Congressional Record, Senate, July 22, 2020 — National Defense Authorization Act and Base Renaming
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated July 22, 2020, beginning at page S4399, in a long document. It carries the text of the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, amending the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act on driftnet fishing and on fees from charter vessel operators who guide recreational anglers who harvest Pacific halibut. A Senator who served as Virginia's 70th Governor and Richmond's 76th mayor speaks about an amendment on the names of military bases, noting that three of the ten bases whose names must be changed are in Virginia and that the amendment sought change only for facilities named for Confederates. The page ends with remarks on small business creation and an amendment.
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 22, 2020 — National Defense Authorization Act and Base Renaming.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-07-22-crec-2020-07-22-pt1-pgs4399-37965554f2/
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4399
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ‘‘(i) deploys, within the exclusive economic month to oppose the amendment, and
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driftnet zone, a net with a total length of less than he obscured its purpose in describing
Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. two and one-half kilometers and a mesh size it, only saying that it required that
SEC. 2. DEFINITION. of 14 inches or greater; and
‘‘some of the names of our Nation’s
Section 3(25) of the Magnuson-Stevens ‘‘(ii) is conducted within 5 years of the date
Fishery Conservation and Management Act of enactment of the Driftnet Modernization military bases must be removed.’’ He
(16 U.S.C. 1802(25)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. neglected to mention that the amend-
or with a mesh size of 14 inches or greater,’’ SEC. 6. FEES. ment specifically sought change only
after ‘‘more’’. (a) IN GENERAL.—The North Pacific Fish- to facilities named for Confederates. In
SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND POLICY. ery Management Council may recommend, fact, he did not mention the Confed-
(a) FINDINGS.—Section 206(b) of the Magnu- and the Secretary of Commerce may ap- eracy or the Civil War at all.
son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man- prove, regulations necessary for the collec- If you are unwilling to be plain about
agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826(b)) is amended— tion of fees from charter vessel operators what is at stake, it portrays a weak-
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at who guide recreational anglers who harvest ness in your position. So let me be
the end; Pacific halibut in International Pacific Hal-
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period
plain. I speak today because I am a
ibut Commission regulatory areas 2C and 3A
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and as those terms are defined in part 300 of title
Senator from the State with the most
(3) by adding at the end the following: 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc- at stake in this discussion. Three of
‘‘(8) within the exclusive economic zone, cessor regulations). the ten bases whose names must be
large-scale driftnet fishing that deploys nets (b) USE OF FEES.—Any fees collected under changed under this amendment are in
with large mesh sizes causes significant en- this section shall be available, without ap- Virginia. Virginia was the State whose
tanglement and mortality of living marine propriation or fiscal year limitation, for the people were most affected by the Civil
resources, including myriad protected spe- purposes of— War, and I served as its 70th Governor.
cies, despite limitations on the lengths of (1) financing administrative costs of the
such nets.’’.
My hometown of Richmond was the
Recreational Quota Entity program;
(b) POLICY.—Section 206(c) of the Magnu- (2) the purchase of halibut quota shares in
capital of the Confederacy, and I served
son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man- International Pacific Halibut Commission as its 76th mayor. I have dealt with
agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826(c)) is amended— regulatory areas 2C and 3A by the rec- issues of Civil War names, statues, me-
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at reational quota entity authorized in part 679 morials, battlefields, and buildings
the end; of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or throughout my 26 years in public life.
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period any successor regulations); Based on decades of grappling with this
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and (3) halibut conservation and research; and question, I want to describe a principle,
(3) by adding at the end the following— (4) promotion of the halibut resource by
‘‘(4) prioritize the phase out of large-scale explain an epiphany, and finally pose a
the recreational quota entity authorized in
driftnet fishing in the exclusive economic part 679 of title 50, Code of Federal Regula-
question.
zone and promote the development and adop- tions (or any successor regulations). First, a principle: If you declare war
tion of alternative fishing methods and gear on the United States, take up arms
types that minimize the incidental catch of
Mr. KAINE. I ask unanimous consent against it, and kill U.S. troops, you
living marine resources.’’. that the motion to reconsider be con- should not have a U.S. military base
SEC. 4. TRANSITION PROGRAM. sidered made and laid upon the table. named after you.
Section 206 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without If you declare war on the United
ery Conservation and Management Act (16 objection, it is so ordered. States, take up arms against it, and
U.S.C. 1826) is amended by adding at the end f kill U.S. troops, you should not have a
the following—
‘‘(i) FISHING GEAR TRANSITION PROGRAM.— NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- U.S. military base named after you.
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR This principle is nowhere stated in
beginning on the date of enactment of the 2021—Continued law because it need not be. It is a basic
Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduc- commonsense principle. The principle
tion Act, the Secretary shall conduct a tran- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- explains why we have no Fort Corn-
sition program to facilitate the phase-out of ator from Virginia. wallis, Fort Benedict Arnold, Fort
large-scale driftnet fishing and adoption of S. 4049 Santa Ana, Fort Von Hindenburg, Fort
alternative fishing practices that minimize Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise to- Tojo, Fort Ho Chi Minh.
the incidental catch of living marine re- night to speak about a provision of the If you declare war on the United
sources, and shall award grants to eligible
National Defense Authorization Act States, take up arms against it, and
permit holders who participate in the pro-
gram. that would direct the renaming of mili- kill U.S. troops, you should not have a
‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—Any permit holder tary bases and facilities that are cur- U.S. military base named after you,
receiving a grant under paragraph (1) may rently named for those who voluntarily but we make an exception. Ten bases
use such funds only for the purpose of cov- fought for the Confederacy during the and many other military facilities are
ering— Civil War. named after Confederate leaders who
‘‘(A) any fee originally associated with a I thank Senator WARREN for offering declared war on the United States,
permit authorizing participation in a large- the amendment, and I particularly took up arms against it, and killed
scale driftnet fishery, if such permit is sur-
thank her for making adjustments to U.S. troops. Even further, they took
rendered for permanent revocation, and such
permit holder relinquishes any claim associ- the amendment to accommodate con- these actions to destroy the United
ated with the permit; cerns of colleagues on both sides of the States, to tear our country in half so
‘‘(B) a forfeiture of fishing gear associated aisle. I was proud to cosponsor the re- that the seceding Southern States
with a permit described in subparagraph (A); vised amendment in committee and could continue to own those of African
or speak in favor of it today. descent as slaves—a species of prop-
‘‘(C) the purchase of alternative gear with It is important to state clearly what erty—rather than treating them as
minimal incidental catch of living marine this amendment will do. If it passes equal human beings. Is this worthy of
resources, if the fishery participant is au-
and survives a threatened Presidential honor? Does it justify an exception to
thorized to continue fishing using such alter-
native gears. veto, it will require the Department of the sound principle that I describe?
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall Defense to initiate a 3-year process to Why were these 10 bases so named
certify that, with respect to each participant change the name of any military base, when they were constructed in the
in the program under this subsection, any barracks, or other facility named after years before and during the First and
permit authorizing participation in a large- a Confederate military leader. Why 3 Second World Wars? The names were
scale driftnet fishery has been permanently years? The timing is designed to allow not chosen due to the military skill of
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revoked and that no new permits will be a full public process in each location so the Confederate leaders. Some are re-
issued to authorize such fishing.’’.
that the desires of the community vered for their prowess, but some are
SEC. 5. EXCEPTION.
Section 307(1)(M) of the Magnuson-Stevens
leaders can be taken into account in reviled. The names were not chosen to
Fishery Conservation and Management Act choosing new names. honor the character of the 10 leaders.
(16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(M)) is amended by inserting I state with clarity the substance of Some are respected—excepting the
before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, unless the amendment because one of my col- blight on character that support for
such large-scale driftnet fishing— leagues took the floor earlier this slavery confers—but others were not
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S4400 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
distinguished in their behavior or their nicipal buildings, courts, schools, many prive those of African descent of their
integrity. The record makes clear that named after prominent African Ameri- equality, we signal that we are not
the 10 bases were named for Confed- cans, women leaders. Aging bridges committed to our most fundamental
erate leaders upon their construction that had been named for Confederate American value.
during the First and Second World generals were eventually replaced and Finally, there are questions for
Wars because of a lingering belief in named for civil rights heroes. those, including the President, who at-
their cause—dividing the Nation to up- In short, we viewed this problem as tack those who want to remove Confed-
hold slavery and White supremacy. one that could be solved with a path of erate names from military bases or
In the days of mandated segregation, addition—not replacing the painful take down Confederate statues.
a vibrant Ku Klux Klan, popular cul- symbols of the past but instead adding When you saw young Germans in 1989
ture painting a false picture of the war to our built environment the recogni- spray graffiti on the Berlin Wall and
and its aftermath with films like ‘‘The tion of people and eras that had not knock it down, how did you feel? I
Birth of a Nation’’ and ‘‘Gone with the previously been honored. This was nec- know how you felt. You felt good to see
Wind,’’ there was a powerful desire to essary and important work. I was people standing up to leaders and say-
hold up the Confederate cause, to sani- proud to play my part in it during my ing: You will no longer divide us.
tize the Confederate cause and deny 16 years in local and State service. When you saw people throughout the
the reality of African-American suf- But in recent months, as I spent our Soviet bloc pulling down statues of
fering. That desire even affected this extended April quarantine in Richmond Stalin and Lenin after the collapse of
very body during those years, as the and I talked to people about whether the Soviet Union or Iraqis pulling down
Senate repeatedly used the filibuster to Confederate statues on our Monument statues of Saddam Hussein, how did
block Federal anti-lynching legisla- Avenue should be removed, I learned you feel? I know how you felt. You felt
tion. something. When I refer to these stat- good to see people standing and saying
It is clear now, as it has been clear ues as symbols of a painful past, again with their actions: We will no longer
for a very long time, that the cause of and again, I was told: Tim, you might glorify tyrants who oppressed us.
the Confederacy was not just but mon- see these statues as signifying a pain- When you see hundreds of thousands
strous. Destroying the Nation to pre- ful past, but we see them as signs of a of Hongkongers in the streets pro-
serve slavery would have been a catas- painful present and even predictors of a testing against the Chinese Govern-
trophe. difficult future. ment, how do you feel? I know how you
History can’t be rewritten, and it is This sort of stopped me in my tracks. feel because I heard you, even in this
important to tell it, but choosing who I asked my friends to explain. Here is a Chamber. You feel good seeing every-
to honor is another matter entirely. I composite of what they told me: If hon- day people standing up against a gov-
repeat a principle that I believe brooks oring these Confederates were just ernment that would deprive them of
no exception: If you declare war on the about the past, that would be one their basic freedom.
United States, take up arms against it, thing. But these statues are honored in Well, if you feel that way—and I be-
and kill U.S. troops, you should not the present by a city and State that lieve virtually all Americans do—how
have a U.S. military base named after maintain them, spotlight them, empha- can we feel otherwise about patriotic
you. size their beauty, and market their ap- Americans who believe in a nation
This wisdom was understood imme- peal to tourists. In the present, these committed to the equality of all when
diately in the aftermath of the Civil statues become a rallying point for they stand up and say: We will not be
War by Robert E. Lee. He was asked neo-Confederates and others who would divided. We will not glorify those who
about memorials to the Confederacy take us back, just as occurred in Char- oppressed us. We will not honor those
and stated: ‘‘I think it wiser not to lottesville in 2017. who stood against our freedom. That is
keep open the sores of war but to fol- The present is pretty frightening. Af- what our people, especially our young
low the examples of those nations who rican Americans are dying of COVID at people, are saying to us now. Sup-
endeavored to obliterate the marks of disproportionate rates. The job losses porting this amendment will show
civil strife, to commit to oblivion the in this economic collapse are falling so them that we are listening.
feelings engendered.’’ This amendment hard on African-American commu- In conclusion, we Americans have
is consistent with Lee’s wise observa- nities. We see scenes of police violence grown as a nation and as a people since
tion. against African Americans playing the Civil War. And we have grown as a
Second, let me explain an epiphany endlessly on our televisions, and we nation and as a people since the first
that I have had just in the last few don’t see an immediate end to these half of the 20th century when, in very
months. When I moved to Virginia to disparities. different circumstances, it was still
get married in 1984, I saw the Confed- Do you really expect us to believe seen as a good idea to honor the Con-
erate statues in Richmond, and I was that a society that continues to honor federacy.
puzzled. As a Kansas-raised civil rights those who tried to destroy our country One of the key areas of our growth—
lawyer and then later as a local elected to save slavery will be serious about admittedly a progress of fits and
official in a city that was majority Af- ending the racial disparities that exist starts—has been a greater acceptance
rican American, I was struck by their today? You either support the equality of others, regardless of race or religion
continued prominence. But together of all or you don’t. If you honor those or sexual orientation or gender or na-
with the leadership of my diverse city, who opposed our equality—indeed, op- tionality or physical ability. Thank
we viewed these statues and other sym- posed the very notion of our human- God for that growth. Of course, the evi-
bols of the Confederacy as painful sym- ity—what hope can we have about dence all around shows that we still
bols of an incomplete past—painful be- overcoming the real-time injustices have a long way to go to reach full
cause of the reality of slavery and dis- that are manifest all around us? equality. It might be like the North
crimination, which have warped our I thank God I can still learn some Star. We can steer by it, but it is not
Commonwealth and country since 1619, new things at age 62. In my view, the in the capacity of mortal mankind to
and incomplete as well. Where were the statues and base names and the other reach it.
statues to Richmond heroes from the Confederate honorifics that dot the But when we do steer by it and step
revolution or the civil rights move- American landscape have been about in its direction, we become better.
ment? Why did our city highlight 4 the past. But I now see that, for so That is what this amendment will ac-
years out of a 250-year history and many, they raise deep and troubling complish, and it is why I so strongly
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downplay everything else? questions about the present and the fu- support it.
