Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Feb. 2, 2021)

Summary

This is S215 of the Congressional Record, Senate, February 2, 2021, the opening of the proceedings for Vol. 167, No. 19, with interleaved columns. The Senate opens with a prayer by the Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Schumer honors Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose body will lie in honor at the Capitol, and discusses the nominations of Alexander Mayorkas and Mr. Buttigieg. Under the heading Coronavirus, he says he and Speaker Pelosi filed a joint budget resolution for the 2021 fiscal year totaling $1.9 trillion, and that the Senate will not dilute, dither or delay. A later speaker opposes the nomination of Mr. Mayorkas, with the views attributed to the speakers.

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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Feb. 2, 2021).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-02-02-crec-2021-02-02-pt1-pgs215-7-f92483a41c/, SHA-256 273e3c0b0bb3ee34ef94a1edb0fd06cac0f5964f081f8ba15180f1ad601721ed.

Full text

Congressional Record
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117 th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE

Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2021 No. 19

Senate
The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and was HONORING OFFICER BRIAN D. challenges—challenges that are pro-
called to order by the President pro SICKNICK nounced in States like my own, where
tempore (Mr. LEAHY). Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the projects like the Gateway Tunnel are a
f Capitol attack on January 6 unleashed top national priority.
many, many horrors, but it also re- I know that Mr. Buttigieg is com-
PRAYER vealed many heroes. One such hero was mitted to working with Members from
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, both sides to improve rail and transit,
fered the following prayer: a New Jersey native, an Air Force Na- highways, and more in rural commu-
Let us pray. tional Guard veteran, and a 12-year nities, urban centers, and everywhere
All-powerful God, who lives above the member of the Capitol Police Force in between. I am excited to call him
highest Stars, we borrow our heart- who tragically lost his life during the Secretary Pete by the end of the day
beats from You. Each day Your power attack. and get to work with him immediately
enables us to live and breathe and have This evening, the body of Officer on helping the MTA—the Nation’s larg-
our being. When our hopes are up- Sicknick will arrive at the Capitol, and est transit network in the country—
rooted, You comfort us with Your pres- he will lie in honor beneath the Capitol and moving Gateway forward after
ence. Rotunda. We will formally pay our re- years of cynical obstruction by the
Lord, guide our lawmakers on a road spects to Officer Sicknick with a serv- Trump administration.
that leads to a clear conscience. Inspire ice on Wednesday. f
them to refuse to think, say, or do any- I join with my colleagues and mem- CORONAVIRUS
thing that would disappoint You. Help bers of the Capitol Police Force in
them to hear, even in the beauty of grieving the loss of one of their fellow Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on
falling snow, whispers of Your power. officers. May his memory live forever COVID–19, even as we continue to con-
We pray in Your sacred Name. Amen. as a model of service to our Nation, firm President Biden’s nominees, the
selflessness in the line of duty, and Senate will turn this week to the his-
f toric task of preparing a rescue pack-
courage in the face of danger.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE f
age to lift our country out of the
depths of the awful COVID–19 pandemic
The President pro tempore led the NOMINATIONS and set our country back on the path
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on an- to normalcy. Despite the best efforts of
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the other matter entirely, the Senate, this Congress over the past year, the needs
United States of America, and to the Repub- week, will continue confirming Presi- in our country are still great and still
lic for which it stands, one nation under God,
dent Biden’s Cabinet nominees, closing urgent.
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
the book today on the nomination of The disease has been with us for
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Alexander Mayorkas to be the Sec- nearly a year, and yet this January
WARNOCK). The Senator from Vermont. retary of Homeland Security. was officially the worst month to date.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suggest Mr. Mayorkas’s qualifications are un- Nearly 100,000 Americans died just in
the absence of a quorum. assailable. He is a 7-year veteran of the the last month. Unemployment insur-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The DHS and has already been confirmed ance claims remain at nearly 1 million
clerk will call the roll. by this Chamber three—three—times. a week. Schools remain closed, busi-
The senior assistant legislative clerk Like most of President Biden’s Cabinet nesses unvisited, and all the familiar
proceeded to call the roll. nominees, his nomination is also his- fixtures of daily life still remain on
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask tory-making: He will be the first hold.
unanimous consent that the order for Latino and first immigrant to hold the All of us in this Chamber are tired of
the quorum call be rescinded. top job at DHS. I look forward to con- seeing our constituents, our friends,
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without firming Mr. Mayorkas today. our family, our country suffer. It is
objection, it is so ordered. We have a second outstanding nomi- time to meet the challenges of the mo-
f nee to confirm today as well—Pete ment with boldness, with courage, and
Buttigieg for Secretary of Transpor- with urgency.
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY tation. Mr. Buttigieg—known to many When Congress came together to pass
LEADER simply as Mayor Pete—has dem- an interim emergency relief bill in De-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- onstrated an impressive familiarity cember, we all knew the job was not
jority leader is recognized. with the entire Nation’s transportation complete. Economic experts and the

