Congressional Record — Senate, S1744 (March 24, 2021)

Summary

Page S1744 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for March 24, 2021, in interleaved columns. A tribute remembers Judge Hall, a Vermont jurist who gave Vermont Law School graduates opportunities, as signed by his former clerks. A speaker reads the eulogy delivered in 2012 by Veronique de la Rosa for her six-year-old son, killed at a school in Sandy Hook, as a reminder of the human toll of gun violence. Other speakers urge support for cloture on the PPP Extension Act of 2021, welcome Dr. Murthy back as Surgeon General and say they will support Mr. Turk's nomination.

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“Congressional Record — Senate, S1744 (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-pgs1744-2-49e012ac14/, SHA-256 f94c3abba7477dabbe012a21f2dcafdb6176229cf01d3645e8404aa53b2686e6.

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S1744 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
Judge Hall cared deeply about giving Today, I want to share with you the are the backbone of our economy, par-
Vermonters, particularly Vermont Law voice of Veronique de la Rosa. Her son ticularly in States like those of the
School graduates, and those from non-tradi- Noah, just 6 years old, was murdered in Presiding Officer and the State that I
tional paths and backgrounds opportunities
his classroom at Sandy Hook Elemen- am privileged to represent, the great
to learn and excel. Our lives have been for-
ever changed by the gift of having clerked in tary, and she delivered this eulogy for State of Maine.
his chambers. We hope that Judge Hall’s her son at his 2012 funeral. Later today, the Senate is slated to
leadership in elevating diverse voices and ex- I am going to read it in its entirety vote on cloture on the motion to pro-
periences will further cement his legacy on so that it can be included in the ceed to H.R. 1799, the PPP Extension
the Court and in the law. We owe him more RECORD, the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Act of 2021.
than we could ever repay. and can serve as a reminder of the As a sponsor of the Senate com-
Judge Hall was a hero and a guiding light human toll that our gun culture has panion bill, along with my colleagues
to many of us. He was all a federal judge and Senator CARDIN and Senator SHAHEEN,
a career public servant should be. The United
taken.
Veronique said: I urge my colleagues to support the
States is a more just nation because of his
The sky is crying, and the flags are at half- cloture motion.
decades of public service. We miss him dear-
mast. It is a sad, sad day. But it is also your We are also delighted that several of
ly.
M. Michael Cole; Timothy C. Doherty, Jr.; day, Noah, my little man. I will miss your our colleagues have joined us as co-
Minor Myers; Nora Von Stange; Thomas forceful and purposeful little steps stomping sponsors of the Senate companion bill.
Brad Davey; Erik W. Weibust; Robin D. through our house. I will miss your per- The Paycheck Protection Program
Barovick; Samuel I. Portnoy; Timothy C. petual smile, the twinkle in your dark blue continues to be a lifeline for small
Perry; Stacey D. Neumann; Rachel Hanna- eyes, framed by eyelashes that would be the businesses. It has made the difference
ford; Russell Plato; Jill Pfenning; Reagan envy of any lady in this room. between their shutting their doors and
Roth; Melissa Kelly; Sanja Zgonjanin; Peter Most of all, I will miss your visions of your laying off their employees and their
Sax; Elizabeth (Betsy) Grossman; Tom future. You wanted to be a doctor, a soldier,
being able to remain open, survive the
Valente; Nikhil Rao; Alison Share; Nomi a taco factory manager. It was your favorite
food, and no doubt you wanted to ensure that pandemic, and most important of all,
Barst/Berenson.
Christopher Worth; Matthew Grieco; Jus- the world kept producing tacos. send paychecks to their employees.
tin Brown; Peter Fox; Katherine Padgett; You were a little boy whose life force had Since the program was created last
Mark W. Vorkink; Shannon Wolf; Nathan P. all the gravitational pull of a celestial body. year, more than $718 billion in forgiv-
Murphy; Jonathan D. Lamberti; Molly E. You were light and love, mischief and able Small Business Administration
Watson; Jonathan R. Voegele; Megan E. pranks. You adored your family with every loans have been approved, securing
Larkin; John H. Bernetich; Austin fiber of your 6-year-old being. We are all of tens of millions of jobs in this country.
