Congressional Record, Senate, August 4, 2021 — Senate
Summary
Opening pages of the Congressional Record daily edition for Wednesday, August 4, 2021, Volume 167, No. 139, covering the Senate. The House was not in session and its next meeting was set for August 6, 2021. The Senate met at 10:30 a.m., with Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico appointed to the Chair, and the Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, offered the prayer. The pending business was H.R. 3684, with the Schumer for Sinema substitute amendment No. 2137 and the Carper-Capito amendment No. 2131 listed. Later text includes a notice by Mr. Menendez on arms sales under the Arms Export Control Act and tributes, including one to a longtime reporter.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Congressional Record, Senate, August 4, 2021 — Senate.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-08-04-crec-2021-08-04-pt1-pgs5791-7-ac2ef8e998/
, SHA-256 896240986b92d0017b1196b5954b8fb51155f60a429cae2aef5e7ef9d7993468.Full text
Congressional Record
E PL
UR M
IB NU
U U
S
117 th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021 No. 139
House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, August 6, 2021, at 12 p.m.
Senate
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021
The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and was to the Senate from the President pro A bill (H.R. 3684) to authorize funds for
called to order by the Honorable BEN tempore (Mr. LEAHY). Federal-aid highways, highway safety pro-
RAY LUJÁN, a Senator from the State The senior legislative clerk read the grams, and transit programs, and for other
purposes.
of New Mexico. following letter:
U.S. SENATE, Pending:
f
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Schumer (for Sinema) amendment No. 2137,
PRAYER Washington, DC, August 4, 2021. in the nature of a substitute.
To the Senate: Carper-Capito amendment No. 2131 (to
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, amendment No. 2137), to strike a definition.
fered the following prayer: of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby Carper (for Johnson) amendment No. 2245
Let us pray. appoint the Honorable BEN RAY LUJÁN, a (to amendment No. 2137), to prohibit the can-
Eternal God, in these challenging Senator from the State of New Mexico, to cellation of contracts for physical barriers
days, our hearts are steadfast toward perform the duties of the Chair. and other border security measures for
PATRICK J. LEAHY, which funds already have been obligated and
You. Empower our lawmakers to grasp for which penalties will be incurred in the
Your firm hand, depending on You to President pro tempore.
case of such cancellation and prohibiting the
lead them through the darkness to the Mr. LUJÁN thereupon assumed the use of funds for payment of such penalties.
light. Chair as Acting President pro tempore. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER
Lord, lead them safely to the fortress f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
of Your choosing, for You desire to give pore. The Democratic leader is recog-
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
them a future and a hope. Provide our nized.
Senators with the power to do Your The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask
will as they more fully realize that pore. Under the previous order, the unanimous consent that following Sen-
they are servants of Heaven and stew- leadership time is reserved. ator KELLY’s maiden speech, that Sen-
ards of Your gifts. May they make in- f ators JOHNSON, PETERS, and CARPER be
tegrity the litmus test by which they CONCLUSION OF MORNING permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes
evaluate each action as You keep them BUSINESS each prior to the start of the vote.
from deviating from Your chosen path. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
We pray in Your great Name. Amen. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Without objection, it is so or-
pore. Morning business is closed.
f dered.
f
H.R. 3684
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LEGISLATIVE SESSION Mr. President, for information of the
The Presiding Officer led the Pledge Senators, the vote scheduled at 12:15
of Allegiance, as follows: will likely begin closer to 12:30 p.m.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
INVESTING IN A NEW VISION FOR As you have seen, as America has
United States of America, and to the Repub- THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUR- seen, the Senate is moving full steam
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, FACE TRANSPORTATION IN ahead on the bipartisan infrastructure
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. AMERICA ACT bill. Since the legislative text of the
f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- bill was finalized, the Senate has con-
pore. Under the previous order, the sidered eight amendments. Five
APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Senate will resume consideration of amendments were led by Senators from
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE H.R. 3684, which the clerk will report. the Republican minority, and seven
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The senior assistant legislative clerk amendments have received rollcall
clerk will please read a communication read as follows: votes. One amendment offered by the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
®
S5791
Pdnted on recycled papfil.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.000 S04AUPT1
S5792 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
uncommon pairing of Senators While yesterday’s announcement by I want to thank Chairman MENENDEZ,
WARNOCK and CRUZ was adopted yester- the CDC was very welcome, it is only Senator KAINE, and every Republican
day by voice vote. Miracles happen the first step. In the weeks ahead, the cosponsor of the bill for working to
even here in the Senate. administration must continue working bring this issue to the floor.
So the Senate is making great with State governments to better dis- As majority leader, in consultation
progress on amendments, and we are tribute emergency rental assistance with Chairman MENENDEZ, I intend to
going to make further progress very that Congress has appropriated at the bring up the repeal for a vote on the
soon. While the specific number of ad- end of the last year. The money is Senate floor later this year. Members
ditional amendments has yet to be there. We in Congress provided it. should be on notice: We are going to
agreed to, I believe we can consider an- I want to call out my State of New vote on this.
other substantial tranche on the floor York, which has done a poor job at dis- JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS
today. Senators should expect multiple tributing this money. Two weeks ago, Now, Mr. President, finally, judicial
rollcall votes this afternoon. along with housing advocates, I called nominations. One of our most impor-
EVICTION MORATORIUM on the State to move things more tant jobs here in the Senate is to con-
Mr. President, yesterday afternoon, quickly. A week before that, New York firm President Biden’s judicial ap-
millions of American families were State along with South Carolina were pointments. The Democratic majority
able to breathe a sigh of relief as the the only two States that sent out no in the Senate is committed to swiftly
Biden administration announced an ex- dollars—no dollars. Some of our local- and consistently filling judicial vacan-
tension of the eviction moratorium ities that didn’t cede the money to the cies with highly qualified, ideologically
that expired last month. State have done a better job, like Mon- mainstream, and professionally and de-
According to the CDC, the new ban roe County, where Rochester is. But mographically diverse jurists. Later
on evictions will apply for 60 days too much of the money is just sitting this week, the Senate will have the op-
across regions of the country that are up there in Albany. portunity to confirm another judge
experiencing high levels of COVID in- We need Mike Hine, who is head of who meets all three of these criteria.
fections. In total, roughly 90 percent of the relevant administrative depart- Last night, I filed cloture on the
American renters—90 percent—will be ment in the State, and all of the State nomination of Eunice Lee to serve on
protected by this order. That is what to get that money out fast. the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
the head of the CDC told me yesterday. An eviction ban is a good thing. It Since the Second Circuit covers my
There are so many individuals who prevents people from being kicked out home State of New York and is one of
helped make this happen. First, I ap- of their homes. Once the eviction ban the most important Federal courts in
plaud the President—President Biden— ends, if there is not rental assistance, the country, it was my honor to have
and the CDC for taking action to pro- we are back in the same boat. We need recommended Ms. Lee to the White
tect American families. I want to com- the States to get that money out. House for an appointment. She will be
mend Speaker PELOSI. She and I State governments—my State of New the fourth circuit judge confirmed in
worked closely together to get this York—must do a better job of getting the first 7 months of the Biden admin-
done from our first conversations with that support out the door and into the istration.
the President at the White House on hands of Americans who need help. Eunice Lee is not only an excellent
Thursday, on through the weekend and One other thing, there is not Treas- lawyer, with sound judgment and a ju-
the beginning of this week. ury bureaucracy in the way. States rist’s temperament, but she brings the
But I also want to recognize the like Texas, like Monroe County, have kind of legal experience that is all too
amazing courage of my colleagues, in- been able to get out a lot of the money. rare on the Federal bench. Ms. Lee
cluding Representatives OCASIO-COR- The fault lies in the State governments spent her entire career in public serv-
TEZ, JONES, and GOMEZ and, above all, that are not doing this, and they have ice, representing criminal defendants
Representative CORI BUSH. to move. who could not afford counseling. Once
Congresswoman BUSH knows what it AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE confirmed, she will be the only former
is like to be evicted. She knows the Mr. President, on another matter, Federal defender among the active
pain and fear and indignity of being AUMF. Today, the Senate Foreign Re- judges on the Second Circuit.
told to get your things and get out. lations Committee will vote on the re- When I met her, I saw what a caring,
When you lose your home, you lose ev- peal of the authorization for the use of compassionate, thoughtful woman she
erything. It is hard to get to a job if military force in Iraq. This authoriza- was, and I was so glad—so glad—to rec-
you have it. tion was initially passed by Congress in ommend her to the White House, who
What do the kids do about school? 2002, 19 years ago. It has far outlived its quickly agreed and has sent her name
What if there is a local clinic taking usefulness. forward.
care of somebody with a healthcare The Iraq war has been over for nearly Perhaps the highest compliment paid
problem? a decade. An authorization passed in to Ms. Lee came from a group of over
You lose your home and that is it. 2002 is no longer necessary in 2021. It 70 former Federal prosecutors from
The roof, literally and figuratively, has been nearly 10 years since this par- New York. These are the folks who
falls in. ticular authorization has been cited as most often found themselves on the op-
Well, Congresswoman BUSH has a primary justification for a military posite side of Ms. Lee in a courtroom.
known this through her own experi- operation, and there is a real danger to They called her a ‘‘brilliant, accom-
ence, and she took her passion and con- letting these legal authorities persist plished advocate, who is supremely
verted it into effective action. I salute indefinitely. Allowing an authorization well qualified to serve on the bench.’’
to her. It is a moment of history that for military force to just lie around She is a model. She is a model in di-
shows when you persist, you can get forever is an invitation to a future ad- versity. You know, we don’t have very
things done. For four nights, she slept ministration to use it for any military many people of color on our Second
on the steps of the Capitol, drawing at- adventurism in the region. Americans, Circuit Court of Appeals. I am trying
tention to this issue in a way we rarely frankly, are sick of endless wars in the to increase that with the nomination
see from a Member of Congress. She Middle East. of Ms. Lee—Ms. Perez as well. Not only
made yesterday’s announcement pos- Congress simply has to exert more is she from a diverse background demo-
sible. So amazing credit lies with Con- authority over matters of war and graphically, but she is diverse profes-
gresswoman BUSH and the Americans peace, as we all know the Constitution sionally. To have someone who has
who joined her in her righteous cause. prescribes. So, this morning, I reiterate been a Federal defender up there on the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
And, of course, I want to give real my strong support for the repeal of the Second Circuit will really expand the
credit as well to Senator BROWN, our 2002 authorization of military force in breadth and width and depth of knowl-
chairman of the Banking Committee, Iraq. I urge the Senate Foreign Rela- edge that that bench has.
who worked hard on this issue along tions Committee, under the able lead- So I am proud to have recommended
with Senator WARREN and many others ership of Chairman MENENDEZ, to ad- her, and I am looking forward to con-
in the Senate. vance the measure to the floor. firming this nominee later this week.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.002 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5793
With that, I yield the floor. budget that cuts our national defense ingly—laughingly—naive. The Sec-
I suggest the absence of a quorum. after inflation and allows adversaries retary of State publically suggested he
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to get an edge. thinks he can bribe the Taliban into
pore. The clerk will call the roll. No. 2, we must have agreement that being a responsible, peaceful regime
The senior assistant legislative clerk we are going to keep longstanding bi- with diplomatic carrots. So that is
proceeded to call the roll. partisan policy riders in and new poi- where we are.
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I son pill riders out. We need to keep In 6 months, this administration has
ask unanimous consent that the order foundational mainstays, like the Hyde taken us from helping local partners
for the quorum call be rescinded. amendment, right where they are, and fight the Taliban to abandoning our
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- neither side should throw new wrench- partners and pretending that a future
pore. Without objection, it is so or- es into the process. Taliban government will care about
dered. Parity for national and border secu- foreign assistance and being accepted
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER rity and a bipartisan deal on policy rid- by the so-called international commu-
The Republican leader is recognized. ers—this is not rocket science; it is a nity.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING roadmap. We all know it very, very The Taliban have already begun pav-
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, this well. That is what it will take to move ing their way to Kabul with innocent
morning, the Appropriations Com- bipartisan appropriations bills across blood. Al-Qaida is already rebuilding
mittee considered a first partial batch this floor, but the majority is behind capabilities to strike at our homeland.
of government funding bills for next on the homework. So what on Earth are we doing here?
year. AFGHANISTAN What are we doing?
I want the Senate to secure bipar- Now, Mr. President, on a totally dif- Surely, the administration would not
tisan appropriations through the reg- ferent matter, in April, when President consider the fall of Kabul a success.
ular process. I want us to fund the gov- Biden announced his intention to pull Surely, it will not look at the fate
U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, he said awaiting Afghan women and girls and
ernment in an orderly fashion just like
it was ‘‘time to end the forever wars’’— say: Mission accomplished. Surely, a
the successful Appropriations Com-
‘‘time to end the forever wars,’’ said terrorist resurgence or the assassina-
mittee work we saw throughout Repub-
President Biden, but at every stage of tion of our Afghan partners cannot
licans’ recent years in the majority.
We accomplished that because we the rushed and rudderless retreat that look to President Biden’s team like a
built a truly bipartisan process. Impor- has followed, the Biden administra- ‘‘deliberate’’ or ‘‘responsible’’ exit from
tantly, it began at the beginning. Early tion’s wishful thinking hasn’t come Afghanistan.
within a country mile of reality. By But these are the predictable results
in the calendar year, we convened bi-
any account, the situation in Afghani- of these terrible decisions: the con-
partisan talks to produce top-line num-
stan has become worse as we have sequences of making enormous changes
bers so the appropriators would have
headed to the exits, and we will live with no real plan to mitigate the risk;
actual targets. That let good-faith bi-
with the security, humanitarian, and the failure to learn from similar mis-
partisan conversations happen at the
moral consequences for years to come. takes, like the disastrous withdrawal
subcommittee and committee levels
This whole debacle was not only fore- from Iraq back in 2011.
throughout the spring and summer, Here in the Senate, it is curious to
and we got results on a bipartisan seeable; it was, in fact, foreseen. Re-
member what top national security ex- see that some of our colleagues who are
basis. the most exercised—the most exer-
Unfortunately, this year, our Demo- perts were saying around the time the
President announced his decisions: cised—about trying to undo authoriza-
cratic colleagues haven’t done any-
The Taliban is likely to make gains on the tions for the use of military force are
thing like that. Either our colleagues
battlefield, and the Afghan Government will somehow also among the quietest—the
don’t have any big-picture plan or they struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the co- quietest—when it comes to the unfold-
are privately working off the Presi- alition withdraws support. ing disaster in Afghanistan and over-
dent’s partisan budget request. There Administration officials shrugged it sight of ongoing conflicts.
has been no big-picture, bipartisan con- off. They downplayed the chances that Make no mistake, whether America
versation. The Democrats didn’t even Afghanistan’s pro-American govern- is on the ground or over the horizon,
let the committee vote on top-line al- ment would fall to the pro-terrorist the war in Afghanistan will continue,
locations, which normally happens at Taliban, but now that outcome appears and Americans will not be safer with
the start of a markup. all but inevitable. the Taliban ruling from Kabul.
Our colleagues’ fixation on far-left The administration literally glossed We will not be safer when al-Qaida
shiny objects is distracting them from over the risk of an al-Qaida resurgence, regains a safe haven and inspires a new
basic governance. They are more fo- but now Secretary Austin is acknowl- generation of global jihadists. And we
cused on ramming through another edging al-Qaida could reestablish a safe won’t be safer when coalition partners
reckless, inflationary taxing-and- haven and threaten the homeland in doubt they can trust our word.
spending spree than ensuring we avoid less than 2 years—that is the Secretary A strategic disaster is what we are
a stalemate over government funding. of Defense—and even that could be op- witnessing from top to bottom, and a
Now, look, I understand and I appre- timistic. growing risk that this war will end in
ciate that Senators on both sides have They insisted that over-the-horizon a victory—a victory—for the Taliban
worked hard to develop appropriations operations would be enough to keep and al-Qaida and become a greater
titles with a lot of good content. The terrorists in check, but now, just as the threat to the United States.
problem is bigger picture. When it CIA Director warned from the start, in- I suggest the absence of a quorum.
comes to floor consideration, we can- telligence gathering is already suf- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
not and will not start planting indi- fering. pore. The clerk will call the roll.
vidual trees before we have bipartisan The administration claimed that re- The legislative clerk proceeded to
consensus on the shape of the forest. sources tied up in the fight against ter- call the roll.
Here is what it will take to get a rorists were more urgently needed to Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask
Senate appropriations process back on counter Chinese aggression, but now unanimous consent that the order for
track, two—two—simple things. the manpower demands of this over- the quorum call be rescinded.
No. 1, Democrats will need to honor the-horizon approach have required re- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
the longstanding bipartisan truce that deployment of forces to the Middle pore. Without objection, it is so or-
provides parity for defense and non- East and pulled an entire carrier group dered.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
defense spending growth—parity for de- away—away—from China’s backyard so TRIBUTE TO NICK ROSSI
fense and nondefense spending it can conduct costlier, less-efficient, Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, around
growth—and at a responsible overall long-range missions over Afghanistan here, it is Members of Congress who
number that we can all accept. Our from the Gulf. typically get the spotlight. When we
men and women in uniform and the Na- Much of the rhetoric from the Presi- talk about a bill getting passed, for ex-
tion they defend deserve better than a dent’s team has sounded almost laugh- ample, you usually hear about the
VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.003 S04AUPT1
S5794 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
Members who introduced and pushed the ease he might use when discussing I realize that Nick may be starting to
for the bill. You don’t usually hear the lunch menu in the Dirksen cafe- sound a little superhuman here, so let
about the staffers. teria. me just say that while he is a man of
But none of us in Congress works When asked how he knew all this many talents who has not only not suc-
alone. We are supported by dedicated stuff—he definitely didn’t major in cessfully repaired the family’s micro-
staffers who spend long days and often- physics, and space wasn’t his issue wave and dishwasher but is also known
times nights and weekends working to area—he just said it was a hobby. Trust for building a balloon arch in the shape
serve our constituents and our country. Nick to be flirting with particle phys- of a shark for his kids’ school, I am re-
Today, I want to talk about one of ics as a hobby. liably informed that he is not a good
those staffers, my whip office chief of But while Nick may often be the cook.
staff who is leaving the Hill after 26 smartest person in the room, he is also And I am pretty sure that ‘‘not’’ was
years of government service. the most humble. He is often the last bold and underlined.
Nick Rossi has been with me since to speak. He listens. He asks questions, But, seriously, Nick is one in a mil-
2013, when I became the ranking mem- sometimes maybe when he doesn’t real- lion, and it has been my privilege to
ber of the Commerce Committee. He ly need to. And he gives thoughtful, have him lead the team in the whip of-
came on as deputy staff director and wise counsel. fice.
took over as staff director 2 years It has been clear over the last few His absence will be sorely felt by me,
later. days as staffers across the Senate by my staff, and throughout Capitol
There isn’t one thing that we did in learned that Nick was leaving just how Hill, and I hope he won’t mind the oc-
my years as Commerce ranking mem- respected his voice is in the Senate. casional phone call to pick his brain on
ber and chair that wasn’t at least par- I have had more than one committee some of the issues that are facing the
tially owing to Nick Rossi: the 2018 staff director talk to me about how he Senate.
FAA reauthorization; the FAST Act; or she learned to run a committee from Nick, thank you for your service, and
Coast Guard legislation; FCC bills; Nick. God bless you in all your future under-
And I know a lot of senior staffers—
broadband legislation; spectrum legis- takings. Wherever you land next, they
inside my office but outside of it as
lation; section 230 reform legislation, will be lucky to have you.
well—who will tell you that when they
known as SESTA-FOSTA; legislation I yield the floor.
are facing a challenge, the first person I suggest the absence of a quorum.
to reduce the number of annoying
that they go to to provide a sounding The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
robocalls; other consumer protection
board is Nick. pore. The clerk will call the roll.
legislation like the FTC Consumer And Nick always makes himself
Fairness Review Act; legislation to ad- The legislative clerk proceeded to
available. He is uniformly generous
vance 5G; and the list goes on. call the roll.
with his time and knowledge, and he Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unani-
Nick came to my staff after an al- treats everyone the same, whether the
ready illustrious career on the Hill. He mous consent that the order for the
individual in question is a staff assist- quorum call be rescinded.
had served as chief counsel at the Sen- ant or a chief of staff.
ate Judiciary Committee, as chief The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
He has brought out the best in every
counsel and chief investigator on the pore. Without objection, it is so or-
team I have seen him work with,
Commerce Committee, and as staff di- dered.
whether at the Commerce Committee
rector on the Homeland Security and H.R. 3684
or in the whip office.
Governmental Affairs Committee. Nick has been chief of staff in my Mr. LEE. Mr. President, infrastruc-
But his career in government started whip office for 2 years—2 very eventful ture is the physical backbone of our
much earlier. He actually started his years. Through it all, Nick has been a country, and it is an example of posi-
government service in the FBI, apply- steady presence in the whip office and tive, constructive American achieve-
ing on a whim when he couldn’t join in the Senate. No matter the crisis, ment and accomplishment.
the U.S. Attorney’s Office because of a Nick is calm and collected, and he in- Unfortunately, this particular bill, in
hiring freeze. spires that calm in others, although I its process, content, pricetag, and long-
As is typical for Nick, he graduated do hear that it is a different story term effects, simply will not serve the
first in his class at the FBI Academy when he is watching Notre Dame foot- country, Americans, and particularly
and then went on to spend 11 years in ball. The word is that there is a lot of Utahns well. It will ultimately be det-
the FBI as a special agent, a super- ranting, pacing, and yelling at the TV, rimental to our economy, to the daily
visory special agent, unit chief, asso- but I have not observed that. lives of the American people, and even
ciate legal counsel, and media spokes- Above all, Nick is a character guy, in some cases the infrastructure itself.
person. which matters a lot to me. He is a man Now, I am not saying I don’t appre-
That sounds like a lot for 11 years of honor, integrity, and principle. ciate the hard work, goodwill, and ex-
but not so much when you know Nick. I never have to worry that Nick is cellent intentions of my colleagues
I mentioned that he graduated first going to cut corners or bend the rules. who put many long hours, weeks, and
in his class at the FBI Academy. He He is always going to do things the months into crafting it; nor am I sug-
also graduated with honors from Notre right way, and there is nothing more gesting that there aren’t good things in
Dame and from Harvard Law School, important than that. the bill, good things that would benefit
where he was in the drama society with I can’t talk about Nick without also deserving people in this country.
our colleague TED CRUZ. mentioning his commitment to his As I have said before, the question is
I don’t think I have ever asked Nick family. His pride in his kids always not whether or not infrastructure is a
about any issue and gotten anything shines through, and just as he is never good and a necessary thing; nor is the
less than a thoroughly informed an- too busy to talk to a staffer who is question whether the bill contains
swer, whether the subject was tech- having a problem, he is always ready to some good things.
nically in his area of expertise or not. take a break from his work to help his The question is, rather, how much
I will never forget when he accom- daughter Elena with her math home- should the Federal Government be in-
panied me and former Senator Bill Nel- work—another subject Nick didn’t volved in infrastructure? And if it
son to the Sanford Underground Re- major in but is, of course, really good should, where it should. How much
search Facility in Lead, SD. This is a at—or to build swords and helmets and should it be spending on it?
lab where scientists are conducting re- bows and arrows with his son Johnny. The truth is the particulars of this
search in particle physics and the ex- I am very grateful to his wife Kath- bill take the scope far beyond what
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
pansion of the universe. So it is pretty erine and to Elena and Johnny for should be under the realm of the Fed-
complicated stuff. sharing him with us for all these years. eral Government, under the domain of
Well, apparently not to Nick. He was And I am very happy that there are the Federal Government, specifically
in the car with us, and he was throwing fewer late nights in his future so that at a price far beyond what we can af-
out technical formulas and the finer he can get in some more time with his ford and at a time when we are already
points of physics and cosmology with family. far into feeling the sting of inflation.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.005 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5795
There is a reason that our Founding What if even more of these sales are would save taxpayers $10.7 billion over
Fathers reserved ‘‘numerous and in- congressionally mandated in these 10 years.
definite’’ powers to the States while years, essentially flooding the market NEPA has imposed similar burdens
providing ‘‘few and defined’’ powers to and causing the price of that same oil and costs. Signed into law in 1970, it
the Federal Government. Article I, sec- to crash? was intended to account for the envi-
tion 8 of the Constitution literally lists Take the pension smoothing compo- ronmental consequences of proposed
the particular powers given to Con- nent of the bill, which would only Federal actions or projects. But over
gress. It tells us what they are. And cause us to lose more money in the the last 50 years, it has substantially
you will notice that infrastructure gen- long-term and simultaneously threaten deviated from its original purpose,
erally is not one of them. the solvency of retirement benefits— morphing into a complex, bureaucratic
Now, in some cases it does make the retirement benefits of millions and labyrinth; stalling projects from frivo-
sense that the Federal Government is millions of American workers. lous lawsuits and bureaucratic delays;
involved in some infrastructure. The Take the rebate rule delay, which so and dramatically increasing the cost
Interstate Highway System is a good far has never, and may never, go into and timeline of their completion.
example of that. Postal roads, also spe- effect. Delaying something that has no Sometimes this law stretches projects
cifically accounted for in article I, sec- set time for implementation cannot re- that should take a couple of years to
tion 8, are another example of that. alistically be predicted to produce $49 complete into decades.
