Nomination of Miguel A. Cardona (Cong. Rec., March 1, 2021)
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated March 1, 2021, at page S919. Ms. Collins describes the AUTO for Veterans Act, introduced with a colleague from West Virginia, which would increase access to the Department of Veterans Affairs automobile grant program for severely disabled veterans who need adaptive equipment, noting that the VA currently provides a one-time grant of approximately $21,400. Under the heading Nomination of Miguel A. Cardona, Mr. Van Hollen and Mrs. Murray speak in support of Dr. Cardona's nomination to serve as Secretary of Education. Mrs. Murray describes accounts from families in her home State of Washington about students' difficulties learning during the pandemic.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Nomination of Miguel A. Cardona (Cong. Rec., March 1, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-01-crec-2021-03-01-pt1-pgs919-2-e0cfafdd27/
, SHA-256 78b8492ede123556beae534ebb3d5f4d3ae74a5624303704a777523a4e9bd2c5.Full text
March 1, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S919
and our customers shouldn’t suffer be- Econoline van. He has also had to pur- I am proud to support Dr. Cardona’s
cause of toxic leadership at the highest chase several adaptive vehicles since nomination, and I look forward to
levels of our Postal Service. 1999, with each one lasting over 250,000 working together to at last make good
I yield the floor to my colleague from miles until they simply were no longer on our promises to fully fund title I
the State of Maine. roadworthy. His current vehicle now and IDEA, to expand access to quality
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- has over 100,000 miles, and soon he will early childhood education and commu-
ator from Maine. need a new one. He told me that pur- nity schools, and to ensure higher edu-
AUTO FOR VETERANS ACT chasing a new van will cost him well cation is accessible for everyone.
Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, last over $50,000, which is more than he paid The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
week, I was pleased to join my col- for his home in rural Maine. This is an ator from Washington.
league from West Virginia, Senator enormous burden on our disabled vet- Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I
JOE MANCHIN, in introducing the Ad- erans who need to purchase expensive rise today to voice my strong support
vancing Uniform Transportation Op- adaptive vehicles in order to drive safe- for Dr. Cardona’s nomination to serve
portunities for Veterans Act, better ly or to drive at all. as Secretary of Education.
known as the AUTO for Veterans Act. Madam President, I feel like I am Across the country, students, par-
I am pleased that Senators BOOZMAN, preaching to the choir here. Our Nation ents, and educators are in crisis. Every
HASSAN, and BLUNT have joined as owes our veterans such an enormous day without an experienced leader at
original cosponsors. debt. It is a debt that truly can never the Department of Education is a day
Our bill would lessen the financial be fully repaid. Let’s honor our com- that we are losing precious ground.
burden on severely disabled veterans mitment to our veterans by continuing Back in my home State of Washington,
who require special adaptive equip- to support their needs, including the I heard from a mother in Yakima
ment to drive a motor vehicle. It would needs of veterans who are disabled and whose children shared one iPhone to
do so by increasing access to the De- need this adaptive technology for their learn. I heard from a father of a high
partment of Veterans Affairs auto- vehicles long after they have been dis- school freshman in Spokane, worried
mobile grant program. charged or retire from Active Duty. about the social and psychological toll
This is a simple bill, but it is a bill
The VA currently provides eligible the pandemic is taking on his son. I
that would make such a difference for
veterans with a one-time grant of ap- heard from students at the Lummi Na-
so many of our disabled veterans who
proximately $21,400 to be used to pur- tion, trying to focus on remote classes
need vehicles with adaptive equipment
chase a new or used automobile and while in multigenerational households
so that they can drive themselves and
necessary adaptive equipment, such as on a shared, spotty broadband.
drive safely. The AUTO for Veterans
specialized pedals and switches. This I know there are so many similar sto-
Act is an important step that we can
grant is often used in conjunction with ries from people in my State and across
take to meet this need and help those
the VA’s special adaptive equipment the country about how this pandemic
who have made so many sacrifices to
grants, which help our veterans pur- is making life harder, the ways it has
serve our Nation.
chase additional adaptive equipment, I urge all of my colleagues to join us set back students from where they
such as powered lifts, for example, for in helping our Nation’s veterans by would be in a typical year, denied them
an existing automobile to make it safe supporting this bill. access to critical school resources,
and feasible for a veteran with disabil- Thank you. deepened longstanding inequities, and
ities. NOMINATION OF MIGUEL A. CARDONA so much more.
