Congressional Record, Senate, April 28, 2021 (S2278) — United States Senate
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated April 28, 2021, at pages S2278 and S2279, carrying floor speeches and printed material. A speaker urges support for the nomination of Ambassador Power, and Mr. Grassley asks Senators to support either Senator Cotton's permanent extension or his own bipartisan bill to keep fentanyl analogs in schedule I for 14 months, saying fentanyl analogs killed 50,000 Americans in the last 12 months. Mr. Scott of Florida says new polling shows 87 percent of Americans are concerned about rising costs and has printed a New York Times article of April 13, 2021, titled The Biden Administration Is Quietly Obsessing Over Inflation. The page ends with a speech on workers' rights.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, April 28, 2021 (S2278) — United States Senate.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-04-28-crec-2021-04-28-pt1-pgs2278-2-eca8eb884c/
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S2278 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 28, 2021
about what was happening in his coun- Opponents of permanent scheduling buying less because of increasing
try. She then writes that he starts assert that the authority is broad and prices, and more than one-quarter of
speaking and then stops and gets very could result in too many arrests, but all households report that rising prices
emotional. She assumes he is getting since the Drug Enforcement Adminis- on goods are causing them to purchase
emotional about the horrific violence tration placed fentanyl analogs in less.
in his country, but he says to her, ‘‘No, schedule I, the Justice Department has Just this month, the Bureau of Labor
it’s not that, Ambassador. What is hap- convicted only 80 people under that au- Statistics reported that, over the last
pening in my country is terrible—more thority. So too many people being ar- 12 months, food prices have gone up,
terrible than anything that has ever rested as an argument against their and gas prices have risen 23 percent.
happened to us before. But I am emo- permanent extension is hogwash. This That means, since Biden was elected,
tional because you are here. The authority hasn’t resulted in vast and gas prices have increased about 70
United States of America is the great- wide prosecutions; rather, this author- cents per gallon across the Nation.
est country in the world, and you, ity has been targeted and deliberate, Year over year, consumer prices in-
America, are here.’’ and, of course, that is the way it should creased 2.6 percent in March. That is
That is the vision of America that be. up from an annual 1.7 percent increase
has defined Ambassador Power’s ca- So if controlling fentanyl analogs is, in February. This is all in addition to
reer, that has guided her in the awe- in fact, bipartisan and necessary, why statements from some of America’s
some responsibility of representing isn’t supporting legislation then a no- largest corporations, like Procter &
this Nation and her values—rooted in brainer? Perhaps because of heightened Gamble and Kimberly-Clark, which re-
the ideals of humility, grace, compas- partisanship, the Democrats can’t vote cently announced that they are in-
sion, and thoughtful leadership. for legislation that helps law enforce-
I have known Ambassador Power creasing prices on a number of their
ment, or maybe they can’t be seen as products. That includes essential
since she and I were very young. It has supporting any drug control law even if
been decades now of friendship and con- household goods, like toilet paper and
it could save thousands of lives. This diapers.
nection. You can say many things
position goes against the unfortunate The evidence of inflation is right in
about her, but her core is decency and
truth that 50,000 Americans have died front of us. Just look at these numbers
honor. She will represent the best of
from these deadly fentanyl analogs. that show the percentage change in av-
us. She is exactly the leader we need
Politics has no place above human life. erage unit prices versus last year: gro-
right now as we navigate the increas- As frustrated as I am by this, it is
ing and pressing challenges facing the ceries up 2.6 percent; household goods
not my nature to throw in the towel. I up 5.2 percent; baby care up 7 percent;
world and our country. will always work hard to find middle
I am thankful. It would be enough for general merchandise up 7.1 percent.
ground. That is why I am asking every Wages never go up this fast. So who
Ambassador Power to retire. It would
Senator to support Senator COTTON’s does it hurt? It hurts the poorest and
be enough for her to say, ‘‘I have
served my country’’ and, like permanent extension or, at a min- those on fixed incomes.
