary? tite for that. We began this journey in 2017 when
A $60 billion bailout for union pen- We have over 100 housing programs. we put $10 million into a health
sions? A massive giveaway for wealthy Tell me there is no duplication in 100 study—the first of its kind in the coun-
individuals living in high-tax States? housing programs, but we don’t look at try—to look at the impacts of PFAS on
Billions in student loan forgiveness for them. Most of them are mandatory. So humans. At that time, we authorized
all borrowers, regardless of income and we can just ignore the impacts of them $10 million for 3 years. Unfortunately,
ability to pay? and the fact that we have multiple ad- because of the coronavirus pandemic, it
We should not view this crisis—a cri- ministrators doing the same job, and is taking longer to complete the study
sis that claimed over 130,000 American we don’t even know if it is effective. than we had hoped, so we are going to
lives and left millions out of work—as I have been trying for a long time need some additional funding.
an opportunity to enact things that through the Budget Committee to get a There is real urgency in addressing
have nothing to do with the pandemic. list of the programs we fund. Now, you PFAS. As many of us know, PFAS
And it is not just the lower Chamber. would think, if we are writing checks, chemicals have emerged as widespread
The Senate recently approved $17 bil- that we would have a list of programs, pollutants in the drinking water
lion in new mandatory spending for the wouldn’t you? We don’t have a list of sources of military bases across this
Land and Water Conservation Fund programs. We don’t know what we own. country. The main reason is because
and park and public lands mainte- We don’t know when it is going to wear PFAS chemicals were used in fire-
nance. We refused to consider an out. We don’t know what the cost of re- fighting foam that was used by the
amendment to even try to pay for that placement would be. All are very basic armed services.
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bill, an attempt that would have most- business decisions, but we just keep The number of military installations
ly charged foreigners visiting our sliding everything over to mandatory with known or suspected contamina-
parks. As I said, if we don’t try to pay so it has to be paid for regardless of tion from PFAS continues to rise. In
for that bill, what will we pay for? whether we have any money or not, March, DOD updated its count of mili-
We are just adding to an already long and we don’t even look at them. That tary installations impacted by these
list of unfunded mandatory spending has to change, and it has to change materials from 401 across the country
programs that we allow to operate on rapidly or our kids and our grandkids to 651—651 military installations—
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4323
which means that they are in almost blood. Michelle was exposed to the con- throughs and steady demand for this
every State in the United States, and taminated water in January of 2011 high-tech industry. Storied American
other studies have reported that this is when she started working on the base. companies like Intel, IBM, Texas In-
actually a conservative estimate. Her youngest child has attended struments, Micron, and others com-
We don’t yet know what the long- daycare at Pease since he was 12 weeks mercialized and then perfected this
term risks of exposure to PFAS are be- old, but, of course, he was exposed to technology. Brilliant American entre-
cause we are still trying to get re- contamination since conception. preneurs and engineers kick-started
search into that, but studies have al- Stories like Andrea’s, Alayna’s, and the digital revolution that shaped the
ready linked these chemicals—and Michelle’s are not limited to Ports- modern world. That was then. Today,
there are hundreds of chemicals in the mouth, sadly. Contamination from sadly, most semiconductors are not
PFAS category—to a number of ad- PFAS is not limited to military bases made in the U.S.A.
verse health effects. and airports. That is why this long- We have learned during this pan-
The potential ties between PFAS and term health study is so important, and demic how dangerous it is to rely on
various forms of cancer are of par- it is so critical that we complete it. We distant factories and overstretched
ticular concern to firefighters who may need to know what the research says supply chains that can be compromised
have experienced exposure during fire- are the dangers of PFAS. by emergencies or enemies. Well, al-
fighting and fire-training exercises. Since Congress authorized the study most three-quarters of the world’s ca-
On June 11, the Agency for Toxic in 2017, the ATSDR and Centers for Dis- pacity to make computer chips is lo-
Substances and Disease Registry, ease Control have been working to cated in just a handful of countries in
ATSDR—works as part of the Centers identify the health effects of PFAS ex- East Asia—closer to Communist China
for Disease Control—issued a state- posure, starting with the former Pease than our shores and all within range of
ment expressing concern about how airbase in Portsmouth. There are the missiles of the People’s Liberation
PFAS exposure can impact the risk of other—I believe there are seven other Army.
COVID–19 infections. Now, for all of us sites around the country that have China is investing huge sums—pos-
who have constituents who have been been designated as part of this study. sibly $150 billion—in its semiconductor
exposed to PFAS, we know this has Unfortunately, due to COVID–19, as I industry. This investment is paying
caused a lot of sleepless nights for said earlier, the agencies expect addi- off. For the first time ever, last year
countless American families both in tional costs associated with continuing China surpassed the United States in
New Hampshire and across the country the study, as well as a 1-year delay in its capacity for manufacturing ad-
who have been living and working near finalizing the results. vanced chips. China is projected to sur-
sites contaminated by these materials. I think we could all agree that fami- pass Japan and South Korea in the
In my State of New Hampshire, the lies who have been exposed to these next 2 years, which would put it behind
city of Portsmouth, which was the chemicals deserve answers. What my only Taiwan, an island just 80 miles off
home of the former Pease Air Force amendment would do is provide addi- its shore, which, I must remind you,
Base, closed a major water supply well tional funding for the PFAS health the PLA regularly trains to invade.
located at that airbase after the Air study to ensure that ATSDR and CDC We cannot allow China to dominate
Force found PFAS in the drinking can complete their work and do it production of computer chips. Doing so
water at levels 121⁄2 times higher than without delay. would be a grave threat that could
the provisional health advisory from The safety of our drinking water is allow a corrupt clique of Communists
the Environmental Protection Agency essential, and it is nonnegotiable. The to impose a high-tech tyranny on the
at that time. That number has changed potential serious health effects associ- rest of the world. That is why I am of-
since then. ated with exposure to PFAS chemicals fering a bipartisan amendment, along
Moreover, State health officials de- demand moving forward with policies with Senators CORNYN, SCHUMER, WAR-
termined that more than 1,500 people, that will protect our communities, es- NER, and others, to ensure American
including children who attended pecially our men and women in uni- leadership in computer chips in the
daycare centers near the site, have ele- form. Senate amendment 1729 would face of this Chinese threat. Our pro-
vated levels of PFAS in their blood help to do just that. posal calls for key investments in ad-
from drinking contaminated ground- Of course, this is just the beginning. vanced factories and research and de-
water at Pease. I have heard from so This gives us a baseline study to tell us velopment so that America discovers
many parents who are terrified of what what the health effects are. Once we and then produces the next generation
this contamination means for the get that study and as we continue to of semiconductor technology. It also
health of their children. move forward, we have a lot of work to requires the Department of Defense
One woman, who has been a real lead- do to ensure that PFAS—not just on and the intelligence community to
er in responding to the PFAS emer- military bases but in communities work with trusted industry partners to
gency, Andrea Amico of Portsmouth, across this country, which appear in so secure the supply chain for computers
remembers feeling like her world was many different products—that we can chips for our military and other na-
crashing down when tests showed that address that in a way that provides tional security needs.
her two children, exposed to PFAS in some sort of insurance and protection This bill is a moonshot investment,
drinking water at Pease, had elevated to families across this country so they and such investments don’t come
levels of these materials in their blood. know what they are dealing with and cheap. So I regret that the question of
She said: ‘‘[T]o actually see it on so they know they can get help. I urge funding this bill has been postponed to
paper, to know it was true, was very my colleagues to support this amend- another time, but I look forward to
devastating for me, and the wide range ment. having and winning that debate be-
of emotions I experienced with those I yield the floor. cause, make no mistake, robust sup-
results ranged from anger to fear, frus- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- port is needed to ensure the future of
tration and guilt.’’ Andrea’s children ator from Arkansas. the American semiconductor industry.
attended the childcare center—one of Mr. COTTON. The cars we drive, the At the very least, it is necessary to
the two childcare centers at Pease. planes we fly, and the smartphones we level the playing field so that Amer-
I also heard from Alayna Davis of have in our pockets are all powered by ican companies can compete against
Dover and Michelle Dalton of Durham, computer chips—or semiconductors—a the coercive, anti-competitive, and
both of whom are mothers with chil- technology that is key to modern soci-
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mercantilist policies of Communist
dren at a daycare center near the ety and that may determine whether China and others. It will provide a
former base at Portsmouth. Alayna America or China leads the world in surge of support and demand for ad-
said that she was exposed to PFAS at the decades to come. vanced technology, just as the Federal
Pease when she was pregnant with her Computer chips were, of course, pio- Government has always provided.
son. She and her husband were dev- neered in America. Cold War-era initia- We offer this amendment so that the
astated when they learned that their tives like the Apollo Program, DARPA, next digital revolution is also made in
son had high levels of PFAS in his and SEMATECH created the break- the U.S.A., not in Communist China. I
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S4324 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
urge my colleagues to support it and to competitors—the Taiwan Semicon- of PFAS substances in drinking water
support America’s continued techno- ductor Manufacturing Corporation, or sources.
logical primacy in the world. TSMC, and Samsung—provide manu- As most of you are aware, PFOS and
I yield the floor. facturing services for chips designed by PFOA are chemicals that are very ef-
I suggest the absence of a quorum. other companies. These are typically fective for extinguishing fires and have
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The so-called fabless chips companies, and been used in firefighting foam in the
clerk will call the roll. they include the names of some of our Defense Department since the 1970s.
The senior assistant legislative clerk most famous tech companies: Unfortunately, the fluorine bonds
proceeded to call the roll. Qualcomm, Xilinx, Nvidia, and Micro- never break, and environmental prob-
Mr. REED. Madam President, I ask soft. TSMC and Samsung, together, lems are presented, which are very dan-
unanimous consent that the order for have close to a monopoly on the manu- gerous to people.
the quorum call be rescinded. facturing of leading-edge semiconduc- The lifetime health advisory for
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without tors for fabless chip companies. PFAS is the equivalent of one grain of
objection, it is so ordered. Recently, there was the good news sand in an Olympic-sized swimming
Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise that Intel announced in a letter to the pool. The WHO found that these chemi-
to express my support for the Cornyn Defense Department its intent to com- cals are likely carcinogenic, especially
amendment, which would, among other pete with its Asian rivals in manufac- in children and pregnant women, and
things, authorize a Federal grant pro- turing chips designed by fabless compa- that they can decrease the effective-
gram to enable the leading global chip nies. Again, these are companies that ness of vaccines, and they are known to
companies to manufacture in the would design the chips and the elec- cause cancer in animals.
United States. tronic processor but would not produce PFAS has been found in the drinking
I want to commend a bipartisan the chips. That would be left to these water at over 650 military installations
group of Senators who have worked so other major companies. in almost every State in the United
hard on this issue: Senators COTTON, In addition, TSMC and the adminis- States and overseas. Thousands of
CORNYN, SCHUMER, and WARNER. The tration announced an agreement to Americans in many States across the
semiconductor manufacturing story is bring TSMC to America to produce United States have already found ele-
similar to many other industries in leading edge chips. It is suspected that vated levels of PFAS in their blood.
America. The United States invented Samsung can be persuaded to set up a Beginning with the fiscal year 2018
the technology and still leads in re- major manufacturing facility in the National Defense Authorization Act,
search and development, but the manu- United States, as well. the Department of Defense has been
facture of the product itself has stead- The Defense Department has two authorized to transfer funds to the CDC
ily migrated to Asia. major studies nearing completion, one for a human health study on the effects
Over time, not just the manufac- by the Defense Science Board and one of all PFAS substances in drinking
turing expertise and capacity are lost conducted in partnership with industry water sources for people. Specifically,
but also the science and engineering by the Under Secretary for Acquisi- it seeks to determine the exact types of
necessary to invent the next genera- tion, Ellen Lord. They are both ex- cancers and other toxic effects drink-
tion of products. While this has hap- pected to plead for urgent and large- ing water with PFAS has on human
pened to too many industries, the im- scale action to revive U.S. semicon- beings.
pact is particularly acute in elec- ductor manufacturing, but none of this For example, years ago, the CDC de-
tronics because electronics power the is going to happen without funding and termined precisely how much lead can
modern economy, fueling all the crit- without a plan. be ingested before cognitive impacts
ical technologies on which our future We did not lose chip manufacturing can occur in children. They can and
prosperity depend. to Asia simply due to cheap labor, es- should do the same thing with respect
Asian nations—and, in particular, pecially in the chip industry, which is to PFAS.
China, Taiwan, and South Korea—have not manpower intensive. We lost this The study should take 7 years to
for decades pursued aggressive indus- market sector because the investments complete. So this fiscal year 2021
trial policies to gain control of the required are massive and constant and NDAA will fund year 4.
electronics industry. These policies di- because foreign governments heavily The CDC study received $7 million in
rected large subsidies and protections subsidize them. fiscal year 2018, $10 million in fiscal
for fledgling companies that have now We all prefer to let markets govern year 2019, $10 million in fiscal year 2020,
become global giants. where competition is fair and mutually and there is $10 million currently in
While South Korea is an ally, and beneficial, but relentless actions by the fiscal year 2021 NDAA amendment.
Taiwan is a partner, the plants in those foreign governments to dominate spe- Senator SHAHEEN’s amendment would
countries that make the world’s most cific industries regardless of economics increase it to $15 million. It would ac-
advanced logic and memory semi- and where they succeed, like in the celerate our ability to find these crit-
conductors are highly vulnerable to semiconductor industry, must be coun- ical answers that affect the health and
disruption or destruction by China and/ tered by U.S. government action be- safety of the American people and are
or North Korea. In a confrontation in cause of the threat to our national se- particularly associated with military
this region, China could threaten to curity and prosperity. bases all across the country, which
bring the western economy to its knees While this amendment does not in- means in every one of our States.
by halting the flow of semiconductors. clude funding authorizations, it is an We all recognize the urgent need for
China itself is investing hundreds of important first step. This amendment the CDC to better understand the toxic
billions of dollars in new semicon- will serve notice that the U.S. Senate effects of PFAS chemicals on the
ductor fabrication plants in a relent- recognizes this very serious issue and human body, and supporting this
less bid to dominate this industry. In intends to take corrective action. amendment will accomplish just that.