This bill, however, includes things billion in savings. At the very least, we ought to reform
like bike paths and beautification Take the $20 billion in future spec- these costly, ineffective regulations—
projects, mass transit systems, surface trum auctions. While spectrum auc- and do so drastically—so that Federal
roads, roads that start and stop in one tions can certainly produce a great infrastructure can be completed better
State and are not part of the Interstate deal of revenue, this possible future and faster, which is exactly what I pro-
Highway System—things that, while auction may end up never happening. posed in the amendment that I put be-
good and lovely and useful, are a far It could have significant restrictions fore this body yesterday.
cry from what the Federal Government on it due to the dynamics of adjacent But this bill, in its current form, is
can and should reasonably and success- bands, or it could simply produce far ultimately not good for Utahns, and it
fully oversee. What is more, it does so less than we are being asked to assume is not good for the American people.
at an enormous pricetag, one that will today. Driving more Federal money into in-
dig us even deeper and deeper into debt Finally, take the claim of $205 billion frastructure, unfortunately, means we
at the expense of the American people, in unused COVID funds. Upon further will pay more to build less. We will be
both now and further down the road. investigation, it includes only roughly paying more to build less. It means less
Now, proponents of the bill insist, $50.2 billion of unused COVID funds as money going to steel and concrete in
and will continue to insist as we debate a real pay-for. the ground, and a whole lot more going
this, that the bill is paid for. But, in The other $150 billion is simply to lawyers, accountants, lobbyists,
fact, despite the staggeringly large spending that didn’t happen because compliance specialists, and bureau-
amount of money that it spends—esti- the country began to emerge from the cratic delays. It means longer and
mated to be $1.2 trillion in total, the pandemic. Many States ended the en- more expensive projects.
largest amount for a package of this hanced unemployment benefits that Now, this varies State by State, but
kind in history by far—it still does not were keeping more people out of work, in Utah, it is estimated that adding
have a score from the Congressional and other States, local communities, Federal dollars to a project increases
Budget Office. businesses, and families didn’t require the overall cost by 20 percent—some-
Normally we don’t vote on, much less
as much Federal spending, thanks to times as much as 40 percent. Not only
pass, something like this without a
their own successes and their own re- will it mean more expensive projects,
CBO score. We don’t have one. And I re-
siliency. but more expensive products too.
gret to say that many of the so-called
In other words, this other $150 billion Another provision in this bill would
pay-fors amount to flimsy budget gim-
is not a pay-for. It is fake. It is simply impose new fees on dozens of chemicals
micks that, in reality, do no such thing
spending or lost revenue that was used in countless products and con-
as pay for the bill.
So what are these so-called pay-fors? never realized. And whether this bill sumer goods in our day-to-day lives—
Well, let’s take the new reporting re- passes or not, this $150 billion will chemicals found in concrete, wood,
quirements on cryptocurrency, for ex- never be realized. plastics, rubber, dyes, detergents,
ample, which would allegedly bring in No, the numbers for these pay-fors do drugs, and pesticides for food, just to
$28 billion. Everything about this pay- not add up. The math for this bill is name a few. So every time you buy one
for is half-baked and unclear. faulty, to say the least. What is more, of those products—or almost any prod-
How exactly will additional revenue much of the massive amount that it uct, for that matter—you will be pay-
reporting generate new tax revenue? will be spending will not even be effi- ing a little bit for this. Only it is not a
And how can you possibly apply stock cient or effective spending on infra- tax; it is a fee, and it is hidden from
exchange-style reporting requirements structure. Even if this were the role of your view. So the consumer—the poor
to something so different and decen- the Federal Government, then we and middle-class taxpayer—doesn’t see
tralized as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and ought to make sure that it spends a tax increase. They just see that they
other cryptocurrencies? those funds efficiently and effectively. are paying even more for everything
At best, this revenue gimmick will But, unfortunately, the fact of the that they buy.
fail. At worst, it will hamper financial matter is that along with Federal dol- Another provision would extend
innovation for decades to come. lars come a whole host of Byzantine Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s ‘‘g-fees’’
Take the mandated sales of oil from laws and regulations that prevent pre- for an entire decade. These fees could
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, cisely that, including restrictions im- add thousands of dollars to the mort-
which the bill sponsors claim will posed by everything from NEPA to the gages of home buyers at a time when
produce $6 billion in revenue starting 7 Davis-Bacon Act. that first home is increasingly out of
years from now. But do we realistically The Davis-Bacon Act artificially in- reach for many. Utahns can’t afford
know what the demand for oil might be flates labor prices by requiring that all this. Congress is supposed to be ad-
at that time or what can happen in the federally funded construction projects dressing problems like these, not mak-
meantime when we might need to use worth more than $2,000 pay workers at ing them worse with sneaky new fees.
oil in this Strategic Petroleum Re- least the prevailing wage rate on non- This comes at a time when Americans
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
serve? Federal projects in the same locality. are already feeling the sharp sting of
What happens when we get 5 years And it has substantially driven up the snowballing inflation.
down the road and Congress determines cost of Federal projects, hindered eco- Now, this graph highlights some of
that we should hold onto the oil a bit nomic growth, wasted taxpayer dollars, the problem. It highlights what the
longer until we might be able to gen- and hurt unskilled laborers each year. American people have felt over the last
erate more revenue from the sale? In fact, it is estimated that repealing it 12 to 18 months. You will notice a
VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.007 S04AUPT1
S5796 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
curve sloping sharply upward. Today, Johnson amendment, the Senate vote system of competitive bidding under this
inflation is at 5.4 percent, which in relation to the amendments in the subsection to award licenses in the band of
means, on average, the goods you buy order listed, with no amendments in frequencies between 3700 megahertz and 3980
megahertz (designated by the Commission as
today are 5.4 percent more expensive order to the amendments prior to a
‘Auction 107’), $1,100,000,000 shall be deposited
and the savings you have responsibly vote in relation to the amendments, in the general fund of the Treasury and used
accrued are actually worth less. with 60 affirmative votes required for for emergency assistance under section
And don’t forget—the Federal Gov- adoption of the Kennedy amendment, 5 90009(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and
ernment’s reckless spending has exac- minutes for debate for Senator WICKER Jobs Act.’’.
erbated this trend. Look at how the red and 2 minutes for debate for opponents The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
has grown, what we see here. The red before the Wicker vote, and 4 minutes pore. The Senator from Wyoming.
that you see in this chart, these are for debate equally divided before the INFRASTRUCTURE
deficits. Look at how it has grown. The Kennedy vote. Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I
red portion of the graph is deficit The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- come to the floor today because I note
spending. pore. Is there objection? the Democrats being so eager to move
While we surely needed to spend Without objection, it is so ordered. to their reckless tax-and-spending
some additional money during the AMENDMENT NO. 2146 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 spree, and it is something I absolutely
COVID pandemic, did we really need to The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- oppose. If we pass a bill of that mag-
spend this much more, to the point pore. The clerk will report. nitude, the American people will be
where we were borrowing a lot more The legislative clerk read as follows: paying more in taxes, will be paying
than we were taking in? You know, we The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER], more in the cost of living, and it will
borrowed close to $4 trillion last year. for Mr. WICKER, proposes an amendment continue to impact the American peo-
Even if you think that we did need to numbered 2146 to amendment No. 2137. ple in a very negative way.
spend this much more, wouldn’t we try The amendment is as follows: Right now, the Senate is debating a
to get our country back on track and (Purpose: To provide that the Administra- separate bill, an infrastructure bill,
to discontinue this unfunded spending tive Procedures Act shall apply to actions and, in fact, the bills are not com-
spree that contributes to runaway in- taken by the Assistant Secretary of Com- pletely separate. It would be nice if
flation? merce for Communications and Informa- they were, but they are not. The reason
Look, from gas to groceries and from tion in carrying out the Broadband Equity, they are not separate is because NANCY
homes to healthcare, every day, it is Access, and Deployment Program) PELOSI, the Speaker of the House, has
getting harder for hard-working Ameri- On page 2081, strike line 3 and all that fol- made it abundantly clear that any bi-
cans to afford the basic necessities of lows through ‘‘(3)’’ on line 7 and insert the partisan infrastructure bill that is
day-to-day life. Take just a quick look following: passed here in this Senate won’t see
here at everyday items. These are not Act’’); and the light of day in the House of Rep-
luxury items that we associate with (2) resentatives unless and until, as she
the elite; these are things that ordi- AMENDMENT NO. 2210 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 has said, the Senate also sends her a
nary people purchase every day. Com- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- multitrillion-dollar reckless tax-and-
pared to the period of time before the pore. The clerk will report. spending bill. According to one non-
pandemic, not so very long ago, just 16 The legislative clerk read as follows: partisan group, that bill could cost up
months ago, eggs are now 13 percent The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER], to $5.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
more expense; milk is 11.3 percent more for Mr. KENNEDY, proposes an amendment Now, NANCY PELOSI has said time and
expensive; chicken breast, 11.3 percent numbered 2210 to amendment No. 2137. time again that there will not be one
more expensive; bread is 9.4 percent The amendment is as follows: penny for roads, not one penny for
more expensive; and gas is more than (Purpose: To provide emergency assistance bridges, not one penny for airports or
27.5 percent more expensive. for disaster response and recovery, and for ports until she gets the reckless tax-
The fact is that packages like this other expenses, directly related to Hurri- and-spending bill that she is demand-
one are not without their effects on the canes Laura, Delta, and Zeta) ing. It wasn’t a negotiation; it was a
people we have taken an oath to rep- At the end of division I, add the following: hijacking. And NANCY PELOSI isn’t just
resent. At the end of the day, it is the SEC. 90009. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE THROUGH a hijacker; she is also an arsonist.
THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
American people whose tax dollars we BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. What she is proposing is going to pour
take to pay for packages like this. At (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts jet fuel on the fire of inflation that is
the end of the day, it is the American otherwise appropriated, out of any money in currently ravaging the country.
people who will bear the brunt of the the Treasury of the United States not other- The flame was lit months ago when
debt we are forcing upon them. At the wise appropriated, there is appropriated to Democrats borrowed $2 trillion under
end of the day, it is the American peo- the ‘‘Community Development Fund’’, for the name of COVID relief. But just
ple who will feel the effects in every as- necessary expenses related to disaster relief, look at the economic projections be-
pect of their daily lives—in their work- long-term recovery, and restoration of infra- fore the bill became law. Some people
structure, housing, and economic revitaliza-
places, their communities, and their failed to predict the inflation. The Fed-
tion in areas in States for which the Presi-
families—and they should get a say in dent declared a major disaster under title IV eral Reserve failed to predict it. The
it. of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and White House budget office said: Oh, no,
They certainly shouldn’t have to sign Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. we won’t get inflation. The Congres-
on to something that was made known 5170 et seq.) related to Hurricanes Laura, sional Budget Office said no. There
to the American people at 10 p.m. on Delta, and Zeta, $1,100,000,000, to remain were Democratic economists, though,
Sunday night. Those who drafted this available until expended, for activities au- who warned that it would happen, and
legislation had 4 months to review it thorized under title I of the Housing and Republicans pointed out clearly that it
Community Development Act of 1974 (42
and 4 months to get to know it. The was going to happen, and that is what
U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
American people shouldn’t be asked to (b) DEPOSIT OF C-BAND SPECTRUM AUCTION has happened now. Democrats refused
pass this in 4 days. PROCEEDS IN TREASURY.—Section 309(j)(8) of to listen. They borrowed and spent an
I yield the floor. the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. additional $2 trillion, and inflation has
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- 309(j)(8)) is amended— gone up every month since.
pore. The Senator from Delaware. (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and Core inflation is now the fastest and
AMENDMENT NOS. 2146 AND 2210 TO AMENDMENT (G)’’ and inserting ‘‘(G), and (H)’’; highest it has been in 40 years. Who are
NO. 2137 (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘and the victims of this? Well, they are peo-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask (G)’’ and inserting ‘‘(G), and (H)’’; and ple who are on fixed incomes; they are
(3) by adding at the end the following:
unanimous consent that the following seniors; they are working families try-
‘‘(H) C-BAND AUCTION PROCEEDS.—Notwith-
amendments be called up to the sub- standing subparagraph (A), and except as ing to get by. Now it costs $25 more
stitute and be reported by number: provided in subparagraph (B), of the proceeds every time you fill up your vehicle
Wicker No. 2146 and Kennedy No. 2210; (including deposits and upfront payments with gasoline. If you fill up a truck in
further, that upon disposition of the from successful bidders) from the use of a Wyoming, it could be even more than
VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.009 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5797
that compared to the fill-ups of Inau- Democrats are going to go after the of the future, good-paying jobs that
guration Day. If you go to the grocery majority of the people in this country, you can actually raise a family on. It is
store now, it is about $25 more for the and, of course, that is the middle class. a long to-do list. But, hey, I am used to
weekly trip to the grocery store. So That is exactly what they intend to do those.
you are talking $25 extra a week in gas, with this bill because this bill is going The checklist for flying the Space
$25 extra a week in groceries; $50 extra to raise taxes on family farms and Shuttle stands about 6 feet tall. The
a week, which comes to $2,500 annually ranches. Senate, though, is not NASA. It doesn’t
for a hard-working family in America According to the accounting firm move as fast. And it is not the U.S.
because of the inflation Joe Biden and Ernst and Young, this bill, this spend- Navy, either, where everyone works to-
the Democrats have brought upon us. ing bill that NANCY PELOSI is demand- gether toward a common goal.
Of course, this kind of inflation slows ing go from the Senate to the House But my wife, Gabby, taught me a
our economic recovery. I just found out before any infrastructure bill is passed, thing or two about how to listen and
last week that economic growth is sig- would eliminate 80,000 jobs over 10 how to find common ground. Now, she
nificantly below what economists had years. The bill would raise taxes on loved representing Arizona in Congress,
predicted it should be at this point. It small businesses, which are already and no one works harder than she does.
does seem the Democrats still haven’t struggling to stay open because of Now, neither of us expected that it
learned basic economics. Now they Democratic policies. Anyone who sells would be me serving here in the U.S.
want to make the same mistake all their home will pay thousands and Senate. I might have been the astro-
over again, even at a higher level. They thousands more in taxes. naut, but it turned out that she is the
want to borrow and spend trillions Now, this is also going to include a one who would nearly lose her life serv-
more. carbon import tax, which will drive up ing our country.
Last week, we found out that the pre- prices even higher. I am so proud of her and of her re-
vious Democratic bill gave $800 million The bill would be a socialist takeover lentless positivity that she brings to
to prisoners behind bars. Now, TOM of our economy—more taxes, more her continued rehabilitation. It in-
COTTON and I came to this floor, and we spending, more debt, more government spires me each and every day. I could
tried to stop the Democrats from giv- eating into people’s paychecks and eat- not do this without her support or the
ing our taxpayer dollars to prisoners ing into their savings. There is not a support of my daughters, Claudia and
currently behind bars. We specifically single Republican in the House or in Claire, or my first grandchild, Sage,
warned it would happen as stimulus the Senate who is going to support this who was born in May. Maybe, I am not
checks were sent out around the coun- reckless tax-and-spending spree. so sure about her support; she is only 2
try. We tried to stop this as part of the We need to stop this freight train to months old.
Democratic spending bill, but all 50 socialism. We don’t have a taxing prob- But in my first days here, I spoke to
Democrats, every one of them sup- lem in this country; we have a spend- Republicans and Democrats to work on
ported direct checks to prisoners be- ing problem. Inflation is already high emergency COVID relief. For so many
hind bars. The senior Senator from Illi- enough. We know what the cause is. We Arizonans, the relief we got passed was
nois came to the floor and gave a know it is the cause of the excessive a lifeline—the difference between bank-
speech defending it. He implied it Democratic spending, and this is going ruptcy and keeping the lights on, be-
would be racist not to give free money to make it worse. Families across this tween losing their small business and
to people behind bars. paying their employees. I have heard
country are struggling right now to
Every one of the 50 Democrats put that countless of times as I have trav-
make ends meet. Family businesses are
$800 million of American taxpayer dol- eled across the State.
struggling to stay open. It is time to In March, on my 100th day in the
lars on the credit card and sent checks
stop this reckless tax-and-spending Senate, I spoke with a group of Arizo-
to prisoners behind bars. This means
more debt and more inflation for law- spree. nans to understand how COVID–19 was
I yield the floor.
abiding citizens in exchange for money impacting them and their families. One
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
to criminals. It tells the American peo- of those conversations really stuck
HICKENLOOPER). The Senator from Ari-
ple all we need to know about the pri- with me, and I want to take a second to
zona.
orities of the Democratic Party. tell you about Susana Andrade.
MAIDEN SPEECH
Now Democrats want another round Prior to the pandemic, Susana
of payoffs. This payoff is even more ex- Mr. KELLY. Mr. President, it is an worked in a school cafeteria in South
pensive than the last one. Democrats honor to rise today to deliver my maid- Phoenix. Her husband worked as a
are promising payoffs to all their fa- en speech. landscaper. When the pandemic spiked
vorite groups: climate activists, left- Nine months ago, the people of Ari- in Arizona, her husband’s work slowed
wing professors, trial lawyers, and zona trusted me with a great responsi- down and the school closed. But
union bosses. This bill, this reckless bility: to represent them in the U.S. Susana and her coworkers kept going
tax-and-spending bill, includes one lib- Senate; to do so during a pandemic to work. The school was continuing to
eral priority after another. that has challenged every one of us, offer meals for pickup for students and
Even as we face the worst border cri- taken loved ones too soon, and bat- families who needed them, and a lot of
sis in the last two decades, Democrats tered our economy; and to fill the re- them needed these meals. She told me
are now promising amnesty and citi- maining years of Senator John that they initially were just offering
zenship and voting rights for millions McCain’s sixth term. breakfast and lunch, but then they
of illegal immigrants. Once they get Each day since then, I have gone to added dinner and a snack because the
amnesty, then they can get all the work for the people of Arizona, striving demand was just so high.
other Democratic payoffs as well. This to fulfill that responsibility, Susana and her coworkers knew how
is going to lead to an additional tidal undeterred by the challenges we have hard the pandemic had hit the commu-
wave of illegal immigration, and all of in front of us because that is what Ari- nity, how many folks were out of work.
this has a price tag, and someone has zonans have done over the last year There were students who wouldn’t eat
to pay. and a half—protecting their families if they weren’t there to make the
Democrats tell nice stories, and Re- from this virus, keeping themselves meals. So she kept going to work, mak-
publicans do the math. This bill is so and their businesses afloat, and look- ing and packing meals for students and
expensive, the Democrats will have to ing out for their neighbors. their families.
go after every working family in Amer- Arizonans have faced down this virus And, then, in February, she and her
ica in order to pay for it. One way or and the economic fallout that came entire family got sick with COVID. She
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
another, every working American will with it with determination. And I came couldn’t go to work for weeks, and she
end up paying for this. There is not here to have their backs and to work and her family struggled to pay their
some rich person who is going to be towards a brighter future for our grow- bills that month while they tried to re-
able to pay for all of this. There aren’t ing State because we can’t just rebuild cover.
enough rich people on Earth to pay for our economy the way it was before. We Now, Susana’s story has stuck with
this level of spending. have to reinvent it and create the jobs me over the last year. Here is a hard-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.011 S04AUPT1
S5798 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
working Arizona family doing every- crats to come to an agreement on a from high school will not pursue a
thing right, who just got knocked off historic investment in our infrastruc- 4-year degree. Now, that doesn’t mean
their feet. At the same time, Susana ture. I advocated for Arizona’s prior- that they can’t be set up for success in
embodies the best of what we saw dur- ities, and we worked together to find the 21st century economy, and we need
ing this awful pandemic: neighbors and common ground and work out our dif- to make sure that they are.
parents making tremendous sacrifices ferences. And now we are on the verge Advanced manufacturing facilities,
to help one another get through this. of passing it. like the microchip fabs that I men-
I spoke to Susana recently. She told This is going to fix roads and bridges, tioned earlier, for those we need well-
me that days after we spoke in March, improve Tribal water and transpor- trained semiconductor processors, and
she and her family received their stim- tation infrastructure, expand afford- we need electricians, and we need
ulus checks, and it made such a big dif- able high-speed internet access, and HVAC technicians. These are good-pay-
ference in their lives. But she is still make Arizona more resilient to ing careers for those who get the skills
now living paycheck to paycheck, drought and wildfires. and training that they need.
working two jobs, trying to provide for I have been determined to deliver And right now, a lot of young Arizo-
her family to just get ahead. these infrastructure investments that nans are getting those skills through
I understand that. Growing up, my Arizona needs to continue to grow. We our community college system.
mother worked both as a secretary and want to grow, and we want to attract At Pima Community College’s down-
a waitress at the same time. When my new and innovative companies to our town campus in Tucson, they have a
brother and I were in middle school, State because Arizona’s prosperity de- new Automotive Technology and Inno-
she decided to become a police officer, pends on continuing to create new, vation Center that I visited last
like my dad. But she had to pass this high-paying jobs, including growing month. Their students are learning
physical fitness test, which was de- our tech sector. how to operate the software that auto-
signed for men. But my mother was not Now, one of the biggest success sto- matically controls drills and lathes and
discouraged. She wasn’t discouraged by ries of our growing tech sector is an in- milling machines and 3D printers and
that or by the fact that, if she would dustry that actually produces some- other tools. They can be trained not
pass, she would become one of the first thing physically small, microchips. just in traditional automotive tech-
female police officers in our home Microchips go in everything, from nology but in electric vehicles as well.
town. In fact, I think she liked that. our phones and appliances and cars to Arizona is becoming a center for in-
That was my mom for you. computers, but also the most sophisti- novative electric vehicle manufactur-
But I knew that she believed that the cated fighter jets and missile systems. ers. So why shouldn’t we be getting
increased and steady salary would help There is currently a global shortage these students the skills they need for
our family. My mother wanted to give of microchips, and the truth is, today, this technology right now?
my brother and me every opportunity just 12 percent of them are manufac- Pima Community College’s chan-
to succeed. She showed us what we tured here in the United States. It used cellor, Chancellor Lambert, calls this
could achieve by having a goal and a to be 40 percent. Many foreign competi- much needed approach ‘‘moving at the
plan and working hard at it. tors, including China, are investing speed of business.’’ What he means is
I am here because of a good public heavily to try to dominate this indus- our education system must meet the
education and because of the oppor- try. demands of today’s workforce, and that
tunity that my parents created for me Now, Arizona does manufacture a lot has to be the case not just in major
to serve our country and pursue my of microchips. It already employs metro areas but in rural Arizona, as
dreams. But for so many families, it is about 30,000 people in good-paying jobs well, and in rural America.
becoming harder to get ahead, and the in this industry, and it is poised to At Yavapai College in Northern Ari-
pandemic only made this more dif- grow. We recently announced invest- zona, they just opened a new Skilled
ficult. Businesses shuttered, savings ment plans from Intel and the Taiwan Trades Center in Clarkdale, where they
drained, and debt and bills piled up. Semiconductor Manufacturing Com- will train a new generation of con-
What every parent wants—what my pany. Arizona can lead the way as we struction workers and plumbers and
mom wanted—is to be able to work restore more microchip manufacturing electricians and HVAC technicians.
hard and give their children a future and development to American soil. I could not be more impressed with
filled with opportunity. That is the goal of this $52 billion Arizona’s community college system.
That is why the most important re- plan that I spent months working on Yavapai College is also taking advan-
sponsibility we have here is not just to with Senators CORNYN and WARNER, to tage of partnerships with companies to
rebuild our economy but to reinvent it create new advanced manufacturing fa- set students up with opportunities that
for the future. And doing that starts cilities, or fabs, in places like Arizona. prepare them to immediately enter the
with infrastructure: roads, bridges, I made it my mission to get this passed workforce in industries like mining.
water, the power grid, high-speed inter- through the Senate because it is impor- Moving at the speed of business, that
net. And it is not just in big cities but tant. It is important to our economy, is how we are going to prepare hard-
in rural and small towns, in smalltown and it is important to our national se- working young students to get these
Arizona and Tribal communities. That curity, ensuring that our supply chain good-paying jobs. It is also how we are
is the item on our checklist now. for something so critical does not de- going to outcompete and outinnovative
Arizona is facing a severe drought pend on adversaries like China. other countries like China, having a
that requires us to improve our water Transformational investments such talented workforce that can fill the
infrastructure and increase or resil- as this will create thousands of high- jobs of the future and develop cutting-
iency. paying jobs, and we got it passed edge technologies that are critical not
Schoolbuses on the Navajo Nation through the Senate, Republicans and just to our economy but to our na-
cost three times as much to maintain Democrats working together. tional security as well.
because so many of the roads are un- Now, we must continue working on Now, these are issues that I know Re-
paved. this checklist, getting Arizonans the publicans and Democrats agree on.
I–10, which runs through the center skills they need for these new jobs. For And even on tough issues, I believe
of our State, between Tucson and some, that will mean getting a college that we can also find common ground.
Phoenix, has not been expanded in degree in science or engineering. We have had crisis after crisis at our
years. A signal accident can cause Arizona is home to three world-class border, each a result of decades of fail-
delays for hours. That happens almost universities that are leaders in re- ure in Washington to adequately ad-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
every day. search and innovation. We must con- dress border security and fix our bro-
It is clear that Arizona will benefit tinue to educate the best scientists and ken immigration system.
from upgrading and modernizing our engineers in the world. That is the only Senator PORTMAN and I have intro-
infrastructure. That is why, for the way we are going to stay ahead. duced bipartisan legislation that would
past few months, I have been working At the same time, we know that require the Department of Homeland
with a group of Republicans and Demo- about a third of students who graduate Security to finally develop a plan to
VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.013 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5799
handle increases at the border, to take So it is a great way to start our day cities that these individuals, appar-
the politics out of this, no matter today. ently claiming asylum, are coming
which party controls Congress or the With that, I yield the floor. I think into communities near you. You add
White House, and to provide dedicated the gentleman, our colleague from Wis- that to the 269,000 estimated known
funding to carry out that plan and en- consin, has some comments that he got-aways, that is over 600,000 people
sure a secure, humane process at the may want to make, unless the leader just this year. That is larger than the
border. Finding common ground on wishes to go next. population in the State of Wyoming. It
issues like this is hard, but it is impor- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- is approaching the population of the
tant. ator from Wisconsin. State of Vermont.
