Congressional Record, Senate, October 21, 2020 — Cloture Vote on S. 178 and Supreme Court Point of Order
Summary
This is page S6343 of the Congressional Record, Senate, October 21, 2020, continuing onto S6344, with interleaved columns. The Senate considers the House message to accompany S. 178, a bill to condemn human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, with Mr. McConnell's pending motion to concur and Amendment No. 2680, which is described as improving the small business programs. On the cloture vote, Rollcall Vote No. 207, the yeas are 51 and the nays are 44, and the Chair announces that the motion is rejected. A Senator urges passage of the Protect and Serve Act, and Mr. Schumer raises a point of order against considering a Supreme Court nomination this close to a Presidential election, which the Chair says is not ripe for decision. Mr. Grassley then speaks on the Biden tax plan; the views are attributed to the speakers.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, October 21, 2020 — Cloture Vote on S. 178 and Supreme Court Point of Order.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-10-21-crec-2020-10-21-pt1-pgs6343-3cdb5463f9/
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE CORRECTION S6343
colleagues to support and pass the Pro- urge the American people to call your MANCHIN), and the Senator from Ari-
tect and Serve Act, a bill that I spon- Senators and tell them that you want zona (Ms. SINEMA) are necessarily ab-
sored and a bill that I hope we can get this bill passed. You want law enforce- sent.
passed. ment to be safer, and you want our The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 51,
The Protect and Serve Act would communities to be safer. Don’t be si- nays 44, as follows:
punish dangerous criminals who mur- lent. Help me fight for the men and
der a law enforcement officer in the women in blue. They are counting on [Rollcall Vote No. 207 Ex.]
line of duty. If they murder a law en- all of us. YEAS—51
forcement officer in the line of duty, f Alexander Ernst Perdue
they will be sentenced to life. If they Barrasso Fischer Portman
injure a law enforcement officer in the UIGHUR INTERVENTION AND Blackburn Gardner Risch
line of duty, they will be sentenced to GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN UNI- Blunt Graham Roberts
10 years in prison. The premise of the FIED RESPONSE ACT OF 2019 Boozman Grassley Romney
Braun Hawley Rounds
legislation is simple: There is no es- The Senate proceeded to consider the Burr Hoeven Rubio
cape from justice for dangerous crimi- House message to accompany S. 178, a Capito Hyde-Smith Sasse
Cassidy Inhofe Scott (FL)
nals who intentionally assault or kill a bill to condemn gross human rights Collins Johnson Scott (SC)
law enforcement officer. violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Cornyn Kennedy Shelby
The Senate passes legislation almost Xinjiang, and calling for an end to ar- Cotton Lankford Sullivan
every day in this Chamber by unani- bitrary detention, torture, and harass- Cramer Lee Thune
Crapo Loeffler Tillis
mous consent, but I am sad to report ment of these communities inside and Cruz McConnell Toomey
that if I try to get unanimous consent outside China. Daines McSally Wicker
for this bill, we would have objection Pending: Enzi Moran Young
on the floor. McConnell motion to concur in the amend-
NAYS—44
The heated rhetoric and the violent ment of the House of Representatives to the
bill, with McConnell Amendment No. 2652, in Baldwin Hassan Rosen
attacks on officers are having real-
the nature of a substitute. Bennet Heinrich Sanders
world impacts, and the safety of law Blumenthal Hirono Schatz
McConnell Amendment No. 2680 (to
enforcement has never been at the low Booker Jones Schumer
Amendment No. 2652), to improve the small Brown Kaine
that it is today. Across the country, business programs.
Shaheen
Cantwell King Smith
recruitments are down. Fewer people Cardin Klobuchar
CLOTURE MOTION Stabenow
are applying to go into service or into Carper Leahy
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant Tester
law enforcement academies, and retire- Casey Markey
Udall
to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Coons Menendez
ments are up. We are seeing our law en- Van Hollen
Senate the pending cloture motion, Cortez Masto Merkley
forcement ranks dwindle. It is sad, but Duckworth Murphy
Warner
which the clerk will state. Warren
it is not surprising. Durbin Murray
Law enforcement officers put their The legislative bill clerk read as fol- Feinstein Peters Whitehouse
lives on the line every single day. lows: Gillibrand Reed Wyden
Every morning, they wake up, they CLOTURE MOTION
NOT VOTING—5
kiss their spouse goodbye, and they We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Harris Murkowski Sinem
don’t know if they are going to come Manchin Paul
Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby
back safely. But when they spend all move to bring to a close debate on the mo-
day being disrespected while doing this The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this
tion to concur in the House amendment to S.
very difficult and very dangerous job 178, a bill to condemn gross human rights vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 44.
and politicians harass them or allow violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho-
them to be harassed, I should say, by Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary sen and sworn not having voted in the
violent mobs and protesters, there is detention, torture, and harassment of these affirmative, the motion is rejected.
no wonder morale is at an alltime low. communities inside and outside China, with
a further amendment No. 2652. The Democratic leader.
Fewer police means more criminal
Mitch McConnell, John Barrasso, Susan
activity. It means hard-working Amer- SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS
M. Collins, Lamar Alexander, Thom
ican citizens who go to work every day Tillis, Todd Young, Pat Roberts, Chuck Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Lead-
just to make their lives better are liv- Grassley, Deb Fischer, Rob Portman, er MCCONNELL has argued that what
ing in communities that are less safe. Richard C. Shelby, Michael B. Enzi, the Republican majority is doing by
We cannot sit idly by and allow the James E. Risch, Kevin Cramer, Lindsey ramming a Supreme Court Justice
streets to be filled with dangerous, vio- Graham, Roy Blunt, John Boozman. through the Senate mere days before a
lent criminals who face no con- The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- national Presidential election is com-
sequences. Instead, we must speak up imous consent, the mandatory quorum pletely normal, that it is perfectly con-
and show our men and women in blue call has been waived. sistent with precedent. This is not
that we respect them and we back The question is, Is it the sense of the true. There is no precedent in the his-
them. Senate that debate on the motion to tory of the Senate for confirming a Su-
They put their lives on the line to concur in the House amendment to S. preme Court Justice this close to an
protect us, and we should do the work 178, an act to condemn gross human election. There has never been—never
in Congress to protect them. In fact, in rights violations of ethnic Turkic Mus- been—a Supreme Court Justice con-
the last Congress, Speaker PELOSI al- lims in Xinjiang, and calling for an end firmed after July of an election year.
lowed this bill to be voted on. She sup- to arbitrary detention, torture, and
ported making it a law. But now her President Lincoln, a great Repub-
harassment of these communities in-
conference is run by radical leftists lican President—one of our foremost
side and outside China, with a further
who want to abolish the police or national heroes—rejected the oppor-
amendment No. 2652, shall be brought
defund the police, and she is not even tunity to nominate someone for the
to a close?
allowing this bill to be brought to the The yeas and nays are mandatory Supreme Court close to an election. I
abonner on DSK9F5VC42PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE
floor. She won’t speak in support of under the rule. dare say every single Republican Sen-
law enforcement officers despite the The clerk will call the roll. ator already knows this because they
rising tide of violence against them. The legislative clerk called the roll. all argued that exact position 4 years
That is why the responsibility lies here Mr. THUNE. The following Senators ago.
in the Senate for us to show our sup- are necessarily absent: the Senator Republicans all argued that the Sen-
port and let law enforcement commu- from Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI) and the ate shouldn’t confirm Justices in Presi-
nities across the country know that we Senator from Kentucky (Mr. PAUL). dential election years because of the
have their back. Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the supposed principle that ‘‘the American
Let’s protect police and deputies, and Senator from California (Ms. HARRIS), people deserve a voice.’’ Senate Repub-
let’s pass the Protect and Serve Act. I the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. licans made that argument 8 months
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S6344 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
before the election. Now they are rush- [Rollcall Vote No. 208 Ex.] payers in the middle of the income dis-
ing to confirm a Supreme Court Jus- YEAS—51 tribution saw their tax bills reduced by
tice 8 days before the election, while Alexander Ernst Perdue an average of more than 13 percent. My
Americans wait in line to cast their Barrasso Fischer Portman Democratic colleagues and former Vice
Blackburn Gardner Risch
ballots. They are waiting in line. They Blunt Graham Roberts
President Biden have made no bones
are voting. Millions of Americans—tens Boozman Grassley Romney about their plans for tax reform. Their
of millions—have already voted. I have Braun Hawley Rounds tax reform would be in tax increases. If
no doubt Republicans would confirm a Burr Hoeven Rubio they prevail in the upcoming elections,
Capito Hyde-Smith Sasse
Justice 8 minutes before election day if Cassidy Inhofe Scott (FL) they will seek to reduce and undo the
it meant they got their Justice. You Collins Johnson Scott (SC) 2017 tax law and impose trillions of dol-
could not design a set of circumstances Cornyn Kennedy Shelby lars in tax hikes on individuals and
Cotton Lankford Sullivan
more hypocritical than this. Cramer Lee Thune
businesses.
The truth is that the Republican ma- Crapo Loeffler Tillis The former Vice President has
jority is perpetrating the most rushed, Cruz McConnell Toomey sought to deflect accusations that he
most partisan, least legitimate process Daines McSally Wicker would raise taxes on low- and middle-
Enzi Moran Young
in the long history of Supreme Court income taxpayers by promising plans
nominations. Republicans, at the very NAYS—44 to increase taxes only on businesses
least, ought to go on the record and Baldwin Hassan Rosen and individuals who have annual in-
admit that this is an extraordinary Bennet Heinrich Sanders comes of over $400,000. There are many
Blumenthal Hirono Schatz
breach of fairness, of comity, of honor, Booker Jones
reasons to be skeptical of this promise
Schumer
of truth, of consistency, and, of course, Brown Kaine Shaheen
of the Vice President’s, and I want to
precedent—a black and indelible mark Cantwell King Smith discuss this skepticism.
Cardin Klobuchar First, a similar assurance was made
on this Senate majority which will last Carper Leahy
Stabenow
forever. Casey Markey
Tester by the Obama-Biden administration in
Udall its first term. Many will recall the
Mr. President, parliamentary in- Coons Menendez
Van Hollen
quiry: Has the Senate ever considered a Cortez Masto Merkley
Warner
Obama-Biden administration promised
Duckworth Murphy not to raise taxes on married couples
nominee to the Supreme Court of the Durbin Murray Warren
United States this close to a Presi- Feinstein Peters Whitehouse earning less than $250,000 or $200,000 for
dential election? Gillibrand Reed Wyden single filers. That promise was tossed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Accord- NOT VOTING—5 out the window when a host of new
ing to the Parliamentarian, the Sec- taxes that fell directly or indirectly on
Harris Murkowski Sinema
retary of the Senate’s Office confirms Manchin Paul middle-income Americans was enacted
that it has not. to pay for ObamaCare. That included
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mo- the individual mandate penalty tax, 80
POINT OF ORDER tion to table is agreed to. The ruling of percent of which was paid by taxpayers
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I the Chair stands. earning less than $50,000 a year. This is
make a point of order that it should The Senator from Iowa. exactly why the Republicans repealed
not be in order to consider a nomina- BIDEN TAX PLAN
that individual mandate as part of the
tion to the Supreme Court of the Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in 2017 tax law—because it was very re-
United States this close to a Presi- about 2 weeks, the American people gressive.
dential election. will go to the polls to determine the di- A second reason low- and middle-in-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The rection of our Nation. There are many come Americans should take little
point of order is not ripe for decision important issues voters will consider comfort in the former Vice President’s
and is not sustained. as they decide which way they will cast promise to tax only the rich and busi-
MOTION TO TABLE their votes. Their decisions will ulti- nesses is that such taxes too often get
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ap- mately determine who will be Presi- passed along. There is a well-docu-
peal the ruling of the Chair, I move to dent and the makeup of Congress. mented principle in any tax policy that
table the appeal, and I ask for the yeas One issue that is always front and simply because the law imposes a tax
and nays. center in any election is the economy directly on an individual or business
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a and the economic policies of the re- doesn’t mean the ultimate burden of
sufficient second? spective candidates. This election is no that tax won’t fall on others indirectly.
different. There are many differences Every analysis of Mr. Biden’s tax
There appears to be a sufficient sec-
in the economic policies that would be plan by independent third parties, from
ond.
pursued by a Republican-led adminis- the very liberal Tax Policy Center to
The yeas and nays have been ordered.
tration versus the path my Democratic Penn Wharton, to the American Enter-
The question is on the motion to colleagues would take if they were to prise Institute—so liberal, moderate,
table the appeal of the ruling of the be in charge. One particular, stark dif- and conservative—shows taxpayers
Chair. ference is that of tax policy that both earning less than $400,000 will shoulder
The clerk will call the roll. sides can be expected to pursue. at least a portion of Mr. Biden’s pro-
The bill clerk called the roll. Over the past 4 years, President posed tax increase. This comes from
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators Trump and the Republicans in Con- the fact that the tax increases largely
are necessarily absent: the Senator gress have enacted historic tax cuts, reflect the economic consensus that a
from Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI) and the particularly for middle-class Ameri- significant portion of the corporate in-
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. PAUL). cans. That has been part of a long, come tax falls on workers in the form
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the overdue revamp of our Tax Code. This of reduced wages and benefits. In other
Senator from California (Ms. HARRIS), has included reducing tax rates across words, workers pay even if you in-
the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. the board, significantly increasing the crease the corporate tax rate. Our non-
MANCHIN), and the Senator from Ari- standard deduction, and doubling the partisan Joint Committee on Taxation
zona (Ms. SINEMA) are necessarily ab- child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. As has estimated that 25 percent of the
sent. a result of these changes, a typical corporate tax increases are, in fact,
(Mrs. LOEFFLER assumed the family of four earning $70,000 has seen borne by workers. Mr. Biden, of course,
Chair.) its tax bill reduced by $2,000. has promised to increase the corporate
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The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. While my Democratic colleagues income tax from 21 percent to 28 per-
PERDUE). Are there any other Senators have done their best to distort this re- cent.
in the Chamber desiring to vote or ality about middle-income tax cuts, According to the Penn Wharton
change their vote? IRS tax return data of 2018 confirmed Budget Model, this business tax hike
The result was announced—yeas 51, that middle-income Americans saw sig- will mean that over 90 percent of
nays 44, as follows: nificant tax reductions. In fact, tax- households with incomes between
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6345
$45,600 and $121,000 will see increases in both that he will only raise taxes on White workers, African-American
their total tax burdens. With the bulk those with incomes over $400,000 and workers, Latino immigrants, Haitian-
of Mr. Biden’s tax agenda being tar- repeal the Trump tax cuts in their en- Creole immigrants.
geted at hiking taxes on capital, the tirety. In March, at these two plants—one
consequences will then be felt through- So who can blame taxpayers for run by Tyson and the second run by
out the economy in the form of lower being skeptical when Mr. Biden says Purdue Food Company—they started to
wages, fewer jobs, and slower economic that he won’t raise their taxes? Every see cases multiply. Many were asymp-
growth. indication is that he will raise taxes on tomatic. People didn’t know they had
According to a study out of the Hoo- people below a $400,000-a-year income. it, but that meant they could spread
ver Institution this week, the Biden Under a Biden administration, mid- the virus to others. The healthcare net-
plan holds the promise of reducing the dle-income individuals can expect a work in the Eastern Shore of Virginia
per capita gross domestic product by Biden plan that rolls back the Trump was dramatically taxed by this fast-
more than 8 percent when compared to tax cuts. This means he will increase moving and little-understood crisis at
the current law with the 2017 Trump their tax rates, increase the amount of the time.
tax law being made permanent. This their income subject to tax, and reduce That was our first hot spot in Vir-
raises an additional important issue. tax benefits for families. ginia. Other States had their hot spots;
Taxpayers should take with a whole Similarly, small business owners and that was ours.
grain of salt Mr. Biden’s promise of not family farmers can also expect him to Thank goodness, as Virginians have
raising their taxes because the vast tax a larger share of their business in- grappled with this crisis and as we
majority of Americans will see a tax come. have grappled with it across the coun-
increase beginning in 2026 unless the While Mr. Biden has tried to position try, there have been some protections,
2017 tax cuts are made permanent. himself as a centrist on this tax issue, and I want to stand and talk about the
A top priority for President Trump his tax and economic agenda is not all protections that have been provided to
and congressional Republicans has that different from his far-left oppo- Virginians during this time by the Af-
been to make permanent the middle- nents in the Democratic primaries. fordable Care Act.
class tax cuts that were enacted in 2017 His sales pitch may be different, but About 400,000 Virginians have Med-
but which will otherwise sunset in 2025. his agenda will have the same detri- icaid because of the Affordable Care
President Trump has called for making mental effect. As the Wall Street Jour- Act. Virginia embraced the expansion
the tax cuts permanent as part of each nal’s editorial board summed it up, the of Medicaid 2 years ago, so people have
of his budget submissions to Congress. problem with the Biden policies is been able to get insurance, many for
Now we have the Democrats refusing to ‘‘they will have a long-term corrosive the first time in their lives, and that
work with the Republicans to make the impact by raising the cost of capital, 400-plus thousand have been able to ac-
middle-income tax cuts of 2017 perma- [by] reducing the incentive to work and cess care.
nent law so that taxes won’t go up invest, and [lastly] reducing produc- Virginians have been protected if
automatically in 2026. tivity across the economy. Americans they had preexisting conditions, and
Keep in mind that the middle-class will pay the price in a lower standard now having had coronavirus is a pre-
tax cuts enacted in tax reform are not of living than they otherwise would existing condition, and the many peo-
just about lower tax rates for middle- [have]—and that they deserve.’’ ple who suffer from long-haul
income workers and families; they are I yield the floor. coronavirus symptoms have pre-
also about small business owners and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- existing conditions. They have been
family farmers. For the millions of ator from Virginia. protected.
small family-owned businesses and CORONAVIRUS Young people have been able to stay
family farmers, the tax reform of 2017 Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, thank on family policies, which has been par-
has provided a 20-percent deduction for you. I rise to talk about Americans’ ticularly helpful in a time of economic
qualified business income under sec- health and the health of Virginians. challenge, where a lot of young people
tion No. 199A. The whole purpose was We are living through a crisis—the have lost jobs or not been able to find
for it to be for individual filers in order coronavirus crisis—that is unprece- them. And other people who have lost
to reduce the inequity between a lower dented in American life since 100 years jobs in the private sector have been
corporate tax rate and what individ- ago with the influenza of the late 19- able to go on the exchanges and buy in-
uals would pay if they were in business teens, and a lot of words have been surance, and if their income isn’t high,
so as to compensate for the capital used on the floor to describe the mag- have a subsidy that would make the
that they would have to have invested nitude of the crisis. I needn’t dwell on premiums more affordable.
for their small businesses. that. Now nearly 220,000 Americans So as bad as this has been, it would
According to the recently released have died. A recent study that was put have been a lot worse were it not for an
2018 IRS data, in Iowa alone, in my out suggested that the actual toll may Affordable Care Act providing protec-
State alone, nearly 215,000 small busi- be closer to 300,000. tions for families and individuals.
nesses and farms across our State bene- Many States in the country are expe- I don’t pretend to understand every-
fited from this 20 percent deduction in riencing dramatic spikes, with pre- thing. I have been around for a while,
section No. 199A. The Republicans are dictions that we could see the worst but there are a lot of things I still
committed to making this provision levels of coronavirus in coming don’t understand, and I will just be
permanent, for it is a very important months, at least until a vaccine is de- candid. One thing I don’t understand is
tool for those small businesses and veloped and widely distributed, and why the repeal of the Affordable Care
farms to be able to grow, invest, and that probably won’t happen before the Act is like the Moby Dick that the
provide critically needed jobs in our spring of next year. GOP and the Trump administration
communities. In Virginia, we have been hit—3,515 has been searching to kill this worthy
However, Mr. Biden’s tax plan Virginians have died of coronavirus. healthcare bill that is protecting peo-
doesn’t include any proposal to make My wife and I know three of them—two ple at a critical time.
permanent or to even extend the mid- in Richmond and one in Fairfax Coun- During the time I have been in the
dle-class tax cuts that have been en- ty. And 168,722 Virginians have had Senate, since 2013, I have seen, during
acted under President Trump. Indeed, coronavirus. My wife and I are two in the Trump administration, numerous
every independent third-party review that number. efforts to, via administrative sabotage,
of his tax proposal assumes his intent This challenge in Virginia hit first in weaken the law.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
is to allow the tax increases to go into a tiny part of the State that I really I have been here as we have cast vote
effect. love, the Eastern Shore of Virginia. after vote after vote to repeal the Af-
And with good reason—because on That is one of the least accessible parts fordable Care Act.
the campaign trail, Mr. Biden has stat- of Virginia. The Eastern Shore has two I saw a shutdown driven by a Senate
ed: ‘‘On day one, I will move to elimi- sizable poultry processing plants, with colleague from Texas a few years ago
nate the Trump tax cuts.’’ It can’t be thousands of workers—a mixture of all around repealing the Affordable
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S6346 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
Care Act. It was important enough to on subjects that affect my family frequently. don’t think that is true. My experience
shut the entire government of the . . . My family means everything to me. My here since 2013 is when my colleagues
United States down for more than 2 son’s life isn’t something I take for granted. tell me something, they do it.
I fought for him, every day, while he strug- I have got great relations with col-
weeks.
gled through pulmonary hypertension, and it
I stood here on the floor at the most leagues on the Republican side of the
was four long months before I [even] heard
dramatic moment ever in my political the words ‘‘WHEN he goes home’’ rather aisle. When they tell me something,
life. You might think it might have than ‘‘IF he goes home.’’ they do it. And if they can’t do it, they
been, like, election night 2016. No, the Dawn from Virginia writes about her will tell me that.
most dramatic moment ever in my po- This is very, very different. Changing
20-year-old daughter—she is from Vi-
litical life was the night we stood here the tune—we will not fill a vacancy in
enna in Northern Virginia—who works
on the floor at about 2 in the morning a Presidential year. We will let the
a part-time job with no benefits. people decide—what is the reason for
and John McCain, having been diag- My daughter is 20 with multiple health
nosed with a glioblastoma, came out of the change?
conditions and has a part time job with no
the hospital and cast the deciding vote And I have concluded that since peo-
benefits, but she is able to be on my insur-
to make sure that millions of Ameri- ance. I am concerned about the upcoming
ple normally don’t go back on what
cans wouldn’t lose their health insur- Supreme Court vote on the ACA. they said—and this is a rare instance
ance. What will happen to young people like my in my time here in the Senate—the
And in addition to administrative daughter if the ACA is gone? reason is a real important one, and the
sabotage and repeated votes in the A veteran, Lieutenant Alvia from reason is finally we see Moby Dick in
Chamber, we have seen one court case Hampton in Hampton Roads. our sight, and we have a chance to gut
after the next, sponsored by Repub- I am a 100% permanently disabled veteran. the Affordable Care Act. We have one
Although most of my medical care is pro- last chance it do it in a case that is
licans, to try to repeal the Affordable
vided by the VA, my care is supplemented by going to be argued in the Supreme
Care Act.
Medicare and the services of a Medicaid Court on November 10.
