Nominations (Cong. Rec., March 15, 2021)

Summary

The opening pages of the Congressional Record for Monday, March 15, 2021, No. 48 of Vol. 167, noting that the House was not in session and covering the Senate at pages S1509 and S1510. Mr. Schumer speaks on nominations, saying the Senate will vote on Representative Deb Haaland to be Secretary of the Interior and will process the nominations of Xavier Becerra, Isabella Guzman to be SBA Administrator and Katherine Tai. He also speaks on the American Rescue Plan, saying $1,400 checks are going to 85 percent of American households. A Senator then argues for canceling $50,000 in student debt, saying the plan makes forgiveness tax free through December, and Mr. McConnell speaks on the coronavirus.

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“Nominations (Cong. Rec., March 15, 2021).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-15-crec-2021-03-15-pt1-pgs1509-6-7fea4566ba/, SHA-256 b9e2ef58234e670ea25f1012c3856d3f34576879fc6e109fa99bb5ce6185f905.

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, MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 No. 48

House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at 12 p.m.

Senate
MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021

The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I sug- father spent a 30-year career in the Ma-
called to order by the President pro gest the absence of a quorum. rines. While the Federal Government
tempore (Mr. LEAHY). The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The has often mistreated and neglected In-
f clerk will call the roll. digenous Americans, the Haaland fam-
The legislative clerk proceeded to ily has proudly and bravely served this
PRAYER call the roll. country. Now Representative HAALAND
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I is making history twice over as the
fered the following prayer: ask unanimous consent that the order first Native American Secretary of the
Let us pray. for the quorum call be rescinded. Interior and as the first Native Amer-
O Lord of love, lift our hearts above The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. ican Cabinet official in American his-
the mundane and ordinary. Inspire our BALDWIN). Without objection, it is so tory.
lawmakers with the beauty of Your ordered. Representative HAALAND’s confirma-
presence and the majesty of Your f tion represents a gigantic step forward
power. May Your holiness create in in creating a government that rep-
them a transformative hunger for RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY resents the full richness and diversity
righteousness that enables them to LEADER of this country because Native Ameri-
honor Your Name. Lord, empower them The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- cans were, for far too long, neglected at
to live blameless lives, striving always jority leader is recognized. the Cabinet level and in so many other
to do what is right as they seek wis- f places.
dom from Your word. Grant that, as Representative HAALAND will have an
they receive inspiration from Your sa- NOMINATIONS important task ahead of her. She must
cred precepts, they will hear Your Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, refocus the Interior Department on
whisper that they are Your children. the past few weeks in the Senate have preserving and protecting almost 500
Fill them today with Your joy. been extremely productive. Senate million acres of public lands, com-
We pray in Your righteous Name. Democrats delivered on our promise to bating climate change and environ-
Amen. pass bold COVID relief legislation, and mental degradation, and upholding the
f we have now confirmed 16 Cabinet-level Federal Government’s obligations to
officials. Today, we will continue mov- Tribal nations. The Trump administra-
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ing the ball forward on the President’s tion did more to undermine the rela-
The President pro tempore led the nominees by confirming Representa- tionship between the Federal Govern-
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: tive DEB HAALAND to serve as President ment and the sovereign Tribes than
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Biden’s Secretary of the Interior. many have in decades—from dese-
United States of America, and to the Repub- Representative HAALAND has already crating sacred burial sites to build a
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, made history as one of two Members to border wall to neglecting the desperate
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. become the first Native American situation of Native Tribes during the
f woman to serve in the House of Rep- pandemic. Shame on them.
resentatives. She is a citizen of the La- In elevating Representative HAALAND
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME guna Pueblo nation, and her family’s to lead the Department of the Interior,
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under roots in New Mexico can be traced back we reset the relationship between the
the previous order, the leadership time 35 generations. By her own account, Federal Government and Tribal na-
is reserved. she grew up poor, moving frequently. tions to one of cooperation, mutual re-

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The Senator from Wisconsin. Her mother served in the Navy, and her spect, and trust, which is so different