Cincinnatus, will return to her plow, imum, my bill, the Temporary Exten-
Businesses are also expecting price
but, clearly, her calling has not yet sion of Fentanyl Scheduling Act. This
increases to continue.
fully been answered. She will continue, bipartisan measure extends the author-
ity to schedule fentanyl analogs for 14 According to data from FactSet, 47
should this body believe it and endorse S&P companies have mentioned infla-
it, to serve this country. She will con- months. It keeps fentanyl analogs in
schedule I until July 2022, which is long tion on their earnings calls for Q1 2021.
tinue to honor the United States of That is more than during any other
America. She will continue to be a enough for the administration to come
to a permanent scheduling solution and quarter in the last 10 years.
credit to our Nation and the world.
allow for a deliberate and transparent On its most recent earnings call,
That is why I urge my colleagues to
dialogue with Congress. Procter & Gamble’s chief financial offi-
support her nomination.
I yield the floor. Simply put, we need to give ourselves cer, Andre Schulten, said:
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- enough time to find a solution to this The commodity cost challenges we face
ator from Iowa. major problem causing 50,000 lives to this year will, obviously, be larger next fis-
FENTANYL be lost every year. As history shows us, cal year.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I lengthy fentanyl scheduling legislation Who gets hurt the most when infla-
am 5 minutes late in coming to the is not controversial. I am simply ask- tion rises? Not the rich. It is working
Senate floor. I was supposed to be here ing for a similar, bipartisan approach families, especially those on low and
on the fentanyl issue to support Sen- now. My bill is the only bipartisan fixed incomes.
ator COTTON. I know that an objection temporary extension bill on the table. I grew up poor and watched my par-
has been raised, but I want people to I am grateful for Senators HASSAN
ents struggle to put food on the table.
know how important I think this issue and SHAHEEN for teaming up with me
I know just how much a slight rise in
is. and Senator CORNYN.
We can’t limit ourselves in the fight prices can hurt a family, because I saw
Today, we were considering—hope- it while I was growing up, and that is
fully, by unanimous consent—passing a against fentanyl. It is with this in
mind that I urge all of my colleagues what is happening right now across our
bill to permanently schedule fentanyl Nation.
substances. Proactively scheduling to support either a permanent exten-
sion or my bipartisan bill and to ex- We know that those in the Biden ad-
fentanyl-related substances ought to be
tend the authority to schedule fentanyl ministration are worried about this.
a big priority because too many Ameri-
analogs for 14 months. They know that rising costs caused by
cans’ lives have been lost to reject this
I yield the floor. their massive spending are bad for
critical measure.
Some wrongly assert that controlling The PRESIDING OFFICER. The jun- Americans, but they won’t say it.
fentanyl analogs is partisan and unnec- ior Senator from Florida. While they are reportedly worrying in
essary. That is simply untrue. Legisla- UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. RES. 185 private about the effects of their spend-
tion to schedule fentanyl analogs is a Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam Presi- ing plans, they have had a different
bipartisan issue. Just last year, this dent, Americans are worried about in- message in public.
body passed a bipartisan, 15-month ex- flation. New polling shows that 87 per- On April 13, the New York Times re-
cent of Americans are concerned about ported that officials and aides at the
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tension bill unanimously. Also, such
authority is necessary. The CDC esti- the rising costs of household items, White House and the Department of
mates that fentanyl analogs have like diapers and gas and groceries. the Treasury have been holding private
killed 50,000 Americans in the last 12 That is up from 77 percent just last meetings for months to discuss infla-
months. We must prevent overdose month. They have good reason to feel tion and have conducted indepth inter-
deaths. Prevention is possible when we that way. Right now, reports show that nal analyses for senior officials and
use our laws to force China to stop the a third of American households making President Biden.
flow of fentanyl analogs. less than $50,000 in annual income are The article goes on to read:
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April 28, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2279
Mr. Biden’s aides are sufficiently worried creases right away. Administration officials higher expectations led to higher inflation.
about the risk of that spending fueling infla- also continue to check on real-time meas- They estimated the odds that the Fed would
tion that they shaped his infrastructure pro- ures of prices across the economy, multiple react to such moves by quickly and steeply
posal, which has yet to be taken up by Con- times a day. raising interest rates, potentially slamming
gress, to funnel out $2.3 trillion over eight ‘‘We think the likeliest outlook over the the brakes on growth and causing another
years, which is slower than traditional stim- next several months is for inflation to rise recession.
ulus. modestly,’’ two officials at Mr. Biden’s Coun- The informal group that initially gathered
cil of Economic Advisers, Jared Bernstein to research those questions included Mr.
Madam President, I ask unanimous
and Ernie Tedeschi, wrote on Monda in a Bernstein, a member of the Council of Eco-
consent to have printed in the RECORD blog post outlining some of the administra- nomic Advisers; David Kamin, a deputy di-
this New York Times article, dated tion’s thinking. ‘‘We will, however, carefully rector of the National Economic Council; Mi-
April 13, 2021. monitor both actual price changes and infla- chael Pyle, Vice President Kamala Harris’s
There being no objection, the mate- tion expectations for any signs of unexpected chief economic adviser; and two Treasury of-
rial was ordered to be printed in the price pressures that might arise as America ficials, Nellie Liang and Ben Harris. More
RECORD, as follows: leaves the pandemic behind and enters the members have joined over time, including
next economic expansion.’’ Mr. Tedeschi.
[From the New York Times, Apr. 13, 2021]
Some Republicans call that posture dan- The group reports regularly to Ms. Yellen
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS QUIETLY and other senior officials including Brian
gerous. Senator Rick Scott of Florida, the
OBSESSING OVER INFLATION Deese, who heads the N.E.C., and Cecilia
chairman of his party’s campaign arm for
(By Jim Tankersley) the 2022 midterm elections, has called on Mr. Rouse, who leads the C.E.A. Its work has in-
WASHINGTON.—Even before President Biden Biden and Mr. Powell to present plans to formed economic briefings of Mr. Biden and
took office, some of his closest aides were fo- fight inflation now. Ms. Harris.
cused on a question that risked derailing his ‘‘The president’s refusal to address this ‘‘The president and the vice president,
economic agenda: Would his plans for a $1.9 critical issue has a direct negative effect on their job is to deliver good economic out-
trillion economic rescue package and addi- Floridians and families across our nation, comes for the American people,’’ Mr. Pyle
tional government spending overheat the and hurts low- and fixed-income Americans said in an interview. ‘‘Part of what deliv-
economy and fuel runaway inflation? the most,’’ Mr. Scott said in a news release ering strong economic outcomes to the
To find the answer, a close circle of advis- last week. ‘‘It’s time for Biden to wake up American people means is ensuring that
ers now working at the White House and the from his liberal dream and realize that reck- their team is fully on top of both the
Treasury Department projected the behav- less spending has consequences, inflation is tailwinds to the U.S. economy but also the
iors of shoppers, employers, stock traders real and America’s debt crisis is growing. In- risks that are out there. And this is one of
and others if Mr. Biden’s plans succeeded. Of- flation is rising and Americans deserve an- them.’’
ficials as senior as Janet L. Yellen, the Mr. Pyle and his colleagues looked at fi-
swers from Biden now.’’
nancial market measures of inflation expec-
Treasury secretary, pored over the analyses Economic teams in recent administrations
tations, including one called the five-year,
in video calls and in-person meetings, look- spent little time worrying about inflation,
five-year forward, which currently shows in-
ing for any hint that Mr. Biden’s plans could because inflationary pressures have been
vestors expecting lower inflation levels over
generate sustained price increases that could tame for decades. It has fallen short of the
the next several years than they expected in
hamstring family budgets. It never appeared. Fed’s average target of 2 percent for 10 of the
Those efforts convinced Mr. Biden’s team 2018.
last 12 years, topping out at 2.5 percent in At the same time, officials at the Treas-
that there is little risk of inflation spiraling the midst of the longest economic expansion ury’s Office of Economic Policy conducted a
out of the Federal Reserve’s control—an out- in history. series of modeling exercises to ‘‘stress test’’
come that Wall Street analysts, a few promi- Shortly before the pandemic recession hit
the virus relief package and how it might
nent Republicans and even liberal econo- the United States in 2020, President Donald
change those price and expectation measures
mists like Lawrence H. Summers, the former J. Trump’s economic team wrote that ‘‘price
if put in place. They considered scenarios
Treasury secretary, have said could flow inflation remains low and stable’’ even with
where consumers quickly spent their aid
from the trillions being pumped into the unemployment below 4 percent. As the econ-
money, which included $1,400 checks, or
economy. omy struggled to climb out from the 2008 fi-
where they did not spend much of it at all
Traditional readings of price increases are nancial crisis under President Barack
right away. They talked with large banks
beginning to turn upward as the recovery ac- Obama, White House aides feared that prices
about trends in customers’ cash balances and
celerates. On Tuesday, the Consumer Price might fall, instead of rise.
how quickly people were returning to the
Index rose 0.6 percent, its fastest monthly in- ‘‘Given the economic crisis, we worried
work force. Ms. Yellen, a former Fed chair,
crease in more than a decade, while a less about preventing deflation rather than infla-
helped adjust the models herself.
volatile index excluding food and energy rose tion,’’ said Austan Goolsbee, a chairman of
The exercises produced a wide range of pos-
a more muted 0.3 percent. the Council of Economic Advisers during Mr.
sibilities for inflation. But they never sug-
But Mr. Biden’s advisers believe any price Obama’s first term.
gested it would rise so rapidly that the Fed
spike is likely to be temporary and not The conversation has changed given the
could not easily handle it by adjusting inter-
harmful, essentially a one-time event stem- large amounts of money that the federal gov-
est rates or other monetary policy tools.
ming from the unique nature of a pandemic ernment is channeling into the economy,
They saw no risk of a sharp return to reces-
recession that ruptured supply chains and first under Mr. Trump and now under Mr.
sion—and no reason to pull back from spend-
continues to depress activity in key eco- Biden. Since the pandemic took hold, Con-
ing proposals that administration officials
nomic sectors like restaurant dining and gress has approved more than $5 trillion in
believe will help the economy heal faster and
tourism. spending, including direct checks to individ-
The administration’s view mirrors the pos- help historically disadvantaged groups, like
uals.
ture of top officials at the Fed, including its Mr. Biden’s aides are sufficiently worried Black and Hispanic workers, regain jobs and
chairman, Jerome H. Powell, whose mandate about the risk of that spending fueling infla- income.
‘‘We’re going to see some heat in this econ-
includes maintaining price stability in the tion that they shaped his infrastructure pro-
omy,’’ Mr. Pyle said. ‘‘That heat is going to
economy. Mr. Powell has said that the Fed posal, which has yet to be taken up by Con-
be good and redound to the benefit of wages
expects any short-term price pops to be tem- gress, to funnel out $2.3 trillion over the
and labor market conditions overall and par-
porary, not sustained, and not the type of course of eight years, which is slower than
ticularly for a number of communities that
uptick that would prompt the central bank traditional stimulus.
Even before Mr. Summers and others have been at the margins of the labor mar-
to raise interest rates rapidly—or anytime
raised economic concerns about Mr. Biden’s ket for too long.’’
soon. If the data proves that forecast wrong, offi-
‘‘What we see is relatively modest in- $1.9 trillion relief bill, officials were wres-
cials say privately, they will be quick to
creases in inflation,’’ Mr. Powell said in tling with their own worries about its infla-
adapt. But they will not say how. If inflation
March. ‘‘But those are not permanent tion risks. They had internally concluded,
were to accelerate in a sustained and sur-
things.’’ with direction from Mr. Biden, that the big-
prising way, some officials suggest, the ad-
Armed with their internal data and conclu- gest risk to the economy was going ‘‘too
ministration would trust the Fed to step in
sions, administration officials have begun to small’’ on the aid package—not spending
to contain it.
push back on warnings that a stimulus- enough to help vulnerable Americans survive There is no plan, as of yet, for Mr. Biden to
fueled surge in consumer spending could re- continued stints of joblessness or lost in-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
consider inflation-fighting actions of his
vive a 1970s-style escalation in wages and come. But they wanted to know the risks of own.
prices that could cripple the economy in the going ‘‘too big.’’ Mr. SCOTT of Florida. The content
years to come. They tested whether an uptick in inflation
Yet they remain wary of the inflation might cause people and financial markets to and conclusions of these meetings and
threat and have devised the next wave of Mr. expect rapid price increases in the years to working groups have not been disclosed
Biden’s spending plans, a $2.3 trillion infra- come, upending decades of what economists or been made available to the public.
structure package, to dispense money gradu- call ‘‘well-anchored’’ expectations for prices While privately worrying about the
ally enough not to stoke further price in- and potentially creating a situation where same issue I have been sounding the
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S2280 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 28, 2021
alarm on for months, the Biden admin- all, no one is hiding information. No with drug companies to bring down
istration continues to mislead the one believes what the Senator, the jun- prices for seniors. I hope he will join us
American public and ignore the threat ior Senator from Florida, is saying in investing in childcare to bring down
of inflation. about this. the cost of childcare. I hope he will join
Over the last 2 months, I have asked Perhaps some millionaire Senators us as we work to create more housing,
the National Economic Council about want to make this into an issue, and I bringing down housing costs. I hope he
its plans to fight inflation and protect hear that over and over and over, but I will join us to raise the minimum
American families. talk to people like Jay Powell, Chair of wage.
I have written a Federal Reserve the Federal Reserve, nominated by My first speech on this floor 14 years
member, asked him what can be done President Trump for that position. He, ago—14 years ago, my first speech on
to help families who are seeing sky- of course, keeps his eye on these kinds this floor was to raise the minimum
rocketing gas prices and increasing of things, but he has expressed no wage, and we did, and it hasn’t been
mortgage rates. strong concern about inflation. raised since. That is what the Senator
I have called on President Biden and And we even know that when some from Florida and the Senator from In-
Federal Reserve Chair Powell to lay experts have been concerned, they have diana can help us with.
out their clear plan to address inflation been wrong. We saw what happened in But we know most of the conserv-
and rising prices that threaten Amer- 2008 after too many elites worried ative elites in this country—most
ican families. I have yet to get a about inflation. What we really needed won’t say out loud what this inflation
straightforward or acceptable response. was to increase wages and get people alarmism is really about. They don’t
back to work. The result from 2008 was want to invest in the American people.
I have yet to hear them acknowledge
They don’t want to do anything to
this very real threat or propose a solu- a recovery that was too slow for most
make Americans’ hard work pay off.
tion to protect families. people, while so many of these big
They would rather try to scare people:
So today Senator BRAUN and I are costs continued to rise.
Can’t spend this money because there
making a simple request that the Our economy looks a whole lot better
might be inflation.
Biden administration share with the today than it did last year, but we They don’t want us to do what too
Senate all of its notes, memos, and re- can’t compare where we are today with many have failed to do: put money in
ports regarding their discussions and where we were last year. We were on people’s pockets and raise wages and
plans to mitigate and prevent growing the brink of a once-in-a-generation rebuild infrastructure.
inflation. health and economic crisis at this time I would ask my colleagues to listen
Inflation is a very real threat to the last year. Millions of people, mostly to the words of a worker from West
well-being of already struggling fami- low-wage workers, lost their jobs. Our Virginia, Pamela Garrison. She testi-
lies, and the last thing American fami- economy ground to a halt as we tried fied at our first-ever work listening
lies need is to be misled by this admin- to stop the spread of the virus. session, our ‘‘Dignity of Work’’ session
istration. This year, we have made good in the Banking and Housing Committee
Right now, Democrats in Washington progress with the American Rescue yesterday. She said:
are living in a fantasyland where debt Plan, as the Presiding Officer from We’re seeing corporations make billions
doesn’t matter, spending has no con- Wisconsin knows, getting shots in arms every quarter in profit, but then when we
sequences, inflation is impossible. and money in pockets and kids back in ask for a minimum wage raise, we’re told
But the reality is that inflation does school, people back to work. that ‘‘no that will raise the cost of stuff, oh
have consequences, and it is the duty But our recovery is far from over. that’ll cost jobs.’’
of everyone here, especially the Presi- Just moments ago Fed Chair Powell Funny, corporate executives never
dent of the United States, to be open said that we are seeing some tem- seem to say they will have to raise
and transparent with the American porary upticks because things were so prices when they give themselves bo-
people about what is happening with dire last year, but we still have a long nuses. It is just we will have to raise
inflation. way to go. prices if we increase the minimum
There is no reason the Biden admin- The bigger risk to the economy is not wage.
istration should be hiding this informa- doing enough to raise workers’ wages This same Ms. Garrison also said:
tion. Americans deserve to know the and to invest in the infrastructure that You know, they call me part of the
consequences of massive government allows our economy to grow. working poor. The words ‘‘working’’
spending, and they deserve leadership We know corporate leaders, we know and ‘‘poor’’ shouldn’t be in the same
that will show some fiscal responsi- millionaire Senators, we know people sentence, and she is right about that.
bility when it comes to their taxpayer at the top have done very—in many Real expenses for most families have
dollars. cases, have done very, very well gone up for decades, along with cor-
I look forward to all my colleagues through this, but we know millions of porate profits and the stock market.
supporting this effort to increase workers, many of them hourly work- Executive compensation has exploded
transparency. ers, have lost jobs. We know millions of upward, and workers’ wages haven’t
Madam President, as if in legislative workers, so-called essential workers— kept up.
session, I ask unanimous consent that one essential worker said to me, works Executive compensation—produc-
the Senate proceed to the consider- in a grocery store: I don’t feel essen- tivity is up. Executive compensation is
ation of S. Res. 185, submitted earlier tial. Frankly, I feel expendable because up. Profits are up. Workers’ wages are
they don’t pay me much; they don’t flat. That is the problem. That is what
today. I ask unanimous consent that
protect me at work. Those are the peo- we should be working on.
the resolution be agreed to, the pre-
I object.
amble be agreed to, and the motions to ple we should be looking after. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
reconsider be considered made and laid I want to raise wages. I want to bring tion is heard.
upon the table, with no intervening ac- down costs. That is exactly what the The junior Senator from Florida.
tion or debate. jobs plan and the family plan will do— Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam Presi-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there bring down healthcare costs, make dent, the decision by my colleague to
objection? childcare more affordable, create more block this resolution is clearly dis-
The senior Senator from Ohio. housing people can afford, bring down appointing.
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, re- energy bills, make work—getting to Let’s remember what this was about.
serving the right to object, no serious work cheaper and easier with better
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This was about transparency. They just
economists across the ideological spec- transit. These are the costs that have blocked the Senate from requesting
trum are concerned about inflation been rising and eating away at family basic information that is going to help
right now. No one is hiding informa- budgets for decades. all Americans.
tion at the White House. If my colleague from Florida is so And just look at these numbers
I am in meetings all the time with concerned about the cost of living and again. Just in the last 4 months, gro-
White House officials talking about raising a family, I hope he will join me cery prices are up 2.6 percent; house-
this package. No one believes—first of to allow Medicare to negotiate directly hold care is up 5.2 percent; baby care is
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April 28, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2281
up 7 percent; general merchandise up whole lot like those miners. They have pace even just a little would improve safety
7.1 percent. We are clearly seeing infla- felt like they are on their own. and could save money, to which we were
tion. A moment ago, I mentioned a gro- told, ‘‘Injuries don’t cost the company much
money.’’
Senate Democrats just objected to cery store worker in Cincinnati, who
transparency. That means they are said: ‘‘They tell me I am essential, but We heard from a Wells Fargo call
against getting the facts, against en- I feel expendable.’’ center worker who talked about how
suring accountability, and against get- That grocery store worker and thou- the bank misclassified her to avoid
ting the American people the informa- sands of others have been on the paying overtime. They put her on sal-
tion they need to make smart decisions frontlines of this pandemic, risking ary. They said she was management.
as prices keep rising. their lives so Americans could keep They worked her more than 40 hours.
Eighty-seven percent of Americans food on their table and get their pack- They never paid her an overtime dol-
are worried about the rising costs of ages delivered. They were changing lin- lar.
goods. Apparently, so is the White ens in hospitals and driving buses and We heard from a full-time gig worker
House. So don’t the American people stocking shelves in supermarkets. who works for multiple corporations
deserve the same information about Then workers go home at night and like Uber and Instacart. He works full
what is happening with the economy? are anxious that they might spread the time. He has zero benefits because
Floridians deserve to know the truth virus and infect their family. these companies claim he is an inde-
about inflation and so do the people of We know that hundreds of thousands pendent contractor.
Ohio. Why does my colleague want to of workers have been exposed to the We heard from a Michigan worker
keep them in the dark? virus on the job. Thousands have died. who lost her job when a private equity
This administration is telling the It is hard to get an exact count of how firm bought out her company. They
American people one thing but saying many because the previous administra- laid off 3,100 workers in the Detroit
something else behind closed doors. tion didn’t bother to keep track. area, and they pocketed the money.
That is wrong. We know that food and commercial We heard from a worker in West Vir-
The American people deserve the workers reported last summer that ginia who talked about working her
truth. Inflation is real. It is happening. more than 16,000 grocery store workers whole life and never seeing that hard
It is hurting American families. It is have been exposed, more than 100 have work pay off. She said the term ‘‘work-
time President Biden does something died. We know those numbers keep ing poor’’ should not be two words that
about it, and I am extremely dis- going up. go together.
appointed my colleague is actually The National Nurses United has re- If you work hard, you should be able
today helping the President mislead corded at least 3,200 healthcare work- to get ahead in this country. If you
the American people. ers have died. In meatpacking plants, love this country, you fight for the
I yield the floor. the toll has been horrific. people who make it work.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- Last summer, 16,000 workers had been If even the global pandemic, where
ior Senator from Ohio. infected; the vast majority of them America’s workers have been on the
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask Black and Brown workers. More than frontlines—if even that won’t get cor-
unanimous consent to address the Sen- 230 died. porations to rethink their business
ate for 10 minutes. And yet all of last year, the Trump model that treats workers as expend-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without administration and too many large cor- able, it is time to stop letting them run
objection, it is so ordered. porations failed to protect their work- the economy. That is what the new
WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY ers. The corporate lawyers that ran the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, Labor Department from the top down Committee is all about. Wall Street
today we mark Workers Memorial Day, refused to issue workplace safety re- had its chance. They failed. If cor-
when we honor and remember workers quirements. porate America won’t deliver for its
who have laid down their lives on the Corporations ran a lot of feel-good workers, then we have to create a bet-
job. TV ads saying thank you to essential ter system centered on the dignity of
I have worn on my lapel since I was workers, claiming these workers are work. That means safe workplaces.
in the House, a pin depicting a canary the heart of their companies, but work- The Biden administration is taking
in a bird cage given to me at a Workers ers didn’t ask for a PR campaign. They steps toward finally issuing an OSHA
Memorial Day rally in Lorain, OH, in needed protections on the job. emergency temporary standard. We
the late 1990s. This Workers Memorial Day, today— went a whole year in the pandemic
This pin depicts a canary going down we celebrate it every year—we remem- where the President of the United
in the mine. It suggests the mine work- ber the American workers who have States simply refused and the cor-
er taking a canary down in the mines. lost their lives on the job from this porate lawyer who ran the Department
If the canary died from lack of oxygen virus, sometimes from gun violence, of Labor simply refused to issue any
or from toxic gas, the mine worker got sometimes from workplace accidents. standards on workplace safety. Think
out of the mines. He had no union We honor them best by fighting to about that. Now it means laws and
strong enough to protect him and no protect these workers and their fellow policies will reward work, like the
government that cared enough to pro- workers to make their hard work pay earned income tax credit and the child
tect him in those days. off. tax credit—the junior Senator from
To me, this pin represents the role of Yesterday, in the Banking and Hous- New Hampshire is here and has been
government to support the middle class ing Committee, we held the commit- supportive of that; a strong overtime
and those who aspire to the middle tee’s first-ever listening session. It was rule; ending misclassification that robs
class. It represents the progress we purely a listening session. No Senators workers of their wages and their
have made and the society we continue got to ask questions. We just came to rights. It means a strong labor move-
to fight for every day here. listen, with workers from Ohio and ment. Unions give people power on the
We know the story. Coal miners took around the country, to hear how the fi- job. People ought to have the option, if
the canary down into the mines. nancial system affects their jobs and they choose, of joining a union, allow-
Throughout the 20th century, we have their lives. ing them to join together to make
worked to change that. We passed They shared powerful stories about their workplace safer.
workers safety laws and overtime pay. It is workers who make our economy
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
their work, about how companies and
We banned child labor. We passed clean economic policies prevent their hard successful. It is workers who allow cor-
air and safe drinking water laws. We work from paying off. porations and Wall Street investors to
enacted Social Security and Medicare We heard from a distribution worker rake in record profits. It is time for
and workers’ rights and women’s rights in Ashtabula County, OH. He told us: that hard work to pay off for all work-
and civil rights. We rarely go a few weeks without an in- ers, no matter if you punch a clock or
But despite that progress over the jury, largely because of the insane pace we work for salary or work for tips or take
last year, too many workers have felt a work at. We have suggested that slowing the care of your parents or take care of
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