And now we see sort of Moby Dick Alert Service Dog. The latter two care serv- And that is so important to us in a
coming into sight with the California ices are threatened by the abolishment of pandemic, with people dying and sick
v. Texas case to be argued at the Su- the Affordable Care Act and challenges to and suffering, that we are willing to
preme Court on November 10. the American Disability Act. . . . With the break our word to rush a Justice to re-
My constituents in Virginia who rely Supreme Court scheduled to hear arguments
peal the Affordable Care Act. For God’s
on the Affordable Care Act and are to repeal the [ACA] soon, this puts lives and
rights at unacceptable risk. sake, why?
afraid to death for themselves and For God’s sake, why?
their family members are petrified. Donna from Henrico in the Richmond I am struck by the fact I have un-
Let me read you some stories from area where I live writes about her hus- fairly used a broad brush to cast asper-
four constituents of the many that I band, diagnosed with glioblastoma sions at the GOP in the Senate. I am
have received. brain cancer: struck by the fact that two GOP Sen-
Michelle from New Castle. New Cas- My husband was diagnosed with glio- ators said: You are right. This is
tle is in Appalachian Southwest Vir- blastoma . . . back in June of 2020. The in- wrong. We shouldn’t rush the Justice.
ginia. She wrote in about her 9-year- surance claims have now exceeded one MIL-
We should let the people decide.
old son Evan. Michelle moved to Vir- LION dollars and will continue to rise with
Who were the two Republicans who
doctors and treatments. Thankfully, we have
ginia from Texas because Texas didn’t said that? Senators COLLINS of Maine
health insurance through the Marketplace.
have expanded Medicaid and Virginia My husband isn’t able to work and my job and MURKOWSKI of Alaska, who, to-
did. has no benefits. gether with John McCain in August of
I am new to Virginia. I recently moved I fear what it would be like for us if 2017, stood on the floor in the middle of
from Texas, and [I] am incredibly concerned ObamaCare is overturned by the Repub- the night and cast deciding votes to
with the Supreme Court nominee and the licans. No private insurance will ever accept make sure that people would have
protections given in the Affordable Care Act. us, so we must continue to rely on getting healthcare instead of millions losing
My son Evan, who is 9 years old, was born our insurance through the Marketplace. their healthcare. They are sticking by
with a rare abdominal wall defect called an And now we are rushing a Supreme
omphalocele. After many surgeries, and
their word because they know what is
Court nominee. In 2016, I was in this at stake and they know what this rush
staying in the hospital for the first 8 months
fighting for his life, he came home. At the
Chamber and saw many of my Repub- means.
time, he was covered by his father’s em- lican colleagues make the argument We shouldn’t be rushing a Supreme
ployer-sponsored health insurance. He was that they would not entertain a nomi- Court nominee and people breaking
protected under the ACA. His health care, nation by President Obama, not that their word to do so. On the Court, we
which included ventilator support, tube feed- they would vote against the nominee— should hold folks to their promises. Let
ing, and a number of surgeries, easily came that would be consistent with advise the people decide. They are voting; 37
to millions of dollars. and consent—but that they would not million people have voted already in
As he has grown, he has received other di- let the individual in their office, not the United States. Let’s let the people
agnoses—autism, ADHD, nystagmus and
other visual impairments. I know very well
have a Judiciary Committee hearing, decide who the next President is and
from my experience with health coverage in not have a Judiciary Committee vote, who the next Senate is, and, obviously,
Texas, the constant battle a person faces not have a floor debate, not have a if it is a Republican President and Re-
while trying to get treatment for autism-re- floor vote. publican Senate, everyone will under-
lated therapy, and to even be covered by And the principle that was newly an- stand moving quickly to voting on the
Medicaid. I was denied coverage for my son, nounced in 2016 was ‘‘let the people de- nomination of Judge Barrett, but let’s
because I ‘‘made too much.’’ My income as a cide.’’ Let the voters vote for President at least let the people decide. That is
single mother was $35,000. I was working and the Senate, and then we will see what we should be doing on the Court.
sometimes 60 hours a week, paying $650
about filling a Supreme Court vacancy. And here’s what we should be doing in-
every month for childcare. The cost of my
employer sponsored health insurance for my- And my colleagues looked me in the stead of forcing an unprecedented rush
self and my son and daughter was $800 a face and the voters in the face, too, and to a Justice who can be part of destroy-
month. I could not afford that, and [I] had to they said: This precedent is a precedent ing the Affordable Care Act: Let’s work
choose between having coverage for my chil- we will apply equally to a Republican on COVID. Let’s work on the
dren and being able to pay our water and President as a Democratic President. healthcare crisis.
light bills. It took months to receive a deci- But now that promise is being bro- But I am disappointed. After good
sion that we were denied for Medicaid. ken. Those words to colleagues and work together on four bills in March
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Upon my move to Virginia, I was able to those words to the public are being re- and April to inject trillions of dollars
obtain Medicaid not just for my son, who had
versed. to help people, businesses, and hos-
been denied in Texas, but for every house-
hold member. It took two weeks. There are some outside this body who pitals, we knew we needed to do more.
The ACA is protecting my son and his abil- think that is just what politicians do. The House put a bill on the table at the
ity to be covered by other insurance is so They say things and then do the oppo- end of May, and then there were
necessary. . . . I’m contacting my Senators site. They are not surprised by that. I months of delay here in the Senate.
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6347
I knew that the Senate Republican This is where it started in Virginia— NOMINATION OF AMY CONEY BARRETT
majority would not embrace the House hot spots in these poultry plants. Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, Judge
proposal, but I thought they would do These low-income workers—many im- Amy Coney Barrett is a wise, experi-
something. But after the House acted migrants—saw President Trump de- enced, compassionate, and strong
in May, June went by—nothing. July clare that this was an essential indus- woman. This past week, Iowans and all
went by—nothing. August went by— try, so they stood up and said: If the in- Americans had the chance to see that.
nothing. Most of September went by— dustry is essential, we are not sawdust. No matter the question or the topic,
nothing. We are not inessential. We are not ex- she was calm, cool, and collected. She
Eventually, a Republican proposal pendable. We are not throwaway. If the invoked the rule set by the late Justice
was put on the table that couldn’t even industry is essential and has to sail, Ginsburg in providing no hints, pre-
generate strong support within the Re- then we are essential too. views, or forecasts as to how she would
publican caucus. It was dramatically They stood up and asked the Gov- decide any given case. That is how
insufficient, from my view, because it ernor to adopt a basic safety rule about judges should act, because, as Judge
provided no assistance for housing, how to return safely to work in these Barrett points out, judges aren’t legal
rent, mortgage, food, SNAP benefits, plants during a time of COVID. The pundits; their role is to rule on the law.
State and local government. It pro- Certainly, that seemed to frustrate
Governor heard their request and said:
vided none of those things. some folks. It is like they wanted that
Well, maybe, but let me see if OSHA
So Democrats and some Republicans big TV moment to score just one more
will do something. Won’t the Federal
voted against it with the hopes that point on the political scoreboard this
labor agencies come and put a safety
that vote would do exactly what it did election cycle. They weren’t focused on
rule in place? And OSHA did nothing.
when we cast a similar vote in March: understanding Judge Barrett’s judicial
So, in July, at the request of these philosophy and temperament.
We vote down a partisan proposal. It
poultry workers who are now in an es- What has become crystal clear to me
opens the door for negotiations. The
sential industry but are risking their throughout this process is that Judge
White House gets engaged. We do some-
thing that is good for the entire Amer- health, the Governor of Virginia en- Barrett’s academic and professional
ican public. Our vote did have that ef- acted a temporary safety rule, not just qualifications are above reproach. As a
fect—sort of. for poultry plants but for places of law professor at Notre Dame, her alma
The ‘‘no’’ vote on the Republican pro- work to make sure that, as people are mater, she offered numerous academic
posal in September did start a more ro- coming back to work, they can be safe. articles on the topic of constitutional
bust discussion with the White House Good news, Mr. President: After that law.
about what should be done to provide law was enacted, the cases on the East- As a Seventh Circuit Court judge, she
COVID relief—but not here in the Sen- ern Shore declined and declined and de- has authored 79 majority opinions. Of
ate. Repeatedly, as Democratic leader- clined, and of the 134 cities and coun- those majority opinions, they have
ship has been talking to Secretary ties in Virginia, right now, even with been unanimous 95 percent of the time.
Mnuchin over at the White House, we two of these big poultry plants, the Judge Barrett has shown a commit-
read in the paper that Senator MCCON- caseload on the Eastern Shore per cap- ment to the law and Constitution and
NELL, the leader, has been telling mem- ita is just about the best in Virginia. has an even hand in applying the sa-
bers of the GOP: We are not doing a But the bill we just voted down, this cred tenets of our democracy. Like
deal. Don’t do a deal—cold water on ‘‘skinny’’ bill we just voted down that most Iowans, I firmly believe in the
the deal. had a liability protection component to role of our Supreme Court. It is the de-
Now we are having some sort of show it—it wasn’t just liability protection. I fender of our Constitution.
votes on insufficient proposals this would be for liability protection. If you At the end of the day, that is my test
week, but to come to the floor to cast want to protect someone from liabil- for a Supreme Court Justice: Will she
a vote on a motion to table a proposal ity—normally we don’t at the Federal defend the Constitution?
when everybody knows it is not going level, but you can. What you do is set Why is this so important? Because
anywhere because it is not sufficient at a standard of care, and then you say far too often, politicians in Washington
the same time as we are reading head- that everybody who exceeds the stand- want the Supreme Court to be a super-
lines in the paper that the majority ard of care is protected from liability. legislature to push policy that can’t
leader is telling the GOP: Do not do a The ‘‘skinny’’ proposal that we just make it through Congress. But that is
deal. Do not do a COVID deal. voted on had liability protection, but it not the job of the Supreme Court. We
The PPP package that we voted on didn’t set a standard of care. It just ex- must resist with all effort the push to
yesterday was insufficient. We refilled cused people from liability, and it did make this happen now and in the fu-
the bucket for small businesses in something even worse. It did some- ture.
April, as we should have, and we have Last week, Judge Barrett dem-
thing even worse, and that was one of
to refill it again. But the package yes- onstrated that she would be a defender
the reasons I voted against it.
terday didn’t do anything for res- of the Constitution—a soon-to-be Jus-
The bill that we just voted down tice who will rule based on the Con-
taurants, didn’t do anything for many would have wiped out the Virginia safe-
in the small business sector, and it in- stitution, who will leave the policy de-
ty rule. It would have wiped out the cisions to Congress and decide the
cluded nothing for individuals who are ability of any State to pass a tem-
hit hard by unemployment or families cases at hand, not the political winds
porary safety rule to protect workers of the moment.
who need relief or people who need
so that they could come back to work This week, the Senate will consider
testing.
safely in a time of COVID. adding another woman to the highest
The bill that we just voted on today,
the ‘‘skinny’’ COVID bill, was insuffi- It is one thing to try to kill the Af- Court in the land. This is something all
cient for the same reasons that led it fordable Care Act in the middle of a women of every political party or per-
to be voted down by Democrats and Re- pandemic and take health insurance suasion should be applauding. But it
publicans in September. away from millions. It is another thing seems like the left can’t bring them-
As I conclude, I want to go back to to rush a Supreme Court Justice in vio- selves to see this nomination as a great
the Eastern Shore. I have another col- lation of what you said you would do to story for women.
league on the floor who wants to talk, try to achieve your goal of killing the I am struck by the irony of how de-
but I started off talking about the Affordable Care Act. But trying to wipe meaning to women some of the left’s
Eastern Shore, where Virginia’s COVID out State safety laws that are working accusations really are—that Judge
experience began with a hot spot in in my Commonwealth to effectively Barrett, a working mother of seven
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
two poultry processing plants. protect workers whom the President with a strong record of professional
I have a good-news story for the Pre- has declared essential—I have seen ev- and academic accomplishment,
siding Officer because I was on the erything. I have seen everything. couldn’t possibly respect the goals and
Eastern Shore a couple of days ago, but I yield the floor. desires of today’s women.
I have a challenging punch line to my The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The great freedom of being an Amer-
good-news story. ator from Iowa. ican woman is that we can decide how
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S6348 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
to live our lives, whom to marry, what Barrett was in the room, the smartest The American Bar Association—
kind of person we are, and where we person in the room was also the most sometimes not that friendly to Repub-
want to go. I served in the military— humble person in the room. I think we lican nominees to the court—concluded
something not exactly popular at var- saw some of that when she was before that she was well qualified. They asked
ious points in America’s history. We the Judiciary Committee as she an- for input from more than 900 people fa-
don’t have to fit into the narrow defini- swered those questions understanding miliar with Judge Barrett, and in the
tion of womanhood. We create our own what her job was, understanding the end, not one person uttered a negative
path. job of a judge is not to decide what the word about her. Certainly, there is no-
So, folks, I implore you to recognize law should say but what the law does body who has been elected to this body
this nominee for who she is. Judge Bar- say; not to decide what the Constitu- who didn’t have lots of negative words
rett has shown that she has the utmost tion should say but what it does say said about them. But just to find 900
qualifications and the character to and even more importantly, in her view people and none of them have a nega-
serve on our Nation’s highest Court. of what a judge should look at, what tive thing to say I think is a great indi-
She is a role model for young women in people thought it said when they wrote cation of who she is.
Iowa and all around this Nation—a it, that textualist, that originalist con- One lawyer told the ABA that she is
wife, a mom of seven, a woman of faith, cept. She I think rightly perceived that ‘‘an intellectual giant with people
a midwesterner. if we want to change the Constitution, skills, and engaging warmth.’’ Not
She did not receive her law degree there is a way to do that. If we want to every intellectual giant is praised for
from an Ivy League school. Some folks update it to what it might mean now, their warmth or their people skills.
may not like that, but I appreciate we have the chance to do that. Cer- It is clear that she is well qualified.
someone, like myself, who has lived tainly, if we want to change the law, It is clear that she is a brilliant law-
and learned beyond America’s upper we have the chance to do that. yer. It is clear that she cares about her
crust and coastlines and has seen If you really listened to the ques- faith, about her family, and about her
America through the eyes of a farmer tions, particularly from our friends on community.
and the soul of a railman—an accom- the other side, the Democrats on that As Senator ERNST mentioned, she is
plished jurist and truly a wonderful committee, they were all very much the first nominee since Sandra Day
and decent person. premised on: Well, what do you be- O’Connor who didn’t graduate from
Amy Coney Barrett has dem- lieve? What do you think about this? Yale or Harvard. There is nothing
onstrated to the world that this—be- What do you think about that? wrong with Yale or Harvard, but there
coming a Supreme Court Justice—is That is not the point. She, I thought, is nothing wrong with having a dif-
what a mom can do. very consistently, for 24 hours, made ferent background as you come to the
I look forward to supporting her the point that the point is, it is not Court, particularly if all of your asso-
nomination, and I urge my colleagues about what I believe; it is about what ciations as a lawyer have been that
to do the same. the law says. ‘‘she’s mind-blowingly intelligent’’—
I yield the floor. By the way, members of the com- that was one of her colleagues at Notre
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- mittee—she didn’t say this, but it was Dame—‘‘and she’s also one of the most
ator from Missouri. obvious—it is your job to decide what humble people you’re going to meet.’’
Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, let me the law says. It is the job of the Court Brilliant and humble is a pretty good
just follow right on with that impor- to decide how the law is applied and combination. America needs judges
tant topic of the vote we will have in a whether it meets the test of the Con- that bring both humility and brilliance
few days to send another Justice to the stitution. to the court. The Supreme Court will
U.S. Supreme Court. A widely respected scholar, a person benefit from her being there.
I had the opportunity this morning of faith—by the way, I think in the pre- I certainly look forward to voting for
to meet with Judge Barrett. The con- vious hearing, we all heard that com- Judge Amy Coney Barrett as she moves
versation reminded me exactly why she ment ‘‘The dogma lives loudly in you.’’ from that job to Associate Justice Amy
is the right choice to fill the vacancy There may be a good way to use the Coney Barrett, and I believe we will be
on the Supreme Court now. I was asked word ‘‘dogma,’’ but I don’t think I have able to do that within the next few
the first weekend of this discussion, be- ever heard it used in a positive way. days.
fore the President had made the deci- But if you just substituted ‘‘dogma’’ The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. COT-
sion, if I could vote for her, and I for ‘‘faith,’’ what a great thing that TON). The Senator from Tennessee.
quickly said yes, having watched her would be to say about somebody. The Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I
circuit judge bipartisan confirmation, faith lives—your faith—the faith lives tell you, it is quite an honor to join my
having seen how that discussion went. loudly in you. No matter what your colleagues and talk for a few minutes
I have had her on a short list that I faith is, that is a great thing to hear about our Supreme Court nominee,
have kept myself for a long time as about yourself or to be able to say Judge Barrett.
someone who would be an important about somebody else. Lots of people In the Judiciary Committee, where I
addition to the Court. say that about Amy Coney Barrett. hold a seat, we were doing one of our
She was first in her class at Notre She has written 79 opinions at the most important duties—our constitu-
Dame; clerked on the district court in circuit court level, the court level tional duty to provide advice and con-
Washington, DC; clerked for Justice right below the Supreme Court. Every- sent regarding the President’s nominee
Scalia at the Supreme Court; and was a thing she said as a circuit judge, as a for the Supreme Court. Indeed, we do
law professor at Notre Dame for 15 witness before the committee, and as a this with all of our Federal judges who
years. At least three times in that 15 nominee before the committee has come before us.
years, she was chosen by students as been exactly what I think a judge Last week, we fulfilled that highest
the top faculty member. She was should do. level of duty as we examined Judge
bipartisanly confirmed on the Seventh The day she was nominated by the Barrett’s record, her character, and to
Circuit and has a history over the last President, she said: see if she is qualified to sit on the Su-
3 years of the kind of Justice she would A judge must apply the law as written. preme Court. As you were hearing from
be. Judges are not policymakers, and they must my colleagues today, yes, indeed, she is
The dean at the law school at Notre be resolute in setting aside any policy views qualified.
Dame had this to say about Judge Amy they might hold. Now, I will tell you that unfortu-
Coney Barrett. He said: Judge Scalia famously said that a nately some of my colleagues on the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an absolutely really good judge will often issue an other side of the aisle spent their time
brilliant legal scholar and jurist. . . . She opinion that they wish was a different fishing for sound bites and feigning
lives a life of humility and grace, devoted to opinion; an opinion that doesn’t meet confusion over the fact that Judge Bar-
her family and community. their view of what they would like to rett takes her cues from the Constitu-
Somebody else at the Notre Dame see happen but meets their view of tion and not from the latest polling
Law School said that when Professor what the law requires to happen. and not from the 24-hour news cycle.
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6349
Honestly, I think that said more about As you know, the advice and consent jority in Sturgeon v. Frost that the
them than it did about her. responsibility of the Senate is one of Federal laws that govern land manage-
That is what happens when leaders the most important responsibilities we ment in Alaska are often ‘‘different’’
who really ought to know better allow have in the Constitution. The process from the laws governing land manage-
politics to take control of their vetting that I will have gone through and go ment in any other part of the country.
process and their thought process. through with every single judge is to These laws are often carefully crafted
That is what most Americans took evaluate Judge Barrett’s qualifications by this body and the House, and they
away from those hearings last week, on her record, the hearings, and, of are essential for Alaskans, both cul-
that in the eyes of those on the Demo- course, in discussions I have had with turally and economically. And when
cratic side of the dais, there was no her. This has been an extensive evalua- judges misinterpret these laws—as
way Judge Amy Coney Barrett was tion. I have read hundreds of pages of they often do, and this is what I talked
ever going to make them happy be- the decisions she has authored. I have to Judge Barrett about—they often di-
cause, to them, only answers that listened to and read the views of Alas- rectly impact the lives of my constitu-
tracked with their views—views on the kans both for and against her nomina- ents, usually in a negative way.
left—on abortion, on religion, and on tion. In my meeting with Judge Bar- Just ask John Sturgeon and count-
socialized medicine would pass muster. rett, we discussed in great depth her less other Alaskans who, over the dec-
This is an absurd standard, I will tell viewpoint on a variety of national and ades, have seen their rights to legally
you, and it is no standard at all be- Alaska-focused legal issues. enjoy our lands—and it is our lands—
cause those views shift and change de- She clearly understands the separa- that they call home whittled away, de-
pending on what the loudest mega- tion of powers and federalism, holds a cision by decision, by Federal agencies.
phone on the National Mall has to say healthy skepticism regarding the ex- Over the years, various Federal agen-
on any given day. pansive power of Federal Agencies, and cies have acted as if Federal laws gov-
So, in the interest of refocusing on is a strong protector and proponent of erning Alaska didn’t exist. Commercial
our duty to offer advice and consent, I the Second Amendment—all issues use permits weren’t being issued. Peo-
think we could all stand a quick recap that my constituents care deeply ple couldn’t partake in their tradi-
of last week’s hearing. about. tional activities. They couldn’t harvest
Here is what we know: Judge Barrett Why are these issues so important to their traditional foods. Alaskans
is exceptionally smart, she is focused, Alaska and central to our realizing our couldn’t make a living on the land.
and she is a mindful jurist. Her col- potential? Let me give a brief but re- I don’t know how Judge Barrett
leagues, students, former clerks, and cent example of an issue that recently would vote on these specific issues, but
professional associates from all back- made its way to the Ninth Circuit, I trust her temperament, on great dis-
grounds and all world views whole- which often is the bane of our existence play during the hearings, her stated
heartedly believe she is competent and in Alaska, to the Supreme Court not skepticism about Federal overreach,
prepared to hold a seat on the Supreme once but twice, and was unanimously her strong belief that the Second
Court. Her record is consistent with agreed to by the Supreme Court. It is a Amendment ‘‘confers an individual
the originalist lens she puts over the case that some of the media here would right, intimately connected with the
cases and controversies that come be familiar with, Sturgeon v. Frost—a natural right of self-defense.’’
across her desk. Over the course of 2 moose hunter, a hovercraft, the wild I trust what others have said about
days of intense questioning, she did not interior of Alaska. It made for some her on both sides of the aisle: ‘‘bril-
contradict that record or violate the great headlines. But the issue being liant,’’ ‘‘humble,’’ ‘‘a woman of unas-
rules of judicial ethics by offering a litigated in that case was one of con- sailable integrity,’’ and ‘‘a role model
preview of future rulings. trol, one of freedom—control of our for generations to come.’’
The American Bar Association rated lands, our waters, our fish, and game. All of this was on display during her
her as ‘‘well qualified’’ to serve on the The Federal Government, in essence, hearing and in my meeting with her,
Court. Based on the testimony and evi- told John Sturgeon he couldn’t use his and I trust that all of this will come to
dence offered to the committee, I will hovercraft on Federal waters to go play when these kinds of cases—the
tell you, I definitely agree with them. hunting. ‘‘Yes, I can,’’ said Sturgeon. Alaska-specific cases—make their way
I will vote to confirm Judge Barrett He knew the law. up to the High Court, which they inevi-
to the Supreme Court, and I would en- Then there was litigation. It is one tably do. I don’t believe that it is an
courage all my colleagues who plan on that comes up time and again in Alas- overstatement to say that the future of
voting no to think long and hard about ka—the issue of Federal overreach, my constituents depends on these
why that is. If they have not taken the agency creep. In Alaska, we have a kinds of issues.
time to get to know Judge Barrett— front row to this problem. It is for these reasons, and others,
her background and her record—I en- We have seen it happen to us consist- that I will vote to confirm Judge Bar-
courage them to get to know a little ently by the courts—particularly, as I rett to the U.S. Supreme Court, and I
bit about her and also to ask them- mentioned, the judges on the U.S. encourage all of my colleagues on both
selves how smart was it to have spent Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. sides of the aisle to do the same for
the past month signaling their willing- When they interpret statutes involving this exceptional jurist who is very
ness to dismantle our constitutional my State—and they are many—Federal qualified for this position.
framework to score a few cheap points statutes can only relate to Alaska in a I yield the floor.
against the White House during a polit- way that fits with their ideas and pol- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ical season. icy notions about the way the Federal ator from Mississippi.
