Congressional Record — Senate, November 12, 2020, Page S6666
Summary
Congressional Record, Senate, November 12, 2020, page S6666. Mr. MCCONNELL moves to proceed to executive session, and cloture motions are filed on the nominations of Toby Crouse to be United States District Judge for the District of Kansas, Taylor B. McNeel for the Southern District of Mississippi, and Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for the Middle District of Florida. Under the heading CORONAVIRUS, Mr. CORNYN says that early data from Pfizer's vaccine trial show more than 90 percent effectiveness. Later remarks concern semiconductor manufacturing and legislation on child sexual abuse.
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“Congressional Record — Senate, November 12, 2020, Page S6666.”
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S6666 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 12, 2020
CLOTURE MOTION EXECUTIVE SESSION CLOTURE MOTION
We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby
move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- move to bring to a close debate on the nomi-
nation of Toby Crouse, of Kansas, to be Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, nation of Taylor B. McNeel, of Mississippi, to
United States District Judge for the District I move to proceed to executive session be United States District Judge for the
of Kansas. to consider Calendar No. 894. Southern District of Mississippi.
Mitch McConnell, James E. Risch, Joni The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mitch McConnell, Mike Crapo, Tom Cot-
Ernst, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Crapo, question is on agreeing to the motion. ton, David Perdue, Mike Rounds, Pat
James Lankford, Thom Tillis, Roy The motion was agreed to. Roberts, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Kevin
Blunt, Roger F. Wicker, Pat Roberts, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Cramer, Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis,
Mike Rounds, John Cornyn, John Tim Scott, James E. Risch, Michael B.
clerk will report the nomination. Enzi, John Cornyn, Roger F. Wicker,
Hoeven, Jerry Moran, Lamar Alex-
ander, Mike Braun, David Perdue. The senior assistant legislative clerk John Thune, John Boozman.
read the nomination of Kathryn
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
f Kimball Mizelle, of Florida, to be
ator from Texas.
United States District Judge for the
CORONAVIRUS
LEGISLATIVE SESSION Middle District of Florida.
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, the
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, CLOTURE MOTION
world is celebrating major develop-
I move to proceed to legislative ses- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, ments in the global race for a vaccine.
sion. I send a cloture motion to the desk. All year, since this pandemic hit, our
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- greatest scientific minds have been
question is on agreeing to the motion. ture motion having been presented working around the clock to develop a
The motion was agreed to. under rule XXII, the Chair directs the vaccine that will finally bring the pan-
clerk to read the motion. demic and the crisis associated with it
f The senior assistant legislative clerk to an end. Researchers are testing doz-
read as follows: ens of vaccines in the hope of finding at
EXECUTIVE SESSION CLOTURE MOTION least one that can stop the spread of
We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- the virus, which has claimed more than
ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the 1.2 million lives worldwide and nearly
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby 240,000 here in the United States alone.
move to bring to a close debate on the nomi-
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, Early data from Pfizer’s vaccine trial
nation of Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, of Flor-
I move to proceed to executive session ida, to be United States District Judge for gives us a lot of reasons to be hopeful
to consider Calendar No. 566. the Middle District of Florida. when the company announced on Mon-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Mike day that its vaccine was more than 90
question is on agreeing to the motion. Crapo, Shelley Moore Capito, John Cor- percent effective in preventing the dis-
The motion was agreed to. nyn, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Steve Daines, ease. For reference, standard flu vac-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, Thom Tillis, cines for the seasonal flu are typically
clerk will report the nomination. Richard Burr, Pat Roberts, Cory Gard- 40 to 60 percent effective, so 90 percent
ner, Tom Cotton, John Boozman, John
The senior assistant legislative clerk is a big deal. This breakthrough is a
Hoeven, Lindsey Graham.
read the nomination of Stephen A. testament to the ingenuity and the
Vaden, of Tennessee, to be a Judge of f near-universal commitment to trying
the United States Court of Inter- LEGISLATIVE SESSION to find a vaccine that will eliminate
national Trade. the threat of this pandemic, and it is a
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, sign of hope for all people around the
CLOTURE MOTION
I move to proceed to legislative ses- world.
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, sion.
I send a cloture motion to the desk. Later this month, once Pfizer has
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The collected the recommended 2 months of
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- question is on agreeing to the motion.
ture motion having been presented safety data, the company plans to re-
The motion was agreed to. quest emergency authorization for the
under rule XXII, the Chair directs the
clerk to read the motion. f vaccine from the Food and Drug Ad-
The senior assistant legislative clerk EXECUTIVE SESSION ministration. By the end of the year, it
read as follows: will have manufactured enough doses
CLOTURE MOTION
to immunize 15 to 20 million people.
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Congress has made tremendous invest-
We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
ments in the development of thera-
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, peutics and of vaccines through the
Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby I move to proceed to executive session
move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- CARES Act, and I am incredibly proud
nation of Stephen A. Vaden, of Tennessee, to
to consider Calendar No. 893. of the men and women who have led
be a Judge of the United States Court of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The this fight on the frontlines, including
International Trade. question is on agreeing to the motion. in my State of Texas.
Mitch McConnell, Cindy Hyde-Smith, The motion was agreed to. During preclinical trials over the
Thom Tillis, John Thune, Mike Crapo, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The summer, scientists at the Texas Bio-
Mike Rounds, Steve Daines, Kevin clerk will report the nomination. medical Research Institute in San An-
Cramer, Richard Burr, John Cornyn, The senior assistant legislative clerk
Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young, tonio tested the Pfizer vaccine on mon-
read the nomination of Taylor B. keys, with impressive results. Dr.
John Boozman, David Perdue, James E.
Risch, Lindsey Graham, Roger F.
McNeel, of Mississippi, to be United Deepak Kaushal, who oversaw the
Wicker. States District Judge for the Southern study, said they saw a 100-percent pro-
District of Mississippi. tection rate in the monkeys that were
f CLOTURE MOTION given the Pfizer vaccine.
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, Once it was ready for human trials,
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
LEGISLATIVE SESSION I send a cloture motion to the desk. hundreds of Texans volunteered to be
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- vaccinated. Nearly 200 patients from
I move to proceed to legislative ses- ture motion having been presented Austin have participated in the study.
sion. under rule XXII, the Chair directs the The University of Texas Medical
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk to read the motion. Branch at Galveston has enrolled more
question is on agreeing to the motion. The senior assistant legislative clerk than 500 participants at its three sites
The motion was agreed to. read as follows: in Galveston, League City, and Clear
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November 12, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6667
Lake City, and hundreds more in the our cell phones to the advanced weap- competitiveness, and it will be one of
Dallas-Forth Worth area have volun- ons systems that support our national my top priorities in the coming weeks
teered to be part of the trial. security and defense. Yet, for all of the as the Senate prepares to consider ap-
One of those Texans is a woman ways our dependence on products that propriations bills.
named Andrea Lucia, who received her use semiconductors has grown, so has It is no longer possible for us just to
first dose of the vaccine from a clinic our vulnerability, because the U.S. pro- leave this sort of laissez-faire free mar-
in Keller, TX, in late September and duction of these chips has declined over ket economics. Our competitors—nota-
returned for the second dose 3 weeks the last two decades. It will come as no bly, Communist China—are investing
later. Like other volunteers in a dou- surprise that other countries have billions of dollars in everything from
ble-blind study, where half gets a pla- stepped in to fill the void. 5G to artificial intelligence, to quan-
cebo and the other half gets the vac- China has gone from manufacturing tum computers. They don’t have to go
cine, Andrea doesn’t know if she re- zero semiconductors to manufacturing through a democratic or constitutional
ceived the vaccine or not, but every 16 percent of the world’s supply. You process like we do in order to appro-
week, she is asked if she has any symp- can bet it doesn’t plan to stop there. priate money for that purpose.
toms. Andrea said she will have occa- China is preparing to invest another I just think it is time for us to
sional followup appointments over the $1.4 trillion in semiconductor tech- rethink and maybe reset the way we
next year and a half, and once the vac- nologies. If you are looking for a rea- view our vulnerabilities and our need
cine becomes publicly available, she son that this is so dangerous, just look to be competitive and, indeed, to win
will find out if she received it already at the personal protective equipment that competition with countries like
through the clinical trials. shortages we faced at the start of this Communist China, which do not play
I thank Andrea and the thousands of pandemic. The need was so high that by the same set of rules as we do.