Like many of you, like many of my AMENDMENT NO. 2245 And, again, this is while we have the
colleagues, I spent years admiring the Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise title 42 restrictions in place. Probably
way the late Senator John McCain rep- to speak to my amendment that is about 900,000 people in the first 7
resented Arizona in the U.S. Senate. completely germane to the discussion months had been returned under title
But my first impressions of John of infrastructure. I can’t think of more 42. If the administration ends that pro-
McCain were not of him as a Senator important infrastructure that would gram, imagine the surge.
but of his service in the Navy. He was actually secure our homeland from a Now, there once was a time when se-
a hero of young naval aviators like variety of threats. curing the border was a nonpartisan
me—an example of how to serve your But as I have always said, coming issue. Senator McCain led the charge.
country honorably and bravely, includ- from a manufacturing background, the In 2006, this body passed, on a vote of 80
ing in the impossible circumstance of first step in solving a problem is admit- to 19, the Secure Fence Act, which was
being shot down and captured. ting you have one, and right now this going to build about 700 miles of fence.
His legacy means so much to the administration is in a complete state In the end, only 36 miles was double-
State of Arizona, and it lives on of denial regarding the crisis that is on layer fencing; the rest was pretty inef-
through his children and his wife, the border. fective, as we have seen.
Cindy, whom I am so grateful to have This crisis has been growing. It is not But voting for that bill was President
here today in the Gallery. a seasonal surge; this is a growing Biden, President Obama, Senator CAR-
Thank you. problem. This has been a growing prob- PER, Secretary of State Clinton, Sen-
(Applause, Senators rising.) lem, and I have my chart here that ator FEINSTEIN, Senator SCHUMER, Sen-
His legacy, it is something that can- demonstrates that. ator WYDEN, Senator STABENOW. This
not be matched, but it is what inspires Here is January. This is when Presi-
was a bipartisan effort to secure our
me serving in this Senate seat. And it dent Biden came into office. You can
border. But somewhere between 2006
is his example of bipartisanship, of see the enormous surge of the crisis he
and 2021, this has become a partisan
independence that continues to demand created. Vice President HARRIS went
down to Central America looking for issue.
more of us. So I am going to continue
Now, what is absurd is, in the last ad-
focusing on delivering results, on beat- the root cause of this crisis. She only
ministration, again, we pretty well
ing this virus, and reinventing our would have had to walk into the Oval
solved the problem, had allocated
economy for the future so that hard- Office and look at President Biden be-
cause President Biden is the root cause about $10 billion to build the fence. It
working Arizonans have every oppor-
of this crisis. has all been contracted. It has all been
tunity to succeed.
Arizonans sent me here to have their It is his policies, the dismantling of paid for. We have built about 453 miles
backs, and that is what I intend to do. successful policies from the previous of the 738 miles that was contracted
Thank you. administration that had stemmed the for; 285 miles remain unbuilt.
I yield the floor. flow, that had largely secured our bor- An exit report by Senator LANKFORD
(Applause, Senators rising.) der until this President took office and shows that we have spent about $2 bil-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- reversed all that progress. It is a real lion getting out of those contracts—$2
ator from Delaware. shame. billion to not build the wall. It is cost-
H.R. 3684 Let me just give you the numbers be- ing us $3 million a day just to guard
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, there cause you have to describe the prob- the steel fencing that is lying there not
are a lot of folks gathering around our lem. This has been growing. For the being used.
new Senator from Arizona, congratu- last 4 or 5 months, in particular, we So my amendment is very simple. It
lating him, commending him on his have been averaging, first, almost 6,000 is very common sense. It says, please,
speech. and now over 6,000 apprehensions per let’s recognize fences work. Certainly,
I said to him—I am Navy. We have day—6,000. In June it was 6,249. In July Congress recognized it when we put a
got a bunch of military people that it will probably be over 6,500. There double layer around the people’s House
serve here: Army, Navy, Air Force, Ma- have been weeks we believe it is over for a number of months, spent hun-
rines. But in the Navy, when somebody 7,000 people per day coming in and dreds of millions of dollars on that se-
does an especially good job, we say being apprehended at the border. curity effort.
‘‘Bravo Zulu.’’ And that was an excep- Now, that doesn’t even count the 750 So let’s not waste the taxpayers’
tional, exceptional address. to 1,000 known got-aways. DHS is money. Let’s recognize walls work. We
We are delighted to be joined by now—or CPP, at least, is now esti- need to complete the 285 miles of wall
Cindy McCain. mating that is going to result in about that will help secure our border, that
Before I yield to the Senator from 269,000 people coming into this country will help secure our homeland, and
Wisconsin for his amendment, the that we know they came in; we just that will help keep Americans safe.
theme that we just heard from our new couldn’t catch them. This also doesn’t It is a very simple amendment. Let’s
Senator from Arizona really focuses on even describe or enumerate how many hope it is not a partisan result.
preparing, through the groundwork, unknown got-aways. With that, I yield the floor.
plowing the field in anticipation of cre- So, again, the fact of the matter is, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ating jobs. And we do that in a lot of from January through July, approxi- ator from Michigan.
ways. He has mentioned a bunch of mately 1.3 million people have been ap- Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise to
them in terms of technology jobs and prehended coming into this country oppose the Johnson amendment. This
so forth. without documentation. About 173,000 measure would force continued pay-
One of the other ways is what we are of those individuals have been released ment of government contractors to
doing with the legislation before us in the interior, either with a notice to build an ill-conceived border wall.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
today, and that is investing in our in- appear or, even worse, a notice to re- Most of these funds were never in-
frastructure broadly, not just roads, port. If you multiply that times 2, that tended for this purpose. More than $10
highways, and bridges; not just water- is 346,000 people dispersed to all points billion was redirected from the Depart-
works; not just broadband; not just of America. ment of Defense, and these funds were
surface transportation. All of the DHS, this administration, is not no- intended for military installations and
above. All of the above. tifying the States, not notifying the functions such as schools for military
VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.014 S04AUPT1
S5800 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
children and National Guard equip- The July numbers also indicate that pliers which help provide more secure
ment. the number of unaccompanied children borders, including barriers—including
The Biden administration is con- is the largest ever encountered in 1 barriers—and I have supported them.
ducting a comprehensive review of month. So has the Senator, who is also a
these contracts, led by the Department There are currently now over 150 former chairman of the committee. We
of Defense and Homeland Security. miles of wall system projects that we have traveled in that part of the world
DHS has recently announced that they as Congress legally funded that are together.
will continue work on certain common- now in jeopardy of being canceled. One of the things we fully agree on is
sense projects on the southern border When you go to the border, you see what I just said. We can spend the
to address life, safety, environmental, millions of dollars’ worth of steel slats next, you know, year, 5 years, 10 years
and operational considerations. These lying on the ground that were to be securing our border. That is important.
decisions will be guided by what is best constructed until President Biden can- But if we don’t address those root
for our national security, not well-con- celed those projects. Do you know who causes of why people are coming here,
nected government contractors prof- else sees those border walls on the 10, 20 years from now, they will still be
iting off of hard-earned taxpayer dol- ground? Human traffickers. Drug coming. They will still be coming. We
lars. smugglers. have to be smarter than that.
We need to move forward with smart, I have, as we all have, been to the
This is a shared responsibility; it is
bipartisan investments that secure southern border several times. Customs
not all on the United States. I said to
both our southern and our northern and Border Patrol agents have told us
my colleague from West Virginia, I
borders, and we must not look back- that a border wall is a necessary part
like to use the example of Home Depot,
ward at the former administration’s of a system to stop the flow of illegal
which RON JOHNSON, Senator JOHNSON,
boondoggle. immigration and illicit drugs.
heard me use more than a few times.
I urge my colleagues to vote no on The border wall is infrastructure. It
Home Depot—their ad line is ‘‘You can
the Johnson amendment. is infrastructure to keep America safe.
do it. We can help.’’ In these countries
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- It is infrastructure to keep drugs out of
we are getting all this immigration
ator from Wisconsin. this country. It is infrastructure to
flow from, they can do it, but we can
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, in control illegal immigration.
help.
quick response, the prior administra- I urge my colleagues to vote yes on
tion’s—what the good Senator claimed the Johnson amendment to prohibit One of the things we set up was
a ‘‘boondoggle’’ worked. the cancelation of contracts to build something called the Alliance for Pros-
During this comprehensive review by the border wall. perity a number of years ago, with
this administration—again, this ad- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Democratic and Republican support—I
ministration is the root cause of this ator from Delaware. think with support of certainly then-
problem; they caused this—the problem Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, over the Vice President Biden and Senator
is growing worse. It is not getting bet- years, I have made any number of trips McCain, the late John McCain. Among
ter. to our Nation’s southern border. I have the things that we need to focus on and
Congress, by supporting a double also traveled extensively throughout we are doing under the Alliance for
layer of fence around this Capitol for Central America—and sometimes with Prosperity are, one, addressing crime
months, spent hundreds of millions of the author of this legislation—with and violence; two, addressing corrup-
dollars keeping us safe and secure, rec- many colleagues, Democratic and Re- tion; and three, economic hope and op-
ognizes that fencing and walls work. publican. One of the people who have portunity. Those are the three buckets.
Again, this fencing has been paid for. been to that part of the world more We put money in those buckets, the ex-
This wall has been paid for. Two billion than me is a guy who used to serve pectation is that those three countries
dollars will be wasted. Three million here in the Senate—later, Vice Presi- put even more money in those buckets,
dollars a day will be wasted. This is dent—and that is our President, Joe matching us 2, 3, 4, 5 dollars for every
just common sense, and it will improve Biden. dollar that we put up. There are other
the security of this Nation. There is a verse in Scripture in the countries that we have an expectation
And, again, in 2006, this was a bipar- New Testament, Matthew 25, which for them to help. There are private
tisan type of effort. Building 700 miles speaks to the least of these, and one of businesses; there is an expectation for
of fence was bipartisan: 80 to 19. It the things: When I was hungry, did you them to help. Nonprofits. There is an
should be bipartisan today. I am urging feed me? When I was naked, did you expectation for all. This is a shared re-
my colleagues, let’s finish building this clothe me? When I was thirsty, did you sponsibility.
wall. Let’s not waste billions of dollars get me to drink? When I was a stranger As the place where all these illegal
in taxpayer money. in your land, did you welcome me? Did drugs are coming from, moving those
I yield the floor. you welcome me? drugs through these three countries—
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- To the extent we have looked out for we have some moral responsibility to
ator from West Virginia. the least of these, then we have a do something to help the situation
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask brighter future. down there, not just at the border.
unanimous consent to address the Sen- But anyway, the reason I raise that, So with that in mind, I am not going
ate for several minutes on this amend- we have this moral imperative to look to support this amendment. But I
ment. out for the least of these, and that in- would just note, I always look for com-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without cludes people who end up on our bor- mon ground. The author of the amend-
objection, it is so ordered. ders looking for safe haven. The reason ment knows full well—I have heard
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise in why so many people continue to come him talk about it eloquently, about the
support of this amendment. I am the to our borders from Central America— need to go after root causes. For as
ranking member of the Subcommittee especially Honduras, Guatemala, and long as we have been working on this
on Appropriations for Homeland Secu- El Salvador—is because they live lives issue, all those years, we have needed
rity. The President’s budget request in- in fear; deprived of economic oppor- to work on root causes, and we still do
cluded a rescission of $2 billion that tunity and hope; corruption, crime. today as well.
we, as Members of this body, put, en- You know, if any of us lived there with
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I need
acted, as the gentleman from Wis- our families, we would want to get out
to respond quickly.
consin has clearly illuminated. of there, too, and find a place to go to
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
And, at the same time, we are having with a brighter future. The PRESIDING OFFICER. There
a tremendous problem at our southern As a former chairman of the Home- are now 2 minutes equally divided be-
border. We all know this. We don’t land Security Committee, border secu- fore a vote on the Johnson amendment.
have the July numbers out yet, but we rity is enormously important. We need The Senator from Wisconsin.
know that apprehensions are going to secure borders; no question about that. Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I need
be in excess of over 200,000 in 1 month. There are a whole bunch of force multi- to respond quickly.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.016 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5801
Senator CARPER was talking about Hagerty Marshall Scott (FL) Now, what we all know—what every-
Hawley McConnell Scott (SC)
root causes. The root cause of the in- Hoeven Moran Shelby
one in this Chamber knows—is that we
stability—the primary cause of the vio- Hyde-Smith Murkowski Sullivan have to wait on the FCC maps, and
lence in Central America is Americans’ Johnson Paul Thune they will not be ready until the ear-
insatiable demand for drugs. If you Kennedy Portman Tillis liest—until the earliest—by spring of
Lankford Risch Toomey
solve that problem, you solve the root Lee Romney Tuberville next year, and that is—that is very,
cause of the problem, and you won’t Lummis Rounds Wicker very optimistic.
have the violence. Manchin Rubio Young So we have time to do it right, to get
But the root cause of this current NAYS—49 public input, to have people who have
crisis—because it was already solved— Baldwin Hickenlooper Rosen already experienced this come to the
the root cause of this current crisis is Bennet Hirono Sanders Agency and say: You might want to do
President Biden’s policies. President Blumenthal Kaine Schatz it this way; or: You might want to
Booker Kelly Schumer
Biden is the root cause. So if you want Brown King
avoid doing it that way because here is
Shaheen
to fix this, we can fix it. Secure the Cantwell Klobuchar Sinema
our experience.
border. Go back to the policies that Cardin Leahy Smith We did this one time before, and it
Carper Luján was only $4.7 billion. This is $42 billion.
worked. We are not going to be able to Casey Markey
Stabenow
fix Central America until we end our Coons Menendez
Tester That was the BTOP program, which
Van Hollen was enacted in 2009.
insatiable demand for drugs. Cortez Masto Merkley
Warner
With that, I yield the floor. Duckworth Murphy
Warnock
We skipped this. We gave it to an
Durbin Murray
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, col- Feinstein Ossoff Warren Agency which is going to have it this
leagues, in about 48 hours, about a Gillibrand Padilla Whitehouse time, the NTIA—a staff of only 157 peo-
third of the Senate is going to be on an Hassan Peters Wyden ple—to monitor back then $4.7 billion;
Heinrich Reed this time it is $42 billion.
airplane heading for Gillette, WY, and
we are going to go and say goodbye to NOT VOTING—3 Here is what we learned about the
our friend and colleague Mike Enzi. Graham Inhofe Sasse BTOP program, which is an awful lot
I will never forget where I was sitting like this one: When Congress asked
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this
about, I don’t know, 20 years ago as the NTIA to administer this, the results
vote, the yeas are 48, the nays are 49.
Presiding Officer, and Mike Enzi was were deeply troubling.
Under the previous order requiring 60 Let me quote the inspector general,
literally standing almost right where votes for the adoption of this amend-
you are, talking about the 80–20 rule let me quote the Stanford Institute for
ment, the amendment is not agreed to. Economic Policy, and the Phoenix Cen-
and why they were so successful in the The amendment (No. 2245) was re-
Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- ter. Their own inspector general found
jected. that the Agency faced significant chal-
sions Committee. Senator Kennedy and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Mike Enzi—Democrat, Republican— lenges in managing the size and com-
ator from Mississippi.
how they were able to find common plexity of the program. It is a program
AMENDMENT NO. 2146
ground and get stuff done: the 80–20 a tenth the size of what we are talking
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I offer about today.
rule.
today what should be considered a The Stanford Institute said NTIA’s
I said to Mike Enzi that day: What is
friendly amendment to the broadband mechanism for selecting projects was
the 80–20 rule?
section of this infrastructure bill. incoherent. NTIA, had they adopted
He said: About 80 percent of the stuff,
Why is it a friendly amendment? more a reasonable framework, many
Ted and I agree on, and about 20 per-
Because by using the Administrative more households could have been con-
cent, we don’t. What we do is we focus
Procedure Act, which my amendment nected with the same money, or the
on the 80 percent where we agree.
would provide, it would save billions of same number of connections could have
There is common ground here. I
dollars in broadband build-out funds. It been realized for a fraction of the cost,
think that the Senator from Wisconsin
would provide for consumer input, because they didn’t do what I am advo-
knows what it is. And I would ask that
stakeholder input, local and State gov- cating today.
in addition to talking about our dif-
ernment input into NTIA—the Agency The Phoenix Center, an independent
ferences, let’s talk about where we
that will be in charge of this broadband think tank, said they found no positive
agree, and let’s do good work there.
build-out. And also because it will not effect on home broadband adoption
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2245
delay the broadband build-out in any from the BTOP program.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The way. My fellow colleagues, years from
question is on agreeing to the amend- Now, as written today, the broadband now, when someone realizes we have
ment. section waives the Administrative Pro- wasted billions of dollars on this build-
Mr. JOHNSON. I ask for the yeas and cedure Act. The Wicker amendment out, I would want, and I think my col-
nays. would simply strike that waive and leagues would want, to say: Well, I
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a make the Administrative Procedure voted yes on the Wicker amendment to
sufficient second? Act apply to the broadband section as take the extra 130, 140 days to hear
There appears to be a sufficient sec- it applies to so many big programs that what went right and what went wrong
ond. are enacted. in the past and to make sure we get it
The clerk will call the roll. If we pass this amendment, here will right.
The senior assistant legislative clerk be the timeline: Let’s assume the No Senator has worked harder than I
proceeded to call the roll. President doesn’t get around to signing have on broadband build-out. I want
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators this bill until October 1. I would expect this program to succeed. This is a way
are necessarily absent: the Senator the President would sign it earlier than to make sure we spend the money cor-
from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), the that, but let’s assume that he does rectly, to make sure we do it right.
Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. INHOFE), that. There will be 30 days of notice, 30 Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
and the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. days of public comment after the no- sent to have printed in the RECORD an
SASSE). tice is published, a review of those article dated August 3, just yesterday,
The result was announced—yeas 48, comments, which could take 30 to 40 from the National Journal.
nays 49, as follows: days. At that point the regulations are It says: ‘‘How $65 billion for
[Rollcall Vote No. 298 Leg.] published and, after 30 days, they go broadband infrastructure could fall
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
YEAS—48 into effect. short.’’
Barrasso Capito Crapo So by my calculations, assuming the I ask unanimous consent that it be
Blackburn Cassidy Cruz President is very, very late in signing printed in the RECORD at this point.
Blunt Collins Daines the bill, the act and the regulations There being no objection, the mate-
Boozman Cornyn Ernst
Braun Cotton Fischer under the Administrative Procedure rial was ordered to be printed in the
Burr Cramer Grassley Act would be done by February 7. RECORD, as follows:
VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.018 S04AUPT1
S5802 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
[From the National Journal, Aug. 3, 2021] LightBox, a commercial real-estate-data it that I don’t like. There are provi-
HOW $65 BILLION FOR BROADBAND provider, to publish their own statewide sions in it that I wish were there that
INFRASTRUCTURE COULD FALL SHORT broadband map. And there’s a surge of inter- aren’t there because of the negotiation.
(By Brendan Bordelon) est from other states—Pennsylvania and
This provision, which appears inno-
Maine are already working on their own
The $65 billion set aside for high-speed cent, to reinsert the Administrative
internet in the Senate’s bipartisan infra- maps, and Caroline Stoll, the head of sales
and strategic partnership at LightBox, said Procedure Act into this process would
structure deal is just a small piece of the bureaucratize the process, slow it
bill’s $550 billion in new spending. But don’t the company is in talks with several more
call the plan unambitious. states looking to replicate Georgia’s map. down, and would not assist in the proc-
‘‘It’s the biggest broadband bill in the his- ‘‘It is a very, very good use of time and re- ess.
tory of the country,’’ said Gigi Sohn, a fel- sources by the states to develop their own Here are some points that I think
low at the Georgetown Law Institute for map,’’ said Sohn. need to be made:
Beyond a lack of maps, there are other po-
Technology Law & Policy and a former The first is I consider the broadband
Democratic official at the Federal Commu- tential pitfalls in the Senate’s plan to fund
broadband infrastructure. Recent efforts by section one of the crown jewels of this
nications Commission. entire bill. And the fact that it is
‘‘Would I have preferred more money for the federal government to finance high-
deployment? Yeah,’’ said Sohn. ‘‘I would like speed-internet projects have been conducted structured in such a way that the
to see $100 billion rather than $65 billion. But through reverse auctions run by the FCC. grants will go to the States and the
this is a bipartisan bill, and I think that is The new plan puts individual states in States will decide how best to admin-
super important to remember and appre- charge of their buildouts, allowing for great- ister those programs because of their
ciate.’’ er experimentation with funding structures knowledge of their needs in their
Some of those billions are earmarked for a and broadband technologies—states can de-
States—yes, they are going to use
tribal connectivity fund, ‘middle-mile’ cide whether to pursue primarily wired or
wireless options, for example. But it could maps—updated maps, I should say—
broadband deployments rural telemedicine,
distance learning, and other discrete provi- also open the door to overbuilding and waste. from the FCC, but this is, really, a
sions. But the heart of the Senate’s Scott Wallsten, the president of the Tech- State-driven process.
broadband infrastructure deal is a $42 billion nology Policy Institute, said the decision to The Administrative Procedure Act is
pot of money for state and territorial gov- put states in the driver’s seat ‘‘is going to principally a regulatory process, and
ernments, which will have to convince Wash- tremendously reduce the efficiency of the we are not talking about a regulatory
ington that their plan to build out high- program.’’ process here. We are not talking about
speed internet to rural and underserved re- ‘‘The most efficient way to allocate the
the issuance of a lot of long and de-
gions will work before receiving federal money—the way you get the biggest bang for
the buck—is a reverse auction,’’ said tailed regulations. We are talking
grants.
But there’s a catch. While that money will Wallsten. about a grant program to States, and
be set aside immediately after the legisla- Gregory Rosston, the director of the pub- so the burdensome administrative re-
tion is signed into law, the bill stipulates lic-policy program at Stanford University quirements of the APA are really not
that no funds can be sent to states until and a former FCC economist, said he expects necessary in this case because it is not
after the FCC fixes its much-maligned set of state efforts will be spotty, with some doing a regulatory process.
national broadband maps showing where cov- a good job of planning buildouts while others There is already significant oversight
erage exists and where it doesn’t. fall short. He also worried that state
built into the statute. There are 68
The latest FCC estimate suggests that broadband plans will be ‘‘much more subjec-
around 14.5 million Americans now live in re- tive and subject to influence than a more pages that have all kinds of require-
gions without access to broadband. But other centralized, transparent system.’’ ments for public notice, filing online,
estimates have come in much higher, and the And Brake has issues with the $100 million public disclosure, comment, and in-
persistence of inaccurate maps means no one minimum that each state is slated to receive volvement of communities of other
really knows for sure. for high-speed internet. He said that smaller, providers, of all of those interested par-
Lawmakers and policy experts alike had denser states like Connecticut may not need ties in this process. So it is not like it
mulled whether it made sense to move ahead that much money to provide complete cov- is some kind of closed process.
on broadband funding despite not knowing erage to its citizens.
‘‘To get something through the Senate,
There is no doubt that this will slow
how much money is needed or where to put
it. In the end, however, the increasing impor- that’s kind of the price of doing business,’’ down the process. There is no doubt
tance of high-speed-internet access in a pan- said Brake. ‘‘Everyone’s got to get some- that this would restrict the ability of
demic-stricken world—and the unlikely thing.’’ Still, Brake said the Senate’s infra- the NTIA to tailor programs to fit indi-
chance that Congress can summon the en- structure deal is a marked improvement vidual States.
ergy and bipartisanship needed to address from recent proposals like the BRIDGE Act, As I said, that is one of the beauties
the question at a later date—pushed the Sen- which would’ve ignored the lack of of this whole provision, is that it has
ate to act. broadband maps and divvied up federal funds the flexibility to meet the needs of
‘‘To wait would make the perfect be the through imprecise metrics like raw popu-
States as they define them. It would
enemy of the very good,’’ said John lation and the percentage of rural or low-in-
Horrigan, a senior fellow at the Benton Insti- come citizens. hamper that State flexibility, and it
tute for Broadband and Society. ‘‘If you’re ‘‘I think it could be potentially more effi- would make it more difficult for the
going to not act until you have the best cient if this was sort of run through a single States to follow through on a timely
data, it’s going to take a long time for you process within the federal government,’’ basis to make this tremendously im-
to act.’’ Brake said. ‘‘[But] it’s improved a lot in this portant.
The FCC will not say when it expects to new version.’’ Where the Senator and I agree—and I
finish the new, more accurate maps. But so Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I don’t know how hard he has worked on this,
far the commission hasn’t even completed
the necessary procurement and contracting
want this program to fall short; I want as have I. This is, I think, one of the
efforts. And most telecom experts believe it to succeed. This amendment gives us most important things that we can do
the maps won’t be ready for prime time until a chance to get the money right, to in this bill, to get Americans con-
next year at the earliest. take the extra time that we are going nected. I don’t need to make that argu-
‘‘It’s going to be a couple of years before to have to take anyway to get the ment. Everyone in the Chamber knows
really substantial amounts of money start maps right. It is a good government that.
being dug into the ground and strung up on amendment, a friendly amendment, The other piece, unfortunately, that
telephone poles,’’ said Doug Brake, the direc-
and I urge bipartisan adoption of it. this amendment would do would be en-
tor of broadband and spectrum policy at the
Information Technology and Innovation The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- able and, in fact, invite lawsuits. There
Foundation. ator from Maine. would, undoubtedly, be challenges to
A lack of accurate maps could further slow Mr. KING. Mr. President, with all the regulations, challenges to the—if
broadband deployment by making it hard for due respect to my friend from Mis- indeed the APA said you have got to do
states to formulate their own plans. Even sissippi, I don’t consider this a friendly this by regulation, you are building a
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
once the FCC maps are completed, it will amendment. I consider this a major de- whole new bureaucratic process, and
take time for state governments to digest parture from the agreed-upon structure the bill already provides for the kinds
their findings, determine where and how to
spend federal dollars, and submit those plans
of this broadband section of the bill of protections that the Senator is talk-
to Washington for approval. that we are talking about. ing about.