I yield the floor. lands in Alaska should be managed. In Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, it
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- essence, they typically think that less is an honor to speak in strong support
ator from Alaska. control by the people and more control of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I was by the government is what is needed. as an Associate Justice on the Supreme
in Alaska when Judge Amy Coney Bar- But that often is not what Congress Court of the United States. After care-
rett was before the Senate Judiciary wrote and what Congress intended. It is ful review of her record and her out-
Committee, but since then I have been the absolute opposite of judicial humil- standing testimony during her con-
able to catch up on those hearings. I ity, failing to read the statutes as we, firmation hearing, it is clear that
want to commend my colleagues, par- in this body, wrote them. It is failing Judge Barrett is well suited for a life-
ticularly Senator GRAHAM for con- to exhibit the kind of textualism that time appointment on the Court.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
ducting those hearings in a way that Judge Barrett ascribes to and was so on Last week, Judge Barrett firmly held
befitted such an occasion—with respect display during our hearings. her own during hours and hours of
and good questioning. I think the So why is this important? When the questioning from my colleagues on the
American people—certainly my con- Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Judiciary Committee. She did not once
stituents—learned a lot and were very, Circuit twice in 3 years, Justice Elena falter during her hearing. In fact, she
very impressed with Judge Barrett. Kagan wrote in her opinion for the ma- excelled. Judge Barrett proved to the
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S6350 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
American people that she is prepared, Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am so those of a mainstream jurist who con-
talented, compassionate, and, not to proud to be here today to join my col- siders herself bound by the law, not
mention, brilliant. Judge Barrett dem- leagues to discuss the current Supreme free to decide cases based on her own
onstrated that she is an independent Court vacancy and, specifically, the ex- personal opinions. She reiterated that
individual who can think for herself. cellent choice President Trump made time and again in the Judiciary Com-
She made it clear that she is an in selecting Amy Coney Barrett to fill mittee.
originalist who will follow the law. that vacancy. That is so important because some of
Without a single note or binder in I, like my colleagues and many my Democratic Senate colleagues were
front of her, Judge Barrett repeatedly Americans, watched the Senate Judici- seeking promises from her about how
affirmed that she would interpret the ary Committee hearings on Judge she will rule on certain cases in the fu-
Constitution and laws passed by Con- Barrett’s nomination last week. I also ture, and they sought to examine her
gress as they were written—no more, have had a chance to meet personally belief on policy matters, such as pro-
no less. with the judge myself. During all of tections for those with preexisting con-
During her hearing, Judge Barrett these occasions, I have been extremely ditions.
testified: impressed with Judge Amy Coney Bar- I, for one, strongly support—as most
I apply the law. I follow the law. You make rett. of us do—legal protections to make
the policy. I was especially impressed with her sure that individuals with preexisting
The judge kept pointing out that we, depth of legal knowledge, coupled with conditions can purchase and retain
the Senate, are the legislators. She her demeanor. She very clearly and health insurance. Passing laws like
stressed that she has no mission or eloquently expresses herself. She reit- those are what we should be doing here
agenda to change the law as she would erated many times in the hearing that in this body, not in the Supreme Court.
want it. Judge Barrett made it abun- judges don’t make the law. She was After some of my colleagues were not
dantly clear that in her role as a jurist, levelheaded, open-minded, and firm in given the hints that they were looking
she has no issues with setting aside her all of her responses. for on how Judge Barrett would rule on
personal beliefs when applying the let- Judge Barrett is a model of profes- particular cases, they resorted to as-
ter of the law. This mindset and legal sional and personal success. We have suming that they knew what she would
philosophy is exactly the type of jurist all heard that she is a mother of seven, do. Specifically, they tried to tie Judge
we need on our Nation’s highest Court. which, in and of itself, is quite an Barrett to those who had mentored her
Not only did we hear from Judge Bar- achievement. And, if confirmed, she in the past and insinuated that she
rett, but we heard from her former pro- will be the first mother of school-aged would judge exactly how they would
fessors, colleagues, and students. These children to serve on the Supreme judge. Well, when that happened, she
are the people who know her best. Court. responded:
These individuals were witnesses not She is absolutely dedicated to her I assure you, I have my own mind. . . . Ev-
only to her intellect but her character faith and to her community, and she is erything that he—
as well. The testimonies on her behalf held in very high regard by the many Meaning Scalia—
only proved her absolute readiness for students she has taught and mentored said is not necessarily what I would agree
this position. over the years. with or what I would do if I were Justice
Americans should be celebrating the You could certainly tell from the Barrett.
nomination of Judge Barrett. She is questioning of the Judiciary Com- It is clear that Judge Barrett has her
brilliant, hard working, ambitious, and mittee members during that hearing own mind and will seek to be a fair and
a proud mother and wife. In a time that she has been in the arena many impartial judge. The role of judges is to
when we need role models for our times with very inquisitive people and apply our Constitution and laws as
youth, Judge Barrett fills that role. students. written to the cases before them and
The judge is a family-oriented In short, Judge Barrett is a stellar not implement their own policy agen-
woman who reveres the Constitution. nominee who will show a new genera- das. As Judge Barrett put it in her own
She is a representative for working tion—our daughters and our grand- words, ‘‘Judges can’t just wake up one
women across the country and a testa- daughters—that anything is possible in day and say: ‘I have an agenda . . . [I]
ment that women can have a career America. am going to walk in like a royal queen
and family and be stunningly success- I plan to vote to confirm Judge Bar- and impose my will on the world.’’
ful at both. rett, and here is why. Evaluating nomi- Instead, she explained that it is
I also appreciate that she has dis- nees for high government offices is an ‘‘never appropriate for a judge to im-
played great strength in withstanding important responsibility for this body pose the judge’s personal convictions in
affronts to her faith and her family of Senators. That is even true when the determining the outcome of a case.’’
during the confirmation process. nominee is being considered for a life- She also went on to say:
If confirmed—and I am confident time appointment to the Nation’s high- A judge must apply the law as written.
that she will be—Amy Coney Barrett est Court. So I consider, really, three Judges are not policymakers, and they must
will have the honor to be the fifth main questions when I am considering be resolute in setting aside any policy views
woman in history to serve on the Su- a Supreme Court nominee. they might hold.
preme Court. The first judge as a moth- First and foremost, is the nominee Judge Barrett’s success in applying
er of school-aged children, she will be qualified? the law is reflected in the fact that
the only sitting judge on the Court to Second, does the nominee have a over 90 percent of the majority opin-
not have attended an Ivy League law track record of independence and fair- ions she has written were unanimously
school. ness that befits a judge who will apply agreed to by her colleagues on the Sev-
We must continue to ensure that our Constitution and laws as written, enth Circuit. No decision she has writ-
women like Judge Barrett are rep- rather than make policy from the ten has ever been overturned or re-
resented in the highest levels of our ju- bench? versed by the Supreme Court. This
dicial system. Judge Barrett’s life ex- And, third, do the West Virginians record is only possible when a judge is
periences as a judge, lawyer, teacher, whom I represent believe the nominee deciding cases fairly and in accord with
wife, and mother will bring a valuable is well suited to decide cases that im- the mainstream views of colleagues ap-
and much needed perspective to the Su- pact their constitutional rights? pointed by both Republican and Demo-
preme Court. Based on her impressive resume, cratic Presidents.
I am proud to support Judge Barrett. Judge Barrett is clearly qualified for West Virginians want a Supreme
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Now the Senate must do its constitu- the Supreme Court. The nonpartisan Court Justice with experience and in-
tional duty and confirm Judge Amy American Bar Association rated her tegrity who will protect the Constitu-
Coney Barrett as soon as possible. ‘‘well qualified.’’ That is the ABA’s tion and decide cases fairly. West Vir-
I yield the floor. highest ranking for judicial nominees. ginians want a Supreme Court Justice
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Judge Barrett’s judicial philosophy who will serve as a role model for our
ator from West Virginia. and record on the Seventh Circuit are children and our grandchildren. That is
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6351
why I will be proud to vote to confirm sional successes in their own right. I vacancy. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. have five granddaughters. The oldest dedicated almost three decades of her
Supreme Court. one is 10. I think Justice Amy Coney life to serving on the highest Court,
I yield the floor. Barrett will prove to be an inspiration and she will always be remembered as
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- to these five granddaughters and to my a talented attorney and jurist. We ap-
ator from Mississippi. grown daughters also. preciate Justice Ginsburg and her serv-
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I rise There is much talk about predicting ice to our Nation.
this afternoon in full, complete, and how this Justice or how any candidate Soon the Senate will consider the
all-inspired support for the nomination for the circuit court or the district nomination of Judge Amy Coney Bar-
of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be an court will rule. I have seen enough ex- rett to serve as Associate Justice on
Associate Justice of the Supreme amples during my lifetime of surprises the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett has
Court. that I would not venture to guess how an outstanding record of accomplish-
Her qualifications are not in dispute Justice Amy Coney Barrett is going to ment, as well as a strong record of up-
and have been mentioned repeatedly on rule on a particular issue. I do think holding the law rather than legislating
the floor and in other public forums. she is committed to interpreting the from the bench.
I have had a chance as a Member of law and to applying the law as it is Judge Barrett graduated summa cum
the Senate to vote on four Associate written in the Constitution, as we laude, first in her class, from Notre
Justices of the Supreme Court: Kagan, write it as legislators, and not adjust- Dame Law School. She then clerked for
Sotomayor, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh. I ing the law, manipulating it to suit her Judge Silberman on the DC Circuit and
was a Member of the House of Rep- rule, but I have no idea how she will Justice Scalia on the U.S. Supreme
resentatives down the hall here during rule. Court.
the confirmations of Justices Alito and I do know this, and this is what She currently serves as a circuit
Roberts, and I was old enough to pay makes me so comfortable with ele- court judge for the Seventh Circuit.
close attention to the confirmations of vating her to one of these nine special During her time on the Seventh Cir-
Justices Breyer and Thomas. I can say positions as an Associate Justice of the cuit, she has written 79 majority opin-
to my colleagues today, I have never Supreme Court. I know that she is de- ions. She has also published 18 law re-
witnessed a more impressive display of voted to the philosophy of Justice view articles. I wanted to take a mo-
poise, knowledge, and temperament in Antonin Scalia. ment to mention this list of accom-
a candidate for the Supreme Court If Justice Scalia ever made a pro- plishments to highlight how remark-
than I have witnessed during the con- found point about our law and our sys- able she is as an attorney and as a ju-
firmation process of this particular tem of the rule of law and our Con- rist.
candidate. I think that is why, perhaps, stitution, it was this: We are a special I had the opportunity to sit down
there was objection to the process. republic and a special democracy be- with Judge Barrett to discuss her judi-
No doubt there was objection to the cause we have enshrined in our Con- cial philosophy. She is an originalist
process in the timing of this nomina- stitution the separation of powers. The and a textualist. Her traditional phi-
tion and this confirmation among a lot President has his powers to enforce the losophy ensures her own personal be-
of people around the United States, but law. The Congress has the power of the liefs and her views will not impact her
purse, and we write the statutes, and role as a jurist.
as the confirmation wore on and as
the Supreme Court rules on the con- As a Senator, I strive to ensure we
more and more people came to know
stitutionality and the validity of our confirm judges who will be impartial in
Judge Amy Coney Barrett—the stu- their rulings and will take the facts
dent, the parent, the member of her actions.
Scalia made this point over and over, presented and apply the law to those
community—and as more and more facts.
and it was always such a wonderful ex-
people have seen her and listened to During our conversation, we dis-
perience to hear him lecture. But if he
her, public opinion has moved in her cussed the principle of precedent and
ever made a point, it was this: Any dic-
favor to now where a majority of how precedent is important for judicial
tator around the world can write down
Americans support the elevation and on a piece of paper a bill of rights, and structure. Judge Barrett believes that,
confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to around the country, in dictatorships as a judge, her main duty is to the U.S.
the Supreme Court. I certainly am de- and totalitarian systems, there are Constitution and to ensuring that all
lighted to see that and am not sur- many bills of rights. judicial opinions uphold the rights,
prised based upon the absolutely phe- The way we ensure that Bill of freedoms, and principles established in
nomenal way she has conducted her- Rights is enforced is that we don’t give this essential document.
self. any one part of our government too Judge Barrett’s judicial approach en-
I think it is worth noting that she is much power. We don’t give any one sures she will be fair and impartial to-
from Middle America. While all of our man or any one institution or any one ward every plaintiff who comes before
50 States are great and all of our law Agency in this Federal Government too her and, at the same time, that our
schools undoubtedly have things to much power. Those are the checks and most vital document—our Constitu-
recommend them, I kind of like that balances that Antonin Scalia said tion—is upheld and echoed in every ju-
she grew up in my neighboring State of made the United States special. I think dicial opinion she makes.
Louisiana. I kind of like that she grad- Amy Coney Barrett understands that, Judges should never have pre-
uated with stellar marks from a very and I think she will enforce that con- conceived notions, and they should not
impressive college in my neighboring cept and be true to those tenets as the be able to provide a prediction or any
State of Tennessee, at Rhodes College next Associate Justice of the Supreme sort of hint as to how they will decide
in Memphis, TN, just an hour and a Court. a future or hypothetical case. A judge’s
half up the road from where I make my So I couldn’t be more delighted, I judicial philosophy ensures they have
home. couldn’t be more enthusiastic, I could the proper tools at their disposal for
I think Harvard is a great law school. not be any more awe-inspired with a reaching decisions. Judges’ decisions
I think Yale is a great law school. I candidate for the Supreme Court, and I impact lives, and it is important for
think it is OK that we have now a pro- will, with great honor and privilege, our jurists to be fair, level-minded, and
spective Justice of the Supreme Court vote in favor of her confirmation. impartial at all times. That is why
who went someplace else: Notre Dame. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- having someone like Judge Barrett on
So, to me, she represents Middle ator from North Dakota. the Supreme Court is best for our Na-
American values, and there is some- Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise tion.
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thing to be said for that on the highest today in support of the nomination of Another topic I discussed with Judge
Court of the land—Louisiana values, Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be an As- Barrett was the importance of uphold-
Tennessee values, Indiana values. sociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme ing our Federal trust and treaty obli-
I think she is an inspiration to young Court. gations to our Tribes. As chairman of
women across this country. I have two Before I begin, I would be remiss if I the Senate Committee on Indian Af-
daughters. They have become profes- didn’t acknowledge the reason for this fairs, I understand the importance of
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S6352 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
upholding these responsibilities. Judge question: Do you understand your role just getting worse as the fall
Barrett said that she will objectively and the distinct branches of govern- coronavirus wave begins to rise across
look at every case that comes before ment? Do you want to make policy, or the country.
her, will apply the law to the facts at do you want to uphold the law as writ- The restaurant and bar industry has
hand, and will do her part to uphold ten? been hurt, and the travel industry, the
the Federal trust and treaty responsi- That is exactly what I asked Judge live entertainment industry. We are
bility. Amy Coney Barrett when we met. She talking about millions and millions of
Judge Barrett has not only estab- could not have been more clear in our workers who are out of a job right now,
lished an outstanding record of accom- meeting and throughout the Judiciary plus millions more who are worried
plishment on the bench, but she has Committee hearings last week. Judge that they are going to get laid off this
also demonstrated her deep under- Barrett is a nominee of indisputable winter as COVID–19 infections rise.
standing of the law as a professor at credentials and qualifications and will The fact is, despite what Donald
Notre Dame Law School. Throughout fulfill the proper role of a judge envi- Trump says, our economy isn’t any-
her career, Judge Barrett has shown a sioned by the Framers when they de- where near fully recovered—not even
deep respect for the Constitution, as signed the three-branch system of gov- close. This jobs crisis won’t be over
well as a strong commitment to up- ernment in our Constitution. until the public health crisis is over.
holding the law. The Democratic attempts to attack That is why, in the meantime, the only
Judge Barrett is a great choice to Judge Barrett for her faith fell flat. reasonable and logical thing to do is to
join the bench of the Supreme Court. Quite the opposite, her faith and her bring back enhanced unemployment in-
Her qualifications, judicial approach, commitment to family have earned her surance and keep those benefits for the
and commitment to upholding the Con- the utmost respect. The Democrats duration of the emergency. That is
stitution will benefit my home State of were left grasping at straws during last what I am calling for this afternoon.
North Dakota, as well as our entire Na- week’s hearing because they clearly That is what I believe Members of Con-
tion. Judge Barrett will be a strong, can’t question her qualifications. gress should be for.
fair, and impartial Justice, and I look Her record is irrefutable. Judge The proposal that I offer extends the
forward to supporting her nomination. Barrett’s academic, professional, and crucial programs from the CARES
The Supreme Court is foundational judicial records clearly demonstrate Act—the extra $600 per week, what we
to the checks and balances structure of her devotion to following the rule of developed in the Senate Finance Com-
our government—something that the law. She strictly adheres to the origi- mittee. I see the distinguished Repub-
good Senator from Mississippi just nal meaning of the Constitution’s pro- lican leader, Senator THUNE, who
talked about very eloquently. Having visions, setting forth the fundamental serves on our committee. We work to-
an independent judicial body is crucial rights, liberties, and protections on gether often. We developed it there—
to the protection of our democracy. which this great country was founded. the extra $600 per week, Pandemic Un-
Justices of the Supreme Court hold As Professor Prakash eloquently employment Assistance for the self-
the essential role of being the final de- stated in Judge Barrett’s nomination employed, and additional benefits for
cisionmaker of disputes in the United hearing, the ABA’s rating of Judge them.
States. Such power comes with much Barrett as ‘‘well qualified’’ is an under- My God, the unemployment system
responsibility, which is why selecting statement. I am proud to support was actually brought into this century.
the best person for this job is critical Judge Barrett’s nomination, and I look The old system was close to 100 years
for our country. We must have Justices forward to voting to confirm her to old. Nobody ever heard back then of a
on our Supreme Court who uphold the serve as an Associate Justice of the gig worker, but we got them covered.
law and interpret the Constitution in U.S. Supreme Court. So we want to extend those programs
the way it was written. I yield the floor. until January 31, 2021. In addition to
Again, I appreciate President The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the enhanced unemployment benefits,
Trump’s nomination of Judge Barrett, ator from Oregon. what this does is it avoids throwing
and I look forward to supporting her UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST millions and millions of Americans
confirmation to serve as an Associate Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, shortly, I over a financial cliff, essentially, at
Justice on the Supreme Court. will offer a unanimous consent request the end of the year.
I yield the floor. on legislation to extend enhanced un- It is my judgment that this is just
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- employment insurance for folks in basic economic fairness. This is about
ator from Florida. America who are out of work. making sure that tens of millions of
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I am going to begin with a quick Americans who walk an economic
I am one of the few Senators who have check-in on the economic reality in our tightrope during this pandemic will be
appointed people to the bench, and I country. Here is where we are in a sen- able to pay the rent, put food on the
take this very seriously. I believe in se- tence: Only half of the jobs lost earlier table, and buy medicine. Tens of mil-
lecting judges who respect the separa- this year have actually come back; the lions of Americans, from sea to shining
tion of powers and the proper role of other half may never come back. There sea—from Portland, OR, to Portland,
the judiciary in our democratic sys- is substantial evidence that many of ME—desperately need this lifeline.
tem. these jobs will be lost forever. Continuing to block an extension of
Their job isn’t to make policy; it is The permanent layoffs are stacking enhanced unemployment insurance, in
to uphold the rule of law. We can’t up. Right now, 25 million Americans my view, is the economic equivalent of
have judicial activism—something my are receiving unemployment insurance. going for herd immunity with COVID–
colleagues on the other side of the aisle Their insurance payments were slashed 19—telling the most vulnerable people
refuse to accept. The Democrats have when Republicans let enhanced unem- out there that they are, in effect, on
made it clear they care more about the ployment insurance expire at the end their own; that their government has
election than performing their con- of July. no interest in standing up for them.
stitutional duty to confirm judges. Be- Here is a particularly important fact. From the beginning of this pandemic,
cause the Democrats only want judicial The number of Americans filing new my colleagues on the other side have
activists, they can’t understand a claims for unemployment insurance is opposed the enhanced unemployment
judge who has no plan to change the still higher than any single week dur- insurance concept that I am talking
law and the Constitution to align with ing the great recession. Upward of 8 about. Back in March, Senate Demo-
their personal beliefs about how Ameri- million Americans have fallen into crats said replacing people’s lost wages
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cans should be governed. The Demo- poverty over just the last few months. was going to be right up at the top of
crats won’t engage in this process even In the month of September alone—just our priorities list for the CARES Act. I
though they know Judge Barrett is September—nearly 1 million women consider it one of the most important
highly qualified. dropped out of the workforce. To make efforts I have been part of during my
When I was appointing judges as Gov- matters worse, the pandemic that is time in public service, and we were all
ernor, I would ask each candidate one causing all of this economic carnage is able to get it in the bill. It turned out
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6353
it was the only provision that the Re- taurants and cafes. Taking the steps to find common ground, tries to find
publican majority attempted to re- needed to crush the virus is going to be bipartisan solutions. I appreciate that,
move. a lot easier if workers have the back- and I hope there are a lot more issues
Just process that for a moment. We stop of enhanced unemployment insur- in the future that we can work on to-
had a debate on the floor of the Senate. ance so they have the money—in South gether as members of the Finance
There was only one thing Senate Re- Dakota, in Oregon, and every part of Committee. He is the ranking Demo-
publicans wanted to remove. They the country—to make rent and pay for crat on the committee. I hope we can
wanted to remove the provision I am groceries. work together and find some things we
describing that would give millions of Blocking enhanced unemployment can do that are good for our economy.
Americans who are hurting the oppor- insurance creates a disincentive to What he is proposing right now is to
tunity to make rent and buy groceries crush the virus with strong action and extend unemployment insurance bene-
and get their kids sneakers and pay for will lead to more people spending more fits at $600 a week. Democrats have
medicine. I am still incredulous about time in more hotspots, perpetuating said they don’t want to do a piecemeal
this, but, actually, one Member of the both the tragedy of the pandemic as approach. Yet that is exactly what is
minority came up to me before we well as the tragedy of our anemic eco- being offered right now. I guess the
voted and said: RON, what you are talk- nomic recovery. question is, What has changed? Less
ing about is going to cause nurses to I will close with this. It does not than 2 hours ago, my Democratic col-
leave their jobs now during the pan- have to be this way. There is a lot leagues blocked not just extending ad-
demic and go into retirement and get more work to be done. State and local ditional Federal unemployment bene-
unemployment. And I said: You have to governments need more funding for fits but also providing more paycheck
be kidding. I handed the Senator the hospitals and testing. We need support help for small businesses through the
article from the local paper that de- for our schools. We need support for PPP program, funding for schools and
scribed how nurses were actually com- basic municipal services. There ought universities to reopen, more money for
ing out of retirement to work during to be more opportunities to talk about testing and vaccine development, help
the pandemic because they cared so those issues in the days ahead. for the U.S. Postal Service, and relief
deeply about their community. Right now, passage of enhanced un- for farmers. I would argue they are all
Fortunately, that Republican effort employment insurance is long overdue. bipartisan priorities. This should be a
that night to gut the expanded unem- I see my friend from South Dakota, no-brainer.
ployment benefits failed, and now I with whom I have worked often in the What is ironic about it is that our po-
think we have people from across the Finance Committee. We have been on sition on this all along has been that
political spectrum saying that that this floor again and again over the last just because we can’t do everything
program has turned out to be one of few months talking about this. doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do some-
the most successful safety net pro- I offered a proposal with the distin- thing. The Democratic position seems
grams in decades—in decades. guished Democratic leader, Senator to be that just because we can’t do ev-
For months, Republicans have been SCHUMER. We thought that was some- erything, we would rather do nothing.
repeating the same story about why thing that would be appealing to both We think the American people are pay-
they oppose the expanded unemploy- sides. But the bottom line is for this ing the price for that.
ment insurance. They say it is because Chamber, as we are looking at the So instead of supporting our com-
what we did is holding back the econ- coronavirus spike again, to say that we prehensive package, which deals with
omy—that it is a disincentive to work are not going to stand up for people all the issues that I mentioned—all of
and lazy workers are choosing to sit at who are just trying to make rent and which, I might add, are bipartisan pri-
home collecting insurance. Wrong, pay for groceries. orities—we have a proposal here that I
wrong, wrong. It was wrong from the Somebody asked me at home. I was think, frankly, is stuck in the past.
beginning, and it now should be obvi- just at home. I got into virtually every For example, this bill would restart
ous. nook and cranny in my State over the extra unemployment payments that
Enhanced unemployment insurance last couple of weeks in a socially dis- gave most people more money not to
expired at the end of July—July 31. If tant way. People said: What do I see work than to work.
those insurance payments were really people spend the unemployment money Just to correct the record about one
shackling our economy and being a dis- on? They said: They all seem to be in point my colleague from Oregon made,
incentive to work, then, why wasn’t the grocery store. I said: They are pay- the amendment offered by Republicans
there a megaboom in hiring in August? ing for rent and groceries and essen- when the CARES package was being
The fact is that job growth shot down tials. They sure aren’t using unemploy- considered wasn’t to gut the unemploy-
immediately after enhanced unemploy- ment money to buy scarves or fancy ment program. The Senator from Or-
ment insurance expired, and it plum- things from overseas. They are using it egon fought very hard to get that pro-
meted in September. for essentials. My view is, the Senate vision in the CARES package. There
The reasons to bring back enhanced has no choice but to extend the en- was an amendment offered on the floor
unemployment insurance ought to be hanced unemployment insurance. that would have calibrated that Fed-
clear: It is the right thing to do in Mr. President, as if in legislative ses- eral unemployment benefit to what an
terms of economic fairness for workers. sion, I ask unanimous consent that the individual is making—in other words,
And the main argument against en- Senate proceed to the immediate con- 100 percent wage replacement. That is
hanced unemployment insurance has sideration of my bill to provide contin- what was in that proposal, and it was
been proven wrong. ued assistance to unemployed workers, voted down on a party-line vote.
Finally, renewing enhanced unem- which is at the desk; I further ask If you look at what the CBO esti-
ployment insurance is absolutely key unanimous consent that the bill be mates, 80 percent of people would be
to protecting our public health. The considered read three times and passed, paid more for not working if the $600-
pandemic is raging now. Cases are and that the motion to reconsider be per-week benefit were continued. It is
going up. There are hotspots all over considered made and laid upon the not just a few dollars more. There was
the map. We are in what so many of table. a recent study under the $600 plus-up
the experts say is the tip of the third The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. that median unemployed workers
wave of the virus: cold weather coming BLACKBURN). Is there objection? would receive a benefit of 145 percent
up, folks being indoors. And in some The Senator from South Dakota. of their prior wage. In South Dakota, I
parts of the country, mayors or Gov- Mr. THUNE. Reserving the right to will tell you that the median wage re-
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ernors may soon face the possibility object, I just want to say, because my placement rate was 155 percent. Think
that certain areas could go back into colleague from Oregon—as he pointed about that. If you are making $30,000,
lockdown. Business owners might begin out, he and I work closely together on making minimum wage—$15 an hour,
to wonder if staying open is too dan- a number of issues—trade issues, tax $30,000 a year—in my State of South
gerous a prospect—particularly, if you issues, particularly in the digital Dakota, under the Senator from Or-
are talking about places like res- space. I know he is a person who tries egon’s proposal, that individual would
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S6354 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
make $45,000 a year. That is 150 percent the case as well into September and take. That is why we have advocated
of wages or north of that. One hundred October. going with something that we know
and fifty-five percent is the median The one thing I do want to take ex- worked and provided an awful lot of re-
wage replacement in my State of South ception to with respect to my col- lief to people and does not create a dis-
Dakota. Consider what the incentives league’s remarks is—he said Repub- incentive to work. If it did, when it ex-
are for that person making $30,000 licans never sought to gut the $600. pired, we would have had a hiring boom
working or $45,000 not working. That is just not accurate. On the floor, in August. That wasn’t the case.