Although veterans can receive mul- Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, From early education to higher edu-
tiple special adaptive equipment grants after 4 years of Secretary DeVos’ ef- cation, we need to make sure students
over the course of their lives, for some forts to promote greater privatization and their families have the support
reason they are limited to just a single of our education system and dismantle they need to not only get a high-qual-
automobile grant. The current limita- the civil rights of students, Miguel ity education but to make sure every
tion fails to take into account that a Cardona is the person we need to re- student can try.
veteran is likely to need more than one store the promise of America’s schools. Democrats want to get students safe-
vehicle in his or her lifetime. In fact, A former public school teacher who ly back in the classrooms for in-person
the Department of Transportation re- went on to be a leader in the same dis- learning as soon as possible. So I am
ports that, in 2019, the average age of a trict where he was once an English glad the Biden administration put for-
household vehicle was 11.8 years, and a learner, Dr. Cardona has demonstrated ward clear, science-based, public health
vehicle that has been modified struc- a lifelong commitment to our public guidance schools have long needed.
turally tends to have a shorter useful schools and the belief that all children There is no one solution that will en-
life. are entitled to a quality education in a sure safety on its own as our country
According to the VA independent safe and nurturing learning environ- ramps up vaccine distribution.
budget prepared by Disabled American ment. He also has a proven track Congress has to do its part and pass
Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of Amer- record of effectively responding to the the American Rescue Plan to provide
ica, and the VFW, the substantial costs pandemic, helping students overcome vital funding for schools—to secure
of modified vehicles, coupled with in- the digital divide, and safely reopening adequate PPE, to reduce class sizes to
flation, present a financial hardship for schools as the Connecticut Education increase social distancing, to improve
many disabled veterans who need to re- Commissioner. ventilation and contract tracing, and
place their primary mode of transpor- The pandemic has upended our edu- to take all the steps they need to do so
tation once their car or van or truck cation system, disrupting learning and that they can safely reopen for in-per-
reaches its lifespan. The National exacerbating inequities. From day one son learning or provide high-quality
Highway Traffic Safety Administration as Secretary of the Department of Edu- distance learning if it is not safe in
estimates that a new vehicle modified cation, Dr. Cardona will need to be pre- their community to return to the
with adaptive equipment will cost any- pared to meet the challenges facing our classroom and so that they can assess
where from $20,000 to $80,000. These are students and educators, from address- and address the damage this pandemic
significant costs for a veteran with dis- ing learning loss and social, emotional, has done, especially the way it has
abilities to incur to replace his or her and mental health to reversing declin- deepened inequities that have hurt stu-
primary mode of transportation. That ing higher education enrollment rates dents of color, students of families
is why veterans should be eligible to and a sky-rocketing affordability cri- with low incomes, students with dis-
receive a vehicle grant every 10 years sis. Additionally, as deep disparities abilities, LGBTQ students, women,
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
and our legislation, the Collins- continue to shortchange low-income English learners, students experiencing
Manchin bill, would do just that. students, students of color, and stu- homelessness, and so much more.
A Maine veteran whom I know well, dents with disabilities, Dr. Cardona At this moment of crisis, Dr. Cardona
Neal Williams of Shirley, ME, used a will be a key partner in working to- is exactly the leader we need at the De-
VA automobile grant in 1999 to pur- ward closing these funding and edu- partment of Education to tackle these
chase an adaptive vehicle, a Ford cational opportunity gaps. challenges. During his confirmation
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G01MR6.028 S01MRPT1
S920 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2021
hearing in the Health, Education, cited on behalf of my constituents, on unions to come up with a plan to safely
Labor, and Pensions Committee, he behalf of the people of Meriden, CT, to reopen our schools. Connecticut re-
demonstrated beyond a doubt that he be here on the floor to tell you just a opened our schools faster than many
has experience, principles, and the per- little bit about why Miguel Cardona people thought we could, ahead of the
spective that we need in this critical makes so much sense for this moment. curve nationally. He was able to do
role. That is why Dr. Cardona was As Senator MURRAY laid it out for us, that because consensus building is a
voted out of our committee by an over- this is obviously a moment of crisis in skill that Miguel Cardona has been
whelming 17-to-5 margin with broad bi- American education. Kids have been working on for a very long time.