Some states are taking matters into their This, as we all know, was a heavily So I think this is an unnecessary
own hands. In 2020, Georgia partnered with negotiated bill. There are provisions in amendment. I certainly, as one of those
VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.001 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5803
who worked on the negotiation of the equally divided, prior to a vote relating most back to back, and, certainly, the
bill, don’t consider it a friendly amend- to the Kennedy amendment No. 2210. need for disaster assistance is clear.
ment, and I believe that it is a major The Senator from the Louisiana. But we also have other States that
change in the agreement that would AMENDMENT NO. 2210 have been affected: Alabama, Cali-
not have been agreed to in the negotia- Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, fornia, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Or-
tion; and I hope my colleagues across with respect to my amendment, I offer egon, Puerto Rico—a Territory, not a
the aisle who have supported this it on behalf of myself and Senator CAS- State, obviously. But they need help
agreement will oppose this amendment SIDY. too.
because it is not something that was in The last 18 months have been chal- What I would propose is that we work
the negotiation and it would not have lenging for Louisiana. First, there was together on an emergency disaster sup-
been accepted by those who were nego- Hurricane Laura. Then there was Hur- plemental that will take care of all
tiating it on this side of the aisle. ricane Delta. Then there was Hurricane these needs, including the needs of the
So with that, I strongly oppose this Zeta. The hurricanes alone did about people in hard-hit Louisiana.
amendment. It is a—I don’t think I can $25 billion of damage. Then we had the I pledge my personal help and sup-
say it. It makes this a bureaucratic historic freezes. Then we had historic port to both of my colleagues and
process that is unnecessary, will only flooding. The total amount of damage friends from Louisiana to bring this
slow and impede the distribution of was $47.1 billion. about.
My people are tough, but they are Finally, let me just say, I am sur-
these desperately needed funds to con-
tired. This amendment would appro- prised that the administration has not
nect the people of America.
priate $1.1 billion in community devel- submitted a request for supplemental
I yield the floor.
opment block grants to help my people disaster assistance. And I look forward
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2146
recover. to see—
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The I bring you a problem but also a solu- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time
question is on agreeing to the Wicker tion. Thanks to the efforts of Senator has expired.
amendment, No. 2146. CANTWELL and Senator SCHATZ and my- Ms. COLLINS. Thank you.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I ask for self, 3 years ago, we convinced the FCC VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2210
the yeas and nays. not to give away the spectrum auction, Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, I
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a which belongs to the American people, ask for the yeas and nays.
sufficient second? and instead to auction it off. There is The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
There appears to be a sufficient sec- now $80 billion sitting in Treasury. The question is on agreeing to the amend-
ond. money for these block grants would ment.
The clerk will call the roll. Is there a sufficient second?
come from that $80 billion in cash.
The legislative clerk called the roll. There appears to be a sufficient sec-
Thank you.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ond.
are necessarily absent: the Senator The clerk will call the roll.
ator from Michigan.
from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM) and The senior assistant legislative clerk
Mr. PETERS. Madam President, we
the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. called the roll.
all agree that responding to natural Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
INHOFE). disasters is a core Federal responsi-
The result was announced—yeas 43, are necessarily absent: the Senator
bility. But, unfortunately, this unprec- from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM) and
nays 55, as follows: edented amendment would take funds the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr.
[Rollcall Vote No. 299 Leg.] from the Federal Communications INHOFE).
YEAS—43 Commission’s spectrum auction reve- The result was announced—yeas 19,
Barrasso Grassley Rounds nues to pay for disaster relief. nays 79, as follows:
Blackburn Hagerty Rubio The spectrum auction revenues my [Rollcall Vote No. 300 Leg.]
Blunt Hawley Sasse colleagues seeks to reallocate are in-
Boozman Hoeven Scott (FL) YEAS—19
Braun Hyde-Smith
tended to help expand high-speed inter-
Scott (SC) Blackburn Ernst Rubio
Burr Johnson Shelby
net in the United States. All Ameri- Blunt Hagerty Scott (FL)
Capito Kennedy Sullivan cans, no matter where they live, should Burr Hawley Sullivan
Cornyn Lankford Thune have access to the 21st century econ- Cassidy Hoeven Tuberville
Cotton Lee Cornyn Hyde-Smith
Tillis omy. Warnock
Cramer Lummis Cramer Kennedy
Toomey We can’t pick winners and losers
Crapo Marshall Cruz Ossoff
Tuberville
Cruz McConnell
Wicker
when it comes to natural disasters. The
Daines Moran NAYS—79
Young process should be set in law, which is
Ernst Paul Baldwin Hickenlooper Risch
Fischer Risch something my colleague from Hawaii, Barrasso Hirono Romney
Senator SCHATZ, has been working on Bennet Johnson Rosen
NAYS—55
for years. Blumenthal Kaine Rounds
Baldwin Hickenlooper Reed I support disaster relief, but this is Booker Kelly Sanders
Bennet Hirono Romney Boozman King
Blumenthal Kaine Rosen
not the way to do it. Braun Klobuchar
Sasse
My heart goes out to all Americans Schatz
Booker Kelly Sanders Brown Lankford Schumer
Brown King Schatz impacted by natural disasters, not just Cantwell Leahy
Scott (SC)
Cantwell Klobuchar Schumer those affected by hurricanes but also Capito Lee
Cardin Leahy Shaheen
Shaheen Cardin Luján
Carper Luján devastating wildfires and flooding Carper Lummis Shelby
Sinema
Casey Manchin caused by climate change. I am com- Casey Manchin Sinema
Smith Smith
Cassidy Markey
Stabenow mitted to ensuring they receive the as- Collins Markey
Collins Menendez Coons Marshall Stabenow
Coons Merkley
Tester sistance they need, but we need a com- Tester
Cortez Masto McConnell
Cortez Masto Murkowski Van Hollen prehensive solution. Cotton Menendez Thune
Duckworth Murphy Warner I would like to yield time to my col- Crapo Merkley Tillis
Warnock
Durbin Murray league from Maine. Daines Moran Toomey
Feinstein Ossoff Warren Duckworth Murkowski Van Hollen
Whitehouse
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Gillibrand Padilla Durbin Murphy Warner
Hassan Peters Wyden ator from Maine. Feinstein Murray Warren
Heinrich Portman Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, Fischer Padilla Whitehouse
first, let me offer to work with both Gillibrand Paul Wicker
NOT VOTING—2 Grassley Peters
Senators from Louisiana to secure the Wyden
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Graham Inhofe Hassan Portman Young
funding that their State so desperately Heinrich Reed
The amendment (No. 2146) was re- needs, in my capacity as ranking mem-
jected. NOT VOTING—2
ber of the Transportation, HUD Appro-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. priations Subcommittee. Graham Inhofe
ROSEN). Under the previous order, Louisiana has been particularly hard The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas
there will now be 4 minutes of debate, hit, experiencing three hurricanes al- are 19, the nays are 79.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.021 S04AUPT1
S5804 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
Under the previous order requiring 60 country apart would be unfair, uncon- tion. There are certain things we ought
votes for the adoption of this amend- scionable, and, in many cases, delete- to all agree on, Democrats and Repub-
ment, this amendment is rejected. rious to public health. It would harm licans. Let me give you three that I
The amendment (No. 2210) was re- our efforts to bring this virus under think are the starting points.
jected. control for good. First, we need a safe and secure bor-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Fortunately, in recent weeks, many der. I want to know who is coming into
jority whip. cities and States have made progress in America and what they are bringing. In
EVICTION MORATORIUM getting the help out to the people who the age of terrorism, in the age of
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, after need it. That includes the city of Chi- drugs, I want to know who is coming in
many weeks of uncertainty and dis- cago and the State of Illinois. and what they are bringing. Yes, we
tress, millions of Americans can—for The CDC’s new eviction moratorium need border security.
now—let go of the fear of losing their is only a first step. It is imperative Secondly, we should never knowingly
homes and the roofs over their head. that all State and local governments allow a dangerous person to come into
Last night, the Biden administration step up their efforts to get Federal re- this country, period. If someone is here
announced a new 60-day Federal evic- lief to the families who need it and the without legal protected status and
tion moratorium. I certainly support landlords as well. This pandemic has they are dangerous to us, they are
that decision. caused enough pain. Redtape can’t be gone—no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
I want to thank all those who in- allowed to deepen that pain for every- The third point is an important one
sisted that we do something, especially one. as well. We cannot allow everyone in
U.S. Congresswoman CORI BUSH, of IMMIGRATION the world who wants to come into the
Missouri, who knows the trauma, per- Madam President, I would like to ad- United States to arrive tomorrow. It
sonally, of being without a home, hav- dress another issue that comes up on just won’t work. We have to have an
ing been a victim of eviction in her the floor quite regularly, usually from orderly process, and we ought to show
life. Representative BUSH camped out speeches on the other side of the aisle. some caring and humanitarian instinct
outside on the Capitol steps for 5 I heard one of my colleagues in the in that process, too, whether it is a ref-
nights. She slept on the steps of this Senate on the Republican side who is a ugee or asylee. These are people who
building so that some of the most vul- personal friend talk about it today— desperately need some safe place to be,
nerable people in America would be and he is not the only one—and it is, of and the United States has often opened
able to sleep with a roof over their course, the issue of immigration. I its doors since World War II to show
heads while we were made sure the law have been involved in this issue for a that kind of kindness. Our generation
caught up with our intentions. long time. should do the same.
I also want to thank my fellow I can recall when I was first elected Now, there are those who come to the
Democratic Senators, especially to the Senate, I got a phone call from floor and say: Because so many people
SHERROD BROWN and ELIZABETH WAR- Ted Kennedy. He said: I heard you are want to come into the United States, it
REN, who pushed for a fair and just so- going to be on the Senate Judiciary is a mistake for us to give anybody
lution to avoid what would have been Committee. legal status in this country because it
an entirely preventable tragedy for I said: That is right. is a green light. It is an incentive for
families who already lost so much in He said: Can I ask you to be a mem- even more to show up.
this pandemic. ber of my Immigration Subcommittee? That argument, I think, is not
As many as 11 million Americans Well, how do you say no to Ted Ken- strong, and here is why. Each year, the
have fallen behind on their rent during nedy, to start with? I was fascinated by orderly legal process in America makes
this pandemic because of job losses and the invitation. I got involved in the im- 1 million new Americans from immi-
other misfortunes. migration debate then and over the grants. It happens every year. These
Let me tell you about one of them. years. people are following the law, every let-
Patricia Vasquez. She lives in Chi- At one point, I joined three other ter of it, to become legal permanent
cago’s Little Village neighborhood. She Democratic Senators and four Repub- residents in America. So to say we are
told her story to the Chicago Sun- lican Senators—the so-called Gang of going to cut them off and no longer
Times. By the time Patricia Vasquez 8—and tried to sit down and fix this allow them to become citizens makes
received an email on July 23 telling her broken immigration system. We actu- no sense.
that she qualified for help from Chi- ally wrote a bill, a good bill. It passed Secondly, immigrants are a critical
cago’s Emergency Rental Assistance here on the floor of the Senate with 68 part of America. When my farmers
Program, the gas to her apartment had votes. come to me and tell me how des-
already been cut off because of an over- Senator McCain was one of the con- perately they need farmworkers, and
due $1,400 bill. She had sold some tributors to it. Senator Flake of Ari- they don’t have enough immigrants to
clothes and jewelry to pay the electric zona was also one of them—Senator fill them, my natural reaction is, why
bill and keep the lights on, and she was GRAHAM of South Carolina, Senator don’t you go to the Americans who live
6 months behind in rent. RUBIO of Florida, Senator SCHUMER, near your farms? And they say: Sen-
The Federal eviction moratorium Senator BENNET, Senator MENENDEZ. ator, we do. Nobody wants to do that
will enable people like Patricia to We put our hearts and souls into that backbreaking work of picking fruit or
avoid homelessness while they wait for effort and put it together and brought vegetables and all the hard labor that
emergency assistance to reach them. it to the floor of the Senate and it was goes with it. We need immigrants to do
Between the bipartisan CARES Act enacted into law. it.
that Congress passed in December and Comprehensive immigration reform— Two million people in our country
President Biden’s American Rescue I should say, it passed the Senate. It pick our crops, 2.4 million. Did you
Plan, Congress has provided State and failed to become enacted into law be- know half of them are undocumented?
local governments more than $46 bil- cause the House of Representatives, That is a fact. They have come to this
lion in emergency rental assistance to under Republican control, wouldn’t country and get paid to do the worst,
help families pay their landlords. Un- bring it up for debate, let alone a vote. hardest work you can imagine.
fortunately, many States and localities That was an unfortunate missed oppor- Go to a meat processing plant or a
have been slower than expected in get- tunity. poultry processing plant—you pick it—
ting that money to the people who It just comes down to this. We have anyplace in the United States and look
need it. So far, only $3 billion of the $46 not passed a significant immigration at the workforce that comes out of
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
billion has reached tenants and land- bill in the United States of America in that gate at the end of the day. The
lords. 35 years. Everyone but everyone con- majority of them—well, I should say 40
To punish renters who have already cedes that our immigration system is percent across the Nation—40 percent
lost so much for delays over which broken. There are parts of it that are of them are immigrants who are work-
they have no control and to evict them just fundamentally unfair. There are ing in that field; tough, dangerous, hot,
with the Delta variant tearing the parts of it which do not serve our Na- hard work. They do it because others
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.023 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5805
aren’t lining up to do it in their place. I yield the floor. United States. That is why we are see-
That is part of America today. Immi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ing these unprecedented numbers, or at
grants are a critical element. ator from Texas. least numbers we haven’t seen for 20
I might add one other element which Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I years, in people trying to stream
is timely. Think of all the times we didn’t come to the floor to speak on across the border into the United
tune into the Olympics and look at the this matter, but listening to the com- States.
people who make us just beam with ments of my friend from Illinois about I know that there is a lot of debate
pride, with ‘‘USA’’ written across their the contributions made by immigrants about, well, should we have physical
chest on uniforms, who are winning to our country, I wholeheartedly agree barriers at the border? The truth is,
these medals and competing on behalf with him about that. the experts, the Border Patrol, have
of us, the United States, in the Olym- Really, when I think about immigra- told all of us that, yes, you have to
pics. tion, I think it is really sort of the se- have physical barriers in some hard-to-
Suni Lee of Minnesota, who is she? cret sauce to American success. It is control places, but you also need tech-
Well, it turns out that she is a child of the notion that you can come from nology, and you need boots on the
a Hmong family. The Hmongs, you re- anywhere, with virtually nothing, and ground because this is not just about
member from the Vietnam era, were a you can legally immigrate to the people immigrating to the United
people who were killed because they United States and you can begin to get States; this is about the drugs that
sided with the United States, and they one of those very difficult jobs working killed 93,000 Americans last year alone,
were caught in the crossfire of war. in the fields, working in a meatpacking most of which come across the south-
Many of them settled in the United plant, or someplace else and begin your ern border—cocaine, meth, fentanyl,
States, many in the State of Min- climb toward the American dream. heroin, just to name a few. When we
nesota. That, to me, is one of the crown jew- see the current crisis at the border be-
Here is this young woman, this els of our country. It is what makes us cause of this reversal of the previous
daughter of refugees who is making us different. You look at other countries administration’s policies without any
so proud as she stands on the podium around the world; they don’t welcome alternative plan in place, this is an
crying her eyes out with ‘‘USA’’ writ- immigrants. They shun immigrants, open invitation to the cartels to take
ten on her uniform, proudly holding and their economies and their coun- advantage of the circumstances.
that gold medal. We cheer her on. tries suffer for it. What it means, as a practical matter,
Yet when it comes to the U.S. Sen- Let me just say, I agree with the when so many people come across at
ate, there are no cheers from some Senator from Illinois about the con- the same time, which is what is hap-
quarters. These are immigrants. Many tribution of immigrants. I listened pening now, including tens of thou-
people look at them negatively. I am very carefully as a border State Sen- sands of unaccompanied children, the
not one of those people. ator. My State is 40 percent Hispanic. I Border Patrol, which is the law en-
There has to be a better way. There am sure the Senator from Nevada has a forcement officials who are given the
has to be a humane way for us, this Na- large Hispanic population. They are mission of securing our border—they
tion of immigrants, for us to be able to part of us. They are part of our great have to leave the frontline of the bor-
have a system that is fair, that really Nation and make tremendous contribu- der to go change diapers and clean and
is based on the three principles I men- tions. feed these kids because there is simply
tioned: border security, no dangerous The Hispanics in my State are patri- not enough personnel there in order to
persons, and we have got to have an or- ots. They volunteer in disproportionate handle this flood of humanity.
derly process to come up with. numbers to serve in the military. They What happens when they leave the
We are going to see in the next few work at jobs that are very difficult. frontlines? Well, in one sector, the Bor-
days, I am sure, debate on the budget They are very tight-knit families. They der Patrol Chief told me 40 percent of
resolution. It is going to be, in some are people of faith. They believe in their agents had to leave the
part, a debate on immigration policy. I hard work and, most fundamentally, frontlines, which then was a green
am certainly ready for it. I hope my they believe in the American dream. light for the drug components, the drug
colleagues are too. I hope that they But I don’t think it does any tribute smugglers, to bring the poison that
will keep an open mind to a process of to their contributions or their sac- killed 93,000 Americans in the United
creating a new immigration policy in rifices to say that people can come to States last year alone across the bor-
America that really reflects our values, this country without complying with der.
that is fair to the people who seek to our laws. These criminal organizations are
be part of our future, and that recog- I also join in the Senator’s frustra- very sophisticated. They know exactly
nizes the great heritage which the im- tion at our inability to get anything what they are doing. They know ex-
migrants have brought to this country. substantially done in this space, but I actly how to exploit the vulnerabilities
I hope those people who are on the don’t think it is good enough for us to in our law, which is why they also have
other side who don’t feel as I do will complain about how hard it is. We are understood that if you flood tens of
take the time to meet some of these all volunteers. What we have to do is thousands—in 1 month alone, nearly
immigrant people. do the hard work, and we have not done 200,000—of people across the border,
Meet my Dreamers. These young peo- it since I have been here. We have not that you are going to overwhelm the
ple who I first started championing 20 done the hard work to try to build that system, and that if you coach the mi-
years ago have lived lives in the shad- consensus in order to pass meaningful grants to make a claim of credible fear
ow of doubt for decades. They were told immigration reform, and we need to do of persecution, that you might just be
they were undocumented; they could be that. It is on us. We can’t blame some- put into our asylum system, which
deported at any moment; and yet they body else. We are the ones responsible. then has about 1.3, I think, million
soldiered on. They worked hard. They We haven’t done it, and we need to do cases backlogged in our immigration
went to school. They have done re- it. courts, which means we are forced to
markable things, becoming doctors and But I would just point out, and the give you a notice to appear at a future
nurses and teachers and entrepreneurs Senator from Illinois knows this, that hearing so you can present your case in
and even members of our military. my State has a 1,200-mile border with front of an immigration judge, and
They are amazing. They never let me Mexico. This is ground zero for the hu- maybe, just maybe, you can make your
down. They are just terrific young peo- manitarian crisis that is currently ap- case. As a practical matter, only about
ple. I think they deserve a chance to pearing at the border. The Biden ad- 10 percent of the people who do appear
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
become part of America’s future. ministration reversed a lot of the poli- in front of an immigration judge are
I think they have earned it, and I cies of the previous administration able to meet the legal criteria for asy-
think we ought to have that kind of at- without having an alternative plan in lum.
titude in our minds when we talk about place, and it was interpreted as laying But here is how the cartels, how the
the role of immigrants in the future of out the welcome mat for anybody and transnational criminal organizations,
America. everybody who wanted to come to the have figured out how to exploit our
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.024 S04AUPT1
S5806 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
laws: Because we have to release people cipally because the process that amendment that would provide more
and give them a notice to appear be- brought this bill to the floor did not in- funding for a variety of infrastructure
cause of the sheer volume, most of volve the regular, normal hearings and projects, including roads, bridges, and
them don’t show up for their court markups across multiple Senate com- public transit. What it does is it gives
hearing. So they have succeeded be- mittees. That is certainly not a criti- State and local leaders more authority
cause of the gaps in our law, not be- cism of the bipartisan group who has when it comes to identifying and in-
cause of a lack of a physical barrier gotten us to where we are; it is really vesting in the greatest needs of their
along the border. They are turning just a statement of the dysfunction of States and their communities. And
themselves in to the Border Patrol and the legislative process in the Senate here is the kicker: It does so without
making this claim of asylum because these days. But the fact is, the vast increasing the deficit one penny. That
they know that they will more than majority of the Senators in this Cham- is because it gives State and local lead-
likely succeed in making their way ber did not have a hand in crafting this ers the ability to spend COVID relief
into the United States. legislation even though it will impact funding that they already have on in-
I don’t care how many times the Vice every single community across the frastructure projects that might other-
President goes to Central America or country. wise be neglected. They are not re-
talks about root causes of illegal immi- I believe the bipartisan group worked quired to do so, but our amendment
gration. I don’t care how many times in good faith to get us to the starting would allow them to do so rather than
Director Mayorkas tells Cubans: Don’t gate. Now it is time to allow every to claw that money back when the ap-
come to America because of the danger Senator, representing every State in propriation sunsets or to put guard-
of coming overseas into our country. the country, to weigh in and offer im- rails on it and say you can only use it
These organizations are smart. They provements to the bill. I have said from for some prescribed uses, which, frank-
are whispering in the ear of these mi- the beginning that an open amendment ly, they have more money to spend
grants. They are saying: If you will pay process will be critical to the success of than they know what to do with when
us enough money, we will get you to this legislation, and that is especially it comes to those authorized uses.
