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Additional Cosponsors (Cong. Rec., Dec. 17, 2020)

Summary

This is S7590 of the Congressional Record, Senate, December 17, 2020, with interleaved columns. The page lists introduced bills and resolutions from S. 5042 to S. 5062, including S. 5042, a bill to require high-ranking officers to provide adequate disclosure of debts, S. 5044, a bill to establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans, and S. 5054, a bill to prevent the uploading of pornographic images to online platforms without consent. S. Res. 804 expresses the sense of the Senate on free trade agreement negotiations with Taiwan, and S. Res. 805 provides for staff transition for a Senator and was considered and agreed to. The page then lists additional cosponsors for bills such as S. 695, S. 776 and S. 883.

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Cite this document

“Additional Cosponsors (Cong. Rec., Dec. 17, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-12-17-crec-2020-12-17-pt1-pgs7590-2-1b2f17a49d/, SHA-256 437d94104fa4b44a65d70044cfcd0a6be9a75468cb46ed98bcd3e1ef4a45013b.

Full text

                                             S7590                                             CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE                                                    December 17, 2020
                                                   By Mr. WYDEN:                                            By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr.               S. Res. 804. A resolution expressing the
                                               S. 5042. A bill to amend the Ethics in Gov-                   SASSE):                                        sense of the Senate that the United States
                                             ernment Act of 1978 to require high-ranking               S. 5054. A bill to prevent the uploading of          should initiate negotiations to enter into a
                                             officers to provide adequate disclosure of              pornographic images to online platforms                free trade agreement with Taiwan; to the
                                             debts; to the Committee on Homeland Secu-               without the consent of the individuals in the          Committee on Finance.
                                             rity and Governmental Affairs.                          images; to the Committee on Commerce,                        By Mr. BLUNT:
                                                   By Ms. SINEMA (for Mrs. FISCHER                   Science, and Transportation.                             S. Res. 805. A resolution providing for staff
                                                     (for herself and Ms. SINEMA)):                         By Ms. CORTEZ MASTO:                            transition for a Senator if the results of the
                                               S. 5043. A bill to require the Federal Trade            S. 5055. A bill to protect immigrant fami-           election for an additional term of office of
                                             Commission and the Secretary of Commerce                lies, combat fraud, promote citizenship, and           the Senator have not been certified; consid-
                                             to conduct studies and submit reports on the            build community trust, and for other pur-              ered and agreed to.
                                             impact of artificial intelligence and other             poses; to the Committee on the Judiciary.                              f
                                             technologies on United States businesses                       By Mr. MERKLEY:
                                             conducting interstate commerce, and for                   S. 5056. A bill to require the Administrator                ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS
                                             other purposes; to the Committee on Com-                of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
                                                                                                                                                                                 S. 695
                                             merce, Science, and Transportation.                     ministration to provide for ocean-based cli-
                                                   By Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr.                 mate solutions to reduce carbon emissions                At the request of Mr. SASSE, the
                                                     THUNE):                                         and global warming, to make coastal com-               name of the Senator from Louisiana
                                               S. 5044. A bill to amend title XVIII of the           munities more resilient, and to provide for            (Mr. KENNEDY) was added as a cospon-
                                             Social Security Act to establish require-               the conservation and restoration of ocean              sor of S. 695, a bill to amend the Ele-
                                             ments with respect to the use of prior au-              and coastal habitats, biodiversity, and ma-            mentary and Secondary Education Act
                                             thorization under Medicare Advantage plans,             rine mammal and fish populations, and for
                                             and for other purposes; to the Committee on
                                                                                                                                                            of 1965 to allow parents of eligible mili-
                                                                                                     other purposes; to the Committee on Com-               tary dependent children to establish
                                             Finance.                                                merce, Science, and Transportation.
                                                   By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and                         By Mr. PAUL:
                                                                                                                                                            Military Education Savings Accounts,
                                                     Mr. ALEXANDER):                                   S. 5057. A bill to permit voluntary eco-             and for other purposes.