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

S215

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S216 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2021
President-elect at the time called it an everyone champions and everyone Up to this point, I have voted in
important downpayment because that knows is the key to ending the crisis. favor of the President’s mainstream
is what it was—a downpayment, not We are talking about getting our coun- nominees to key posts. I will have my
the final act. No one should be sur- try back on its feet and our economy differences with Secretaries Austin,
prised that the first legislative act of back on track. Yellen, and Blinken on policy, but they
the new Democratic majority is to We want this entire effort to be bi- were mainstream choices from the
build on that foundation and help the partisan. We do. But helping the Amer- President.
country defeat COVID–19 once and for ican people with the big, bold relief Mr. Mayorkas is something else. He
all. So the Senate is going to move for- they need—that is job No. 1. That is job does not deserve Senate confirmation
ward this week with the process for No. 1, which is so, so important. So, to lead Homeland Security. Frankly,
producing the next bold rescue pack- again, we are not going to dilute, dith- his record should foreclose confirma-
age. er, or delay because the demands of the tion even to a lower post. The problem
Yesterday, Speaker PELOSI and I filed American people are so real and so isn’t experience—not exactly. Mr.
a joint budget resolution for the 2021 large. We need to think big and think Mayorkas is all too familiar with the
fiscal year, totaling $1.9 trillion, which quickly. levers of power that control U.S. immi-
will give us another legislative tool to Helping millions of Americans who gration law. The problem is when he is
pass a COVID relief bill quickly and de- are still without work by extending the chosen to pull those levers—and for
cisively. The Senate will vote to pro- enhanced unemployment benefits that whose benefit.
ceed on the budget resolution this are now slated to expire in March. As a high-ranking official in the
afternoon. Time is a luxury our coun- Helping parents waiting for the day Obama administration, Mr. Mayorkas
try does not have. did his best to turn U.S. Citizenship
their kids can finally go back to school
Let me be very clear. We are not and Immigration Services into an un-
safely. Helping teachers, firefighters,
going to dilute, to dither, to delay. We ethical favor factory for Democratic
busdrivers, and other essential public
are not going to dilute, dither, or Party royalty. Governors, a DNC chair,
employees at the State and local lev-
delay. The needs of the American peo- Hollywood executives, a Senate major-
els, preventing them from the risk of
ple are so demanding, we need to think ity leader from Nevada—they all re-
layoffs. Helping restaurants and bars
big, and we need to act quickly. The ceived special treatment to a degree
and theaters, which were the first to
Senate must move forward today with that stunned and disturbed the Obama
close and may be the last to open.
administration’s own inspector general
the vote to begin debate on the budget Helping every American struggling to
over at that Department. His inde-
resolution, and I am optimistic that make ends meet, to pay the rent, pay pendent report blasted the ‘‘appearance
the motion to proceed will pass. the mortgage, pay for groceries, keep
I would say to my Republican col- of favoritism and special access.’’ We
up with that utility bill, by sending are talking about shoving through
leagues that we want this important them direct assistance in the form of a
work to be bipartisan. We welcome green cards as political favors and in-
check. That is job No. 1—helping the tervening to overturn denials. The IG
your ideas, your input, and your revi- American people survive the toughest confirmed this wasn’t just about speed;
sions. We welcome cooperation. There months of this crisis while hastening Mr. Mayorkas’s improper influence ac-
is nothing about the process—or a the end of the crisis itself. tually changed outcomes.
budget resolution or reconciliation, for In the months to come, millions of This wasn’t the first time this nomi-