partisan support. distance learning or in and out of class- In 2013, one of his jobs, while he was
Dr. Cardona will come to the Depart- room settings for the last year. We helping to lead the Meriden school sys-
ment as a proven leader who will work have had so many children fall behind, tem, was to implement a new teacher
with students, parents, caregivers, edu- especially those with learning needs. evaluation system. You know this can
cators, school administrators, and We have a lot of kids in crisis. For a lot always be very, very controversial, a
State, local, and Tribal officials. Just of kids, home is not a safe place. There new system evaluating teachers’ per-
as importantly, he will come to the De- is trauma today amongst America’s formances, but he brought everybody
partment as a former elementary children, and our education system is to the table and developed a model that
school teacher, an adjunct professor, a going to have to bear a lot of the brunt became used statewide. His model and
principal, assistant superintendent, of making sure that these kids are his consensus approach became the
and former English learner himself who taken care of. standard in our State. He is the Sec-
knows we have a responsibility to We have a crisis in higher education retary of Education we need right
make sure every single student has ac- without students in the classroom, now—somebody who has experience in
cess to high-quality public education. without sources of revenue flowing into our classrooms, somebody who knows
At our hearing, he made clear he will institutions of higher learning. We the value of college, especially to first-
fight against longstanding inequities need to make sure that we don’t lose generation college families, and some-
and for every student, including those classroom slots in colleges and univer- body who knows how to bring people
who have not had a champion at the sities, which, of course, is the only together.
Department for the last 4 years. He thing that allows us to be able to see a This is an incredibly important mo-
spoke about his commitment to accom- bright economic future for our coun- ment for America’s educational sys-
plishing President Biden’s goal of safe- try—expanding access to higher edu- tem. We need to maintain and expand
ly reopening the majority of our K–8 cation. our commitment to equity in our K–12
schools for in-person learning within Miguel is made for this moment be- system to make sure that every single
his first 100 days in office. cause he knows how important college kid—no matter the level of income, no
He showed he understands the chal- is. He was the first member of his fam- matter the ethnic background, no mat-
lenge the Department is facing is larg- ily to complete college. He knows how ter the race, no matter if one is dis-
er than just seeing schools and stu- important community is. He came abled or not—gets a quality education.
dents and parents and educators safely right back to his community of Meri- This is a moment to invest in ac-
through this pandemic. It is making den after completing college and went countability in higher education and
sure we come back stronger and fairer. to work serving his community by tak- make sure that we are not wasting tax-
Accomplishing that means ensuring ing a job teaching fourth grade in Meri- payer dollars funding programs and de-
childcare and early education is avail- den. grees that don’t work, that may make
able and affordable for every family; He proved early on that he would go money for for-profit investors but that
ensuring every student can get a high- above and beyond the call when it don’t end up in skill sets that are going
quality public education no matter came to the needs of his students. He to power our economy. Miguel Cardona
where they live or how much money was a teacher at Israel Putnam Ele- is the right person to meet this mo-
they or their families have; rooting out mentary School, room 160. If his kids ment. He is whip-smart. He is a con-
longstanding inequities from our edu- didn’t have what they needed, Miguel sensus builder. He is a passionate advo-
cation system by tackling racism, would reach into his pockets to make cate for kids and for teachers and for
sexism, ableism, and bigotry head-on; sure they had it. One year, he spent parents. He is the perfect person for
and ensuring that higher education is $450 of his own money—money that he this job and for this moment.