                                               S. 5045. A bill to amend the Internal Rev-            nomic activity; to the Committee on the Ju-                                 S. 776
                                             enue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retire-              diciary.                                                 At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                             ment Income Security Act of 1974 to reform                     By Mr. PAUL:
                                             the treatment of multiemployer plans, to en-                                                                   name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                                                                                       S. 5058. A bill to repeal the limitations on
                                             sure the ability of the Pension Benefit Guar-                                                                  776, a bill to amend the Radiation Ex-
                                                                                                     multiple ownership of radio and television
                                             anty Corporation to provide guaranteed ben-             stations imposed by the Federal Communica-             posure Compensation Act for purposes
                                             efits of retirees, and for other purposes; to           tions Commission, to prohibit the Federal              of making claims under such Act based
                                             the Committee on Finance.                               Communications Commission from limiting                on exposure to atmospheric nuclear
                                                   By Mr. BARRASSO (for Mrs. FISCH-                  common ownership of daily newspapers and               testing, and for other purposes.
                                                     ER):                                            full-power broadcast stations, and for other                                S. 883
                                               S. 5046. A bill to amend the Consolidated             purposes; to the Committee on the Judici-
                                             Farm and Rural Development Act to author-                                                                        At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                                                                     ary.
                                             ize the contracting of functions under the                                                                     name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                                                                                            By Mr. MURPHY:
                                             Rural Business Investment Program, and for                S. 5059. A bill to amend chapter 22 of title         883, a bill to provide for the
                                             other purposes; to the Committee on Agri-               44, United States Code, to ensure Presi-               unencumbering of title to non-Federal
                                             culture, Nutrition, and Forestry.                       dential records are preserved, duly created            land owned by Win Oil Company, Inc.,
                                                   By Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms.                 when non-official electronic messaging ac-             for purposes of economic development
                                                     ERNST):                                         counts are used, and made available to the
                                               S. 5047. A bill to require automatic sealing                                                                 by removing the Federal reversionary
                                                                                                     public and the next administration in a                interest in the land, and for other pur-
                                             of certain criminal records, and for other
                                                                                                     timely fashion to advance national security
                                             purposes; to the Committee on the Judici-                                                                      poses.
                                                                                                     and accountability, and for other purposes;
                                             ary.                                                                                                                               S. 1783
                                                                                                     to the Committee on Homeland Security and
                                                   By Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr.                                                                             At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                                                                     Governmental Affairs.
                                                     BROWN, and Mr. MANCHIN):
                                               S. 5048. A bill to improve compliance with                   By Mr. MURPHY:                                  name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                             mine safety and health laws, empower min-                 S. 5060. A bill to provide for the establish-        1783, a bill to establish responsibility
                                             ers to raise safety concerns, and prevent fu-           ment of the Office for Access to Justice in            for the International Outfall Inter-
                                             ture mine tragedies, and for other purposes;            the Department of Justice, and for other               ceptor.
                                             to the Committee on Health, Education,                  purposes; to the Committee on the Judici-
                                                                                                                                                                                S. 1849
                                             Labor, and Pensions.                                    ary.
                                                                                                            By Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and                 At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                   By Mr. CASEY:
                                               S. 5049. A bill to require reviews of United                  Mr. KAINE):                                    name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                             States investment in foreign countries that               S. 5061. A bill to authorize a grant program         1849, a bill to provide flexibility and
                                             may threaten national critical capabilities             for the development and implementation of              improve the effectiveness of the Four
                                             and to improve the use of authorities under             housing supply and affordability plans, and            Forests Restoration Initiative in the
                                             the Defense Production Act of 1950, and for             for other purposes; to the Committee on
                                                                                                     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
                                                                                                                                                            State of Arizona.
                                             other purposes; to the Committee on Bank-                                                                                          S. 2006
                                             ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs.                               By Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr.
                                                   By Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and                         BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and                 At the request of Mr. MENENDEZ, the
                                                     Ms. ERNST):                                             Mr. SCHATZ):                                   name of the Senator from Hawaii (Ms.