America. And these migrants watch true when it comes to paying for this As folks hunkered down in their
TV. They watch cable TV. They take legislation. home to slow the spread of the virus,
phone calls and get emails from their We are waiting for the Congressional the change in travel patterns hurt
friends and relatives in the United Budget Office, the official scorer, to more than airlines and hotels; it put a
States. They know that this statement tell us what the costs will be and serious dent in State and local trans-
‘‘don’t try to come to America’’ is just whether we have been successful in of- portation budgets in all of our States.
completely inconsistent with what is fering offsetting pay-fors. One budget State departments of transportation
happening on the ground. expert at the Committee for a Respon- are facing an estimated $18 billion in
So I don’t think it does us any good sible Federal Budget has already fore- shortfalls through 2024. Leaders across
to complain about how hard our job is casted a discouraging score. He esti- the country have had to delay or can-
or how many times we have failed to mated the bill would only raise about cel critical transportation projects be-
get the job done. What I am really con- $208 billion—less than half of the new cause of a lack of funding, and it is un-
cerned about right now is that the ma- spending in the bill. clear when those projects may get back
jority whip, who is also chairman of But it is important for all of us to re- on track.
the Judiciary Committee, has basically alize we are also reauthorizing the ex- I might say that one of the things we
told us he is going to give up on a bi- piring surface transportation bill, have seen with the eviction morato-
partisan immigration reform bill, and which is ordinarily financed by the rium expiring is that $46 billion of
they are going to try to jam this highway trust fund, and it is going to money we appropriated last year still
through on a purely party-line vote in require another $118 billion to shore hasn’t gotten to the intended bene-
this reconciliation bill, otherwise that up because the White House has ficiary, to the people who are trying to
known as the reckless tax-and-spend- taken off the table any other pay-fors pay their rent but can’t pay their rent.
ing spree. that would include a user fee on elec- So we have a huge problem, logistical
Now, I don’t expect that the Parlia- tric vehicles or indexing the gas tax or problem, in voting on money and actu-
mentarian will allow them to do that other ideas that would fill in that gap. ally getting it to the intended bene-
under the rules of the Senate. This So another $118 billion of borrowed ficiary. That is true in COVID–19. That
would completely circumvent the rules money is going to be necessary to fill is true in disaster relief. The type of
of the Senate, which require, on mat- that gap. I don’t think any of us regard thing that Senator PADILLA and I are
ters of substantive legislation, 60 votes that as a good outcome. Maybe it is the suggesting is to take money that is al-
to close off debate, the so-called fili- best we can do under the cir- ready in the hands of the State and
buster rule. cumstances. local governments and let them use it
But I couldn’t resist responding to But as it stands now, our debt to so they can do it quickly on invest-
the majority whip’s—the Senator from GDP, our debt to our gross domestic ments which will last and endure rath-
Illinois—statements about how hard product ratio, is at the highest level it er than just spend it on operating ex-
our job is. I don’t think it does us much has been since World War II. In other penses.
good to come here and say: This is real- words, we fought a world war to defeat There is an urgent need for more
ly hard. This is really hard. imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, and transportation funding, and that is ex-
Our constituents expect us to fix it, we didn’t ask how much it cost; we did actly what our amendment would pro-
and we know how to do it if we will what we had to do. We did the same vide. There is no mandate, as I said,
just do our job. thing when it came to COVID, which that it be spent for a single transpor-
H.R. 3684 was a domestic equivalent, I think, of tation project. If a city or a State or a
So, Madam President, on the bipar- war, defeating the virus and shoring up county has plans to use their funds on
tisan infrastructure bill now before the our economy. pandemic-related expenses, those plans
Senate, I am glad to see that the ma- Our country has invested a huge will not be interrupted or called into
jority leader, Senator SCHUMER, is al- amount of money in the war against question. It simply provides our local
lowing amendments to be presented COVID–19, and now is not the time to leaders what they have asked each of
from folks on both sides. Senator SCHU- double down on out-of-control spending us for most, and it starts with flexi-
MER had given us an artificial deadline for a nonemergency matter. We need to bility.
to finish the bill, but he has also told find responsible ways to finance these If a city is experiencing a spike in
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
us we are not going home until we do new expenses, and I hope we will have COVID cases and needs to use Federal
so, and we take him at his word. But I an opportunity to vote on a range of funding to buy additional ICU bedspace
hope he will continue to allow this amendments to that end. or hire new healthcare workers, they
process to play out, no matter how I have been proud to work with Sen- can and they should move forward with
long it takes, until this legislation is ator PADILLA, our new Senator from those plans. This is not about cutting
ready to be voted on. That is prin- California, a Democrat, to offer an resources that are needed. But we
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.025 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5807
know that many States and localities en this bill, to maximize the impact of group. However, when I was approached
simply don’t have enough qualifying every dollar, and pay for these invest- for my input, I made my top priorities
expenses to use the money that they ments responsibly. clear:
have been given. They are looking for So let me just close by saying I ap- One, keeping the permitting reforms
ways to spend the dollars they already preciate the hard work that has gone in our bill—permitting reforms like the
have as given to them in the CARES into this bill so far, and I hope we will one-agency decision that was a rule
Act and the American Rescue Plan. continue to have more opportunities to that President Trump put into place,
That is not to say they don’t want improve it as the amendment process that President Biden removed his first
this funding; they just want to be able goes forward. day in office. It is codified in this bill
to use it consistent with the guardrails The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. for surface transportation;
that Congress has provided, and that is BALDWIN). The junior Senator from Prioritizing dedicating funding to
what our amendment will allow. North Dakota. States and to their departments of
The broad support for this amend- Mr. CRAMER. Madam President, I transportation as part of the tradi-
ment is a testament to the importance want to take some time to share some tional formula for distribution;
of these changes. Our amendment has of my thoughts on this Infrastructure Limiting the expansion of urban
been endorsed by two dozen organiza- Investment and Jobs Act that we are transit programs; and
tions that represent a diverse range of debating today, and I wasn’t intending Including the bipartisan bill that
stakeholders, from the National to speak specifically to the amendment Senator LUJÁN and I introduced to
League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Senator CORNYN just brought up, but I clean up orphaned and abandoned oil
Mayors, the Association of Metropoli- just can’t resist saying: Man, I wish and gas wells.
tan Planning Organizations—all of you well. I was glad to see these provisions, as
which advocate on behalf of cities I think when—a bipartisan solution, well as our committee’s Drinking and
across the country. like Senator CORNYN and Senator Wastewater Infrastructure Act, in the
We have also received endorsements PADILLA have come up with, to provide bill.
from the American Road & Transpor- flexibility to our Governors and our I also appreciate the use of unspent
tation Builders Association, which rep- communities just makes all the sense COVID–19 relief funds to help pay for
resents all facets of the transportation in the world. these priorities rather than being used
construction industry, as well as the So I am looking forward to voting for paying people to not work and add-
American Public Transportation Asso- yes, and I hope we can get a resolution ing fuel to the fire of inflation. This
ciation. It also includes organizations that allows at least 59 of my closest does just the opposite.
that advocate for safer roads, like the friends to do the same. I thank my colleagues for asking for
American Traffic Safety Services Asso- I want to start out by thanking Sen- my opinion, and I am even more grate-
ciation. ators PORTMAN and SINEMA for pro- ful that they listened and included
I have been pleased to find common viding such incredible leadership, and these provisions in our final product.
ground with Senator PADILLA and our to the group of bipartisan Senators Infrastructure has been a priority for
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to who negotiated and coordinated this Congress because it is a priority for our
help build support for this amendment incredible effort. constituents. America cannot succeed
and, I think, actually enhance the I also want to thank Senator CAPITO, without a robust infrastructure from
work done by the bipartisan negoti- who is managing, of course, this floor one coast to the other and all the
ating group. process, along with Environment and places, like North Dakota, in between.
This is not something they were able Public Works Committee Chairman We need roads and bridges to go from
to get done in that negotiating group— TOM CARPER. The progress that they farm to town and from town to city,
they have told me—even though it was have made on this issue with the ad- from city to city, and State to State.
a subject of discussion. So now it is a ministration earlier this year, paired We use ports and waterways and rail-
chance for the rest of us, on a bipar- with the excellent leadership that they roads to move the products that we
tisan basis, to weigh in and make this provided the committee, really exem- produce to places they could otherwise
bill better. plifies what is possible when we work never get to. We use rail and air to con-
Throughout the process, we have together, and it has allowed us to get nect with family and friends and other
made adjustments so States with to this point. business associates around the world.
unique, but no less important, infra- Reviving America’s roads and bridges And we use broadband connectivity to
structure needs can put this funding is a longstanding national priority of facilitate transactions, both personal
toward those uses. We are in the proc- Congress, and is one that has taken us and business.
ess of making some final tweaks to en- too long to address. We need reliable, Infrastructure is foundational to our
sure that we receive broad bipartisan accessible infrastructure to operate lo- way of life, and it is the constitutional
support, as well as that of the White cally and to compete globally; and as it responsibility of the Federal Govern-
House, and I hope we will have a vote currently stands, the bill before us is ment to facilitate interstate com-
on this amendment on the Senate floor well positioned to meet that exact merce, including the movement of
soon. need. goods and services along our highways
Our amendment will empower local The Infrastructure Investment and and byways and waterways and rail-
officials to make the best decisions for Jobs Act isn’t perfect—no bill ever is— ways.
their communities and ensure that tax- but it makes historic investments in Rural States, like North Dakota,
payers get the most bang for their assets that will benefit every American know this better than most. In fact,
buck with these relief funds that have for many, many years. Rugby, ND, is literally the geo-
already been appropriated; and then, if I applaud the group for using the sur- graphical center of the North American
we do not authorize their use in the face transportation bill that we unani- continent. We are landlocked, and we
manner I have described, will likely be mously passed out of the Environment rely on our transportation infrastruc-
spent on annual or reoccurring ex- and Public Works Committee as the ture to get where we need to go and,
penses rather than on something that foundation for this bill. As the lead Re- more importantly, to move the prod-
will endure for a long time, like infra- publican on the Transportation and In- ucts that we produce to where they
structure. frastructure Subcommittee, I know need to get.
So I hope our amendment will come how much time and effort both sides of For example, North Dakota is the top
to a vote in the Senate very soon. the aisle have put in to surface trans- producer of durum wheat, which gets
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
There is no reason—there is no rea- portation reauthorization. The end re- ground into semolina flour, which be-
son—to rush the amendment process sult reflected the good work we accom- comes the main ingredient in pasta.
and to cut off good amendments for a plished, and it was the perfect building The wheat goes from the field to a
vote or consideration that will actually block for the package that is before us. grain elevator by a farm road, to a mill
improve this legislation. There are a As you know, I was not an original by rail, and to a processing plant by
lot of great ideas out there to strength- part of this bipartisan negotiating both, and then it goes anywhere from a
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.026 S04AUPT1
S5808 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
grocery store in California to a res- not tied together, despite what rhet- We have structurally deficient and
taurant in New York, or perhaps over- oric there may be otherwise. Both dangerous bridges, in some cases, that
seas to a market far away. should be considered on their own mer- need to be repaired. So I think there is
And just like every other commodity its separately. general agreement on both sides of the
we produce, it requires a reliable infra- What a shame it would be for Demo- aisle that we need to improve our in-
structure system that is safe and suffi- crats to offer the American public a frastructure.
cient for every single mile on the jour- glimpse of bipartisanship and coopera- It is known by people in this country,
ney. tion to only do an about-face and hold and I think particularly brought home
The United States needs rural Amer- it hostage while they jam through a to us, if you travel in other countries
ica, and rural America needs infra- massive tax increase and growth of the and see what they are doing and then
structure. The personal needs it fulfills Federal Government, adding to infla- you compare where we are—you would
and the economic benefits it delivers tion. think: Boy, we used to lead the world
are obvious. Rather than investing tril- I hope my colleagues will choose to in these things, and now we are not.
lions of taxpayer dollars on govern- build on this bipartisan success and re- And it is having an impact on our pro-
ment handouts to people to not work, sist the urge to follow the partisan ductivity as a nation because of addi-
we can spend money on putting people whims of their political base. tional travel time necessary for us to
to work, revitalizing a system that di- As it stands, the Infrastructure In- get to and from work as well as other
rectly benefits all of us, and that is vestment and Jobs Act would be a sig- endeavors.
what the plan before us would help ac- nificant win for our country. I know it If that is going to happen, we have
complish. would be for my State. So far we have only two options right now and prob-
It is not perfect—no bill is, as I said— avoided adding poison pills or derailing ably for the indefinite future. Right
and there are parts of it that I don’t the process, and I urge my colleagues now, we have a circumstance where my
support, but there are parts, I know, to keep it that way. party is in the minority—not by much.
that some of my colleagues do not sup- North Dakota needs safe and suffi- We are basically tied here in the Sen-
port, even though they are top prior- cient infrastructure. America needs ate, although the tie is broken by the
ities for me. safe and sufficient infrastructure. And Vice President. So the Democrats have
Our Founding Fathers intended for the world needs the United States to the majority in the Senate, in the
Congress to collaborate and find com- have safe and sufficient infrastructure. House, and, of course, with the White
mon ground. Those are functions of our I urge my colleagues to keep the neg- House. Given that circumstance, it is
system; they are not a side effect. It is ative parts of the bill in perspective possible for the Democrats to write an
easy to imagine if every Founder had and to appreciate the opportunity we infrastructure bill all by themselves
demanded to get everything they want- have today to make a difference for our and simply pass it through a process
ed and nothing else, well, then we constituents. known as reconciliation. That is one
would have had a king, and we may not I yield the floor. option.
have had the system of cooperative The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The other option is to work together
Federalism that we do today. And if ator from Utah. on a bipartisan basis, where we craft a
enough of them believed that doing Mr. ROMNEY. Madam President, the better bill with the input of Repub-
nothing is better than getting 80 or 90 remarks of my colleague from North licans and Democrats. That is the op-
percent of what they wanted or—then Dakota have inspired me to stand and tion that is before us now.
our more perfect Union would never join him; and also the fact that we are There is not a third alternative,
have gotten started and had a chance in a room of great significance and si- which is Republicans only draft the
to become that. lence reigns, and I hate just to fill it bill. I would love that alternative, but
The inability to meet in the middle is with words, but I think the topic we it is just not available to us because we
not an excuse for inaction, especially are talking about is extremely impor- don’t hold the House, the Senate, and
when it comes to addressing not just tant. the White House. So we have two op-
the pressing needs of the American I appreciate the good Senator’s sup- tions. Do we want our Democrat col-
people here at home, but also pro- port and effort in helping craft this leg- leagues to draft a bill all by themselves
tecting our standing as a country on islation—this bipartisan legislation to or do we want to work together with
the world stage. improve our infrastructure in our Republicans and Democrats and fash-
We understand how important infra- country. ion something that is bipartisan.
structure is, but so does China, so does I also salute the leadership on both Now, I note that when you work in a
Russia, so do all of our adversaries who sides of the aisle for allowing a robust bipartisan basis, there are some things
would like to see us continue to fall be- amendment process. the Democrats will want to include
hind. The Chinese Communist Party There is no question but that there that we Republicans would rather not
would love to see America’s roads and are many opportunities to improve the have there, and it is obvious that that
bridges crumble. They would be happy legislation as written. The chance for is the case. I am sure that is the case
to let infrastructure get in the way of our colleagues to offer adjustments and for Democrats as well. They will see
American production and allow for improvements is a part of our tradition things that we have included that they
them to meet the needs of the global and a good part of our tradition. just as soon would not have there. And
economy in our absence. I would concur that we do need to up- it is very easy for either side—or both
The bill that we have before us gives grade our infrastructure. I think most sides, rather—to point out the things
us an opportunity to help stop that Americans who have experienced our in the bipartisan bill that they don’t
from happening. infrastructure would come to the same like and to attack it as not being fully
Now, while I am all for working conclusion. Too often, our roads are in in conformity with their views. But
across the aisle, that doesn’t mean I need of repair. Many times, we have that is the nature of two parties work-
will support bills that I fundamentally communities that are not connected ing together.
disagree with, like the $3.5 trillion-plus with high-speed travel opportunities Now, some would say: We could do
spending bill that Senate Democrats from one part of the city to another. better. Let’s have another alternative,
plan to cobble together after we finish Our transit, in some cases, is old, slow, a different bipartisan approach.
this bipartisan infrastructure bill. and does not reach communities that My answer is: Go at it. Have at it.
I oppose the Democrats’ reckless tax- need it. No one is keeping people from work-
and-spend agenda, and I will join each Our rail system, particularly in the ing together if they want to come up
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
of my Republican colleagues in oppos- northeast, which is an important cor- with a better piece of legislation. Boy,
ing it and offering amendments to ridor for travel, is way out of date. I would be anxious to see what it is.
change its harmful outcomes. Some people know you can drive be- But in order to get a bill passed, it
That bill is completely separate from tween some cities. Where there are must be acceptable to Democrats and
the bipartisan infrastructure bill that trains, you can drive faster than you Republicans. And that is unless, in my
we are talking about today. They are can take the train. party, we are able to have Republicans
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.028 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5809
in the majority in the House and the I very much appreciate the continued that you have been drinking contami-
Senate, and the White House, which we good faith and negotiations from law- nated water can produce a range of
don’t have at this stage. makers on both sides of the aisle and emotions from anger and fear to guilt.
So, again, the alternative is, if you the White House and the leadership of That is what I heard from so many par-
can come up with a better bipartisan Senators KYRSTEN SINEMA and ROB ents who had children at the former
bill, do it. Two, amend it as you feel PORTMAN to deliver this bipartisan in- Pease Air Force Base, where they were
appropriate—and I think there are frastructure agreement. I also appre- in childcare, and parents thought they
good amendments that are coming for- ciate the work of the chairs and rank- were safe in those childcare centers.
ward that I have supported and will ing members of relevant Senate com- But they found out that they had been
support going forward. But we must mittees who laid the foundation for so drinking water contaminated with
not let the desire for perfection on the much of the bipartisan work that has PFAS. That contamination at the
part of people like myself overcome the gone into this bill, as well as the lead- former Pease Air Force Base forced the
desire to have a good bill ultimately ership of both parties for giving us the city of Portsmouth to shut off three
reached. space and time to get this agreement drinking water wells in 2014. The con-
I think it is actually counter- to the floor. tamination was created by the use of
productive for either side to take at- Now, I could spend all day talking firefighting foam by the Air Force
tack shots at the items in the bill they about the many aspects of this legisla- when Pease was an Air Force base.
don’t like. Instead, bring forward tion that meaningfully invest in our One of those wells that was shut
amendments. See if you can improve communities and in our country, but down, the Haven well, has just come
the bill. If you can’t do that, come up today I want to specifically talk about back online this week, after 7 years. It
with a bill that has bipartisan support, two key areas that I worked on. Both was inoperable for 7 years.
because that is the only alternative we of these issues, water and broadband, PFAS contamination surrounding
face, other than a bill drafted exclu- speak to the critical needs in New the Saint-Gobain manufacturing plant
sively by Democrats. Hampshire and across the country. in Merrimack, NH, and in areas around
I, for one, think this bill is a good Water and wastewater infrastructure the Coakley Landfill Superfund site in
bill, on balance. It will be good for my is one of the major investments we the Seacoast create an ongoing worry
State. I think it will be good for every make in this bill, with $55 billion in- for Granite State families also because
State. We will get an upgrade—a badly vested in this area. Now, no parent of PFAS contamination. So you can
needed upgrade—in the infrastructure should have to worry about the safety imagine what those parents felt like
of this country. of their family’s water when they turn when they found out that their chil-
Again, is it ideal, perfect? Far from on the tap, but, unfortunately, as most
dren had an elevated level of PFAS in
it, but it is a big step forward and one of us know, this is not the case for too
their bloodstream, and they didn’t
heck of a huge step of advantage rel- many Americans, because com-
really understand what that meant.
ative to having one party alone write a promised water supplies, due in part to I remember talking to one mother
piece of legislation. I think it is fair to our rundown water infrastructure, is who told me she had taken her daugh-
say if Democrats alone write an infra- an issue across this country and in ter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
structure bill, my State of Utah won’t some places in New Hampshire. Center for her health exam, and she
be real happy by the time it is done. This was a problem for decades before
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- talked to the doctor about the elevated
the pandemic hit, but looking at a cri-
ior Senator from New Hampshire. levels of PFAS in her blood. She said:
sis like COVID–19 has illustrated just
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I how basic and essential clean and safe The doctor didn’t know what I was
am here on the floor today to speak in drinking water is for our communities. talking about, because this is an
support of the Infrastructure Invest- Righting this wrong starts with invest- emerging contaminant.
ment and Jobs Act, which is the bipar- But thanks to the work of so many of
ing in our water systems, which have
tisan legislation that is before the those affected—people like Andrea
been severely underfunded for too long.
Chamber that will make historic in- According to the Environmental Pro- Amico in Portsmouth, who helped
vestments in our Nation’s core infra- tection Agency, drinking water utili- found a group called Testing for Pease,
structure, and I am pleased to follow ties will need to invest $472.6 billion and folks involved with the Merrimack
my colleague and friend from Utah, over the next 20 years in order to pro- Citizens for Clean Water—they have
Senator ROMNEY, who was one of those vide safe and sufficient drinking water raised awareness and worked to find so-
whom I worked with to help negotiate to the American public. Well, fortu- lutions to clean up our drinking water.
this package. nately, we have a big chunk of that as We owe it to them, to all of those fami-
This is historic legislation that pro- a down payment in this proposal. And lies affected by PFAS and contami-
vides $550 billion in new Federal invest- earlier this year, the Senate passed nated water supplies, a serious com-
ments over the next 5 years to respond overwhelmingly, on a bipartisan vote, mitment to stop this problem where it
to the needs that are facing our coun- the Drinking Water and Wastewater In- starts and to give them the peace of
try. This bill will rebuild crumbling frastructure Act. That bill makes a mind that they so deserve. The com-
roads and bridges and tunnels across historic investment in our water infra- prehensive measures to address our
the country. It will provide clean structure through authorizations. And water infrastructure that are con-
drinking water in homes and address in addition to putting significant fund- tained in this historic bill will help do
harmful contaminants. It will increase ing toward that effort, the bipartisan just that.
connectivity in our communities to infrastructure package before us in- Now, water infrastructure is a seri-
bring broadband to even the most rural cludes $15 billion to replace lead serv- ous issue that New Hampshire shares
parts of our country. It will prioritize ice lines, which is a huge public health with many other States throughout the
sustainable solutions to improve our priority, and it is an issue that has country. Like water, another shared
infrastructure systems for future gen- long plagued communities across this issue is access to broadband or high-
erations. And it will combat climate country. speed internet service.
change by making the monumental in- Another real public health concern The challenges of the COVID–19 pan-
vestments in our clean energy grid and that is addressed in this bill is the demic—just as I highlighted the chal-
electric vehicle infrastructure that we presence of per- and polyfluoralkyl lenge of not having enough access to
must make. substances, or PFAS, in our water sup- clean water—highlighted just how im-
Now, this bill was a long time in the plies. Preventing exposure, cleaning up portant it is for our communities to
making, as I am sure my colleague contaminated sites, and understanding have fast and reliable access to the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
from Utah would agree. Over the past 3 the full scope of the health implica- internet. Whether we like it or not, we
months, there have been many late tions associated with these chemicals live in a digital world. We all relied on
nights, early mornings, and countless is critical for so many affected by that digital world more than ever dur-
conversations about how to make the PFAS in their water. ing the COVID crisis so that our kids
best use of this opportunity to invest As I have heard again and again from could go to school, so our grandparents
in our Nation’s infrastructure. New Hampshire families, discovering and families could keep their medical
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.029 S04AUPT1
S5810 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
appointments, and so our businesses threats of being repealed or reversed. have got four major packers that con-
could stay afloat. Of course, even be- President Biden supports this package, trol 80 percent of the market, two of
fore the pandemic started, the digital and we have received strong support them based overseas.
divide created an equity issue that across the aisle through the procedural This market concentration is squeez-
deepened disparities in education, votes that we have had so far. ing out the farmers and the ranchers.
health, and business. I am proud to have worked with my It is enriching the packers, and it is ul-
If you live in a community in north- colleagues to help craft this bipartisan timately hurting consumers. So I say,
ern New Hampshire, how can you at- bill, and over the coming days, I know again, in this system, the only people
tract business to your community if that I will work with even more people who seem to win are the monopolists.
you don’t have access to high-speed in this Chamber as we try and move We have got to do something about it.
internet, if the business can’t open a this legislation through the Senate. It is made even worse—the situa-
website and tell people what they do? Thank you. I look forward to a strong, tion—by the fact that these same mo-
Just last month, I met with rep- positive vote by the end of this week. nopoly packers have been found guilty
resentatives from several towns in I yield the floor. or otherwise pled to criminal viola-
southwestern New Hampshire, another I suggest the absence of a quorum. tions, criminal uses of their monopoly
part of our State where they have been The PRESIDING OFFICER. The status.
struggling to bring high-speed internet clerk will call the roll. For example, Pilgrim’s Pride, a sub-
service to their residents. Due to their The legislative clerk proceeded to sidiary of a Brazilian-owned company
rural nature, these towns and others call the roll. called JBS, received $107 million in
like them are unable to attract a pro- Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I ask criminal fines for price-fixing in chick-
vider to work with them. About a quar- unanimous consent that the order for en markets. JBS separately paid out at
ter of those that live in these towns are the quorum call be rescinded. least three multimillion-dollar settle-
considered unserved and far more are The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ments over the past year, while Smith-
underserved. HICKENLOOPER). Without objection, it is field, which is owned by China, has
At that session, I talked to a woman so ordered. paid $83 million to settle pork price-
named Molly Miller. She is a tele- CATTLE RANCHERS fixing allegations.
communications committee member Mr. HAWLEY. I rise today, Mr. Presi- So here we have these monopoly
from Hancock, NH, a town with about dent, to talk about the challenges fac- companies, two of them foreign owned,
1,600 residents. She talked about the ing the cattle ranchers in my State and that are controlling the meat proc-
challenges that her family had experi- across the country, challenges not just essing industry, controlling the entire
enced trying to work and do school to their day-to-day operations but to supply chain, squeezing American
from home during the pandemic. She their very livelihoods, and I rise today farmers and ranchers, raising prices on
said everyone had to disconnect while to talk about what we can do about it. consumers, and committing criminal
her youngest son was participating in I have a simple message: We can take violations while they do it.
college classes, and she shared a story action today that will work and we can Now, many have called, including
about her son. She said: He was unable take action that will make a difference me, for antitrust investigations. Some
to turn in his final exam from one of and we should take it now. have called, including me, for antitrust
his courses because the file was too The situation that faces our cattle prosecution. And I stand behind those
large. He couldn’t print it because they ranchers in Missouri and around the positions.
didn’t have enough speed—download country, and, for that matter, many But I am here today to say that we
speed in their house. By the time he other livestock producers, is very, very must do more. And, specifically, it is
made it to the library to print out the serious, and the situation is, frankly, time for this administration, the Biden
file, it was too late. His exam was not untenable. Let me tell you what I am administration, to do more because
accepted. talking about. they have the tools to do so at their
That is just the kind of everyday Just in the last year, the cost to con- disposal.
challenges that families, who don’t sumers for beef has increased by double Under Federal law, the Secretary of
have access to high-speed internet, digits. That is year-on-year, from 2019 Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has the au-
face. And broadband access isn’t a par- to 2020, a double-digit increase. What thority to refuse to provide or to with-
tisan priority. Lawmakers on both has happened, though, to cattle ranch- draw inspection services from any of
sides of the aisle recognize the need for ers, to those who actually raise the these monopoly packers or anyone who
significant investments to ensure that beef, who raise the cattle, and then sell is reasonably connected to them who
all of our workers, our students, and it to market? The price for them, has it has been convicted of a felony or any
our families are able to connect to the gone up? No, it has gone down. In fact, other act or circumstance that indi-
critical resources that are provided by over the last decade, cattle ranchers cates a lack of integrity as it concerns
the internet. have seen their share of profits decline public health.