10 years, Chinese companies may domi- I urge my colleagues to support this I urge my colleagues to support this
nate the production of the chips that amendment and to commit to finding amendment.
power 5G wireless networks, artificial funding solutions. Our economic well- Once again, I commend Senator SHA-
intelligence, cloud computing, the being and our national security depend HEEN for her work in developing this
Internet of Things, and autonomous ve- upon it. amendment with respect to PFAS, and
hicles. Madam President, I would now also I commend Senator CORNYN and his
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
In America, there is one remaining like to speak about Senator Shaheen’s colleagues for working very, very dili-
company that is globally competitive amendment, which will be considered gently and perceptively about building
in logic chips—Intel Corporation—but this afternoon, with your permission. up our industrial base in order to
Intel is at least a generation behind its I rise in support of Senator Shaheen’s produce microchips so we will be the
main competitors and historically has amendment to increase fiscal year 2021 leader in the world and not the fol-
designed and produced chips only for funding by $5 million for the ongoing lower.
its own product line. Its major global CDC human health study on the effects I suggest the absence of a quorum.
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4325
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Attorney General Bill Barr recently domestic semiconductor manufac-
clerk will call the roll. gave a speech about the challenges turing. These chips are everywhere in
The senior assistant legislative clerk posed by an increasingly powerful, almost every product. They are the un-
proceeded to call the roll. wealthy, and relentless China. It is a derlying technology in everything from
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I great speech, which I commend to you. our cell phones and towers to com-
ask unanimous consent that the order It provides an impressive overview of puters, to precision agriculture, to mis-
for the quorum call be rescinded. how the Communist Party manipulates sile defense systems.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. American businesses and industries, As you can imagine, as technologies
BLACKBURN). Without objection, it is so steals intellectual property, surveils have become more sophisticated in re-
ordered. and censors its own people, and seeks cent years, the demand for high-end
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, as to exert its power and influence in the semiconductors has skyrocketed. In
the Senate knows, this week we will United States. fact, U.S. companies command 47 per-
complete our work on the 60th Na- For those who are unfamiliar with cent of the global market of these inte-
tional Defense Authorization Act—ac- the modern relationship between the grated circuit chips. But when it comes
tually, 60 years in a row. For decades, United States and China and the risks to manufacturing, we are falling fur-
this legislation has provided the oppor- and vulnerability this creates, I highly ther and further behind.
tunity for us to take stock of the recommend reading the speech of the Since 2000, the United States has
evolving threat landscape and ensure Attorney General. In that speech, he dropped from producing roughly a
that our national defense is prepared to discusses the threats posed by the quarter of the world’s semiconductors
meet the challenges on the horizon. Communist Party’s Made in China 2025 to only 12 percent, and you need only
As technological advancements have initiative, which seeks to achieve Chi- one guess as to which country stepped
changed battlefield tactics, each year’s nese dominance in high-tech manufac- up to manufacture these critical de-
NDAA has allowed us to invest in a turing. For everything from electric vices. You guessed right. It is China.
modernized force and advanced weap- cars to advanced robotics, to artificial In the same period, China has gone
ons. As risks in cyber space emerged as intelligence, China wants to lead glob- from manufacturing zero chips to 16
a new vector for warfare, this legisla- al production. percent of the world’s supply and plans
tion has allowed us to invest in resil- While this is framed as a way to re- on investing another $1.4 trillion in
ient networks and a talented work- duce the dependence on foreign tech- semiconductor technologies.
force. nology and strengthen domestic manu- America has lost ground to our glob-
As the global order has shifted, this facturing, these ambitions paint an al competitors, and unless we take ac-
annual bill has given us the oppor- alarming picture for the United States tion, it is estimated that by 2030, 83
tunity to identify the greatest threats and our allies. percent of the global semiconductor
to our country and to take strategic As the Attorney General noted, it is manufacturing capacity will be not
action. This year’s national defense au- clear that the People’s Republic of here but in Asia.
thorization bill is no exception. It con- China seeks not merely to join the We need to bring those manufac-
tinues to invest in a modernized na- ranks of other advanced industrial turing jobs back to the United States
tional defense that is critical to main- economies but to replace them alto- and provide end-to-end security in our
taining peace through strength. gether. semiconductor supply chain.
That is something we need to remem- Before any piece of technology be- Of course, that is much easier said
ber, which Ronald Reagan taught all of comes usable for its audience, it in- than done. Building a new foundry,
us. Weakness is provocative. Bullies cludes parts, pieces, and materials that which is where these semiconductors
look for opportunities to take advan- come from, literally, all over the are manufactured, is very expensive
tage of weakness. It is strength in our world. Regardless of where that final and, quite frankly, will not happen
leadership, particularly with our mili- product is assembled and packaged, without an investment from the Fed-
tary, that helps us maintain the peace. each of those individual pieces are the eral Government. The Organization for
This bill also devotes resources to re- key to protecting the supply chain that Economic Cooperation and Develop-
gain our competitive advantage over creates our most valuable assets. ment estimates that 21 major semicon-
our greatest opponents to freedom and If the COVID–19 virus taught us any- ductor firms across a number of coun-
democracy today, including China and thing, it has given us a clear picture of tries receive more than $50 billion in
the Communist Party. In my lifetime, how vulnerable our unsecured supply government support between 2014 and
China has gone from a poor and iso- chains are. We lean heavily on China— 2018.
lated country to now accounting for too heavily—for things like masks, Some of these countries investing in
nearly 20 percent of the global gross gloves, gowns, ventilators—all the manufacturing of these technologies
domestic product. But China’s eco- equipment for which the need was sky- were South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan,
nomic muscle isn’t the reason it tops rocketing earlier this year. Ireland, Germany, and, you guessed it,
America’s watch list. The Chinese As a result of the fact that the world China. If we are going to regain lost
Communist Party’s ruling strategy can was dependent on China to produce this ground in semiconductor manufac-
best be described as ‘‘win at all costs,’’ critical equipment, hospitals reached turing and secure one of our most crit-
and, sadly, the victims of that strategy dangerously low levels of personal pro- ical supply chains, it is going to take a
are often the Chinese people them- tective equipment. In the meantime, strategic investment, and that is ex-
selves. China refused to disclose to the rest of actly where the CHIPS for America Act
On the Senate floor yesterday, I the world that the virus had indeed will deliver.
spoke about some of the latest human broken out in its country so that it Senator WARNER, the distinguished
rights violations by the Communist could, in fact, hoard the personal pro- Democratic Senator from Virginia, and
Party in China—their recent move to tective equipment they knew the rest I have introduced legislation to restore
erode the freedoms and autonomy of of the world would need. American leadership in semiconductor
Hong Kong, their efforts to silence and As a result of the lack of a secure manufacturing and ensure long-term
punish protesters who dare to speak supply chain, healthcare workers were national security and economic com-
out against the Chinese Communist using a single mask throughout an en- petitiveness. We worked hand in hand
Party, their ongoing ethnic cleansing tire shift, putting both themselves and with our colleagues, Senator COTTON
campaign targeted at the Uighur peo- patients at risk. This has been a wake- from Arkansas and Senator SCHUMER
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ple. up call—or should have been a wake-up from New York, in drafting the amend-
China continues to demonstrate a call—on supply chain vulnerabilities ment before the Senate that we will
complete lack of respect for basic and a reminder that we need to take vote on this evening. It is truly a bi-
human rights and dignities, and I re- action today to secure our supply partisan product.
main concerned by the growing threat chains for tomorrow. It achieves that goal by creating a
they pose to the world order, including One of the biggest of these vulnera- Federal incentive program through the
the United States of America. bilities we are facing today is a lack of Department of Commerce to encourage
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S4326 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
semiconductor manufacturing right As anyone who had ever met John Senator LEAHY is reintroducing the
here in the good old USA. In short, it knows, he was incredibly kind. He was bill in the Senate as the John R. Lewis
would stimulate domestic advanced a man who had seen so much of our Na- Voting Rights Act of 2020. I am proud
semiconductor manufacturing and tion’s history and written so much of to be a cosponsor of this important
boost both our national security and our Nation’s history, and yet he still bill. It is time to pass it and get it
global competitiveness. It will enable treated everybody with dignity and re- signed into law in Congressman Lewis’s
us to bring manufacturing of these spect. I have been honored to serve honor.
critical devices back onto American alongside him in the House and to be- At the 55th anniversary of Selma in
soil and eliminate this critical na- come his friend. March, John reminded us what is at
tional security and economic vulnera- He was so supportive of me when I stake. He said this:
bility. decided to run for the U.S. Senate. In We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I
As I mentioned, these chips are lit- fact, I will never forget how knowing thought I was going to die on this bridge.
erally everywhere. Many of you have that he believed in me helped give me But somehow and some way, God almighty
them in your pockets right now or on the courage to jump into a race against helped me here.
your wrists. Semiconductors are the an incumbent Senator. He added this:
foundational technology for our mili- I am grieving the loss of my friend. I’m not going to give up. I’m not going to
tary systems, our critical infrastruc- I am also determined. Congressman give in. We’re going to continue to fight. . . .
ture, our telecommunications, Lewis dedicated his entire life to the We must use the vote as a nonviolent instru-
healthcare, agriculture, and manufac- fight for justice and equality. I am de- ment or tool to redeem the soul of America.
turing. We want these devices to run termined to do everything I can to do I have seen the soul of America, and
on made-in-America semiconductors. my part to ensure that his life’s work that soul looks a lot like my friend,
As we conclude our work on the Na- continues. John Lewis. I urge us to take up the
tional defense authorization bill, I am John Lewis came from very humble Voting Rights Act in John’s name and
glad the Senate has the opportunity to beginnings. He was one of 10 children of to pass it as soon as possible and en-
Willie Mae and Eddie Lewis, who sure that his legacy lives on.
vote on this legislation as an amend-
worked as sharecroppers. Making a liv- I yield the floor.
ment. I am grateful to the chairman of
ing off the land has always been hard, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
the Armed Services Committee, Chair-
but it was even harder in the 1940s in The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
man INHOFE, and Ranking Member
the Deep South, where racism and dis- clerk will call the roll.
REED for making sure that happens.
crimination were as relentless as the The legislative clerk proceeded to
This legislation supports a critical goal
Alabama Sun. call the roll.
of the National Defense Authorization Faith in God was essential, and John
Act and our national defense strategy, Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask
had that faith in abundance. As a child, unanimous consent that the order for
which is strategic competition with he wanted to be a preacher, and he cer-
China. That is where we are right now. the quorum call be rescinded.
tainly could have been. From reading The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
It prioritizes advancements in the Bible verses to the family chickens as
critical technologies that will mod- objection, it is so ordered.
a child to speaking alongside Dr. King UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—H.R. 1044
ernize our national defense and restore at the March on Washington at just 23
our competitive edge, all while allow- Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, a
years old, to his message at the 55th
ing us to secure our most critical sup- few steps from the Senate Chamber, at
anniversary of Selma earlier this year,
ply chains. my whip’s office, on the credenza be-
John had a preacher’s ability to inspire
I hope our colleagues will all join me hind my desk, is a framed government
all of us.
in supporting this legislation so that Like a preacher, John knew that document. It is my mother’s natu-
we can reclaim American leadership in words alone aren’t enough. When words ralization certificate. She was an im-
semiconductor manufacturing, so we come from the pulpit on Sunday and migrant to this country. She was
can support American jobs, and so we then they show up on the street on brought here at the age of 2 from Lith-
can invest in both a strong national se- Tuesday, that is when the change real- uania. She lived long enough to see me
curity and our economy. ly happens. John Lewis certainly being sworn in to the U.S. Senate. I am
AMENDMENT NO. 2244 showed up over and over and over proud of the fact that I stand here
(Purpose: To restore American lead- again. He sat down at lunch counters. today as the son of an immigrant. That
ership in semiconductor manufacturing He sat in the front of buses. He spent is my story. It is my family’s story. It
by increasing federal incentives in his 21st birthday in jail after blocking is America’s story.
order to enable advanced research and the entrance to a theater that refused I believe immigration has made
development, secure the supply chain, to sell tickets to people who look like America the Nation that it is today.
and ensure long-term national security him. Immigrants are an integral part of our
and economic competitiveness.) He was arrested more than 40 times, economy, our culture, and our soul.