                                               S. 5050. A bill to amend the Farm Security              S. 5062. A bill to protect the rights of col-        HIRONO) was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                             and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to provide             lege athletes and to establish the Commis-             2006, a bill to amend title 18, United
                                             grants for deployment of renewable fuel in-             sion on College Athletics, and for other pur-
                                                                                                                                                            States Code, to prohibit certain con-
                                             frastructure, and for other purposes; to the            poses; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
                                                                                                                                                            duct relating to the use of horses for
                                             Committee on Energy and Natural Re-                                      f                                     human consumption.
                                             sources.
                                                   By Mr. CRAPO (for himself, Mr. BEN-               SUBMISSION OF CONCURRENT AND                                               S. 2044
                                                     NET, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina,                      SENATE RESOLUTIONS                                At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                     and Mr. CARDIN):                                  The following concurrent resolutions                 name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                               S. 5051. A bill to amend title XVIII of the           and Senate resolutions were read, and                  2044, a bill to amend the Omnibus Pub-
                                             Social Security Act to provide for Medicare                                                                    lic Land Management Act of 2009 to es-
                                             coverage of multi-cancer early detection
                                                                                                     referred (or acted upon), as indicated:
                                             screening tests; to the Committee on Fi-                       By Mr. TOOMEY (for himself, Mr. COT-            tablish an Aging Infrastructure Ac-
                                             nance.                                                          TON, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. CRAMER, Mr.             count, to amend the Reclamation Safe-
                                                   By Mr. COONS:                                             HOEVEN, Mr. YOUNG, Mrs. HYDE-                  ty of Dams Act of 1978 to provide addi-
                                               S. 5052. A bill to increase fairness and                      SMITH, Mr. SASSE, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs.             tional funds under that Act, to estab-




dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
                                             transparency in algorithmic eligibility de-                     BLACKBURN,     Mr.   BOOZMAN,   Mr.            lish a review of flood control rule
                                             terminations; to the Committee on Com-                          WICKER, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. TILLIS, Mr.             curves pilot project within the Bureau
                                             merce, Science, and Transportation.                             JOHNSON, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. INHOFE, Mr.
                                                                                                                                                            of Reclamation, and for other purposes.
                                                   By Mr. BLUMENTHAL:                                        KENNEDY, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. BRAUN,
                                               S. 5053. A bill to improve the management                     Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr.                                   S. 2365
                                             of forage fish; to the Committee on Com-                        ROUNDS, Mr. DAINES, Mr. BARRASSO,                At the request of Mr. UDALL, the
                                             merce, Science, and Transportation.                             Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. LEE):                     name of the Senator from Arizona (Mr.



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                                             December 17, 2020                                 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE                                                                S7591
                                             KELLY) was added as a cosponsor of S.                   National Park in the State of Arizona                  KELLY) was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                             2365, a bill to amend the Indian Health                 as a unit of the National Park System,                 4258, a bill to establish a grant program
                                             Care Improvement Act to authorize                       and for other purposes.                                for small live venue operators and tal-
                                             urban Indian organizations to enter                                            S. 3156                         ent representatives.
                                             into arrangements for the sharing of                      At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                                       S. 4461
                                             medical services and facilities, and for                name was added as a cosponsor of S.                      At the request of Mr. LANKFORD, the
                                             other purposes.                                         3156, a bill to authorize the Secretary                name of the Senator from Iowa (Ms.
                                                                    S. 2390                          of the Interior to establish the January               ERNST) was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                               At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the                     8th National Memorial in Tucson, Ari-                  4461, a bill to provide for a period of
                                             name of the Senator from Minnesota                      zona, as an affiliated area of the Na-                 continuing appropriations in the event
                                             (Ms. SMITH) was added as a cosponsor                    tional Park System, and for other pur-                 of a lapse in appropriations under the
                                             of S. 2390, a bill to prohibit the imposi-              poses.                                                 normal appropriations process, and es-
                                             tion of the death penalty for any viola-                                       S. 3353                         tablish procedures and consequences in
                                             tion of Federal law, and for other pur-                   At the request of Mr. CASSIDY, the                   the event of a failure to enact appro-
                                             poses.                                                  name of the Senator from Texas (Mr.                    priations.