Winniford; Aiysha S. Hussain; Mark Harrison us elevated in our humanity by having The program has also been respon-
Foster, Jr.; Lydie Essama; Lucas C. Buzzard; known you. A little maverick, who didn’t al- sible for bringing approximately $3 bil-
Patrick A. Woods; Peter V. Keays; Molly R. ways want to do his schoolwork or clean up lion to the State of Maine in forgivable
Gray; Michael A. Mcguane. his toys, when practicing his ninja moves or
Mike L. DiGiulio; Caryn A. Devins; Ste- Super Mario on the Wii seemed far more im-
loans that have allowed our small busi-
phen F. Coteus; Ryan M. Royce; Peter I. portant. nesses, particularly those in the hospi-
Dysart; L. Raymond Sun; Matthew J. Greer; Noah, you will not pass this way again. I tality industry, to survive the pan-
Danielle C. Quinn; Alex Nelson; Caroline C. can only believe that you were planted on demic and continue to send paychecks
Cease; Spencer R. Allen; Elise Milne Keys; Earth to bloom in heaven. Take flight, my to their employees.
Leslie Cahill; Jenna Scoville; Brentley boy. Soar. You now have the wings that you The current application deadline for
Smith; Fiona O’Carroll; Amelia Hritz; Kelly always wanted. Go to that peaceful valley the PPP is March 31. That is just days
Lester; Joseph Hartunian; Zachary Dayno; that we will all one day come to know. I will away. I continue to hear about the ur-
Atticus DeProspo; John Howard; Jessica Bul- join you someday. Not today. I still have lots gent need for more PPP assistance
lock. of mommy love to give to Danielle, Michael,
from Maine’s small businesses and to
Mr. LEAHY. I yield the floor. Sophia and Arielle.
Until then, your melody will linger in our hear from others who are eligible for
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- assistance but whose financial institu-
hearts forever. Momma loves you, little man.
ator from Minnesota. tions are getting error messages from
GUN VIOLENCE Veronique should not have had to eu-
the Small Business Administration’s
Ms. SMITH. Madam President, I want logize Noah, her 6-year-old son—1 of 20
computer system.
to also just thank my colleague from children killed at Sandy Hook. Originally, the SBA had used the E-
Vermont for that lovely tribute to So I ask my Republican colleagues to Tran system. For some reason, it
Judge Hall. think of her when you suggest that switched computers for this round of
I can see that he meant a lot to you families exaggerate their anguish for PPP, and we understand that there are
and was a great public servant. So political gain. more than 190,000 applications that are
thank you, Senator LEAHY. Just yesterday, one of my Republican pending for approval that are likely el-
Madam President, in a year of so colleagues dismissed this grief as ‘‘the- igible for assistance but are held up be-
much heartbreak and grief and death, ater.’’ No. This is life and death. cause of computer glitches or other er-
it almost escaped notice that we had So I am angry. I am angry because I rors.
gone in this country a year without a know that we have the power to stop The bill before us today mirrors the
mass shooting in a public place. this violence, and yet our Republican legislation that I introduced with Sen-
But now we face the grim reminder of colleagues stand in the way. They ators CARDIN and SHAHEEN in that it
our American reality. In the space of a refuse to work with us. They continue provides for a clean extension of the
week, two separate mass shootings to put the demands of the NRA above PPP application deadline. It would
stole the lives of 18 people. And just the demands of the people we are elect- simply extend the application deadline
weeks ago, we suffered a mass shooting ed to serve—that we stop this horrific for PPP loans from March 31 to May 31,
in a health clinic in my home State of gun violence, that we protect the peo- just 2 more months, and then it would
Minnesota. ple we are elected to serve. provide an additional 30 days for the
So here we are again, thrust into a Madam President, we need universal SBA to process pending applications.
familiar cycle of collective grief and background checks. We need to ban as- So if a small restaurant, for example,
frustration and anger. Our hearts sault weapons and high-capacity maga- applied for a second PPP loan for
break for the families and loved ones of zines. We need to end this cycle, and we which it is eligible because its revenues
those whose lives were stolen. Our need all of us in Congress to find the are down by 25 percent, comparing
strength and the humanity to take ac-

