Southern Border Resolution and PPP Extension Act of 2021 — Congressional Record, Senate, March 24, 2021

Summary

Page S1729 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for March 24, 2021, in interleaved columns, under the title Southern Border Resolution and PPP Extension Act of 2021. One speaker says essential workers live in constant fear of deportation. Another says he will resubmit a simple resolution that the current influx of migrants at the southern border constitutes a crisis, which is that speaker's view. A third speaker urges swift passage of the PPP Extension Act to extend the March 31 deadline 2 months to May 31, adding that Lisa Mensah testified about nonprofits and the program.

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“Southern Border Resolution and PPP Extension Act of 2021 — Congressional Record, Senate, March 24, 2021.” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-24-crec-2021-03-24-pt1-pgs1729-e185e01fc1/, SHA-256 0cd01f223edd10331708213a9a58487c9a45a9654b3e551272332da4d3d339f1.

Full text

March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1729
in constant fear of deportation. They eryone heard what is going on now: Well, we are to going stay with this,
are our neighbors, our teachers, our Just open the borders. and I am going to resubmit this very
nurses, our grocery store workers, our You know, people in other coun- simple resolution, as follows:
childcare providers. They are the es- tries—I won’t mention some of them It is the sense of the Senate that the cur-
sential workers whom we have all because I don’t want them to be put in rent influx of migrants at the southern land
thanked each and every day through- an awkward position—they say: Why in border of the United States constitutes a cri-
out this pandemic who live in constant the world don’t we have stronger bor- sis.
fear that their lives will be upended ders in the United States of America? It is a crisis.
and their families ripped apart at any And we don’t. I yield the floor.
moment, depending on the politics of Our previous President, I talked to I suggest the absence of a quorum.
him this morning. I talked to former The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
the day in Washington.
President Trump this morning, and I clerk will call the roll.
The real crisis is that we have
The legislative clerk proceeded to
strayed so far from our founding prin- talked about what is going on down
call the roll.
ciples as a Nation of immigrants and there at the border. And the reason I Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I ask
that we have strayed so far from the am familiar with this—much more fa- unanimous consent that the order for
creed emblazoned on the very statue miliar than the Senator from Cali- the quorum call be rescinded.
that we erected to welcome immi- fornia or anyone else—is that I worked The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
grants into New York Harbor saying: down there for 30 years on that border, objection, it is so ordered.
Give me your tired, your poor, your all the way from Brownsville, TX, to IMMIGRATION
huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the McAllen. I know the border people Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, Repub-
wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send down there. I know the agents down
these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I
licans are going to be on the floor
there. And for them to tell me that today, taking a sudden 100-percent sin-
lift my lamp beside the golden door! they have been told not to talk to the cere interest in immigration reform.
So I am disappointed but, sadly, not media about what is going on—I hope They are going to propose that the
surprised that this resolution is noth- everyone knows what is going on right Senate take up a handful of bills to ad-
ing more than a cynical attempt to now, today. This is going on. dress what they call a crisis created by
perpetuate the semantic nonsense of You know, President Trump is all for President Biden on our southern bor-
the day. Our constituents didn’t send people coming into America the legal der.
us to the Senate or to Congress to iden- way. He has made that very clear over Forgive me for being blunt, but give
tify problems. They sent us here to de- and over again. He has spent time down me a break. Republicans suddenly care
velop and enact solutions. on the border, both borders, making about the border because they don’t
I am more than willing to sit down sure that we can have a legal—one of want to talk about the real crisis that
with my colleague here to try to come the most gratifying things in my job as President Donald Trump created and
up with some solutions to address what a U.S. Senator, and I have been in that President Biden is fixing: the
is happening at the border—solutions these Chambers now since 1994—one of COVID crisis and our Nation’s eco-
that address the lack of resources and the most enjoyable things is to go to nomic crisis. Republicans don’t want to
the broken processes left by the pre- naturalization ceremonies. And you fix our broken immigration laws. They
vious administration, solutions that talk to these people who have come want to distract Americans from the
recognize the fundamental humanity of and worked to come across legally to real story right now, which is the im-
these desperate children and families our country. I defy you to find any one plementation of the very popular
who simply want to live to see their of these individuals who has come here American Rescue Plan.
next birthday, and solutions that stay legally and gone through this natu- There are $1,400 checks that are ar-
true to the values of this Nation. ralization process—they know more riving in people’s bank accounts right
I have an amendment to the resolu- about the history of this country than now. School budgets finally have
tion at the desk to strike the text of people on the street, than people who enough resources to catch up on all of
the Inhofe resolution and to insert the were born here and people who are the lost learning for our kids; child-
following: serving here in the U.S. Senate. They hood poverty is about to be cut in half;
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate know the language. They learn the lan- more production of vaccines. That is
that our outdated immigration laws and the guage. They did it the hard way. How the real story.
lack of a pathway to citizenship for the 11 You know how I know the Repub-
do you tell them: You have gone
million undocumented immigrants who form
the backbone of communities across the through all this in the process of be- licans are less than sincere in this in-
United States constitutes a crisis and that coming legal, but you didn’t have to do terest in immigration policy? First, be-
the United States Senate must take up im- that. You just march right in. They are cause they controlled the Senate for 6
migration reform this year. inviting you in. They want you in. years and not once during the roughly
I ask that Senator INHOFE’s request Put it back up. Yes, that is what is 2,100 days that they were in charge did
be modified as follows: that the Padilla going on right now. That is what is they try to honestly bring a com-
substitute amendment at the desk to going on at the border. So I want ev- prehensive immigration reform pro-
the resolution be considered and agreed eryone to know what is happening now. posal to the floor.
to; that the resolution, as amended, be We can be sympathetic to a lot of I checked. Two of the bills they are
agreed to; and that the motions to re- people, but the idea of saying that we going to ask unanimous consent for
consider be considered made and laid had a President who was putting kids today were brought up for show votes
upon the table with no intervening ac- in cages, come on. Let’s get real. We in the middle of the 2016 Presidential
tion or debate. don’t want to do that. We don’t have to election as a means of helping Donald
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there do that. We just want to make it very Trump’s candidacy, but in neither in-
objection to the modification? clear to the American people that we stance was there actually any attempt
Mr. INHOFE. I object. have borders, and we ought to be pro- to try to find common ground to actu-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- tecting these borders. ally pass something.
jection is heard. A lot of the people who come in, they Go back even further. In 2013, when
Is there objection to the original re- aren’t necessarily from Central Amer- Democrats were in the Senate, that is
quest? ica or from Mexico. These are—a lot of when we actually did pass a com-