My dad just passed away in August. the Republicans wanted to take out I yield the floor.
He was 100 years old. He used to say: that amount, which everybody was The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Some things, JOHN, are just kind of going to get, and replace it with some- ator from South Dakota.
old-fashioned horse sense. I think in thing that was completely unworkable Mr. THUNE. I would simply point out
this case, this is someplace where you and wouldn’t have gotten benefits to that the bill that we voted on and the
can apply old-fashioned horse sense. If unemployed workers quickly. Democrats all voted against earlier
you offer somebody a benefit that dra- You don’t have to take my word for today did include a formula not unlike
matically exceeds—not by just a little it. Eugene Scalia, the Secretary of what the Senator from Oregon is sug-
but by a lot—what they would be mak- Labor, during days and days of negotia- gesting, and that is a flat payment on
ing if they were working, obviously tions, as we talked about the concept top of the standard unemployment ben-
you can see what would happen there. the Senator from South Dakota has efit. It was a $300 payment as opposed
I would point out that when I went raised, the whole notion of wage re- to a $600 payment. That would not be
back for my father’s funeral in August, placement, the Secretary of Labor said, complicated to implement.
in the middle of the travel season in can’t be done. The States don’t have The amendment that was offered
South Dakota—normally an incredibly the technology to do it. when the CARES Act passed was a full
busy time—there were little eating Those discussions went on for days wage replacement. There were concerns
places in my hometown that weren’t because Republicans were insistent on about whether that could be imple-
open. Why? They couldn’t find workers. going with this wage-replacement idea, mented by the Department of Labor, to
I have talked to them about that and which has now been characterized by a be fair. But honestly, if you think
talked to a lot of small businesses in Republican labor official in Georgia as about it, I am not sure what would be
my State. I think the $600 payment has one of the dumbest ideas he had heard terribly complicated about having
acted as a tremendous disincentive for of because it was so unworkable. somebody come in and asking ‘‘What
people to come back into the workforce Finally, I said that we are not going do you make? Show me what you
when there might be jobs available. to stiff these workers, so we will take make’’ and then saying ‘‘OK. That is
The $600 ended about 3 months ago. an average. Some people will get more what you are going to get for a ben-
Yet the same idea is being offered up than they normally would; some people efit—100 percent wage replacement.’’
even though the unemployment rate would get less than they normally To me, that makes sense.
has fallen. In April, it was 14.7 percent. would from their wage and benefits. We Again, I would come back to the idea
In September, it was 7.9 percent. In my will take an average, but, by God, the that if you pay somebody more not to
State of South Dakota, it is 4.1 per- checks will get out quickly to people work than to work—people naturally—
cent. The idea that with the economy who had been sent home through no I think we all do—respond to incen-
recovering we would now come back to fault of their own. They were quar- tives. It seems pretty crazy to suggest
pay people more for not working than antined, as we all know, because we that you could offer people 150 per-
working seems to be counterintuitive. were desperate to beat the virus. Peo- cent—or more in my State of South
Again, our plan, which was opposed ple would have that money for gro- Dakota—of what they were making
by the Democrats 2 hours ago, would ceries and rent. while working, in the form of a benefit,
have provided an additional $300-per- That is why we went with $600, be- and not have them say ‘‘Gee, I can
week payment through the end of the cause the idea that my colleague from make 150-some percent more not work-
year. That is real help that could be South Dakota has spoken about today ing than working’’ and decide to take
made available right now. and that Republicans always talk that benefit. I think that is what we
Even without this additional $300 about was declared by the Republican run into. That is the economic disrup-
payment, some expanded unemploy- Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, as tion created by what the Senator from
ment benefits are still available being unworkable, and if we were going Oregon is suggesting.
through December. If you look at—the to get a check to people in a timely To his point about jobs coming back,
Senator from Oregon mentioned self- way, we had to go with the $600. that is exactly the point I made ear-
employed, independent contractors, gig My staff and I put it together. We lier. The unemployment rate in April
workers who are not normally eligible used this smartphone to make the cal- was 14.7 percent. In September, it was
for unemployment. They are going to culations. We showed it to Secretary 7.9 percent. Jobs are coming back. In
get that help through December. Mnuchin because it stayed within the my State of South Dakota, it is 4.1 per-
Given the problems with this bill and budget limits. And that was how we got cent. The economy is trending in the
because it doesn’t address the broader to $600. It was the only way to get an right direction as it starts to open up
issues that I enumerated earlier, I ob- unemployment check out to people again. There is demand out there for
ject. quickly. labor. When the demand for labor goes
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- Thank goodness the Republican mo- up, the price for labor goes up. That is
tion is heard. tion to strip it was defeated because what I think you will continue to see.
The Senator from Oregon. had the Republicans won, there would I believe, along with the Senator
Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, just have been a lot of people during those from Oregon, that we need to help peo-
to respond to the Senator from South 4 months—essentially ending July 31— ple who are unemployed. The bill that
Dakota, it has always been a bedrock who couldn’t have made rent, couldn’t was just voted down by the Democrats
argument from Senate Republicans have paid for groceries. That is just would have done that at a $300 benefit
that somehow unemployment insur- plain old wrong. above and beyond what the State un-
ance is a disincentive for people to We are going to continue to work in employment insurance program pays.
work. If that were the case—unemploy- a bipartisan way. My colleague and I In most States, that is about 90 percent
ment benefits expired in July, July 31. agree on the point that we want to do of wage replacement. To suggest that
If somehow those unemployment bene- big things in the Finance Committee. the Republicans are being heartless
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
fits were shackling the economy, cre- We have to work in a bipartisan way. just isn’t true.
ating disincentives to work, why I just say to the Presiding Officer and Obviously, the amendment that we
wasn’t there a mega boom in the work- my colleagues, to go back to what my offered back in March when the CARES
force in August? The reason is pretty friend from South Dakota says is the Act was being considered had 100 per-
obvious: Those unemployment benefits way to go even though the Secretary of cent wage replacement. It seems like a
were not a disincentive. That has been Labor said it couldn’t be done is a mis- very intuitive, practical thing to do to
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6355
say we are going to replace what you Officer wears a mask when presiding because President Trump and Senator
were making when you were working. because I know the President doesn’t MCCONNELL continue to fail to get this
Obviously, the proposal voted down believe in it, but public health officials pandemic under control.
by the Democrats today had the State in Tennessee and Arkansas and Ohio The stock market is back up, so
unemployment insurance benefits plus and Oregon and Hawaii do. So I ask Trump and MCCONNELL seem to think
a $300 plus-up, which, again, is about 90 this of the Presiding Officer and would everything is fine. They are oblivious
percent wage replacement. hope the Presiding Officer and others to the families who are staring at
So I think what the Senator from Or- will consider public health when they stacks of bills, who can’t pay their
egon is suggesting here is, No. 1, we do preside over this body. rent, who have to run up credit cards,
this piecemeal after his side has been Before I address my issue—and I will who go to payday lenders—who don’t
saying we have to have a comprehen- note when Senator CRAPO has shown up know what to do. There are 600,000 peo-
sive approach. Secondly, he is calling on the floor to address—I want to point ple in my State who lost their unem-
up an amendment that, frankly, we out a couple of things that I just heard ployment insurance in August. What
have kind of moved beyond now. We from Senator THUNE and Senator are they supposed to do?
are in a different place in the economy. WYDEN. Senator MCCONNELL and President
We still need to help people who are Senator WYDEN is exactly right. The Trump are oblivious to the parents who
unemployed, but we don’t need to en- only amendment to the $2.5 trillion are under an overwhelming amount of
courage people not to work because it package that the Republicans offered stress. They try to do their jobs, juggle
would pay them more—the government was to strip away the $600. remote learning, and worry about
would pay them more than they would I have always been puzzled by how whether their schools are safe. They
make if they were working. To me, much the Republicans as a party—al- are oblivious to the layoffs that keep
that sounds counterintuitive. I think most since Roosevelt—have hated un- coming, especially in local govern-
the American people get that. employment insurance. ments and school systems.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- I know you don’t like social insur- It just didn’t have to be this bad. We
ator from Oregon. ance. You don’t like Medicare, but you are the greatest, wealthiest country on
Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, just pay into Medicare, and then you get a Earth. What good is it if we can’t rise
very briefly, my friend from South Da- benefit when you need it. You pay into to meet a moment like this?
kota said I had called Republicans Social Security and get a benefit when Trump and MCCONNELL want you to
‘‘heartless.’’ That was not my word, you need it. You pay into unemploy- believe that we can’t solve big prob-
but when Americans who have a great ment insurance and get a benefit when lems, that we can’t use our resources
work ethic and believe, as my friend you need it. to help ordinary families, that we can’t
from Ohio has always talked about, in I know the Republicans say they use our talent to produce tests and
don’t like Medicare, but every time PPE, and that we can’t use our inge-
the dignity of work but can’t get jobs
they have a chance, they try to pri- nuity to figure out how to open busi-
and can’t make rent and can’t pay for
vatize Medicare. nesses and schools safely.
groceries, I don’t think we should say, A half a million Ohioans are out of
when they need a loaf of bread: Well, Right, Senator WYDEN?
Then they try to privatize Social Se- work, and 220,000 Americans are dead.
we will just settle for a slice. Yet MCCONNELL and Trump have sim-
The people I met in Oregon all curity, right?
I can’t believe the number of Repub- ply said: Not our problem. You are on
through last week desperately want to your own. I mean, that is the story of
work. They know that it is the path of licans I have heard, when they have
come to the floor, either publicly say this Senate unless you have a family
upward mobility in the private econ- member who is going to be confirmed
omy. Yet, as we have seen, lots of jobs or privately grumble to themselves or
as a Federal judge. Other than that,
are gone. You can go down Main each other: I can’t believe this $600 a
you are on your own. They want you to
Streets, and there is barely a car mov- week for these people. We shouldn’t be
believe it is the best America can do.
ing. That is why we have said, as my giving that much money to these peo- I think we can do big things. I think
friend from Ohio always talks about, ple. we can actually solve problems for the
when those workers believe deeply in I mean, that was the tone of voice.
people we serve. We did it in the spring
the importance of work, and they There was, perhaps, derision in their when we put $600 a week in the pockets
know, by the way, that it is the only voices. of people who lost their jobs and kept
way they can secure upward mobility I was talking to an unemployed
millions out of poverty. We put in
in the private economy. When they worker today who has lost her job, and
place an eviction moratorium, and we
can’t do it as a result of this pandemic, she is hurting. I mean, fortunately she gave people stimulus checks to spend
which is spiking again, we don’t think has a spouse, and her spouse has insur- in this economy, but then MCCONNELL
it is wrong to make sure people get a ance, but she was talking about the and Trump let it all expire. Families
sufficient benefit to pay rent and buy $600 she got. It has also helped local are now forced to choose between rent
groceries. businesses. A whole bunch of people in and utility bills and between food and
I yield the floor. my communities are getting the $600 a prescriptions.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- week, and it keeps these businesses Yet nobody around here does. I un-
ator from Ohio. going too. derstand that. Nobody here has to
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I no- I guess I don’t understand the Repub- choose between food and prescriptions
tice of the Presiding Officer and the lican hatred of unemployment insur- or between rent and utility bills. No-
junior Senator from Arkansas, who was ance. I would think it would be body here does, but a whole lot of peo-
the Presiding Officer right before, and trumped—pardon my verb—by how ple in our States do. So they are turn-
far too often of the Presiding Officers much it helps small businesses, but I ing to payday lenders and getting
that they are taking their masks off guess it is not. So that debate, I guess, trapped in cycles of debt. They are
when they preside. I notice that right is over. going to lose their homes. One-sixth of
below the Presiding Officer are always I will also note that, when we were renters are behind on rent right now.
three or four staff people who are fully giving the $600 a week, one study That is 11 million people. Most of them
masked. I also know that a number of showed it kept 12 million people out of are behind on rent because they have
our colleagues have been diagnosed poverty. But I guess everything is OK. lost their unemployment checks and
with the coronavirus. The stock market is back up, so Trump don’t have any place to turn.
I would hope that the Presiding Offi- and MCCONNELL seem to think every- Even with that, extending UI would
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
cers, starting today, would wear masks thing is fine. not be enough. It doesn’t help you if
when they preside. As they speak and UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST you still have a job but have had your
project, it puts people at risk who sit Madam President, I thank my col- hours cut back. It doesn’t help recent
right below the Presiding Officer. I leagues for joining me on the floor college grads or recent high school
know it might offend the President of today to be voices for the millions of grads. It doesn’t help if you are self-
the United States that the Presiding people who are frustrated and angry employed or are working odd jobs.
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S6356 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
As Senator WYDEN said, we simply sentially what the President and the Six months ago, this body came to-
haven’t modernized our unemployment majority leader are telling people: You gether and unanimously passed a pack-
system well enough. The CDC’s evic- are on your own. You are on your own. age that provided historic, unprece-
tion moratorium is also not enough. You are on your own. dented support to the housing market
Without the dollars to back it up, it is It means we should be helping fami- both for homeowners and renters alike.
only going to lead to a wave of evic- lies pay the bills and stay in their We gave the majority of homeowners in
tions come the new year. We need to homes. It means bringing back the $600 this country the option of hitting the
get money directly to the people so UI. It means getting support to our pause button on their mortgage pay-
they may pay these bills or there will schools and communities so they can ments. We prohibited foreclosures and
be a wave of evictions in the middle of open. It means helping small busi- evictions across a wide swath of the
a pandemic. nesses. It means putting money in peo- marketplace, which was recently ex-
Hundreds of thousands of people a ple’s pockets. panded by the CDC to cover an even
week are dropping into poverty, and we Madam President, as in legislative broader portion of the market, and we
know that the $600 kept a lot of people session, I ask unanimous consent that have extended it through the end of
out. Now people are dropping into pov- the Senate proceed to the immediate 2020. President Trump, through his Ex-
erty, so there is going to be a wave of consideration of my bill to provide ecutive orders, has extended this fur-
evictions, and that wave of evictions is emergency rental assistance and rental ther.
going to come. No. 1, it is terrible to be market stabilization and to provide a We have appropriated in excess of $12
evicted anyway. No. 2, it is more ter- temporary moratorium on eviction fil- billion in supplemental funding to spe-
rible to be evicted in the middle of the ings, which is at the desk. I further ask cifically enhance Federal housing pro-
winter. No. 3, it is even more terrible unanimous consent that the bill be grams. We have provided $150 billion in
to be evicted in the middle of the win- considered read three times and passed funding to States and local govern-
ter in the middle of a pandemic. How and that the motion to reconsider be ments through the coronavirus relief
can we sit here and allow that to hap- considered made and laid upon the fund, or CRF, a significant portion of
pen? table. which has been used for rental assist-
Even now, with the Trump adminis- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there ance.
tration’s flawed eviction moratorium, objection? We worked together in a bipartisan
evictions are happening. We see stories The Senator from Idaho. way on the CARES Act. I wish we could
every day across the country, and more Mr. CRAPO. Madam President, in re- work on this next act the way we
evictions are coming in January. The serving the right to object, it is re- worked then, but, no, it is take it or
work we do in this body to get help to markable that we see here a series of leave it. And we are capable of doing
people can’t make up for the lack of unanimous consent requests to pass the same in coming days if we can sim-
legislation without debate and without ply get on the legislation in the Sen-
leadership from the White House, but
the opportunity for amendment and ate.
we could mitigate some of the damage.
As I have said before on this floor, I
The House did its job and passed the improvement. It is just a few hours
agree that we can and should do more
Heroes Act a few months ago. Over and after a refusal to proceed to legislation
to help in rental markets, to help those
over, I don’t see a sense of urgency in by which we could have done just
who are most vulnerable and who are
MCCONNELL and Trump. They have ig- that—legislation that had $500 billion
most at risk of eviction, but passing
nored the families. They have told the of additional assistance going out to
this bill—take it or leave it—that re-
families: You are on your own. the American people. Legislation that
ceived no Republican support in the
This month, the House again passed a did address these unemployment
House, was just jammed through the
bill to help families make ends meet. It issues—and that has been discussed
House on a partisan vote, is not the
provides the help for renters that I over the last 45 minutes on the floor—
way this body ought to do its work.
come to the floor to offer today. The was objected to so that we couldn’t The same thing goes for any blanket
bill contains $50 billion in emergency even get on the bill. moratorium—that is what is being pro-
rental assistance. It extends the Following NANCY PELOSI’s ‘‘take it or posed right now—that would tie the
CARES Act and the eviction morato- leave it,’’ ‘‘my way or the highway’’ hands of housing providers across this
rium to virtually all renters through approach, we are now here, seeing our country and cause many of them to
March. It will protect families, and it colleagues on the other side pick up collapse, damaging the very industry
will protect public health so that it pieces of the legislation that NANCY and the very sector of our economy
will not just be those families who are PELOSI wants to pass without negoti- that we need to strengthen to deal with
protected from eviction; it will be all ating and without working through the these critical issues.
of us around those families who could legislative process to see if they can We still have time to reach a bipar-
suffer from a compromise in public drive those through the Senate and ob- tisan solution. I believe a bipartisan
health. It will also give renters and ject to not doing them in regular legis- solution is possible to help out the
property owners the help they need to lative order. renters across our country, and I have
pay their bills. We are ready to engage in major leg- been working to develop one. This is
Senate Republicans have refused to islation. Yet a couple of hours after we likely something, if we can get agree-
consider it and the bill that I offer here tried for the second or third time to ment to move on it, that provides tar-
today. The multimillionaire majority put it on the floor—and had that oppor- geted support to renters who have suf-
leader and his caucus have the audac- tunity refused by my colleagues on the fered COVID–19-related reduction in
ity to tell people who have lost their other side—we are accused of not work- their income or job loss and who were
jobs and the audacity to tell essential ing on these issues, and the ‘‘take it or current on their rent before the out-
workers making $10 or $12 an hour that leave it’’ proposals from the House- break, avoids creating perverse incen-
it is too expensive to give them help to passed legislation are being thrown on tives in our housing market by ensur-
pay their bills in the middle of a na- the floor of the Senate. ing that those who are able to pay
tional crisis. It is never too expensive Let’s talk about the current one—the their rent continue to do so, and is lim-
to help Wall Street. It is never too ex- proposal for rental assistance and evic- ited to the length of the crisis and is
pensive for a corporate tax cut. It is tion protection for those who need help delivered through a mechanism—con-
never too expensive to help the people in housing markets. I will say now that trary to what is being proposed here—
who are in charge, but it is too expen- they need help. As I said the last time delivered through a mechanism that is
sive to help the people who are making this effort was tried, they need help, quick, responsible, and minimizes op-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
$10 or $12 an hour. and we need to work together instead portunities for fraud, waste, and abuse.
People are exhausted. They are tired of just trying to lob NANCY PELOSI’s We can do this if we will stop the
of feeling like no one is on their side. bill into the Senate when we can’t get ‘‘my way or the highway’’ approach to
The American people shouldn’t have to agreement to even put a major $500 bil- the House legislation and work to-
fend for themselves in the middle of a lion relief package on the floor for de- gether in the Senate to do what we did
once-in-a-generation crisis. That is es- bate and consideration. with the CARES Act in the first place.
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6357
The argument has been made that we er to put something on the floor that and they want to intervene in a Presi-
won’t even re-up the unemployment in- really doesn’t meet people’s needs. dential election.
surance, when the Senator from South I yield the floor. For the better part of a week, the
Dakota made it very clear the bill that The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- tech giants have been actively sup-
our colleagues rejected just hours ago ator from Idaho. pressing the reporting of Alexander
on the floor of the Senate had a 100- Mr. CRAPO. Madam President, I Hamilton’s newspaper, the New York
percent wage replacement formula—100 know we have yet another UC request Post. And why? Well, because they
percent wage replacement. coming, and I want to give time for don’t like the story and they don’t
But the notion of trying to quickly that to my colleague here in the Sen- want people to read it and they are
advance the provision that we are talk- ate. willing to use their power to stop the
ing about by unanimous consent, with- I, too, appreciate working with the distribution of a story written by the
out the opportunity to properly debate Senator from Ohio, and we worked in a free press in this country.
it, is a concerning precedent and will bipartisan fashion when we put the Now this isn’t about Hunter Biden’s
only cause more long-term damage in first CARES Act on the floor, which, as emails, though those are important,
the future. you said, got a unanimous vote. I am and we deserve to know whether Hun-
Accordingly, I object. hopeful we can do that again.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- ter Biden was giving his father kick-
I just want to respond to one thing,
tion is heard. backs on payments from foreign
and that is it is constantly being said
The Senator from Ohio. oligarchs in exchange for changes to
that Senator MCCONNELL said there is
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I American foreign policy.
not a sense of urgency. This was
thank the Senator from Idaho, and I But this is about something even
months and months and months ago
regret that he will not be my com- more than that. This is about whether
before our first act had even had an op-
mittee partner next year because he is a small handful of corporate execu-
portunity to play out.
moving on to—I guess he considers it a But the urgency that you have seen tives—Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey,
better committee. I don’t know for from Senator MCCONNELL and others Sergey Brin, and Larry Page—whether
sure. today is reflective of the refusal or the they get to decide who is allowed to see
But anyway, the Senator from Idaho inability—let me say the inability of what; which newspapers are allowed to
is right. We passed it unanimously break the big stories and which ones
both sides to come together on a deal.
back in March, and it worked. The $600 are censored; which political party will
And his reaching out multiple times—
and the help for hospitals and schools get bad news suppressed at the height
most recently a few hours ago today—
and governments, local and State gov- of the election season and which one
and I am hopeful that we will reach out
ernments, actually kept—1 study said will get it amplified. And most impor-
again and give all of our Senate col-
12 million; say it is half of that—5, 6 tant, it is about you. It is about what
leagues the opportunity to simply pro-
million people out of poverty. It normal, everyday Americans get to see.
ceed to get a bill on the floor that we
worked. It is about what you get to say. It is
So we said to Senator MCCONNELL in can work on.
I totally disagree with the argument about the news you read in your news
about May or June—because these pro- feeds and the content that comes to
grams and dollars were running out— that what we have been trying to get—
a $500 billion bill—I can’t even remem- you in your notifications and your
we see what has worked. We will jet- video playlist because, yes, the tech
tison what doesn’t work, and we will ber the negative comments that were
made at the time, the type of descrip- companies control all of those things,
continue those programs. But then, lo and they use them to try to shape what
and behold, Senator MCCONNELL kept tive comments that were made about
it. It is a very real, significant piece of you are thinking—even how you are
saying: No sense of urgency, no sense feeling. Oh, yes, they have run experi-
of urgency, no sense of urgency, and we legislation that itself can be enhanced.
It could be enhanced with this rental ments on all of that. They have run ex-
got zero in the end, when we asked periments on how to manipulate the
Senator MCCONNELL in August to— assistance that we are talking about
right now. content that they control and deliver
don’t let the $600 expire. We know more to you in order to manipulate your
people will drop into poverty. We know I believe we need to get some legisla-
tion on the floor, stop the back-and- emotions and influence your views and
more people will be evicted. We know, influence how you feel and what mood
as Senator JACK REED has worked on, forth bantering between parties and be-
tween Houses in the Congress, and get you are in, and, yes, what Presidential
we will see more people foreclosed on. candidate you favor.
Senator MCCONNELL has used the serious discussion of serious legislation
crutch of half the Republicans, half my and move forward. It is their roller coaster, and we are
friends on this side of the aisle, don’t I yield the floor. all just riding on it. That is their
want to vote another dollar. He said The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- world. That is the world that they
they won’t vote for anything. So ator from Missouri. want. That is the America that they
maybe Senator CRAPO is an exception UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 3983 want.
to that. Mr. HAWLEY. Madam President, I The struggle against the tech giants
But this proposal of MCCONNELL, we am here to talk about who runs Amer- is a struggle for control. Do the tech
know how cynical it is; we know how ica—the big tech giants or the Amer- platforms control America or do we
inadequate it is; we know how pitiful it ican people? I am here to talk about control them? And it is time the U.S.
is; and we know that Speaker PELOSI the big tech oligarchs’ attempts to in- Senate did something about it. This
has made several offers. She started stall themselves as the de facto ruling body is supposed to represent the peo-
with a pretty big package that a lot of class of this country, to usurp the ple of this Nation. This body is sup-
us thought was pretty close to ideal. power of the people, and I am here to posed to defend the people’s interests,
We knew that there would be com- talk about what we can do about it. but for too long this body has done the
promise. She came back with a signifi- For years, the tech giants—Google, bidding of Big Tech. It has given tech
cantly smaller package, and still they Facebook, Twitter—they have spied on lavish government handouts and then
just say she rammed it through, and us without our knowledge; they have looked the other way while tech cap-
they rejected it. taken our private information without tured one government agency after an-
So I understand the handwriting on our consent; and they have used all of other.
the wall that as long as Republicans it to manipulate us and turn massive Do you know a recent news report
control this body, that we won’t take profits in which the American people found that the FTC, the body in charge
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
care of people at home, that we won’t have had no share. That is their busi- of enforcing—supposedly—much of our
do adequate—adequate rental assist- ness model. It is like the strip mining antitrust law and our competition law,
ance, and we won’t do adequate unem- of America. that two-thirds of the FTC’s employees
ployment. But now, not content with exploiting have conflicts of interest related to
We will see a cynical, inadequate sort and extracting, the tech monopolies tech? That is good old-fashioned gov-
of pitiful attempt by the majority lead- want to control our news and opinions, ernment capture by Big Business, by
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S6358 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
the megacorporations, and that is ex- they provide. It is a gravy train. The pened at the Federal level, then, I am
actly what has been going on in Wash- politicians love the cheap ads that they all in for that. But it is quite unusual
ington for years right under the nose of get to run on Facebook. for us to take on something so funda-
the U.S. Senate. Now, Washington, DC, does really mental.
And if we are being honest, it is real- well under the current arrangement— The Senator is a Member of the ma-
ly no surprise. Tech has spent out- really well. Big Tech works really well jority. If the Senator could not get a
rageous sums of money—outrageous for Washington. Heck, Big Tech owns hearing, that is absolutely his problem.
sums of money—to purchase influence half the town. But if you are an every- I could get a hearing for my bill be-
in the Capitol of the United States. It day American, if you are an inde- cause I have bipartisan cosponsors. So,
is time for those days to end. This body pendent journalist, if you are a pro-life on all of the legislation that he is talk-
must act in defense of the American advocate, if you are somebody who ing about, he has failed to reach across
people, and we can. doesn’t have the approval of Big Tech, the aisle and to work with a Democrat
We can tear down the main pillars of if you are somebody who doesn’t have or two or three and to try to reform
Big Tech’s power. We don’t have to tol- an inside track to the good graces of some of these institutions through the
erate their monopolies. We don’t have the tech giants, well, the message to levers of power that we are in posses-
to accept their stranglehold over you is really simple: Do what tech tells sion of.
speech and our data and our news and you to do or they will silence you. And fast forward to next Wednesday,
our personal information and our so- No corporation should run America, I think it is, and the Senate Commerce
cial communications. We can force and definitely not Big Tech. We have Committee, through its Twitter feed, is
them to change the way they do busi- squandered precious time already. The running a campaign ad—literally, a
ness rather than allowing them to tech giants have been allowed to grow campaign ad—that says: Hunter
force us to change how we think. too powerful, too big. Now we must act Biden’s emails. This is the Commerce
We can ban manipulative ads, and we while we still have time remaining and Committee of the U.S. Senate, and
should. We can repeal the immunity stand up and be counted before it is too they are tweeting out things con-
shield. We can crack down on addictive late. cerning Hunter Biden’s emails. What a
platform design. And I have introduced Madam President, as if in legislative sad moment for the institution of the
plenty of legislation over the last 22 session, I ask unanimous consent that U.S. Senate and the cumulative bipar-
months to do all of that, and I am still the Committee on Commerce be dis- tisan history of the U.S. Senate Com-
waiting for a vote on almost all of it. charged from further consideration of mittee on Commerce.
Heck, I am still waiting for hearings on S. 3983 and the Senate proceed to its It is terribly sad. If there is an effort
any of it. immediate consideration. I ask unani- to work on these issues in good faith, I
If this body is not ready or willing to mous consent that the bill be consid- will be the first in line. I have been the
say that these platforms need to ered read a third time and passed and first in line. But if we are going to try
change the essence of what they do, that the motion to reconsider be con- to do a unanimous consent—which
well, then let’s at least tell them that means, for the public watching, that
sidered made and laid upon the table.
they cannot censor us with impunity. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there we are going to pass this bill unani-
Let’s at least make them live up to objection? mously without any debate; we are
their word when they tell us that they The Senator from Hawaii. going to pass this bill without it going
want open conversation. Let’s at least Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, re- to a hearing; we are going to pass this
serving the right to object, I want to be bill without any Democratic input—
tell them that if they violate their
clear about what is going on. I have that is nonsense.
promises to us and if they censor us ar-
I object.
bitrarily, that we can have our day in worked very hard on tech issues and in-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
court to fight back. troduced bipartisan legislation actu- tion is heard.
Let’s at least put some power back in ally to reform section 230. We have had The Senator from Missouri.
the hands of the American people to hearings in this area. Senator THUNE Mr. HAWLEY. Madam President, I
fight the tech giants, and let’s allow and I have been working in good faith would agree that it is a problem that
Americans to have their day in court. in this space. we can’t get hearings or votes on seri-
And that is why I am moving this So I want to separate out the kind of ous tech legislation. That is a problem.
legislation here, now, today on this legitimate questions regarding the The Senator makes my point. That is
floor, to provide every American that tech industry’s influence on American exactly the problem, and that is ex-
right. We should get this done now. society, as it relates to privacy, which actly what one gets from Big Tech’s
There should be no further delays. I have legislation for, as it relates to significant investment in the U.S. Cap-
And let’s haul those tech executives its impact on journalism, and as it re- itol. They are getting exactly what
in to testify under oath about what lates to whether or not there can be an they paid for.
they did last week and at whose behest. appropriate balance struck in terms of I would also say to my Democratic
Let’s get binding commitments from preventing the platforms from being friends that you can’t separate Big
them, under penalty of perjury, about hijacked for the purpose of carrying Tech’s control of information and of
how they will do their work in the foreign misinformation for the purpose the news and love it when they agree
short remaining days of this election of influencing an election and their le- with you and condemn it when they
season and about the future of their gitimate rights under statutory law don’t.
censorship policies. Let’s get the truth and their free speech rights. I don’t want to influence the plat-
out of them. These are complicated issues. Sen- forms. I want to break them up. I don’t
I would just say to my fellow Repub- ator HAWLEY and I briefly had a con- want to influence how they use their
licans, we are supposed to be the oppo- versation about these issues. I listened power. I don’t want them to have the
nents of concentrated power. That is to him talk on these issues, and I basi- power. I don’t want them to agree with
what the fight against Big Government cally said: Look, I divide what you are me. I don’t want to influence or shape
has been about all along. So what have talking about into two categories. I their views. I want them to stop trying
we been doing with our Senate major- think some of your critique around Big to manipulate the American people.
ity to fight the greatest concentration Tech is smart and I agree with, and That should be the goal.
of power Americans face today? What some of it I consider to be not in good The goal is not to compromise their
have we been doing to confront this faith and an effort to influence the power. The goal is not to say: Hey, how
great threat to American democracy? platforms in order to carry the water about Big Government and Big Tech
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Let’s just tell the truth. The truth is for people like Rudy Giuliani. get together? We have had too much of
many Members of the Republican es- So if there is a sincere effort to work that already. The goal should be to put
tablishment love Big Tech. They love on a bipartisan basis on something so a stop to their power and control, be-
Big Tech. The think tanks love the foundational as section 230 or whether cause the American people are sup-
money that Big Tech contributes to or not to establish a privacy right in posed to be the sovereigns of this de-
them. The lobbyists love the work that statutory law, which has never hap- mocracy, not Big Tech.
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6359
I say again to my liberal friends and Now, many of my Democratic col- ficult when you can’t afford basic
to those on the conservative side of the leagues have talked about the terrible healthcare, like birth control, if you
ledger, as well: If you are not willing to impact of striking down the Affordable don’t have good insurance or any insur-
challenge tech’s control over news and Care Act on American families. I share ance.
over information and over communica- this commitment that they have—that It is very hard if you have been
tion and over messaging and over jour- we all have—to protect healthcare as a shamed or threatened or harassed for
nalism, then, I don’t think you have human right. But as the only Senator seeking the care that you need. It is
yet reckoned with the truly dangerous who has worked at Planned Parent- even harder when the government is
threat that these companies pose to hood, I want to take my time today to looking over your shoulder, telling you
the functioning of American democ- talk about what is at stake if the Su- what you can and cannot do with your
racy, and I don’t think you have yet preme Court overturns or weakens Roe. body and your life, because the truth
reckoned with the threat we are facing When I worked at Planned Parent- is, most laws restricting abortion are
to the basic control of ‘‘We the peo- hood, I saw firsthand how comprehen- not about good healthcare. They are
ple.’’ sive reproductive healthcare is essen- about substituting the judgment of
For my part, I will not stop. I will tial for women to have the freedom and government for the intensely personal,
continue to come to this floor as often the opportunity to live the lives that medical, and moral decisions that
as necessary. I will continue to raise they choose. I also saw how efforts to women, their doctors, and their fami-
my voice and make a nuisance of my- strip away these protections are an af- lies want and need to make for them-
self as often and as firmly as necessary front to the equal rights and dignity of selves.
until this body acts and until the women and their families. The truth is, these laws treat women
American people are given back con- For all people, healthcare decisions as fundamentally unequal in their deci-
trol of their democracy, their informa- are the most personal. It is your body sion-making capacity, and they are an
tion, and their lives. and it is your life, and decisions about insult to women’s individual dignity
I yield the floor. reproductive health and sexual health and freedom and body autonomy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- are even more personal and intensely I think this is why most Americans
ator from Minnesota. private. There is still stigma and dis- disagree with the Republicans’ rush to
NOMINATION OF AMY CONEY BARRETT
crimination around reproductive roll back Roe. This anti-choice agenda
Ms. SMITH. Madam President, I rise health, especially abortion, and that is radically out of step with the Amer-
today to tell the people of Minnesota makes it even more important that ican people. In 2019, Pew Research,
why I will oppose the confirmation of people have privacy and space and ex- which is a respected nonpartisan poll-
Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be an As- cellent care without judgment, which ing organization, found that 61 percent
sociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme is what Planned Parenthood provides. of Americans say that abortion should
Court. I became aware during my time at be legal in all or most instances. Now,
Our Constitution’s most fundamental Planned Parenthood how personal some of my Republican colleagues
charge is to render equal justice under these decisions are for women and how must know that they are out of step
the law. This promise is so central to the political debate around abortion is with the American people, which must
our justice system that those words are disconnected from the facts and the re- be why some have suggested that it is
inscribed above the entrance to the
alities of women’s lives. ‘‘fearmongering’’ to say that Roe
U.S. Supreme Court. The late Justice Here is an example. The battle over might be overturned if Judge Barrett
Ruth Bader Ginsburg devoted her life restricting access to abortion has noth- joins the Supreme Court.
to advancing the principle of equality ing to do with the public health work So, after promising over and over to
under the law, and I believe all nomi- to prevent unintended pregnancies and confirm only anti-choice judges, judges
nees to our Nation’s highest Court reduce the abortion rate. Indeed, the who would overturn Roe, they now try
must share that dedication. Guttmacher Institute has repeatedly
Unfortunately, Judge Barrett does to claim that we can’t possibly predict
found that restrictive State abortion how Justice Barrett would vote on this
not meet that standard. Judge Barrett
laws are not causally associated with issue. Well, this is completely illogical
was nominated to fulfill President
Trump’s promise to appoint Supreme the decline in abortion rates. In fact, and completely unbelievable, and I
Court Justices who would do two fewer unintended pregnancies and think the American people know bet-
things which I believe are antithetical lower teen pregnancy rates are cor- ter.
to equal justice under the law: disman- related not with restrictive abortion Make no mistake, many conservative
tling the Affordable Care Act and over- laws but with access to sexuality edu- State legislatures have already passed
turning Roe v. Wade. cation and birth control and also to a laws specifically intended to create the
So let’s be clear about what is hap- healthy economy. opportunity for the Supreme Court to
pening. We know Judge Barrett was Here is another example. Most re- revisit and overturn Roe, and if Justice
nominated because President Trump strictive abortion laws seem to be Barrett goes on the Court and becomes
and Republicans believe that she will aimed at a stereotype of an irrespon- the definitive vote to overturn or
help them overturn the Affordable Care sible woman who hasn’t been careful weaken Roe, 22 States are poised to im-
Act and take us back to the days when and somehow got herself into a mess. mediately ban all or nearly all abor-
millions more Americans do not have First of all, this is a sexist and dis- tions. There are 16 others that will im-
health insurance and insurance compa- respectful trope. Research shows that mediately enact severe restrictions to
nies can deny coverage or charge exor- women from all walks of life seek abor- dramatically reduce access, and more
bitant rates to people with preexisting tion care. Over half are already moth- States are sure to follow.
conditions, like cancer or heart dis- ers. Over 80 percent report using con- If the Supreme Court overturns Roe,
ease. They could charge women more traception. And over half report a reli- who is hurt most? Poor women, women
and seniors more, and they would be gious affiliation. These women all have living in rural communities, and
able to charge more to people with their own unique circumstances and women without the means to travel to
COVID as a preexisting condition. needs and beliefs. What they have in places where women’s rights are re-
As we know, Judge Barrett was nomi- common is that they deserve the dig- spected, and this is the definition of
nated because Donald Trump believes nity and respect to make their own unequal justice.
she will uphold laws that treat women judgments about what is best for them This Supreme Court nominee will
as less capable of making independent and their families in the course of their have a momentous effect on the lives
decisions about their health, their per- own lives. and personal decisions of Minnesotans
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
sonal beliefs, and birth control than What I saw at Planned Parenthood and Americans. There is so much at
State legislatures. were women, our patients, who were stake.
A person who can pass these two Re- working really hard to make good deci- So I urge all Americans to make your
publican litmus tests does not sound sions about their own health, and they voices heard and to hold your elected
like someone to me who is committed wanted to take charge of their health representatives accountable in Con-
to equal justice under the law. and their lives. But this is really dif- gress, in the State house, and in local
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S6360 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
governments. Your voices are powerful, These life and work experiences when I was originally sworn in as a
but only if you use them. served as the foundation, really, for his Senator.
I will always stand up for all Ameri- time in Congress, where he would rep- I note that Senator CRAMER is pre-
cans to have equal justice and oppor- resent North Dakota for nearly 24 siding, as I mentioned in my remarks,
tunity to live the lives that you years—24 years of service in Congress— and I know how he knew and liked
choose, and that is why I oppose this in the House and, of course, in this Mark and how much they worked to-
nomination. I urge my colleagues to body. In 1963, he was elected to the U.S. gether. The Presiding Officer had a lot
join me in opposing the confirmation House of Representatives during a spe- of wonderful shared history with him.
of Justice Barrett. cial election, and he served in the So, at this time, I will yield the floor
I yield the floor. House until 1981. and exchange positions with the Pre-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. On January 3, 1981, he was sworn in siding Officer so that he can speak on
CRAMER). The senior Senator from as a U.S. Senator from North Dakota, behalf of our friend and colleague Sen-
North Dakota. serving until January 3, 1987. During ator Mark Andrews.
REMEMBERING MARK ANDREWS his time in the Senate, Mark was a With that, I yield the floor.
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise tireless advocate for men and women in The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
today to honor former U.S. Senator uniform and understood the impor- HOEVEN). The Senator from North Da-
from North Dakota, Mark Andrews, tance of a strong national defense. kota.
who passed away earlier this month at Again, the Presiding Officer and I fol- Mr. CRAMER. Thank you, Mr. Presi-
the age of 94. low in that legacy, with the Presiding dent, for the recognition, and thank
Mark was a good friend, a strong Officer on Armed Services and my serv- you also for your excellent tribute to
leader, and a dedicated public servant. ice on Defense Appropriations. Mark Senator Mark Andrews and his amaz-
It is appropriate that we take this time was always very, very committed to ing life of service to North Dakota and
to remember his life and his accom- our military and did a great job sup- to our country. Also, thank you for
plishments. porting not only the military in North switching places with me for a few
He was a lifelong North Dakotan, Dakota but for our Nation as well. minutes so I can spend some time re-
only moving away for 2 years while at- As a farmer himself, he will be re- membering my friend and mentor and
tending the U.S. Military Academy at membered for his hard work on behalf our predecessor.
West Point. After completing his edu- of agriculture. You couldn’t talk to This COVID thing really kind of
cation at North Dakota State Univer- Mark without agriculture coming up in stinks, all in all. There are lots of
sity—home of the Bison—Mark went to some way, shape, or form. Even if you things about COVID–19 that are awful,
work and operated the family farm in weren’t talking about agriculture, the but one of the biggest things is so
the Red River Valley, as both his fa- analogies that he used and his words often, many people have been robbed of
ther and his grandfather had before and verbiage always had that agrarian the opportunity to provide an appro-
him. So it shows you how long his fam- aspect to them. It was imbued, really, priate sendoff to a hero, to the heroes
ily has been on that land, and it is in his personality. He always worked whose lives are worthy of a more noble
truly—I know the Presiding Officer has very hard on behalf of ag. His efforts to celebration than what social distancing
been there—a beautiful farm. It is some help producers through the tough and small crowds offer.
of the best farmland, really, in the As former Grand Forks Herald editor,
times, the downturns, and the chal-
country, in the world, and in the Red publisher, and sometimes political
lenges that he had in farm country
River Valley. commentator and observer, Mike Ja-
were very, very important. Of course,
As a farmer, he raised a variety of cobs wrote in the Grand Forks Herald:
he understood it very well. He was a
crops. He operated a cattle feeding lot, ‘‘Mark Andrews deserves better.’’
lifelong farmer. I mean, he knew it and
and he contributed to various agricul- I ask unanimous consent to have the
he lived it, so he understood what he
tural organizations. He was very in- Jacobs story printed in the RECORD,
needed to do to help our great farmers
volved with those organizations. along with the official obituaries of
and ranchers across this country.
In addition, he served as the director both Mark and Mary Andrews.
Senator Andrews’ legacy also in-
of the Garrison Conservancy District There being no objection, the mate-
cluded strong support of Tribal com-
from 1955 to 1964. I remember that. My rial was ordered to be printed in the
munities, and he served as the chair-
father and Mark Andrews were very RECORD, as follows:
man of the Senate Committee on In-
good friends. My dad liked Mark very OBITUARY FOR MARY ANDREWS
dian Affairs. I am now very honored to
much and respected him very much. Mary Andrews was born February 10, 1927
hold that same position. in Marshall, Missouri. She died peacefully on
They shared that vision for the Garri- Throughout his years of service, Sen- July 16, 2020 surrounded by family and
son Conservancy project, the Garrison ator Andrews demonstrated dedication friends, including her best friend and hus-
Diversion. They really had this vision to the people of North Dakota and an band of seventy-one years, Mark Andrews.
of irrigating hundreds of thousands of absolute commitment to do all he Mary was the only child and the light of
acres, if not millions of acres of land in could for our State and, of course, for the lives of George and Lucille Willming.
North Dakota. our Nation as well. We are deeply They moved to Fargo in 1940 when Mary was
You know, my dad shared that dream grateful for his work, and we remain in seventh grade. The Willmings attended
Mark had that that would just benefit Gethsemane Cathedral on Ninth Street
deeply grateful for all the contribu- South and so did Mark Andrews’ family.
agriculture so much across North Da- tions that he made through his service Their friendship began there when the two
kota in a big, big way. It really was an for our State. (neither of great voice) were asked to fill
amazing vision and would have been re- At the same time, he was joined by chairs in the choir.
markable had they been able to com- his best friend and wife Mary in build- Mary joined a wonderful potluck in high-
plete it. Mark Andrews, for the rest of ing this legacy. She, too, passed away school and gained lifelong friendships there.
his life, was truly just committed to earlier this year. So on behalf of myself She went on to graduate with a degree from
that project. He always shared that vi- and my wife Mikey, we extend our Smith College in political science. Mark
often commented that his political success
sion of Garrison Diversion. I agreed. deepest condolences to the Andrews was all due to Mary. They were a great
From the time I was a young boy, I can family, to all their loved ones, and to team—both loved serving the people of North
remember my father describing it and their friends. Dakota.
describing Mark’s leadership and just Along with the Presiding Officer, I Mary was active in PEO, Homemakers, her
what a wonderful thing it would be and am introducing a resolution recog- church, The International Club, and she was
would have been for the State of North nizing and honoring Senator Andrews’ president of Junior League and President of
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Dakota. So I will always remember public service, which we expect will the Congressional Club. She was blessed with
that very vividly, as I know the Pre- soon pass the Senate. I know col- many wonderful friends.
Mary married her best friend, Mark, on
siding Officer does as well. Mark An- leagues here remember Mark very, June 28, 1949. Mark and Mary were able to be
drews was also president of the North very fondly. As a matter of fact, when together to celebrate their 71st wedding an-
Dakota Crop Improvement and Seed I was first sworn in, Mark came down niversary a little less than three weeks be-
Association as well. and joined me and was there with me fore Mary’s death.
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6361
Mary was a wonderful mother to Mark III ful consulting firm based in Washington, DC; Of course, the more conservative Repub-
(Sue), Sarah (Doug Herman), and Karen. he served as a director of Tenneco, Inc. and licans haven’t given up. The state’s politics
Mary was a loving grandmother and great- as a director of Nodak Mutual Insurance. today are animated by the same sort of con-
grandmother to: Mark Andrews IV; Katie Mark was blessed with a long and wonder- flict within the Republican Party, though
and Aaron Locke and their children: Lucy ful life. He was so large at 6′4″ and full of sto- without the hysterical anti-communism of
and Staton; Matt and Poli Herman and their ries and love for his family, his farm and his the Sixties.
children: Henry and Caroline; Sam and Mia state that it is hard to believe he can be Andrews won the election and immediately
Herman and son: Gage; and Joe and Kristin gone. Our sadness is tempered by our knowl- built a reputation as an independent thinker.
Herman. edge that he is once again with his best A Republican to be sure, Andrews didn’t
Mary and her family were blessed by many friend of eighty-one years and at peace. hesitate to take on the party establishment,
excellent caregivers, including: Bethany at Those blessed to mourn Mark are his sis- and even the president. He indicated that
42nd and Gracepoint, Ethos Hospice, and es- ter, Barbara Bertel; his children, Mark III he’d vote to impeach Richard Nixon, for ex-
pecially Missy and Elaina. (Sue), Sarah (Doug Herman) and Karen; ample, and he frequently challenged Ronald
grand and great-grandchildren: Mark An- Reagan’s economic and agricultural policies,
OBITUARY FOR MARK ANDREWS II drews IV, Katie and Aaron Locke and their a posture that drew national attention not
children, Lucy and Staton; Matt and Poli to Andrews alone but to North Dakota’s
Mark Andrews II was born May 19, 1926, in Herman and their children, Henry and Caro- once-vaunted exceptionalism in national pol-
Fargo, North Dakota. He died on October 3, line; Sam and Mia Herman and son, Gage and itics—a heritage that Andrews understood
2020. He was 94. Joe and Kristin Herman. and appreciated.
Mark II was the son of his namesake, Mark Mark and his family were blessed by his As congressman and senator, Andrews
Andrews I, also known as the singing sheriff excellent caregivers, especially Missy Wil- proved adept at promoting the state’s inter-
because he sang with the Metropolitan Opera liams, Elaina McDonald and Allison Brocht. ests, notably championing the kind of farm
in New York before returning to the family programs that Reagan’s market orientation
farm near Mapleton, North Dakota and [From the Grand Forks Herald, Oct. 14, 2020] rejected. He’s probably best remembered for
meeting and marrying Mark II’s mother, Lil- MIKE JACOBS: SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI his work to promote the Garrison Diversion
lian Hoyler, a Kindergarten teacher from Es- (Written by Mike Jacobs) project, which would have moved water from
canaba, Michigan. As a young boy, Mark II the Missouri River to central and eastern
Mark Andrews deserved better. He was a
lived in the Sheriff’s house, a large brown- North Dakota.
prominent and sometimes commanding fig-
stone behind the Cass County Courthouse in This issue dominated the state’s politics
ure in North Dakota politics for a quarter of
Fargo. from the mid-Sixties when Andrews arrived
a century, the victor in a titanic struggle for
Mark’s life abruptly changed when his fa- in Washington. Unlike other state politi-
control of the Republican Party in the
ther was seriously injured during a high cians, Andrews sensed that the project
state—the dominant party then as now. In
speed chase of boot leggers and then died. wouldn’t survive scrutiny, and he worked to
the end, he was an independent voice, as crit-
Young Mark was twelve when he and his salvage what he could of the plan. His efforts
ical of Republicans when they deserved it as
mother and sister moved to the Siegel Apart- met hostility from water development inter-
he was of Democrats when he campaigned
ments in Fargo. Fortunately although they ests in the state, who came to regard An-
against them. All told, he served for 17 years
had very little, his mother always made her drews as a kind of traitor.
in the U.S. House of Representatives and six
children feel secure. They might have provided enough votes to
in the U.S. Senate. He lost the Senate seat in defeat him when he sought re-election to the
In 1939 Mark was in 8th grade at Agassiz
a close election in 1986. U.S. Senate in 1986. That’s impossible to
Junior High when he met his best friend, Andrews died Saturday, Oct. 3. He was 94
Mary Willming. They married on June 29, know for sure, of course; there were other
years old. His death wasn’t reported until
1949, and celebrated their 71st wedding anni- issues of significance in that election, as
the following Tuesday, Oct. 6, and then ap-
versary (81 years of friendship) less than Richard Fenno’s book, ‘‘When Incumbency
parently because a funeral home routinely
three weeks before Mary’s death on July 16, Fails,’’ illustrates in some detail.
submitted an obituary. Apart from politics, Andrews had personal
2020. Andrews deserved a bigger sendoff. Thirty-
Mark served in the United States Army appeal. Perhaps the best illustration is his
four years away from the limelight don’t di-
1944–1946 as a cadet at the United States marriage. He’d known his wife, Mary An-
minish his impact or his importance.