men and women like her who have vol- hospitals asked the public to help boost Before the end of the year, I also
unteered to test these vaccines in the their supplies. They took donations hope we can get another piece of legis-
ongoing clinical trials. They have from folks who had extra boxes of N95 lation across the finish line called the
risked their own health to ensure the masks in their garages, and they took Jenna Quinn Law, which is the ulti-
world can access a safe and effective gloves from salons that had closed mate example of noncontroversial, con-
vaccine as quickly as possible and, of their doors to help in the mitigation ef- sensus legislation. Senator HASSAN of
course, subject to the determination by forts. New Hampshire is my partner on this
the Food and Drug Administration We didn’t reach that point because of
particular bill. It is named for an in-
that it is safe and effective. there being a lack of preparation by
spiring Texan who is one of more than
Of course, none of this would be pos- hospitals but, rather, because of our re-
42 million adult survivors of child sex-
sible without the brilliant researchers, liance—our dependence, if you will—on
ual abuse nationwide. Sadly, these vic-
scientists, doctors, and nurses who other countries, notably China, to
tims often stay silent for months,
sprinted at full speed in the race for produce this medical gear. It has been
years, or some for even a lifetime, and
this vaccine for months on end. Amer- a wake-up call and a reminder that we
as a result, they and countless other
ica is proud of their heroic work, and need to take action today to protect
victims continue to be subjected to
we will keep cheering them on and sup- our most critical supply chains from
abuse.
porting their work as the race for a similar vulnerabilities. If we are going
vaccine continues. Jenna has devoted her life to inter-
to regain lost ground in semiconductor
rupting this cycle. She was the driving
END-OF-YEAR PRIORITIES manufacturing, it is going to require a
force behind a State law in Texas
Madam President, finally, while the strategic investment by the Federal
which requires training for teachers
election updates have dominated head- Government.
That is where the legislation I intro- and caregivers and other adults who
lines over the last week or so, the work
duced with our colleague, the senior work with children on how to prevent,
of the 116th Congress is far from being
Senator from Virginia, Senator WAR- recognize, and report child sexual
finished.
As I mentioned yesterday, my top NER, comes in, which is called the abuse. The signs of child sexual abuse
priority is to pass another coronavirus CHIPS for America Act. It creates a are unique from other forms of child
relief package. We need to ensure that Federal incentive program, through abuse, and correctly identifying these
our researchers and scientists have the the Department of Commerce, to en- signs is integral to bringing children
resources they need to continue to courage semiconductor manufacturing out of an abusive situation.
make progress on the therapeutics and in the United States. This will, we After our State law passed in 2009,
eventual vaccine and the money and hope, help to stimulate domestic ad- one study found educators reported
the logistical organization needed to vanced semiconductor manufacturing child sexual abuse at a rate almost four
deploy the vaccine once it is finally ap- and boost both our national security times greater after training than they
proved. I suspect that there will not and our global economic competitive- did before training. It was one of the
just be one vaccine but, hopefully, mul- ness. first child sexual abuse prevention laws
tiple vaccines available. We worked hand in glove with Sen- in the United States to mandate such
We also need to make sure that our ator COTTON from Arkansas and with training, and now more than half of the
ongoing economic recovery keeps Senator SCHUMER, the Democratic States have adopted some form of
trending in the right direction. leader, in drafting an amendment that Jenna’s Law.
While addressing this pandemic was adopted by the whole Senate by a Well, you might ask, if the States are
should be our top priority, we can’t vote of 96 to 4 in the national defense passing these laws, why would we need
take our eyes off of other threats. Over authorization bill. So, as you can see, to pass one here at the Federal level?
the last few months, I have been work- this is a priority for both the Repub- Many States that have required train-
ing with a bipartisan group of Senators licans and the Democrats in the House ing simply don’t have funding for these
and others in the House to advance leg- and in the Senate, and I am optimistic programs. The Jenna Quinn law, when
islation to address our vulnerabilities that it will head to the President’s we pass it out of the House and it is
in one of our most critical supply desk with the full National Defense Au- signed by the President, will change
chains. This is one of the most signifi- thorization Act in the coming weeks. that. It will allow the Department of
cant lessons this virus has taught us— Yet this just means we are halfway Health and Human Services to make
the vulnerability of some critical sup- grants to be used for specialized train-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
there.
ply chains. One of those is for semi- The next step is funding. I am work- ing for students, teachers, and care-
conductors. ing with colleagues on both sides to en- givers to learn how to identify, safely
Regardless of how much the average sure we can provide the full funding for report, and hopefully prevent future
consumer knows about semiconduc- this legislation and finally restore child sexual abuse. It encourages
tors, these chips, these integrated cir- American leadership in semiconductor States without similar laws to imple-
cuits, are everywhere. They are in the manufacturing. This is key to our long- ment innovative programs to address
technology for everything, including term national security and economic child sexual abuse.
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