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voices cry out for change to end the similar quarters in 2019 and 2020, it
scourge of gun violence. And our anger tion. would not lose out because it applied in
grows as our voices are ignored and we I yield the floor. May and the SBA did not get time to
are told by Republican leaders that The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- process the application.
there is nothing that we can do to pro- ator from Maine. Our bill has been endorsed by more
tect American lives from gun violence. PPP EXTENSION ACT OF 2021 than 90 organizations, including the
Colleagues, it is our job to protect Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, Nation’s largest small business advo-
American lives. small businesses and their employees cacy group, the National Federation of

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March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1745
Independent Business, which is key types of American energy. This is crit- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
voting this vote. It has also been en- ical if we are going to keep America an ator from Washington.
dorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Com- energy-dominant nation. I especially NOMINATION OF RACHEL LELAND LEVINE
merce, the American Hotel & Lodging appreciated his commitment to ad- Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I
Association, the International Fran- vance nuclear and carbon capture utili- rise today to strongly urge my col-
chise Association, the National Res- zation and sequestration technologies. leagues to support the nomination of
taurant Association, the U.S. Travel During his hearing, he said that Dr. Rachel Levine. She is a highly
Association, and the Independent Com- there are huge opportunities on carbon qualified public health expert to serve
munity Bankers of America. capture utilization and sequestration if as Assistant Secretary for Health.
The House passed this clean PPP ex- we can work together and really go to As the highest ranking health official
tension last week by an overwhelming scale. He also emphasized the need to in Pennsylvania, she led the State’s
margin of 415 to 3. construct CO2 pipelines to move the COVID–19 response by focusing on
With the House now in recess and the captured carbon, and I agree. Carbon transparency and clear, science-based
Senate leaving this week, advancing a capture technologies hold the key to communication; giving daily briefings
clean extension through the Senate en- major emission reduction while ena- on the status of the pandemic; and ad-
sures the continuation of this vital re- bling America to use the tremendous vocating for the resources and support
lief for our small businesses and their natural resources with which we are Pennsylvanians needed.
employees. We simply have to get this blessed. Dr. Levine has been on the frontlines
done. This issue has broad bipartisan sup- of this pandemic, which is why she
I agree with my colleagues that there port. Last Congress, I worked with knows firsthand what our States and
are further improvements that could be Democrats, including SHELDON WHITE- communities need from the Depart-
made to PPP, such as addressing an HOUSE and TOM CARPER, as well as Re- ment of Health and Human Services.
issue facing certain sole proprietors. publicans, including SHELLEY MOORE Even before this crisis, Dr. Levine es-
Unfortunately, the new administration CAPITO, to pass the USE IT Act into tablished herself as a trusted voice to
changed the rules, so sole proprietors law. This bipartisan law will support the people of Pennsylvania on matters
who applied early when the program the development of carbon capture and of public health through her work to
reopened in January were treated dif- direct air capture techniques. establish opioid prescribing guidelines
ferently than sole proprietors who are This kind of groundbreaking research and education for medical students,
applying now. That obviously doesn’t is already happening in Wyoming. The make lifesaving treatment for opioid
make sense. We should have the same Integrated Test Center located outside overdoses widely available, combat
rule. of Gillette, WY, is hosting carbon cap- eating disorders, increase health eq-
I have talked with the new SBA Ad- ture research teams today. These re- uity, and help the LGBTQ community
ministrator about this problem. She search teams are looking at how we get healthcare.
agrees that it is unfair and needs to be can take captured carbon emissions She was confirmed to both of her po-