                                                                    S. 2419
                                                                                                     CORNYN) was added as a cosponsor of S.                                   S. 4486
                                                                                                     3353, a bill to amend title XVIII of the                 At the request of Ms. SMITH, the
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                                                                     Social Security Act to provide for ex-                 names of the Senator from Oregon (Mr.
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                                                                                     tended months of Medicare coverage of                  MERKLEY) and the Senator from Michi-
                                             2419, a bill to provide for the convey-
                                                                                                     immunosuppressive drugs for kidney                     gan (Ms. STABENOW) were added as co-
                                             ance of a small parcel of Coconino Na-
                                                                                                     transplant patients, and for other pur-                sponsors of S. 4486, a bill to establish
                                             tional Forest land in the State of Ari-
                                                                                                     poses.                                                 an interactive online dashboard to
                                             zona.
                                                                                                                            S. 3471
                                                                    S. 2666                                                                                 allow the public to review information
                                                                                                       At the request of Mr. RUBIO, the                     for Federal grant funding related to
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                      name of the Senator from Minnesota
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.                                                                            mental health programs.
                                                                                                     (Ms. SMITH) was added as a cosponsor                                     S. 4569
                                             2666, a bill to promote the development                 of S. 3471, a bill to ensure that goods
                                             of renewable energy on public land, and                                                                          At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                                                                     made with forced labor in the Xinjiang                 name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                             for other purposes.                                     Uyghur Autonomous Region of the
                                                                    S. 2795
                                                                                                                                                            4569, a bill to modify the boundary of
                                                                                                     People’s Republic of China do not enter
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                                                                             the Sunset Crater Volcano National
                                                                                                     the United States market, and for
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.                                                                            Monument in the State of Arizona, and
                                                                                                     other purposes.
                                             2795, a bill to designate the commu-                                                                           for other purposes.
                                                                                                                            S. 3657
                                                                                                                                                                              S. 4757
                                             nity-based outpatient clinic of the De-                   At the request of Mr. CASEY, the
                                             partment of Veterans Affairs in Gil-                                                                             At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the
                                                                                                     names of the Senator from Ohio (Mr.
                                             bert, Arizona, as the ‘‘Staff Sergeant                                                                         names of the Senator from Rhode Is-
                                                                                                     BROWN), the Senator from Nevada (Ms.
                                             Alexander W. Conrad Veterans Affairs                                                                           land (Mr. REED), the Senator from Or-
                                                                                                     ROSEN), the Senator from New York
                                             Health Care Clinic’’.                                   (Mrs. GILLIBRAND), the Senator from                    egon (Mr. MERKLEY) and the Senator
                                                                    S. 2898                          New Hampshire (Mrs. SHAHEEN), the                      from California (Ms. HARRIS) were
                                                                                                     Senator from Wisconsin (Ms. BALDWIN)                   added as cosponsors of S. 4757, a bill to
                                               At the request of Mr. INHOFE, the
                                                                                                     and the Senator from Iowa (Mr. GRASS-                  amend the Animal Welfare Act to es-
                                             name of the Senator from Arizona (Mr.
                                                                                                     LEY) were added as cosponsors of S.
                                                                                                                                                            tablish additional requirements for
                                             KELLY) was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                                                                                     3657, a bill to provide for the coverage               dealers, and for other purposes.
                                             2898, a bill to amend title 5, United
                                                                                                                                                                              S. 4922
                                             States Code, to provide for a full annu-                of medically necessary food and vita-
                                             ity supplement for certain air traffic                  mins and individual amino acids for di-                  At the request of Ms. SINEMA, the
                                             controllers.                                            gestive and inherited metabolic dis-                   name of the Senator from North Da-
                                                                                                     orders under Federal health programs                   kota (Mr. CRAMER) was added as a co-
                                                                    S. 2912
                                                                                                     and private health insurance, and for                  sponsor of S. 4922, a bill to expand and
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his
                                                                                                     other purposes.                                        enhance programs and activities of the
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                                                                                                            S. 3763                         Department of Defense for prevention
                                             2912, a bill to direct the Secretary of
                                                                                                       At the request of Mr. CASEY, the                     of and response to domestic violence
                                             the Interior to take certain land lo-
                                                                                                     name of the Senator from Ohio (Mr.                     and child abuse and neglect among
                                             cated in Pinal County, Arizona, into
                                                                                                     BROWN) was added as a cosponsor of S.                  military families, and for other pur-
                                             trust for the benefit of the Gila River
                                                                                                     3763, a bill to establish the Pandemic                 poses.
                                             Indian Community, and for other pur-
                                                                                                     Responder Service Award program to                                       S. 4949
                                             poses.
                                                                                                     express our gratitude to front-line                      At the request of Mr. TOOMEY, the
                                                                    S. 3022
                                                                                                     health care workers.                                   names of the Senator from New Jersey
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                                                                             (Mr. MENENDEZ), the Senator from Ari-
                                                                                                                            S. 4012
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.                                                                            zona (Ms. SINEMA) and the Senator
                                                                                                       At the request of Mr. WICKER, the
                                             3022, a bill to establish a pilot program                                                                      from Wisconsin (Ms. BALDWIN) were
                                                                                                     name of the Senator from Arizona (Mr.
                                             waiving the Form I–94 document                                                                                 added as cosponsors of S. 4949, a bill to
                                                                                                     KELLY) was added as a cosponsor of S.
                                             issuance requirement for certain Mexi-                                                                         require the Secretary of Health of
                                                                                                     4012, a bill to establish a $120,000,000,000
                                             can nationals.                                                                                                 Human Services to publish guidance
                                                                                                     Restaurant Revitalization Fund to pro-
                                                                    S. 3119                                                                                 for States on strategies for maternal
                                                                                                     vide structured relief to food service or
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                      drinking establishments through De-                    care providers participating in the
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.                     cember 31, 2020, and for other purposes.               Medicaid program to reduce maternal
                                             3119, a bill to modify the boundary of                                         S. 4152                         mortality and severe morbidity with
                                             the Casa Grande Ruins National Monu-                      At the request of Mr. HOEVEN, the                    respect to individuals receiving med-
                                             ment, and for other purposes.                           name of the Senator from Arizona (Mr.                  ical assistance under such program.
                                                                    S. 3120                          KELLY) was added as a cosponsor of S.                                    S. 5019
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                      4152, a bill to provide for the adjust-                  At the request of Mr. DAINES, the
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.                     ment or modification by the Secretary                  names of the Senator from Kansas (Mr.




dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
                                             3120, a bill to reauthorize the Yuma                    of Agriculture of loans for critical                   ROBERTS) and the Senator from Mon-
                                             Crossing National Heritage Area.                        rural utility service providers, and for               tana (Mr. TESTER) were added as co-
                                                                    S. 3121                          other purposes.                                        sponsors of S. 5019, a bill to amend the
                                               At the request of Mr. KELLY, his                                             S. 4258                         Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to limit
                                             name was added as a cosponsor of S.                       At the request of Mr. CORNYN, the                    the charitable deduction for certain
                                             3121, a bill to establish the Chiricahua                name of the Senator from Arizona (Mr.                  qualified conservation contributions.



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                                             S7592                                              CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE                                                  December 17, 2020
                                                                  S. RES. 798                           This committee would assist FSOC in                  make significant changes, in the end,
                                               At the request of Mr. RISCH, the                       publishing a report that assesses the                  we weren’t able to find a compromise
                                             names of the Senator from Maryland                       ability of the U.S. financial regulatory               that satisfied our respective principles
                                             (Mr. VAN HOLLEN), the Senator from                       system to mitigate climate financial                   and objectives for resolving this situa-
                                             Virginia (Mr. WARNER) and the Senator                    risk and makes recommendations for                     tion.
                                             from Delaware (Mr. COONS) were added                     improving its ability to do so.                          Here is the hang up—time. Now at
                                             as cosponsors of S. Res. 798, a resolu-                    Second, the bill would require each                  the end of the session, with the end-of-
                                             tion calling on the Government of                        Federal bank and credit union regu-                    the-year agenda and adjournment of
                                             Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Lib-                    latory agency to update its supervisory                the Congress, we just ran out of time.
                                             eration Front to cease all hostilities,                  guidance to include climate financial                  So in the midst of yearend appropria-
                                             protect the human rights of all Ethio-                   risk, and to develop a strategy to iden-               tions and COVID relief negotiations,
                                             pians, and pursue a peaceful resolution                  tify and mitigate climate financial                    there simply wasn’t enough time to
                                             of the conflict in the Tigray region of                  risk.                                                  reconcile our differences on how to fix
                                             Ethiopia.                                                  Third, the bill would require FSOC to                this failing system.
                                                                                                      specify how it will take climate finan-                  My hope had been to use the last 8
                                                                f
                                                                                                      cial risk into account when making de-                 months to negotiate a solution in a
                                                STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED                              cisions on whether to subject nonbank                  thoughtful and measured manner, in-
                                               BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION                             financial firms to additional oversight                stead of like now, in the heat of a com-
                                                                                                      by the Federal Reserve Board.                          plex yearend bill. But sadly, those 8
                                                   By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself
                                                                                                        Fourth, the bill would mandate a re-                 months didn’t produce results.
                                                     and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO):                                                                                    From the beginning, we have agreed
                                               S. 5041. A bill to establish the Advi-                 port from the Federal Insurance Office
                                                                                                      on how to modernize and improve the                    that Federal funds will be needed to
                                             sory Committee on Climate Risk on                                                                               solve the crisis in the short term—yes,
                                             the Financial Stability Oversight                        regulation of climate financial risk in-
                                                                                                      surance regulation in the United                       money from the Treasury for pension
                                             Council; to the Committee on Banking,                                                                           plans that are in trouble now. But we
                                             Housing, and Urban Affairs.                              States.
                                                                                                        Finally, the bill would express the                  have been equally resolute that re-
                                               Ms. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise                                                                          forms are essential to ensure the sys-
                                             to speak in support of the ‘‘Addressing                  sense of Congress that climate change
                                                                                                      is a global problem, and that U.S. fi-                 tem can be self-sustaining in the long
                                             Climate Financial Risk Act,’’ which I                                                                           term. So we were trying to find a
                                             introduced today.                                        nancial regulators should join inter-
                                                                                                      national organizations focused on ad-                  short-term solution that would involve
                                                                 BACKGROUND                                                                                  the injection of Federal dollars, but we
                                                                                                      dressing climate financial risk and
                                               The average global temperature has                                                                            wanted a long-term solution that
                                                                                                      work with financial regulators in other
                                             increased by over 3 degrees Fahrenheit                                                                          would make sure that private pension
                                                                                                      countries to the extent possible and
                                             in parts of my home State of California                                                                         plans were self-sustaining and not rely-
                                                                                                      consistent with U.S. law.
                                             over the last century, and 2020 is on                                                                           ing upon the Federal Treasury. Other-
                                                                                                                          CONCLUSION
                                             track to be the hottest year on record.                                                                         wise, taxpayers will be perpetually sub-
                                             Climate change is driving the increas-                     Climate change is real. It’s hap-                    sidizing a private sector system of em-
                                             ing frequency and severity of wildfires,                 pening now and it will have a profound                 ployee benefit promises.
