Texas (Cong. Rec., Sept. 8, 2020)

Summary

Page S5433 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for September 8, 2020, marked as a correction. A speaker calls on colleagues on a committee to hold an oversight hearing on the role of the Department of State in intercountry adoption. It prints a cloture motion, signed by McConnell, Barrasso and others, to bring to a close debate on a motion to concur in the House amendment to a bill condemning gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. Under the Texas heading, a speaker says more than 2 million Texas households lack reliable internet access and that Hurricane Hanna struck South Texas in July.

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“Texas (Cong. Rec., Sept. 8, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-09-08-crec-2020-09-08-pt1-pgs5433-3-4ede04b258/, SHA-256 ffded1145bf5b95aeaab5b74eef2707f8bdb32837127715047ebd2278d5ce033.

Full text

September 8, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE CORRECTION S5433
American couples who are pleading to on this outrage. I ask my colleagues to CLOTURE MOTION
give these international children a for- remember the teaching of the Psalm- We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
ever family here in our great country. ist: ‘‘Give justice to the weak and the ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
It seems that OCI’s priorities are out fatherless; maintain the right of the af- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby
of step with their statutory mandate. move to bring to a close debate on the mo-
flicted and the destitute.’’
tion to concur in the House amendment to S.
Also, they are out of step with the val- I think Americans believe in the sen- 178, a bill to condemn gross human rights
ues of this country and basic morality. timents of the Psalmist in that regard. violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in
We need to change the policy of the I think we are ready to heed the plight Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary
State Department in this regard, I say of the fatherless. Let’s not neglect our detention, torture, and harassment of these
to my colleagues. duty in correcting the situation we communities inside and outside China, with
I call on my colleagues on the For- find ourselves in and, once again, be- a further amendment No. 2652.
eign Relations Committee to hold an coming the country that provides wel- Mitch McConnell, John Barrasso, Shelley
oversight hearing to review the State coming, loving outreach to children to Moore Capito, Marco Rubio, Lamar
Department’s role in intercountry Alexander, Mike Crapo, Roy Blunt,
be part of a forever American family.
James M. Inhofe, Kevin Cramer, Rich-
adoption, to examine the allegations of I yield the floor. ard C. Shelby, Martha McSally, Pat
bias against intercountry adoption, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Roberts, Tim Scott, James Lankford,
and to hear from accrediting agencies jority leader. Dan Sullivan, Todd Young, John Cor-
and other stakeholders about their ex- f nyn.
periences in working with the Depart- LEGISLATIVE SESSION Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous
ment of State and its accrediting enti- consent that the mandatory call be
ty. I think such a hearing would be re- waived.
vealing, and I think the results would UIGHUR INTERVENTION AND
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
be troubling to Members of the Con- GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN UNI-
objection, it is so ordered.
gress. FIED RESPONSE ACT OF 2019
I also call on the Senate Permanent Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, f
Subcommittee on Investigations to in- I move to proceed to legislative ses-
vestigate allegations raised against the sion. EXECUTIVE SESSION
U.S. accrediting entity in the State De- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
partment’s Office of Children’s Issues. question is on agreeing to the motion.
It is time, actually, to transition the The motion was agreed to.
U.S. central authority from the De- Mr. MCCONNELL. What is the pend- EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
partment of State to a more receptive, ing business? Mr. MCCONNELL. I move to proceed
more compassionate, and more under- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The to executive session.
standing home, such as the Depart- clerk will report the pending business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
ment of Health and Human Services. The bill clerk read the following: question is on agreeing to the motion.
This would allow experienced child House message to accompany S. 178, a bill The motion was agreed to.
welfare professionals to oversee inter- to condemn gross human rights violations of The Senate resumed consideration of
ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and call- the nomination of Brett H. Ludwig, of
country adoptions.
ing for an end to arbitrary detention, tor- Wisconsin, to be United States District
We have a great Secretary of State. I ture, and harassment of these communities
have known Mike Pompeo for years. I inside and outside China.
Judge for the Eastern District of Wis-
think he has got all he can preside consin.
Pending: The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
over, and I don’t for a minute think
McConnell motion to concur in the amend- ator from Texas.
that the Secretary of State under- ment of the House to the bill, with McCon-
stands what this small entity in his nell Amendment No. 2499, in the nature of a TEXAS
State Department is doing. I think he substitute. Mr. CORNYN. Madam President,
must have no idea that this is going AMENDMENT NO. 2499 WITHDRAWN each year, during the month of August,
on, but I think the solution is to move Mr. MCCONNELL. I withdraw the I look forward to traveling across my
this function from the State Depart- motion to concur in the House amend- State—my very big State—to spend
ment. ment with amendment No. 2499. time with my constituents. It is the
I would call on the Secretary of State The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- best way to learn firsthand how the
to put a hold on planned changes down ator has that right. laws and programs we enact here are
in this little agency populated by The amendment is withdrawn. working and to receive the feedback on
unelected bureaucrats who are hostile MOTION TO CONCUR WITH AMENDMENT NO. 2652 legislation being considered by the
to adoption. I think we should put a Mr. MCCONNELL. I move to concur Congress in the future and what I can
hold on planned changes in the accredi- in the House amendment with amend- do to better help the folks back home.
tation compliance system until there ment No. 2652. A typical State work period involves
has been a full review of OCI’s bias The PRESIDING OFFICER. The dozens of face-to-face events from
against adoption. The competence of clerk will report. every corner of my State, covering all
their staff needs to be investigated, and The bill clerk read as follows: ages, professions, and walks of life.
we need to look, we need to give an The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. MCCON- Last August, I spent time talking with
open assessment, shining the light of NELL] moves to concur in the House amend- my constituents about everything from
day on the impact that this small ment to the bill, S. 178, with an amendment the Debbie Smith Act and GI benefits
group of bureaucrats is having on numbered 2652. for student veterans to Project Safe
something that I think most Ameri- Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask that the Neighborhoods grants and the U.S.-
cans support. reading be dispensed with. Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.
The American people believe in adop- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without As we all know, 2020 has been any-
tion. They believe in giving orphans objection, it is so ordered. thing but typical, and this August was
anywhere in the world an opportunity The amendment is as follows: (Pur- no exception. These big, in-person
to have a forever family. They believe pose: In the nature of a substitute) events have been replaced with virtual
in giving couples here in the United (The amendment is printed in today’s ones, with face-to-face meetings, which