Military Academy, West Point, New York, drews, most of his life, and she became an in-
At just 36 years old, Andrews was a prodigy
until receiving a disability discharge in 1946. tegral part of his campaigns. Andrews
with a pedigree when he first came to promi-
He then returned to North Dakota and at- bought time on Election Eve each year for
nence as the Republican candidate for gov-
tended NDSU where he was proud to be a what became known as ‘‘The Mark and Mary
ernor in 1962. Like many of the state’s gov-
Sigma Chi and graduated in 1949. He married Show,’’ where the two of them talked about
ernors, he had deep roots in the Red River
his best friend and took over management of matters pending. Mary Andrews appeared on
Valley. His family had farmed near
the family farm, eventually purchasing the their last show, on Election Eve 1986, when
Mapleton, just west of Fargo, for two genera-
land and operating a cattle feed lot. she was seriously ill. Her illness and its
tions, and his father had been sheriff of Cass
Mark served as a director of the Garrison treatment had become an issue in the cam-
County, then as now the state’s most popu-
Conservancy District 1955–1964 and was a paign.
lous and most powerful.
member and past president of the North Da- Mary Andrews died in July 2020, just
Andrews lost that first election to William
kota Crop Improvement Association. months before her husband’s passing.
Guy, who was a bit older, though still youth-
Mark Andrews’ own life can be parsed
Mark’s degree from NDSU was in agricul- ful, and who ran as the candidate of the
neatly: roughly 36 years before his promi-
tural science. Mary’s degree from Smith Col- emergent Democratic-NPL Party. For new-
nence in the state’s politics, 23 years as a
lege was in political science. Soon politics comers and neophytes, those last three let-
prominent player, and another 36 years, al-
became an interest. Mark was a Republican ters stand for Nonpartisan League, an insur-
most, out of the spotlight—so much so that
National Committeeman 1958–1962. He was gent movement that brought North Dakota a
his passing went unnoticed for 72 hours.
elected to the Eighty-Eighth United States state-owned bank and mill and elevator. The Sic transit gloria mundi. So goes worldly
Congress by special election October 22, 1963 NPL historically filed its candidates mostly glory.
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of in the Republican column; the switch to the For clarity’s sake: The State Board of
Representative Hjalmar Nygaard; he was re- Democrats occurred in 1956. This was a trem- Higher Education has eight voting members,
elected to eight succeeding congresses serv- or in the seismic change that swept over the seven citizens appointed by the governor who
ing North Dakota in the United States House state. Having dominated the state’s politics serve four years, and one student who serves
of Representatives from October 22, 1963 for half a century, William Langer, known as but one year. Faculty and staff each have
until January 3, 1981. He was elected to the ‘‘Wild Bill,’’ died in 1959. He’d been succes- non-voting representatives to the board.
United States Senate in November 1980 with sively—though not without interruption—at- Measure 1 on the November ballot would
70% of the vote and served North Dakota torney general, governor and U.S. senator. double the number of citizen members.
there from January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1987. The special election for a successor sent a
Mark worked hard to serve his state in Democrat to the U.S. Senate, Quentin Bur-
Mr. CRAMER. We are confined to
Congress and was remarkably adept at find- dick. watching funerals on the internet,
ing and forming alliances to accomplish good The great opportunity for young Andrews leaving us with a sense that our expres-
and get problems solved. He frequently said, came in 1963, when U.S. Rep. Hjalmar sions of gratitude and emotions are in-
‘‘You know in those days people from both Nygaard died of a heart attack in the capitol adequate to the honor that is deserved.
parties worked together and we got things building. North Dakota was divided into But fortunately for the Presiding Offi-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
done—Quentin Burdick was a good Democrat East and West congressional districts then, cer and me, the U.S. Senate does pro-
and I was a good Republican but we were and the contest for the Republican endorse-
vide an opportunity, a venue, and an
good friends and we worked together for ment for the East District seat was spirited,
North Dakota. This not working together is pitting the youthful Andrews against a coali- appropriate way to say goodbye to a
foolishness!’’ tion of conservatives led by John W. Scott of friend and a mentor that is commensu-
Following his political career Mark and Gilby, a founder of the John Birch Society. rate with the incredible quality of the
Jacqueline Balk-Tusa established a success- Andrews, the liberal, won. life that we celebrate.
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S6362 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
Senator Andrews was a giant to me Mark—and he and I did a lot in the last [From the New York Times, Oct. 7, 2020]
for lots of reasons, not just because he several years—knows that no computer MARK ANDREWS, NORTH DAKOTA FARMER-
was 6 feet 4 inches. But from growing hard drive in the world contains as POLITICIAN, DIES AT 94
up in Kindred, just about 20 miles much knowledge and information (By Robert D. McFadden)
south of the Andrews farm just outside about water policy as Mark Andrews Mark Andrews, a North Dakota Republican
of the city village of Mapleton at the had in his brain, even to the end. Of the farmer whose strident support for farmers
time, to working on his reelection cam- 90 minutes we talked last year, I am helped him win nine elections to the House
paign—the first real job I ever had out sure 60 of them were spent talking of Representatives and one to the Senate,
of college—to seeking his guidance as I but who could not stave off defeat for a sec-
about water policy and water politics.
followed in his footsteps, first in the ond Senate term in 1986, died on Saturday in
He was passionate about the accom- Fargo, N.D. He was 94.
House of Representatives and then to plishments, as the Presiding Officer The Hanson Runsvold Funeral Home in
the Senate, Mark Andrews was always said, and the shortcomings of the gov- Fargo confirmed the death on its website.
a larger-than-life figure and person- ernment’s promise to distribute Mis- As his 23-year congressional career drew to
ality to me. a close, The New York Times said Mr. An-
souri River water to the farms and
Kris and I were grateful for the coun- drews had kept ‘‘three items at the top of his
communities of Eastern North Dakota.
sel he and Mary gave us my first year priority list: farmers, farmers and farmers.’’
in this Chamber just last year. I am He fought and advocated for water jus- Tall (6 foot 4), plain-spoken and rawboned,
really grateful to Mark and Mary’s tice for our farmers, and I think of him Mr. Andrews raised wheat, sugar beets and
daughter, Sarah, for facilitating a visit often as we engage in the very same corn for 13 years before venturing into public
for Kris and me to come see her par- fights today. He was also a strong, life. He was the third generation in his fam-
strong critic of government waste. ily to work a 1,280-acre Red River Valley
ents just last year. This picture will be spread that had been started by his grand-
important to me forever. It was an You are right that he supported our father, Albion Andrews, in the Dakota Terri-
emotional time for me. I don’t mind military fiercely. There was a famous tory of 1881, eight years before North Dakota
telling you that it was emotional for story about when he opposed the sale became a state.
me to be able to go see Mark at the age of AWACS to Saudi Arabia on behalf of His father, also named Mark Andrews, was
of 93 and Mary at the age of 92 and say our ally Israel, and it took a lot of, born on the farm in 1886 and became an
thank you for the opportunities and for shall we say, gentle persuasion to con- opera-singing farmer-politician who gave
vince him otherwise. concerts in Fargo and in New York and sang
the grace he afforded me when I didn’t
for the voters in his successful 1928 campaign
deserve it. He always looked out for the tax- for Cass County sheriff. He served one four-
I mean no disrespect to any of my payer. He cared more about the tax- year term, went back to farming and died
colleagues today, but what made me payer than the tax spender. He dem- after being injured in a car accident.
the most emotional when I walked into onstrated his commitment to fiscal re- ‘‘They called him the singing sheriff,’’ Mr.
Mark’s apartment and saw him sitting straint when he took on the Depart- Andrews recalled in an interview for this
in that recliner was that it hit me for ment of Defense in 1983, sponsoring a obituary in 2018. ‘‘People used to say to me,
the first time in a new way that the bill requiring defense contractors to ‘Well, you’re the son of the singing sheriff,’
people of North Dakota had given me a and ask me to sing. But I couldn’t carry a
guarantee their hardware. The bill tune in a bushel basket.’’
responsibility that, at that time, as I passed and became law. He was also With an easygoing warmth that appealed
looked at my giant, I didn’t feel quite critical of what he called the ‘‘inces- to rural voters, he began his political career
up to. There it was, with this job that tuous relationship’’ between the offi- in 1963 by winning a special election after
he had and this giant from my youth cers who made the weapons purchase the state’s lone member of the House of Rep-
who did big things, I suddenly felt, by decisions and the contractors who em- resentatives died in office. In 17 years in the
comparison, quite small. But, as Mark ployed the officers after they retired. House, Mr. Andrews was a fiscal conserv-
often did, he encouraged me. He offered ative, favoring spending cuts and balanced
But, as the Presiding Officer pointed budgets, and a faithful backer of agricultural
a word of encouragement—many of
out in his remarks, Mark Andrews was subsidies and farm price supports. His re-
them. Likewise, Mary did the same. At
first and foremost a farmer. Don’t take election became routine.
the age of 92, she offered Kris encour- But there was another side to Mr. Andrews,
our word for it. It is not just a couple
agement that only another Senate and it said much about his constituents’ tol-
of hayseeds from North Dakota who
spouse really had the credibility to erance. He had a moderate-to-liberal voting
offer. will make that claim. No, just look at
record on social issues, supporting food
I was overwhelmed by the blessing of the headlines surrounding his recent
stamps and assistance to the poor and oppos-
the moment. I was grateful beyond death. ing bans on abortion and prayers in public
words for the opportunity to spend The New York Times, in an obituary schools. He once endorsed Nelson A. Rocke-
even 90 minutes with Fargo’s most im- written by Robert McFadden, carries feller, New York’s liberal Republican gov-
portant power couple. It was pretty the headline ‘‘Mark Andrews, North ernor, for president.
Dakota Farmer-Politician, Dies at 94.’’ In a gentler era when politics was less of a
cool.
blood sport, he liked Ike and L.B.J.—Presi-
Mark and Mary celebrated their 71st Did you catch that? Farmer first, the
dents Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican,
wedding anniversary just prior to her dash of life, and politician last. and Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. And he
death earlier this year, as the Pre- McFadden writes this in his story: befriended liberal Democrats like Senator
siding Officer mentioned. They met Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and
As his 23-year congressional career drew to
while attending Agassiz Junior High in a close, The New York Times said Mr. An- Representative Bob Bergland of Minnesota,
Fargo in 1939; then they became best drews kept ‘‘three items at the top of his pri- who later became President Jimmy Carter’s
friends for life. It is pretty cool. Pretty ority list:’’— secretary of agriculture.
cool. I love that Mary Andrews was her ‘‘Sure, he was a Democrat, and I was a Re-
husband’s not-so-secret weapon in all A lot like you, I might say to the publican,’’ Mr. Andrews told Inforum.com,
Presiding Officer— The Fargo Forum news website, in 2017, re-
of his successful campaigns. ferring to Mr. Bergland. ‘‘He would come to
As the Presiding Officer said, Mark ‘‘farmers, farmers and farmers.’’ North Dakota and talk about his good friend
served a total of 23 years in Congress— The headline for a story written by Mark Andrews, and I’d go to Minnesota and
17 in the House of Representatives and Mikkel Pates in Agweek—a friend of talk about my good friend Bob Bergland, be-
6 here in the Senate. His hallmark was cause we really were good friends despite our
ours, a reporter; actually, an agricul-
his fierce independence. Now, that political differences.’’
tural reporter—he described Senator The voters did not mind. In 1980, when
fierce independence sometimes was to
Andrews’ legacy: ‘‘Andrews was a polit- North Dakota’s long-serving Republican sen-
the chagrin of the Reagan administra-
ical ‘laser beam’ for farm interests.’’ ator, Milton Young, retired, Mr. Andrews
tion. He served during a very, very dif-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
I ask unanimous consent to have jumped into the race and won the seat with
ficult time in farm country, but he
both the Agweek and the New York 70 percent of the votes, part of a swing to Re-
fought tirelessly with the government publican control of the Senate for the first
on behalf of the people. He always put Times stories printed in the RECORD.
time in decades. He began making national
the people ahead of the government. There being no objection, the mate- headlines.
As the Presiding Officer mentioned, rial was ordered to be printed in the In 1981, as debate swirled over the Reagan
anyone who spent any time with RECORD, as follows: administration’s proposed sale of Awacs
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6363
(Airborne Warning and Control System) [From AGWEEK, Oct. 15, 2020] and strong increases in allocations to the
planes to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Andrews joined ANDREWS WAS A POLITICAL ‘LASER BEAM’ FOR Farmers Home Administration loan alloca-
liberal Democrats in opposing the sale as a FARM INTERESTS tions. The help didn’t come quickly enough
peril to Israel. But after meeting with a per- for some farmers.
(By Mikkel Pates)
suasive President Ronald Reagan, he and Randy Russell, principal in the The Russell
four other senators switched sides, providing MAPLETON, N.D.—Former U.S. Sen. Mark Group Inc., one of today’s top Washington,
the margin to approve the arms sale, the big- Andrews, R–N.D., who died at age 94 on Oct D.C., lobbying firms, was chief of staff to
gest in the nation’s history. 3, 2020, had an outsized impact and intimate then-Secretary of Agriculture John Block
knowledge of the region’s agricultural indus- for the 1985 farm bill, and was a deputy as-
Senator Andrews took on the Defense De- try—both in Washington, D.C., and back
partment in 1983 by sponsoring what became sistant USDA secretary of economics. Rus-
home. sell noted that agriculture faces its chal-
a law—backed by a bipartisan coalition in His agricultural roots ran deeper than the
Congress—that required makers of military lenges today, but not like the 1980s when
state itself. asset values declined by 25%. People simply
weapons to guarantee their hardware. He Officially, he was Mark Andrews II. His
criticized ‘‘incestuous relationships’’ be- couldn’t repay loans.
grandparents were from New York state and ‘‘He was a force to be reckoned with. He
tween military officers who bought weapons were Michigan-trained medical doctors who was tough,’’ Russell recalled, of Andrews.
and defense contractors who often hired the moved to Dakota Territory in the late 1870s, ‘‘He was a fierce advocate for rural develop-
officers in retirement. prior to statehood in 1889. The Andrewses ment and sugar. He focused like a laser beam
And in 1985, as a crisis loomed over the bought some farmland near Mapleton, N.D., on things that he wanted.’’
farm economy, he took on the Reagan White and established a farm. Andrews lost his seat in 1986 in a close
House, writing a bill to stabilize farm in- Later, Andrews’ father, Mark I, and uncle election with Sen. Kent Conrad, D–N.D., de-
comes by subsidizing commodity prices at Arlo farmed it in a partnership. Mark I was spite bringing in President Ronald Reagan
steady levels over several years. trained as an opera singer and sang in the and Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, R–
Reagan opposed the measure as a budget- Metropolitan Opera in New York. He was Kan. Pundits speculated some voters were
buster, arguing that subsidies encouraged dubbed the ‘‘singing sheriff’ and died from looking for different leadership. Others said
surplus production and depressed markets. injuries in an auto chase with a perpetrator. Andrews hurt himself politically when his
But he signed the measure anyway, hoping Mark II was 12. family sued St. Luke’s Hospital in Fargo, for
that rising commodity exports might even- FARMING, POLITICS $10 million, alleging medical malpractice in
tually wean farmers from costly price sup- Mark II grew up in Fargo and was active in Mary’s meningitis case. The Andrews family
ports. Boy Scouts and Republican politics, said his won the suit in June 1984 but received no fi-
As Senator Andrews ran for re-election in daughter, Sarah Andrews Herman. He start- nancial damages.
1986, Republican anxiety ran high across the ed West Point, but resigned because of a After his children were grown, the Mark
Farm Belt, where a devastating combination back injury, and took up agriculture at what and Mary Andrews lived in the famed Water-
of falling land values, slumping market is now North Dakota State University. In gate Hotel in Washington, D.C., but his heart
prices, high interest rates and dwindling ex- 1948 he married his wife, Mary, a political was on the farm, where the Hermans now
ports had driven thousands of once-pros- science graduate of Smith College in Massa- live, retired from legal careers.
perous farm families off their land and in- chusetts, where Nancy Reagan, Gloria PROGRESSIVE FARMERS
flicted economic pain on small towns. Steinem and Barbara Pierce Bush had grad- The Andrews family were progressive farm-
Trying to preserve Republican control of uated. ers. In the past, they’d fed cattle and raised
the Senate, Reagan campaigned in North Da- The Andrewses moved on the farm in 1949. sugar beets before and after American Crys-
kota three times for Mr. Andrews. But the With Mary at his side, in 1960 he ran unsuc- tal Sugar Co. became a cooperative. They
dismal farm economy counted for more than cessfully for governor against Bill Guy, an built a grain elevator and were growers of
the president’s charisma. On Election Day, Amenia farmer and agricultural economist. certified seeds. In the later years, their crops
Mr. Andrews lost by 3,785 votes, out of 182,600 It was the first year John F. Kennedy was were primarily com, soybeans and wheat.
cast, to the Democrat Kent Conrad, the state elected president and the first year of the For many years, the senator’s son, Mark
tax commissioner. South Dakota’s Repub- Democratic-Nonpartisan League party in III, ran the operation until the land was
lican Senator, James Abdnor, also lost. (Mr. North Dakota. rented out about five years ago. At its apex,
Conrad would have a long career in the Sen- Standing 6-foot-4, Mark II went on to win the farm grew to 5,000 acres, including 3,000
ate, retiring in 2013.) a House seat in a special election in 1963. He owned acres. They raised com, soybeans and
became a member of the Appropriations wheat.
‘‘The farmers were saying they were not As the worldwide farm crisis deepened in
happy with the president’s farm policies,’’ Committee, and served as the chairman of
the agricultural subcommittee, working 1986, Steiger went into Chapter 11 bank-
Mr. Andrews’ campaign manager, Bill ruptcy reorganization and emerged by sell-
Sorenson, said in a day-after analysis. ‘‘Yet with two North Dakota U.S. senators—Milt
Young, a Republican, and Quentin Burdick, a ing to J.I. Case, which since the 1970s had
they were saying this president is a great fel- owned half of J.I. Case. (In 1984 Case had ac-
low, and they took their resentment of his Democrat.
Bob Christman, a former agricultural aide quired International Harvester assets, even-
policies out on senators.’’ tually marketed as Case-IH.)
to Young (often dubbed ‘‘Mr. Wheat’’) re-
Mark Andrews II was born in Fargo on May called that Andrews was always a ‘‘spokes- Mark III said his father had used John
19, 1926, to Mark and Lillian (Hoyler) An- man for, fought for agriculture.’’ Andrews Deere equipment, but also liked Steiger trac-
drews, a former kindergarten teacher from was known for cross-party alliances, includ- tors, developed in the Red River Valley and
Michigan. He graduated from Fargo Central ing with Burdick. manufactured in Fargo—high horsepower,
High School in 1943. After a year at North In 1980 Andrews won the Senate seat with four-wheel-drives with an oscillating, articu-
Dakota Agricultural College (now North Da- 70% of the vote. Mary Ann Bond of Fargo, an lated design. Sometimes company engineers
kota State University), he attended the aide to Andrews from 1964 to 1983 in the would test their prototypes on his farm—
United States Military Academy at West House and Senate, said Andrews was an ad- only about 15 miles from the factory.
Point for two years, leaving on a disability vocate of sugar policies, but worked on other In the 1990s, Mark III surprised his dad
discharge, his family said, then returned to projects, including with then-University of when he bought a Case-IH tractor and set of
North Dakota Agricultural and graduated in North Dakota President Tom Clifford in es- grain drills from Jim Williams, who ran Ar-
1949. tablishing UND as an aviation education thur (N.D.) Mercantile, the oldest one-family
In 1949, he married Mary Willming, whom leader, which later paved the way for the farm equipment company in the state. He re-
he had known since eighth grade. She died in state’s leadership in drone technology. members his father—flying in from Wash-
July. He is survived by a son, Mark III; and ‘‘Agriculture is what we worked on every ington—wondering ‘‘what the hell I’d done.’’
two daughters, Sarah Herman and Karen An- day,’’ Bond said. ‘‘It was the one area he But, in fact, the Andrewses had purchased
drews; and a sister, Barbara Bertel; as well wasn’t willing to compromise on.’’ Case equipment from the Williams family in
as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. earlier decades, so they shifted almost en-
‘A LASER BEAM’ tirely to Case-IH. (Arthur Mercantile merged
After his political career, Mr. Andrews be- Clare Carlson, today’s state director of the into Titan Machinery of Fargo in 2009 and
came a Washington lobbyist and consultant. USDA’s Rural Development agency in the Williams went on the board of Titan, the
In 1995, he retired to his farm, in Mapleton, Trump administration, worked for Andrews largest string of Case-IH stores in the coun-
N.D., which had grown to 3,000 acres. In re- as an ag aide in the Senate as he contributed try.)
cent years he had resided at Bethany Retire- to the 1985 farm bill, at the height of the Out of the Senate in January 1987, Andrews
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
ment Living at Grace Pointe in Fargo. farm credit crisis. started a political consulting company in
Mr. Andrews called 1980 the high point of ‘‘He was the master of staying on the out- Washington. He connected with Jim
his political life. ‘‘It was the year I was side of a deal until he was needed,’’ Carlson Ketelson, Tenneco’s CEO, who invited him to
elected to the Senate,’’ he said in the Times recalled. run for the parent company’s board of direc-
interview ‘‘and in North Dakota I outpolled Carlson said the 1985 bill offered benefits to tors.
the head of the Republican ticket, Ronald the farm economy—including the Conserva- Tenneco’s sold its ag interests to Fiat in
Reagan.’’ tion Reserve Program land-idling program 1999, which later merged the company with
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S6364 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
New Holland Agriculture to form CNH Glob- Congress needs to provide assistance rials and PPE, and take other steps to
al. Andrews stayed on at Tenneco until 2001. for our hospitals and healthcare pro- ensure that our Nation’s seniors are
Howard Dahl, chief executive of Amity
viders, especially nursing homes and kept safe.
Technology in Fargo, whose father, Gene,
had been chairman of the board at Steiger long-term care facilities, which ac- We also need much more funding to
Tractor, said Andrews had a ‘‘positive role, count for 81 percent of COVID–19 support testing. The Heroes Act pro-
after the Tenneco acquisition, for keeping deaths in New Hampshire. That is the vided $75 billion for a national testing
Steiger jobs in Fargo.’’ The company would highest percentage in the country. and contact tracing plan. Leader
go on to add construction wheel-loaders to We should also provide additional MCCONNELL’s bill would only provide a
its Fargo production line, adding to its sta- support for childcare centers and fraction of that amount.
bility. schools that are working to safely re- It is pretty simple. We are not going
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Case-
open and operate during the fall term, to get ahead of this pandemic and help
IH developed a ‘‘Quadtrac’’ tractor with four
tracks to replace four wheels. Mark III said and we shouldn’t condition those edu- our economy recover if we fail to make
his father was a big fan of four tracks offer- cation dollars on whether a school is investments in testing and contact
ing particular turning capabilities and trac- physically open, as Republicans have tracing and if we leave our healthcare
tion in Red River Valley heavy soils that had repeatedly proposed. That decision providers in a financial hole. These in-
turned wetter after 1993. should be made by State and local offi- vestments are key to getting life back
Titan CEO David Meyer said Andrews was cials, and it should be based on safety. to some semblance of normal.
a ‘‘gentleman’’ and big proponent of the We also need to support our local We also need to provide more funding
Quadtrac. The Quadtrac went into produc-
communities so they can continue to to support our ongoing fight against
tion as a 360 horsepower tractor in 1996.