that matter—that forecloses the possi- Americans will be vaccinated, and nee abused an office for political pur-
bility of bipartisanship. slowly but surely, life will return to poses. Before his tenure at DHS, while
I would remind this Chamber that normal once again. The rescue plan U.S. attorney, the nominee had helped
since 1980, the budget process has been proposed by President Biden—the res- his fellow California Democrats get a
used 17 times—17 times—to pass seri- cue plan that we begin to work on this well-connected L.A. drug kingpin onto
ous bipartisan legislation. This process week—will lay the foundation for our President Clinton’s infamous eleventh-
is open to bipartisanship. country’s long-awaited comeback, hour pardons list. The drug dealer’s fa-
So let me be clear to my colleagues while giving Americans a helping hand ther was a Democratic Party donor.
this morning. There will be a bipar- to stay safe and stay financially secure Mysteriously, several notable Cali-
tisan, open amendment process on the in the meantime. fornia Democrats took an extremely
budget resolution this week. Demo- I look forward to proceeding with keen interest in the case. Both Mr.
crats eagerly encourage participation this budget resolution and on the work Mayorkas and yet another one of Presi-
from both sides of the aisle on this pro- of making this historic and vital rescue dent Biden’s nominees, Mr. Becerra,
posal. Again, there is nothing about package a reality so it works for the came under scrutiny for their personal
the process itself that prevents biparti- American people. roles in the special treatment that was
sanship. What has made recent rec- I yield the floor. dished out to this donor’s son.
onciliation efforts by Senate Repub- I suggest the absence of a quorum. When questioned about these actions,
licans so partisan was not the process The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mr. Mayorkas responded with false and
but the legislation they sought to pass. clerk will call the roll. conflicting statements, including while
The former Senate majority—I heard The senior assistant legislative clerk under oath. Reviews of USCIS under
the Senator from Texas crying croco- proceeded to call the roll. Mr. Mayorkas found intimidation and
dile tears about using reconciliation, Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I retaliation against employees when
but just a few years ago, he was an ac- ask unanimous consent that the order they were too focused on rooting out
tive participant in using it twice to for the quorum call be rescinded. fraud instead of merely
pursue expressly partisan and deeply The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without rubberstamping applications. Accord-
unpopular legislation—first, to repeal objection, it is so ordered. ing to some of his own employees, his
our Nation’s healthcare law and kick f leadership led to ‘‘a culture of fear and
millions of Americans off of their disrespect.’’
healthcare coverage, and second, to RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY Does this sound like somebody who
slash taxes for big corporations and the LEADER deserves a promotion?
wealthy to the tune of a $1.7 trillion The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Re- Employees reported Mr. Mayorkas
bill and hole in our deficit. Of course, publican leader is recognized. viewed the people applying to live here
Democrats opposed those efforts on the f as the Agency’s ‘‘customers,’’ whom it
merits. was their job to please and satisfy.

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
At the moment, however, we are NOMINATIONS They said the crucial goal that defined
talking about using the budget process Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, his approach was not enforcing Amer-
to help small business—something we today the Senate will vote on ican laws, protecting American jobs, or
all support. We are talking about using Alejandro Mayorkas, President Biden’s defending the American homeland, but
the budget process to speed the produc- nominee to be Secretary of Homeland rather ensuring there were ‘‘zero com-
tion and distribution of a vaccine that Security. plaints’’ from the customers.

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