Madam President, I call up my beaten by Klansmen, and nearly killed In the midst of this deadly
amendment No. 2244 and ask that it be marching across the Edmund Pettus coronavirus pandemic, we should never
read. Bridge. forget that 1 in 6 healthcare and social
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The He never stopped showing up and service workers—that is 3.1 million
clerk will read the amendment. causing ‘‘good trouble.’’ Just 6 weeks people out of 18.7 million—is an immi-
The legislative clerk read as follows: before he died, he stopped by the Black grant. They risk their lives every day
The Senator from Texas [Mr. CORNYN], for Lives Matter Plaza here in Wash- in the midst of this pandemic for the
himself and others, proposes an amendment ington, DC. It was the last time he was good of this Nation. Immigrants are
numbered 2244. seen in public. playing this critical role in the battle
(The amendment is printed in today’s Time and again, John Lewis put his against COVID–19. Yet our broken im-
RECORD under ‘‘Text of Amendments.’’) life on the line in order to protect peo- migration laws do not allow many of
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ple’s fundamental rights, including the them to fulfill their dreams of finally
yield the floor. right to vote. John knew that words becoming Americans.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- alone can never be enough, and we have Thousands of immigrant workers, in-
ator from Michigan. to be willing to take action. cluding many health workers, are suf-
Late last year, the House passed the fering because of a serious problem in
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS
Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I Voting Rights Advancement Act. It our immigration system—the green
rise today with deep sorrow and strong would restore section 5 of the Voting card backlog. What is a green card? A
determination. Rights Act that was overturned by the green card is our immigration ticket. If
I am feeling deep sorrow over the loss Supreme Court in 2013. For 228 days, you are here as a temporary worker, a
of one of our Nation’s great moral lead- this important bill has been gathering green card or legal permanent resident
ers and a dear friend of mine, Congress- dust on Leader MCCONNELL’s desk—228 status allows you to remain in the
man John Lewis. days of inaction. United States without having fear of
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4327
deportation and to be on a path toward ment visas] would increase from an esti- nies—Microsoft, Google—that hire top-
permanent citizenship in the United mated 915,497 individuals currently to an es- notch professionals at top dollar when
States. timated 2,195,795 individuals by FY2030. no American is available. That is how
Green cards are critical in the lives These outcomes would occur whether or not
the program was supposed to work, but
S. 386 is enacted [and here are the operative
of so many who are here on temporary words] because the bill maintains the cur- the reality is different. In fact, the top
and work visas. The backlog in this rent limit on the number of green cards recipients of H–1B visas are outsourc-
system puts families at risk of losing issued. ing companies that use loopholes in the
their immigration status, as they wait That is the bottom line. If you don’t law to exploit immigrant workers and
year after weary year to finally make change the number of green cards and even offshore American jobs.
it through this green card backlog, and In the most recent year for which
5 million people are in the queue, wait-
it stops their ability, many times, to data is available, 8 of the top 10 recipi-
ing for 140,000 employment green cards
participate in the fight against COVID– ents of new H–1B visas were outsourc-
and 226,000 family green cards, you un-
19 and to work toward building our ing companies. The vice president of
derstand the math.
economy. one of them, Tata—one of the leading
Despite my concerns that S. 386
Under the current law, there are not firms—candidly acknowledged that it
would not work as intended, I agreed to
nearly enough immigrant visas—also uses H–1Bs to exploit immigrant work-
sit down with Senator LEE and work in
known as green cards—available each ers.
good faith to resolve our differences. He said:
year. The current numbers for 140,000 Last December, we reached an agree-
EB immigrant visas were established in Our wage per employee is 20–25 percent
ment on an amendment to his bill that lesser than the U.S. wage for a similar em-
1990—30 years ago. The American econ- addressed many of these concerns. ployee. . . . The issue is that of getting
omy has doubled, but the number of I want to be clear. This amendment workers in the U.S. on wages far lower than
green cards has remained the same. As was far from perfect and not what I local wage.
a result, immigrants are stuck in a would have written. The biggest prob- It is important to understand that
crippling backlog year after year after lem is that it still does not increase the vast majority of immigrant work-
year. Close to 5 million future Ameri- the number of green cards. As a result, ers in the backlog in the United States
cans are in line, waiting for these green it would not eliminate the backlog. is on an H–1B temporary work visa. So
cards. Many are working in the United But it has made a substantial improve- if we want to stop the future exploi-
States on temporary visas while many ment to his original bill. tation of immigrant workers and the
are waiting overseas and are separated Here is how it reads: displacement of American workers, we
from their families. Only 226,000 family It protects immigrants and their families have to stop the abuse of H–1B visas.
green cards and 140,000 employment who are stuck in the backlog. Immigrant Back in December, I asked my Demo-
green cards are available each year. workers and their immediate family mem- cratic colleagues to support this bipar-
The backlogs are a real hardship on bers would be allowed to ‘‘early file’’ [a pro- tisan agreement that Senator LEE and
these families who are caught in this vision that Senator LEE suggested and I ac- I reached. They all agreed. I told Sen-
immigration limbo. For example, the cepted] for their green cards. They would not ator LEE that I wanted to move imme-
children in many of these families age receive their green cards early, but they
would be able to switch jobs and travel with-
diately to solve this problem. There
out and face deportation. How does this were so many people whose lives were
out losing immigration status.
happen? Well, those applying for the tied up in this debate. However, Sen-
green cards also list their spouses and I thought that was fair. Early filing
ator LEE asked me for more time to
children. If they have to wait a long pe- adds a critical protection that was not
discuss it with his colleagues. I agreed.
riod of time and the children reach the in the original Lee S. 386. It prevents In March, 3 months later, Senator
age of 21, they are no longer protected the children of immigrant workers LEE told me he wanted to make signifi-
by the parent’s efforts to obtain the from aging out of green card eligibility cant changes in the agreement, and he
green cards, and they can be deported so that they will not face deportation said that without these changes he
at any time. For many children who while they are waiting for green cards. could no longer support it.
age out and face deportation as they Our agreement also included a green Some of the changes were made at
reach the age of 21, it is a family dis- card set-aside for immigrant workers the request of the Trump administra-
aster. who were stuck in the backlog over- tion, which I will note is not exactly
The solution to this green card back- seas. The amendment would reserve the most reliable or objective source
log is eminently clear to anyone who 4,600 green cards on an annual basis for on advice on immigration. Let me
looks at it: Increase the number of immigrant workers who would not be briefly explain the changes Senator
green cards. The number that might eligible for early filing because they LEE demanded.
have made sense 30 years ago makes no would be outside the United States. The original version of Senator LEE’s
sense today. This number is based on the approxi- bill provides that no individual who
The senior Senator from Utah, Sen- mate number of people who apply for had already been approved for a green
ator LEE, with whom I have worked on employment green cards from overseas card would receive the green card at a
previous legislation, has introduced S. each year. later time than they otherwise would
386, known as the Fairness for High- Finally, our agreement would crack have. This provision, known as a hold
Skilled Immigrants Act, to address down on the abuse of H–1B temporary harmless clause, is a critical protec-
this issue. I have a basic concern with work visas. I thought this was going to tion that assures immigrants who have
this bill, and I have told Senator LEE. be an easy provision. It has turned out been waiting years, patiently, in line
S. 386 adds no additional green cards, to be the real problem in this bill, and that nothing we do on the floor will
and without additional green cards, S. let me tell you why. The amendment change the number of years they have
386 will not reduce the backlog or the prohibits companies from hiring addi- to wait—perhaps improve them but not
wait. tional H–1B workers if the companies’ make them worse.
Here is what the Congressional Re- workforces have more than 50 employ- Now, at the request of the Trump ad-
search Service says about Senator ees and if more than 50 percent are ministration, Senator LEE wants to de-
LEE’s legislation. To all of those fol- temporary workers. This 50–50 rule is lete this hold harmless provision which
lowing this debate, don’t take my word from the bipartisan H–1B reform bill was in his original bill. That would
for it; read the Congressional Research that I offered with Senator GRASSLEY, jeopardize many people who are inno-
Republican of Iowa. This provision was
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Service’s study that was released on cently waiting patiently for their op-
March 26, 2020, entitled the ‘‘Employ- included in the comprehensive immi- portunity.
ment-Based Immigration Backlog.’’ gration reform bill, which I voted for Second, Senator LEE wants to delay
What does it write about Senator LEE’s and which passed in the Senate. Sen- for 3 years the effective date of the 50–
bill? It writes: ator LEE has said, ‘‘This is a common- 50 rule to crack down on outsourcing
S. 386 would not reduce future backlogs sense reform to root out abuse.’’ companies.
compared to current law. . . . The total When most people think of the H–1B Why on Earth would we give compa-
backlog for all three categories [of employ- visa, they think of well-known compa- nies that are outsourcing American
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S4328 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
jobs and exploiting immigrant workers discrete pieces of legislation, trying to that agreement—I made absolutely
a free pass for 3 more years? fix immigration. Immigration is a big abundantly clear we still needed to get
Third, at the request of the Trump issue. It is a contentious issue. It is an technical input, and we still needed to
administration, Senator LEE wanted to issue as to which, to put it mildly, get the input of cosponsors of the legis-
make two changes that would allow there is not always bipartisan con- lation.
early filing for people who are stuck in sensus. It is one of the areas that I But out of consideration for the Sen-
the green card backlog. He would delay have concluded remains open and pos- ator and a lot of the political heat you
early filing for 1 year—1 more year for sible for bipartisan agreement, is on were taking at the time, I agreed, with
children to age out; 1 more year for taking discrete, individual problem that understanding, to go to the floor
them to wait. Why? areas within our immigration code and and announce that we had reached an
That means that any children who updating them and modernizing them. agreement in principle.
age out in the meantime lose their So what we are talking here today I have honored every single piece of
chance for a green card and will be sub- about is a bill that I have long cham- that agreement in principle, and I
ject to deportation. pioned, the Fairness for High-Skilled strongly resent your suggestion to the
He would also require that immi- Immigrants Act. My sole purpose for contrary—every single piece of it.
grant workers could only ‘‘early file’’ championing that legislation—frankly, There is not one substantive piece of
after their green card petition had been at great personal expense to myself, at this as to which I have changed—not
approved for 2 years—a 2-year delay on great political expense—was to bring one of them, not the 50–50 rule, not the
top of a 3-year delay. Any children who some equity to a system that unduly 4,600 set-aside, not the early filing.
had aged out during this new 2-year burdens some immigrants based on The changes that we made were in re-
waiting period would not be protected their country of origin and based, spe- sponse to the technical assistance re-
and would also be subject to deporta- cifically, on the arbitrary factor of the quest that we made to USCIS and a
tion. population of the nation of origin of couple from the State Department.
Why is Senator LEE—or at least the immigrant in question. They had almost entirely to do with
those in the Trump administration ad- There has been a lot of misinforma- what was feasible, what was adminis-
vising him—so afraid that these chil- tion at both ends of the political spec- tratively possible to implement the
dren might have a future in America? trum, at every point in between, about legislation. After all, we don’t want to
When we met in March, I told Sen- this legislation. It has been attacked enact legislation that cannot be imple-
ator LEE these changes were not ac- from the right, from the left, from ev- mented without compromising the
ceptable. It has now been 7 months erywhere else. A lot of people claim other responsibilities that that agency
since Senator LEE and I reached our falsely that it would change the total has.
original agreement and more than 4 number of green cards available. It So after seeking this feedback, we
wouldn’t, as Senator DURBIN just ac- understood that the language, as writ-
months since we met in March. Immi-
knowledged. That is one of the few ten, was, in some respects, technically
grants who are stuck in the backlog
things that he said just now with which not feasible for USCIS to implement as
and their children have waited long
I think I can agree. we had written it. But, here again, I
enough.
But over the years, we have had a told him: We inevitably will have to
I am now going to ask unanimous
number of Senators objecting to this make some modifications based on the
consent on my agreement with Senator
for different reasons. Every time we re- feasibility of this.
LEE from December 2019—the Fairness So I went back to Senator DURBIN,
solve one objection—sometimes we will
for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, as and in light of the USCIS comments
resolve two objections, and then one
amended by the Lee substitute amend- and the response to our request for
other will pop up. Then we will resolve
ment. technical assistance from USCIS, we
that one, and three others will pop up.
Madam President, I ask unanimous made some changes. I went back to
We have been doing this for years and
consent that the Committee on the Ju- Senator DURBIN. My recollection is
years, and I have worked in good faith
diciary be discharged from further con- that it was in February. You say
with colleagues on both sides of the
sideration of H.R. 1044, Fairness for March. I believe it was February. But
aisle in order to resolve those concerns.
High-Skilled Immigrants Act, and the Now, most recently, Senator DURBIN regardless, I came back to you, and I
Senate proceed to its immediate con- objected to it. Just as I have with each told you: We are honoring the agree-
sideration; further, that the Lee objector before him, I worked with ment. We are going to have to delay
amendment at the desk be agreed to, Senator DURBIN last fall in order to re- the implementation of some of it so as
the bill, as amended, be considered solve some of his concerns with the leg- to make it technically feasible.
read a third time and passed, and that islation. Some of these provisions were modi-
the motion to reconsider be considered In December, as he states, we came fied somewhat as to the timing of their
made and laid upon the table. to an agreement. We came to an agree- implementation, but we honored the
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there ment on a way that we could move for- spirit and the letter of our agreement.
objection? ward. We set some objectives, and he And yet, when we presented these
The Senator from Utah. accurately characterized many of those changes to Senator DURBIN, he flatout
Mr. LEE. Madam President, reserv- objectives. What I told Senator DURBIN rejected them, almost without any dis-
ing the right to object, I am a little at the time was that I was reluctant to cussion at all and almost without any
flabbergasted at this moment, when I announce that publicly because we discussion about how these materially
find myself in a rare circumstance of hadn’t yet made or received a request departed from the agreement we had
disagreeing with literally every word or a response to our request for tech- reached in December in good faith that
uttered by my colleague, the senior nical assistance and input from the af- we announced the existence of on the
Senator from Illinois. He is my friend. fected agencies—most importantly, Senate floor, against my better judg-
He and I have worked together on a from the State Department and from ment, out of the goodness of my heart,
number of issues—criminal justice re- USCIS. given the amount of political pressure
form, protecting the civil liberties of At the time, Senator DURBIN re- Senator DURBIN was getting on this.
Americans when it comes to domestic quested that we go to the floor; that we And he refused, at that point, to con-
surveillance, all kinds of things on the introduce it. I, reluctantly, and per- tinue negotiations.
Judiciary Committee. haps against my better judgment, This, by the way, was after months
I disagree with nearly every single
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agreed to do that, in part based on the and months of trying to get him to ne-
word, every syllable he just uttered. I fact that Senator DURBIN was taking a gotiate; months and months of trying
find myself wondering whether we ex- lot of heat at the time. People were to get him to the table that we
perienced alternate universes in recent saying that he was opposed to the idea reached, finally, in December.
months. categorically, and I wanted to work So I find it astounding. If the Sen-
I have worked nearly the entire time with him in good faith to do it. ator is, once again, feeling the political
I have been in the U.S. Senate on this At the time we had that discussion— expediency to do so, I am happy to con-
issue—for years, nearly 91⁄2 years, on at the time the Senator and I made tinue these discussions with him, but
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4329
don’t come here and suggest falsely, as anyone who has been waiting patiently The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
he just has, that I have materially de- for a green card. Why would the Sen- objection?
parted from the agreement we reached ator jeopardize anyone and make them Mr. LEE. I object.
because I did not. wait even longer for a green card? That The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
Now, I hope that he is as willing as I was one of the modifications he sug- tion is heard.
am to allow businesses a window of gested. Mr. LEE. Madam President, I with-
time to come into compliance with the The two other modifications the Sen- draw my objection.
new 50–50 rule so that we don’t unnec- ator suggested delayed protection for The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob-
essarily burden the H1–B workers who children that left them subject to de- jection is withdrawn.
are already here. That is what my portation for 2 to 3 years. Why would Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am
changes do, is make it so we don’t un- we do that? We both agree that is a ter- sorry we were unable to reach an
duly burden those. rible outcome. That was one of his agreement today.
I hope the Senator is as willing as I modifications as well. The proposal which I am about to
am to extend the transition period be- As far as the 50–50 rule, listen, I be- make, called the Protect Children of
fore the per-country caps are fully lift- lieve that is what is driving this con- Immigrant Workers Act, simply en-
ed to allow immigrants from around versation. These outsourcing compa- sures that children will not age out in
the world the opportunity to ease into nies make a bundle of money, and this process.
the process. there are people who want to keep How many times do parents come to
I hope he is willing, as I am, to tack- them in business and making money, me with tears in their eyes saying:
le one major immigration problem at a even at the expense of American work- Don’t hurt my child.
time in the hope of improving the con- ers, and I think that is wrong. I really Here is our chance, as we work out
dition of immigrants in our country do. all the other issues, to take care of this
without insisting on poison pills. I can’t believe that that is what is one provision. It would not increase
If there is one thing we have learned really going to stop us now at this the number of green cards. It does not
about immigration reform in recent point, to try to protect these outsourc- get into the other issues we have de-
years is that if you try to reform ev- ing companies for 3 years before this bated. I ask the Senator to please, for
erything at once, you will guarantee provision affects them. the sake of these children, give them
the failure of the bill. I hope that is not As far as what we can do here today, the protections, and let us continue to
what you are trying to do here, but I think what I am going to offer next is try and negotiate the other provisions.
that is the effect it has when you try to going to be the simplest thing we can I ask unanimous consent that the
add in other extraneous points. achieve and maybe more at a later Senate proceed to the immediate con-
Never, by the way, was there ever a date. But let us protect the children. sideration of my bill, the Protect Chil-
discussion about increasing the total That is the next thing I am going to dren of Immigrant Workers Act, which
number of visas in this. That was never offer. is at the desk; that the bill be consid-
the objective. I never hinted at that. Let us protect the children and make ered read three times and passed; and
You acknowledged that in every one of sure that as they are waiting in line, that the motion to reconsider be con-
our discussions. they can’t age out and be deported. sidered made and laid upon the table
If you are interested in these prin- That is not an unreasonable request. with no intervening action or debate.
ciples, as I am, we should be able to So I am going to refuse to agree to The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
find a path forward because all of these the modification, but I will offer pro- BOOZMAN). Is there objection?
changes—all the changes we made to tection for the children next, and I The Senator from Utah.
our agreement—were simply made out hope—let’s agree on that today and Mr. LEE. Mr. President, reserving
of expediency in order to be able to en- continue the rest of the discussion be- the right to object, it should have been
sure that the legislation could, in fact, yond. brought forward. We would have loved
move forward; that it was feasible to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there to have considered it. I haven’t seen it
implement; that it could resolve the objection to the original request? yet. My staff saw it for the first time
concerns that you expressed to me and Mr. LEE. Madam President, reserv- earlier today. I would love to have a
could do so in a manner to ensure the ing the right to object, look, the hold look at it.
best possible outcome. harmless issue was taken care of with This is something that could have
If Senator DURBIN can agree on these the 3- to 9-year transition. That is why been brought up at any moment in the
changes, we can pass this legislation. we made the 3- to 9-year transition, last six or seven months, or the last
We can pass it not just today, we can was to take care of the hold harmless year. I would be happy to look at it
pass it right now, this very moment. I provision. now, but I can’t agree to pass some-
call on him to do so. Now, if the Senator wants to nego- thing that I have not seen. So, there-
If the Senator feels he can work with tiate the terms of that, we can talk fore, I object.
these changes, I am happy to do that as about that right now. We can resolve The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
well. that right now. But make no mistake, tion is heard.
As I said in February, my door is the Senator is fundamentally changing Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the
open, and I am always willing to talk and altering the terms of what we interest of the moment, I cannot offer
about these things with the Senator if agreed to, and he is accusing me of, my third amendment, but I will say
he is willing to work with me. fundamentally, materially, changing this: It will be back. This is a chance to
So I ask that the Senator modify his the terms of the agreement, when all I do something for the children. It is
request to withdraw the amendment at have done is what we agreed to in De- very simple. You know what it is. Let’s
the desk and include my new amend- cember. do this.
ment, which is at the desk, the amend- What the Senator is suggesting here The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ment be considered and agreed to, the is a deviation from what is possible. I ator from Utah is recognized.
bill, as amended, be considered read a can’t agree to what is not possible, to Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I could not
third time and passed, and that the what contravenes what USCIS has said agree more. We should do this. I could
motion to reconsider be considered it is capable of implementing. On that not agree more that we need to elimi-
made and laid upon the table. basis, I object. nate the outdated, outmoded Elvis
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- Presley era immigration provision that
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
Senator so modify his request? tion is heard. discriminates against individuals on
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, re- Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I the basis of their country of origin, on
serving the right to object, let me say have a few minutes more to close this the basis of the population of the coun-
to Senator LEE, the changes he came debate. I ask forbearance of those who try in which they were born.
back with were significant. are prepared for the 4 p.m. vote. I ask There are reasons why immigration
Removing the hold harmless provi- unanimous consent to speak for 10 ad- policy is a contentious one. There were
sion, to me, is fundamentally unfair to ditional minutes. reasons why previous efforts have
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S4330 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
failed, and it always has to do with the SAG 421, Servicewide Transportation is here- Under the previous order requiring 60
fact that people tend to pile on. They by reduced by $5,000,000. votes for the adoption of the amend-
get desperate. It is hard for us to re- (b) INCREASE IN TRANSFER AUTHORITY.— ment, the amendment is agreed to.
Section 316(a)(2)(B)(ii) of the National De- The Senator from Oklahoma.
form the immigration code. When fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018
somebody suggests 1 reform, others (Public Law 115–91; 131 Stat. 1350), as amend- S. 4049
suggest 10 more, and, before long, it ed by section 315(a) of the John S. McCain Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, right
chokes the horse. You can’t move for- National Defense Authorization Act for Fis- now, we are in the middle of what I
ward with it. cal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 132 Stat. have referred to several times as what
This one is focused on a very simple 1713), is amended by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ I consider to be the most significant
concept, that regardless of how many and inserting ‘‘$15,000,000’’. bill of the year, the National Defense
visas we issue, regardless of how many The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Authorization Act—one that you can
green cards we issue, there are a lot of the previous order, the question is on almost be sure will pass. This will be
ways to allocate the number that we agreeing to the amendment. the 60th consecutive year it has passed.
have. Let’s start with the number we Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask That is a pretty good indication it is
have and figure out whatever reasons unanimous consent that the 60-affirma- going to pass.
ought to influence that decision. tive vote threshold with respect to the That comes with problems, however.
Among them should not be the country Shaheen amendment No. 1729 be viti- People know that a bill is going to
in which you were born. ated. pass, so you get a lot of pieces of legis-
Imagine two hypothetical would-be The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there lation that had not been able to get
employment-based green card recipi- objection? passed, and it may be a whole year, and
ents who are otherwise eligible. Immi- Without objection, it is so ordered. it becomes a part of this bill. It is more
grant A and B are identical in all re- Mr. INHOFE. For the information of than just the Defense authorization
spects—in their employment qualifica- all Senators, it is my understanding bill, but it is the most significant one.
tions, their education, proficiency in that we should be able to adopt the Before we even came to the floor, we
English, and every meaningful char- amendment by voice vote. did something that we have been work-
acteristic except one. Immigrant A The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ing on now—at least I know person-
happens to be born in Luxembourg and question is on agreeing to the amend- ally—for 4 years, and that is to put
immigrant B happens to have been ment. ourselves in a position where just in
born in India. Because India has a large The amendment (No. 1729) was agreed case we find ourselves where we can’t
population and Luxembourg has a to. get amendments—all it takes is one
small population, the immigrant from VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2244 person to object, and there will be no
India is going to be discriminated The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendments if this happens. We de-
against. question is on agreeing to the amend- cided to go ahead and put this bill to-
It is senseless and based on a bygone ment. gether and do it in such a way that the
era in which immigration policy didn’t Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask for Members are actually drafting the bill.
make sense by today’s standards. We the yeas and nays. We have 700 Member items.
ought to be able to get around that. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a You might remember that back in
I agree with Mr. DURBIN that we sufficient second? January, we started talking about this,
should pass this right now. There is no There appears to be a sufficient sec- saying: If you want to have an amend-
reason not to. ond. ment in the Defense authorization bill,
I yield the floor. The clerk will call the roll. even though it is not going to become
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The bill clerk called the roll. effective until a year from December,
ator from Oklahoma. The result was announced—yeas 96, you better get down there and do it be-
AMENDMENT NO. 1729 nays 4, as follows: cause now is the time you can get that
Mr. INHOFE. I call up amendment [Rollcall Vote No. 134 Leg.] done. Well, we ended up with 700 Mem-
No. 1729 and ask that it be reported by YEAS—96 ber items, and that was before we even
number. Alexander Fischer Perdue got to the floor, and then more were
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Baldwin Gardner Peters added. We added another 140 amend-
clerk will report. Barrasso Gillibrand Portman ments after that.
Bennet Graham Reed
The bill clerk read as follows: Blackburn Grassley Risch
You can say that this bill was passed
The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. INHOFE] Blumenthal Harris Roberts by you—I am talking about the Mem-
proposes an amendment numbered 1729 to Blunt Hassan Romney bers, Democrats and Republicans—in
amendment No. 2301. Booker Hawley Rosen the Chamber because these items all
Boozman Heinrich Rounds
The amendment is as follows: Braun Hirono Rubio came out of it. We didn’t do it the way
(Purpose: To increase funding for the study Brown Hoeven Sanders it used to be done. We kind of eased
by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- Burr Hyde-Smith Sasse into this, but it has worked very well.
Cantwell Inhofe Schatz
vention relating to perfluoroalkyl and
Capito Johnson Schumer
I commend Liz and John for the work
polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination Cardin Jones Scott (FL) they do in holding everyone together in
in drinking water) Carper Kaine Scott (SC) making this a reality.
At the end of subtitle B of title III, add the Casey Kennedy Shaheen Where we are right now is, we have
following: Cassidy King Sinema
Collins Klobuchar Smith
had a lot of our Members coming to the
SEC. 3lll. INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR STUDY floor. My staff and I are continuing to
BY CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL Coons Lankford Stabenow
AND PREVENTION RELATING TO Cornyn Leahy Sullivan work on the inclusion of additional
PERFLUOROALKYL AND Cortez Masto Loeffler Tester amendments. If you will recall, 2 weeks
POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCE Cotton Manchin Thune
Cramer Markey Tillis ago, when we took a break for the
CONTAMINATION IN DRINKING
WATER. Crapo McConnell Udall Fourth of July, we agreed upon some
(a) IN GENERAL.—
Cruz McSally Van Hollen legislation, some amendments that
Daines Menendez Warner
(1) INCREASE.—The amount authorized to Duckworth Merkley Warren
would be a part of this. They are all
be appropriated by this Act for fiscal year Durbin Moran Whitehouse structured right now. We have already
2021 for Operation and Maintenance, Defense Enzi Murkowski Wicker passed two—actually, passed four
Wide for SAG 4GTN for the study by the Cen- Ernst Murphy Wyden today. We have another bunch of
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ters for Disease Control and Prevention Feinstein Murray Young
amendments, including a managers’
under section 316(a)(2)(B)(ii) of the National NAYS—4 package. It was hotlined today, just
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year Lee Shelby today. We don’t have the results of
2018 (Public Law 115–91; 131 Stat. 1350) is Paul Toomey
hereby increased by $5,000,000. that yet. People may have objected to
(2) OFFSET.—The amount authorized to be The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. CAS- it, and I am just not aware—appar-
appropriated by this Act for fiscal year 2021 SIDY). On this vote, the yeas are 96, the ently, there have been some objections.
for Operation and Maintenance, Army for nays are 4. I don’t know what the count is. We will
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4331
keep trying to get as many amend- Anyway, this has happened. As a re- Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was
ments as possible. My experience is sult of this, we have had really great putting something together where he
that this means we are nearing the end benefits. I bring this up now because— was going around and reevaluating our
of the road. put the Johnson family up. This is a troop and asset distribution around the
I would have to say this about my family in Oklahoma. It is the Johnson world. I disagree with some of the
partner in this effort—he has been my family, Charlie Johnson. He has several things he came up with.
partner for a number of years, JACK brothers, and he has a son named An- Africa, for example, is an area where
REED, on the minority side. We have drew. They are in the tree business. they are starting to have some very se-
both worked hand in glove in trying to They find people who want to get rid of rious problems. If anything, it is going
get as many amendments as possible, dead trees, unwanted trees, and they to end up taking more activity. Along
and we have set a record this year with get rid of the trees. They are the best with other Members, I will be receiving
either amendments or letters from there are. They have been doing it now detailed briefings from the Department
Members. very competitively and doing it for of Defense on plans to carry out the
I am going do something that will years. President’s decision in the coming days
make a bunch of people mad, but I When he came to take a tree out dur- and weeks.
don’t really care. You hear so much ing the 2 weeks—I am talking about Based on my conversation with Sec-
negative stuff. I have said several less than 2 weeks ago—he said: We can retary Esper and the briefings I have
times that when this President came do this, but I want to tell you that we received so far, the goal is to optimize
in, up to the moment that we had the are really busy now. In fact, our busi- our force posture in Europe, in part by
virus, we had the best economy we ness is better than it has ever been in moving some of our forces along
have had in my lifetime. All indica- the history of our country. It is all be- NATO’s eastern flank. It has always
tions show that was true. cause of what has happened with the been in Western Europe. Going for-
He did this in a way that was thought President. ward, as I think about the plan to re-
out, and it wasn’t all a Republican These are his words. He said: I know align our posture in Europe, I am
idea. Back when John Kennedy was everybody hates the President. The thinking about the three guiding prin-
President of the United States, that is media hates the President. But we love ciples that I call the ‘‘3 Fs.’’
when they were expanding the Great him, and let me tell you why. We are First is the forward presence—main-
Society. This is a quote. He said: We now doing better than we have ever taining a strong presence in Europe
are going to have to have a lot more done before. Our business is better than that gives our troops what they need to
revenue to take care of the Great Soci- deter Russia and, if necessary, to fight
it ever has been.
ety programs. The best way to increase He has a brother who specialized— and win and defeat Russia. I like the
revenue is to decrease marginal rates— when you are in the tree business, you idea of rotational forces in southeast
marginal tax rates. And it worked. Un- specialize. If you look, you can’t see Europe.
fortunately, he died right after that The second one is force protection.
the bucket, but the son is in the buck-
and could not see the benefits of the ef- Really, force projection is more accu-
et. Another one is the guy who has de-
forts of this great idea. rate. It is keeping strong, established
veloped a way of grinding stumps. Al-
This was done again during the Bush bases for staging, air capacity, and
administration. It was the first thing most anyone can take a tree out, but
more. For example, at Ramstein Air
that was done by the Trump adminis- to grind a stump, you have to have Force Base, we have invested quite a
tration. But he did something different very expensive equipment. lot of money in that. It is going to
A few days after I had seen these peo-
this time, and this is the reason that it work for any future use in readjust-
ple, I got a visit by a guy named Brad
produced much more revenue than the ments that take place in Europe. What
others had produced in years past. He Johnson. Brad is the one who special-
I am saying is a lot of things are going
said: We also need to reduce the regula- izes in stump grinding. He said: Our on in Europe that are going to be en-
tions at the same time. business is so good now—and they all hanced, as opposed to being trans-
I am very sensitive to this because I credit the President with this—our ferred.
chaired the Environment and Public business is so good that I decided I The third is families. This is kind of
Works Committee during the time the would go off on my own and buy a interesting. Take our Air Force in Tin-
Republicans were in the minority. Dur- stump grinder. It is very, very expen- ker Air Force Base. There is a young
ing the Obama administration, we had sive. No one ever thought it would be, lady who is the wife of a worker at Tin-
so many regulations, and that had to but it is. Now I think he owns the only ker Air Force Base. Her name is Janna
be changed. stump grinder in Delaware County in Driver. This was 2 years ago. She told
Even the Chair is probably not aware Oklahoma. me that we have a problem at Tinker.
that this is a regulation that was He said: I want you to do something. When we privatized our housing, it
passed during the Obama administra- I know you will be going back to Wash- worked out fine for a long period of
tion, but it is one which said that if ington. I am going to give you this, and time, but then it seemed to be that
you are a domestic oil or gas company I want you to give this to the President people got greedy in the housing. They
and you are in competition with China of the United States. talked about deplorable conditions in
or somebody else, you have to give It says: ‘‘Brad’s stump grinding.’’ I housing. I thought: My gosh, this is my
them your playbook—how you cal- am going to give this to the President home State of Oklahoma. Thank good-
culated your rates. That put them at a of the United States and take his pic- ness it is just one military establish-
decided advantage. ture. ment.
When I was fortunate enough to get I only say all this to mention that Then I found out it was in all five of
to know this President, prior to the good things are happening around here. our military establishments. Then I
time he took office, I was suggesting Things had not been this good, except found out it wasn’t just in Oklahoma.
and he was saying: What would be a for the virus problem. No one had any It was around the world.
good place to start in reducing regula- control over that in terms of the Presi- This is something that is very sig-
tions? dent. When I stop and think about how nificant because when you look at the
I said: A good one would be to do good our economy was right before the problems that they have with so many
away with that regulation that was virus hit, I think: If we had an average people—and I will be addressing this in
passed. economy, where would we be today? a little more detail in a minute be-
I think it was only a week after he Anyway, that was the good news, and
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
cause of the amendment that will be
took office that we passed the first reg- I was excited to tell them I was going before us tomorrow—the problem is
ulation. That is just one example. But to share this with a few other people. that we do something different than
then regulation after regulation after Earlier today, I mentioned I would be other countries do. I have heard this
regulation—those of us who have coming down to the floor to talk about over and over, and I am sure the Pre-
grown up in the business world know our troop basing in Germany. Those of siding Officer has also heard.
that is what costs money. And liberals us on the committee know we have We talk about all the money we
have never figured that out. been working on this for a long time. spend on defense in the United States,
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S4332 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
and yet we spend more money than part of the world, in the eastern part of This is the National Defense Strat-
Russia and China put together. They Europe. We said: Are you willing to egy Commission report, which is a bi-
are our strategic oppositions out there. help us out? They said: Not only can partisan document written by six
That is true because the most expen- you use your ordnances as much as you Democrats and six Republicans. They
sive part of the military is the people. want, but at the same time, we will tell us that we need to increase our de-
People don’t understand that. We want help billet you and all that. fense budget each year. We already
housing, and we want to make sure The program was good and strongly know we need to be increasing our
there are schools for the kids. We want supported by Gen. Jim Jones at that budget just to stay competitive. We
to make sure all these things are going time. have already agreed to this total.
on. That is what costs the money. That We did all we could to put that to- Now, one of the criticisms I hear of
is the reason. gether, and we were visiting our allies our defense budget is that we pay much
If you are in a communist country, about it. We already had Ukraine, Bul- more than other countries. As I have
they give you a gun and say: Go out garia and Romania lined up. They call already explained, we are the ones who
and kill people—and the problem is that the lily pad approach to basic. It have to pay to take care of our peo-
solved. was something that would work. There ple—our troops, their families, their
We are concerned about our families. is no reason not to do that. kids. Here is the problem with that ar-
They make a lot of sacrifices. Every Unfortunately, President Bush de-
gument: Other countries don’t have to
few years, our families have to move, cided he didn’t want to do it. We were
do that.
change locations, and the kids have to unsuccessful getting that done. I have
been fighting about that with other Beyond the troops, we also take care
change schools. They move to another of the families and all that, while oth-
area. Then, if the spouse has a job, Presidents since that time. I have not
gotten any of them to look at that and ers don’t do that.
they have to try to get a job. This is significant. China and Russia
By the way, in this bill we have some the great values that would make for
us. are rapidly modernizing their mili-
help. We get relief from some of the taries. When I say this in public and I
regulations that normally take a long Anyway, that is something that is
taking place right now. We don’t know, talk to groups, I don’t have credibility.
period of time, so that spouses are able It doesn’t sound like it is possible.
to get a job at a new location. That is but we are going to get a Member brief-
ing tomorrow that is going to give us a I don’t say this critically of the
something a lot of people are not aware
lot of details on what is going to hap- Obama administration. The Obama ad-
of that is in this great bill.
pen and what the President is pro- ministration, by his own admission,
They have to change hometowns,
posing in that area of Europe. had other priorities. One of them
change houses, change doctors, and the
I want to speak about one of the wasn’t a strong military. During the
kids change schools. Of course, they
amendments that is next up. Senator last 5 years—and I am talking about
live with the reality that their service-
SANDERS’ amendment would cut de- 2010 to 2015, during those last 5 years of
member is putting their life on the line
fense spending by 10 percent. I happen using the President’s budget, he de-
to defend our country. We have to be to be very close with Senator SANDERS, creased the amount of money for our
grateful and never take that sacrifice but we have areas where we disagree military by 25 percent. In 5 years, he
for granted. That is why we should be with each other. This is one of those decreased it by 25 percent. At the same
trying to ease the burden of our mili- areas. I looked at this, and I thought: time, Russia increased theirs by 34 per-
tary families in everything we do. He has an amendment that would cut cent, and China increased theirs by 83
When it comes to this plan we are defense spending by 10 percent. percent.
talking about, which is changing the First of all, this amendment would
forces around, primarily in Europe, Stop and think about that. Our ad-
break the bipartisan budget agreement versaries were out there building and
that is what you hear more about. It is of 2019 that we passed. Congress passed
important that we do it right and we getting ahead of us in different areas.
this agreement last December with a It is important to note that the bill ex-
do it right away. It is going to take bipartisan support, and the President
some time to do, but we need to get empts military pay and the defense
signed it into law. The fiscal year 2021 health program, which means this
started. NDAA, or National Defense Authoriza-
The reason I am really excited about amendment is actually the equivalent
tion Act—the bill that we are working to a 14-percent cut. I am talking about
this program is that this is not some- on right now, as we speak—fulfills this
thing new. If I have good memories, cuts in airplanes and equipment and
agreement and provides a total of $740.5 assets that are military assets. This
you might remember back when Gen. billion for our national defense. I would
Jim Jones was the Supreme Allied means the nuclear modernization and
have preferred to see a higher number key research that help us stay com-
Commander of NATO at that time. I at that time, but it is now the law of
had gone to him and said: You know, petitive with Russia. This is something
the land. that arguably cannot be done.
one thing we really need to be doing is Even though the amount is lower
to start readjusting where we have our than ideal, having budgetary certainty It means cuts to military construc-
troops. is critical. It is what our military lead- tion, including schools for military
At that time, we had a lot of troops, ers ask for every time they come before kids, programs that support military
as we do today, in Germany and a lot the committee that I chair and before families, and programs that support
of training was taking place there. But Senator SHELBY’s committee. They our troops’ morale and welfare. It is
because of the environmental move- need on-time, predictable, and stable just plain wrong.
ment in Germany, they were giving us funding to do their job. And their jobs Our military combat commanders
restrictions, saying you can only train are only getting harder right now. Our tell me and the committee that they
with live ordnance maybe every 4 days adversaries are investing in their mili- need on-time, predictable, and stable
a week and not past sunset and all of taries and building new and advanced funding to do their jobs. This amend-
that. weapons systems and acting more ag- ment would actually cut that by 14 per-
We were thinking that we were really gressively than we have ever seen be- cent in the areas that concern people.
doing a great thing for Germany by fore in any of our adversaries. In the strongest possible terms, I urge
stationing all our people over there be- The national defense strategy de- a ‘‘no’’ vote on this amendment.
cause of all the money they spend and scribes this. This is a document, by the All this is going to happen while we
all that. Yet they are not really trying way, that we adhered to. This is put to- continue to face the burden that a pan-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
to help us. gether by six Republicans and six demic has placed on our military. Our
We did some surveying. This is kind Democrats. It is one of these things military is a key part of the whole-of-
of funny because John Bonsell, the where it was bipartisan. Everyone government response to the virus.
staff director of my committee on the agreed on it. People who put this to- Our competitors haven’t given us a
Republican side, and I went over to the gether were experts, and we have fol- free pass while this is all happening. In
different countries—Bulgaria, Poland, lowed it to the letter ever since that fact, we have seen China and Russia
and other different countries in that time. take advantage of this situation, and
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4333
they have been acting more aggres- No. 1, if there is no income, there is HOUSE, GARDNER, CORNYN, STABENOW,
sively. At the same time, the Depart- no monthly payment. In other words, if TILLIS, and HASSAN. So, you see, there
ment of Defense is working to protect you have a student loan, your monthly is an unusual amount of bipartisan
our troops and the civilian workforce payment is zero—if you don’t have any support for both of these ideas.
from the virus, and this needs to con- income for whatever reason. Experts before the Senate Education
tinue to be a top priority. Everyone un- No. 2, when you do begin earning in- Committee have testified that simpli-
derstands that. In fact, rather than come, your monthly payment will fying the FAFSA in this way would re-
cutting the defense budget, we actually never be more than 10 percent of your move obstacles and would make it easi-
need to support the military COVID re- income after you deduct the necessities er for more low-income Americans to
sponse with additional funding. of life, such as the cost of housing— attend college and would increase the
Take this one example. The defense rent or mortgage—and food. number of Pell grants each year.
industrial companies have done a great No. 3, the same generous loan for- Last fall, Congress and the President
job to ensure that their suppliers—pri- giveness that exists today for student took the first step in simplifying the
marily thousands of small businesses— loan borrowers will still exist. After 20 FAFSA by allowing the Internal Rev-
stay open and keep employees paid. years of payments for undergraduate enue Service to answer 22 questions
In the CARES Act, we gave the DOD loans and 25 years of payments for that applicants for grants and loans
the authority and the tools to reim- graduate loans, if you still have an out- had already answered on their tax re-
burse these companies to keep the de- standing loan balance, your loan will turns.
fense workforce strong, but the DOD be forgiven, and that will include all of There are 20 million American fami-
needs money to use these tools. If we the months your payment was zero be- lies who struggle to fill out this essen-
don’t help these companies, defense cause you didn’t have any income. tial but unnecessarily complex form
weapons programs and maintenance These same policies—no income, no each year who will be grateful to Con-
will suffer more cost overruns, and the monthly payment—will be offered to gress if we will complete the job of
defense industrial base will lose experi- students who take out new loans in ad- simplifying the Federal aid application
enced and trained workers, which dition to these policies being offered to system at the same time we will make
means schedule delays will be more existing student loan borrowers. it simpler for 43 million Americans to
likely. These will be primarily the Under my proposal, new and existing pay back their student loans.
small companies. These will not be the student loan borrowers will be offered There is one more piece of good news
giants that are out there. one other option for paying back their in this proposal, and this news is for
This would be a good investment for loans. This option would be like a 10- the American taxpayer. Simplifying
our national defense and a good invest- year mortgage: Make equal principal the student loan repayment system, as
ment for the American taxpayer. Now and interest monthly payments over 10 well as the system for applying for stu-
is simply not the time to be cutting years until the loan is paid off. Some dent grants and loans, will save tax-
our defense budget when we should be borrowers may prefer this option be- payers about $10 billion over 10 years,
doing more. I know the author of the cause it could mean paying less inter- according to the Congressional Budget
bill who would cut defense spending by est. Every borrower would be eligible Office. This is because the simpler sys-
10 percent is very sincere and really be- to switch from one option—the income- tem will also provide more certainty in
lieves in his bill, but it is not the time based payment—to the other option. the repayment of loans.
to do it. The remaining good news in this pro- On October 1, 43 million Americans
I hope people understand that we are posal is that the concurrent bewil- with student loans are going to have to
now in a position wherein there are ac- dering system of nine different ways of restart making their monthly student
tually different resources that are in paying off your student loan would be loan repayments. Congress deferred
Russia and in China that are better thrown in the trash heap and replaced student loan payments in March, as I
than ours. Hypersonic weapons are a by these two straightforward pro- said earlier, when the CARES Act—the
good example. Hypersonic weapons are posals: No. 1, the income-based repay- COVID–19 relief bill—was signed into
kind of state-of-the-art in both offense ment option, and No. 2, the 10-year, law, but that deferment expires on Sep-
and defense, and they are ahead of us. mortgage-like option. These changes tember 30. There has never been a more
They are ahead of us right now. will give some peace of mind to the 43 important time to end the maddening
With this budget we are going to be million current borrowers and the tens complexity of student loan repayment
passing, I think that we are going to be of millions of Americans who are ex- and make it simpler for Americans to
making broad steps to recapture those pected to sign up for new student loans pay off their student loans.
areas in which we had previously been over the next 10 years. Let me briefly review how the Stu-
the leaders but now are not the leaders These ideas are neither new nor my dent Loan Repayment and FAFSA
any longer. ideas. They have been recommended by Simplification Act will work. It offers
I yield the floor.
higher education experts numerous student loan borrowers just two op-
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The times when having testified before the tions: the standard 10-year repayment
clerk will call the roll. Senate Education Committee during plan, just like a mortgage, or the in-
The legislative clerk proceeded to the past 6 years while we have consid- come-based plan that I have described.
call the roll. ered reauthorizing the Higher Edu- For borrowers with no income, if they
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I cation Act. The concepts have also choose an income-based repayment
ask unanimous consent that the order been suggested by many Senators on plan, their monthly payments would be
for the quorum call be rescinded. both sides of the aisle, Democrats and zero. If borrowers in an income-based
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Republicans, including Senators KING, repayment plan earn income, the bor-
objection, it is so ordered. BURR, RUBIO, MERKLEY, PORTMAN, WAR- rowers’ monthly payments would be
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT AND FAFSA NER, WICKER, MANCHIN, SHAHEEN, and based on the amounts of those incomes.
SIMPLIFICATION ACT COLLINS. All of them have suggested Let’s take an example. The average
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, in these concepts. student loan for a 4-year college grad-
March, Congress and the President said While we are simplifying the student uate today is about $30,000. So someone
to 43 million student loan borrowers loan repayment system, I propose that with $30,000 in student loan debt who
that, because of COVID–19, your stu- we also finish the job of reducing the makes $52,000 each year would be ex-
Federal loan application of grants and pected to pay 10 percent of that bor-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
dent loan payments will be deferred
until October 1—no monthly payments loans—which everyone calls FAFSA— rower’s discretionary income, which is
for 6 months for student loan bor- from about 108 questions to 20 to 33 about $274 per month. So if you have a
rowers. questions. This is an enterprise that a $30,000 loan debt and you make $52,000 a
October 1 is just around the corner. number of us, both Democrats and Re- year, your monthly payment is going
So what do we say to those 43 million publicans, have been working on for to be about $274 under this plan. Bor-
student loan borrowers today? I pro- years, including Senators MURRAY, rowers under the plan would never
pose that we say this: BENNET, JONES, KING, COLLINS, WHITE- have to pay more than 10 percent of
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S4334 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
their income that is not needed for ne- In addition, the bill reduces the com- should find a President in the Oval Of-
cessities. plexity for borrowers who wish to par- fice who chooses to bring the police
If we don’t pass this legislation be- ticipate in the Public Service Loan tactics of dictators around the world to
fore October 1, here is what will hap- Forgiveness Program, which creates an the streets of America, then that is the
pen: Because of the confusing repay- incentive for borrowers to pursue jobs moment it is incumbent on every Mem-
ment system we have today, too many in public service. ber of this Chamber, who has sworn an
borrowers will end up in an Today, not all of the nine current re- oath to our Constitution, who is deter-
unaffordable, standard 10-year repay- payment plans are eligible for public mined to practice civil rights of Amer-
ment, mortgage-type plan and will loan forgiveness, and borrowers can ica, to stand up and say: Not now, not
have payments so high that they will have a hard time figuring out which here, not ever, and we put an end to it.
find themselves in default. When we plan to choose. Under this legislation, That is why I brought forth this
are through with this pandemic—when a borrower who wants loan forgiveness amendment—the Stop Secret Policing
the economy improves and when these can’t choose the wrong plan because in America amendment—and ask for it
borrowers are ready to tackle their there are only two and either applies, to be debated on this bill, because it in-
debts—they will find that their student whether you choose the standard 10- volves police powers, military powers
loan debts may have soared out of con- year repayment plan or the income- of the United States of America, and it
trol. based repayment plan. is happening right now.
I and Senator MURRAY of Washington By the end of September, in less than What am I talking about? Well, let
State, who is the ranking Democrat on 3 months, 43 million student loan bor- me give you some sense of what we
our committee, have been working on rowers will be required by law to begin have seen on the streets of America in
reauthorizing the Higher Education monthly payments again on their the past few days—as I note here, au-
Act for nearly 6 years. We have held 19 loans. Many of these borrowers won’t thoritarian governments, not demo-
hearings over that time. We are mak- be able to afford these payments. cratic republics, and unmarked au-
ing good progress. In fact, I was hope- I propose that we say to those bor- thorities at the protests. Well, this is
ful we could mark up the bill this rowers: We have a better option for what we saw: Customs and Border Pro-
spring, but between impeachment and you. No income, no monthly payment— tection in military uniform, in combat
COVID, that just didn’t work out. whether because of COVID–19 or for camouflage, in the streets, no marking
In January, I saw a consensus emerg- any other reason. In other words, if you what the organization is and no unique
ing. It was for simpler, effective regu- have a student loan, you may defer identifier.
lations to make it easier for students your monthly payment if you do not The head of the CBP said: No, no.
to pay for college and to pay back their have any income. When you do begin They had markings and unique identi-
loans. We discussed the complexity of earning income, your monthly pay- fiers. But here they are. And to make
the Federal financial aid system. We ment will never be more than 10 per- it even worse, they look a whole lot
heard from many experts. At one cent of your income after you deduct like protesters from the far right who
roundtable, the president of the Uni- the necessities of life, such as the cost come to make trouble, dressed in cam-
versity of Tennessee told me it took of housing—rent or mortgage—and ouflage, and they actually have things
him months to figure out how to pay food. that look more like badges than the ac-
Now is the time to reduce the com- tual representatives of Customs and
off his daughter’s Federal student
plexity of student loan debt and finish Border Protection.
loan—this was from a college presi-
What else did we see? Here is a Navy
dent—even with the money in his hand. the job of simplifying the FAFSA and
veteran standing in the street, who
So this is not a new problem, and the at the same time save the taxpayers
said he came down to the protest to
solution I am proposing has been dis- money.
simply say: Are you honoring your
cussed by our committee and many I yield the floor.
oath to the Constitution?
Senators outside the committee for ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS TO S. 4220
Here we have CBP officers beating
nearly 6 years. It will help both those The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. him. Here is one baton. Here is an-
who face loan payments starting on Oc- MCSALLY). The Senator from Oregon. other. They broke one of his bones,
tober 1 and the millions of students Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I while this man here is pepper-sprayed
who will be graduating with student ask unanimous consent that Senators in the face—a peaceful protester stand-
debt. CASEY, UDALL, SHAHEEN, KAINE, SMITH, ing, being attacked by unmarked, war-
When it comes time to start repaying SCHUMER, FEINSTEIN, CARDIN, WHITE- prepared, dressed-in-camouflage forces
those loans, students will have to navi- HOUSE, LEAHY, TESTER, SCHATZ, CORTEZ deployed by the President of the
gate through a complicated number of MASTO, WARNER, and MENENDEZ be United States.
options today—nine in total. I don’t added as cosponsors to S. 4220, the Pre- What else happened? Well, they de-
want to go through them in detail be- venting Authoritarian Policing Tactics cided to not consult with the city and
cause it would stagger the imagina- on America’s Streets Act. not consult with the State and not
tion. For example, there is the 10-year The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without think carefully about what weapons
standard repayment. There is the grad- objection, it is so ordered. they were carrying and how they use
uated standard repayment. There are ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS TO AMENDMENT NO. them, so impact munitions.
two extended repayment options. There 2457 TO S. 4049 This protestor right here in the sil-
are five different programs based on Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I houette is standing, and he is holding
your income: the income-contingent ask unanimous consent that Senators what appears to be a sign above his
repayment, the original income-based STABENOW, CASEY, UDALL, SHAHEEN, head, or maybe it is a radio. Moments
repayment, the revised income-based KAINE, SMITH, SCHUMER, FEINSTEIN, later in the video that shows this, he is
repayment, the pay-as-you-earn plan, CARDIN, WHITEHOUSE, LEAHY, TESTER, shot down. You see him collapse on the
and the revised pay-as-you-earn repay- SCHATZ, CORTEZ MASTO, WARNER, and street. A peaceful protestor, standing,
ment. Those are all of the different MENENDEZ be added as cosponsors to making his case as guaranteed by the
ways you can pay off your student Senate amendment 2457 to reform the Constitution of the United States of
loans, which has confused the 43 mil- Department of Defense to limit the use America, and he is shot square between
lion borrowers who have them. of Federal law enforcement officers for the eyes by President Trump’s forces
Now, if I lost you wandering through crowd control to S. 4049, the National deployed without permission and no co-
that, you can get a sense of how those Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
ordination with the local representa-
43 million borrowers must feel. Year 2021. tives or the Governor of the State of
The Student Loan Repayment and The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Oregon. This young man, struck down,
FAFSA Simplification Act ends that objection, it is so ordered. shot in the head, in the hospital in
confusion. It will reduce those nine re- UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—AMENDMENT critical condition. He is doing better
payment plans down to two—one NO. 2457 now, thankfully.
standard payment, like a mortgage, Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, Then these forces deploy away from
and one payment based on income. when, in the course of time, America the Federal buildings and go into the
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4335
streets and start snatching protestors with my colleague from Oregon who duce tensions on our streets. The fact
and throwing them into unmarked shares this indignation, this outrage is, the protests in Portland have been
vans—vans like this one right here. over the violation of the Constitution, overwhelmingly peaceful. Crime in
One young man said: I was terrified. who will share those thoughts, and Portland and across Oregon was down
He said: I didn’t know who these people then we will, together, ask to have a before Donald Trump sent in his secret
were. They wouldn’t identify them- vote. police.
selves. There is a video of people say- What is this Chamber if it cannot Donald Trump did not send that
ing: Who are you all? And they won’t take on and hold a debate and a discus- paramilitary force to keep people safe.
answer. They grab him. He thinks they sion over authoritarian, secret policing Donald Trump is doing it to create an
might be those folks from the right- strategies brought to the streets of image of chaos, to air it on far-right
wing protesters who come in camou- America? television, scare the country, turn
flage. He may be being kidnapped. He My colleague. them into campaign ads, but these are
doesn’t know. Even after he is thrown Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I the people Senator MERKLEY and I are
into a jail cell, it is not explained why thank my colleague this afternoon be- honored to represent. These are the
they grabbed him off the street. cause he speaks today with passion and people Donald Trump’s paramilitary
Secret police—unmarked—patrolling facts and clearly outlines what our forces attacked and terrorized. He calls
streets, throwing people into unmarked constituents told us at home this past it a ‘‘great success.’’ As we have indi-
vehicles, and sweeping them away— week, and I thank him for this partner- cated, he has a game plan to basically
that is what you get from authori- ship that Oregonians are seeing again make Portland an experiment and to
tarian dictators, not a country, a re- on the floor of this great Senate. do it in other cities, especially, by his
public where we have a constitution Madam President, Donald Trump has accounts, those with Democratic lead-
and we have rights. deployed a paramilitary squad to our ership and voters.
That is what is going on here. That is hometown in Portland. His secret po- This kind of abusive exercise of
what has to stop here in America. lice are terrorizing my friends and power by a rogue President would have
Some of the headlines: Federal law neighbors. People across the country horrified our Founding Fathers. They
enforcement use unmarked vehicles to need to understand that yesterday wrote a wonderful Constitution to pre-
grab protesters off the streets. A Navy Donald Trump announced to America vent exactly this behavior because de-
vet asked Federal officers in Portland that your friends and your neighbors mocracy cannot survive in a nation
to remember their oaths; they broke are next. that tolerates it. These tactics were
his hand. There are unmarked vans full of used throughout the world a century
That is the Navy vet in the white armed men in military gear snatching ago to turn elected politicians into ty-
sweatshirt who is being attacked, with people off the streets. They take people rants.
two officers batoning him while an- away. They hold them. They interro- The President’s first and most impor-
other sprays him with pepper spray for gate them without justification and ul- tant job is to keep Americans safe.
standing in a peaceful protest. timately without charges. Residents of Portland are less safe and
Federal officers deployed in Portland Over the weekend, a very close per- less secure since Donald Trump de-
didn’t have proper training, DHS says. sonal friend, Sharon Meieran, an ER ployed the secret police to our streets.
Well, they shouldn’t have been there. doctor and a mom, was protesting The same thing—and I say this to col-
We need a bill to stop secret police in peacefully and was tear-gassed without leagues wherever you are from—the
America. We need a bill done as an provocation. She felt like she was see- same things will happen in your com-
amendment on this bill right now, on ing democracy pass right in front of munities where Donald Trump will
this bill we are considering about mili- her eyes. send his paramilitary forces.
tary force, a bill that says that your Millions of Americans have seen the Frankly, when Donald Trump always
organization has to be identified on a video of that local Navy veteran who talks about targeting Portland and
uniform; that says there has to be a was repeatedly beaten and pepper- other cities, I say to Senator MERKLEY,
unique identifier so you don’t think sprayed and left with broken bones. I wish he would target the coronavirus.
you can just get away with anything People ask me: RON, what was his of- I wish he would put a fraction of his
and abuse people and never be held ac- fense? passion for going after our cities into
countable; a bill that says that if you I am sure Senator MERKLEY gets ex- dealing with the coronavirus because
are there on a mission to defend monu- actly the same question: What did he while Donald Trump’s secret police are
ments or buildings, you defend monu- do wrong? out terrorizing Portland’s moms and
ments or buildings; you don’t go out He was standing motionless, hands doctors and other peaceful protesters,
through the streets—if you want to be- by his side, speaking up for the liberty we face a raging pandemic and record-
come crowd control in the streets and that he served to protect. People are high unemployment.
take over a city, you have to have the stunned that this is happening on the I want us to renew the supercharged
permission of the mayor or the permis- streets of our hometowns. We have unemployment benefits that people are
sion of the Governor; and that the Fed- seen reports of agents ripping a mask going to lose this weekend. Donald
eral Government, in transparency, in off of a protester who is obeying com- Trump isn’t doing any of that work.
our democracy, has to tell us all, as mands, with hands in the air, only to What he is doing is making Americans
participants, as this we-the-people gov- pepper spray the protester’s face. The in cities less safe and not dealing with
ernment, that they are disclosing how secret police even threw flash bombs the coronavirus on top of it. He is at-
many people, from where, are being and tear gas at a ‘‘wall of moms.’’ Here tempting to cut resources for COVID
sent to what city. they are. Here they are in our home- testing and treatment. His administra-
This isn’t just some small issue. This town. You can see them, over the last tion is covering up data that the public
is the President saying yesterday— couple of days: Moms and dads and now health professionals rely on to do their
after bragging about what he has done their kids are going to peacefully sing job. He does it repeatedly, anxious to
in Portland to violate the rights of peo- songs and protest for justice. cut the lifelines of 30 million jobless
ple—saying he is looking at New York Oregonians are just standing up for Americans, sending them tumbling off
and Chicago and Philadelphia and De- what is right. Only the cowards of the an economic cliff right in the middle of
troit and Baltimore and Oakland—de- Trump administration would try to the worst economic crisis since the
ploying these secret police tactics all convince America that these peaceful Great Depression.
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
over this country. protesters, the ‘‘wall of moms,’’ rep- He is not doing his job. He is ignoring
All I do right now is stand here and resent some kind of anarchist threat. his responsibilities. Both on the streets
say: I want a vote on ending these se- It is nonsense. of Portland and in Washington, DC,
cret police practices in America. I say I condemn violence by anybody—al- when he walks away from dealing with
to every Republican colleague and ways—and I spent much of last week the coronavirus, he isn’t keeping
every Democratic colleague: I want a working for nonviolent solutions in my Americans safe. He is putting them in
vote, and I am here in full partnership hometown and fresh approaches to re- more danger.
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S4336 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
As I have said repeatedly, Donald extremes on the other coast of Amer- in a title 32 status under the control of
Trump ought to attack the coronavirus ica, he will come to the east coast as the State government. This would
pandemic and not the people of Port- well. hinder their ability to keep our com-
land. So that is why, very shortly, Sen- Let me just state the requirements of munities safe. For these reasons, I ob-
ator MERKLEY and I will offer an this amendment: identification of each ject.
amendment that will block Donald officer, limiting Federal agents to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
Trump from using these paramilitary their proper role in protecting Federal tion is heard.
forces in Portland or other cities where property, transparency and deployment The Senator from Oregon.
they are unwanted. of these officers, identification of Mr. MERKLEY. I say to my col-
What we are seeing in our hometowns them, and accountability are basic te- league from Oklahoma, that if these se-
is these paramilitary squads brutally nets of law enforcement. cret police were released on the streets
unleashed against peaceful protesters— We should not have to address this of Tulsa, you would be down here de-
moms and veterans, doctors and activ- issue on the floor of the U.S. Senate, fending your constituents, but you
ists. All they want to do is speak out and we are doing it only because the have a responsibility to defend all con-
for liberty and justice. President has broken the norms. He stituents across the country, the rights
What Donald Trump is now doing is has disrespected the law. Every Sen- of all citizens in the United States of
incompatible with the fundamental ator in this body, regardless of party, America.
principles of democracy laid out by our should be standing up and speaking out I am not asking you to support my
Founders and expanded throughout the in support of this amendment. I thank bill. I am not asking you to make the
generations. I believe what Donald my colleague for speaking our truth to argument for it. I am asking for the
Trump is doing, in light of his state- power. simple courtesy that this Chamber do
ment yesterday, to America, that he is I yield the floor. the job it is vested with under the Con-
going to go after one city after an- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- stitution, which is to take up serious
other, is totally out of control. The ator from Oregon. issues that arise in America, hold a
Senate cannot allow this to happen. Mr. MERKLEY. On behalf of two Or- dialogue about them on this floor, and
That is why Senator MERKLEY and I egon Senators and my colleague from take a vote to show the American peo-
are calling for the Senate to act. Connecticut and the 34 other Senators ple where we stand in the hopes to
I thank my friend and colleague for who are standing up for democracy, solve the problem.
his leadership. He has made it clear rights, and against secret police, I ask I have no doubt that I wouldn’t get
that 100 percent of Oregon’s U.S. Sen- unanimous consent to call up amend- 100 votes. You raise some interesting
ators are going to keep pushing and ment No. 2457, an amendment to limit points. You note that my request to de-
fighting until this changes. Federal law enforcement officers for bate a very serious issue in America
I yield the floor. crowd control; that there be 2 hours for circumvents process. I can state that
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- debate, equally divided between oppo- for 200 years this Chamber believed it
ator from Oregon. nents and proponents; that upon dis- was here to address serious issues, and
Mr. MERKLEY. The support is felt position of the Tester amendment, the they didn’t raise process issues to keep
strongly throughout Oregon to stop the Senate vote in relation to the amend- serious issues from being debated. You
secret police in America, but it is a ment, with no amendments in order didn’t need unanimous consent. Just a
coast-to-coast feeling, and I yield to prior to the vote and with all other few decades ago, I was here watching
my colleague from Connecticut to provisions under the previous order re- this Chamber working the Tax Reform
speak for the other side of the country. maining in effect. Act and watching each amendment
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there completed, and as soon as it was done,
ator from Connecticut. objection? the next Senator asked for the recogni-
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam Presi- Mr. INHOFE. Reserving the right to tion of the Chair. In fact, normally
dent, I want to thank from my heart object. there would be about 10 Senators say-
our two colleagues from Oregon who The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ing—and it was always ‘‘Mr. Presi-
are standing up and championing not ator from Oklahoma. dent.’’ Now it is often ‘‘Madam Presi-
just their hometowns, not just the con- Mr. INHOFE. Well, first of all, I don’t dent.’’ But they were getting attention
stituents of their State, but they are know how long I have sat and listened because the next person who spoke got
speaking for every hometown and to this—a long time—probably not as the next amendment.
every citizen of our country from every long as it seems. ‘‘Secret police, sadis- This system has taken away the fun-
party, from every corner of our great tic, cruel.’’ I am beginning to come to damental responsibility of Senators to
Nation. the conclusion that they are not going be able to introduce important issues
Let me just say very simply, these to be supporting Donald Trump for re- in America, have them debated, and
pictures of heavily armed, unidentified election. voted on. My colleague says: Well, we
individuals in camouflage fatigues I rise to object to my colleagues’ re- have a new process where the majority
driving unmarked vehicles, grabbing quest for unanimous consent. This leader and the ranking member of the
individuals and throwing them into body has worked together to carefully committee consult and decide what
their car, would be something we would consider each and every one of the 739 should be considered. That concentra-
associate with the worst nightmare of amendments filed on the NDAA. It tion of power is totally at odds with
a two-bit dictatorship. Here we see it never happened before. We adopted the vision of this Chamber developed
in the United States of America. those amendments that have broad- by our Founders.
I spent almost my whole career in based, bipartisan support. The major- Mr. INHOFE. Will the Senator yield?
law enforcement before I came to this ity and minority have worked together Mr. MERKLEY. I will not yield until
body, and I am embarrassed and to determine which amendments would I am done. That was one of his argu-
ashamed that this kind of sadistic, be brought up for a vote. Senator ments; that it circumvents process.
cruel, hate-filled coup was done in the MERKLEY’s request for a UC cir- The second is, he said it takes equip-
name of law enforcement. What we wit- cumvents that process. ment away and training away, and yet
nessed in Oregon was in no way law en- Further, this morning, the Senate my bill doesn’t deal with equipment or
forcement. It was a violation of the law adopted my commonsense amendment training. So, clearly, that argument
and of individual rights, and it is com- that will ensure that law enforcement doesn’t stand.
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ing to your hometown as well. The has the right equipment and the right Then he noted title 32 status under
President has specifically named Chi- training. Senator MERKLEY’s amend- the control of the Governor, but this
cago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, ment flies in the face of that respon- bill says an expanded role of crowd con-
and Oakland. It will come to Hartford sible approach. trol occurs under the permission of the
and my hometown Stanford and other His amendment would hamstring Governor, not without it.
cities in Connecticut. Have no fear, if Federal and civilian law enforcement So this is why these issues should be
the President will go to these abusive and our military, even when operating debated on this floor. I call on all my
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4337
colleagues to return the Senate to a Yes, America is coming back from with chronic medical conditions. The
place where serious and important the coronavirus. The prepandemic country is conducting a record number
issues regarding the rights of Ameri- economy was strong; it was healthy; of tests. More than 45 million people
cans can be considered and not shoved and it was growing. Every part of the have been tested. I think the number is
aside because one Member doesn’t want economy had record job growth. Unem- now close to 50 million. There are well
them addressed. That is a challenge for ployment was at a 50-year low. Shut- over 700,000 tests each day.
this Chamber, but we have a bigger ting down the economy slowed the Widespread testing allows us to pin-
challenge, which is how do we defend spread of the virus, but it did not point virus hotspots so we are able to
the rights of our citizens if we can’t eliminate it. It saved lives, and it surge aid where it is most needed. Hos-
put an amendment on the floor and bought us time. pitals now have more effective COVID–
have it debated and voted on? Reopening was never conditioned on 19 treatments. I talked to doctors
So, to all my colleagues who believe having a vaccine, nor was it condi- around the State of Wyoming and
the secret police have no role in Amer- tioned on eliminating the virus en- around the country. We are seeing in-
ica; that unidentified officers, dele- tirely. Businesses, large and small, are credible progress in vaccine trials. A
gated without proper training, without today continuing to reopen, and they successful vaccine is vital to beating
consultation, without coordination, are opening in a safe, scientific, and the virus.
who are beating up peaceful protesters sensible way. I saw it all across Wyo- Now, it is key to the economic come-
have no place in America; that they ming the last 2 weeks as I traveled the back as well. Scientists hope to have a
are being thrown into a van, and you State. vaccine ready in record time—actually,
don’t even know what that van is or In Casper and Cheyenne, Main Street before the end of this calendar year.
who those people are has no place in is busy again. Mom-and-pop businesses All this progress has given businesses
America; that the tactics of Duterte in are bringing back workers. Cody was the confidence to reopen and to put
the Philippines and Putin in Russia full of activity over the Fourth of July. people back to work. A solid majority
and Erdogan in Turkey have no place Yellowstone is welcoming thousands of of Americans now will tell you that
visitors, and people are heading to all they see their finances as being stable.
in America; who believe in a ‘‘we the
of the activities in Thermopolis. The Consumer spending the last 2 months
people’’ government; those colleagues I
rodeos have been a huge success. Wyo- has been way up. Manufacturing has
thank, and let’s bring this issue to the started to take off again. Simply put,
floor and have the debate and have the ming is literally back in the saddle
the pro-health, pro-jobs policies that
vote. again.
Businesses all over the country are this Senate has put in place, those poli-
I suggest the absence of a quorum. cies are working. We are only getting
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bouncing back and bringing back work-
ers. In June, the economy added nearly started.
clerk will call the roll. Now Congress must build on the
The bill clerk proceeded to call the 5 million jobs. It shattered all fore-
CARES Act successes. The next bill,
roll. casts. This was by far the largest ever
the one that we are working on now,
Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I monthly jobs gain in U.S. history.
cannot be a bloated bailout bonanza.
ask unanimous consent that the order More than 7 million people have been
We will not pass Speaker PELOSI’s bill
for the quorum call be rescinded. hired back in the last 2 months. May from Handout Heaven. No, the next aid
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without and June job creation set records. measure must be focused. It must be
objection, it is so ordered. The recent rise in new COVID–19
focused on healthcare and safety and
ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS—AMENDMENT NO. 2457 cases, to me, as a doctor, is troubling.
schools and jobs.
Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I Still, it is no reason to stop reopening, Here is my three-part test for the
ask unanimous consent that Senators as long as we open in a responsible next pandemic package. Will it save
ROSEN and HASSAN be added as cospon- way. lives? Will it save lives with testing,
Now, people have made great sac- treatment, and vaccines? I am very op-
sors to Senate amendment No. 2457, to
rifices. We all did what the experts said timistic of what I have seen about the
reform Department of Defense to limit
we needed to do. Now Americans are research with the new vaccine. Will it
the use of Federal law enforcement of-
ready to get back to business and get protect our medical community and
ficers for crowd control, and to S. 4049,
back to work. People don’t want an- small businesses and schools from friv-
the National Defense Authorization
other shutdown, and you know that. olous lawsuits? There are 3,500 that
Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
You have seen that in your own home have already been filed across the
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
State, and they most assuredly don’t country by sue-and-settle lawyers fo-
objection, it is so ordered.
want laws coming out of Congress that cused on coronavirus. And will it get
Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President.
make it easier to stay closed and hard- people back to work and children back
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
er to reopen. As a doctor, I know we to school safely?
ator from Oregon.
can flatten the virus curve without We must help schools reopen in a safe
Mr. MERKLEY. My apologies to my
flattening or flatlining the economy. way. Children need to get back to
colleague from Wyoming. I think we
People can resume normal life and stay school. It is essential for their well-
are not in quorum call.
healthy. being. That is why the Nation’s pedia-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. You are
The key, of course, is for all of us to tricians—the American Academy of Pe-
not.
do our part and take the proper pre- diatrics—is urging schools to reopen,
ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS—S. 4220
cautions, and we know what they are: and they say with the children phys-
Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I Social distancing, good hygiene, and, of ically present—with the children phys-
ask unanimous consent that Senators course, wearing masks. As a doctor, I ically present. Remote learning, we
ROSEN and HASSAN be added as cospon- know masks help lower the infection know, for very young people, has not
sors to S. 4220, the Preventing Authori- spread, especially indoors when we worked. Children cannot lose another
tarian Policing Tactics on America’s can’t socially distance. Together, we year of school. To lose a full year of
Streets Act. can manage the risk, and, as a nation, school for these young people would be
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without we can move forward. devastating. It would be a learning
objection, it is so ordered. Millions of Americans are returning loss, as well as a loss of the ability to
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- to work and doing it safely. Congress’s learn and making it that much harder
ator from Wyoming. rapid response to the pandemic back in
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to pick up further down the line. And if
ECONOMIC GROWTH March set this recovery in motion. kids aren’t in school, many parents
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I Medical workers now have better tools can’t go back to work. Most people
come to the floor today to discuss our for virus testing, for treating the dis- with their jobs cannot work from
economic recovery. Let me be clear. ease, and for developing a vaccine. home.
Our economy will not shut down again. Americans are doing everything they So I urge my colleagues on the other
Government will not forcibly close can to protect the most vulnerable. We side of the aisle, my Democratic col-
businesses for a second time. are taking care of seniors and people leagues, to join us, to join our effort to
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S4338 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 21, 2020
reopen our economy and reopen our against Americans. When the American priority during negotiations of the con-
schools. military and troops of our country are ference committee to restore full fund-
I yield the floor. used against Americans, there ought to ing for two submarines, even beyond
I suggest the absence of a quorum. be at least the same accountability as the commitment in this NDAA, to a
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The when American troops are used abroad, second Virginia-class submarine in this
clerk will call the roll. with the same kind of checks—maybe budget authorization.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the not identical, but the same kinds of I was pleased, again, to see action by
roll. checks—because the President using the House, which provides for two fully
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam Presi- troops against our own citizens denies, funded Virginia-class submarines in
dent, I ask unanimous consent that the potentially, fundamental freedoms, and the House Armed Services Committee
order for the quorum call be rescinded. the need for accountability is even version of the NDAA.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without more urgent. Our military should de- In addition to fully funding the first
objection, it is so ordered. fend liberties, not endanger them, mis- Columbia-class submarine—a historic
S. 4049 directed by a misguided President. milestone for this program—the Senate
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Presi- Despite my disappointment in the version added an additional $175 mil-
dent, I am proud to talk about the Na- Senate’s lack of action to curtail the lion for Columbia-class supplier devel-
tional Defense Authorization Act, President’s unaccountable use and opment. The heroes in this story are
which has come to this body with a abuse of military power, I am proud of not only the big contractors. They are
strong bipartisan vote from the Armed a number of provisions that I also au- the supply chains—not only the compa-
Services Committee where I serve. I thored in this bill that invest in our nies with hundreds of employees but
am proud to have helped to craft this most valuable military asset, our serv- the components makers and the parts
legislation, and I am proud to be voting icemembers and their families. manufacturers that may make tiny
for some of the amendments that have I am grateful to all of the military pieces of the submarine by comparison
been permitted votes on the floor. spouses and advocates from across the to its massive length. They are all he-
One that has not been permitted re- country who shared their challenges roes of our defense industrial produc-
lates to the Insurrection Act, a 213- with me and my office. Their stories, tion.
year-old law that has been invoked at their voice, and their faces made an People are the foundation of the sub-
various points in our history to protect immensely impactful difference. We marine industrial base, and this bill
civil rights as it was during the era of used their experience to craft these authorizes an additional $20 million in
desegregation, but President Trump overdue policies. workforce development funding. I will
has threatened to use this slavery-era I want to say to those families—to seek to expand the supplier develop-
law to silence calls for justice from the spouses and loved ones—that they ment program, which provides the kind
Americans protesting centuries of rac- serve as much as the men and women of support that the supply chain needs.
ist oppression. they support in uniform. We must ensure that the final bill
In effect, he has threatened to invert The NDAA includes important provi- preserves not only the necessary levels
the Insurrection Act to deprive Ameri- sions that I championed to hold com- of funding for the Virginia-class and
cans of their First Amendment right. manders accountable to military fami- the Columbia-class submarines but also
So I introduced a bill called the CIVIL lies, make childcare more affordable, for continued growth of our fifth gen-
Act that would preserve Presidential expand support for military moms, and eration fighter fleet. It is a key compo-
accountability to Congress whenever prevent mental health discrimination. nent of our national defense. The Sen-
the Insurrection Act is invoked. It These measures are profoundly impor- ate version of the NDAA authorizes the
would require the President to consult tant. growth of the F–35 fleet by 93 aircraft,
with Congress prior to invoking the act Provisions I authored with Senator including 14 aircraft above the Presi-
and provide certification to Congress KAINE will make childcare more afford- dent’s budget request.
to justify the use of this authority. It able by authorizing hardship waivers, I remain a staunch advocate of the
has other provisions. requiring fee reductions for families CH–53K program. I was happy to see
It was voted down in the markup of with more than one child. And the the House Appropriations Defense Sub-
the Armed Services Committee, but I NDAA will support those military committee fund nine CH–53K heli-
sought a vote on the floor. Apparently, moms by extending TRICARE to in- copters. I am going to work to ensure
it will not happen. clude other kinds of services. that the final NDAA also authorizes
If the President uses force against The Connecticut military industrial nine helicopters.
Americans at home, Congress should base will benefit from the increased ex- I want to congratulate and thank Si-
demand at least the same check that penditure and the robust investment in korsky, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon
applied to his use of force against ad- two Virginia-class submarines. My pri- Technologies, and, again, the many
versaries abroad. ority during the negotiations on the suppliers throughout Connecticut that
I offered this act as an amendment, conference committee will be to ad- contribute to an aerospace program
and I am grateful to all my Democratic vance this cause. second to none in the world.
colleagues on the committee for sup- These provisions for expanding our Finally, let me talk a little bit about
porting it. I am also grateful to the production of submarines and other the Fair Care for Vietnam Veterans
House of Representatives, which, just military platforms must also focus on Act of 2020. Later this week, we will
yesterday, passed an NDAA amend- our supply base, on the workforce that vote on an amendment to the NDAA
ment to its bill modifying the CIVIL keeps us safe, and on men and women based on a bicameral Fair Care for Vet-
Act, which I introduced. It is called the who comprise, indeed, the most tal- erans Act of 2020.
Curtailing Insurrection Act Violations ented workforce, using and building In March, I, along with Senator
of Individuals’ Liberties. I would like unmatched military technology to TESTER and 30 Senate colleagues, intro-
to thank my colleagues on the House keep our countries secure. duced this legislation to require the
side who supported this amendment, We should keep in mind the families VA to provide benefits for veterans suf-
particularly Congresswoman ESCOBAR, of our military and continue fighting fering from bladder cancer,
who led the charge in the House Armed for even more provisions that enable hypothyroidism, Parkinsonism, and
Services Committee and on the House them to continue their great work, but hypertension.
floor. these military platforms assure that The National Academy recognizes
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I urge our colleagues, whether it is our troops will never have a fair fight— that these illnesses have an association
now in the course of considering the that they will always be superior, no with herbicide exposure. It reached
NDAA or at some point in the future, matter what the terrain or arena or that conclusion in 2016. Since then, I
to hold the President, any President— the fight. have been fighting, along with many of
we are talking not only about this I am pleased that the NDAA makes my colleagues, to get the VA to include
President but any President—account- robust investments in Connecticut’s in- these four conditions as presumptive
able when he uses military force dustrial base. I will make as my top conditions linked to Agent Orange,
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July 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4339
only to have this administration’s offi- our quality of life and the quality of stressors and depleted resources in-
cials block us at every turn. services that we provide on education, crease the likelihood of public health
Despite the scientific proof—the in- healthcare, housing, and all of the disparities like the one I am discussing
controvertible science that these con- other infrastructure, including trans- today. If there ever were a time to in-
ditions are linked to Agent Orange— portation. We need to consider those vest in mental health, it is now.
and despite more than 83,000 veterans factors and do what is necessary to as- In a recent article from the Journal
who suffer from these conditions, the sure that our warfighters and our mili- of the American Medical Association,
Trump administration’s VA resisted tary never have a fair fight, that they researchers discussed several risk fac-
and refused to acknowledge the connec- always predominate on the battlefield. tors that put our Nation collectively at
tion. We must protect our veterans to whom a higher risk for suicide. These risk
I look forward to voting to add blad- we make the commitment that we will factors include economic stress, de-
der cancer, hypothyroidism, and always have their backs when they creased access to community and reli-
Parkinsonism to the list of Agent Or- come home. gious support systems, lack of access
ange presumptives. One condition in I yield the floor. to adequate mental health and suicide
our bill, hypertension, was not in- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- prevention services, and social isola-
cluded in this NDAA amendment, but I jority leader. tion. This has unfortunately caused a
am committed to adding it during con- severe lack of personal and social con-
f
ference. It is supported by the science nection, which we know to be a protec-
as a condition linked to Agent Orange. EXECUTIVE SESSION tive factor against suicide.
The Trump administration says it This evening I want to specifically
doesn’t want to spend the money to highlight veterans as they face unique
cover the four conditions in this bill, EXECUTIVE CALENDAR risk factors for suicide, in addition to
but when we send people to war, we Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, the increased stress around COVID–19.
make a commitment. We make a com- I move to proceed to executive session Research illustrates that veterans have
mitment, and we accept an obligation to consider Calendar No. 643. a higher rate of suicide and certain
to treat them, no matter what the cost, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mental health conditions than their ci-
no matter what the cause of their serv- question is on agreeing to the motion. vilian peers. We know there is not one
ice-related injuries are when the The motion was agreed to. single explanation or reason for sui-
science and the facts support it. Facts The clerk will report the nomination. cide, and there is no one single treat-
are stubborn things, as many have The senior assistant legislative clerk ment or prevention strategy.
said. To the veterans in Connecticut read the nomination of William Scott While post-traumatic stress disorder
and nationwide, I will never stop fight- Hardy, of Pennsylvania, to be United and traumatic brain injuries are promi-
ing to get good healthcare for our vet- States District Judge for the Western nent among veterans and are known as
erans. I know this issue is bipartisan in District of Pennsylvania. an invisible wound of war, we now real-
its support. CLOTURE MOTION ize other conditions, such as depres-
I look forward to voting in favor of Mr. MCCONNELL. I send a cloture sion, anxiety, and substance use dis-
the fiscal year 2021 NDAA, but I also motion to the desk. order, also contribute to suicide among
think our colleagues must recognize The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- veterans and all Americans.
that military spending alone does not Our veterans are fighting new bat-
ture motion having been presented
guarantee our national security. These tles, and the stress caused by COVID–19
under rule XXII, the Chair directs the
weapons platforms and the hardware has only exacerbated these issues. Just
clerk to read the motion.
that we produce does not constitute, recently, two veterans from different
The senior assistant legislative clerk
alone, our national defense. It is the generations, who lived on different
read as follows:
quality of our people, whether they are coasts and fought in different wars dec-
CLOTURE MOTION
in the supply chain or the defense es- ades apart, died by suicide. One was a
We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- 74-year-old veteran who died on the
tablishment or our troops on the
ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
ground or in the air or at sea. To re- campus of a VA facility in San Diego,
Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby
cruit and train the best possible mili- move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- and the other was a former Green Beret
tary, we need to have a strong non- nation of William Scott Hardy, of Pennsyl- in Washington, DC. They are two of the
military infrastructure. Education, vania, to be United States District Judge for 20 veterans who are lost each day to
healthcare, housing—our national de- the Western District of Pennsylvania. suicide—a number we know as far too
fense includes those essential compo- Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Cindy great.
nents. Hyde-Smith, Michael B. Enzi, Tim The Army recently lost a respected
So I believe that we must scrutinize Scott, Marco Rubio, Lamar Alexander, soldier known as ‘‘Captain America.’’
this budget with a view to reducing James E. Risch, David Perdue, Bill Master Sergeant Marckesano fought in
Cassidy, Pat Roberts, John Cornyn, Afghanistan, and according to news re-
any expenditures that are unnecessary. Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis, Deb
I will state as a matter of principle Fischer, Mike Crapo, Kevin Cramer.
ports, 30 soldiers from his former unit
that when we vote on this NDAA, I will have died by suicide since their 2009 de-
be supportive of amendments that Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous ployment. Until the end, Master Ser-
might potentially achieve more equity consent that the mandatory quorum geant Marckesano was encouraging
and effectiveness in the way we make call be waived. members of his old unit to reach out
commitments in support of our na- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without and talk if they found themselves
tional defense. We must interpret as objection, it is so ordered. struggling, telling them ‘‘Don’t let the
broadly as is necessary how that de- Mr. MCCONNELL. I yield the floor. valley win.’’ Even soldiers who try to
fense must be supported. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- be strong for others find themselves in
It is not alone the money in this ator from Kansas. a circumstance where they don’t see
NDAA; it is also what we commit to ra- COMMANDER JOHN SCOTT HANNON VETERANS another option, and they lose their bat-
cial justice in this country; the quality MENTAL HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT ACT tle.
of our policing and our education, Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I am Another veteran I want to highlight
which should not depend on a young here this evening to discuss a tragic today who fought a battle with his
person’s ZIP Code; the quality of our issue that is affecting way too many mental health was Commander John
Americans across the country. This
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
healthcare, which right now has racial Scott Hannon. Commander Hannon’s
disparities that are inexcusable; hous- tragedy is mental health and suicide. A DD–214 illustrates that he was a deco-
ing that often results from redlining; majority of Americans are encoun- rated Navy SEAL, but he was much
and protections in the workplace, tering an unprecedented amount of more than his service history and the
which could be achieved by a fairer, stress due to COVID–19, and resources wounds he bore as a result. His family
more effective use of OSHA. previously used to help individuals and friends remember him as a pas-
The quality of our society and our cope are even more limited. What is sionate mental health advocate for vet-
projection of power abroad depend on more concerning is that compounding erans with a gentle heart and a fierce
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- www.govinfo.gov