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
Mr. PADILLA. I object. them are terrorists coming over. They prehensive immigration reform bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- are coming from the Middle East, com- But it was Republicans who opposed
jection is heard. ing from all over the world, coming it—not all, but all of the opposition
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I hope into our porous borders. came from Republicans—and it was the
everyone heard this. I haven’t met the Now, is that what people want? No, it House Republican majority that re-
Senator from California real well yet. I is not. Overwhelmingly, they have re- fused to even consider the bill. That is
look forward to it. I look forward to jected the idea of open borders, letting where it died. So spare me this sudden
serving with him, but I hope that ev- everyone come in. concern for immigration policy.

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S1730 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
But since Republicans are now newly Let’s be clear. The authority to expel in many places from which these mi-
concerned about what is happening on everybody being applied now to every- grants are coming.
the border, it probably makes sense for body except for unaccompanied minors, Just as a matter of sort of further ex-
us to level set the facts. The facts. So that is a temporary authority—an au- planation, if we brought this chart
here are four of them. thority that Donald Trump didn’t even back into the Bush administration, you
The first is a pretty simple one. Re- invoke until the pandemic began. would find that crossings were much
publicans will tell you that Joe Biden Third, it is not even clear that what higher, at a much higher rate during
created this crisis, that his policies are is happening now is anything other the Bush administration than at any
the reason why we have seen an in- than a natural increase in migration time during the Obama administration.
crease in migration to the border. But during the winter, combined with the People come to the United States be-
here is the chart, and I want you to buildup of demand from title 42 en- cause they are fleeing violence, they
zero in on the end of it. As you can see, forcement in 2020. are fleeing economic desperation, not
apprehensions at the border, which are The Washington Post data analysts because of some message they get from
a pretty decent indication of the num- took a look at the recent data on bor- the U.S. Government.
ber of people who are crossing without der crossings year to year and month One study I was looking at the other
documentation, started going up in the to month, and here is what they said: day, a comprehensive study of ration-
middle of 2020 precipitously. All that is We looked at data from [the] U.S. Customs ales for crossings data on the times
occurring now is a continuation of and Border Protection to see whether there’s that people cross, says this:
these increases. Apprehensions and a ‘‘crisis’’—or even a ‘‘surge,’’ as many news [T]ougher border controls have had re-
crossings at the border didn’t start in- outlets have characterized it. We analyzed markably little influence on the propensity
creasing on Inauguration Day; they monthly CBP data from 2012 to now and [we] to migrate illegally.
started increasing back in the middle found no crisis or surge that can be attrib-
uted to Biden administration policies. Rath-
These are the facts. These are the
and end of 2020. So you can’t say that facts. Republicans need to stop looking
this was a creation of Joe Biden’s poli- er, the current increase in apprehensions fits
a predictable pattern of seasonal changes in at immigration as a political oppor-
cies if what we are witnessing now is a undocumented immigration combined with a tunity. We need to start dealing with
continuation of a trend that began at backlog of demand because of 2020’s the truth.
the end of last year. In fact, as you can coronavirus border closure. The number of immigrants showing
see here, the 10-year high for apprehen- What they are essentially saying is up at the border today is large, but the
sions at the border happened right in that because of conditions on the winter increase isn’t bigger than either
the middle of the Trump administra- ground in Central America and Mexico, of the last two winters prior to the