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States the opportunity to provide a RECORD under ‘‘Text of Amendments.’’) now involve wearing masks, social
home for these children who are less CLOTURE MOTION distancing, and a heavy dose of hand
fortunate than most of us have been, Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I sanitizer. Instead of the broad range of
most of us within the sound of my send a cloture motion to the desk for policies we might normally discuss, al-
voice have been. I think the American the motion to concur with amendment. most every one of them centered on the
people believe in a change in this The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant impact of COVID–19. No big surprise
inexplicably anti-American and anti- to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the there.
family policy. Senate the pending cloture motion, I have heard from mayors, teachers,
Today, I am on the floor of the U.S. which the clerk will state. food bank employees, healthcare work-
Senate to shine a light on this tragedy, The bill clerk read as follows ers, restaurant owners, energy workers,

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S5434 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 8, 2020
and countless others about how the re- cess, and it is leaving our students on ers and producers hard, as well as
sources that we have been providing the wrong side of the digital divide. flooding out many, many homes and
them have helped them through this Internet access is no longer a luxury or displacing families. A couple of weeks
pandemic. From the Rio Grande Valley just a convenience; it has become a ne- ago, Hurricane Laura tore through the
to Amarillo—opposite ends of our cessity, and we need to do more to en- Gulf of Mexico.
State—from Tyler to Orange in the sure that students across Texas and Though the brunt of Laura hit other
eastern part of the State and all points across the Nation have access to reli- neighbors in Louisiana, for which we
in between, I masked up and met with able broadband. are very sorry, we are very glad that it
Texans who are working overtime to The CARES Act, which we passed in did little damage in Southeast Texas,
keep their communities safe and to March, provides some relief on this but it still did some significant dam-
provide for their families. All the front. It gave libraries $50 million in age. I was able to join the Governor,
while, I continue to hold virtual con- grants for digital connection. The de- Lieutenant Governor, and Senator
versations and telephone townhalls to mand for these funds was much higher CRUZ for a visit to Orange to survey
hear from my constituents and share than was available, and it became obvi- the damage and speak with local offi-
information about what we are doing ous we need to do more to help those cials about the impact of the storm. I
to be helpful to them. who are on the wrong side of the dig- am committed to providing my con-
These conversations, as I said a mo- ital divide. stituents in Texas with the resources
ment ago, always help me better under- The Senator from West Virginia, Mr. needed to recover from whatever this
stand the effectiveness of the legisla- MANCHIN, and I teamed up to include hurricane season may bring. I will be
tion we passed and provide valuable and introduce the ACCESS the Inter- keeping a close eye on the weather
feedback about what is needed in the net Act, which will provide funding to forecast as we move through what has
next coronavirus relief bill. both the Department of Education and already been an active hurricane sea-
With the school year now officially libraries to make reliable internet a re- son.
underway in most of Texas, additional ality. We have a lot of work to do in the
support for our students and teachers In addition to supporting virtual next few weeks. Though we weren’t
is one of my top priorities. I have had learning, this would also make access able to make progress on a coronavirus
the chance to speak with K–12 students to telehealth more available to fami- bill in July, I was on almost virtually
and teachers in Odessa, Lubbock, and lies. This has really been one of the daily conference calls with the White
Canyon, and college students and ad- most surprising positive developments House and Secretary Mnuchin talking
ministrators in Angelo State Univer- out of this pandemic, and that is actu- about the way forward. I am more opti-
sity in San Angelo, as well as Texas ally greater access to healthcare mistic today than I have been to this
Tech University and Texas Tech Health through telehealth, both physical and point that we will, ultimately, reach
Science Center in Amarillo. Some Mental Health Services on online. an agreement. I hope my colleagues
joined us socially distanced on campus Our bill includes funding for have also heard from their constituents
and others connected virtually. healthcare providers, including the De- about how important relief is and that
I was able to hear from both students partment of Veterans Affairs, to get we can come together at such a critical
and teachers about this unprecedented more patients connected so they can point in our fight against COVID–19.
school year and the challenges—the utilize these telehealth services. As we I yield the floor.
extra challenges—brought on by make a push for progress on the next I suggest the absence of a quorum.
COVID–19. Whether in person, online, relief bill, I will continue fighting for The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
or some combination of the two, edu- resources for our students and teach- clerk will call the roll.
cation looks a lot different this year, ers, and that includes reliable access to The bill clerk proceeded to call the
and we need to provide schools with the internet. roll.
the funding to keep kids in the class- Despite this August work period Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
rooms safe and those at home on track looking much different from years ask unanimous consent that the order
for a great education. prior, I was still able to connect with for the quorum call be rescinded.
Congress has already passed $30 bil- tens of thousands of Texans virtually The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
lion in emergency relief for education, and over the phone and safely meet objection, it is so ordered.
including more than $2.6 billion for many of them in person. As I traveled, RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Texas. This funding has helped our I was able to see how schools, our The Democratic leader is recognized.
school districts, colleges, and univer- healthcare facilities, our food banks, CORONAVIRUS
sities prepare for the fall, but, to be local governments, and more have been Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in
honest, more is needed. able to use the Federal coronavirus the 3 weeks since the Senate last met,
For those learning in person, addi- funding provided for in the CARES Act. America eclipsed 6 million confirmed
tional funding can cover cleaning serv- The feedback and insight I received cases of COVID–19. Nearly 190,000
ices and equipment to prevent children was invaluable to my work in the Sen- Americans have died, and those totals
from catching and spreading the virus. ate, and it is more important than ever climb by tragic amounts each day. Too
For those learning virtually, it could as we continue negotiations on the many businesses remain closed, schools
provide additional hardware and inter- next coronavirus relief bill. begin the year under a dark cloud of
net hotspots so they can do their stud- This is going to be a busy month in uncertainty, and our economy faces
ies online. the Senate. We need to pass legislation the greatest crisis since the Great De-
I visited one high school in Ector to bolster our response to this virus, pression.
County—that is Odessa, TX—where support our students and teachers, help The United States is 11.5 million jobs
they are using a blended or hybrid in- those in need of financial assistance, short of where we were at the start of
person and online instruction model. and ensure that our healthcare re- February, and the number of jobs that
Ector County ISD began this year with sponse remains robust. have been permanently lost is rising at
online instruction for students who We are just 3 weeks away from the an alarming rate. All of this reflects a
have internet access at home and in- end of the fiscal year, including a gov- tragic reality: President Trump has led
person instruction for those who did ernment shutdown unless we can reach the worst response to COVID–19 of any
not. Of the roughly 33,000 students in an agreement on a funding bill. Com- nation on Earth. It is what it is.
the district, about 4,200 were in the plicating matters even further, we are The economic pain of the pandemic
classroom on the first day. And I can at the peak of hurricane season, which was mitigated by our action in March

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assure you, it is not the only school may not seem like as big a deal in DC, when Democrats insisted on a robust
district in Texas whose students have but I guarantee, we have our eyes on stimulus bill that became the CARES
difficulty accessing the technology these tropical storms in the Gulf of Act. One of our policies included in
needed to learn from home. Mexico that could well end up onshore. that bill, enhanced unemployment ben-
More than 2 million Texas house- Hurricane Hanna, for example, struck efits, has kept nearly 12 million Ameri-
holds don’t have reliable internet ac- South Texas in July and hit our farm- cans from poverty. Those benefits have

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