fixed and has committed to working and transform them into marketable sitions in the State with broad bipar-
with all the sponsors and with the products like building materials, cloth- tisan support. She passed out of the
House and Senate Small Business Com- ing, and even hand sanitizer. So I Health, Education, Labor, and Pen-
mittee to find a solution to ensure that would welcome Mr. Turk and Energy sions Committee with support from Re-
the program is implemented as Con- Secretary Granholm to come to Gil- publican colleagues last week, and I
gress intended. lette to see the fantastic research tak- hope she will be confirmed today in a
But in order to ensure that there is ing place there. strong bipartisan vote as well.
adequate time to develop and imple- Mr. Turk was also very responsive to I want to take a moment to acknowl-
ment these improvements, we must the committee’s questions for the edge what her confirmation today
first, without delay, pass H.R. 1799 to record. That has not been the case with would represent for our country be-
keep the PPP open for another 2 every one of President Biden’s nomi- cause, in addition to being a high
months. nees so far. qualified nominee, Dr. Levine is also a
I urge all of my colleagues to support If he is confirmed, Mr. Turk must historic one. Upon confirmation, she
cloture and passage of this important prioritize policies that take advantage will be the highest ranking openly
bipartisan legislation. It truly is bipar- of the enormous economic and national transgender official in our government
tisan. security benefits generated by Amer- and the first one ever confirmed by the
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ica’s oil, natural gas, and coal re- Senate.
ator from Wyoming. sources. I have always said the people in our
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I The Biden administration has taken government should reflect the people it
ask unanimous consent that Senator a sledgehammer to the economies of serves, and today we will take a new,
MURRAY and I be permitted to com- Wyoming and other Western States by historic step toward making that a re-
plete our remarks prior to the vote for declaring war on these natural re- ality.
up to 5 minutes each. sources. Let me be very clear: Coal, oil I am proud to vote for Dr. Levine and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without and natural gas are not going away. incredibly proud of the progress this
objection, it is so ordered. America is going to rely on these re- confirmation will represent for our
NOMINATION OF DAVID TURK sources for decades to come. We need country and for transgender people all
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, to use and promote every kind of across it who are watching today. I
today the Senate is going to vote on American energy and the thousands of hope all my colleagues are as well.
the nomination of David Turk, who jobs that come with them. I would also say how glad I am that
will be serving as Deputy Secretary of Coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, yesterday we voted to confirm Dr.
Energy. If confirmed, he is going to and renewables are all essential to Murthy as Surgeon General.
play a critical role in our Nation’s en- America’s energy mix. Mr. Turk dem- During his last tenure as Surgeon
ergy agenda and in leading the Depart- onstrated that he understood that re- General, Dr. Murthy established him-
ment. ality during his nomination hearing. self as a trusted voice on matters of
His experience in energy policy is ex- He can be sure that I will hold him to public health, helped see our Nation
tensive. He served in leadership posi- the commitments he made during his through the Zika outbreak, and pub-

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tions at the International Energy nomination hearing to expand carbon lished groundbreaking reports on the
Agency, the U.S. Department of En- capture as well as nuclear power. I am opioid epidemic and rising youth to-
ergy, the U.S. Department of State, going to continue to hold the Biden ad- bacco use.
and the National Security Council. He ministration accountable as well. I am pleased to have Dr. Murthy re-
is an expert in the field, and his quali- As I did in committee, I will support turning to the role of Surgeon General
fications are very clear. Mr. Turk’s nomination on the floor at this critical time.
It is also clear from his nomination today. When it comes to ending this pan-
hearing that he is dedicated to all I yield the floor. demic, we have a lot of work to do and

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