tion—a time during which the Presi- you saw an increase in crossings and pandemic with respect to percentage
dent was crowing that his policies at apprehensions in 2018 and 2019 that van- increase. It didn’t start when Joe Biden
the border were the toughest ever. ished only in 2020 because of title 42 au- became President or because of Joe
Here is the second fact. The border is
thority that is now starting back up Biden’s policies. The increase started
not open, as Republicans falsely claim.
again. last year, when Donald Trump was
Here is what is happening right now on
Again, the data backs this up. This President.
our southern border. Since the pan-
year, from January to February, there To the extent that Republicans op-
demic began, the administration in-
was a 28-percent increase in crossings. pose President Biden’s lifting of the
voked something called title 42 that al-
January to February 2019, there was a title 42 removal proceedings for kids,
lows, temporarily, during a public
31-percent increase. Go back to 2018; what is your alternative? Do you sup-
health emergency, the Border Patrol to
February to March, a 25-percent in- port just dumping these kids, these 10-
turn everyone back around and send
crease. For the last 3 years, outside of and 11-year-olds, on the other side of
them back into Mexico regardless of
the pandemic environment, during the the border, scared and alone, and just
whether they have an asylum claim
winter, you will see a routine 25- to 30- leaving them to die or to be forced into
that is legitimate or not. Under law,
that is a temporary authority that is percent increase in presentations at the arms of drug cartels or traffickers
only allowed to be used during a public the border. This is when people nor- in Northern Mexico? That is un-Amer-
health emergency, and President mally cross, during the relatively cold- ican, and I am glad my President chose
Trump was using that authority. er weather months of the winter. to end that inhumane, temporary pol-
The problem was that for these kids Second, these numbers are really de- icy.
who were showing up at the border, ceiving because these aren’t unique in- But even if President Biden contin-
who had legitimate asylum claims, dividuals; this is just total number of ued title 42 authority for kids for a few
right, whose lives were in danger in the apprehensions. So what is happening more months, expedited removal can’t
places they were coming from, when we under title 42 is that adults are being last forever. The law doesn’t allow it.
turned them around and sent them immediately removed right back to So once again, pretty soon, every mi-
back to the Mexican border, we were Mexico, but then they are immediately grant is going to be able to have the
essentially leaving them to die. Their attempting to recross. So many of chance to apply for asylum, as they
parents weren’t there. The smugglers these numbers look high because you should. And herein lies an opportunity.
who brought them to the United States have individuals who never got the Let’s work together to fix what is a le-
had already left. chance to make an asylum claim who gitimately broken system.
This was a disastrous, inhumane, un- are crossing multiple times at the bor- I will give an example. People should
conscionable policy, to turn these kids der. be able to apply for asylum in the
back around to the border and leave The fourth fact is that there is little United States. We built this Nation by
them to the smugglers, to the sex traf- evidence that American policy at the allowing people to come here from very
fickers with no one to help. So the only border has much to do with migration dangerous places. But the asylum proc-
change President Biden made was to rates. The evidence, the facts show ess takes too long—years between
say that these unaccompanied minors that it is conditions on the ground in when you present yourself at the bor-
need to be protected; we need to proc- the origin nations that are what deter- der and when you get a final decision
ess their asylum claims. But President mine whether people pack up their on whether you can stay in the United
Biden is still turning around, under homes and leave for America. States. Let’s fix that. It is within our
title 42 authority, every single adult, Again, this chart is a good indication ability as Members of Congress to fix