                                             floods, droughts, and other natural dis-                 effect on our financial system if we                     Last November, Chairman ALEX-
                                             asters and extreme weather events.                       continue to do nothing. We must act to                 ANDER and I presented our comprehen-
                                               In California, wildfires in particular                 ensure that federal financial regulators               sive approach to rescue and reform the
                                             have become a major annual concern.                      have expertise in climate financial risk               multiemployer pension system, which
                                             This year alone, wildfires have burned                   and develop approaches to mitigate                     we have been working on and improv-
                                             4.1 million acres of California forests                  that risk.                                             ing ever since. The product was im-
                                             and destroyed more than 10,000 struc-                      I hope my colleagues will join me in                 proved with an amazing amount of
                                             tures, including more than 5,000 homes.                  support of this bill. Thank you, Mr.                   input from workers, retirees, unions,
                                               The damage and risk generated by                       President, and I yield the floor.                      employers, actuaries, academics, plan
                                             these events—in addition to the                                                                                 officials, and even members of the gen-
                                                                                                            By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself
                                             changes needed to transition to a                                                                               eral public. Something as big as this
                                                                                                               and Mr. ALEXANDER):
                                             lower-carbon economy—threaten to se-                                                                            needed to involve all of those people
                                                                                                        S. 5045. A bill to amend the Internal
                                             verely disrupt real estate values in                                                                            being at the table.
                                                                                                      Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee                    Today, Chairman ALEXANDER and I
                                             high-risk areas, make insuring against                   Retirement Income Security Act of
                                             risk increasingly unaffordable, and                                                                             will introduce a revised version of that
                                                                                                      1974 to reform the treatment of multi-                 plan, the Chris Allen Multiemployer
                                             dramatically change whole sectors of                     employer plans, to ensure the ability of
                                             the economy.                                                                                                    Pension Recapitalization and Reform
                                                                                                      the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corpora-                  Act. This legislation served as the
                                                             NEED FOR LEGISLATION                     tion to provide guaranteed benefits of                 basis for our recent negotiations and is
                                               Unfortunately, U.S. Federal financial                  retirees, and for other purposes; to the               the product of years of work with
                                             regulators have not done enough to en-                   Committee on Finance.                                  Chairman ALEXANDER to produce a se-
                                             sure that they fully understand and are                    Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in                      rious, responsible plan that can provide
                                             appropriately acting on the risk that                    late June, I came to the floor to speak                relief to failing plans and to protect re-
                                             climate change poses to the stability of                 about the need to fix the multiem-                     tirees’ benefits.
                                             the U.S. financial system.                               ployer pension system and how that                       It is also designed to ensure the long-
                                               Therefore, I believe there are a series                system is failing its employees and re-                term solvency of the Pension Benefit
                                             of simple steps we should take to en-                    tirees. I spoke about the need to secure               Guaranty Corporation’s multiemployer
                                             sure that U.S. financial regulators are                  retirement benefits for the millions of                insurance fund, based on the many
                                             well-equipped to mitigate climate fi-                    Americans who will start to see plans                  comments and proposals we received to
                                             nancial risk.                                            fail and benefits cut in the coming                    the original Grassley-Alexander plan
                                               This bill would make five main im-                     years if Congress doesn’t fix this prob-               released last November.
                                             provements to the U.S. financial regu-                   lem.                                                     We believe this legislation would en-
                                             latory system.                                             For the past 2 weeks, Chairman                       sure that the PBGC’s multiemployer
                                               First, it would establish a permanent                  ALEXANDER and I were negotiating                       insurance fund remains solvent over
                                             committee on the Financial Stability                     with our Democratic colleagues to do                   the long term after the initial rescue of




dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
                                             Oversight Council (FSOC)—which Con-                      just that—fix the system so future re-                 the currently failing plans. But, most
                                             gress has charged with identifying                       tirees and retirees now would not lose                 importantly, this legislation would re-
                                             risks to the U.S. financial system—                      out on what they were promised. Those                  form the system to prevent this from
                                             made up of experts in climate science,                   negotiations were very constructive,                   happening again.
                                             climate economics, and climate finan-                    and I believe that both sides worked in                  I would also like to note that the bill
                                             cial risk.                                               good faith. While both sides agreed to                 is named after Chris Allen, who was a



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