accessible, affordable, accountable, and probably didn’t have as a first- or sec- Lastly, let me just share with you
safe for every single student. ond-year teacher—to make sure every how I got to know Miguel Cardona,
We have a lot of work to do for our kid in his classroom had a notebook, a which, maybe, will serve as a final ad-
schools and students. We have an excel- writer’s handbook, and a box of cray- vertisement for his unique qualifica-
lent candidate to get it done, and we ons. One student told the story of a tions. This was my old congressional
have no time to waste. I urge all of our classmate who moved back to Puerto district, and Meriden was part and is
colleagues who have heard from a par- Rico and of Miguel’s organizing a pack- still part of the Fifth Congressional
ent who wants to get their child back et of letters from all of his classmates District. One of the biggest weekends
in the classroom safely—I am sure ev- to be sent to him so that he could still in Meriden has become the Puerto
eryone has—to join us and vote to con- have a connection back to Meriden. Rican Heritage Festival, but that fes-
firm Dr. Cardona as Secretary of Edu- He was such an amazing teacher that tival had sort of hit hard times. It was
cation. he was promoted just after a few years a decade ago when, maybe, only a cou-
I yield the floor. in the classroom. He was actually Con- ple hundred people came to it until the
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- necticut’s youngest principal when, at Cardona family took it over. Miguel
ator from Connecticut. age 28, he took over Hanover. Soon Cardona and his family took over the
Mr. MURPHY. I ask unanimous con- thereafter, he was promoted to help Puerto Rican Heritage Festival in
sent to complete my remarks before run the city’s school district, and he Meriden, CT. Today, 6,000 or 7,000 peo-
the vote. was promoted again to be the commis- ple come to this festival. You can find
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without sioner of education in Connecticut. Miguel Cardona, on that weekend,
objection, it is so ordered. It has been his work over the last every hour of each day of the festival,
Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, I year that, I think, caught the atten- driving around on his golf cart, orga-
come to the floor to echo Chairwoman tion of educational policy leaders and nizing bus transportation, working on
MURRAY’s comments, to suggest and advocates all across the country be- the entertainment acts, and making
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
commend to my colleagues the nomi- cause Connecticut was one of the first sure that Meriden is able, on that
nation of Miguel Cardona to be the States to reopen its schools. We did it weekend, to be able to celebrate its
next Secretary of Education. through a consensus-building exercise Puerto Rican heritage but then to offer
There is no one better suited for this that Commissioner Cardona led. He something really constructive, really
job in this moment than Miguel brought together students and parents, fun, and really empowering for the
Cardona, and I couldn’t be more ex- administrators, teachers, and teachers community.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G01MR6.029 S01MRPT1
March 1, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S921
Even as commissioner of education, The legislative clerk read as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
it wasn’t beyond him or above him to CLOTURE MOTION ator from Georgia.
invest in his community in that way. We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- f
It is, I hope, an indication of who he is ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
and whom he will remain if the Senate Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY
chooses to confirm him into this role, move to bring to a close debate on Executive OF JOHN ROBERT LEWIS AND
Calendar No. 8, Gina Marie Raimondo, of COMMENDING JOHN ROBERT
as I hope we will do with a big bipar- Rhode Island, to be Secretary of Commerce.
tisan vote today. Charles E. Schumer, Sherrod Brown,
LEWIS FOR HIS TOWERING
I yield the floor. Sheldon Whitehouse, Benjamin L. ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE NON-
VOTE ON CARDONA NOMINATION Cardin, Robert Menendez, Patrick J. VIOLENT STRUGGLE FOR CIVIL
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Leahy, Alex Padilla, Jacky Rosen, RIGHTS
the previous order, all postcloture time Richard J. Durbin, Tammy Baldwin, Mr. OSSOFF. Mr. President, as if in
has expired. Jack Reed, Chris Van Hollen, Richard
Blumenthal, Tim Kaine, Martin Hein-
legislative Session, I ask unanimous
The question is, Will the Senate ad- consent that the Senate proceed to the
rich, Christopher Murphy, Maria Cant-
vise and consent to the Cardona nomi- consideration of S. Res. 82, submitted
well.
nation? earlier today.
Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, I The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan-
imous consent, the mandatory quorum The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
ask for the yeas and nays. clerk will report the resolution by
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the title.
sufficient second? The bill clerk read as follows:
There appears to be a sufficient sec- Senate that debate on the nomination
ond. of Gina Marie Raimondo, of Rhode Is- A resolution (S. Res. 82) honoring the life
land, to be Secretary of Commerce, and legacy of John Robert Lewis and com-
The clerk will call the roll. mending John Robert Lewis for his towering
The legislative clerk called the roll. shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory achievements in the nonviolent struggle for
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators civil rights.
are necessarily absent: the Senator under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
from Tennessee (Mrs. BLACKBURN), the
The legislative clerk called the roll. objection to proceeding to the meas-
Senator from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT),
Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is ure?
and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. necessarily absent: the Senator from There being no objection, the Senate
MORAN). Tennessee (Mrs. BLACKBURN).
The result was announced—yeas 64, proceeded to consider the resolution.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Mr. OSSOFF. Mr. President, I ask
nays 33, as follows: any Senators in the Chamber wishing
[Rollcall Vote No. 68 Ex.]
unanimous consent that the resolution
to vote or change their vote? be agreed to, that the preamble be
YEAS—64 The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 84, agreed to, and that the motions to re-
Baldwin Hassan Portman nays 15, as follows: consider be considered made and laid
Bennet Heinrich Reed [Rollcall Vote No. 69 Ex.]