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
every group of adults, and every family of that fact, because Donald Trump that. The administration can’t do it.
who comes to the border, under title 42 would tell you that his policies were They need resources. They need new
authority. tougher than anybody’s, but the 10- law and new authorities.
The border is not open. All that has year high in crossings, apprehensions Republicans and Democrats could
changed is that the prior law that was happened in the middle of Donald choose to—instead of playing politics,
applied before the pandemic began is Trump’s inhumane border policies. instead of offering up motions today
being applied selectively to unaccom- Why? Because during this time, condi- that are sure to lose, we could sit down
panied minors. tions are abysmal. Violence is spiking and try to do something about it. But

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March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1731
for 6 years, Republicans had the oppor- This Saturday, March 27, will be the demonstrate a 25-percent loss in rev-
tunity to bring together a conversation 1-year date since the CARES Act was enue. The bill also expanded eligibility
around comprehensive immigration re- enacted. In that time, SBA has ap- of PPP to include certain local news-
form, and they didn’t. Hopefully, we proved 8.2 million PPP loans worth papers, TV stations and radio stations,
will have the opportunity to do that more than $715 billion. as well as 501(c)6 nonprofits.
now. These loans have saved small busi- I must remind my colleagues that
Lastly, behind every single one of nesses throughout our Nation. They while the SBA was beginning to imple-
these individuals coming to the border would not be here today but for this ment the improvements we made to
is a story, is a real human being. Ask program. It also saved the stress on our the PPP in the Economic Aid Act, the
yourself, if your child were being re- unemployment insurance system by Agency was also undergoing a transi-
cruited into vicious drug gangs with a keeping small business employees on tion from the Trump administration to
high likelihood of serious harm or the payroll. And as I am sure the Pre- the Biden administration. Transitions,
death, would you not take steps to siding Officer knows, for a small busi- even under the best circumstances, can
keep your child safe? Would you not ness, it is difficult to find a workforce be disruptive to an Agency’s work.
bring them to a place like America and to keep a workforce, and the Pay- On February 22, the Biden adminis-
that was safer for that child? check Protection Program allowed tration took strong action to get fund-
I visited, on Friday, the southwest small businesses to maintain their ing to small businesses that were ei-
border. I was in El Paso with a group of workforce so that when the pandemic ther left out or underfunded during
bipartisan colleagues and Secretary is over, they are going to be ready for prior rounds of PPP. The administra-
Mayorkas, who is doing a good job, who our growing economy. tion implemented a 14-day exclusive
is managing this emergency with skill. The world feels a little different window for small businesses with fewer
I met a little girl, about 13 years old, today than it did a year ago. The than 20 employees. It updated the max-
who was in one of these processing fa- American people are finally beginning imum loan calculation formula for sole
cilities waiting to be moved into the to see a light at the end of the tunnel. proprietors, and it eliminated rules
asylum process. She was truly scared. More than 124 million vaccine doses prohibiting small businesses owned by
She was truly scared. She knew she have been administered, and public formerly incarcerated individuals and
was going to have a chance to reunite health officials nationwide are begin- individuals with delinquent Federal
with her family in the United States, ning to ease restrictions on public student loans from securing a PPP
but these detention centers—they are gatherings. loan.
better than they were in 2019, but they We can see a light at the end of the It made it possible and much more
are no place for kids. tunnel, but we are not there yet. Small worthwhile for small businesses to
That little girl was coming from businesses are struggling, but in spite apply for PPP loans, but it takes time.
Guatemala, a place where there are of those struggles, small businesses are PPP is a forgivable loan, but you have
certain neighborhoods that are more still showing up for our communities. to have a financial institution to make
violent than any war zone in the Mid- The Baltimore Sun recently pub- that loan. It has to be processed, it has