Today there are eight models from 370 to 628 pay our first responders, firefighters, the opioid epidemic. In New Hamp-
horsepower, including the 470, featured on a police, and teachers. Under no cir- shire, we have seen that epidemic exac-
pedestal at the company’s factory in Fargo. cumstances should our communities erbated by the pandemic, and we are
Mr. CRAMER. ‘‘Farmer,’’ ‘‘fiercely have to cut essential services and beginning to see overdoses go up again.
independent,’’ ‘‘fiscal hawk’’—all of the frontline workers. The McConnell skinny bill provides
good things the Presiding Officer said After months of inaction, Leader no financial help for families strug-
about him—they describe a part of Sen- MCCONNELL has forced the Senate to gling to pay the bills and put food on
ator Mark Andrews, but to me, he is vote twice on a partisan package that the table and no funding for State and
still a giant. was written in his office without any local governments that are facing mas-
At his funeral, the Gospel text that bipartisan input. Not surprisingly, that sive revenue shortfalls due to COVID–
was read was from an agrarian parable package doesn’t even come close to ad- 19.
in Matthew 13—a very familiar one to dressing the public health and eco- The State of New Hampshire is facing
most people—where Jesus talks about nomic issues that our country is fac- a budget shortfall of nearly $540 mil-
the teeny mustard seed. In verse 32, He ing. We need to provide more financial lion, about 20 percent of our State rev-
is recorded as saying: ‘‘Though it is the support to hospitals, long-term care fa- enues. The Republican proposal would
smallest of all seeds, yet when it cilities, and other healthcare providers provide no assistance, forcing local
grows, it is the largest of garden plants that are struggling on the frontlines of governments to make very difficult
and becomes a tree so that birds can our fight against this pandemic. choices about cutting essential serv-
come and perch in its branches.’’ Senator MCCONNELL’s skinny bill ices, including whether to lay off
Mark Andrews was a really big tree does not provide any money for grants teachers, firefighters, and police offi-
with really big roots into the soil of to healthcare providers. That is zero cers or reduce trash collection and
the Red River Valley of North Dakota. dollars for our Nation’s hospitals, even other essential services.
I felt as though I had found a perch on though hospitals like the Lakes Region And the Republican bill includes
his branches and stand on his shoul- General Hospital in New Hampshire nothing to address broadband needs,
ders. just filed bankruptcy this week and depriving communities from making
Mark and Mary also died with the hospitals across New Hampshire are improvements in telehealth and re-
Gospel promise that Christ has pre- projecting hundreds of millions of dol- mote learning.
pared a mansion for them in Heaven. I lars in losses this year due to the And it doesn’t do nearly enough to
am pretty sure it is a farmhouse. cancelation of elective procedures and address the needs of our small busi-
Thank you, Senator Andrews. You nonemergency visits to deal with the nesses. Congress must also provide ad-
served North Dakota well and will be pandemic. ditional support to help small busi-
missed. It also provides zero dollars for nurs- nesses survive the economic fallout
I yield the floor. ing homes and long-term care facilities caused by the COVID crisis.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- at a time when nursing facility resi- As a member of the Senate Com-
ator from New Hampshire. dents account for 81 percent of our mittee on Small Business and Entre-
CORONAVIRUS COVID–19 deaths, and nursing homes, preneurship, I was proud to be part of
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I while they have seen 40 percent of the the bipartisan working group that
come to the floor today to urge my col- fatalities from this pandemic nation- came up with the Paycheck Protection
leagues on both sides of the aisle to wide, have gotten only 4 percent of the Program. As part of what we did for
come together to resume negotiations funding. small businesses in the CARES Act, we
on a comprehensive relief package for The bill provides zero dollars for greatly expanded and added a grant
Granite Staters and Americans across community health centers across the component to the Economic Injury Dis-
this country. country—community health centers aster Loan Program. We provided 6
Six million Americans have missed that are providing care to millions of months of relief for existing SBA bor-
their rent or mortgage payments since individuals, newly uninsured because rowers to make use of the 7(a), 504, and
September. The lines at food pantries they have lost their jobs due to the Microloan Programs.
in my State of New Hampshire and pandemic. Our intent then was to deliver relief
across the country are growing longer The most recent version of the He- to small businesses that are truly hurt-
and longer. Yet the partisan Supreme roes Act that passed in the House ear- ing, and that effort has been largely
Court nomination seems to be the only lier this month would provide $50 bil- successful. To date, 501 million small
priority of the Republican leadership lion in new grants for healthcare pro- business borrowers have received more
here in the Senate. viders, as well as $7.6 billion to support than $525 billion in assistance through
The American public are tired of par- our community health centers. PPP. That includes over 24,000 small
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
tisan posturing. They need relief, and I have joined Senator CASEY in press- businesses and nonprofits in New
they need it now. That is why Congress ing for additional dedicated funds, spe- Hampshire and $2.5 billion that has
should pass a bipartisan, comprehen- cifically for long-term care facilities, come into our State alone. Over 11,000
sive package that addresses the chal- to help them retain and hire staff—one New Hampshire small businesses have
lenges we are facing in the short and of the biggest challenges they are hav- received EIDL loans totaling over $660
long term. ing right now—acquire testing mate- million.
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6365
Collectively, these programs rep- is right for the Nation. That is what support COVID–19 response efforts,
resent the largest small business relief our constituents sent us here to do. We Tribal panelists testified about how
effort in our Nation’s history by far, did it before, and we can do it again. their communities have been hurt by
but we know that more needs to be I yield the floor. congressional inaction, funding short-
done because there are some small The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. falls, and a lack of coordination be-
businesses that have bounced back and CRAMER). The Senator from New Mex- tween the Federal agencies.
are doing well and have returned to ico. Among other things, we learned that
their pre-COVID revenues, but, unfor- Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I join my existing Federal policies and failures
tunately, too many of them still need Democratic colleagues today to voice have exacerbated health disparities,
help to get through the rest of this my frustration with the Senate Repub- economic barriers, and institutional in-
pandemic. licans’ drive to manufacture votes on equities among Native communities;
Authorization for PPP has expired anemic half measures instead of focus- that the Indian Health Service, Tribes,
with more than $130 billion still ing on enacting robust and comprehen- and Urban Indian Health clinics have
unspent, and the funds appropriated for sive COVID–19 relief for the American faced challenges securing personal pro-
the EIDL Grant Program have been ex- people. tective equipment and testing supplies;
hausted. With over 220,000 deaths, positive that they were excluded from most
I hear frequently from New Hamp- cases surging throughout the country, Federal public health emergency pre-
shire small businesses that have used and flu season right around the corner,
paredness planning; and that Indian
PPP effectively to keep workers on the it is unconscionable that we are not
Country continues to struggle to navi-
payroll and make rent, but many of taking up legislation to address the
gate the bureaucratic maze of COVID–
them, as I said, still need more assist- health and economic needs facing this
19 programs because many agencies
ance as our economy reopens, particu- Nation.
Simply put, this week’s votes have had little to no meaningful engage-
larly in the tourism and hospitality in- ment with Tribes prior to this pan-
dustries, which are so vital to New been engineered as political theater.
They were designed to feign action, demic.
Hampshire’s economy. This testimony is key to putting into
This is a critical time. Restaurants while failing, and to further divide this
body along party lines while making no context what little data exists on
in New Hampshire account for nearly COVID–19 impacts in Native commu-
70,000 jobs and $3 billion in sales, ac- progress on another bipartisan
coronavirus relief package. nities.
cording to the National Restaurant As- Even though data was slow to come
sociation. Hotels represent another Earlier this summer, I took to the
Senate floor to address the ongoing im- in, it confirms our worst fears; that the
29,000 jobs and $1 billion in wages and pandemic will extract a heavier toll on
salaries, according to the American pacts of COVID–19 on our Nation’s
health and economy. The majority of Native communities if decisive Federal
Hotel and Lodging Association. We actions aren’t taken immediately.
have got to do more to help them. the $8 billion in CARES Act relief fund-
ing had barely gotten out to Tribes by Thirty four percent of American In-
Now, based on these conversations, I
then, thanks to the administration’s dian and Alaska Native adults—the
worked with Senator CARDIN, the rank-
delay and fumbled distribution. Now highest percentage of any race—are at
ing member on the Small Business
the administration wants Indian Coun- high risk of serious health complica-
Committee, and others to come up with
try to believe it championed that fund- tions due to COVID–19; and they are 41⁄2
legislation that recognizes the con-
ing for Tribal governments, but the times more likely to be hospitalized
tinuing need for small business assist-
truth is the administration and Senate due to COVID–19 complications. These
ance. Our bill would extend the dead-
Republican leaders offered nothing for statistics are staggering, and they ap-
line for PPP applications and let busi-
nesses that have already received a Tribes in coronavirus relief. pear to be worsening in parts of Indian
PPP loan but are still struggling to Tribes didn’t see progress until Sen- Country.
ate Democrats fought back, demanding Just this week, Indian Health Service
apply again. It would streamline the
targeted relief for Tribal governments. officials told Congress that COVID–19
process for borrowers to obtain forgive-
We ended up securing over $10 billion trends in the Bemidji, Billings, Great
ness for their loans, and it would allow
local chambers of commerce and des- to fight the virus, stabilize Tribal Plains, and Oklahoma City service
tination marketing organizations ac- economies, and support Native health areas were ‘‘very concerning.’’ Each of
cess to the PPP program. It would also systems. those regions have had a 7-day rolling
significantly increase funding for EIDL Yes, it was obvious even then more positivity test rate in double digits.
grants and make important reforms to would need to be done. I sounded the Several IHS service units are reporting
that program. alarm that Native communities, like that their network for transferring pa-
This and other measures must be every American community, needed tients in need of ICU care are nearly
part of any future COVID–19 relief more help and were bearing the brunt full.
package, and I would urge the majority of the virus’s continued spread. There is so much we still don’t know
leader to quickly bring a package of As vice chairman of the Senate Com- about COVID–19. But what we do know
legislation to the floor that addresses mittee on Indian Affairs, I am com- is this: Throughout this crisis, Native
both the public health crisis as well as pelled to speak out again and urge im- communities have fought back. They
the economic pain that our commu- mediate bipartisan action to provide are resilient. For example, in my home
nities—especially our small busi- more targeted relief for Native commu- State of New Mexico and in Arizona
nesses—are facing. nities and to urge my Republican col- and Utah—the Navajo Nation has insti-
COVID–19 is the worst crisis our leagues who represent a number of Na- tuted strict curfews to prevent the
country has faced during my lifetime. tive communities to join me in this ef- spread. They have ramped up testing,
More than 220,000 Americans, including fort. Our shared trust and treaty obli- despite the complete lack of testing
468 Granite Staters, have lost their gations demand nothing less. supplies in the beginning. But the U.S.
lives to this virus, which has also Throughout this pandemic, I have trust and treaty responsibilities re-
taken a historic toll on our economy. heard directly from Tribes, Pueblos, main.
Congress has an obligation to address and Native Hawaiian communities Our obligation to provide quality, ac-
this pandemic aggressively and about their urgent and ongoing needs cessible healthcare to all Native Amer-
thoughtfully. I am optimistic that we for healthcare and economic resources icans doesn’t end with this once-in-a-
can come to bipartisan agreement, but to combat the virus. I have heard how century pandemic. And it cannot be
we can’t wait until after the election. existing Federal policies, practices, fulfilled by partisan half measures
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Americans need help putting food on and program structures have left these meant to score political points rather
the table and paying the bills today. communities particularly exposed to than provide meaningful health.
Too many can’t afford an arbitrary severe and long-lasting impacts from Congress must do better. We must do
timeline for delivering assistance. the coronavirus pandemic. much more. Each day we fail to act—to
We need to set aside our differences In a recent oversight hearing on im- advance policies to address the dispari-
and the partisan jockeying and do what plementation of Federal programs to ties faced by Indian Country—is a day
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S6366 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
we fail to uphold our oath of office. It and one can wonder if it will ever re- MOTION TO ADJOURN
is a day we fail to meet the single most cover from this kind of rank hypocrisy. Mr. President, I move to adjourn and
defining moment of this Congress—per- And so, because this has been the most to then convene for pro forma sessions
haps, of our entire careers. rushed, most partisan, and least legiti- only, with no business being conducted,
American families are struggling. mate process in the history of Supreme at 12 noon on the following dates and
Our country is struggling. We in Con- Court nominations, Judiciary members that following each pro forma session,
gress have the tools to help end that. will boycott the markup tomorrow and the Senate adjourn until the next pro
Instead, we are wasting time with not provide the quorum that is re- forma session: Friday, October 23;
sham votes. History will not forget this quired because it is a bipartisan Tuesday, October 27; Friday, October
inaction. That is why it is imperative quorum. 30; Tuesday, November 3; and Friday,
that we pass comprehensive COVID–19 The bottom line is very simple. We November 6. Furthermore, that if there
relief legislation with targeted re- should not be moving forward on this is an agreement on legislation in rela-
sources for Native American commu- nomination. She is so out of character tion to the COVID pandemic, the Sen-
nities. with American views. Her views are ate may convene under the authority
We must infuse the IHS with addi- way, way, way to the right. She has of S. Res. 296 of the 108th Congress; and
tional funding for Tribal healthcare stated she wants to repeal the ACA and that, finally, when the Senate adjourns
and ensure Indian Country has parity take away healthcare. She has said she on Friday, November 6, it next convene
in accessing Federal public health pro- would oppose Roe v. Wade and remove at 4:30, Monday, November 9, and that
grams. We must provide Tribal govern- following the prayer and pledge, the
American women’s right to control
ments with the resources they need to morning hour be deemed expired, the
their own bodies. She has opposed labor
keep their communities up and running Journal of proceedings be approved to
rights. She is to the right of Justice
safely by providing additional funding date, the time for the two leaders be
Scalia on gun safety.
within the Treasury’s Coronavirus Re- reserved for their use later in the day,
lief Fund. On issue after issue, this nominee is
so far out of the mainstream that her and morning business be closed.
The Senate should pass bills I have
introduced that have already been views, if she had to get them to pass in The PRESIDING OFFICER. That mo-
adopted by the House of Representa- a legislature, would never pass even tion would require consent and is not
tives in its Heroes Act, passed over 3 with all Republicans. But, of course, in order.
months ago. We must make the stra- now they are rushing through the proc- MOTION TO TABLE
tegic national stockpile available to ess. Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ap-
Tribes. Tribes should be able to access Trump has said he wants someone peal the ruling of the Chair, and I move
PPE, ventilators, and other necessary who repeals ACA. Trump has said he to table the appeal.
medical equipment, just as States can. wants someone who would repeal Roe. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas
We must make sure the Tribes have Trump has said he wants someone who and nays.
equal access to the Centers for Disease would be on his side if there is an elec- Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas
Control resources to prepare for public tion dispute. and nays.
health emergencies, like this pan- These are all such violations of The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a
demic. We must equalize the Medicaid American norms, values, decency, and sufficient second?
reimbursement rate for Urban Indian honor. And that is why the Judiciary There appears to be a sufficient sec-
Health facilities and help the 41 Urban Committee will not provide the ond.
Indian Health facilities across the Na- quorum tomorrow when the markup The clerk will call the roll.
tion expand their services. goes forward. The bill clerk called the roll.
And as so much of our lives move to We should also adjourn. We should Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
the internet, we must make sure that not do this nomination. We can come Senator from California (Mrs. FEIN-
Native schools, healthcare facilities, back after the election and do just STEIN), the Senator from California
and government services are not left on what Republicans have said they want- (Ms. HARRIS), the Senator from West
the wrong side of the digital divide. All ed to do when Merrick Garland was on Virginia (Mr. MANCHIN), the Senator
Tribes must have access to high-speed the floor: wait for the election to de- from Vermont (Mr. SANDERS), the Sen-
broadband. cide. ator from Arizona (Ms. SINEMA), and
This public health and economic cri- the Senator from Oregon (Mr. WYDEN),
And this sophistry that now because
sis has impacted every community in are necessarily absent.
it is a Republican President and a Re-
every State in the Union, but it has hit The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there
publican majority, that makes a dif-
Native communities particularly hard. any other Senators in the Chamber de-
ference? No. Everyone sees through
We must take real action. We need to
that. That was never mentioned when siring to vote?
lock arms, negotiate in good faith, and
Merrick Garland came up. It only came The result was announced—yeas 53,
get immediate relief out the door—not
now with a coverup—to cover up the nays 41, as follows:
engage in insincere, sham votes on
‘‘skinny’’ relief bills going nowhere, hypocrisy, and it just doesn’t work. We [Rollcall Vote No. 209 Ex.]
marked by continued partisan bick- can see through it. YEAS—53
ering. The bottom line, we have never Alexander Fischer Perdue
I yield the floor. moved a nominee so close to an elec- Barrasso Gardner Portman
tion. Abraham Lincoln, when he had Blackburn Graham Risch
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Blunt Grassley
the opportunity to fill a Supreme Roberts
Democratic leader. Boozman Hawley Romney
NOMINATION OF AMY CONEY BARRETT Court seat, said it would be unfair to Braun Hoeven Rounds
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, by do it so close to an election. But this Burr Hyde-Smith Rubio
Capito Inhofe
now, the American people know the Republican Party has forgotten the Cassidy Johnson
Sasse
principles and the honor and the de- Scott (FL)
rank hypocrisy of the Republican ma- Collins Kennedy
Scott (SC)
jority, who, so many, when Merrick cency of Abraham Lincoln as they Cornyn Lankford
Shelby
move forward in their rush—in their Cotton Lee
Garland was proposed as a nominee, Cramer Loeffler Sullivan
said we must wait, even though it was rush—to push a nominee through, Crapo McConnell Thune
8 months before an election. When whose views are decidedly at odds with Cruz McSally Tillis
the vast majority of Americans on Daines Moran Toomey
Merrick Garland was nominated 8
Enzi Murkowski Wicker
months before an election, we have to issue after issue. That is why the Judi-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Ernst Paul Young
wait for an election. Now that an elec- ciary Committee members will boycott
tion is ongoing, we are rushing through tomorrow. That is also why I am going NAYS—41
this nomination. It is one of the worst to move to adjourn until November 9, Baldwin Cantwell Cortez Masto
Bennet Cardin Duckworth
moments the Senate has ever seen. after the election is decided and do
Blumenthal Carper Durbin
Leader MCCONNELL and the Repub- what is fair and right for the American Booker Casey Gillibrand
lican majority have defiled the Senate, people. Brown Coons Hassan
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6367
Heinrich Merkley Smith ical gains in the middle of an election mony. In fact, on the Seventh Circuit,
Hirono Murphy Stabenow
Jones Murray Tester
while refusing to support relief for 95 percent of her adjudicated cases
Kaine Peters Udall hard-working families impacted by this were unanimously decided.
King Reed Van Hollen pandemic. I am so grateful that Judge Barrett
Klobuchar Rosen Warner Now, Big Tech is aggressively lim- has accepted the call to serve our coun-
Leahy Schatz Warren
Markey Schumer iting the First Amendment right to try. President Trump could not have
Whitehouse
Menendez Shaheen free speech and free press. Created be- chosen a more qualified, impressive ju-
NOT VOTING—6 fore the existence of the very compa- rist than Judge Barrett, and I will be
nies that are silencing conservatives, honored to vote to confirm her as the
Feinstein Manchin Sinema
Harris Sanders Wyden the 1996 Communications Decency next U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Act’s section 230 provision no longer Mr. MERKLEY. Would my colleague
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mo- yield for a question?
suits our country’s needs. Last week,
tion to table is agreed to, and the rul- Mrs. LOEFFLER. Sure.
Justice Clarence Thomas called on
ing of the Chair stands. Mr. MERKLEY. Thank you.
Congress to update these laws to
The Senator from Georgia. You know that the process we are in
‘‘make them more appropriate for an
NOMINATION OF AMY CONEY BARRETT
Internet-driven society.’’ right now is based on clear precedent.
Mrs. LOEFFLER. Mr. President, as In the Senate I am leading the charge I have scoured American history to
the first U.S. Senator to call for the to modernize the law to suit the reality find the precedent of conducting a de-
nomination and confirmation to fill of the digital marketplace of ideas by bate and vote on a Supreme Court
Justice Ginsburg’s seat before the No- introducing the Stopping Big Tech’s nominee during an election, and I
vember 3 election, I am proud to sup- Censorship Act in June to give all haven’t found it. So I just wanted to
port Judge Amy Coney Barrett as Americans a process to bring claims check in on, essentially, what am I
President Trump’s nominee for Asso- against companies when they remove missing? Where is there a precedent for
ciate Justice of the U.S. Supreme or limit constitutionally protected free conducting this debate and this vote
Court, but I am not the only one who is speech. during an election?
proud. Two weeks ago I joined Con- Mrs. LOEFFLER. Thank you for the
Today I introduced a bill to elimi-
cerned Women for America in Mari- question.
nate ambiguous language in section 230
etta, GA, to kick off their nationwide There have been 29 such cases. When,
and to codify the more concrete terms
bus tour in support of Judge Barrett’s in fact, the executive branch and the
recommended by the Department of
confirmation. Dozens attended, includ- Senate are controlled by the same
Justice.
ing men and women from every walk of party, the nomination proceeds, and
In Congress we must act to hold Big
life—families, business owners, policy- that is the case that we are now in, and
Tech accountable, but we also must
makers, faith leaders, and students. we will proceed with the vote and the
have strong judges in our courts who
Judge Barrett has inspired millions nomination.
will uphold the Constitutional rights of Mr. MERKLEY. So thank you to my
of us across our country. She has all Americans. That is why it is con-
reached the pinnacle of her profession, colleague. I think what you are con-
cerning that Democrats are fighting so firming is that never in American his-
while upholding her Christian faith and hard to oppose an eminently qualified
values. She is a wife and a mother of tory have we conducted such a debate
nominee. As retaliation, they have and voted during an election. You have
seven children. She will become the threatened to pack the Court if we fol-
first woman to serve on the Supreme a different precedent argument but not
low clear precedent in filling this seat, a precedent that shows that conducting
Court with school-aged children. attempting to constrain our well de-
Now the majority of Americans in this debate during an election is appro-
signed system of checks and balances. priate.
the most recent Gallup poll agree we Unable to criticize Judge Barrett’s
should vote to confirm her. Mrs. LOEFFLER. The President is
sterling credentials, Democrats have the President for 4 years—for a full 4-
As I have traveled around the Peach resorted to scare tactics, claiming she
State, the enthusiasm and admiration I year term—and we will carry out our
will take away healthcare coverage or Constitutional duty.
hear from Georgians is very clear. advance her own policy views. At her Mr. MERKLEY. I thank my col-
President Trump established a group of confirmation hearing, Judge Barrett league, because, 4 years ago, I was on
highly qualified candidates for the put those leftwing talking points to this floor, and I know you weren’t here
bench. He was transparent and well rest, saying: ‘‘It is never appropriate in the Chamber, and I listened to so
prepared for the moment. It is clear for a judge to impose that judge’s per- many Members of the Senate say that
that he could not have made a better sonal convictions, whether they derive they were establishing a new prece-
nomination. from faith or anywhere else, on the dent—a precedent they felt was a
Judge Barrett is a woman of remark- law.’’ precedent born of deep conviction, pas-
able intellect and character, with the These accusations make clear that sionate conviction, that there should
judicial philosophy of originalism, and, there is little Democrats fear more never be a debate and a vote during an
as a textualist, she understands and re- than strong, conservative women. I election year, not just during the elec-
spects the Court’s role to interpret the know firsthand what it is like to step tion. We are already in the process of
law as written. As such, I believe Judge into public service and then be at- casting ballots, but never in an elec-
Barrett will uphold the Constitution in tacked by the left and the fake news. tion year.
protecting our God-given rights, in- There is a playbook for trying to stop So that also is a precedent set 4 years
cluding the right to life, the Second conservative women and their place in ago that this is overturning; is that not
Amendment, free speech, and religious public service. correct?
liberty. Nonetheless, Judge Barrett has been Mrs. LOEFFLER. No, that is not cor-
The need for judges who will uphold the definition of grace under pressure. rect.
the intent of the Framers is especially At her confirmation hearing, Senator Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, may
clear when the left is showing their dis- GRAHAM asked why she decided to put I respond?
regard for our Constitution. Democrats her family in the spotlight and accept The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
are attempting to change article I and the President’s request to serve. She ator from Georgia has the floor.
trying to federalize the election system said, abridged: Mrs. LOEFFLER. Mr. President, I
through the creation of a national uni- We knew that our lives would be combed will yield the floor to my colleague
versal ballot system, and NANCY PELOSI over for any negative detail. . . . our faith from Wyoming.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
has attempted to politicize and would be caricatured. . . . the benefit . . . is The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
weaponize the 25th Amendment in an- that I’m committed to the rule of law . . . ator from Wyoming.
other desperate move to form a com- and dispensing equal justice for all. Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I
mittee to remove an elected President. Judge Barrett’s commitment to the want to associate myself with every re-
That is why I introduced a resolution rule of law and equal justice are clear mark that we heard from the distin-
condemning the Speaker for her polit- from her writings, decisions, and testi- guished Senator from Georgia. She has
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S6368 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
shown a strong voice and strong leader- Mr. MERKLEY. Let the record note for being a mom, criticized for having
ship in this, and, of course, she knows that my colleague— seven children, and criticized for going
that 29 times, as she was trying to ex- Mr. BARRASSO. And I appreciate to church—criticized for going to
plain before being interrupted, that the remarks of the Senator from Geor- church. There are Democratic can-
there have been vacancies in an elec- gia, and I come to the floor today also didates now running for the U.S. Sen-
tion year of the Supreme Court. It hap- in support of the nomination of Judge ate criticizing her religion or faith in
pened. Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the God. Astonishing.