This infrastructure bill commits $65 by double digits. That is a broad grant of authority.
billion to bring high-speed internet to So what is happening here? Cattle What it means is that USDA could,
communities in New Hampshire and all ranchers are getting less, much less, in right now, begin to suspend the inspec-
across the country. These bold invest- some instances—and, by the way, so tion services for these monopoly com-
ments are what we need to create jobs, are other producers of livestock—and panies, to say to these companies: We
to enhance the safety of our infrastruc- yet the cost to consumers is going up. are not going to allow inspections to go
ture networks, and to improve this Na- Somebody is getting wealthy in this forward; we are not going to allow your
tion’s competitiveness. transaction, and that ‘‘somebody’’ is production to go forward until you
Now, had I written the bill before us the packers, the processing companies. come to the table and agree to resolve
on my own, I am sure, like everyone in In America today, our meat proc- and desist any criminal misconduct
this Chamber, it would have included essing supply chain, equipment—the and to get a better deal to ranchers and
different priorities than what is before entire apparatus—is owned by just a farmers across this country.
us in some cases. But, as we know, that small handful of companies. This authority is already existing
is not how the give and take of nego- Here is what I am talking about: under Federal law. I want to be clear.
tiations work. It is not how com- Four companies—four—together con- It is already on the books. It is already
promise works. You give and you get. trol over 80 percent of this country’s provided for by Federal statute. And
And the fact is that New Hampshire beef processing operations, 80 percent. our ranchers and our farmers need it to
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
and the United States are going to get Even more remarkably, three of the be used, and they need it to be used
a whole lot in this infrastructure pack- giant meatpacking companies control now.
age. 63 percent of pork producing, 46 of beef So, today, I am calling on the Sec-
We also know that legislation that packing, 38 of poultry producing. That retary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to
has broad bipartisan support stands a is just three of them. And two—two— invoke these authorities, say to the
better chance at lasting longer without are based in Brazil and China. So you major monopoly companies that USDA
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.030 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5811
will suspend inspection services until retary of Homeland Security and’’ and insert (B) $175,000,000 shall be made available to
they come to the table, until they open ‘‘coordination with the Secretary of Home- the Secretary of Agriculture;
their books, until our cattle ranchers land Security and in consultation with’’. On page 1800, line 11, strike ‘‘(17)’’ and in-
In section 40124(b) of subtitle B of title I of sert ‘‘(16)’’.
and our farmers in Missouri and across division D, strike ‘‘consultation with the On page 1800, line 17, strike ‘‘(18)’’ and in-
this country get relief. Secretary of Homeland Security,’’ and insert sert ‘‘(17)’’.
I am making that request to the Sec- ‘‘coordination with the Secretary of Home- On page 1816, strike lines 1 through 12 and
retary of Agriculture today. I hope land Security and in consultation with’’. insert the following:
that he will act today because our In section 40125(b)(1) of subtitle B of title I (2) $300,000,000 shall be made available to
farmers and our ranchers deserve relief of division D, in the matter preceding sub- provide to States and Indian Tribes for im-
today, and they deserve our help and paragraph (A), strike ‘‘consultation with the plementing restoration projects on Federal
our support as they work to protect the Secretary of Homeland Security and’’ and in- land pursuant to good neighbor agreements
sert ‘‘coordination with the Secretary of entered into under section 8206 of the Agri-
life that they lead, the life that is the Homeland Security and in consultation cultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) or agree-
backbone, in many ways, of this coun- with’’. ments entered into under section 2(b) of the
try, and as they continue their noble In section 40125(d)(1) of subtitle B of title I Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25
work of feeding the world. of division D, in the matter preceding sub- U.S.C. 3115a(b)), of which—
Thank you. paragraph (A), strike ‘‘consultation’’ and in- (A) $60,000,000 shall be made available to
I yield the floor. sert ‘‘coordination’’. the Secretary of the Interior; and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- AMENDMENT NO. 2233 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 (B) $240,000,000 shall be made available to
ator from Delaware. The senior assistant legislative clerk the Secretary of Agriculture;
On page 2568, line 12, strike ‘‘$905,000,000’’
ORDER OF BUSINESS read as follows: and insert ‘‘$925,000,000’’.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER], On page 2568, line 15, strike ‘‘$337,000,000’’
unanimous consent that the following for Mr. LANKFORD, proposes an amendment and insert ‘‘$341,000,000’’.
amendments be called up to the sub- numbered 2233 to Amendment No. 2137. On page 2568, line 17, strike ‘‘$142,000,000’’
stitute and be reported by number: The amendment is as follows: and insert ‘‘$146,000,000’’.
Peters-Rounds, 2464; Lankford, 2233; (Purpose: To prohibit Federal funding for On page 2568, line 18, strike ‘‘$142,000,000’’
Cardin-Wicker, 2478; Daines, 2449; and any entity that fails to enroll in and com- and insert ‘‘$146,000,000’’.
ply with the E–Verify Program) On page 2568, line 20, strike ‘‘$142,000,000’’
Scott, 2338, CBO inflation verification; and insert ‘‘$146,000,000’’.
further, that at 4:15 p.m. today, the At the appropriate place in division I, in- On page 2568, line 22, strike ‘‘$142,000,000’’
Senate vote in relation to the amend- sert the following: and insert ‘‘$146,000,000’’.
ments in the order listed, with no SEC. lll. E–VERIFY COMPLIANCE REQUIRE- On page 2570, line 19, strike ‘‘$1,055,000,000’’
MENT.
amendments in order to the amend- and insert ‘‘$980,000,000’’.
(a) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any On page 2570, line 23, strike ‘‘$327,000,000’’
ments prior to a vote in relation to the
other provision of law, Federal assistance, and insert ‘‘$312,000,000’’.
amendments, with 60 affirmative votes grants, subgrants, contracts, and sub- On page 2570, line 25, strike ‘‘$182,000,000’’
required for adoption of the amend- contracts authorized under this Act may and insert ‘‘$167,000,000’’.
ments listed, with up to 4 minutes only be awarded to entities that have en- On page 2608, line 17, strike ‘‘$2,115,000,000’’
equally divided prior to the first four rolled in, and maintain compliance with all and insert ‘‘$2,095,000,000’’.
votes and up to 7 minutes for Senator statutes, regulations, and policies regarding On page 2608, line 21, strike ‘‘$587,000,000’’
SCOTT of Florida and 2 minutes for op- the E-Verify Program described in section and insert ‘‘$583,000,000’’.
ponents prior to the Scott vote. 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and On page 2608, line 23, strike ‘‘$382,000,000’’
Mr. President, let me amend that re- Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 and insert ‘‘$378,000,000’’.
U.S.C. 1324a note). On page 2613, line 18, strike ‘‘$696,200,000’’
quest to 4:25—not 4:15 but 4:25. I ask (b) REQUIREMENT.—Any entity that has not and insert ‘‘$771,200,000’’.
unanimous consent to make that modi- previously enrolled in, or had enrolled but On page 2613, line 23, strike ‘‘$552,200,000’’
fication. did not maintain compliance with all stat- and insert ‘‘$567,200,000’’.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there utes, regulations, and policies regarding, the On page 2613, line 24, strike ‘‘$36,000,000’’
objection? E–Verify Program shall enroll in and certify and insert ‘‘$51,000,000’’.
Without objection, it is so ordered. compliance with such statutes, regulations On page 2614, line 1, strike $36,000,000 and
AMENDMENT NO. 2464 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 and policies before being eligible to receive insert ‘‘$51,000,000’’.
any Federal assistance, grants, subgrants, On page 2614, line 3, strike ‘‘$36,000,000’’ and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The contracts, or subcontracts authorized under insert ‘‘$51,000,000’’.
clerk will report the amendments by this Act. On page 2614, line 4, strike ‘‘$36,000,000’’ and
number. AMENDMENT NO. 2478 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 insert ‘‘$51,000,000’’.
The senior assistant legislative clerk AMENDMENT NO. 2338 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137
The senior assistant legislative clerk
read as follows:
read as follows: The senior assistant legislative clerk
The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER], read as follows:
for Mr. PETERS, proposes an amendment
numbered 2464 to Amendment No. 2137. for Mr. CARDIN, proposes an amendment The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
numbered 2478 to Amendment No. 2137. for Mr. SCOTT of Florida, proposes an amend-
The amendment is as follows: ment numbered 2338 to Amendment No. 2137.
(The amendment is printed in today’s
(Purpose: To modify certain provisions
RECORD under ‘‘Text of Amendments.’’) The amendment is as follows:
relating to cybersecurity)
AMENDMENT NO. 2449 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 (Purpose: To prohibit funds from being dis-
In section 40121(b)(1) of subtitle B of title I
The senior assistant legislative clerk bursed or obligated if the Congressional
of division D, in the matter preceding sub-
read as follows: Budget Office determines that such dis-
paragraph (A), strike ‘‘consultation with the
bursement or obligation would result in an
Secretary of Homeland Security and’’ and in- The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER], increase in inflation)
sert ‘‘coordination with the Secretary of for Mr. DAINES, proposes an amendment
Homeland Security and in consultation numbered 2449 to Amendment No. 2137. At the appropriate place, insert the fol-
with’’. lowing:
The amendment is as follows: SEC. lllll. INCREASES IN INFLATION.
In section 40121(c) of subtitle B of title I of
division D, in the matter preceding para- (Purpose: To provide additional funds for (a) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds made
graph (1), strike ‘‘consultation with the Sec- post-fire restoration activities and restora- available by this Act may be disbursed or ob-
retary of Homeland Security and’’ and insert tion activities carried out using good ligated unless the Congressional Budget Of-
‘‘coordination with the Secretary of Home- neighbor agreements) fice certifies, not later than 45 days after the
land Security and in consultation with’’. Beginning on page 1799, strike line 13 and date of enactment of this Act, that such
In section 40122(b) of subtitle B of title I of all that follows through page 1800, line 10, funds would not result in an increase in any
division D, strike ‘‘consultation with the and insert the following: fiscal year to the baseline forecast for the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Secretary of Homeland Security and’’ and in- (15) $300,000,000 shall be made available for Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers
sert ‘‘coordination with the Secretary of post-fire restoration activities that are im- in the most recent 10-year economic outlook
Homeland Security and in consultation plemented not later than 3 years after the publication of the Congressional Budget Of-
with’’. date that a wildland fire is contained, of fice.
In section 40122(c) of subtitle B of title I of which— (b) RESULT OF INCREASE.—If the Congres-
division D, in the matter preceding para- (A) $125,000,000 shall be made available to sional Budget Office does not make the cer-
graph (1), strike ‘‘consultation with the Sec- the Secretary of the Interior; and tification under subsection (a), the funds
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.032 S04AUPT1
S5812 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
shall be transferred to the general fund of VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2464 So start thinking about it, and we
the Treasury to be used only for deficit re- The question is on agreeing to would be interested to hear from you.
duction. amendment No. 2464. Mrs. CAPITO. Thank you, Mr. Chair-
AMENDMENT NO. 2464 Mr. PETERS. I would ask for the man.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under yeas and nays. I would just like to add my voice
the previous order, there will now be 4 The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a with the chairman of the EPW Com-
minutes of debate equally divided prior sufficient second? mittee.
to a vote in relation to the Peters- There appears to be a sufficient sec- I think, in consideration of
Rounds amendment, No. 2464. ond. everybody’s time, we have got four
The Senator from Michigan. The clerk will call the roll. more amendments and maybe more.
Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise to The senior assistant legislative clerk We could roll through these if we would
urge adoption of the Peters-Rounds called the roll. just be concise with the time and come
amendment, No. 2464. Mr. THUNE. The following Senators in and vote on time.
I first want to thank Chairman are necessarily absent: the Senator So if we don’t, we might look for
MANCHIN and Ranking Member BAR- from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), more punitive measures; right, Mr.
RASSO of the Energy and Natural Re-
and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Chairman?
sources Committee for working with INHOFE). Mr. CARPER. You never know. We
me on this amendment. I would also The result was announced—yeas 96, might do some voice votes. That would
like to thank Senators ROUNDS, nays 2, as follows: be good.
PORTMAN, and WARNER for joining me All right. We thank you.
[Rollcall Vote No. 301 Leg.]
in offering this amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
It is very straightforward. It simply YEAS—96
ator from Oklahoma.
would align several cyber security pro- Baldwin Hagerty Peters
Barrasso Hassan Portman AMENDMENT NO. 2233
visions for the Department of Energy Bennet Hawley Reed Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, I
in this infrastructure legislation with Blackburn Heinrich Risch
have an amendment that we are calling
existing law. It would require the De- Blumenthal Hickenlooper Romney
Blunt Hirono Rosen up. It is a very straightforward amend-
partment of Energy, the sector risk
Booker Hoeven Rounds ment.
management Agency for the energy Boozman Hyde-Smith Rubio This deals simply with how we han-
sector, to coordinate with the Depart- Braun Johnson Sanders
Brown Kaine Sasse
dle E-Verify. The E-Verify system is
ment of Homeland Security on cyber
Burr Kelly Schatz very simple and straightforward. It has
security efforts. Cantwell Kennedy Schumer been used all over the country. It is a
DHS is the lead Federal Agency for Capito King Scott (FL) nonpartisan issue that we have used for
cyber security, and they have a central Cardin Klobuchar Scott (SC)
Carper Lankford Shaheen decades now.
role to play in working across the gov-
Casey Leahy Shelby It verifies whether the people that we
ernment to strengthen our cyber de- Cassidy Lee Sinema are actually hiring, and all this pur-
fenses. As we have seen from the dam- Collins Luján Smith
chasing that we are doing, this massive
aging SolarWinds and Microsoft Ex- Coons Lummis Stabenow
Cortez Masto Manchin Sullivan billions of dollars will actually be—the
change attacks, a whole-of-government
Cotton Markey Tester simple, straightforward piece of it is,
approach is necessary to protect crit- Cramer Marshall Thune we are putting billions of dollars into
ical infrastructure. Crapo McConnell Tillis
This amendment will ensure that Cruz Menendez Toomey our economy right now. We are doing a
there is a comprehensive approach that Daines Merkley Tuberville lot of infrastructure with this bill.
effectively coordinates our cyber secu-
Duckworth Moran Van Hollen The promise should be that we are
Durbin Murkowski Warner
rity protections for critical infrastruc- Ernst Murphy Warnock
not just buying American, but we are
ture across all sectors. It reduces dupli- Feinstein Murray Warren actually hiring Americans as well. This
cation of efforts and helps protect our
Fischer Ossoff Wicker is a bipartisan issue, quite frankly.
Gillibrand Padilla Wyden President Biden, just today, released
Nation from the persistent threat Grassley Paul Young
a statement that this is a once-in-a-
posed by cyber attacks. NAYS—2
Mr. President, I urge my colleagues generation investment in our infra-
to support this straightforward, bipar- Cornyn Whitehouse structure and will create good-paying
tisan amendment. NOT VOTING—2 union jobs, repairing our roads and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Graham Inhofe
bridges, replacing lead pipes, building
ator from South Dakota. energy transmission lines.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. It invests in clean energy, manufac-
Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I rise to
SMITH). On this vote, the yeas are 96, turing, and zero-emission vehicles, en-
support the Senator’s motion and the
the nays are 2. suring that the jobs in the clean energy
amendment. This is a case where we
Under the previous order requiring 60 industry are good-paying, quality
are trying to eliminate the silos within
votes for the adoption of this amend- American jobs. That is a great promise
the Federal Government. When it
ment, the amendment is agreed to. to be able to make, and it is a great
comes to cyber security, this is a really
The amendment (No. 2464) was agreed statement to make.
good example of one where you have
to. What this amendment does is to
multiple Agencies trying to work to-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under make sure it actually is American jobs.
gether.
This makes it very clear that it is the previous order, there will now be 4 We know there is a tremendous pull
not just a matter of discussing or con- minutes of debate, equally divided, factor with the American good-paying
sulting but, rather, that it will be a co- prior to the vote in relation to jobs that are out there. This E-Verify
ordinated effort. It recognizes once Lankford amendment No. 2233. requirement puts in place, both for the
again that the Department of Home- Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I contractors and subcontractors, they
land Security and the Cybersecurity ask the clock not start running right will actually be American citizens.
and Infrastructure Security Agency are away. Senator CAPITO and I want to So, with that, I ask support for this
taking the lead role. just raise an issue with the Chair and bill.
With that, I would offer my full sup- our colleagues. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
port as well. That last vote took about 50 min- ator from Illinois.
Thank you, Mr. President. utes—50 minutes—and they are getting Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- longer, not shorter. you like Federal mandates, here is one.
ator from Michigan. And Senator CAPITO and I want to Senator LANKFORD wants a Federal
Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I yield use this as an opportunity just to start mandate to require that anyone who
back all remaining time. a conversation amongst our colleagues, receives a grant from this bill has to
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without see if we can’t do better than that, sign up for E-Verify.
objection, it is so ordered. maybe a lot better than that. Well, what does that mean?
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.028 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5813
It means a school district in my Hagerty Marshall Scott (FL) Last year, the MBDA programs and
Hassan McConnell Scott (SC)
home State that ended up getting a Hawley Moran Shelby
services helped minority businesses se-
grant under this bill for energy-effi- Hoeven Murkowski Sullivan cure nearly $8 billion in contracts and
cient improvements, renewable energy Hyde-Smith Ossoff Thune capital, and created nearly 12,000 jobs.
improvements at public school facili- Johnson Paul Tillis Madam President, I ask unanimous
Kaine Portman
ties would now be required by the Kelly Risch
Toomey consent to have printed in the RECORD
Tuberville a letter from 17 stakeholders in support
Lankford amendment, the Federal Kennedy Romney
Warnock
mandate, to have E-Verify to check out Lankford Rounds
Wicker
of this amendment, which includes the
Lee Rubio Small Business Majority, U.S. Black
the cafeteria workers in the school dis- Lummis Sasse
Young
trict. Is that what we really want to Chamber, and U.S. Hispanic Chamber
do? NAYS—45 of Commerce.
Well, how good is E-Verify? Some Baldwin Heinrich Reed There being no objection, the mate-
Bennet Hickenlooper Rosen rial was ordered to be printed in the
States have done it voluntarily. Eight Blumenthal Hirono Sanders
of them have done it for all or most Booker King Schatz
RECORD, as follows:
employers. You think if you run all Brown Klobuchar Schumer AUGUST 4, 2021.
these employees through the E-Verify Cantwell Leahy Shaheen Hon. CHUCK SCHUMER,
Cardin Luján Sinema Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
process, how good is it? Carper Manchin Smith Washington, DC.
Well, I can tell you how good it is. Do Casey Markey Stabenow
Hon. MITCH MCCONNELL,
you know how many illegal aliens you Coons Menendez Tester
Cortez Masto Merkley Van Hollen Minority Leader, U.S. Senate,
find when you go through E-Verify? Duckworth Murphy Warner Washington, DC.
One percent. One percent. Durbin Murray Warren DEAR MAJORITY LEADER SCHUMER AND MI-
So he is creating a Federal mandate Feinstein Padilla Whitehouse NORITY LEADER MCCONNELL: We write you in
and regulations on districts that are Gillibrand Peters Wyden strong support of Amendment #2478, which
would codify the Minority Business Develop-
just trying to get energy improvements NOT VOTING—2
ment Agency (MBDA) at the Department of
and reduce their costs and putting in Graham Inhofe Commerce. As the leaders in the small busi-
an E-Verify requirement to get those The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this ness and minority business communities, we
illegal aliens. vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 45. hope our unified support represented by the
Well, it turns out that isn’t the situa- Under the previous order requiring 60 signatures below will urge your fellow Sen-
tion at all. It is a mandate that is un- ators to include this language in the Infra-
votes for the adoption of this amend- structure Investment and Jobs Act. We urge
necessary. I beg my colleagues to give ment, the amendment is not agreed to. you to support this Amendment.
these school districts and others no The amendment (No. 2233) was re- The link between infrastructure, revital-
more redtape but less redtape. jected. ized manufacturing, and technical assistance
Please oppose the Lankford amend- AMENDMENT NO. 2478
to the minority entrepreneur community
ment. cannot be overstated, and we strongly en-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under courage building a strong national support
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
the previous order, there will now be 4 system through MBDA to ensure minority
ator from Oklahoma.
minutes of debate equally divided prior participation in infrastructure investment.
Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, This amendment, which is based on the bi-
to a vote in relation to the Cardin
are there any of my 2 minutes left? partisan Minority Business Development Act
amendment No. 2478.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Nineteen of 2021, will support the expansion of Minor-
The Senator from Maryland.
seconds remaining. ity-owned Business Enterprises (MBEs) and
Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I bolster the country’s economy. Moreover, it
Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President,
rise to speak in support of amendment will ensure that the infrastructure invest-
this is not just a mandate; this is just
No. 2478, which would make permanent ments made in the legislation can utilize and
a statement, if we are going to put
and expand the Minority Business De- support America’s minority-owned busi-
American tax dollars in place, that we
velopment Agency, or the MBDA, nesses.
are actually hiring Americans to do it. Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, MBEs
which is the only Federal Agency to
If we are going to build America, consisted of 30 percent of the country’s 28.6
focus exclusively on the needs of mi-
let’s also hire Americans in the proc- million small businesses, contributed nearly
nority businesses. $1.5 trillion in annual gross receipts and em-
ess. That shouldn’t be inconsistent This amendment is based on the Mi-
with our basic values. ployed over 7.2 million Americans. Despite
nority Business Resiliency Act, which I these significant figures, MBEs stand dis-
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2233
introduced in April, and the language proportionately disadvantaged as evidenced
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there is identical to what was passed out of by challenges with access to capital and col-
further debate? the Commerce Committee earlier lateral, lower credit scores, and less access
Hearing none, the question is on today by a voice vote. to technical assistance services.
agreeing to amendment No. 2233. Created under President Nixon by execu-
I want to thank Senator WICKER and tive order, the MBDA has been a significant
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask Senator CANTWELL of the committee resource in reducing market and capital ac-
for the yeas and nays. for their help in getting this to the cess challenges while growing the number of
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a floor. I also want to thank Senator TIM MBEs. In 2020 alone, the MBDA assisted
sufficient second? SCOTT, Senator CORNYN, and Senator MBES in attaining over $7.8 billion in con-
There appears to be a sufficient sec- BALDWIN, who were also cosponsors of tracts and capital, with 10% of contracts
ond. made in the manufacturing sector and an-
this amendment, for helping us reach
The clerk will call the roll. other 15% made in the utility and construc-
this moment. tion sector. Overall, the MBDA assisted
The senior assistant bill clerk called This amendment will give the Agen- MBEs at the height of the pandemic to re-
the roll. cy the resources and leadership nec- tain or create over 27,000 jobs.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators essary to help underserved entre- Despite MBDA’s progress, the pandemic’s
are necessarily absent: the Senator preneurs overcome historical barriers economic downturn has amplified the need
from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM) and to small business ownership, innovate to invest in services for underserved and mi-
the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. nority small business owners—particularly
and start and grow successful busi- those within Women, People of Color, and
INHOFE). nesses, and create jobs. Tribal markets. MBEs overwhelmingly are
The result was announced—yeas 53, This Agency will also partner with concentrated in industries that remain sus-
nays 45, as follows: Historically Black Colleges and Uni- ceptible to economic disruption, such as per-
[Rollcall Vote No. 302 Leg.] versities and other minority-serving sonal and laundry services, and retail. As the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
YEAS—53 institutions to reach rural minority nation experiences a resurgence of
business enterprises and create a re- Coronavirus cases, these fragile markets face
Barrasso Capito Crapo
near-fatal consequences.
Blackburn Cassidy Cruz gional network supporting entrepre- We urge lawmakers to support this amend-
Blunt Collins Daines neurial education and help to coordi-
Boozman Cornyn Ernst ment as it will strengthen and establish the
Braun Cotton Fischer nate Federal resources in service of mi- MBDA into federal statute. This critical bi-
Burr Cramer Grassley nority business enterprises. partisan proposal, introduced by Senators
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.038 S04AUPT1
S5814 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
Ben Cardin (D–MD), Tim Scott, (R–SC), AMENDMENT NO. 2449 A SENATOR. Without objection.
Roger Wicker (R–MS), and Maria Cantwell The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Mr. CARPER. All right. Madam
(D–WA) would increase MBDA’s fiscal year the previous order, there will now be 4 President, I would ask that we make it
2021 budget to further safeguard MBEs from a 15-minute vote, a real 15-minute vote.
minutes of debate equally divided prior
the devastating inequities brought on by the Thank you.
health crisis and promote a diverse entrepre- to a vote in relation to Daines amend-
ment No. 2449. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
neurial pipeline by establishing a process for
The Senator from Montana. objection, it is so ordered.
the Minority Business Development Center
Program to expand its regional coverage to Mr. DAINES. Madam President, VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2449
reach MBEs in rural areas. there is funding in this bill for a com- Is there further debate?
During this time of economic emergency, plex program that would lead to very The Senator from Montana.
we believe now is the time for Congress to few actual forest projects, and I fear it Mr. DAINES. I ask for the yeas and
pass equitable and targeted legislation that will only function as a shell for pro- nays.
will benefit underserved and rural markets The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there
grams like the Climate Conservation
and encourage underserved and rural mar- is no further debate, the question is on
kets enterprise formation. This amendment Corps.
And to be good stewards of our for- agreeing to the amendment.
achieves that while strengthening the infra- Is there a sufficient second?
structure package more broadly. ests, we need to be good stewards of There appears to be a sufficient sec-
We commend your work on ensuring that our limited resources. This amendment ond?
all small businesses receive the resources does that by redirecting these funds to The clerk will call the roll.
necessary to withstand the current economic higher priority accounts, like Good The bill clerk called the roll.
downturn, as well as grow now and into the Neighbor Authority and post-fire treat- Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
future. We urge you to reach out directly to
ment. are necessarily absent: the Senator
John Stanford (js@prismgroup.global) with
any questions or comments.
Good Neighbor Authority has rou- from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM) and
Thank you for your consideration. tinely enjoyed very bipartisan support the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr.
Airport Minority Advisory Council in this body and has proven to be one INHOFE).
(AMAC), Asian/Pacific Islander American of the most effective forestry tools. The result was announced—yeas 48,
Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship Given recent past and present wildfire nays 50, as follows:
(National ACE), Association for Enterprise seasons, redirecting funds to post-fire [Rollcall Vote No. 303 Leg.]