dle East, a place where murder rates lished a story about a restaurant in my to be approved, and it can’t be done by
eclipse anything we can even imagine hometown of Baltimore that captured the end of this month.
in the United States. the essence of the value that small During the exclusivity period, SBA
So that little girl, she needs America businesses bring to our communities. approved PPP loans for more than
to survive, but I would argue that Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe, co- 400,000 small businesses and nonprofits
America needs her more because with- owners of the popular restaurant in with fewer than 20 employees, nearly
out her and the thousands of other Baltimore named Ekiben, recently half of which were first-time bor-
children arriving at our border, hungry drove 6 hours from Baltimore to rowers. We are reaching the hard to
for a better life, we are going to risk Vermont to prepare a meal for a long- serve, the most needy of the small
abandoning the entire original idea of time customer who was on her death- businesses. They finally got help.
this great, one-of-a-kind Nation, a Na- bed. They did this at their own cost be- Earlier this month, we passed the
tion that opens its arms to those who cause that is what small business own- historic American Rescue Plan. The
are fleeing violence and desperation. It ers do. They are part of our commu- plan expanded PPP eligibility even
is not just our tradition; it is our defi- nity. Afterward, Mr. Chu and Mr. more, to include more nonprofits as
nition as a country—more reason for Abebe called the decision a ‘‘no- well as digital news platforms. The
those of us in the U.S. Senate to resist brainer’’ and viewed their trip as a way plan provides overdue aid to the local
the temptation to play politics with to say thank you to a customer who chapters of large nonprofits, such as
these kids’ lives and with the very had supported them for years. the YMCA and Goodwill, which had not
complicated, nuanced, important issue That is what makes small businesses had prior access to PPP due to having
of immigration and instead find ways special. They are more than places we multiple locations totaling more than
to be truthful about what is happening go to buy products or enjoy a meal. 500 employees. The plan makes these
at the border as a means to come to- They are vital pillars in our commu- nonprofits eligible for PPP loans worth
gether and do something about it. nity. That story and countless others up to $10 million, as long as each loca-
I yield the floor. like it are why we passed the PPP pro- tion does not exceed the employee
I suggest the absence of a quorum. gram initially and why we must pass limit. That makes sense.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the PPP Extension Act—so PPP can During a hearing examining PPP last
clerk will call the roll. continue to be a lifeline for small busi- week, the small business community
The legislative clerk proceeded to nesses in the coming months. heard testimony from John Hoey, who
call the roll. Congress and the Biden administra- leads the YMCA chapter that serves
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask tion have implemented significant im- the Baltimore region. John urged us to
unanimous consent that the order for provements to the PPP in recent extend the PPP to give nonprofit lead-
the quorum call be rescinded. months that have made the program ers more time to understand the pro-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without more equitable and useful. So we must gram. He said:
objection, it is so ordered. now extend the deadline to allow small I can tell you that colleagues of mine who
PPP EXTENSION ACT OF 2021 businesses and nonprofits to take full run large Ys around the country and large

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise advantage and receive the help that nonprofits in Baltimore are still trying to
today to urge swift passage of the PPP they need. understand the program and figure out if
Extension Act, which will extend the In December, Congress passed the bi- they qualify. I think a 3-month extension is
March 31 deadline for the Paycheck partisan Economic Aid Act, which pro- not only warranted but owed to all of us
Protection Program 2 months, to May vided an additional $284 billion to PPP after what we’ve been through this past year.
31, and give the SBA an additional and made second-round PPP loans We also heard testimony from Lisa
month, through June 30, to process any available to small businesses that had Mensah, who leads the Opportunity Fi-
backlogged applications. spent their initial PPP loan and can nance Network, which is the national

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