What we know, historically, if we U.S. Supreme Court. The delay tactics and the defamation
talk about historical precedence, is if I will state that she is terrific. She is has continued. We have seen this be-
the President, asked by the Constitu- so impressive—so exceptionally well fore. The American people saw through
tion—told by the Constitution to nomi- qualified to take on this new responsi- the Democrats’ disturbing attacks on
nate, and if the Senate is of the same bility. Brett Kavanaugh 2 years ago. Ameri-
party as the President, generally, that But the partisanship that she has ex- cans rejected the cheap character as-
person gets confirmed. perienced from Democrats—well, it has sassination. They rejected the low
But on the other hand, if the Presi- predictably backfired on them, cer- road, and now Democrats are leaving
dent who nominates is of a different tainly by the American people. The open the possibility—and I hear this
party than the Senate—which is what majority of Americans of all parties, a from Members of this body—Members
happened in 2016 with Merrick Garland majority of Americans have said get of this body, as well as candidates for
after the Republicans had won the Sen- her confirmed—put her on the Supreme the U.S. Senate. They are leaving open
ate—that nominee, historically, is not Court because that is what they saw the possibility that if they win the
confirmed. That is the history going when they watched the hearings last election, if they take the White House,
through the U.S. Senate confirmations. week—somebody who is ready to serve if they take the Senate, of expanding
The Constitution is clear. The Presi- our Nation and apply the law, not leg- the size of the U.S. Supreme Court—ex-
dent nominates, then advice and con- islate from the Bench. panding the size from 9 to 11 or 13.
sent by the Senate, and we know what This is an important moment in our They haven’t decided yet.
happens there, generally—same party, history. Judge Barrett, the Senate, the The Presidential candidate won’t
consent happens; different parties, di- American people deserved a hearing even announce what his thoughts are
vided government, and that is what that matched the moment and that on it. He won’t say. He won’t tell the
happened in 2016. President Obama was highlighted her qualifications and ca- American people. Oh, wait until after
reelected in 2014, but come 2016, the pabilities. Regrettably, Americans got the election is over. It is just like it
American people voted to put the Re- a weeklong lecture by Democrats was with ObamaCare, first you have to
publican Party in the majority. which turned out to be a partisan info-
So I actually have my dates wrong. It pass it before you get to find out what
mercial on ObamaCare. is in it.
was 2012 that President Obama was re- This is a law that 10 years on, Demo- The size of the Supreme Court has
elected, and in 2014, the majority went crats are still trying to explain to the been nine for 150 years—since 1869.
to the Republican Party. So when a va- American people, still trying to ex- Ruth Bader Ginsburg said nine is the
cancy occurred in 2016, we had, as I plain how many—all these millions and right number. She said to go beyond
stated, the majority—a President of millions of people who lost their health that would be politicizing it. But that
one party and a Senate majority in the insurance, trying to explain millions is what we see happening today with
other, and the nominee, through advice and millions of people whose costs the sorts of threats that we see coming
and consent, was not confirmed. went up—more than doubled.
That is what I am talking about, from the other side of the aisle.
Judge Barrett is very clear and has What do the American people think
when I see this ongoing abuse of the
been clear. She has no agenda for any about that? Well, the New York Times
nominee, whom I had a chance to meet
case, and as a judge she considers each poll this week—58 percent of voters
with today who believes in the Con-
case on the merits. said they are against adding additional
stitution, follows the Constitution, is There is only one real explanation for
true on the Constitution—and that is members to the Supreme Court. How
Democrats’ fixation on ObamaCare many favored? Just 31 percent, but
why the people of Wyoming are so de- during the Supreme Court hearing.
lighted with her nomination and why I they are the liberal activist base of the
They are trying to score political Democratic Party. That is who they
am so happy to support her. But I ap- points, appeal to their far-left base be-
preciate the Senator from Georgia for are. Those are the ones who want to
fore an election. It is shameful. It is a call the tune if they have NANCY
letting me come in a little bit on her scare tactic. PELOSI as Speaker of the House and
time. I am just grateful for her leader- I hear scare tactics and false attacks CHUCK SCHUMER as majority leader and
ship and the strong statement she is on healthcare that frighten people. Joe Biden in the White House.
making on behalf of this very impres- That is not the way we ought to be That is why Joe Biden won’t tell the
sive, well-qualified judge. doing things. They never mentioned
I am really looking forward to voting American people what he plans to do.
that Senate Republicans have voted Let me just get through that Ameri-
to confirm her to the U.S. Supreme
now five times to protect people with cans can rest assured that Republicans
Court.
I apologize to the Senator from Geor- preexisting conditions, including today in the Senate are committed to this
gia if she has additional remarks to on the bill that every one of those nominee. Just as the Senator from
make. Democrats voted against with a tar- Georgia has just said and as I have said
Mr. MERKLEY. To my colleague geted relief plan. There was a compo- and others have said, Republicans in
from Georgia, do you have additional nent in that to make sure that people this body are committed to this nomi-
remarks to make? with preexisting conditions were pro- nee. We will confirm this exceptional
Mrs. LOEFFLER. No, I really don’t. tected and that coronavirus is now list- Justice regardless of the delay tactics,
Mr. MERKLEY. Thank you very ed as a preexisting condition. Every regardless of the seek-and-destroy mis-
much. Democrat voted against adding sion the Democrats have launched. We
To my colleague from Wyoming, coronavirus as a preexisting condition. are going to confirm this exceptional
would you yield for a question? Every Republican today voted in favor. Justice to uphold the law as written.
Mr. BARRASSO. Well, I have some- So Democrats seem to be trying to The Senate will vote, and the Senate
thing to present, and I have the mic at make a standard confirmation process will confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett
this point to speak and I would like to about anything other than the quali- to the U.S. Supreme Court.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
complete that. And I know the Senator fications of an exceptionally qualified With that, I yield the floor.
from Oregon is scheduled to speak after nominee. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
that, so if we could just go in regular The Presiding Officer has seen this, ator from Oregon.
order, Mr. President. and we have talked about this. These Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Regular attacks began before her nomination thank my colleague from Georgia for
order. was even announced. She was criticized yielding to a question. It was not that
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6369
long ago that we actually had con- deductions and those tax subsidies. We Do you know what happens at these
versations and debate on the floor of want to make sure that people of com- rural townhalls? People who are at the
the Senate, and now when we are even munities of color don’t vote. We want local healthcare clinics stand up and
in debate on bills, we don’t have dia- to be able to suppress the vote. How do say: You know, we doubled the size of
logue back and forth. So I appreciate we do that? our healthcare clinic because now our
the Senator attempting to answer my Well, you know, the problem is that very low-income constituents can pay
question about precedent. people who are elected get elected by the bill, so we have been able to hire
Let’s be clear. This is a precedent- the people, and we might be able to in- more people. We have a substance ad-
shattering event. This is not consistent fluence those campaigns some of the diction program now that we didn’t
with the history of the United States. time, but, you know what? There is one have before. We have a mental health
In fact, we have seen a situation institution not subject to the vote of program we didn’t have before. Don’t
where never in our history has any the people—the Court. If we can cor- take that away from us. We really love
President asked for a debate and vote rupt the Court, we, this very small our rural healthcare clinic. We love the
during an election. So that shatters a group of White, wealthy power brokers investment in rural clinics that the
precedent. Never before in our history in America can control this country ACA made. That list goes on and on.
have we had a majority leader agree to and install government by and for the My colleague from Wyoming said
hold a debate and a vote during an powerful, rather than our constitu- that there is this whole scare tactic
election. So that shatters a precedent. tional vision of government by and for about healthcare. Yes, people are
Then there is the President Lincoln the people. So this is a norm-shat- scared, not because we are saying they
precedent in which he deliberately tering, precedent-shattering situation. are scared but because they are calling
said: We are not going to violate the There have only been two real objec- our offices and saying: We are worried.
sanctity of a vote. I don’t want you to tives by the leadership of this body They are saying they are worried be-
debate and vote during an election. over the last 4 years. One was a $2 tril- cause they heard the President of the
Now, Lincoln happened to be a Re- lion tax cut—$2 trillion with a ‘‘t’’— United States say: I am only going to
publican President, but he cared about with virtually all the benefits going to nominate a person who will tear down
the institution. He cared about the the richest Americans. You know, if a the ACA and will strike down Roe v.
Constitution. He cared about the voice thief grabs an orange off a stand, they Wade. Don’t you trust the word of the
of the American people, and so he said President of the United States to do
might go to prison for 6 months or a
the two shouldn’t exist together. what he said? He said it repeatedly. He
loaf of bread, maybe they will get a
Then, of course, there is the McCon- said that was his goal.
couple years. But through this bill, $2 And he said to the Federalist Soci-
nell precedent from 4 years ago, in trillion from the American Treasury
which MCCONNELL came to the floor ety: Go get me nominees who can com-
was given to the richest, most powerful plete my goals. The Federalist Society
and was supported by his caucus and Americans. Well, that is certainly not
said there should never ever be a de- has been at work now for four decades
government by and for the people. That to bias the courts for the wealthy and
bate or a vote of a nominee during an was one objective. powerful. That is what they are all
election year. The other objective was to dismantle
Now, my colleague from Wyoming about. It is about preventing people of
healthcare for ordinary Americans who color from voting. Now it has expanded
just noted, well, he has a new theory aren’t rich and powerful. Let’s tear
about split government and unified to college students. Now it has ex-
down the ACA. Well, in my State, panded to Native American reserva-
government. Well, that theory wasn’t 400,000 Oregonians proceeded to gain tions. Now it has expanded to poor
here on the floor 4 years ago. That healthcare through the expansion of communities.
wasn’t part of the McConnell prece- Medicaid and the ACA, and since Oh, we see the manipulation being
dent. That is called an after-the-fact March, add another 120,000 to that planned on election day because now
justification of an inconsistent posi- list—120,000 more. Why? Because they there is a Court that by 5 to 4 gutted
tion. are losing their jobs. They are losing the Voting Rights Act and allows voter
In fact, so many colleagues across their jobs in this economic implosion intimidation in this country and allows
the aisle came to the floor and said: I caused by the failure to address the voter suppression. So we see the ef-
have this deep and passionate convic- pandemic. forts. You decrease the number of poll-
tion that I want to defend the Con- The people in Oregon—I go to every ing places where you don’t want people
stitution. There should never be a de- county every year. I have a townhall in to vote. You move them so people
bate on a Supreme Court Justice dur- every county, and most of my counties aren’t sure where to go. You understaff
ing an election year. And now every are deep red—as red as anywhere you them so there are long lines in blue dis-
single one of them coming before us is will find in the country. tricts and short lines in red districts.
saying: Well, you know that deep pas- And do you know what? People say: You stick machines in there that don’t
sionate conviction I had 4 years ago? It Healthcare bill of rights, thank God for work so well. Maybe that will slow
was a convenience of political power to that. What are they talking about? things down. You put out messages
make that argument because what I Children can be on their policy until saying ‘‘Thank you for voting last
was really saying is, we, as Repub- age 26. They think that is a step for- week’’ to confuse people when the vote
licans, don’t want to debate a nominee ward. I know because I have been out is actually coming up next week. You
from a Democratic President. We only there every year, and I ask them: Chil- say: Oh, by the way, you can use any
want to debate a nominee from a Re- dren on your policy until age 26, how State ID to vote, but you can’t use a
publican President. many people here like it? These are college ID. This is because they don’t
Well, I am shocked really by the very, very Republican and very, very want college students to vote.
complete lack of integrity. I am conservative rural areas. No, we like You know, I am proud of the Con-
shocked that arguments are being put that. stitution of the United States. I am
forward that were never raised on the Tax credits so lower income families proud of the vision of voter empower-
floor 4 years ago about split govern- can afford to buy health insurance on ment, citizen engagement, and partici-
ment as some justification. I guess I the marketplace? Oh, no, we like that. pation as a foundation for what we do
am not so shocked about the power Having a marketplace where you can in this country. But I have really been
grab involved because it began some 40 compare policies, one to the other? Oh, stunned by the scope of those in this
years ago when a group of very no, no, we like that. Chamber who believe in voter suppres-
wealthy, very White people got to- Having preventive conditions covered sion and intimidation. I am stunned
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
gether and said: We don’t like this vi- because an ounce of prevention is that they don’t share the view of a gov-
sion of government of, by, and for the worth a pound of cure? Oh, yes, we ernment of, by, and for the people be-
people, because, you know, the people think that is a step forward. That is in cause that is the oath of office we took.
kind of like things we don’t want. We these conservative, red districts. It was to our Constitution.
want to rig the tax system so we pay And the expansion of Medicaid? A I am also stunned that it has been 5
very little. We want to get those tax lifesaver. months since the Heroes Act was
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S6370 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 21, 2020
passed in the House, and this body has went to the public schools. My kids the President’s efforts to address the
sat on its hands for 5 months—for 5 went to the same public schools. I can pandemic, and it has produced, there-
months—and now the leader of this tell you that those lost jobs affect fore, an economy that is just a sham-
body says: Mr. President, don’t nego- those who have the least resources to bles.
tiate with Speaker PELOSI. We don’t tide them over. One of the things that ordinary fami-
want to vote on a bill that will really Back in April, 40 percent of the peo- lies face is having their utilities cut
help America. You have the Treasury ple who earned $40,000 or less lost a job. off. We know how essential it is to have
Secretary and the Speaker ready to That was in April. So there is a lot of water, to have electricity, and to have
reach a deal, and the leader of this suffering going on economically, as broadband to get through this. This
body is saying: Don’t do it. For 5 well as in healthcare. We need to do ev- whole crisis has shined a light on the
months, don’t do it. erything in our power to help those importance of broadband. That
I always think of the phrase you hear families weather this storm—not sit on broadband is necessary to apply for em-
growing up: Rome burned while Nero our hands for 5 months and not talk ployment. That broadband is necessary
fiddled. Well, America suffers while the about the emaciated package that was for the school children to go to class.
Senate slumbers under the leadership put on the floor, one that is cutting to That broadband is necessary for the
that says: No vote on a comprehensive a fraction the previous Republican college students to go to class. That
package to help both the healthcare package, which was pretty darn skin- broadband is necessary for every fam-
pandemic and the economic implosion ny. ily to stay in contact with their friends
that is associated with it. We have a responsibility to address and family. That broadband is nec-
There are 220,000-plus Americans who unemployment insurance that has tied essary to follow the national news. It is
lie in the grave because President hard-working blue-collar Americans at the heart of the communications of
Trump refused to have a national through. I know that for many of my America, so cutting it off is unaccept-
strategy on personal protective equip- colleagues, all they want is to rebuild able.
ment, because President Trump refused the economy from the rich down—from Turning off the electricity is unac-
to have a national strategy on testing, Wall Street down. But do you know ceptable. You can’t have a computer or
because President Trump refused to what? That just increases the wealth broadband if electricity is turned off.
have a national strategy on contact and income inequality. Do you know You can’t have light and heat as winter
tracing, and because President Trump how effective those extra unemploy- approaches if it is turned off. Water is
decided to try to continue the polariza- ment checks were in keeping people essential to health. You can’t have
tion of America over the use of masks working and buying products because basic sanitation if you don’t have ac-
and social distancing rather than then other companies were employed cess to water.
bringing America together to fight and they could pay their mortgages, So let’s make sure we protect ordi-
this. they could pay their utilities, they nary families. Let’s make sure they
Now, some say: You know, couldn’t could pay their rent, they could buy have the electricity, they have the
America do just as well as Canada? their groceries, and keep the economy water, and they have the broadband.
Couldn’t we do just as well as our moving? Let’s not let American families be put
neighbor to the north? Don’t we have But the extension of that has been at such risk.
more resources than they have? Don’t blocked by the leadership of this body. Now, yes, there are States and cities
we have more research institutions The leadership of this body, the major- that have taken action and produced
than they have? Can’t we do just as ity party, has refused to invest in that such moratoriums, but aren’t we all
well as the Canadians? national strategy of testing and trac- America together? Instead of a patch-
Well, if we had done as well as the ing, which is essential in every country work of neighborhoods that got some
Canadians, 135,000 fewer Americans that has gotten ahead of the help and protection and ones that
would have died if we had the same coronavirus. They are restoring their didn’t, why don’t we stand together as
deaths per capita as the Canadians. economies. They are supercharging Americans and protect the utilities?
There are 135,000 deaths lying at the their economies because the disease is That is what we should be doing right
doorstep of the Oval Office and this out of the way. They invested in test- now with a robust bill—a robust bill to
Chamber, sitting on its hands for the ing and tracing, but the leadership of address the pandemic and to address
last 5 months—not investing in testing this Chamber has ensured the pan- the economic implosion.
and tracing, not insisting we have an demic gets worse and afflicted our So, Mr. President, as if in legislative
aggressive strategy from the very economy in the process. session, I ask unanimous consent that
start, and working in partnership with It may not matter to rich folks the HELP Committee be discharged
the incompetence of the President to across this country who have seen from further consideration of S. 4362
make the pandemic so much worse for their S&P 500 index go through the and that the Senate proceed to its im-
America. There are so many more peo- roof. Why is it going through the roof? mediate consideration. I ask unani-
ple infected, so many more people Because those companies are replacing mous consent that the bill be consid-
dead, and so many people damaged for the products produced by small busi- ered and read a third time and passed
a lifetime by the experience of being ness across America. Hundreds of thou- and that the motion to reconsider be
sick with coronavirus and then having sands of small businesses have been considered made and laid upon the
lasting side effects. ravaged and destroyed by this lost table.
And what else? Country after country economy. OK, the S&P 500 is doing The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
is putting their economy back together fine; your stock portfolio is doing fine. objection?
because they don’t have coronavirus in But Americans—ordinary Americans The Senator from North Dakota.
any significant numbers anymore—Tai- are not doing fine. Mr. CRAMER. Reserving the right to
wan and South Korea. But as long as The majority in this Chamber did not object, I served as an economic regu-
you have this pandemic, you damage want to increase the Medicaid match- lator of utilities for nearly 10 years be-
the economy. So not only have people ing rate to strengthen healthcare fore coming to Congress. This idea of a
died and people suffered with the ill- across this country. Why is it so impor- moratorium—a national moratorium—
ness and not only will they carry con- tant? Because the States have lost so violates all kinds of things, not the
sequences forward, but the number of many revenues during this downturn, least of which, by the way, seems to me
people who have lost their jobs—that is and in the process, people losing their to be, at the very least, the spirit, if
a big deal. jobs lose their employer-based health not the literal Constitution that my
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Just last week, we saw the highest insurance and, therefore, need to qual- colleague from Oregon says he is so
jump in jobless claims since August ify for Medicaid. On and on, one issue proud of.
with about 900,000 Americans filing for after another—it is an issue of basic de- Remember, the States created the
unemployment. I live in a blue-collar cency and of basic humanity to address Federal Government, not the other
community. I grew up in a blue-collar the challenges Americans are faced way around. As a State regulator of
community. My dad was a mechanic. I with because of the incompetence of natural gas and electric utilities, I saw
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October 21, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6371
from time to time the attempted over- Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, my ments, we can be accountable to the
reach of the Federal Government to colleague not only objected but laid people of the United States of America.
mandate things. It violates the prin- out his thinking on the idea that has So bring back the bill and guarantee
ciples of the Constitution, and it vio- been adopted at local governments that it will get amendments by simple
lates, really, the best practices of across the country, and he said it is un- majority, and let’s have a real debate
States’ rights, of communities’ rights, constitutional. Of course he didn’t because we owe it to the American peo-
of rural electric’s rights because it as- bother to actually check to see if it ple.
sumes that somehow we here in these was unconstitutional because, no, it is Let’s bring the Heroes Act to the
Chambers know better than the utility not. If it was, it would have been ended floor—the one that has been trapped
regulators who are appointed by Gov- in all of those places at the State and for 5 months. Amend the hell out of it
ernors—the ones who are elected, like I local levels where it had been done. So if you want, but at least you are taking
was—the municipalities that set the much for that false argument. votes to be accountable to the people of
rates for water and sewer; that some- He brings in his experience as a regu- the United States of America. At least
how we are better equipped to make lator, but it might be helpful to actu- we are having a debate—a debate—in
the decisions for a local utility and, ally check the lawbooks before making front of Americans about what works
yes, their consumers; that somehow we a spurious argument. and what doesn’t. We need more of that
are better at doing that. It makes no Then he says: You know, a morato- in this Chamber. We need a bipartisan
sense. In fact, it would be very harmful rium would hurt ordinary families. consensus that will restore the ability
to the very consumers the Senator Well, try talking to an ordinary fam- of Senators to amend.
from Oregon says he wants to look out ily. An ordinary family says: You know It is not that long ago that in this
for. what, I lost my job because of the eco- Chamber, amendments were common
Let’s just take some examples. Utili- nomic collapse. We have an economic and blockades were rare. That was a
ties are not capitalized to provide serv- collapse because of the failure to ad- functioning legislative body. That ben-
ices for free. That is what this bill dress coronavirus, and now you are efits every single Member. I can’t tell
would do. And guess what happens to a telling me it is good for me if I lose my you how many Members on both sides
regulated utility, an investor-owned electricity and my water while I try to of the aisle say that we need to restore
utility, when something like this hap- help my kids get through this year the vision of a functioning legislative
pens, when the Federal Government when they can’t attend class or school body.
throws a wrench into their local rate and they have to do it at home. But I want to do amendments. Let’s re-
structure. Well, somebody eventually you are OK having my electricity store that vision. Let’s work together
has to pay for that. And guess how the turned off. to restore that vision for the better-
money is raised to pay for the morato- That is hardly helping the families ment of this Chamber but certainly for
rium? The rates go up. They have to. get through this. I must say, it rep- the betterment of America. And one
That is how rate structure is designed. resents an awareness that is so distant idea that should be considered is pro-
If you are a utility—let’s say a rural from the experience of ordinary Ameri- tecting Americans from having their
electric cooperative or a rural tele- cans as to confound the mind and real- utilities cut off until we are on the far
phone cooperative that is providing ly challenge the heart. side of this crisis.
broadband—that is even better yet be- My colleague notes that, my good- Thank you.
cause it is actually the consumers who ness, the utilities have expenses. Yes, The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
are the board of directors. It is the which is exactly why I have proposed CRAMER). The Senator from Wyoming.
most direct experiment of self-govern- that we compensate those utilities for f
ance that we have. those expenses. So why don’t we have
this bill on the floor, and then we can MORNING BUSINESS
So let’s please leave the regulation to
the locals and to the States. If there is actually have the arguments and get
a need for a moratorium or a design for the facts out about it? ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
some different structure, they can do it My colleague said: I have these argu-
ments—arguments I have just noted Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, section
in concert with the consumers, the reg-
and disagree with, but at least we are 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act
ulators, and, of course, the utilities in
having a debate, which is rare in this requires that Congress receive prior no-
a way that does the least harm. That
Chamber. So let’s have this bill on the tification of certain proposed arms
makes all the sense in the world.
But here is, in my mind, the richest floor, and let’s have everyone bring sales as defined by that statute. Upon
irony of this moment. The Senator their experiences to bear, and let’s such notification, the Congress has 30
from Oregon talked about the high un- open it to amendment. calendar days during which the sale
employment rate, the large unemploy- My colleague noted that there are may be reviewed. The provision stipu-
ment numbers. Just today we had the piecemeal items that the majority lates that, in the Senate, the notifica-
opportunity on this floor, when Repub- leader brought forward because there is tion of proposed sales shall be sent to
licans brought a bill that would have an election in a couple of weeks. He the chairman of the Senate Foreign
provided $300 a week of federally fund- didn’t say ‘‘because there is an election Relations Committee.
ed supplement to unemployment insur- in a couple of weeks,’’ but that is why In keeping with the committee’s in-
ance benefits to those unemployed peo- they were brought forward. That is my tention to see that relevant informa-
ple—$300 a week—do you know how opinion. I would have been fine bring- tion is available to the full Senate, I
many utility bills that would have ing those to the floor if they were open ask unanimous consent to have printed
helped pay without disrupting the util- to amendment, but, no, they were a po- in the RECORD the notifications which
litical stunt. It is, here is our version have been received. If the cover letter
ities’ rate structure? Just today we had
we want to vote on so we can do a cam- references a classified annex, then such
that moment, and the Senator from Or-
paign commercial, but we are not going annex is available to all Senators in
egon and every one of his Democratic
to let there actually be a debate, a pos- the office of the Foreign Relations
colleagues voted against it—not for the
sible amendment. The Senate might Committee, room SD–423.
first time, by the way, but for the sec-
actually legislate? We haven’t done There being no objection, the mate-
ond time. And here we are tonight
that in years. Why would we start now? rial was be printed in the RECORD, as
coming up with a piecemeal solution
Because that is the vision of our Con- follows:
when the more comprehensive one was
rejected. stitution, that there actually be de- DEFENSE SECURITY
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
bates on this floor; that we actually COOPERATION AGENCY,
So for those reasons and several oth-
Arlington, VA.
ers I could think of, but the hour is allow relevant amendments to have a
Hon. JAMES E. RISCH,
getting late, I object. majority vote and be considered so Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations,
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- that the collective interaction of Mem- U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
jection is heard. bers can produce a better outcome for DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Pursuant to the re-
The Senator from Oregon. America. By voting on those amend- porting requirements of Section 36(b)(1) of
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