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

S1509

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S1510 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2021
from the last administration’s atti- are another way that students with ex- have this debt, future actions won’t do
tude. I greatly look forward to voting ceptional need can access relief. any good in terms of changing the way
in favor of Representative HAALAND’s That is not all. The American Rescue we finance colleges and how we deal
nomination in a few short hours. Plan also sets the stage for President with the for-profits. The best way is
Throughout the week, the Senate Biden to deliver incredibly meaningful canceling $50,000 in student debt, and
will process even more of President student loan forgiveness by making all the good news is that the ARP makes
Biden’s highly qualified Cabinet nomi- types of student loan forgiveness tax sure no taxes are owed on any of that
nees, including Xavier Becerra to serve free through December. cancellation.
as the next Secretary of Health and At the moment, debt cancellation is So no matter how their team per-
Human Services; Isabella Guzman to usually treated as taxable income. So forms during March Madness this
serve as the SBA Administrator; and without this provision, forgiving a stu- weekend, the American Rescue Plan
Katherine Tai to serve as the U.S. dent’s debt would stick them with a gives every student something to cheer
Trade Representative. tax bill—giving with one hand and tak- about.
As President Biden continues to fight ing away with the other. This would Go Syracuse.
the COVID pandemic and begins imple- apply to more than 100,000 students I yield the floor.
menting the American Rescue Plan, he who are already in repayment pro- I suggest the absence of a quorum.
deserves to have his team in place grams that offer some student loan for- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
ASAP, as soon as possible. giveness. Crucially, this tax provision clerk will call the roll.
f would apply to future efforts to forgive The legislative clerk proceeded to
student loans as well. call the roll.
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF I believe the current administration Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
2021 has the legal authority to forgive up to I ask unanimous consent that the order
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, $50,000 in Federal student loan debt, a for the quorum call be rescinded.
now on the American Rescue Plan, late life-changing policy decision that The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
last week, President Biden signed the would boost our economy and help objection, it is so ordered.
American Rescue Plan into law. The close the racial wealth gap. f
most significant Federal recovery ef- Twenty years after starting college,
fort in decades is now underway as RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY
the median White borrower will owe 6
$1,400 checks are heading out the door LEADER
percent of their debt, while the median
to 85 percent of American households. Black borrower owes 95 percent of their The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Re-
Relief for schools, businesses, families, debt. Canceling up to $50,000 in student publican leader is recognized.
and State and local governments is debt would close the racial wealth gap f
starting to arrive. Shots are going into by 28 percentage points among those CORONAVIRUS
the arms of Americans from coast to households. That is just one of the
coast. More than 135 million doses of many reasons Senator WARREN and I Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
the vaccine have now been delivered, have been advocating this policy to last Thursday, I spoke about the pain
and over 100 million doses have now cancel $50,000 of student debt. And, as I and disruption this pandemic has
been administered. That is one-third of mentioned, it has become an issue of caused this past year. I also discussed
the population and much more quickly racial justice as well. the optimistic springtime that lies be-
than had been previously projected. President Biden, to his credit, has al- fore us. The brighter horizon is not a
And our economy is poised for its ready proposed some student loan for- product of a partisan bill that was
own shot in the arm. As the American giveness—up to around $10,000. But signed last week or an administration
Rescue Plan begins to take effect, now, one of the objections that some in that was sworn in less than 2 months
economists are projecting that Amer- the administration have had, that stu- ago; it was built by the American peo-
ican economic growth could more than dents with forgiven debt will have to ple and supported by the five historic
double as a result of this bold, strong pay taxes, is gone, gone, gone because and completely bipartisan bills that
legislation. of the ARP. Congress passed just last year.
Already, Americans are more opti- I particularly want to thank Sen- Later on Thursday, the Nation heard
mistic about businesses being able to ators MENENDEZ and WARREN for their remarks from President Biden. The
reopen, jobs coming back, and the na- work on these provisions. For much of President spoke in a heartfelt way
tional economy taking off. As one American history, education has been about grief and loss, but his vision for
headline read over the weekend, the ladder up. For too many these the days ahead was badly lacking.
‘‘Americans see better days ahead in days, student debt has become the an- Along a number of crucial dimensions,
pandemic and economy.’’ chor weighting them down, making it the Biden administration keeps trying
After the American Rescue Plan harder to start a family, buy a home, to rewrite recent history and overrule
passed through the Senate, a little over plan a career, and so much more. The science.
a week ago, I have been highlighting pandemic has stressed student finances Let’s take vaccinations. The Presi-
parts of the bill that may have escaped even closer to the breaking point. dent’s speech tried to reinforce the
notice, and there are so many. We all Thankfully, the American Rescue myth that his administration inherited
know about the $1,400 checks. We all Plan not only delivers short-term relief a shambles on vaccines, set goals that
know about the shots in the arm. But, but clears the way for long-term relief nobody believed were achievable, and
today, I want to take some time ex- for American students by saying: When has met those goals against all odds.
plaining how it helps our Nation’s stu- we forgive your debt, you don’t have to This is just not true.
dents. pay taxes on it. The President said:
First of all, the American Rescue American students collectively bear I set a goal that many of you said was . . .
Plan provides substantial emergency more than $1.7 trillion in student debt. way over the top.
relief to colleges and universities, When you think of young people and But the benchmark of 100 million
weighted toward those colleges and they are starting out their lives, and vaccines in 100 days was not some au-
universities without million-dollar en- there is so much excitement and enthu- dacious goal that was met with great
dowments. Fully half of that funding siasm, and then they have $1.7 trillion skepticism. A million shots per day
must be used for emergency financial of debt on their shoulders weighting was just the pace that the Biden ad-

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aid grants to students—at least $20 bil- them down, that is not the American ministration actually inherited. We
lion nationwide. And, of course, many way of sunny optimism and can-do. averaged more than 1 million shots per
students will benefit from the $1,400 This system sprung out of control in day the week of the inauguration. We
checks. Any student with a young fam- many ways. Going after the for-profit totaled more than 1.5 million the day
ily will benefit from the historic ex- colleges, making sure they don’t take the President was sworn in.
pansion of the child tax credit. But advantage, is one way we are trying to The groundwork we laid last year is
these emergency financial aid grants curtail it. But for the students who proving a historic success. Where the

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