Opportunity (AEO), Association of Women’s treatment just makes sense. YEAS—48
Business Centers (AWBC), Gusto, Local Ini- It is early August, and Montana is on Barrasso Fischer Portman
tiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Na-
fire. There are nearly 300,000 acres Blackburn Grassley Risch
tional Association of Latino Community Blunt Hagerty Romney
Asset Builders (NALCAB), NextGen Chamber burning across our State. We need to
Boozman Hawley Rounds
of Commerce, Pacific Community Ventures, manage our forests before they manage Braun Hoeven Rubio
Page 30 Coalition. us. And in order to do so, we need to in- Burr Hyde-Smith Sasse
Prosperity Now, Small Business Majority, vest in higher priority accounts, and Capito Johnson Scott (FL)
Small Business Roundtable, US Black Cham- Cassidy Kennedy Scott (SC)
my amendment would do just that. Collins Lankford Shelby
bers, Inc., US Hispanic Chamber of Com- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Cornyn Lee Sullivan
merce, Virginia Asian Chamber of Com- ator from West Virginia. Cotton Lummis Thune
merce, Women Impacting Public Policy Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, I Cramer Marshall Tillis
(WIPP). Crapo McConnell Toomey
rise in opposition to the amendment, Cruz Moran Tuberville
Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I un- and I will explain my reasons. Daines Murkowski Wicker
derstand that we may be able to do this Senator DAINES’ amendment seeks to Ernst Paul Young
by a voice vote, so I would ask unani- alter the funding levels of provisions in NAYS—50
mous consent that after my colleagues the Energy Infrastructure Act as re- Baldwin Hickenlooper Reed
have had a chance to speak, we can vi- ported out of the Energy and Natural Bennet Hirono Rosen
tiate the 60-vote requirement. Resources Committee. Specifically, the Blumenthal Kaine Sanders
With that, I yield to my colleague amendment cuts funding for hiring vet- Booker Kelly Schatz
from Mississippi. Brown King Schumer
erans and Native youth to do fire pre- Cantwell Klobuchar
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Shaheen
vention projects and directs that fund- Cardin Leahy Sinema
ator from Mississippi. ing to postfire rehabilitation projects Carper Luján Smith
Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I do and to States that carry out projects Casey Manchin
Stabenow
Coons Markey
appreciate the Senator from Maryland on Federal land. Cortez Masto Menendez
Tester
joining on this. Everything he said We are supportive of both postfire Duckworth Merkley
Van Hollen
about the committee action today in Durbin Murphy Warner
projects and States doing work on Fed- Warnock
the Commerce Committee is exactly Feinstein Murray
eral land. That is why we funded these Gillibrand Ossoff Warren
correct. I subscribe to every statement programs at unprecedented levels in Hassan Padilla Whitehouse
that he made. I couldn’t improve on it. our bill. However, we also support Heinrich Peters Wyden
I urge a ‘‘yes’’ vote, and I am indeed funding for veterans and Native youth. NOT VOTING—2
hopeful we can vitiate the rollcall vote So I do not believe it is appropriate to Graham Inhofe
and save some time by voicing this cut the funding for this program.
one. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
So I urge my colleagues to please
I yield the floor. OSSOFF). On this vote, the yeas are 48,
vote no on this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the nays are 50.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Under the previous order requiring 60
ator from Maryland. ator from Delaware. votes for the adoption of this amend-
Mr. CARDIN. We have cleared this UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT ment, the amendment is not agreed to.
with both the Democrats and the Re- Mr. CARPER. Madam President, we The amendment (No. 2449) was re-
publicans for managing the bill, and I have had two votes in this tranche; jected.
would ask unanimous consent to viti- first vote about 50 minutes from start The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ate the 60-vote requirement on the to close and the second vote about 25 ator from Florida.
Cardin-Wicker amendment No. 2478. minutes. UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. RES. 327
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there We are going to propound a unani- Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President,
objection? mous consent request—and I am tempt- our Nation is nearly $30 trillion in
Without objection, it is so ordered. ed to do it right now—to try to figure debt. That is $233,000 in debt for every
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2478 out what would be reasonable. My American family.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sense is that maybe 15 minutes would The American people are already
question is on agreeing to the amend- be reasonable but a real 15 minutes, feeling the pressure of rising inflation
ment No. 2478. and we will start with that. thanks to reckless government spend-
The amendment (No. 2478) is agreed Mr. WICKER. Hear! Hear! ing. And, make no mistake about it, in-
to. Mr. CARPER. Any objection? flation is a tax, a tax that hurts our
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.040 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE CORRECTION S5815
families on low and fixed incomes the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- The clerk will call the roll.
most. jority whip. The senior assistant legislative clerk
I am hearing it from families across Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise in proceeded to call the roll.
Florida who are worried. I heard from a opposition to the unanimous consent Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
dad in Jacksonville with three kids request from the Senator of Florida. are necessarily absent: the Senator
who is helping to temporarily take The amendment before us would from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), the
care of two other kids because their fa- change the Standing Rules of the Sen- Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. INHOFE),
ther is out of work. As a result of hav- ate and require additional reporting re- and the Senator from South Dakota
ing five kids in his home, he has start- quirements regarding inflation, a (Mr. ROUNDS).
ed working a second job to pay for all change which would substantially in- The result was announced—yeas 42,
of the groceries that are rapidly in- crease the administrative burden on nays 55, as follows:
creasing in price. His second job is committees and staff and the process [Rollcall Vote No. 304 Leg.]
driving Uber, and that is less and less on the floor. YEAS—42
profitable by the day because of the We already have significant tools at Barrasso Grassley Portman
rising price of gas. our disposal to evaluate economic indi- Blackburn Hagerty Risch
Over the weekend, the suspension on cators. We have economists at the De- Boozman Hawley Rubio
the Federal debt ceiling expired. That partment of Labor, Treasury Depart- Braun Hoeven Sasse
leaves Congress with two choices: Con- Burr Hyde-Smith Scott (FL)
ment, Congressional Budget Office, Capito Johnson Scott (SC)
tinue this reckless, wasteful spending Federal Reserve, and other Federal of- Cornyn Kennedy Shelby
with no accountability to the Amer- fices regularly consulting with Con- Cotton Lankford Sullivan
ican people, or start making the tough gress on issues about inflation and Cramer Lee Thune
choices to put our Nation on a success- Crapo Lummis Tillis
other economic indicators. This is to- Cruz Marshall Toomey
ful path. tally unnecessary. Daines McConnell Tuberville
I know we can make the right For these reasons, I oppose this reso- Ernst Moran Wicker
choices and start moving America in a lution and the request for unanimous Fischer Paul Young
better direction. That is exactly what I consent. I object. NAYS—55
did when I was Governor of Florida. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- Baldwin Heinrich Reed
Our State was on a bad path. I had to jection is heard. Bennet Hickenlooper Romney
make difficult choices, but I paid down The Senator from Florida. Blumenthal Hirono Rosen
one-third of State debt, all while cut- Blunt Kaine Sanders
AMENDMENT NO. 2338 Booker Kelly Schatz
ting taxes 100 times. It can be done. Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, Brown King Schumer
Washington’s choice to keep raising Cantwell Klobuchar
while I am disappointed that my col- Shaheen
or suspending the debt ceiling is like Cardin Leahy Sinema
league won’t accept this measure, we Carper Luján
raising the limit on your credit card, Smith
do need to start doing something about Casey Manchin
month after month, with absolutely no Cassidy Markey
Stabenow
plan to pay it off. It is irresponsible, inflation, and we can do that today Tester
Collins Menendez
and it is no way to operate. You would with the infrastructure spending bill. Coons Merkley Van Hollen
We can all get behind real infrastruc- Cortez Masto Murkowski Warner
never run your business or family the Warnock
ture—like roads, bridges, airports, and Duckworth Murphy
way Washington runs. It is wasteful Durbin Murray Warren
and dysfunctional. seaports—but we have to acknowledge Whitehouse
Feinstein Ossoff
I came to Washington to rein in this that $1.2 trillion is a massive amount Gillibrand Padilla Wyden
exact type of dysfunction. We have to of taxpayer dollars, and we have to Hassan Peters
get our debt and spending under con- know exactly how this will impact NOT VOTING—3
trol. We need to make Washington families. Graham Inhofe Rounds
work for families in Florida and all I have been told by supporters of this
infrastructure bill that it will not The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. VAN
across the Nation. That is why I am
cause inflation. I will not support any- HOLLEN). On this vote, the yeas are 42,
leading my colleagues in a proposed
thing that increases inflation on Amer- the nays are 55.
rule change that would require every
ican families. I have an amendment to Under the previous order requiring 60
piece of legislation passed by a Senate
the infrastructure package that will re- votes for the adoption of this amend-
committee to include a report on how
quire the Congressional Budget Office ment, the amendment is not agreed to.
it will impact inflation.
to certify that the spending in this bill The amendment (No. 2338) was re-
It is very simple. When legislation,
will not increase inflation on the jected.
directly or indirectly, raises the cost of
American people. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
living or raises taxes on American fam-
If CBO does not certify that the ator from Delaware.
ilies, families deserve to know.
Too many in Washington believe the spending authorized and appropriated Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, Senator
lie that inflation is impossible, debt in the bill would not increase inflation, CAPITO and I have a couple of com-
doesn’t matter, and spending has no my amendment would prohibit the ments we would like to offer before we
consequences. That is why this rule funding from being obligated or spent, start on this amendment with Senator
change is needed. and the funds would instead be trans- LEE, and that is we have consulted
This rule change is to protect that ferred to the Treasury Department for with both leaders, with Senator SCHU-
father in Jacksonville who is strug- deficit reduction. MER and Senator MCCONNELL. They are
gling to get by. It is to protect those I hope that everybody will get behind in agreement that 15 minutes firm is
living on fixed incomes, low-income this amendment. the vote.
earners, and small businesses that The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there So when we start this vote, folks
can’t absorb cost increases. time in opposition? have 15 minutes to get here after we
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- Mr. DURBIN. I yield back my time. start the vote to vote, and if they are
sent that the Committee on Rules be Mr. CARPER. Yield back. not here, they are too late.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time So that is the idea. We have spent
sradovich on DSKJLST7X2PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE
discharged from further consideration
and that the Senate now proceed to S. is yielded back. way too much time waiting for people.
Res. 327. I ask unanimous consent that VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2338 We have three amendments lined up,
the resolution be agreed to, the pre- The question is on agreeing to the and we are going to vote them and be
amble be agreed to, and that the mo- amendment. punctual.
tions to reconsider be considered made Mr. LANKFORD. I ask for the yeas Senator CAPITO.
and laid upon table. and nays. Mrs. CAPITO. Yes. Thank you, Mr.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a Chairman.
objection? sufficient second? I am in full support of using the 15-
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, reserv- There appears to be a sufficient sec- minute deadline that we have anyway
ing the right to object. ond. and actually enforcing this.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:24 Sep 14, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD21\AUGUST\S04AU1.REC S04AU1
S5816 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
There is a lot of interest in this bill, For example, the Federal Highway NEPA is a critical analytical tool
as there should be. There are a lot of Administration has entered into agree- that ensures that Federal decision
amendments pending. We want to get ments with seven States—including makers are better informed and that
as many Members in—and have their Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, the affected community has an oppor-
amendments in the queue—as we pos- Ohio, Texas, and Utah—to assume this tunity to engage and be heard.
sibly can. responsibility with great success, pro- Today, as the world is in the midst of
But if people don’t come down and viding an opportunity for States to le- a sixth great extinction event, and cli-
vote and show courtesy to everybody, I verage their unique understanding of mate change is having ever greater im-
said in my last statement we are going their own States in order to better pacts on our natural world, we should
to go to punitive measures. I am not carry out NEPA’s requirements. be making decisions more carefully
sure voting within the allotted time is To build on this success, Congress than ever, not just to improve out-
really a punitive measure, but that is should look to expand the ability of comes but also to avoid wasting money
what we are aiming for, and I am fully States to partner with the Federal on projects that are not resilient to
supportive of that. Government for these types of reviews withstand climate change.
Mr. CARPER. Thank you. in their States’ water infrastructure This amendment would instead turn
I would just ask any staff and Mem- projects. over responsibility for that critical
bers who are watching, staff, let your My amendment would require the De- analysis to the States.
Senators know it is 15 minutes, and partment of the Interior to set up a The bill before us includes many en-
that is it. program similar to the existing Sur- vironmental deregulatory provisions—
AMENDMENT NOS. 2279 AND 2358 TO AMENDMENT face Transportation Project Delivery more, in fact, than many of us would
NO 2137 Program so that any State may volun- prefer. However, it has been drafted in
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask tarily assume the Agency’s NEPA re- the spirit of bipartisan compromise.
unanimous consent that the following sponsibilities for their water storage This bill, as drafted, includes provi-
amendments be called up to the sub- infrastructure projects. sions to set deadlines for project review
stitute and be reported by number: No. As I said just a moment ago, States schedule in order to reduce project re-
1 is Lee No. 2279; No. 2 is Rosen No. already have a history of successfully view timelines. It provides or expands
2358; further, that the Senate vote in conducting this work in the transpor- categorical exclusions from NEPA. It
relation to the amendments in the tation space. also permanently authorizes the Fed-
order listed, with no amendments in In 2020, for example, California con- eral Permitting Improvement Steering
order to the amendments prior to a ducted 33 environmental assessments, Council.
vote in relation to the amendments, 32 findings of no significant impact, 2 Unlike these provisions, which were
with 60 affirmative votes required for environmental impact statements, 3 the product of committee deliberation
the adoption of the Lee amendment records of decision, and the list goes on and compromise, the amendment that
listed and with up to 4 minutes, equal- and on. our friend from Utah has offered would
ly divided, prior to each vote. In just the last half of 2020 alone, Ari-
significantly alter the process for Fed-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there zona conducted over 50 categorical ex-
eral environmental review without any
objection? clusion analyses. These are clearly
committee deliberation on such major
Without objection, it is so ordered. roles that States are able and excited
changes.
AMENDMENT NO. 2279 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 to handle. These sweeping changes are inappro-
(Purpose: To establish a project de- In fulfilling these responsibilities,
priate and unwarranted, and I urge our
livery program under the National En- States would be subject to the same
colleagues to join me in voting no.
vironmental Policy Act of 1969 for rigorous environmental requirements
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unani-
water storage infrastructure projects.) as their Federal partners, employing
mous consent that for an additional 30
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the very same standards. Just as
seconds.
clerk will report. projects led by Federal Agencies can be
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
The senior assistant legislative clerk halted due to insufficient NEPA anal-
objection, it is so ordered.
read as follows: ysis, States would also be held to the
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, it is impor-
The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER], same standard.
With much of the West experiencing tant to remember these are the exact
for Mr. LEE, proposes an amendment num-
bered 2279 to the amendment No. 2137. severe drought, with dire consequences, same standards that would apply. We
allowing States to aid the Federal Gov- do this all the time in other areas. Fed-
(The amendment is printed in the
ernment in NEPA review in order to eral regulatory Agencies, on a con-
RECORD of August 2, 2021 under ‘‘Text
expedite water storage infrastructure tinual basis, with the blessing of Con-
of Amendments.’’)
projects is not just common sense, it is gress, are given authority to carry out
AMENDMENT NO. 2358 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137
a necessity. It is a matter of survival. a Federal program.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The In fact, we already do this with
clerk will report. I urge my colleagues to support
amendment No. 2279. NEPA in the context of the Federal
The senior assistant legislative clerk
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Highway Administration.
read as follows:
ator from Delaware. This works. States are competent. It
The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
for Ms. ROSEN, proposes an amendment num- Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise in is a matter of expanding the human re-
bered 2358 to amendment No. 2137. opposition to the amendment offered sources to which we have access.
The amendment is as follows: by our colleague from Utah. These are the exact same standards.
This amendment would undermine There is no environmental threat. This
(Purpose: To modify a provision relating to
providing support for activities to increase the National Environmental Policy would just allow this stuff to get done
the resiliency of the National Highway Act, also known as NEPA, by allowing faster.
System to mitigate the cost of damages States to assume responsibility for un- VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2279
from wildfires) dertaking complex reviews of Federal The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
On page 60, line 22, insert ‘‘wildfires,’’ after action. These are reviews that Con- question is on agreeing to amendment
‘‘flooding,’’. gress vested explicitly in the Federal No. 2279.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Agencies that permit or license Mr. LEE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
ator from Utah. projects that could adversely affect our The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, in reference environment. sufficient second?
to my amendment No. 2279, this is what NEPA is designed to ensure that Fed- There appears to be a sufficient sec-
we are trying to deal with here. eral Agencies consider major actions ond.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
In order to help expedite the review carefully to ensure those decisions do The clerk will call the roll.
of projects that are subject to NEPA, not unduly impact water quality, en- The legislative clerk called the roll.
Congress authorized in the FAST Act dangered species, community well- Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
for States to assume the duties of con- being, air quality, and other environ- Senator from Vermont (Mr. SANDERS)
ducting the NEPA analysis. mental resources. is necessarily absent.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04AU6.044 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5817
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators with the Commerce Committee, and I safety benefits: Provided further, That of the
are necessarily absent: the Senator think we are just about resolved. funds in the proviso preceding the preceding
from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM) and I don’t like it. It is what it is. proviso, the Secretary of the Army shall, to
I just want to thank all for your pa- the maximum extent practicable, prioritize
the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr.
projects in the work plan that directly ben-
INHOFE). tience. We are close to the end. efit economically disadvantaged commu-
The result was announced—yeas 47, I would just ask, when we ask for a nities, and may take into consideration
nays 50, as follows: voice vote on the amendment from prioritizing projects that benefit areas in
[Rollcall Vote No. 305 Leg.] Senator JACKY ROSEN, that we get a which the percentage of people that live in
YEAS—47 voice vote. And I would ask that when poverty or identify as belonging to a minor-
we ask for a voice vote on the Carper- ity group is greater than the average such
Barrasso Grassley Risch
Blackburn Hagerty Inhofe amendment, we get a voice vote. percentage in the United States, based on
Romney
Blunt Hawley Rounds And beyond that, we will be halfway data from the Bureau of the Census:’’ after
Boozman Hoeven Rubio ‘‘purpose:’’.
home, halfway home. On page 2496, between lines 2 and 3, insert
Braun Hyde-Smith Sasse
Burr Johnson So thank you for your patience. We the following:
Scott (FL)
Capito Kennedy Scott (SC)
are almost there. GENERAL PROVISIONS—CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Cassidy Lankford Shelby The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- SEC. 300. For projects that are carried out
Cornyn Lee
Cotton Lummis
Sullivan pore. Under the previous order, there with funds under this heading, the Secretary
Thune will now be 4 minutes of debate, equal-
Cramer Marshall of the Army and the Director of the Office of
Tillis
Crapo McConnell ly divided, prior to— Management and Budget shall consider other
Cruz Moran Toomey
Tuberville Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, let me factors in addition to the benefit-cost ratio
Daines Murkowski when determining the economic benefits of
Ernst Paul Wicker have order. Let me have order, please.
Fischer Portman Young The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- projects that benefit disadvantaged commu-
pore. Order. nities.
NAYS—50 AMENDMENT NO. 2548 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask
Baldwin Heinrich Peters The bill clerk read as follows:
Bennet Hickenlooper Reed
unanimous consent that the following
Blumenthal Hirono amendments be called up to the sub- The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
Rosen
Booker Kaine Schatz stitute and be reported by number: for Mr. BENNET and Mr. HOEVEN, proposes an
Brown Kelly amendment numbered 2548 to amendment
Schumer Carper-Inhofe 2564, Bennet-Hoeven 2548;
Cantwell King Shaheen No. 2137.
Cardin Klobuchar further, that the Senate vote in rela-
Carper Leahy
Sinema
tion to the amendments in the order The amendment is as follows:
Smith
Casey Luján listed, with no amendments in order to (Purpose: To require the Secretary of Agri-
Stabenow
Collins Manchin culture to establish a Joint Chiefs Land-
Coons Markey
Tester the amendments prior to voting in re-
Van Hollen
scape Restoration Partnership program)
Cortez Masto Menendez lation to the amendments, with up to 2
Warner At the end of title VIII of division D, add
Duckworth Merkley minutes equally divided prior to each the following:
Durbin Murphy Warnock
Warren vote. SEC. 408lllll. JOINT CHIEFS LANDSCAPE
Feinstein Murray
Gillibrand Ossoff Whitehouse The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- RESTORATION PARTNERSHIP PRO-
Hassan Padilla Wyden pore. Without objection, it is so or- GRAM.
dered. (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
NOT VOTING—3
AMENDMENT NO. 2564 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137
(1) CHIEFS.—The term ‘‘Chiefs’’ means the
Graham Inhofe Sanders Chief of the Forest Service and the Chief of
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- pore. The clerk will report the amend-
pore. (2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘eligible
ments by number. activity’’ means an activity—
Under the previous order requiring 60 The bill clerk read as follows: (A) to reduce the risk of wildfire;
votes for adoption, the amendment is (B) to protect water quality and supply; or
The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
not agreed to. for himself and others, proposes an amend- (C) to improve wildlife habitat for at-risk
The amendment (No. 2279) was re- ment numbered 2564 to amendment No. 2137. species.
jected. (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means
The amendment is as follows:
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration
(Purpose: To improve provisions relating to Partnership program established under sub-
pore. The Senator from Vermont.
appropriations for the Corps of Engineers) section (b)(1).
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, par-
On page 2486, line 14, strike ‘‘Provided’’ and (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’
liamentary inquiry: How long did that
all that follows through ‘‘proviso:’’ on line 21 means the Secretary of Agriculture.
last 15-minute vote take? and insert the following: ‘‘Provided further, (5) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- That of the amount provided under this ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning
pore. While the vote was scheduled for heading in this Act, $2,500,000,000 shall be for given the term in section 101 of the Healthy
15 minutes, it took 37. construction, replacement, rehabilitation, Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
Mr. CARPER. Would the Senator and expansion of inland waterways projects: 6511).
yield? Provided further, That section 102(a) of the (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
(Public Law 99–662; 33 U.S.C. 2212(a)) and sec- lish a Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration
unanimous consent that the following
tion 109 of the Water Resources Development Partnership program to improve the health
rollcall votes be 10 minutes in length. Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–260; 134 Stat. 2624) and resilience of forest landscapes across Na-
Mr. CARPER. I object. shall not apply to the extent that such tional Forest System land and State, Tribal,
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- projects are carried out using funds provided and private land.
pore. The objection is heard. in the preceding proviso: Provided further, (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall
ORDER OF PROCEDURE That in using such funds referred to in the administer the Program by coordinating eli-
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, let me preceding proviso, the Secretary shall give gible activities conducted on National For-
priority to projects included in the Capital est System land and State, Tribal, or private
just take a minute from Senator CAP- land across a forest landscape to improve the
Investment Strategy of the Corps of Engi-
ITO to explain what is going on. OK? neers:’’. health and resilience of the forest landscape
So lined up right now, we are going On page 2487, lines 9 through 11, strike ‘‘or by—
to do three voice votes. Negotiations section 1135 of the Water Resources Develop- (A) assisting producers and landowners in
are going forward on an amendment ment Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–662; 33 U.S.C. implementing eligible activities on eligible
from Senator SCHUMER, related to the 2309a),’’ and insert ‘‘section 1135 of the Water private or Tribal land using the applicable
Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction. Resources Development Act of 1986 (Public programs and authorities administered by
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
And after that, I think the last vote Law 99–662; 33 U.S.C. 2309a), or section 165(a) the Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva-
of division AA of the Consolidated Appro- tion Service under title XII of the Food Se-
will be that of Senator FISCHER, and we curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.), not
priations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260),’’.
will be done. On page 2489, line 9, insert ‘‘Provided fur- including the conservation reserve program
And the reason why that is delayed is ther, That in selecting projects under the established under subchapter B of chapter 1
in order to provide time for negotiation previous proviso, the Secretary of the Army of subtitle D of that title (16 U.S.C. 3831 et
to occur on the Schumer amendment shall prioritize projects with overriding life- seq.); and
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.038 S04AUPT1
S5818 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
(B) conducting eligible activities on Na- $90,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 and Senators INHOFE, WICKER, and
tional Forest System land or assisting land- 2023. DUCKWORTH.
owners in implementing eligible activities (2) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—In addition to the This amendment makes several
on State, Tribal, or private land using the funds described in paragraph (1), the Sec-
changes to the appropriations section
applicable programs and authorities admin- retary may obligate available funds from ac-
istered by the Chief of the Forest Service. counts used to carry out the existing Joint of the substitute in the section that
(c) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership funds the Army Corps of Engineers.
appropriate Regional Forester and State prior to the date of enactment of this Act to In WRDA 2020, Senator BARRASSO and
Conservationist shall jointly submit to the carry out the Program. I heard multiple times about the strug-
Chiefs on an annual basis proposals for eligi- (3) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Funds gles of small, rural, and economically
ble activities under the Program. made available under paragraph (1) shall re- disadvantaged communities in meeting
(d) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In evaluating main available until expended.
and selecting proposals submitted under sub- project cost shares. These projects
(4) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the funds range from aquatic ecosystem restora-
section (c), the Chiefs shall consider— made available under paragraph (1)—
(1) criteria including whether the pro- (A) not less than 40 percent shall be allo-
tions to flood control and new levees.
posal— cated to carry out eligible activities through Yet because the Corps is required to
(A) reduces wildfire risk in a municipal wa- the Natural Resources Conservation Service; cost share the work, these small, rural,
tershed or the wildland-urban interface; (B) not less than 40 percent shall be allo- and poor communities never get the as-
(B) was developed through a collaborative cated to carry out eligible activities through sistance they need.
process with participation from diverse the Forest Service; and Last year, Senator BARRASSO and I
stakeholders; (C) the remaining funds shall be allocated
(C) increases forest workforce capacity or
created a cap authority that allows the
by the Chiefs to the Natural Resources Con- Corps to pay for full expense of these
forest business infrastructure and develop- servation Service or the Forest Service—
ment; projects to help these disadvantaged
(i) to carry out eligible activities; or
(D) leverages existing authorities and non- (ii) for other purposes, such as technical communities finance the infrastruc-
Federal funding; assistance, project development, or local ca- ture the community needs.