Blumenthal Hickenlooper Romney upon the table with no intervening ac-
Booker Hirono Rosen
YEAS—84 tion or debate.
Brown Johnson Rubio Baldwin Grassley Paul The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
Burr Kaine Sanders Bennet Hassan Peters
Cantwell Kelly Blumenthal Heinrich Portman
objection?
Schatz
Capito King Schumer Blunt Hickenlooper Reed Without objection, it is so ordered.
Cardin Klobuchar Booker Hirono Risch The resolution (S. Res. 82) was agreed
Shaheen
Carper Leahy Boozman Hyde-Smith Romney
Casey Luján
Sinema to.
Smith Braun Inhofe Rosen
Cassidy Manchin Brown Johnson Rounds The preamble was agreed to.
Stabenow
Collins Markey Burr Kaine Sanders (The resolution, with its preamble, is
Coons McConnell Tester
Cantwell Kelly Schatz printed in today’s RECORD under ‘‘Sub-
Cornyn Menendez Tillis Capito King Schumer
Cortez Masto Merkley Van Hollen Cardin Klobuchar Shaheen
mitted Resolutions.’’)
Duckworth Murkowski Warner Carper Lankford Sinema Mr. OSSOFF. I yield.
Durbin Murphy Warnock Casey Leahy Smith
Feinstein Murray Warren Cassidy Lee Stabenow
f
Fischer Ossoff Whitehouse Collins Luján Sullivan
Gillibrand Padilla Wyden Coons Manchin Tester
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR—Continued
Grassley Peters Cornyn Markey Thune The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Cortez Masto Marshall Tillis
NAYS—33
Crapo McConnell Toomey
ator from Iowa.
Barrasso Hawley Rounds Daines Menendez Van Hollen FEDERAL FUNDING
Boozman Hoeven Sasse Duckworth Merkley Warner
Braun Hyde-Smith Scott (FL)
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, from the
Durbin Moran Warnock
Cotton Inhofe Scott (SC) Ernst Murkowski Warren streets of Portland and Seattle to right
Cramer Kennedy Shelby Feinstein Murphy Whitehouse here in our Nation’s Capital, lawless-
Crapo Lankford Sullivan Fischer Murray Wicker ness has ensued all too often across our
Cruz Lee Thune Gillibrand Ossoff Wyden
Daines Lummis Toomey Graham Padilla Young
Nation over the past year. I have con-
Ernst Marshall Tuberville sistently called it what it is—anarchy.
Graham Paul Wicker NAYS—15 And, folks, we need to be absolutely
Hagerty Risch Young Barrasso Hawley Sasse clear on this: Anarchy cannot be toler-
Cotton Hoeven Scott (FL)
NOT VOTING—3 ated in our Nation.
Cramer Kennedy Scott (SC)
Blackburn Blunt Moran Cruz Lummis Shelby The mayhem that we have seen over
The nomination was confirmed. Hagerty Rubio Tuberville the last year has put our families, our
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. NOT VOTING—1 communities, and our law enforcement
HEINRICH). Under the previous order, Blackburn in danger, and tragically it has led to
the motion to reconsider is considered The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas death and destruction.
made and laid upon the table, and the are 84, the nays are 15. In what will probably come as no
President will be immediately notified The motion is agreed to. shock to the American people, a non-
of the Senate’s action. partisan watchdog organization found
f
f that the Federal Government has spent
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR more than $14 billion of our taxpayer
CLOTURE MOTION The PRESIDING OFFICER. The money, our hard-earned dollars, on
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant clerk will report the nomination. Federal contracts and grants in five
to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the The bill clerk read the nomination of major cities where civil unrest, also
Senate the pending cloture motion, Gina Marie Raimondo, of Rhode Island, known as anarchy, goes unchecked and
which the clerk will state. to be Secretary of Commerce. police are unable to do their jobs—14
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:58 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G01MR6.030 S01MRPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2021-03-01_crec-2021-03-01-pt1-pgs919-2.pdf
- Size
- 222,681 bytes
- SHA-256
- 78b8492ede123556beae534ebb3d5f4d3ae74a5624303704a777523a4e9bd2c5
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov