Congressional Record — Senate, March 2, 2021, Page S972
Summary
Page S972 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for March 2, 2021, in interleaved columns. One speaker explains that Texas Senators have read the Travis letter from the Alamo each year since 1961 and reads it on the floor. Another speaker says he will vote no on the Biden stimulus bill because checks would go to people who never lost their job and families earning as much as $200,000, and recalls the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which are his views. A further speaker says he placed a hold on Governor Raimondo's nomination to lead the Department of Commerce over concerns about China.
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“Congressional Record — Senate, March 2, 2021, Page S972.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-02-crec-2021-03-02-pt1-pgs972-374ab755fa/
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S972 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 2, 2021
Here in the Senate, both Republicans vote soon on the Biden stimulus bill. I or another, you have been lucky. But
and Democrats from Texas, have had think all of us in this Chamber agree this plan would give you a check even
the honor of reading that letter every that we want to get relief to the Amer- if you have never lost your job and
year since 1961, when then-Senator ican people. That was our objective struggled to pay your bills. That is not
John Tower began that tradition. when we passed the CARES Act last right.
So, today, I would like to express my year, which allocated $2.2 trillion for This administration had time to
gratitude for these Texas patriots, the relief effort. It was our objective work with Republicans to make sure
many of whom would go on to serve in when we passed four other COVID relief those who need help get it. They didn’t
the U.S. Congress, including Sam Hous- bills in 2020—and these brought the do that. Instead, people who never lost
ton, whose Senate seat I am honored to total up to $4 trillion. All of these their job get a check. People who were
occupy, and it is my great honor to measures were the result of bipartisan never furloughed get a check. And fi-
read the Travis letter here on the Sen- cooperation and negotiations—Demo- nancially stable families who earned as
ate floor. crats and Republicans working to- much as $200,000 last year—well, they
The letter was addressed ‘‘To the gether. still get a check too.
People of Texas and All Americans But right now, the President and If so many Americans are hurting, as
[Around] the World.’’ congressional Democrats are pushing a we all know they are, our only focus
Fellow citizens & compatriots—I am be- completely partisan product through a should be getting this aid into their
sieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexi- hands, not using their insecurity as a
totally partisan process to promote
cans under Santa Anna—I have sustained a
continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 their progressive agenda. They call it chance to pass a bunch of wish list
hours & have not lost a man—The enemy has the American Rescue Plan, and the items from this progressive agenda.
demanded a surrender at discretion. Other- pricetag is $1.9 trillion, more than dou- The White House wants Congress to
wise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, ble what we spent after the financial spend billions of dollars on things that
if the fort is taken—I have answered the de- crisis starting in 2008. no COVID aid bill should be addressing.
mand with a cannon shot, & our flag still When combined with the five COVID Many other Senators have expressed
waves proudly from the walls—I shall never packages we have already enacted, the similar concerns. We believe that every
surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in cent of any COVID relief bill needs to
the name of Liberty, of patriotism & every-
total cost to the American taxpayers
thing dear to the American character, to would be close to $6 trillion, more than go toward recovery from the effects of
come to our aid, with all dispatch—The the GDP of every country other than COVID on families and on commu-
enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & China and the United States. And as of nities.
will no doubt increase to three or four thou- the end of January, hundreds of bil- The new administration has a chance
sand in four or five days. If this call is ne- lions of dollars from these bills has yet to show that they really are interested
glected, I am determined to sustain myself to be spent. in ‘‘bipartisanship’’ and ‘‘unity’’—two
as long as possible & die like a soldier who December’s relief bill dedicated $284 words President Biden uses just about
never forgets what is due to his own honor & every day. They could prove that today
that of his country—Victory or Death. billion to the Paycheck Protection
Program, but only a quarter of those by reaching out to Republicans in good
Signed: faith, but, so far, any effort by the ad-
funds had been obligated. That same
William Barrett Travis, Lt. Col. Comdt. ministration to do so has only been to
bill provided $20 billion for Economic
As I said, in the battle that ensued, Injury Disaster Loans, none of it had provide an appearance of working to-
all 189 defenders of the Alamo gave been spent by February 1. The same is gether, not to make any actual
their lives, but they did not die in vain. true of the CARES Act spending for progress on any kind of bipartisan
In fact, we Texans might not be around community planning programs, for product. Instead, they are focusing on
if it weren’t for them. We might still be which hundreds of millions of dollars filling this package with progressive
part of Mexico. remain unspent. Over 90 percent of priorities.
The Battle of the Alamo bought pre- So let’s take a look at some of the
these bills’ combined funding for men-
cious time for the Texas revolution- items on that list: giving $30 billion to
tal health programs was sitting idle as
aries, allowing General Sam Houston public transit authorities, even though
of late January as well.
to maneuver his army into position for President Biden only asked for $20 bil-
The White House calls this bill
a decisive victory, as I said, in the Bat- lion and several major Agencies have
‘‘emergency legislative package to
tle of San Jacinto. said the December relief bill would get
For 9 years, the Republic of Texas fund vaccinations, provide immediate,
direct relief to families bearing the them through at least until summer;
thrived as a nation. That is the reason spending $50 million on family plan-
we fly our flag at the same height as brunt of the COVID–19 crisis, and sup-
porting struggling communities.’’ ning programs that wouldn’t have
the U.S. flag, unlike other States. But
Each of these things is important, Hyde protections, meaning that our
then in 1845, we were annexed to the
and support for them should absolutely tax dollars would pay for elective abor-
United States as the 28th State.
Every single day, I am honored to be part of any package we pass. But tions; allowing Planned Parenthood to
represent the people of my State here when you look somewhere other than receive the small business funding
in the U.S. Senate, an opportunity that the White House website to find out from the Paycheck Protection Pro-
would not be possible without the sac- what is actually in this bill, you see gram; dedicating another $50 million to
rifices made by brave men like William that many parts of it don’t belong in a the troubling vague goal of ‘‘combating
Barret Travis 185 years ago. package that is meant to help us re- the climate crisis’’; sending $12 billion
I yield the floor. cover from our fight against this virus. overseas in aid—this does not belong in
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Let us start with what will make the a domestic COVID response bill—and
ator from Nebraska. biggest difference for working families: spending over $100 million on a subway
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I the direct payments to individual system near Speaker PELOSI’s district
would thank my colleague from Texas Americans. For months, I have sup- in the Bay area. I will leave it up to my
for sharing the Texas letter with us ported sending these checks. I went on Democratic colleagues to explain how
again this year. It is always inspiring the record in December to say that expanding a subway in Northern Cali-
to hear those words, to remember the people are hurting and that we should fornia would help all Americans ‘‘build
sacrifices that were made in Texas. It help them with more aid in the form of back better’’ in this pandemic. So far,
reminds us all of the sacrifices that are direct payments. they are silent.
I think these payments are a good This is supposed to be an emergency
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made daily across this country by peo-
ple who love this country and stand for idea, but they should be targeted to rescue plan for the Americans who
its unity. those who truly need them, not sent to have been hit hardest by COVID, but,
Thank you, Mr. President, to my col- people who haven’t been affected in the instead, the Biden stimulus plan
league from Texas. same way as the millions of Americans doesn’t make any of the tough deci-
CORONAVIRUS who have lost their jobs. sions we need to make, and it uses
Mr. President, I come to the floor If this once-in-a-century pandemic Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars as
today because the Senate will likely hasn’t put you out of work at one point a blank check.
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March 2, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S973
This proposal also pays lipservice to Thank you. lieved for decades that the United
the importance of getting students I yield the floor. States could somehow turn China from
back into the classroom, while asking The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- a foe to a friend through trade and di-
this body to vote for things that would ator from Texas. plomacy or that allowing China into
do exactly the opposite. TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY rules-based institutions would turn
Even though almost $70 billion of the Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today China into a rules-based country. In-
funds dedicated to schools in Decem- to commemorate Texas Independence stead, sadly, the opposite has hap-
ber’s relief bill still hasn’t been spent, Day. One hundred and eighty-five years pened.
this American Rescue Plan would give ago today, on March 2, 1836, the Repub- The United States, of course, can’t
them nearly $170 billion more. My col- lic of Texas declared our independence sever all commerce with one of the big-
leagues on the other side of the aisle from the nation of Mexico. Fifty-nine gest economies in the planet, but we
say this money is necessary for a ma- delegates who adopted the Texas Dec- must recognize China for the threat it
jority of K–8 schools to safely reopen in laration of Independence on that day poses to our national security. To
the President’s first 100 days, but their gathered at Washington-on-the-Brazos. counter the threat that China poses,
bill would reserve 95 percent of that The delegates adopted a declaration, we should do four things:
new money for the years 2022 to 2028. modeled in significant parts after the No. 1, we should protect ourselves
How does that help families today who Declaration of Independence of the from Chinese espionage and inter-
want their kids to get back to school? United States. ference.
They want them back in school now; so The declaration decried the arbitrary No. 2, we should insulate the supply
how does it help? acts of oppression and tyranny from lines of our critical resources from
This bill goes even further than that. the Mexican Government under the China, including by bringing them
It would treat schools that choose to dictator General Santa Anna. In par- back to the United States.
open and schools that remained closed ticular, it noted that that government No. 3, we should insulate all com-
the same way, which does nothing to had ‘‘ceased to protect the lives, lib- merce from enabling the Chinese Com-
incentivize them to get their kids back erty, and property of the people from munist Party’s human rights abuses,
in classrooms. whom its legitimate powers are de- including their systematic pattern of
This plan would also give $350 billion rived.’’ And the Texans signing that torture, murder, and genocide.
to States, cities, and localities. A big declaration sought to protect their And, No. 4, we should vigorously
chunk of that money will be used to rights of free speech, their rights to compete to secure our interests.
bail out States like New York and Cali- keep and bear arms, and their rights of On the first point, one important
fornia, which have kept people away freedom of religion. thing the Department of Commerce
from their jobs and their children out Signing that declaration commenced does is maintain an Entity List, which
of schools for months on end. the Texas Revolution, our battle for is a list of foreign parties and compa-
Even worse, this bill tallies States’ independence, where we won independ- nies that engage in activities contrary
and localities’ level of funding based on ence from the nation of Mexico. And to American national security inter-
raw unemployment numbers, not their for 9 years, the State of Texas became ests. When a foreign company is put on
unemployment rate. That would punish the Republic of Texas, an independent the Entity List, they are barred from
both red and blue States that have nation. That, of course, ceased in 1845, acquiring American technology.
handled this pandemic well. It leaves
when we joined the United States. And In 2019, I led an effort to add to the
behind States like mine—like Ne-
today, we celebrate that spirit of inde- list of companies, and in 2019 and in
braska—which has the lowest unem-
pendence that is still found throughout 2020, the Trump administration added
ployment rate in the country because
all 29 million Texans. several Chinese technologies compa-
we have succeeded in balancing safety
NOMINATION OF GINA MARIE RAIMONDO nies to the Entity List.
and reopening where other States have
Mr. President, I rise today to express When Governor Raimondo came be-
failed. It would also hurt Minnesota,
concern over President Biden’s nomi- fore the Commerce Committee in Janu-
Vermont, and New Hampshire—three
nation of Governor Gina Raimondo to ary, I asked her if she would keep those
blue States that have kept their unem-
lead the Department of Commerce. Chinese technologies companies on the
ployment numbers low.
When you look under the hood, this We are a year into a deadly pandemic Entity List. She refused to make that
bill is more about passing that partisan that originated in Wuhan, China. The commitment. In fact, she wouldn’t
wish list than getting the United Chinese Communist Party censored even commit to keeping Huawei on the
States through the worst public health and disappeared doctors and journalists Entity List, which is unabashedly an
crisis that we have faced in over a cen- who were trying to tell the truth about espionage agency of the Chinese Com-
tury. how the coronavirus was spreading, munist Party.
At best, the name ‘‘American Rescue and the Chinese Communist Party lied In questions for the record, I gave
Plan’’ is misleading. At worst, it is de- to the world about the nature of the Governor Raimondo a second chance to
ceptive. virus. Over 21⁄2 million people world- clearly and explicitly answer these
I stand ready to work with the ad- wide have died, including over a half questions, and yet she still refused.
ministration and my Democratic col- million Americans. Similarly, the Governor provided
leagues in Congress to address these The Chinese Communist Party’s lies vague nonanswers or no answers at all
issues and to give Americans the help and censorship and propaganda didn’t in response to questions for the record
they need in a targeted, reasonable, stop with the pandemic. They pervade on her ethics problems and her con-
and productive way. We did that with everything the Chinese Communist flicts of interest as Governor.
the CARES Act, and we could do it Party does. Many of us are increas- As my colleagues know, nominees
again if our colleagues on the other ingly concerned that China is gaining will never be more engaged, more
side are willing. access to American secrets using non- transparent, or more forthcoming than
That is the way the Senate is sup- traditional all-of-government—or even during their confirmation process.
posed to work—in a bipartisan way. It all-of-nation—approaches to espionage That Governor Raimondo has refused
is how we reach consensus and deliver against the United States and our al- to be any one of these speaks volumes
the policies that the American people lies. That includes using companies to how she would act if confirmed as
need and that the American people de- like Tencent and Huawei, which mas- Secretary.
The fact is that there has been a rush
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serve. querade as telecom companies when
I know I share the sentiments of they are, in fact, government espionage to embrace the worst elements of the
many of my colleagues when I say that operations. This is deeply troubling Chinese Communist Party in the Biden
I am disappointed in how this process and dangerous. administration, and that includes Gov-
has been conducted. Without an effort China is, in my judgment, the great- ernor Raimondo. That is why I placed a
to compromise and to make major est long-term geopolitical threat to the hold on her confirmation, and that is
changes in the stimulus package, I will United States for the next century. why I will be voting not to confirm her
be voting no. Presidents in both parties have be- to lead the Department of Commerce.
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