My generation of Richmond leaders ture. Are we committed to the equality I yield the floor.
endeavored to solve this problem by of all—the moral North Star an- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
painting a more complete picture— nounced by Jefferson in the Declara- ator from Iowa.
statues of Arthur Ashe, Abraham Lin- tion of Independence and reconfirmed PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS
coln, Maggie Walker, a civil rights me- by Lincoln at Gettysburg? If we con- Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, Ameri-
morial on our capitol grounds, new mu- tinue to honor men who fought to de- cans are facing extremely challenging
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4401
times, and, right now, folks are work- suddenly chose to drop their support facing hard times. They are mourning
ing hard just to make ends meet to put for this bipartisan drug pricing reform the loss of loved ones who have been
food on their table and to care for their bill that they helped write. taken by this virus. They are worried
families and their loved ones. Let me make that clear. The Demo- about how they will take care of their
As our communities continue to crats helped write the bill with Senator children at home while they work to
grapple with the devastating impacts GRASSLEY. Those who sat on the Fi- provide. They are concerned for their
of the coronavirus pandemic, the crisis nance Committee approved this bill health and the well-being of their loved
of rising drug costs in the United last year. ones. Many of them are considering
States has only worsened. Now, more This year, they are refusing to assist skipping a dose of their medication or
than ever, folks are operating on very my senior Senator, CHUCK GRASSLEY, cutting a pill in half to try to make
thin margins and simply don’t have in moving forward a bill they helped those prescriptions stretch just a little
room in their budgets for expensive write. That begs the question: What bit further until their next paychecks.
prescriptions. changed over the course of one year? Let’s put aside political interests.
No individual should have to make Do you know what, folks? That is ex- Let’s work together on this. I will be
the decision between filling a life- actly what happened. It was the year: standing at the ready, and it is my sin-
saving prescription and feeding their 2020 is an election year, and that means cere hope that my colleagues on both
family. The skyrocketing costs of pre- Washington is not focused on solutions; sides of the aisle will join me in this ef-
scription drugs have become a matter it is all about the political scoreboard. fort.
of life and death for so many. We have We have seen it already this year I yield the floor.
heard the heartbreaking stories of indi- with our friends across the aisle block- I suggest the absence of a quorum.
viduals who could not afford their insu- ing us from even debating the JUS- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
lin, who were forced to ration and skip TICE Act, the police reform bill that clerk will call the roll.
doses, and, as a result, they lost their contained about 70 percent of what our The senior assistant legislative clerk
lives. Democratic colleagues were asking for proceeded to call the roll.
I remember quite vividly a conversa- in police reform. Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask
tion I had with an Iowa mother ex- Iowans put their partisanship aside unanimous consent that the order for
plaining how she lost her son who, as a and came together and got a police re- the quorum call be rescinded.
young man, was rationing his insulin form package passed; that is, Iowans in The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
because he could not afford to do more. our State legislature. I wish we could objection, it is so ordered.
It was a heartbreaking discussion, and say the same for Washington, not only THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT
on the JUSTICE Act but also this pre- Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, 6
having that discussion with that moth-
scription drug pricing bill. Lowering weeks ago, I stood here as the Senate
er, I could not help but think then of
prescription drug costs shouldn’t be prepared to begin deliberating historic
my own brother and sister who have
about who gets the credit. It should be conservation legislation—the Great
been reliant on insulin as juvenile dia-
about working across the aisle to save American Outdoors Act. I introduced
betics for nearly all of their lives.
lives, which is the very reason that this legislation with Senator MANCHIN,
When we talk about the cost of pre-
Senator GRASSLEY worked hand in of West Virginia, along with so many
scription drugs, lives are literally on
hand with Democrats on this bill.
the line. other bipartisan champions for the out-
Iowans should expect more from
Iowans have been very clear with me Washington. They want more, and they doors and our public lands. Senators
where they stand on this issue. They should get it. DAINES, PORTMAN, WARNER, ALEX-
want to see us come together to ad- Chairman GRASSLEY, President ANDER, KING, CANTWELL, BURR, and
vance solutions that drive down those Trump, and I will not back down from HEINRICH are just a few of the cham-
drug prices. Seniors, families, and chil- this fight. We will press on and do ev- pions who helped to shepherd this his-
dren all need to be assured that when erything in our power to provide relief toric legislation through this Chamber.
they go to the pharmacy, they will be to Americans who desperately need it. I remarked on that day that it was not
able to afford their medications and I will continue to call on my Demo- often the Senate had a chance to make
not have to skip a meal—or more—to cratic colleagues to come to the table history, but, indeed, history we made.
do so. to work on improving our Nation’s The Senate came together in an over-
This is why I was proud to join my healthcare system and drive down the whelmingly bipartisan fashion and
friend and my colleague, Senator costs for Americans. Whether it is low- passed the Great American Outdoors
GRASSLEY, in introducing a piece of ering drug costs, expanding childcare Act 73 to 25, and just moments ago, the
legislation that I know he has worked options for families, ensuring protec- U.S. House of Representatives joined us
tirelessly on—the Prescription Drug tions for individuals with preexisting in making history by passing the Great
Pricing Reduction Act of 2020. This conditions, like my sister and my American Outdoors Act with a vote of
vital piece of legislation would root brother, or simply making sure that 310 to 107.
out unfair pricing shenanigans and per- children have access to clean diapers— This legislation is headed today to
verse payment incentives that allow simple things. These are all issues that the desk of the President of the United
pharmaceutical companies to take ad- Americans want to see Congress take States for his signature. The President
vantage of the system at the expense of action on. has already supported the bill, noting
taxpayers and patients. Just recently, I joined with my col- the nature of this historic bill and the
According to the Congressional Budg- league Senator BRAUN of Indiana in in- huge conservation victory that it is.
et Office, this bill would save taxpayers troducing a bill that helps address yet In the weeks since Senate passage, I
$95 billion with a ‘‘b,’’ reduce out-of- another critical issue for Americans— have traveled all over the great State
pocket expenses by $72 billion with a increasing transparency and lowering of Colorado and have visited with land
‘‘b,’’ and reduce premiums by $1 billion healthcare costs. management officials, professionals,
with a ‘‘b.’’ Our Healthcare PRICE Transparency stakeholders, and constituents to dis-
It needs to be said that Chairman Act would implement the administra- cuss what the Great American Out-
GRASSLEY worked for months on end to tion’s rules requiring hospitals and in- doors Act will really mean on the
craft this bill in a bipartisan manner surers to reveal their low, discounted ground on a personal, local level for
with his Democratic counterparts. In prices and negotiated rates to patients Colorado and Colorado’s public lands. I
fact, two-thirds of the Senate Finance would like to share some of those sto-
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before they receive medical care.
Committee approved our bipartisan Iowans should be able to know the ries with you today.
Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction costs associated with their healthcare Here we have a picture of an amphi-
Act a year ago this very month—two- in advance so they can make the best theater that is outside of the Black
thirds of the Senate Finance Com- decisions for themselves and for their Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
mittee. Yet, at a time when Americans families. If you would just go a little bit further
are struggling to afford rent and gro- Folks, let’s not forget that, outside to the right, you would actually be in
ceries, my colleagues across the aisle the Halls of Congress, Americans are the canyon.
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S4402 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
This is an amphitheater that was the Great American Outdoors Act will cooped up indoors for the last several
built, basically, in the 1960s. The park become. months. Millions of people and families
itself is now about 20 years old. It had It is not just the national parks or are facing uncertain futures. Will
over 430,000 people visit it last year. It the national forests or the Bureau of school return in the fall? Will my busi-
has a deferred maintenance backlog of Land Management that will benefit ness survive this challenging time?
$7.7 million, and this South Rim Am- from the Great American Outdoors Will I receive my next paycheck?
phitheater facility is part of that back- Act. This is a picture of the Runyon When the first waves of the virus hit
log. It is currently being used, but it Sports Complex in Pueblo, CO. This and shutdown orders went into place,
needs significant upgrades. If you actu- area has a number of ballparks from some of Colorado’s mountain towns
ally sat on one of those benches, you little leagues to adult leagues. In fact, and rural areas were the hardest and
probably wouldn’t be able to sit any- they just had their first pitch of the first hit. Community restaurants
where else for quite a long time be- season last week—a day that I was ac- closed; hotels emptied; and their
cause of the splinters and the gouges tually at the Runyon Sports Complex stores’ doors were closed to visitors.
that you would receive from the shards in Pueblo, CO, to kick off a tour- These are challenging times, no doubt,
of wood that are on those benches, and nament to celebrate the beginning of a but one glimmer of hope will always be
there are electrical outlets that are season that had been much delayed our public lands and the great out-
popping up from an old projection sys- thanks to COVID–19. doors.
tem. This area saw people like Pee Wee This Nation does not have Repub-
This is supposed to be used for edu- Reese play baseball and Babe Ruth lican or Democratic public lands. This
cation and educational opportunities. visit this same area to play baseball. is not a partisan issue. Preserving and
With the right improvements, they will Now Coloradans of every generation taking care of our public lands provides
be able to restore this and get it back are able to go to the Runyon Sports a benefit to the entire country, and it
to its original purpose. New park Complex and enjoy it. It has become a will provide a benefit for generations
benches and electrical work are among regional draw to help benefit the city to come.
just a bit of this amphitheater’s economically and to teach kids about Yet, not only is this legislation about
needs—a $200,000 deferred maintenance sports and teamwork. That is what this preserving and protecting our lands, it
project alone, this site for education means. is also about job creation and economic
for experiential learning. Within the The Land and Water Conservation recovery—more hope for the people of
rest of the park, there are millions Fund, yes, helps forests and parks, but this country. Passing the Great Amer-
more in maintenance projects like this 40 percent of the Land and Water Con- ican Outdoors Act will create over
one that need to be performed and car- servation Fund’s funding is dedicated 100,000 jobs by addressing the park
ried out. to projects at the State and local lev- maintenance backlog alone. In my
Our lands are busy. People are loving els. If you grew up on the Front Range home State of Colorado, it will create
them. This is one example, and it is of Colorado and played baseball, the thousands of jobs across the State as
one example of a project that will be odds are good that you will have spent the mission of the Great American
completed thanks to the Great Amer- some time on the field at Runyon or at Outdoors Act is fulfilled. There will be
ican Outdoors Act. Yet it is not just any other number of places that have more jobs created as the work begins
national parks that have maintenance been funded by a Land and Water Con- to address maintenance projects on
needs. servation Fund project. Runyon has re- other Federal lands. The Forest Serv-
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny ceived over $100,000 in LWCF funding ice, the Bureau of Land Management,
Perdue joined me in Colorado in mid- over the years, and the complex con- our National Wildlife Refuges, and the
June, and we toured the Mizpah Camp- tinues to be a vital part of the commu- Bureau of Indian Education’s schools
ground, which is in the Arapahoe and nity today. all have needs that will be addressed by
Roosevelt National Forests, that has The LWCF is not just about our pub- this legislation. These will be impor-
been closed for a decade. This is a beau- lic lands; it is about your local ball- tant opportunities to create jobs when
tiful river, and the campground is back park, about your local swimming pool, the projects are finally and fully fund-
here. There is only one problem: There about playground facilities, and urban ed.
is no bridge. This river wiped out the parks that otherwise wouldn’t give mi- I mentioned this statistic quite a bit
culvert and the bridge a decade ago. nority communities access to recre- during the consideration of the Great
This is a campground without access ation. That is what it is about. American Outdoors Act here in the
because, 10 years ago—a decade ago—a Just up the road from Runyon Field, Senate. For every $1 million we spend
flood came through—high water came in El Paso County, CO, and the commu- on the Land and Water Conservation
through—and wiped out the access. nities within them, they have benefited Fund, it supports between 16 and 30
You can’t even use this public facility greatly from the LWCF. We visited a jobs. That is a figure above and beyond
because of a decades-long maintenance project in El Paso County that received the 100,000 jobs that we created by the
backlog at this facility alone. hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a parks’ provisions of the legislation
The Great American Outdoors Act county that has received $5 million in alone. This is a bill that will put people
will provide line-of-sight funding for funding over the years and has pro- to work. It is a bill that will put people
projects like these, which will no vided benefits for everything from to work by building playgrounds, fixing
longer have to compete for a small pool building parks to tennis courts and trails, cleaning up ballparks, and pro-
of funding with every other national trails. The State has received over $2 tecting our iconic landscapes for gen-
forest in the country. million in funding to improve the erations to come.
When I talk to these professionals— Cheyenne Mountain State Park facili- This is a bill that reminds us that
when I talk to the forest rangers and ties within El Paso County, CO. our communities and our shared, pub-
the park superintendents—they talk Local, regional, and State outdoor lic outdoor spaces are worth investing
about how they are able to accomplish recreation projects will only further in. It is a bill that reminds people that
building structures in their parks, how benefit when the Great American Out- we have hope for America. It is a bill
they are able to build campgrounds in doors Act is signed into law. With the that reminds people that your public
their parks, and how they are able to Great American Outdoors Act, Con- lands are waiting for you and that Con-
keep up with restroom facilities, but gress is finally fulfilling its commit- gress was able to come together, during
they have had no line-of-sight funding ment to fully and permanently fund these trying times, in a bipartisan
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for additional help down the road. This the LWCF, which will benefit every fashion that was so strong and so great
means that, as the facilities age, they State in the Nation. that you will be able to enjoy the great
may just have to be closed or, in this The passage of this historic legisla- American outdoors the way they were
case, as access gets wiped out, you will tion could not come at a more critical meant to be enjoyed.
just never regain that access. What a time. Our economy has suffered during I am pleased that the House of Rep-
loss to the American people that is, but the coronavirus pandemic, and stay-at- resentatives affirmed all of this by
what a benefit to the American people home orders have kept Americans passing the Great American Outdoors
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4403
Act today with such a strong, bipar- vironmental groups, as well as the yet the maintenance backlog is huge
tisan vote. I thank my colleagues on President. there, as you can imagine, and without
both sides of the aisle and in both People will say: Well, that was easy this legislation, they would not be able
Chambers for their hard work and dedi- to do with all that support. to make progress.
cation to passing this historic con- It wasn’t easy to do. If it had been I got to see specifically what the
servation legislation. easy to do, it would have happened 20 money is going for, which is making
I look forward to the President’s or 30 years ago. So it took support sure that house still stands years from
signing this bill in the days ahead. I from the Senator from North Dakota now so that people, particularly young
look forward to getting out into the and leadership from the Senator from people in our community, can under-
great outdoors, and I look forward to Ohio and Senator WARNER from Vir- stand the history of our country—the
these lands as they continue to inspire ginia, especially. good and the bad, the cooperation and
the hopes and dreams of kids and I came to the floor also to talk about the seeking for freedom that came
adults alike for generations to come. something else, but I see the Senator from the Underground Railroad and the
I yield the floor. from Ohio so I think I will yield the incredible leadership that Charles
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- floor and then speak on the other sub- Young showed as an early African-
ator from Tennessee. ject after he has a chance to speak, if American pioneer, both in the military
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, be- he would like to. and in our national park system.
fore the Senator from Colorado leaves Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I And then I was at the Cuyahoga Val-
the floor, I offer to him my congratula- thank my colleague from Tennessee for ley National Park, where I had the op-
tions for his inspired leadership of the focusing on the American Great Out- portunity to see the 13th most visited
Great American Outdoors Act. doors Act. I had come to the floor to park in America and a number of dif-
This is something that good people talk about the COVID–19 legislation we ferent needs that they have, adding up
on both sides of the aisle have worked are considering, but I am very pleased to about $50 million. Their annual
on, literally, for as much as a half a to be here with my colleagues who budget, by the way, is about $11 mil-
century. Now, people are used to politi- helped to get this legislation across the lion, and yet they have $50 million
cians who exaggerate, but that is no finish line. It is incredibly important worth of things that have to be fixed.
exaggeration, because I have been and truly historic for our national I saw trails literally falling into the
around along enough to know and to parks. river. I saw railroad tracks for the
understand that—first, with the Land I have spent more than a dozen years beautiful scenic railroad that runs
and Water Conservation Fund, which on this. It is kind of embarrassing be- through there where the tracks have to
was first enacted by Congress in 1964. I cause I wasn’t very successful for the be replaced. I saw a bridge that is truly
was the chairman of President Rea- first 11, but from my days as the Direc- becoming dangerous and has to be
gan’s Commission on American Out- tor of the Office of Management and fixed—an historic bridge. These are
doors and reiterated support for that in Budget, I have been focused on what things that can’t be done with their
1986. Senator GARDNER, Senator really is a tragic situation—about a $12 normal budget that funds the rangers
DAINES, Senator PORTMAN, Senator billion now maintenance backlog in and some programs. These are capital
WARNER, Senator HEINRICH, Senator our national parks, far more than the expenses, things that have to have a
MANCHIN, Senator CANTWELL, and a parks could ever afford to take care of separate funding source, the way we
whole parade of Senators on both sides based on our annual budgets that we budget around here, and we are doing
of the aisle have worked very hard to provide them from this place and yet that now.
So after many years of trying dif-
make this happen. something that had to be done.
So it is not very exciting for some ferent efforts at this and finding some
And it would not have happened
people to think about, gosh, fixing a success over the years—the Centennial
without President Trump’s leadership,
Act has helped a little bit and some
either. We would not have been able to visitor’s center or making sure a trail
other things to get private-public part-
spend the money the way that it is isn’t eroding into a river, making sure
nership money—we now have the abil-
spent—energy exploration money for that our roads and bridges in our na-
ity to really say that the parks are
conservation purposes—unless the tional parks are kept up to speed, so
going to be in good shape for our kids,
President’s Office of Management and that when you go to a national park
our grandkids, and the future genera-
Budget had approved that. you can actually use the restroom fa-
tions that can enjoy what LAMAR
So it is usually never true that an cilities and the lodges. But we have had
ALEXANDER has referred to—I think,
important piece of legislation is passed a huge problem with finding funding
paraphrasing Ken Burns—as America’s
by a single Senator. It is usually a pa- for that, and in this legislation, as was best idea.
rade of Senators. But Senator GARDNER noted by my colleague from Tennessee, With that, I yield back. I would like
has been leading the parade, and I con- who has been at this for many years, as some time in a moment to talk about
gratulate him for that and salute him well, we are finally doing something to the COVID–19 legislation, but I would
on behalf of all of us who want to see help our parks that is badly needed. like to yield now to the Senator from
our national parks—the 419 different The priority projects—$6.5 billion Tennessee.
places we have, from the Great Smok- worth—will now be handled by legisla- Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I
ies to the Rocky Mountains, to Yellow- tion that passed the House today by a thank the Senator from Ohio for his
stone, to Pearl Harbor, to the National 310-to-107 vote and passed the Senate a courtesy, as well as his leadership. I
Mall—protected, as well as our na- few weeks ago. The President has will not be long.
tional forests, our national wildlife ref- agreed to sign it, and it will keep our (The remarks of Mr. ALEXANDER per-
uges, as well as the permanent funding promise, and it is a debt unpaid to our taining to the introduction of S. 4284
for the Land and Water Conservation parks. Without it, future generations are printed in today’s RECORD under
Fund. wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and
So I wanted to have an opportunity and enjoy these incredible treasures. Joint Resolutions.’’)
to say that before he left the floor. I spent the last few weeks at a couple Mr. ALEXANDER. I yield the floor.
And I see my friend Senator PORTMAN of our national parks—one, the Charles The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
from Ohio here, who really, along with Young home in Ohio, which is a beau- ator from Ohio.
Senator WARNER of Virginia, began the tiful historic home that is actually a CORONAVIRUS
work on the other part of the bill—the station on the Underground Railroad Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, the
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bill that would take money from en- and, therefore, has particular and very legislation that Senator ALEXANDER is
ergy exploration and reduce the na- important historic significance for our talking about probably is something
tional park backlog by half over 5 State. Charles Young was the first we ought to look at in connection with
years. That had the support, combined Black colonel in the U.S. Army, the this legislation that we are likely to
with the Land and Water Conservation first Black superintendent of a na- pass here in the Congress in the next
Fund, of more than 800 different out- tional park, and his home needs to be week or so regarding the COVID–19 cri-
door recreation, conservation, and en- preserved for future generations. And sis that we face. I am here on the floor
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S4404 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
today to talk about that—to talk about cant impact on how we address these We need to do it based on good data
what the next steps ought to be and dual healthcare and economic crises. on what has been spent and what re-
how we should be responding as Con- That is why it is important, and more mains to be done. We need to keep in
gress to this unprecedented challenge important than ever, that we figure mind what is the most important pol-
we have of the pandemic. out how to work together, Republicans icy proposals to include in this legisla-
We are now about 5 months into it, and Democrats alike, and make some tion and not make it a catchall.
and for much of April and certainly in smart bipartisan policy decisions. First, and most importantly in my
the month of May we were seeing pret- Unfortunately, that is not the way view, we need to increase funding for
ty good progress on the coronavirus the House of Representatives has pro- the healthcare response and the safety
pandemic. The situation was improv- ceeded to date. The House Democrats efforts. This is the underlying problem:
ing, and many of us thought we were chose to construct their own proposal. Until we focus on this pandemic and
turning the corner. Unfortunately, as It is called the Heroes Act. Rather than what the virus is doing, we can spend
we have moved into June and July, we working constructively across the aisle all the money we want around here,
are now trending in the wrong direc- to try to find some common ground to and it is not going to make much of a
tion in much of the country. Over the help Americans deal with this difference. So we have to be sure that
past week, the number of hospitaliza- healthcare and economic crisis, Demo- we are focused on the actual problem. I
tions, for instance, has risen in many crats chose and made and released an think that means getting our
of our States, and there is concern that 1,800-page, $3.5 trillion package that in- healthcare professionals the resources
the situation could worsen when the cluded some provisions that have noth- they need to effectively respond to this
weather begins to cool. ing to do with COVID–19. crisis. They need more funding. We
Today, in Ohio, our Governor an- How big is $3.5 trillion? Well, that need more funding for testing, contact
nounced a statewide mask mandate, as makes it the biggest piece of legisla- tracing, PPE—the personal protective
an example. We have not had that yet. tion ever passed by either the House or gear that, unfortunately, we still don’t
He did so because he is concerned about Senate in the history of our country. have the stockpiles here that we need.
some of the numbers. Ohio is not in as Never have we had legislation that ex- We need to be sure we are doing every-
bad a shape as some of the States, but pensive. Also, $3.5 trillion is just a lot thing we can do to get this antiviral
we are not seeing the progress we of money. The budget last year was $4.5 medication up and going. We have one,
hoped for. trillion—the entire budget for the en- Remdesivir, that is showing positive
The past few months have been a tire year for our country. This one bill results. We need to make sure that we
somewhat better story for the econ- is $3.5 trillion. So it is not only the are doing everything we can to get this
omy. After the initial shocks of the most costly legislation ever to pass, vaccine as fast as possible because with
self-imposed economic shutdown this but, again, it is not just about COVID– a vaccine, as we have with the common
past spring, a couple months ago, we 19. In fact, one Democratic leader flu, we will be making tremendous
have seen a steady rebound taking called it ‘‘a tremendous opportunity to progress in pushing back against the
place in most parts of the country. New fix things to fit our vision,’’ which is virus. Stopping the spread of the virus
unemployment claims, put out just why it passed by a nearly party-line has to be our top priority in this next
last week, while still far too high com- vote. bill, as it has been in some of the other
pared to where we were before this pan- If true, by the way, that vision en- legislation.
demic, are the lowest we have seen tails raising taxes on some small busi- It is clear from the recent resurgence
since the crisis began. Recent retail nesses; it includes giving out tax in cases that we are still not where we
sales numbers are about where they breaks, largely to benefit very wealthy need to be in testing. I know there has
were a year ago when there was no pan- individuals on both coasts; it has direct been a lot of discussion recently about
demic. So we are seeing better im- payouts to illegal immigrants; it has testing and whether it is needed or not.
provement in the economy as compared immigration reforms related to ICE I will tell you it is critical because we
to the disappointing progress we were and other things; it has unprecedented need to know where the disease is and
making recently on the pandemic. mandates on the States to require how it may be spreading. It also gives
Thanks to unprecedented Federal ac- mail-in voting and telling States, by us much greater context in taking
tion, such as the Paycheck Protection the way, that they are required to have steps toward reopening in a safe way,
Program which has allowed small busi- certain kinds of ID. This has always whether it is our schools or whether it
nesses to keep their doors open and to been within the province of the States is our businesses, going to restaurants,
retain employees, thanks to some of to run their own election systems. going to bowling allies, movie theaters.
the targeted tax relief to help our fami- That is in this legislation. Testing is very important.
lies and also our businesses, we have At the same time, out of $3.5 trillion Last week, I was in Columbus, OH, at
been able to prevent an even more seri- and 1,800 pages, there is nothing in it to the Columbus Health Department,
ous economic collapse that in my view provide liability protection to our where officials told me what a huge dif-
would have had a devastating impact schools, hospitals, and small busi- ference the CARES grant that they re-
on all of us. However, we are not out of nesses; no funding for the Paycheck ceived has made in being able to ex-
the woods yet. There are still, roughly, Protection Program; no assistance for pand testing. They are building a track
17 million Americans out of work. That Americans trying to get back to work. to monitor and maintain the virus in
is a lot of Americans who have been It is $3.5 trillion in taxpayer money Franklin County that is needed right
furloughed through no fault of their being appropriated on a party-line now, and they are doing a great job.
own because businesses are not oper- vote. I don’t think that is what people They are providing testing that is
ating. This corresponds to about an 11- are looking for. I think they want us to driveby testing. It is easy to access. If
percent unemployment rate, more than get together, as we have already with you don’t have insurance to pay for it,
three times higher than it was just 5 four previous COVID–19 legislative it is covered through CARES funding
months ago. packages, and work together to try to that passed in the Congress. We are
You will recall that in February we get it done. We have to find that com- being sure that the funding is pro-
had historically low unemployment. mon ground. viding the best information available
Now we are up to 11 percent. Of course, We have to be sure we pass some- as we fight this invisible enemy. We
there are parts of the economy that thing that is bipartisan, that supports have to continue to do that to
have not seen the progress that other our healthcare system, our schools, our
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prioritize bolstering the ability of our
parts have. local governments, our employers, our healthcare officials at home and to be
So there is a lot for us to consider families, and that we do it in as tar- able to coordinate the response—State
now that Congress is back in session geted a way as possible given the fact level, local and national levels, and
and now that we are in the middle of that we have already the largest deficit testing, obviously, is key to that.
negotiating this new what they call the in the history of our country this year, In addition, as more parts of our
phase 5 coronavirus rescue package. and, of course, all this adding to our country are putting in place safe plans
The new legislation will have a signifi- national debt. to reopen our economy, we want to
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4405
make sure that the individuals who Keeping our children out of the class- nesses and others who need the work-
went on the COVID–19 unemployment room for a protracted period of time force badly, and it would help our econ-
lines in the early days of this pandemic has already had a negative impact on omy begin to be able to reopen prop-
have the opportunity and the incentive many of them with regard to edu- erly.
to reenter the workforce. We have to be cational advancement. This idea, by the way, has broad sup-
sure our workplaces are safe. We have heard this from the experts, port across the country. That same
This week, I introduced legislation the American Pediatric Society, and poll I talked about found that 69 per-
called the healthy workplace tax cred- the pediatricians back home—the doc- cent of respondents support a return-
it, a credit on payroll taxes to ensure tors who are looking at this situation to-work bonus.
employers can afford additional safety are saying it is very helpful in terms of There are various ways we can ac-
measures, from the Plexiglas you have getting kids back to school for edu- complish this goal, but I believe it
probably seen in some places, the cation but also for their mental health would be helpful if it is paired with an
shields to be able to protect people, to and for their social skills. extension of the unemployment insur-
the PPE that is needed, the gowns in On top of that, many parents, of ance.
some cases, the masks, the gloves, course, have been forced to make im- So this is something we have to focus
hand sanitizer, to be able to afford possible decisions. Do they go to work on and come up with a bipartisan con-
that, and to be sure that there is test- to earn a paycheck or do they stay sensus—a compromise—to ensure that
ing in place so employees and con- home to take care of their child. So re- we are not paying people more not to
sumers feel safe reentering the econ- opening the schools will have the effect work but ensure we are taking care of
omy. This tax credit will support our of having childcare, which is very im- people who are furloughed through no
efforts to make our workplaces healthy portant. We need to act fast to ensure fault of their own.
children don’t lose more progress. I also think we should be considering
and safe and to build consumer con-
Our phase 5 legislation should pro- provisions to help incentivize the hir-
fidence that all appropriate measures
vide funding to help our schools safely ing from the employer side, so it is also
are being taken.
It doesn’t really matter what we say reopen, whether it is providing addi- providing more of an incentive to bring
as elected officials. It doesn’t matter tional masks, gloves or other protec- people on board. A way to do this that
tive gear or other resources we have makes a lot of sense to me because it is
what our Governors are saying or local
talked about, I think that money is building on legislation we have already
health officials. If people don’t feel safe
passed is to expand and repurpose the
or feel comfortable, they are not going well spent.
Second, we have to get the economy work opportunity tax credit to add a
to reengage in the economy and step
moving again. To do that, I believe we category for COVID–19 furloughed indi-
forward. I think this kind of a tax cred-
need to remove the disincentive cur- viduals. Also, the employee retention
it should be something that both sides
rently in place; whereby, interestingly, tax credit from the CARES Act we
of the aisle can strongly support, and
we tried to help on unemployment in- passed just a short while ago can be
we can ensure that we are doing every-
improved to make it more encom-
thing we can to get people back to a surance, but we provided a flat $600
passing and a better hiring credit.
more normal life. payment that has actually
Helping to subsidize the marginal cost
As we tackle this healthcare chal- disincentivized a lot of people from
of a new hire will allow businesses to
lenge head-on, we also can’t afford to going back to work. Why? Because
ramp up operations more quickly as
step back on our efforts to combat the most individuals are making more on
the economy reopens, while also bring-
drug epidemic. Remember the opioid unemployment insurance than at their
ing more individuals off of the unem-
crisis that we were facing over the last previous job. A University of Chicago
ployment rolls and into the workforce.
couple of years. It has devastated com- study says that 60 to 70 percent of I hope these are part of whatever leg-
munities all around our country, in- those who are on unemployment insur- islative package we end up with. Again,
cluding my home State of Ohio. Unfor- ance are making more on UI than they these two should be bipartisan. The
tunately, we are seeing, during the did when working. work opportunity tax credit has always
coronavirus pandemic, the number of As part of this negotiation, I believe been bipartisan. The retention tax
addictions, overdoses, and overdose Congress should and will extend the ad- credit was bipartisan in the CARES
deaths is growing. This is very con- ditional Federal unemployment insur- Act. These are things we can do, and
cerning, particularly because, thanks ance benefit in some form, but you they should get done.
to a lot of efforts, including efforts in shouldn’t get paid more not to work. I We should be sure to stick with what
this body, to provide more treatment think that is a principle that we all has worked to this point in our
and recovery and prevention services, agree with, I hope, on both sides of the coronavirus response. One of the big-
we were finally making progress in aisle. We should fix this disincentive to gest successes, of course, has been the
2018. In my State of Ohio we had a 22- work by making the benefit a percent- PPP loan program. However, one flaw
percent decrease in opioid overdose age of your previous income. in the original law creating the PPP
deaths. Every single year for the pre- By the way, a July 13 Yahoo Finance- program was that it put in place bar-
vious dozen years we had seen in- Harris Poll found that 62 percent of riers to loans for those owners who had
creases, and, finally, we were making Americans believed these enhanced UI unrelated felony records.
progress. Now, unfortunately, we seem benefits served as a disincentive to This was brought to my attention by
to be backtracking because of the work. They are right. It doesn’t have to a constituent of mine. His name is
COVID–19 crisis. be that way. We can help people to en- Troy Parker. He is a person who has
People are isolated, and people are sure they get the support they need but done everything you would expect and
feeling anxiety. People are not being not have them being paid more than you would want someone to do who
able to access the treatment they used they would if they were going to work. comes off of a felony conviction—a
to be able to access. So in this legisla- Depending on how high the Federal mistake that he made. He was given a
tion, we should also be sure that we payment is, by the way, we ought to second chance, and he took it. He
make permanent the progress we have also consider a return-to-work bonus started a small business. It is a clean-
made recently with coronavirus in pro- for individuals that they receive on top ing business, and he hires a lot of other
viding more telehealth treatment, of their paycheck—in other words, take second-chance individuals—returning
making that more accessible. I have in- part of the Federal benefit with them citizens. He gives them a chance, an
back to work. I have been promoting
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troduced legislation called the TREAT opportunity, and he has been success-
Act that would do just that so we don’t this since May. We haven’t been able to ful. But during the coronavirus pan-
lose ground on this other deadly dis- pass it yet around here, but I think demic, he lost a lot of his business, as
ease. this would help people—help those you can imagine, so he applied for a
We also need to look forward to the workers who do want to go back to PPP loan. He was told he couldn’t get
fall and ensure that we have funding to work to be able to make that tough de- one. Why? Because he has a felony
support the schools so they are able to cision without having a financial dis- record. He has a conviction for a finan-
safely reopen their doors to students. incentive. It would help our small busi- cial crime, and it was within the last 5
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S4406 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
years. It was several years ago, but it The flexibility, I hope, is something thing from Olympic National Park that
was in the last 5 years, so he couldn’t that both sides of the aisle can agree will get an upgrade for some aging
get a PPP loan. Well, he is just the to. Why shouldn’t we have more flexi- water systems to new trails at Mt.
kind of individual we would want to bility with regard to the CARES fund- Rainier, to other projects at Lake Roo-
help. ing? sevelt and even Fort Vancouver.
Thanks to Troy, we engaged on this By the way, some of it hasn’t been I want to thank all my colleagues,
issue when we learned about it. We spent yet. As an example, in Ohio we Senators GARDNER, MANCHIN, PORTMAN,
worked with the Treasury Department. still have $850 million that is slated to KING, BURR, WARNER, ALEXANDER,
We got some immediate relief in terms go to the local communities, to our DAINES, and HEINRICH, who made up the
of a rule, but we now have to put that commissioners, and to our mayors for coalition who have been working on
into law to provide the relief that is our cities that are under 500,000. Yet we this issue in the more recent days to
needed to provide certainty and to cod- don’t have the flexibility and certainty make sure that we got it out of the
ify it. The Paycheck Protection Pro- we need there. That is important to Senate and got it over to the House of
gram Second Chance Act does that. It pass as part of this legislation. Representatives. The important thing
is bipartisan. Senator CARDIN and I in- These are just a few policy proposals, is that it has been a bipartisan coali-
troduced this legislation. It has to be I believe, that can make an immediate tion of people who believe in public
part of the next bill because it makes and lasting impact in our response to lands and open space that has brought
so much sense. the challenges we face with this us to this point.
We also need a plan to adapt our coronavirus pandemic. I am sure that The Land and Water Conservation
economy for a future where many indi- in the coming days, we will be dis- Fund was something that Scoop Jack-
viduals may be living more of their cussing the next steps forward in-depth son led the charge on in the 1960s,
lives at home and online. This is easier because I believe we all recognize how based on the fact that he thought
in some urban areas where you have important it is to get this right and to America was urbanizing and, with our
access to broadband, but it can be a move quickly on it. highway system, he thought we would
huge hurdle in some other areas, par- Unemployment, by the way, expires— need open space and, boy, was he right.
ticularly rural parts of our country, in- that $600—on July 31, at the end of next So everything from Gas Works Park in
cluding parts of Ohio. week. That is a deadline we can’t let downtown Seattle that gives families a
Think about it. We rely much more pass. great view of Lake Union to the im-
on telehealth, much more on tele- We are facing a momentous test of pressive things that have been done all
learning, and much more on tele- our ability to come together once over the State, being able to say now
working. Yet, in many parts of the again to address a disease that has that the Land and Water Conservation
country, there is no access to the kind changed almost every aspect of our Fund will receive $900 million perma-
of Wi-Fi, the kind of broadband that lives, seemingly overnight. It is our re- nently means two to three times more
you need to do so effectively. sponsibility to do that. Now is the time money than we previously had to make
Earlier this month, I introduced bi- to put aside partisanship, get away investments in open space.
partisan and bicameral legislation to from our partisan corners, and work And we know that investments in
accelerate broadband access across the
together on some of these constructive open space are not only restorative to
country to help our economy. Rural
solutions. all of us who enjoy the outdoors,
America deserves the same level of ac- I look forward to working with my whether it is hunting or fishing or hik-
cess to broadband, and including this colleagues on both sides of the aisle— ing, but it also is a big juggernaut for
legislation in this phase 5 package my colleague from Washington State, our economy. That over $800 billion in
would help them get it faster. my colleagues from North Dakota, and
Third, we need to solve the growing revenue is generated from this indus-
my colleagues who I know share my try, and it is an industry that is well
problem of State and local govern-
concern that we can’t allow this oppor- worth putting more investment in.
ments running out of funding the
tunity to pass. We have to once again So I thank all my colleagues that
longer this crisis continues. This has
come together. were here tonight and for their hard
affected some critical public safety
As we said tonight, there are many of work. Particularly, I want to thank
services like EMS, firefighters, and po-
these things that are bipartisan, where Senator MANCHIN. Senator MANCHIN
lice departments, leaving more Ameri-
there can be a lot of consensus. We has done an incredible job taking this
cans vulnerable at the worst possible
time. have to move forward to support our issue as the ranking member of the En-
Ohio is particularly vulnerable be- healthcare system, our schools, our ergy and Natural Resources Committee
cause many of our local governments employers, and our families as we work and understanding how important it
are so reliant on income taxes. In fact, to overcome this crisis. was to get it over the goal line.
the Brookings Institute has determined I yield the floor. So I tell the Senator that I am going
that four of the top five cities of Amer- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- to give him a picture of myself hiking
ica that will feel the largest fiscal im- ator from Washington. in the Dolly Sods in West Virginia as a
pact are probably cities in Ohio. THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT great thank you for his perseverance of
Back in April, Senator BROWN and I Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I moving this effort to the final goal
urged the Treasury to provide more come to the floor to talk about the line. So I just want to thank Senator
flexibility so local governments can NDAA, but before I do, I want to join MANCHIN and, obviously, all my col-
use the CARES funding that has been my colleagues and share their great en- leagues.
provided for critical services like po- thusiasm tonight out here on the Sen- S. 4049
lice and fire. While the administra- ate floor in talking about the Senate- But, Mr. President, I wanted to come
tion—thanks to Secretary Mnuchin un- crafted bill, the Great American Out- as we were wrapping up the final de-
derstanding and acting on this—did so doors Act, that took a step closer to bate on the National Defense Author-
administratively, it now has to be codi- getting to the President’s desk today. ization Act for fiscal year 2021 to talk
fied to be sure we have the needed cer- That is the investment that we believe to my colleagues about this bill as it
tainty. we should be making in open space and moves to conference.
When I was home the last few weeks, public lands passed the House of Rep- I want to make sure we continue to
I heard a lot about this from our coun- resentatives and we hope will be signed pay particular attention to one provi-
by the President very shortly. sion, and that is that the NDAA bill, as
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
ty commissioners, our municipalities,
and our mayors saying: We don’t know This investment, as my colleagues reported out of the Armed Services
if we can use these funds this way or were talking about tonight, has been a Committee, I believe included some
that way. We have to be sure we have long time in coming on two fronts—ob- egregious provisions that would effec-
some certainty here. We don’t want to viously, coming from a State that rep- tively wrestle away civilian control of
have to repay this money. resents a lot of National Parks and spending on our nuclear arsenal and
So this codification will also be very areas that need the investment in de- give it to the military, a provision that
important. ferred maintenance projects—every- would allow the Department of Defense
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4407
to raid dollars out of the Department express our opposition to the inclusion of know that the National Nuclear Secu-
of Energy that are literally there spe- controversial and far reaching provisions rity Administration makes up about 45
cifically for us to meet our nuclear that would fundamentally alter the Depart- percent of the Department of Energy’s
ment of Energy’s (DOE) responsibilities for
cleanup obligations and also to fund the nuclear weapons budget.
budget.
R&D at our national laboratories, As members of the Senate Committee on So, in other words, the Secretary of
places like the National Renewable En- Energy and Natural Resources, we write in Energy would have lost control over al-
ergy Laboratory in Colorado or other support of Secretary Brouillette’s June 29, most half of his budget. And it would
facilities in my State, like the Pacific 2020 letter to Chairman Inhofe and share his also mean that the Nuclear Weapons
Northwest National Laboratory. concerns that provisions in the Senate Council, which is comprised of five
NDAA bill undermine DOE’s ability to meet DOD subcabinet officials and one rep-
Specifically, the committee-reported
its mission goals and responsibility for main-
bill would have stripped the Energy taining the viability of the nation’s nuclear
resentative of the Department of En-
Secretary’s power over his own budget deterrent. ergy, that they would have effectively
and would have allowed subcabinet of- As currently written, the Senate NDAA been dictating to members of the
ficials on the Nuclear Weapons Council bill would strip the Secretary of Energy of President’s Cabinet what the budget
to approve the budget for the National the ability to manage some of the most sen- should look like. So imagine that the
Nuclear Security Administration. sitive national security programs that ac- Secretary of Energy has to come before
count for almost half of the Department’s
So I know the Presiding Officer Congress, and he says, 45 percent of my
budget. Such changes could impede account-
knows this well. But it would have al- ability and Congressional oversight, as well budget has already been determined by
lowed the Pentagon to prioritize mak- as imperil future funding for other critical somebody else, and you really can’t go
ing nuclear weapons over the critical DOE responsibilities such as promoting sci- talk to them.
missions of the U.S. Department of En- entific and technological innovation, man- This isn’t just an issue of trans-
ergy. And I believe it also would have aging our National Laboratories, sponsoring parency. This is also an issue about the
reduced civilian control over spending basic research in the physical sciences, and Department of Energy’s obligations to
on our country’s nuclear weapons com- ensuring cleanup of the nation’s nuclear clean up, specifically in Washington at
weapons complex. Hanford. So I want to make sure people
plex. Sweeping changes impacting civilian con-
I am so glad that Energy Secretary trol of our nation’s nuclear weapons pro- understand that nuclear waste cleanup
Brouillette wrote to Senator INHOFE grams should only be made in consultation is a Federal obligation. It is an obliga-
and talked about this and said: ‘‘These and coordination with the committee of ju- tion that we have as a nation, not just
provisions eliminate a President’s Cab- risdiction in an open and transparent man- in Washington, but other States, and
inet Secretary from managing some of ner. The changes included in the Senate unfortunately, we haven’t met all the
the most sensitive national security NDAA bill have been met with opposition milestones for nuclear waste cleanup.
from the Trump Administration, former Sec- In fact, Idaho experienced this between
programs in the Department, most no-
retaries of Energy, recent NNSA Administra-
tably, assuring the viability of the Na- 2012 and 2018 when DOE failed to meet
tors, and the Congressional Advisory Panel
tion’s nuclear deterrent.’’ on the Governance of the Nuclear Security cleanup milestones at the Idaho Na-
I do want to thank Senators INHOFE Enterprise. tional Laboratory.
and REED for hearing the concerns ex- We therefore request that the provisions be Taking away DOE’s ability to control
pressed by many Senators on both removed from the pending bill or that the its own budget would make it harder to
sides of the aisle and for hearing the Senate be allowed to vote on the relevant meet milestones, and now, some want
amendments filed by Ranking Member more of their budget taken away by
concerns of the Secretary of Energy
Manchin. the NNSA. How are they going to meet
and accepting the Manchin-Cantwell Sincerely,
amendment that stripped these trou- these milestones? This is probably no-
Senator Maria Cantwell, Senator Lamar
bling provisions out of the bill because Alexander, Senator Martin Heinrich, where more important than in the
I believe it was a radical change that Senator Bill Cassidy, Senator Ron State of Washington. And so the De-
did not have enough debate. Wyden, Senator John Barrasso, Sen- partment of Energy is legally obligated
But I certainly appreciate the Pre- ator Mazie K. Hirono, Senator Jim to meet these cleanup obligations at
siding Officer’s interest and determina- Risch, Senator Bernie Sanders. the Hanford site and to meet the obli-
tion as well. In particular, I want to Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I re- gations of what is called the Tri-Party
thank Senator ALEXANDER and Sen- spectfully ask that the members of this Agreement, which is a legal contract
ators HEINRICH, CASSIDY, WYDEN, BAR- year’s NDAA conference committee—I with the State of Washington.
RASSO, HIRONO, RISCH, and SANDERS am assuming there will be one—that It is the duty of our Nation to clean
who jointly sent a letter to the Senate they consider all these issues as they up what was a national effort in World
leadership expressing opposition to go to conference. War II and the Cold War.
these provisions. This is not just a bureaucratic budg- So I hope our colleagues won’t forget
In a letter that stated, if these provi- et dispute or some interagency ac- history here, won’t forget the obliga-
sions would have remained in the bill, counting measure. This is, I believe, a tion to clean up those nuclear waste
they would have ‘‘impeded account- very important issue, as it relates to sites, and certainly won’t forget this
ability and Congressional oversight, as civilian oversight of our nuclear weap- effort we had here on the Senate floor.
well as imperil future funding for other ons complex and, as written in the Last year, the Department of Energy
critical DOE responsibilities such as original bill, would have required the completed a Lifecycle Scope, Schedule,
promoting scientific and technological Nuclear Weapons Council to set the and Cost Report for the completion of
innovation, managing our National priorities for the NNSA budget and the Hanford cleanup site. It found re-
Laboratories, sponsoring basic research would have required the Department of maining cleanup costs to be $323 billion
in the physical sciences, and ensuring Energy to get the Nuclear Weapons at a best-case scenario and $677 billion
cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weap- Council’s approval before it could sub- at a worst-case scenario.
ons complex.’’ mit its Energy budget to OMB. So that makes cleaning up legacy
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- So, yes, there was a big takeover of military nuclear waste sites in central
sent that that letter, the Cantwell- the Department of Energy budget Washington the second largest long-
Alexander letter, be printed into the snuck into the NDAA. Well, let’s just term obligation the Federal Govern-
RECORD. say some of us knew about it; some of ment has after Social Security and
There being no objection, the mate- us didn’t know about it. But we ob- Medicare. So it is no wonder people
come and try to raid it.
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
rial was ordered to be printed in the jected, and now, we have taken this
RECORD, as follows: language out. Trust me, I could be going on all
But I am sure this will continue, and night over all the efforts that have
JULY 1, 2020.
I think it still continues. I think peo- been going on for decades, where people
DEAR MAJORITY LEADER MCCONNELL, MI-
NORITY LEADER SCHUMER, CHAIRMAN INHOFE,
ple who have a desire to have a larger try to come up with a new way of ei-
AND RANKING MEMBER REED: As the Senate National Nuclear Security Administra- ther taking that money out of the
considers the Fiscal Year 2021 National De- tion budget definitely are going to con- budget or saying that they are going to
fense Authorization Act (NDAA), we write to tinue this effort. But people should find a quicker way to do cleanup. I am
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S4408 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
all for speed, but I am also for meeting the same no matter the color of a per- liked the idea of George Washington
the obligations. But there is no magic son’s skin; that profiling is a thing of being the first President is that George
here. It is a responsibility, and it is the past; that viewing two young Black Washington was very worried about
science, and it is an investment, and it men on the street is not viewed dif- that, and the example he set would
belongs to the whole Nation. And we ferently than viewing two young White mean a whole lot.
certainly don’t deserve to have people men on the street. It is that goal of It is one thing to have a Constitution
coming to the Senate floor with a bill having everyone treated fairly that has on paper. It is a whole other thing to
trying to take away 45 percent of the led so many to come out and say: We hold onto it, to keep it. Coming out of
administration’s budget and then say need major reform in our country. We the Constitutional Convention, the
we don’t have to meet that cleanup ob- need to set behind us the time period story goes that someone asked one of
ligation because we are investing in when departments of public safety tend the convention policymakers: What do
nuclear weapons instead. to look at the White community and we have? And he replied: A republic, if
So, believe me, as this bill moves off say, ‘‘Those are our clients,’’ and look we can keep it—if we can keep it.
the Senate floor, I am going to be at the Black community or the dark- This is what democracy looks like
watching the conference. I am not just skinned community and say, ‘‘Those right here. There is another picture of
going to watch this issue now or in are the threats.’’ That is what people what democracy looks like. This is the
conference. I am going to be keeping are trying to change by turning out in ‘‘wall of moms’’ in Portland, OR, com-
watch on this issue in a constant fash- America in this fashion. ing out, standing side by side, creating
ion, just like I always have on Hanford It is an important moment in which a barrier between the police and the
cleanup dollars. But I resent that peo- we need substantive change, real Federal forces that had been allocated
ple believe that Congress would fall for change—real change like the bill CORY to the city by President Trump and the
such a tactic to believe that the efforts BOOKER put together and led the battle people, creating that barrier, that
of nuclear weapons development should on, and KAMALA HARRIS put together ‘‘wall of moms,’’ to say: Do not use
be controlled by a small subcabinet with him in partnership and led the flashbang on us or all the people behind
council and that they shouldn’t report battle on. That is the type of change us; do not use tear gas on us or all the
to the Secretary of Energy on that we need in America. That is why people people behind us; do not use impact
budget, but make up their own budget have been turning out in the streets. munitions, a polite name for, essen-
and demand that it be met at the Pres- But there is an unexpected twist on tially, rubber bullets—they say ‘‘non-
idential level. something we didn’t anticipate, in lethal bullets’’—we hope, right, be-
Now, I just hope we don’t reach this which the President of the United cause sometimes they do enormous
same dilemma again. I hope we have States hasn’t listened to this message damage—do not use your batons to
learned from it. I hope that people un- about coming together so that every- knock us down and break our bones; do
derstand that these priorities of clean- one is treated equally. Instead, he is not pepper spray us in the face. We are
up of our nuclear waste sites and what doubling down on a strategy of racism, the ‘‘wall of moms.’’
these parts of the country did for us in a strategy of bigotry, a strategy of cre- This is what democracy looks like,
meeting our obligations in World War ating conflict in America with a deter- but this is a message lost on President
II and the Cold War. mined new effort. Trump. We have something entirely
We laud those efforts from a sci- This is a picture of protesting in Or- different from the President. The
entific perspective. We laud those ef- egon. I was at a demonstration much President said: I am going to send some
forts from the manpower that it took. like this, where people chanted: ‘‘This forces out to Portland to basically pour
We should now laud a budget that is what democracy looks like. This is gasoline on the fire and turn it into,
keeps the focus on cleanup and gets the what democracy looks like.’’ basically, a much more intense con-
job done and not lose track or sight be- This is what democracy looks like, flict.
cause, from time to time, somebody colleagues—people coming together So you already have the basics of a
else wants to make a larger investment with their signs and their feet and challenge in which you have had folks
in nuclear weapons. their time, saying: We need change. It from the White extremists coming in
I yield the floor. is as fundamental as free expression camouflage to Portland to create trou-
I suggest the absence of a quorum. under the First Amendment. It is as ble and looking for a fight, and you
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The fundamental to our Constitution as the have antifa coming to Portland to look
clerk will call the roll. right to assemble. This is as funda- for a fight with the White extremists,
The legislative clerk proceeded to mental to the vision of ‘‘We the Peo- the White nationalists.
call the roll. ple’’ as anyone can imagine—that vi- Well, that had calmed down enor-
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask sion that Lincoln summarized as ‘‘gov- mously to where there was only a
unanimous consent that the order for ernment of the people, by the people, small group left, coming in late at
the quorum call be rescinded. for the people,’’ not of, by, and for night and causing trouble. But Trump
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without some dictatorial force, not someone said: If I can recreate conflict in Port-
objection, it is so ordered. who wants to consolidate power in an land, well, I can run a campaign on
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—AMENDMENT imperial Presidency. fear. Because what we have seen, in
NO. 2457 In fact, our Founders were really Presidential campaign after Presi-
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I rise worried about authoritarianism. They dential campaign, is a Republican can-
tonight to ask: What does democracy were really worried about an imperial didate saying: If we run on fear, we will
look like in America? I have here a pic- Presidency. win because people think of us as
ture of what democracy looks like— Once they launched that Constitu- stronger on national security.
people showing up presenting their tion, what would happen with that first Well, we have seen the different
opinions with their feet and their President? Would that first President strategies. There was the Ebola run-on-
voices and their signs saying: We want say: I am now going to consolidate fear strategy. There was the ‘‘immi-
change. And the change they want is to power in this young Republic, hold on grants, rapists, and murderers are
pursue the important value that public to the Executive, ignore the balance of going to run across the border and
safety in America be a value that is ap- powers between the branches of govern- swarm America’’ run-on-fear strategy.
plied equally to all citizens; that every ment, and consolidate power in the Ex- There was the ‘‘ISIS is going to row
single person in the community is ecutive. I am going to take the forces across the Atlantic and invade Amer-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
viewed as a client for the public safety that were the Revolutionary War ica’’ run-on-fear strategy. There was
team; that the distribution of protec- forces, and I am going to turn them the Willie Horton ‘‘you are going to be
tion is equal and the treatment of citi- into a force to keep in power regardless attacked by a dark-skinned person in
zens is equal, so that when public safe- of the constitutional requirement for an alley’’ run-on-fear strategy.
ty officers respond, they respond equal- elections. And all too often it has worked, this
ly no matter what section of the city They were very worried about this. effort to gear up division in America,
the call comes from; that they respond One of the reasons they particularly to play on racism in America.
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4409
But to that strategy of division and Then we had a bill here on the floor. Now, we know that President Trump
racism I say: No way. That is too low, We needed 60 votes, under our policy admires authoritarian leaders. He has
too wrong for America. We should be rules, to be able to pass it to close de- spoken with admiration about Duterte
coming together as a country. We bate. It was disclosure—to say at least in the Philippines. He seems to be in
should have a message of coming to- we should disclose where money comes love with Erdogan in Turkey. He loves
gether as a people. We should be taking from. But what happened? The fossil the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia, who
on the challenges of healthcare and fuel lobby said no Republican can dare assassinated an American-based jour-
housing and education. to vote for this bill if you want us to nalist.
Those are the bills we should have keep you in power, and every single He can’t find anything wrong with
here on the floor of the Senate. We Member across the aisle followed their how Putin runs Russia, as basically an
should be taking on the issue of fair lead and voted against disclosure. authoritarian-style dictator. But now
labor, good-paying jobs. We should be They voted for darkness. They voted he is doing something beyond just this
working on rebuilding America’s infra- for hiding these massive contributions affection: He is bringing the tactics of
structure. coming in from who knows where be- authoritarian governments to the
We should be addressing the fact cause they are hidden. streets of the United States of Amer-
that, even today in States all across My point is that this is democracy ica.
this country, you can be discriminated here, people expressing their views, and This is what democracy looks like,
against for being a member of the here in this Chamber we should have but I am going to show you some pic-
LGBTQ community. You can get mar- democracy as well. tures of what democracy doesn’t look
ried in the morning, and you can pro- We had it almost over our entire his- like—instead, what authoritarianism
ceed to be thrown out of your apart- tory, of people being able to put vir- looks like, what paramilitary forces
ment. You can be told you cannot eat tually any issue on the floor and have look like.
in this restaurant, you cannot sit in it debated on and then to have it voted So let’s take an exploration of the
this movie theater, you cannot receive on and then to have voters know how President’s strategy. Well, first, au-
this government benefit. their Senator voted so there was ac- thoritarians don’t want identity about
The Supreme Court just took one countability. the organization on their police uni-
step forward on the employment ques- But no more. We are in this incred- forms, and they want the police, in
tion, strengthening the ability to not ible period in which there are a record functioning, to look more like warriors
be discriminated against in employ- number—low—of amendments, and the in some other fight across the sea.
ment. amendments we do have are basically So you dress them in camouflage.
We passed a bill here in the Senate not very significant to begin with or Here are folks deployed by President
back in 2013 to do exactly that, to they are preprogrammed by leadership, Trump in the streets of Portland. What
strengthen protections in employment, agency do these belong to? No shoulder
not by each Senator having power. The
but the Republican-controlled House patch, no identity on this front, no
idea of 100 Senators having that
wouldn’t take it up and treat LGBTQ identity on the other shoulder, no iden-
power—that sounds like something out
Americans fairly. tity on the helmet—no identity. Who
If we were doing our job, we would of just another world, yet that was the
are these people?
have a debate on the Equality Act that Senate throughout its history until re- How about these people? Are these
would end discrimination in all of cently. the same group here? These are White
Why do I keep emphasizing this? Be-
these areas because it is the right extremists, nationalists, who come to
thing to do that no door should be cause this concentration of power Portland to get in fights. So President
slammed in the face of an American be- where bills and amendments only go Trump dresses up his Federal forces to
cause of who they are or whom they through the majority leader is an abso- look like White extremists on the
love. Isn’t that something we should be lute fit with government by and for the streets of Portland.
doing here? powerful—the opposite of government How is there accountability if you
Shouldn’t we be taking on this chal- by and for the people. don’t know where they are from?
lenge of carbon pollution and climate So if someone has a bill that says Who can tell me if these folks are
chaos? All the fossil fuel companies you can’t gouge Americans on drug from Customs and Border Protection?
have worked hard to turn this into a prices, they can’t get that bill to the Are they from the Federal Protective
partisan issue. It didn’t used to be a floor because it is blocked by the ma- Service? Are they U.S. Marshals? How
partisan issue. Back when President jority leader, and the drug companies do we know? We don’t because they are
Bush—not yet President but candidate don’t want that bill on the floor, so deliberately not marked.
Bush ran against candidate Dukakis, it they give a lot of money to that team. We are told that these are actually
was the Republican candidate who ran If someone says we should have rea- Customs and Border Protection. I
on climate change. It was the Demo- sonable gun safety laws—not violating called up the head of Customs and Bor-
crat who ran on fossil fuels. the Second Amendment—and we will der Protection, and I said: What is the
It is not so long ago, before Citizens make the world a little safer for our story with this tactic of secret police
United, that we had so many climate children, well, that bill can’t get on the on the streets? He said: Oh, no, no, no;
champions on both sides, but then dark floor because it is blocked by the ma- we insist they have ‘‘CBP’’ on them.
money was introduced, and the fossil jority leader, and it is backed by mas- We insist they have a unique identifier.
fuel community said: This is our sive spending of dark money and the In fact, he put this in a tweet. He
chance to control the U.S. Senate. NRA. told all of America: We don’t do that.
They put hundreds of millions—not Or if we have a bill that says we But America has pictures, and those
thousands, millions—of dollars into the should do a lot more about housing, I pictures tell us there is no ID. They are
Senate campaigns 6 years ago, 2014. can’t put that bill on the floor. How being deployed as secret operators on
I remember it well because I was one about we have a banking system that the streets of Portland.
of the folks they were targeting, and I serves the cannabis industry so that we That is going to be terrifying because
saw their strategy of taking that don’t have huge bags of money opened you don’t know who they are. Is it just
money and putting it into third-party up to the possibility of organized crime someone who wants to create trouble
campaigns and running tremendous moving it around the country and who puts ‘‘police’’ on their shirt? Is it
numbers of assault ads, negative ads, doing bad things? We should extend one of these folks? These folks have
that coverage, but we can’t get that
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
attack ads—doing it on social media all badges on them that look a little more
across the board. vote on this floor—which brings me to official. We see an American flag here.
Since then, what happened? Well, all something more important than just We see an American flag here.
the voices that were on the Republican basically anything I have just talked Are these White extremists coming
side of the aisle saying ‘‘We need to about, which is what President Trump to the streets to beat people up, or are
take on climate’’ disappeared. That is is doing right now: deploying secret po- they Federal agents? And if so, who are
the corrupting power of Citizens United lice across America, secret police here they, and what is their mission? We
and dark money. in America. found out their mission in short order.
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S4410 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
Here we have a picture of a Navy vet. about here? Are we talking about cause they weren’t coming to coordi-
That Navy vet said he came down to Syria? Are we talking about Duterte in nate, to help; they were coming to dis-
say: What does it mean to honor your the Philippines? Are we talking about rupt. They knew that if they asked to
oath—your oath of office, your oath to Erdogan in Turkey? Are we talking come, asked whether they were want-
the Constitution? He wants to know. about the Crown Prince in Saudi Ara- ed, the answer would be no, you are not
He was a veteran who served in our bia? Are we talking about Putin run- wanted because you are coming to in-
forces to defend the Constitution. ning Russia? We could be talking about flame the violence and disruption.
How did President Trump’s secret po- any of those folks, as they use these The President was giving speeches,
lice respond? Here is a CBP agent with tactics, but this is unacceptable and saying ‘‘Look at what a wonderful
a baton right here, striking him. Here outrageous and unconstitutional in a President I am because I am sending
is another one with a baton coming democratic republic. help to quell violence in Portland’’
around to strike him again. Here is an- President Trump coordinated this de- while he was sending secret police to
other one spraying pepper spray into ployment of secret police and attacks create violence. This has to be one of
his face. This man, just standing here— on peaceful protesters to create a big the bigger lies he has told in his time
his hands are basically hooked in his conflagration, a big explosion of pro- as President. By various accounts, he
pocket, like this—he is just standing tests in Portland. The protests had tells a number of them every single
here saying: I came down here to see died down to just less than 100 actors day. But this lie to the American peo-
what people thought about honoring and some bystanders in the late ple is not just a little white lie; this is
their oath to the Constitution. And he evening, and then I am told that on the not just a little misrepresentation; this
is attacked. He is attacked by multiple days that followed these outrageous at- is something of constitutional input
members of this secret force Trump tacks, the protests multiplied—not about who we are as a country. We
puts on the streets of our Nation. one- or twofold but fivefold or more. don’t do secret police in our country.
They had not just pepper spray and We don’t grab people off the streets and
That is exactly what Trump wanted be-
not just batons; they had other weap- terrify them and throw them in un-
cause he wanted to say: There is this
ons, impact munitions—in this case, marked vans in our country—at least
dissent and trouble in the streets of
U.S. marshals. not until now.
Portland. I am your law-and-order You see, the President has looked at
Here is a young man who is holding a President; I will take care of that trou- the polls that say we are not very
boom box over his head—that is what ble. happy. Americans are not very happy
it looked like—and he is on one side of You create the trouble. You escalate
with the way you have executed the
the street. On the other side of the the conflict so you can say ‘‘I am the
Presidency. We are certainly not very
street are the marshals. As he stands one who can deescalate it’’ later. This happy with the way you have managed
there in the video, you see him crumble is a horrific strategy that no Member this really big crisis, the COVID–19
and fall to the ground because from of this Senate should have the slightest pandemic. When there is a crisis, you
across the street, he was shot right be- sympathy for—a strongman in the Oval start to see someone—can they rise to
tween the eyes. Critical condition. Office adopting the secret police tac- the occasion? Can they bring forth the
Fractured skull. tics of the worst dictators from around best in people? Can they facilitate co-
Who in the world would expect a Fed- the globe. operation? Can they mobilize re-
eral officer to shoot a protester, who is Some of the headlines that followed sources? Can they make the case in an
either holding up a sign or a radio, be- were things like this: effective and persuasive fashion?
tween the eyes from across the street? ‘‘Federal Law Enforcement Use Un- The American people have seen that
Do you think that is accidental? They marked Vehicles To Grab Protesters President Trump could not rise to the
accidentally shot him in the head? It Off Portland Streets.’’ occasion. He could not bring himself to
wasn’t accidental; it was deliberate. ‘‘A Navy vet asked federal officers in bring people together. He could not
They are sending a message. A lot of Portland to remember their [constitu- make the case for a national strategy
other people got shot with these muni- tional] oaths. Then they broke his on how to tackle the coronavirus. He
tions. I am told that he is no longer in hand.’’ You saw the pictures of them could not mobilize resources to address
critical condition. Thank goodness for striking him with the batons. it in a timely fashion. Millions more
that, but it could have been very, very ‘‘Federal Officers Deployed in Port- are going to get sick as a result of his
different. We still don’t know the ulti- land Didn’t Have Proper Training, incompetence, and tens of thousands
mate outcome of this assault on a D.H.S. memo said.’’ It says: Untrained, more will die because of the incom-
peaceful protester. undisciplined folks, but they knew petence of President Trump.
Pepper spray, using batons on vet- what the President wanted and that What is a President running for re-
erans, shooting a peaceful protester in was to create an escalation of violence election to do when his incompetence
the head from a few yards away—that on the streets of our city. is revealed in its complete and total
is not all that Trump’s secret police You are probably wondering, didn’t clarity to the Nation? You create a
were up to. They decided to go through the President call and talk to the Gov- war. That is what you do. You create a
the streets and grab people and throw ernor before he decided to deploy these war because a war might rally people
them into unmarked vans. secret police on the streets of Port- to your side when we are being at-
Here is one of those vans on the land? No, he didn’t. Didn’t the DHS tacked. But in this case, the President
streets of Portland. Here are President Secretary? No. How about the Depart- couldn’t come up with an overseas war.
Trump’s secret police, unmarked, ment of Justice? The Attorney Gen- ISIS? Too weak. The scary Ebola? Too
throwing another protester into a van. eral? No. Surely they called the mayor long ago. North Korea? A completely
One of the individuals who was treat- and said: Before we deploy folks to pa- failed strategy by the President of ex-
ed in this fashion said he was terrified trol the streets with tear gas and ba- pressing his love for yet another dic-
because he thought these camouflaged tons and impact bullets, rubber bullets, tator and that love not being returned
folks were the White extremists who pepper spray; before we beat up peace- in any effective policy changes. So
come to make trouble, and was he ful protesters and shoot them in the what is left? Immigration. Oh, wait—he
being kidnapped? They would not an- head, we want to talk to you, Mayor, already played the rapist and mur-
swer the question when they were about what is going on. Did the Presi- derers at the border card. He already
asked ‘‘Who are you?’’ They didn’t an- dent call? Did the Secretary call, the offended people throughout our Nation
swer the question. Secretary of Homeland Security? Did
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
by snuffing out the lamp of Lady Lib-
Secret police, unmarked, using pep- the Secretary or the Attorney General erty. What is left? You have to create
per spray, batons, impact munitions, call? Did the head of Customs and Bor- a war inside the United States.
and tear gas on peaceful protesters, der Protection, CBP, call before they First came Washington, DC. He tried
and then throwing people—grabbing sent in their special operating group? out the secret police strategy by de-
them and throwing them into un- Did the Marshals’ lead director, com- ploying forces onto the steps of the
marked vans. What does that make you missioner call? The answer is no, no, Lincoln Memorial, unmarked, and no-
think of? What country are we talking no, no, and no. None of them called be- body knew who the hell they were. Who
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4411
are these people who are on the Lin- I am still wondering what passage in what a mighty leader I am attacking
coln Memorial? Are they far-right ex- the Bible he was there to talk about. these peaceful people with these weap-
tremists carrying guns? Are they Cus- You can think for yourselves. You can ons. I did it to the protesters in Wash-
toms and Border Protection? Are they imagine. You can ask yourselves: What ington, DC, and I did it to the pro-
U.S. Marshals? Who are these people? did the President want to say with the testers in Portland, OR, and now I am
Nobody knew. They were secret police Good Book in his hand? Did he want to going to take my strategy of attacking
at the Lincoln Monument. say this book talks about turning the protesters and spread it all across
And then he decided to test the strat- other cheek, and I will show how much America.
egy of using weapons against peaceful I admire that principle of turning the What does he talk about? He says: I
protesters across from the White other cheek by coming out and telling want to take this strategy to Balti-
House. There they are gathered to- my team to tear gas and shoot peaceful more. He says: I want to take this
gether. There is this great tradition in protesters? Is that what the President strategy to Philadelphia. He says: I
America. If you want to protest where wanted to do, kind of somehow dem- want to take this strategy to New
the President can see you, you go to onstrate support for turning the other York. And then he said: I want to take
L’Enfant Plaza and you look up at the cheek by having his team gas and it to Chicago and I want to take it to
second story and you hold up your pro- shoot people in that area close to Detroit and I want to take it to Oak-
test sign and you scream your position L’Enfant Plaza, close to the steps of land, CA. What do those things have in
on something that you consider very the church, or did the President want common? And then he says: They are
important for America—the change to come out and say: This Good Book led by Democrats. I will take my strat-
you want to see or the man you object talks about beating swords into plow- egy of inciting violence with secret po-
to. The President and his family look shares, and I want to come out and lice, unmarked van abductions, use of
out those windows and say: I sure hate show just how I believe in the principle pepper spray, batons, and flashbangs—
seeing those protesters. of beating swords into plowshares by the whole arsenal—and I will take it to
But that is symbolic of the right to having my team gas people and baton all these cities where there are Demo-
assemble and the freedom of speech in people and do these explosive flashbang cratic mayors. Then I will say: Look at
our beautiful Nation under our extraor- grenades. Is that what the President me. I am a law-and-order President,
dinary Constitution. What did Presi- was trying to do? and I can quell all that trouble I cre-
dent Trump do? Well, he walled off What message in the Bible was he ated across this country.
L’Enfant Plaza across from the White trying to convey? Was he trying to You are probably thinking I made up
House so people couldn’t protest there. convey the message that Jesus Christ this list of cities that the President
That is what this President thinks of talked about time and time and time talked about. Surely, the President
protesters. He sees them as a threat to again of helping the poor and the des- wouldn’t take this incredibly horren-
him. He doesn’t like freedom of assem- titute, and he thought it was such an dous secret police strategy and express
bly, and he doesn’t like freedom of important message to carry to the that he wanted to take it on a trial run
speech, but what he does like is a good United States that he would use force, all across America so he could create
photo opportunity. tear gas, rubber bullets to clear the violence in Democratic cities, but in
So the President decides to get the path so he could talk about how impor- his own words:
team together and we will go over and tant it was to help the destitute and Who’s next? New York and Chicago and
Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and
I will stand on the steps of the church the poor in America and how his poli- all of these—Oakland is a mess.
and hold up a Bible. I still am a little cies might help them? No. We don’t
confounded about what his message And he framed it as going to quell vi-
know. I don’t think the President
was to do that. The thing is, to get to olence, but, instead, the strategy pro-
knew. He has never indicated that he is
the steps of the church, he would have duces violence. It enflames. It accen-
actually familiar with the contents of
tuates. It outrages. It creates conflict.
to come near these protesters he hates that book he was holding up, which I have here an article, and it is from
because he hates protesters. He doesn’t makes it a particularly bizarre photo FOX 32 News in Chicago: ‘‘Lightfoot
like Americans calling for change or op. confirms federal agents will help man-
criticizing his policies. But this was his first trial run of this
age Chicago violence.’’ Chicago has a
I am thinking back about this ‘‘wall strategy of using weapons against
Democratic mayor. Let’s go create
of moms’’ that I showed you earlier— peaceful protesters, of using unmarked
trouble there.
these moms coming down, forming a uniforms on the steps of the Lincoln
Mayor Lori Lightfoot had a different tone
line, and saying: Don’t tear gas us. Memorial. He loved it so much. He Tuesday regarding President Donald
Don’t do shock grenades. Don’t shoot loved that sense that he was so strong Trump’s decision to send agents to Chicago.
us with rubber bullets. Don’t pepper because he could clear the path with ‘‘I’m hopeful that they will not be foolish
spray us. his Presidential team so he could get enough to bring that kind of nonsense to
And yet his forces did all those to those steps. He was such an awesome Chicago,’’ the mayor said.
things. man, such an incredible President Well, what did she mean by ‘‘non-
Where did he try this out first? He showing strength by attacking peaceful sense’’? It is the polite word for attack-
tried it in that area behind L’Enfant protesters so he could have his photo ing peaceful protesters with batons and
Plaza where the church steps were. His on. It filled him with such energy, he flashbangs and tear gas.
forces went out and attacked those thought: Let’s try this out elsewhere in I am certainly not saying that Port-
protesters. Nobody saw violence of any the country—so he comes to Portland. land didn’t have some tensions. The ex-
kind. This had nothing to do with He comes to Portland, and he pro- tremist groups on the right have made
quelling a riot. This had to do with one ceeds to say: Let’s use that secret po- a favorite trip out of coming to Port-
simple thing: The President hates pro- lice strategy again, unmarked. Let’s land to cause trouble and the anti-fas-
tests and wanted to show what a strong use those batons and pepper spray cists have responded in kind, and that
man he is, like those dictators he ad- again against a peaceful protester. is what the local team has to manage
mires all across the planet—like the Let’s use those impact munitions again and deescalate. They have succeeded in
Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia, like against someone holding up a sign, deescalating it to where it was a small
Duterte with his extrajudicial execu- shooting them from across the street, group late at night. And then Trump
tions in the Philippines, like Putin, giving them a fractured skull and put- came in and blew it all into a big crisis
whom he just can’t say enough good
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
ting them in critical condition and into once again.
things about who suppresses the civil the hospital. Let’s take it and even am- When I said that this is coordinated
rights of the Russian people. He wanted plify it a little bit and put them into with his campaign, campaign ads went
to show how strong he was so he sent unmarked vans and sweep them away. up. His strategy of creating chaos in
his team out to tear gas, use impact This is what we have with the Trump America, then campaigning on it
munitions, rubber bullets on the pro- secret police strategy. couldn’t be more transparent.
testers so he could stand at the church As he did these things, he went out As President Trump deploys Federal
with a Bible. on the campaign stump and said: Look agents to Portland, Ore., and threatens to
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S4412 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
dispatch to other cities, his re-election cam- So we put into the bill a requirement If you proceed to offend people across
paign is spending millions of dollars on omi- for the President to produce a national the country by failing in leadership on
nous television ads that promote fear. . . . test strategy and produce a report with protective equipment and failing in
The influx of agents in Portland has led to
scenes of confrontations and chaos that Mr.
his test strategy. What did it read? It leadership on testing and failing in
Trump and his aides have pointed to as they read our test strategy—our national leadership on contact tracing, you need
try to burnish a false narrative about Demo- strategy—was to leave it to the States. another plan, and we have the plan.
cratic elected officials allowing dangerous What kind of leadership is that to have The President has made it clear he
protesters to create widespread bedlam. no strategy on producing the reagents will test out his secret police and at-
The Trump campaign is driving home that or the tests and getting them around tacks on peaceful protesters in DC,
message with a new ad that tries to tie its magnify that experiment in Portland,
the country?
dark portrayal of Democratic-led cities. and see if it creates more chaos. If it
One thing we have done here is we
There it is—campaign ads to fit his have funded a lot of money to help does, he will deploy that effort across
dark portrayal of Democratic-led cit- communities buy tests because they the Nation. That is President Trump’s
ies. are expensive. We said they should be plan, and it is as wrong as anything
The idea that not only would the could be. Secret policing has no place
free to the victims—to the people who
President bring those secret police tac- in the United States of America.
are getting tested, that is. Every
tics to America—to our streets—he I introduced a simple amendment to
health expert has said you have to
would deploy them in his effort to cre- the Defense Authorization Act, which
crank up this testing so that there is
ate conflict so he can win reelection, so deals with security powers and things
no wait time. It doesn’t help to get the
he can have something that scares the like Customs and Border Protection
results 7 or 10 days later.
American people. Don’t we have and deals with things like U.S. Mar-
I have been holding townhalls. I hold
enough to be worried about already? shals, and I said we are on that right
one in every county every year in Or-
Don’t we have a pandemic to manage? now on the floor of the Senate. Let’s
A number of us worked to say: Mr. egon, 36 counties. This year, I only got
21 in before the coronavirus made it have this debate about secret policing,
President, you need to have a national and let’s just ask a few simple things.
strategy on producing protective equip- impossible to hold them in person, but
I have been holding them digitally, First, when the President sends
ment to help stop the spread of this agents anywhere in the country, they
contagion. Mr. President, that should electronically. I keep hearing the re-
port from the county health agents have to carry identification about who
probably include taking available fac- they work for. It is not that big of a re-
tories and putting them to work mak- that now testing has increased to its
taking 7 days to get a response, 9 days quest, and it is not expensive. Instead
ing protective equipment and distrib- of putting a generic ‘‘police’’ or no
uting it quickly. The President said, to get a response, 11 days to get a re-
marking at all, you put ‘‘CBP,’’ or you
no, he’s not doing it. He is not acti- sponse. Why is that? It is because we
put ‘‘U.S. Marshals,’’ or you put ‘‘Fed-
vating the Defense Production Act to didn’t have any national strategy for
eral Protective Service’’ or one of a
have a national strategy to stop the producing tests. As the disease flares
dozen other Federal police units that
spread of this disease. up and grows in magnitude in the
play different roles. That way, the
I have two healthcare workers in my Southern States, more and more re-
American people will know who they
family. My son works in a doctor’s of- sources are getting diverted to those
are. Then you put unique identifiers on
fice recording the computer code on Southern States. So there are not the
them so that, if they do something ter-
the symptoms and so forth. He is a testing supplies because there is no na-
rible, like walk up and shoot a pro-
medical scribe. My wife goes house to tional strategy.
tester in the head, you would know
house visiting folks who are in hospice. Then the experts said: Well, you
who had done it. You could find out.
They are in the final chapter of their should have a contact tracing strategy, Now, some of my friends have said:
life, and she coaches them and their so, when people test positive, you can Well, we are not sure we want to re-
family on care and support during this immediately find out who they have quire names to be on the uniforms be-
final chapter of our journey here on been in touch with so those people get cause there have been some cases in
this planet. A number of the people she immediately quarantined before they which people have been so outraged
sees are very high risk because they can pass it on to other people. that they have harassed the families of
are fragile and sick in that final chap- Yet that doesn’t work if you can’t the police officers or of these Federal
ter, so they would be very affected if get test results quickly, and it doesn’t agents. We don’t want that. OK. A
this disease were introduced. Some of work if you don’t have contact tracers. number would work that could be used
them have the disease. A number of us have worked to provide to identify someone after an egregious
She has to be very careful that she funding for contact tracers. ELIZABETH act but would protect the families of
doesn’t pick it up and bring it home to WARREN and I have introduced a bill our Federal agents who are doing a
my elderly mother who lives in our that calls for 100,000 contact tracers good job. That is pretty simple. Have
house. My elderly mother is in her across this country. There is $75 billion an ID as to what agency you belong to
nineties. She probably wouldn’t want in the House’s bill for testing and trac- and a unique identifier. You are no
me to call her elderly in her nineties, ing across the country. longer secret.
but she is fragile, and she would be af- How did President Trump respond Then you can’t be deployed on some
fected. My son doesn’t want to bring it this last week? President Trump said: I expanded mission of sweeping the
home or spread it. Both of them had don’t want any money for testing in streets. Your legitimate mission should
trouble getting the protective equip- this bill—no money for testing. He be to protect a Federal monument or a
ment they needed early in this pan- wants this stripped out; yet it is an es- Federal building, and you have to be at
demic because we didn’t have a na- sential element for controlling the that Federal building or in the near vi-
tional strategy. Trump failed the lead- coronavirus. cinity of it or of the monument. That
ership test. I don’t think he will win on that one. is pretty simple. If you want a broader
How about another critical piece of I think the Members of this Chamber, mission, you have to coordinate with
this, which is testing? on both sides of the aisle, care enough the mayor and the Governor and get
We needed to crank up all of the bio- about their constituents that they their permission.
logical manufacturing capacity of want to help with testing and contact It is pretty straightforward. Have a
America to produce the reagents so tracing, but the President wants the patch with the agency, a unique identi-
that people could be tested and get the testing stripped out.
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
fier, and pursue your mission in the
results within hours or a day so that, if Why does he want it stripped out? It near vicinity of the Federal property.
they were infected, even if they were is because, if you test more people, What else?
asymptomatic—they didn’t have the then you get more positives, and if you The President would have to tell the
disease symptoms, but they had the get more positives, it doesn’t look people of America how many people he
disease, and they could spread it—that good. So he is choosing to have things is sending, from what agencies, and to
they would be quarantined, but the look good rather than to contain the what city for a little bit of trans-
President said no. coronavirus. parency. That is it.
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July 22, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4413
This amendment that I am proposing it has been the most debated bill that The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
to stop secret policing is simple; yet I have been part of since I got here. Not objection?
my colleagues are blocking it from only that, the amendments that are Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, I don’t
being considered in this bill. represented in this 807 are almost, object.
I yield the floor. nearly, equally divided among the two The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. parties represented in this great Cham- objection, it is so ordered.
GARDNER). The Senator from Oregon. ber. Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, my
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, in a What we have been witnessing to- colleague has said that the facts I have
moment, I will again ask for this im- night is a diatribe—in some cases, fan- presented tonight are a fabrication, to
portant issue of deployment of secret tasy but, in every case, an exaggera- use his exact word. He has called it a
police to be debated and voted on, on tion and, in many cases, a fabrication. breach of protocol. He has called it a
this floor. That is what the U.S. Senate The good Senator from Oregon has violation of common decency.
is for, to address the issues facing I think we are here as a Chamber to
shown us pictures of what democracy
Americans, but I didn’t want to ask address difficult, important issues in
looks like. I don’t disagree. We are self-
until my colleague was here to respond America. This is a difficult and impor-
governed. The exceptionalism of Amer- tant mission.
from the Republican Caucus. When he ica is that we are self-governed. This is a new use of force in a manner
is ready, I will make that motion. Democracy also demands protocol in that doesn’t belong in the streets of
I make this motion to send a couple this Chamber, the most deliberative America. It is important that we de-
of different messages. One, most impor- body in this world. Yet, without any bate it.
tantly, is that secret policing has no warning—without any heads-up—here I would be happy to have it be a
place in America, and all Americans we are, dealing with a unanimous con- standalone bill, come up right after
must stand arm in arm and say no. The sent motion on an amendment that has this National Defense Authorization
second is, when there is an important already failed to get unanimous con- Act, and have it debated for 2 hours
issue like this, this is the Chamber in sent just in the last 24 hours on a bill and voted on, because then we actually
which it should be debated and voted that has already been debated for have a conversation and we have to
on so we can hear the conflicting weeks and months. It included bipar- take a position, and our constituents
views. tisan amendments across the board. can see where we stand, and folks could
There may be clauses in the amend- Then we are confronted with this propose an amendment to it if they
ment that I will propose that people breach of not only protocol but of— didn’t like the way I have written it. It
won’t like, insight that they can pro- well, let’s just say—common decency is so simple. It says: Do what we have
vide, or modifications that they would and respect for each other. always done. Put ID about where you
like to propose to my amendment, but I do agree with the Senator from Or- come from. Have a unique identifier.
it can’t happen unless this amendment egon on this point: He is right in that And don’t go sweeping through the
is considered on the floor. we should have the debate, and that is streets if your mission is to protect a
That is why, notwithstanding rule why it is too bad that his amendment Federal property. Stay at that Federal
XXII, I ask unanimous consent to call wasn’t allowed to be debated in Sen- property or work with the Governor or
up my amendment to stop secret polic- ator TIM SCOTT’s JUSTICE Act. the mayor if you have a broader effort.
ing in America, amendment No. 2457, And the reason it couldn’t be debated Those are reasonable things.
an amendment to limit Federal law en- there was because he and most every I don’t think that it was a breach of
forcement officers for crowd control; one of his colleagues on the Democrat protocol to ask this Chamber to con-
that there be 2 hours for debate, equal- side other than three filibustered sider that on this bill because there is
ly divided between opponents and pro- against TIM SCOTT’s police reform bill. a connection. We are talking about a
ponents; and that upon the use or I don’t think they want a solution. bill that involves the use of force and
yielding back of time, the Senate vote They want to have this crazy rhetoric, how we govern in America.
in relation to the amendment with no demagogue all day and all night, wher- I don’t think it is a violation of com-
intervening action or debate. ever they can have a demagogue, and mon decency. My colleague does, and I
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there they want to blame President Donald would prefer that we actually have
objection? Trump for the actions of criminals. that conversation about the facts and
The Senator from North Dakota. Now, I have heard it all when I have about the arguments, about the simple
Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, in re- heard, from the Senate floor, antifa re- solution I proposed when we can actu-
serving the right to object, I, like the ferred to as the anti—what did he call ally take a vote or other people can
entire staff in the Chamber today and them? The antifascists. The offer amendments to it and modify it.
like the Presiding Officer for most of antifascists. That is the way to sugar- That is this Chamber doing what it
this time, has endured this for the last coat thugs. should be doing.
hour, an hour that has been very simi- So for these reasons—and I could So I am disappointed that my col-
lar to the hour we had yesterday on the think of dozens of others, but I will league is blocking this from being con-
very same topic and with the very spare you all and the staff this late sidered before this body.
same motion to have the very same I do love this body, and I first came
night, getting later—I object.
amendment passed in the Defense Au- here when amendments were freely—
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The gen-
thorization Act. tion is heard.
I am a member of the Committee on tleman’s time has expired.
The Senator from Oregon’s Mr. MERKLEY. Thank you, Mr.
Armed Services. Prior to the Presiding postcloture time has expired. President.
Officer, I was presiding. I was honored Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
to sit in that chair and watch the unanimous consent to speak for 5 min- ator from North Dakota.
chairman of the Committee on Armed utes. Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, I am
Services and the ranking Democrat of The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there just going to reiterate my final point
the Committee on Armed Services talk objection? one final time, and I promise not to
in glowing terms about each other and Mr. MERKLEY. And I would invite take more time than the Senator from
the bipartisan effort that has led to a my colleague to stay if he would like Oregon.
National Defense Authorization Act to and yield to him if he wants to jump He had his opportunity to have this
that has considered 807 amendments to into the conversation.
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
amendment considered, debated, and
this point. As we sit here, 40 more Mr. CRAMER. I think we have had voted on in the JUSTICE Act, intro-
amendments—20 by Republicans and 20 enough debate. I object. duced by Senator TIM SCOTT, a bill that
by Democrats—are being hotlined for The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- dealt specifically with police reform.
further consideration for, hopefully, to- tion is heard. It would have been the perfect place
morrow’s final passage. Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask to have the debate, except that my col-
The National Defense Authorization unanimous consent to speak for 2 min- league voted against cloture so we
Act has been greatly debated. In fact, utes. couldn’t even proceed to the bill.
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S4414 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 22, 2020
I don’t know how we could have made place the ones that permanently close. More- tunity to break with the past and create a
it any easier or better. In fact, when we over, the failure rate is likely to be higher, better future. Congress should grab it.
took up the JUSTICE Act, he and his as many firms were on the wrong side of f
trends—such as the move to online shopping,
side were provided at least 20 amend- VOTE EXPLANATION
convenient food delivery or watching
ment opportunities. We could have had streaming content at home—that the pan- Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I
the debate he seeks tonight at the ap- demic lockdown has accelerated. voted in support of S. Amdt. 1788,
propriate time on the appropriate bill, Another consideration: The protests
which would reduce defense spending
and I am sorry that we didn’t do that. stirred by the killing of George Floyd in
Minneapolis police custody have made clear by 10 percent and invest that money
Perhaps after tonight’s episode, he
how many Americans were left behind in the into healthcare, education, and poverty
and his colleagues will reconsider, and
pre-coronavirus economy; restoring the way reduction in communities with a pov-
perhaps before we are done this year,
things were before the virus hit won’t ad- erty rate of 25 percent or more. To gov-
Senator SCOTT’s JUSTICE Act could be dress these needs. ern is to choose, and as we face unprec-
brought to the floor and we could have Here are three ways Congress can help edented challenges at home, this de-
an adult discussion and debate on launch a new, more equitable era of entre- fense budget is out of step with the val-
amendments and on the bill and on all preneurship.
ues, priorities, and needs of the Amer-
kinds of great ideas right here in the First: Make it easier for the earliest-stage
start-ups to receive PPP dollars and for all ican people.
most august body in the United States. The unchecked growth in the defense
start-ups to access the Main Street Relief
I hope that can happen. Fund. PPP loans go to existing businesses to budget is unsustainable, and the
With that, I yield the floor and wish maintain jobs but not to new businesses that Trump administration has exacerbated
you a good night. want to create them. Main Street loans go these challenges. We have a duty to en-
f only to companies that are already profit- sure the readiness of our forces, and I
able; most start-ups are not. That approach have supported efforts to rebuild our
MORNING BUSINESS is backward: Studies show that nearly all Armed Forces after years of costly
Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, I ask net new job creation comes from start-ups,
not established businesses.
overseas engagements. But massive
unanimous consent that the Senate be A PPP revision should allow start-ups to spending increases without clear stra-
in a period of morning business, with obtain loans based on their plans to create tegic direction do not make us safer.
Senators permitted to speak for up to jobs—with loan forgiveness granted only if We need to be thoughtful about our
10 minutes each. those jobs materialize. If they don’t, the spending choices, recognizing that
Mr. GARDNER. Without objection, it start-ups should be required to repay the every dollar spent on defense is a dollar
is so ordered. loans before any other obligations. And the not spent on healthcare, education,
barrier in the Main Street lending program workforce training, and other critical
f
that makes businesses ineligible for aid if
they were not profitable in 2019 should be re-
areas of need.
CORONAVIRUS The National Defense Authorization
moved.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Con- Second, the government needs to be a Act as it is currently written would
gress, our States, and the administra- counterweight to private capital that exac- spend $740.5 billion on defense. This
tion talk about ways to handle the im- erbates geographic disparities in opportunity represents 53 percent of total Federal
mediate consequences of COVIV–19. We as the country responds to the crisis. The discretionary spending and exceeds the
must also talk about the aftermath, pandemic is a devastating tragedy, but ad- defense budgets of the next 11 nations
and Steve Case has written a provoca- versity tends to be met by the creation of combined, including our allies in Aus-
new industries and new businesses. This cri- tralia, South Korea, Germany, Japan,
tive op-ed about the future. sis will stir innovations in medicine, goods
Those of us in Congress should read and services delivered at home, remote work
France, and the United Kingdom. It is
and discuss it It has to be considered in and learning, and more. Where will these more than twice the combined defense
future planning. new firms grow? If the decision is left to the expenditures of China and Russia.
I ask unanimous consent that the private sector alone, almost all of them will Topline defense spending has risen by
text of this article be printed in the be in three states: New York, California and more than $100 billion since President
RECORD. Massachusetts, which attract 75 percent of Trump took office; after the $74 billion
There being no objection, the mate- all venture capital. cut proposed in this amendment, de-
Great ideas to respond to this crisis are fense spending would still be above the
rial was ordered to be printed in the spread widely across the country—but cap-
RECORD, as follows: ital is not. Business assistance programs cre-
fiscal year 2017 level.
[From the Washington Post, July 19, 2020] ated by Congress should have a special focus
Some of my colleagues have ex-
on getting startups off the ground in places pressed unease about the across-the-
THERE’S NO GOING BACK TO THE PRE-PAN-
DEMIC ECONOMY—CONGRESS SHOULD RE- that have lacked venture capital backing in board nature of these cuts, and I agree
SPOND ACCORDINGLY the past. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and that a targeted approach is preferable.
others have already proposed such legisla- But I have seen the consequences of de-
(By Steve Case)
tion; members of Congress from these ne- laying difficult decisions and believe
This week, Congress will likely take up the glected areas should insist it is part of any we can no longer wait to have difficult
next steps in the economic response to the Phase 4 bill.
covid–19 pandemic. If the package is like pre- conversations about our defense budg-
Finally, lawmakers should step in to ad-
vious efforts, it will focus on trying to turn dress unintended inequalities of opportunity
et. In addition, the National Defense
back the clock to February 2020: treating the for female and minority entrepreneurs Authorization Act is not an appropria-
economy as if it were Sleeping Beauty, mere- caused by the earlier relief bills. Because tions bill, and this amendment simply
ly needing to be awakened to be fully re- these programs fund only existing busi- reduces the total amount of money au-
stored. This strategy is a mistake: Congress nesses, they reinforce opportunity gaps. thorized to be spent on defense in the
needs to stop solely backing efforts to re- Communities with thriving businesses get upcoming fiscal year. The Appropria-
store the old economic reality and focus on more PPP and Main Street aid; those that tions Committee, on which I serve, will
how to develop a new one. have lacked capital to get businesses off the still have the task of making thought-
Most of the $1 trillion that Congress has ground in the past see little help now.
put into business support so far during the The solution would be for Congress to di-
ful, targeted reductions in areas of
pandemic has been directed to preserving ex- rect unused PPP funds to start-ups led by fe- lower priority, while preserving fund-
isting firms through the Paycheck Protec- male entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of ing for high-priority items. I encourage
tion Program and the Main Street Relief color, creating opportunities where they my colleagues to confront these chal-
Fund. Helping those businesses and their have not existed before. The Main Street lenges for the good of our country and
workers is vital, but that alone won’t fuel Lending program could be modified to ex-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
make adjustments as needed during
the economic recovery the country needs. tend special debt options to community de- conference negotiations with the House
The problem is that many of the businesses velopment groups and minority-focused ac- while remaining under the cap set by
backed by PPP or Main Street are going to celerators to back a new wave of startups
wind up shutting down. Even when they founded by historically underrepresented en-
this amendment.
aren’t facing a global pandemic or economic trepreneurs.
I am glad that this amendment pro-
crisis, about 100,000 small and medium-size There’s no going back to the pre-pandemic tects salaries and healthcare from cuts,
businesses fail in the United States every U.S. economy. Too much has changed; too and would have preferred that it go fur-
year. New businesses will be needed to re- many new needs exist. This is a rare oppor- ther in making targeted cuts in order
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