(E) provides measurable outcomes; or pacity building. This amendment also makes clari-
(F) supports established State and regional fying changes to the inland waterways
AMENDMENT NO. 2358
priorities; and funding. In addition to a technical cor-
(2) such other criteria relating to the mer- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Under the previous order, there rection, it makes clear that the fund-
its of the proposals as the Chiefs determine
to be appropriate. will now be 4 minutes of debate, equal- ing provided in this act must be
(e) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall pro- ly divided, prior to a vote in relation to prioritized for projects on the Capital
vide— the Rosen amendment No. 2358. Investment Strategy Report, the guid-
(1) public notice on the websites of the For- The Senator from Nevada. ing document for the Corps inland wa-
est Service and the Natural Resources Con- Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, last sum- terways projects.
servation Service describing— Finally, this amendment makes sure
(A) the solicitation of proposals under sub-
mer, the United States saw up close
the horrific damage that wildfires can that inland flooding projects are
section (c); and
(B) the criteria for selecting proposals in do to our communities. In 2020, nearly prioritized for economically disadvan-
accordance with subsection (d); and 300,000 acres in Nevada burned to the taged communities and life-safety-re-
(2) information relating to the Program ground. Right now, the Tamarack fire lated projects. This supports equity for
and activities funded under the Program to is devastating the Nevada-California disadvantaged communities while
States, Indian Tribes, units of local govern- border and local communities. prioritizing projects with the highest
ment, and private landowners. These natural disasters have done need.
(f) EXCLUSIONS.—An eligible activity may This is a good bill. It is a good
not be carried out under the Program—
real, lasting damage to our Nation’s
highways, causing cracks, potholes, amendment, and these small tweaks
(1) in a wilderness area or designated wil-
derness study area; and, in some cases, literally melting make it stronger.
(2) in an inventoried roadless area; the roads that we drive on. I urge my colleagues to support our
(3) on any Federal land on which, by Act of My colleague Senator RISCH and I amendment and hope that we might do
Congress or Presidential proclamation, the offer this bipartisan amendment to the so unanimously.
removal of vegetation is restricted or prohib- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Senator INHOFE would be here. He is
ited; or Act, which would add wildfires as a in Oklahoma with his family right
(4) in an area in which the eligible activity now. I think some would understand
specified damage for which Federal as-
would be inconsistent with the applicable that. He urges us to support this as
land and resource management plan. sistance from the National Highway
(g) ACCOUNTABILITY.— Performance Program may be used to well.
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year rebuild our highways. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
after the date of enactment of this Act, the This will provide support to increase pore. Is there further debate?
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report the resiliency of the national highway VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2564
providing recommendations to Congress re- system, helping to mitigate the cost of The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
lating to the Program, including a review the damages. pore. The question is on agreeing to
of— I ask all of my colleagues to support
(A) funding mechanisms for the Program;
the amendment No. 2564.
(B) staff capacity to carry out the Pro-
this amendment. The amendment (No. 2564) was agreed
gram; The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to.
(C) privacy laws applicable to the Pro- pore. Is there further debate? Mr. CARPER. With that, Mr. Presi-
gram; Mr. CARPER. I rise in support of this dent, I would suggest the absence of a
(D) data collection under the Program; amendment. I hope we will get every- quorum, waiting for the arrival of Sen-
(E) monitoring and outcomes under the body to vote for it. Let’s do a voice ator BENNET, who will be here momen-
Program; and vote so we can move on. tarily.
(F) such other matters as the Secretary Mrs. CAPITO. I am in support also as The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
considers to be appropriate. a ranking member.
(2) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—For each of fiscal
pore. The clerk will call the roll.
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2358 The senior assistant legislative clerk
years 2022 and 2023, the Chiefs shall submit
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- proceeded to call the roll.
and Forestry and the Committee on Appro- pore. Hearing no further debate, the Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask
priations of the Senate and the Committee question is on agreeing to the amend- unanimous consent that the order for
on Agriculture and the Committee on Appro- ment. the quorum call be rescinded.
priations of the House of Representatives a The amendment (No. 2358) was agreed The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
report describing projects for which funding to. pore. Without objection, it is so or-
is provided under the Program, including the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- dered.
status and outcomes of those projects. pore. The Senator from Delaware.
(h) FUNDING.— Under the previous order, there will
(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— AMENDMENT NO. 2447 now be 2 minutes of debate equally di-
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise vided prior to a vote in relation to Ben-
Secretary to carry out the Program now to discuss my amendment with net-Hoeven amendment 2548.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.043 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE CORRECTION S5819
AMENDMENT NO. 2548 The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ministration, the Department of Agri-
pore. The Senator from Delaware. culture, the Department of Health and
Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise to
Human Services, the Department of the
speak about Bennet-Hoeven amend- AMENDMENT NOS. 2164 AND 2570 TO AMENDMENT
Treasury, the Department of Housing and
ment 2548. NO. 2137
Urban Development, the Institute of Mu-
Our amendment would formally es- Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, col- seum and Library Sciences, and any other
tablish the Joint Chiefs Program at leagues, I ask unanimous consent that Federal agency that provides such data re-
USDA. I know a lot of people haven’t the following amendments be called up lating to broadband infrastructure deploy-
heard of this initiative, but it is really, to the substitute and be reported by ment funding to the Commission, including
really important. number. The first of those is Fischer, funding under—
As I have said on this floor before, in 2164, with Cortez Masto—is that cor- (A) this Act;
rect? Yes—and the second is Schumer, (B) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Eco-
Western States like Colorado and
nomic Security Act (Public Law 116–136);
North Dakota, our forests and our 2570; further, that the Senate vote in (C) the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
grasslands are as important to our relation to the amendments in the 2021 (Public Law 116–260);
economy as the Lincoln Tunnel or the order listed, with no amendments in (D) American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub-
Brooklyn Bridge are to New York, but order to the amendments prior to a lic Law 117–2); or
they haven’t received nearly enough vote in relation to the amendments, (E) any Federal amounts appropriated or
investment over the years. The result with up to 2 minutes equally divided any Federal program authorized after the
is that we have people on the ground prior to each vote. date of enactment of this Act to fund
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- broadband infrastructure deployment;
across the West who are working with
(2) contains data, with respect to each
incredibly constrained resources. But, pore. Is there objection? broadband infrastructure deployment pro-
despite their best effort, there is a lot Without objection, it is so ordered. gram, relating to—
of important work to maintain the AMENDMENT NO. 2164 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137 (A) the Federal agency of jurisdiction;
health of our forests and grasslands The clerk will report the amend- (B) the program title; and
that they are unable to do. The con- ments by number. (C) the network type, including wired, ter-
sequences of this have been terrible in The legislative clerk read as follows: restrial fixed, wireless, mobile, and satellite
the West. broadband infrastructure deployment;
The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
In Colorado, we had the three largest (3) allows users to manipulate the Deploy-
for Mrs. FISCHER, proposes an amendment
ment Locations Map to identify, search, and
wildfires in our history last year. The numbered 2164 to amendment No. 2137.
filter broadband infrastructure deployment
fires were still burning when the snow The amendment is as follows projects by—
fell, for the first time. That has never (Purpose: To promote transparency by re- (A) company name;
happened in anyone’s memory. quiring the establishment of an online (B) duration timeline, including the dates
As we consider this infrastructure interactive map displaying the locations of of a project’s beginning and ending, or an-
bill tonight, one of the major east-west broadband deployment projects that are ticipated beginning or ending date;
corridors in America is closed because funded by the Federal Government) (C) total number of locations to which a
of mudslides that poured down the At the appropriate place in division F, in- project makes service available; and
burn scar from the wildfires last year. sert the following: (D) relevant download and upload speeds;
SEC. 60lll. BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT LOCA- and
Now I–70 may be closed for weeks. (4) incorporates broadband service avail-
We need to deal with this on the TIONS MAP.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ability data as depicted in the Broadband
front end, and that is why the Joint Map created under section 802(c)(1) of the
(1) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term
Chiefs Program matters. At USDA, the ‘‘broadband infrastructure’’ means any ca- Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
Forest Service works mostly on public bles, fiber optics, wiring, or other permanent 642(c)(1)).
lands, while the Natural Resources (integral to the structure) infrastructure, in- (e) PERIODIC UPDATES.—
Conservation Service supports efforts cluding wireless infrastructure, that— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, in
on private lands. Joint Chiefs allows (A) is capable of providing access to inter- consultation with relevant Federal agencies,
net connections in individual locations; and ensure the Deployment Locations Map is
them to work in a collaborative way. maintained and up to date on a periodic
I thank Senator HOEVEN for his sup- (B) is an advanced telecommunications ca-
pability, as defined in section 706(d) of the basis, but not less frequently than once
port, and I hope we will vote for this on every 180 days.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C.
voice vote. (2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Each Fed-
1302(d)).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- eral agency providing funding for broadband
(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’
pore. The Senator from North Dakota. means the Federal Communications Com- infrastructure deployment shall report rel-
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I am mission. evant data to the Commission on a periodic
pleased to join with the Senator from (3) DEPLOYMENT LOCATIONS MAP.—The term basis.
Colorado on this Joint Chiefs Land- ‘‘Deployment Locations Map’’ means the (f) NO EFFECT ON PROGRAMMATIC MIS-
SIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be con-
scape Restoration Partnership Act. I mapping tool required to be established
under subsection (b). strued to affect the programmatic missions
appreciate his leadership. of Federal agencies providing funding for
There are several points I want to (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPLOYMENT LOCA-
TIONS MAP.—Not later than 18 months after
broadband infrastructure development.
make here before we vote, and that is, (g) NONDUPLICATION.—The requirements in
the date of enactment of this Act, the Com-
this program is very popular with land- mission shall, in consultation with all rel-
this section shall be consistent with and
owners, and I think that is important. evant Federal agencies, establish an online
avoid duplication with the provisions of sec-
This is a very popular program with tion 903 of division FF of the Consolidated
mapping tool to provide a locations overview
landowners. It is completely voluntary, Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–
of the overall geographic footprint of each
260).
a voluntary program. We have chatted broadband infrastructure deployment project
(h) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appropriated
with CBO. It does not score, so it does funded by the Federal Government.
to carry out this division under this Act,
not have a score. Again, both the ma- (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The Deployment Loca-
$10,000,000 shall be made available to carry
jority and minority on Ag agree and tions Map shall be—
out this section.
(1) the centralized, authoritative source of
support this legislation. So, again, it is information on funding made available by AMENDMENT NO. 2570 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2137
farmer-friendly, rancher-friendly, and the Federal Government for broadband infra- The legislative clerk read as follows:
popular with landowners.
sradovich on DSKJLST7X2PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE
structure deployment in the United States; The Senator from Delaware [Mr. CARPER],
I thank the Senator from Colorado, and for Mr. SCHUMER, proposes an amendment
and I urge a ‘‘yes’’ vote on this amend- (2) made publicly available on the website numbered 2570 to amendment No. 2137.
ment. of the Commission.
(d) FUNCTIONS.—In establishing the Deploy-
The amendment is as follows
Thank you, Mr. President.
ment Locations Map, the Commission shall (Purpose: To establish safety standards for
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2548
ensure that the Deployment Locations certain limousines)
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Map— At the appropriate place in division B, in-
pore. The question is on agreeing to (1) compiles data related to Federal fund- sert the following:
the amendment. ing for broadband infrastructure deployment SEC. llll. LIMOUSINE COMPLIANCE WITH
The amendment (No. 2548) was agreed provided by the Commission, the National FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS.
to. Telecommunications and Information Ad- (a) LIMOUSINE STANDARDS.—
VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Sep 14, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD21\AUGUST\S04AU1.REC S04AU1
S5820 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021
(1) SAFETY BELT AND SEATING SYSTEM create an online mapping tool through Ossoff Sasse Thune
STANDARDS FOR LIMOUSINES.—Not later than Padilla Schatz Tillis
an interagency process so we can view Paul Schumer Tuberville
2 years after the date of enactment of this the latest progress of all of these de- Peters Scott (FL) Van Hollen
Act, the Secretary shall prescribe a final
ployment projects in one place. I would Portman Scott (SC) Warner
rule that— Reed Shaheen
(A) amends Federal Motor Vehicle Safety urge adoption of the amendment. Warnock
Risch Shelby Warren
Standard Numbers 208, 209, and 210 to require Thank you. Romney Sinema Whitehouse
to be installed in limousines on each des- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Rosen Smith
Wicker
ignated seating position, including on side- pore. The Senator from Nevada. Rounds Stabenow
Wyden
facing seats— Rubio Sullivan
Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, Sanders Tester
Young
(i) an occupant restraint system consisting I join my colleague from Nebraska in
of integrated lap-shoulder belts; or support of this bipartisan amendment. NOT VOTING—5
(ii) an occupant restraint system con-
sisting of a lap belt, if an occupant restraint
Transparency around broadband is so Blunt Inhofe Toomey
Graham Menendez
system described in clause (i) does not meet important for all of our communities,
the need for motor vehicle safety; and and it fits with, I think, what we are The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
(B) amends Federal Motor Vehicle Safety all doing to address our broadband pore. On this vote, the yeas are 95, the
Standard Number 207 to require limousines needs across the country and trying to nays are 0.
to meet standards for seats (including side- ensure we are bringing broadband into
facing seats), seat attachment assemblies,
The amendment (No. 2164) was agreed
the communities most in need. So I to.
and seat installation to minimize the possi- urge my colleagues to support this
bility of failure by forces acting on the seats, AMENDMENT NO. 2570
attachment assemblies, and installations as
amendment.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I under- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
a result of motor vehicle impact.
(2) REPORT ON RETROFIT ASSESSMENT FOR stand there has been a request—let me pore. Under the previous order, there
LIMOUSINES.—Not later than 2 years after the ask the Senator. will be 2 minutes of debate, equally di-
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary I understand there has been a request vided, prior to the vote in relation to
shall submit to the Committee on Com- for a recorded vote. Can you confirm the Schumer amendment, No. 2570.
merce, Science, and Transportation of the that or not? The Senator from New York.
Senate and the Committee on Energy and
Mrs. FISCHER. A recorded vote Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I
Commerce of the House of Representatives a
report that assesses the feasibility, benefits, would be fine. rise in support of this amendment. It is
and costs with respect to the application of Mr. CARPER. All right. Then it will a bipartisan amendment with Senator
any requirement established under para- be a recorded vote. WICKER. And this is about just giving
graph (1) to a limousine introduced into Let me ask our colleagues: 10 min- basic safety regulations to those
interstate commerce before the date on utes; is that OK? Ten minutes from superlong, stretch limousines.
which the requirement takes effect. start to finish, and that is it. And the
(b) MODIFICATIONS OF CERTAIN VEHICLES.—
The reason why Senator SCHUMER
last amendment will be Schumer. All and I care about this, there was a hor-
The final rule prescribed under subsection
(a)(1) and any standards prescribed under
right? Let’s do this in 10 minutes, OK? rible, horrible incident in Upstate New
subsection (b) or (c) of section 23015 shall VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2164 York, in Schoharie, where 20 people
apply to a person modifying a passenger The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- were killed. In that 1 limousine, 17 pas-
motor vehicle (as defined in section 32101 of pore. The question is on agreeing to sengers: 4 young women from the same
title 49, United States Code) that has already the amendment. family—a mom lost 4 daughters—and 2
been purchased by the first purchaser (as de- Mr. THUNE. I ask for the yeas and recently married couples. They hired
fined in section 30102(b) of that title) by in-
creasing the wheelbase of the vehicle to
nays. the limousine to go safely to a birth-
make the vehicle a limousine. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- day party.
(c) APPLICATION.—The requirements of this pore. Is there a sufficient second? This cannot continue.
section apply notwithstanding section There appears to be a sufficient sec- And I yield to Senator WICKER.
30112(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code. ond. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The clerk will call the roll. pore. The Senator from Mississippi.
pore. Under the previous order, there The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I, too,
will now be 2 minutes of debate equally
Senator from New Jersey (Mr. MENEN- rise in support of this amendment. It is
divided prior to a vote in relation to
DEZ) is necessarily absent.
in response to a tragic automobile ac-
the Fischer amendment, No. 2164.
cident that affected a number of fami-
The Senator from Nebraska. Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
lies.
AMENDMENT NO. 2164 are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT), the Senator I want to thank Senator SCHUMER’s
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I
from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), the staff for working with me, the ranking
thank Senator CARPER and Senator
Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. INHOFE), member, and the chair of the Com-
CAPITO for the work they have been
and the Senator from Pennsylvania merce Committee to get this language
doing here on the floor. I appreciate
(Mr. TOOMEY). correct. It is in good shape. I entirely
their diligence in trying to get amend-
The result was announced—yeas 95, agree with the junior Senator from
ments up.
nays 0, as follows: New York.
I am glad to offer this bipartisan
amendment with my colleague from [Rollcall Vote No. 306 Leg.] VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 2570
Nevada. It would promote transparency YEAS—95 Mr. CORNYN. I ask for the yeas and
among all Federal funding avenues for Baldwin Cotton Johnson nays.
broadband infrastructure deployment. Barrasso Cramer Kaine The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
Right now, funding is divided among Bennet Crapo Kelly
Blackburn Cruz Kennedy pore. Is there a sufficient second?
several Agencies: FCC, NTIA, USDA, Blumenthal Daines King There appears to be to be a sufficient
HHS, Treasury, and many others. Some Booker Duckworth Klobuchar second.
of these programs have detailed maps Boozman Durbin Lankford
Braun Ernst Leahy The clerk will call the roll.
of where funding is going, but some do Brown Feinstein Lee
not. Even when there are maps, it still The senior assistant legislative clerk
Burr Fischer Luján
requires searching through several web Cantwell Gillibrand Lummis proceeded to call the roll.
pages and sources to find out what you Capito Grassley Manchin Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Cardin Hagerty Markey are necessarily absent: the Senator
are looking for, if you can find it at all. Carper Hassan Marshall
Without a clear picture of where the Casey Hawley McConnell from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT), the Senator
funding is going, it will be increasingly Cassidy Heinrich Merkley from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), the
difficult to avoid duplication and dis- Collins Hickenlooper Moran Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. INHOFE).
Coons Hirono Murkowski
tribute resources where they are need- Cornyn Hoeven Murphy The result was announced—yeas 58,
ed the most. So our amendment would Cortez Masto Hyde-Smith Murray nays 39, as follows:
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.048 S04AUPT1
August 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5821
[Rollcall Vote No. 307 Legislative] My amendment—and that with Sen- to do and stick with it.’’ Stick with it;
YEAS—58 ator GILLIBRAND—would ensure that he certainly did. Bill earned the admi-
Baldwin Heinrich Reed limousines meet minimum safety ration of his peers for his ability to
Bennet Hickenlooper Rosen standards. It mandates seatbelts and elicit honest answers from his inter-
Blumenthal Hirono Rubio
Booker Hyde-Smith
seat safety standards, and it will save view subjects. Bill always finds a way
Sanders
Brown Kaine Schatz lives. So I thank my colleagues for sup- to cut to the heart of an issue and de-
Burr Kelly Schumer porting this amendment. liver insightful reports for his lis-
Cantwell King Shaheen It is a beautiful thing what these teners.
Capito Klobuchar Sinema
Cardin Leahy families are doing. The hole in their Bill and I are both natives of East St.
Smith
Carper Luján heart will never go away. The hole in Louis, IL, though we never met until
Stabenow
Casey Manchin
Thune the heart of the whole city of Amster- my Senate election and his Chicago
Collins Markey
Coons McConnell Van Hollen dam, which lost so many of their vital beat brought us together. Bill’s father
Cortez Masto Menendez Warner young men and women, will never go Fred was a successful high school foot-
Cramer Merkley Warnock away. But instead of cursing the dark- ball coach, winning more than 100
Duckworth Murphy Warren
Whitehouse
ness, they are lighting the candle, and, games for the storied East St. Louis
Durbin Murray
Feinstein Ossoff Wicker tonight, the candle was lit thanks to Flyers. Instead of following his father’s
Gillibrand Padilla Wyden the bipartisan cooperation we have footsteps into football, Bill chose
Hassan Peters here. So I thank my colleagues. broadcast journalism, earning a bach-
NAYS—39 H.R. 3684 elor’s degree at Indiana University.
Barrasso Hagerty Risch Mr. President, now on the matter of And we are all the better for it.
Blackburn Hawley Romney today, the Senate is making really Bill started as a news writer for NBC
Boozman Hoeven Rounds 5 in Chicago in 1969 but left TV for
Braun Johnson Sasse
good progress, really good progress. As
Cassidy Kennedy Scott (FL) you know, I had promised, when we good the next year, signing on at the
Cornyn Lankford Scott (SC) opened up our two-track process, that former WMAQ 670 AM. He was there
Cotton Lee Shelby we would be fully bipartisan in the until the station switched to an all-
Crapo Lummis Sullivan sports format in 2000, making the jump
Cruz Marshall Tester amendment process as we move for-
Daines Moran Tillis ward on the bipartisan infrastructure to WLS. Bill’s legendary career in-
Ernst Murkowski Toomey bill. Well, I think no one can deny that cludes two Edward R. Murrow Awards,
Fischer Paul Tuberville a Peabody Award, and countless other
Grassley Portman Young
we have kept our word here in the
Democratic majority. accolades. In addition to his day-to-day
NOT VOTING—3 So far, the Senate has considered 22 duties covering the city hall beat for
Blunt Graham Inhofe amendments on this bipartisan piece of WLS, Bill is the host of the station’s
The amendment (No. 2570) was agreed legislation, 15 of them today. That is weekly public affairs show, ‘‘Connected
to. more amendments than probably hap- to Chicago.’’
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. pened in many months when we were in Bill has covered numerous mayors,
WARNOCK). The majority leader. the minority. Of those amendments, 12 Governors—and even U.S. Senators—in
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, before have been agreed to—5 by voice vote, 7 his career. He has been there for elec-
I close, I have some brief remarks. by rollcall; 10 were not agreed to; 13 of tion nights, policy press conferences,
First, on the bill that just passed, let those 22 amendments—more than breaking news, and jury verdicts. He
me thank my colleagues for passing half—were sponsored by Republicans. has seen it all in 50-plus years of broad-
this very important bill. So, clearly, we have shown a willing- casting. So what does he want to see
It stems from the fact that, in 2018, 20 ness to allow Members who are not now in retirement? Bill says it is time
lives were lost in a tragic limousine ac- part of the bipartisan group to have to go see more National Parks.
cident in Schoharie, NY. The families input into this important bill. Well, Bill, I hope you enjoy all the
came from the small city of Amster- Tomorrow, we will continue to con- beauty that our National Parks have to
dam, the people. They had done just sider amendments, and then, hopefully, offer you in retirement. I will miss
the right thing. It is a group that went we can bring this bill to a close in the your questions at press conferences and
out. They knew they might be enjoying very near future. our lively discussions about the issues
themselves, and so they hired a big, So the Chamber is working as Mem- of the day on ‘‘Connected to Chicago.’’
long stretch limo. Unfortunately, as bers on both sides of the aisle have You certainly found something you
the limo came down the hill in wanted it to. I am proud of what we loved and stuck with it, and you did it
Schoharie, it crashed, and 20 people have been able to do today and hope we with class.
died. can continue tomorrow in that vein. Enjoy your retirement.
I met the families. These were young f f
people in the prime of life. I met one
mom. She lost four daughters—four MORNING BUSINESS AMENDMENT NO. 2478
daughters—in this crash. This commu- --- Mr. LEE. Mr. President, if there had
nity of Amsterdam and these families been a recorded vote on amendment
TRIBUTE TO BILL CAMERON No. 2478 to amendment No. 2137 to H.R.
have endured endless tragedy.
But instead of cursing the darkness, Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, August 3684, ‘‘To require the Minority Business
they have lit a candle, and they are 20 will be the end of an era in Chicago Development Agency of the Depart-
pushing for the fact that there is a hole as WLS 890 AM political reporter Bill ment of Commerce to promote and ad-
in regulation. We regulate trucks, and Cameron puts his microphone down minister programs in the public and
we regulate smaller limos, but when it after a 51-year career on the radio. Bill private sectors to assist the develop-
is a large limo, and they are not sure is the ‘‘Dean’’ of Chicago political re- ment of minority business enterprises
what it is classified as, then there is porters, joining the city hall beat in and to ensure that such Agency has the
virtually no regulation. This legisla- 1970 and covering all the major stories necessary supporting resources, par-
tion fills that hole. The accident was in Chicago since that time. The an- ticularly during economic downturns,’’
preventable. nouncement of his pending retirement I would have voted nay.
There was another accident on Long brought praise for Bill’s legendary ca- f
Island—four young women in the prime reer, with one colleague calling him a
of life killed in the same way. That was ‘‘walking encyclopedia of political ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
preventable. knowledge.’’ Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, sec-
Now Congress finally has the oppor- When asked by a fellow reporter how tion 36(b) of the Arms Export Control
tunity to address the gaps and loop- he had survived his first 50 years in the Act requires that Congress receive
holes that have allowed limousines to industry, Bill said he took inspiration prior notification of certain proposed
escape the basic safety standards that in advice from Chicago Cubs legend arms sales as defined by that statute.
cover other vehicles. Ernie Banks: ‘‘Find something you love Upon such notification, the Congress
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.046 S04AUPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2021-08-04_crec-2021-08-04-pt1-pgs5791-7.pdf
- Size
- 701,851 bytes
- SHA-256
- 896240986b92d0017b1196b5954b8fb51155f60a429cae2aef5e7ef9d7993468
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov